Poli Alert Political & Civics

Four Black Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday joined the growing chorus of critics opposing “racist tropes” in Florida’s new K-12 history curriculum, which includes teaching middle school students “the resurrection of one of the greatest lies America has ever told itself, that slavery benefited the enslaved.” …

Mel Leonor Barclay Originally published by The 19th Nikki Haley has spent months zeroing in on Vice President Kamala Harris, telling GOP primary voters that the real danger of electing an aging President Joe Biden is the prospect of Harris as president. “We can’t afford a President Kamala Harris. I …

The case of Celeste Burgess, a Nebraska teenager who took abortion pills to end her pregnancy and disposed of the fetus with her mother’s help, has resulted in a 90-day prison sentence for the teenager and a potential five-year prison sentence for her mother. Burgess pleaded guilty to illegally concealing …

Rebecca Schneid, The Texas Tribune The U.S. Justice Department has threatened legal action against Gov. Greg Abbott over the 1,000-foot floating barrier that the state deployed in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass earlier this month. “We write to inform you … that the United States intends to file legal …

Ashley Murray, Nebraska Examiner President Joe Biden directly criticized Sen. Tommy Tuberville on Friday in a statement over the Alabama senator’s monthslong blockade of high-ranking military nominees in protest of the administration’s abortion policy for service members. “What Senator Tuberville is doing is not only wrong — it is dangerous,” …

Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a scathing keynote address at Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.’s national convention, criticizing the DeSantis administration in Florida for adopting new African American history standards. The state Board of Education’s recent decision on the standards has drawn criticism, with opponents arguing that they rewrite and …

Jennifer Shutt, Georgia Recorder A U.S. Senate committee approved legislation Thursday that would update how the federal government prepares for and then responds to pandemics and natural disasters. The broadly bipartisan legislation moved through the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee following a 17-3 vote after members adopted two …

Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared before Congress in a highly contentious hearing focused on federal government “censorship” of Americans’ free speech on social media. The hearing quickly devolved into tense exchanges between Democrats and Republicans over Kennedy’s controversial remarks on vaccines and the Covid-19 pandemic. One of …

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced legislation that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to adopt an enforceable code of ethics and adhere to stronger disclosure rules following a series of revelations about the luxury trips and other gifts justices have received from right-wing billionaires. Led by Sen. Sheldon …

Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix Calling the current system “a national embarrassment,” the group that pushed for a 2018 constitutional amendment designed to restore voting rights to felons who had completed their sentences has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Gov. Ron DeSantis and other election officials to “realize the …

Caitlin Sievers, Arizona Mirror Kari Lake has — once again — appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court in her bid to overturn her 17,000-vote loss last year that has so far been rejected at every turn because she has failed to produce evidence backing up her bombastic claims of fraud …

Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix Students at Florida public schools will now learn that Black people benefitted from slavery because it taught them skills. This change is part of the African American history standards the State Board of Education approved at a Wednesday meeting. The description of slavery as beneficial is …

Democracy defenders on Tuesday applauded as Democratic leaders from both chambers of Congress came together to reintroduce the Freedom to Vote Act, which aims to improve voter access and electoral administration, boost election integrity, and increase civic participation and empowerment. “Today’s introduction of the Freedom to Vote Act is the …

Kim Lyons, Pennsylvania Capital-Star First Lady Jill Biden told a gathering of elected officials and union members in Pittsburgh on Tuesday that President Joe Biden’s administration had kept pledges made during the 2020 campaign to bolster the region’s workforce and create more jobs. “Two years ago, my husband stood in …

Uriel J. García, The Texas Tribune A state trooper’s claims that superiors ordered officers at the border in Eagle Pass to push migrants back into the Rio Grande and deny them water has sparked a state investigation, the Texas Department of Public Safety said Tuesday. The trooper also reported that …