Top Items:
Amy Gardner / Washington Post:
Texas Republicans finalize bill that would enact stiff new voting restrictions and make it easier to overturn election results — The Texas legislature on Saturday moved closer to enacting dozens of new restrictions on the voting process, as Republican lawmakers reached a deal that imposes …
Discussion:
Forbes, The Intellectualist and KXAN-TV
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Nick Corasaniti / New York Times:
Texas Republicans Finalize Major Bill of Voting Limits — The bill, which would make already stringent voting rules in Texas even tougher, is likely to pass both chambers of the Legislature. Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign it. — Texas lawmakers on Saturday finished drafting a bill …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Guardian, Brennan Center for Justice and CNN
Alexa Ura / The Texas Tribune:
Texas lawmakers poised to pass sweeping voting bill to restrict voting hours and change election rules
Texas lawmakers poised to pass sweeping voting bill to restrict voting hours and change election rules
Alexa Ura / The Texas Tribune:
President Joe Biden says Texas voting bill is “part of an assault on democracy”
President Joe Biden says Texas voting bill is “part of an assault on democracy”
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Politico, The Hill, Joe.My.God. and Associated Press
Ian Millhiser / Vox:
Justice Breyer's new warning for Democrats couldn't have come at a worse time — American democracy is in crisis. Breyer thinks now's the time to scold his fellow liberals. — Justice Stephen Breyer — a Bill Clinton appointee who has served on the Supreme Court since 1994 …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money
Marisa Iati / Washington Post:
What is critical race theory, and why do Republicans want to ban it in schools? — The latest front in the culture wars over how U.S. students should learn history and civics is the concept of critical race theory, an intellectual tool set for examining systemic racism.
Discussion:
KTLA and Associated Press
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Hannah Knowles / Washington Post:
Critical race theory ban leads Oklahoma college to cancel class that taught ‘white privilege’ — Melissa Smith says she has never used the words “critical race theory” in her community college course on race and ethnicity. Her syllabus does ask students to learn about racial inequality …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Mother Jones, The American Independent and KOCO
wallstreetjournal-ny-app.newsmemory.com:
Covid-19 Shot Can Be a Job Requirement — Updated guidance from EEOC notes some exceptions; incentives are allowed — U.S. employers could require all workers physically entering a workplace to be vaccinated against Covid-19, the federal government said Friday.
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Mary Kay Linge / New York Post:
Feds say employers can require workers to get COVID vaccine
Feds say employers can require workers to get COVID vaccine
Discussion:
Townhall, Wall Street Journal, CBS News, ABC News and Joe.My.God.
EJ Montini / Arizona Republic:
The way Sen. Kyrsten Sinema helped to kill the Jan. 6 commission — Opinion: Sinema can't say she supports legislation vital to Americans but refuse to do what needs to be done to pass it. — Make no mistake, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema helped to kill the bill that would have created a commission …
Matt Viser / Washington Post:
Biden's week is oddly . . . normal — At the start of the week, President Biden showcased the government's preparedness for hurricane season. In the middle of the week, he comforted the family of George Floyd, grieving on the first anniversary of his death.
Discussion:
IJR
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Lawrence Richard / Washington Examiner:
Bill Maher slams ‘liberal media’ in Israel-Gaza conflict, backs country's right to defend itself — Real Time host Bill Maher defended Israel on his show and criticized the “liberal media” for its “one-sided” reporting of the Israel-Gaza conflict. — “We've become this country now that we're kind …
Discussion:
HotAir
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Barak Ravid / Axios:
Bennett to announce he's joining opposition to form new Israeli government, oust Netanyahu — The leader of right-wing Yamina party Naftali Bennett could announce as early as Sunday that he is joining opposition leader Yair Lapid to form a power-sharing government in Israel, sources familiar with the issue tell Axios.
Harry Enten / CNN:
Biden is getting a big bounce with Hispanics — (CNN)Hispanic voters were one of President Joe Biden's biggest weaknesses in the 2020 election. Although sources differ on his exact margin, Biden's advantage with Hispanics was the worst for a Democratic presidential nominee since 2004 …
Heather Long / Washington Post:
Do deficits matter anymore? Biden's first budget signals they don't. — The president's budget predicts a $1.8 trillion deficit for 2022 and deficits of $1.3 trillion for years to come to fund big investments in education, infrastructure and the social safety net.
Discussion:
The National Interest, Wall Street Journal and Common Dreams
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Andrew Sullivan / The Weekly Dish:
Removing The Bedrock Of Liberalism — What the “Critical Race Theory” debate is really about. — 23 hr ago — As the origins of our current moral panic about “white supremacy” become more widely debated, we have an obvious problem: how to define the term “Critical Race Theory.”
Washington Post:
Democrats grapple with the enemy within: What to do about the filibuster rule that could kill their agenda — Democrats say the mass shootings that are now a routine part of American life won't end until stricter gun-control laws are enacted. They warn the warming planet is in peril without bold action.
Discussion:
CNN, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, BizPac Review, Daily Kos, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Outside the Beltway, Political Wire and PIX11
Politico:
Democrats plot Medicaid expansion backdoor in red states refusing program — Democratic lawmakers are rallying around an effort to extend health insurance in states that have refused to expand Medicaid, believing they have a limited window to help millions who've been unable to get coverage …
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Eugene Daniels / Politico:
Your guide to the Biden budget
Your guide to the Biden budget
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and CBS News
The Economist:
Educated voters' leftward shift is surprisingly old and international — A new paper by Thomas Piketty makes the rise of right-wing populism look like a historical inevitability — You could fill a small library with books on right-wing populism. Some authors argue that these movements emerged …
Jelani Cobb / New Yorker:
The Republican Party, Racial Hypocrisy, and the 1619 Project — As the G.O.P. seeks to deny Americans knowledge of their own history, Nikole Hannah-Jones is denied tenure. — Late last month, when Senator Tim Scott, of South Carolina, delivered the Republican response to President Joe Biden's …
Celine Castronuovo / The Hill:
DOJ asks judge to dismiss cases against Trump, Barr for Lafayette Square clearing — Department of Justice lawyers asked a federal judge to dismiss lawsuits against former President Trump, former attorney general William Barr and other administration officials for the forced clearing …
Discussion:
The Root, Slate, Daily Kos, HuffPost and Joe.My.God.
David Klepper / Associated Press:
Rioters blame their actions on 2020 election misinformation — PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Falsehoods about the election helped bring insurrectionists to the Capitol on Jan. 6, and now some who are facing criminal charges for their actions during the riot hope their gullibility might save them or at least engender some sympathy.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Joe.My.God.
Tracy Connor / The Daily Beast:
Gov. DeSantis' COVID Critic Granted Whistleblower Status — ‘PRETTY HUGE’ — Florida's inspector general has granted whistleblower status to Rebekah Jones, the health department worker who was fired after claiming that Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration was fudging COVID-19 data …
Discussion:
National Review