News From Around the Web
#1 Democrats Sweep First Major Elections of Second Trump Term - Reuters, Adam Kinzinger/Glazz, Collin Rugg/Proud Elephant, Good Morning America, Meidas Touch/Patty, KURIER, Elizabeth Pipko/Jack Posobiec/Daniel Abbey, and Benny Johnson on X
Democrats swept a trio of races on Tuesday in the first major elections since Donald Trump regained the presidency, elevating a new generation of leaders and giving the beleaguered party a shot of momentum ahead of next year's congressional elections. In New York City, Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, won the mayoral race, capping a meteoric and unlikely rise from an anonymous state lawmaker to one of the country's most visible Democratic figures. And in Virginia and New Jersey, moderate Democrats Abigail Spanberger, 46, and Mikie Sherrill, 53, won their elections for governor with commanding leads, respectively...#2 Prop 50: Californians Pass Redistricting Measure That Helps Democrats Flip up to Five House Seats - Lauren Gambino for The Guardian, Chef Andrew Gruel, M.A. Rothman, Wall Street Apes, Michael Oxford - AKA The Santa Cruz Mountain Goat, Geofrey, and Cernovich on X
Voters in California on Tuesday approved a high-stakes redistricting measure, a national triumph for Democrats hoping to stop Donald Trump and Republicans from retaining full control of the federal government in next year’s midterm elections. It was a decisive victory for Democrats in deep-blue California, who had raced to counter a gerrymander in Texas, engineered at the US president’s behest, to carve out new safe Republican districts. The Associated Press declared Proposition 50 had passed almost instantly when polls closed statewide...
#3 Maine Voters Approve ‘Red Flag’ Law on Guns as States Consider Ballot Measures - Alexandra Marquez for NBC News, Shine Bright, think4yourself/Associated Press, Steve Mistler, and Conservative_Josh231 on X
Maine will soon become the 22nd state to have an “extreme risk protection” gun law, also known as a “red flag law,” NBC News projects — part of a slew of state ballot measures voters around the country considered Tuesday, on issues from raising taxes on higher earners to parental rights and voting rules. Maine voters passed a ballot question Tuesday that will allow people to petition courts to have firearms taken away from their family members if they are deemed to pose risks to themselves or others... The Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday in a consequential case with potentially profound economic consequences for the country and the presidency: The issue is tariffs. Standing in the Rose Garden last April, President Trump proclaimed what he called "liberation day," a day that "will be remembered as the day American industry was reborn." Carrying out his campaign pledge to impose massive tariffs on foreign imports, Trump issued an executive order that initially imposed a tariff of at least 10% on goods from most countries doing business with the United States. Goods from countries like China have been hit with much higher tariffs — up to 145%, though they have since come down. Imports from allies like Canada and Mexico have been taxed at 25%; Canada's rate was later increased to 35%. In an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes this week, Trump credited the tariffs with the deal he just negotiated with China, boasting that without tariffs, China would not have "come to the table." The White House just sent a raft of shutdown talking points to Hill Republicans, as the GOP scrambles to limit the fallout of President Donald Trump’s threats earlier Tuesday to withhold SNAP food aid benefits from low-income families unless Democrats agree to reopen the government. Trump’s threat shocked Republicans and came just a day after Speaker Mike Johnson specifically said Trump “isn’t appealing the decision” from the courts that would force the administration to disburse SNAP assistance amid the shutdown... A UPS cargo plane crashed shortly after taking off from the Louisville, Kentucky, airport on Tuesday, leaving a fiery trail of destruction and a massive plume of thick black smoke that stretched for miles. At least seven people have died and 11 were injured, Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday, warning the numbers could climb as the investigation continues. The Louisville mayor said the three crew members on board the plane are presumed dead, and four of the people confirmed dead were not on the plane. Passenger flights to and from Louisville are now resuming, according to the airport’s website, but they are hampered by a major backlog of delayed flights from Tuesday night and only one runway currently in operation. The NTSB will lead the probe into the crash, the FAA said Tuesday. A team of at least 28 people is scheduled to arrive in Kentucky Wednesday, an airport official said... A former CIA operative says that China and Russia are sending "sex spies" to the United States with goals of stealing the country's technology and state secrets as they engage in psychological warfare. J. Michael Waller told Fox News Digital he has seen firsthand how America's biggest adversaries, like China and Russia, are using honeypot tactics to steal secrets or compromise politicians as a dirty way to stay ahead of the U.S. While Waller was doing work for the CIA in Poland, he said that a Chinese woman around 25 years old approached him and seemed interested in the work he was doing. After talking with her more, Waller realized she was a spy and reported the woman to Polish authorities, as she was a government employee at the time. Waller said the Polish government "threw her out of the country within days."
The government shutdown became the longest in U.S. history on Tuesday night, surpassing the previous record set in 2019. Senate Republicans are heading to the White House this morning for breakfast with President Trump, who has in recent days repeatedly urged the Senate to do away with the filibuster, the 60-vote threshold needed to advance most legislation, which would allow Republicans to fund the government without Democratic votes. The Senate is not currently scheduled to vote on a House-passed measure to reopen the government today, after it failed to advance for the 14th time on Tuesday. Still, the contours of a deal to end the stalemate began emerging Tuesday, and senators expressed cautious optimism that a resolution remains possible this week. Some Republicans have said they expect Democrats to be more willing to vote to reopen the government following Tuesday's elections, but the party's election night victories may not inspire Democrats to end their fight soon...
#4 US Court Upholds Florida Ban on Chinese Property Purchases - Daniel Wiessner for Reuters, Ron DeSantis/Attorney General James Uthmeier, Mario Nawfal, Marauder Magazine, Agustin Sanchez de T, and South China Morning Post
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday cleared the way for Florida to enforce a law restricting real estate and land purchases by Chinese citizens, rejecting claims it violates federal law and discriminates against Asians.
The 2-1 ruling, opens new tab by the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could encourage other states to adopt so-called alien land laws, which were once common but fell out of favor a century ago. Lawmakers in more than 30 states have passed or introduced bills restricting foreign property ownership...
#5 Supreme Court Enters the Lion’s Den on Trump Tariffs - Nina Totenberg for npr, Mike Engleman, US Homeland Security News, ken crichlow, Mark Chadwick, and WCBD News 2 | Count on 2 on X
#6 White House Scrambles to Limit Fallout of Trump Threats to Withhold Snap Food Aid Benefits - Meredith Lee Hill for Politico, The Open Daily, anna s. williams, Senator Chris Coons/Sam Stein/What a DB, ValleyNewsDispatch, and Erin (Air-Ren) Thatcher on X
#7 At Least 7 Killed, 11 Injured After a UPS Plane Crashes Near the Louisville Airport - CNN, ahmed baokbah, JBakesL1C4, Kim "Katie" USA, BNO News Live, C Martyn, FamiliesofFlight5342, and FOX 56 News (WDKY) on X
#8 ‘Sex Spies’ From China, Russia Hit Us to Seduce and Steal Secrets With Honeypot Tactics, Fmr Operative Warns - Adam Sabes for Fox News, Will O'Halloran,
root㉿kali/BELIEVE FRIDAY, JJBOOM, Darwin Copsey on X
#9 The Lasting Impact of Prescription Drugs on Gut Health - Tracy Beanz and Michelle Edwards for The HighWire, Children's Health Defense - Pennsylvania, Greg C, Health and Family, DrugTodayMedicalTimes and Kirk on X
New research has found that certain medications may affect your gut microbiome for years after you stop taking them. The latest report on how common medications can negatively shape our gut microbiome for decades isn’t a passing detail with little impact. Instead, it is a glaring red flag for how prescription medications might impact our bodies. Yes, what we put into our bodies matters a great deal. But significantly, what we change inside our bodies — how our internal ecosystem adapts and shifts over time — matters far more. We must consider the impact of prescription drugs...
#10 Government Shutdown Live Updates as Trump Set to Meet With Senate Republicans Amid Longest Impasse in History - Kaia Hubbard for CBS News, Paul A. Szypula, Billy House, States Radar, Max Creel, and Dogeai on X
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