Courthouse News: “Florida anti-abortion activists brought their challenge to a protest-free zone at a women’s health clinic to the 11th Circuit on Tuesday, asking the three-judge panel to overturn a federal judge’s refusal to block a vehicle safety ordinance. The Clearwater, Florida, City Council passed the ordinance last March in response to increasingly tense protests…
“House Panel Is Said to Have Voted to Release the Gaetz Report”
NY Times: “The House Ethics Committee secretly voted this month to release an investigative report into the conduct of former Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. The panel’s vote, which was reported earlier by CNN, paved the way for the release of the report after House members…
“Alabama prisoners sued to stop forced labor—a court dismissed their case”
The Real News Network: “Five incarcerated people in Alabama are fighting to push forward a lawsuit, Stanley v. Ivey, challenging the state’s power to punish prisoners who resist forced labor. Despite a state constitutional provision abolishing slavery that was passed in 2022 by referendum, Montgomery County Circuit Court dismissed the plaintiffs’ lawsuit, arguing Governor Kay Ivey…
“Texas Attorney General Sues New York Doctor for Mailing Abortion Pills”
NY Times: “The Texas attorney general opened a new front in the contentious battle over access to abortion this week by suing a New York doctor for sending abortion pills into Texas. It appeared to be among the first attempts to stop the mailing of such medication into states that ban abortion. The lawsuit from…
In Rome, GA, an Undocumented Migrant Wonders Why Friends and Family Voted to Kick Him Out
NY Times: ““We have to prepare for the worst-case scenario,” Jaime told him. “There’s a chance we could lose everything.” “Isn’t that a bit dramatic?” Sky asked. “How? Help me understand.” Jaime muted the football game on TV and began to explain his new reality as an undocumented immigrant after the election of Donald Trump,…
“Opioids Ravaged a Kentucky Town. Then Rehab Became Its Business.”
NY Times Magazine: “In eastern Kentucky, a region plagued by poverty and at the heart of the country’s opioid epidemic, the burden of addressing this treatment gap has mainly been taken up by addiction-rehab companies. Many stand more like community centers or churches than medical clinics, offering not just chemical but also spiritual and logistical…
“Trump wants his daughter-in-law in the Senate. DeSantis may defy him.”
WaPo: “President-elect Donald Trump has communicated to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that he wants his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, to become the Sunshine State’s next senator — but it’s far from clear that DeSantis will acquiesce and appoint her, people familiar with the matter said…. DeSantis is seriously considering Lara Trump and cares about the president-elect’s view, according to…
“The Texas Millennial Trying to Rebrand the Democrats”
NY Times: “Representative Greg Casar is living it. Last week, Casar, a 35-year-old Democrat from Austin, Texas, was elected as the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, becoming the youngest person ever tapped to lead the group of liberals at a moment when his party is struggling with younger voters. He’s also the first leader…
“Mark Robinson logs in to state meeting as ‘minisoldr,’ the handle at the center of CNN allegations”
WRAL: “A username at the center of allegations against Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson — claims by cable network CNN that he used the alias ‘minisoldr’ to make lewd and racist comments on a pornographic website more than a decade ago — popped up last week in a meeting over Gov.-elect Josh Stein’s inauguration. Robinson, a…
Man Arrested after Nancy Mace Said She Was Assaulted, Witness Says Mace Is Lying
Man arrested in assault on Rep. Nancy Mace, police say A man was arrested Tuesday night and accused of assaulting U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) in a Capitol Hill office building, according to Mace and the Capitol Police. “I was physically accosted tonight on Capitol grounds over my fight to protect women,” Mace said…