AP: “The Louisiana Legislature has until Jan. 15 to enact a new congressional map after a lower court last year ruled that the current political boundaries dilute the power of the state’s Black voters, a federal New Orleans appeals court said Friday. However, whether current Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards will call a special session…
Month: November 2023
“What It Means to Be a Texan Is Changing in Surprising Ways”
NY Times: “Understanding the reality of Texas matters. With a population of over 30 million, Texas is increasingly shaping the cultural and political direction of the country. Its economy is one of the largest in the world, growing faster than the nation’s as a whole. The state has long been defined by demographic change, particularly its…
“[TX] GOP Lawmaker Quits to Run for State Senate”
Political Wire: “Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) is quitting Congress and running for his old seat in the Texas Senate, the Texas Tribune reports.”
“Border Wall Falls Leave Migrants With Devastating — and Costly — Injuries”
NY Times: “Ambulances rush them daily to hospitals in El Paso, San Diego and Tucson, Ariz., writhing in pain — bones poking out of arms and legs; skulls cracked; spines shattered. The men and women arrive on stretchers flanked by an agent in the telltale green uniform of the U.S. Border Patrol. “One look, and…
“Tim Scott ends struggling presidential primary bid”
WaPo: “South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, announced on Sunday that he was ending his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination after months of struggling to gain ground in polling. Scott, who focused his campaign on an uplifting message about his success in vaulting from poverty to political power and…
“Virginia House makes history by nominating first Black speaker”
WaPo: “Don L. Scott Jr. has been in the Navy, in law school and in prison, and that unusual path has brought him to the doorstep of someplace completely new: Scott, 58, of Portsmouth, became the first Black person chosen to become Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates since the body’s origins in 1619,…
“Group Once Led by Raphael Warnock Faces Scrutiny”
Political Wire: “The New Georgia Project, a voting rights organization founded by the state’s Democratic star Stacey Abrams and overseen for more than two years by Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, is beset by allegations of financial misuse and irregularities,” Politico reports. “The organization, which played a key role in registering the new voters necessary to turn Georgia…
“[Rep.] Spanberger won’t seek reelection, will run for Va. governor, sources say”
WaPo: “Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) will not seek reelection in Virginia’s 7th District next year so she can run for Virginia governor in 2025, according to two people familiar with the Democrat’s plans. Spanberger, who won a third term last year in one of the state’s most competitive swing districts, will announce her gubernatorial bid…
Former Louisville Detective Hankison on Trial for Breonna Taylor Shooting
courier journal: “Former Louisville Metro Police Detective Brett Hankison testified Thursday in his federal civil rights trial, saying he feared for fellow officers’ lives and was trying to survive when he fired 10 rounds into Breonna Taylor’s apartment. “It’s hard for me to explain the feeling of helplessness I had,” Hankison said, narrating how he stood…
Rep. James Comer Used Shell Companies to Pay His Brother $200K, Exactly What He Accuses Biden Family of Doing Nefariously
Political Wire: “According to Kentucky property records, Comer and his own brother have engaged in land swaps related to their family farming business. In one deal—also involving $200,000, as well as a shell company—the more powerful and influential Comer channeled extra money to his brother, seemingly from nothing. Other recent land swaps were quickly followed…