World News

Republicans in the Wisconsin state legislature are responding to concerns about school shootings in the worst possible way. A proposal on Tuesday proposed by state Assembly Democrats would have strengthened background checks, ensuring they be used on every gun purchase in the state, including closing the “gun show loophole” and limiting questionable internet sales. That proposal was soundly rejected by GOP lawmakers, who had a different plan in mind: Put more guns in schools. The Assembly voted 71-24 to support a grant program that would help schools pay for armed guards. All Republicans voted for the measure, with some Democrats even supporting it. But these lawmakers disregard a simple fact: armed guards won’t stop determined shooters. There was an armed guard, for instan...

This is the second article of a week-long series looking at the legal and political landscape around abortion rights, on the 45th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Roe v. Wade. Part I was published yesterday. You can find it here. The Missouri Supreme Court is hearing arguments today in a challenge to the state’s informed consent and ultrasound requirements imposed on women seeking abortions. Under Missouri law, before a woman can obtain an abortion, she must certify that she has read a pamphlet written by the state’s health department which states that human life begins at conception and that abortion will terminate the life of a separate, unique, living human being. She must also wait 72 hours after first visiting a licensed health care provider requesting an aborti...

Hello from the fly-over state of Minnesota. Starting today, I am honored to be your correspondent from the land of 10,000 lakes. Actually, we have 11,842 lakes, but Minnesotans are a modest bunch to a fault. I must confess that I'm not originally from Minnesota, but I’ve been here almost ten years, and I'm learning more about how and why things work the way they do here every day. For instance, Minnesota has the biggest Hmong and Somali populations in the country. Our government is pretty efficient as far as governments go. If you drive a few miles outside the metro area, you’ll see pro-life billboards pop up with frequency — but Minnesotans throughout the state still have relatively unencumbered access to abortion, as access to abortion in America goes. Before Minnesot...

United States Sen. Tina Smith has been sworn in to take former Al Franken’s place in the Senate. Now, who becomes the acting lieutenant governor? Well, that would be state Sen. Michelle Fischbach, who is presently the president of the state senate. However, Fischbach, a Republican, refuses to take the oath as lieutenant governor because she doesn't want to give up her current position. Currently, Fischbach is calling herself the “acting lieutenant governor.” She claims that the people of her district elected her and she has a commitment to them, but that the rules of succession are also quite clear. She claims that she can hold both positions, lieutenant governor and state senator, and that it will be fine as long as she doesn’t take the lieutenant governor’s salary. The attorney...

On Sunday, police arrested 17 Minneapolis Black Lives Matter activists as they protested the increased policing of their city during the Super Bowl LII. Around 100 activists with Black Visions Collective, the Minneapolis chapter of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, shut down local transit to protest the fact that people without a Super Bowl ticket were banned from riding public transit. 17 of them were forcibly removed and arrested by police. The protest was part of a week of actions designed to call attention to the increased policing and other negative effects the Super Bowl had on people living in Minneapolis. About 100 protesters are blocking east and westbound light rail greenline at West Bank station. Chanting, “If you shut us out, we shut you down.” pic.twitter.com/5...

Under the guise of Voting Rights Act enforcement, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is pushing for the 2020 Census to include a question asking if the respondent is a U.S. citizen. When you’re done laughing at the idea that Jeff Sessions would ever take a real step toward enforcing the Voting Rights Act, sober up quickly to the possibility of a 2020 Census that significantly undercounts immigrants and pushes power away from ethnically diverse blue states to lily-white red ones. Attorneys General from New York, Massachusetts, and California are pushing back, with the support of 16 additional state attorneys general and the governor of Colorado. The California Department of Justice is putting President Trump on notice: if a citizenship question is added to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau...

On Tuesday, editorial employees at Mic announced their decision to unionize with the NewsGuild of New York, seeking more diverse hiring practices and increased transparency around salaries and promotions. Mic staffers declared their intent to unionize in a letter delivered to the digital media company’s co-founder Chris Altchek on Tuesday morning. Mic employee Will Drabold wrote on Twitter that 88 percent of the newsroom signed cards in favor of unionization. NEWS: 88% of @Mic editorial employees (including me) have signed cards with @nyguild to unionize. We just told management. Important moment and proud to be part of it. pic.twitter.com/Q5TwcUmu2C — Will Drabold (@WillDrabold) Mic reporter Kelsey Sutton told 50 States of Blue that employees have been discussing unionization ...

The governors of four East Coast states said today they will not wait for federal action to deal with the nation’s epidemic of gun violence. “Rather than wait for the federal government to come to its senses and pass responsible gun safety legislation, New York is joining with New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island to take matters into our own hands,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, announcing the new States for Gun Safety coalition aimed at curbing gun deaths and stemming the flow of weapons across state lines. The coalition of states will create an information-sharing system designed to allow law enforcement to share details about individuals banned from purchasing firearms within any one of the member states. Currently, states are limited to using the federal governm...

Gershon, who is trying to unseat Lee Zeldin. The conversation touches on a range of issues, from infrastructure to Gershon's strong feelings about the way Zeldin has worked to weaken gun laws, particularly on reciprocity, which would leave New York's gun laws as weak as the least restrictive state in the country. Then Russ Steinberg, certified bracketologist, joins the program to discuss his Ultimate Donald Trump Departure Bracket. Who earned one seeds? Can Seb Gorka make a dark horse run? Is Ezra Cohen-Watnick a real person? All these questions answered, and more!

If Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to challenge Donald Trump for president in 2020, he may have to survive Cynthia Nixon first Actress and activist Cynthia Nixon, best known for her role as Miranda in [email protected] and the City, is reportedly preparing to announce a run for governor of New York, challenging incumbent Andrew Cuomo in this September’s Democratic primary. The campaign would be a first for Nixon. She has never held or even run for elected office, but she’s no stranger to politics either. For years, Nixon has been an outspoken figure in progressive politics, traveling the country to fight for marriage equality prior to the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, speaking at rallies for Planned Parenthood in Washington, D.C., and campaigning for President Obama’s re-election campaign in ...