Poli Alert Political & Civics

Ariana Figueroa, Arkansas Advocate States engaged in decades of underfunding of land-grant Historically Black Colleges and Universities, leading to a more than $12 billion disparity with comparable white institutions, leaders of the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday. “Unacceptable funding inequities have forced many …

Robert Yablon, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Derek Clinger, University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin’s April 2023 state Supreme Court election was historic. It was the nation’s most expensive judicial race ever, with over US$50 million in total spending, and it broke turnout records for an off-cycle spring election. Janet Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee …

Zach Despart, The Texas Tribune The Texas Senate on Saturday acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton of 16 articles of impeachment alleging corruption and bribery, his most artful escape in a career spent courting controversy and skirting consequences of scandal. No article received more than 14 of the required 21 votes …

Lisa Sorg, NC Newsline This is what happens when the vice president of the United States visits Greensboro: Excitable German shepherds, restrained by their military handlers, sniff every duffel, trash can, and bathroom of a terminal at Piedmont Triad International Airport. Poised, yet nervy and as quiet as bats, Secret …

The state of California on Friday filed suit against ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron, accusing the five oil and gas giants of a decadeslong campaign to mislead the public about the threat fossil fuels pose to the climate. The lawsuit makes California the largest economy on the planet to …

Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said Friday that Republican calls to shut down and defund the FBI were “stupid,” though he shared concerns about “political bias” in the agency. Many Republicans, including U.S. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Matt Gaetz of Florida and 2024 presidential …

Jennifer Shutt, Michigan Advance President Joe Biden dispatched two senior administration officials to Detroit on Friday after the United Auto Workers union began a historic strike against the Big Three auto companies amid a contract dispute. “Over the past decade auto companies have seen record profits, including over the last …

Jake Johnson, Common Dreams The United Auto Workers union kicked off historic strikes against the Big Three U.S. car manufacturers early Friday morning after the companies failed to meet workers’ demands for adequate pay increases and benefit improvements. The initial wave of strikes hit select Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis …

Henry Redman, Wisconsin Examiner Moments after every Republican in the Wisconsin Senate voted to reject the confirmation of Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe to a second term, the observers in the gallery — a crowd made up of some of the state’s most prominent 2020 election conspiracy theorists and …

Stanley Dunlap, Georgia Recorder A Fulton County judge ruled Thursday that 17 defendants, including former President Donald Trump, will be tried separately from co-defendants Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, who are scheduled to go on trial on Oct. 23 for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. …

Jennifer Shutt, Iowa Capital Dispatch Amid rising tensions and an approaching hard deadline, the U.S. House and Senate ended their work week on Thursday without a deal to fund the federal government past the end of the month. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has been struggling to build consensus among …

Matthew Choi, The Texas Tribune U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, led a group of lawmakers in introducing a bill Wednesday that would bar those convicted of violent misdemeanor hate crimes from obtaining guns. The bill, dubbed the Disarm Hate Act, comes four years after a gunman shot and killed …

Samantha Dietel, Florida Phoenix Congressional Democrats introduced a bill Wednesday to extend funding for five years for a pandemic-era child care subsidy program set to expire at the end of the month. The legislation would extend the child care stabilization grant program, which Congress established in 2021 to help child …

Ashley Murray, South Dakota Searchlight The White House is lambasting the House GOP’s decision to open an impeachment inquiry into unproven allegations that President Joe Biden profited from his son’s international business scheme during his time as vice president in the Obama administration. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy announced …

Stanley Dunlap, Georgia Recorder The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office remains committed to its longshot plans of prosecuting former President Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants at the same time next month in the broad racketeering 2020 election interference case. District Attorney Fani Willis argued on Tuesday that the 2024 …