Politics

Reuters reports: Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats said on Sunday they backed the country joining NATO, abandoning decades of opposition in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and creating a large parliament majority in favour of membership.  With neighboring Finland already set to hand in its application, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson [photo] is now all but certain to launch a …

The Associated Press reports: After spending much of the campaign steering clear of fellow Republican Senate contender Kathy Barnette, Mehmet Oz on Saturday said she was out of step with the GOP and would be unable to win the general election in November. In an interview, he took issue with a 2015 tweet from Barnette in which she wrote that …

Reuters reports: Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto confirmed on Sunday that his country would apply for membership of the NATO military alliance, in a historic policy shift prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moscow, which shares a 1,300 km (800 mile) border with Finland, has said it would be a mistake for Helsinki to join the 30-strong transatlantic alliance and that …

Reuters reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto on Saturday that ditching neutrality and joining NATO would be a mistake that could damage relations between their two countries, the Kremlin said. The two countries said their presidents spoke by phone two days after Finland declared its intention to join the Western alliance. Moscow has described that …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said Friday that Georgia’s capital city would compete to host the 2024 Democratic nominating convention, which would give one of the nation’s premier battleground states an even more prominent role in the next race for the White House. Dickens told Democrats at the state party’s annual gala that Atlanta is well-positioned to …

Politico reports: Justice Clarence Thomas, the longest-serving sitting member of the Supreme Court, declared Friday that the publication of a draft majority opinion on abortion has permanently damaged trust within the nation’s highest court and is a symptom of a broader decline in America’s institutions. “I do think that what happened at the court is tremendously bad,” Thomas declared during …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed Rep. Cord Byrd to be Florida’s next Secretary of State. Byrd, a three-term Neptune Beach Republican, was rumored to be on the shortlist to replace outgoing Secretary of State Laurel Lee, who announced she would leave the administration Monday amid talk she would run for Congress. In Byrd, DeSantis will have someone …

NPR reports: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell defended the U.S. Supreme Court’s potential move to issue rulings that are in conflict with a majority of Americans’ views on abortion rights, telling NPR that is a feature of the system. McConnell said the debate about abortion will shift to the states. Democrats are retooling their message for the November midterms to …

Salon reports: C.J. Parker, 24, and Shamus O’Donnell, 27, and were both sacked after allegedly sending dozens of ballots to a P.O. box associated with a Republican political action committee known as the Republican Registration Coalition. The PAC’s chairman, Billy Lanzilotti, told the Inquirer that he had intended to hand deliver the ballots to voters himself. The incident is just …

Florida Politics reports: Secretary of State Laurel Lee’s Office appealed a court decision which found Florida’s new congressional map was unconstitutional. The replacement cartography only redraws districts in North Florida, most notably restoring Florida’s 5th Congressional District into a configuration similar to how it has looked for five years. That makes it a seat with a 49% Black population and …

The Associated Press reports: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that his country is “not favorable” toward Finland and Sweden joining NATO, indicating that Turkey could use its status as a member of the Western military alliance to veto moves to admit the two countries. “We are following developments concerning Sweden and Finland carefully, but we are not of …

The New York Post reports: Albany Democrats are proposing legislation that would strip former Gov. Andrew Cuomo of his approximately $16 million campaign war chest before he could mount a much-rumored comeback bid. If passed, the legislation would apply to any elected official who has been convicted of crimes, impeached or resigned following a finding by the state attorney general …

Harrisburg’s NBC News affiliate reports: Jake Corman is ending his Pennsylvania gubernatorial campaign and endorsing fellow Republican Lou Barletta for governor. “It’s time for me to step aside and support someone who can win in the fall,” Corman, the president pro tempore of the state Senate, said Thursday. Corman said Republicans have an opportunity to win against Josh Shapiro, the …

The Washington Post reports: The Republican governors of Virginia and Maryland, where the homes of Supreme Court justices have become the targets of protests, are demanding that Attorney General Merrick Garland enforce a federal law that forbids demonstrations intended to sway judges on pending cases. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan wrote to Garland (D) on Wednesday, …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has told a lower appeals court to take another look at the controversial illegal voting conviction of Crystal Mason, who was given a five-year prison sentence for casting a provisional ballot in the 2016 election while she was on supervised release for a federal conviction. The state’s court of last …

The BBC reports: Finland’s president and prime minister have called for the country to apply for Nato membership “without delay”. The move comes amid a surge in public support for Nato membership following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moscow said Finland’s move was a threat to Russia and the further expansion of Nato would make Europe less stable and secure. Finland …

The New York Times reports: “Where’s the tolerance? Where’s compassion? Where’s the humanity?” Mr. Sasse asked on the Senate floor as he accused Democrats of promoting “brutal indifference hiding behind euphemisms” by holding on to abortion rights instead of policies that would help mothers, babies and children. “What laws are these states prepared to pass?” Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat …

The New York Daily News reports: There are ghosts in the house, or so says the latest resident of Gracie Mansion. Mayor Adams said he thinks the stately home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side isn’t “cool enough” for the city’s dapper first man about town — and is haunted to boot. “I don’t care what anyone says, there are ghosts …

El Pais reports: As a result of the fall in global markets caused by the uncertainty of the war in Ukraine, rising inflation and the US Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates, the price of the most popular cryptocurrency in the world has plummeted more than 50% from its all-time highs. And with it, so too have the bonds …

CNBC reports: Senate Republicans on Wednesday are set to block a bill that would make the Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision law, as Democrats scramble to preserve protections that the Supreme Court could soon toss out after nearly five decades. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer forged ahead with the bill even as it appeared doomed to stall. All Republicans …