Politics Election category, Page 168
Trump waits out grand jury as New York braces for protests
NEW YORK — Facing the possibility of criminal charges, Donald Trump waited it out in Florida on Tuesday as New York braced for disruptions that could follow an indictment. Republican contenders in the 2024 race sized up the impact a prosecution could have on a campaign in which the former...
Idaho poised to allow firing-squad executions in some cases
BOISE — Idaho is poised to allow firing squads to execute condemned inmates when the state can’t get lethal-injection drugs, under a bill the Legislature passed Monday with a veto-proof majority. Firing squads will be used only if the state cannot obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections — and...
Candidate for Allegheny County’s top elected office calls for stricter campaign finance laws
Allegheny County has no campaign finance limitation, but one candidate for county executive is proposing a change. Former Allegheny County Councilman Dave Fawcett, a Democrat from Oakmont who is seeking the county’s top elected office, said Friday that he would support more stringent and rigorous campaign finance regulations if elected....
Trump lawyers attack Georgia grand jury and prosecutor
ATLANTA — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are attacking a special grand jury and prosecutors who investigated him in Georgia, asking a state court to throw out its report and all testimony from the inquiry and bar Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from continuing to investigate or prosecute...
Trump calls for protests, but even supporters dismiss idea
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump’s calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap. The ambivalence raises questions about...
Biden issues first veto, taking on new Republican House
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden issued the first veto of his presidency Monday in an early sign of shifting White House relations with the new Congress since Republicans took control of the House in January — a move that serves as a prelude to bigger battles with GOP lawmakers on...
‘Ted Lasso’ visits White House, promotes mental health careVideo
WASHINGTON — Fictional soccer coach Ted Lasso used a White House visit Monday to encourage people, even in politically divided Washington, to make it a point to check in often with friends, family and co-workers to “ask how they’re doing, and listen, sincerely,” Comedian Jason Sudeikis, who plays the title...
Trump silent on abortion as 2024 campaign pushes forward
DAVENPORT, Iowa — No elected Republican has done more to restrict abortion rights in the U.S. than Donald Trump. But in the early days of the 2024 presidential contest, no Republican has worked harder to avoid the issue than the former president. Far more than his GOP rivals, Trump is...
Elizabeth Warren says she favors increasing FDIC’s deposit insurance capVideo
WASHINGTON — Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling for more U.S. deposits to be covered by federal insurance and demanding government probes into whether lax regulation fueled this month’s collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The comments this weekend from the Massachusetts Democrat, a frequent critic of the finance...
Florida may ban girls’ period talk in elementary grades
TALLAHASSEE — Legislation moving in the Florida House would ban discussion of menstrual cycles and other human sexuality topics in elementary grades. The bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Stan McClain would restrict public school instruction on human sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases and related topics to grades 6 through 12. McClain...
Some Trump rivals rally to his side as possible charges loom
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Top Republicans, including some of Donald Trump’s potential rivals for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination, rushed to his defense Saturday after Trump said he is bracing for possible arrest. “The idea of indicting a former president of the United States is deeply troubling to me as...
Trump says he expects to be arrested, calls for protest
NEW YORK — Donald Trump claimed on Saturday that his arrest is imminent and issued an extraordinary call for his supporters to protest as a New York grand jury investigates hush money payments to women who alleged sexual encounters with the former president. Even as Trump’s lawyer and spokesperson said...
‘I’M BACK!’: Trump returns to Facebook after reinstatement
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump has returned to Facebook after a more than two-year ban. “I’M BACK!” Trump posted on the site weeks after his personal account was reactivated. Trump, who is running his third campaign for the White House, also shared an old video clip in which...
Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein denies deals in attempt to stay on Alcosan board
Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein on Friday said he never tried to orchestrate political deals behind closed doors in order to regain power and position on the county’s influential Alcosan board. The statement came after Schuyler Sheaffer, a former campaign manager for state Rep. Emily Kinkead, said that County Councilwoman...
Officials discussing security in case of Trump indictment
NEW YORK — Law enforcement officials in New York are making security preparations for the possibility that Donald Trump could be indicted in the coming weeks by a Manhattan grand jury and appear in a courtroom in an investigation examining hush money paid to women who alleged sexual encounters with...
Trump vs. DeSantis: Rivals’ very different styles on display
DAVENPORT, Iowa — In his first trip to Iowa this year, Ron DeSantis did not take any questions from voters. He ignored the local press. He avoided the diners, pizza parlors and ice cream shops that have helped presidential contenders in the leadoff voting state showcase their personal appeal and...
Fetterman to open Pittsburgh regional office next month
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, on Friday announced he will open a Pittsburgh regional office early next month. “Our team is proud to open another office to serve the people of Pennsylvania, this time in Pittsburgh,” said Joe Pierce, Fetterman’s state director. “This location will provide top services to the people...
Biden hosting Irish prime minister on St. Patrick’s Day
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to host Ireland’s prime minister on Friday, after the covid pandemic scuttled the longstanding St. Patrick’s Day meetup two years in a row. Leo Varadkar, known as the taoiseach, and his partner, Matthew Barrett, will attend a breakfast with Vice President Kamala Harris...
Stormy Daniels meets with prosecutors investigating Trump
NEW YORK — Porn actor Stormy Daniels met Wednesday with prosecutors who are investigating hush money paid to her on former President Donald Trump’s behalf, her lawyer said Wednesday. The news emerged as Michael Cohen, a former Trump attorney who orchestrated the payment, was giving a second day of testimony...
Biden says Jimmy Carter has asked him to deliver his eulogy
ATLANTA — President Joe Biden says he plans to deliver the eulogy at the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, who remains under hospice care at his home in south Georgia. Biden told donors at a California fundraiser Monday evening about his “recent” visit to see the 39th president, whom...
Kentucky House passes tax-relief bill for bourbon industry
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Proposed tax relief for Kentucky’s bourbon makers was fast-tracked Monday in advancing in the state House, but local leaders living near some of the world’s best-known distilleries were in no mood to toast the industry victory. The measure aims to phase out a property tax on the...
Michael Cohen to testify before grand jury in Trump hush money probe
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen testified Monday before a Manhattan grand jury investigating hush money payments made on the former president’s behalf. A Trump loyalist turned adversary, Cohen spent around three hours answering questions in the secret proceeding. He is scheduled to return again...
Woody Guthrie’s family to Josh Hawley: Stop using his lyrics, insurrectionist
WASHINGTON — Sen. Josh Hawley referenced Woody Guthrie last week when he sponsored a bill to prevent people associated with the Chinese Communist Party from owning U.S. farmland and called it the “This Land is Our Land Act.” But the family of one of America’s most revered folk singers wasn’t...
West Virginia GOP Legislature passes transgender care ban
CHARLESTON — A bill that would ban evidence-based health care for transgender minors in West Virginia, the state estimated to have more transgender youth per capita than any other in the nation, is headed to the desk of Gov. Jim Justice. The Republican governor has not taken a public stance...
Anti-Trump GOP voters mostly loyal in 2022, but not entirely
WASHINGTON — Rep. Lauren Boebert’s grip on Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District didn’t seem in question heading into last year’s midterms. But in the end, the congresswoman who gained a national reputation as a combative member of the “Make America Great Again” movement won reelection by just 564 votes. “This was...
