RandySF
RandySF's JournalFBI agent who initially investigated fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis has resigned
The FBI agent who initially began working with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Good has resigned from the bureau, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Soon after the agent opened the civil rights investigation, she was ordered to reclassify it as an investigation into an assault on the officer. The FBI blocked the BCA from participating in the investigation.
The New York Times first reported the resignation.
The agent’s resignation comes as the agency has undergone another purge of seasoned FBI agents across several states, multiple sources familiar with the departures told CNN. Some of the people who are being pushed out were confronted after the bureau conducted a review of an internal messaging system and discovered instances when they made negative comments about President Donald Trump, according to the people familiar.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/politics/fbi-agent-investigated-ice-shooting-resigned
TX-18: After Trump's gerrymander and Abbott's scheming, Houston voters face most confusing election of 2026
It’s a strange time to be voting in Houston.
Since Rep. Sylvester Turner (D) died in office this past March, voters in Texas’s 18th district, which covers much of the city and is safely Democratic, haven’t had representation in Congress. They will finally elect a replacement to finish his term during a Jan. 31 runoff.
But that’s far from the end of the story. Just two weeks after the runoff election on Jan. 31, early voting will begin in a primary to fill that exact same seat for the upcoming term. The two elections are bumping up against each other because Gov. Greg Abbott (R) delayed holding the vote for Turner’s replacement as long as he could, in order to deny Democrats a seat in Congress.
And this second election will be held using a new, drastically changed congressional map with different voters and a longtime incumbent from a neighboring district entering the race.
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/after-trumps-gerrymander-and-abbotts-scheming-houston-voters-face-most-confusing-election-of-2026/
Tennessee Republican bill would limit federal office to natural-born citizens
A Tennessee lawmaker is trying to disqualify some U.S. citizens from a shot at running for federal office, a move likely to face constitutional questions as Republicans target immigrants this session.
House Bill 2036 sponsored by state Rep. Johnny Garrett of Goodlettsville would prohibit people from seeking election to federal positions in the U.S. House and Senate if they hold dual citizenship or are not a natural-born citizen, meaning they were born in the United States or were born abroad to parents who are U.S. citizens. The measure is being sponsored in the Senate by state Sen. Brent Taylor of Shelby County.
Garrett, who is running for Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District seat, filed the bill Friday, saying in a release it sets a “clear and uniform eligibility standard” matching the requirements to run for the presidency and designed to support citizenship principles and public confidence.
It is one of roughly a dozen bills Republicans have filed this session aimed at immigrants, though this one singles out U.S. citizens.
https://tennesseelookout.com/2026/01/23/tennessee-republican-bill-would-limit-federal-office-to-natural-born-citizens/
'Not a widespread problem': Lt. gov. releases early findings from voter citizenship review
Utah’s top elections official says her office has confirmed that more than 99.9% of Utah voters are U.S. citizens and has removed an additional noncitizen from voter rolls after finding four earlier last year.
Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson released findings from an ongoing review Friday as Republican state lawmakers push for tougher enforcement of a prohibition on noncitizen voting in state and federal elections.
“The bottom line is, there is not a widespread problem,” Henderson said. “You hear people say hundreds or thousands — it’s just not.”
Henderson’s office began the review last year to identify any noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls and find weak spots or mistakes that could allow that to happen. She said it identified one person who was ineligible to vote but registered anyway, although that person did not cast a ballot.
https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2026/01/23/utah-early-findings-from-voter-citizenship-review/
Dawn Staley Acknowledges Aaliyah Chavez After Breakout Performance in Oklahoma Win
Avid followers of women's college basketball were certainly aware of Aaliyah Chavez before Thursday night. Chavez was the No. 1 recruit in the country after all, before choosing to head to Oklahoma.
But what Chavez did in leading the Sooners to an overtime win over South Carolina served as a breakout for her on a bigger stage.
The freshman star was electrifying in OT, pouring in 15 points as the Sooners stunned the Gamecocks by turning what was a tie game at the end of regulation into a 94-82 victory.
After the contest, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley was asked about the performance from Chavez and had to acknowledge the heroics.
"She was great, she ran her team, hit big shots, delivered the ball, everything that you want a point guard to do. She's having a great freshman year," Staley said of Chavez.
https://www.si.com/onsi/womens-fastbreak/ncaaw/dawn-staley-acknowledges-aaliyah-chavez-after-breakout-performance-in-oklahoma-win-01kfne4zza7x
Mark Kelly's money bomb
As he increasingly flirts with a 2028 presidential run, Mark Kelly is winning friends up and down the ballot — if not influencing his Trump administration enemies.
In an effort to help flip the House and Senate in 2026, Kelly has strategically used his star turn as President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Public Enemy No. 1 to ramp up his giving and fundraising to competitive candidates, party committees and state parties to the tune of nearly $5 million last year, according to figures shared exclusively with POLITICO.
Since Trump in late November attacked the Arizona senator and other national security Democrats with a Truth Social post accusing them of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH,” one of the biggest questions in political circles has been just how much Kelly would benefit from Trump fashioning him into a foil. That post has raised Kelly’s profile, boosted further by Hegseth announcing an investigation into Kelly.
While Kelly’s total fundraising numbers aren’t yet available, what he raised and gave away will likely only be a fraction. His moves thus far — and the spotlight that Trump has shone on him — have positioned him to be a key fundraiser for Democrats in 2026, and offer him a platform to build out a 2028 base.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/23/mark-kelly-fundraising-midterms-00743357
Maryland House wastes no time taking up congressional redistricting bill
It’s full speed ahead for a legislative effort to redraw the state’s eight congressional districts.
Just three days after a five-member gubernatorial advisory committee voted 3-2 to recommend a congressional redistricting plan that would hobble the one Republican-held district in the state, a bill has been drafted and will be introduced in the House at Friday morning’s session.
The bill, sponsored by Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles), who was a member of the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission, is based on a “concept map” approved by the commission.
The bill is expected to be referred to the House Rules Committee, which late Thursday scheduled a hearing for 1 p.m. Monday. There is no agenda yet for that hearing, but an expedited process for Wilson’s bill could have it out of committee and back to the House floor as early as Tuesday. That would put it on track for a final vote by midweek and referral by next Friday to the Senate, where opponents have vowed to kill the plan.
https://marylandmatters.org/2026/01/23/house-wastes-no-time-taking-up-congressional-redistricting-bill/
MD-05: Hoyer endorses former campaign manager as successor
Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.), the longest-serving House Democrat in Congress, announced Friday he’s endorsing Maryland Del. Adrian Boafo (D), his former campaign manager, to succeed him.
“With deep respect for his character, admiration for his experience & faith in his ability—I’m proud to endorse @AdrianBoafoMD for MD05,” Hoyer, who’s retiring at the end of his term, said in a statement on the social platform X.
“Adrian has proven his ability to deliver results. I’m excited to pass the baton to a public servant who will continue these efforts in Congress,” Hoyer added.
Boafo thanked Hoyer, who once served as the No. 2 House Democrat, for his endorsement in a separate statement on X, adding, “We will continue to build upon your work and deliver for the people of Maryland’s 5th.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5703094-steny-hoyer-retiring-backs-adrian-boafo/
AZ-GOV: Hobbs warns that GOP governor candidates would undo Arizona's abortion protections
On the 53rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, with Arizonans continuing to face threats against reproductive health care from Republicans at the state and federal levels, Democrats called on voters to shore up the right to abortion via the ballot box and pushed for legislative action from across the aisle.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to abortion four years ago, the legal outlook for the procedure in Arizona has been colored by turmoil and uncertainty. A near-total ban from the Civil War era was briefly revived in 2024, before the state’s Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes won a ruling that froze its enforcement. The law was ultimately repealed after weeks of resistance from GOP legislators.
The confusion and fear sowed during that political back-and-forth resulted in an overwhelming win for Proposition 139, adding abortion as a fundamental right to the Arizona Constitution.
But that victory has far from settled the matter: dozens of anti-abortion laws remain enshrined in state law and Republican lawmakers, who hold a majority in the state legislature, refuse to throw out the remaining restrictions, leaving reproductive rights advocates with no choice but to challenge them in the courts — a lengthy and expensive process.
https://azmirror.com/2026/01/22/hobbs-warns-that-gop-governor-candidates-would-undo-arizonas-abortion-protections/
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