Poli Alert Politics & Civics

Voting rights advocates in North Carolina are calling on Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to veto Senate Bill 747 following the Republican-controlled state General Assembly’s passage of the legislation on Wednesday night, with the GOP moving to restrict the use of absentee ballots and take other steps that would “make it …

Jennifer Shutt, Georgia Recorder The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund is in desperate need of cash, with the agency projecting at least a $4 billion deficit in the weeks ahead — even as the government responds to devastating fires in Hawaii and hurricane season continues. FEMA, however, won’t …

Amanda Becker Originally published by The 19th When Republican Ron DeSantis won a second four-year term as Florida’s governor last year, he promised that the state was where “woke goes to die.” “We reject woke ideology. We fight the woke in the legislature, we fight the woke in the schools, …

Prosecutors are pushing for lengthy prison sentences of 33 years for former Proud Boys chair Enrique Tarrio and his associate Joe Biggs, citing their alleged involvement in fomenting the January 6th attack on the Capitol with the intention of keeping former President Donald Trump in power. These proposed sentences would …

Julia Conley, Common Dreams Despite a threat this week by the Arkansas Department of Education that it would not allow students to receive credit for Advanced Placement African American Studies, every public high school in Arkansas that previously offered the course announced that it will remain on their schedules for …

Samuel Miele, a campaign fundraiser associated with Rep. George Santos, has been indicted on federal charges in New York for allegedly impersonating a top aide to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy while seeking donations for Santos’ campaign. The indictment, which was unsealed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the …

Erik Gunn, Wisconsin Examiner President Joe Biden flew into Milwaukee Tuesday and addressed cheering union workers at a wind turbine manufacturer to mark the one-year anniversary of legislation to boost renewable energy and address climate change. In a 40-minute stemwinder of a speech the president went far beyond promoting the …

Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams A federal appellate court on Wednesday upheld portions of a ruling restricting access to the abortion pill mifepristone, although the drug will remain available pending the outcome of ongoing litigation. A three-judge panel of the right-wing 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that mifepristone can …

Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch As former President Donald Trump faces his fourth indictment in Georgia, his previous running mate former Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday disputed Trump’s claims that the Georgia election was “stolen” while still criticizing the federal justice system. Pence is one of many candidates competing …

Antoinette Grajeda, Florida Phoenix Arkansas’ top education official on Monday sought to defend the removal of an AP African American Studies class from the state’s approved course list late last week, but anger persisted from education advocates, state lawmakers, students and the NAACP. Education Secretary Jacob Oliva told the Advocate that …

Stanley Dunlap, Georgia Recorder Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis says she’s aiming to start a trial against Donald Trump and his allies within six months of a grand jury’s Monday indictment on charges of a multi-state criminal conspiracy to overturn the former president’s narrow defeat to Joe Biden in …

Ariana Figueroa, Georgia Recorder The Department of Justice and Department of Education jointly released guidance on Monday to colleges and universities about how to consider race in admissions decisions, following the Supreme Court’s summer decision that struck down affirmative action in higher education. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, on a call with reporters, said higher …

Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune Editor’s note: This story contains explicit language. Newly released video shows U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Amarillo, being slammed to the ground by police and angrily confronting a state trooper with profanity during a hectic altercation late last month at a rodeo outside Amarillo. “You are …

A federal judge in Michigan has rejected an effort by a pair of right-wing think tanks to stop the Biden administration from canceling the student debt of roughly 804,000 borrowers who have been making payments on their loans for more than two decades. In an 18-page decision on Monday, U.S. …

Climate advocates on Monday expressed hope that an unprecedented ruling by a state judge in Montana, siding with 16 young residents who argued the state violated their constitutional rights by promoting fossil fuel extraction, will mark a sea change in the outcomes of climate lawsuits. In Held v. State of …