Political News

Jacob Fischler, Pennsylvania Capital-Star TikTok and its parent company argued Thursday in a federal court in the District of Columbia that the recently enacted law forcing a nationwide ban or sale of the popular platform violates the First Amendment. TikTok Inc., which operates the video-sharing service in the United States, …

Jimmy Williams New York’s highest court ruled Tuesday that it will not consider former President Donald Trump’s challenge to a gag order issued in the criminal case in which he was recently convicted of 34 felony counts. The Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal in a brief one-sentence decision, stating …

Greg LaRose, Louisiana Illuminator Four civil liberties groups will sue the state of Louisiana after Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed a law Wednesday that calls for the Ten Commandments to be displayed in school classrooms. The new rule applies to any school that accepts state money, including colleges and universities. …

Ariana Figueroa, Source New Mexico The U.S. House Ethics Committee released a statement Tuesday saying it has “identified additional allegations that merit review” based on its investigation of prior allegations that Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz had inappropriate sexual relationships and violated rules by accepting gifts. The committee is …

Jimmy Williams Senate Democrats tried to pass a bill banning bump stocks on firearms Tuesday, but a single Republican objection stalled the effort. Backed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., sought “unanimous consent” to pass the BUMP Act, which aims to ban devices that modify semi-automatic …

Jake Johnson, Common Dreams The Internal Revenue Service announced Monday that it is cracking down on a complex maneuver that corporations and rich individuals use to avoid taxes, the agency’s latest enforcement action since receiving a badly needed infusion of funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. The new IRS policy …

Jimmy Williams The Justice Department announced Friday that it will not prosecute Attorney General Merrick B. Garland after the House held him in contempt of Congress earlier this week due to a subpoena dispute. House Republicans, who passed the contempt measure almost entirely along party lines, accused the Justice Department …

Jimmy Williams President Joe Biden is set to unveil a significant new immigration policy on Tuesday that will protect tens of thousands of people married to U.S. citizens from deportation. This move, seen as a strategic election-year action, has been a long-standing demand by many Democrats. At a White House …

Jimmy Williams Maryland Governor Wes Moore issued a sweeping executive order on Monday, pardoning more than 175,000 marijuana convictions. The order specifically impacts misdemeanor charges for individuals found guilty of possessing small amounts of marijuana. Of the pardoned convictions, over 150,000 are for simple possession of cannabis. Another 18,000 are …

Jimmy Williams Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced plans on Sunday to bring a vote this week on restoring a ban on bump stocks. These devices significantly increase the firing rate of semi-automatic weapons. Schumer’s move follows the Supreme Court’s recent decision to invalidate a federal rule that outlawed bump …

Orion Rummler, The 19th, Louisiana Illuminator LGBTQ+ advocates are gearing up for a possible second Trump administration by planning future litigation, deepening relationships in Congress and mobilizing voters. If former president Donald Trump is re-elected, advocacy groups expect him to enact anti-LGBTQ+ policies that are more far-reaching and extreme than …

Emily Holshouser, Arizona Mirror In a scathing report released following a three-year investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice accused the Phoenix Police Department of violating the civil and constitutional rights of the people it polices, and of using excessive and illegal force. The 126-page report, released Thursday, analyzed police data …

Ariana Figueroa, NC Newsline The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down a rule enacted following a 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that defined a semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock attachment as a machine gun, which is generally prohibited under federal law. The opinion, written by Justice …

Jimmy Williams Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted several undisclosed trips from GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, according to documents released by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. These trips, which took place in 2017, 2019, and 2021, were not included in Thomas’s financial disclosure forms. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, …

Jennifer Shutt, Kentucky Lantern U.S. Senate Democrats’ attempts to bolster reproductive rights failed again Thursday when Republicans blocked a bill guaranteeing access to in vitro fertilization from moving forward. The 48-47 procedural vote came just one day after Republicans tried unsuccessfully to pass their own IVF access bill and one …