Politics

The Desert Sun reports: Capping months of contentious debate over art, architecture, city procedures and use of tax revenue, the 26-foot-tall statue of Marilyn Monroe known as “Forever Marilyn” was formally installed in downtown Palm Springs on Sunday night amid speeches from enthusiastic city leaders and chants from appalled protestors. Protest chants of “Hey hey! Ho ho! Misogyny has got …

The Texas Tribune reports: Eva Guzman, the Republican former justice on the Texas Supreme Court, officially began her campaign against embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday, pledging to bring “honor and integrity” to the office as well as an extensive legal background that could set her apart from another primary candidate, George P. Bush. Guzman said her experience also …

The Hill reports: A coalition of progressive organizations on Monday announced the launch of a $1.5 million television ad campaign targeting centrist Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) over her opposition to filibuster reform and a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Twenty Arizona groups joined Just Democracy, a coalition of over 40 “Black and Brown-led organizations” promoting Democracy reform, in unveiling two hard-hitting …

New today from Ipsos Polling: In the race to be the next mayor of New York, a new Ipsos poll shows Eric Adams appears to be in the best position to win Tuesday’s Democratic primary. He has the advantage due to a combination of solid name recognition and strong marks on dealing with the most important issue in the minds …

The Des Moines Register reports: Fewer than a third of Iowa’s likely voters say they would vote to reelect Republican Chuck Grassley if the U.S. Senate elections were held today, a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows. Grassley has not yet said whether he will seek an eighth term in 2022. But the new Iowa Poll appears to show …

The New York Daily News reports: Millions of elderly Americans on Medicare would get dental, vision and hearing insurance added to their health benefits under a proposal pushed Sunday by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Americans age 65 and older have since the 1960s received subsidized health care coverage under Medicare — but Schumer said the program’s …

The Associated Press reports: Anti-government protesters have taken to the streets in cities across Brazil as the nation’s confirmed death toll from COVID-19 soared past half a million. It’s a tragedy many critics blame on President Jair Bolsonaro’s attempt to minimize the disease. Thousands gathered Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, waving flags reading “Get out Bolsonaro.” Other marchers hoisted posters …

CNN reports: More than 100,000 names will be removed from Georgia’s voter registration rolls in an attempt to keep the state’s voter files “up to date,” Georgia’s secretary of state announced Friday. “Making sure Georgia’s voter rolls are up to date is key to ensuring the integrity of our elections,” Republican Brad Raffensperger said in a statement. “There is no …

The Associated Press reports: A seven-month investigation by the Associated Press and the Oxford Internet Institute, a department at Oxford University, found that China’s rise on Twitter has been powered by an army of fake accounts that have retweeted Chinese diplomats and state media tens of thousands of times, covertly amplifying propaganda that can reach hundreds of millions of people …

Law & Crime reports: A truck driver who drove his rig through a large crowd of demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd on a Minnesota highway last summer will no longer face criminal charges, provided he does not get into trouble with the law for the next year. Bogdan Vechirko, 36, and prosecutors in Hennepin County reached a deal—called …

The Washington Post reports: Catholic bishops Friday voted to create guidelines on the meaning of communion, a move that could be an early step towards limiting the serving of the eucharist to President Biden and other politicians who support abortion rights. The vote came after a 3 ½ hour emotional discussion Thursday at the annual spring meeting of the U.S. …

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 …