WaPo: “The Smithsonian Institution announced Tuesday that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’ s original “I Have a Dream” speech has gone on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington to mark the historic address’s 60th anniversary. The three-page, typewritten speech was delivered before about 250,000 people at the Lincoln…
“DeSantis Suspends Elected Florida State Attorney”
Political Wire: “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday suspended Monique Worrell, the state attorney for Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit, accusing her of under-prosecuting criminals in her jurisdiction,” CNBC reports. New York Times: “It is the second time in a year that Mr. DeSantis, a Republican running for president, has taken the drastic and exceedingly rare step of…
“Fulton County district attorney is likely to present her case against Trump to grand jury next week”
CNN: “The Atlanta-area district attorney investigating former President Donald Trump and his allies has been lining up witnesses to appear before a grand jury in order to craft a narrative around how Trump and his supporters tried to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election in the Peach State, according to people familiar with the matter….
“How I ‘bribed’ a justice to take a no-expenses-paid trip to Mississippi”
NY Times: “One rainy day in April 2019, my phone buzzed and the caller ID lit up with“Supreme Court.” I stared at the two words for a moment. Was I in trouble? Then I remembered. A few months earlier, I’d sent Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor a letter inviting her to speak at the Mississippi Book…
“LA’s Sea Level Rises, Taking Swamps and Hurricane Protection with It.”
WaPo: “But since 2010, the U.S. Gulf Coast hasseen a sudden burst of rapid sea level rise, with rates that scientists didn’t expect to see until late this century. At itscenter lie the wetlands that make up the first line of defense for New Orleans, buffering the levees and barriers behind them. The change has put…
“5th Circuit panel strikes down Mississippi’s lifetime felony voting ban”
MS Today: “A three-judge panel of the United States 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down Mississippi’s lifetime ban on voting for people convicted of certain felonies, saying it is unconstitutional because it inflicts cruel and unusual punishment. In a 2-1 ruling released Friday, the panel sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Daniel…
“How a Sexual Assault in a School Bathroom Became a Political Weapon”
NY Times: ““I wasn’t even concerned about the fact that it was a boy wearing a skirt in the girls’ bathroom at the time,” Scott Smith later told me. “I’m focused on the fact that my daughter just got raped.” On the day of the assault, he went to the school and erupted at the…
“How Florida let a top insurer abandon homeowners in their time of greatest need”
WaPo: ““UPC abandoned me,” said Ed, a recently retired tortilla distributor who paid as much as $1,930 a year to UPC for insurance. “I never missed a payment. I expected them to do what they said in my contract: return my house to what it was the day before hurricane hit. I never even got…
“How Marjorie Taylor Greene Tamped Down a Far-Right Mutiny to Primary Her”
The Daily Beast: “And yet, after a number of high-profile disagreements with conservatives—Kevin McCarthy’s election to the speakership, the debt ceiling, and her removal from the Freedom Caucus—Greene has faced an onslaught of criticism from the far right, culminating in calls for her to face a primary challenge. Somehow, though, Greene has managed to tamp down that revolution. This is…
“Kentucky Candidates Trade Barbs at Fancy Farm”
Political Wire: “Associated Press: “Both sides stuck largely to scripts written in the early months of their general election showdown as they campaigned at the Fancy Farm picnic, traditionally seen as the jumping-off point for fall elections in Kentucky. This year, however, both Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron have been going…