Poli Alert Politics & Civics

Amanda Hernández, Oklahoma Voice Violent crime in the United States dropped significantly in the first quarter of 2024 compared with the same period last year, according to the FBI’s Quarterly Uniform Crime Report released earlier this month. The FBI’s data, collected from nearly 12,000 law enforcement agencies representing about 77% …

Rob Schofield, NC Newsline In his first major public appearance after Thursday night’s presidential debate in Atlanta, a fiery and animated President Joe Biden addressed a loud and enthusiastic crowd on Friday at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. In a speech interrupted repeatedly by applause and chants of …

Jimmy Williams In a significant decision on homelessness, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that cities can ban people from sleeping and camping in public places. The justices, in a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, overturned lower court rulings that found it cruel and unusual under the Eighth Amendment to …

Jimmy Williams The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a nationwide settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, preventing members of the Sackler family who own the company from being shielded from civil lawsuits. This decision comes after more than six months of deliberation. The justices voted 5-4 against the agreement, which …

Shauneen Miranda, Arkansas Advocate Prominent members of the GOP on Wednesday strongly criticized the Biden administration’s final rule for Title IX, including U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairwoman Virginia Foxx and former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. As the fate of a key Biden …

Jennifer Shutt and Jacob Fischler President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump pitched to undecided voters Thursday night during the first debate of the presidential campaign — trading insults over their policy differences, immigration and who represents a threat to democracy. During the debate from CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta, …

Jimmy Williams Federal prosecutors are urging the Supreme Court to deny Steve Bannon’s request to delay his four-month prison sentence. Bannon, a former advisor to Donald Trump, was convicted nearly two years ago for contempt of Congress after ignoring subpoenas from the House Jan. 6 committee. Prosecutors argue it’s time …

Ashley Murray, Iowa Capital Dispatch President Joe Biden will pardon U.S. military veterans who were discharged or convicted under military law for consensual same-sex relations, the administration announced Wednesday. The White House could not provide an exact number of veterans who will be pardoned, but the administration estimates thousands were …

Lia Chien, Louisiana Illuminator Democratic U.S. House members pushed for legislative action to address gun violence Wednesday, the day after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared the issue a public health crisis. Murthy released a 40-page advisory Tuesday. It called gun violence the leading cause of death for children and …

A document inadvertently uploaded to the U.S. Supreme Court’s website on Wednesday appears to indicate the court will send a case regarding emergency abortion care in Idaho back to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rather than make a decision, according to reporting from Bloomberg Law. Rather than rule on …

Jimmy Williams WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge related to his involvement in a significant breach of US government classified material. This agreement is part of a deal with the US Justice Department that allows Assange to avoid imprisonment in the United States. …

Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix The U.S. House Committee on Ethics announced on Tuesday that the panel is expanding an investigation into allegations that South Florida Democratic U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick may have violated campaign finance laws. The committee initially announced in late December an investigative subcommittee to determine whether Cherfilus-McCormick “may …

Jimmy Williams A federal judge on Monday temporarily halted the Education Department from providing additional loan forgiveness under President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan. This order affects the income-driven repayment plan known as SAVE, which was created following the Supreme Court’s rejection of Biden’s broader pandemic-era debt relief initiative. …

Jacob Fischler, Georgia Recorder President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will get a crucial opportunity to reach undecided voters and set the terms for the 2024 presidential campaign at Thursday night’s debate in Atlanta. Partisans on either side have already made up their minds about which candidate they’ll …

Jimmy Williams Nine Louisiana families have filed a federal lawsuit against the state’s education department and local school boards, challenging a new law that mandates the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. The lawsuit was filed just days after Governor Jeff Landry signed the controversial bill into …