Politics

The Orlando Weekly reports: In a case that could have far-reaching implications for the state’s public-records laws, an appeals court heard arguments Tuesday in a challenge to a judge’s ruling that “executive privilege” shields Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration from releasing records. The appeal stems from a public-records request, filed by someone identified in court documents as J. Doe, seeking information …

Axios reports: House Democrats aren’t committing themselves to saving Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) should Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) take another shot at removing him. Greene caught colleagues in both parties by surprise by forcing an ouster vote on Wednesday, leading some lawmakers to fear she’s not above repeated attempts. Democrats told Axios they expect – at minimum – to …

“States are not allowed right now to prove, if somebody claims on that simple form that they’re a citizen, they can vote. We all know, intuitively, that a lot of illegals are voting in federal elections, but it’s not been something that is easily provable. We don’t have that number. This legislation will allow us to do exactly that. It …

Politico reports: FreedomWorks, the once-swaggering conservative organization that helped turn tea party protesters into a national political force, is shutting down, according to its president, a casualty of the ideological split in a Republican Party dominated by former President Donald Trump. “We’re dissolved,” said the group’s president, Adam Brandon. “It’s effective immediately.” FreedomWorks’ board of directors voted unanimously on Tuesday …

NBC News reports: NBC News first reported that Kennedy’s campaign hired Zach Henry’s firm, Total Virality, for “influencer engagement” in March. Henry had worked as deputy communications director for Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s presidential campaign, as well as for Blake Masters during his Senate run in Arizona. Henry, as NBC News reported, had posted that Jan. 6 was “no MAGA insurrection …

The Associated Press reports: Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation Tuesday that makes additional changes to Georgia’s election laws ahead of the 2024 presidential contest in the battleground state, including defining probable causes for removing voters from the rolls when their eligibility is challenged. Republican activists — fueled by debunked theories of a stolen election — have challenged more than 100,000 …

“You’ve got a massive Muslim takeover of the United Kingdom going on right before our eyes. People say, ‘Chip, well what is wrong with that?’ Well, I’ve got some pretty strong concerns about Sharia law and whether that will be forced upon the American people. In this case, the people of the United Kingdom. “I’ve got pretty strong concerns about …

Yahoo Finance reports: Paul Ryan has no interest in giving Donald Trump another chance come November. The former House speaker told Yahoo Finance on Tuesday that he doesn’t plan to vote for the former president, adding he would be writing in a Republican candidate instead. “Character is too important for me,” Ryan told us at the Milken Institute Global Conference. …

The Indianapolis Star reports: U.S. Sen. Mike Braun has won the Indiana Republican gubernatorial primary. And there was little room for suspense: The Associated Press called the race for Braun the minute polls closed in the Indiana’s central-time counties, at which time Braun had a double-digit lead over his five opponents. Braun will face presumptive Democratic nominee Jennifer McCormick, a …

Politico reports: In 2016, Indiana put Donald Trump on the doorstep of the GOP presidential nomination. But eight years later, the state he called “Importantville” delivered his campaign some flashing red warning signs as Nikki Haley cleaned up in the suburbs. By virtue of its late-in-the-nominating-calendar primary, the Hoosier state has always occupied a unique and occasionally powerful perch to …

Via press release: The Boy Scouts of America today announced that it will rebrand to Scouting America, reflecting the organization’s ongoing commitment to welcome every youth and family in America to experience the benefits of Scouting. The change will go into effect on February 8, 2025, the organization’s 115th anniversary. This announcement also comes as the organization celebrates the fifth …

The New York Times reports: At the Milken Institute Global Conference, the annual gathering of billionaires and business leaders in California, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York was given a spotlight on Monday to expound on her new artificial intelligence initiative. In an exchange with the moderator, Jonathan Capehart, Ms. Hochul said that “right now we have young Black kids …

The Associated Press reports: Vladimir Putin began his fifth term Tuesday as Russian leader at a glittering Kremlin inauguration, setting out on another six years in office after destroying his political opponents, launching a devastating war in Ukraine and concentrating all power in his hands. At the ceremony inside the gilded Grand Kremlin Palace, Putin placed his hand on the …

ABC News reports: House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie met privately on Monday, amid Greene’s looming threat to try to oust him. Emerging from a nearly two-hour meeting inside the speaker’s office, Greene said on camera they will have another meeting with Johnson on Tuesday morning. When pressed by ABC’s Rachel Scott if …

Politico reports: Kristi Noem’s story about killing her dog made headlines across America. But it wasn’t news to people who worked on her first book, where the tale made it into a draft of the memoir before the publishing team nixed it. Then, as now, Noem wanted the story in because it showed a decisive person who was unwilling to …

The Daily Beast reports: At the start of the same week a damning docuseries about his alleged sexual abuse is set to premiere, actor Kevin Spacey decided to offer up his endorsement for “loyal friend” Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s long-shot 2024 presidential bid. While Spacey was acquitted on sexual assault charges in the U.K. last year, he continues to face …

The New York Times reports: The Conservative Partnership Institute, a nonprofit whose funding skyrocketed after it became a nerve center for President Donald J. Trump’s allies in Washington, has paid at least $3.2 million since the start of 2021 to corporations led by its own leaders or their relatives, records show. In its most recent tax filings, the nonprofit’s three …

The Guardian reports: Hamas says it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal to halt seven-month war with Israel. It issued a statement Monday saying its supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, had delivered the news in a phone call with Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence minister. The two Middle Eastern nations have been mediating months of talks between Israel and Hamas. …

The Associated Press reports: Eighty-two-year-old liberal U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont announced Monday that he is running for re-election, saying American democracy is in question during difficult times for the country and the world. Sanders, seeking a fourth Senate term, is an independent. He was a Democratic congressman for 16 years and still caucuses with the Democrats. In an …

Punchbowl News reports: Speaker Mike Johnson signaled to an audience at his high-dollar donor retreat that he’d support kicking members off their committees if they oppose party-line procedural votes. Republicans voting against the rule has been a huge problem for Johnson and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy this Congress. With the GOP’s razor-thin margin of control, Republicans can only afford a …