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The pay increase appeared to have bipartisan support, though lawmakers never voted directly on it. Supporters of the pay increase say it is likely to make the Legislature more diverse when it's in danger of becoming mostly retirees and wealthy people. Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican, saw opposition to the pay raise as political grandstanding. Olson said he doubts lawmakers' constituents support such a big pay raise and said they should have the courage to debate it and vote on it. And his boss — the taxpayers — haven't told him a pay raise is OK with them, he said.

Persons: Sen, Cindy Holscher, ”, Dan Hawkins, “, Rob Olson, Ty Masterson, Nicholas Reinecker, it's, Olson, Ken Corbet, —, — haven't, Becky Bohrer Organizations: Legislative, Wednesday, Alaska, New, National Conference of, Legislatures, Wichita Republican, Kansas City, Republican, ” Legislature, Topeka Republican, Associated Press Locations: TOPEKA, Kan, Kansas, Georgia, Texas, Kansas City, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Wichita, Topeka, Juneau , Alaska

☆ Opinion: In Trump Supreme Court case, remember Congress already disqualified him
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Opinion Tristan Snell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The case now comes to the Supreme Court following Trump’s appeal, and it could determine whether Trump appears on the ballot in up to 35 different states where his eligibility is being challenged. Fortunately, the Supreme Court need not look far for answers to these questions. The Supreme Court may be wary of disqualifying Trump based solely on their own ruling as a group of unelected judges. The Constitution is clear, Congress’ votes are clear and Trump’s disqualification is thus wholly justified. That is the genius of the 14th Amendment — which the Supreme Court should fully embrace.

Persons: Tristan Snell, Donald Trump, ” Tristan Snell, Tristan Snell The, Trump, ”, disqualifying Trump Organizations: Trump, MSNBC, CNN, New York, Trump University, Tristan Snell The Colorado Supreme, Capitol, Electoral, Senate, Congress Locations: New York State, Tristan Snell The Colorado, that’s, Colorado

(AP) — Nebraska would become one of the last Republican-led states to enact a so-called “stand your ground” law under a bill presented to a legislative committee on Thursday. Thirty-eight states — including all six of Nebraska's neighboring states — have stand your ground laws. The Nebraska bill comes at a time when GOP-led state legislatures across the country are embracing bills expanding gun rights. Last year, Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill allowing residents to carry concealed guns without a permit. Under the so-called “constitutional carry” law, people can carry guns hidden in their clothing or vehicle without having to pay for a government permit or take a gun safety course.

Persons: LINCOLN, . State Sen, Brian Hardin, ” Hardin, Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman, Don Kleine, Hardin's, ”, Ralph Yarl, — Organizations: Republican, . State, Nebraska Firearms Owners Association, Gun Rights, GOP Locations: Neb, Nebraska, Scottsbluff, ” Nebraska, Florida, Douglas County, Georgia, Kansas City , Missouri, The Nebraska

☆ Opinion: The Jennifer Crumbley verdict is a powerful warning to parents
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Opinion Jennifer Tucker | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Prosecutors alleged that the Crumbley parents willfully disregarded warning signs that their son was in crisis, did not heed concerns of school administrators, bought him a gun days before the shooting and failed to lock it up. Yet, research shows that even parents who think their guns are inaccessible to minors are mistaken. Distributed responsibilityMost parents want their children to be safe, yet many continue to enable household access to loaded guns. In fact, a recent study shows that states often loosened gun laws after mass shootings, especially states with Republican legislatures. This case opens the door for parents to be held legally accountable, and reminds all parents of their responsibilities when it comes to gun safety.

Persons: Jennifer Tucker, Jennifer Crumbley, Ethan Crumbley, She’ll, Jennifer Tucker Olivia Drake, Shannon Smith, ”, Sig Sauer, James Crumbley, “, it’s, Payton Gendron, Robert Crimo Organizations: Wesleyan University, Wesleyan’s Center, Guns and Society, Brennan Center for Justice, NYU Law School, CNN, Prosecutors, RMA Armament, Buffalo, Buffalo News, Giffords Law Center, “, District of Columbia, American Medical Association, National Rifle Association Locations: Oxford, Michigan, Buffalo , New York, Buffalo, Chicago, Highland Park , Illinois, Illinois, Virginia, American

So it was surprising that the end of Sunday night’s season premiere of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” — look out, spoilers coming — took pretty, pretty, pretty clear aim at the major voting law Georgia passed in 2021. Larry David, who as the show’s curmudgeonly star is better known for breaking social norms than actual laws, travels to Atlanta in the episode. “Sir, in the navy blazer, put your hands in the air,” an officer says to a confused Mr. David. In another episode, the cantankerous Mr. David realizes that wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat around liberal Los Angeles gets him out of many unwanted meetings and interactions. In an interview with TheWrap, one of the show’s executive producers said that its writing team had decided to somehow incorporate the Georgia law back when it passed two years ago.

Persons: “, Georgia, Larry David, Leon, she’s, Larry, Sir, David, ”, Donald J, Trump, ” Jordan Fuchs, David —, Elmo, David’s, TheWrap, Jeff Schaffer, ’ Organizations: Recreation, Los Angeles Locations: “, Atlanta, Georgia, Fulton

The two organizations have worked together on other issues, including several conferences on U.S. elections, but the principles released Tuesday are their first to examine the nation’s election system and policies. Carroll said challenging election results and the integrity of the voting process is a relatively new development. ”Extreme polarization really has led, I think, to more questioning of election processes that, ironically, have only improved significantly over the last 25 years," he said. Amy Cohen, executive director of the National Association of State Election Directors, said she had not seen the recommendations but said election officials are constantly trying to improve. “We need to normalize the fact that it just takes longer to tabulate election results accurately,” she said.

Persons: gamesmanship, ”, Jimmy Carter, State James A, Baker III, David Carroll, Carter, Carroll, ” Mark Jones, Baker, Jones, Amy Cohen Organizations: WASHINGTON, The Carter Center, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Democrat, Republican, State, Reform, Democracy, U.S, Rice University, National Association of State Locations: U.S

☆ Opinion: French women got a wakeup call on abortion rights from their US sisters
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Opinion Jill Filipovic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —It’s a strange moment to be an American feminist who cares deeply about women’s rights beyond her own country’s borders. The news that the French National Assembly has passed a bill that would enshrine abortion rights in the country’s constitution evokes mixed emotions. But French feminists know better: They see rising right-wing movements around the world and understand how quickly circumstances can change. Hopefully, French women, and so many others whose countries are actually progressing on women’s rights instead of backsliding, see an easy victory. I’m glad French and other feminists are working overtime so that they don’t end up like American women.

Persons: Jill Filipovic, CNN —, ”, Mélanie Vogel, “, Wade, haven’t, Donald Trump, they’re, America –, Biden, codifying Roe, –, gunning, it’s, hadn’t Organizations: Twitter, CNN, French National Assembly, ” Conservatives, Court, Roe, Republican, Biden, Voters Locations: New York, American, France, French, America

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Louisiana Legislature's redrawn congressional map giving the state a second mostly Black district is being challenged by 12 self-described “non-African American” voters in a new lawsuit. At least one person, state Sen. Cleo Fields, a Black Democrat from Baton Rouge, has already said he will be a candidate in the new district. It is not clear how the lawsuit will affect that district or the 2022 litigation, which is still ongoing. Louisiana's Legislature drew a new map in 2022 that was challenged by voting rights advocates because only one of six U.S. House maps was majority Black, even though the state population is roughly one-third Black. As the case was appealed, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an unexpected ruling in June that favored Black voters in a congressional redistricting case in Alabama.

Persons: Sen, Cleo Fields, John Bel Edwards, Shelly Dick, Jeff Landry, Edwards, Garrett Graves, Landry's, Nancy Landry, David Joseph, Donald Trump Organizations: ORLEANS, American, Republican, Democrat, Louisiana's, ., U.S, Supreme, Black, Circuit, Appeals, Gov, GOP, Republicans Locations: Louisiana, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Alabama, Shreveport, Black, Western

WHERE DEEPFAKES SHOW UPArtificial intelligence hit the mainstream last year like never before, enabling people to create ever-more realistic deepfakes. Photos You Should See View All 45 ImagesThere's pornography — taking advantage of celebrities like Swift to create fake compromising images. California and Illinois have given victims the right to sue those who create images using their likenesses. Minnesota’s law also targets using deepfakes in politics. He warns that lawmakers should not target the technology that can be used to create deepfakes, as that could shut down innovation with important other uses.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Taylor, Swift, Drake, Joe Biden, Siwei Lyu, Lyu, “, ”, Jake Morabito, ALEC, Todd Helmus, “ It's, Helmus, OpenAI, Jenna Leventoff, Karine Jean, Pierre, WHAT'S, —, They're, Marty Jackley, ” Jackley, RAND's Helmus Organizations: deepfakes, University, Buffalo, American Legislative Exchange Council, RAND, guardrails, ACLU, White, Democrats, Republicans, GOP, Facebook, Associated Press Locations: New Hampshire, . Georgia, Hawaii , Texas, Virginia, California, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Indiana, Missouri, South Dakota

A near-total abortion ban has been in place in Kentucky since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. “Repealing the current abortion ban in Kentucky is not about promoting one choice over another," she said. Andy Beshear that attacked his Republican challenger’s longstanding support for the state's abortion ban. Kentucky's Supreme Court last year refused to strike down the near-total abortion ban. In Kentucky, Burke revealed two other bills Wednesday.

Persons: Roe, Wade, Lindsey Burke, Republican supermajorities, “, ” Burke, Kentuckians, ”, Addia Wuchner, Burke, Jackie McGranahan, Hadley Duvall, Duvall, Andy Beshear, Beshear Organizations: —, Democratic, Republican, Supreme, Democratic Rep, Republicans, GOP, ”, Capitol, American Civil Liberties Union of, Kentucky, Democratic Gov, Kentucky's, Bluegrass State Locations: FRANKFORT, Ky, Kentucky, U.S, Kentucky's, American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky

☆ A conservative fix for the housing crisis is making homes cheaper and more abundant in Texas
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But unlike its coastal counterparts, Houston's homes are much cheaper and more abundant. Advertisement"It's really a way to limit housing construction," said Emily Hamilton, a housing researcher at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She added that minimum lot sizes maintain "a homogenous type of housing construction with often a high floor on how expensive it has to be." The policy change has spurred the construction of almost 80,000 new homes, many of them townhouses and other kinds of small-lot single-family homes. But the massive success of Houston's minimum lot size reform is getting noticed across Texas and around the country.

Persons: —, Emily Hamilton, Joseph Gyourko, Sean McCulloch, Hamilton, It's, it's, Nolan Gray, Freund, Brett Coomer, We're, Gray, Salim Furth Organizations: Service, Space, Business, George Mason University, California, Freund St, Houston Locations: Houston , Texas, New York City, San Francisco, Houston, walkable, Texas, Austin , Texas, Auburn , Maine, Helena , Montana, Arizona , Massachusetts, New York

“This is an extremely undemocratic way to harm access to reproductive health care," said Sofia Tomov, operations coordinator with Access Reproductive Care Southeast, a member of the Mississippi Abortion Access Coalition. The proposal comes days after a Missouri abortion-rights campaign launched its ballot measure effort aiming to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution. Missouri abortion rights groups also have criticized Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, saying he is attempting to impede the initiative by manipulating the measure's ballot summary. Ohio abortion rights advocates have said last year’s statewide vote to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution was as much about abortion as it was a referendum on democracy itself. After Ohio voters approved the abortion protections last year, Republican lawmakers pledged to block the amendment from reversing the state's restrictions.

Persons: “ They’re, Laurie Bertram Roberts, we’ve, Mississippi, Cheikh Taylor, “, ” Taylor, Fred Shanks, Roe, Wade, ”, Jason White, Sofia Tomov, State Jay Ashcroft, Ed Lewis, Sam Lee, John Rizzo, Joe Adams, Deirdre Schifeling, ‘ Will, Summer Ballentine, Emily Wagster Pettus Organizations: CHICAGO, —, U.S, Supreme, Mississippi House, Democratic Rep, Republican Party, Republican, Republicans, Mississippi, Reproductive, Coalition, State, GOP, Democratic, Ohio Republicans, Ohio, ACLU, Press, Associated Press, AP Locations: Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, . Mississippi, ”, ” In Missouri, Nevada, Jefferson City , Missouri, Jackson , Mississippi

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A group of conservative state lawmakers in Pennsylvania filed a federal lawsuit Thursday challenging three voting-related executive branch actions designed to boost voter registration, including a 2021 executive order by President Joe Biden. One is last fall's introduction of automatic voter registration in Pennsylvania by Democratic Gov. Shapiro's administration said in a statement that it is “frivolous” to suggest that it lacks the authority to implement automatic voter registration. Twenty-three other states and Washington, D.C., already have varying models of what is called “ automatic voter registration,” according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Still, former President Donald Trump has already accused Democrats of " trying to steal " Pennsylvania in 2024's election through automatic voter registration.

Persons: Joe Biden, ’, Biden, Josh Shapiro, Tom Wolf, Shapiro, Donald Trump, Trump, Marc Levy Organizations: Democratic Party, Trump, Republican, Democratic Gov, Democratic, Brennan Center, Justice, U.S . Justice, D.C, National Conference of State Legislatures Locations: HARRISBURG, Pa, Pennsylvania, Washington

Mike DeWine’s veto of a bill that would bar transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapy or gender transition surgery. The move by the Republican-controlled state legislature comes less than four weeks after the Republican governor’s veto. For Ohio residents, that means that only transgender minors who have already begun transition care treatments will be able to receive them. Last year, at least 20 states, all with Republican-controlled legislatures, passed bans or restrictions on gender transition care for young people. Before 2023, only three states had passed restrictions on gender transition medical care for minors, according to a New York Times analysis.

Persons: Mike DeWine’s, DeWine’s Organizations: Republican, Senate, Ohio, Williams Institute, New York Times

The outcome of the case will likely determine whether tens of thousands of people win back the right to vote. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the ban violates the Constitution's prohibition against “cruel and unusual” punishment. But the full 17-member circuit court vacated that ruling weeks later and scheduled Tuesday's hearing. In a dissent to the August ruling, Jones cited a previous Supreme Court ruling regarding felons' disenfranchisement, saying it is up to legislatures to decide such matters. King and Dennis will also take part because they were members of the original ruling panel.

Persons: James Dennis, Carolyn Dineen King, — King, Jimmy Carter, Dennis, Bill Clinton, Edith Jones, Ronald Reagan, Jones, King Organizations: ORLEANS, —, Circuit, Appeals, Senior, Democratic Locations: Mississippi, New Orleans, “ Mississippi, ”

☆ How to Steal the Presidential Election - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Lawrence Lessig | Matthew A. Seligman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

We determined that the most commonly discussed strategies — such as a state legislature picking a new slate of electors to the Electoral College — wouldn’t work because of impediments built into the Constitution. We also concluded that the most blatantly extreme strategies, such as a state canceling its election and selecting its electors directly, are politically unlikely. The scenario we see as the most alarming was made possible by the Supreme Court itself. In a 2021 decision, the court held, in our reading, that state legislatures have the power to direct electors on how to cast their electoral votes. The question now is whether there is any way to close that loophole before a stolen election slides through.

Persons: — Organizations: Capitol, Electoral, Supreme

☆ ‘America Is Under Attack’: Inside the Anti-D.E.I. Crusade
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Nicholas Confessore | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +44 min

‘America Is Under Attack’: Inside the Anti-D.E.I. “In support of ridding schools of C.R.T., the Right argues that we want nonpolitical education,” Mr. Klingenstein wrote in August 2021. In a 2023 exchange, Dr. Yenor and two associates discussed how to defend Amy Wax, a conservative law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Yenor and his allies bristled at the conventions of academic life as overly solicitous toward female and nonwhite students. Samuel Ginn, Claremont donor“The president then told him, ‘Things will change,’” a Claremont fund-raiser wrote to Dr. Yenor and other officials there.

Persons: “ wokeism ”, Chancellor Sharp, Sam Ginn, DeSantis, !, Searle, Scott Yenor's, Alabama Jeff Sessions, peter thiel, thiel, Dan Patrick, Patrick, Texas Long, Claudine Gay, Harvard’s, Trump, Ron DeSantis, Peter Thiel, Heather Mac Donald, ”, Scott Yenor, “, ” Scott Yenor, Claremont, Critics, George Floyd, Donald J, Trump’s, Thomas D, Thomas Klingentstein, ” Mr, Klingenstein, Yenor, Christopher Rufo, fromScott Yenor, Floyd, Mao Zedong’s, Ryan P, Williams, Jack Miller, Ryan Williams, Miller, zealots, Mao Zedong's, ” Claremont, Taube, tothe, Arthur N, Chris Ross, Dockweiler, Elizabeth Ailes, Roger Ailes, Daniel C, Searles, fromChris Ross Ryan, I'd, Dorian Abbot, Mr, Ross, Dr, Amy Wax, Wax, Wax’s, David Azerrad, . Azerrad, fromScott, Azerrad, —, ’, Mac Donald, Mac Donald1 —, fromDavid Azerrad Heather, that's, Thiel —, Thiel’s, bristled, Riffing, Bill Burr, hadn’t, Burr, George W, Bush, ” Tennessee’s, Susan Kaestner, Jeff Sessions, Samuel Ginn, Christopher B, Roberts, Roberts “, Ginn, ” Bowdoin, Thomas Klingenstein, Janet Mills, Mills, ‘, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kevin Stitt, he’d, fromThomas, Glenn, sputtered, retool, didn’t, Jim Banks, Banks’s, Banks, Gay, Elise Stefanik Organizations: MIT, Trust, Texas, Claremont, Republicans, Senate, The New York Times, Republican, Claremont Institute, Gov, D.E.I, New, Manhattan Institute, Maine Policy Institute, ”, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Equity, Jack Miller Family, Jack Miller Family Foundation America, Capitol, Freedom Trust, Rupe Foundation, Scaife, Fox News, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, Hillsdale College, Boise State University, Boise, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, Trump, Boise State, University of Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn University, University of Alabama, Auburn, Bowdoin College in, NAS, Bowdoin, Democratic, Mr, Maine Public Radio, American, Association, Maine Department of Education, Indiana Republican, Education, Harvard, New York Republican Locations: Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Maine, Montana , Utah , Oklahoma , Texas, South Carolina , Florida, Louisiana, America, defund, Alabama, Tallahassee, Union, California, Florida, Maine , Tennessee, Idaho, New York, Florida , Louisiana, North Carolina , Oklahoma , Tennessee, Wisconsin, Darling, Dallas, Utah, C.R.T, United States, Hillsdale, Eau, India, Boise State, Boise, Manhattan, Canadian, Dixie, Maine —, Bowdoin College in Maine, Colonial America, ”, Maine’s, la, Portland, Northern Maine, Arkansas, Yenor, Indiana, Israel

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than a year after a generational victory for their movement, opponents of abortion rights are rallying in the nation's capital on Friday with an eye on presidential elections that could be heavily influenced by abortion politics. Thousands of protesters are expected on the National Mall for an hour of speeches and a march past the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court. Friday's March for Life is the second such event since the June 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended the federal protection for abortion rights enshrined in Roe v. Wade. And total bans have produced high-profile causes for abortion rights supporters to rally around. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesMovement organizers now expect abortion rights to be a major Democratic rallying cry in President Joe Biden's reelection campaign.

Persons: Friday's, Wade, Last, Kate Cox, Joe Biden's, ”, Susan Swift, “, Biden, Kamala Harris, Roe, David Crary Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S . Capitol, Life, relishing, Jackson, Health, Democratic, Pro, ” Biden, White, Supreme Locations: Washington, Roe, Dobbs v, Ohio , Kansas, Kentucky, Texas, Wisconsin, U.S

“We have undeniable evidence of victory — lives being saved,” said John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life. For abortion-rights activists, Cox’s case was a powerful illustration of how abortion bans could be dangerous for women with pregnancy complications. Over and over, people talked about her with awe, her courage in going public.”Seago, the Texas Right to Life president, defended Texas’ abortion ban. Among leading anti-abortion activists, there’s a general consensus that women should not be prosecuted for seeking or obtaining an abortion. Conversely, some abortion opponents — including Chris Smith — fear a Democratic sweep might lead to a law overriding the state abortion bans that are now in effect.

Persons: “, ”, John Seago, Carol Tobias, Dobbs, ” Tobias, Court’s Dobbs, Roe, Wade, Brent Leatherwood, “ We’ve, –, Jeanne Mancini, Jean Marie Davis, Davis, Mike Johnson, Chris Smith, Mancini, J.J, There’s, Kate Cox, Cox, Nancy Northup, ” Seago, there’s, Jamila, “ I’m, ” Smith, Sen, Lindsay Graham, Katie Glenn Daniel Organizations: Democratic, Jackson, Health Organization, Republican, Southern Baptist, Pregnancy, U.S . Rep, Congressional, American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Reproductive Rights, Physicians, Reproductive, SBA Locations: Texas, Washington, U.S, Ohio , Kansas, Kentucky, California , New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Florida, New Mexico, Brattleboro , Vermont, New Hampshire, Idaho

☆ A quirky primary rule propelled Trump to victory in 2016, but it could come back to bite him in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rather, it's about how Cruz and his allies complained in 2016 about how non-Republican voters helped hand the nomination to Trump. Trump ran away with the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in part due to his sheer dominance in these so-called "open primaries." Trump's advantage in open primaries in 2016 was unmistakable. Despite holding a polling advantage in the weeks leading up to the 2016 Iowa caucuses, Trump narrowly lost the state to Cruz. But his apparent reversal on open primaries is quite simply yet another sign of his hostile takeover of the GOP.

Persons: Donald Trump, Sen, Ted Cruz, Trump, Cruz, Nikki Haley, detest, It's, Nikki, Haley, AnnMarie Graham, Barnes, Joe Biden's, There's Organizations: Service, Republican, Democratic, Business, White, Republican Party, National Conference of State Legislatures, CNBC, Trump, Cruz, Republican National Convention, GOP Locations: New Hampshire, Florida, Iowa, Cruz . Iowa

☆ Opinion | Another Gun Fight Is Looming in Tennessee
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Margaret Renkl | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But a bipartisan coalition of gun-safety advocates, some of them people who a year ago could not have imagined spending their days at the Capitol, were doing far more than paying attention. Here in Tennessee, firearms are the leading cause of death in children, and these voters are determined to do something about that. Poll after poll and referendum after referendum make it clear that Republican legislators are out of step with their own voters on a host of topics. They want to limit who can speak and for how long on the House floor. They want to control which Tennesseans can sit in the House gallery to monitor — and possibly protest — legislative proceedings.

Organizations: Tennessee General, Capitol Locations: Tennessee, Nashville

☆ Wisconsin Supreme Court, now under liberal control, overturns Republican-favored legislative maps
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-22 | by ( Andrew Menezes | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the state’s legislative maps, which give Republicans the advantage, are unconstitutional and ordered new lines drawn for the 2024 election. “We are hopeful that the legislative process will produce new legislative district maps,” the ruling stated. During the campaign, now-Justice Janet Protasiewicz, the liberal-favored candidate, called the legislative maps “rigged” and “unfair” and suggested courts should evaluate their constitutionality. After she was seated in August, Democratic-backed groups filed two lawsuits asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to throw out the Republican-drawn maps. “Fortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court will have the last word.”This story has been updated with additional details.

Persons: “, Sam Hirsch, Tony Evers, Friday’s, ”, ” Evers, Annette Ziegler, Janet Protasiewicz, Protasiewicz, Robin Vos, Vos, CNN’s Eric Bradner, Brad Parks Organizations: CNN, Wisconsin Supreme, US, Badger State, Legislature, ”, ” Wisconsin Gov, Democratic, Republican, U.S, Supreme Locations: Wisconsin, ” Wisconsin, ” “ Wisconsin

WASHINGTON (AP) — While the scandals in the cryptocurrency industry seem to never end, Washington policymakers appear to have little interest in pushing through legislation to codify the structure of the industry. The latest shoe to drop is Binance’s multibillion dollar settlement with U.S. authorities and the resignation of its CEO this week. When cryptocurrencies collapsed and a number of companies failed last year, Congress considered multiple approaches for how to regulate the industry in the future. Brown has been highly skeptical of cryptocurrencies as a concept and he’s been generally reluctant to put Congress’ blessing on them through legislation. Yesterday’s development marks the same inflection point that we saw earlier at the intersection of the .com and post-.com eras.”

Persons: Sam Bankman, cryptocurrencies, Janet Yellen, Changpeng Zhao, Zhao, Binance, General Merrick Garland, — Binance, Debbie Stabenow, John Boozman, Sen, Sherrod Brown, Brown, He’s, ” Brown, Fried, can’t, ”, Dennis Kelleher, Yiannis Giokas Organizations: WASHINGTON, Treasury, White, Biden Administration, Binance, U.S . Treasury, U.S, Securities and Exchange Commission, Coinbase, SEC, PayPal, Futures Trading Commission, Agriculture Committee, U.S ., Financial Services, Senate, Consumer, Better, Moody’s Analytics, U.S . Authorities Locations: Washington, United States, Cayman Islands, Ohio, stablecoins, U.S

☆ Opinion | The Formidable Rosalynn Carter
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Jonathan Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Known as the Steel Magnolia, a nickname she liked, Mrs. Carter sparked controversy when she sat in (silently) on cabinet meetings. In 1980, Mrs. Carter thought her husband was “seemingly pompous” in explaining why he wouldn’t make politically expedient decisions. When Mr. Carter rejected that idea out of hand, she helped him reinvent the post-presidency by establishing the Carter Center. When I was at work on my biography, Mrs. Carter shared with me her husband’s letters from sea. Rosalynn Carter kept those letters in a drawer close by until the day she died.

Persons: Carter, ”, “ Rosalynn, Cy ”, Cyrus Vance, ” — Zbigniew Brzezinski, — “, Ham ” — Hamilton Jordan, Hugh Sidey, Carter White, Betty, Dale, “ I’ll, Reagan, Rosalynn Carter Organizations: Carter

☆ Democrats Plan to Spend Millions to Weaken Republican Supermajorities
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Nick Corasaniti | More About Nick Corasaniti | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Democrats are planning to spend millions of dollars next year on just a few state legislative elections in Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky and Wisconsin — states where they have little to no chance of winning control of a chamber. Yet what might appear to be an aimless move is decidedly strategic: Democrats are pushing to break up Republican supermajorities in states with Democratic governors, effectively battling to win back the veto pen district by district. Such supermajorities result when a single political party has enough votes in both chambers of a legislature to override a governor’s veto, often, though not always, by controlling two-thirds of the chamber. As gerrymanders built by both parties for decades have tipped the scales to favor the party of the map-drawers, legislative chambers have proved resistant to shifting political winds at the state level. At times, those gerrymanders have locked in minority rule in legislatures while statewide offices, like the governor’s, adhere to the desires of a simple majority of voters.

Persons: gerrymanders Organizations: Democratic Locations: Kansas , North Carolina , Kentucky, Wisconsin

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