Politics Election category, Page 153
U.S. Rep. George Santos repays himself $85K raised from lackluster reelection fundraising
NEW YORK — Embattled freshman U.S. Rep. George Santos, a Republican from New York charged with a host of financial crimes, including embezzling money from his campaign, withdrew $85,000 from his campaign to help repay hundreds of thousands of dollars he loaned himself to get elected in 2022. Congressional campaign...
Efforts to deceive are a top concern among state election officials heading into 2024
WASHINGTON — Efforts to deceive the public about voting and elections remain a top concern for state election officials as they dig into preparations for the 2024 election. Misinformation and the emergence of generative artificial intelligence tools to create false and misleading content were cited in interviews with several secretaries...
DeSantis makes play for evangelical voters to chip away at Trump
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said signing a law restricting abortion in his state had cost him donors and support, defending the decision as he sought to burnish his credentials with evangelical voters in Iowa. “I lost a lot of really big supporters — some of them just aren’t pro- life,...
House Republicans push through defense bill limiting abortion access, halting diversity efforts
WASHINGTON — The House passed a sweeping defense bill Friday that provides an expected 5.2% pay raise for service members but strays from traditional military policy with Republicans add-ons blocking abortion coverage, diversity initiatives at the Pentagon and transgender care that deeply divided the chamber. Democrats voted against the package,...
Trump asks top Georgia court to disqualify election probe prosecutor and toss grand jury report
ATLANTA — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are asking Georgia’s highest court to prevent the district attorney who has been investigating his actions in the wake of the 2020 election from prosecuting him and to throw out a special grand jury report that is part of the inquiry. Fulton...
Former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, a key witness at Jan. 6 hearings, has book deal
NEW YORK — A former White House aide to President Donald Trump who became a prominent congressional witness against him and his allies in the wake of the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol has a book deal. Cassidy Hutchinson’s “Enough” will be released Sept. 26 by Simon &...
Mark Cuban rules out running for president in 2024
And for those reasons, he’s out. Mt. Lebanon native Mark Cuban, who’s fond of using that line when he declines to invest in a pitch on “Shark Tank,” has decided he will not mount a third-party campaign for president in 2024. “No. My family would disown me,” Cuban wrote in...
DeSantis has hammered Biden on rising prices. Now Florida is an inflation hotspot
As he relentlessly accuses President Joe Biden and national Democrats of fueling rising costs and fiscal mismanagement, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing stubbornly high inflation in his own backyard. New data released this week show prices in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area jumped 9% in the 12...
First Amendment group sues Texas Governor and others over the state’s TikTok ban on official devices
NEW YORK — A First Amendment group sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott and others on Thursday over the state’s TikTok ban on official devices, arguing the prohibition — which extends to public universities — is unconstitutional and impedes academic freedom. The complaint was filed by The Knight First Amendment Institute...
Pennsylvania budget still in turmoil over school vouchers and equity funding case
HARRISBURG — A court’s ruling earlier this year that the way Pennsylvania funds public schools is unconstitutional helped make education spending one of the thorniest issues in state budget negotiations. Along with a partisan divide over spending taxpayer money to help students attend private and religious schools, education funding has...
Jill Biden to visit Pittsburgh to tout Bidenomics
First Lady Jill Biden is coming to Pittsburgh next week to tout her husband’s efforts in revitalizing the economy. Biden will lead the Bidenomics tour that will go through Pittsburgh, Columbus, Ohio, and Augusta, Ga., according to Bloomberg. No details have been provided yet on when and where the Pittsburgh...
FBI Director Chris Wray defends the ‘real FBI’ against criticism from House RepublicansVideo
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Chris Wray defended the “real FBI” during a contentious congressional hearing Wednesday, rejecting a litany of grievances from angry Republicans who are harshly critical of the bureau, threatening to defund some operations and claiming the Justice Department is unfair to political conservatives, including Donald Trump. Wray...
Senators call for Supreme Court to follow ethics code like other branches of government
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, responding to Associated Press investigative stories on the Supreme Court, said Tuesday it was time for the justices to bring their conduct in line with the ethical standards of other branches of government. “If they just establish the basic standards of every other...
U.S. formally rejoins UNESCO after 5-year absence
WASHINGTON — The U.S. on Tuesday formally rejoined the U.N.’s scientific, educational and cultural organization after a five-year absence. The U.S. return to the Paris-based UNESCO was based mainly on concerns that China has filled a leadership gap since the U.S. withdrew during the Trump administration. UNESCO’s governing board voted...
Iowa Legislature considers 6-week abortion ban in special session
DES MOINES, Iowa — Protesters gathered in the Iowa Capitol rotunda as the Legislature began a special session Tuesday focused exclusively on abortion restrictions, where Republican lawmakers will work to push through a new ban on abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. The day will be a marathon of...
Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor’s staff prodded colleges and libraries to buy her books
WASHINGTON — For colleges and libraries seeking a boldfaced name for a guest lecturer, few come bigger than Sonia Sotomayor, the Supreme Court justice who rose from poverty in the Bronx to the nation’s highest court. She has benefited too — from schools’ purchases of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of the...
Rep. George Santos compares himself to civil rights hero Rosa Parks because he refused to sit in the back of CongressVideo
Rep. George Santos says he’s the new Rosa Parks — because he wouldn’t go sit in the back of Congress. The controversial Long Island Republican absurdly compared himself to the civil rights icon, who famously challenged segregation by refusing to move to the back of a public bus in Montgomery,...
Republican’s hold on nominations leaves Marines without confirmed leader for 1st time in 100 yearsVideo
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Marine Corps is without a confirmed leader for the first time in a century as Gen. David Berger stepped down as commandant on Monday and a Republican senator is blocking approval of his successor. Berger took over as the 38th commandant in July 2019, and is...
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene ousted from far right Freedom Caucus after fight with Lauren Boebert
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has been kicked out of the biggest conservative club in Congress over her nasty feud with fellow MAGA stalwart Rep. Lauren Boebert. The right-wing House Freedom Caucus ousted Greene in large part for calling Boebert a “little b——” in a quarrel that erupted on the House...
Pennsylvania governor calls on divided Legislature to finalize budget past deadline
HARRISBURG — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro called on the Republican-controlled Senate on Thursday to return to the Pennsylvania Capitol to finalize a state spending plan, as the state government neared a week without full spending authority. He disputed Republican accusations that he went back on his word about the $45...
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s campaign says incumbent raised $4M in second quarter
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s campaign raised more than $4 million during the second quarter of this year, a quarterly fundraising record for the incumbent Democrat who plans to seek reelection next year. Casey, a Democrat from Scranton, announced April 10 that he is seeking a fourth term in Washington. Casey’s...
With lawsuit dismissed, Pa. Republicans file appeal to try and overturn mail-in voting law
Unhappy with their latest legal setback in trying to have Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting law thrown out, Republicans are now appealing to the state Supreme Court. On June 27, a state Commonwealth Court judge denied the request of 14 current and former GOP legislators to invalidate Act 77, which 11 of...
Pennsylvania House approves state budget after Gov. Shapiro backs off voucher plan
HARRISBURG — Late Wednesday night, the Democratic-controlled Pennsylvania House approved a new state spending plan after a days-long stalemate in Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature. The chamber approved the main bill in a $45 billion spending plan, 117-86, as the state government plowed through its fifth day without full spending authority....
Judge’s order limits government contact with social media operators, raises disinformation questions
NEW ORLEANS — An order by a federal judge in Louisiana has ignited a high-stakes legal battle over how the government is allowed to interact with social media platforms, raising broad questions about whether — and how — officials can fight what they deem misinformation on health or other matters....
Pennsylvania governor backs off $100M private schools program in budget stalemate
HARRISBURG — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday backed off his insistence on money for a new private-school funding program after it became a sticking point in a budget stalemate between Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature. Shapiro’s shift in position came as state government plowed through its fifth day without full...
