Illinois Reviews DOJ Threat Over Noncitizen Voting Letters

 

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois State Board of Elections said Wednesday it is reviewing a July 7 letter from the U.S. Department of Justice that warned state election officials they could face criminal prosecution if they allowed noncitizens to vote. The letter, addressed to ISBE Executive Director Bernadette Matthews, requested information...

SC GOP sues to bar nonmembers from primaries

 

Columbia, South Carolina. The South Carolina Republican Party filed a 19-page federal lawsuit in early July seeking to restrict participation in its primary elections exclusively to registered Republican voters, a move Chairman Drew McKissick announced in a July 8 video. The complaint follows a yearslong party push to require party...

Washington: Supreme Court curbs independence of federal agencies

 

Washington, United States – The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a landmark 6-3 ruling in Trump v. Slaughter that reshapes the balance of power between the presidency and independent regulatory agencies. The Court held that statutory “for-cause” removal protections for Federal Trade Commission commissioners violate the Constitution’s separation of powers,...

Texas Orders Probe Into Hospital Birth Tourism Ads

 

Mission, Texas. Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday directed the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to immediately investigate Mission Regional Medical Center after media and social media posts showed billboards in Mexico advertising 'birth packages' for foreign nationals seeking to give birth in Texas, and after reports that the hospital...

Maine Senate race rocked as Sanders pulls endorsement

 

WASHINGTON — Maine’s 2026 U.S. Senate race was thrown into turmoil on July 8, 2026, when Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders withdrew his endorsement of Democratic nominee Graham Platner following the publication of a sexual assault allegation. Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats and had been one of Platner’s most...

Atlanta judge blocks DOJ bid for poll worker data

 

ATLANTA — A federal judge has rejected a U.S. Department of Justice effort to obtain the names and contact information of 2020 election workers and county employees in Fulton County, Georgia. In a ruling issued on Tuesday, the court quashed an April grand jury subpoena that sought the identities and...

Turkey: Trump orders halt to US-Spain trade

 

Ankara, Turkey – At the opening of the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an immediate halt to all U.S. trade with Spain, issuing the directive in a televised confrontation that underscored deepening rifts within the alliance. Speaking during a bilateral session...

Louisiana State Senator Larry Selders Dies at 44

 

Baton Rouge — State Sen. Larry Selders, a Democrat representing Baton Rouge, died Tuesday at age 44 after collapsing at an event, according to media reports and his office. Elected to the State Senate in February 2025 to fill the seat vacated by Cleo Fields, Selders had served five years...

Kentucky Governor Seeks Update On McConnell's Health Status

 

Frankfort, Kentucky. Governor Andy Beshear on Wednesday sent a letter to Sen. Mitch McConnell's office requesting a direct update on the 84-year-old senator's health as McConnell remains hospitalized more than three weeks after his June 14 admission. Beshear cited growing concern among Kentuckians and asked that McConnell provide transparent information...

Municipal debates escalate over expanding data center projects

 

United States: State and local officials from Colorado to Virginia faced intensified local debates this week as proposed and existing data center projects prompted moratoriums, planning votes and policy reviews. Gov. Jared Polis defended data centers at the Aspen Ideas Festival, while Inver Grove Heights enacted a moratorium on June...