Politics

Steve Scalise Drops Out Of Race For House Speaker

NPR reports: Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., has dropped out of the race to become the new House speaker, after failing to secure enough support for his bid to succeed on the floor. “I was very clear we have to have everybody put their agendas on the side and focus on what this country needs,” Scalise told reporters in the Capitol. …

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Wife Of Dem NJ Gov May Run For Menendez’s Seat

Gothamist reports: Sen. Bob Menendez says he’s still in the 2024 race. But could Democrats see First Lady Tammy Murphy’s name on the primary ballot — either running against him or ultimately in his place? “I think if she has news to break on this, she’s going to be the one to do it,” Gov. Phil Murphy, her husband, said …

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POLL: Majority Of Jewish Israelis Blame Netanyahu

The Jerusalem Post reports: Four out of five Jewish Israelis believe the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are to blame for the mass infiltration of Hamas terrorists into Israel and the massacre that followed, a new Dialog Center poll released on Thursday found. An overwhelming majority – 86% of respondents, including 79% of coalition supporters, said the surprise attack …

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US To Stop Iran From Accessing $6 Billion Account

The Washington Post reports: U.S. officials and the Qatari government have agreed to stop Iran from accessing a $6 billion account for humanitarian assistance in light of Hamas’s attack on Israel, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told House Democrats on Thursday, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private remarks. The decision not …

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GOP To Meet Today Ahead Of Possible Speaker Vote

The Washington Post reports: The Republican-led House remains in limbo Thursday as Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) struggles to secure the majority of votes needed to be elected by the full chamber. On Wednesday, Scalise narrowly topped Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) in a conference-wide vote, winning the majority by 113-99, with nearly a dozen Republicans voting present or for someone else …

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Tuberville Warns Against “Picking Sides In Middle East”

“I’m hoping that cooler heads prevail, they don’t go into Palestine. Hopefully they get the hostages back and people start cooperating. But this has been really bad. Israel has the right to go because they they came in and they did some terrible things in their country. But the problem is when you start picking sides in the Middle East, …

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DeSantis Rips Trump For Calling Hezbollah “Very Smart”

“You know, I said that President Xi of China — 1.4 billion people, he controls it with an iron fist — I said he’s a very smart man. They killed me the next day [for saying it]. I said he was smart! What am I gonna say? But Hezbollah, they’re very smart and they [Israel] have a national defense minister …

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REPORT: Trump Won’t Back “Disloyal” Steve Scalise

The Messenger reports: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise should not expect any help from Donald Trump in his bid to become speaker of the House, sources tell The Messenger. Scalise hasn’t been loyal enough to the former president and 2024 presidential frontrunner, so he shouldn’t count on Trump to help woo enough GOP holdouts — who include Trump allies — …

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Progressive Podcaster Cenk Uygur To Challenge Biden

Semafor reports: Progressive pundit Cenk Uygur will challenge President Biden for the Democratic nomination, offering himself as an alternative to an incumbent who “is definitely going to lose” if he makes it to the general election. “I’m going to do whatever I can to help him decide that this is not the right path,” Uygur, 53, told Semafor, as he …

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Mace Opposes Scalise Due To David Duke Connection

“I plan on voting for Jim Jordan on the floor. I’ve been very vocal about this for the last couple of days. I personally cannot, in good conscience vote for someone who attended a white supremacist conference and compared himself to David Duke. I would be doing an enormous disservice to the voters that I represent in South Carolina if …

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Full House Will Not Vote For New Speaker Today

CNN reports: The House of Representatives will not vote on a new speaker today, just hours after Republicans voted behind closed doors to select Rep. Steve Scalise as their nominee for speaker. The final vote tally was 113 for Scalise and 99 for Rep. Jim Jordan. The vote came after the conference rejected a proposal to raise the threshold required …

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NC Republicans Override Vetoes Of Voting Restrictions

The Associated Press reports: North Carolina Republicans enacted vote-count restrictions and weakened the governor’s ability to oversee elections and other state regulatory bodies on Tuesday by overriding Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes. Lawsuits attempting to block the new laws are likely as the 2024 elections approach. In a series of votes, the narrow GOP supermajorities in the House and Senate …

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Israel Forms Emergency Unity Govt To Fight Hamas

The Jerusalem Post reports: An emergency government was formed on Wednesday afternoon after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Unity leader Benny Gantz met in the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv earlier in the morning. The meeting lasted half an hour after which lawyers representing the Likud and National Unity stayed behind to finalize the details. As part of the …

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Anti-Abortion Groups Go All-In On Coming Ohio Vote

Politico reports: Anti-abortion groups are banking on Ohio to end the movement’s run of state-level losses and create a blueprint for battles in 2024 and beyond. In four weeks, voters in the Buckeye State will decide whether to enshrine abortion protections into the state constitution or be the first to reject an abortion-rights measure since the Supreme Court overturned Roe …

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Power Goes Out In Gaza Strip After Israel Cuts Supply

The Messenger reports: The Gaza strip, cut off from Israel’s power grid, lost electrical service on Wednesday when the territory’s sole power plant ran out of fuel, reports said. The Al Jazeera Mubasher, news channel, citing the head of the Gaza Energy Authority, said the lights went out at 2 p.m. local time. Israel cut off its supply of electricity …

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Lindsey Graham Doubles Down On Call To Bomb Iran

“I want to be very clear. If you kill the hostages — the Hamas has hostages, Americans and Israeli hostages — they start killing those hostages, if there’s an attack by Hezbollah in the north, creating two fronts for Israel, what I would do is, I would bomb Iran’s oil infrastructure. “The money financing terrorism comes from Iran. It’s time …

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GOP Rep Wears Scarlet Letter: I’ve Been “Demonized”

The Charleston Post & Courier reports: U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace wanted to make a point. So she decided to do it with a bold reference to one of the best-known female protagonists in American literature. On Oct. 10, the South Carolina Republican walked into a closed-door candidate forum for the next Speaker of the House wearing a white shirt with …

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GOP Reps Predict Gridlock In Speaker Secret Ballot

Axios reports: Multiple members emerged from the House GOP’s speaker forum on Tuesday saying they don’t see either candidate being any closer to having the votes needed to secure the gavel on the floor. “No one is close to 217,” Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) said after Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La) and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) pitched members on …

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Dems Seek DOJ Probe Into Virginia Voter Rolls Purge

The Washington Post reports: Democratic Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia are urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate whether the Youngkin administration violated the Voting Rights Act when it wiped at least 270 fully qualified Virginia voters off the state’s rolls. In a letter dated Friday and released to the media Tuesday, Warner, Kaine and the …

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Scott: Biden Has “Blood On His Hands,” Funded Hamas

The Messenger reports: President Joe Biden has “blood on his hands” after Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel over the weekend, Sen. Tim Scott said during a foreign policy speech in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. “While Hamas carried out these attacks, Joe Biden has blood on his hands,” Scott said. “His weakness invited the attack. His cash giveaways to …

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