Political News

by Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix  U.S. Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra said in Tampa Friday that he intends for his agency to move “as quickly as we can” to comply with President Joe Biden’s directive to review the decades-old policy of listing marijuana as a Schedule 1 …

Riley Bunch, GPB News A court will hear oral arguments in the new state constitutional challenge of Georgia’s strict abortion law later this month. On Wednesday, a Fulton County judge shot down a request by the state to delay the case until after the consequential Nov. 8 midterms. Lawyers representing …

Alejandro Serrano and Uriel J. García, The Texas Tribune Uvalde school officials on Friday suspended all of the district police department’s activities following the firing of a recently hired district officer who was revealed to have been among the first state troopers to respond to the deadly school shooting in …

Jennifer Shutt, Alaska Beacon Members of Congress are fanning out to every district in the country, leaving the wonky floor debates on Capitol Hill behind for the campaign trail in advance of the crucial Nov. 8 midterm elections. Democrats are fighting to hold their razor-thin majorities in the U.S. House …

Aaron Sanderford, Nebraska Examiner U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican who made his name nationally by disagreeing publicly with former President Donald Trump and voting with his party, plans to resign his post, the Nebraska Examiner has confirmed. Four people familiar with Sasse’s decision making told the Examiner early …

Barbara Rodriguez This story originally appeared at The 19th. Crystal Mason is waiting for resolution. On Election Day 2016, at her mother’s urging, the Texas woman went to her local precinct to vote in the presidential election. Mason’s name did not appear on the voter rolls, but a poll worker …

New York Attorney General Letitia James vowed to appeal a federal judge’s decision that struck down the state’s new gun control law Thursday, as advocates said the ruling would make communities less safe. Judge Glenn T. Suddaby of the state’s Northern District ruled that large portions of the law which …

Ariana Figueroa, Arizona Mirror President Joe Biden on Thursday announced executive actions that would pardon thousands of people with prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. He will also direct U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and Attorney General Merrick Garland to review how marijuana is classified …

An Ohio pastor who allegedly pushed against police barricades and used a megaphone to incite the crowd on Jan. 6 was charged this week with two felonies and five other misdemeanor counts. William Dunfee, 57, of Frazeysburg, Ohio, was arrested Wednesday on felony counts of obstruction of an official proceeding …

By Uriel J. García, The Texas Tribune A federal appeals court on Wednesday sent a case challenging the legality of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA — a national program that provides some undocumented immigrants work permits and temporarily protects them from deportation — back to a lower court …

Former President Donald Trump’s legal team on Tuesday escalated the battle over classified documents seized by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents from his Florida residence to the U.S. Supreme Court. The ex-president’s new filing asks the high court to ensure that over 100 classified documents—among various materials seized by agents …

Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix President Joe Biden traveled to Fort Myers Wednesday afternoon, promising to use all of the power of the federal government to rebuild the Southwest region of Florida following the devastating effects of Hurricane Ian. The Category 4 storm made landfall six days ago, resulting in at …

Grace Panetta, Errin Haines, The 19th The Biden-Harris administration issued fresh guidance Tuesday reinforcing the legal protections for pregnancy and abortion under Title IX as it recognizes the 100-day milestone since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The guidance for higher education institutions from the Department of Education, shared …

Jennifer Shutt, Georgia Recorder Women running in governors’ races throughout the country are potentially set to break records if elected this November. In total there are 25 women governor candidates nominated by the two major political parties this election cycle, sharply up from 16 in 2018. Democrats hold 16 of …

Julia Conley, Common Dreams  Rep. Pramila Jayapal on Monday said Democratic leaders had made it impossible to bring a bill banning stock trading by federal lawmakers up for a vote last month by holding discussions about the legislation behind closed doors—a process that she suggested sabotaged an opportunity to pass …