Politics

The San Francisco Chronicle reports: On Thursday, Newsom separated himself from the more progressive faction of his party when he said he didn’t support expanding the U.S. Supreme Court from nine justices to 13, a position that’s become more talked about since the court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last month. Newsom told a reporter from The Hill that …

The Associated Press reports: The House on Friday is expected to vote on two bills that would restore and guarantee abortion access nationwide as Democrats make their first attempt at responding legislatively to the Supreme Court’s landmark decision overturning Roe v. Wade. The legislation stands almost no chance of becoming law, with the necessary support lacking in the 50-50 Senate. …

Reuters reports: An initial field of 11 challengers has been whittled down following two days of votes by lawmakers from the ruling Conservative Party, but no individual has yet emerged as the obvious successor to Boris Johnson who announced he was stepping down following a series of scandals. While ex-finance minister Rishi Sunak has topped those two votes, he faces …

The Hill reports: Georgia’s Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) and Gov. Brian Kemp (R) are leading their challengers in their respective reelection races, according to a new poll released on Thursday. A poll from the AARP’s Georgia chapter conducted by Fabrizio Ward & Impact Research shows that 50 percent of likely voters polled would vote for Warnock compared to 47 percent …

Axios reports: Top Republicans, once confident about winning control of the Senate in the midterms, fear they’ll blow it after nominating several deeply flawed candidates in winnable states, according to conversations with GOP strategists, pollsters and other officials. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been sounding this alarm for months: electing fringe candidates with checkered pasts could squander a …

The Dallas Morning News reports: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott leads Democrat Beto O’Rourke by 5 percentage points in the Texas governor’s race, according to a new poll released Wednesday. Among likely voters, Abbott edges the former El Paso congressman, 49% to 44%. Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton each holds a 5-point lead in his November …

Politico reports: The House on Wednesday voted to create a secure government system for reporting UFOs and to compel current and former officials to reveal what they might know about the mysterious phenomena by promising to protect them from reprisal. The bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, passed by voice vote without debate, is part of an aggressive …

The New York Daily News reports: Mayor Adams raised alarm about New York City’s monkeypox vaccine “supply constraints” in a phone call with two of President Biden’s top public health officials late Tuesday as the city once again ran out of shots against the viral disease. In a statement Wednesday morning, Adams said he and his health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin …

Axios reports: Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker just had his best fundraising quarter yet, with nearly $6.2 million raised over the last three months. But that’s under 3x less than the $17.2 million that incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) raised during the same time. The fundraising news comes the same week that Walker’s campaign announced a slew of new hires, …

NBC News reports: The candidates all had to win the initial backing of at least 20 of their fellow Conservative lawmakers in order to proceed to the first round of voting which takes place Wednesday. In order to whittle the number of candidates down to just two, more votes will now take place – beginning Wednesday – with the 358 …

The Insider reports: John Bolton, who served in an array of key government roles across multiple Republican administrations, casually told CNN’s Jake Tapper that he’s helped plan coups in other countries. The admission came on Tuesday as Bolton and Tapper discussed former President Donald Trump’s unprecedented effort to overturn the results of a US presidential election. Bolton, who served as …

The New York Times reports: When the Supreme Court erased the constitutional right to an abortion last month, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida was among the many Republicans who celebrated. “The prayers of millions have been answered,” he tweeted. But while other Republican leaders vowed to charge ahead with new restrictions — or near-total bans — Mr. DeSantis offered only …

The New York Daily News reports: The United Nations said Monday it expected the world’s population to hit the 8 billion mark on Nov. 15. The organization’s report, released on World Population Day, also said that while population is growing slower than anytime since 1950, partially due to falling fertility rates, India is set to become the most-populous country in …

Politico Europe reports: Boris Johnson’s premiership will end on September 6 under a timetable agreed Monday evening by Conservative Party bosses. The U.K prime minister is set to step down from his role in eight weeks’ time, after a new Tory leader is elected in a ballot of party members ending September 5. Johnson’s anointed successor is likely to take …

The Hill reports: Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke knocked Gov. Greg Abbott (R) after the state’s grid operator appealed to Texans to “voluntarily conserve electricity” during a statewide heat wave on Monday. ERCOT cited “record high electric demand” during the heat wave and low wind to power turbines as “driving the need for this important action by customers.” ERCOT urged …

Axios reports: Pharmaceutical company HRA Pharma submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration on Monday asking to sell a birth control bill over-the-counter, rather than via prescription. If approved, it would be the first ever birth control pill to be available over-the-counter in the U.S. The application was submitted just weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. …

Reuters reports: The mother of the man arrested for the killing of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is a member of the Unification Church, the head of its Japanese arm said on Monday. Tetsuya Yamagami, an unemployed 41-year-old, has been identified by police as the suspect who approached Abe and opened fire during a campaign speech on Friday. Yamagami …

CNN reports: Former House Speaker Paul Ryan was “sobbing” as he watched the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol unfold on television, a new book reports. Ryan, who has criticized former President Donald Trump and his hold on the Republican Party, “found himself sobbing” during the insurrection, journalist Mark Leibovich writes in his forthcoming book, “Thank You For …

The Hill reports: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said on Sunday he was “hugely humbled” by people calling on him to run for president in 2024 but said he has not come close to making such a decision. “That’s not a decision that we have even begun to undertake,” Youngkin told CBS “Face the Nation.” The Washington Post reported late …

The Washington Post reports: Stacey Abrams’ fundraising continues to accelerate, swamping Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and pushing close to $50 million raised in the seven months since the Georgia Democrat announced her campaign in December. Abrams announced Friday that her direct campaign and its associated One Georgia committee raised $21.8 million during the two months ended June 30 and together …