Politics

The Raleigh News & Observer reports: North Carolina and Alaska are the only two states that allow 14-year-olds to marry. Some North Carolina lawmakers want to stop this from happening and have said that allowing minors to marry has made the state a destination for child trafficking. Sen. Danny Britt, a Lumberton Republican, said his colleagues have told him they …

Reuters reports: A Belarusian athlete who took refuge in the Polish embassy in Tokyo on Monday a day after refusing her team’s orders to board a flight home from the Olympic Games has been granted a humanitarian visa by the Warsaw government. Sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya plans to leave for Poland in the coming days, a Polish deputy foreign minister, Marcin …

The Associated Press reports: After much delay, senators unveiled a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, wrapping up days of painstaking work on the inches-thick bill and launching what is certain to be a lengthy debate over President Joe Biden’s big priority. Despite the hurry-up-and-wait during a rare weekend session, emotions bubbled over once the bill was produced Sunday night. …

USA Today reports: “There were many communications with President Trump that day,” Sen. Susan Collins said Sunday, when asked during CNN’s “State of the Union” whether Trump allies should appear before the panel about his role in inciting the riots at the Capitol. “While the rioters are primarily responsible for what happened, there’s no doubt in my mind that President …

“I would support subpoenas to anybody that can shed light on that. If that’s the leader, that’s the leader. If it’s anybody that talked to the president they can provide us that information. “I want to know what the president was doing every moment of that day after he said, ‘I’m going to walk with you to the Capitol.’ “And …

Reuters reports: A Belarusian sprinter said she was taken to the airport against her wishes on Sunday to board a flight back home after she complained about national coaches at the Tokyo Olympics. Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who was due to compete in the women’s 200 metres on Monday, told Reuters she did not plan to return to her home country. She …

Reuters reports: Hungary’s National Election Committee (NEC) approved on Friday the government’s list of questions on LGBT issues it wants to put on a referendum as part of what Prime Minister Viktor Orban has called an “ideological war” with the European Union. Orban, a nationalist who has been in power since 2010, proposed a referendum on ruling party legislation that …

The New York Daily News reports: A teenage boy jumped to his death at from the Vessel at Manhattan’s Hudson Yards as his horrified family watched, police said. The 15-year-old leaped off the 150-foot-tall structure near W. 33rd St. and 10th Ave. about 12:53 p.m., cops said. The teen is the fourth suicide from the structure since it opened two …

“The person that shot her is a police officer shooting a criminal not complying with officers telling her, ‘Stop. Don’t come through that window. We have guns drawn. Don’t do it.’ “They’re protecting people, and the officer was found to be innocent of any wrongdoing. So then what would be the purpose of releasing that officer’s name? What do you …

Law & Crime reports: The Turkish government is not immune from a lawsuit brought by protesters suing strongman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s security detail for allegedly assaulting them on the streets of Washington, a federal appeals court has ruled. Issued on Tuesday, the D.C. Circuit’s ruling reanimates one of the most highly publicized scandals in U.S.-Turkish relations during the Donald Trump …

The Arizona Republic reports: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema does not support Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget plan that aims to deliver major components of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda that Democrats hope to pass after moving a separate bipartisan infrastructure deal that Sinema negotiated. Sinema, D-Ariz., told The Arizona Republic on Wednesday she had reviewed the Senate Budget Committee’s spending framework and …

Axios reports: The Israeli government has formed a special task force to pressure Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and its parent company Unilever to reverse their decision to boycott Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Israeli officials tell me. The Israeli government is concerned the move by Ben & Jerry’s will encourage other international companies to take similar steps to …

The Casper Tribune reports: Former Sen. Mike Enzi died Monday after suffering serious injuries in a recent bike accident. He was 77. The announcement of Enzi’s passing came in a tweet posted at 11:14 p.m. to his senatorial Twitter account. The Gillette News Record reported that Enzi was biking near his home in Gillette shortly before 8:30 p.m. Friday when …

That was quick. CNN reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Sunday she has appointed GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger to the House select committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. “Today, I am announcing the appointment of Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran and Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard, to serve on the …

Axios reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday that it is her “plan” to appoint Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) to the House select committee investigating the deadly Jan 6. Capitol riots. Pelosi’s statement to ABC’s “This Week” comes after she rejected two of the five Republican appointments offered by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Pelosi’s refusal led to …

The Washington Post reports: In a television interview two decades ago, the fringe congressman didn’t hesitate to say it: If he were president, he would shut down the Brazilian congress and stage a military takeover. “There’s not even the littlest doubt,” Jair Bolsonaro said. “I’d stage a coup the same day [I became president,] the same day. Congress doesn’t work. …

From Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett: Dear citizens, those who refuse vaccines are endangering their health, those around them and the freedom of every Israeli citizen. They are endangering our freedom to work, the freedom of our children to learn and the freedom to hold celebrations with the family. Those who refuse vaccines hurt us all because if all of …

The Texas Tribune reports: Stephen F. Austin, Donnie Darko and a person who calls himself the King of the Wild Frontier were among the first people to give money to support Gov. Greg Abbott’s border wall effort after he announced he would be seeking private donations to help fund it. But there’s no way to verify if Austin, who donated …

Nashville’s ABC News affiliate reports: A Tennessee panel has moved forward on a final vote to remove the Nathan Bedford Forrest from the Tennessee Capitol. The bust of the Confederate general and KKK Grand Wizard still sat in the Capitol, months after a vote to remove it and two other statues. Thursday’s vote from the State Building Commission was the …

Axios reports: Former Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D) announced Thursday that she’ll run in 2022 for the U.S. Senate in Iowa, a seat currently held by seven-term incumbent Sen. Chuck Grassley (R). Finkenauer is the first major Democrat to announce a Senate run in Iowa, which is expected to be a critical swing state next fall as the party looks to …