Jill Biden says she was "frightened" by Joe Biden's 2024 debate performance, thought he was having a stroke

Source: CBS News

Former first lady Jill Biden said she was "frightened" by her husband Joe Biden's 2024 debate performance and thought he was having a stroke.

"I was frightened, because I had never ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never," Jill Biden told CBS News Sunday Morning's Rita Braver in an interview airing Sunday on CBS.

"I don't know what happened," she said. "As I watched it, I thought, 'Oh, my God, he's having a stroke.' And it scared me to death."

Biden was running for a second term when he stumbled through the June 2024 presidential debate against Donald Trump, prompting widespread calls for him to drop out of the race. He dropped out a month later, with 107 days to go until the general election, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. He became the first sitting president to pull out of a presidential race since President Lyndon B. Johnson stepped aside in March of 1968.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jill-biden-interview-joe-biden-debate-frightened-stroke/

Wasserman Schultz Will Run in Majority-Minority District in South Florida

Source: New York Times

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat from Florida, said on Friday that she planned to run for re-election in a majority-minority district under the state’s newly redrawn congressional map.

The map created four additional Republican-leaning districts in part by eliminating her South Florida seat. Ms. Wasserman Schultz’s decision to run in Florida’s new 20th Congressional District, however, has stoked tensions with Black Democrats already reeling from Republican gerrymanders across the South that are likely to dilute or eliminate Black representation in Congress.

“We cannot let Trump destroy Broward County’s power,” Ms. Wasserman Schultz, who is serving in her 11th congressional term and is a former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, said in a video announcement.

She was referring to President Trump’s push for Republican governors and state legislatures around the country to engage in an unusual and highly partisan round of redistricting in the middle of the decade to help retain control of Congress. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a Republican, signed the state’s aggressively partisan new map on May 4, setting off a musical-chairs-style scramble among South Florida Democrats.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/us/politics/wasserman-schultz-redistricting.html

Accusing party of antisemitism, Pa. Supreme Court Justice David Wecht leaves Democratic Party that elected him

Source: WHYY

Justice David Wecht of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania announced that he is leaving the Democratic Party, citing what he described as anti-Jewish actions and rhetoric within the party.

In a message distributed by the state court system, he said that antisemitic “hatred has grown on the left” and that it has “moved from the fringe to the mainstream.”

“Nazi tattoos, jihadist chants, intimidation and attacks at synagogues, and other hateful anti-Jewish invective and actions are minimized, ignored, and even coddled,” he wrote. “Acquiescence to Jew-hatred is now disturbingly common among activists, leaders and even many elected officials in the Democratic Party.”

Wecht said he could “no longer abide by this.”



Read more: https://whyy.org/articles/pennsylvania-supreme-court-justice-david-wecht-leaves-democratic-party-antisemitism/

Virginia Supreme Court throws out redistricting referendum results

Source: Axios

The Virginia Supreme Court overturned the results of the state's redistricting referendum, which voters narrowly approved last month.

Why it matters: The ruling upends one of the most closely watched redistricting fights in the country.

It follows months of legal challenges over whether the referendum was unconstitutional.
The big picture: The decision effectively blocks Democrats from redrawing congressional maps mid-decade.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2026/05/08/virginia-supreme-court-redistricting-vote-decision

Former Fauci aide charged with conspiring to evade Covid-related records requests

Source: Politico

A former senior official at the National Institutes of Health has been indicted on obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges for allegedly concealing federal records about research into viruses like the one that caused the Covid pandemic.

David Morens, 78, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Greenbelt, Maryland, earlier this month on three felony counts for allegedly using a Gmail account to hide official communications about controversial federally funded projects studying coronaviruses in bats. The indictment was unsealed Monday, when Morens made a brief appearance in court and was released on his own recognizance, according to court records.

According to the indictment, Morens sent and received emails on his private account in order to thwart Freedom of Information Act requesters seeking information about so-called gain-of-function research, which can make pathogens deadlier or more transmissible in order to study them.

After the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, at least eight FOIA requests were submitted for such records by organizations including Science Magazine, Judicial Watch and the Heritage Foundation, the indictment says.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/28/fauci-aide-covid-research-indictment-00895447

Supreme Court Sides With Chevron in Fight Over Wetlands Suits

Source: Bloomberg Law

The US Supreme Court sided with Chevron Corp. in a protracted fight over jurisdiction stemming from the state of Louisiana’s lawsuits seeking to hold the oil and gas industry legally responsible for the rapid erosion of its coastal wetlands.

The justices in 8-0 decision ruled that Chevron had plausibly alleged the conduct its accused of related to oil refining activities carried out on behalf of the federal government during World War II, and therefore is sufficient to remove Louisiana’s case from state to federal court.

The opinion, authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, reversed a decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and remanded it for further proceedings. Justice Samuel Alito did not participate in oral arguments due to a conflict of interest.

The case is Chevron USA Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish, U.S., 24-813, 4/17/26

Read more: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/supreme-court-sides-with-chevron-in-fight-over-wetlands-suits

Coach does it again:

Sources: Manhattan DA now investigating CA Rep. Eric Swalwell for sexual assault allegations

Source: ABC 7 NYC

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The Manhattan District Attorney's Office is now investigating California Representative Eric Swalwell.

A former staffer for the Democratic lawmaker claims Swalwell assaulted her while at a hotel in New York City.

Swalwell has denied any misconduct.

Read more: https://abc7ny.com/amp/post/manhattan-da-now-investigating-california-rep-eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-sources-say/18872282/

Prince Harry sued by charity in Africa he co-founded in honor of Princess Diana

Source: CBS News

A charity that Prince Harry co-founded in Africa to honor his late mother, Princess Diana, is suing him for defamation after he stepped down as a patron last year.

Sentebale, which Harry co-founded with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006 and helps youths with HIV in southern Africa, filed suit last month in London's High Court, according to court records reviewed Friday.

Online filings show Harry and his friend, Mark Dyer, a trustee at the charity, are being sued for either libel or slander. No documents were available.

"The charity seeks the court's intervention, protection, and restitution following a coordinated adverse media campaign conducted since 25 March 2025 that has caused operational disruption and reputational harm to the charity, its leadership, and its strategic partners," Sentebale said Friday in a statement on its website.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/prince-harry-sued-sentebale-charity-africa/

Ex-staffer accuses Eric Swalwell of sexual assault, upending governor's race

Source: Sacramento Bee

Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading candidate to succeed outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom, allegedly sexually assaulted a staff member in 2019, according to a report published Friday by the San Francisco Chronicle.

A former staffer claims Swalwell sexually assaulted her twice while she was too intoxicated to consent, charges Swalwell denied.

“These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the frontrunner for governor,” Swalwell said in a statement sent to reporters. “For nearly 20 years, I have served the public - as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women. I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action. My focus in the coming days is to be with my wife and children and defend our decades of service against these lies.”

On Thursday night, Swalwell’s attorney, Elias Dabaie, sent a cease and desist letter to the woman threatening a lawsuit if she continued to make “false statements accusing Mr. Swalwell of sexual assault and nonconsensual sexual encounters,” according to the Chronicle.


Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ex-staffer-accuses-eric-swalwell-of-sexual-assault-upending-governors-race/ar-AA20CkPu