Seven presidential contenders for the GOP in 2024
Former President Trump is still the dominant figure in the Republican Party, but his stranglehold is loosening. Trump-backed candidates have had a mixed record in GOP primaries so far this cycle, with high-profile losses in Georgia, Nebraska and a key South Carolina district undercutting many other wins. The work of the House select committee on…
news.yahoo.comMike Pompeo to headline SC GOP’s annual fundraiser, raising presidential suspicions
Mike Pompeo will headline the South Carolina Republican Party’s annual fundraiser this month, once again elevating suspicions the former U.S. secretary of state and CIA director is carving out a path to run for president in 2024.
news.yahoo.comGOP senators set summer deadline on Congress' policing bill
Congressional bargainers should reach a bipartisan deal on revamping policing procedures by early summer or abandon the effort, Republicans said Wednesday, a day after George Floyd’s family used visits to the White House and the Capitol to prod lawmakers to act. “I think it's June or bust," lead GOP bargainer Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina told reporters, the day after the anniversary of Floyd's slaying at the hands of Minneapolis police. “I think if it's going to happen, it'll happen before the July break," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, Scott's fellow South Carolina Republican and another negotiator.
news.yahoo.comRep. Karen Bass and NAACP President Derrick Johnson Discuss Police Reform on the Anniversary of George Floyd's Murder
The United States has faced a racial reckoning in the 365 days since former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by kneeling on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds. Millions of Americans have marched in dozens of cities protesting police brutality. Black voters showed up to the November polls in droves—especially in pivotal electoral states like Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania—helping Joe Biden win the White House.
news.yahoo.comGrief, smiles 1 year after Floyd death as family meets Biden
They mourned together and laughed together in the Oval Office — and spoke of what President Joe Biden called “the hard reality that racism has long torn us apart.” The first anniversary of George Floyd’s death was supposed to be a milestone moment in Washington, a time to mark the passage of a policing law to make criminal justice more just. Instead, Floyd’s family met with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House on Tuesday to commemorate their loss and continue to push for legislation.
news.yahoo.comAmanda Seales on Kamala Harris saying America isn’t racist: ‘She embarrassed everyone who supported her’
This month, actor and comedienne Amanda Seales has come forward to share her disappointment about Vice President Kamala Harris agreeing with Tim Scott that America isn’t a racist country. America is not a racist country.
news.yahoo.comTexas Democrat Resigns after Calling Tim Scott an ‘Oreo’
The Texas Democratic leader who called Senator Tim Scott an “oreo” has resigned in response to mounting pressure from state officials on both sides of the aisle. “I am deeply and sincerely sorry for my inappropriate and hurtful use of racist term I used to describe Sen. Tim Scott on my personal Facebook page. It was insensitive, and I have embarrassed myself and my party by its use,” Lamar County Democratic Party Chairman Gary O’Connor told the Washington Examiner Tuesday. “As a result, I feel compelled to offer my resignation as chair of the Lamar County Democratic Party for consideration by the County Executive Committee,” O’Connor said. After Scott delivered the Republican rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s joint address to Congress, O’Connor labeled the senator an “Oreo”, referring to a black individual who is perceived as displaying characteristics of a white person. “I had hoped that Scott might show some common sense, but it seems clear he is little more than an oreo with no real principles,” the Texas Democrat commented. Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other political officials slammed O’Connor’s words on social media. “This is disgusting, hateful, and completely unacceptable. O’Connor must apologize to @SenatorTimScott & step down immediately,” Abbott wrote on Twitter on Saturday. “@texasdemocrats censure him.” This is disgusting, hateful, and completely unacceptable. O’Connor must apologize to @SenatorTimScott & step down immediately. @texasdemocrats censure him.https://t.co/wJLTqaHlLb — Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 1, 2021 O’Connor’s derogatory comments come after the racial slur, “Uncle Tim,” trended on Twitter after Scott’s speech last week. Twitter blocked the phrase from appearing in the platform’s trending section to prevent it from going viral, but existing tweets containing the language were not removed. In his response address, Scott said, “Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country,” and he spoke in defense of Georgia’s election integrity law, which has been panned by liberals as disenfranchising black voters.” The South Carolina senator remarked that he had “experienced the pain of discrimination”. He added, “I’ve also experienced a different kind of intolerance.” “I get called Uncle Tom and the n-word by progressives and liberals,” Scott remarked.
news.yahoo.comBiden speech takeaways: Government is good, and so are jobs
President Joe Biden has used his first address before a joint session of Congress to make the case that his administration has made progress during the first 100 days he’s been in office, confronting the public health and economic maelstrom caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Powell defends Fed's consideration of climate change risks
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday defended the central bank’s increasing scrutiny of the impact climate change could have on banks, in the wake of criticism by Republican members of Congress that by doing so the Fed is overstepping its mandate.
GOP 2024 contenders enter Iowa, wary of Trump's long shadow
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the West Side Conservative Club, Friday, March 26, 2021, in Urbandale, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)DES MOINES, Iowa – Ambitious Republicans are starting to make moves in Iowa, long a proving ground for future presidents. Pompeo's two-day Iowa trip leads an exceptionally early round of Iowa travel planned by U.S. senators, emerging as national GOP figures. Ecklund, Crawford County Republicans' communication director, has encountered Republicans “ready to move on” and “tired of the extreme controversy” in a county Trump carried by more than 30 percentage points twice. ___This story has been corrected to show Ecklund is the Crawford County Republicans' communication director, not Crawford County Republicans' co-chair.
Lawmakers: Require nursing homes to disclose vaccine data
Nursing homes have to publicly disclose their vaccination rates for flu and pneumonia, but theres no similar mandate for COVID-19 shots. Nursing homes have been required since last May to regularly report cases and deaths among residents and staff to the government. Nursing homes are again allowing loved ones to visit, and hugs are included. The main nursing home industry trade group, the American Health Care Association, says it supports disclosure of vaccination data. Wyden and Crapo said current government policy that encourages nursing homes to voluntarily report vaccination data to the government has only led to “limited participation by the industry.”The government should require nursing homes to break down vaccination data by race and ethnicity, given disparities in vaccine acceptance.
Trump offers early endorsement for loyal SC governor
FILE - In this Monday, June 25, 2018 file photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Airport High School in West Columbia, S.C. for Republican Gov. Former President Donald Trump on Friday, March 5, 2021 endorsed South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster's bid for a second full term in 2022, continuing their yearslong alliance in a move to strengthen ties with the early-voting state that Trump won twice. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)COLUMBIA, S.C. – Former President Donald Trump on Friday endorsed South Carolina Gov. That summer, McMaster was one of two speakers to formally nominate Trump at the Republican National Convention.
House OKs George Floyd Act as Democrats avoid 'defund' clash
Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – House Democrats passed the most ambitious effort in decades to overhaul policing nationwide, avoiding a potential clash with moderates in their own party who were wary of reigniting the “defund the police” debate they say hurt them during last fall's election. Approved 220-212 late Wednesday, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is named for the man whose killing by police in Minnesota last Memorial Day sparked demonstrations nationwide. “We want to feel safe when we encounter law enforcement. “Our law enforcement officers need more funding not less,” Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis. Another possible point of contention is provisions easing standards for prosecution of law enforcement officers accused of wrongdoing.
With Biden's backing, Dems revive bill to overhaul policing
House Democrats are hustling to pass the most ambitious effort in decades to overhaul policing. The bill would ban chokeholds and “qualified immunity” for law enforcement and create national standards for policing in a bid to bolster accountability. “Our law enforcement officers need more funding not less,” Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., said during Wednesday's debate. AdPolice unions and other law enforcement groups have argued that, without such legal protections, fear of lawsuits will stop people from becoming police officers — even though the measure permits such suits only against law enforcement agencies, rather than all public employees. California Rep. Karen Bass, who authored the bill, understands the challenge some House members face in supporting it.
South Carolina mayor leaving office, but maybe not forever
“I feel like we've significantly made our city better; now, it's time to pass the baton.”Benjamin was elected in 2010 as Columbia's first Black mayor. As for higher office, Benjamin — South Carolina’s 2002 Democratic attorney general nominee, beaten in that contest by now-Gov. AdAs was witnessed in Jaime Harrison's unsuccessful 2020 challenge of Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Democratic challenger winning a statewide office in South Carolina — where all such offices are in GOP hands — remains an uphill climb. When asked if that had factored into his decision-making, Benjamin said the outcome had no effect on his ultimate decision. Even out of elected office, Benjamin will likely continue to play an outsized role in the Democratic politics of South Carolina, particularly in the state's first-in-the-South presidential primary.
Biden, at prayer breakfast, calls out 'political extremism'
Biden is expected to address the National Prayer Breakfast, a Washington tradition that calls on political combatants to set aside their differences for one morning. The breakfast has sparked controversy in the past, particularly when President Donald Trump used last year's installment to slam his political opponents and question their faith. Ad“For so many in our nation, this is a dark, dark time,” Biden told those watching the event. During the 2020 breakfast, Trump singled out Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who had voted to convict the president during his first impeachment trial. The event went entirely virtual this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, with Biden and all other speakers appearing via taped remarks.
The Latest: Pelosi ties rioters' actions to 'whiteness'
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., holds a news conference on the day after violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. “It has been an epiphany for the world to see that there are people in our country led by this president, for the moment, who have chosen their whiteness over democracy,” Pelosi said. Pelosi says, “The complicity, not only the complicity, the instigation of the president of United States, must and will be addressed.”___1:25 p.m. Flight attendants have expressed concern that their flights could be carrying supporters of President Donald Trump who took part in Wednesday’s violent protest and siege of the U.S. Capitol. ___2:25 a.m.Democrats in Congress are laying the groundwork to impeach President Donald Trump.
Chaos, violence, mockery as pro-Trump mob occupies Congress
On Wednesday, hallowed spaces of American democracy, one after another, yielded to the occupation of Congress. There was a heavy police presence at the Capitol on Thursday morning, including officers from D.C., Maryland and Virginia and the D.C. National Guard. Trump told his morning crowd at the Ellipse that he would go with them to the Capitol, but he didn’t. Video footage also showed officers letting people calmly walk out the doors of the Capitol despite the rioting and vandalism. Shortly after being told to put on gas masks, most members were quickly escorted out of the chamber.