Category: US Politics

Judges: Texas redistricting plan violates Voting Rights Act

A three-judge panel in a Texas redistricting case has ruled that the Texas Legislature’s 2011 congressional redistricting plan discriminated against minority voters. The judges in a San Antonio federal district court concluded in a 2-1 vote late Friday that the drawing of some of the state’s congressional districts violated the federal Voting Rights Act or the US Constitution.

We can’t rest on substance abuse

Though they disagree strongly about many aspects of government spending, the vast majority of West Virginia legislators, both Republicans and Democrats, understand one thing: The state is broke. Any thought of new spending had better be based on real necessity.

Programs try to bring civility, courtesy back into politics, society

To continue reading up to 10 premium articles, you must register , or sign up and take advantage of this exclusive offer: In this Feb. 2, 2017, photo provided by Middle Tennessee State University professor Mary Evins, students take part in a role-playing game about the 1676 Bacon’s Rebellion, in a class in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The university has staged re-enactments of historical events to help shed light on conflicting perspectives that led to great compromises.

Now-fired US Attorney Bharara boasts of a absolute independencea

A Manhattan federal prosecutor who says “absolute independence” was his touchstone for more than seven years as he battled public corruption announced he was fired Saturday after he refused a day earlier to resign. Preet Bharara, 48, revealed his firing on his personal Twitter account after it became widely known hours earlier that he did not intend to step down in response to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ request that leftover appointees of former President Barack Obama quit.

Now-fired Preet Bharara boasts of ‘absolute independence’

A Manhattan federal prosecutor who says “absolute independence” was his touchstone for over seven years as he battled public corruption announced he was fired Saturday after he refused a day earlier to resign. Preet Bharara, 48, revealed his firing on his personal Twitter account after it became widely known hours earlier that he did not intend to step down in response to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ request that leftover appointees of former President Barack Obama quit.

Breitbart takes aim at GOP healthcare bill

The far-right news website that has long backed President Trump has published a series of articles this week highlighting perceived negative aspects of House GOP leaders’ proposal to repeal and replace ObamaCare. Breitbart been far from supportive of the Affordable Care Act, which the GOP is seeking to repeal and replace.

Sessions seeks resignations of 46 United States attorneys appointed during Obama administration

AG Sessions Directs U.S. Attorneys to Pursue ‘Harsh Sentences’ for Gun Crimes AP by AWR Hawkins9 Mar 20170 9 Mar 2017 9 Mar 2017 Sessions is seeking the resignations of 46 United States attorneys who were appointed during the prior presidential administration, the Justice Department said Friday, March 10, 2017. The person said Bharara is remaining in his post after receiving assurances a year ago from Trump and Sessions that they wanted him to stay on.

The Latest: Top House Democrat seeks listing of Trump probes

Michigan Rep. John Conyers, the House Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, wants a summary of probes linked to President Donald Trump in light of the dismissal of dozens of federal prosecutors. Conyers says in a release that Saturday’s firing of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is a particular problem.

Mark Shields: Donald Trump and the Cuban Missile Crisis of Tomorrow

Gen. Charles de Gaulle , a French hero and statesman who did not lack for self-esteem, once stated, “When I want to know what France thinks, I ask myself.” In October 1962, after U.S. charges that the Soviets had installed offensive nuclear missiles in Cuba – just 90 miles from the American mainland – the United States and the Soviet Union teetered on the dangerous brink of World War III.

Indian-American federal prosecutor Bharara sacked

Washington, March 12 – A day after being asked to quit by US President Donald Trump’s administration, Preet Bharara, a high-profile Indian-American federal prosecutor was sacked on Saturday, a media report said. Bharara, the Manhattan federal prosecutor who was asked by President Trump to remain in his post shortly after the election, was fired after he refused an order to submit his resignation, The New York Times reported.

Mike Pence To Keynote AIPAC Conference

WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence and a bipartisan slate of top members of Congress are scheduled to address AIPAC’s upcoming annual conference. An American Israel Public Affairs Committee official confirmed to JTA that Pence will keynote the conference scheduled for March 26-28 in Washington, D.C. Pence, who enjoyed a long relationship with the pro-Israel lobby as a congressman and later as Indiana governor – but as a local congressman in 2009, told AIPAC that he didn’t know of the three synagogues in his district – spoke last month at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual confab and has taken a lead in condemning recent anti-Semitic incidents.

Pence appeals for complete GOP support for health overhaul

Vice President Mike Pence appealed for total GOP congressional support for a White House-backed health overhaul during a brief visit Saturday to Kentucky, where the Republican governor and junior senator are among the plan’s skeptics. “This is going to be a battle in Washington, D.C. And for us to seize this opportunity to repeal and replace Obamacare once and for all, we need every Republican in Congress, and we’re counting on Kentucky,” Pence said at an energy company where business leaders had gathered.

Pence Promises Kentucky Its Obamacare `Nightmare’ About to End

Vice President Mike Pence said the “nightmare” of Obamacare will soon end as he visited Kentucky in hopes of drumming up some good publicity for a contentious health bill that’s united many conservatives and liberals — as well as doctors, seniors and “Obamacare has failed the people of Kentucky it has failed the people of America and Obamacare must go,” Pence told told an invited audience of about 100 mostly small business owners and Republican backers in Louisville.

Dream on, but just make it somewhat snappier this weekend

Graphic to be used as a reminder to turn the clocks forward one hour.; 1c x 1 inches; 46.5 mm x 25 mm; Time marches on, with a bit more skip this weekend, as daylight saving time officially re-emerges at 2 a.m. Time marches on, with a bit more skip this weekend, as daylight saving time officially re-emerges at 2 a.m. Federal judges have dealt Texas another loss over voting rights, finding that Republicans racially gerrymandered some congressional districts to weaken the electoral influence of the state’s booming minority… Federal judges have dealt Texas another loss over voting rights, finding that Republicans racially gerrymandered some congressional districts to weaken the electoral influence of the state’s booming minority population.

GOP Acts Fast on Health Care, Aims to Avoid Ire Dems Faced

It took former President Barack Obama and his Democrats more than a year to pass the Affordable Care Act, a slow and painstaking process that allowed plenty of time for a fierce backlash to ignite, undermining the law from the very start. Republicans are trying to avoid that pitfall as they attempt to fulfill years’ worth of promises to repeal and replace Obama’s law.

Federal judges find Texas gerrymandered maps on racial lines – Sat, 11 Mar 2017 PST

Federal judges found more problems in Texas’ voting rights laws, ruling that Republicans racially gerrymandered some congressional districts to weaken the growing electoral power of minorities, who former President Barack Obama set out to protect at the ballot box before leaving office. The ruling late Friday by a three-judge panel in San Antonio gave Democrats hope of new, more favorably drawn maps that could turn over more seats in Congress in 2018.

Federal judges find Texas gerrymandered maps on racial lines

Federal judges found more problems in Texas’ voting rights laws, ruling that Republicans racially gerrymandered some congressional districts to weaken the growing electoral power of minorities, who former President Barack Obama set out to protect at the ballot box before leaving office. The ruling late Friday by a three-judge panel in San Antonio gave Democrats hope of new, more favorably drawn maps that could turn over more seats in Congress in 2018.

Panel voids 3 Texas congressional districts

In a 2-1 ruling, the panel concluded that race, instead of partisan advantage, drove the decisions by the Republican-controlled Legislature to redraw District 23, which is held by U.S. Rep. Will Hurd , R-San Antonio; District 35, which stretches from Austin to San Antonio and is held by Democrat U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett , and District 27, which includes Nueces County. The nearly 200-page ruling invalidates those districts, and could have a filter-down effect on nearby districts if the ruling stands.

Trump administration seeks resignations of 46 US attorneys

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is seeking the resignations of 46 U.S. attorneys who were holdovers from the Obama administration. Many of the federal prosecutors who were nominated by President Barack Obama have already left their positions, but the nearly four dozen who stayed on in the first weeks of the Trump administration have been asked to leave “in order to ensure a uniform transition,” Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said Friday.

Vatican confirms papal trip to Egypt under study

Federal judges have dealt Texas another loss over voting rights, finding that Republicans racially gerrymandered some congressional districts to weaken the electoral influence of the state’s booming minority… Federal judges have dealt Texas another loss over voting rights, finding that Republicans racially gerrymandered some congressional districts to weaken the electoral influence of the state’s booming minority population.

Illinois congressman objects to men purchasing prenatal care

Illinois Republican Rep. John Shimkus is under fire after comments he made Wednesday about prenatal requirements in the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. During a 27-hour debate on House Republicans’ health care plan in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Shimkus suggested men could be opposed to former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law because under the law they are required to pay for prenatal care.

How healthy are you? GOP bill would help employers find out

A bill in Congress could make it harder for workers to keep employers from getting access to their personal medical and genetic information and raise the financial penalties for those who opt out of workplace wellness programs. House Republicans are proposing legislation aimed at making it easier for companies to gather genetic data from workers and their families, including their children, when they collect it as part of a voluntary wellness program.

No lamenting liberal Liz’s fall from grace

Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is useless, teetering close to the ragged edge of pointless. Apart from starring roles in childish protests and tough-guy Twitter rants, Warren is making no difference in Washington, D.C., and is no friend to her constituents in Massachusetts.

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A Mississippi immigrant who made national headlines when she was detained after speaking out a news conference has been released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. Daniela Vargas, 22, was released Friday under an Order of Supervision from the LaSalle Detention Center in Jena, Louisiana, Because she is now under an Order of Supervision, Vargas will have to check in to the local ICE in Pearl office next month, Peterson said.