Good afternoon and happy Super Tuesday!
If you live in one of the following 15 states - Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia - today was your chance to head to the polls and make your voice heard in this primary.
At stake: Approximately one third of all <a href="[link removed]">delegates</a> to the party conventions will be allocated today. It's now an <a href="[link removed]">age-old</a> question: are we building towards a Biden-Trump rematch in November? Though Nikki Haley managed to prevent Trump's primary sweep with <a href="[link removed]">a win in D.C.</a>, she is largely delaying the inevitable, with Trump on track to garner enough delegates to win the GOP nomination on <a href="[link removed]">March 12</a>.
Beyond that, there are a variety of down-ballot primaries determining the Democratic candidates for Senate in California and Texas and nominees for North Carolina's governor, as well as a vote in Alabama's hotly contested newly drawn Second Congressional District. In the midst of all this electioneering, Mitch McConnell and Kyrsten Sinema heard that <a href="[link removed]">"there is life after the Senate. And it's good."</a>
Here's what else you need to know this week...
FEDERAL FUNDING FEAT
Another short-term continuing resolution (CR) was passed last week that extended funding for the Departments of Agriculture, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, and Housing and Urban Development (and the Food and Drug Administration and Military Construction) until this Friday.
Six months after fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations were due for renewal, Congress unveiled a <a href="[link removed]">six-bill "minibus"</a> this weekend in advance of Friday's shutdown, which would fund the aforementioned departments as well as the Departments of Commerce and Energy. The package will provide the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program with the <a href="[link removed]">$1 billion boost</a> necessary to keep the program afloat and mothers and children fed. <a href="[link removed]">Read more about the appropriations here.</a>
The package must be passed before the week's end. Then Congress can pass the other six bills and move on to other pressing priorities, like the also overdue Farm Bill. This chaotic process, however, has eroded confidence (<a href="[link removed]">even of senior Republican staffers</a>) in Speaker Mike Johnson's ability to lead - spelling trouble for future legislation.
READ ACROSS AMERICA - IF YOU CAN
This past Saturday was the National Day of Reading - but depending on where you are in America, you might be limited in your choice of book.
Book bans are one of the latest sinister sensations sweeping the nation, part of an attack on education that extends from legislation that locks literature away to school vouchers that suck funding out of public schools. From January to August of 2023, there were <a href="[link removed]">695 censorship attempts</a> that challenged 1,915 titles - a 20 percent increase from 2022.
Many books deemed"harmful" or"inappropriate" have been penned by or about people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community. It's said that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. But perhaps it's more accurate to say that those trying to obscure or censor history - particularly a history of discrimination - are actively trying to repeat it.
Under Governor Ron DeSantis' twisted leadership, Florida has enacted some of the most egregious book bans in the nation - going so far as to <a href="[link removed]">take dictionaries off the shelf</a>. It's clear that Republicans would prefer to obscure the definition of"rights" from their constituents.
Florida's Escambia school district is being <a href="[link removed]">sued</a> for its removal of books based on ideological objections. In Illinois, libraries have received <a href="[link removed]">bomb threats</a>. On the other side of the country, Oregon's Senate passed a bill that <a href="[link removed]">bans book bans</a>. <a href="[link removed]">Learn about the status of book bans in your state</a> - and if you can't access a book from your public library, <a href="[link removed]">download them here</a>.
STATE OF THE UNION BINGO
Get your bingo boards ready! The State of the Union is this Thursday. Follow along with us as we track how President Biden's 2024 agenda aligns with rural Americans' priorities. <a href="[link removed]">Tune in at 9:00 PM ET</a> and tag @_OneCounty_ with your bingo progress!
ICYMI
CalMatters: <a href="[link removed]">Rural California schools are desperate for state help, from special education to construction</a>
CPR News: <a href="[link removed]">Locally produced food and better paid cafeteria workers delayed as state scrambles to pay for free school lunch program</a>
Alabama Reporter: <a href="[link removed]">ALGOP expects passage of school voucher program with no cap</a>
Ohio Capital Journal: <a href="[link removed]">Alabama passes IVF protections while red states still push 'personhood' abortion laws</a>
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