A bill seeking to ban “machine gun conversion devices,” also known as “Glock switches,” was defeated in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Wednesday. The vote, nearly along party lines, came after hours of emotional and intense debate, and ultimately failed by a single vote—handed to Republicans by a Democrat crossing the aisle.
During the “Overtime” online segment of HBO’s Real Time on Friday, liberal host Bill Maher openly admitted that Democrats are failing to present a coherent vision for voters. Reviewing fresh polling numbers, Maher said that while President Donald Trump’s overall approval has dipped, especially among key demographics, Democrats still cannot capitalize on the opportunity.
The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division filed lawsuits against the states of Oregon and Maine and their Secretaries of State for failing to provide information relating to voter roll records.
Collier County, Florida, commissioners voted 4–1 last week to include the Ten Commandments in public displays of historic documents in county buildings. The measure has provoked heated debate over religious influence in government settings, highlighting fault lines between moral heritage and church-state separation.
Republican leadership in the U.S. House dispatched lawmakers home early Wednesday, cutting short the session by a day before the standard six‑week August recess. The move appeared designed to stall votes on Democratic efforts to publish full case files on Jeffrey Epstein—the politically connected sex offender who died in custody in 2019.
The Austin Firefighters Association plans to hold a vote of no confidence in Fire Chief Joel G. Baker following his failure to deploy emergency teams to Kerr County ahead of the deadly July 4 floods. The decision follows growing outrage that Baker did not respond to the state's request to send Austin's specialized units, reportedly due to an $800,000 reimbursement delay from past state deployments.
In a new book, former Congressman Jason Chaffetz alleges that the non-profit group VOT-ER partnered with hospitals across the country to register sedated and even psychiatric patients to vote ahead of the 2024 election. Speaking on The Drill Down podcast, Chaffetz called it a “dark money-driven” effort bankrolled by the Tides Foundation, Open Society Foundation, and the Gates Foundation.
