Poli Alert Politics & Civics

Jacob Fischler, New Hampshire Bulletin The U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical Thursday of former President Donald Trump’s argument he is immune from criminal charges that he tried to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. But conservatives who dominate the court appeared open to returning key questions to a trial …

Dana DiFilippo, New Jersey Monitor Congressman Donald M. Payne Jr. has died, nearly three weeks after he had a heart attack that left him hospitalized in a coma at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. He was 65. The six-term Democrat and Newark native has represented the 10th Congressional District, which …

Jimmy Williams In a significant development, an Arizona grand jury has handed down indictments against 18 associates of Donald Trump, including high-profile figures like former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Boris Epshteyn, and several others. The charges include conspiracy, fraud, and forgery, with the …

Gloria Rebecca Gomez, Arizona Mirror After two weeks of thwarted attempts, the Arizona House of Representatives voted Wednesday to repeal a near-total abortion ban from 1864, with three Republican lawmakers breaking from their party to join Democrats in striking it down. Earlier this month, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the …

Sam Stockard, Tennessee Lookout Balcony crowds chanted, “Blood on your hands” and “Vote them out,” after the House voted Tuesday to allow teachers to carry concealed weapons on school campuses. House Republicans passed the legislation 68-28 enabling school districts and local law enforcement to opt in on the law and …

Ashley Murray, Georgia Recorder The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Thursday over former President Donald Trump’s pursuit of absolute immunity from criminal charges alleging that he schemed and knowingly fed lies to subvert the 2020 presidential election, eventually leading to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. In the …

Jacob Fischler, Tennessee Lookout The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal case in New York appeared to strongly disagree Tuesday with the former president’s lawyers’ explanation for why he should be considered in compliance with a gag order in the case. In a Tuesday morning hearing to determine whether to fine …

Ariana Figueroa, Georgia Recorder The U.S. Department of Labor Tuesday announced a final rule that means millions of salaried workers who are employed in the executive, administrative or professional industries will become eligible for overtime pay. The rule will affect roughly 4 million workers in the first year of implementation …

Anna Liz Nichols, Michigan Advance The U.S Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it reached a $138.7 million settlement with survivors of disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse for the failures of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to properly investigate Nassar’s abuse. The FBI’s response to Nassar’s …

Jimmy Williams Isreal Easterday, a Kentucky resident who was 19 at the time, has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for pepper-spraying two Capitol police officers during the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Easterday, who joined the mob of Donald Trump supporters storming the …

Jimmy Williams The Supreme Court has agreed to examine whether the Biden administration has the authority to regulate “ghost guns” – firearms made from kits available online that individuals can assemble at home. The justices decided to review an appeal from the Biden administration defending regulations that a lower court …

Ashley Murray, Florida Phoenix Oral arguments in former President Donald Trump’s historic case in New York began Monday in a Manhattan courtroom where jurors will be tasked with deciding whether deceptive hush money payments to hide an affair amount to a criminal conviction. The first-ever criminal trial of an ex-U.S. …

Julia Conley, Common Dreams As housing rights advocates and people who have been unhoused themselves rallied outside the U.S. Supreme Court Monday to demand an end to the criminalization of homelessness, the court’s three liberal justices demanded to know how the city of Grants Pass, Oregon can penalize residents who …

Nadra Nittle Originally published by The 19th Advocates for the LGBTQ+ community and sexual violence survivors are largely applauding the Department of Education’s newly released federal regulations to protect the rights of these groups in schools, though they also expressed reservations about the lack of clear protections for transgender athletes. …

Jimmy Williams On Saturday, President Biden signed legislation that renewed a crucial U.S. surveillance law. The move comes amidst debates regarding whether the FBI should face limitations on accessing Americans’ data through the program, a disagreement that almost led to the law’s expiration. The Senate voted to extend Section 702 …