WaPo: “When Roy Cooper was narrowly elected North Carolina’s governor eight years ago, the prospects for a Democrat to get much done in the Tar Heel state were not exactly auspicious. As the Assembly, a North Carolina-based digital publication, wrote last week: “No governor in modern state history has faced a legislature so bent on thwarting…
“House Ethics Closes Probe Into Two Republicans”
Political Wire: ““The U.S. House Ethics Committee on Monday closed its investigations into allegations that Reps. Ronny Jackson and Wesley Hunt misused campaign funds, clearing the Texas Republicans of wrongdoing,” the Dallas Morning News reports.”
“Roy Cooper Grants Clemency to 15 on Death Row”
Political Wire: “In one of his final acts in office, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) granted clemency to 15 people on death row, forgave two people for their past crimes and made two others immediately eligible for parole, the Raleigh News & Observer reports.”
“Ex-Rep. Riggleman mulls independent run for Va. governor, lt. governor”
WaPo: “Former Republican congressman Denver Riggleman, who broke with his party over the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, is exploring an independent bid for Virginia governor or lieutenant governor thisyear, a move that could also put him at odds with the lone Democrat in the race, outgoing Rep. Abigail Spanberger, whom he endorsed two years ago for Congress.”
“Democrats have a Florida problem”
Politico: “National Democrats are grappling with an identity crisis. It’s even worse in Florida. For those who’d been in denial, the 2024 election proclaimed Florida as a red state. The party got romped up and down the ticket, and many of the same factors that affected the rest of the U.S. were magnified here: Voters…
“Pornhub Is Now Blocked In Almost All of the U.S. South”
404: “Almost two years ago, Louisiana passed a law that started a wave that’s since spread across the entire U.S. south, and has changed the way people there can access adult content. As of today, Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina join the list of 17 states that can’t access some of the most popular porn sites on…
“Three Black men were lynched. A rural Virginia county has cleared their names.”
WaPo: “There is no way to atone for what happened to Charles Allie Thompson, William Thompson and William Grayson, Black men lynched in this rural county more than a century ago and then mostly erased from history. But this week brought a measure of justice. In a Reconstruction-era courtroom, Circuit Judge Dale B. Durrer granted…
Happy Holidays from Yellow Dog! See Y’all Next Year
“Fani Willis disqualified as DA in Donald Trump’s election racketeering case”
USA Today: “A divided Georgia Court of Appeals disqualified the prosecutor in President-elect Donald Trump’s state election racketeering case on Thursday, ruling Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis carried the appearance of impropriety in her decisions about who to prosecute and what charges to bring. Willis had acknowledged a romantic relationship with a special counsel she hired onto the…
Sea Levels Skyrocketing in the South
WaPo: “It has also shown a dangerous trend: Since 2010, the sea level at the Fort Pulaski gauge has risen by more than 7 inches, one of the fastest ratesin the country, according to a Washington Post analysis of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data for 127 tide gauges. Similar spikes are affecting the entire U.S. Southeast…