7. Pro-choice activists vow a “summer of rage” if Roe v. Wade overturned
- As pro-choice activists continue to protest in Washington, D.C., some at the “Bans Off Our Bodies” event were claiming they would start a “summer of rage” if the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling.
- The executive director for the Women’s March, Rachel Carmona, made this claim at the protest, and went on to say, “We will be ungovernable until this government starts working for us, ungovernable…Today is day one of an uprising to protect abortion rights. It is day one of our feminist future and it is day one of a summer of rage where we will be ungovernable, ungovernable. And we will not stop until the politicians on our side start acting like they’re on our side.”
6. People prefer voting in person
- According to recent early primaries across the United States, there seems to be a lower demand for absentee voting or voting by mail, and a majority of people are favoring voting in person. The primary in Georgia is set for May 24, and only about 85,000 voters have requested early ballots. But in 2020, there were about 1 million people who requested these ballots.
- There have been changes in regulations surrounding mail-in ballots since 2020 due to their controversial nature during the presidential election and the coronavirus pandemic ending. There was a similar decrease in demand for these ballots in other states like Ohio, West Virginia and Indiana as well.
5. Part of transgender health care bill blocked by judge
- Attorney General Steve Marshall has already said that he will file an appeal to a decision made by U.S. District Judge Liles Burke of the Northern District to block a portion of the Alabama ban on some medical treatments for transgender youth.
- Burke wrote, “Defendants produce no credible evidence to show that transitioning medications are ‘experimental.’ While Defendants offer some evidence that transitioning medications pose certain risks, the uncontradicted record evidence is that at least twenty-two major medical associations in the United States endorse transitioning medications as well-established, evidence-based treatments for body dysphoria in minors.” Marshall’s office said that he was “already working on filing an appeal in defense of the law.”
4. Baby formula shortage has a long-term health impact
- The shortage of baby formula in the United States continues, as some have begun blaming the Food and Drug Administration for their handling of a plant shutdown and the Biden administration’s lackadaisical response altogether. Biden and Democrats seem more interested in price-gouging and investigating the businesses involved than the actual issue at hand — the baby formula shortage. While the administration is claiming this would be resolved in weeks, the company that makes formula for Walmart and Amazon said they expect the shortage to last the “balance of the year.”
- A group of GOP doctors, along with U.S. Representative Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), stated, “It’s a crisis. We’re very concerned about the nutritional metabolic effects that may impact, even some adults that use various types of formula.” Meanwhile, the Biden administration is considering invoking the Defense Production Act to mitigate the crisis and increase domestic production of formula, which seems like a questionable use of that authority. But what is taking so long for a decision?
3. Britt is still leading; Ivey leads, barely avoiding runoff
- A new poll released by ForestPAC shows that in the U.S. Senate race, candidate Katie Britt is still leading for the primary, but it also shows that Governor Kay Ivey could barely avoid a runoff. The survey was conducted by McLaughlin & Associates. In the Senate race, Britt is at 37%, Mike Durant is at 30.6% and U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) is at 20.6%, with 11.8% undecided. In the gubernatorial race, Ivey is at 51.8%, Tim James is at 15.2%, Lindy Blanchard is just behind at 15%, Lew Burdette has 8%, Dean Odle is at 3.2%, with 6.8% still undecided.
- Britt has been the frontrunner for multiple polls in a row, but this poll by the Britt-supporting Forestry Association has Durant in second place and Brooks a distant third. Other polls have had that flip-flopped. This race will go to a runoff, but what that runoff looks like is up in the air.
2. Brooks under assault from Senate GOP leadership and their PACs
- A report shows that Alabama’s Future PAC, which The Hill describes as “almost entirely funded by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and the Senate Leadership Fund, the top super PAC dedicated to electing Republican candidates,” has spent close to $4 million attacking U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville).
- This spending is incredibly foolish given that the GOP is in a position to take back the U.S. Senate but has a good number of open seats they have to win to pull it off. Shelby’s focus here makes sense because Katie Britt is his choice and former chief of staff, but for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to be doing this seems like a poor use of resources given the 2022 battlefield.
1. Rash of mass shootings have Biden asking for unity
- There were multiple mass shootings this weekend across the United States, including at a flea market in Texas (between people who knew each other) and a church in California. After the supermarket shooting in Buffalo that was found to be racially motivated, President Joe Biden has called for unity. Ten people were killed in the shooting carried out by an 18-year-old white man who penned a manifesto, and law enforcement officials have said that the shooter specifically went to a place that would have more black residents.
- Biden said, “We must all work together to address the hate that remains a stain on the soul of America. Our hearts are heavy once again, but the resolve must never, ever waver.” Among the victims in the shooting, there was an Alabama native by the name of Pearl Young. She was 77 years old and from Fayette.
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