Politics

USA Today reports: Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he met the requirements to appear on Iowa’s general election ballot in November following a “convention” he held in West Des Moines Saturday. “Thank you for getting us on the ballot here in Iowa,” he told a crowd that was several hundred people strong. Kennedy is using a provision …

Axios reports: The House on Sunday teed up more than a dozen new votes for this week on bills sanctioning Iran and its proxies in retaliation for a wide-ranging drone attack on Israel. The switch-up from Republicans’ plan to vote on several appliance-related “messaging” bills comes as lawmakers in both parties are pressing President Biden take a hard line against …

NPR reports: The House of Representatives is shifting its schedule for the coming week to consider legislation supporting Israel in the aftermath of Iran launching drones toward Israel on Saturday, marking a significant escalation in the Middle East conflict. “In light of Iran’s unjustified attack on Israel, the House will move from its previously announced legislative schedule next week to …

The New York Times reports: Israel’s war cabinet was set to meet on Sunday afternoon, officials said, hours after Iran fired hundreds of exploding drones and missiles in what was believed to be its first direct attack on Israel after years of a shadow war. Nearly all of the volleys were intercepted, and those that made impact caused only minor …

The Associated Press reports: Republican lawmakers in Kentucky on Friday removed the Democratic governor from any role filling future U.S. Senate vacancies — a move supporters said was unrelated to recent scrutiny about the health of the state’s senior senator, Republican leader Mitch McConnell. The GOP supermajority Legislature easily overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of the measure. The legislation calls …

ABC News reports: Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has ruled out a run as a Libertarian candidate to assist in his efforts to get on the ballots in all 50 states — a marked change from his prior posture, where he kept the door open. “We’re not gonna have any problems getting on the ballot ourselves so we …

The Hill reports: Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) called for retaliatory strikes against Iran after Tehran launched drone and cruise missile attacks against Israel on Saturday. “Iran has begun launching drone strikes on Israel,” Blackburn said Saturday on social media platform X. “@POTUS — we must move quickly and launch aggressive retaliatory strikes on Iran.” Blackburn’s post gives a sense …

The Jerusalem Post reports: The IDF announced on Saturday night that Iran has launched dozens of drones directly from its territory against Israel, in a radical change from its usual use of proxies. The military said that it is ready to shoot them down, though air defense is not hermetic. The IDF’s shoot-down capabilities include aircraft, Iron Dome, David’s Sling, …

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a controversial bill Friday stripping citizen oversight boards of their power to investigate police misconduct. The bill, HB 601, instead allows local chiefs of police agencies to create their own “civilian oversight” boards composed of three to seven members, all appointed by the chief or sheriff. But these boards can only …

“The smear artists @washingtonpost are writing yet another hit piece attacking me for serving my country—even asking questions about my medical history and demanding my personal records. I’m done playing the liberal media’s game—here’s how DC ‘reporters’ treat veterans. “And get this—after sending my campaign a 1000+ word email trying to discredit every aspect of my service, then they only …

Florida Politics reports: Florida cities and counties will be barred from requiring businesses to give water breaks or other “cooling measures” to employees who work outside after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 433. The measure also removes the power of local governments to require contractors to pay higher wages, or use higher pay as an incentive in awarding bids. The …

Axios reports: Virginia has become the first state in the South to ban child marriage. Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a bill this week that closes a loophole in state law allowing minors to marry if they’re emancipated. Only 11 other states in the U.S. have made it illegal for children to marry without exceptions, according to Unchained at Last, an …

The Washington Post reports: The Senate Judiciary Committee sent a subpoena Thursday to conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo as part of a months-long inquiry into undisclosed gifts to Supreme Court justices and he promptly rejected it, calling the move “politically motivated.” “I am not capitulating to his lawless support of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and the left’s dark money effort to …

CBS News reports: A Colorado campaign that’s trying to enshrine abortion rights into the state’s constitution has gathered enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot this November, CBS News has learned. To amend Colorado’s constitution, petitioners must gather 124,238 signatures from the state’s voters, including 2% of the total registered voters in each of Colorado’s 35 Senate districts, …

Reuters reports: The United States said on Thursday it had restricted its employees in Israel and their family members from personal travel outside the greater Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Be’er Sheva areas amid Iran’s threats to retaliate against its regional adversary. Iran has vowed revenge for the April 1 airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus, ratcheting up tension in …

Nashville’s NBC affiliate reports: A bill passed in the Tennessee House that would make it illegal to marry your first cousin in the state, but it did not pass without argument from one lawmaker who pushed an amendment to make it legal for cousins to marry each other if they first received genetic counseling. The bill as amended by Rep. …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Four out of 10 Florida voters support a referendum that would enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution, a poll showed Thursday, far short of the 60% majority needed for passage. The Emerson College Polling survey found 42% of voters said they support the amendment. Another 25% said they would vote no. The fate of the …

Axios reports: Samantha Power, the director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), told lawmakers Wednesday that people in parts of northern Gaza have begun facing famine. Power is the first U.S. official to publicly say that famine has started in parts of the enclave, which had been on the verge of famine for months because of humanitarian aid …

Mediaite reports: Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton revealed to CNN host Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday that he voted for former Vice President Dick Cheney in the 2020 presidential election and would write him in again this year. Collins asked, “Who did you write in in 2020? You’ve never revealed that before.” Bolton replied, “Well, I might as well …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: When national Republicans opened a new Asian American outreach center in the Gwinnett County suburbs in 2021, an enormous crowd of local dignitaries and state officials packed the Berkeley Lake shop to celebrate. Then Senate candidate Herschel Walker commemorated its first anniversary a year later, and multiple national news outlets focused on the center for stories …