Politics

09

Oct

By Dorothy Brand

Politics

Supreme Court rejects case about DOJ investigating parents who protest at school boards

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court refused on Monday to hear a case from parents in Virginia and Michigan who argued the Justice Department targeted them for protesting at school board meetings. At the heart of the dispute was a 2021 memo Attorney General Merrick Garland aimed at combatting “a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers and staff.” The memo setting up meetings with state and local law enforcement agencies sought to “discourage these threats, identify them when they occur and prosecute them when appropriate.” Some parents in Loudoun County, Virginia, and…

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27

Sep

By Dorothy Brand

Politics

In the ‘Fightin’ Ninth,’ Baker seeks to end Griffith’s 13-year tenure

by Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury (September 27, 2024) For decades, Virginia’s 9th Congressional District earned the nickname “The Fightin’ Ninth” due to its fiercely contested elections. But for the last 13 years, Republican Morgan Griffith has held the seat with little opposition, solidifying his status as the incumbent. That could change this election cycle as Democrat Karen Baker hopes to unseat the lawmaker from Salem. A native midwesterner who moved to Floyd County from South Carolina in 2014, she has spent the last seven months traveling thousands of miles crisscrossing the deeply rural and mountainous district. Baker’s campaign centers on…

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24

Sep

By Dorothy Brand

Politics

Biden, Addressing U.N., Will Argue His Vision Has ‘Produced Results’

By Sheryl Gay Stolberg: In February 2021, two weeks after he moved into the White House, President Biden reminded the nation’s diplomats of his promise to restore American leadership in the world. In a speech at the State Department, he summed up his election in three words: “America is back.” On Tuesday, Mr. Biden will confront the limits of that promise when he addresses world leaders at the United Nations for his fourth and final time as president. The White House says he will make the case that his “vision for a world where countries come together to solve big…

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24

Sep

By Dorothy Brand

World News, Politics

‘Let us be clear: it was not an election but a transaction’, LP’s Akapata speaks on Edo guber poll

Olumide Akpata, the Labour Party’s candidate in the Edo governorship election, on Monday, strongly criticized the exercise, labeling it a “commodities market” and “transaction” marred by vote-buying and voter apathy. “As attested to by YIAGA Africa, our sacred electoral process was reduced to a bidding war for votes,” Akpata said in a statement, following the Independent National Electoral Commission’s declaration of Monday Okpebholo’s victory. “Although the election was largely free from historical forms of election-day malpractice such as ballot box snatching and stuffing, it was nevertheless marred by voter intimidation and the falsification of results,” the LP candidate said. “More…

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23

Sep

By Dorothy Brand

PoliticsElection, Elections 2024

The Fed says its long-awaited rate cut is apolitical, even close to the presidential election

by Casey Quinlan, West Virginia Watch (September 23, 2024) The Federal Reserve’s first key interest rate cut in four years coincides with another major four-year event: the homestretch of the presidential election. Fed Chair Jerome Powell downplayed the central bank’s role in the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on Wednesday, in announcing the half-percentage point cut in its benchmark rate. But that didn’t stop the candidates’ campaigns from weighing in, and it could prove a key factor for voters. “This is my fourth presidential election at the Fed, and it’s always the same. We’re…

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18

Sep

By Dorothy Brand

Politics

9th District: Griffith says he likes to ferret out government problems; Baker says Griffith is invisible in the district

Early voting for the Nov. 5 general election starts Friday, and, in the 9th Congressional District, Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, and his Democratic challenger, Karen Baker, are kicking their campaigns into full gear — one candidate touts understanding of the course ahead while the other steers toward a change in direction. In an interview following a Feeding Southwest Virginia event in Abingdon, Griffith removed his congressional badge to switch into campaign mode. Having represented the 9th District since 2011, and the Salem area in the Virginia House of Delegates for six years prior, Griffith said his experience in office gives…

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13

Sep

By Dorothy Brand

Politics

Judge says he will dismiss lawsuit seeking to oust Bristol abortion clinic

The lawsuit seeking to oust Bristol’s abortion clinic from the building it has occupied for more than two years — filed by the owners who said they are morally opposed to abortions — will be dismissed by Bristol Circuit Court Judge Sage B. Johnson. But the fight isn’t over yet. The judge did not rule on a counterclaim filed earlier this year by the clinic owner’s attorney in response to an April 30 letter the building’s owners sent to the clinic, Bristol Women’s Health, stating that they were giving 30 days’ notice that the lease would be terminated. The counterclaim…

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08

Sep

By Dorothy Brand

Politics, Local News

Tight race for control of Congress could be decided by just a handful of campaigns

WASHINGTON (AP NEWS) — The race for control of Congress is as close as ever, with barely two dozen House seats and a handful in the Senate likely to determine the majority this November and whether a single party sweeps to power with the White House. Lawmakers are returning to Washington for a three-week legislative sprint, away from the campaign trail where races have become “trench warfare” and a seat-by-seat slog. Many of the highest-profile races are being waged in Montana, New York, California, and beyond, far from the presidential battleground states contested by Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala…

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06

Sep

By Dorothy Brand

Politics

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earl-Sears Announces Run for Virginia Governor

RICHMOND — Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears on Thursday evening officially announced her candidacy for governor of Virginia in the upcoming 2025 election, aiming to become the nation’s first Black female governor and the first woman in the commonwealth to hold statewide office since Mary Sue Terry’s tenure as attorney general in the 1990s. “The future, a new chapter, is about to begin,” Earle-Sears said at a rally in Virginia Beach. “Together, we have the power to ensure that our brightest days are ahead of us still. But to make that future a reality, we must come together, it is really…

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06

Sep

By Dorothy Brand

Politics

Election 2024 Latest: Trump heads to North Carolina, Harris campaign says it raised $361M

Donald Trump is returning to the battleground state of North Carolina Friday to address a meeting of the Fraternal Order of Police as he tries to portray himself as tougher on crime than his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, in the campaign’s closing months. Meanwhile, Harris’ campaign announced Friday that it raised $361 million from nearly 3 million donors in her first full month as a candidate. Trump’s team announced Wednesday he brought in $130 million over the same period. There are 60 days until the November election. Early voting will be underway in at least four states by…

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