Politics

Biden To Meet With Saudi Crown Prince In Riyadh Visit

The New York Times reports: President Biden, who as a candidate vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” in response to the assassination of a prominent dissident, has decided to travel to Riyadh this month to rebuild relations with the oil-rich kingdom at a time when he is seeking to lower gas prices at home and isolate Russia abroad. While …

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FL Supreme Court Lets DeSantis’ US House Map Stand

The Orlando Sentinel reports: The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday declined to jump into the state’s congressional redistricting fight, leaving in place a lower-court decision that would clear the way for using a controversial plan that Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed through the Legislature. Justices, in a 4-1 ruling, rejected a request by voting-rights groups to stay a decision by the …

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Avenatti Gets Four Years In Stormy Daniels Case

NBC News reports: A federal judge in New York on Thursday sentenced disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti to four years in prison for stealing from his former client, onetime adult film actor Stormy Daniels, who wrote an explosive 2018 book. Avenatti learned his fate, appearing before U.S. District Court Judge Jesse Furman in Lower Manhattan. The defendant had proposed that he …

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Newsweek: Intel Report Says Putin Treated For Cancer

Newsweek reports: Vladimir Putin’s health is a subject of intense conversation inside the Biden administration after the intelligence community produced its fourth comprehensive assessment at the end of May. The classified U.S. report says Putin seems to have re-emerged after undergoing treatment in April for advanced cancer, three U.S. intelligence leaders who have read the reports tell Newsweek. All three …

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Man Who Shot Reagan Granted Unconditional Release

CBS News reports: John Hinckley Jr., the man who shot and nearly killed President Ronald Reagan in 1981, is set to be unconditionally released from court-ordered psychiatric supervision on June 15, after federal prosecutors, mental health professionals and Hinckley’s legal team told a judge on Wednesday that they have no concerns about his mental state. Hinckley, now 67, shot at …

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Final Deadline Passes For Cuomo To File For NY Gov

NBC New York reports: After months of speculation whether former Gov. Andrew Cuomo would make another run for his old job — less than a year after resigning in disgrace when faced with allegations of sexual harassment and wrongdoing — the deadline came and went with no paperwork filed by Cuomo. The first deadline to get the Cuomo name back …

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Dem Lawyer In Trump Impeachment To Run For House

The New York Daily News reports: Daniel Goldman, the lead counsel in former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, plans to announce Tuesday he’s running for the open congressional seat that former Mayor Bill de Blasio, Rep. Mondaire Jones, Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou and former Rep. Liz Holtzman are all vying to win. Goldman, 46, who’s lived within the recently redrawn 10th …

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POLL: Ryan And Vance Deadlocked In Ohio Senate Race

The Hill reports:  The Ohio Senate race between Republican J.D. Vance and Rep. Tim Ryan (D) is in a virtual deadlock, according to a new poll. The USA Today Network Ohio/Suffolk University survey released Wednesday found that Vance leads Ryan by just more than 2 percentage points among likely Ohio voters, well within the margin of error. Vance received the …

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McCormick Seeks Hand Recount In PA Senate Primary

NBC News reports: Dave McCormick’s Senate campaign — citing what it called several “abnormalities” — will seek a hand recount of select precincts in 12 Pennsylvania counties as a broader, state-mandated recount gets under way in his too-close-to-call Republican primary with celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz. A senior campaign official who briefed reporters on the plans Tuesday afternoon offered several complaints, …

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REPORT: Uvalde Employee Didn’t Leave Door Open

The San Antonio Express reports: An employee at Robb Elementary School had propped open a door to carry food from a car to the classroom last Tuesday, but closed it shut after realizing that a gunman was loose and heading toward the school, her San Antonio lawyer said. Don Flanary said the school employee, who is not being identified out …

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House GOP Bill Would Criminalize Supreme Court Leaks

The Hill reports: A group of 12 House Republicans introduced the Leaker Accountability Act on Tuesday, which would bar any officer or employee of the Supreme Court from “knowingly publishing, divulging, disclosing, or making known in any manner” confidential information such as internal notes, draft opinions, or final opinions before publication learned through the course of employment at the court. …

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DeSantis Seeks Leader For Revived Florida State Guard

Florida Politics reports: With a tagline saying, “protect Florida, defend freedom,” Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ office announced Tuesday that it opened an application portal for the Director of the State Guard, a civilian force that the Legislature resurrected this year at the Republican Governor’s behest. The Director will oversee the recruitment and training of 400 guard members and mobilize the force …

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Clinton Campaign Lawyer Acquitted Of Lying To FBI

The Washington Post reports: A federal jury found Michael Sussmann, a lawyer for Democrats including the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, not guilty of lying to the FBI when he brought them allegations against Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential race. Tuesday’s verdict was a major setback for Special Counsel John Durham, who was appointed during the Trump administration and has …

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Analysis: Dem Crossovers Sank Trump Pick In Georgia

The Associated Press reports: An Associated Press analysis of early voting records from data firm L2 found that more than 37,000 people who voted in Georgia’s Democratic primary two years ago cast ballots in last week’s Republican primary, an unusually high number of so-called crossover voters. Even taking into account the limited sample of early votes, the data reveal that …

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SCOTUS Clerks Ordered To Hand Over Phone Records

CNN reports: Supreme Court officials are escalating their search for the source of the leaked draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, taking steps to require law clerks to provide cell phone records and sign affidavits, three sources with knowledge of the efforts have told CNN. Some clerks are apparently so alarmed over the moves, particularly the sudden requests …

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City Of Austin Seeks To Circumvent Texas Abortion Law

Politico reports: The city of Austin is attempting to shield its residents from prosecution under a Texas law that would criminalize almost all abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned — the first push by a major city in a red state to try to circumvent state abortion policy. Councilmember Chito Velav [photo] is proposing a resolution that would direct …

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Russia Denies Reports That Vladimir Putin Has Cancer

Politico Europe reports: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has denied that Vladimir Putin is seriously ill in the wake of numerous reports suggesting that the Russian leader has cancer. “You know, President Putin appears in public every day. You can see him on the screens, read his speeches, listen to his speeches,” Lavrov said,. “I don’t think sane people can …

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Pope Snubs Archbishop Who Denied Communion To Pelosi, Elevates Lower-Ranked Archbishop To Cardinal

The Los Angeles Times reports: Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego, one of Pope Francis’ ideological allies who has often sparred with more conservative U.S. bishops, was named by the pope on Sunday as one of 21 new cardinals. Among his notable stances, McElroy, 68, has been one of a minority of U.S. bishops harshly criticizing the campaign to exclude …

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Warnock Challenges Herschel Walker To Three Debates

Politico reports: It’s a standard political ploy, straight out of a challenger’s playbook: demand a series of debates the moment the primaries are over. Only in Georgia, it was incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock who issued the call for three televised debates, as soon as his fall Senate election match-up with Herschel Walker was set. Warnock’s move made sense in light …

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TMZ: Pelosi’s Husband Charged With DUI In California

TMZ reports: Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was arrested this weekend for DUI … TMZ has learned. The House Speaker’s spouse was arrested just before midnight Saturday night in Napa County, and then booked hours later into jail on two counts — driving under the influence and driving with a blood alcohol content level of 0.08 or higher … both …

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