Republican candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania Kathy Barnette on Sunday said she "can't provide a lot of context" about anti-Muslim tweets she'd posted several years ago.
The big picture: Barnette has risen in polls as she vies for the GOP's nomination for an open Senate seat in Pennsylvania. Her history of anti-Muslim and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, along with her record of repeating conspiracy theories have caused concern among her fellow Republicans who worry she'd be an opposition researcher's dream.
President Biden is telling White House aides to shift into campaign mode, people familiar with the conversations tell Axios — reminding them even small mistakes can be costly and demanding they take opportunities to highlight differences with Republicans.
Why it matters: His private exhortations over the past month are another indication he wants to make November's congressional and gubernatorial contests into choices between two competing acknowledgmentvisions, rather than a referendum on his two years in office.
The Republicans in Congress who most used the word “abortion” in social media posts and press releases recently were all men except one, Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, according to data compiled by Quorum.
Why it matters: Both parties are engaged in a messaging war over the hot-button issue, after the leak of a draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade. Politicians are scrambling to strike the right tone with voters just six months from the 2022 midterms.
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who is running for the state’s Democratic Senate nomination, said in a statement Sunday he's recovering from a stroke he suffered on Friday.
What he's saying: "I hadn't been feeling well but was so focused on the campaign that I ignored the signs and just kept going," Fetterman wrote. "On Friday it finally caught up with me. I had a stroke that was caused by a clot from my heart being in an A-fib rhythm for too long."
Republican Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said Sunday he would call a special legislative session to "do more to protect pre-born babies" if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
What he's saying: "Nebraska is a pro-life state," Ricketts told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "I believe life begins at conception. And those are babies too."
President Biden on Sunday called on Americans to "address the hate that remains a stain on the soul of America" in the aftermath of the racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, that left 10 people dead on Saturday.
What they're saying: "Jill and I, like all of you, pray for the victims and their families and the devastated community," Biden said during remarks on Sunday at the National Peace Officers' Memorial Service to honor the law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2021.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Sunday rejected criticism from some Republicans about sending billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine, telling reporters that supporting Ukraine is a critical U.S. interest and "not some handout."
Why it matters: The Senate is set to pass a $40 billion humanitarian and military aid package for Ukraine as soon as Wednesday. Fifty-seven House Republicans voted against the bill last week, highlighting growing opposition within the GOP also shared by pro-Trump candidates running for Congress.
Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz called a 2015 tweet from Kathy Barnette "reprehensible" in an interview with AP on Saturday, just days before Tuesday’s primary election.
Why it matters: Oz, who would be the country's first Muslim senator, said Barnette's tweet, in which she said “[p]edophilia is a Cornerstone of Islam," is "disqualifying."
Asian Americans hail from dozens of countries — and their experiences in America are starkly different depending on their origins.
Why it matters: This vast, diverse group is often lumped together under the "model minority myth" — the stereotype that all Asian Americans are well-educated, wealthy and successful.
FBI Director Chris Wray released a statement Monday calling the Buffalo shooting that killed 10 people, most of whom were Black, a "targeted attack, a hate crime, and an act of racially motivated violent extremism."
Driving the news: The alleged shooter, an 18-year-old white man, drove from "hours away" in tactical gear and opened fire in the store in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo on Saturday afternoon.
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