Tag: politics

SCOTUS Shuts Down New York’s Bid To Redistrict GOP Seat Ahead Of 2026 Midterms

The U.S. Supreme Court shut down a bid by New York courts to redistrict a Republican-controlled congressional seat ahead of the 2026 midterms on Monday.

In its 6-3 ruling, the high court granted an emergency application to temporarily stay (“pause”) a state judge’s efforts to redraw Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ congressional district. Malliotakis has represented New York’s 11th Congressional District since 2021 and won reelection by 28 points during the 2024 election.

As described by The Hill, “A state judge had ordered the boundaries be redrawn after ruling the district dilutes black and Latino voting strength in violation of the state constitution.” The Supreme Court’s Monday order “granted Malliotakis’s emergency application to block that ruling as the litigation proceeds, effectively restoring her existing district lines for the midterms.”

The high court noted that the New York court’s ruling “is stayed pending the disposition of the appeal in the New York state courts” and the filing of a petition at SCOTUS asking the justices to take up the case. The Supreme Court’s stay will terminate if it declines to hear the case or if it agrees to take up the case and renders a verdict on the matter.

Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson would have denied Malliotakis’ request for relief.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito authored a concurring opinion in which he expressed agreement with the court’s decision and blasted the New York judge’s directive “that blatantly discriminates on the basis of race.” He noted how the “New York Supreme Court (that State’s trial-level court) ordered the New York Independent Redistricting Commission to draw a new congressional district for the express purpose of ensuring that ‘minority voters’ are able to elect the candidate of their choice.”

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Snow Shovelers Answered the Mayor’s Call, But Payday May Not Arrive Until Spring

New Yorkers flocked to sanitation garages this week to answer the call for emergency snow shovelers. But those winter laborers may not have realized that they likely won’t get paid for that work until spring.

Several emergency snow shovelers who worked during January’s big storm have not been paid a month afterwards, they told THE CITY. And others who worked this week said payment information was unclear or not discussed.

Dan Bennette, a 38-year-old lifelong Queens resident from South Ozone Park who began working as a snow shoveler on Jan. 26, told THE CITY that he has not yet been paid.

“They just informed us that at the end of the season, when everything is finished, that’s when they’ll cut us a check,” Benette said. “Some people have the assumption that we would be paid weekly or bi-weekly.”

Joshua Goodman, a spokesperson for the sanitation department, said people who responded to the call for shovelers and worked this week may be paid in two weeks, but this is not guaranteed. Last year, it took between four and six weeks to pay workers, he said. On the city’s 311’s website, information about emergency snow shoveling work says payment could take up to 12 weeks. 

For Bennette, he’s staying patient. The newlywed and aviation operations worker has been unemployed for about eight months — the longest he’s ever gone without a paycheck. So he welcomed the opportunity to work in the snow.

“This will get me up out of the house, off the couch and going out and being a productive person in society,” he said. 

Others he worked with were not as easy-going about the pay wait. Bennett recalled that when a fellow shoveler this week learned DSNY would not pay until March, he stood up and walked out of the garage.

Yasmine, who spoke to THE CITY this week, said her son shoveled for the city after snowfall on Dec. 14 and had to wait until the beginning of February to get paid. When DSNY called him in January and again this week asking if he wanted to work, he said no both times. Instead, he shovelled private houses and driveways and got paid the same day. 

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Democrats Slam Democrats For ‘Rigging’ Democrat Primaries

The party that won’t stop lecturing America about democracy is once again rigging its own primary by endorsing – thereby biasing voters – towards certain candidates over others. On Monday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) endorsed 12 candidates through its “Red to Blue” program to help Democrats win back the majority in the House of Representatives.

“Today, the DCCC announced the first slate of 12 top-tier candidates added to its highly competitive ‘Red to Blue’ program for the 2026 cycle,” the committee said in a statement. “This initial group of candidates will receive strategic guidance, staff resources, training, and fundraising support to ensure they are in the best possible position to win in November.”

The committee describes the “Red to Blue” program as a “highly competitive and battle-tested DCCC program that arms top-tier candidates with organizational and fundraising support to help them continue to develop strong campaigns.” 

Candidates earn spots in the program by hitting aggressive benchmarks for grassroots engagement, local support, and fundraising. 

Now, 17 Democratic congressional candidates are accusing the party’s own campaign arm of torching the integrity of the 2026 primary process by interfering with the primary.

According to a joint statement from the snubbed candidates, this early backing by the DCCC “carries significant influence in the primary process —often shaping fundraising pipelines, access, and perceived viability before voters have had the opportunity to evaluate the full field.”

The statement highlighted mounting frustration among Democratic candidates nationwide, who are concerned about the increasingly aggressive pattern of early primary intervention by the DCCC, “a trend they say risks weakening voter trust and diminishing the role of voters in selecting their own nominees.”

 “Primaries are not an inconvenience, they are the foundation of democratic legitimacy,” the candidates said. 

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REALLY? Jonathan Capehart of MSNOW Claims ‘The Media Isn’t Necessarily Liberal’ 

Jonathan Capehart of MSNOW appeared on PBS this weekend and claimed, with a straight face, that the media is necessarily liberal.

He was taking part in a discussion about the imminent takeover of CNN by Paramount and was defending CNN’s coverage.

As proof of his claim about the media, he admitted that FOX News, which leans right, is the most-watched cable news network. He failed to point out that FOX is the only right-leaning network in a media sea of progressive spin.

NewsBusters reports:

Reverting to his first instinct, Brooks conceded that new CBS News chief Bari Weiss’s intention to shake things up is not unreasonable, “And I’m a guy who—I don’t know Bari Weiss particularly, but I support what they’re trying to do. I think it’s time to mix up the media. That we got a little too progressive, a little too elite, and if Bari Weiss can change the mind-set, all power to her.”

Flip-flopping again, Brooks lamented, “But if this is being done for lobbying and business, which it sure looks like it is, then that’s the real deterioration in the business we’re in.”

Even that centrist position was too much for Capehart, “Well, I would argue that the media isn’t necessarily liberal, when you look at the fact that the number one cable channel and the number one viewing channel is Fox News Channel.”

Proving that he hasn’t watched CBS since the Weiss takeover, Capehart continued, “This idea that there are liberals out there running around through the media indoctrinating people and changing—you know, setting the narrative, I just think is wrong. I think bringing a Fox-like mentality and demeanor to CBS News and potentially to CNN, I think in the end makes the American people worse off.”

He also added, “Our job as journalists, and I’m speaking specifically of CNN in this case in this deal. Folks turn to CNN for news. They turn to them for just what is happening in the country. And if what’s happening at CBS is bound—could happen at CNN, then our country and our profession will be in worse shape.”

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US Again Demands Iraq End Maliki Nomination, Or Else

Iraq’s Coordination Framework is still putting forward Nouri al-Maliki as its candidate for prime minister, despite President Trump loudly and repeatedly demand he be withdrawn. The US had reportedly set a deadline of Friday, February 27, to end the candidacy or face unspecified repercussions. What happens next, after the US has attacked Tehran, is anyone’s guess.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because the US had similarly set a “final deadline” for Maliki’s withdrawal last weekend, though that deadline passed with little visible consequence and just more US complaining about Maliki.

With just 24 hours left, the latest deadline doesn’t seem like it’s going to change anything either, with the Framework saying they don’t intend to allow the US to decide who gets to be Iraq’s prime minister.

Furthermore, the indication is that they don’t even intend to hold another meeting on the premiership until next week, well after this deadline will have already passed.

There does not appear to be any other serious candidate being put forward by any part of the Framework, which is the largest bloc in Iraq’s deeply divided parliament.

Maliki served as Prime Minister of Iraq from 2006 through 2014. President Trump has insisted he has “insane policies and ideologies” and cannot be allowed to return to office, though again there are no other serious candidates within the Framework who have come forward to replace him with.

Maliki has sought to return to office for years and though his State of Law Party only won about 6% of the seats in last year’s election, he has the support of Kurdish factions, and the largest party within the Framework, that of current Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani, has appeared to accept Maliki’s candidacy after Sudani said he doesn’t intend to serve another term.

It’s a recurring theme in Iraq that after their elections forming a coalition government takes quite some time and a lot of negotiation.

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Newsom’s water plan —as empty as the Palisades reservoir

Gavin Newsom launched a new water policy this week that does almost nothing for water. Perhaps he thinks it will help his nascent presidential campaign.

Newsom’s biggest weakness as a presidential candidate is his record. He cannot point to any major achievements after two terms.

That’s the real drought his plan aims to address.

Newsom called his policy the “most ambitious water plan in California history.” If so, the obvious question is why he waited until the last months of his administration to launch it.

And the equally obvious answer is that he is focused on the 2028 presidential campaign, not on solving California’s chronic water problems.

His policy is even called “California Water Plan 2028.” Why 2028, two years after he leaves office? The question answers itself.

Of course, nothing that ambitious can be done in two years in California. Even massive water bonds take forever to spend.

It has taken all eight years of Newsom’s governorship for him to line up the approvals for the Sites Reservoir, the first major water storage project in half a century. 

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AOC And Mamdani Push FREE DAYCARE For Illegal Aliens In SPANISH Language Ad

Radical Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has joined forces with NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani to hawk free childcare to illegal immigrants in a cringeworthy Spanish-only video, right as the city is flat broke and floats massive tax increases on hardworking New Yorkers.

This shameless handout underscores the left’s playbook: shower foreign invaders with taxpayer dollars while Trump’s America First deportation machine gears up to clear out criminal elements.

In the video, Mamdani kicks things off by admitting his Spanish is rusty, and essentially admitting he’s there to smile and nod along.

Ocasio-Cortez jumps in, assuring him, “Don’t worry, Mayor.”

She then lays out the pitch in Spanish: “If your child is turning three or age four in 2026, you can enroll them in free 3-K or Pre-K in New York City.”

She adds, “Any New York City parent, regardless of your occupation, income or immigration status is eligible to sign their child up.”

Ocasio-Cortez adds that the application comes in over 200 languages, making it crystal clear this is aimed at non-English speakers, many of whom crossed the border illegally.

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‘Doggi Gras Pawrade’ – Senators Under Fire For Holding ‘Dog Parade’ as SAVE America Act Stalls 

Senators are under fire for holding a “Doggi Gras Pawrade” as the SAVE America Act stalls.

On Tuesday evening, President Trump urged Congress to secure our elections and pass the SAVE America Act.

“All voters must show voter ID,” Trump said.

On Wednesday morning, Senate Majority Leader John Thune confirmed that he will indeed bring the SAVE America Act to the floor.

Unfortunately, the SAVE America Act has stalled because it requires 60 votes in the Senate, and unless the filibuster is nuked, the measure is dead on arrival.

Thune quashed the ‘talking filibuster’ because four Republican Senators would not commit to tabling Democrat amendments.

The only way to pass the SAVE America Act would be to nuke the filibuster.

President Trump has repeatedly called for the Senate to kill the filibuster but the Senators are digging in their heels.

On Wednesday, Senators held a ‘bipawtisan’ doggie parade in the Hart Senate Building, where dogs in costumes were paraded through the halls.

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Democrat Registered Sex Offender PEDO Running For City Council In Fresno California?!

A registered sex offender, Rene Campos, has launched a campaign for Fresno’s District 7 City Council seat, sparking intense local and national backlash. Campos, who pleaded no contest to a 2018 misdemeanor charge for possessing child sex abuse material and remains on California’s sex offender registry, argues that he has rehabilitated and wants to turn his “lived experience” with the justice system into reforms focused on public safety.

Campos has told local media that “Fresno deserves leaders who are honest from the very beginning” and says he is “putting [his] life out there,” insisting that people “are not [their] past” and that his conviction gives him unique insight into fixing laws from “the inside out.” California law does not bar registered sex offenders who have completed their sentences and regained voting rights from running for local office, and Fresno County’s registrar has confirmed that Campos is legally eligible to appear on the ballot if he files in time.

Opponents in the crowded District 7 race, including fellow candidate Nav Gurm, contend that Campos’ status should effectively disqualify him from office, pointing out that a registered sex offender cannot visit school campuses and questioning how someone under such restrictions could fully represent families and children in the district. Several Fresno city council members have also said they plan to pursue an ordinance to prevent registered sex offenders from holding city office in the future, arguing that people convicted of crimes against children should not serve in positions where minors regularly visit city facilities.

On social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, reaction has been overwhelmingly negative, with viral posts describing Campos as a “literal sex offender” running on a “public safety” message and questioning how he can campaign on protecting children while being barred from school grounds. Commenters on high-traffic accounts and local news reels have called the candidacy “insane” and “only in California,” with many users demanding that lawmakers “change the law” so that registered child sex offenders cannot seek public office at all.

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Kristi Noem: Deep State Officials Bugged My Phone, Computer

Deep State activists within the Department of Homeland Security secretly bugged the phones and computers used by top political appointees, agency chief Kristi Noem told the PBD Podcast.

Elon Musk’s deputies “helped me identify [the Deep State allies who] downloaded software on my phone and my laptop to spy on me, to record our meetings,” Noem said on February 26, adding:

They had done that to several of the politicals, and so we ended up bringing in [outside tech] people … [and we] didn’t have those technology experts here in the department looking at all of our laptops and our phones and recognizing that kind of software.

“I always believed when people talked about the deep state before that it existed: I never would have dreamed that it was as bad as it is,” she said. “I’m still every day trying to dig out people who don’t love America, not just [those] who work at this department, but also work throughout the federal government.”

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