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RandySF's JournalNBA's Adam Silver to consider changing draft lottery, revoking picks to stop teams from tanking
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – NBA Commissioner Adam Silver believes teams are tanking more aggressively this season than the league has seen in recent years, and he is considering many possible remedies to ensure real competition, from taking away draft picks to making wholesale changes to the draft and the lottery.
Silver immediately addressed the hottest topic in NBA circles Saturday in his annual address during All-Star weekend at Intuit Dome, making it clear that the NBA will do almost anything to make sure its teams earnestly compete.
Last Thursday, the league issued a $500,000 fine to the Utah Jazz and a $100,000 penalty to the Indiana Pacers for sitting healthy players, believing their apparent tanking actions compromised the league's competitive integrity.
“Are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory? Yes, is my view,” Silver said. “Which was what led to those those fines, and not just those fines, but to my statement that we’re going to be looking more closely at the totality of all the circumstances this season in terms of teams' behavior, and very intentionally wanted teams to be on notice.”
https://www.clickorlando.com/sports/2026/02/14/nbas-adam-silver-to-consider-changing-draft-lottery-revoking-picks-to-stop-teams-from-tanking/
Early voting for the Texas 2026 primaries begins Tuesday. Here's what to know.
Voting for the 2026 primaries starts Tuesday. Texas Republican and Democrat voters will pick which candidate they want to represent their interests and their party on the ballot for the November general election.
Before you head to the polls, you should know you have rights as a voter and there are certain rules in place at voting locations about what you can bring and wear. You also need an approved photo ID to vote in person.
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/02/14/texas-2026-early-voting-rules-primaries/
Steve Bannon courted Epstein in his efforts to 'take down' Pope Francis
Steve Bannon, a former White House adviser to US President Donald Trump, discussed opposition strategies with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein against Pope Francis, with Bannon saying he hoped to “take down” the pontiff, according to newly released files from the US Department of Justice.
Messages sent between the pair in 2019, released in the massive document dump last month, reveal Bannon courted the late financier in his attempts to undermine the former pontiff after leaving the first Trump administration.
Bannon had been highly critical of Francis whom he saw as an opponent to his “sovereigntist” vision, a brand of nationalist populism which swept through Europe in 2018 and 2019. The released documents from the DOJ appear to show that Epstein had been helping Bannon to build his movement.
“Will take down (Pope) Francis,” Bannon wrote to Epstein in June 2019. “The Clintons, Xi, Francis, EU – come on brother.”
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/14/world/bannon-epstein-take-down-pope-francis-latam-intl
PA-15: Rep. Thompson (R) running for re-election, Bilger (D) makes candidacy bid
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — The race for Pennsylvania’s 15th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives is heating up, as two candidates announce their campaigns on Thursday.
Incumbent Republican Glenn “GT” Thompson is running for another term, he announced in a video posted Feb. 12......
Democrat Ray Bilger also announced Thursday he’s running for the seat, and he shared the news at the Bellefonte Art Museum.
Bilger, a native of Bellefonte, Pa., served on the U.S. Air Force and has more than 40 years of public service experience.
https://www.wtaj.com/news/local-news/rep-thompson-running-for-re-election-bilger-makes-candidacy-bid/
Republican battle to repeal Utah redistricting law races to finish line
Utahns for Representative Government, the committee organized by Utah GOP chair Rob Axson, has until 5 p.m. on Sunday to submit enough petition packets to qualify for the November ballot.
This comes after the Utah Supreme Court on Friday denied a request to postpone the signature submission deadline for the Republican effort to repeal Utah’s Proposition 4 redistricting law.
As the clock ticks down, GOP volunteers and paid signature gatherers worked to persuade Utahns to give Prop 4 a second look even as Better Boundaries — the group behind the law — asked Utah voters to remove their signatures from petitions.
Over the past three months, the GOP’s bid to fight one ballot initiative with another has boiled over into a bitter brawl about who should draw Utah’s congressional maps and how citizen-initiated legislation should be implemented.
https://www.deseret.com/politics/2026/02/13/utah-redistricting-battle-continues-as-republicans-race-to-repeal-prop-4/
New PAC in March Palm Beach Town Council election sparks debate
A new political action committee has stepped into the Palm Beach Town Council race and is bringing new attention to fundraising and donations in the race for the Group 1 seat.
The Palm Beach Neighbors PAC, formed in December ahead of the March 10 election, had raised $264,655 as of Feb. 11 from a broad coalition of supporters, according to its founders. The PAC has so far spent just under $20,000 on the election.
The PAC recently endorsed incumbent Lew Crampton for Group 1, citing his experience and leadership in an announcement posted on its website, PBNeighborsPac.com. Crampton has spent eight years on the council and currently serves as its president pro tem.
Crampton is challenged by real estate portfolio manager John David Corey, a former member of the Architectural Commission.
https://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/story/news/2026/02/13/new-political-action-committee-sparks-debate-in-palm-beach-florida-election/88579405007/
Local election authorities say a verification tool used in Missouri flagged citizens for removal from voter rolls
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) - Secretary of State Denny Hoskins is asking local election authorities to verify voters' citizenship status after a federal program flagged people for potential illegal status. However, many county clerks have spotted citizens on the list.
Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said Hoskins sent her a list of 74 voters in November whose immigration status needed to be confirmed.
"We could see just from looking at the numbers and looking at the actual voters that were on it, that many of them were naturalized citizens," Lennon said. "One [voter] we actually registered at their naturalization ceremony."
The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements is a federal program that allows the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to verify a person's status. Hoskins uploaded Missouri voter rolls to the program within the past year.
https://abc17news.com/news/abc-17-news-investigates/2026/02/13/local-election-authorities-say-a-verification-tool-used-in-missouri-elections-flagged-citizens-for-removal-from-rolls/
Local election authorities say a verification tool used in Missouri flagged citizens for removal from voter rolls
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) - Secretary of State Denny Hoskins is asking local election authorities to verify voters' citizenship status after a federal program flagged people for potential illegal status. However, many county clerks have spotted citizens on the list.
Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said Hoskins sent her a list of 74 voters in November whose immigration status needed to be confirmed.
"We could see just from looking at the numbers and looking at the actual voters that were on it, that many of them were naturalized citizens," Lennon said. "One [voter] we actually registered at their naturalization ceremony."
The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements is a federal program that allows the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to verify a person's status. Hoskins uploaded Missouri voter rolls to the program within the past year.
https://abc17news.com/news/abc-17-news-investigates/2026/02/13/local-election-authorities-say-a-verification-tool-used-in-missouri-elections-flagged-citizens-for-removal-from-rolls/
Recall election in Seaside underway
As of Feb. 11, a recall election was officially deemed underway by the Clatsop County Clerk and Elections office, according to Julia Myers, elections technician.
The recall is concerning Seaside City Councilor Seamus McVey, of Ward 3. McVey was elected in 2024 and his term is set to expire Dec. 31, 2028. McVey has recently come under fire for some of his stances and allegations about keeping his past secret as well as a name change. He has been maligned on social media and during public comments at council meetings. Fellow councilors and Mayor Steve Wright have stood by McVey. He says the allegations are unfounded.
Chief Recall Petitioner Andi Toombs filed the petition with the City of Seaside on Oct. 29, 2025 and petition signature sheets were approved for circulation on Dec. 9. On Jan. 27, 2026, the signature sheets were presented to the City of Seaside. On Feb. 5, the signatures were verified and counted by county officials. Ninety-six signatures were needed — the clerk’s office received 118 signatures and determined that 105 were valid. Toombs and McVey were notified of the results.
McVey declined to resign by the Feb. 10 cut off date, so the March 17, 2026 Recall Election commenced.
https://dailyastorian.com/2026/02/13/recall-election-in-seaside-underway/
Maricopa County recorder finds 60 noncitizens who voted in elections This ad will end in 21 seconds You can skip this
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office said Friday a review uncovered five dozen people who voted in prior elections despite not being citizens.
In a news release, the department said it made the discovery while confirming ballot eligibility for 61,681 county residents impacted by an administrative error discovered in 2024 involving the Motor Vehicle Division.
When looking through the voter rolls, elections officials said they found 137 people who were registered to vote who are not U.S. citizens. Of those, they said 60 voted in prior races.
“The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office is referring the identified non-citizens who have cast ballots to both the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for further review and any appropriate action,” the recorder’s office said.
https://www.azfamily.com/2026/02/14/maricopa-county-recorder-finds-60-noncitizens-who-voted-elections/
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