Dec 17, 2019

Rep. Mark Walker eyes Richard Burr's Senate seat after redistricting

Mark Walker speaks to the media in Washington, D.C., in 2018. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call

Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) told the Durham Herald-Sun Monday he won't run for office next year and he's "moving toward" a U.S. Senate bid in 2022, when Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is expected to retire.

Why it matters: State lawmakers passed a new congressional map following a corruption scandal that's left Walker's district in a predominantly Democratic area and he'd likely lose his seat in 2020, per the Raleigh News & Observer.

Go deeper: Republicans are worried about their worst nightmare: a 2020 election wipeout

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Axios

5 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Atlanta mayor on Trump's riot response: "He speaks and he makes it worse"

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms responded on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday to President Trump's tweets and comments about the mass protests that have swept across the United States, urging him to "just stop talking."

What she's saying: "This is like Charlottesville all over again. He speaks and he makes it worse. There are times when you should just be quiet. And I wish that he would just be quiet."

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Alexi McCammond, Stef W. Kight

39 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Black Americans' competing crises

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

For many black Americans, this moment feels like a crisis within a crisis within a crisis.

The big picture: It's not just George Floyd's killing by police. Or the deaths of EMT Breonna Taylor and jogger Ahmaud Arbery. Or the demeaning of birdwatcher Christian Cooper and journalist Omar Jimenez. Or the coronavirus pandemic's disproportionate harm to African Americans. It's that it's all happening at once.

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Rebecca Falconer

Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Amnesty International: U.S. police must end militarized response to protests

Washington State Police use tear gas to disperse a crowd in Seattle during a demonstration protesting the death of George Floyd. Photo: Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images

Amnesty International issued a statement on Sunday morning calling for an end to militarized policing in several U.S. cities and the use of "excessive force" against demonstrators protesting police brutality.

Why it matters: The human rights group said police across the country were "failing their obligations under international law to respect and facilitate the right to peaceful protest, exacerbating a tense situation and endangering the lives of protesters."

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