Before joining Raw Story, Brad Reed spent eight years writing about technology at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.
Calls to expand mail-in voting have grown as the COVID-19 pandemic has made waiting in long lines at polling places a potential health hazard.
Many Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have rejected the idea because they fear making it easier for people to vote will harm the GOP.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Georgia State House Speaker David Ralston became the latest GOP official to warn about the perils that vote-by-mail initiatives would have on his party.
"This will be extremely devastating to Republicans and conservatives in Georgia," he said. "Every registered voter is going to get one of these. … This will certainly drive up turnout."
Trump earlier this week similarly told "Fox & Friends" that Democrats were pushing for initiatives that would generate "levels of voting that if you ever agreed to it you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again."
Fox News host Maria Bartiromo confronted Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) Sunday for "creating chaos" in the U.S. House of Representatives.
During an interview on Sunday Morning Futures, Bartiromo noted that Greene was criticized for threatening to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) with a motion to vacate the chair.
"You're getting criticized on the left, on the right, in the media, you know, everybody, a lot of people are criticizing you," Bartiromo told Greene. "And the reason that they are is because they're saying that you're creating drama during this election year."
"How is this leading to reelecting President Trump?" the Fox News host wondered. "How is this leading to the American people believing that the Republicans can govern? People are saying, look, she's creating chaos. She's making the entire party look like it's disrupted."
Greene defended herself by suggesting her critics were not Americans.
"Yeah, those that are calling this drama are the very people that are responsible for the drama that the American people are having to live through every single day," the lawmaker quipped. "Speaker Johnson refuses to use his power as Speaker of the House to do any type of negotiating to secure the southern border and stop the madness in our country."
"The people criticizing me are not the American people," she added. "The American people agree with me, and I've talked to them, and I've seen it all over. They are outraged."
Greene said she intended to "fight harder" after the House passed aid for Ukraine.
"OK, Congresswoman, you wanted Mike Johnson out," Bartiromo pointed out. "What is your alternative plan?"
"Mike Johnson has betrayed America. He's betrayed Republican voters," Greene argued. "We're going to fight in Congress to do everything we can to stop this type of uniparty leadership. Mike Johnson's speakership is over. He needs to do the right thing to resign and allow us to move forward in a controlled process. If he doesn't do so, he will be vacated."
While opinions vary over whether having Melania Trump in the courtroom would help Donald Trump win the hearts of jurors in his hush money trial, one former Manhattan prosecutor stated his two oldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, should be kept as far away as possible.
Speaking with legal experts on the value of the defendant's family members showing in the courtroom, the appearance of the former president's latest wife garnered varied responses with one analyst suggesting it would be a sign of support for the embattled former president who is faced with 34 felony charges related to paying off an adult film star.
However, in an interview with Business Insider, former federal prosecutor Justin Danilewitz also conceded, "Ordinarily, in a case like this, the appearance of a spouse may well send an important signal of support. But the defense strategy here is likely to signal that this trial is not worth the time of the defendant, and even less the time of his close family."
"Attending could suggest a level of importance the defense does not want to give the case," he added.
Criminal defense attorney Mark Bederow, a former prosecutor for the Manhattan district attorney's office, was blunt in suggesting Don Trump Jr. and his brother Eric stay away because they will remind jurors of what they don't like about the defendant.
"Let's be honest, if Donald Jr. and Eric Trump showed up, is that going to make it any better? No. Probably, if anything, it potentially makes it worse," he explained.
He added, "People who are inclined not to like Donald Trump probably view the sons in the same way just because they're very vocal defenders of their father, which is natural and expected. But they're also very involved in the political game and the media game that surrounds everything involving Trump."
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), a possible vice presidential candidate, called rape and incest exceptions for abortion a "tragedy."
While speaking to Dana Bash on CNN Sunday, Noem was asked if she supported her state's law, which does not provide exceptions for rape, much like Arizona's Civil War-era anti-abortion law.
"Our law today allows an exception to save the life of the mother, but the people in South Dakota will decide what their laws look like," Noem explained.
"What do you think it should look like?" Bash pressed, but Noem dodged the question, saying she would enforce her state's laws.
The CNN host pushed again for an answer.
"Do you think there should be exceptions for rape and incest, for example?" Bash asked.
"That's what's different, Dana, is that I've constantly looked, and we rely in South Dakota on the fact that I'm pro-life and we have a law that says that there is an exception for the life of the mother," Noem opined. "And I just don't believe a tragedy should perpetuate another tragedy."
"I believe in taking care of mothers that are in a crisis situation and that we should be walking alongside them, giving them all the information and the best information they can make before they have to be put in a situation where an abortion is the only option that they have," she added.
