Poli Alert Politics & Civics

Anna Liz Nichols, Michigan Advance Michigan is the 10th state to ban what advocates for ending child marriage call “a human rights abuse” after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation Tuesday to raise the minimum age for marriage to 18 years old. The ban is “long overdue,” Whitmer said in a …

Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, announced Monday he is joining the Democratic primary to challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Gutierrez made his campaign official in a nearly four-minute video that starts with him driving to Uvalde, the city in his district where …

Voting rights advocates across the United States on Monday responded with alarm to Republicans introducing what its backers called “the most conservative election integrity bill to be seriously considered” in the U.S. House of Representatives in decades. Dubbed the “Big Lie Bill” by critics, the American Confidence in Elections (ACE) …

Gloria Rebecca Gomez, Arizona Mirror Arizona women are now able to visit their local pharmacy for their birth control needs without first securing a doctor’s signature. A law passed two years ago that finally made it through official hurdles last week removes the requirement for a doctor-approved prescription to buy …

Uriel J. García, The Texas Tribune   The 24-year-old gunman who killed 23 people and injured 22 others in August 2019 at a Walmart in his attempt “to shoot as many Mexicans as possible” was sentenced in federal court to 90 consecutive life sentences Friday for his hate crimes. Patrick …

Stanley Dunlap, Georgia Recorder Fulton County could dominate national headlines this summer if District Attorney Fani Willis files criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and his inner circle over alleged 2020 election interference. Law enforcement agencies have been informed by Willis that additional security around the downtown Atlanta courthouse …

Mel Leonor Barclay Originally published by The 19th Nearly all of the recent spending bills that have cleared the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee have included measures to restrict access to abortions, setting up a fight with Senate Democrats, who’ve pledged to block such measures during looming negotiations to fund the …

The government watchdog Accountable.US reported Friday that a majority of incumbent members in the U.S. House of Representatives filed extensions this year for their 2022 financial disclosures, a revelation that comes as congressional Democrats are leading multiple bills that would ban lawmakers and their relatives from stock trading and other …

by Jennifer Shutt, Georgia Recorder The Biden administration announced new initiatives Friday that could reduce health care costs, though none will take effect immediately. The changes include a proposed rule that would reduce the amount of time short-term health insurance plans can last and require companies that offer the plans to …

Casey Quinlan, Pennsylvania Capital-Star Although hiring inched down in June, the U.S. labor market is still showing signs of strength, with unemployment falling and earnings continuing to rise, the latest jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor showed. The economy added 209,000 jobs as the unemployment rate fell to 3.6% from …

Michael Moline, Florida Phoenix The Florida Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for Sept. 8 in a test of whether the justices will respect their 1989 ruling finding protection for abortion access in the Florida Constitution’s Privacy Clause. In an order posted Friday, the court said arguments would begin at …

Among the dozens of Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ line-item vetoes for state Republicans’ two-year budget on Wednesday was a move to boost funding for public education for the next four centuries. The budget approved by Wisconsin lawmakers hiked the revenue limit for school districts—or how much they can raise …

The House Freedom Caucus recently voted to remove Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from their pro-Trump group. A member of the caucus confirmed this decision, stating that Greene’s conflict with Representative Lauren Boebert played a role in their reasoning. “A vote was taken to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House …

Jennifer Shutt, Florida Phoenix President Joe Biden traveled Thursday to South Carolina — home of the first-in-the-nation 2024 Democratic presidential primary as well as two GOP presidential candidates — to rebuke Republicans for voting against bills in Congress that are now providing billions in federal dollars. “All those members of …

Ashley Murray, New Jersey Monitor Supporters of student loan debt cancellation are organizing to hold GOP lawmakers “accountable” in the 2024 election cycle following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling blocking President Joe Biden’s debt relief plan. The left-leaning Protect Borrowers Action will target 13 U.S. House districts across California, Colorado, …