The Week: “Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows reportedly initially dismissed the idea that George Floyd’s killing would dominate the news and generate nationwide outrage in May 2020, instead thinking “nobody” would care.  That’s according to a new excerpt published in Politico Friday from reporter Michael C. Bender’s book Frankly, We Did Win this Election, which details a West Wing meeting the morning after…

WAPT: “The First Lady of the United States will travel to Jackson next week. First Lady Jill Biden is set to arrive in Jackson on June 22 where she will visit vaccine sites and encourage the community to get vaccinated. She will also be visiting Nashville on the same day. According to the Biden administration,…

Today: “Opal Lee’s dream has become reality. The 94-year-old activist known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth” has pushed for years for June 19 to become a national holiday, which included walking 1,400 miles from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., at 90 years old in 2016 to bring awareness of America’s other independence day. On Thursday, President…

Political Wire: “Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Monday apologized for comparing COVID-19 vaccine and mask rules to the Holocaust, declaring that “there is no comparison” between the safety measures and the genocide of six million Jews during World War II, The Hill reports.”

WaPo: “The Southern Baptist Convention elected Ed Litton as its president on Tuesday, signaling a defeat for the hard right within the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Litton narrowly defeated Mike Stone, the favored candidate of the far right. For the past few years, the convention has been mired in debates over racism, politics and sexual…

Clarion Ledger: “Republican Mississippi Rep. Steven Palazzo is using campaign money to pay lawyers defending him in an investigation into whether he misspent campaign funds. Palazzo, who represents most of southern Mississippi, paid Jackson law-firm Watkins & Eager more than $60,000 in December using campaign dollars, according to campaign finance reports. The disbursements are listed as professional fees. Forbes first…

Chicken Fried Politics: “Florida Republican congressional candidate Anna Paulina Luna’s claim that her political rivals were plotting to murder her raised skeptical eyebrows when she made the charge in a court application asking for stalking protection. “I really think that she’s exhibiting behavior that I would say is concerning,” said one. “This woman is off her rocker,”…

AR Times: “On May 18, the Little Rock Board of Directors approved a city ordinance that designated misdemeanor marijuana offenses the lowest priority for law enforcement. At the meeting, Little Rock Police Chief Keith Humphrey told the city board that the ordinance would not have a material impact on the police department because it has already adopted…

The Progressive Pulse: “The 105th class of Pulitzer Prize winners in Journalism, Books, Drama and Music were announced Friday and all caring and thinking North Carolinians will be delighted to know that Triangle-based writer David Zucchino was awarded the Pulitzer in the category of “General Nonfiction” for his book: Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the…

The TX Tribune: “Sixteen years ago, Texas lawmakers created a small program with a big goal: persuading women not to have abortions. It was given a few million in federal anti-poverty dollars and saw fewer than a dozen people its first year. Since then it’s ballooned. Alternatives to Abortion is poised to cost taxpayers $100…