Judge warns against Bannon trial becoming 'political circus'

The federal judge presiding over the contempt of Congress case against Steve Bannon warned the defense team on Wednesday against trying to bring politics into the trial. In the midst of the first witness testimony of the trial, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols said Bannon's lawyers could not cross-examine anyone on the stand in a way that would suggest the case against him is politically motivated. "I do not intend for this to become a political case, a political circus, a forum for partisan politics," Nichols, a Trump appointee, said Tuesday morning. The jury

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Arizona GOP censures Rusty Bowers after Jan. 6 testimony

The Arizona GOP executive committee censured the state’s House Speaker Russell "Rusty" Bowers Tuesday and called on Republican voters to “replace him in the ballot box” in the August state Senate GOP primary following his testimony in front of the House Jan. 6 committee. Bowers testified in June before the House committee, refuting former President Trump’s claims of election fraud and saying he was pressured by Trump and his

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The racial justice argument for student debt relief

To take her first steps onto the storied yard of her dream school, Bianca Jones didn’t just get the grades and write a strong application; she applied for five different types of financial aid, including a work-study position. She took on additional jobs, but still came up short of what she needed to pay for her Howard University education, so both she and her mother took out loans to make it possible. In the “My Yard, My Debt” documentary, Jones 

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Putin reports 'progress' in talks with Turkey on exporting food from Ukraine

Russia said that “progress” is being made with Turkey on efforts to export foodstuffs from Ukraine through the Black Sea, but that “not all problems have yet been resolved.” The U.S. and allies have criticized Russia for maintaining a blockade of Ukraine’s seaports that is contributing to at least 40 million more peop

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The vanishing center of American democracy

Finally, an issue has arisen that unites most Americans. According to a New York Times/Sienna poll published last week, 58 percent of voters on the left, right and in between agree that our political system is broken and needs structural change. They don’t want tinkering on the margins or incremental adjustments, but a complete overhaul.  The problem is that while a majority agree on

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