The Vatican has stripped Frank Pavone, a well-known anti-abortion rights priest in the United States, of his priesthood.
Driving the news: The Vatican’s decision to defrock Pavone follows his “blasphemous communications on social media” and "persistent disobedience" of his diocesan bishop, according to a newly released letter, per AP.
More than two dozen former U.S. military leaders, including 11 retired generals and admirals, called on Congress to include legislation in the must-pass omnibus spending bill to help Afghan refugees that were evacuated during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Why it matters: The legislation, the Afghan Adjustment Act, would provide quicker pathways to permanent status for Afghan allies who are already in the U.S. but risk deportation back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
In the four battleground states likely to decide the outcome of the next presidential election, clawing back swing-voter support in the suburbs will be the key to unlocking a Republican revival.
Why it matters: Republicans lost six of the eight Senate and governor's races in Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in 2022. A suburban bellwether county in each of these states could make all the difference for the GOP in 2024.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) punted a question Sunday about whether he would leave the Democratic Party, saying, "I’ll let you know later what I decide to do."
Driving the news: Manchin told CBS News' "Face the Nation" that he would wait and see how the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act "plays out."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in an interview aired Sunday on ABC's "This Week" called on courts to intervene and uphold the Trump-era Title 42 policy that allows the U.S. to expel migrants at the southern border without the chance for asylum.
Why it matters: The policy, barring further appeals, is set to expire Wednesday after an appeals court denied a Republican effort to retain it last week, setting up a possible increase in migrant arrivals.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Sunday that the "evidence is there" that former President Trump committed criminal offenses in connection to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Why it matters: Schiff's remarks come one day before the Jan. 6 panel is set to convene for what is likely its final hearing, in which the committee is expected to vote on possible criminal referrals against the former president.
House Republicans are privately plotting to release their own 100+ page rebuttal timed to the Jan. 6 committee report this week, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Republicans aim to cast the select committee's report as partisan by contrasting its expected focus on former President Trump with their concentration on Capitol security.
The mayor of El Paso, Texas, declared a state of emergency Saturday over concerns the city may not be able to manage a major influx of migrants from across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Why it matters: Mayor Oscar Leeser (D) said the city expects to see an increase in migrant arrivals with the ending of the Trump-era Title 42 policy that allowed the U.S. to expel migrants at the southern border without the chance for asylum.
A Minnesota man was arrested and charged this week after an investigation revealed he was "preparing for a violent exchange with police," the Department of Justice announced.
Driving the news: River William Smith, 20, has stated he is "pro mass shooting" and expressed admiration for the Parkland mass shooter and the accused gunman in the Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub shooting last month, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota said in a news release.
An appeals court on Friday denied a GOP-led effort to retain the Trump-era Title 42 policy that allows the U.S. to expel migrants at the southern border without the chance for asylum, AP reports.
Why it matters: After a lengthy litigation battle, Title 42 is set to expire next Wednesday after a federal judge ruled it unlawful. Fifteen GOP-led states, however, made a last-ditch bid to block its termination last month.
An Arizona judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit from Mark Finchem, a Republican who ran for Arizona secretary of state and lost, and was seeking a new election.
Driving the news: Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Melissa Julian dismissed the suit against governor-elect and current Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Finchem's Democratic opponent, Adrian Fontes — confirming Fontes' win.
A bipartisan group of former members of the House of Representatives released an open letter Saturday demanding an ethics investigation into lawmakers linked to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Driving the news: The 36 former lawmakers urged current House members to request the Office of Congressional Ethics "thoroughly investigate those members who played a role in the events leading up to and on January 6th, and if appropriate, that the House exercise its disciplinary functions."
The State Department has created a new Office of China Coordination, or "China House," to coordinate U.S. policies related to the country, the department said in a release Friday.
Why it matters: The office aims to manage the United States' competition with China and "advance our vision for an open, inclusive international system," the department said.
The North Carolina Supreme Court struck down a state voter identification law Friday, ruling that it had a "racially discriminatory purpose" against Black voters.
Driving the news: "The provisions enacted … were formulated with an impermissible intent to discriminate against African American voters in violation of the North Carolina Constitution," Associate Justice Anita Earls wrote in the 89-page ruling obtained by the Washington Post.
Democrats won't use any donations from controversial crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried made to their campaigns, the Associated Press reports.
Why it matters: The disgraced Bankman-Fried submitted campaign donations and indirect financial support to dozens of congressional candidates, many of them Democrats, in the last election cycle.
The father of the Highland Park, Illinois, shooting suspect accused of killing seven people at a Fourth of July parade is facing recklessness charges, prosecutors announced Friday.
Driving the news: Robert Crimo Jr. was arrested Friday on seven counts of felony reckless conduct, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
