Republicans

The Sacramento Bee reports: California counties expect to spend an estimated $215 million to conduct a statewide special recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to a report compiled by the California Department of Finance. That’s more than the $200 million local public health officials requested from Newsom in this year’s budget to help them recover from the COVID-19 pandemic …

USA Today reports: Plea negotiations are underway in the case of Federico Klein, a former Trump State Department appointee who’s accused of charging a police line during the deadly Capitol assault Jan. 6.  Prosecutors offered a plea deal earlier this week, but the offer has not been accepted, Klein’s attorney, Stanley Woodward, said during a hearing Thursday. Prosecutors said Klein …

Fox News reports: The Florida Board of Education on Thursday approved a rule that Gov. Ron DeSantis advanced in order to ban teaching certain ideas about race and history. The rule came as part of a broader push by DeSantis and other Republicans to eliminate what they say are manifestations of critical race theory in schools. DeSantis’ office told Fox …

Mediaite reports: Caitlyn Jenner refused to say that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election while on The View, instead praising him for being a “thoughtful disrupter.” Jenner evaded the question, noting she’s “not going to get into that” because the “election is over with.” “I think Donald Trump did do some good things,” she continued. “What I liked about Donald …

The Missouri Times reports: After months of speculation, Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler jumped into the U.S. Senate race Thursday — becoming the first congressional official and woman to do so. Hartzler, 60, drew on her faith while criticizing President Joe Biden and “socialist Democrat policies” in her campaign speech. Hartzler joins Attorney General Eric Schmitt, former Gov. Eric Greitens, and attorney …

The Associated Press reports: The Texas bar association is investigating whether state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s failed efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election based on bogus claims of fraud amounted to professional misconduct. The investigation is yet another liability for the embattled attorney general, who is facing a years-old criminal case, a separate, newer FBI investigation, and a Republican …

The Raleigh News & Observer reports: County commissioners in North Carolina wanted to send a message to Coke by removing its vending machines from county property after the CEO spoke out against changes to Georgia’s voting laws. But the machines didn’t belong to the Atlanta-based beverage giant. The 12 Coke vending machines on Surry County property were owned and operated …

Fox News reports: “First and foremost, this is a frivolous politically motivated lawsuit. There is no liability on the part of myself or President Trump — although I probably stand with President Trump as we defend this frivolous litigation,” said Brooks, who is also running to succeed retiring Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., next year. “Instead, they chose to hire a …

“I was informed by the director of NASA that they have found that the moon’s orbit is changing slightly and so is the earth’s orbit around the sun, and we know there’s been significant solar flare activity. “And so is there anything the National Forest Service or BLM [Bureau of Land Management] can do to change the course of the …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Tuesday two bills meant to improve the state’s main power grid and change the governance of the agency that operates it. Calls for sweeping changes to Texas’ power infrastructure have amplified since February, when a catastrophic winter storm left more than 4.8 million homes and businesses without power for days. …

Peter Montgomery reports at Right Wing Watch: In the latest move in a wave of right-wing reaction against teaching about racism in American history, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation Monday establishing the “1836 Project,” an advisory committee that he said will promote “patriotic education” and ensure that future generations understand Texas values. The legislation requires the project to promote …

Politico reports: New Jersey Republicans looked past Donald Trump Tuesday, nominating a challenger to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy who once called the former president a “charlatan” and later acknowledged Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. Jack Ciattarelli, a three-term former member of the New Jersey General Assembly who was backed by the state’s GOP establishment, defeated three other Republicans …

The Washington Post reports: In an interview Monday with the Washington Examiner, Rep. Mo Brooks asserted that Trump beat President Biden “if only lawful votes cast by eligible American citizens were counted.” He argued that there is “overwhelming and compelling” evidence to support the claim — although he provided none. He said that “somewhere in the neighborhood of 900,000 to …

CNN reports: Weeks-long infrastructure negotiations between President Joe Biden and a Senate GOP group led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito broke down on Tuesday, according to an administration official, who said the White House has decided to shift its focus toward a bipartisan Senate group that has been meeting on a possible proposal. The decision to pivot follows an abrupt, …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas businesses that require customers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 will be denied state contracts and could lose their licenses or operating permits under legislation Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Monday. “Texas is open 100%, and we want to make sure you have the freedom to go where you want without limits,” Abbott said before …

“That’s a bioweapon. So we need to be very clear about what was the intent of COVID-19 and these viruses that they experiment with like some sort of Dr. Frankenstein experiment. “I don’t buy it because I don’t believe in evolution. I don’t believe in that type of so-called science. I don’t believe in evolution. I believe in God. “These …

Mediaite reports: Republicans attacked Vice President Kamala Harris after she gave reporters cookies — featuring her own likeness and that of Air Force Two — that were given to her by a Black-owned Washington, DC bakery. Some pointed to it as a sign of “narccicism” and worse, even implying that the veep has a Christ complex. One commentator called it …

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports: Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Tuesday asked a state court to declare Google a public utility as a way to ensure that the tech giant can’t prioritize placement of its own products in search results. The lawsuit, filed in Delaware County Common Pleas Court, is the first of its kind filed in the nation, …

VT Digger reports: Universal mail-in voting is now a permanent feature of Vermont’s general elections, under legislation that Gov. Phil Scott signed Monday. Now, local officials will be required to mail ballots to all registered voters in the weeks leading up to the November general elections, as they did in fall 2020. The state decided to automatically send ballots to …

“Suddenly, everybody was back in line. Now, the reason for that is because the base believed it. The base believed it because this had been told to them not just by the president, but by the media that they watch and nobody stood up and said, ‘Stop. This is enough. This is not true.’ “I won’t say nobody. Let me …