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☆ A Massachusetts city is giving families at risk of losing their homes $750 a month, no strings attached
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Allie Kelly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewA Massachusetts city is giving low-income families $750 a month, no strings attached. The guaranteed basic income program will focus on residents who are in danger of losing their homes. The Somerville GBI Pilot will serve about 200 low-income families currently experiencing housing insecurity. Related stories"My life was always just a couple hundred dollars short," a participant in San Antonio's income program told BI. St. Louis, Missouri recently distributed $500 monthly payments to low-income families, and Flint, Michigan is offering funds to new mothers.

Persons: —, Boston —, Somerville, Katjana Ballantyne, Ballantyne, Joe Biden's, hasn't, John Gillette Organizations: Service, Somerville, Business, Greater Boston Area, Boston, ARPA, The University of Massachusetts, Republican Locations: Massachusetts, —, Boston, San Antonio, Austin, Minneapolis, Durham , North Carolina, Denver, Antonio's, City, Somerville, Greater Boston, Arizona , South Dakota , Iowa, Texas, Arizona, Louis , Missouri, Flint , Michigan, Atlanta

☆ How Trump’s greatest policy triumph could derail his bid to win back the White House
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The Florida Supreme Court issued a separate ruling on Monday that could energize Democrats’ efforts to hold Trump to account on abortion. The ex-president has long been wary of taking a definitive stand against abortion rights. But some Republicans are infringing the spirit of the Supreme Court ruling – which sent the issue back to individual states – by pushing for a national ban. And Democrats believe they have an issue, in abortion rights, that could thwart him – despite Biden’s own unpopularity. Democrats are delighted since they have had considerable success in using ballot initiatives to protect abortion rights or reject further restrictions.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump, Roe, Wade, Ron DeSantis, ”, it’ll, Joe Biden –, –, he’d, “ What’s, ” Trump, “ You’re, ’, He’s, Biden, we’ve, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, DeSantis, There’s, Florida Republican Sen, Rick Scott, Scott, Democratic Sen, Bill Nelson, he’s, Debbie Mucarsel, Powell Organizations: CNN, Republican, Florida’s, Gov, Biden, Florida Supreme, Trump, GOP, Democratic, Republicans, Sunshine State, Florida Republican Locations: Florida, Trump’s, Kansas, Ohio, Alabama, United States, Michigan , Montana , California, Kentucky, Republican Ohio

☆ Voting rule changes: Republicans push ballot measures in key battleground states
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Fredreka Schouten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Republican lawmakers and activists in several presidential battlegrounds are pushing ballot measures to change how elections are run in their states. And in Arizona, a so-called ballot referral moving through the Republican-controlled Legislature would upend the state’s widely used, no-excuse vote-by-mail system. Constitutional amendments in Wisconsin and ballot referenda in Arizona are not subject to the approval of governors in those states. “Wisconsin’s status as a swing state makes election integrity measures important locally, nationally and internationally.”If approved, the Wisconsin measures would be in effect for this year’s elections. Katie Hobbs has vetoed a raft of legislation – ranging from efforts to get rid of red-light cameras to prohibiting ranked-choice voting in the state’s elections.

Persons: ”, Jay Heck, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Sen, Eric Wimberger, Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan, Zuckerberg, Tony Evers, Will Flanders, –, who’s, Debra Cronmiller, Katie Hobbs, Hobbs ’, Alex Gulotta, “, Wendy Rogers, Rogers, Wisconsin’s, noncitizens Organizations: CNN, Republican, GOP, Silver State, Tuesday ., White House, Center for Tech, Republicans, Democratic, National Conference of State Legislatures, Wisconsin Institute of Law and Liberty, Badger State, League of Women Voters of, Phoenix New Times, Phoenix, Clark County Republican Party, Wisconsin, New, New York City Locations: Wisconsin, Nevada, Silver, Arizona, Tuesday . Arizona, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Maricopa County, ” Arizona, Clark, New York City, York, New York

☆ The Many Ways Men’s Sweet 16 Players Are Being Paid
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( David A. Fahrenthold | Billy Witz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

$500 signed basketball Branded vodka and coffee “Buzzer beater” quesadillaThe Many Ways Men’s Sweet 16 Players Are Being PaidThis year’s N.C.A.A. basketball tournament is being played amid a revolutionary change in college sports: The best players are now openly recruited, retained and rewarded with cash. — under pressure from the Justice Department and state legislatures — allowed players to be paid for the use of their “name, image and likeness.” The idea was to let players endorse shoes or sports drinks. (The average men’s basketball player with a collective contract at a top school is paid $63,450, according to Opendorse, a company that processes payments to players from collectives. Every team in the men’s Sweet Sixteen has been touched by this change, which has brought windfalls to players but instability to the college game.

Persons: —, ” —, windfalls Organizations: Justice Department

☆ Opinion | Who Would Want to Go to a College Like This?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Tressie Mcmillan Cottom | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The bill is similar to Florida’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in public colleges, which was signed into law last May. This political theater lifts up a caricature of college, one on which coddled minds are seduced into liberal ideas. If states become hostile to students’ values, those students could choose to go elsewhere or to forgo college altogether. Part of a larger survey about students’ experiences of higher education, the report left me with one major takeaway: The national debate about so-called woke campuses does not reflect what most college students care about. They underscore how unhinged our national debate over higher education has become and how misaligned Republican-led public higher education systems are with the bulk of college students.

Persons: “, haven’t Organizations: Higher Education, Republican, Bills, Public, Lumina Foundation, Gallup Locations: Florida, Alabama

☆ Stephen Breyer tells CNN to expect ‘more and more and more’ abortion cases at the Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —One day after the Supreme Court heard arguments in the first abortion-related case since Roe v. Wade was overturned, retired Justice Stephen Breyer told CNN that the justices will be forced to consider abortion “more and more and more.”In an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Breyer chided the conservative majority for believing that the “harmful” Dobbs decision in 2022 would put an end to Supreme Court cases challenging abortion access. “The majority thinks it’s going to turn the whole issue over to the legislatures of states, and we’ll never have to deal with it again,” Breyer said of the landmark decision. “’Oh really,’ we said, ‘is that true?’” Breyer joked, citing the arguments in front of the justices Tuesday over attempts to limit access to mifepristone, the primary drug used for medication abortions. “Yesterday morning, they dealt with a big issue, and there will be more and more and more,” Breyer said. Two years after his retirement from the high court, Breyer released a new book “Reading the Constitution” that explains his approach to the law.

Persons: Roe, Wade, Stephen Breyer, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Breyer, ” Dobbs, we’ll, ” Breyer, “, ’, ’ ” Breyer, ”, Bill Clinton, you’re Organizations: CNN

Marilyn Lands, a Democrat, won a special election Tuesday for a State House seat in Alabama after campaigning on access to abortion and in vitro fertilization, underscoring the continued political potency of reproductive rights. Ms. Lands defeated her Republican opponent, Teddy Powell, by about 25 percentage points — an extraordinary margin in a swing district where she lost by seven points in 2022. The special election was called when David Cole, the Republican who had held the seat, resigned and pleaded guilty to voter fraud. “Today, Alabama women and families sent a clear message that will be heard in Montgomery and across the nation,” Ms. Lands, a licensed counselor, said Tuesday night. And last month, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos were people with rights — upending I.V.F.

Persons: Marilyn Lands, Teddy Powell, David Cole, ”, Roe, Wade, — upending, Kay Ivey, Powell, Heather Williams, ” Ms, Williams, Biden’s, Donald J, Trump, Mr, Julie Chavez Rodriguez Organizations: Democrat, House, Lands, Republican, Republicans, Alabama Legislature, Democratic Legislative, Committee, “ Locations: Alabama, Montgomery, “

☆ A controversial Supreme Court decision could hurt Biden in November
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( John Blake | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —A Supreme Court decision related to the election could determine the presidential victor this November, but it has nothing to do with former President Donald Trump. The study also said the “narrow” racial-turnout disparity that the high court heavily relied upon in its Shelby decision was based in part on the 2012 presidential election. Yet the study’s conclusion bolsters critics of the Shelby decision. They ignored it although they knew their decision would hurt Black voters, who tend to vote for the Democratic Party, he says. The bloody history behind the Voting Rights ActThe law was passed in 1965 after King led an epic voting rights campaign in Selma, Alabama.

Persons: CNN —, Donald Trump, Brennan, —, Holder, John Roberts, Barack Obama, Shelby, Jim Crow, Alabama —, Lawrence Goldstone, ” Goldstone, Sonia Sotomayor, Joe Biden, Shawn Thew, Biden, Goldstone, Black, George W, Bush, preclearance, “, ”, Elijah Nouvelage, Horace Cooper, Martin Luther King Jr, Cooper, “ That’s, Martin Luther King, that’s, ” Cooper, King, Edmund Pettus, Obama, Lyndon B, Johnson, Jr, Ralph Abernathy, Clarence Mitchell, Corbis, Roberts, Reagan, Brett Kavanaugh, tortuously, it’s, John Blake Organizations: CNN, Brennan Center for Justice, Supreme Court, Southern GOP, GOP, State of, Getty, Black, Democratic Party, George Mason University in, US Justice Department, Edmund, White, Congress, Black voters, North Carolina — Locations: Shelby, Southern, America, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, State, Washington, Alabama’s Shelby County, Atlanta , Georgia, AFP, George Mason University in Virginia, Selma , Alabama, White Alabama, “ Shelby

☆ Biden and Harris team up for a rare joint appearance in North Carolina to take on GOP over health care
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Arlette Saenz | Tami Luhby | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

It’s taking place on the heels of a campaign push slamming Trump for threatening to repeal the Affordable Care Act if he’s elected to a second term. Dunn argued the GOP plan shows “the Affordable Care Act is still very much under attack by Republican officials.”In contrast, Biden and Harris are expected to highlight the success of the Affordable Care Act and discuss efforts to expand access to health care and lower prescription drugs costs. Biden’s team also hopes the popularity of the Affordable Care Act and proposals to lower health care and prescription drug costs will resonate with voters at the ballot box. More than 45 million people in total have gained coverage through the Affordable Care Act, according to the Biden administration. Roy Cooper had advocated for the Affordable Care Act provision for years, finally convincing the Republican-led legislature to drop its long-standing opposition.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, mifepristone, Tuesday’s, It’s, Trump, “, Biden, Harris, ”, Anita Dunn, he’s, Dunn, Roy Cooper, Josh Stein, Mark Robinson, Cooper Organizations: Washington CNN, Raleigh, Democratic, Trump, Marist, Union, Republican, Affordable, White, What’s, American, Children’s Health Insurance, Medicare enrollees, Medicare, Medicaid, Democratic Gov, GOP, Senate, Gov Locations: North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Georgia , Wisconsin , Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, New Hampshire, Texas, Southern, Georgia, South Dakota, Florida, Kansas, Mississippi

☆ When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, it opened the floodgates for abortion-related lawsuits
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Joan Biskupic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

CNN —The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear its first abortion case since the 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade and upheaval of reproductive rights in America. All the while, public regard for the Supreme Court has degenerated. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is photographed at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in September 2015. Dirck Halstead/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images Breyer and his daughter Chloe jog with Clinton in May 1994. Mai/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images Breyer works in his office with his staff of clerks in June 2002.

Persons: Roe, Wade, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Dobbs, Biden, Elizabeth Prelogar, mifepristone, Prelogar, what’s, ”, Susan B, Anthony Pro, ’, Evelyn Hockstein, Breyer, Stephen Breyer, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Samuel Alito, Hodges, Trump, “, ” Breyer, Damon Winter, Stephen, Irving, Anne, Charles ., Chloe, Nell, Michael —, Joanna Breyer, Ira Wyman, Sygma, Byron White, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Harrington, Joanna, John Tlumacki, Bill Clinton, Clinton, Harry Blackmun, Dirck Halstead, Doug Mills, US Sen, Ted Kennedy, Laura Patterson, John Blanding, Colin Powell, George W, Bush, Mai, David Hume Kennerly, Seuss, Evan Vucci, Charles, Marcio Jose Sanchez, William Rehnquist, Clarence Thomas, David Souter, William Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Sandra Day O'Connor, John Paul Stevens, Chip Somodevilla, John Roberts, Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Samuel Alito's, Gerald Herbert, Cole Mitguard, Mourning, Penni Gladstone, Clara Scholl, Elise Amendola, Nicholas Kamm, Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, Alex Wong, ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Heidi Gutman, Andrew Harrer, Hu Jintao, Eli, Shutterstock Breyer, Britain's Prince Charles, Mandel Ngan, Tom Williams, Carolyn Kaster, Ben Bradlee, Bill O'Leary, Pete Marovich, Stephen Colbert, Jeffrey R, Win McNamee, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Anthony Kennedy, Sonia Sotomayor, Maureen Scalia, Andrew Harnik, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Erin Schaff, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Saul Loeb, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Patrick, Fred Schilling, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Erin Hawley, GYN, … Organizations: CNN, Alabama Supreme, Republican, Food, Drug Administration, FDA, Jackson, Health Organization, District of Columbia, America, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Alamo Women's, Reuters, Supreme Court, Democratic, Supreme, New York Times, Harvard Law School, Appeals, First Circuit, Circuit, Getty, White House, Airport, Boston Globe, US, Suffolk University Law School, Francisco's Lowell High School, San Francisco Chronicle, Belgium's Catholic University of Louvain, Georgetown University Law Center, Administrative, Administrative Conference of, Jewish American Heritage Month, Walt Disney Television, Bloomberg, White, Office, Committee, Washington Nationals, Washington Post, Financial Services, General Government, CBS, State, The New York Times, Library of Congress, Alliance, Hippocratic, Alliance for Hippocratic, OB, Department, Justice Locations: America, New York, Carbondale , Illinois, Cambridge , Massachusetts, Maine , Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, AFP, San Francisco, Lowell, Washington , DC, United States

☆ Treasury chief Yellen defends Biden budget against Republican senators' fears of tax increases
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-21 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Provisions of the TCJA — a landmark tax law proposed by the Trump administration and passed by Congress in 2017 — that are set to expire in 2025 include the child tax credit. An additional "other dependent credit" offers a tax credit of $500 to people with less than $400,000 in income who have qualified dependents who are ineligible for the child tax credit. Biden's budget will restore the expanded child tax credit, the White House has said. "Would you agree that if the TCJA child tax credit provisions are not extended, this would also result in a tax hike for Americans making under $400,000?" The budget would impose a minimum 25% tax rate on the unrealized income of the very wealthiest households and raise the IRA's corporate alternative minimum tax for billion-dollar companies from 15% to 21%, while increasing the larger corporate tax rate to 28%.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Joe Biden's, Biden, Sen, Steve Daines, Yellen, Daines, Trump, Mike Crapo, pare Organizations: Treasury, Capitol, WASHINGTON —, Congress, White, Child Tax, Rescue, National Conference of State Legislatures, . Census, House Republicans, Lawmakers, Department of Homeland Security Locations: Washington , U.S, Idaho

☆ Emails show how a right-wing group steers GOP leaders on major policy issues
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Bob Ortega | Daniel Medina | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft speaks with reporters on Jan. 23 in Jefferson City, Missouri. In Wyoming, a GOP state senator forwarded an FGA draft bill to Secretary of State Chuck Gray that would prohibit sending out unsolicited absentee ballot request forms. Emails show the group strategized with the secretary of state’s office for weeks leading up to Ashcroft proposing his own such rule last January. FGA notches wins with weakened child labor lawsFGA’s lobbying group, The Opportunity Solutions Project, spearheads its efforts at the state level. Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesFGA also continues its push at the state level across the country to enact its policy priorities.

Persons: State Jay Ashcroft, “, Ashcroft, Kacen Bayless, FGA, –, Chuck Gray, ” Gray, Gray, ”, Joe Biden’s, Jay, Daniel Garrett, Garrett, “ It’s, Missouri’s, Scott Fitzpatrick, BlackRock, ” Fitzpatrick, Mark Felix, Fitzpatrick, ALEC, Andy Puzder, Carls Jr, ” Puzder, Kristina Shelton, Puzder, ” Kristina Shelton, they’ve, Tarren Bragdon, Rebecca Burkes, It’s, Tyson, ’, Bragdon, Sarah Bryner, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Paul Renner, Donald Trump, Chip Somodevilla, Shelton, ” Shelton Organizations: CNN, State, Republican, Foundation, Government, Missouri, Kansas City Star, Tribune, Service, GOP, Ashcroft, Conservative, Missouri Chamber of Commerce, National, University of Pennsylvania, Brookings Institution, Exxon, BlackRock, ” BlackRock, Energy, ExxonMobil, Washington Post, American Legislative Exchange Council, Heritage Foundation, Heritage, Boston, Wisconsin Democratic, FGA, Solutions, Tyson Foods Inc, George’s Inc, US Department of Labor, Solutions Project, Daily, The Heritage Foundation, Alliance, Trump, Florida Governor, Bragdon, Florida House, House, FBI, Justice Department, Department of Education, Center, Pleaides Locations: Missouri, Texas, Jefferson City , Missouri, Wyoming, Kansas , Indiana, BlackRock, Florida, ExxonMobil Baytown, Baytown , Texas, Washington, ” Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Iowa, Park City , Utah, DeSantis, Rome , Georgia

CNN —Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can stay on and prosecute the Georgia 2020 election interference racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and 14 of his co-defendants, Judge Scott McAfee ruled Friday, but only if she removes the special prosecutor with whom she engaged in a romantic relationship. CNN has reached out to the district attorney’s office regarding the next steps in the case. Wilis chose to dedicate much of her energy on what she believed was the most important case: prosecuting Trump for his attempts to steal the Georgia election in 2020. But the next 40 non-racketeering charges stemmed from roughly a dozen key incidents after the 2020 election. Trump and 14 of his allies have pleaded not guilty to all the charges in the sprawling racketeering case.

Persons: Fani Willis, Donald Trump, Scott McAfee, Willis, Nathan Wade, Trump, Willis ’, McAfee, ” McAfee, Wade, “, Wade “, Fulton, CNN Ashleigh Merchant, Mike Roman, Merchant, sully, ” Willis, ”, Wilis, Brad Raffensperger, Raffensperger, Mike Pence Organizations: CNN, Court, Trump, Jail, Department Locations: Fulton County, Georgia, Atlanta, reimbursements, Wade’s, Fulton, Coffee County , Georgia

In late November, the panel temporarily blocked the new structures for the State Board of Elections and boards in all 100 counties from taking effect while Cooper’s lawsuit was heard. The state elections board has five members appointed by the governor — a format going back over 100 years — from candidate lists provided by the major parties. Currently, county boards are five members, with state board members naming four positions and Cooper one. Should the board changes be upheld by courts in the coming months, new appointments could happen as general election campaigning heats up and voting approaches. The elections board lawsuit is one of many that Cooper has filed over the past seven years challenging General Assembly laws that he argues unlawfully weakens his position.

Persons: Roy Cooper, Cooper's, infringes, ”, Edwin Wilson, Andrew Womble, Lori Hamilton, Hamilton, Wilson, Phil Berger, Tim Moore's, Cooper, they've, Donald Trump, —, weren't Organizations: Carolina’s GOP, Democratic Gov, GOP, State Board, Democrat, Democratic, Associated Press, Cooper, General Assembly, Republican, General, Republicans Locations: RALEIGH, N.C, Carolina’s, ”

☆ Almost every single US state has considered laws to abolish daylight-saving time
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Almost every state has considering ending daylight-saving time. States cannot switch to a permanent daylight-saving time until federal law changes. A federal law to end daylight-savings has already passed in the Senate, but is waiting on a House vote. AdvertisementAmericans are tired of losing an hour of sleep every year to daylight-saving time. Lawmakers in nearly every state have considered laws that would do away with daylight-saving time since 2019, according to a National Conference of State Legislatures report.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, Lawmakers, National Conference of State Legislatures, American Medical Association, Business

☆ Biden laid into SCOTUS justices to their faces in the State of the Union speech. They weren't amused.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

President Joe Biden criticized US Supreme Court justices in the State of the Union address. He hit out at the decision to overturn the Roe v Wade abortion rights ruling. AdvertisementPresident Joe Biden directly challenged US Supreme Court justices in his State of the Union speech Thursday for overturning the landmark Roe v Wade legislation. Biden went on to promise that if Democrats make significant gains in November's election, he'll push to have Roe v. Wade restored. Advertisement"If you, the American people, send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again," Biden said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Wade, —, Biden, Samuel Alito's, Roe, thunderously, Alito Organizations: Roe, Service, US, State, Union Locations: State, November's

☆ Newly Released Messages Detail Roots of the ‘Fake Electors’ Scheme
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Luke Broadwater | Maggie Haberman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Just five days after Election Day in 2020, a conservative lawyer named Kenneth Chesebro emailed a former judge who was working for the Trump campaign in Wisconsin, James R. Troupis, pitching an idea for how to overturn the results. Through litigation, Mr. Chesebro said, the Trump campaign could allege “various systemic abuses” and, with court proceedings pending, encourage legislatures to appoint “alternative” pro-Trump electors that could be certified instead of the Biden electors chosen by the voters. “At minimum, with such a cloud of confusion, no votes from WI (and perhaps also MI and PA) should be counted, perhaps enough to throw the election to the House,” Mr. Chesebro wrote to Mr. Troupis, referring to the swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Mr. Troupis quickly brought Mr. Chesebro into the Trump legal team, directed him to lay out the plans in a series of memos now central to the indictment of Mr. Trump and a month later — with the help of Reince Priebus, the former White House chief of staff — secured a meeting with Mr. Trump at the White House.

Persons: Kenneth Chesebro, Trump, James R, Chesebro, Biden, ” Mr, Troupis, Mr, Reince Priebus, — Organizations: Trump, “, WI, White House, White Locations: Wisconsin, Wisconsin , Michigan, Pennsylvania

☆ RuPaul Is Sending a Rainbow Bus to Give Away Books Targeted by Bans
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

At a time of book bans and efforts by state legislatures to ban drag shows, the performer and television producer who is arguably the country’s most famous drag star, RuPaul, is the co-founder of a new online bookstore that will be sending a rainbow school bus from the West Coast to the South to distribute the very books targeted by those bans. He announced on Monday that he was one of three business partners behind the bookstore, Allstora, which will promote underrepresented authors and provide writers with a greater share of profits than other online booksellers do. RuPaul said that this sort of book website would fill an important gap, especially in “these strange days, we’re living in,” to support the ideas of people “who are willing to push the conversation forward.”

Persons: RuPaul, “, ” Locations: West Coast, ”

☆ A defining week set to lay bare the choice in the 2024 election
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

But Trump and Biden’s turns in the spotlight this week will highlight their all-but-certain rematch, barring health crises or other surprise events. November’s election is already heaping pressure on political and electoral institutions, the Constitution and America’s fragile national unity. The move further delayed the ex-president’s federal criminal trial over election interference, which Trump – who is seeking to push off his trials past the 2024 election – touted as a win. Ahead of a likely general election clash, Trump’s appetite for testing the rule of law and the Constitution is undimmed. While leaders of both congressional chambers have reached a bipartisan spending deal, the tiny GOP House majority means any piece of legislation is a heavy lift.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Biden’s, Biden, Trump’s, he’s, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Nikki Haley, ”, . South Dakota Sen, John Thune, Mitch McConnell, he’ll, Haley, “, GOP Sen, Markwayne Mullin, CNN’s Dana, there’s, wilder, “ Biden, White, –, Mike Johnson Organizations: CNN, GOP, Colorado Supreme, Supreme, Super, Democratic, Trump, South Carolina Gov, Capitol, Republican, “, Oklahoma, Biden, American, The New York Times, Siena College, Times, Street Journal, Hamas, MAGA ” Republicans Locations: Idaho, Missouri, Washington ,, . South Dakota, South Carolina, “ State, Greensboro , North Carolina, United States of America, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Michigan

☆ How the fortune of one of America’s biggest pharmaceutical families has quietly funded conservative causes
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Casey Tolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +21 min

From The Searle Freedom TrustThis year, the Searle trust is poised to play an even bigger role as it empties out its coffers. Researchers who study political nonprofits say that the Searle trust has had a major impact, even as the Searle family has stayed under the radar compared to more well-known conservative benefactors. The Searle trust is one of the most prolific funders of conservative groups among all private foundations, according to a CNN analysis of nonprofit tax data. The Searle trust has given millions to the Foundation for Government Accountability, which has worked behind the scenes to push conservative policies such as stricter voting laws. Dennis, the CEO of the Searle trust, is also the chair of DonorsTrust.

Persons: Searle, Daniel C, Trump, Donald Trump, ”, Galen Hall, who’s, Kimberly Dennis, ” Searle, “, Sarah Scaife, doesn’t, Michael B, Thomas, SPN, They’ve, ” Brendan Fischer, Brendan Fischer, “ They’ve, ” Hall, Caleb Rossiter, ” Galen Hall, movement’s MAGA, It’s, Mike Pence, that’s, Dennis, Henry Ford, John D, Rockefeller, ” Fischer, Gideon, Michael Searle, ” Dennis, “ We’re, Dan, Gideon Daniel Searle, Daniel Searle, Jonathan Eig, Jack Searle, Daniel Searle’s, Gregory Pincus, John Rock, Pincus, weren’t, –, Sue, Eig, Margaret Marsh, Enovid, misoprostol, Searle –, Pfizer –, ” Daniel Searle, Donald Rumsfeld, Searles, Biden, Wade, Dobbs, Kristen Batstone Organizations: CNN, Searle Freedom Trust, University of Michigan, Sarah Scaife Foundation, Searle, American Enterprise Institute, Reason Foundation, Tax Foundation, Manhattan Institute, Cato Institute, Foundation, Government, State Policy Network, American Legislative Exchange Council, Fair, Pacific Legal Foundation, Federalist Society, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Environment Research Center, CO2 Coalition, Heartland Institute, ”, CO2, Heartland, Republican Party, movement’s, America, Policy Institute, Trump, American Freedom Foundation, Everett, FDA, Rutgers University, Pfizer, Monsanto, Heritage Foundation, Reason, Affordable, New Civil Liberties Alliance, Public Policy Center, Claremont, National Women’s Health Network, Trust, IRS Locations: Missouri, St, Louis , Missouri, California, judgeships, ”, Omaha, Metamucil, Dramamine, Puerto, Brazil, Diet Coke, America

☆ Eyeing state legislative gains, Democrats are making an early $750,000 push to counter the GOP in key battlegrounds
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee on Wednesday announced that it had already made early investments of almost $750,000 for the 2024 election cycle thus far. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Tony Evers has faced sizable GOP legislative majorities during his tenure despite its closely-contested statewide elections. North Carolina represents a major challenge for Democrats, as they're aiming to keep the governorship in the party's hands and erase the GOP legislative supermajority. Advertisement"We've seen Republicans try to wiggle their way around new language about their perspective around abortion, but voters are not hearing them," Williams told Business Insider.

Persons: —, Tony Evers, Heather Williams, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Trump, Roe, Wade, We've, Williams Organizations: Service, GOP, Democratic Legislative, Wednesday, Business, Democratic Gov, Democratic, Michigan Democrats, Minnesota DFL Party, Biden, Republicans Locations: Wisconsin, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire

Chesebro’s social media presence Pro-Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro told Michigan investigators that he doesn’t have any social media accounts, including Twitter. But CNN uncovered a secret Twitter account that Chesebro used to anonymously post about the 2020 election in real-time. Yet in his interview with Michigan investigators, Chesebro said the very opposite, claiming that the entire electors plan was contingent on the courts. Michigan investigators secured Chesebro’s cooperation in December, after previously charging the 16 fake electors in that state with multiple felonies. Chesebro distances himself from the plotIn his interview with Michigan investigators, Chesebro repeatedly tried to downplay his knowledge of the electors plan.

Persons: Kenneth Chesebro, Chesebro, ”, Robert Langford, Danny Wimmer, Dana Nessel, “, ” Chesebro, Trump, BadgerPundit, Mike Pence, Joe Biden, Pence, hadn’t, Jack, “ Chesebro, Ryan Goodman, ” Goodman, Manny Arora, Arora, Wimmer, John Eastman, Alex Jones, I’d, Gore, Laurence, “ it’s, Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Donald Trump, won’t, Biden, ” BadgerPundit, Jefferson, ” CNN’s Selwyn Rocha Organizations: CNN, Trump, Twitter, Michigan, CNN CNN, BadgerPundit, Chesebro, Republican, Pro, CNN CNN Twitter, Wayback Machine, New York University, Michigan Attorney, Bush, Trump International Hotel, Atlantic, ”, Biden, Eastman, Pence, Capitol Locations: Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada, “, Chesebro, Gore, cryptocurrency, Washington ,, Bush, Trump’s, Washington

☆ Nex Benedict death: Police video shows non-binary teen describe fight in high school bathroom
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Sara Smart | Steve Almasy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Nex Benedict, whose family and friends say identified as nonbinary, died February 8, a day after they told their family they were involved in a fight with others at Owasso High School. Body camera video from February 7 shows an Owasso police officer interacting with Nex and their guardian, Sue Benedict, in a hospital after the fight in a school bathroom between two groups of students. Nex eventually got thrown onto the ground and the other students proceeded to beat them up, Nex says in the video. Another video shows Nex being escorted by the school’s security officer to the nurse’s office and then to the principal’s office. Benedict says Nex is “not doing good at all” and was breathing, but their eyes were rolling back.

Persons: Nex Benedict, Nex, Sue Benedict, ”, “, ” Nex, Nex ‘, Benedict, Kevin Stitt, Andy Rose, Whitney Wild, Taylor Romine, Caroll Alvarado Organizations: CNN, Owasso High, Toxicology, Owasso Police, ’ Police, Owasso Public Schools, Oklahoma, Gov, American Civil Liberties Union Locations: Oklahoma, Nex

☆ The chaotic history of how we elect presidential candidates
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

It is worth remembering that there are no constitutional provisions regarding presidential primaries and very few details about the election of the president itself. AdvertisementWhat were early presidential elections like? In the wake of the violence, Democrats launched a massive overhaul of their presidential primary process. According to some officials who worked on the commission, their changes had the unintended effect of popularizing state presidential primary elections. In short, party officials’ hands are initially tied, even if they want to cast the deciding votes.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, hasn’t, Here's, George Washington, framers hadn’t, John Adam, Thomas Jefferson’s, Mason, Jill Lepore, Andrew Jackson’s, enshrine, Jackson, Daniel Feller, Andrew Jackson, FDR, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Roosevelt, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Robert A, Taft's, Sen, John F, Richard Pildes, Lyndon B, Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr, Robert Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern, McGovern, superdelegates, Bernie Sanders ’, Joe Biden, Biden Organizations: Service, LBJ, Masonic Party, Democratic Party, The, Democratic, GOP, Bull Moose Party, Hampshire GOP, Republican, Kennedy’s, West Virginia, New York University School of Law, Convention, Chicago, Democrats, Republican Party, New Hampshire Democrats, Democratic National Committee, Biden Locations: U.S, Hampshire, West, Vietnam, Chicago, Iowa, South Carolina, Florida, North Carolina

☆ Election Deniers Seek to Rewrite the Law
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Nick Corasaniti | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the conspiracy-soaked aftermath of the 2020 election, far-right activists clamored to inspect ballots based on elaborate — and false — theories. In Georgia, election deniers pushed for a review that might detect counterfeit ballots because they were not folded, appeared to be marked by a machine or were printed on different card stock. In Arizona, auditors were on the hunt for bamboo fibers in ballots to prove that they had fraudulently came from Asia. National attention from voters and the mainstream news media eventually shifted to the 2024 election. (Similar bills regarding ballot scans have come out of committee in the New Hampshire and Arizona Legislatures.)

Persons: clamored Organizations: Arizona Legislatures Locations: Georgia, Arizona, Asia, New Hampshire

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