Newsom vetoes California's caste discrimination bill

Source: BBC News

Advocates had argued the bill would protect people of South Asian descent who had been treated unfairly.

Mr Newsom said the state already banned discrimination based on religion, origin and other characteristics.

"Because discrimination based on caste is already prohibited under these existing categories, this bill is unnecessary," he said in a statement.

The caste system in India, which dates back more than 3,000 years, divides Hindu society into rigid hierarchical groups.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67055579

Ocasio-Cortez on border wall announcement: President must 'take responsibility,' 'reverse course'

Jimmy Carter turns 99, about 7 months after entering hospice care

Source: NBC News

Former President Jimmy Carter turned 99 on Sunday, but because of the threat of a federal government shutdown, his fans began celebrating his birthday a day early.

The official birthday bash for the longest-living U.S. president in history had been rescheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday instead of Sunday, which is when the federal funding that helps keep the lights burning at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta was in danger of running out, museum officials said. Congress voted Saturday evening to pass a stopgap measure to avert a shutdown just hours before the deadline.

“We want to make sure we are celebrating regardless of what Congress does,” Tony Clark, the museum’s public affairs director, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ahead of the 39th president's birthday.

So on the day Carter turned 99, the only event scheduled on the museum's site is a naturalization ceremony and an invitation to "come celebrate 99 new American citizens!"

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/jimmy-carter-turns-99-7-months-entering-hospice-care-rcna118084

Menendez, Defiant, Says He Will Not Resign

Source: NY Times

Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, returned Monday to Union City, the community where he rose to political prominence, to offer a clear answer to former allies who have called for his resignation in the face of federal bribery charges: No.

“The allegations leveled against me are just that — allegations,” Mr. Menendez said at a news conference at a community college not far from where he grew up, the child of Cuban refugees.

“I recognize that this will be the biggest fight yet,” he said, adding that once the judicial process concluded, he expected that “not only will I be exonerated, I will still be New Jersey’s senior senator.”

Speaking first in English and then in Spanish, Mr. Menendez, 69, reiterated much of the message he offered immediately after the indictment was announced. He said he was confident the case would be resolved favorably, and he urged patience “to allow all the facts to be presented.”

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/nyregion/menendez-bribery-charges.html

There are three Governors races to watch this Election Day

Newsom vetoes bill requiring gender identity to be considered in custody battles

Source: The Hill

California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill late Friday night that would have required judges to consider whether parents have affirmed the gender identity of their children amid custody disputes.

Newsom argued that other politicians could use it as a strategy to “diminish civil rights of vulnerable populations.”

The bill, introduced by state Assemblywoman Lori Wilson (D), would allow courts to consider each parent’s affirmation of the child’s gender identity when making decisions about custody and visitation.

Wilson said the legislation, called the TGI (Transgender, Gender-Diverse and Intersex) Youth Empowerment Act, would require courts to recognize that the consideration of gender identity is in the best interest of the child, in case a parent were to oppose a legal name change process.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4219960-newsom-vetoes-bill-gender-identity-custody-battles/

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson joining the Republican Party

Source: CBS News

DALLAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) -- Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson is becoming a Republican, he announced in a Wall Street Journal article appearing on an Op-Ed page Friday morning. Johnson is in his second and final term as mayor, after receiving more than 98% of the vote in his reelection campaign last year.

Before becoming mayor in 2019, Johnson served five terms in the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat, representing a district that includes South Dallas and parts of Oak Cliff and Pleasant Grove.

In the op-ed, Johnson argues that cities benefit from law and order and fiscal conservatism, which he says Democratic mayors in other major cities are overlooking.

"Unfortunately, many of our cities are in disarray. Mayors and other local elected officials have failed to make public safety a priority or to exercise fiscal restraint. Most of these local leaders are proud Democrats who view cities as laboratories for liberalism rather than as havens for opportunity and free enterprise," Johnson wrote.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/dallas-mayor-eric-johnson-joining-the-republican-party/

Manchin circulates proposal to reverse Schumer on dress code

Source: The Hill

Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is circulating a proposal to reestablish the Senate’s dress code, which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) loosened over the weekend to allow senators to wear whatever they want on the Senate floor, according to senators familiar with the proposal.

One person familiar with the resolution said it would essentially return the Senate dress code to what it was last week, which required senators to wear coats and ties or business attire when on the Senate floor.

“I’ve signed it,” said one senator, who explained it would “define what the dress code is.”

Schumer’s decision appeared aimed at catering to first-term Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), whose hoodie was a signature look on the campaign trail in 2022 and who wore a dark short-sleeved collared shirt and dark shorts to work Thursday.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4216746-manchin-circulates-proposal-to-reverse-schumer-on-dress-code/

Eric Clapton Raises $2M for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Campaign in California

So, who's gonna be the next Governor of Louisiana?

Pardon my ignorance, but I didn't realize that the race was this year. After reading up, I see that popular Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards is unfortunately term-limited.

So, is there a decent chance that it stays Blue? Who's our best bet? Are any extreme MAGA's running that give us a better chance?