Mar 28, 2019 - Politics & Policy

House Dems expand voter suppression probe to Kansas and Texas

Rep. Elijah Cummings, (D-Md.), chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call

The House Oversight Committee said Thursday it asked election officials in Texas and Kansas to turn over communications as part of the panel’s expanding investigation into allegations of voter suppression.

Details: This comes weeks after the panel submitted a similar request to officials in Georgia. Chairman Elijah Cummings and Rep. Jamie Raskin, both of whom are Democrats, are looking to review Texas’ rollout of an inaccurate list of 95,000 people on its voter rolls flagged as possible non-U.S. citizens and the state's plan to purge them. In Kansas, lawmakers are looking into a decision made last year to move the only polling site in a minority-heavy district to a location outside of the city limits — more than a mile away from the nearest bus stop.

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Pelosi on state of coronavirus stimulus talks: "It's a chasm"

Democrats and the Trump administration remain "miles apart" on negotiations over a coronavirus stimulus deal, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Wednesday.

Driving the news, via Axios' Dion Rabouin: Congress' failure to renew enhanced unemployment measures for millions of Americans at the end of July is already affecting consumer spending patterns, holding down retail purchases and foot traffic, economists at Deutsche Bank say.

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of noon ET: 20,391,697 — Total deaths: 744,211— Total recoveries: 12,625,076 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 11:30 a.m. ET: 5,161,612 — Total deaths: 164,690 — Total recoveries: 1,714,960 — Total tests: 63,252,257 — Map.
  3. Business: U.S. already feeling effects of ending unemployment benefits — U.S. producer prices rose last month by the most since October 2018.
  4. Public health: America is flying blind on its coronavirus response.
  5. Education: Gallup: America's confidence in public school system jumps to highest level since 2004.
  6. World: Lebanon reports coronavirus record, UN warns Beirut blast may drive cases higher
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U.S. threatens to veto UN peacekeeping in Lebanon over Hezbollah concerns

Peacekeepers with Lebanese troops in southern Lebanon. Photo: Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty

The Trump administration is threatening to veto a resolution to extend the UN's long-standing peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon if its mandate isn't changed, Israeli and U.S. officials tell me.

Why it matters: The U.S. is the main funder of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has an annual budget of $250 million. The veto threat is a tactical move, and part of a broader effort to put pressure on Iran and its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah.

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