House Republicans’ 2023 rules package: Kick Dems off Ethics panel, investigate the FBI, cut corporate taxes

Housekeeping: Today is the first day of the 118th Congress—and the beginning of two years of Republican control of the House of Representatives. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is hoping to be elected speaker of the House but is facing opposition from a vocal minority of his party. With only four votes to spare, this small […]

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House Republicans fight against codifying protections for same-sex marriage

The House passed the Respect for Marriage Act yesterday, requiring states to acknowledge same-sex marriages conducted in other states should the Supreme Court overturn Obergefell v. Hodges. 169 Republicans voted against the Respect for Marriage Act. The 39 House Republicans who voted for the bill include: Reps. Armstrong (ND), Bacon (NB), Calvert (CA), Cammack (FL), Carey (OH), Cheney (WY), […]

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Police officers charged in Colorado, Georgia, Connecticut, and California for violence against citizens

Grand juries A grand jury declined to indict Tennessee officers who beat and tased a Black man for alleged traffic violations. Video of the incident went viral over the summer. Two Colorado deputies involved in the death of a 22-year-old who called 911 for help after his car got stuck on a boulder were indicted by a grand jury last […]

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Supreme Court appears ready to allow LGBTQ+ discrimination and weaken bribery protections

LGBTQ+ rights The Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, a case that pits Colorado’s anti-discrimination law against free speech. 303 Creative is a website design business owned by Lorie Smith. According to her brief, Smith wanted to tailor her business to wedding announcement websites, but with the explicit exclusion of […]

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Washington state jails cost taxpayers millions in wrongful death settlements

Inadequate medical care The death of a 51-year-old man denied medical treatment for diabetes in an Aberdeen, WA, jail has brought renewed attention to the state’s inadequate and negligent care of incarcerated individuals. [Clifford] Farrar, a 51-year-old with type 1 diabetes, had been insulin dependent since age 15. On the day he died, his medical records show, […]

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New case before Trump judge could result in the prohibition of medication abortion

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)—representing four Texas doctors and four anti-abortion groups—sued the FDA on Friday seeking to reverse the agency’s approval of mifepristone, the drug used in medication abortions. Mifepristone Mifepristone was first approved for early nonsurgical abortion by the FDA in 2000. Currently, it is commonly used for abortions up to 10 weeks […]

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