Politics

Politico reports: Nicholas Kristof, the two-time Pulitzer-winning New York Times columnist, is leaving the newspaper ahead of a likely run for Oregon governor. Kristof, who joined the Times in 1984 and has written a column there since 2001, has been on leave since June as he explored running in the Democratic primary to replace Oregon Gov. Kate Brown in 2022. …

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: Eight-term U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, the Democratic chairman of the House Budget Committee, announced in a video Tuesday he will not run for reelection in his Louisville district next year. Yarmuth first ran for Congress in 2006, winning a narrow, upset victory over five-term incumbent GOP Rep. Anne Northrup, before defeating her in a rematch by …

NBC News reports: Former President Barack Obama will join a rally for Terry McAuliffe next week, another sign of the urgency national Democrats feel in Virginia’s gubernatorial race. McAuliffe announced Obama’s visit — scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 23, in Richmond — during an appearance Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “There’s going to be a lot of excitement,” McAuliffe said. “The …

The New Jersey Advance reports: In his bid for re-election, Gov. Phil Murphy just went full Jersey on his opponent. With his catchphrase “What a knucklehead,” Murphy retweeted an NJ Dems humorous ad on Monday that takes a swipe at Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli. The tongue-in-cheek digital ad, stealing a bit from late-night talk shows, first shows “people of the …

The Associated Press reports: Pennsylvania’s high-profile attorney general, Josh Shapiro, will formally announce his candidacy for governor on Wednesday, entering the 2022 race months after making his intentions known and effectively clearing the field of potential rivals for the Democratic nomination. The 48-year-old Shapiro is a self-described progressive who led a nationally prominent investigation into sexual abuse of children by …

The New York Times reports: Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of Austria announced on Saturday that he would resign, days after prosecutors launched a criminal investigation into allegations he used federal money to pay off pollsters and journalists for favorable coverage. The move came amid intense pressure from all sides, with Mr. Kurz’s partners in the government, the Greens, threatening to quit …

Politico Europe reports: France is to use its upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU to launch a global campaign to abolish the death penalty, President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday. In a speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in France, Macron said Paris would host a summit in 2022 to press for an …

CBS News reports: The U.S. Postal Service’s controversial slowdown of mail delivery that began October 1 is sparking a pushback from 20 attorneys general. On Thursday, the state officials — ranging from California to New York — sued the Postal Regulatory Commission, alleging that the federal oversight agency didn’t fully vet the broad-ranging plan before the USPS moved forward with …

Reuters reports: A Polish court ruling challenging the supremacy of EU law plunged the European Union into an existential crisis on Friday and raised the possibility of Poland leaving the 27-nation bloc. Politicians across Europe voiced dismay at the court’s move to undermine the legal pillar on which the EU stands, with one minister warning the eastern European country that …

Agence France-Presse reports: A poll in France suggested on Wednesday for the first time that far-right pundit Eric Zemmour would qualify for the second round of next year’s presidential election and eclipse traditional far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Some 17-18 percent of voters told Harris Interactive polling they would vote for Zemmour in the first round, compared with 15-16 percent …

NPR reports: The Senate has passed a bill to increase the federal debt ceiling, after weeks of tense cross-aisle negotiations regarding the looming threat of the country defaulting on its debt. The legislation was approved Thursday night along party lines, with a simple majority. An earlier procedural vote required Republicans to get to 60 votes. It got 61. House approval …

The New York Times reports: The journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitri A. Muratov of Russia were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which the Nobel Committee described as a precondition for democracy and lasting peace. The two were recognized for “their courageous fight for freedom of expression in …

The Tulsa World reports: State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister is running for governor — as a Democrat. The 57-year-old lifelong Republican told the Tulsa World in an exclusive interview that she is changing her party registration on Thursday in order to launch a bid to unseat Republican incumbent Kevin Stitt. “Gov. Stitt is running the state into the ground,” said Hofmeister. …

The New York Times reports: Mayor Bill de Blasio has begun to tell people privately that he plans to run for governor of New York next year, according to three people with direct knowledge of his conversations with fellow Democrats and donors. Mr. de Blasio, who has been a polarizing figure during his two terms in office, has also sounded …

The New York Times reports: A federal judge on Wednesday granted the Justice Department’s request to halt enforcement of the recently passed Texas law that bans nearly all abortions in the state while the legal battle over the statute makes its way through the federal courts. In his 113-page ruling, Robert L. Pitman, a Federal District Court judge in Austin, …

Politico reports: Evan McMullin, the former undercover CIA officer best known for his 2016 presidential bid as an independent, announced Tuesday he is running for Senate in Utah to replace Republican Mike Lee in next year’s midterm elections. In a roughly three-minute campaign launch video, McMullin, who has long been an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump, argued Tuesday …

Reuters reports: Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen will appear before the US Congress Tuesday (Oct 5), where she is set to sharply criticise her former employer as “one of the most urgent threats” facing the country, and to demand transparency about its operations in order to better regulate it. Haugen, a former product manager on Facebook’s civic misinformation team, says the …

The Texas Tribune reports: U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green — both Houston Democrats — testified Monday at the Texas Capitol against proposed district maps that would break up communities of Black voters and pit the two incumbents against each other. “It doesn’t look right for the only two persons in the state of Texas to be running …

Via press release from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: I am saddened to report that Florida’s esteemed First Lady and my beloved wife has been diagnosed with breast cancer. As the mother of three young children, Casey is the centerpiece of our family and has made an impact on the lives of countless Floridians through her initiatives as First Lady. As …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: Evan McMullin, who won more than 21% of the Utahns’ votes for president in 2016, will challenge Sen. Mike Lee as an independent candidate for Utah’s Senate seat next year. An announcement of his candidacy is likely to come soon — perhaps very soon — a source in the McMullin camp told me over the …