Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin is poised to issue a third round of endorsements in the state’s legislative races, backing a further 19 Republican candidates. Youngkin is hoping to strengthen his grip on the General Assembly, with all 140 seats up for election this fall, in what is seen as a critical vote to determine control of the legislature for the remainder of his term. The governor’s backing of candidates including experienced legislators, business executives, small business leaders, and law enforcement officials, is a significant boost for their election prospects as they seek the GOP nomination in contested primaries.
Youngkin’s agenda, which focuses on tax cuts and greater restrictions on abortion access, has been hampered by the General Assembly’s divided political stance, though he has managed to secure bipartisan support for certain parts of it. The governor is expected to use the upcoming election as an opportunity to push through his agenda. There are concerns that his backing for candidates who espouse this agenda may further polarise the legislature, potentially making it more difficult to secure support from across the aisle. There are also lingering doubts that Youngkin intends to run for President this year, which he has vehemently denied.
New polling commissioned by pro-growth campaign Britain Remade has revealed more than half (53 per cent) of Scots believe nuclear power has a role to play in Scotland’s energy mix and less than a third (28 per cent) oppose it. In five years, Scotland’s only remaining operating nuclear power station, Torness, will close for good, and energy from renewable sources may not always be available. Nuclear costs are not fixed and a new wave of small modular reactors could unlock renewable-like cost savings. Rolls-Royce SMR could play a leading role, but planning red tape is preventing progress.
The heart of national conservatism in the twenty-first century is about defending the cultural particularity of nations. The first British National Conservatism conference this week showcased a new and pathbreaking suite of ideas. Since 2021, the National Conservatism conferences have attempted to explore the connections between these hitherto disaggregated thinkers and their work. The history of postwar conservatism in the West has revolved around the free-market right, but the fall of the Berlin Wall and “Third Way” convergence between parties of right and left rendered economics far less central to conservatism. Conservatives’ concerns are increasingly cultural and social, revolving around what Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam calls the loss of “bridging” and “bonding” social capital. National conservative positions, notably reducing immigration and defending traditions in elite institutions, carry significant support but punch below their weight politically. The task of national conservative reformers is to rectify that imbalance, which underlies much voter alienation and weak Tory support, and to prioritise cultural issues in messaging, policy implementation and candidate selection.
The Ontario government will unveil legislation today supporting future growth in Peel Region, after senior officials said that the upper-tier municipality was due to be dissolved. However, the ministers have not made clear how the move will affect Peel Region's three towns, only indicating that Caledon looks likely to remain subordinate to Brampton and Mississauga, which are both expected to become independent cities. Peel Region provides services such as recycling, health programs, and paramedics to the municipalities.
The UN's humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, is in discussions with Lloyd's to secure insurance coverage for Russian agricultural exports to developing countries suffering from high food prices. Griffiths said the UN is liaising at all levels of the private sector, including Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as the organisation seeks to ensure it can facilitate Russian food and fertiliser exports. The country has complained that sanctions have hurt its shipping, insurance and financing situations, although the implementation of wheat exports via other ports appears to belie the claims.
Twitter owner Elon Musk said Twitter users making false claims of stolen elections "will be corrected" on its platform. However, many such claims have thrived on Twitter in the week since former President Donald Trump spent much of a CNN town hall digging in on his lie that the 2020 election was "rigged" against him. The contrast between Musk's promise and the extent the claims are spreading on Twitter underscores a major challenge for social media companies trying to call out election conspiracies and falsehoods that Trump and his supporters continue to promote.
The US has never defaulted on debts, causing "massive uncertainty" to surround the possibility, according to Shai Akabas, director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. The government would be forced to prioritise who gets paid and when in the event of a default, which would be a "very different situation" from a government shutdown, he said. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and economists have warned that a default would have "catastrophic" consequences, leading to job losses, unpaid federal government payments, "widespread suffering" and disruption to the air traffic control and law enforcement systems, among others.
Montana District Court Judge Mike Menahan has issued a temporary restraining order against a new law banning dilation and evacuation abortions after 15 weeks of gestation. The legislation, which Republican governor Greg Gianforte signed into law earlier this week, will cause “immediate and irreparable harm and damage to Planned Parenthood and its patients” if left in place while a challenge is heard, said Menahan. The state claimed that the measure did not prohibit the abortions entirely, as it permitted injection of a lethal drug or saline solution before the procedure. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists believes that fetuses only become capable of experiencing pain after 24 weeks.
A special committee of the Vermont House of Representatives is to begin investigating the possible impeachment of Franklin County sheriff and state's attorney, John Grismore and John Lavoie, respectively. If the committee feels the House should hold an impeachment vote, Democratic Speaker Jill Krowinski said she will call the chamber back into session.
Several US cities and California will benefit from federal help with the All Inside initiative in getting the homeless into permanent housing. The state of California, which has the highest number of homeless people in the country, will receive the tailored support for two years from US government departments, local agencies and private businesses. The program seeks to provide knowledge, resources and funding, in addition to help in identifying where regulations can be loosened to help those without a home find shelter more quickly.
Former Mississippi state Senator Johnny Morgan has died in a plane crash in Arkansas. Morgan, aged 76, was the only person aboard the Beech King Air E-90 when it crashed in southern Washington County. It left the University-Oxford airport before crashing on a private property near to Winslow. Morgan had previously served in the Mississippi state Senate from 1983 to 1991 and acted as a Lafayette County, Mississippi, supervisor from 2003.
The son of Samuel Pettyjohn, a former ally of union boss Jimmy Hoffa who was gunned down in 1979 after testifying about corrupt officials selling prison pardons, is suing the FBI for failing to protect his father. Marrell Graham claims that the FBI's actions led to the deprivation of "income, services, protection, care, assistance ... counsel, and advice of his father". The "cash-for-clemency" scandal in Tennessee ultimately led to the removal of Governor Ray Blanton, although he was not indicted in the investigation. Three of his aides were indicted.
Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Representative Michael McCaul, has agreed to pause an attempt to hold US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress after the US State Department offered to let McCaul review a classified cable from US diplomats in Kabul from July 2021. It reportedly warned of the potential fall of Kabul via a special dissent channel. The offer was made with the names of those who signed it redacted. The same offer was made to the top Democrat on the panel, Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, but McCaul urged State to grant access to all committee members.
Chinese comedian Li Haoshi has been fined $2.6m, and his employer has been fined $1.3m, after Li made a statement, deemed by authorities to be offensive to the Chinese military, in a live broadcast. Li was performing in Shanghai, where he quipped, in reference to two dogs that he adopted, that they "were able to win battles, with a first-rate style". The phrase Li was using alluded to propaganda descriptions of the People’s Liberation Army’s strength, and became associated with President Xi Jinping after he first used it. Critics argue that China's sensitivity to even the smallest slight against the military is symptomatic of increasing nationalism and authoritarianism in the country.
Leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies (G7) have discussed how to build support for a “strong response to economic coercion” by China. Ahead of a summit in Hiroshima, US officials predicted a joint response from all countries, which will involve protecting technologies in areas of national security. The EU has also been seeking to create support for a strategy against economic coercion, to “derisk” rather than disconnect from, China. However, all seven members of the G7 require a positive relationship with the world’s second-largest economy. The US imported goods amounting to $537bn from China last year, while its businesses invested nearly $120bn in China. EU investments in China over the course of two decades amounted to over $140bn. In the face of criticisms from the US, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin argued that the US was the chief culprit in the coercion of China.
Three former FBI employees have testified to a special House committee investigating claims of government “weaponization” against conservatives. The individuals claimed there had been overreach and retaliation by the FBI, but testimony from Jennifer Leigh Moore, an executive assistant director of human resources at the agency, has shown that only 32 of almost 80,000 staff at the body currently have suspended security clearance. The testimony followed Wednesday’s announcement that the security clearance of former employees Marcus Allen and Steve Friend had been revoked amid concerns over the trio’s views of the Capitol attack on 6 January 2021. Friend was accused of espousing alternative theories about the attack, while Allen was said to have done the same and to have disregarded supervisoral requests that he stop. A third employee received a revocation for having entered the restricted Capitol area and having provided misleading information to investigators.
A non-profit in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside has received CAD 11m ($9m) in funding for a three-year programme aimed at teaching life skills to single room occupancy hotel tenants. The Downtown Eastside SRO Collaborative Society's training will include fire safety and lessons on overdose prevention, as well as incentives for community cleaning and repair work, and committee formation to prevent evictions. The programme is aimed at over 2,700 tenants in more than 50 privately-run buildings. The boost in funding recognises that the housing facilities are critical to supporting those in danger of becoming homeless.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who was previously the Foreign Minister, spoke about his vision of a world without nuclear weapons seven years ago in Hiroshima and called this his dream. But as he returns to the city to chair the G7 summit, he admits it is a far-off prospect and disarmament remains central to his political career. As well as the threat of nuclear proliferation, Japan could be dragged into approaches to Taiwan if a conflict is sparked between Beijing and Washington, a concern experts say will be a key focus of the summit.
Louisiana lawmakers have been informed that they have additional surplus funds available to spend on this year’s budget, after the state’s Revenue Estimating Conference recognised an additional $323m for the current budget and a further $400m, which can be spent on next year's budget. The Senators want to breach the state’s expenditure cap to spend money primarily on infrastructure, whereas the House are more conservative, wishing to reduce debt burdens. With just three weeks left of Louisiana’s 2023 legislative session, lawmakers must reach an agreement and pass a budget before adjourning on 8 June.
Paul Scully, the science, industry and technology minister, and a London mayoral candidate, has become the first minister to support ending the tourist tax, a sales levy of 20% on all non-British visitors. Scully urged Chancellor Rishi Sunak to model the benefits of VAT-free shopping, saying the current policy was costing London hundreds of millions of pounds in sales. He also argued that the tax was driving visitors to other European destinations. A new digitised version of VAT-free shopping for tourists was discussed in the mini-budgets of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng.
