Politics

Reuters reports: U.S. President Joe Biden pulled even with his Republican challenger Donald Trump this week in the race to win the November election, a sign the contest remains close even after a widely panned debate performance by the Democrat, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. Biden and Trump each had 40% support among registered voters in the two-day poll …

Politico reports: Two hardline anti-abortion delegates to next week’s GOP platform committee have been stripped of their positions, according to several members of the Republican National Committee, underscoring a broader fear among evangelicals and other social conservatives that the party is poised to moderate its stance on abortion at the direction of former President Donald Trump. The Trump campaign’s efforts …

Rep. Jared Golden writes for the Bangor Daily News: After the first presidential debate, lots of Democrats are panicking about whether President Joe Biden should step down as the party’s nominee. Biden’s poor performance in the debate was not a surprise. It also didn’t rattle me as it has others, because the outcome of this election has been clear to …

NBC News reports: “The people of our district are reaching out to our campaign demanding that we pursue a recount. Our donors, our volunteers, and our supporters expect it,” Rep. Bob Good’s campaign manager and senior advisor Diana Shores said in a statement to NBC News. Shores’ statement comes ahead of the Virginia State Board of Elections meeting Tuesday afternoon, …

The Houston Chronicle reports: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear an appeal from the adult entertainment industry seeking to upend a Texas law that requires pornographic websites to verify the age of their users. The justices will review an appellate ruling that allowed the age verification to go into effect. Arguments will take place in the fall. In …

Politico reports: Demand Justice, a progressive judicial advocacy group, is mounting a major effort to advocate for Supreme Court reforms and prepare for the effects a second Trump administration could have on the judiciary. According to plans first shared with POLITICO, the group intends to spend $10 million by the end of this year on a range of activities, from …

The Associated Press reports: Florida prosecutors knew the late millionaire and financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually assaulted teenage girls two years before they cut a plea deal that has long been criticized as too lenient and a missed opportunity to imprison him a decade earlier, according to transcripts released Monday. The investigations uncovered Epstein’s close ties to former President Bill Clinton …

Reuters reports: Opponents of France’s National Rally (RN) stepped up their bid to block the far-right party from power on Tuesday as more candidates said they would bow out of this weekend’s run-off election to avoid splitting the anti-RN vote. Some 180-plus candidates have confirmed they will not stand in Sunday’s second-round for France’s 577-seat national parliament, according to local …

NBC News reports: A new law in California will require bars and clubs to offer drug-testing devices in an effort to protect patrons from drinks spiked with “date rape drugs.” The law, Assembly Bill 1013, took effect Monday. It will require 2,400 establishments with Type 48 licenses from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which authorizes the sale of …

Axios reports: House Democrats are previewing plans for a forceful legislative and investigative push against the Supreme Court’s ruling that presidents have legal immunity for “official acts.” It is part of House Democrats’ effort to frame themselves in the 2024 election as a potential bulwark against unified conservative control of a federal government led by former President Trump. House Minority …

The Associated Press reports: Thousands of Jewish ultra-Orthodox men clashed with Israeli police in central Jerusalem on Sunday during a protest against a Supreme Court order for them to begin enlisting for military service. The landmark decision last week ordering the government to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men could lead to the collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition as …

The Toronto Star reports: Thousands of people danced, sang and celebrated at Toronto’s Pride Parade on Sunday until the procession was suddenly stopped mid-route, and then cancelled, by a protest. About 30 demonstrators, calling themselves the Coalition Against Pinkwashing, held banners and chanted on Yonge Street, just south of Wellesley Street, three and a half hours after the parade’s 2 …

Politico reports: “That whole abandoned Biden thing — that’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard,” Sen. John Fetterman said Sunday morning in an interview with Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday.” “I mean, if you are more inclined to vote for a Democrat or be a Democrat, if you’re willing to walk away from Joe Biden — you’re by defecting …

Gainesville’s NPR affiliate reports: Pointing to concerns that it could provide housing for illegal foreign workers, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday vetoed an agriculture industry-backed bill that would have made it easier to build housing for farmworkers. “The bill’s terms apply to legal migrant farm workers, but the bill does not include the means to enforce this limitation and could …

Reuters reports: Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party won the first round of France’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, exit polls showed, but the final result will depend on days of horsetrading before next week’s run-off. The RN was seen winning around 34% of the vote, exit polls from showed. That was ahead of leftist and centrist rivals, including …

“I want you to know I came home to California, south and north, and the people are for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. They have some judgment about a person who stood on that stage and lied, lied, lied, if you’re just talking about the debate. “I am respectful of some of the opinions that people have, but it is also …

NewsNation reports: Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein told “Dan Abrams Live” on Friday that the two major political party’s “zombie candidates” are being “rammed down our throats” this election season, causing voters to rethink their decision come November. Stein believes the performance of the two main party candidates, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, in the …

“No better way to celebrate Independence Day than stylishly exercising your 2nd Amendment rights. DISCLAIMER: No, I don’t make a dime off of this. “This is campaign merchandise, just not the cheesy kind. In fact, my campaign barely gets anything. The profits for this clothing line go almost entirely to funding US House races around the country and growing the …

From the editorial board of the New York Times: Mr. Biden answered an urgent question on Thursday night. It was not the answer that he and his supporters were hoping for. But if the risk of a second Trump term is as great as he says it is — and we agree with him that the danger is enormous — …

CNN reports: CNN’s Thursday night debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump was watched by 47.9 million viewers on television, according to preliminary figures from Nielsen. CNN offered a live feed of the telecast to any network free of charge but with strict conditions over its presentation and branding. On television, CNN drew 8.7 million viewers on …