Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval and Other City Leaders Say Street Brawl Videos Portray City Unfairly
The city's Democrat Mayor Aftab Pureval, Police Chief Teresa Theetge, and City Manager Sheryl Long were flanked by several community leaders at the press conference.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
American Military News
35 minutes ago
- American Military News
Video: Top Democrat senator falls during Senate floor vote
A new video shows a top Democrat senator falling on the Senate floor during a vote on Wednesday. The Democrat senator was quickly helped back to her feet by Republican senators in the chamber. In a Thursday video shared by The Blaze on X, formerly Twitter, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) can be seen falling to the ground of the Senate floor during a voting session. In the video, Warren appears to be trying to sit or lean on a desk before suddenly falling backwards, knocking over the desk, and falling on the ground. After Warren fell to the ground, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) quickly rushed over to help her. In the video, Cruz can be seen offering Warren a hand as she rose back up to her feet. The video also shows Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) walking over to the Democrat senator to potentially provide assistance. 🚨Elizabeth Warren just FELL on the Senate floor — TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 31, 2025 The Daily Caller reported that the Democrat senator did not appear to have suffered any harm from her fall on the Senate floor on Wednesday. The outlet noted that Warren's fall took place as the Senate was voting on a pair of resolutions that would have blocked U.S. military sales to Israel. READ MORE: Videos: Trump adviser collapses suddenly on stage According to The Hill, Wednesday's vote on the sale of U.S. weapons to Israel saw a record number of Democrat senators vote in favor of blocking weapon sales to Israel. The outlet noted that while the pair of resolutions brought by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) received record support from Democrats, the resolutions were opposed by every Republican senator as well as 20 Democrat senators. The Hill reported that the Senate voted 70-27 against a resolution Sanders brought to block $675 million in U.S. weapons sales to Israel, while the Senate voted 73-24 against a resolution that would have blocked the sale of tens of thousands of automatic rifles.
2 hours ago
The Justice Department seeks voter and election information from at least 19 states, AP finds
NEW YORK -- The requests have come in letters, emails and phone calls. The specifics vary, but the target is consistent: The U.S. Department of Justice is ramping up an effort to get voter data and other election information from the states. Over the past three months, the department's voting section has requested copies of voter registration lists from state election administrators in at least 15 states, according to an Associated Press tally. Of those, nine are Democrats, five are Republicans and one is a bipartisan commission. In Colorado, the department demanded 'all records' relating to the 2024 election and any records the state retained from the 2020 election. Department lawyers have contacted officials in at least seven states to propose a meeting about forging an information-sharing agreement related to instances of voting or election fraud. The idea, they say in the emails, is for states to help the department enforce the law. The unusually expansive outreach has raised alarm among some election officials because states have the constitutional authority to run elections and federal law protects the sharing of individual data with the government. It also signals the transformation of the Justice Department's involvement in elections under President Donald Trump. The department historically has focused on protecting access to the ballot box. Today, it is taking steps to crack down on voter fraud and noncitizen voting, both of which are rare but have been the subject of years of false claims from Trump and his allies. The department's actions come alongside a broader effort by the administration to investigate past elections and influence the 2026 midterms. The Republican president has called for a special prosecutor to investigate the 2020 election that he lost to Democrat Joe Biden and continues to falsely claim he won. Trump also has pushed Texas Republicans to redraw their congressional maps to create more House seats favorable to the GOP. The Justice Department does not typically 'engage in fishing expeditions' to find laws that may potentially have been broken and has traditionally been independent from the president, said David Becker, a former department lawyer who leads the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation and Research. 'Now it seems to be operating differently,' he said. The department responded with an emailed 'no comment' to a list of questions submitted by the AP seeking details about the communications with state officials. Election offices in Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Utah, and Wisconsin confirmed to the AP that they received letters from the voting section requesting their statewide voter registration lists. At least one other, Oklahoma, received the request by phone. Many requests included basic questions about the procedures states use to comply with federal voting laws, such as how states identify and remove duplicate voter registrations or deceased or otherwise ineligible voters. Certain questions were more state-specific and referenced data points or perceived inconsistencies from a recent survey from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, an AP review of several of the letters showed. The Justice Department already has filed suit against the state election board in North Carolina alleging it failed to comply with a part of the federal Help America Vote Act that relates to voter registration records. There are signs the department's outreach isn't done. It told the National Association of Secretaries of State that 'all states would be contacted eventually,' said Maria Benson, a NASS spokeswoman. The organization has asked the department to join a virtual meeting of its elections committee to answer questions about the letters, Benson said. Some officials have raised concerns about how the voter data will be used and protected. Election officials in at least four California counties — Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and San Francisco —said the Justice Department sent them letters asking for voter roll records. The letters asked for the number of people removed from the rolls for being noncitizens and for their voting records, dates of birth and ID numbers. Officials in Arizona, Connecticut, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Wisconsin confirmed to the AP that they received an email from two department lawyers requesting a call about a potential 'information-sharing agreement.' The goal, according to several copies of the emails reviewed by the AP, was for states to provide the government with information about instances of election fraud to help the Justice Department 'enforce Federal election laws and protect the integrity of Federal elections.' One of those sending the emails was a senior counsel in the criminal division. The emails referred to Trump's March executive order on elections, part of which directs the attorney general to enter information-sharing agreements with state election officials to the 'maximum extent possible." Election officials in several states that received requests for their voter registration information have not responded. Some said they were reviewing the inquiries. Officials in some other states provided public versions of voter registration lists to the department, with certain personal information such as Social Security numbers blacked out. Elsewhere, state officials answered procedural questions from the Justice Department but refused to provide the voter lists. In Minnesota, the office of Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat, said the federal agency is not legally entitled to the information. In a July 25 letter to the Justice Department's voting section, Simon's general counsel, Justin Erickson, said the list 'contains sensitive personal identifying information on several million individuals.' He said the office had obligations under federal and state law to not disclose any information from the statewide list unless expressly required by law. In a recent letter, Republican lawmakers in the state called on Simon to comply with the federal request as a way "to protect the voting rights of the citizens of Minnesota.' Maine's secretary of state, Democrat Shenna Bellows, said the administration's request overstepped the federal government's bounds and that the state will not fulfill it. She said doing so would violate voter privacy. The department 'doesn't get to know everything about you just because they want to,' Bellows said. There is nothing inherently wrong with the Justice Department requesting information on state procedures or the states providing it, said Justin Levitt, a former deputy assistant attorney general who teaches at Loyola Law School. But the department's requests for voter registration data are more problematic, he said. That is because of the Privacy Act of 1974, which put strict guidelines on data collection by the federal government. The government is required to issue a notice in the Federal Register and notify appropriate congressional committees when it seeks personally identifiable information about individuals. Becker said there is nothing in federal law that compels states to comply with requests for sensitive personal data about their residents. He added that while the outreach about information-sharing agreements was largely innocuous, the involvement of a criminal attorney could be seen as intimidating. 'You can understand how people would be concerned,' he said.
USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
Which way will Senate swing in 2026? Here are 11 pivotal races that will decide.
From the South to the Great Lakes, contested primaries and open Senate seat battles will determine who's serving for President Trump's last two years. WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump's agenda in the second half of his second term will hinge on whether Republicans can maintain control of Congress in next year's midterm elections. In the Senate, where the GOP currently has a slim 53 to 47 majority, being the party in charge is vital for the president and his ability to pass key legislation priorities, confirm nominees, including any potential Supreme Court vacancies. Heading into 2026, congressional Republicans look to keep their legislative advantage but face the challenge of precedent. Often, the party that does not hold the White House – Democrats, currently – fares better in midterm congressional elections. In need of a pick me up after last year's bruising presidential and congressional elections, Democrats are trying to flip the upper chamber back to blue by winning a handful of states scattered from the South to the Great Lakes. More: What to expect when you're expecting a GOP trifecta For their part, Republicans trying to defend their majority in next November's races must first weather some base-splitting primaries, in which established GOP incumbents hope to hold on against challengers from inside their own party. Here are 11 Senate races to watch across the country heading into the 2026 midterm elections. 1. North Carolina More: Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announces run for Senate in a win for Democrats North Carolina's two-term senior senator, Republican Thom Tillis, announced in June he would not be seeking reelection. His news, which Tillis called 'not a hard choice,' came as debates over Trump's sweeping tax, spending and policy bill engulfed Congress and pitted GOP members against one another. The news was music to Democrats' ears. Already a top target for the liberal party in next year's midterms, the North Carolina race was set to be one of the most competitive Senate battles in 2026, even with Tillis on the ballot. More: After Lara Trump opts out, president endorses RNC Chair Whatley for NC Senate race Now, the open seat has attracted high-profile contenders on both sides of the aisle. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, announced his campaign formally on July 28, following weeks of speculation. On the Republican side, Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law and former co-chair of the Republican National Committee, said she considered jumping in. However, after she announced July 24 she would not run for the seat in North Carolina, President Trump gave his backing to Republican National Committee chair and former North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley. Primary elections in the state will be held March 3. 2. Michigan In Michigan, another retiring incumbent has set the stage for a toss-up race next year. Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat, announced in January he would not seek a third term representing the Great Lakes State in the Senate. More: Michigan's Gary Peters won't run for US Senate reelection next year His absence leaves the race open for either party's taking. Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman with Trump's endorsement, is his party's expected nominee. Rogers ran in 2024, narrowly losing to Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin. Among Democrats, Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow lead the pack of 2026 candidates. Primary elections in the state will be held Aug. 4, 2026. 3. Georgia Georgia's Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff must fend off a pack of conservative lawmakers in order to hang onto his seat in 2026. Alongside fellow Georgia Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock, Ossoff's win in a Jan. 2021 runoff election secured him a first term in Congress and his party a chamber majority. Once again, his race will be key in determining whether Democrats win control of the Senate. Republicans looking to unseat him include Rep. Buddy Carter, a former pharmacist who represents the Savannah area. Carter was first to throw his red hat in the ring. But others, including Rep. Mike Collins, have since joined the contest. Both Carter and Collins are coveting Trump's support, an endorsement that could carry weight with Georgia's deep red electorate pockets. Georgia's primary elections are set for May 19. 4. Texas Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn stands a good chance of winning a fifth term against a Democratic challenger next November, in the red-leaning Lone Star State. But first, he must make it through what is promising to be a tough primary against the state's attorney general, Ken Paxton. Cornyn has served in the Senate since 2002, but early polls showed him down double digits to Paxton. More: Texas AG Ken Paxton's wife files for divorce 'on biblical grounds' National Republicans have expressed concern that Paxton, who has faced indictments, impeachment and, more recently, a very public divorce, could cost the GOP their safely held Texas seat in a general election. Democrat and former Rep. Colin Allred, who ran unsuccessfully against Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024, has announced his campaign for 2026. Texas state Rep. James Talarico has said he is 'seriously considering' a run as well. More: Former congressman Colin Allred launches 2026 campaign for US Senate Primary elections in the Lone Star State are scheduled for March 3. 5. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, has also drawn a GOP challenger in his 2026 bid for reelection. Paul Dans, the original author of Project 2025, a sweeping conservative agenda to overhaul the federal government, announced his entrance into the race at an event in Charleston July 30. More: Lindsey Graham gets Republican challenger: Project 2025 author to announce Senate bid The primary contest will likely pit MAGA voters in the Palmetto State against one another. Though Graham has previously been a regular target of criticism from Trump − displeased by the lawmaker at times breaking from the GOP leader − he is currently an ally to the president and has already received Trump's 'complete and total endorsement.' Dans' primary challenge will be an uphill battle. Should Graham come out on top, he is heavily favored to win a fifth term representing the Palmetto State. A pack of Democrats are vying to face Graham or Dans in the general, though South Carolina is generally considered a safely red seat. Both party primaries will be held June 9. 6. Maine Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is about to wrap her fifth term in the Senate, and while she has yet to formally announce her bid for reelection, many colleagues expect her to run again. Her position as one of the upper chamber's most independent voices has kept her in favor, and in office, with her left-leaning state, though Democrats still see this upcoming race as one of their top pick-up opportunities if two-term Gov. Janet Mills decides to run. Collins has garnered a reputation for being one of the few congressional Republicans willing to tell Trump no. She voted against two of his major legislative priorities this summer – a sweeping tax and spending bill, as well as a $9 billion cut to public broadcasting and foreign aid funding – and has openly criticized some of the president's nominees. More: 'See you in court.' Trump, Maine governor clash in tense exchange at White House Willingness to oppose Trump typically comes with the president's full public ire – and often a MAGA-aligned primary opponent. However, Collins is the only Republican senator to have won a state in which Democrats won the popular vote in 2024. Her unique position seems to, at least for now, have kept Trump from speaking out against who many view as the GOP's best chance to keep their seat in Maine. Several Democratic candidates have announced campaigns against Collins, including David Costello, who ran unsuccessfully against Maine's Independent Sen. Angus King in 2024. All eyes are most focused on Mills, the state governor who has also tussled with Trump but hasn't yet said if she will run. Maine will have its primaries on June 9. 7. Minnesota Minnesota's Democratic Sen. Tina Smith announced earlier this year her plan to retire at the end of her current term, calling the decision "entirely personal." With the state's blue tilt, Smith's seat has a good chance of staying in Democrats' hands. More: 'Entirely personal': Democrat Tina Smith to not seek reelection in 2026 Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Annie Craig are among the frontrunners for their party's nomination. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' running mate, opted back in February not to run for Senate. On the Republican side, former NBA player Royce White is running again, after losing his bid against Sen. Amy Klobuchar in 2024. Former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze has also announced his campaign for the GOP nomination. The Minnesota primaries will be held Aug. 11. 8. Ohio The Buckeye State represents one of Democrats' few pick up opportunities, and even then it will not be an easy flip. Republican Sen. Jon Husted was picked by Ohio's governor to fill the seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance at the start of the year, and Husted will be on the ballot next November to keep his spot. Ohio has become reliably red in recent years, making the fight to flip it tough for Democrats. Their best shot likely is former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost his bid for reelection last year to Sen. Bernie Moreno. Axios reported that Brown met with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in late July, as part of the top Senate Democrat's efforts to lobby Brown to run again. 9. New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire announced she would not be seeking another term in 2026 either. Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who launched his campaign in April, is widely seen as a strong contender to succeed Shaheen. More: Former GOP Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown running for Senate in New Hampshire Republican Scott Brown, a former Massachusetts senator and ex-ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa under Trump's first term, is among a handful of candidates competing on the GOP side. Like Minnesota, Cook Political Report has rated New Hampshire's race leaning Democrat. 10. Iowa In Iowa, Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican, has the advantage, with Cook Political Report rating her race likely Republican. Three Democrats so far have launched bids in hopes of beating those odds: Nathan Sage, the former chamber of commerce director from Knoxville; state Rep. J.D. Scholten; and state Sen. Zach Wahls. More: Iowa Democratic Rep. and minor league pitcher J.D. Scholten to run against Sen. Joni Ernst Trump's sweeping tax, spending and policy bill, passed into law earlier this summer, is expected to be a defining issue in Iowa's race. Ernst was one of 50 Senate Republicans who voted in favor of the legislation, which her Democratic opponents decried as a move "to gut Medicaid for hundreds of thousands of Iowa children and families." The primary in Iowa is scheduled for June 2. 11. Nebraska Nebraska is widely seen as a Republican stronghold with incumbent GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts, though there could be a surprisingly competitive race in 2026 with Independent candidate Dan Osborn jumping back into a statewide election. More: Nebraska independent Dan Osborn could be poised to shake up U.S. Senate Osborn came within seven percentage points of beating Sen. Deb Fischer in 2024, a closer-than-expected margin in the GOP-dominated state. Osborn, a former labor leader, is a registered Independent but received campaign contributions from Democrats in his last campaign (money he told NBC he did not ask for). Ricketts, a former Nebraska governor and part owner with his family of the Chicago Cubs, is running for a full term after being appointed to the job in January of 2023 upon the resignation of Republican Sen. Ben Sasse.
