WFAE: “Jackson, a state senator from Charlotte, has said North Carolina must follow the lead of 18 states that includes neighboring Virginia, and make marijuana legal…. Former state Sen. Erica Smith, who is running as the most progressive candidate in the Democratic primary, sponsored at least three bills relating to medical marijuana, dating back to…
“Mississippi politicians don’t believe what they keep being told about Medicaid expansion”
MS Today: “Politicians in the state who have opposed Medicaid expansion — Speaker Philip Gunn, Gov. Tate Reeves and numerous legislators — have offered several reasons for their opposition. The primary reason they cite, though, is that the state cannot afford to pay for the expansion. Multiple studies refute that claim. Other reasons have included…
“Beto O’Rourke Draws Closer to Entering Texas Governor’s Race”
NY Times: “Beto O’Rourke, the former El Paso congressman who became a darling of Democrats after nearly defeating Senator Ted Cruz in 2018, is inching closer to announcing a run for governor of Texas, according to three people who have spoken with him. In recent weeks, Mr. O’Rourke has been making calls to Democratic leaders…
“I’m a Texas Abortion Provider. I Don’t Know How to Do Right by the Community I Took an Oath to Serve.”
NY Times: “In other words, those restrictions leave us with questions. We don’t know: Can Texas come after people who assist someone in leaving the state? Does that mean that if you’re in Texas and you get a pregnancy diagnosis after six weeks, then it is illegal for you to ever get an abortion anywhere?…
“Women Can Avoid Pregnancy With Sexual Abstinence, Texas Law Creator Preaches In Brief”
HuffPo: “The key architect of the radical new Texas anti-abortion law has argued in a U.S. Supreme Court brief that women can avoid pregnancy by simply avoiding sex. The stunning argument was presented by attorney Jonathan Mitchell in a friend-of-the-court brief this summer supporting a restrictive Mississippi law denying women the right to an abortion after…
“Federal court strikes down NC law that barred farmworkers from seeking union representation via lawsuit settlements”
NC Policy Watch: “A federal district court judge on Wednesday entered a permanent injunction against a provision from the North Carolina Farm Act of 2017 that invalidated lawsuit settlements in which parties agree to recognize union representation of farmworkers as part of the agreement. The challenged provision was passed by the General Assembly and signed into law…
“New national poll: Americans in red and blue states support mask and vaccine mandates”
NC Policy Watch: “Pollsters at Monmouth University released new national survey results yesterday on American attitudes toward mask and vaccine mandates in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The central finding: support for public mandates continues to grow. This is from the release that accompanied the poll results: A majority of Americans support the vaccine mandates announced…
“Judges strike down North Carolina voter ID law, citing its ‘discriminatory purpose’ against African Americans”
WaPo: “A panel of North Carolina judges on Friday struck down the state’s law requiring voters to present photo identification before casting ballots, saying that the measure “was enacted in part for a discriminatory purpose” against African American voters. The ruling is the latest development in a state battle over voting rights that has drawn national attention,…
“In asking for emergency halt on Texas ban, Justice Dept. describes women, girls desperately seeking abortions out of state”
NY Times: “One woman piled her children into the car and drove more than 15 hours overnight from Texas to Kansas to obtain an abortion using medication. A minor from Galveston, who was raped by a family member, traveled eight hours to Oklahoma to terminate her pregnancy. Another patient made the six-hour trek for an…
“Thousands of Migrants Huddle in Squalid Conditions Under Texas Bridge”
NY Times: “Thousands of migrants were crowded under a bridge outside the border community of Del Rio on Thursday, part of a massive surge in migration across the Rio Grande this week that has overwhelmed the authorities and caused significant delays in processing the arrivals. The U.S. Border Patrol said that more than 9,000 migrants, mostly from Haiti, were being…