Poli Alert Politics & Civics

Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune The Texas House this week gave final approval to legislation that is calling for significant investments to beef up schools’ safety, including hiring at least one armed security officer at every campus, providing incentives for school employees to get certified to carry a weapon and …

Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams Voting rights defenders on Friday condemned the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature’s passage of a bill that critics said will make it harder to register Black and Latino voters while easing the way for Gov. Ron DeSantis to seek the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. The Florida House of …

Kenny Stancil, Common Dreams In what voting rights advocates called a “blatant attack on democracy,” the North Carolina Supreme Court on Friday issued a ruling that allows partisan gerrymandering, reversing earlier decisions that outlawed rigged maps. The ruling enables North Carolina Republicans to redraw state and U.S. congressional districts in …

Casey Quinlan, Nevada Current U.S. Senators grilled the executives of three major credit reporting bureaus Thursday on whether their practices are transparent and fair to consumers, with Democrats frequently pressing the CEOs to remove medical debt from the reports. Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, chair of the Senate Committee on …

Ariana Figueroa, Georgia Recorder Top U.S. House Republican leaders on Thursday unveiled an immigration package of bills that appropriates millions in funds for border security and imposes sweeping restrictions on asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. The plan is in sharp contrast with an announcement earlier Thursday  by the Biden administration on how …

Special to the Capital-Star, Pennsylvania Capital-Star By Christine Vestal  Millions of parents who take their children to the doctor this year will hear devastating news: “Your Medicaid coverage has been canceled.” That’s because all 50 states are undertaking the biggest reshuffling of health insurance coverage since the Affordable Care Act …

Equal Rights Amendment supporters on Thursday slammed the vast majority of U.S. Senate Republicans for filibustering a resolution that would make the 100-year-old measure the 28th Amendment to the Constitution. The 51-47 vote to invoke cloture was short of the 60 needed for final consideration of the resolution. Sens. Susan …

Ariana Figueroa, Pennsylvania Capital-Star U.S. Senate Democrats at a Wednesday hearing explored how nearly a year after the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to an abortion, multiple states and conservative-backed lawsuits are restricting access to reproductive care. The chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dick Durbin of …

Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts on Monday echoed other members of Congress who have urged U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to step down over mounting evidence of unethical behavior, and he also reiterated progressives’ long-standing demand to expand the court. “I will say what needs to be said: …

Ashley Murray, Kansas Reflector House Republicans on Wednesday struggled but whipped just enough votes to pass their plan to temporarily raise the nation’s borrowing limit and also cut spending by slashing key parts of President Joe Biden’s climate and tax law, potentially risking some veterans’ health benefits and imposing more …

Michael Moline, Florida Phoenix The Walt Disney Co. asked a federal court Wednesday to block Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “targeted campaign of government retaliation” against the company, alleging violations of multiple constitutional rights because it spoke out against the governor’s position on LGBTQ rights. “A targeted campaign of government retaliation — …

Ashley Murray, Pennsylvania Capital-Star Hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans could face higher barriers to food assistance under the U.S. House Republican plan to cut spending while temporarily lifting the debt limit, advocates say. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s Limit, Save, Grow Act proposes returning discretionary spending to fiscal 2022 levels …

As calls grow for the impeachment or resignation of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas over undisclosed gifts from a billionaire Republican megadonor, one of his right-wing colleagues came under fire Tuesday following a report that he sold a property to the head of a law firm subsequently involved in …

Ariana Figueroa, Georgia Recorder U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Tuesday said House Republicans’ debt limit proposal would cut vital education programs and harm vulnerable students across the U.S., such as those who are low income or have a disability. “It would be taking us backwards,” Cardona said on a …

Michael Moline, Florida Phoenix An expansion of the Florida State Guard, created last year to supplement the Florida National Guard, which suffers from low capacity and is subject to being nationalized and sent away to foreign conflicts, would include a “specialized unit” with power to arrest civilians if deployed by …