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Category: Politics

Saudi Arabia on ‘relentless killing spree,’ Amnesty International says

Saudi Arabia on ‘relentless killing spree,’ Amnesty International says

Deutsche Welle reports: Authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have executed at least 100 people in 2023, according to human rights watchdog Amnesty International. In a statement on Friday, the activists said they documented several cases in which people had been sentenced to death for social media posts or drug-related offenses in “grossly unfair trials that fell far short of international human rights standards.” “The authorities’ relentless killing spree raises serious fears for the lives of young men on…

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The Supreme Court could send the U.S. back to the 1950s

The Supreme Court could send the U.S. back to the 1950s

Ronald Brownstein writes: The struggle over the sweeping red-state drive to roll back civil rights and liberties has primarily moved to the courts. Since 2021, Republican-controlled states have passed a swarm of laws to restrict voting rights, increase penalties for public protest, impose new restrictions on transgender youth, ban books, and limit what teachers, college professors, and employers can say about race, gender, and sexual orientation. Some states are even exploring options to potentially prosecute people who help women travel…

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As GOP investigates prosecutors, experts worry about judicial independence

As GOP investigates prosecutors, experts worry about judicial independence

The Washington Post reports: Investigate the investigator. That has been the operating thesis of the GOP’s playbook to counter the myriad criminal investigations into Donald Trump, the de facto leader of the Republican Party. Interrogating investigators’ methods and scruples is a strategy that has been utilized by both parties during tumultuous moments, and is a well-worn tool for lawmakers seeking to appease constituents hungry for the appearance of oversight on polarizing issues. The strategy has been effective in shaping public…

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Trump asked to move lawsuit seeking to boot him from 2024 ballot in Colorado to federal court

Trump asked to move lawsuit seeking to boot him from 2024 ballot in Colorado to federal court

NBC News reports: Former President Donald Trump asked to have a Colorado lawsuit aimed at kicking him off the 2024 ballot in the state moved to federal court. In a court filing on Thursday, lawyers for Trump argued the suit brought earlier this week by a group of six voters should be moved from state court to federal court because it centers on the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which holds that no person shall hold any office if…

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What divides political parties? More than ever, it’s race and ethnicity

What divides political parties? More than ever, it’s race and ethnicity

Dan Balz writes: In a polarized United States, what divides Democrats and Republicans the most isn’t gender or education or income or religion. It is the issue of race, whether in regard to the backgrounds of the voters who make up the two parties’ coalitions, or the conflicting agendas and priorities each side advocates in the pursuit of power. That reality is brought home in a report produced by the American Political Science Association (APSA) in partnership with the organization…

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What Ginni Thomas and Leonard Leo wrought: How a justice’s wife and a key activist started a movement

What Ginni Thomas and Leonard Leo wrought: How a justice’s wife and a key activist started a movement

Heidi Przybyla writes: The Supreme Court’s decision in the 2010 Citizens United case transformed the world of politics. It loosened restrictions on campaign spending and unleashed a flow of anonymous donor money to nonprofit groups run by political activists. In the months before the ruling dropped in January of that year, a group of conservative activists came together to create just such an organization. Its mission would be to, at the time, block then-President Barack Obama’s pet initiatives. The activists…

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The prosecutions of Donald Trump are something to celebrate, not lament

The prosecutions of Donald Trump are something to celebrate, not lament

Donald Ayer writes: Several distinguished individuals have recently expressed grave reservations about the prosecutions of former President Donald Trump. Notably, they appear to have no dispute about the seriousness of his wrongdoing. Rather, their main concern is that “terrible consequences” may result, because the prosecutions “may come to be seen as political trials … and play directly into the hands of Trump and his allies.” Although many Trump supporters will view the situation in just this way, any suggestion that…

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Wisconsin GOP’s impeachment plan: Another MAGA coup against democracy

Wisconsin GOP’s impeachment plan: Another MAGA coup against democracy

Dennis Aftergut and Austin Sarat write: MAGA Republicans in Wisconsin are gearing up to impeach newly elected state Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz, just five weeks after she took her seat on the court and before she has cast her first vote. They want to stop her from doing what the majority of Wisconsin voters elected her to do. Their plan is nothing less than a coup attempt, an effort to sideline a duly elected judge not because she has…

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Why you should pay attention to the Texas attorney general’s impeachment trial

Why you should pay attention to the Texas attorney general’s impeachment trial

Shirin Ali writes: A battle that’s long been brewing in Texas is finally coming to a head as the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, undergoes an impeachment trial for allegations of corruption, bribery, and abuse of power. It all started after Paxton demanded that $3.3 million in taxpayer money be used to settle a lawsuit against him. (Paxton has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty this week in his first hearing.) Paxton is a polarizing political figure, even beyond…

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How ‘free speech’ warrior RFK Jr. tried to intimidate a DailyKos blogger

How ‘free speech’ warrior RFK Jr. tried to intimidate a DailyKos blogger

The Daily Beast reports: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long postured as an absolute defender of “free speech” online, especially after private social media firms declined to provide a platform to his deadly misinformation during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. But he hired Kyle Rittenhouse’s former attorney to deliver a kill shot to an anonymous DailyKos blogger who penned an article he disliked. That DailyKos writer, who for two decades has contributed to the site’s community section under the…

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Appeals court says Biden admin likely violated First Amendment but narrows order blocking officials from communicating with social media companies

Appeals court says Biden admin likely violated First Amendment but narrows order blocking officials from communicating with social media companies

CNN reports: A federal appeals court on Friday said the Biden administration likely violated the First Amendment in some of its communications with social media companies, but also narrowed a lower court judge’s order on the matter. The US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that certain administration officials – namely in the White House, the surgeon general, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation – likely “coerced or significantly encouraged social media…

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Climate report card says countries are trying, but urgently need improvement

Climate report card says countries are trying, but urgently need improvement

The New York Times reports: Eight years after world leaders approved a landmark agreement in Paris to fight climate change, countries have made only limited progress in staving off the most dangerous effects of global warming, according to the first official report card on the global climate treaty. Many of the worst-case climate change scenarios that were much feared in the early 2010s look far less likely today, the report said. The authors partly credit the 2015 Paris Agreement, under…

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Ukraine’s strikes behind enemy lines are paying off

Ukraine’s strikes behind enemy lines are paying off

Michael Weiss and James Rushton report: At first, it looks like ordinary surveillance footage of a large military plane sitting on the tarmac. But then the wing catches fire. A second plane flickers across the screen, and in an instant its fuselage is engulfed in flames. Even in grainy black and white you can see the smoke billowing up into the night sky. Two Russian Ilyushin IL-76 strategic airlifters were destroyed by Ukrainian drones on Aug. 29 at Kresty air…

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Elon Musk acknowledges withholding satellite service to thwart Ukrainian attack

Elon Musk acknowledges withholding satellite service to thwart Ukrainian attack

The New York Times reports: A top adviser to Ukraine’s president accused Elon Musk of enabling Russian aggression, after the billionaire entrepreneur acknowledged denying satellite internet service in order to prevent a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian naval fleet last year. The Starlink satellite internet service, which is operated by Mr. Musk’s rocket company SpaceX, has been a digital lifeline in Ukraine since the early days of the war for both civilians and soldiers in areas where digital infrastructure…

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Judge refuses to move prosecution of Mark Meadows to federal court

Judge refuses to move prosecution of Mark Meadows to federal court

Politico reports: The prosecution of former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows for attempting to overturn the 2020 election will remain in state court, a federal judge ruled Friday as he turned down Meadows’ bid to move the case to federal court. The decision, which Meadows is likely to appeal, is a victory for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ drive to bring former President Donald Trump, Meadows and 17 other defendants to trial under the state’s broad criminal…

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The surprisingly strong constitutional case for Trump’s disqualification

The surprisingly strong constitutional case for Trump’s disqualification

Thor Benson interviewed CREW President, Noah Bookbinder, to discuss whether Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies Trump from running for office: Thor Benson: There might be a legitimate constitutional argument here, but what do you say to people who say it’s anti-democratic? Noah Bookbinder: There’s a certain irony in the argument that it’s anti-democratic to take somebody off the ballot — that everybody should be able to vote for the candidate of their choice. What happened after the 2020…

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