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☆ US House passes a bill to protect same-sex marriage for the second time, this time with less Republican support
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The House passed a bill to protect same-sex marriage for the second time after senators amended it. Less Republicans voted for it this time than in July, despite amendments made by GOP senators. 39 House Republicans voted for the bill, less than the 47 who voted for the original version of the bill in July. Dozens of House Republicans, representing a broad and diverse swath of the conference, supported the bill when it first passed the chamber in July. Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, was also among the dozens of House Republicans who voted for the bill in July.

☆ Abortion was a hot topic in the 2022 midterms. Here's how an abortion clinic in Ohio plans to move forward after the end of Roe v. Wade.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The executive director of an independent Ohio clinic shares her plans for keeping the business open. At the same time, abortion clinics are navigating the new normal. While abortion access is temporarily restored in Ohio, limited timelines mean the viability to run an independent clinic is shrinking. Sri Thakkilapati, the interim executive director at the Cleveland independent abortion clinic Preterm, is trying to balance the two realities. It's always been our mission to destigmatize abortion and support patients through whatever reproductive-health decisions they make.

☆ Biden to host French President Macron at his first state dinner
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

White House executive chef Cris Comerford gave a media preview Wednesday of the state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron. “You need France.”Then-President Trump hosted French President Macron at a state dinner in 2018. The state dinner may be the Biden administration’s way of apologizing for an unforced error of such magnitude, Fried said. “We owed the French one after that.”A dish is previewed for the Macron state dinner. The last state dinner at the White House was in 2019.

☆ No Dissent on Abortion Allowed at Hogan Lovells
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Robin Keller | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

After the Supreme Court issued its Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade in June, global law firm Hogan Lovells organized an online conference call for female employees. As a retired equity partner still actively serving clients, I was invited to participate in what was billed as a “safe space” for women at the firm to discuss the decision. It might have been a safe space for some, but it wasn’t safe for me. I added that I thought abortion-rights advocates had brought much of the pushback against Roe on themselves by pushing for extreme policies. I referred to numerous reports of disproportionately high rates of abortion in the black community, which some have called a form of genocide.

At face value, this act seems like a step forward by codifying federal same-sex and interracial marriage rights. At best, it is a preemptive Band-Aid should the Supreme Court try to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, which cited the Fourteenth Amendment to legalize same-sex marriage. But in no way does this act federally legalize “marriage equality” across the United States. The protections to religious liberty were late additions to the bill, in order to secure the support of Senate Republicans like Utah’s Mitt Romney. Of course, the irony in this situation is that federal marriage equality isn’t even guaranteed under the Respect for Marriage Act.

☆ 12 Republican senators so far have broken with their party to support a bill that would protect same-sex marriage. Final passage is expected Tuesday night.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Senate will vote on a bill to protect same-sex marriage on Tuesday night. Twelve Republican senators so far have voted to advance the bill. Senators have tweaked the bill, which passed the Democratic-controlled House in July, to get GOP support. So far, 12 Republicans have cast votes in support of advancing the bill, and more could emerge when the final version comes up. A Gallup poll from June 2021 found that 70% of Americans — including 55% of Republicans — support same-sex marriage.

☆ The Senate Judiciary Committee will review reports that Alito's Hobby Lobby decision was leaked to an anti-abortion leader: 'another black mark on the Supreme Court's increasingly marred ethical recor
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Anti-abortion leaders knew about a 2014 Supreme Court decision before it was official, NYT reported. Alito's Hobby Lobby decision on contraception would be the second of two known leaks from the court. The Senate Judiciary Committee will investigate the allegations, AP reported. The Burwell v. Hobby Lobby decision held that corporations can refuse on religious grounds to pay for contraception as mandated by the Affordable Care Act. Representatives for the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Durbin, and the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ A former anti-abortion leader says he was told the decision of the landmark 2014 Hobby Lobby contraception case weeks before the Supreme Court ruling was formally announced: NYT
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

An anti-abortion leader said he was told of the Supreme Court's 2014 Hobby Lobby ruling in advance, per The New York Times. According to Schenck, the outcome of the Hobby Lobby case was only known to a very small contingent of individuals. In the letter to Roberts, Schenck spoke of the process in which the revelation about the Hobby Lobby case played out. "As I recall, we talked about the Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby, and how they, too, would be interested in this information." Gayle Wright told The Times that she didn't pass on any information about the Hobby Lobby decision in advance.

☆ How did Democrats make it so close in the House midterm elections?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +18 min

While the GOP did still take the House, the close margin of victory was a performance well below what was possible. Here are eight perspectives from across the ideological spectrum on why the Democrats were able to make it so close. And this reality was essential given the defection of Black and Latino voters to the Republican Party and its candidates. America can credit Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s obstruction of a democracy bill and an economic bill for the narrow Republican House majority. But now, America needs to deal with a Republican House, thanks in good part to Manchin’s obstruction.

☆ The pro-choice movement is jubilant after the midterms turned the anti-abortion tide
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The midterms proved that voters want to defend abortion access. Smith told Insider that, like many others, while she eagerly awaited the midterm results, the young man popped into her head. Timmaraju told Insider that they'd shifted resources over the summer into getting out the vote. "I think the moral of the story is young voters and women voters saved the day, saved Democrats." Melissa Fowler, the chief program officer of the National Abortion Federation, told Insider that, "Now the country has heard loud and clear that people support abortion access.

In Arizona Senate, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly is ahead of Republican Blake Masters by 115,000 votes with 80% in. On Dobbs, the national exit poll showed 27% of voters picking abortion as their No. And remember that our final NBC News poll found Trump as one of the most unpopular political figures we measured, especially compared with President Biden. In each state, those Democratic secretaries of state nominees were running against Republicans who cast doubt on the 2020 election result. Two of those five feature Democrat vs. Democrat contests, thanks to the state’s Top 2 primary, so those will stay in the Democratic column.

☆ Voters have been complaining about inflation for months, but they didn't punish Democrats for the economy as much as expected
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In the weeks leading up to the midterm elections, it seemed all voters cared about was the economy. Polling showed Americans were counting on Republicans to fix inflation and planned to vote Democrats out. But the lack of the anticipated Republican wave shows that Americans didn't punish the party in power as much as expected. The National Election Pool exit poll conducted by Edison Research found that abortion only narrowly trailed inflation, 27% to 31%, as voters' top issue. The exit polling doesn't dispute the idea that inflation and the economy were voters' top concerns.

Americans named inflation and abortion as the most important issues driving their vote on Tuesday, according to the NBC News Exit Poll. Democrats care most about abortion rights, while Republicans are most concerned about inflation, according to the poll. Midterm voters are also continuing to feel pain at the pump as gas prices in the U.S. hover around $4 per gallon. More voters say Biden's policies are hurting than helpingBiden fell short in persuading voters of the merits of his administration's policies, according to the poll. Black voters are one of the few demographic groups where a majority (55%) say Biden's policies are helping the country.

☆ Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer defeats Trump pick Tudor Dixon, winning a second term, NBC News projects
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Gretchen Whitmer won a second term after defeating Republican challenger Tudor Dixon, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, NBC News projected. Whitmer led by about 6 percentage points with more than 70% of the vote in, according to NBC. As the economy became top of mind for voters, Whitmer cast herself as a bipartisan leader and deal-maker. She frequently touted passing a balanced budget every year of her term and her commitment to rebuilding Michigan's crumbling roads. Trump endorsed Dixon four days before the state's primary.

☆ Live Results: Voters in 5 states had abortion access on the ballot. Here's where it's winning.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Of the five states, voters in California, Michigan, Kentucky, and Vermont signaled overwhelming support for abortion rights. CaliforniaCalifornia will enshrine abortion rights into its state constitution after voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved Proposition 1. Currently, there are three lawsuits challenging the abortion law in Kentucky, each of which asserts that the state's constitution provides a right to abortions. VermontMore than three-fourths of voters in Vermont said "yes" to Vermont's Proposal 5, which will amend the state's constitution to add language that protects reproductive freedom, including abortion. Currently, the state of Vermont has no restriction on abortion access and allows for abortions throughout pregnancy.

☆ Analysis: Why the news media got the midterm ‘red wave’ narrative so wrong
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —The White House believes that the press has “egg on their faces, yet again.”That’s according to a White House official who spoke candidly with CNN on Wednesday about the media’s “red wave” narrative that wasn’t. Heading into Tuesday, the dominant narrative in the press — especially right-wing media — was that Republicans were on track to have a big, if not monster, night. Pundits such as Ben Shapiro noted the view had gone “from red wave to red wedding.” Even on Fox News, the right-wing cable network that had heavily hyped the red wave presumption to its audience, pundits acknowledged the reality. As CNN’s exit poll showed Tuesday, abortion and the state of democracy were also significant factors in the election. “Politics has become extremely volatile,” the White House official said, “and I’m not sure that these kinds of sweeping narratives and this obsession with predictions helps anyone.” It’s hard to argue with that.

☆ A gay Republican who said Trump was 'at his full awesomeness' on January 6 is headed to Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

George Santos is set to become the only openly gay sitting Republican member of Congress. Santos will also be only the third openly gay Republican member of Congress, following former Reps. Jim Kolbe of Arizona and Steve Gunderson of Illinois. He is the first Republican to be openly gay at the time of his election. At the same time, Republicans have shown an increasing openness to same-sex marriage. Nonetheless, most members of the House Republican Conference voted against enshrining the right to same-sex marriage into law.

☆ Midterm results are looking increasingly sunny for Biden as Democrats avoid 'red wave'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

U.S. President Joe Biden smiles during a rally with Democratic nominee for Maryland Governor Wes Moore, U.S. "They still might lose control of both houses, but it's hardly the 'red wave' that was being marketed in the media." As results are reported across the country Wednesday, it appears Biden was right to be hopeful. President Joe Biden told reporters ahead of Election Day that he was "optimistic" for Democrats. "While Democrats may ultimately lose the House, it will likely be by much less than Republicans would want," O'Connell said.

☆ Live Results: Vermont votes in congressional and state elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Walt Hickey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Explore more race results below. Polls close in the state at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. It symobilizes the 2022 Election. Proposal 2 would add language to the state constitution explicitly prohibiting slavery and indentured servitude. Another, Proposal 5, would add the right to abortion directly into the state constitution.

☆ Live Results: Montana votes in congressional and state elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Walt Hickey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Polls close in the state at 8 p.m. local time, or 10 p.m. EST. Loading Something is loading. It symobilizes the 2022 Election. It'll certainly be worth watching, as a referendum on abortion in Kansas this summer bucked the GOP dominance in the state and was won by abortion rights advocates. Polls close in the state at 8 p.m. local time, or 10 p.m. EST.

☆ Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp fends off Democrat Stacey Abrams for a second term, NBC News projects
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Governor Brian Kemp holds up four fingers to indicate "four more years" as he speaks after winning the Republican primary during his primary election watch party in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. May 24, 2022. Brian Kemp has secured another term, fending off Democrat Stacey Abrams in the duo's second match-up, NBC News projected. Georgia voters in 2020 elected Democrats to both U.S. Senate seats and backed President Joe Biden. State officials, including Kemp, refused to do Trump's bidding and drew his ire when they certified Biden's electoral college win in Georgia. Abrams took flak two weeks before the election when she said on MSNBC that abortion was an economic issue.

☆ Live updates: Voters head to the polls for the US midterm elections with the balance of the House and Senate at stake
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Walt Hickey | Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Insider will have real-time live election results on thousands of races across the country, including every House, Senate, Governor, and State Legislative election happening in the United States. The most significant story is unfolding in dozens of House races across the country, as the Democrats' tenuous control of the chamber is being challenged by the GOP. Midterms tend to be disastrous for the incumbent president's party, and this election has control of the House very much up for grabs. This is why this cycle has a number of critically important state legislative races. The first polls close at 6 p.m. EST, come along and follow all the critical races of this election here.

☆ Some in White House worry abortion message bungled before midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Nandita Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Some White House officials believe they should have linked abortion to economic concerns more, rather than fundamental rights and privacy, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The White House faced a similar situation when trying to expand the child tax credit earlier this year, both sources noted. White House spokesman Kevin Munoz dismissed "any notion of over focus" on reproductive rights and said Biden has addressed multiple issues. The White House has asked the DNC to gather data for an election postmortem to identify what messages worked and what didn't, party sources said. The White House signed executive orders on the issue and met with state legislators, grassroots activists and coalitions to finetune abortion messaging.

☆ Asian Americans have some of the highest levels of support for abortion rights — and it's driving them to vote
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Sakshi Venkatraman | Sakshi Venkatraman Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

With studies finding that Asian American and Pacific Islanders show some of the highest levels of support for abortion rights, community leaders are expecting this issue to drive Asian Americans to the polls — many for the first time ever. “AAPIs view abortion not as the singular act of abortion, but as health care,” said Varun Nikore, executive director of the nonprofit AAPI Victory Alliance. While some researchers point to flaws in the polling (most notably that Pew only surveyed English speakers), they say there’s no doubt that Asians show the highest level of support when it comes to abortion rights. “That tells me that abortion rights and reproductive rights are likely what’s driving that prioritization,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder and director of demographic data and policy research at AAPI Data. A younger crop of Asian voters newly engaged by the Dobbs ruling are initiating these conversations with their elders, too.

☆ Kamala Harris Seeks to Rally Voters on Abortion as Polls Show Interest Waning
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Tarini Parti | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Vice President Kamala Harris will spend the final days of the midterms campaign seeking to rally Democrats around the issue of abortion access, as some polls show the issue losing potency in energizing voters and economic anxiety giving Republicans momentum ahead of Tuesday’s vote. Ms. Harris’s efforts come as Democrats grow concerned that rising inflation and gas prices are overshadowing abortion as a priority for many voters. A Wall Street Journal poll conducted about two weeks before Election Day suggests that abortion rights are less important in voting decisions than voters indicated in the summer, after the Supreme Court’s decision in June in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the constitutional right to an abortion and returned the issue to states to decide.

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