Politics

Via press release from the White House: Senator Dianne Feinstein was a pioneering American. A true trailblazer. And for Jill and me, a cherished friend. In San Francisco, she showed enormous poise and courage in the wake of tragedy, and became a powerful voice for American values. Serving in the Senate together for more than 15 years, I had a …

The Washington Post reports: “I frankly don’t understand it — I think it’s sort of nuts. There are times people vote yes one day, and then they come back and vote no the next day, and can’t explain why they switched,” said Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker and a McCarthy ally. Gingrich led House Republicans through two different shutdowns …

Bloomberg News reports: White House staff received guidance about how they will be affected by a government shutdown, the latest sign preparations for the federal workforce are accelerating as a spending deal remains out of reach ahead of Sunday’s deadline. The White House budget office sent an email to staff Thursday saying they will be divided into three categories: exempt, …

Axios reports: Even a relatively brief government shutdown could exacerbate an ongoing air traffic controller shortage, with potentially serious operational and safety implications. Air travel is skyrocketing post-pandemic — the Federal Aviation Administration predicts more than 54,200 flights next Thursday, Oct. 5, ahead of the holiday weekend, which would make it the busiest travel day of the year so far. …

The Washington Post reports: A contingent of far-right House Republicans are plotting an attempt to remove Kevin McCarthy as House speaker as early as next week, a move that would throw the chamber into further disarray in the middle of a potential government shutdown. Some members of the far-right faction of the party are coalescing around nominating a member of …

Courthouse News reports: Yelp and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued one another on Thursday over a disagreement on whether the company mislabels crisis pregnancy centers without abortion services. As of Sept. 28, 2023, the popular review platform posts a consumer disclaimer on the business profiles of crisis pregnancy centers when they do not provide abortion services. The notice reads: …

The New York Times reports: In the chaos of Wednesday night’s noisy Republican presidential debate, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina interrupted Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to pose a question on abortion that Mr. DeSantis had dodged directly answering for months. Would the Florida governor sign a “15-week limit” on abortion as president, Mr. Scott asked, talking over both …

The Washington Post reports: Some of the biggest Republican donors in the country will converge next month at the historic Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach for a two-day meeting to rally behind Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The closed gathering, named the “Red Vest Retreat” after the fleece Youngkin wore during his 2021 campaign, will begin Oct. 17 and be focused, officially, …

“Donald, I know you’re watching, you can’t help yourself. You’re not here tonight, not because of polls, and not because of your indictments. You’re not here tonight because you’re afraid of being on the stage and defending your record. You’re ducking these things, and let me tell you what’s going to happen. You keep doing that, and no one up …

Pink News reports: Candidates were asked their opinions on the contentious parental rights debate, which has seen a growing number of school districts debate whether to introduce policies that would inform parents if a student goes by a gender identity that doesn’t match the gender on their birth certificate. When it came Ramaswamy’s turn to speak, he said: “Transgenderism, especially …

The New York Times reports: After a brief departure from tradition that was tailored for Senator John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania Democrat who pressed to vote and preside in shorts and a hoodie rather than a business suit, the Senate on Wednesday formalized a longstanding — but previously unofficial — requirement that members show up to the chamber in business attire. …

The New Republic reports: A lot of deplorable things were said during the Republican debate on Wednesday night, but this comment from Republican candidate Tim Scott may take the cake. During the debate Scott argued that welfare assistance was harder than slavery for Black Americans. “Black families survived slavery!” he exclaimed. “We survived poll taxes and literacy tests.” “We survived …

NBC News reports: The second Republican debate of the 2024 election cycle will take place at 9 p.m. ET today at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California. Seven candidates will appear on the stage: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, …

The Guardian reports: Since 2021, users on X in countries including the US, Australia and South Korea had been able to flag tweets that they believed contained misleading information for review by staff at the company – separate to other processes the company has in place to report abuse or hate speech. The feature had been available in the US, …

The Associated Press reports: Former House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday that Republicans will lose the presidential election if Donald Trump is the nominee and that he expects hard-right followers of Trump to force a government shutdown within days. Ryan, who left office in 2019 and had a sometimes contentious relationship with Trump, said he hoped that another Republican nominee …

The Hill reports: Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told members of the House GOP conference Wednesday morning that he will not bring the Senate’s bipartisan continuing resolution to the floor for a vote. Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) told reporters after a closed-door House GOP conference meeting that McCarthy informed lawmakers during the gathering that he will not bring the upper chamber’s …

The Times Of Israel reports: Two months after proclaiming that July would henceforth be known locally as “American Christian Heritage Month,” the board of supervisors in El Dorado County, California has reversed course. The county’s elected governing body unanimously rescinded the proclamation Tuesday following backlash from local Jews, the American Civil Liberties Union, and others who said it inappropriately advanced …

The Messenger reports: Former President Jimmy Carter’s 99th birthday celebration at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum will now be on Saturday instead of Sunday to prevent cancellation if the museum has to close because of a government shutdown. “We want to make sure we are celebrating regardless of what Congress does,” Tony Clark, the site’s public affairs director, …

“Mr. Speaker, my bipartisan amendment ensures that none of the funds made available by this bill will go towards funding a rule that will ban flavored milk, like chocolate milk, in schools. This would ensure that all types and flavors of milk are available to school children. “This summer, it was reported that the USDA is considering banning chocolate milk …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whose office is prosecuting cases involving former President Donald Trump, rapper Young Thug and other high profile defendants, says she and members of her family have faced troubling threats. “It’s very unfair to the other people and it’s a waste of time. It’s not going to stop what I’m doing,” …