Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent The League of Women Voters of Missouri and Missouri NAACP filed a lawsuit Monday attempting to block a wide-ranging elections bill they argue violates the right to core political speech by curtailing voter engagement. The lawsuit focuses on provisions of the law, which is set to …
Read More »U.S. Announces $775 Million In New Military Aid For Ukraine
The United States says it will give Ukraine a new $775 million aid package to help its forces regain territory and mount a counteroffensive against Russian invaders. A senior U.S. defense official told reporters on August 19 that the package will include 15 Scan Eagle surveillance drones, 40 mine-resistant, ambush-protected …
Read More »Congress Mostly Silent As States Struggle To Contain Monkeypox
Jennifer Shutt, Virginia Mercury Two months after doctors diagnosed the first case of monkeypox in the United States, Congress has yet to hold a hearing or give any significant attention to the painful and debilitating virus that’s spread to more than 4,600 people. Public health officials in the Biden administration …
Read More »Warren Buffett Firm To Pay $20 Million In Redlining Case In New Jersey, Pennsylvania
Sophie Nieto-Munoz, New Jersey Monitor A Pennsylvania mortgage company owned by billionaire Warren Buffett deliberately discriminated against Black and Latino homebuyers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, federal officials said Wednesday while announcing a $20 million settlement with the firm. A U.S. Department of Justice investigation found Trident Mortgage Company, one of …
Read More »Education Board Members In Texas Push Back On Proposal To Use “involuntary relocation” To Describe Slavery
By Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune A group of Texas educators have proposed to the Texas State Board of Education that slavery should be taught as “involuntary relocation” during second grade social studies instruction, but board members have asked them to reconsider the phrasing, according to the state board’s chair. …
Read More »Judge Temporarily Blocks Florida’s 15-Week Abortion Ban
by Michael Moline, Florida Phoenix A state trial judge said Thursday that he will block Florida’s new 15-week abortion ban, concluding it violates the privacy clause voters placed in the Florida Constitution in 1980. “I’m finding that the statute … is unconstitutional in that it violates the privacy provision of …
Read More »Effects Of Gun Violence On Kids Probed By Senate Committee
by Ariana Figueroa, Nebraska Examiner The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday examined the public health effect that gun violence has on children. “Guns are killing our kids at a devastating rate,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chair of the committee, said in his opening statement. The hearing followed the May …
Read More »A Tampon Shortage, During A Formula Shortage, During A Child Care Shortage
Originally published by The 19th Over the past two weeks, Diamond Cotton has encountered a lot of empty shelves. At her local CVS, Walmart and Kroger in Indianapolis, the tampon aisles have stood bare, wiped out by a shortage that began as a ripple in the supply chain and then …
Read More »Buffalo Shooting Suspect Charged With Federal Hate Crimes
The gunman accused of killing ten people in a Buffalo, New York supermarket has been charged with hate crimes by the U.S. Department of Justice. Authorities believe that suspect Payton Gendron, 18, was motivated by racial hatred. Almost all the victims in the shooting were black. He now faces 26 …
Read More »Jan. 6 Panel Video Shows Loudermilk Tour Group Photographing In Capitol Office Buildings
by Jacob Fischler, New Jersey Monitor The day before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Georgia Rep. Barry Loudermilk gave a tour to a group that included a man who took unusual photos in House office buildings, including of stairwells, tunnels and security checkpoints, the House committee investigating …
Read More »3 Things From The Second Jan. 6 Hearing You Might Have Missed
by Jacob Fischler, Georgia Recorder A “definitely intoxicated” Rudy Giuliani. Conspiracy theories in Pennsylvania. Fundraising for a non-existent Trump “Election Defense Fund.” The second hearing in the series held by the Jan. 6 U.S. House panel to present its findings focused on claims repeatedly voiced by former President Donald Trump …
Read More »McConnell ‘comfortable’ With Framework For Gun Control Bill
by Ariana Figueroa, Iowa Capital Dispatch June 14, 2022 U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he is comfortable with the bipartisan deal Senate Democrats and Republicans struck on gun control legislation, signaling that he will join in passing a bill when it comes to a vote. “For myself, …
Read More »Preview Of The Jan. 6 Committee’s Second Hearing On Monday
Chairman Bennie Thompson gaveled in the first prime-time televised meeting of the Jan. 6 committee on Thursday night, when four officers testified about being beaten, crushed and knocked unconscious by a pro-Trump mob that the committee asserted was trying to overturn the 2020 election certification of President Joe Biden. The hearing …
Read More »Inflation Hits Fresh 40-year High, Pushing Fed To Get More Aggressive With Interest Rates
Veronika Dolar, SUNY Old Westbury Inflation surged at the fastest pace in over 40 years in May 2022, pushing the Federal Reserve toward a more aggressive pace of interest rate increases to slow it down. While there’s concern it could cause unemployment to spike, a little-known economics indicator suggests the …
Read More »Cornyn Says Bipartisan Gun Legislation Won’t Include Weapons Bans Or Expanding Background Checks
By Abby Livingston, The Texas Tribune U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, the lead GOP negotiator in the Senate’s efforts to pass bipartisan gun safety legislation, is managing expectations over what kind of bills he’s willing to get behind. But the answer to that question isn’t going to satisfy many Democrats who …
Read More »