Independents who want to vote in Pennsylvania's closed primaries seek help from state's high court
Four independent voters asked the justices to take up the case directly, arguing that in many districts and in many races, including for the great majority of legislative seats, the primary elections among Republicans and Democrats are the only real contests, not the fall election. There are relatively few 'swing' districts — in most parts of Pennsylvania, one party or the other predominates.
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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear tells South Carolina Democrats his record is a red state success story
Democrats can win back disaffected voters by addressing their everyday concerns to counter the anticipated fallout from President Donald Trump's budget-and-policy package, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday as he began a tour of South Carolina. Offering blunt advice to fellow Democrats in the traditionally early primary state, Beshear said the national party should take its message directly to places where voters shifted to the Republican Party in 2024, when the GOP won the White House and Congress. The potential 2028 presidential candidate said that message should concentrate on core issues such as jobs, health care, education, transportation and public safety, and how Democrats can make Americans' lives better. Beshear introduced himself to South Carolina voters as someone with an established record of winning in a deeply Republican state. He is the son of a two-term Kentucky governor, and is now in his second and final term after serving as the state attorney general. 'If you don't know me, I'm the guy who's won three straight races in deep-red Kentucky,' Beshear said at an organized labor conference in Greenville. 'I'm the guy that's beaten Mitch McConnell's handpicked candidates. I'm the guy that's beaten Donald Trump's handpicked candidates.' McConnell is a veteran Kentucky lawmaker who was the longtime Republican leader in the Senate. Beshear said Trump's tax and spending cut bill, which passed without any Democratic support, was an attack on rural America and on 'Southerners like us,' but also gives his party a political opening heading into election in 2026 and beyond. 'Democrats can win again by winning back that middle, and it's there for the taking,' he said. 'There's so much discourse right now about the messaging and how Democrats get out of the wilderness. We do it by showing up. We do it by getting dirt on our boots. And we do it by governing well.' In his speech, Beshear stressed his pro-union credentials, his Southern kinship with the audience and how his Christian faith shapes how he governs. He said health care is a basic human right and he played up Kentucky's record pace of job growth and private-sector investment, saying it shows 'you can be pro-jobs, pro-business and pro-worker all at the same time.' The governor said Americans have experienced 'chaos, incompetence and cruelty' since Trump returned to the White House, and that the new tax and spending cuts will hurt people on Medicaid and receiving food assistance, in particular. The fallout from Medicaid cuts will threaten many rural hospitals that are major employers, he said. Republicans say they have delivered broad tax cuts, invested heavily in immigration enforcement and put new restraints on social safety net programs. Democrats say it rolls back health insurance access and raises costs for middle-class Americans while cutting taxes mostly for the rich. For Beshear, going on the offense against Trump is not enough for Democrats. The party needs to communicate better, he said. 'We put out major policy papers and then talk about the nuance on it,' he said. 'But when we explain our why, that's when people see how bought in we are, how much we care and how hard we'll work.' Though the first presidential primary votes are more than two years away, several possible contenders have traveled to South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa, states that usually have an early and oversize role in the nomination. Looking to connect with his South Carolina audience, Beshear punctuated his speech by referring to the group as 'y'all.' 'As a Southern governor, this isn't the first time I've said 'y'all,'' he said. 'I also know when you say 'bless your heart,' that ain't good.' —- Schreiner reported from Shelbyville, Kentucky.
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Trump says he's ‘highly unlikely' to fire Fed's Powell after floating that idea in private
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he was 'highly unlikely' to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a public statement made less than 24 hours after suggesting in a private meeting that he was leaning in favor of dismissing the head of the nation's central bank. Trump confirmed that in a White House meeting Tuesday night with about a dozen House Republicans he had discussed the 'concept' of dismissing Powell, long a target because of his refusal to lower interest rates as Trump wants.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Indigenous Wampis are ambushed in Peru after government backs out of anti-mining joint patrol
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — An attack by armed assailants on a patrol of a mission by the Indigenous Wampis guards last week in the Peruvian Amazon has again brought into focus the issue of illegal gold mining in the ancestral territory. The 60-member mission was ambushed and shot at as they were patrolling near the Wampis community of Fortaleza on Saturday, just days after the Peruvian government's sudden withdrawal from a planned joint enforcement operation to confront the illegal mining. No one was hurt in the attack. For two years, the Wampis Nation has pressed state agencies and the public prosecutor's office in Peru to work together to monitor for and remove illegal mining operations from the Santiago River basin. Days before a scheduled joint operation, government agencies pulled out without explanation, according to Amazon Watch, a U.S.-based environmental and Indigenous rights nonprofit. In response, the Wampis launched their own mission and its first patrol was attacked on Saturday. Indigenous leaders say the incident highlights the growing risks faced by land defenders and the government's failure to uphold its promises. A Wampis official described the attack to The Associated Press. The around 60 Indigenous leaders, community guards and technicians were tasked with monitoring the environmental impacts of illegal gold mining in the Bajo Rio Santiago region. 'People started throwing explosives — I don't even know what kind they were — and then came the gunfire,' said Evaristo Pujupat Shirap, 45, communications officer for the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Wampis Nation. 'Bullets hit the vehicle and even pierced a teacher's jacket at chest level,' Shirap added. The Peruvian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Members on the Wampis mission were armed with hunting rifles, but according to Shirap, leaders had instructed the group not to fire under any circumstances. While they did fire a few warning shots into the air, no direct confrontation took place, Shirap added. 'We will not stand by while our rivers are poisoned and our forests destroyed,' said Galois Yampis, vice president of the Wampis government. Peru's 'government failed to honor its commitments, so we are acting to defend our territory and the future of our people,' he added. The Indigenous Wampis territorial guards are community-led environmental defenders trained and organized by the autonomous territorial government of the Wampis Nation. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. Their aim is to protect Wampis ancestral lands from illegal activities such as mining, logging, and drug trafficking, while upholding their cultural values and vision of Tarimat Pujut — a life in harmony with nature. Raphael Hoetmer, Amazon program director at Amazon Watch, a longtime ally of the Wampis, said they only confront violent criminals — 'yet are left to face danger without state protection.' The Wampis Nation has long been urging Peru and gold-importing nations to strengthen enforcement against illegal gold trade and invest in Indigenous-led territorial monitoring and sustainable development. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
