Jennifer Shutt, Virginia Mercury A bipartisan group of U.S. senators released legislation Wednesday that aims to clarify the 1887 law that governs how Congress counts Electoral College votes following a presidential election. The legislation caps off months of negotiations between Republican and Democratic senators, who hope to remove the vagueness …
Read More »Judge J. Michelle Childs Is Confirmed To D.C. Appeals Court
Candice Norwood Originally published by The 19th Judge J. Michelle Childs, who was on the short list to replace former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday to sit on Washington, D.C.’s prestigious federal appellate court. She will be one of two women of color …
Read More »Biden Considers Declaring Climate Emergency Amid ‘Heat Apocalypse’
Jake Johnson, Common Dreams With large swaths of the planet currently in the grips of hellish, record-shattering heatwaves and devastating wildfires, President Joe Biden is reportedly considering declaring a national climate emergency this week as a senator with deep ties to the fossil fuel industry continues to obstruct much-needed renewable …
Read More »Members Of Congress Arrested After Protest For Abortion Rights In Front Of Supreme Court
Jennifer Shutt, Colorado Newsline More than a dozen members of Congress were arrested Tuesday alongside abortion rights activists after they sat down and blocked an intersection between the U.S. Capitol building and the Supreme Court to protest conservative justices’ decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The act of civil disobedience …
Read More »VP Kamala Harris: ‘Freedom and liberty and democracy are on the ballot’
Vice President Kamala Harris this week sounded an alarm for a woman’s right to choose and the ability to vote against gun violence, as she urged members of the NAACP’s national convention in Atlantic City to protect hard-fought constitutional guarantees she warned are now being eroded. “Freedom and liberty and …
Read More »Restraining Order Blocking Louisiana Abortion Ban To Stay In Place, Judge Decides
A state district judge in Baton Rouge will keep a temporary restraining order in effect while the court considers whether Louisiana’s abortion ban is legal. Judge Donald Johnson issued his ruling Tuesday that prevents Attorney General Jeff Landry and the state health department from enforcing the state’s abortion prohibition. So-called …
Read More »Biden Signs Executive Order ‘to bring hostages and wrongfully detained’ Americans Home
President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed an executive order that codifies a 2020 law dealing with Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. Drawing on the 2020 Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, the new executive order will reinforce the U.S. government’s efforts to support families of Americans …
Read More »Lawmakers Answer Supreme Court Threat to LGBTQ+ Equality With Respect for Marriage Act
Members of Congress alarmed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent reversal on abortion rights and threats to other basic freedoms on Monday introduced legislation intended to ensure protections for LGBTQ+ and interracial marriages. “The Respect for Marriage Act will protect same-sex and interracial marriages from any radical or bigoted decision …
Read More »Progressives Renew Call For Supreme Court Expansion After Abortion Rights Decision
Ariana Figueroa, Georgia Recorder A group of U.S. House Democrats Monday called for the passage of legislation that would add four justices to the Supreme Court, following the overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that provided the constitutional right to abortion. “It’s an ultra-right-wing Republican Supreme Court,” Rep. Hank Johnson …
Read More »Sanders Rips Manchin: He ‘Represents the Very Wealthiest People in This Country’
Jake Johnson, Common Dreams Sen. Bernie Sanders lambasted fellow Sen. Joe Manchin on Sunday for sinking the Democratic Party’s latest effort to pass renewable energy funding, accusing the West Virginia Democrat of acting on behalf of his corporate and billionaire donors instead of the working class of his home state. …
Read More »“Systemic failures” In Uvalde Shooting Went Far Beyond Local Police, Texas House Report Details
Zach Despart, The Texas Tribune The 18-year-old who massacred 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde on May 24 had no experience with firearms before his rampage began. He targeted an elementary school with an active shooter policy that had been deemed adequate but also had a long history of …
Read More »Rubio Introduces Bill Requiring Child Support To Start At Conception
Florida GOP Senator Marco Rubio, along with other Senate Republicans, have introduced legislation, the Unborn Child Support Act, to give mothers the ability to receive child support payments while they are pregnant. “Caring for the well-being of our children begins long before a baby is born. It begins at the first moment …
Read More »Criminalizing The Vote: GOP-Led States Enacted 102 New Election Penalties After 2020
Kira Lerner, New Jersey Monitor First in a two-part series During the 2020 election, Rhonda Briggins and her sorority sisters spent days providing voters in metro Atlanta with water and snacks as they waited in long lines at polling places. The lines for early voting and on Election Day at …
Read More »Abortion Is Directly On The Ballot In At Least Five States This Year
Barbara Rodriguez Originally published by The 19th Voters will directly weigh in on the future of abortion in at least five states, with a record number of measures on midterm ballots this year that would either limit or expand abortion protections. Voters in California, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana and Vermont will …
Read More »Climate Change Legislation Still Could Pass Congress This Year, Manchin Insists
Jacob Fischler, Virginia Mercury U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin III on Friday held open the prospect of Congress passing significant climate legislation yet this year, denying reports he’s tanked the effort by walking away from talks with leadership. The reports have brought a flood of criticism for Manchin from fellow members …
Read More »