Democratic Nominee

In a one-two punch of authoritarian maneuvering shocking in both its scope and its severity, Republicans are fighting to hollow out the right to vote for millions of Black and brown Georgians. And what they can’t take away in the state Senate, the GOP plans to gut with a new Trump-aligned Secretary of State.Read Full StoryAbsentee VotingCivil WarBlack ChurchesMagaVoting RightsRacial InjusticePoliticsGOP VotersDemocratic VotersHouse DemocratsGOP EffortsMAGATrumpianThe State SenateBlack GeorgiansJody HiceBrad RaffenspergerStacey AbramsMax Burns

The House is set to vote Thursday on two proposals that would legalize subsets of the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission, as Democrats gauge the chances of approving immigration legislation and sending it to President Biden's desk. The bills are expected to pass in...Read Full StoryU.s. CitizenshipUndocumented ImmigrantsBillsPoliticsUndocumented WorkersImmigrant WorkersHouseDemocraticSenateDACATPSImmigrant FarmworkersU.S. CitizenshipLegal ImmigrationDreamersDonald TrumpZoe LofgrenDan NewhouseDick DurbinNancy Pelosi

And ‘it is abundantly clear that wind farms do not have a negative impact on tourism’. I have found great joy in devoting the past 15 years of my professional life to developing offshore-wind energy projects. Working in a field that brings clean energy, increases environmental progress, improves public health and boosts economic opportunity makes me proud to do what I do every day.Read Full StoryEconomyWind PowerWind TurbinesPoliticsWind EnergyNew JerseyansRepublicanDemocraticBidenOffshore Wind FarmsCoastal EconomiesCoastal CommunitiesCoastal ResidentsJersey ShoreEconomic CompetitivenessGeorge W. Bush

A steel cutout depicting a 19th-century Black farmer rises from a field across the highway from the small community of Nicodemus, Kansas. AP Photo/Charlie Riedel The COVID-19 relief bill has a $5 billion provision that will forgive debts for farmers of color. Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia led the push for the inclusion of the funding. Farmers of color, and especially Black farmers, faced years of discrimination by federal officials. Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories . For over a century, Black farmers faced discrimination from the US Department of Agriculture and were largely excluded from federal loans and farm improvement initiatives. In an effort led by Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that passed on Saturday includes a $5 billion provision that will forgive debts for Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and other farmers of color, to enable reforms that will assist farmers with building generational wealth. Last week, Warnock, Georgia's first Black senator, praised the incorporation of the Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act into the COVID-19 bill. He said that Democrats sought to "ensure equity in our recovery efforts and address longstanding injustices that have left some communities behind for far too long" and pledged that the aid "will not only help farmers of color, but will also lift up the economies of our rural communities working to recover from the economic turndown," according to Rolling Stone . Due to systemic racism from both private lenders and government officials, many Black farmers did not have set deed structures that allowed for properties to be passed down in whole, which created fractional ownership setups. Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, chairwoman of the Agriculture Committee, strongly backed the effort, lauding Warnock for "coming in and and working to embrace this and get it over the line right away," according to Rolling Stone. In 1910, 14% of farmers in the US were Black, compared to 2% today, something that Stabenow highlighted. "When you look at one of the very first ways that there was racial discrimination after slavery was legally abolished, it was lack of support for black farmers," she said, adding that they "were discriminated against in terms of land ownership." Last year, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey introduced "The Justice for Black Farmers Act," which would allow Black farmers to individually reclaim 160 acres through a system of land grants to address racial discrimination in federal agricultural policy. "Overtly discriminatory and unjust federal policy has robbed Black families in the United States of the ability to build and pass on intergenerational wealth," he said in a statement. "When it comes to farming and agriculture, we know that there is a direct connection between discriminatory policies within the USDA [US Department of Agriculture] and the enormous land loss we have seen among Black farmers over the past century." Booker reintroduced his bill last month with cosponsors Warnock, Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Tina Smith of Minnesota, and Patrick Leahy of Vermont. Read the original article on Business Insider Racial DiscriminationCovid-19Public HealthFederal GrantsFederal LoansFederal OfficialsEconomic PoliciesAP Photo/DemocraticDemocratsRolling StoneThe Agriculture CommitteeUSDAFarmersGovernment OfficialsRaphael WarnockDebbie StabenowCory BookerElizabeth WarrenKirsten GillibrandTina SmithPatrick LeahyNicodemus

When news broke here Monday that there was an active shooter at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado — an affluent college town about 30 minutes northwest of downtown Denver — there was a collective sigh of “Jesus, please, not again.”. Everyone was sickened, but no one was...Read Full StorySecond AmendmentColorado ShootingGun Safety Laws2012 Aurora ShootingColoradansInstacartStarbucksSand Creek MassacreArapahoDemocraticHouse Of RepresentativesColumbine High SchoolAmericanCongressJesusKevin MahoneyLynn MurrayDoc HollidayJoe SalazarTed Cruz

When the Democratic political action committee Nuestro PAC sent election mailers in Florida featuring a photo of Kristin Urquiza — who blamed President Donald Trump for her father's Covid-19 death — 200 were returned with “communist” or “socialist” scrawled on them. The response underscores a blaring lesson from the 2020...Read Full StoryDemocratsCampaign AdvertisingPacsRepublicansPoliticsPresidential ElectionGOP CampaignsSanders CampaignDemocratic LatinoNBC NewsSolidarity StrategiesLatinosNBC LatinoTwitterInstagramDonald TrumpJoe BidenChuck RochaBernie Sanders

C’mon in: All Ohioans age 16 and older will become eligible for a coronavirus vaccine starting March 29, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday. As Jeremy Pelzer reports, DeWine also said that starting this Friday, eligibility will be expanded to include residents in their 40s and those with cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease and obesity. Julie Washington has more on DeWine’s thinking behind the decision. “There is an imperative that shots not sit anyplace, that they are taken up as quickly as possible,” DeWine said.Read Full StoryOhio Republican PartyOhio Democratic PartyState Of OhioPoliticsPublic HealthOhio State UniversityState LawmakersState Of EmergencyU.S. CapitolOhioansClevelandersState Street ConsultantsCOVIDFirstEnergy Corp.Vanderbilt UniversityMike DewineAndrew TobiasCarl IcahnDonald TrumpRob PortmanSherrod BrownTaylor SwiftSteve BurnsEuclid

Michigan Republicans on Wednesday introduced a package of election bills that would bring a raft of voting restrictions to the state, the latest example of GOP lawmakers working to change election laws in a battleground state following the 2020 election.Read Full StoryEarly VotingSenate RepublicansPoliticsPresidential ElectionGOP LawmakersGOP SenateFILE Bill Pugliano/GettyCapitolThe White HouseDemocraticAmericanMichigandersCNN.comElection BillsMichigan DemocratsMike ShirkeyGretchen WhitmerDonald TrumpJoe BidenJim AnanichJocelyn Benson

The Minnesota House passed a $107 million summer school expansion Tuesday, targeting schoolkids who have missed months of classroom time during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill passed 69-63 on a near party-line vote and heads to the Senate. It would provide funding for field trips, tutoring, afterschool programs, summer preschool and student mental health.Read Full StorySummer SchoolPrivate SchoolsPreschoolState SchoolsState FundsSenate FundsThe Minnesota HouseDFL-MinneapolisDemocraticRepublicansCOVIDA House Ways And MeansThe Ways And MeansFox 9 NewsSummer Learning PlansJim DavnieTim WalzKurt DaudtRoger ChamberlainPat GarofaloRena Moran

A Senate panel on Tuesday scaled back a bill that would have reduced Bright Futures scholarships for students pursuing certain degrees, but opponents are now focusing criticism on whether the measure will jeopardize future funding for the program. The measure (SB 86), sponsored by Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, drew a...Read Full StoryStudent LoanLawmakersHigher EducationState CollegesBoard Of GovernorsDemocraticDemocratsSave Bright FuturesRepublicansThe University System 'sNews ServiceHouseBright Futures AidSenatorsDegreesDennis BaxleyAudrey GibsonJanet CruzTravis Hutson