Poli Alert Politics & Civics

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 …

Ariana Figueroa, Nebraska Examiner In his first visit to Capitol Hill since leaving office in January 2021, former President Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, mapped campaign strategy with GOP lawmakers and projected party unity ahead of the November elections. Trump said the meetings brought “great unity.” Surrounded by Republican …

Jessica Corbett, Common Dreams While welcoming the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision to preserve access to mifepristone, a medication commonly used for abortion care, rights advocates on Thursday also stressed that the six conservative justices who reversed Roe v. Wade are no allies to reproductive freedom. “We are relieved by …

Mark Robinson’s recent inflammatory remarks and his fundraising struggles could pose significant challenges to his gubernatorial campaign in North Carolina. His Democratic opponent, Attorney General Josh Stein, has significantly outpaced him in fundraising, amassing $18.6 million compared to Robinson’s $10.55 million. Against this backdrop, Republicans passed a campaign finance proposal …

Jennifer Shutt, Arkansas Advocate Alabama Republican Sen. Katie Britt’s efforts to pass legislation that would block Medicaid funding from going to states that ban in vitro fertilization were unsuccessful Wednesday when Democrats blocked the bill from advancing. Britt, who introduced the legislation earlier this year alongside Texas Republican Sen. Ted …

In a narrow vote on Wednesday, the Republican-controlled House held Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress. This marks a significant escalation in the GOP’s criticism of the justice system, which they argue has unfairly targeted Donald Trump. The vote passed 216-207, with Rep. David Joyce of Ohio being …

Jerod MacDonald-Evoy, Arizona Mirror The Department of Justice indicted a Prescott area man this week based on allegations that he planned to shoot up a Bad Bunny concert in Atlanta to initiate a “race war.” Mark Adams Prieto, 58, was indicted by a federal grand jury on firearms trafficking, transfer …

Jimmy Williams On Monday, a federal judge rejected former President Donald Trump’s attempt to dismiss his classified documents case. However, the judge agreed to remove a paragraph from the federal superseding indictment. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon denied efforts by Trump and his co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos DeOliveira, to …

Jennifer Shutt, South Dakota Searchlight Former President Donald Trump said Monday that if reelected he plans to work “side by side” with a newly formed religious organization that says abortion is the “greatest atrocity facing” the United States and should be “eradicated entirely.” During two-minute recorded remarks played at The …

Jimmy Williams President Joe Biden joined gun control activists on Tuesday to promote more initiatives to combat gun violence. Speaking at the Everytown Gun Safety University conference in Washington, D.C., Biden emphasized his administration’s commitment to stricter gun laws. Biden’s remarks came just hours after his son, Hunter Biden, was …

Jimmy Williams Hunter Biden was convicted Tuesday of all three felony charges related to purchasing a revolver in 2018. Prosecutors argued that President Joe Biden’s son lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. Hunter Biden, 54, showed little emotion as …