Anti-gun-violence activist Kina Collins announces primary challenge to Illinois Democrat Danny Davis
By Gregory Krieg Gun violence prevention activist Kina Collins announced Tuesday that she is launching a new Democratic primary challenge to Rep. Danny Davis in Illinois’ 7th Congressional District. Davis has been a target of progressive insurgents in recent cycles, winning each time while seeing his vote total slip. He fended off three challengers in 2020, including Collins, who is now running with the support of Justice Democrats as she seeks to consolidate left-wing opposition to Davis. Collins joins a growing slate of Justice Democrats-backed primary challengers on the 2022 ticket, including Odessa Kelly in Tennessee and New York’s Rana
Revolt by Texas Democrats heaps pressure on Washington to act on voting reform
Analysis by Stephen Collinson Texas Democrats launched the most dramatic revolt yet against nationwide Republican bills to restrict voting by walking out of the state’s legislature over the holiday weekend. But their last-ditch effort may only temporarily stall the effort and underscores how the deadlock in Washington is making it easier for Republicans to act on Donald Trump’s election fraud lies to stack the deck in future votes. The showdown in Texas is only the latest example of the GOP’s attempt to pave its path back to dominance by making it harder to vote in 2022 and 2024. It represented
Here’s what Biden can do on his own about racial inequality — and where he’ll need Congress to act
By Tami Luhby and Katie Lobosco President Joe Biden on Tuesday laid out his most comprehensive plan yet for shrinking the nation’s longstanding racial wealth gap, the latest step in his promise to infuse more equity in government policies and in the rebuilding of the economy after the coronavirus pandemic. Some measures — including changes to deal with housing discrimination and directing federal support to small businesses — he can take on his own, but many of his proposals require congressional approval that could be very tough to secure. That includes pouring tens of billions of dollars into communities of
Kamala Harris to lead Biden administration’s efforts on voting rights
By Jasmine Wright President Joe Biden announced Vice President Kamala Harris will lead his administration’s efforts on voting rights in a speech Tuesday on the Tulsa Race Massacre in Oklahoma. The new role comes as the Biden administration condemns efforts by Republican-led state legislatures to pass restrictive laws the White House says make it harder for Americans to vote. Calling the state bills an “unprecedented assault on our democracy,” Biden recognized that he was handing Harris a tough job. “I’m asking Vice President Harris to help these efforts, to lead them among her many other responsibilities. With her leadership and
The Second Amendment is not about guns — it’s about anti-Blackness, a new book argues
By John Blake One of Charlton Heston’s greatest performances came not in a Hollywood film but on a convention stage where he electrified a crowd of gun-rights enthusiasts. Heston was president of the National Rifle Association in May 2000 when he spoke at the group’s national gathering in Charlotte. The actor described gun owners as patriots and said owning a gun was “something that gives the most common man the most uncommon of freedoms.” As the crowd cheered, Heston then raised a replica of a Revolutionary War-era flintlock rifle and delivered a warning in his thundering baritone to anyone who
‘Democracy itself is in peril:’ Biden delivers warning while honoring fallen service members on Memorial Day
By Kate Sullivan President Joe Biden commemorated those who died serving in the military in Memorial Day remarks at Arlington National Cemetery and urged Americans to honor the fallen by strengthening and protecting the nation’s democracy. “Democracy itself is in peril, here at home and around the world. What we do now — what we do now, how we honor the memory of the fallen will determine whether or not democracy will long endure,” Biden said. The President said: “We owe the honored dead a debt we can never fully repay. We owe them our whole souls. We owe them our full best efforts
Biden to announce new steps to close racial wealth gap while marking 100th anniversary of Tulsa Race Massacre
By Kate Sullivan President Joe Biden will visit Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Tuesday to mark the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre and announce new actions his administration will take to reduce the racial wealth gap as he commemorates one of the worst acts of racial violence in US history. The President will deliver remarks to memorialize the hundreds of Black Americans who were killed by a White mob that had attacked their neighborhood and burned dozens of city blocks to the ground. He will meet with surviving members of the community, tour the Greenwood Cultural Center and outline his
Texas Democrats leave House floor, effectively blocking passage of restrictive voting bill for now
By Eric Bradner and Dianne Gallagher Texas Republicans’ push to enact a slew of new voting restrictions was stymied — at least for now — by Democrats who walked off the state House floor late Sunday night, leaving majority Republicans without the quorum they needed to approve the bill in the final hours before a midnight deadline. Their move effectively killed Senate Bill 7 for this year’s legislative session. But it could soon be revived: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted Sunday night that he is adding “election integrity” to a list of topics lawmakers will address in a special session
Vice President Harris’ team tries to distance her from fraught situation at the border
By Priscilla Alvarez and Natasha Bertrand In the weeks since the President asked her to take charge of immigration from Central America, Vice President Kamala Harris and her staff have sought to make one thing clear: She does not manage the southern border. Two White House officials familiar with the dynamic said Harris and her aides have emphasized internally that they want to focus on conditions in Central America that push migrants to the US southern border, as President Joe Biden tasked her to do. A record number of unaccompanied children crossed into the US this spring, and the throngs
Harris to become first female US Naval Academy commencement speaker
By Jasmine Wright Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday will become the first woman to give the commencement speech at the United States Naval Academy when she addresses the 2021 graduating class. During the speech, Harris will touch on some of the biggest threats to the nation and its armed forces, including the pandemic, cybersecurity and climate change. One White House official said the address is her first broad speech focused on the military and the threats the country faces today. “The global pandemic has accelerated our world into a new era. It has forever impacted our world. It has