Author: Mandy Matthews

Longtime Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz won the Democratic primary in Florida’s 20th Congressional District, beating a field of Black rivals in the majority-minority district. Debbie Wasserman Schultz held on in the Democratic primary for Florida’s 20th Congressional District, securing another term in a seat long controlled by her. The race drew attention because the challengers were Black candidates competing in a majority-minority district, which raised questions about representation and party dynamics. Voters returned an experienced incumbent rather than opting for a new local face. The outcome reflects how incumbency and institutional support can shape primaries even in districts where…

Crews worked Tuesday to restore power to thousands in Hawaii after the outer bands of Lala swept through the islands over the weekend, leaving destructive flooding and one fatality in their wake. Utility workers fanned out across hard-hit neighborhoods Tuesday, tackling downed lines and damaged equipment as they worked to bring electricity back to thousands of residents. The outer bands of Lala battered the archipelago over the weekend, and recovery teams moved in as waters receded and debris was cleared. Local authorities and crews focused first on hospitals, critical facilities and areas with the most extensive outages. Flooding left streets…

A Florida man convicted of fatally shooting his estranged wife and wounding his mother-in-law was executed Tuesday, a case that comes amid continued use of capital punishment under the state’s Republican leadership. The man was convicted in the fatal shooting of his estranged wife and the wounding of his mother-in-law, and authorities carried out an execution on Tuesday. The case has been cited as another example of Florida’s robust enforcement of its death penalty statutes under a Republican governor. Families on both sides pushed through years of court proceedings, appeals and reviews before the sentence was carried out. Victims’ relatives…

Michelle Obama described a simple Mother’s Day car ride with Malia and Sasha that felt like a breakthrough, and the story has stirred debate about privacy, security, and public expense. Michelle Obama shared a detail from a recent podcast: she took her first solo car ride with daughters Malia and Sasha years after leaving the White House. The trip was a short drive from Los Angeles to Palm Springs with no Secret Service, no motorcade, just the three of them stopping for fast food like any family. For many Americans that kind of ride is routine, but for the Obamas…

Disney filed suit Tuesday against the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission, claiming the agency violated its First Amendment rights. The complaint centers on alleged interference tied to the commission’s actions and how those actions affected Disney’s speech. The case opens questions about the limits of regulatory power and the balance between government oversight and free expression. At the center of this dispute is a powerful media company saying a federal agency crossed a line. Disney argues the FCC took steps that chilled its speech, and it is asking a court to sort out whether those steps were lawful. The company…

The Navy is shifting its only carrier from the western Pacific to the Middle East, leaving a gap as China steps up drills and allies watch nervously. The Navy is sending the USS George Washington out of the western Pacific to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, where the Lincoln has spent more than 240 consecutive days at sea supporting operations against Iran. That swap means, for the moment, no U.S. aircraft carrier will be routinely present in the western Pacific while Beijing conducts live-fire drills near Japan and exercises off the Philippines. This is not a…

Massachusetts has passed the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act, removing gestational limits and making abortion available up to birth under a physician’s professional judgment, joining nine other states and Washington, DC, in adopting no-limit abortion laws after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision returned policy to the states. The new law in Massachusetts strips away the gestational limits that once governed abortion and replaces them with open wording that defers to doctors’ judgment. That change shifts the legal framework from a fixed cutoff based on viability to a flexible standard that critics say leaves the unborn unprotected. For Republican readers,…

Republicans pushed the SAVE Act through the House, but the Senate blocked it, so conservative states moved on their own with proof-of-citizenship and voter ID measures while the national fight over federal incentives and filibuster rules grinds on. Congressional Republicans managed several wins this term, yet the SAVE America Act remains stuck. The House passed versions of the bill in April 2025 and again as the SAVE America Act in February, but the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold stopped it cold. With the federal route stalled, GOP leaders shifted to using federal grant incentives to prod states instead. That pivot aims…

Brazilian authorities recovered stolen works by Henri Matisse and made an arrest, spotlighting the persistent problem of high-value art theft and the long road to returning masterpieces to rightful owners. Police in Brazil found stolen works by French artist Henri Matisse Thursday and arrested a man accused of holding on to the art for the alleged thieves. The discovery came after an investigation that tied local handlers to a larger chain of illicit trade, underscoring how quickly masterpieces can travel once they leave secure collections. Authorities described the operation as part of routine work to combat cultural property crime, and…

China tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile without adequate warning, prompting the U.S. and 40 countries to demand clearer advance notice and greater transparency to avoid miscalculations and protect regional stability. China’s recent test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile without adequate warning prompted the U.S. and 40 countries to demand greater advance notice of such tests, the State Department said. That single sentence sits at the center of a wider diplomatic push for predictable behavior in sensitive military domains. In Washington, Republican leaders view unpredictability from Beijing as a direct risk to allies and to deterrence. The lack of timely notice…