Month: May 2025

Democracy Now!: “ In Florida, the family of 23-year-old Roger Fortson, an Air Force member killed by a sheriff’s deputy inside his own home in 2024, has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit. The suit alleges deputy Eddie Duran used excessive and unconstitutional deadly force when he shot Fortson just seconds after he answered the…

HuffPo: “A ban on minors attending family-friendly drag shows in Florida was halted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on Tuesday after judges ruled 2-1 that it violated the First Amendment. The ruling marks a major victory for Hamburger Mary’s of Orlando, a restaurant in the Sunshine State that offers food and entertainment, including drag…

NY Times: “Republican leaders in Louisiana are pushing to end the last remnants of federally ordered school desegregation in their state, arguing that the era of racial exclusion is in the past and that the U.S. government has forced burdensome requirements on school districts long enough. They may have found allies in the Trump administration,…

WaPo: “But the reality is that requirements like these move people off programs not by requiring work but by requiring more reporting of work. Similar state-level policies have reduced the number of Medicaid recipients — but only by increasing the administrative burden on recipients, not by increasing the share who are employed. That’s what happened in Arkansas, which alone implemented work reporting…

The Hill: “Democrats are throwing cold water on the possibility of Stacey Abrams mounting a third bid for Georgia governor, underscoring how the once-rising star’s image has been tarnished by consecutive losses and recent controversies. Abrams hasn’t publicly commented on another potential run but also hasn’t ruled it out as she stays politically active. If…

Political Wire: “Gov. Brian Kemp and President Donald Trump met quietly Saturday in Washington to discuss unifying behind a Republican Senate candidate in Georgia,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports. “It was not immediately clear if the two reached an agreement over backing the same contender in the wide-open race against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff, but one person…

Punchbowl News: “In a three-way contest with Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), who is considering a run, Cornyn is down 10. Paxton pulled 44% to Cornyn’s 34%. Hunt got 19% in the three-way race. The survey, which was conducted from April 27 to May 1 by The Tarrance Group, also tested a general election contest between each potential Republican candidate and former Democratic Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), who…

Blue VA: “UVA Professor Larry Sabato really nailed it this morning on this insane story of blatant, wild corruption (and violation of the constitution’s “Emoluments” clause). See below for Sabato’s comments, but first, here’s the story: “In what may be the most valuable gift ever extended to the United States from a foreign government, the Trump administration is preparing to…

NY Times: “Robert Francis Prevost, the Chicago-born cardinal selected on Thursday as the new pope, is descended from Creole people of color from New Orleans. The pope’s maternal grandparents, both of whom are described as Black or “mulatto” in various historical records, lived in the city’s Seventh Ward, an area that is traditionally Catholic and…

WaPo: “Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) is a big outlier when it comes to his fellow Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee is stocked with senators from conservative states, such as Tennessee and Alabama, both of which President Donald Trump won by 30 percentage points last year. A couple of Republican members come…