Politics

Reuters reports: Three British opinion polls released late on Saturday presented a grim picture for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party, and one pollster warned that the party faced “electoral extinction” in July 4’s election. The polls come just over halfway through the election campaign, after a week in which both the Conservatives and Labour set out their manifestos, and …

The New York Times reports: There will be no opening statements. President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump will each have two minutes to answer questions — followed by one-minute rebuttals and responses to the rebuttals. Red lights visible to the candidates will flash when they have five seconds left, and turn solid red when time has expired. And …

Courthouse News reports: Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, the divisive official who was perennially at odds with most of the leading politicians in the region throughout his four years in office, sued the LA County Board of Supervisors on Thursday accusing the officials of libel and of violating his First, Fifth and 14th Amendment rights. The suit comes …

Bloomberg News reports: President Joe Biden and challenger Donald Trump face the same problem in their first debate: How to sway voters in a tight race where most Americans say they’ve already made up their minds. The candidates are already at work, conferring with close advisers before the first face-to-face showdown of 2024 on June 27 in Atlanta. That forum …

NBC News reports: The veteran organization the American Legion weighed in on the upside-down American flag controversy on Thursday, noting that flags should only be flown this way if there is “extreme danger to life or property.” The potential implications of flying an American flag upside down have been the subject of debate since reports emerged that an upside-down flag …

Politico reports: A Republican proposal to block a Biden administration policy that shores up troops’ access to abortion was added to the House Pentagon policy bill Thursday, a move that will jeopardize bipartisan support and complicate efforts to pass the legislation. In a 214-207 vote, lawmakers adopted Rep. Beth Van Duyne‘s amendment to overturn the Pentagon policy to reimburse troops …

Reuters reports: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned on Friday that a vote for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party would hand electoral victory to Labour, after a poll put the right-wing group ahead of Sunak’s Conservatives for the first time. Farage is one of Britain’s most recognisable politicians best known for his decades long – and eventually successful – crusade …

Ars Technica reports: Victor Miller is running for mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming, with an unusual campaign promise: If elected, he will not be calling the shots—an AI bot will. VIC, the Virtual Integrated Citizen, is a ChatGPT-based chatbot that Miller created. And Miller says the bot has better ideas—and a better grasp of the law—than many people currently serving in …

The Hill reports: Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) on Thursday protested an amendment added to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that bars funding for drag performances with a blown-up photo of former President Trump and Rudy Giuliani, a former New York City mayor and Trump attorney, dressed in drag. An amendment filed this week to the annual defense policy bill …

Samuel Alito’s archenemy ProPublica reports: Billionaire political donor Harlan Crow provided at least three previously undisclosed private jet trips to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in recent years, an investigation by Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats has found. The flights, which were detailed by Crow’s lawyer in response to inquiries from the committee, took the justice to destinations including the region …

Austin’s CBS affiliate reports: For the first time, LGBTQ+ Pride flags are flying outside the Austin Police Department headquarters and other city-owned facilities throughout June. The display of the flags is in compliance with a resolution passed by the Austin City Council in August 2023, which directed the city manager to fly the Pride flag at city facilities each June …

The Hill reports: Legislation to establish a national right to in vitro fertilization (IVF) was blocked by Senate Republicans on Thursday, amid a push by Democrats to put the GOP on defense over reproductive rights ahead of the November elections. The bill needed 60 votes in order to move forward, meaning nine Republicans would have needed to break ranks and …

Politico Europe reports: A brawl erupted in Italy’s parliament on Wednesday, with one lawmaker leaving the chamber in a wheelchair. The scuffle kicked off during a vote in the Chamber of Deputies, Italy’s lower house of parliament, on the government’s controversial bill paving way to give Italy’s regions greater autonomy. As seen in a video of the incident, Leonardo Donno, …

“One of the companies that does a lot of this stuff is headquartered in Florida. So I was down and I was interested in trying other things, but they had me try this burger that was not made of meat, it was not lab grown, it was like plant based, all this other stuff, which look, if that’s what you …

Politico reports: A Florida appeals court on Wednesday refused to go along with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ argument that he can shield public records due to executive privilege — a right that had not been recognized previously under state law that could have drastically expanded the governor’s ability to keep records from the public. The decision by the three-judge panel of …

The Business Insider reports: The man who was raised by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Ginni, as their own son from ages 6 to 19 is in jail awaiting trial on drugs and weapons charges, Business Insider has learned. Mark Martin, the grandson of Thomas’ sister, Emma Mae Martin, lived with the Thomas family in Virginia from …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis is again sounding the alarm about what he sees as potential consequences of a constitutional amendment that could legalize marijuana in Florida, misrepresenting it along the way. “I mean the amendment language says that there can be no penalties for use or possession, civil criminal, anything. I think it’s going to be very difficult …

Rolling Stone reports: In a new recording, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito lashes out at the news organization ProPublica, describing the news organization’s Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Supreme Court as driven by political animus, insisting: “They don’t like our decisions.” Asked to elaborate, Alito got specific. “ProPublica,” he said. “ProPublica gets a lot of money, and they have spent …

Axios reports: A ballot measure that would set a maximum age limit of 81 on U.S. Congress members representing North Dakota was approved by voters in the state on Tuesday. The vote that’s believed to be the first of its kind comes after age emerged as a top concern for voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election, as 81-year-old President …

The New York Times reports: Jeff Gunter, who is competing in Tuesday’s Nevada Republican primary for the Senate and described himself as “110 percent pro-Trump,” saw Donald J. Trump endorse one of his primary opponents, Sam Brown, over the weekend. He did not take it well. Mr. Trump announced his endorsement of Mr. Brown on Truth Social, his social media …