Politics

The Oregon Capitol Chronicle reports: In a unanimous decision, the court rejected arguments from five Republican senators that Measure 113, a voter-approved 2022 law meant to dissuade lawmakers from walking out and shutting down the legislative process, was poorly worded and would give them another term in office. Instead, the court agreed with state attorneys, who urged justices to consider …

Florida Politics reports: A bill capping the level of delta-9 THC in the event voters decide to legalize adult-use marijuana moved forward by a 13-4 vote in its first House stop in the Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee. In processed substances, such as vapes, shatter and wax, the cap would be 60% delta-9 THC if this bill passes. For practical purposes, that …

“After consulting with federal and local prosecutors, as well as doing a comprehensive investigation and review of possible charges, it was determined that — despite a likely violation of Congressional policy — there is currently no evidence that a crime was committed. “Although the hearing room was not open to the public at the time, the Congressional staffer involved had …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing five cities — Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin and Denton — to block their ordinances decriminalizing low-level marijuana possession. In 2022, voters in the five cities approved policies that would end arrests and citations for possession of less than four ounces of marijuana. An initiative spearheaded by Ground Game …

Politico reports: New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy raised $3.2 million for her Senate campaign to replace indicted Sen. Bob Menendez, nearly doubling the amount her chief rival for the Democratic nomination, Rep. Andy Kim, in the last quarter of 2023. In fourth quarter filings with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday, Kim’s campaign had raised a total of $2.77 …

NBC News reports: Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, cast doubt Wednesday on passing a bipartisan tax bill, saying it could make President Joe Biden “look good” and improve Democrats’ chances of holding the White House in the 2024 election. Grassley said re-electing Biden could hurt Republican hopes of extending Trump-era tax cuts. “Passing a tax bill that makes the president look …

The Daily Beast reports: Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) stunningly claimed that babies in Gaza killed during Israel’s war against Hamas are “not innocent Palestinian civilians,” video shows. Members of Codepink, a feminist anti-war group, confronted Mast on Tuesday, with one accusing the lawmaker of being “heartless.” “You haven’t seen the pictures of all the babies being killed?” Mast is asked …

CNN reports: The House voted on Wednesday evening to pass a $78 billion bipartisan tax package that would temporarily expand the child tax credit and restore a number of business tax benefits. The bill will next go to the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson currently oversees a razor-thin majority, but the bill passed with rare bipartisan support. The vote was …

ABC News reports: “If Texas decides they want to do that, they can do that,” Nikki Haley said in a Wednesday radio interview. “If that whole state says, ‘We don’t want to be part of America anymore,’ I mean, that’s their decision to make,” Haley said, though she also noted, “Let’s talk about what’s reality. Texas isn’t going to secede.” …

The New York Times reports: In a victory for Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a federal judge on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit filed by the Walt Disney Company claiming that Mr. DeSantis and his allies violated the First Amendment by taking over a special tax district that encompasses Walt Disney World. Disney said it planned to appeal the ruling. …

Florida Politics reports: A controversial idea is again gaining ground in the Legislature: eliminating property taxes and replacing them with a new “consumption tax” tacked onto the sales of goods and services across the state. The change, said Republican Rep. Ryan Chamberlin, would put an end to what some have called “the most hated tax in America.” “I believe it’s …

The Guardian reports: Following an intense line of questioning with Mark Zuckerberg, Republican senator Josh Hawley asked the Meta executive if he would like to apologize to families of victims who are sitting in the audience of today’s Senate hearing, many of whom hold photos of children they say died or were harmed due to his platform. Zuckerberg stood up …

NewsNation reports: House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, is expected to deliver remarks on a proposed border deal from the House floor. It will be his first floor remarks since he was elected. The proposal is the work of a bipartisan group of Senators, in an effort to reach a compromise that would include changes to border policy and enforcement in …

NBC News reports: FBI Director Christopher Wray is expected to warn about the growing threat of Chinese cyberattacks against U.S. electrical grids and other infrastructure during an appearance Wednesday before the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. “China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, …

ABC News reports: Ohio lawmakers have introduced a bill that would allow execution by nitrogen gas, a controversial practice critics call untested and lacking in evidence that it’s more humane than lethal injection, after Alabama became the first state to execute someone with nitrogen gas. Ohio state Reps. Phil Plummer and Brian Stewart, both Republicans, introduced legislation during a press …

Axios reports: Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) said Tuesday she is facing investigations by the Justice Department, Federal Election Commission and House Ethics Committee into the alleged misuse of campaign funds for personal security. Bush denied that she has used official congressional funds to pay for security, saying she has “used campaign funds as permissible to retain security services.” She also …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: Transgender Floridians can no longer change the listed gender on their driver licenses. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles announced the change in a memo late last week sent to county tax collectors, where state residents can get licenses. “Permitting an individual to alter his or her license to reflect an internal sense …

Florida Politics reports: “Expel from Congress, denaturalize and deport,” urged Ron DeSantis about U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, who is taking criticism from the Right for comments she made privileging Somalia over the United States. As Newsweek notes, Omar recently told a crowd of Somali American constituents that she was “Somalian first, Muslim second” and “here to protect the interests of …

“My opponent is a complete liar. She’s a socialist, she’s a liar and she’s a radical. I’ve been clear — I’m pro-baby, I’m pro-life. I think we have to have reasonable limitations for rape, incest and the life of the mother. In the Senate every Democrat has voted for abortion up until the moment of birth. She ought to say …

“Are we really in this country going to have two 80-year-olds running for president? It is a fact that when you are their age you have mental decline. I don’t care who you are. You have mental decline. He didn’t just get me confused, he mentioned it over and over and over again. He’s not what he was in 2016. …