MS Free Press: “Former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant’s defamation lawsuit against Mississippi Today over its welfare scandal coverage could be revived after several Mississippi Supreme Court justices questioned a lower court’s dismissal and suggested a jury should consider the case. Bryant has accused the nonprofit publication and members of its staff of defaming him including,…

WaPo: “Ben Palmer, a stand-up comic in Nashville, has built a following online with his signature style of elaborate deadpan pranks, stumbling his way onto court TV shows and pyramid-scheme calls to poke fun at the latent absurdities of American life. Then in January of last year, he had an idea for a new bit:…

NY Times: “Most people who trickled into a historical movie theater in the border city of McAllen, Texas, this week had heard of Bobby Pulido, the Latin Grammy Award-winning Tejano singer running for Congress in the oddly shaped district jutting from the border to the outskirts of San Antonio, some 250 miles straight north. But…

Axios: “South Carolina Democrats are enlisting former President Biden to try to save the state’s place as the first contest in the party’s next presidential primary. The state’s party chair has invited the senior Democrats who will determine the 2028 primary calendar to a reception with Biden this Friday in Columbia, S.C., according to an email obtained…

Democrats Flip Texas State Senate Seat in Upset “Democrats scored a stunning upset on Saturday in a special election runoff for Texas Senate, giving the party a major boost ahead of the November midterms, The Hill reports. Taylor Rehmet (D), a machinist and Air Force veteran, defeated Leigh Wambsganss (R) to fill the vacant state Senate District…

Axios: “Democrat Christian Menefee [last] Saturday prevailed in the special election in Texas’ 18th Congressional District, according to the Associated Press. Why it matters: Menefee’s election will put House Democrats at 214 seats to Republicans’ 218, meaning House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will be able to afford just one defection on party-line votes.”

abc13: “Democratic lawmakers in Virginia are moving forward with proposing new congressional maps. This comes after a Tazewell County judge ruled that the proposed redistricting constitutional amendment is unconstitutional. The maps, released by Democrats, show major shifts in the state’s congressional districts. Currently, Virginia has six Democratic seats and five Republican seats. Under the proposed…

WaPo: “South Carolina is battling the country’s largest measles outbreak since the disease was eliminated from the United States more than a quarter-century ago, with more than 840 cases overwhelmingly in unvaccinated children and adults. The outbreak that started in Octoberhas taken hold in the Spartanburg area where vaccination coverage has fallen below levels needed to stop…

When Democrats do it, at least…. Twitter: A brazen abuse of power & an insult to democracy. 47% of VA voted Trump. They will now get just 9% of the seats. 52% of VA voters voted Harris. Now they get 91% of the seats. (By comparison, in TX, 56% voted Trump; GOP gets 79% of…

The Atlantic: “Do Texas Democrats want to win statewide elections? I’m sure they’d prefer it to losing them. But the question is whether they actually care enough about winning to take the necessary steps—or even whether winning elections ranks among their top, say, five priorities. The state is holding a Senate election in November that is, or could…