Politics

US Indicts Two Iranian Hackers Who Posed As Proud Boys And Threatened Dems: Vote For Trump Or Else

The Washington Post reports: Two alleged Iranian hackers were indicted by the U.S. Justice Department Thursday and accused of engaging in a hacking and disinformation campaign targeting American voters in the run-up to the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Seyyed Kazemi, 24, and Sajjad Kashian, 27, allegedly sent threatening emails to try to scare voters, attempted to break into several states’ …

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NC Dem Rep To Retire Due To Gerrymandered District

Politico reports: Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), a longtime leader of the Congressional Black Caucus, won’t seek reelection next year — another blow to Democrats’ efforts to keep control of the House after the midterm elections. Butterfield, first elected to an Eastern North Carolina congressional seat in 2004, saw his district undergo significant changes in redistricting. Under its current configuration, now-President …

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US Bishops Drop Effort To Deny Communion To Biden

The Washington Post reports: U.S. Catholic bishops Wednesday overwhelmingly passed their first document in 15 years on the meaning of Communion, emphasizing in the text the “special responsibility” of Catholic public figures to shape their own views based on “the Church’s faith and moral law.” The document did not mention politicians who support abortion rights or single out abortion in …

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Ethics Panel Rescinds Approval Of Cuomo’s COVID Book

The New York Daily News reports: New York’s ethics panel voted Tuesday to rescind approval of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s $5.1 million book deal. The Joint Commission on Public Ethics approved a resolution by a 12-1 vote reversing a decision made by staff last year allowing the disgraced governor to profit from his COVID-themed tome. The decision comes amid allegations …

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GOP Bill Would Decriminalize Weed At Federal Level

NBC News reports: Rep. Nancy Mace, a first-term Republican from South Carolina, introduced a bill Monday to decriminalize cannabis at the federal level, which she hopes will garner more GOP support for the legalization movement. “This legislation, I believe, has something good for everyone, whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican,” Mace told reporters outside the Capitol, where she introduced …

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Dem Rep. Jackie Speier To Retire After Current Term

San Francisco’s ABC News affiliate reports: U.S. Congresswoman Jackie Speier of San Mateo County says she will not be running for re-election to the U.S. House. Speier has served California’s 14th District of San Mateo County and the Peninsula since 2013 as well as the 12th District of San Francisco back in 2008 to 2013. But her career really starts …

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POLL: 60% Want Supreme Court To Uphold Roe V Wade

The Washington Post reports: Americans say by a roughly 2-to-1 margin that the Supreme Court should uphold its landmark abortion decision in Roe v. Wade, and by a similar margin the public opposes a Texas law banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. The lopsided support for maintaining abortion rights protections comes …

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Progressive Jumaane Williams Launches Bid For NY Gov

The New York Daily News reports: New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams on Tuesday announced he’s running for governor, staking his claim as a progressive candidate in what is shaping up as a crowded race. Williams stressed his activism against racism and police brutality in tossing his hat in the ring for next year’s Democratic primary dogfight. “Without progressive …

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Dem Sen. Patrick Leahy To Retire, 46 Years In Office

Axios reports: Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Monday he will retire instead of seeking re-election in 2022 — 46 years after first assuming the office in 1975. Leahy, 81, is the longest-serving sitting senator, and his retirement opens up a new, likely Democratic seat. Leahy said from the Vermont statehouse that he and his wife, Marcelle, concluded that “it is …

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Beto O’Rourke Announces Run For Governor Of Texas

The Texas Tribune reports: Beto O’Rourke is running for governor, challenging Republican Greg Abbott in a clash of two of Texas’ biggest politicians. “I’m running to serve the people of Texas, and I want to make sure that we have a governor that serves everyone, helps to bring this state together to do the really big things before us and …

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Orban: Hungary Will Stay In EU And Stay Anti-LGBT

Reuters reports: Hungary will not leave the European Union but will resist attempts from Brussels to erode its sovereignty, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told his Fidesz party on Sunday. Nationalist Orban, who faces a close parliamentary election next year for the first time in more than a decade, was re-elected chairman of Fidesz on Sunday. “After communist bureaucracy … we …

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Manchin Claims “No Idea” If He’ll Run For Reelection

The Hill reports: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said on Friday that he has “no idea” if he’ll run for reelection to the Senate in 2024, predicting he’ll make a decision after next year’s midterm election. “I have no idea. I’ll make a decision after [the] 2022 election, November, my term will be up in 2024,” Manchin said during an interview …

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Bannon Case Assigned To Judge Appointed By Trump

Politico reports: Each of the two counts Bannon was hit with Friday is punishable by up to a year imprisonment, with a minimum sentence of one month in jail. One charge covers Bannon’s refusal to testify, while the other applies to his refusal to produce documents in response to the committee’s subpoena. Bannon is expected to make his initial court …

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Sen. Lisa Murkowski Announces Bid For Reelection

The Associated Press reports: Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who voted to convict Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial and has repeatedly bumped heads with the former president, announced Friday that she will run for reelection. Trump, who has focused his political efforts on punishing his political opponents, endorsed a leading opponent of Murkowski in June. Kelly Tshibaka was commissioner of …

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Belarus Threatens To Cut Off Gas Supply To Europe

The Washington Post reports: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko opened another potential front against Europe on Thursday, threatening to choke off gas supplies amid a deepening crisis that has brought migrants surging to E.U. borders and Western leaders planning to retaliate with more sanctions. Lukashenko’s warning jolted energy markets and further suggested his authoritarian regime still had the backing of its …

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State Department: US Citizens Should Leave Haiti Now

Via press release from the State Department: The Department of State urges U.S. citizens to make plans to depart Haiti now via commercial means. U.S. citizens should carefully consider the risks of traveling to or remaining in Haiti in light of the current security situation and infrastructure challenges. Widespread fuel shortages may limit essential services in an emergency, including access …

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Feds Indict Three “Trump-Era Scam PAC” Operators

Politico reports: For the last five years or more, Matt Tunstall has used the name and likeness of Donald Trump and other politicians to ostensibly raise money for a network of political action committees. But he’s been accused of pocketing most of the money himself and on Wednesday, his so-called scam PAC operation finally caught up to him. In an …

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South Africa’s FW De Klerk Dies At Age 85 [VIDEO]

The BBC reports: FW de Klerk, the former president of South Africa and the last white person to lead the country, has died at the age of 85. Mr de Klerk, who was also a key figure in the nation’s transition to democracy, had been diagnosed with cancer this year, a spokesman said. He was head of state between September …

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2024 Watch: Christie Taunts Trump For Losing [VIDEO]

Axios reports: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, lacing up for a possible presidential run in 2024, told “Axios on HBO” he won’t back down from a fight with former President Donald Trump, taunting his longtime friend for losing the last election. “I’ve never walked away from an argument, no matter who stood on the other side,” Christie told me …

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Court Approves $626M Settlement In Flint Water Crisis

Michigan Live reports: A federal court judge has given final approval to a historic partial settlement of lawsuits related to the Flint water crisis. U.S. District Court Judge Judith E. Levy filed her approval order Wednesday, Nov. 10, calling the $626-million settlement fair, reasonable and adequate. Nearly 80 percent of the settlement, which state officials have said is likely the …

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