May 25, 2021

GOP leader Kevin McCarthy condemns Marjorie Taylor Greenes tweet comparing vaccinations to Holocaust

Source: CNBC

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday condemned a member of his own party, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, for comparing a company’s Covid vaccination rules with the treatment of Jewish people in Nazi Germany.

“Marjorie is wrong, and her intentional decision to compare the horrors of the Holocaust with wearing masks is appalling,” McCarthy said in a statement.

“The Holocaust is the greatest atrocity committed in history. The fact that this needs to be stated today is deeply troubling,” he said.

CNBC has reached out to Taylor Greene’s spokesman for a response.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/25/gop-leader-kevin-mccarthy-condemns-marjorie-taylor-greenes-tweet-comparing-vaccinations-to-the-holocaust.html

May 19, 2021

Florida expands gambling, joins ranks of sports betting states. But hurdles remain

Source: The Miami Herald

Florida joined the dozens of states that have authorized mobile sports betting Wednesday as legislators wrapped up their special session and ratified an agreement with the Seminole Tribe in the broadest expansion of gambling in a decade in Florida.

But don’t expect to start wagering on your favorite sports teams for a while.

Federal regulators must approve the deal, which expands the gambling monopoly in Florida for the Seminole Tribe, to make sure its guarantee of $500 million in revenue sharing with the state is fair to the Seminole Tribe and legal for the state.

“Congratulations on an historic compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida,’’ said Rep. Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, at the conclusion of the vote, adding that the complex proposal “was a difficult one to navigate.”

Read more: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article251528698.html

May 18, 2021

Val Demings to run for Senate against Rubio

Source: Politico

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Rep. Val Demings is planning to run for the U.S. Senate, rather than governor, providing Democrats with a big-name candidate to take on Republican Sen. Marco Rubio next year.

For months, Demings mulled which statewide office to pursue, but decided she could do the most good by taking on the two-term senator, according to several Democrats familiar with her thinking.

“I would’ve supported her running for governor, but this is the right fit for her and for us,” said Alex Sink, a former Florida chief financial officer who narrowly lost her 2010 bid for governor against Rick Scott, who is now a senator.

“She’s going to draw a contrast between who she is and how she represents Florida vs. Marco Rubio, who a lot of people where I live never see him.”

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.politico.com/amp/news/2021/05/18/demings-running-for-senate-rubio-489137

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I would have preferred that she run for Governor, because that race is more winnable and there aren't any candidates running that I think can win.

May 10, 2021

White House to work with states on reimposing work search requirements following GOP outcry

Source: Washington Post

President Biden said on Monday that the White House will “make it clear” that Americans on unemployment must take a job if offered a “suitable” one or lose their benefits, wading into an issue that Republicans have seized on in the past week.

The White House said it is directing the Department of Labor to work with states on re-imposing work search requirements for Americans collecting unemployment benefits. The Department of Labor will also soon issue a letter to “reaffirm" the rules of unemployment to ensure workers, employers, and states understand the rules of the program, the White House said.

In remarks in the East Room, Biden reiterated that the administration disputes GOP claims that April’s disappointing jobs data, released Friday, shows that unemployment benefits are too generous and causing workers to stay home rather than rejoin the workforce. And the White House did not announce a departure from prior policy on unemployment benefits. Still, the president’s remarks suggest that the White House is sensitive to the growing political criticisms over their handling of the issue. Several GOP-run states are moving to cut the unemployment benefits on their own.

“We’re going to make it clear that anyone collecting unemployment who is offered a suitable job must take the job or lose their unemployment," Biden said in remarks in the East Room. "There are a few covid-19 related exceptions ... But otherwise that’s the law.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/05/10/biden-unemployment-benefits/

May 6, 2021

New Georgia law legalizing college athlete endorsements also allows schools to take athletes' money

Source: Yahoo Sports

College athletes in Georgia are now allowed to collect endorsements and sponsorships. And their schools can take a significant cut of that money if they want.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed the state's new bill regulating athletes' name, image and likeness rights on Thursday. Kemp held his signing ceremony at the University of Georgia with a Bulldog backdrop in the athletic department's recruiting lounge. The symbolism was meant to be obvious for a law ostensibly designed to let athletes profit off their own image rights starting on July 1.

But there's a provision in the law that allows colleges to have significant control over athletes' endorsement money.

The bill that Kemp signed into law allows schools across the state to take up to 75% of an athlete's endorsement income. That cut would be deposited into a pool for all athletes at the school and then redistributed upon athletes' graduation.

Read more: https://sports.yahoo.com/new-georgia-law-legalizing-college-athlete-endorsements-also-allows-schools-to-take-athletes-money-143850090.html

May 2, 2021

Republican Susan Wright in runoff to replace her husband in Congress; Jake Ellzey nabs second spot

Source: Dallas Morning News

Republican activist Susan Wright will meet state Rep. Jake Ellzey in a Congressional District 6 runoff to replace the late Ron Wright.

Wright finished in first-place in a 23-person filed with 19% of the vote. Ellzey was second with nearly 14%, narrowly beating Democrat Jana Lynne Sanchez, who finished a close third with about 13% of the vote.

Wright, who is Ron Wright’s widow, took the lead in Election Day voting and built on it throughout the night.

Only one other Republican, former Department Health and Human Services chief of staff Brian Harrison, appeared to be close to contention.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2021/05/01/republicans-jake-ellzey-susan-wright-leading-in-the-race-to-replace-the-late-ron-wright-in-congress/