AR Times: “Labor news of note: Retirement of Arkansas AFL-CIO leader Alan Hughes and relevant of the group’s secretary-treasurer, Jessica Akers, to succeed him. She’s the organization’s first woman president. A Memphis native, she’s been with the Arkansas AFL-CIO since 2011.“
“In wake of indictments and with Ron DeSantis focused on condo collapse, Donald Trump holds Florida rally”
USA Today: “Donald Trump’s campaign-style rally in Florida Saturday comes at a fraught time for the former president: While the organization bearing his name in New York was indicted this week, he is also facing a potential rivalry with Florida governor and protege Ron DeSantis. Trump revisits Florida, a state he won twice, with some Republicans already talking about…
LA Gov. Edwards vetoes anti-vaccine bills in final action on session
AP: “Touting the life-saving benefits of the coronavirus vaccine, Gov. John Bel Edwards on Friday vetoed three Republican-sponsored bills striking at vaccine mandates in Louisiana, among two dozen measures the Democratic governor announced he rejected as he completed his bill review. In his veto message, Edwards wrote that the anti-vaccine mandate bills “contribute to the…
Evidence Mounting that Trump Sec. of Ag., Former GA Gov. Perdue, Accepted Multi-Million Dollar Bribe via Land Deal with Major USA Ag. Firm
WaPo: “It was a curious time for Sonny Perdue to close a real estate deal. In February 2017, weeks after President Donald Trump selected him to be agriculture secretary, Perdue’s company bought a small grain plant in South Carolina from one of the biggest agricultural corporations in America. Had anyone noticed, it would have prompted…
Increasing Likelihood MS Speaker of the House Will Primary Incumbent GOP Governor
Sun Herald: “He’s been crisscrossing the state for months meeting with local leaders. He’s on track to have $1 million in his campaign coffer this year. He’s taking jabs at Gov. Tate Reeves at every opportunity. Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn sure shows all the signs of someone strongly considering a gubernatorial run in 2023….
Rep. Kevin McCarthy Does a Good Thing (Removing Confederate Statues) for a Bad Reason (because “they are Democrats”)
Mediaite: “House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday he supports legislation to remove Confederate statues in the U.S. Capitol, saying they’re “statues of Democrats.” “Let me state a simple fact,” McCarthy said. “All the statues being removed by this bill are statues of Democrats.” He even said “the bill should go further” and suggested, “Maybe it’s time…
“UNC Chapel Hill trustees to vote on Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure”
North State Journal: “A news release from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said the school’s trustees would meet Wednesday, June 30. It is expected they will vote on whether to grant tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones, the author of the controversial 1619 Project, which seeks to reframe American history. A decision by trustees…
“A Wrongful Execution in Texas Points to the Fallibility of the Death Penalty”
TX Observer: “After years studying errors in death penalty cases, Columbia University law professor James Liebman wondered whether he could prove someone had been executed for a crime they didn’t commit. To test the theory, Liebman turned to Texas, the epicenter of the modern death penalty. In 2004, he and a team of students stumbled…
“When Jesse Helms Got Religion on Israel”
New Day for NC: “Conservative evangelical Christians in America haven’t always been all-out supporters of Israel. They once were downright hostile. That changed in 1984 when North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms ran for reelection against Governor Jim Hunt. Helms’s flip-flop on Israel had nothing to do with religion. It was about campaign contributions. During his…
“The Saga of Bonnie and Jack: A walk back in history with Orval Faubus, his family and JFK”
AR Times: “Ernest Dumas looks back to 1963. The nation was roiling from the civil rights movement and an Arkansas governor, Orval Faubus, was nurturing his political power with defense of segregation. Into the story step John F. Kennedy, not long before his assassination; Orval Faubus’ sister, a JFK admirer, and Faubus’ father Sam, a…