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VP Harris visits Florida as abortion ban limits southern women's options

(Reuters) U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visits Florida on Wednesday to denounce the state's six-week abortion ban that takes effect on May 1, and will accuse Republican opponent Donald Trump of being responsible for it. Florida's Supreme Court cleared the way for a six-week abortion ban, a time-frame before many women realize they are pregnant, in early April. The court also said a ballot measure legalizing abortion until viability could be voted on this November, which could benefit Democrats at the polls.

babylonsister

Cecile Richards: Florida's Abortion Ban Should Be Our Breaking Point

(DailY Beast) For nearly two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Florida was the last safe haven for people in need of abortions in the South. As of today, that’s no longer true. It’s hard to adequately convey the devastation of a six-week abortion ban taking effect in one of the country’s most populous states.

BumRushDaShow

Democrats Massively Overperform In Special Election Triumph

(Newsweek) Timothy Kennedy, a Democratic New York state senator, has won the special election for the Congressional seat vacated by the retired Democrat Brian Higgins. While Kennedy's victory was widely anticipated in the left-leaning district, the vote margin between both candidates was much larger than forecast. Kennedy won by more than 36 percentage points — a massive performance by the Democratic Party. The Cook Political Report, an independent newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns, had expected Kennedy to win the seat by 9 percentage points.

KS Toronado

Wednesday TOONs

babylonsister

Rachel Maddow exposes the GOP's 'sprawling nationwide scandal'

(Daily Kos) Rachel Maddow dedicated time during her show on Monday to talking about the extent of the election fraud rot in the Republican Party. Acknowledging that Donald Trump is always going to hoover “up all the oxygen in the room,” Maddow said she wanted to broaden the scope to look at the GOP as a whole. "There are at least 53 Republican officials and lawyers and activists who are facing felony criminal counts other than Donald Trump himself," she said.

BumRushDaShow

Private payrolls increased by 192,000 in April, more than expected for resilient labor market

(CNBC) Private payrolls increased at a faster than expected pace in April, indicating there are still plenty of tailwinds for the U.S. labor market, according to ADP. The payrolls processing firm reported Wednesday that companies added 192,000 workers for the month, better than the Dow Jones consensus outlook for 183,000 though a slight step down from the upwardly revised 208,000 in March.

Tom of Temecula

'Irreparable breakdown': Trump campaign law firm suddenly retreats from years-long case

(Raw Story) A longstanding legal firm serving former President Donald Trump's campaign and businesses is seeking to withdraw from a lengthy case because of “irreparable breakdown in the attorney-client relationship,” according to a new report and court records. The firm LaRocca, Hornik, Greenberg, Rosen, Kittridge, Carlin and McPartland on Friday requested to remove itself from a lawsuit filed by a campaign surrogate who said the campaign sidelined her in 2016 after she revealed she was pregnant, the New York Times was first to report.

Israeli

Smotrich Must Pay the Price for His Repeated Calls for Genocide of Palestinians

(Haaretz) Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a member of the security cabinet, ought to be fired immediately over his latest remarks. That's how any properly run country would act, and all the more so a country against which the International Court of Justice in The Hague has issued provisional measures requiring it to refrain from genocide, including one requiring it to deal properly with incitement to genocide. In any normal country, five minutes after his remarks were reported, the prime minister would have convened a press conference, fired the minister in disgrace and publicly declared that this isn't his way, and that people with such a worldview have no place in the Israeli government.

BumRushDaShow

MAGA Bob hires GOP operative who called Jan. 6 'Democrat misdirection'

(NBC News) Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign has hired a former top spokesperson to hard-right Republican candidates who has called the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol “Democrat misdirection.” Campaign finance records show Kennedy’s independent campaign first hired Zach Henry’s firm Total Virality for "influencer engagement" in March, two months after Republican Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the race for his party's presidential nomination. Henry had been Ramaswamy's deputy communications director. “J6 was no MAGA insurrection Just more Democrat misdirection,” he posted on X in March 2023.

BumRushDaShow

Trump won't rule out election violence if he loses to Biden in November: 'It depends'

(Business Insider) Former President Donald Trump said in a new interview that he's not ruling out the possibility of election-related violence if he loses to President Joe Biden in November. When first pressed about the prospect of "political violence" over the upcoming presidential election, Trump said he didn't think it would play out. "I think we're going to have a big victory," he said. "And I think there will be no violence." Two weeks later, Trump spoke with the Time reporter for a follow-up, and the reporter asked specifically if violence might erupt if he didn't defeat Biden. "I think we're going to win," he said. "And if we don't win, you know, it depends. It always depends on the fairness of an election."

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US officials find weak security practices at water plants breached by pro-Russia hackers

16 min ago - Published 10:15 AM EDT, Wed May 1, 2024 CNN — Pro-Russia hackers have exploited shoddy security practices at multiple US water plants in recent cyberattacks that have hit a wider swathe of victims than was previously documented, according to an ... (CNN Politics)

Fed holds rate steady and moves to ease the pace of balance sheet reduction

41 min ago - Published Wed, May 1 2024 2:00 PM EDT Updated 2 Min Ago WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its ground on interest rates, again deciding not to cut as it continues a battle with inflation that has grown more difficult lately. In a wide ... (CNBC)

Pennsylvania Republican Got Solar Panel Money From Biden Bill He Opposed

1 hr ago - May 1, 2024, 08:04 AM EDT Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), an outspoken critic of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, used the law to receive a grant to install solar panels at one of his car dealership locations. The U.S. Department of Agric ... (Huff Post)

Donald Trump's Law Firm Doesn't Want to Represent Him Anymore

2 hrs ago - A law firm wants to withdraw from representing Donald Trump, citing a breakdown in relations, court documents show. In a filing to a Manhattan court, the law firm—LaRocca, Hornik, Greenberg, Rosen, Kittridge, Carlin and McPartland—said ther ... (Newsweek)

US job openings fall to 8.5 million in March, the lowest level in more than 3 years

2 hrs ago - Associated Press Finance US job openings fall to 8.5 million in March, the lowest level in more than 3 years PAUL WISEMAN Wed, May 1, 2024, 10:17 AM EDT * 2 min read WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. jobs openings slid in March to the lowest level in more ... (Associated Press, via Yahoo! Finance)

Biden to travel to Detroit for NAACP dinner

2 hrs ago - 05/01/24 12:04 PM ET President Biden will travel to Detroit this month to give remarks at a NAACP dinner, a Biden campaign official confirmed to The Hill. The president is set to travel to swing state Michigan on May 19 and will speak at the NAACP De ... (The Hill)

Cannon reminds Trump to redact witness names as former president faces gag hearing in different venue

3 hrs ago - May 1st, 2024, 10:30 am Amid Donald Trump being held in contempt of court in New York at his criminal hush money and election interference trial, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida has issued a reminder — and deadline — to the fo ... (Law & Crime)

Paul Auster, American author of The New York Trilogy, dies aged 77

3 hrs ago - Paul Auster, the author of 34 books including the acclaimed New York Trilogy, has died aged 77. The author died on Tuesday due to complications from lung cancer, his friend and fellow author Jacki Lyden confirmed to the Guardian. Auster became known ... (The Guardian)

Arizona's Democratic leaders make final push to repeal 19th century abortion ban

3 hrs ago - May 1, 2024, 1:04 AM PHOENIX -- Democrats in the Arizona Legislature are expected to make a final push Wednesday to repeal the state’s long-dormant ban on nearly all abortions, which a court said can be enforced. Fourteen Democrats in the Senate ... (ABC News/AP)

United Methodists repeal longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy

4 hrs ago - Updated 10:01 AM EDT, May 1, 2024 CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — United Methodist delegates repealed their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy with no debate on Wednesday, removing a rule forbidding “self-avowed practicing homosexuals&#1 ... (AP)

Police begin dismantling pro-Palestinian encampment at UW-Madison; multiple arrests underway

5 hrs ago - Police have begun dismantling an illegal encampment at UW-Madison established by pro-Palestinian supporters. WISC-TV reported that just before 7 a.m., several police officers arrived at the encampment on Library Mall and played a recorded message on ... (Wisconsin State Journal)

Greene says she will force vote over Speaker Johnson's ouster next week

5 hrs ago - Updated 10:18 AM EDT, Wed May 1, 2024 Washington CNN -- GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced Wednesday she will force a vote over House Speaker Mike Johnson's ouster next week - a move that comes after Democrats have said they will vote to kil ... (CNN Politics)

Exclusive: National strategy to build diverse STEM workforce unveiled

5 hrs ago - 3 hours ago An alliance of businesses, governments, educational institutions and philanthropies will unveil a national strategy at the White House today to add 20 million new workers in science and related fields from historically excluded and underr ... (Axios)

Biden Clears $6 Billion in Debt for Closed Art School's Students

6 hrs ago - May 1, 2024 at 6:00 AM EDT President Joe Biden is forgiving $6.1 billion in student loans for more than 300,000 attendees of the Art Institutes, a shuttered group of private colleges accused of fraud — the latest effort to deliver on his promise ... (Bloomberg)

Private payrolls increased by 192,000 in April, more than expected for resilient labor market

6 hrs ago - Published Wed, May 1 20248:15 AM EDT Private payrolls increased at a faster than expected pace in April, indicating there are still plenty of tailwinds for the U.S. labor market, according to ADP. The payrolls processing firm reported Wednesday that ... (CNBC)

Democrats Massively Overperform In Special Election Triumph

6 hrs ago - Published May 01, 2024 at 4:48 AM EDT | Updated May 01, 2024 at 6:45 AM EDT Timothy Kennedy, a Democratic New York state senator, has won the special election for the Congressional seat vacated by the retired Democrat Brian Higgins. Kennedy easily d ... (NBC News)

Police respond to UCLA after violent clashes break out amid dueling demonstrations

6 hrs ago - WESTWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Police responded to UCLA early Wednesday morning after violent clashes erupted between competing protest groups at a pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus. People were beaten and hit with sticks as the clashes betwe ... (KABC Los Angeles)

RFK Jr. hires GOP operative who called Jan. 6 'Democrat misdirection'

7 hrs ago - April 30, 2024, 8:37 PM EDT Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign has hired a former top spokesperson to hard-right Republican candidates who has called the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol “Democrat misdirection.” Campaign fi ... (NBC News)

CDC announces recall of bulk walnuts over E. coli contamination

7 hrs ago - Posted at 7:17 PM, Apr 30, 2024 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday announced it is tracking an E. coli outbreak connected to certain organic walnuts sold in bulk. It has announced a recall of organic walnut halves and pie ... (Scripps News)

Johnson & Johnson will pay $6.5 billion to resolve nearly all talc ovarian cancer lawsuits in U.S.

8 hrs ago - Published Wed, May 1 2024 6:31 AM EDT Updated 4 Min Ago Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday said it plans to pay $6.5 billion over 25 years to settle nearly all of the thousands of lawsuits in the U.S. claiming its talc-based products caused ovarian c ... (CNBC)