minority
States grapple with racist language in real estate deeds
Lisa Boccetti is horrified by the restrictive covenant that is in the deed to her 1950s ranch house in Raleigh, North Carolina: It states that the land cannot be sold or occupied by Black people. The property “shall not be sold to negroes or to any person or persons of negro blood, and said premises shall […]
Tuberville blockade on military nominees could be evaded by tweak in U.S. Senate rules
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats are mulling a strategy to bypass Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s months-long hold on hundreds of military promotions in protest of a Pentagon abortion policy that was authorized in the aftermath of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The Alabama Republican has been refusing to join other senators in the routine action […]
Ag leaders lobby for better risk management programs at U.S. House farm bill hearing
WASHINGTON — Commodity trade group leaders at a U.S. House Agriculture subcommittee hearing this week advocated for bolstered risk management programs and maintaining foreign market access as tools to support farmers amid volatile times. The industry representatives said supply chain disruptions and increased production costs have tightened margins for large-scale farmers, and decreased the effectiveness […]
How the distortion of Martin Luther King Jr.‘s words enables more, not less, racial division
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Texas is just the latest conservative lawmaker to misuse the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to judge a person on character and not race. In the protracted battle to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House, Roy, a Republican, nominated a Black man, Byron Donalds, […]
U.S. House Republicans roll out a slew of new committee chairs to steer agenda
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans filled their top committee seats this week, choosing the leaders who will set the course for bills and issues for the new majority in the 118th Congress. Veteran GOP lawmakers from Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, Arkansas, Kentucky and Missouri were among those who won the right to head up […]
U.S. House GOP picks leadership team for next Congress: McCarthy, Scalise and Emmer
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans elected their slate of leaders for the 118th Congress on Tuesday, even though the party hadn’t yet secured the seats needed to take the majority come January. The new leadership team emerged from several contested races decided during an hours-long secret ballot voting session, including a three-way campaign for whip […]
Arkansas power politics at its most raw and most sublime
As an exercise of raw power, a rule change that limits Democrats to two seats on any of the Arkansas Senate’s standing committees likely won’t shake many rafters. But the move did draw reaction from state Rep. David Ray (R-Maumelle) on Twitter: This is a smart, commonsense move by the Arkansas Senate. Proportional representation on […]
Mitch McConnell-aligned super PAC pours record advertising cash into U.S. Senate races
WASHINGTON — The super PAC aligned with U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, has spent a record amount advertising for GOP Senate candidates this cycle, according to AdImpact. The Senate Leadership Fund has “become the highest-spending advertiser” AdImpact, started in 2014, has ever reported on, according to data it released Thursday. The […]
U.S. Supreme Court justices cast doubt on affirmative action in college admissions
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Monday questioned the legality of race-conscious policies in college admissions, as the justices weighed two cases that could upend the admissions process many colleges use to try to boost diversity on campus. At issue are two cases that challenge the lawfulness of affirmative action at Harvard […]