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RandySF's JournalPaige Bueckers gets emotional addressing ICE actions in Minnesota
PHILADELPHIA — Minnesota natives Paige Bueckers and Rachel Banham spoke about ICE's presence in their home state during Unrivaled's shootaround on Thursday, Jan 29, at The Alan Horowitz Sixth Man Center.
Bueckers, a Hopkins, Minnesota, native, got emotional when she began to talk about what is happening in her home state. Protests continue in Minneapolis over President Donald Trump's mass deportation plan in the aftermath of two U.S. citizens, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, being killed by federal immigration officers this month.
"It hits a little bit home for me because I'm from there," Bueckers, a Breeze BC guard, said. "It's unfortunate. Honestly, I've grown up seeing, and been a part of, peaceful protests, marches and the community coming together because of tragic events. Innocent lives are being taken, innocent families are being broken apart. People are afraid to send their children to school; people are afraid to go to work and provide for their family; people are afraid to go to the grocery store.
"What's going on is not OK. We hope and pray there's a change in direction from where this is heading."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/basketball/2026/01/29/paige-bueckers-rachel-banham-ice-minnesota-unrivaled-philadelphia-basketball/88357675007/
Unrivaled exceeds WNBA single-game attendance record with 21,490 fans in Philadelphia
No women's professional basketball game has seen as many attendees as Unrivaled did on Friday. At least in the regular season.
The player-led, 3-on-3 league drew 21,490 fans for a sold-out doubleheader at Philadelphia's Xfinity Mobile Arena, it announced. That reportedly sets a record for the highest-attended regular-season professional women's basketball game.
For reference, the most-attended WNBA regular-season game was on Sept. 19, 2024, between the Washington Mystics and Indiana Fever at D.C.'s Capital One Arena. That was the final game of Caitlin Clark's rookie season. The WNBA has seen two games with 22,076 fans, though, in the 2003 and 2007 Finals at the Detroit Shock's Palace of Auburn Hills.
Unrivaled also noted the attendance is a record for any event at Xfinity Mobile Arena, which is the home of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's Philadelphia Flyers.
https://sports.yahoo.com/wnba/article/unrivaled-exceeds-wnba-single-game-attendance-record-with-21490-fans-in-philadelphia-030042975.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADlZMP5bkLFyd5BdO1T9F49MTnje3enqKNTjPRDIlHkz3f_zn2qLJQrnDbTYsNQXvraAX1-2RIYNgwtxn8nzqrltv3SvbuBbaNSYKbztJMeZff4mca0SGpKq0UhUZ1jyf49pzVvfiSR5QLQquhE4k4zykQv83fKbDCNs2N14MkKr
City Council Votes to Call DART Election In May
At its January 27 regular meeting, the Addison City Council voted to call an election that will allow residents to decide whether the Town should remain in or withdraw from DART.
The Council will discuss its goals and expectations related to DART during a February 3 work session. Discussions on mobility options and service scope will begin at the February 10 meeting and continue throughout February and March. By March 24, the Council is anticipated to consider entering into an agreement for mobility services, contingent on the outcome of a potential election. The Town will also continue working with other member cities and DART throughout this process.
https://www.addisontx.gov/News-articles/2026-News/DART-Election
City of Rio Rancho announces early voting site for upcoming election
RIO RANCHO, N.M. (KRQE) — Early voting in Rio Rancho is just a few days away for the upcoming election. Rio Rancho residents can cast their early ballots starting on Tuesday at the Broadmoor Senior Center, exactly one month before election day.
More early voting sites will open starting on Feb. 14. Same-day registration will be available at all locations. Election Day is on March 3. You can learn more online.
https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/city-of-rio-rancho-announces-early-voting-site-for-upcoming-election/
Top Dems: GOP's monster voter suppression bill is 'dead on arrival'
Democrats and pro-voting advocates reacted with outrage and unwavering opposition after House Republicans unveiled the Make Elections Great Again (MEGA) Act — a sweeping proposal that would dramatically restrict voting access and remake federal elections in ways critics say are designed to suppress turnout.
Key Democrats in both chambers promised the bill was “dead on arrival.”
The measure, introduced by Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), Chair of the House Administration Committee, goes far beyond the already restrictive SAVE Act, which passed the House last year and focuses on requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote.
The new proposal adds a strict ID requirement to cast a ballot, mandates aggressive voter roll purges, creates a centralized voter database, bans universal vote-by-mail, bars states from counting ballots that arrive after Election Day and makes it easier to sue election officials — changes opponents say amount to a full-scale attack on the right to vote.
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/top-dems-gops-monster-voter-suppression-bill-is-dead-on-arrival/
'Cowards': Trump Admin Bails On Elections Conference After Promising Fireworks
Three top officials in President Donald Trump’s administration failed to show up at the annual conference of state election officials after making a splashy announcement that they would confront a crowd of top state election officials.
The National Association Of Secretaries of State altered its conference schedule on Thursday to allow Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to speak Friday afternoon. This announcement dwindled to just Gabbard by midday Friday. The entire Trump administration appearance was canceled just as it was supposed to start. None of the agencies nor the White House immediately responded to a request for an explanation for the appearance or the cancellation.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat who is running for governor in 2026, had a simple diagnosis for why they ultimately failed to show: “Cowards.”
Before Bondi, Noem and Gabbard canceled, it looked as though they were going to appear before the officials as a show of force as the administration works to force through an unprecedented effort to seize control of the nation’s elections ahead of the 2026 midterms.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bondi-gabbard-noem-elections_n_697d2afae4b0b1de95c0b742
Former Mount Olive alderwoman appealing defeat in mayoral election challenge
MOUNT OLIVE, Miss. (WDAM) - An appeal has been filed in the case of a former Mount Olive alderwoman who was challenging the results of last summer’s mayoral election in that town.
Marcia Hull has appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court, following a decision last week by a special circuit court judge dismissing a lawsuit by Hull and affirming current mayor Cliff Kelly’s victory in that election.
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Hull ran for mayor against Kelly and lost.
She then sued Kelly, the municipal clerk and the Mount Olive election commission, alleging numerous voting irregularities.
https://www.wdam.com/2026/01/31/former-mount-olive-alderwoman-appealing-defeat-mayoral-election-challenge/
Local Leaders Strongly Opposed to Partisan Municipal Elections
WHEELING — City leaders in Wheeling and Moundsville voiced universal opposition to proposed legislation that would force West Virginia municipalities to hold partisan elections.
“House Bill 4080 is simply a bad piece of legislation,” said Wheeling Councilman Dave Palmer. “This bill is being pushed by the nationalRepublican Party as a way to interject itself and take away local autonomy, and quite frankly, it’s disgusting.”
The city of Wheeling holds its municipal election every four years, typically in May, when seats for the mayor and all council members are up for grabs in non-partisan races.
“Local issues are just that and should not be decided by whether you have an ‘R’ or a ‘D’ next to your name,” Palmer said. “We as city council members are responsible for our streets, our water, our sewage and our public safety, and we do not need to be dragged into national issues.”
https://www.theintelligencer.net/news/top-headlines/2026/01/local-leaders-strongly-opposed-to-partisan-municipal-elections-2/
SF unions, biz groups cross Rubicon with duelling ballot measures
The die was likely cast Friday for a June electoral battle between San Francisco business and labor groups over business taxes after both a union-led coalition and an alliance of commercial interests filed signatures to qualify competing tax-hike and tax-cut measures for the ballot.
Warning of threats to health care and other services largely because of federal budget cuts, members of the labor-led Stand Up for SF coalition on Friday morning turned in more than 21,000 signatures aimed at qualifying their measure, which they predict would raise more than $200 million annually for city services.
“It's time for large corporations to pay their fair share,” said Brittany Hewett, a nurse from Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, to reporters and others as she and colleagues unloaded boxes of petitions to submit to The City’s Department of Elections, which will verify whether they contain the 10,643 valid signatures needed for ballot qualification.
The coalition’s “Overpaid CEO Act” campaign aims to increase and reformulate the Overpaid Executive Gross Receipts Tax, which is sometimes referred to as the Top Executive Pay Tax. Voters originally approved it in 2020 and then drastically lowered it in 2024.
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/politics/sf-unions-business-groups-commit-to-june-ballot-tax-battle/article_7c8e32e2-48f1-487b-9186-d6897816a68f.html
Giannis watch: All signs point to Bucks trade of superstar
The pairing of Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and his 2-year-old daughter, Eva, was an endearing match created in heaven for commercial pitchmen.
In this instance, they were pitching Huggies Little Movers diapers in a 60-second television advertisement featuring the widely recognizable and likeable Greek Freak.
After entering the gym, Giannis ties his shoe lace and tightens the grip strip on Eva’s diaper. Each then grabbed a basketball with daughter mimicking dad’s every move.
Playing in the background is the rhythmic sound of Ludacris’ “Stand Up,” with lyrics that could tell a story in real time, “When I move … you move … just like that.”
https://captimes.com/sports/giannis-watch-all-signs-point-to-bucks-trade-of-superstar/article_97921a3f-32b9-4c61-9119-b0fdb99e3c80.html
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