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☆ Supreme Court Sides With Republicans Over South Carolina Voting Map
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Adam Liptak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Supreme Court cleared the way on Thursday for South Carolina to keep using a congressional map that a lower court had deemed an unconstitutional racial gerrymander that resulted in the “bleaching of African American voters” from a district. A unanimous three-judge panel of the Federal District Court in Columbia, S.C., ruled in early 2023 that the state’s First Congressional District, drawn after the 2020 census, violated the Constitution by making race the predominant factor. The panel put its decision on hold while Republican lawmakers appealed to the Supreme Court, and the parties asked the justices to render a decision by Jan. 1. After that deadline passed, the panel said in March that the 2024 election would have to take place under the map it had rejected as unconstitutional. “With the primary election procedures rapidly approaching, the appeal before the Supreme Court still pending and no remedial plan in place,” the panel wrote, “the ideal must bend to the practical.”

Persons: Jan Organizations: American, Federal, Court, Congressional Locations: South Carolina, Columbia

☆ Indian teen allegedly kills two while drunk driving. As punishment, he was told to write an essay
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Anger is growing in India after a teenager who allegedly killed two people while drunk driving was ordered to write an essay as punishment, with many demanding a harsher penalty and accusing the judiciary of leniency. The minor was taken into custody and later presented to the Juvenile Justice Board, where he was released on bail and given 15 days of community service. He was also asked to write an essay about road safety, Fadnavis said. “This was a surprising order passed (by the Juvenile Justice Board),” Fadnavis said. “It was wrong (to allow the minor to drive),” he told reporters outside his home, while fighting back tears.

Persons: Devendra Fadnavis, Fadnavis, ”, ” Fadnavis, Prashant Patil, Amitesh Kumar, Kumar, Suresh Koshta, ” Rahul Gandhi, India’s, ” Gandhi, Salman Khan, Khan Organizations: CNN, Porsche, Juvenile, Board, Pune Police, Indian National Congress, Bombay, Court Locations: India, Pune, Maharashtra, Mumbai

☆ The future of Elvis Presley’s Graceland could be decided in court Wednesday
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The future of Graceland, Elvis Presley’s historic Memphis home, could be determined in court Wednesday after a bizarre set of events set the late singer’s granddaughter against a mysterious company that claimed Elvis’ daughter gave it Graceland’s deed. In a signed affidavit, the notary public denied ever notarizing anything that Lisa Marie Presley had signed. An estate in disputeFollowing Lisa Marie Presley’s death, Keogh and her grandmother, Priscilla Presley, fought over the rights to her estate – including Graceland. In 2004, Lisa Marie Presley sold 85% of Elvis Presley Enterprises’ assets in a deal reportedly worth more than $100 million. Lisa Marie Presley annually earned seven figures from it, based on a court filing in her 2022 divorce.

Persons: Elvis, Elvis ’, –, Danielle Riley Keough, Keough, Lisa Marie Presley, Naussany, Presley, Naussany isn’t, ”, “ Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley, “ Elvis Presley, Lisa Marie Presley’s, Keogh, Priscilla Presley, Graceland, Mad Max Fury Organizations: CNN, Chancery, Naussany Investments, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Graceland’s, Graceland Locations: Memphis, Shelby County , Tennessee, Graceland, Kimberling City , Missouri, Missouri, “

☆ She Just Earned Her Doctorate at 17. Now, She’ll Go to the Prom.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Alexandra E. Petri | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Dorothy Jean Tillman II successfully defended her dissertation in November 2023 to earn her doctoral degree from Arizona State University, she couldn’t wait to share the news with her best friend. “It was a surreal moment,” Ms. Tillman said, “because it was crazy I was doing it in the first place.”Ms. Tillman, at only 17, became the youngest person to earn a doctoral degree in integrated behavioral health from Arizona State’s College of Health Solutions, all before she was eligible to vote. Earlier this month, Ms. Tillman, now 18, took part in Arizona State’s commencement ceremony and delivered remarks as the outstanding 2024 graduate at the College of Health Solution’s convocation. Lesley Manson, program director for the doctorate of behavioral health at Arizona State and Ms. Tillman’s doctoral chair, said Ms. Tillman displayed extraordinary perseverance, hard work and dedication for her young age, tackling every challenge head-on.

Persons: Dorothy Jean Tillman II, Ms, Tillman, Lesley Manson Organizations: Arizona State University, Arizona State’s College of Health Solutions, College of Health, Arizona State Locations: Arizona

☆ Ohio Elections Official Threatens to Exclude Biden From the Ballot
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Chris Cameron | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Ohio General Assembly adjourned on Wednesday without addressing an issue that the state’s top elections official said would prevent President Biden from being placed on the ballot there, escalating a partisan clash that could result in the president not being on the ballot in all 50 states in November. Frank LaRose, the Republican secretary of state, has said that he plans to exclude Mr. Biden from the ballot because he will be officially nominated after a deadline for certifying presidential nominees on the ballot. This is usually a minor procedural issue, and states have almost always offered a quick solution to ensure that major presidential candidates remain on the ballot. The Biden campaign is considering suing the state in order to ensure Mr. Biden is on the ballot, while also searching for some other way to resolve the issue without moving the date of the nominating convention, according to a person with knowledge of the deliberations. But it took six months of legal wrangling before the court put that issue to bed.

Persons: Biden, Frank LaRose, Trump Organizations: Supreme Locations: Ohio

☆ Abortion Pills May Become Controlled Substances in Louisiana
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Pam Belluck | Emily Cochrane | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Louisiana could become the first state to classify abortion pills as dangerous controlled substances, making possession of the pills without a prescription a crime subject to jail time and fines. A bill that would designate the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol as Schedule IV drugs — a category of medicines with the potential for abuse or dependence — passed the state’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Tuesday by a vote of 63 to 29. The measure — which would put abortion pills in the same category as Xanax, Ambien and Valium — contradicts the way the federal government classifies mifepristone and misoprostol. The federal Food and Drug Administration does not consider abortion pills to be drugs with the potential for dependence or abuse, and decades of medical studies have found both to be overwhelmingly safe. Pregnant women would be exempt from those penalties; most abortion bans and restrictions do not punish pregnant women because most voters oppose doing so.

Persons: Jeff Landry, — Organizations: Republican, Gov, Food and Drug Administration Locations: Louisiana

☆ ‘Friendly Father’: Why South Korea is banning a song that recently went viral on TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | Gawon Bae | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The song was unveiled in April during a nighttime concert to mark the completion of a housing project in the capital Pyongyang, according to North Korean state-run Korean Central News Agency. “This isn’t Gen Z suddenly declaring allegiance for the regime,” said Alexandra Leonzini, a Cambridge University scholar conducting research on North Korean music. “They’re laughing at the regime not with the regime.”Nonetheless, South Korean security officials came down on the parodies. The music video of "Friendly Father" went viral on TikTok. North and South Korea have been cut off from each other since the Korean War in 1953 ended with an armistice.

Persons: Kim Jong, Kim –, Kim “, ”, TikTok, Z, Alexandra Leonzini, “ They’re, Kim, “, Ha Seung, it’s, ” Ha Organizations: CNN, Korean Central News Agency, North, Cambridge University, Korea Communications Standards, Seoul’s National Intelligence Service, country’s National, Dongguk University, North Koreans Locations: Korea, Pyongyang, Korean, South Korean, South Korea, North Korea, KCTV

☆ South Carolina Bans Gender Transition Care for Minors
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Adeel Hassan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The state now joins about two dozen others that have passed laws restricting or banning what doctors call gender-affirming care for minors. BackgroundSouth Carolina lawmakers tried to pass similar legislation in 2021 and 2022 but failed to get them through the State House of Representatives. In 2022, the clock ran out on a broader bill banning transition care for minors, but lawmakers put a clause in the state budget that banned a pediatric clinic at a public hospital from using state funds on transition care for people under 16. The measure, known as House Bill 4624, was passed by the legislature earlier this month. She added that gender-transition surgery was currently not being performed in South Carolina, and that transition care was being done only after much deliberation between doctors, parents and children.

Persons: Henry McMaster, McMaster, Elizabeth Mack, ” Organizations: South Carolina’s Republican, State, of, Republicans, South, American Academy of Pediatrics Locations: Carolina, South Carolina

☆ Elvis’ granddaughter fights Graceland foreclosure sale and alleges fraud
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Raja Razek | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Lisa Marie Presley was the sole heir to Graceland and her father’s estate when he died in 1977, and its overall worth has now reportedly reached into the hundreds of millions of dollars. The lawsuit alleges Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC “appears to be a false entity created for the purpose of defrauding.”CNN emailed Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC and received an automated reply, “We are currently out of the office; we will resume normal business hours on Tuesday May 28, 2024.”Riley Keough, Elvis Presley's granddaughter. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images) Dia Dipasupil/Getty ImagesWhen CNN attempted to reach Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC by phone, the number was no longer in service. “Naussany Investments has now scheduled a non-judicial sale of Graceland based on the fraudulent deed of trust,” the lawsuit reads. Lisa Marie Presley annually earned seven figures from it, based on a court filing in her 2022 divorce.

Persons: Elvis Presley’s, Danielle Riley Keough, Elvis, Keough, “, Lisa Marie Presley, ” Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis ’, ”, “ Lisa Marie Presley, Naussany, ” Riley Keough, Elvis Presley's, Dia Dipasupil, Graceland, Rolling, CNN’s Joe Sutton, Luciana Lopez, Alli Rosenbloom Organizations: CNN, Investments, Naussany Investments, ” CNN, Naussany, Lending, “ Naussany Investments Locations: Memphis, Graceland, Florida, Kimberling City , Missouri, Missouri, Shelby County , Tennessee

☆ Election officials in battleground Michigan grapple with sweeping voting changes and a presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Fredreka Schouten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The state’s highly decentralized system of administering voting means that “Michigan has 1,500 elections every big election day,” said Kyle Whitney, the city clerk of Marquette in the state’s Upper Peninsula. ‘We’re all beginners’The new rules in Michigan flow from a constitutional amendment that state voters approved by a wide margin in 2022 that dramatically expanded access to voting. Miller was elected to succeed the previous, term-limited clerk and is overseeing her first presidential election. Deborah Pellow, the part-time clerk of rural Tilden Township in the Upper Peninsula, is also overseeing her first presidential election this year. The next big test for Michigan comes in August, when voters cast primary ballots for congressional, state and local offices.

Persons: Michael Siegrist, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, tabulators, Biden, ”, Kyle Whitney, ” Whitney, Brennan, ‘, “, ” Lori Miller, Miller, “ It’s, Deborah Pellow, Pellow, Adam Wit, –, Shira Roza, Carlos Osorio, Angela Benander, Joycelyn Benson, Jacqueline Beaudry, ” Benander, ‘ We’re Organizations: CNN, Ferrari, Republican, Trump, Brennan Center for Justice, Wolverine State, Biden’s, Michigan’s, Democratic, Michigan Association of Municipal, Michigan Locations: Michigan, Canton Township, Antrim County, Marquette, Wolverine, Livonia, Detroit, Wayne County, Tilden Township, Canton, Harrison, Warren , Michigan, Ann Arbor City, Tilden

☆ Why Jay Powell really wants to lower interest rates this September
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

It’s interesting to me that the equity market is cheering the idea that the Fed is going to be cutting rates. There tends to be a fine line between cutting rates and extending the economic cycle or cutting rates because the cycle is coming to an end (and the economy is softening). When the Fed is cutting rates, it’s cutting rates because a recession is about to happen, right? That’s why I say there’s a fine line between the Fed cutting to extend the cycle and the Fed cutting because a recession is about to happen. The Fed has been in this precarious space where they’re trying to avoid recession while lowering interest rates.

Persons: Dow, stoking, Bell, Tom Porcelli, Jerome Powell, Jay Powell, they’re, that’s, Donald, Goofy, Eva Rothenberg, Mickey Mouse, Snow White, Captain Hook, ”, Kate Shindle, “, Uber, Lyft, Jamie Long, Read Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN — Markets, Federal Reserve, Fed, ’ Equity Association, Equity, National Labor Relations Board, Disneyland, Disney, ’ Equity, Walt Disney Company, Uber, Democratic, Minneapolis City Council Locations: New York, Anaheim , California, Minnesota, Minneapolis

☆ Eric Molitor was acquitted on charges related to the Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot. Now he’s running for sheriff
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Alison Main | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A man acquitted last year on charges linked to a 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is now looking to unseat an incumbent county sheriff. Eric Molitor has filed to run in the Republican primary this August against Trent Taylor, the sheriff of deep-red Wexford County in Northern Michigan. Taylor told CNN he believes he’s constitutionally obligated to enforce the state’s laws and that it would be “reckless” not to do so, as Molitor has said he would. Molitor told CNN his experience opened his eyes to flaws in the justice system.

Persons: Gretchen Whitmer, Eric Molitor, Trent Taylor, ”, Taylor, “, Molitor, Whitmer, he’s, ” Taylor, ” Molitor, we’ve, Dan Pfannes, Pfannes, MAGA, Donald Trump’s “, Trump, Michele Lundgren, Dana Nessel, ’ ”, CNN’s Lauren del Valle, Veronica Stracqualursi, Josh Campbell, Michelle Watson Organizations: CNN, Michigan, Republican, Democrat, Michigan State University, Northern, Capitol, Michigan House, Democrats, The Michigan Sheriffs ’ Association, Michigan Democratic Party, MAGA Republican, Michigan Republicans won’t, Republican Party Locations: Wexford County, Northern Michigan, Cadillac , Michigan, Michigan, Wexford

☆ After a gunman tried to shoot him, this Pennsylvania pastor wants to make his church safer
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Christina Maxouris | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Germany, a full-time bus driver and full-time pastor, knows how important this church is to its community. And now, it seems there’s another critical expense, though one this small church hardly could afford: security. Now, Germany wants to hire security experts to assess his church’s vulnerability and see how they can secure it. Pastor Glenn Germany in an undated image in his church in Pennsylvania. And it’s really dangerous.”In Tennessee, Lori Morrison has long been talking about the importance of church security, on both her website and her podcast.

Persons: Glenn Germany, It’s, ”, Chuck Schumer, Pastor Glenn Germany, Kevin Nelson’s, televangelist Joel Osteen, Nelson, I’m, ” Nelson, Schumer, Donell, what’s, “, Charlie Cytron, Walker, Beth Israel, Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, Christ, McKenzie, it’s, Schumer’s, ” Schumer, Pastor Kevin Nelson, Rico Reed, ” Reed, Lori Morrison, Morrison, there’s Organizations: CNN, Police, Kevin Nelson’s Calvary Baptist Church, Lakewood Church, Calvary Baptist, Baptist, Calvary, Training, Beth, National Council of, Jewish, FEMA, New, Calvary Baptist Church . Calvary Baptist Church, SecureTek Service, Inc Locations: Pennsylvania, Germany, North Braddock, Pittsburgh, Louisiana, Lakewood, Houston, ” Germany, San Antonio, Nelson’s, Sutherland Springs, Maryland, Baltimore, …, Texas, USA, New York, Calvary Baptist Church . Calvary Baptist Church Florida, In Tennessee, ”

☆ Minnesota lawmakers strike minimum pay deal for Uber, Lyft drivers
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Eva Rothenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Minnesota government officials have struck a deal with rideshare companies Uber and Lyft to set minimum wage standards for drivers, lawmakers announced Saturday night. The rule was delayed after Lyft and Uber warned they would leave Minneapolis. State lawmakers have been focused on compromising with the companies before a July 1 deadline. Under the new agreement, the statewide minimum wage rate for rideshare drivers will be $1.28 per mile and $0.31 per minute. “We applaud the tens of thousands of riders & drivers who sent close to 100,000 emails to legislators — your voices were heard.

Persons: Uber, Lyft, Jamie Long, ” Long, ”, Erin Murphy, Josh Gold Organizations: New, New York CNN, Minnesota, Democratic, Minneapolis City Council, Governor Locations: New York, Minnesota, Minneapolis, State

☆ Election Updates: Rubio, a Trump V.P. Contender, won’t commit to certifying 2024 election results.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Maggie Astor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Mr. Trump addressed the group as he is on trial in Manhattan on criminal charges that he falsified business records related to a hush-money payment to a porn star. Gun safety groups hung up T-shirts with the names of people killed by gun violence in Dallas County. At the N.R.A.’s meeting, Mr. Trump, whose campaign fund-raising has lagged in Texas, urged gun owners to head to the polls to help deliver him the election. She also criticized Mr. Trump for saying, “We have to get over it” after a shooting in Iowa this year that killed a sixth grader. Mr. Trump “is catering to the gun lobby and threatening to make the crisis worse if re-elected,” Ms. Harris said.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Biden, ”, Mr, “, Greg Abbott, John Cornyn, you’ve, Andrew Arulanandam, Abbott, Biden’s, ” “ Donald Trump, Joe Biden, ” Mr, N.R.A, ” Ana, Maria Ramos, Jill Brown, Louis, —, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Trump’s, Kamala Harris, ” Ms, Harris Organizations: National Rifle Association, Biden, “, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Texas Democrats, Dallas City Hall, City Hall Plaza, Associated Press, Allen, Outlets, Republican, Trump coalition, Las, Supreme Locations: Dallas, Manhattan, Houston, Uvalde , Texas, Texas, Dallas County, United States, Pennsylvania, Las Vegas, Parkland, Fla, Iowa

☆ Election Updates: After a week in court, Trump steps out to Minnesota and Texas. Next up, the Bronx.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Katie Glueck | Maggie Haberman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Former President Donald J. Trump, who has been spending much of his time recently as a criminal defendant in a Manhattan courtroom, will be in a different New York borough next Thursday, when he will hold a campaign event in the Bronx. But Mr. Trump’s aides have been discussing an event in the South Bronx for weeks. Last month, in his first campaign stop since the start of the trial, Mr. Trump visited a bodega in Harlem, attacking the district attorney prosecuting him and casting himself as tough on crime. The former president told donors at a Manhattan fund-raiser this week that he was planning something in the South Bronx, making a joke that he might get hurt in the neighborhood. You may never see me again,” he said, prompting laughter, according to an attendee who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private event.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Biden, Trump’s, “ We’re, ”, Ritchie Torres, Donald Trump, Mr, Torres Organizations: Republican, ”, New York Democrat, Bronx Locations: Manhattan, New York, Bronx, Crotona, South Bronx, New York City, bodega, Harlem

☆ A Covid-19 memorial website, The WhoWeLost Project, offers pandemic mourners a digital safe space
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Ashley Williams | Ashley R. Williams | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

A year ago, the World Health Organization declared an end to Covid-19 as a global public health emergency. On the fourth anniversary of Settle’s death – and driven by a need to mourn – Koenig wrote about his former partner on the Covid-19 remembrance website WhoWeLost. Greenwald expanded the website nationally after a 2021 story on the website from an NPR affiliate garnered widespread praise. “I think the need for the site, in a way, is larger because less people are paying attention (to Covid-19),” Greenwald told CNN. They can write those stories down here.”New York City resident Wiandy Santiago’s 65-year-old brother Wilmard Santiago died of Covid-19 in April 2020, a week after being placed on a ventilator.

Persons: Jody Settle, Ed Koenig, Settle’s, Willie Nelson’s, ”, Koenig, – Koenig, Martha Greenwald, “, ” Greenwald, Greenwald, Kentuckians, Kent Nishimura, Wilmard Santiago, ” Wiandy Santiago, Alberto Locascio, doesn’t, ” Santiago, she’s, –, Wilmard, Locascio’s, Nicholas, She’s, Sarah Wagner, Covid, ” Koenig, Poynter, ’ ” Greenwald, Spencer Platt, “ We’re, ” Paige Gavin, that’s, ” Wagner, WhoWeLost, “ Covid Organizations: CNN, New York City, Settle, World Health Organization, United, NPR, Los Angeles Times, American Psychiatric Association, York City, Wiandy, Yankees, George Washington University, Getty Locations: Irish, New York, United States, Covid, Kentucky, New Jersey, Louisville , Kentucky, Washington, Washington ,, United Kingdom, ”, York, Bronx, New

☆ Voting this year will be harder than it is was four years ago in more than half the states, a new report finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Fredreka Schouten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Americans in more than half of the states will face voting restrictions this year that weren’t in place four years ago during the last presidential election, a new analysis finds. Kay Ivey in March – makes it a crime in most cases to return an absentee ballot application on behalf of another voter. And it’s now a felony for a person to receive payment for distributing or collecting absentee ballot applications. At least 11 states have enacted laws this year that the Brennan Center officials say make it easier to vote. Given the changed election law landscape, she added, it’s crucial that people who plan to cast ballots this fall start to familiarize themselves with their state’s voting rules.

Persons: Brennan, ”, Sara Carter, Donald Trump, baselessly, –, Kay Ivey, ” Ivey, Grant Baldwin, Michael Swensen, ” Carter Organizations: CNN, Brennan Center for Justice, New York, Brennan Center, Republican Gov, “, Getty, Brennan, Kentucky Locations: North Carolina, Alabama, Idaho, Charlotte , North Carolina, Carolina, Louisville , Kentucky, Nebraska

Former President Donald J. Trump, who has been spending much of his time recently as a criminal defendant in a Manhattan courtroom, will be in a different New York borough next Thursday, when he will hold a campaign event in the Bronx. The gathering is scheduled to take place at Crotona Park, his campaign announced in a statement on Friday evening, declaring that Mr. Trump would “ease the financial pressures placed on households and re-establish law and order in New York!”It is an unusual location for a Republican presidential campaign event: The area went for President Biden by about 77 percentage points in the 2020 election. And despite a shift to the right in some of New York State’s congressional districts and neighborhoods, including in the Bronx, in recent years, the state as a whole is not considered a general-election battleground. But Mr. Trump’s aides have been discussing an event in the South Bronx for weeks. The gathering, they said, would not be a traditional rally.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Biden, Trump’s Organizations: Republican Locations: Manhattan, New York, Bronx, Crotona, South Bronx

☆ Youngkin Vetoes Measures to Remove Tax Breaks for Confederate Heritage Group
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Anna Venarchik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Glenn Youngkin of Virginia vetoed on Friday two bills that would have revoked tax exemptions for the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a century-old organization that has often been at the center of debates over the state’s Confederate past and its racial history. In doing so, Mr. Youngkin sided with fellow Republicans in the legislature who almost unanimously opposed the bills and the efforts by the state’s Democrats to curtail the Commonwealth’s relationship with Confederate heritage organizations. The bills had nearly unanimous Democratic support in both chambers of the legislature. The organization’s property tax exemptions were added to the state code in the 1950s, during segregation and when the Commonwealth maintained a closer relationship with the group. The organization’s Virginia division is also exempt from paying recordation taxes, which are levied when property sales are registered for public record.

Persons: Glenn Youngkin, Youngkin Organizations: Confederacy, Confederate, Democratic, Commonwealth, organization’s Locations: Virginia, organization’s Virginia

☆ The US did a complete 180 on same-sex marriage
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The vast majority of Americans opposed same-sex marriage on May 17, 2004, when the first same-sex couples took their vows after a court decision in Massachusetts. Barack Obama notably opposed same-sex marriage when he ran for president as a Democrat in the 2008 election and, as public opinion was rapidly shifting, changed his tune in 2012 to support same-sex unions. Warnings were unfoundedThere is also evidence that warnings about same-sex marriage somehow endangering “traditional marriage” simply never materialized. A new study by researchers for the RAND Corporation to assess two decades of same-sex marriage in the US argues marriage rates actually increased among opposite-sex couples as same-sex couples were granted the ability to marry in certain states. A key difference between support for same-sex marriage and support for abortion rights, according to Lundry, is that support for abortion rights has remained positive for decades, in contrast to same-sex marriage, which saw a complete turnaround.

Persons: CNN —, Mitt Romney, George W, Bush, Hillary, Julie Goodridge, Charles Krupa, Sen, John Kerry, Hodges, Barack Obama, Obama, Romney, Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, weren’t, ” Romney, Obergefell, —, PRRI, Alex Lundry, Republican pollster, “, ” Lundry, Gen, Dick Cheney, Joe Biden Organizations: CNN, Republican, House, Boston City Hall, Massachusetts Democrat, Democrat, Supreme, Gallup, RAND Corporation Locations: Massachusetts, Utah, Oregon, Ohio, Without Ohio, America

☆ Election Updates: Trump will speak at a Minnesota fund-raiser, hoping the state’s political divide will put it in play.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Jonathan Weisman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

On Friday, the former president will be back, speaking at a fund-raising dinner for the Minnesota Republican Party in St. Paul that is open only to paying guests and invited media. Whether the visit is a feint to draw Democratic dollars to the state or a true effort to expand the electoral map, only the Trump campaign knows. The Trump campaign believes it can capitalize on — or foment — a backlash to the leftward march of the Twin Cities and still-fresh memories of the unrest after the killing of George Floyd. “We have a real opportunity to expand the map here,” Chris LaCivita, a senior Trump campaign adviser, told The Associated Press ahead of Mr. Trump’s visit. In an interview with a conservative radio station in March, Mr. Trump falsely claimed he won Minnesota in 2020.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Hillary Clinton, Paul, ”, Angie Craig, Richard M, Nixon, Trump’s, Clinton, Biden, “, Pete Stauber, Donald Trump, Dean Phillips, Phillips, Mr, Jack Rendulich, Collin Peterson, Rick Nolan, Stauber, Tim Walz, George Floyd, Ilhan Omar, Floyd’s, Chris LaCivita, Jim Manley, Barack Obama, Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota’s Organizations: Minnesota Republican Party, Trump, Republican, Republicans, Democratic, ”, Democrat, Mr, Associated, Agriculture, Democratic Socialists of America, City Council, Democrats, Twin, Alpha, Associated Press, North, North Carolina, Midwest, Minnesota Locations: Minnesota, St, Minneapolis, Paul, ” Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, Twin Cities, Democratic, City, Gaza, North Carolina, Illinois

A state ethics panel quietly dismissed a complaint last summer against the New York judge presiding over the criminal trial of Donald J. Trump, issuing a warning over small donations the judge had made to groups supporting Democrats, including the campaign of Joseph R. Biden. The judge, Juan M. Merchan, donated a total of $35 to the groups in 2020, including a $15 donation earmarked for the Biden campaign, and $10 to a group called “Stop Republicans.”Political contributions of any kind are prohibited under state judicial ethics rules. “Justice Merchan said the complaint, from more than a year ago, was dismissed in July with a caution,” the spokesman for the court system, Al Baker, said in a statement. A caution does not include any penalty, but it can be considered in any future cases reviewed by the state’s Commission on Judicial Conduct. A letter outlining the caution was not released because of the commission’s rules, and Justice Merchan did not make the letter available.

Persons: Donald J, Joseph R, Biden, Juan M, ”, Merchan, Al Baker Organizations: New, Trump, Republicans, state’s, Judicial Locations: New York

☆ A Crucial Senate Race Could Come Down to One Question: Do I Trust You?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Kellen Browning | Tailyr Irvine | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The rural dirt farmer versus the decorated Navy SEAL. The longtime Democratic incumbent in a deep-red state versus the youthful conservative handpicked by Republicans to topple him. The man who lost three fingers to a meat grinder versus the man who got shot — or maybe didn’t — in Afghanistan. Montana’s high-profile race for Senate, which could decide the balance of power in Washington, is shaping up as a fight to see whose unique biography can best earn the trust of the state’s wary voters. Republicans believe that the Democrat they are trying to defeat, Senator Jon Tester, 67, is vulnerable to attacks that he has lost touch with Montanans and become a Washington insider.

Persons: Jon Tester, Tim Sheehy Organizations: Navy, Democratic, Senate, Republicans, Republican Locations: Afghanistan, Washington

☆ Cohen’s Cross-Examination to Continue as Trump Trial Enters Homestretch
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Michael Wilson | More About Michael Wilson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The questioning of Mr. Cohen, who was Donald J. Trump’s former fixer, is the beginning of the end of the trial, which began April 15 and could conclude before Memorial Day weekend. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche came out swinging, suggesting that Mr. Cohen had referred to him personally on social media with a vulgarity. Mr. Blanche went on to ask about Mr. Cohen’s longtime habit of talking to reporters, his ignoring requests from prosecutors to stop speaking and his vitriol toward Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen, who puts out podcasts and TikTok videos, has suggested that Mr. Trump belongs in a cage like an “animal” and referred to him as a “Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain.”In court, Mr. Cohen responded calmly and matter-of-factly, avoiding any outbursts or gaffes that could hurt his credibility. Mr. Cohen testified that Mr. Trump directed him to pay $130,000 in hush money to Stormy Daniels, a porn star, to suppress her account of a sexual rendezvous with the former president in a Lake Tahoe, Nev., hotel in 2006.

Persons: Michael D, Cohen, Mr, Donald J, Trump’s, Todd Blanche, Blanche, Trump, ”, Stormy Daniels Locations: Lake Tahoe, Nev

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