WaPo: ” At least 10 men wearing the uniform of the Proud Boys, a violent extremist group, appeared outside the entrance of a rally here for presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, prompting condemnation from President Biden’s campaign. The men — wearing black and yellow shirts, hats and masks identifying them as Proud Boys — were seen walking along…
Month: April 2024
“The Greatest Book a Politician Ever Wrote”
Politico: “That was Bob Graham, a young state senator from Miami with a quirky campaign gimmick: He was spending 100 days working 100 different jobs done by ordinary Floridians. This was the first time the undercover job he was doing for the day had bumped into the public job he was seeking for four years….
“Biden to Deliver Speech on Abortion In Florida”
Political Wire: “President Joe Biden will deliver an abortion-focused speech in Florida next week, capitalizing on a looming abortion ban there to make a broader case for reproductive rights,” Politico reports. “The Biden campaign has hammered former President Donald Trump over abortion in recent weeks, after Trump announced this month that he would defer to state-level abortion…
Potentially Historic Union Vote at Chattanooga VW Plant
npr: “Over the next three days, Volkswagen workers in Tennessee could change the trajectory of unions in the South. On Wednesday morning, hourly employees at the company’s Chattanooga plant started casting ballots over whether they want to join the United Auto Workers union. The vote, which closes at 8 p.m. Friday, is one of the…
“In Travis County, a Fight Over Bail Hearings Has Big Stakes for Criminal Defendants”
TX Observer: “These routine hearings can have huge implications beyond determining how long someone will spend in jail (and the potential collateral damages like job loss) or how much they’ll have to pay to a bail bonds firm. If an arrestee chooses to plead their case at magistration, anything they say can be used against…
‘Forever Chemicals,’ Religion, and Family Tragedy in TX
TX Observer: “Not everything came up rosy. The war in Vietnam threw its shadow over those early years in Texas. In 1967, a year after they moved to Universal City, a fire consumed the USS Forrestal. The aircraft carrier was stalking Vietnam’s north shore, preparing to attack. Aboard the vessel, young Navy ensign John McCain readied…
“Meet the volunteers trying to ‘FLIP’ North Carolina’s courts”
NC Newsline: ““We just were obviously horrified post-2016 election,” said Andrea Cash. “And that was the real moment of, ‘What are we going to do?’” What they did was create FLIP NC, an all-volunteer grassroots organization co-founded by Amy Cox and Briana Brough. For the next year they knocked on 20,000 doors and sent 250,000 text…
“Winston-Salem tenants want to buy apartments promised to private developer”
NC Newsline: “Citing concerns about the potential new owner, a tenants’ rights group in Winston-Salem is urging the city to sell eight affordable apartments to the tenants instead of private developers. Housing Justice Now contends the developers have not honored conditions of the sale, which included a 30-day due diligence period, individual meetings with residents,…
“Ark. governor’s office might’ve broken law in buying $19K lectern, audit finds”
WaPo: “Arkansas lawmakers from both sides of the aisle on Tuesday questioned the staff of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) a day after legislative auditors released a report that found that her office may have broken the law while buying a $19,000 lectern and in handling government records about its purchase. The 68-page audit, released Monday —…
“Kentucky Governor Loses Power to Fill Senate Vacancies”
Political Wire: “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 AP reports. “The GOP supermajority Legislature easily overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of the…