Politics

The Hill reports: Nearly 1.01 million North Carolinians have already voted in the November general election, state officials reported Sunday afternoon. The North Carolina State Election Board said 1,008,123 ballots have already been cast in the 2024 election, including 916,433 ballots cast via in-person early voting, 77,831 ballots via civilian absentee voting, and nearly 14,000 cast via military or overseas …

Yahoo Entertainment reports: The show opened with Maya Rudolph returning as Vice President Kamala Harris, along with Alec Baldwin making a surprise appearance as Fox News anchor Bret Baier, to parody Harris’s much-discussed interview on the conservative network on Oct. 16. Baldwin came out swinging in his portrayal of Baier — his first return to the show since the dismissal …

The Miami Herald reports: When he abruptly resigned from his post last week, the top attorney for the Florida Department of Health suggested in a resignation letter that he was uncomfortable with decisions taken by the state agency, which days earlier had threatened to prosecute television stations over political advertisements. “A man is nothing without his conscience,” John Wilson wrote. …

Axios reports: An explosive drone launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon hit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home in the coastal town of Caesarea on Saturday. This is the first time since the beginning of the war that a target affiliated directly with Netanyahu has been hit. Netanyahu’s spokesperson confirmed his private residence was targeted on Saturday morning local time, …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Georgia is continuing to smash early voting records. On Friday afternoon, Georgia Secretary of State’s Office Chief Operating Officer Gabriel Sterling [photo], confirmed Georgia officially passed one million votes cast in the early voting period. The state remains a focus in one of the closest presidential contests in recent memory. The big voting push comes as …

Bloomberg reports: Electricity went out across the entirety of Cuba after the island’s main power plant failed and the government throttled key industries in an effort to save fuel. In a post on X, the Ministry of Energy and Mines said the unexpected failure of the 330-megawatt capacity CTE Antonio Guiteras plant at about 11 a.m. Friday had caused a …

Reuters reports: Some U.S. states are sending strong signals to county and local officials who might be tempted to intervene illegally in the Nov. 5 election or refuse to certify results: Fail to do your duty and risk criminal charges or hefty financial penalties. In at least five of the seven battleground states, top election and law enforcement officials have …

Florida Politics reports: Bob Milligan, who served as Florida’s last elected Comptroller before it changed to the current Chief Financial Officer post, says he’s backing Kamala Harris for President. Jim Smith, Florida’s 32nd Attorney General and two-time Secretary of State, and longtime GOP strategist Mac Stipanovich are doing the same. Milligan, who retired from the U.S. Marine Corps as a …

The Florida Phoenix reports: A federal judge temporarily barred the DeSantis administration from intimidating and coercing television stations that air ads in support of the proposed Amendment 4, which would bar government interference in abortion. The ruling stops Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo as the head of the Florida Department of Health from acting against broadcasters the department has already threatened …

Axios reports: The campaign arm of House Democrats is suing the Federal Election Commission (FEC) over a controversial campaign finance loophole, Axios has learned. Republicans have resorted to legally-contested tactics to get around their cash crunch, with Democrats hammering the GOP in fundraising this year. Democrats have accused Republicans of illegally financing their campaign ads, appealing to the FEC to …

Via press release from the AARP: Recent statistics reveal concerning shifts in migration patterns, and since this data reflects 2023, it predates the peak of the property insurance crisis, the recent challenges posed by new homeowner association rules, the aftermath of two major hurricanes and the rising cost of housing in our state. In 2023, the Census reports, Florida’s net …

The Washington Post reports: Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, was killed by the Israeli military in Gaza after eluding their forces for more than a year. His body was identified after DNA testing in Israel, said an Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. Hamas did …

The Washington Post reports: An independent panel called Thursday for new leadership at the Secret Service, hired mostly from outside the protective agency, saying it needs a major shake-up or security failures such as the July 13 shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania “can and will happen again.” The bipartisan panel, ordered by President Joe Biden to review the …

The Florida Times-Union reports: Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said during an appearance on Times Radio in London that former President Donald Trump’s immigration policy would amount to creating “concentration camps” for holding undocumented immigrants. Trump’s campaign on Wednesday called Deegan’s comments “horrendously irresponsible” and a host a Republican elected officials criticized her after a clip of the interview was posted …

Florida Politics reports: An ad appealing to Republicans features words of the current GOP presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump. While he hasn’t shot a spot specifically for Amendment 3, the Mar-a-Lago resident said he will vote for the constitutional amendment in November. A spot entitled “Good” features a Truth Social post in which Trump commits to voting “Yes.” Then, …

Florida Politics reports: A Fort Myers TV station acquiesced and stopped playing pro-abortion rights ads after a Department of Health (DOH) lawyer threatened Florida TV stations with criminal prosecution. It’s a revelation in a new First Amendment lawsuit as the political committee supporting the Amendment 4 abortion rights initiative sued a pair of state officials Wednesday in federal court. Floridians …

The Hill reports: Ride-hailing service Lyft announced that it will offer discounted rideshare, bike-share and scooters on Election Day, an initiative designed to increase transportation access for voters, according to a press release. Lyft plans to offer a 50 percent discount to customers who use a certain code, which will be valid from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. in every …

The New York Times reports: After weeks of fielding phone calls, text messages and direct mail pleas to cast ballots before Election Day, Georgia voters did not waste time: Within six hours of polls opening on Tuesday, the presidential battleground state had posted record turnout for the first day of early voting. Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer for the …

The Daily Beast reports: Democratic Rep. Colin Allred dished out plenty of one-liners Tuesday while debating Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, calling his podcast “angertainment” and labeling Cruz’s anti-trans messaging a “hail Mary” to distract from his unpopular opinions on abortion. In one particularly memorable exchange, Allred told voters that his rival in the U.S Senate race would rather focus on …

ABC News reports: As part of its ongoing investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz, the House Ethics Committee recently issued a subpoena for documents from a civil lawsuit brought by one of the Florida congressman’s longtime friends against several third parties, ABC News has learned. The subpoena, which has not been previously reported, requests all documents related to Gaetz that are …