NY Times: “The Justice Department said on Thursday that it had begun a sweeping civil rights investigation into policing in Memphis, digging into allegations of pervasive problems with excessive force and unlawful stops of Black residents that were amplified by the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols in January. In announcing the investigation, officials specifically cited…

Daily Mail: “Author Ta-Nehisi Coates has crashed a South Carolina School Board meeting to protest the banning of his book on racism. Coates – who is black – sat beside Chapin High School teacher Mary Wood to show solidarity with her high school English class a lesson centered on an essay from Coates’ 2015 best-selling memoir…

North State Journal: “The Republican primary to succeed outgoing N.C. Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson saw one candidate depart the race, one candidate post an eye-popping fundraising total and a new candidate enter the race within the last week.  Last week, Rep. Ben Moss, who currently represents Moore and Richmond counties in the N.C. House, said…

AR Times: “Medical issues prompted Arkansas State Treasurer Mark Lowery to announce his retirement Tuesday afternoon, according to a press release from his office. Lowery will remain in the post until Sept. 30. Upon Lowery’s departure, Chief of Staff Stephen Bright and Deputy Treasurer Eric Munson will run the show until Gov. Sarah Sanders makes an appointment.  Lowery’s retirement…

AR Times: “The Little Rock Sustainability Office is joining in a national campaign to identify the hottest parts of the city, and organizers are looking for volunteers to act as citizen scientists on August 19. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s “Heat Watch Campaign” aims to identify community hotspots, or “heat islands,” for use in future decisions on how to reduce…

WataugaWatch: “At the moment, the struggle to succeed Tim Moore as Republican Speaker of the NC House comes down to a contest between “slick” and “aw, shucks” — that is, a rivalry for the job between current Majority Leader John Bell (“aw, shucks!” from Wayne Co.) and slick Caldwell County lawyer Destin Hall, chair of…

WaPo: “House Democrats are preparing to file a censure resolution targeting a Republican lawmaker for the second week in a row, this time against far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), our colleague Marianna Sotomayor reports.  Freshman Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) is expected to introduce the censure this afternoon, which would condemn Greene for fanning “the flames of racism, antisemitism, LGBTQ hate speech, Islamophobia,…

Political Wire: “A new Morning Consult poll finds Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear — a Democrat running for re-election this year in a deep-red state — with a 64% to 32% approval rating. “His approval rating among GOP voters is stronger than any other Democratic governor, resisting drag from President Joe Biden’s poor standing in the Bluegrass State…

WaPo: “The Republican-led legislature in Alabama approved a new congressional map on Friday that lowers the percentage of Black voters in a majority-Black district and allocates a 40 percent Black voting population to another district. A legal challenge to the map is already in the works, with Democrats saying the change is not enough to…

Politico: “President Joe Biden will establish a national monument honoring Emmett Till, the Black teenager from Chicago who was abducted, tortured and killed in 1955 after he was accused of whistling at a white woman in Mississippi, and his mother, a White House official said Saturday. Biden will sign a proclamation on Tuesday to create…