Politics

The Hill reports: A federal court on Thursday sided with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in his lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission (FEC), striking down rules limiting how much money candidates can raise after an election to pay off loans. Cruz challenged a section of election law that says campaigns cannot pay back more than $250,000 in personal loans through …

Page Six reports: Former “RHONY” star Barbara Kavovit is out of the running — for now. Kavovit, 55, dropped out of the New York City mayoral race on Thursday after a short five-month campaign, but teased that she isn’t giving up on politics. “Running for mayor has been one of the most fulfilling and rewarding experiences of my professional career,” …

The New York Daily News reports: It didn’t go according to plan. Instead of making fun of Mayor de Blasio outside his beloved YMCA in Park Slope, Brooklyn, Democratic candidate Andrew Yang was forced to ditch a crowd of rowdy protesters on Thursday morning. The gaggle of about eight demonstrators followed the mayoral candidate for more than a block down …

Axios reports: President Biden has decided against appointing his own commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection and will instead increase pressure on Congress to establish a committee, White House officials tell Axios. Some House Democrats suggested Biden create a presidential commission after Senate Republicans blocked the establishment of a bipartisan, independent panel. This decision signals his preference for House …

The New York Times reports: Late Wednesday, an improbable assemblage of political parties agreed to form a coalition government. Should Parliament approve the arrangement, Benjamin Netanyahu’s singular reign as prime minister will come to an end, at least for now, and a fragile, painfully cobbled together alliance will assume power. But Mr. Netanyahu signaled early Thursday that he would not …

Gothamist reports: Eight Democratic candidates vying to become the next mayor of New York City will face off live and in person on Wednesday night for the second of three official primary debates. The first much anticipated in-person debate comes with roughly three weeks to go until the June 22nd primary, in an election that will determine the city’s path …

NBC News reports: It appears the magician has finally run out of tricks. The opponents of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Wednesday that they had reached an agreement to form a government and oust him from office, in all likelihood spelling the end of the veteran leader’s 12-year grip on power. Centrist lawmaker Yair Lapid said in a statement …

The New York Times reports: A hacking group believed to have links to the Chinese government penetrated the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s computer systems in April, exposing vulnerabilities in a vast transportation network that carries millions of people every day, according to an M.T.A. document that outlined the breach. The hackers did not gain access to systems that control train cars …

NBC News reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t giving up on an investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, telling Democrats on Tuesday that four options remain to launch a comprehensive review even after Republicans blocked such legislation last week. Pelosi listed four possibilities: The Senate could hold a second vote on the original bipartisan commission; Democrats in …

Phoenix’s NBC News affiliate reports: Arizona’s Secretary of State Katie Hobbs announced that she is running for state governor in 2022. “I’m running for Governor to deliver transparency, accountability, and results for Arizonans — just like I’ve done my whole career,” Hobbs said in a tweet announcing her campaign. Hobbs, the state’s top elections officer, has majorly been in the …

McKay Coppins writes for The Atlantic: In the conservative book world, nothing is supposed to set off a gold rush like a new Democratic president. Ever since Bill Clinton inspired a wave of right-wing best sellers in the ’90s, publishing houses that cater to Republican readers have learned to make the most of a new villain in the Oval Office, …

The New York Times reports: An opposition activist in Belarus stabbed himself in the throat with a pen during a court hearing on Tuesday after claiming that investigators had threatened to prosecute his family and neighbors if he did not plead guilty. A video clip recorded just after the stabbing showed the activist, Stepan Latypov, lying on a bench inside …

The Arizona Republic reports: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema broke her silence and explained Tuesday why she missed a procedural vote last week to establish a bipartisan commission to look into the U.S. Capitol riot. Eleven senators did not vote on the bill, including Sinema, D-Ariz., who was a no-show for the May 28 vote. Her office had declined to explain why …

CBS News reports: Democrat Melanie Stansbury has won the special election in New Mexico’s 1st district, according to the Associated Press. Her win is a positive sign for the party, adding to their razor-thin majority in Congress and breaking their streak of underperformances since the 2020 election. New Mexico’s 1st district was left open by Secretary of the Interior Deb …

The New York Times reports: Nikki Fried, Florida’s agriculture commissioner, declared her candidacy for governor on Tuesday, casting herself as the Democratic Party’s best option to defeat Ron DeSantis, the popular Republican incumbent, given her role as the only statewide elected Democrat. “After two decades of Republican governors, it’s time to try something new,” Ms. Fried said in a brief …

Deutsche Welle reports: Belarus’ border security agency on Monday announced a severe tightening of already strict rules limiting citizens’ ability to exit the country. Citizens have fled the country since Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner of a disputed presidential election last August and mass protests over election rigging were met with a severe crackdown. Faced with the prospect of …

Newsweek reports: Lawmakers have criticized former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn after he appeared to say that a Myanmar-like military coup “should happen” in the United States. A handful of Republicans and Democrats hit out at the retired U.S. Army lieutenant general over the holiday weekend, with one calling for “action” to be taken against the former Trump administration official. …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday he would veto the section of the state budget that funds the Legislature hours after a Democratic walkout killed his priority elections bill. “No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities,” Abbott said in a tweet. “Stay tuned.” Late Sunday night, enough Democrats left the House to break a quorum and …

The Washington Post reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies on Monday worked furiously to keep opposition parties from forming a government that would displace him from Israel’s top political job for the first time in more than 12 years. Netanyahu supporters slammed right-wing parties planning to join the broad-based coalition as “traitors,” picketed their homes and issued …

Reuters reports: Married Chinese couples may have up to three children, China announced on Monday, in a major shift from the existing limit of two after recent data showed a dramatic decline in births in the world’s most populous country. Beijing scrapped its decades-old one-child policy in 2016, replacing it with a two-child limit to try and stave off risks …