Author: FOX24 US

FOX 24 US A new Trump administration prohibition on privacy protections at the Census Bureau appears to be teeing up a fight that touches on everything from government data to political representation, immigration to redistricting — and even opens the door to a world in which federal data used for everything from disaster planning to school enrollment may all but disappear. It all stems from an early June Commerce Department memo banning certain privacy techniques used in the 2020 Census, techniques that were designed to allow federal statisticians to extract and publish data down to the block level while protecting…

FOX 24 US Voter Suppression Looms Large in Push to Replace the Senator We heard a lot in the day after Lindsey Graham died at 71 about the way in which the senator played a key roll for the White House, explaining how the Senate worked to Trump. Given the president’s recent, monomaniacal focus on passing the SAVE America Act, the voter suppression legislation was, apparently, a key component of that relationship. “He literally called me about the SAVE America Act,” Trump told Meet the Press, describing his last call with Graham, which came hours before his death. “Think of…

FOX 24 US When I walked up to 290 Broadway early on a late June morning, an imposing building in New York City that houses a number of immigration courtrooms, a line of people stretched down the block, around the corner, and down that block, too. There had been a fire drill. People in suits were sparsely interspersed among dozens of young Black men in street clothes and Latino families trying to pacify young children.  As we all waited in line, 9 a.m., the time for many people’s appointments to go before an immigration judge, came and went. Melanie Zamenhof,…

FOX 24 US Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) died Saturday evening from a “brief and sudden illness,” according to a statement from his office. He was 71.  “On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness,” the statement said. “Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.” Emergency medical services responded to a call for “cardiac arrest” at the senator’s Capitol Hill home on Saturday night, according to several outlets. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) will name a replacement senator who…

FOX 24 US Trump Fires Three EAC Commissioners A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court handed down a pair of decisions finding that 1. Trump could exert tremendous control over independent executive branch agencies, including firing their commissioners and 2. the Fed, also an independent agency, was different. Since then, the question of where Trump would strike first has lingered. Now we know. Last night, Trump forced out all remaining commissioners atop the Election Assistance Commission — two Democrats and a Republican — just months before the midterms. In a statement to ProPublica, an unnamed White House official gestured toward…

FOX 24 US This article first appeared at ProPublica. President Donald Trump has pushed out the three remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission, leaving the bipartisan agency in limbo as he rushes to remake how elections are run before this year’s midterms. Trump fired Benjamin Hovland and Thomas Hicks, the Democrats on the commission, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ProPublica, which was the first to report the actions on its social media accounts. Christy McCormick, the Republican, was allowed to resign, the sources said. The commission’s unprecedented dismantling alarmed voter advocacy groups and Democratic state election officials,…

FOX 24 US Maine Dems Piece Together Plan to Help Party Hold Senate Graham Platner is finally out. In a defiant statement last night, he once again denied the sexual assault allegations against him, but conceded what his allies had been telling him for days: it was time to leave the race. He called for an “open” and “democratic” process to replace him, Kate Riga reports. The Maine Democratic State Committee voted overwhelmingly to hold a 600-person nominating convention, according to the Portland Press Herald, which broke the news. MS NOW reported that, per one proposal discussed Wednesday, county committees…

FOX 24 US In an increasingly ominous trend, there are currently hundreds of election deniers on the ballot for the 2026 midterm elections. And although history has shown election denialism is not a winning campaign strategy, it continues to be a powerful force in the right-wing movement, from President Donald Trump on down.  According to the nonpartisan non-profit States United Action, there are at least 140 election deniers currently running for statewide and congressional office. In statewide races, there are at least 42 election deniers running in 23 states. And in congressional races, there are at least 98 election deniers…

FOX 24 US Embattled Maine Democrat Graham Platner dropped out of the Senate race Wednesday, giving Democrats less than a month to find a replacement.  He announced his decision in a video posted to social media. “We believe for the movement to continue, it can’t be me and for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations,” he said. He called for an “open” and “democratic” process to replace him. He also maintained that the sexual assault allegations against him are false, and implied that they stem from establishment opposition to his grassroots candidacy. “We went toe to toe with one…

FOX 24 US Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) formally requested an update on Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) health on Wednesday amid the senator’s recent and ongoing hospitalization. “Over the last several weeks, Kentuckians have grown increasingly concerned about the current state of your health and wellbeing, and ability to hold office in the United States Senate,” Beshear wrote in a Wednesday letter to the senator. “As Governor, I request that you fully update Kentuckians regarding the current status of your health.” The 84-year-old senator, who is set to retire in January 2027, was hospitalized on June 14, according to a…