In It to Win It
In It to Win It's JournalPrimaries spotlight coming battles over state supreme courts
AP via Yahoo NewsGetting less billing, but with equal long-term political importance, is a contest that will shape the fall matchups for two seats on the state Supreme Court. At stake this year is whether the court remains majority Democrat or flips to Republican control, with consequences for decisions on redistricting and issues championed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
Its a scene playing out across the country this year, as state judicial races become increasingly politicized over issues such as partisan gerrymandering, abortion and gun rights. Voters in 32 states this year will cast ballots on state supreme court seats, which have become a magnet for spending by national interest groups.
Some $97 million was spent on state supreme court elections during the 2019-2020 election cycle, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's law school. Conservative groups and super PACs historically have outspent liberal-leaning organizations in state court races.
Spending and campaigning around the judicial races could intensify if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, which a leaked draft opinion indicates justices are prepared to do.
State courts are going to be front-and-center in the fight over abortion access, said Doug Keith, an attorney in the Brennan Centers Democracy Program. These races in some states are likely going to take a prominence that theyve never had before."
Michigan is among the states where abortion could be a central factor in court races this fall. One Democratic and one Republican justice are up for reelection to a court where Democrats hold a 4-3 majority. The races are technically nonpartisan, even though candidates are nominated by political parties.
'World's oldest woman' celebrates 128th birthday
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Oklahoma governor warns tribes not to create abortion havens
https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1525860835792498689Stitt told Fox News Sunday there was a possibility tribes could establish abortion havens if his state makes most abortions illegal.
Oklahomans will not think very well of that if tribes try to set up abortion clinics, Stitt said, warning he is monitoring the situation.
Stitt appeared on Fox News Sunday after the Supreme Court leak of a draft opinion showing the court was preparing to overturn the 1973 precedent Roe v. Wade, which created a constitutional right to abortions.
Oklahoma has passed into law a total ban on abortions after six weeks, only making an exception if the mothers life is endangered. The law would go into effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
More than half of Oklahoma is within tribal lands. Stitt said the expansion of tribal lands in Oklahoma includes the city of Tulsa, which covers about 1 million people, so he is watching what might be done to establish abortion safe havens in his state.
They think they can be one-one-thousandth tribal member and not have to follow state law, Stitt said.
USPS wants to hike stamp prices in July. It's just the beginning of a plan to raise prices at 'an un
I read this article earlier today. When I read articles about the financial struggles of the postal service and the goal of making the postal service self-sufficient, it grinds my gears and it riles me up. The postal service SHOULD NOT be on a financial island of its own. It is a public service provided by the government. We don't require public services to be profitable, and self sufficient, and be by their lonesome. The postal service is a low cost service that everyone is entitled to. It is not a for-profit business. The postal service should not have to completely fund itself. There should never be complaints about how unprofitable the postal service is because it should be the government's job to ensure it is adequately funded in any scenario. Sure, the postal service can be ran more efficiently. However, there are certain aspects of the postal service that will be inherently inefficient and there is no possible way to make those aspects more efficient because EVERYONE is entitled to the service it provides. It has to serve everyone. It should be subsidized by us, the public, whenever necessary because it is for our benefit.
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Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said May 5 he expected the Postal Service to continue to raise prices "at an uncomfortable rate" until the agency becomes self-sufficient.
The USPS proposed the rate increase a month ago, on April 6, the same day President Biden signed the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, legislation meant to bolster the agency, which has faced financial challenges as well as stiff competition from shippers such FedEx and UPS.
AT&T, Walmart, Citi, and other megacorporations bankrolled a likely wave of state abortion bans
Business InsiderAn Insider investigation found that contributions from dozens of well-known corporations or their affiliated PACs played a decisive role in bankrolling the lawmakers behind 13 state "trigger laws," written to take effect immediately if the landmark Roe v. Wade decision is overturned.
The state legislators and governors responsible for these laws, passed between 2005 and 2022, are overwhelmingly Republican, and they relied heavily on Republican parties and political action committees for campaign contributions. But they were also backed by companies that are part of your daily life, such as AT&T, Comcast Corp., CVS Caremark, Citigroup, Walmart, Anheuser-Busch, Exxon Mobil, and UPS, which each gave more than $150,000 to the effort in some cases, far more.
Some of these familiar brands have been endorsed by celebrities who are abortion-rights advocates, including the feminist icons Serena Williams and Rosario Dawson, who have each served as paid spokespeople for AT&T. AT&T gave more than $1 million to politicians behind the bills in all 13 trigger-law states.
The singer John Legend, who teamed up with Walgreens on a campaign for COVID-19-vaccine awareness, once suggested Hollywood should boycott Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, and other states that pass restrictive abortion laws.
"I don't know if it definitely will work, but I know that money talks," Legend said in 2019. Walgreens gave more than $76,000 to backers of the bills in seven states.
MeidasTouch: This says it all LOL
https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1525523663453179904White House launches webpage to help families find baby formula
https://twitter.com/KREM2/status/1525513803340959747BREAKING: Federal judge blocks parts of Alabama law banning gender-affirming care
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Abortion is on the August ballot in Kansas
The Wichita EagleAbortion providers scrambled to ensure patients knew the procedure was still legal. In Missouri and Tennessee, some falsely claimed the state legislatures had banned Plan B.
And in Kansas, Prairie Roots, a political organizing group founded by former state senator and failed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Barbara Bollier, posted to Twitter that a total abortion ban is on the ballot in Kansas.
Abortion is on the ballot in Kansas. It will be the first state to hold a vote on the topic after the court ruling.
But voters will not be directly deciding on a total abortion ban. Other steps would have to take place beyond the August vote to enact a total ban in Kansas.
Kansans will be voting on a constitutional amendment eliminating state-level protections for the procedure. A 2019 Kansas Supreme Court ruling found that the Kansas Constitution protects a right to an abortion. As a result most restrictions on abortion, including a total ban, would be considered unconstitutional in Kansas.
Coal miners press Manchin to back reconciliation bill to extend black lung funding
The Hill via Yahoo NewsPresident Bidens Build Back Better Act, which Manchin torpedoed late last year, included Manchins bill to extend an increased coal excise tax that funds benefits for coal miners suffering from black lung disease.
The higher tax rate expired at the end of last year, bringing uncertainty to a trust fund that provides monthly payments and medical benefits to more than 25,000 miners battling the debilitating disease.
Advocates say that a Democratic reconciliation package is the only major legislative proposal that includes the bill, which would extend the excise tax for 10 years.
That bill is not going to move. Its gonna have to be included in a package, and right now this is the only package that has been proposed that would fit this bill, Courtney Rhoades, an organizer at the Appalachian Citizens Law Center, said during a Thursday press conference in Charleston.
Roughly 1 in 5 coal miners in central Appalachia suffer from black lung disease, advocates say, which is caused by miners inhaling toxic coal and silica dust on the job. Doctors havent found a cure to the deadly disease, which slowly cuts off oxygen flow.
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