Author: Reporter

Wisconsin lawsuit seeks to block requirements for absentee ballots that violate Voting Rights Act

A national Democratic law firm on October 2 challenged Wisconsin’s witness requirements for absentee voting, arguing that the state is violating the federal Voting Rights Act by demanding a witness signature on ballot envelopes. Elias Law Group, representing four Wisconsin voters, called the requirement a “burden” to voters in the lawsuit, which they filed in federal court against the Wisconsin Elections Commission and other elections officials. State law requires clerks to reject absentee ballots that are missing a witness’ address or signature. A Wisconsin judge ruled last year that elections officials cannot correct or fill in missing information on...

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Departure of Rupert Murdoch from Fox coincides with increasingly fractured conservative media landscape

The departure of Rupert Murdoch as the leader of Fox’s parent company and his News Corp. media holdings after decades at the helm is unlikely to have as much of an impact on conservative media overall as it would have a decade ago. That is because the landscape in general is increasingly fractured, experts said. With a growing number of digital media sources available to them, right-leaning audiences have plenty of options for getting news, opinion and entertainment. “I think if Rupert Murdoch had stepped down in 2000 it would have had a much greater impact,” said Howard Polskin,...

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U.S. Lawmakers seek to close trade loophole to stop deluge of duty-free packages coming from China

Conservatives anxious to counter America’s leading economic adversary have set their sights on a top trade priority for labor unions and progressives: cracking down on the deluge of duty-free packages coming in from China. The changing political dynamic could have major ramifications for e-commerce businesses and consumers importing products from China valued at less than $800. It also could add to the growing tensions between the countries. Under current U.S. law, most imports valued at less than $800 enter duty-free into the United States as long as they are packaged and addressed to individual buyers. It’s referred to as...

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President Biden accuses mainstream GOP of “deafening” silence after dire warnings issued against Trump

President Joe Biden issued one of his most dire warnings yet that Donald Trump and his allies are a menace to American democracy, declaring on September 28 that the former president is more interested in personal power than upholding the nation’s core values and suggesting even mainstream Republicans are complicit. “The silence is deafening,” he said. During a speech in Arizona celebrating a library to be built honoring his friend and fierce Trump critic, the late Republican Senator John McCain, Biden repeated one of his key campaign themes, branding the “Make America Great Again” movement as an existential threat...

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Soldier from Wisconsin safely returns to United States after being held for 10 weeks by North Korea

The American soldier who sprinted into North Korea across the heavily fortified border between the Koreas more than two months ago was whisked to a Texas Army base on September 28 for medical checks and interviews after his return to the United States. North Korea abruptly announced a day earlier that it would expel Pvt. Travis King. His return was organized with the help of ally Sweden and rival China, according to the White House. While officials have said King, 23, is in good health and the immediate focus will be on caring for him and reintegrating him into...

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U.S. Government on verge of “Republican shutdown” as Speaker McCarthy yields to demands of MAGA faction

A government shutdown appeared all but inevitable as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy dug in on September 28, vowing he would not take up Senate legislation designed to keep the federal government fully running despite House Republicans’ struggle to unite around an alternative. Congress is at an impasse just days before a disruptive federal shutdown that would halt paychecks for many of the federal government’s roughly 2 million employees, as well as 2 million active-duty military troops and reservists, furlough many of those workers and curtail government services. But the House and Senate are pursuing different paths to avert those...

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