“Following a two-month exploratory campaign, the founding pastor of the nation’s largest United Methodist church chose to take the leap and was poised to formally announce his highly anticipated decision at an event in Prairie Village on Thursday morning.”

He declined to go into details, citing the public nature of the hearing, but said: ”There’s definitely some action there.”

The sudden exit of Janet Mills from the U.S. Senate race in Maine is a flashing warning sign for Democrats.

Mills wasn’t just trailing — she was getting blown out. In poll after poll, political newcomer Graham Platner was beating her by double digits, a remarkable showing against a sitting governor.

“The voice vote after a brief debate brought to a close a bitter partisan fight spurred by President Trump’s immigration crackdown and the tactics of federal immigration officers who fatally shot two U.S. citizens during immigration roundups in Minneapolis earlier this year.”

“The move came amid rising concern about insider trading on prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, and about event contracts that can involve death or violence.”

He warned that Democrats would do the same if they win the Senate majority in November.

“As far back as 1982, when he was a young lawyer in the Reagan administration, he worked to oppose the expansion of a part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which had initially covered only intentional discrimination, to address practices that had discriminatory results. Back then, his efforts failed.”

“That is exactly what Mr. Trump was seeking to avoid when he delayed his trip to China six weeks ago. And it vastly complicates a critical meeting with President Xi Jinping, forcing White House officials to rethink how Mr. Trump approaches the effort to engineer a rapprochement with China.”

Said Johnson: “I don’t think we have an active, kinetic military bombing, firing or anything like that. Right now, we are trying to broker a peace.”

He added: “I would be very reluctant to get in front of the administration in the midst of these very sensitive negotiations, so we’ll have to see how that plays out.”

— Rep. Cleo Fields (D-LA), quoted by Punchbowl News, on the Supreme Court’s evisceration of the Voting Rights Act.

Said Pirro: “There will be many more charges. We’re waiting for the official ballistics test, but at the same time, we filed papers in court this morning for the detention hearing today indicating that this defendant was calculated. He was premeditated. He had every intention of killing the president and anyone who got in his way.”

“The loans will be limited to $20,500 per year and $100,000 in total, while loans for professional students, including those seeking medical or law degrees, will face annual caps of $50,000 and a lifetime limit of $200,000.”

“But as bad as the redistricting prospects are for minority voters in Republican-run states after Louisiana v. Callais — and they are very bad — it’s worth considering how Democratic-run states too will have an incentive to dismantle some of these districts. The battle over whether to maximize the number of Democratic seats or provide effective minority representation in Congress and other legislative bodies could threaten the Democratic Party’s internal cohesion and long-term prospects.”

“To understand how clashes may emerge, begin with the fact that Black voters are far and away the most reliable source of Democratic support — in some places, Democrats win 90% of Black voters.”

“Although small donor contributions to high-profile, national races have increased markedly since 2018, the US campaign finance system allows for even larger sums of money from Super PACs and other independent spending groups.”

“Moreover, small donors are mostly similar to their larger contributor counterparts: both are socioeconomically advantaged, strongly partisan, ideologically extreme, and distinct from non-donors.”

Small Donors in US Politics: Myth and Reality (Chicago Studies in American Politics)

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“Schumer is particularly unpopular with the party base and has taken the brunt of the frustration with the Democratic Party’s pushback against Trump. In a recent CNN poll, Schumer had a net negative favorability rating among Democrats — the only one of the four congressional leaders underwater with his own party.”

“But this is about more than just Schumer.”

“Democratic voters are furious at the leadership and skeptical of the Democratic establishment. In primary after primary this cycle, there is a penalty for being the choice of Democratic leadership.”

Said Johnson: “The governor has no choice but to suspend it. The court has ruled our map unconstitutional.”

“An inflation gauge monitored by the Fed rose 0.7% in March from February, up sharply from the previous month, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Compared with a year ago, prices rose 3.5%, the biggest increase in almost three years.”