News Of Western Pennsylvania And The World
The U.S. Senate passed a bill on Tuesday that would protect federal recognition of same-sex marriage, a measure taken up in response to worries the Supreme Court could overturn a 2015 decision that legalized it nationwide.
Source: U.S. Senate passes same-sex marriage protection bill
Kevin McCarthy has indicated that he would reinstate Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar on committees
“I mean beyond unpunished, Kevin McCarthy has made a very clear statement – has stated that he intends to reward some of the most racist members of Congress that we have served in recent years,” she told The Independent.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez has been subjected to numerous death threats and verbal harassment since she won her primary election in 2018 against House Democratic Caucus chairman Joe Crowley. She has specifically become a subject of right-wing anger and vitriol. In addition, her campaign regularly spends fees as large as $5,000 a month for security consulting since members have to pay for their own security.
In addition, Representative Pramila Jayapal, chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, expressed concern.
“I’m worried about a lot of things in terms of the danger to our country, the danger to us personally. The danger to our democracy, I think it’s going to be a very difficult time,” she told The Independent.
Source: AOC says Kevin McCarthy ‘intends to reward’ some of the most racist Republicans
McCarthy fended off a late challenge from GOP Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona.
Washington — House Republicans nominated Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the current minority leader, as their candidate for speaker of the House on Tuesday, with McCarthy overcoming a conservative challenger as the party inches closer to winning control of the lower chamber.
McCarthy was tapped as the nominee in an internal meeting of the Republican conference by a secret-ballot vote of 188 to 31, multiple sources in the meeting confirmed to CBS News. The vote means the California Republican is the favorite to become speaker of a GOP-controlled House, but the path to securing the 218 votes needed to claim the gavel during a vote of the full House in January is likely to be a difficult one, since Republicans are poised to hold a razor-thin majority of seats after a weaker-than-expected performance in last week’s midterm elections.
CBS News estimates the GOP will win at least 216 seats and Democrats will control at least 211. Republican candidates are leading in several battleground races in which CBS News has not projected a winner.
McCarthy fended off an 11th-hour challenge for the nomination from Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who was involved in efforts both within Congress and at the state level to reverse the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Biggs announced his bid Monday night, telling Newsmax in an interview that “we have a new paradigm here, and I think the country wants a different direction from the House of Representatives.”
Source: Kevin McCarthy wins GOP nomination for House speaker
Former President Donald Trump announced that he will seek re-election to the presidency in 2024, setting the stage for a dramatic return to the White House after losing in 2020 to Joe Biden.
Source: Donald Trump announces 2024 re-election run for president
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto holds seat, according to projected results, giving Democrats control of the upper house.
Summary
- The Democratic Party will retain majority control of the US Senate after winning a pivotal race in Nevada
- Senator Catherine Cortez Masto is projected to defeat Republican challenger Adam Laxalt, who was endorsed by Donald Trump
- The result means Democrats will now have 50 Senate seats – with Republicans currently on 49
- Georgia is still waiting on a Senate result, and will hold a run-off election on 6 December, after neither candidate won an outright majority
- Meanwhile, Republicans appear to be inching closer to a majority in the House of Representatives
Source: US midterm elections latest: Democrats retain control of US Senate after win in Nevada – BBC News
The U.S. Republican party looks favored to win a midterm election victory, giving it back control of the House of Representatives when the next session of Congress begins in January.
Control of the US Congress hung in the balance on Wednesday after Democrats put up an unexpectedly strong fight in the midterm elections, while Republicans insisted they were on course to take back at least the House of Representatives. Republicans notched up a string of convincing victories, particularly in Florida, where governor Ron DeSantis cruised to re-election by a 20-point margin.
But while the House appeared to be within the grasp of Republicans, control of the Senate remained too close to call, as Democrats appeared to stave off the worst-case scenario that many polls had predicted.
Source: Republican victory paves road to softer dollar
The 2022 midterm elections are shaping up to be some of the most consequential in the nation’s history, with control of Congress at stake. All 435 seats in the House and 35 of 100 seats in the Senate are on the ballot, as well as several influential gubernatorial elections in battleground states like Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Democrats are defending their narrow majorities in both chambers. Republican control of either the House or Senate would be enough to curtail most of President Joe Biden’s agenda, and would likely result in investigations against his administration and even his family.
This is how the story is developing:
Source: 2022 midterm elections live updates: Balance of power at stake
An Allegheny County judge on Friday dismissed a petition that sought to initiate annexation proceedings for Wilkinsburg to be incorporated into the City of Pittsburgh. The petition, filed on Sept. 29, was dismissed in a two-page order by Senior Common Pleas Judge Joe James. In the order, James wrote that the only acceptable procedure for annexation comes from Pennsylvania’s constitution, which requires a referendum in which a majority of voters from each municipality approve the merger.
Source: Judge dismisses Wilkinsburg annexation petition
Exceeding expectations, nearly 22,000 Westmoreland County voters already have cast ballots with less than two weeks to go before the Nov. 8 general election. County officials said the number of mail-in applications requested and returned by voters has continued to surpass estimates.
Source: Early voting soars in Westmoreland County
“There’s a lot of kids around here, and I just don’t think they should be having to see that on their way to school,” said one neighbor.
“It’s my property and that’s how I feel about the leadership in this country,” said Joe Korona.
Source: Scott Township man with noose outside his home defends display
“We had a lot of concern because if the voter doesn’t sign the outer envelope of the ballot, their vote will not count,” said an ACLU.
“We had a lot of concern because if the voter doesn’t sign the outer envelope of the ballot, their vote will not count,” said Sara Rose, deputy legal director.
Dave Voye, manager for Allegheny County’s Elections Division, said less than a dozen out of 180,000 mail-in ballots were missing the voter’s declaration, and that was due to a printing error.
“We were in touch with our printer and we think two envelopes got stuck together. It’s very minimal,” Voye said.
Voye said anyone in possession of an envelope without the voter’s declaration can request another ballot, but it must be mailed in time to be in the Elections Division by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Source: Allegheny County mail-in ballots invalid without voter’s declaration
It has been four years since the city of Pittsburgh purchased two high-tech drones at a cost of more than $50,000. But Target 11 Investigator Rick Earle has learned they’ve never been used. Earle wanted to know why the drones have never gotten off the ground. He questioned the city’s new public safety director, Lee Schmidt.
Schmidt said the biggest concern is privacy. He said he’s working on a policy that will outline the proper uses of drones by city departments. Target 11 requested a copy of that policy but so far has not received the copy.
Source: Target 11 Exclusive: City of Pittsburgh paid $50,000 for drones, never used them
Truss resigned as U.K. prime minister after a month and a half office.
News of Liz Truss’s resignation has prompted quick reaction from political leaders and media commentators around the world, with many editorials focused on the brevity of Truss’s time in office and the ongoing political chaos in Britain.
Among foreign politicians, France’s President Emmanuel Macron said that on a personal level, he was always “sad to see a colleague go”, but that the most important thing was for Britain to find stability as soon as possible.
At the White House, reporters asked US President Joe Biden whether Ms Truss had made the right decision. He replied that it was her decision to make, adding that he wouldn’t “weigh in on her judgment”.
In an earlier statement, Mr Biden said close relations with the UK would continue, and thanked Ms Truss for her partnership “on a range of issues including holding Russia accountable for its war against Ukraine”.
One of Ukraine’s MPs – Oleksiy Goncharenko – also thanked Ms Truss for her support, saying that “Ukraine will never forget you!”
However, there was little sympathy for Liz Truss from Russia. Its foreign ministry spokeswoman welcomed her departure, saying Britain had “never known such a disgrace of a prime minister.”
Source: Why Liz Truss resigned as U.K. prime minister: A guide to the chaos
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-63333462
LondonCNN —Liz Truss is fighting to save her job as Britain’s prime minister after more of her own lawmakers called for her to quit, incensed by a shambolic parliamentary vote and the resignation of her home secretary late on Wednesday.
Truss’s government has “12 hours” to “turn the ship around,” Conservative lawmaker Simon Hoare said on Thursday, after a vote on whether to ban controversial fracking for shale gas descended into chaos.
Lawmakers reported that aides for Truss manhandled MPs into the voting lobby to force them to vote against the ban. The government initially presented the vote as a confidence motion in Truss’s government, but confusion remains about whether it was. A Downing Street spokesperson said on Thursday that Conservative lawmakers who didn’t participate in Wednesday evening’s vote will face disciplinary action, PA Media said.
Source: Embattled British Prime Minister Liz Truss warned she has hours to save her job | CNN
A state legislator wants to make it more difficult for school boards to arbitrarily ban books from school classrooms and libraries.
State Rep. Christopher Rabb’s forthcoming legislation would require the Pennsylvania Department of Education and school board seeking to ban a book to participate in at least two public hearings on the book in question. The hearings would be moderated by professionals with knowledge on the book and its contents, and would be required before a school board vote to ban the book.
“These book bans are an attempt to censor educators and restrict the information and educational materials that students can have access to in school,” Rabb, a Philadelphia Democrat, wrote in a memo to colleagues.
Source: PA Could Pass Law To Stem Book-Banning Tide
As soon as Lt. Gov. John Fetterman accepted a debate invitation for Oct. 25, Mehmet Oz said their matchup would fall too late in the cycle — two weeks before Election Day — given people could start voting by mail as early as late September. He criticized Fetterman for declining to debate sooner.
The televised debate in Harrisburg will be the one prime-time bout in a tight race for one of the most closely watched Senate contests in the country. It’s a former TV doctor against a stroke survivor with lingering speech challenges who has never been the most nimble debater.
Source: Oz and Fetterman have a big debate Oct. 25. How many people will have voted by then?
Westmoreland County’s Republican commissioners Wednesday refused to vote on a plan to install one drop box for mail-in ballots at the courthouse.
Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew said the box that had been in place for years in the courthouse’s lobby and last spring at the rear entrance of the building was underused and costly. Neither supported a proposal from Democratic Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher to continue the program to install one drop box at the courthouse’s rear entrance ahead of the Nov. 8 general election.
“It’s cost-prohibitive for the number of ballots we got,” Chew said.
Source: Republican commissioners remove ballot drop box from Westmoreland courthouse
Ken Starr, a noted attorney who helped impeach one president and defended another from the same fate, died Tuesday at the age of 76.
Starr died in Houston of complications from surgery at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, a statement released by his family said.
“We are deeply saddened with the loss of our dear and loving Father and Grandfather, whom we admired for his prodigious work ethic, but who always put his family first,” Starr’s son, Randall P. Starr, said in a statement. “The love, energy, endearing sense of humor, and fun-loving interest Dad exhibited to each of us was truly special, and we cherish the many wonderful memories we were able to experience with him. He is now with his Lord and Savior.”
Starr, a venerated lawyer and Republican operative, was best known for his role as the independent counsel in the Whitewater affair. Appointed in 1994 to probe a shadowy land deal involving President Bill Clinton’s tenure as governor of Arkansas, Starr widely expanded the probe.
The investigation snowballed from Clinton’s involvement in the failed real estate venture to misconduct in the White House travel office, the unauthorized obtaining of FBI personnel files by senior administration staffers, and finally the president’s affair with an intern named Monica Lewinsky.
Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ken-starr-clinton-investigator-dead-76
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on Thursday that she’d be “happy to drain Texas of all its residents” and give them a warm welcome to Chicago.
Democrat Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said that she’d be “happy to drain Texas of all its residents” and welcome them to Chicago after Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent two buses with migrants onboard to Chicago’s Union Station.
Lightfoot made the comments during a Thursday press conference after the migrants’ arrival.
“I’m happy to take and drain Texas, of all of its residents,” Lightfoot said. “I wouldn’t want to live in a state with a governor like that. I certainly wouldn’t want to live in a state where they are doing everything they can to strip people of their basic rights. And let’s not forget about what they’ve done to women and others who were seeking reproductive health care.”
President Biden said the former Soviet leader had the “imagination to see that a different future was possible.”
Source: Putin, Biden and other leaders react to Mikhail Gorbachev death – The Washington Post
President Joe Biden is planning a Labor Day trip to Pittsburgh, the White House announced.
The location wasn’t specified, but in a statement, the White House on Monday said Biden “will deliver remarks to celebrate Labor Day and the dignity of American workers.”
Biden will also travel to Milwaukee that day.
Source: President Biden to visit Pittsburgh | TribLIVE.com
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, Donald Trump’s fiercest Republican adversary in Congress, was defeated in a GOP primary Tuesday, falling to a rival backed by the former president in a contest that reinforced his grip on the party’s base.
The third-term congresswoman and her allies entered the day downbeat about her prospects, aware that Mr. Trump’s backing gave Harriet Hageman considerable lift in the state where he won by the largest margin during the 2020 campaign. Ms. Cheney was already looking ahead to a political future beyond Capitol Hill that could include a 2024 presidential run, potentially putting her on another collision course with Mr. Trump.
Source: Trump foe Liz Cheney defeated in Wyoming GOP primary | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
President Joe Biden will sign a sweeping $750 billion health care, tax and climate bill into law at the White House on Tuesday — marking a major victory for his administration and the Democratic Party ahead of the midterm elections.
(CNN)President Joe Biden will sign a sweeping $750 billion health care, tax and climate bill into law at the White House on Tuesday — marking a major victory for his administration and the Democratic Party ahead of the midterm elections.
Tuesday’s ceremony in the State Dining Room is just one of many events that will follow focused on the roll out of the new law, according to the White House.“In the coming weeks, the President will host a Cabinet meeting focused on implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, will travel across the country to highlight how the bill will help the American people, and will host an event to celebrate the enactment of the bill at the White House on September 6,” a White House statement said.The Inflation Reduction Act accomplishes several key Biden legislative agenda items, representing the largest climate investment in American history and making major changes to health policy by giving Medicare the power for the first time to negotiate the prices of certain prescription drugs and extending expiring health care subsidies for three years. The legislation will reduce the deficit, be paid for through new taxes — including a 15% minimum tax on large corporations and a 1% tax on stock buybacks — and boost the Internal Revenue Service’s ability to collect.
Source: Biden to sign Inflation Reduction Act into law – CNNPolitics
Trump is possibly in legal jeopardy, but we don’t know yet what charges he could face, if any at all.
On Monday, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s Florida home. Trump confirmed in a statement published online that his residence was “occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” although Trump himself was reportedly in New York when the search warrant was executed.
Little is known about the raid — or what, if any, further steps the Justice Department might take — but even this moment is politically and historically significant. There are constitutional rules regarding what law enforcement must do to justify searching private property, and the Justice Department has institutional norms on top of those about the treatment of political figures that could influence elections. It’s unlikely the decision to search Mar-a-Lago was taken lightly.
It’s not yet clear what specifically these agents were looking for during the raid, but CNN reports a few details about it. Among other things, the search “included examining where documents were kept” in Trump’s personal residence and office, and “boxes of items were taken.” Currently, the Justice Department is conducting two known investigations into Trump: one on his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the ensuing January 6 attack on the US Capitol, and the other regarding Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents.
According to the New York Times, the search focused on material Trump brought from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after he left office — material that included classified documents and other documents subject to the Presidential Records Act, which requires official presidential documents to be turned over to the National Archives at the end of a presidency. Trump’s son Eric told Fox News something similar on Monday night.
Source: The FBI’s raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago: What we know, and what we don’t – Vox
DALLAS — This year’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas wrapped up Sunday.
Source: Five highlights from CPAC Texas 2022 | Washington Examiner
Senate Republicans are promising a vote-a-rama ‘hell’ for Democrats, who are advancing a social spending and taxation bill with the support of moderate Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
Democrats’ social spending and tax bill passed by a 51-50 vote Sunday, with Vice President Harris breaking a tie.
“I am confident the inflation Reduction Act will endure is one of the defining legislative feats of the 21st century,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said.
The Senate was in session since noon Saturday as Democrats worked to finalize then pass the bill.
Source: Senate ‘vote-a-rama’ nears end after dozens of politically charged votes: LIVE UPDATES
