JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Senate leaders on Friday said for the first time that they are willing to expand Medicaid to the full level allowed under a federal law signed 14 years ago by then-President Barack Obama. But as part of negotiations with fellow Republicans in the House, key senators also continued to insist that any Medicaid expansion plan include a work requirement for recipients. Georgia is the only state with a similar requirement, and it is suing the federal government to try to keep the mandate in place. The House has previously voted for an expansion plan that includes a ..read more

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Federal Election Commission has fined the campaign fund of a former Illinois congressman $43,475 for failing to refund excess contributions in a timely manner. A letter from the FEC this month reports the fine against Republican Rodney Davis’ campaign committee, Rodney for Congress, and its treasurer, Thomas Charles Datwyler. The violations occurred during the 2021-2022 election cycle. Federal campaign finance law prohibits contributions of more than $2,900 per cycle from an individual or single-candidate political committee and $5,000 per election from a multicand ..read more

Defence Minister Bill Blair says the first ten of 50 Armoured Combat Support Vehicles (ACSVs) promised to Ukraine last year will be delivered to the war-torn country by this summer, but likely won’t be fully in service until the fall. The post First ten armoured vehicles promised to Ukraine to be delivered by summer, Blair says appeared first on Loonie Politics ..read more

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Former Rep. Peter Meijer withdrew his name from the U.S. Senate race in Michigan on Friday, ending a longshot bid to become the Republican nominee and return to Congress after being ousted by voters for supporting an effort to impeach then-President Donald Trump. Meijer announced his candidacy in November and contended for the Republican nomination against former U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers and Justin Amash, in addition to wealthy businessman Sandy Pensler. Meijer met an April 23 deadline to turn in petition signatures to get his name on the ballot for the August primary but w ..read more

VANCOUVER — The British Columbia government is asking Health Canada to “urgently change” the province’s decriminalization policy to stop drug use in public.  Premier David Eby said Friday the change would make illicit drug use illegal in all public spaces, including inside hospitals, on transit and in parks.  The U-turn by the provincial government comes after repeated criticism from politicians, health workers and police about decriminalization policies including open drug use in public spaces.  The province had tried to make drug use illegal in public places with its own legis ..read more

PHOENIX (AP) — Authorities revealed Friday the conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges filed against an ex-aide of former President Donald Trump and four attorneys in Arizona’s fake elector case, but the names of former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Rudy Giuliani remained blacked out. The Arizona attorney general’s office released a copy of the indictment that revealed nine felony counts had been filed against Mike Roman, who was Trump’s director of Election Day operations, and attorneys John Eastman, Christina Bobb, Boris Epshteyn and Jenna Ellis. The lawyers were accused of orga ..read more

EDMONTON — Alberta’s government says a new draft social studies curriculum for elementary schools is ready to be tested in classrooms this fall. But the union representing teachers says the curriculum is a fail and the rollout needs to be delayed. The United Conservative Party government first tried three years ago to update the province’s decades-old curriculum for kindergarten to Grade 6 classes. It was condemned by many education experts for being age-inappropriate and too focused on memorization of facts. Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides says the new draft has significantly evolved ..read more

Change is happening everywhere and it’s inevitable here The post Braid: No matter how much they talk, single-family zoning will end in Calgary appeared first on Loonie Politics ..read more

MONTREAL — Parks Canada will reinstall around 30 garbage bins along Montreal’s Lachine Canal after some visitors expressed frustration at their sudden disappearance earlier this month. The federal agency says the measure was a pilot project to encourage visitors to take responsibility for waste destined for landfills. Parks Canada says in a statement today that it deemed the canal’s cleanliness satisfactory without the bins but decided to replace them at the end of the pilot after public opposition. Some visitors to the canal last week complained that the lack of easily accessible places to br ..read more

MONTREAL — Parks Canada will reinstall around 30 garbage bins along Montreal’s Lachine Canal after some visitors expressed frustration at their sudden disappearance earlier this month. The federal agency says the measure was a pilot project to encourage visitors to take responsibility for waste destined for landfills. Parks Canada says in a statement today that it deemed the canal’s cleanliness satisfactory without the bins but decided to replace them at the end of the pilot after public opposition. Some visitors to the canal last week complained that the lack of easily accessible places to br ..read more