Arizona Democrats will bypass struggling state party in midterms, with key races on ballot
Gov. Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Attorney General Kris Mayes — who all are seeking second terms next year — said grassroots organizing will be outsourced to a small county organization rather than the Arizona Democratic Party.
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Global News
17 minutes ago
- Global News
Texas Democrat sleeps in House chamber in protest of GOP police escort
A Democratic lawmaker has vowed to stay in the Texas Capitol rather than accept an around-the-clock police escort that Republicans imposed to keep her and her colleagues from leaving the state again and further delaying the GOP's redrawing of congressional districts as President Donald Trump wants. State Rep. Nicole Collier of Fort Worth said in an interview Tuesday she would sleep on the House floor until Labour Day if she had to, reports NBC News. As of Tuesday afternoon, she's remained in the room for more than 24 hours. It's a further act of resistance from Collier, who joined dozens of Texas Democrats in a two-week walkout after Democrats in California heeded Gov. Gavin Newsom's call to counter the GOP effort in Texas by redrawing districts there. And while the walk-out ended Monday, Collier vowed to sleep on the House floor, refusing to sign what Democratic lawmakers are calling 'permission slips' to leave the building and accept around-the-clock surveillance. Story continues below advertisement Collier described it as an attack on her dignity and an effort to control her movements. 'I don't want to bring that into my neighbourhood. I don't need to add any more law enforcement in areas that are already over-policed,' Collier told The Washington Post on Monday evening as she prepared to spend the night. 'My community has sent me here to be a fighter, and this is the way that I am fighting.' 'They're taking away our vote,' Collier added, referring to the GOP's redistricting plan. 'I'm not going to let them take away my voice.' It was very cold spending on the #txlege Floor! Rep. @VinceMPerez & I joined @NicoleCollier95 in support of making #GoodTrouble! We know this is a #riggedredistricting process. Democrats are not giving up! Thanks for the support, standing with @TexasHDC, & we have coffee! — Gene Wu (@GeneforTexas) August 19, 2025 Republicans are trying to prevent a repeat of the boycott that denied the House enough members to meet and prevented it from doing any business. Dozens of lawmakers fled to Democratic-led states, including California, Illinois and Massachusetts, to stay out of the reach of Texas law enforcement officers trying to bring them back. Story continues below advertisement Collier told The Washington Post that legislative staffers offered to leave a Capitol bathroom unlocked for her and that her colleagues were bringing her food. She said she was allowed to visit her office with a police escort. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Early Tuesday morning, she shared a photo to X, claiming she spent the night sleeping upright in a chair on the House floor, complete with a bonnet, eye mask and several blankets and pillows. As of Tuesday afternoon, Collier remained in the room, and continued to livestream her protest on X. Rep. Collier in House Chamber Live — Nicole Collier (@NicoleCollier95) August 19, 2025 Story continues below advertisement 'At what point, what is it going to take for us to say 'enough is enough?' Yesterday was my moment. Enough is enough,' Collier said in an interview Tuesday with NBC News, as someone brought out a mattress for her to sleep on during her second night of protest. 'I see it. The writing is on the wall. They want power at all costs. And you're not taking it from me without a fight.' According to The Washington Post, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R), who ordered the Democratic lawmakers to be monitored by police if they left the state Capitol, was indifferent to Collier's protest. 'Rep. Collier's choice to stay and not sign the permission slip is well within her rights under the House Rules. I am choosing to spend my time focused on moving the important legislation on the call to overhaul camp safety, provide property tax reform and eliminate the STAAR test — the results Texans care about,' Burrows said in a statement, referring to standardized tests for Texas students. Trump trying to avoid a congressional check on him Both Trump and the Democrats are looking ahead to the 2026 midterms knowing that they often go against the president's party, as they did during Trump's first term in 2018. Republicans currently have a seven-seat majority in the 435-member House. Story continues below advertisement State legislatures draw the lines after each U.S. census in most states — including Texas — and only a few dozen House districts are competitive. In Texas, Republicans hold 25 of 38 seats, and they're trying to increase that to 30. In California, Democrats have 43 of the 52 seats, and they're trying to boost that to 48, to wipe out the advantage the GOP would gain from redrawing lines in Texas. California more complicated for Democrats In some ways, the nation's most populous state, California, is a reverse-mirror image of the nation's second-most populous state, Texas. Democrats are even more firmly in control of state government there than Republicans are in Texas, with Democratic supermajorities in both California legislative chambers. But California's districts were drawn by an independent commission created by a statewide vote in 2008 after years of intense partisan battles over redistricting. Story continues below advertisement Democrats are trying to avoid legal challenges to a new map by asking voters to approve it as an exception to the normal process, which would require a special election in November. Texas has no such commission, so its legislature doesn't have to seek voters' approval for its maps. California lawmakers returned Monday to the state capital from a summer break. They are scheduled to remain in session through Sept. 12. California begins voting on proposed congressional map California Democrats are expected to advance their proposal out of committees Tuesday and Wednesday. They have already received more than 13,000 public comments through an online portal, and the committee hearings offer the public a chance to provide feedback to lawmakers in person. Dozens of residents from up and down the state, leaders of local Republican groups and the conservative California Family Council showed up to a hearing Tuesday to voice opposition to the Democrats' plan. Story continues below advertisement Some said the process has been shrouded in secrecy because the map was drawn without meaningful public input. Others said they would rather lawmakers focus on addressing issues instead of trying to bypass a bipartisan redistricting process. — With files from The Associated Press
Toronto Star
17 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Photos from the Texas Legislature as Republicans push for new political maps
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas lawmakers this week are considering Republicans' efforts to redraw congressional districts as President Donald Trump wants. Democrats returned to the Texas Capitol after a two-week walkout that stalled a vote on the a new political map that could give Republicans more U.S. House seats. California Democrats have countered with their own proposed map that is favorable to their party.
Winnipeg Free Press
17 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Minnesota sues TikTok, alleging it preys on young people with addictive algorithms
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota on Tuesday joined a wave of states suing TikTok, alleging the social media giant preys on young people with addictive algorithms that trap them into becoming compulsive consumers of its short videos. 'This isn't about free speech. I'm sure they're gonna holler that,' Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said at a news conference. 'It's actually about deception, manipulation, misrepresentation. This is about a company knowing the dangers, and the dangerous effects of its product, but making and taking no steps to mitigate those harms or inform users of the risks.' The lawsuit, filed in state court, alleges that TikTok is violating Minnesota laws against deceptive trade practices and consumer fraud. It follows a flurry of lawsuits filed by more than a dozen states last year alleging the popular short-form video app is designed to be addictive to kids and harms their mental health. Minnesota's case brings the total to about 24 states, Ellison's office said. Many of the earlier lawsuits stemmed from a nationwide investigation into TikTok launched in 2022 by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from 14 states into the effects of TikTok on young users' mental health. Ellison, a Democrat, said Minnesota waited while it did its own investigation. Sean Padden, a middle-school health teacher in the Roseville Area school district, joined Ellison, saying he has witnessed a correlation between increased TikTok use and an 'irrefutable spike in student mental health issues,' including depression, anxiety, anger, lowered self-esteem and a decrease in attention spans as they seek out the quick gratification that its short videos offer. The lawsuit comes while President Donald Trump is still trying to broker a deal to bring the social media platform, which is owned by China's ByteDance, under American ownership over concerns about the data security of its 170 million American users. While Trump campaigned on banning TikTok, he also gained more than 15 million followers on the platform since he started sharing videos on it. No matter who ultimately owns TikTok, Ellison said, it must comply with the law. TikTok disputed Minnesota's allegations. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. 'This lawsuit is based on misleading and inaccurate claims that fail to recognize the robust safety measures TikTok has voluntarily implemented to support the well-being of our community,' company spokesperson Nathaniel Brown said in a statement. 'Teen accounts on TikTok come with 50+ features and settings designed to help young people safely express themselves, discover and learn. 'Through our Family Pairing tool, parents can view or customize 20+ content and privacy settings, including screen time, content filters, and our time away feature to pause a teen's access to our app,' Brown added. Minnesota is seeking a declaration that TikTok's practices are deceptive, unfair or unconscionable under state law, a permanent injunction against those practices, and up to $25,000 for each instance in which a Minnesota child has accessed TikTok. Ellison wouldn't put a total on that but said, 'it's a lot.' He estimated that 'hundreds of thousands of Minnesota kids' have TikTok on their devices. 'We're not trying to shut them down, but we are insisting that they clean up their act,' Ellison said. 'There are legitimate uses of products like TikTok. But like all things, they have to be used properly and safely.' Minnesota is also among dozens of U.S. states that have sued Meta Platforms for allegedly building features into Instagram and Facebook that addict people. The messaging service Snapchat and the gaming platform Roblox are also facing lawsuits by some other states alleging harm to kids.
