Politics

The Washington Post reports: Senate Republicans vowed Thursday to block voting legislation from advancing later this month, rejecting a key Democratic senator’s compromise offer that adopted some GOP ideas in a bid to break partisan gridlock on the issue. The pledge from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) all but guarantees that Republicans will filibuster a sweeping voting bill that …

The Hartford Courant reports: Following more than seven hours of debate, the Connecticut House of Representatives avoided a threatened gubernatorial veto and approved a revised bill that would legalize marijuana in the state. The measure cleared the House by a largely party-line vote of 76 to 62. Twelve Democrats joined all but one Republican–Rep. Rick Hayes of Putnam–in voting no. …

Axios reports: The National Republican Congressional Committee is the first national party committee to solicit crypto donations. That puts it at the forefront of a disruptive financial technology that could test campaign finance rules. “We are focused on pursuing every avenue possible to further our mission of stopping Nancy Pelosi’s socialist agenda and retaking the House majority, and this innovative …

Houston’s ABC News affiliate reports: Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday began announcing details of his plan for Texas to build its own border wall, starting the hiring process for a program manager and providing $250 million in state funds as a “down payment.” “Texas will build a border wall in our state to help secure our border,” Abbott said. The …

Politico reports: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced his support on Wednesday for repealing the 2002 war authorization for Iraq, vowing to hold a vote on scrapping the outdated measure later this year. The announcement from Schumer (D-N.Y.) comes as the House is expected to pass Rep. Barbara Lee’s (D-Calif.) bill on Thursday that would repeal the 2002 law, which …

Mediaite reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday cited Ashli Babbitt’s death to deflect from a question about his treatment of political opponents. “On the question of who is murdering whom, people rioted and went into the Congress in the United States with political demands,” Putin replied, invoking the mob that entered the Capitol on Jan. 6. “Many people were …

NBC News reports: The race to replace Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who cannot run again because of term limits, is gaining another candidate — a nuclear engineer who says he’s running as a Democrat to offer voters another alternative to the Trump brand of politics. Chris Jones, the former head of the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, a nonprofit organization based …

The Washington Post reports: The Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed a measure that would establish a federal holiday for Juneteenth, the day that marks the end of slavery in the United States. The bill now heads to the Democratic-led House, where it is likely to be approved, although the timing remains uncertain. Unanimous Senate passage of the bill was an …

The Hill reports: A Senate committee next week will hold a hearing for legislation to make Washington, D.C., the country’s 51st state, the District’s House Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) announced on Tuesday. “The Senate hearing shows that momentum continues to build for our D.C. statehood bill,” the longtime D.C. House delegate said in a statement, noting that this is …

NBC News reports: Asked about Biden’s criticism that Russia had added to global instability, he accused the U.S. of doing the same in Libya, Afghanistan and Syria. And the Russians aren’t cracking down on internal dissent, he said, any more than the U.S. is doing with its laws against foreign agents. He even pointed to the arrests of hundreds of …

The Associated Press reports: NATO leaders on Monday will expand the use of their all for one, one for all, collective defense clause to include attacks in space, the military organization’s top civilian official said. Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty states that attack on any one of the 30 allies will be considered an attack on them all. So …

CNN reports: The US government has spent the past week assessing a report of a leak at a Chinese nuclear power plant, after a French company that part owns and helps operate it warned of an “imminent radiological threat,” according to US officials and documents reviewed by CNN. The warning included an accusation that the Chinese safety authority was raising …

The Washington Post reports: For the first time in 12 years, Israeli lawmakers voted Sunday to install a government led by someone other than Benjamin Netanyahu, breaking a two-year electoral deadlock, marking a likely shift toward the political center and ending — for now — the reign of the country’s longest-serving prime minister, and one of its most consequential. A …

Haaretz reports: In the conclusion of his speech, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked the new coalition, focusing his criticism on Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party. Bennett is “fake right,” Netanyahu said, while praising Yamina member Amichai Shikli, who had promised to vote against the new coalition. “He isn’t the defector,” Netanyahu said. “You, Yamina members, are the defectors.” Netanyahu accused the …

“I don’t give up on Joe Manchin. When he was governor and Secretary of State in West Virginia he initiated many of the initial ideas that are in the HR 1, S.1, the For the People Act. I read his op-ed and you read a part of it, I think he left the door open. I think it’s ajar. I’m …

The New York Times reports: The political fate of Israel’s longest serving leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, is set to be decided on Sunday afternoon, when Parliament will hold a vote of confidence in a new government that would topple Mr. Netanyahu from power for the first time in 12 years. Mr. Netanyahu’s opponents hope that the vote, if it passes, will …

Last night Reuters publishing a grim deep dive into the death threats being rained down upon election workers by Trump supporters across the country. The piece has already garnered widespread attention, with Rachel Maddow devoting a segment of her show to it. Here’s how it opens: Late on the night of April 24, the wife of Georgia’s top election official …

Gothamist reports: In the coming months, showing proof of vaccination against COVID-19 will become commonplace before going into a bar, getting on a flight, or going back to school or the office. To deter people who are vaccine-averse and might be tempted to flash fake credentials, New York lawmakers passed a bill today criminalizing the falsification of vaccine records under …

NBC News reports: Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday that he plans to double the number of staff within the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division dedicated to protecting voting rights. “There are plenty of things up for debate in America, but the right of all eligible Americans to vote is not one of them,” Garland said. The staffing surge would …

The New York Times reports: During a recent visit to Argentina by the prime minister of Spain, President Alberto Fernández tried to connect with his guest by paying homage to Argentina’s European immigrant heritage. Instead, with a statement that was widely seen as xenophobic and offensive, Mr. Fernández managed to cause offense at home and across Latin America — including …