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Newsom vs. DeSantis debate: A battle between 2 Disney governors

Politics / Political News /

TAMPA, Fla. — There are many ways to view this week’s unusual debate between Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Gavin Newsom of California: Red State vs. Blue. A presidential candidate vying for attention in the 2024 cycle vs. an ambitious governor possibly setting ground work for the next one.

It’s also a battle of the two Disney ...Read more

He has a theological degree. Here's how Rep. Greg Landsman sees faith in Congress

Politics / Political News /

In a Congress filled with memes and hot takes, Rep. Greg Landsman stands out for the opposite. The freshman Democrat from Ohio speaks methodically, uttering each word only after an almost rabbinical level of contemplation — which is fitting for someone with a master’s in theological studies from the Harvard Divinity School.

That doesn’t ...Read more

Bipartisan consensus elusive on government retirees' benefits

Politics / Political News /

​There are renewed signs of life for congressional efforts to overhaul a pair of much-maligned Social Security policies that cut some public workers’ retirement benefits. But in a year of tumult in the House, there’s still a long way to go.

The House Ways and Means Committee held its first hearing in years on the two provisions, dubbed ...Read more

Speech is freer in California than in Florida, watchdog warns ahead of Newsom-DeSantis debate

Politics / Political News /

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is due to debate California Gov. Gavin Newsom later this week about whose state offers a better model for the country, is leading an "assault on free expression in Florida" that is "almost without peer in recent U.S. history," a watchdog warned in a pair of reports released Tuesday.

Pen America, which defends the ...Read more

Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Editorial: Biden immigration policies souring even Democrats

Politics / Political News /

Democrats have ridden an abortion rights platform to outperform expectations in recent elections. Do Republicans have a similar opportunity when it comes to illegal immigration?

President Joe Biden’s handling of the southern border has been a fiasco. According to Syracuse University’s TRAC website, which compiles immigration information, ...Read more

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Editorial: Supreme Court needs a real ethics code

Politics / Political News /

Holding judges to high ethical standards is essential to the US legal system. The Supreme Court’s recent adoption of an ethics code is an overdue acknowledgement of this reality. But the court’s failure to include any enforcement provisions reduces the code to a paper tiger. The public shouldn’t fall for it.

Where ethics are concerned, ...Read more

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Editorial: The Right against rights: Far-right victories should concern us all

Politics / Political News /

A shock result in Dutch elections handed the largest number of the country’s parliamentary seats to the party of extreme right, isolationist, anti-immigrant and Islamophobic longtime political gadfly Geert Wilders last week. He vowed that the country would be “returned to the Dutch.”

Wilders might be a relative unknown to most Americans, ...Read more

Win McNamee, TNS/Palm Beach Post/Win McNamee, TNS

Editorial: The Trump ballot battle: If the 14th Amendment doesn't block him, voters must

Politics / Political News /

A Denver state judge, Sarah B. Wallace of the 2nd Judicial District Court, was asked if candidate Donald Trump can appear on the Colorado Republican primary ballot or if he is disqualified based on a post-Civil War part of the Constitution meant to exclude Confederate traitors from public office.

At issue is Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, ...Read more

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Christie to fellow candidates: Target Trump, not each other

Politics / Political News /

With the polls ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday showing former President Donald Trump commanding more than 60% of support among conservative voters, one candidate is openly wondering what the rest are doing.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie made a round of television appearances on Sunday ahead of planned stops in New Hampshire this week,...Read more

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Here's who's in the running to succeed Long Island Rep. George Santos

Politics / Political News /

NEW YORK — With Rep. George Santos’ days in Congress apparently numbered, the focus is already turning toward who might succeed him.

Democrats and Republicans alike are lining up to run for the Long Island swing seat if the scandal-plagued lawmaker steps down or is expelled from the House of Representatives in the coming days.

If Santos ...Read more

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Idaho asks Supreme Court to allow enforcement of state abortion ban

Politics / Political News /

WASHINGTON — Idaho asked the Supreme Court on Monday to allow enforcement of the state’s abortion ban when it comes to emergency rooms, which federal courts blocked in a legal challenge from the Biden administration.

Idaho’s law allows state officials to prosecute or revoke the professional license of doctors who perform abortions unless ...Read more

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DeSantis looks to frame debate with Newsom as showdown with a potential 2024 rival

Politics / Political News /

When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his Democratic counterpart in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom, agreed in September to the terms of a one-on-one televised debate, it was billed as a chance for two ideological opposites to present their radically different approaches to governing to a national audience.

Now, for DeSantis, at least, it may be ...Read more

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Biden touts supply chain progress as holiday shopping gets underway

Politics / Political News /

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden was back at the White House after the Thanksgiving holiday on Monday, and he was back to talking about supply chains and inflation.

“As a share of earnings, this Thanksgiving dinner was the fourth cheapest ever on record,” Biden said, trying to link the cost of turkey, stuffing and side dishes to his ...Read more

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Trump plans First Amendment defense to Fulton County criminal charges

Politics / Political News /

ATLANTA — Donald Trump will defend himself against charges that he illegally sought to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia by arguing his claims about voting fraud were “core political speech” protected by the First Amendment.

In a filing on Monday in Fulton County Superior Court, Trump attorney Steven Sadow said the former president ...Read more

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Analysis: Good news blinds both parties to weak presidential nominees

Politics / Political News /

WASHINGTON — Blinded by positive polling numbers, recent election results and tradition, both parties are willingly lining up behind weak presidential nominees.

Democrats are poised to renominate President Joe Biden despite questions about his age and how he’s performed in office.

At 81 years old, Biden is still the oldest president in ...Read more

Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/TNS

Florida election official lay 'dead or dying' for 24 minutes outside Gov. Ron DeSantis' office, report says

Politics / Political News /

ORLANDO, Fla. — Pete Antonacci, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ election fraud office director and former Broward County elections supervisor, lay “dead or dying” in a governor’s office hallway for 24 minutes last year before anyone came to his aid, The Florida Bulldog reported.

The Bulldog, a nonprofit news organization, also reported Sunday that...Read more

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Race in open California district could be pivotal to House control

Politics / Political News /

IRVINE, Calif. — When Martie Lubetkin moved to Orange County in 1976, the region was such a conservative stronghold that a liberal friend drove around with a bumper sticker that read, “It’s OK to be a Democrat behind the orange curtain.”

“It was all orange groves and farmers and it was deeply, deeply red,’’ said Lubetkin, a ...Read more

Why a Republican could place first or second in the California Senate primary

Politics / Political News /

Despite all the Democratic star power in the frantic California Senate race, it’s very possible a Republican could wind up as one of the top two in next year’s primary

Here’s why:

▪ Republicans could be more motivated to turn out.Supporters of former President Donald Trump are enthusiastic about his candidacy. He had 53% backing from ...Read more

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President Joe Biden to visit Denver, Pueblo during rescheduled Colorado trip this week

Politics / Political News /

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden has rescheduled his Colorado trip and will arrive in the state for a two-day visit Tuesday, marking his second trip to Colorado this year, the White House announced over the weekend.

The trip, part of his administration’s “Investing in America” tour, was originally scheduled for Oct. 15, but the visit was ...Read more

Race in open California district could be pivotal to House control

Politics / Political News /

IRVINE, Calif. — When Martie Lubetkin moved to Orange County in 1976, the region was such a conservative stronghold that a liberal friend drove around with a bumper sticker that read, “It’s OK to be a Democrat behind the orange curtain.”

“It was all orange groves and farmers and it was deeply, deeply red,’’ said Lubetkin, a ...Read more