Politics

The Associated Press reports: Tim Myers, a Grammy-nominated former bassist for international hitmakers OneRepublic, announced Thursday he will challenge Rep. Ken Calvert in the battleground 41st District in Riverside County that stretches from the L.A. suburbs to the resort haven of Palm Springs. “Ken Calvert has been in Washington for 30 years,” Myers says in a video announcing his campaign. …

Florida Politics reports: Members of the House and Senate are getting behind an effort to restrict oil drilling and exploration near the Florida coast. In the House, Representatives unanimously backed that chamber’s bill on the full floor, prompting cheers and applause from lawmakers. The House measure (HB 1143), sponsored Rep. Jason Shoaf, a St. Joe Republican whose House District 7 …

The Denver Post reports: The head of the Libertarian Party of Colorado repeatedly used anti-gay slurs last week in an exchange with a person who criticized the party’s social media presence, according to copies of the messages reviewed by The Denver Post. The party’s chairwoman, Hannah Goodman, sent the slurs Friday after a commenter privately messaged the party’s Facebook account …

The News York Times reports: California’s governor and attorney general plan to sue President Trump on Wednesday to try to stop his flurry of tariffs, accusing the president of taking unlawful action to escalate a global trade war that has caused “immediate and irreparable harm” to the state’s economy. The lawsuit will be the largest legal challenge yet to Mr. …

The Hill reports: Democratic contender Nathan Sage, who’s the executive director of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, is launching a Senate bid to take on Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) next year in Iowa. Sage made that announcement official on Wednesday; in his campaign launch and an interview with The Hill ahead of his announcement, Sage emphasized fighting for the working …

From the government of Hong Kong: ​The Government of the United States (US) announced earlier that it would eliminate the duty-free de minimis treatment for postal items despatched from Hong Kong to the US and increase the tariffs for postal items containing goods to the US starting from May 2. The US is unreasonable, bullying and imposing tariffs abusively. Hongkong …

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 …