Poli Alert Politics & Civics

Casey Quinlan, Wisconsin Examiner Higher temperatures. Higher gas prices. Drivers across the country have seen that seasonal given play out in recent weeks. The national average for a gallon of regular gas was $3.61 on May 1, up 11 cents over the previous month, according to AAA. The good news …

Grace Panetta, Shefali Luthra Originally published by The 19th Republican lawmakers in North Carolina, one of the few Southern states where abortion remains legal and accessible, are proposing a 12-week abortion ban that could further weaken access in the region. Republican legislative leaders in the state recently gained a supermajority …

Patrick Svitek and Matthew Choi, The Texas Tribune U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, announced Wednesday he is challenging U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for reelection. The third-term congressman made the announcement in a three-minute video posted on social media. The video touted Allred’s life story and congressional record — and …

Ashley Murray, Georgia Recorder U.S. Supreme Court justices should follow a strict code of ethics when receiving gifts and travel or doing business with political funders and attorneys, argued Democratic senators Tuesday at a hearing that Chief Justice John Roberts declined to attend. After a spate of investigative articles detailing …

Four members of the U.S. House of Representatives from across the political spectrum came together on Tuesday to introduce the Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act, which would ban federal lawmakers and their immediate relatives from owning and trading stocks. Momentum for such a ban has been growing in the …

Jill Nolin, Georgia Recorder Some people know what Alysia Cutting is talking about when she brings up Medicaid unwinding as she moves from one community event to the next in southwest Georgia. But for most of them, word of the renewal process starting up again – and the potential they …

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Monday that the latest government bailout of a failing Wall Street institution shows how much the financial system remains rigged in favor of powerful banks and that it is beyond time for Congress to step up with increased oversight and reforms. Federal regulators Monday announced they …

Ariana Figueroa, Michigan Advance More than 250 congressional Democrats have filed a brief urging an appeals court to reverse a Texas federal judge’s decision to suspend the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s two-decade-old approval of the abortion pill. In an emergency order, the U.S. Supreme Court in April issued a stay, meaning the abortion …

Michael Moline, Florida Phoenix The legal fight between Gov. Ron DeSantis and The Walt Disney Co. broadened Monday when a board hand-picked by the governor voted to countersue the company over its development plans. The move came less than a week after Disney filed a First-Amendment lawsuit accusing the government …

Ashley Murray, Idaho Capital Sun U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Monday that the U.S. could default in as soon as one month if Congress does not act to raise the nation’s borrowing limit — a prediction that prompted President Joe Biden to call a meeting with congressional leaders next week. …

Anita Wadhwani, Tennessee Lookout Eight months after Tennessee enacted one of the strictest abortion bans in the nation, Gov. Bill Lee on Friday quietly signed a law providing narrow exceptions. The new law, which went into effect immediately, allows physicians to perform abortions in limited medical emergencies: molar or ectopic …

Sneha Dey, The Texas Tribune Over 250 law enforcement officers are on a manhunt for the gunman who killed five of his neighbors late Friday night. The gunman went on a rampage with his AR-15-style rifle when his neighbors asked him to stop firing shots in his yard so their …

Zach Wendling, Nebraska Examiner U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., has introduced bipartisan legislation meant to increase access to home-based health services and modernize Medicaid reimbursement. Smith introduced the Expanding Care in the Home Act last with Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich. The legislation is meant to bring house calls back to …

Kelsey Pukelis, Harvard Kennedy School The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would cut spending, in part by expanding work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, through which nearly 43 million low-income Americans get help buying groceries. The House bill calls for this policy to apply to …

Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams U.S. progressives escalated their warnings this week as they accused House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of holding the debt limit “hostage” in service of the GOP’s pro-billionaire agenda, while urging President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats to firmly oppose GOP legislation linking any debt ceiling increase to …