Matt Vasilogambros | Stateline.org (TNS) Hundreds of election workers in Washington state’s second-largest county were busy opening mail-in ballots earlier this month when one of them came across a plain white envelope. As she cut it open, white powder leaked out. She carefully took off her gloves, put them down, backed away and called her supervisor. Workers evacuated the building and waited for the Tacoma Fire Department to arrive. While first responders tested the substance, Democratic and Republican observers gathered at the emergency management center looking at security feeds of the elec ..read more

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll call votes in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports local representatives’ roll call attendance records for the 2023 session through Dec. 1. The House has held 70 roll calls so far in 2023. Beacon Hill Roll Call tabulates the number of roll calls on which each representative was present and voting, and then calculates that number as a percentage of the total roll call votes held. That percentage is the number referred to as the roll call attendance record. In the House, 70.6% (113 representatives out of 160) did not mis ..read more

STAND AT the counter of the clerk magistrate’s office on the second floor of Lowell District Court long enough and you’ll hear the stories of people abused by their intimate partners, as well as stalked and harassed by strangers. Many of them make the trek to the soaring courthouse off Jackson Street to file either a complaint for protection from abuse or a complaint for protection from harassment. It’s the first step in a process to receive relief from the judicial system from their alleged abuse. It’s a step that at least one person made 10 years ago, when they filed an abuse prevention orde ..read more

CONTENT WARNING: The above photo gallery contains two images that may be disturbing for some readers. LOWELL — U.S. Rep Lori Trahan called for City Councilor Corey Robinson to step aside from his council seat, saying his two charges for domestic assault and battery on a household/family member were “extremely disturbing” and the police report details “excruciating to read.” “As a woman and a mother to two young girls, I have always stood unequivocally with the victims of domestic violence,” Trahan said in a statement on Saturday. “That’s why I’ve worked tirelessly to advance legislation like t ..read more

House Republicans blocked a $3.1 billion budget bill Saturday for the third straight day over concerns they have with money to respond to an influx of migrants in Massachusetts, a move House Speaker Ronald Mariano likened to tactics used by conservatives in Congress. Beacon Hill Democrats and Republicans have traded blame this week over who is at fault for delaying the controversial budget bill, which includes funding for public sector union contracts containing pay raises for tens of thousands of workers just ahead of the holidays. Speaking outside of the House Chamber minutes after Rep ..read more

By Gillian Brassil and Ari Plachta, McClatchy Washington Bureau Govs. Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis expended much energy accusing one another of lying at their debate Thursday night. “A blizzard of lies,” said DeSantis, the Florida Republican and 2024 presidential candidate. “I can’t wait to get all the PolitiFacts tonight,” said California Democrat Newsom, referring to the popular fact-checking nonprofit. Well, we have a few of them. The 90-minute exchange, moderated by Fox News commentator Sean Hannity, covered topics ranging from the economy to abortion to homelessness to the Israel-Hamas W ..read more

A procedural war over a budget bill that includes critical funding for union contracts and the state’s ability to respond to an influx of migrants was set to stretch into Saturday after Massachusetts Republicans kept up their blockade of the proposal during Friday sessions. Democratic leadership in the House and Senate released a compromise version of the nearly $3.1 billion supplemental budget Thursday that included $250 million for Massachusetts’ struggling shelter system and nearly $400 million for 95 union contracts. But Republicans, who had voiced concerns with the shelter aid for weeks ..read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted on Friday to expel Republican Rep. George Santos of New York after a critical ethics report on his conduct that accused him of converting campaign donations for his own use. He was just the sixth member in the chamber’s history to be ousted by colleagues. The vote to expel was 311-114. Expulsion requires support from two-thirds of the House, a purposefully high bar, but a blistering House Ethics Committee report that accused Santos of breaking federal law proved decisive. Santos fought the expulsion effort leading up to the vote, leading his own defense during ..read more

House Republicans blocked a controversial $3 billion supplemental budget that closes the books on fiscal year 2023 from advancing Thursday after Democrats said they reached a compromise that includes funding to respond to an influx of migrants in Massachusetts. Republicans had warned for weeks that any deal on the budget bill could be met with opposition if it included migrant aid without major policy changes. At the end of a day-long session that included a push to move consideration of the bill into a formal session, Rep. Paul Frost, an Auburn Republican, effectively blocked its path forward ..read more

It may not have the historic impact of Nixon v. Kennedy, or deliver the memorable lines of Carter v. Reagan, or even Bentsen “You’re no Jack Kennedy” v. Quayle. In fact, one of the debaters insists he isn’t even running for president, though no one believes him. The other is indeed running — but so far behind his party’s leader in the polls many don’t believe him either. Nevertheless, ladies and gentlemen, we present “DeSantis vs. Newsom: The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate,” coming Thursday evening to your cable TV screen or radio hosted and moderated by Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity. Ca ..read more