Kamala Harris to keynote star-studded CNN special honoring Class of 2021
By Paul LeBlanc CNN will air a star-studded prime-time special on Sunday honoring the class of 2021, as millions of students across the nation graduate following a year shaped by the coronavirus pandemic. “Graduation 2021: A CNN Special Event” will air Sunday, May 23 at 7 p.m. ET on CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español. The special will feature a keynote address from Vice President Kamala Harris along with musical performances from Portugal. The Man, Andy Grammer, Lukas Graham and EARCANDY. Students from the Duke Ellington School of Arts in Washington, DC, and the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School
House to vote on $1.9 billion Capitol security bill after January 6 insurrection
By Clare Foran and Annie Grayer The House of Representatives is expected to vote on Thursday to approve a $1.9 billion spending bill to increase security at the US Capitol in response to the deadly January 6 insurrection. The sweeping legislation, introduced by House Appropriations Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, covers a range of priorities, including funding to enhance security across the Capitol grounds as well as provisions to bolster protections and increase preparedness for lawmakers, including at their district offices, and the Capitol Police force. After the House takes up the bill, it would also need to pass
Michigan judge dismisses one of the last lawsuits claiming 2020 election fraud in the state
By Taylor Romine A Michigan judge dismissed an election fraud case Tuesday that state officials said was the last of the lawsuits challenging the 2020 election. The suit, which was originally filed by Michigan voter named William Bailey on November 23 of last year, alleged that “material fraud or error” took place when inaccurate results were shared, according to court documents. They specifically placed blame on Dominion Voting Systems, which Michigan hired for election management and voting machines. State officials repeatedly said over the last six months that Antrim County initially released incorrect unofficial election results caused by human error,
Val Demings plans to run for Senate against Rubio, sources say
By Dan Merica and Daniella Diaz Florida Rep. Val Demings plans to run for US Senate against Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in 2022, two sources familiar with the plan told CNN Tuesday. The planned bid provides Democrats with a high-profile candidate in a key Senate race against a nationally known — and well-funded — opponent. The Orlando Democratic lawmaker spent the last few months mulling over a statewide race and recently decided on a bid for the Senate over governor, a source close to the congresswoman told CNN. The congresswoman plans to make her official announcement in the coming weeks,
Biden wants to bring the economy from relief to recovery. A labor shortage may signal trouble for those plans.
By Jeff Zeleny Patti Eisenbraun had been anxiously waiting for the pandemic to subside so the dining room and patio at the Brown Iron Brewhouse would be bustling once again. Yet the lights were off, and her business was closed here Monday — not for a lack of thirsty customers, but for a lack of employees. “We went from 92 hours to 55 hours a week,” said Eisenbraun, who opened the brewery and restaurant in 2015 with her husband, after a decade of planning. “It’s a tough business model right now to be closed during those hours.” A labor shortage
The Sunrise Movement endorses top Sanders ally Nina Turner to fill US House seat in Ohio
By Rachel Janfaza The Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate activist group, on Monday announced its endorsement of former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, further bolstering her campaign’s progressive support ahead of a special election for an open US House seat in Ohio. Turner, a top ally of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, is running to succeed former Rep. Marcia Fudge, whom the Senate confirmed in March as secretary of Housing and Urban Development, leaving an open congressional seat in Ohio’s 11th District. The heavily Democratic northeast Ohio district will hold a special election in November, with a Democratic primary in August.
Harris headlines unity summit for AAPI community
By Arlette Saenz and Jasmine Wright Vice President Kamala Harris will serve as the keynote speaker for a virtual unity summit for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders this week, her latest outreach to a community that has faced a wave of racially motivated crimes during the pandemic and is growing as a voting bloc. Harris, the first person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president, will address the AAPI Victory Alliance’s first ever unity summit on Wednesday, the group told CNN. The virtual event, titled “From Victory to Unity,” will feature celebrities like Tan France and Simu Liu
Multiple crises at home and abroad provide a reality check for Biden’s White House
By Kevin Liptak President Joe Biden was at the wooded Camp David retreat in Maryland when he first heard Colonial Pipeline had been hacked. Briefed in one of the mountainside lodges by senior advisers and aides from the National Security Council, Biden quickly realized the incident — and subsequent shutdown of the company’s pipeline supplying fuel to the Eastern Seaboard — could easily devolve into a major problem. Long lines of cars at pumps and handwritten “no fuel” signs make for potent political imagery, a fact Biden experienced firsthand when as a young senator he saw an oil crisis help
Biden developing pardon process with focus on racial justice, expected to issue acts of clemency before middle of term
By Maegan Vazquez The White House is currently in the process of reviewing clemency applications and has signaled that President Joe Biden, who views the pardon power as a key tool for advancing equity, will issue acts of clemency before the middle of his presidential term, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN. The White House has informed activists that Biden will not wait until the end of his term to begin granting people clemency, and that they should be expected before the middle of this presidential term, the source said. The New York Times was first to report
HUD Secretary violated the Hatch Act, Office of Special Counsel concludes
By Liz Stark The US Office of Special Counsel has concluded that Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge violated the Hatch Act, the law that limits the political activities of all federal civilian executive branch employees, when she commented on Ohio politics from the White House podium earlier this year. Fudge, who joined White House press secretary Jen Psaki at a briefing in March, was asked about the special election to fill her vacant seat in Congress. Though Fudge declined to weigh in on the House race, she told reporters she thought Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley and US