Politics

11 Red States Sue Biden Over Student Debt Relief Plan

Axios reports: Eleven Republican-led states are suing the Biden administration over its latest efforts to provide student debt relief for millions of borrowers. The Kansas-led lawsuit is seeking to have the SAVE plan immediately halted. The attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas and Utah joined the suit. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R) …

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RFK’s Running Mate Calls IVF “Big Lie,” Says Women Can Improve Their Fertility By “Exposure To Sunlight”

Politico reports: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate has been a harsh critic of in vitro fertilization, while funding alternative research on extending women’s reproductive years. Nicole Shanahan has for years denounced IVF — calling it “one of the biggest lies that’s being told about women’s health today.” At the same time, she has also been a vocal proponent of …

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Ted Cruz Bill Gives US Reps Police Escorts In Airports

The Dallas Morning News reports: Senator Ted Cruz is one step closer to his dream law to force law enforcement officers to give top national officials a private escort past airport security. Cruz introduced language into the Federal Aviation Administration’s funding bill. Yet despite some derision against him, the language remains in the bill. During the ice storm of 2021, …

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Texas Appeals Court Tosses Five-Year Sentence Of Woman Who Voted Without Knowing Of Ineligibility

The Guardian reports: A Texas appeals court has thrown out a five-year prison sentence for Crystal Mason, a Texas woman who was sentenced for trying to cast a provisional ballot in the 2016 presidential election that was rejected. Mason, now 49, attempted to vote in Fort Worth in the 2016 even though she was ineligible because she was still on …

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KY Lawmakers Approve Age Verification For Porn Sites

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: Lawmakers approved a bill that would require age verification to access pornography websites in Kentucky. The purpose of the measure is to prevent minors from viewing porn, said bill sponsor Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville. House Bill 278 would allow the parents of minors who access porn sites, or anyone else injured by the access, to sue …

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Virginia Gov Vetoes Bill Allowing Retail Weed Sales

The Associated Press reports: Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed two top Democratic legislative priorities on Thursday: bills that would have allowed the recreational retail sales of marijuana to begin next year and measures mandating a minimum wage increase. In 2021, Virginia became the first Southern state to legalize marijuana, adopting a policy change that allowed adults age 21 and …

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TikTok Launches Ad In Swing States To Battle Ban

CNBC reports: TikTok has launched a $2.1 million advertising campaign with a clear message for senators in tough reelection fights this year: Block the House bill that could effectively ban the app in the United States. “Think about the 5 million small business owners that rely on TikTok to provide for their families,” one purported TikTok user says in the …

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Kentucky Lawmakers Approve Bill Stripping Democrat Gov Of Power To Appoint US Senators During Vacancy

The Associated Press reports: Kentucky lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to a bill stripping the state’s Democratic governor of any role in picking someone to occupy a U.S. Senate seat if a vacancy occurred in the home state of 82-year-old Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. The legislation calls for a special election to fill any Senate vacancy from the Bluegrass …

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US Census Revamps To Better Count Minorities

Axios reports: Hispanics and people of Middle Eastern and North African heritage may be more accurately counted in future U.S. census forms and other governmental data thanks to a new rule announced Thursday. Critics have long said the government’s approach to asking about people’s race or ethnicity is confusing or misrepresentative — and has huge stakes for the distribution of …

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South Carolina To Use US House Map Ruled Racist

The Washington Post reports: A federal court ruled Thursday that time had run out to draw a new congressional district in South Carolina and said the state could use its existing map this year even though it had earlier determined that map was unconstitutional. The panel of three judges last year concluded that South Carolina’s Republican-led legislature “exiled” 30,000 Black …

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Florida Supreme Court Has Until Monday To Rule On Abortion Rights And Legal Marijuana Ballot Measures

Florida Politics reports: The Florida Supreme Court must make a consequential decision between now and Monday, April 1, on whether to allow two significant ballot initiatives on the November 2024 ballot. Attorney General Ashley Moody asked the court to block the marijuana amendment from the ballot, but the scope of questions during the Supreme Court hearing suggested that several Justices …

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Dems May Trade Protecting Johnson For Ukraine Aid

The Hill reports: A growing chorus of Democrats say promising to protect Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) from a budding conservative coup could be their best chance to secure military aid for Kyiv, which has been stalled on Capitol Hill for months. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has already filed a motion to oust the Speaker if he bucks the conservatives’ …

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Chris Christie: I Won’t Run On The No Labels Ticket

Reuters reports: Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, has decided against running as the No Labels candidate for president, delivering the latest blow to the centrist, third party’s bid for the White House. The two-time former presidential contender’s decision leaves the group with few remaining viable options for candidates as it seeks to seize on the unpopularity of …

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MTA Approves NYC’s First-In-Nation Congestion Tolls

The New York Times reports: New tolls to drive into the busiest parts of Manhattan — including $15 for most passenger cars — were officially approved on Wednesday by an 11-1 vote of the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Nearly all the toll readers have been installed, and will automatically charge drivers for entering the designated congestion zone at …

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Pro-Choice AL Dem Flips Deeply Red Seat In Election To Replace GOP State Rep Who Pled Guilty To Voter Fraud

The Alabama Reflector reports: Democratic candidate Marilyn Lands, who campaigned on ending Alabama’s near-total abortion ban and protecting access to contraception and in vitro fertilization, won a special election Tuesday for a Huntsville-area state House seat. Lands will succeed former Rep. David Cole, R-Madison, who resigned in August after pleading guilty to voter fraud charges. In a statement, Lands said …

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Texas Sues Two More Porn Sites Over Age Verification

The Austin American-Statesman reports: In another attempt to limit the accessibility of adult content online, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued two more pornography distribution companies, alleging that they are in violation of a state law requiring age verification for sexually explicit websites. The attorney general’s office filed civil lawsuits against Multi Media, which owns the website Chaturbate, and …

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NYT: Brazil’s Bolsonaro Fled To Hungarian Embassy As Authorities Closed In His Plot To Orchestrate A Coup

The New York Times reports: On Feb. 8, Brazil’s federal police confiscated former President Jair Bolsonaro’s passport and arrested a pair of his former aides on accusations that they had plotted a coup after Mr. Bolsonaro lost the 2022 presidential election. Four days later, Mr. Bolsonaro was at the entrance to the Hungarian Embassy in Brazil, waiting to be let …

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“Literally Anybody Else” Launches Bid For President

Dallas’s ABC affiliate reports: Before a Dallas Stars hockey game at the American Airlines Center last week, fans were met by an ordinary, eager-looking guy wearing a TCU ballcap and a shirt that read ‘Literally Anybody Else 2024’ by the steps of PNC Plaza. His mission? Impossible. But the sentiment driving it all? Wholly relatable, sympathetic, and engaging to many …

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Israel Cancels US Visit By Diplomats After Gaza Vote

The Washington Post reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday canceled a trip to Washington by an Israeli delegation of top officials after the United Nations Security Council passed its first resolution calling for a Gaza cease-fire. The United States abstained, allowing it to pass. The resolution, backed by 14 nations including China and Russia, demands an immediate cease-fire …

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UN Security Council Backs Gaza Ceasefire, US Abstains

The Guardian reports: For the first time the UN security council has voted for a call for a ceasefire in Gaza, after the US abstained, rather than using its veto as it has done on previous occasions. Russia and China have also previously vetoed texts. The resolution that passed was written by the 10 elected members to the council, and …

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