Poli Alert Politics & Civics

by Jacob Fischler, Pennsylvania Capital-Star President Joe Biden on Friday called for Congress to pass laws protecting abortion rights and for voters to elect pro-rights candidates on “a sad day for the country” after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling on abortion. Biden pledged to fight for policies that protect …

Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams The House Select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol revealed Thursday that half a dozen Republican lawmakers sought preemptive pardons from then-President Donald Trump after they tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. According to the committee, …

The Supreme Court on Friday struck down the landmark court decision Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to abortion and potentially signaling an end to legal abortion in more than half of the U.S. Justice Samuel Alito, writing in the majority, called Roe “egregiously wrong and deeply damaging.” The …

by Jacob Fischler, Nebraska Examiner President Donald Trump sought to use the U.S. Justice Department to create the illusion of a legitimate investigation into the validity of the 2020 election results, the Jan. 6 committee and former Justice Department leaders said Thursday in the panel’s fifth hearing this month. In …

by Ariana Figueroa, Virginia Mercury The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a New York law that made it illegal to carry a firearm in public without showing a special need for protection. The court ruled that the state’s concealed carry law violates the 14th Amendment of the Constitution …

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday ordered Juul Labs to pull its e-cigarettes off the American market. The FDA’s order affects all of the company’s products sold in the United States, which makes up the majority of Juul’s sales, according to The New York Times. Juul has been …

Robb Elementary School, the site of the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, will be demolished. During a city council meeting Tuesday, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said it was his understanding that the elementary school would be demolished after speaking with the district superintendent. “We could never ask a child …

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. …