Politics

The Associated Press reports: Former Republican U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores of Texas on Tuesday launched a bid to unseat Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar in 2026, followed by her campaign announcing just hours later on social media that she had been hospitalized with no further details. Flores was the first Mexican-born congresswoman in the U.S. House after winning a 2022 special …

The Guardian reports: A Peruvian court has sentenced former president Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, to 15 years in prison for laundering funds received from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to finance Humala’s 2006 and 2011 campaigns. The judges of the national superior court found that Humala and Heredia received several million dollars in illegal contributions for these …

Axios reports: Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) is still in intensive care more than a week after being hospitalized for a gallbladder infection and will have to undergo an “extended recovery,” his doctor said Tuesday. That is rough news for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who hopes to use Republicans’ paper-thin majority to his advantage. Jeffries is already down two …

NBC News reports: A man has been federally charged with carrying out arson attacks against the Republican Party headquarters in New Mexico and a Tesla dealership, the Department of Justice said Monday. Jamison Wagner, from Albuquerque and born in 1984, faces two counts of causing malicious damage or destruction of property by fire or explosives. He is currently in police …

Reuters reports: Lawyers challenging the incarceration in El Salvador of more than 200 Venezuelans deported by the U.S. said the Salvadoran government is denying the prisoners access to attorneys and contact with the outside world. Under an agreement with the Salvadoran government, President Donald Trump’s administration in March sent 238 Venezuelans to its Terrorism Confinement Center, the largest prison in …

Just in via press release: U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has requested a meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele while he is in the United States this week in order to discuss the return of Maryland father Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia. Senator Van Hollen is also announcing his intent to travel to El Salvador this week if Abrego Garcia …

The Washington Post reports: A former Conservative lawmaker and 14 others have been charged with cheating when placing bets on the timing of Britain’s general election last year, the Gambling Commission said Monday. Craig Williams was one of several people who had been investigated for cashing in on insider knowledge on the date then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would call the …

USA Today reports: A person was taken into custody in connection with a suspected arson attack that caused a “significant amount of damage” to the home of Gov. Josh Shapiro, authorities said, hours after the Pennsylvania lawmaker’s family celebrated the start of Passover. Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg, was arrested on April 13, Col. Christopher Paris, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner, …

The Hill reports: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) made a surprise appearance at the California music festival Coachella on Saturday night. “The country faces some very difficult challenges, and the future of what happens to America is dependent upon your generation. Now you can turn away and you can ignore what goes on, but if you do that, you do it …

NBC News reports: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Friday she would not seek re-election, a decision that means the Republican’s time as governor will come to an end just shy of the 10-year mark after the 2026 election. “Serving as your governor has been the greatest honor of my life, an opportunity that not so long ago, I never could …

Politico reports: The Senate confirmed retired Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine to lead the Joint Chiefs early Friday morning — elevating a little-known three-star general just seven weeks after President Donald Trump fired Gen. C.Q. Brown from the post. Caine overcame doubts about his qualifications and ability to remain apolitical, and was confirmed in a bipartisan 60-25 vote to serve …

NBC News reports: Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet is running for governor of Colorado next year, according to two sources familiar with his plans. Bennet is expected to announce his campaign as soon as Friday and will look to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Jared Polis in a state that has trended towards his party in recent years. And he is the …

Gothamist reports: A good-government group is pitching a proposal following the corruption scandal that engulfed Mayor Eric Adams: Let voters participate in a special election to remove a future mayor from office. The 125-year-old organization Citizens Union presented a proposal at a meeting of the Adams administration’s Charter Revision Commission on Wednesday that would create a new procedure to remove …

The Hill reports: Usha Vance is opening up in her first wide-ranging interview since becoming second lady, saying she’s striving for normalcy in her new role. “To me, the highest priority right now is to be actually a normal person,” Vance, a trial lawyer, told The Free Press in a profile published Monday. “Obviously,” she said, “our lives are not …

Manchester’s ABC affiliate reports: Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has decided he will not run for U.S. Senate in 2026. “I’ve done eight years and it was a hard eight years as governor. To sign up for the Senate, you’re really signing up for 12 more years, so that’s a commitment I hadn’t really put into the mix, and, again, …

The New York Times reports: Michael R. Bloomberg’s gun control group plans to spend $10 million to help elect Democratic attorneys general this year and in 2026, an investment it says is meant to help protect the rule of law and democracy while President Trump holds the White House. The group, Everytown for Gun Safety, will back Democratic candidates in …

The Guardian reports: A libertarian group that has been funded by Leonard Leo and Charles Koch has mounted a legal challenge against Donald Trump’s tariff regime, in a sign of spreading right wing opposition to a policy that has sent international markets plummeting. The New Civil Liberties Alliance filed a suit against Trump’s imposition of import tariffs on exports from …

Florida Politics reports: James Uthmeier revealed that he had signed an opinion from Texas, Utah, and other states regarding a significant legal challenge against the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The AG said Monday that a big reason was to let the federal government know Florida was ready to move and was tired of dithering from D.C. “For decades, Washington has …

NBC News reports: Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday said he had selected Nov. 4 as the date for the special election to fill the House seat that had been occupied by the late Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, who died unexpectedly in March. The decision means the deep-blue, Houston-based congressional seat will be vacant for roughly eight months. House …

The New Jersey Globe reports: “Congressman Donald Norcross was traveling over the weekend and suffered an emergency medical event likely related to his gallbladder,” Norcross’s office said. “He was admitted to UNC Rex Hospital in North Carolina on Sunday and is in stable condition where he is receiving exceptional medical treatment. He is currently in good spirits and wants to …