Facebook widens ban on political ads as alarm rises over election

Overhauling Denver’s campaign finance rules was popular with voters in 2018. More than 70% of Denverites who cast ballots that year voted for Referred Measure 2E. The sweeping change to the city’s campaign rules ratcheted down contribution limits for candidates seeking every seat from mayor to the city auditor, banned direct corporate and union campaign contributions and established a fair elections fund to provide public financing for candidates who agreed to abide by even lower contribution limits and other rules. Participate in the fair elections fund and receive a 9-to-1 public funding match on contributions from Denver residents between $5 and $50. In other words, a $50 donation becomes $500 with taxpayer money so long as the donor hails from the city and county. A lot has happened since then. First, the measure’s backers struck a deal with the City Council to delay the law’s effective date until after the 2019 municipal election instead of trying to enact the changes … [Read more...] about In crowded city races, Denver’s new fair election fund will face first test

Former President Donald Trump released a campaign-style advertisement on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Tuesday following the FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago home. The ad begins with the former president appearing to target President Joe Biden’s administration, calling the U.S. a “nation in decline,” lamenting the 40-year record high inflation and rising energy costs. He described the alleged loss of free speech, a collapsing economy, rising crime and the withdrawal from Afghanistan. “We’re a nation that has weaponized its law enforcement against the opposing political party like never before, we’ve never seen anything like this,” he said. “We’re a nation that no longer has a free and fair press. Fake news is about all you get. We are a nation where free speech is no longer allowed. Where crime is rampant like never before, where the economy has been collapsing, where more people died of COVID in 2021 than in 2020.” Trump then claimed that the U.S. is allowing Iran to … [Read more...] about ‘We Will Not Yield’: Trump Releases New Campaign-Style Ad

The Democratic Party won’t allow President Joe Biden to have the final word on whether he’ll be the party’s candidate in 2024. The door is conveniently open for other candidates to make their case on why Biden should step aside, and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom seems to be doing just that. Newsom is a true Progressive Democrat who handily defeated a recent recall election and looks poised to win reelection for a second term in November. The California Democrat signaled his quest to become the Democratic Party’s 2024 Presidential nominee over the July 4th weekend when he paid Fox News $105,000 to air ads during their Independence Day programing to urge Floridians to move to California, according to CNN. “It’s Independence Day. So let’s talk about what’s going on in America. Freedom is under attack in your state. Your Republican leaders, they’re banning books, making it harder to vote, restricting speech in classrooms, even criminalizing women and doctors,” Newsom … [Read more...] about ANALYSIS: A Dem Dark Horse Has The Power To Trample The GOP In 2024

Julian Zelizer, a CNN political analyst, is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author and editor of 24 books, including, " The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: A First Historical Assessment ." Follow him on Twitter @julianzelizer . The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN. (CNN) President Joe Biden delivered a bold speech on Thursday night , calling for a ban on assault weapons and other gun policies, including strengthening background checks and enacting new "red flag" laws. "Enough, enough," he told the nation, urging Congress to take action after a slew of mass shootings rocked the country. "We can't fail the American people again." The speech comes at a difficult moment for Biden. The administration is facing multiple escalating crises, which are slowly undermining his leadership and political strength. There's the Russian war in Ukraine, inflation and stock market turbulence, mass … [Read more...] about Opinion: How Biden can avoid Carter’s one-term presidential fate

Supporters await a convoy carrying US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi outside the Grand Hyatt hotel in Taipei, Taiwan, on Tuesday, Aug 2, 2022. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan on Aug 2 evening, in defiance of Chinese threats, a trip that would make her the highest-ranking American politician to visit the island in 25 years. - A + A (Aug 9): House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s swing through Asia aimed to convey the US’s “strong and unshakable” support for the region. It ended up leaving many countries in stunned silence, as China conducted unprecedented military drills around Taiwan. The shockwaves from the highest-level US visit to Taiwan in a quarter century are still reverberating around the region days after she flew back to Washington. China’s military has extended exercises designed to show an ability to encircle the island and cut off the Taiwan Strait, one of the world’s busiest trade routes, days after launching missiles that likely flew over Taipei … [Read more...] about Pelosi trip hinders Biden effort to galvanize Asia against China

Supporters await a convoy carrying US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi outside the Grand Hyatt hotel in Taipei, Taiwan, on Tuesday, Aug 2, 2022. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan on Aug 2 evening, in defiance of Chinese threats, a trip that would make her the highest-ranking American politician to visit the island in 25 years. - A + A (Aug 9): House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s swing through Asia aimed to convey the US’s “strong and unshakable” support for the region. It ended up leaving many countries in stunned silence, as China conducted unprecedented military drills around Taiwan. The shockwaves from the highest-level US visit to Taiwan in a quarter century are still reverberating around the region days after she flew back to Washington. China’s military has extended exercises designed to show an ability to encircle the island and cut off the Taiwan Strait, one of the world’s busiest trade routes, days after launching missiles that likely flew over Taipei … [Read more...] about Pelosi trip hinders Biden effort to galvanise Asia against China

Peter Bergen is CNN's national security analyst, a vice president at New America and a professor of practice at Arizona State University. Bergen's new paperback is "The Rise and fall of Osama bin Laden." from which this article is, in part, adapted. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN. (CNN) In 1961, after a CIA-backed invasion of Cuba failed spectacularly, President John F. Kennedy said of the Bay of Pigs fiasco, "Victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan." Peter Bergen Last week, President Joe Biden took a victory lap when he announced that the US had tracked down and killed its most wanted terrorist, al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was living in a house in Kabul, Afghanistan. Don't expect a similar celebration on August 30, the first anniversary of the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, which ended the longest war in American history. Any realistic assessment of that action shows that it … [Read more...] about Opinion: Biden’s Afghanistan exit decision looks even worse a year later

BIDEN DEEPLY UNPOPULAR WITH VOTERS… WSJ: Biden, Democrats Lose Ground on Key Issues, WSJ Poll Finds WASHINGTON—President Biden and his fellow Democrats have lost ground to Republicans on several of the issues most important to voters, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds, a troubling sign for the party seeking to extend its controlling majority of Congress for another two years. The new survey showed that 57% of voters remained unhappy with Mr. Biden’s job performance, despite favorable marks for the president’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a recent State of the Union speech, which provided him an opportunity to directly speak to millions of Americans. Just 42% said they approved of Mr. Biden’s performance in office, which was virtually unchanged from the previous Journal poll in mid-November. Meanwhile, Democratic advantages narrowed over Republicans on issues related to improving education and the Covid-19 response. A 16-percentage-point Democratic edge … [Read more...] about Editor Daily Rundown: Joe Biden Deeply Unpopular With Voters

GAS LINES IN AMERICA… Four Governors Declare States Of Emergency Due To Gasoline Shortage Four governors declared states of emergency in response to gas shortages brought on by the Colonial Pipeline hack. Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency on Monday due to his state’s gas shortage. Republicans Govs. Brian Kemp of Georgia and Ron DeSantis of Florida, and Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared states of emergency on Tuesday. Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced that he would not declare a new state of emergency because the state was already in one due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kemp suspended Georgia’s gas taxes, while Cooper eliminated transportation regulations. McMaster instituted anti-price gouging laws. Virginia Republicans called on Northam to suspend the state’s gas tax. CBS NEWS… The South was being hit hardest. Late Monday, almost 6.5% of gas stations in Virginia were out of fuel, … [Read more...] about Editor Daily Rundown: Governors Declare States Of Emergency In Response To Gas Shortages

Thailand’s Communicable Disease Committee no longer considers Covid a “dangerous infections disease”, the owner of the nightclub that burned down has been released on bail, and will Prayut resign at the end of this month? All this and much more, coming up in today’s program You’re watching Thailand News Today, bringing you the latest top stories in Thailand beyond. My name is Jett Gunther and in our first story, Thailand’s National Communicable Disease Committee decided to change the status of COVID-19 today (Monday), from a “dangerous infectious disease”, which came into effect on March 1 st , 2020, to an “infectious disease under watch”, tentatively from October 1 st , as Thailand cautiously transitions to a post-pandemic status. Chaired by Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, the committee also approved a policy guideline framework, encompassing several aspects of COVID-19 monitoring and containment efforts, such as controlling the spread of the disease by … [Read more...] about Thailand News Today | Thailand no longer considers Covid “dangerous infectious disease”