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John Norris, a Montgomery County native who worked in the administrations of Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and President Barack Obama, has entered the Democratic gubernatorial primary.

I just got fed up with this governor and the Republican Legislature doing everything for special interests and not the people of Iowa, Norris said of his decision to run.

Norris, 58, listed health care, water quality and education among the key issues facing the state. He called the 2017 Iowa legislative session destructive to our future.

We dont address serious concerns about access to health care in Iowa. Were not answering the call for improvements to water in the state, he said. Those are examples of where I think theyve taken the side of special interests.

Norris grew up on a farm outside of Red Oak and is a Red Oak High graduate. He went on to receive degrees from Simpson College and the University of Iowa College of Law.

Norris worked for then-U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, a Democrat, and ran the Rev. Jesse Jacksons Rainbow Coalition operation in Iowa during the 1988 presidential campaign. Norris opened a restaurant, the Old Hotel, in Greenfield, and worked with the Greenfield Chamber of Commerce. He served as chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party in the late 1990s.

Norris was head of the Iowa Utilities Board for five years before spending a year as chief of staff for Vilsack when Vilsack was the U.S. secretary of agriculture. Norris served on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for five years under Obama and was the U.S. representative to the United Nations on agriculture policy in 2014 and 2015.

Today Norris runs a small consulting firm that does public policy work, focusing on health care and education, with some energy work as well.

I bring a set of experiences that will enable me on day one to get this state back on track, Norris said.

One of the top issues facing the state is a budget shortfall in the hundreds of millions of dollars. A combination of a stagnant agriculture economy, a high amount of tax incentives and other factors have left the state with the budget crunch.

This administration has failed to get our budget back on track. We have to roll back these tax cuts to the wealthiest Iowans and corporations. Weve given away too much, which hurts health care, education and the environment, Norris said.

Norris said the 2017 legislative session was an assault on workers, as the Republican-controlled House and Senate put through a bill that stripped most public employees of the majority of collective bargaining rights.

We should be lifting people up, not pushing people down, he said.

Norris called the defunding of Planned Parenthood disrespectful to women and bad public policy.

For water quality, Norris said defunding Iowa State Universitys esteemed Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture was the wrong move.

We have to change the mindset of how were farming the land and how were treating the soil, he said, also noting that rules on the responsible application of animal waste on fields should be enforced at large animal confinement operations.

There is too little enforcement and too little observation of how a lot of the animal waste is being applied to the soil, he said. The wrong times, wrong surface areas. That leads to additional runoff of bacteria into our rivers and streams, which is affecting downstream water supplies. A bunch of our water problems are associated with poor soil use and poor enforcement of environmental regulations.

Water is a right for all Iowans to have water they can drink. It needs to be protected for everyone, Norris said. I just worry about the future for our state. If you cant drink the water, if you cant swim in the rivers or lakes, what does that say to people thinking about moving here? Its bad for our future.

Norris is the sixth declared candidate in the Democratic primary. He joins Iowa State Sen. Nate Boulton, union head Cathy Glasson, former Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Andy Maguire, former Des Moines school board member and state auditor nominee Jon Neiderbach and State Rep. Todd Prichard.

On the Republican side, Gov. Kim Reynolds has launched a campaign, along with Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett and Boone Mayor Pro-Tem Steven Ray. Independent Brent Roske, a film director and producer, is also running. The Libertarian Party does not have a declared candidate.

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Democrat John Norris launches bid for Iowa governor - Omaha World-Herald

It's rare for a Democratic lawmaker to thank a Fox News host, but that's exactly what Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) did after Fox News anchor Shepard Smith ripped the Trump administration's handling of the investigations into Russian election meddling.

"More liberal propaganda against @realDonaldTrump," Lieu wrote on Twitter."Oh wait, this is from Shepard Smith w/ @FoxNews. Thank you Shepard for telling the truth."

More liberal propaganda against @realDonaldTrump. Oh wait, this is from Shepard Smith w/ @FoxNews. Thank you Shepard for telling the truth. https://t.co/Iqle6RQUqK

Smith, who hosts "Shepard Smith Reporting" on the conservative-leaning news network, delivered a diatribe against the Trump administration's failure to disclose a list of meetings and contacts with Russian nationals and officials held during the 2016 election and presidential transition.

"Why is it lie after lie after lie?" Smith said on the air Friday. "If you come on clean my grandmother used to say, 'Oh, the tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.'

"The deception, Chris, is mind boggling," he continued, addressingFox News's Chris Wallace. "And there are still people out there who believe we're making it up, and one day they're going to realize we're not."

In its first six months, the Trump administration has faced a growing number of revelations that associates of the president and members of his campaign and transition team met or communicated with Russian officials and nationals.

Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was forced to resign in February after it was revealed that he misled Vice President Pence about the nature of his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner also participated in meetings with Kislyak and the CEO of a Russian state-run bank, and has amended his national security questionnaire to reflect meetings and contacts that he had initially omitted.

The president eldest son, Donald TrumpDonald TrumpFox News host defends Trump Jr.: I'd meet with the Devil for opposition research Officials clash at FEC over confronting Russian influence in 2018 elections Lewandowski: Great Russian spies wouldnt bring 8 people to a meeting MORE Jr., found himself in the midst of the latest Russia-related controversy after it was revealed that he met with a Russian lawyer last summer who had promised Trump's campaign dirt on campaign rival Hillary ClintonHillary Rodham ClintonFox News host defends Trump Jr.: I'd meet with the Devil for opposition research Officials clash at FEC over confronting Russian influence in 2018 elections Lewandowski: Great Russian spies wouldnt bring 8 people to a meeting MORE.

Kushner and then-Trump campaign chairmanPaul Manafort also attended, as did publicist Rob Goldstone, who acted as an intermediary in setting up the meeting.

Since then, the list of known participants in the meeting has grown to include a Russian-American lobbyist, an interpreter and another person who has not yet been identified.

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House Democrat thanks Fox's Shep Smith 'for telling the truth' on Trump - The Hill

(1 of ) Professor Maryam Mirzakhani is the recipient of the 2014 Fields Medal, the top honor in mathematics. She is the first woman in the prizes 80-yearhistory to earn the distinction. The Fields Medal is awarded every four years on the occasion of the International Congress of Mathematicians to recognize outstanding mathematical achievement for existing work and for the promise of future achievement.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ASSOCIATED PRESS | July 15, 2017, 2:49PM

STANFORD Maryam Mirzakhani, a Stanford University professor who was the first and only woman to win the prestigious Fields Medal in mathematics, has died. She was 40.

Mirzakhani, who battled breast cancer, died on Saturday, the university announced. It did not indicate where she died.

In 2014, Mirzakhani was one of four winners of the Fields Medal, which is presented every four years and is considered the mathematics equivalent of the Nobel Prize. She was named for her work on complex geometry and dynamic systems.

Mirzakhani specialized in theoretical mathematics that read like a foreign language by those outside of mathematics: moduli spaces, Teichmller theory, hyperbolic geometry, Ergodic theory and symplectic geometry, according to the Stanford press announcement. Mastering these approaches allowed Mirzakhani to pursue her fascination for describing the geometric and dynamic complexities of curved surfacesspheres, doughnut shapes and even amoebas in as great detail as possible.

The work had implications in fields ranging from cryptography to the theoretical physics of how the universe came to exist, the university said.

Mirzakhani was born in Tehran, Iran, and studied there and at Harvard University. She joined Stanford as a mathematics professor in 2008.

Irans President Hassan Rouhani issued a statement Saturday praising Mirzakhani. The grievous passing of Maryam Mirzakhani, the eminent Iranian and world-renowned mathematician, is very much heartrending, Rouhani said in a message that was reported by the Tehran Times.

Irans foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said her death pained all Iranians, the Tehran Times reported.

The news of young Iranian genius and math professor Maryam Mirzakhanis passing has brought a deep pang of sorrow to me and all Iranians who are proud of their eminent and distinguished scientists, Zarif posted in Farsi on his Instagram account. I do offer my heartfelt condolences upon the passing of this lady scientist to all Iranians worldwide, her grieving family and the scientific community.

Mirzakhani originally dreamed of becoming a writer but then shifted to mathematics.

When she was working, Mirzakhani would doodle on sheets of paper and scribble formulas on the edges of her drawings, leading her daughter to describe the work as painting, according to the Stanford statement.

Mirzakhani once described her work as like being lost in a jungle and trying to use all the knowledge that you can gather to come up with some new tricks, and with some luck you might find a way out.

Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne called Mirzakhani a brilliant theorist who made enduring contributions and inspired thousands of women to pursue math and science.

Mirzakhani is survived by her husband, Jan Vondrk, and daughter, Anahita.

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Fields Medal winner Maryam Mirzakhani dies at 40 - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Rep. Adam SchiffAdam SchiffDemocrat: Does Trumpcare cover getting hit on head by bags of drugs? Trump lawyer heads to Sunday shows to launch full-court defense Sunday shows preview: Senate healthcare debate rages as GOP leaders eye vote MORE (D-Calif.) has a question about Republicans' plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare: Will Mexico cover the medical costs of Americans "hit over head with a big sack of drugs" tossed over President Trump's proposed border wall?

"If an American is hit over head with a big sack of drugs flying over the wall, would it be covered by Trumpcare, or would Mexico pay for it?" Schiff wrote on Twitter Saturday.

If an American is hit over head with a big sack of drugs flying over the wall, would it be covered by Trumpcare, or would Mexico pay for it? pic.twitter.com/mzKQx8Rroh

The questionis an apparent jab at Trump's remarks aboard Air Force One this week, in which he floated the notion that drug traffickers could harm Americans by throwing "large sacks of drugs" over the border wall.

"As horrible as it sounds, when they throw the large sacks of drugs over, and if you have people on the other side of the wall, you don't see them they hit you on the head with 60 pounds of stuff? It's over," Trump said. "As crazy as that sounds, you need transparency through that wall."

As a presidential candidate, Trump campaigned on the promise to build a massive wall along the U.S.-Mexico border a project he says Mexico will pay for.

Schiff's swipe at Trump and his administration's efforts to overhaul the country's healthcare system came as Senate Republican leaders eye a final vote on their revised healthcare bill next week.

The bill, however, cannot afford more than two Republican defections if GOP leaders hope to pass it, and already two GOP members have said they will not vote for it. Senate Democrats are unanimously opposed to the measure.

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Democrat: Does Trumpcare cover getting hit on head by bags of drugs? - The Hill

A House Democrat called President Trump a schmuck in a tweet to White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Saturday after she praised Trump for allowing an all-girl robotics team from Afghanistan to enter the country. The girls were previously denied entry.

Um, he was the schmuck who kept them from coming in, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said. Thank you for no longer being a schmuck in this instance?

Um, he was the schmuck who kept them from coming in. Thank you for no longer being a schmuck in this instance? https://t.co/PXqxy3GVY9

Huffman was responding to a tweet from Conway in which she praised Trump for acting to help the girls.

Thank you, @POTUS, for helping these girls. Others talk (and talk and talk). You act. https://t.co/2ea6bdWjCk

The Afghan girls were denied visas twice after seeking them to enter the country to compete in the First Global Challenge in Washington, D.C. Trump reportedly pressed Homeland Security officials earlier this week to grant the girls visas.

The girls were granted temporary visas using a parole mechanism, according to The Associated Press, after Afghan Ambassador Hamdullah Mohib told the AP that the girls were originally denied visas over fears they wouldnt return to Afghanistan, according to conversations Mohib had with US officials.

The girls arrived in D.C. on Saturday morning, according to the AP, and will compete in the robotics competition this weekend. First daughter Ivanka Trump tweeted she looks forward to welcoming them.

I look forward to welcoming this brilliant team of Afghan girls, and their competitors, to Washington DC next week! #WomenInSTEM https://t.co/01qDduyglS

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Democrat hits Trump: Thanks for not being a schmuck - The Hill