#iowa-politics

#iowa-politics

Yes, killing tens of thousands of people makes you pretty damn evil. It's not how evil is this one versus that one: Hamas: Evil, Israeli government: Evil. We can say both.

James Talarico, a Democratic Senate candidate in Texas, has raised a staggering $27 million so far this year, with California donors contributing just under $1.2 million to back his campaign - second only to Texas supporters among those donors whose names were disclosed.

Vice President Vance's visit underscores that Iowans' interests will always be top of mind as long as Republicans are leading the country.

Ludwick interviewed some of the athletes involved. Then, he declined to continue as part of the case after believing that some of the information uncovered was obtained illegally. The lawsuit notes that others in the department were also concerned about the legality of the investigation. Additionally, Ludwick alleged the DCI began investigating him after his testimony for violating policy.

Large production sheds, known as "confinements," hold up to 2,500 sows, which are pumped full of antibiotics to help them survive their cramped, windowless existence. CAFOs generate colossal amounts of manure waste, forming gargantuan anaerobic lagoons that foul the air and pollute local water supplies around the farm.

AIPAC pivoted in the final week of the campaign to focusing its fire on the more pro-Palestinian Abughazaleh than Biss, who was backed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Another AIPAC affiliate, Chicago Progressive Partnership, ran ads painting Abughazaleh as a closet Republican and boosting a lower tier leftist in the race, Bushra Amiwala.

A bill that would have banned smoking on casino gaming floors in Iowa didn't go anywhere this week, after a Senate subcommittee voted to shelve the proposal indefinitely. The legislation, Senate File 2051, was introduced as "An Act relating to the elimination of the exemption of gaming floors from the prohibitions of the smokefree air Act." The bill proposed a change to state law by amending Iowa Code section 142D.4 "by striking the subsection" that currently allows smoking on certain gaming floors.

It diminishes our ability to attract new workers. This bill before us today makes a mockery of our state's most sacred values. The bill makes LGBTQ+ residents feel less safe in Iowa, pushing them toward friendlier homes in neighboring states.

In perhaps a vain attempt to prove themselves moderate, the Democratic lawmakers helped override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's vetoes. Voters responded with the kind of ballot-box fury that should serve as a lesson to other incumbents. It wasn't just a case that the incumbents lost. They were buried, with several of them getting trounced by margins of 40 points or more.

If passed and signed into law, the bill would replace the student regent with a ninth one appointed by the governor. In addition, seven new nonvoting member seats would be established: three for students, two for state senators and two for state representatives. The proposed legislation also details several new policies and programs the board would be required to establish and would give members of the state's General Assembly the ability to override board and university expenditures through a joint resolution.

My older brother has worked with pigs his entire adult life, managing about 70,000 of them across five counties, Faaborg says. But we got to a point where he went from laughing at me to saying: well, I guess maybe I'll quit my job and help you out. Now he's the most dedicated, says Katherine Jernigan, director of the Transfarmation Project at Mercy for Animals, a non-profit that helped the Faaborgs make the switch and set up their new business, 1100 Farm.

A group of Illinois small farmers are meeting with members of Congress on Thursday in Washington to discuss their hopes for "transformational investments" in the next farm bill, which governs policy in the agricultural sector. As they see it, the new law could provide significant financial investment and protections that reduce economic inequality and racial injustice; build crop and human resilience to climate change and unpredictable weather; and improve access to nutritious food and sustainable, local systems.

Many millions of eyes are on Minneapolis this week as the city, the state, and indeed the nation try to cope with the violence unleashed by a federal immigration-enforcement "surge" that has taken the lives of two U.S. citizens and created a huge backlash against the Trump administration's mass-deportation initiative. Now Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar is stepping into that maelstrom and a very bright spotlight.

Driving the news: In a memo Thursday, the Kennedy-aligned political advocacy group MAHA Action warned the chairs of the Republican Senate and House campaign committees and House and Senate leaders that the GOP "is renting MAHA voters. They haven't decided to purchase them yet." The group says Republicans could still close the polling gap with appeals to this segment, which it said could represent 10% of the electorate.