In a landmark decision, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday that partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional under the Alaska Constitution’s equal protection doctrine.
The decision follows a contentious recent reapportionment cycle: The Alaska Redistricting Board was twice found by the state’s highest court of having unconstitutionally gerrymandered the state’s political maps by attempting to give solidly Republican Eagle River more political representation with two Senate seats. Following a court order, the board approved an interim map last year for November’s general election that kept Eagle River intact in one Senate district.
The court ruled Friday that the redistricting board would have 90 days to appear before a Superior Court judge and show cause why the interim political map should not be used until the 2032 general election. A board meeting hasn’t been scheduled yet to discuss the court’s decision, but that could happen as soon as next week.
John Binkley, chair of the Alaska Redistricting Board, said that the five-member board would need to carefully consider the court’s ruling, and that members would likely hear public testimony before deciding how to proceed. Binkley said he was personally satisfied with the interim political map, and the process he oversaw to redraw Alaska’s political boundaries.
caltrek's comment: Another false equivalavce: Fox News = all U.S. media. There is a wide range of opinion supported by "corporate media" as well as varying levels of reliability. Especially on domestic policy. On foreign policy, there may be more of a need to consult alternative media sources to get a "balanced" perspective.
NY's minimum wage could increase to $17. Progressives want it higher.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers are nearing a deal to increase the state’s hourly minimum wage to $17 and tie future increases to inflation, though progressives say it doesn’t go far enough and are launching a last-ditch effort to push it higher.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday in Albany for the first time in 11 days, Hochul said she’s on board with the broad parameters of the plan, while warning the finer points are still being negotiated. But some Democratic lawmakers are still holding out hope for a larger initial increase, perhaps to as high as $21.25.
The measure, which is expected to be included in a final state budget, goes beyond what Hochul initially proposed, which would have simply tied the wage to inflation without a more immediate increase. It is expected to affect at least 500,000 of workers in New York City alone, and comes as the city remains one of the most expensive places to live in the nation.
“I put out the talking points, I put out what I'm looking for, and then we come to a consensus," Hochul said at the Capitol. "I support raising the minimum wage along the lines that we're talking about.”
Biden threatens to veto House GOP bill to raise debt ceiling, slash spending
Source: Washington Post
President Biden on Tuesday threatened to veto legislation being pushed by House Republican leaders that would condition support for raising the debt ceiling on deep spending cuts, calling it “a reckless attempt to extract extreme concessions as a condition for the United States simply paying the bills it has already incurred.”
In a statement officially announcing its opposition to the bill, the White House said: “The President has been clear that he will not accept such attempts at hostage-taking.” It added that “House Republicans must take default off the table and address the debt limit without demands and conditions, just as the Congress did three times during the prior Administration.”
The House Rules Committee is preparing to consider the legislation on Tuesday afternoon. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is angling to bring the package to the floor as early as Wednesday.
The GOP proposal would slash federal spending dramatically and unwind some of Biden’s priorities, including student debt cancellation and efforts to address climate change. In exchange, Republicans would agree to increase the debt ceiling — the statutory cap on how much the U.S. government can borrow to pay its bills.
Moody's: GOP budget proposal would destroy the economy.
GOP budget proposal would increase likelihood of recession and cost the US 780,000 jobs. As usual, Republicans are incapable of managing a budget.
The plan proposed by Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to raise the US debt ceiling in exchange for cuts in government spending would slow growth and cut employment, Moody's Analytics said in a note Monday.
According to the ratings agency's research arm, if the draft presented by McCarthy on April 17 were passed as is, it would lead to a drop of 0.6 percentage points in US potential growth for 2024, as well as the elimination of 780,000 jobs.
Unemployment would reach 4.6 percent, against 3.5 percent in March 2023, as compared to a scenario in which a new ceiling was approved without conditions.
President Joe Biden has called for such a "clean" lifting of the US borrowing limit, arguing that
the deficit spending has already been approved by Congress and therefore not up for debate.
