Poli Alert Political & Civics

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Demetric Gillum, who narrowly lost his 2018 gubernatorial race against Ron DeSantis. Gillum, 42, was named along with Sharon Janet Lettman-Hicks, 53. The Indictment alleges that between 2016 and 2019, Gillum and Lettman-Hicks conspired to commit wire …

President Joe Biden on Wednesday called on Congress and state legislatures to provide a temporary reprieve from gas taxes — but members of his own party and Republicans appeared opposed, making it look unlikely on the federal level. In addition, many state legislatures are out of session for the year …

The Senate is poised to pass a bipartisan bill later this week that could become the most comprehensive federal gun safety legislation in years, including billions in new mental health funding. Senators on a procedural vote late Tuesday agreed 64-34 to start debate on the gun control bill, which would also have to …

Julia Conley, Common Dreams U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Tuesday warned that the court’s right-wing majority had further eroded the nation’s bedrock laws separating church and government when it ruled that Maine must include religious schools in a state-run tuition program. “Today, the court leads us to a …

by Jacob Fischler, Georgia Recorder Former President Donald Trump was directly involved in efforts to pressure state officials in Georgia, Arizona and elsewhere to overturn the 2020 election results in their states, according to evidence the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack presented Tuesday at the panel’s …

By Terri Langford, The Texas Tribune The officers in the hallway of Robb Elementary wanted to get inside classrooms 111 and 112 — immediately. One officer’s daughter was inside. Another officer had gotten a call from his wife, a teacher, who told him she was bleeding to death. Two closed …

by Jacob Fischler, Georgia Recorder The fourth Jan. 6 hearing on Tuesday will focus on pressure put by President Donald Trump and his allies on state officials in Georgia, Arizona and elsewhere to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. The U.S. House hearing will include live testimony from Republican officials …

Jessica Corbett, Common Dreams Led by the Poor People’s Campaign, advocacy groups and low-income individuals gathered in Washington, D.C. on Saturday to demand that policymakers “fight poverty, not the poor.” “We are the 140 million poor and low-wealth people, standing together to declare we won’t be silent anymore,” said Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, co-chair of the campaign. …

Former President Donald Trump castigated congressional hearings on the Jan. 6 insurrection, calling them a “hoax” despite mounting evidence he acted illegally in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. “It was a simple protest that got out of hand. They never show the size of the crowd. …

by Jennifer Shutt, Florida Phoenix The first woman joined Congress more than a century ago, but not until this month have any of the 540 rooms in the U.S. Capitol been officially named for women who served in the U.S. Senate. Following a dedication ceremony last week, Margaret Chase Smith …

Jennifer Selin, Wayne State University As the Jan. 6 committee’s hearings pass their halfway point, they have brought new details to light that explain the events of the attack on the Capitol and place them in context of a larger effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. In the first …

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Saturday that children as young as six months old receive Covid-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. The move follows a unanimous vote earlier in the day by an advisory panel of outside experts known as Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or …

Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams Thursday’s public hearing of the House January 6 committee focused largely on former President Donald Trump’s futile attempt to convince Mike Pence, his vice president, to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. “There was no basis in the Constitution or laws of the United …

A bill expanding health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic military burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan passed the U.S. Senate on Thursday in an overwhelmingly 84-14 bipartisan vote. The bill eases and expands access to health services and disability benefits for veterans who were exposed to toxic …

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 …