Poli Alert Politics & Civics

Top US fuel pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline has shut its entire network, the source of nearly half of the US East Coast’s fuel supply, after a cyber attack that industry sources said was caused by ransomware. The company transports 2.5 million barrels per day of petrol, diesel, jet fuel and …

The Biden administration says the government will protect gay and transgender people against sex discrimination in health care. This is a  reversal of a Trump-era policy that sought to narrow the scope of legal rights in sensitive situations involving medical care. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Monday …

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan today issued a full posthumous pardon for 34 victims of racial lynching. The lynchings occurred in Maryland between 1854 and 1933. Hogan issued the pardons on the basis that the extrajudicial killings “violated fundamental rights to due process and equal protection of the law.” It is …

A federal grand jury has indicted Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers involved in the death of George Floyd on charges of civil rights violations. The four officers were charged under a federal law that makes it a crime for a law enforcement officer to “willfully deprive …

Two Democrats from the Federal Election Commission are criticizing Republican members after the commission decided not to punish former President Donald Trump over a payment to Stormy Daniels. The FEC vote split 2-2 on party lines, with one member not voting and one abstaining. The vote was taken last month, …

The lawyer for alleged US Capitol rioter Anthony Antonio says that his client suffered from ‘Foxitis.’ Joseph Hurley, Antonio’s lawyer, told Federal Judge Robin Meriweather during a virtual hearing that his client lost his job because of the pandemic and developed ‘Foxitis’ and ‘Foxmania’ from watching Fox News for six …

Republicans are promoting the American Rescue Plan after voting against it because it was too expensive and did not focus enough on the nation’s health and economic crises. Every Republican in Congress voted against the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, which President Joe Biden signed into law three months ago. …

Threats to members of Congress have increased by 107% this year compared to 2020, the U.S. Capitol Police revealed Friday. “As the department has previously reported, the number of threats made against Congress has increased significantly,” Capitol Police said in a statement. “This year alone, there has been a 107% …

The League of Women Voters of Florida, Black Voters Matter, and the Florida Alliance For Retired Americans filed a lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 90 just minutes after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the controversial new voting restrictions into law. Several individual voters joined the organizations in their legal challenge of …

Twitter on Thursday suspended a new account created to share statements from former President Donald Trump, saying it violated the social media company’s policy on banned users. The new account, @DJTDesk, appeared on Twitter this week, apparently as a way to get around the permanent ban on Trump in the wake …

In a 66-43 vote, South Carolina House approved a bill to allow firing squads to execute prisoners. Governor Henry McMaster says that he will approve the bill once he receives it. Democrat Representative Justin Bamberg urged his colleagues to vote against the measure. “If you push the green button at the …

The Federal Election Commission wants Congress to ban political campaigns from automatically collecting funds through pre-checked boxes on their website. The Commission voted unanimously to recommend that Congress bar political campaigns from guiding donors by default into recurring contributions through prechecked boxes. “The Commission’s experience strongly suggests that many contributions …

The Biden administration is appealing a federal judge’s ruling that strikes down the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s moratorium on evictions. On Wednesday, Judge Dabney Friedrich of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the CDC had exceeded its authority when it extended the …

Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona, told MSNBC that all schools are expected to fully open in the fall. “Students don’t learn as well remotely,” Cardona said. “There is no substitute for in-person learning.” According to a survey from the Education Department, 54% of public schools below high school were providing full-time …

On Thursday night, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced she would not seek a second term as Atlanta’s mayor during a private call with staffers and friends. Bottoms, the second Black woman to lead Atlanta, was first elected in 2017, beating then-Atlanta City Councilwoman Mary Norwood after the election went …