The Supreme Court's recent Louisiana v. Callais decision, effectively demolishing a key part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, is a "five-alarm fire," former Representative G. K. Butterfield Jr. told me this week. As southern states rush to draw new boundaries eliminating majority-minority districts, as much as a third of the Congressional Black Caucus could lose their seats. Butterfield, a former CBC chair, knows that risk well. But he also knows the less visible yet still enormous effects that Callais could have at a local level in silencing the voices of Black voters.
Mortgage rates ended last week on an optimistic note, as markets were encouraged by news of peace talks between Washington and Tehran. The conversation this week is much more dour. On Wednesday, the Senate blocked efforts to end the war, the seventh such measure put forth by Democrats. Tuesday saw the release of the April consumer price index (CPI), which showed that inflation accelerated at its fastest pace since May 2023. This spike was driven largely by increased energy costs as a result of the conflict in Iran.
“Highest disapproval on gas prices. Look at this: President Trump, 79%! Seventy-nine percent of Americans disapprove of him on gas prices! Look, the rest of them you see across the board, also reached the 70s, but never this high,” Enten said, emphasizing that the level of negative sentiment toward Trump on gasoline costs surpassed prior presidents’ peaks.
The viral footage showed McConnell attempting to conclude a Senate hearing, thanking those who'd attended, before a staffer approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder and quietly informing him: Baldwin, Shaheen, and Kennedy still have questions. McConnell then shifted course, telling the room: Yeah, obviously there's not a whole lot of time for a second round, so we'll get through everybody and Senator Murkowski, I'd appreciate your taking over.
A former girlfriend of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has accused him of offering a $5,000 hush money payment, the accusation dropping just days before Massie's May 19 primary in Kentucky. Axios' Marc Caputo and Kate Santaliz spoke with Cynthia West's about her new accusations against Massie, which the congressman's campaign dismissed as a last-minute dirty trick in the campaign.
A poll from the Pew Research Center published Monday asked more than 5,000 Americans whether they considered specific issues a “very big problem” for the country. When asked about the federal deficit, 66% of Democrats and 62% of Republicans agreed, a more aligned view than Americans had on healthcare costs, inflation, or jobs.
The US Department of Defense released 162 files on unidentified flying objects (UFOs), following an order from President Donald Trump. The files included documents from the FBI, NASA, and the US State Department. As conspiracy theories soar all over the internet, what's really in the files, and how significant is the release?
