Politics

“They say justice is blind. I don’t think it was blind in this case at all. I think you have political pressure. I think you have pressure from all these activist groups going into all this. “And I think at the end of the day people say, ‘You know what? If we acquit this guy, this city is going to …

Roll Call reports: Rep. Harold Rogers is facing a $5,000 fine after bypassing a security check on his way to the House floor, becoming the third Republican to be handed the penalty after violating a rule adopted in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The Kentucky Republican set off a magnetometer last week on his way …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Brazil’s government, widely criticized by environmental groups as a negligent steward of the Amazon rainforest, has made an audacious offer to the Biden administration: Provide $1 billion and President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration will reduce deforestation by 40%. The proposal was made as the Brazilian president prepares for a virtual environmental summit with roughly 40 heads …

Axios reports: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is seriously considering running for president in 2024, three people familiar with his thinking tell Axios. While Christie isn’t saying anything publicly about his thinking — besides telling radio host Hugh Hewitt he’s not ruling it out — people close to him have an early sense of the rationale and outlines of …

“George Floyd’s murder was a flash point for how we look at race and justice inner county, and we are pleased that justice appears to have been served. But we also recognize that there is much work to be done and the National Basketball Association and the National Basketball Players Association, together with our newly-formed Social Justice Coalition, will redouble …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: Jurors have reached verdicts in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who faces charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in George Floyd’s death last year. The verdict will be announced in open court between 3:30 and 4 p.m. CDT. Jurors, who were sequestered, reached their decision after hearing …

Via press release from the White House: For far too long, the more than 700,000 people of Washington, D.C. have been deprived of full representation in the U.S. Congress. This taxation without representation and denial of self-governance is an affront to the democratic values on which our Nation was founded. H.R. 51 rights this wrong by making Washington, D.C. a …

CBS News reports: The jury has begun deliberations following closing arguments in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the fired Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death. The trial is nearing its end after more than 13 days of sometimes tense and emotional testimony at the heavily secured Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis. Judge Peter Cahill sent the …

The Washington Post reports: Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick suffered two strokes and died of natural causes a day after he confronted rioters at the Jan. 6 insurrection, the District’s chief medical examiner has ruled. The ruling, released Monday, likely will make it difficult for prosecutors to pursue homicide charges in the officer’s death. Two men are accused of …

Politico reports: William Barr, Trump’s former attorney general who resigned two days before Christmas after disagreeing publicly with Trump’s voter fraud conspiracy theories, recently sold a book about his time at the Justice Department, according to three people familiar with the deal. This will be Barr’s first book and he started writing it within the last two months, according to …

NPR reports: Monday marks the beginning of the end in regards to the trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused of killing George Floyd last year by kneeling on his neck for more than 9 minutes. The defense and prosecution have each rested their cases and both sides are set to deliver their closing arguments Monday. …

The Minnesota Daily reports: A new bill proposed in the Minnesota Legislature would make anyone convicted of a crime at a protest ineligible for student loans and many other forms of state financial aid. The bill, authored by Sen. David Osmek (R- Mound), states that “A person convicted of a criminal offense related to the person’s illegal conduct at a …

Spectrum News reports: For the past few months, Andrew Yang has been treated as the frontrunner in the mayor’s race by both the media and his fellow candidates, despite the fact there had been few reliable polls in the race. Now comes supporting evidence: our exclusive Spectrum News NY1/Ipsos poll, released Monday, shows Yang firmly in the lead. In one …

“We’re going to produce a poll tomorrow night — I’ve seen the data, we’re going to release it — that’s going to show that the American people are more likely to trust the vaccine because the FDA and CDC are willing to step in and say, ‘Wait a minute, we’re not convinced of this so we want to take a …

The Dallas Morning News reports: Matthew McConaughey commands more support to be Texas’ next governor than incumbent Greg Abbott, according to a poll released Sunday by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler. If he were to take the plunge and run for governor, the poll found, 45% of Texas registered voters would vote for McConaughey, …

The Associated Press reports: Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Saturday signed legislation making it more difficult to get initiatives or referendums on ballots in what is widely seen as an attempt to stop a medical marijuana initiative and other left-leaning causes in the conservative state. The Republican governor signed into law the measure backers said is needed because the current …

Pew Research reports: As more states, including Virginia and New York, continue to legalize marijuana, an overwhelming share of U.S. adults (91%) say either that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use (60%) or that it should be legal for medical use only (31%). Fewer than one-in-ten (8%) say marijuana should not be legal for use by adults. …

The Insider reports: Multiple Republican lawmakers have come out against an “America First Caucus” created by their colleagues that emphasizes “Anglo-Saxon political traditions.” Punchbowl News reported Friday the caucus was formed by GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar to “follow in President Trump’s footsteps, and potentially step on some toes and sacrifice sacred cows for the good of …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas Senate passed a bill Wednesday to create a new statewide court of appeals that would hear cases that have statewide significance — including ones that challenge state laws, the constitution or when the state or its agencies are sued. Currently, when such cases go to the intermediate appellate level, they are mostly heard by …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Raúl Castro said Friday he was stepping down as chief of Cuba’s ruling Communist Party, leaving behind a demoralized country running on little except post-revolutionary fumes as it struggles with growing food shortages and rising discontent. Mr. Castro’s retirement announcement, which came during a four-day party congress in Havana, marks a generational change as the …