(WASHINGTON) — A bipartisan group of senators reached a deal on Wednesday to move forward with legislation that would ban stock trading by members of Congress.
The bill would ban lawmakers from buying and selling stocks 90 days after the measure is signed into law, according to a statement shared with ABC News.
The measure would also require elected officials, their spouses and dependent children to unload stock holdings and other related assets beginning in 2027.
The punishment for a failure to divest such holdings would be the monthly salary of the sanctioned official or 10% of the value of the assets at issue, whichever amount is greater, according to a summary of the legislation.
The measure also raises the penalty from $200 to $500 for failure to disclose stock holdings under a previous law that requires such information be made public.
The agreement was reached by Sen. Jon Ossof, D-Ga., Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.
“The public should be confident that federal elected officials are making decisions that are in the best interests of the American people, not their own personal finances,” Peters said in a statement on Wednesday.
Echoing that sentiment, Merkley urged his colleagues to support the measure.
“Members of Congress are elected to serve the public — not their stock portfolios,” Merkley said in a statement. “The whole Senate should pass this bill and do so soon.”
Polls show widespread support for stock trading limits on Capitol Hill.
More than three-quarters of Americans support a ban of stock trading by members of Congress, according to a poll conducted by left-leaning firm Data for Progress in 2022. A rightwing advocacy group Convention of States Action found the same result in a poll it conducted that year.
The measure will be taken up for consideration at a meeting of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on July 24.
“There is no reason why members of Congress ought to be profiting off of the information that only they get and the rest of the American people don’t get,” Hawley said in a statement. “This bill takes a giant step forward.”
(WASHINGTON) — New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has introduced articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.
Ocasio-Cortez has long criticized multiple conservative members of the Supreme Court, but the rhetoric of impeachment was amped up in the wake of recent rulings, including the court’s decision on presidential immunity.
“The unchecked corruption crisis on the Supreme Court has now spiraled into a Constitutional crisis threatening American democracy writ large,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement. “Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito’s pattern of refusal to recuse from consequential matters before the court in which they hold widely documented financial and personal entanglements constitutes a grave threat to American rule of law, the integrity of our democracy, and one of the clearest cases for which the tool of impeachment was designed.”
Ocasio-Cortez specifically criticized gifts Thomas received from his friend, billionaire Harlan Crow.
“Clarence Thomas, in his conduct as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, engaged in high crimes and misdemeanors, by refusing to report the source, description, and value of gifts, and by failing to report of real estate property,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in the articles, going on to list gifts he did not reportedly reveal.
Thomas acknowledged in his latest annual financial report, released in June, that he had “inadvertently omitted” reimbursement for food and lodging expenses for the July 2019 travel.
The articles against Thomas, who was nominated to the Supreme Court by George H.W. Bush in 1991, also cites Thomas’ “refusal to recuse from matters concerning his spouse’s legal interest in cases before the court” and “refusal to recuse from matters involving his spouse’s financial interest in cases before the court.”
As far as Alito, who was nominated by George W. Bush in 2005, Ocasio-Cortez cites his “refusal to recuse from cases in which he had a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party in cases before the court” and “failure to disclose financial income, gifts and reimbursements, property interests, liabilities, and transactions, among other information.”
Several other justices, including Neil Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor and John Roberts have also been criticized for monetary or personal ties to businesses and groups with cases before the court.
Congress has the authority to remove a federal judge for “‘treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” through a vote of impeachment by the House of Representatives and a trial and conviction by the Senate, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Article III of the Constitution adds that judges “shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour.”
A simple majority vote is required for the House to adopt the articles — 218 votes — for impeachment.
Right now, Republicans hold 219 seats and Democrats hold 213.
Only one Supreme Court justice has ever been impeached, according to the Federal Judicial Center.
Associate Justice Samuel Chase was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives in 1804, “on charges of arbitrary and oppressive conduct of trials,” the center states. However, he was acquitted by the U.S. Senate in 1805 and remained on the bench.
(WASHINGTON) — With just days until former President Donald Trump is expected to reveal his vice presidential pick, on Wednesday he commented on the characteristics he likes about each candidate on his shortlist — while also highlighting some potential challenges.
Trump joined Fox News radio host Brian Kilmeade on his podcast on Wednesday morning where he discussed an array of topics including his thoughts on his top vice presidential contenders.
Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum are considered to be the contenders to be Trump’s running mate, though advisers have repeatedly cautioned that Trump has discussed other options and they have denied knowing who his final pick will be.
After dispatches circulated about Trump’s reported disdain for facial hair, which campaign advisers poked fun at, Trump dismissed the idea that Vance’s facial hair would complicate his chances of earning the No. 2 spot.
“No,” Trump said laughing about the idea he had a problem with Vance’s appearance. “He looks like a young Abraham Lincoln,” he quipped.
Trump, however, did reveal that there were certain complications regarding Rubio and Burgum that are factoring into his decision-making process.
On Rubio, Trump acknowledged that it would be “complicated” picking him because they were from the same state, while saying it doesn’t necessarily mean that he was out of the running.
“No, but it does make it more complicated … There are people that don’t have that complication,” Trump said of the Florida senator, who introduced him at his rally in Doral, Florida Tuesday night.
Trump was referring to the 12th Amendment to the Constitution that states that presidential and vice presidential candidates running on the same ticket “shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves,” which would be applicable to Trump and Rubio, who reside in Palm Beach and Miami, respectively.
This means that if Trump selected Rubio as his running mate, the 30 crucial electors from Florida could not vote for both Trump and Rubio, while electors from other 49 states could.
On the podcast, Trump said the issue can be “fairly easily fixed,” but noted “it’s not like picking some people, where it’s very easy” and added that forgoing delegates from Florida would be “very risky.”
During an interview with NBC News’ Miami station Tuesday night, Trump suggested if Rubio isn’t picked as his vice president, “he certainly will” play a role in his possible second administration.
For Burgum, abortion has become an issue of focus as Trump weighs his decision. The North Dakota governor has backed one of the strictest laws in the country — signing a six-week state abortion ban last April. Trump indicated his signature could be a “little bit” of an issue as he moves forward with his selection.
“Well, it’s a little bit of an issue. It’s a pretty strong ban. You know, I think Doug is great, but it is a strong ban. He’s taken a very strong stance. Or the state has, I don’t know if it’s Doug, but the state has, so it’s an issue,” Trump said.
Campaign advisers have claimed Trump’s announcement will be known before the start of the Republican National Convention, which begins on Monday in Milwaukee. Though Trump has said he would much rather build suspense and wait until convention week.
“No, not tomorrow, I’ll make it close to the convention,” said Trump to Kilmeade when asked if he would reveal his pick on Thursday. “I would love to do it, the, you know, it used to be picked during the convention … it made the convention, frankly, more interesting”
One factor not in play, claimed Trump, was the consideration of a last-minute Democratic ticket switch up.
“I don’t think it does,” said Trump when asked if he was considering another candidate due to the fact that Vice President Kamala Harris might not be the vice presidential nominee — instead the presidential nominee — should Biden choose to step aside.
“Whether we plan for him or anyone else, the planning, I think it’s the same,” he added, projecting confidence regardless of the Democratic ticket.
“I think I’m pretty well set in my own mind, but you know, you got some good people, and I have changed a little bit, but you have, they’re all great — anyone would be fantastic.”
(SANTA FE, N.M.) — Prosecutors argued Alec Baldwin behaved recklessly and “violated the cardinal rules of firearm safety” during the filming of “Rust,” while the defense said the actor “committed no crime” in the “unspeakable tragedy,” during opening statements Wednesday in the manslaughter trial over the 2021 fatal on-set shooting.
Baldwin was practicing a cross-draw in a church on the Santa Fe set of the Western when the Colt .45 revolver fired a live round, fatally striking 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin was indicted by a grand jury on involuntary manslaughter in connection with Hutchins’ death earlier this year after prosecutors previously dropped the charge. He pleaded not guilty.
Baldwin committed ‘numerous breaches’ of firearm safety, state says
“The evidence will show, ladies and gentlemen, that like in many workplaces, there are people who act in a reckless manner and place other individuals in danger, and act without due regard for the safety of others,” prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson told jurors during her opening statement. “That, you will hear, was the defendant — Alexander Baldwin, the lead actor on this film.”
Johnson told jurors that while they will hear the revolver referred to as a “prop gun,” it is a real gun that experts will testify was in proper working order.
She told jurors they will hear about “numerous breaches” of firearm safety regarding Baldwin, from him using it as a pointer to cocking the hammer and putting his finger on the trigger when he was not supposed to do either.
While handling the firearm prior to the shooting, Baldwin “would do his own thing,” including having his finger on or around the trigger during two draws, Johnson said.
“The evidence will show that that third and fatal time, he takes it out once again, fast,” Johnson said. “He cocks the hammer, points it straight at Miss Hutchins and fires that gun, sending that live bullet right into Miss Hutchins’ body.”
Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the trigger of the firearm, though the FBI’s forensic report determined the gun could not have been fired without pulling the trigger.
“After the shooting, the defendant began to claim he didn’t pull the trigger. The evidence will show, ladies and gentlemen, that’s not possible,” Johnson told jurors.
Live bullet on set ‘most critical issue,’ defense says
Defense attorney Alex Spiro told jurors the state will attempt to “tarnish” Baldwin but that the “most critical issue” in the case is how the live bullet got on set.
“On this set, there was a real bullet, something that should never be on a movie set, something which has nothing to do with making a movie,” Spiro told the jurors during his opening statement. “You will hear no evidence, not one word that Alec Baldwin had anything to do with that real bullet being brought onto that set.”
He said it was the armorer’s responsibility to ensure the firearm was safe, and that the loading of the live bullet had nothing to do with Baldwin.
“No one had any idea that this venomous, toxic element had been inserted into this magic they were creating,” Spiro said. “But it did. It entered that place. It killed an amazing person, it wounded another, and it changed lives forever.”
Spiro said when the gun was handed to Baldwin, “cold gun” was announced, indicating it was safe. When it fired, everyone on set was “shocked,” he said.
“Alec is startled. He immediately says, ‘I didn’t mean to shoot. I didn’t pull the trigger,'” Spiro said.
Spiro said that Baldwin didn’t pull the trigger but that on a movie set “you’re allowed to pull the trigger.” Even if the state could prove that Baldwin did intentionally pull the trigger, “that doesn’t make him guilty of homicide,” Spiro said.
“He did not know, or have any reason to know, that gun was loaded with a live bullet,” Spiro said. “That’s the key. That live bullet is the key. That is the lethal element.”
1st witness recounts response to shooting
Following opening arguments, the state called its first witness, officer Nicholas Lefleur, who was the first law enforcement officer to arrive in response to a 911 call reporting the on-set shooting.
Lefleur discussed his efforts to secure the scene at the Bonanza Creek Ranch and separate witnesses.
During footage from his lapel camera shown to the jury, Lefleur seeks out Baldwin — who is seen talking on his cellphone while still in costume — and says he understands the actor was in the room during the shooting.
“I was the one holding the gun, yeah,” Baldwin responds.
Prosecutor Kari Morrissey questioned Lefleur about several instances in which Baldwin was seen talking to other witnesses even though the officer asked him not to.
In his cross-examination, Spiro addressed that at no point during those instances did Lefleur tell the witnesses to separate.
Baldwin 2nd person to go on trial in shooting
The jury was selected on Tuesday. The trial is currently scheduled to go through July 19. That does not include deliberations.
Prosecutors were seeking to argue during the trial that, as a producer of the film, Baldwin bore responsibility for unsafe conditions on the set. However, during a pretrial hearing on Monday, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer denied using evidence of his role as a producer during the trial.
The judge also ruled that footage from the “Rust” set showing Baldwin’s handling of the firearm can be admitted into evidence in the trial, but that videos of him yelling or cussing at the crew to hurry up were not relevant in the case.
Baldwin, 66, is the second person to go on trial in connection with the fatal shooting.
The film’s armorer — 27-year-old Hannah Gutierrez — was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in March. Prosecutors argued that she repeatedly failed to maintain proper firearm safety and brought several live rounds onto the set — including the one that killed Hutchins.
Her attorney told ABC News on Tuesday that they have been informed that she will be called to testify on Friday and plans to invoke the Fifth Amendment.
Marlowe Sommer denied last month the state’s request to use immunity to compel Gutierrez’s testimony during Baldwin’s trial. Prosecutors sought immunity so that Gutierrez’s testimony could not be used against her in her appeal. At a pretrial interview in May, Gutierrez asserted her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, prosecutors said.
Last year, David Halls, the film’s first assistant director who had conducted the safety check on the Colt .45 revolver prior to the shooting, accepted a plea deal in the case after being charged with negligent use of a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to six months unsupervised probation.
He could also be called to testify during the trial, court records show.
(NEW YORK) — The NASA astronauts who were aboard the first crewed flight into space on Boeing’s Starliner said they are “confident” the spacecraft can get them home safely.
Flight commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore, 61, a former U.S. Navy captain, and Sunita Williams, 58, a former Navy service member, have been aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for more than a month after Starliner experienced several mechanical issues, including helium leaks and a thruster issue.
“We’re absolutely confident,” WIlmore said Wednesday. He said the pair tested a “Safe Haven procedure,” sheltering inside Starliner in the event they needed to suddenly undock from the ISS, and the test went well.
“We’ve been through a lot of simulations…and I think where we are right now…I feel confident that if we had to, if there was a problem with the International Space Station, we could get in our spacecraft, we could undock, talk to our team and and figure out the best way to come home,” Williams added.
Wilmore and Williams lifted off on June 5 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and docked with the ISS on June 6.
The pair were initially expected to spend one week aboard the ISS evaluating the spacecraft and its systems and return June 14. However, Starliner’s mechanical issues left the astronauts stuck onboard the ISS with no set return date.
NASA has insisted Wilmore and Williams are safe while they remain onboard the ISS with the Expedition 71 crew. The agency has said the ISS has plenty of supplies in orbit, and the station’s schedule is relatively open through mid-August.
“We’re taking our time on the ground to go through all the data that we have before we decide on the return opportunity,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, said during a Wednesday afternoon press briefing. “We’re taking time to build confidence in the spacecraft to understand the thruster performance … and also totally understand the helium margins before we undock.”
NASA and Boeing say Wilmore and Williams are “integrated” with the Expedition 71 crew aboard the ISS and are helping the crew with station operations as needed, as well as completing “objectives” needed for NASA’s possible certification of Starliner.
“Since their arrival on June 6, Wilmore and Williams have completed half of all hands-on research time conducted aboard the space station, allowing their crewmates to prepare for the departure of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft,” NASA wrote in a recent update.
This week, teams at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico are performing ground tests of Starliner’s thruster, putting it through similar conditions the spacecraft experienced on its way to the ISS, according to an update on Boeing’s website.
The tests will replicate Starliner’s docking, when some of the thrusters failed, and what the thrusters will experience between when Starliner undocks from the ISS and touches down back on Earth.
“This testing is trying to replicate what the worst-case thruster saw inflight,” Mark Nappi, Boeing’s vice president of its Commercial Crew Program, said during the Wednesday afternoon news conference. “So far, we’ve not been able to replicate the temperatures that we saw in flight, so the team is off talking about that – as a matter of fact, right now – so that they can determine whether or not there’s a form of testing, or something in the test that we want to go change, so that we can replicate that situation.”
Stich said the tests, and taking one’s time with them, are not unusual for a new spacecraft, and because Starliner can be powered from the ISS, it allows the team to use the space station as temporary hangar. He added that he expects the tests to be completed by the end of this week or over the weekend.
Starliner had been plagued by issues even before launch. The flight test was originally tentatively scheduled for May 6, but was scrubbed after a problem with an oxygen valve on a rocket from United Launch Alliance, which manufactures and operates the rockets that launch Starliner spacecraft into orbit.
A new launch date was subsequently set for May 25, but then a small helium leak was discovered in the Starliner service module, which contains support systems and instruments for operating the spacecraft.
Those helium leaks and a thruster issue threatened to delay Starliner’s ISS docking, but it docked successfully. Five days after docking with the ISS, NASA and Boeing announced that the spacecraft was experiencing five “small” helium leaks, but added at the time that enough helium remained for the return mission.
(HOUSTON) — More than 1.3 million electrical customers in the Houston area remained without power Wednesday as sweltering temperatures set in following the destruction left by Hurricane Beryl.
As CenterPoint Energy, the main utility company in the area, warned “it will take days” to restore power to everyone, Harris County officials sought to calm residents suffering under hot, humid conditions.
Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday, knocking down power lines, toppling trees onto homes, flooding streets, killing at least six people and leaving Houston, the fourth largest U.S. city with more than 2.3 million residents, under miserable conditions, officials said.
“I know that we’re all tired and frustrated. We’re hot. We are struggling to sleep and cool off and we absolutely have storm fatigue,” Judge Lina Hidalgo, the executive of Harris County, said at the start of a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Assessing the post-Beryl situation, Hidalgo reported long lines at the few gas stations that remain open, hospitals and senior living facilities without power, food dwindling at grocery stores, widespread damage caused by Beryl’s 97 mph wind gusts and 13 inches of rain in some areas.
On top of the damage exacted by Beryl, a heat advisory remains in effect in the Houston area, where the temperature is forecast to reach a high of 93 degrees on Wednesday. The National Weather Service said the heat index, which factors in low humidity, will make the Houston area feel more like 106 degrees.
“The main point here [is] I really want to encourage people not to panic. We can get through this,” said Hidalgo, adding that her home was without power.
But Paul Locke, CenterPoint Energy’s director of local government affairs, could only offer cold comfort to customers of the utility giant, saying, “It’s going to be days” before power is restored to everyone.
“I can’t give you a timeline, but it’s not going to be tomorrow,” Locke said.
About 12,000 linemen have been deployed to the field as CenterPoint continued Wednesday to assess damage to its electrical grid, the energy provider said.
When Beryl blew in on Monday, a total of 2.2 million CenterPoint Energy customers lost power, about 80% of those the utility serves, as the storm toppled powerlines and trees and ripped roofs off buildings, including part of the roof on NRG Stadium, home of the NFL’s Houston Texans, officials said.
Drawing comparisons to a severe storm in May that knocked out power to about 1 million CenterPoint Energy customers, Locke said it took 4 1/2 days to restore power to everyone in the wake of that storm.
“Now we’re at 2.2 million,” Locke said.
But CenterPoint Energy’s outage map showed Wednesday that repairs hadn’t started in many areas without power and that assessment of the damage was still ongoing.
Locke assured customers that the utility company was working as fast as possible to restore power, adding many members of the repair crews were without power, too.
“Nobody wants to sleep in a house that’s 85 degrees,” Locke said.
Compounding the problem, the Red Cross has been unable to set up shelters in Houston because of the lack of electricity, Hidalgo said.
Hidalgo also noted an emergency that occurred at the Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital in Houston at the onset of the hurricane, saying the facility, which she described as “one of the pillars” of the city’s health care system, lost power and could not get its back-up generator to work for several hours.
“It got so warm in the hospital that people’s lives were at risk,” Hidalgo said. “They had to shut down all operating rooms except for two, which meant even a lot of emergency operations were delayed.”
Hidalgo also said the storm prompted the closure of the Port of Houston, where much of the fuel for gas stations comes in. She said gas stations are relying on trucks to bring in fuel.
“So the ones that don’t have power, they can’t supply the fuel and the ones that do have fuel are seeing limitations because everyone is going there,” Hidalgo said.
She said that while some grocery stores reported running out of perishable items, “We’re not in a situation where we are going to run out of food or where it is just impossible for fuel to get to Harris County in the event of a serious emergency.”
Houston resident Joanne Posey was among numerous people without power on Wednesday picking up emergency supplies and water at a cooling station established at the LeRoy Crump Stadium in Houston.
“It’s hard, but you just keep the faith with sweat going down your face,” Posey told ABC Houston station KTRK, as she waited in her car to pick up supplies.
Susan Balderas of Houston was among those waiting in line at a gas station, telling KTRK that it was the second place she went to fill up her tank.
“I’ve taken my lunchtime today to find gas because in the area I live, a lot of power is still out,” Balderas said. “Gas stations are out. Long lines everywhere.”
President Joe Biden granted a federal emergency disaster declaration on Tuesday for 121 Texas counties affected by Beryl, which will speed up federal assistance to the area.
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is serving as governor in the absence of Gov. Greg Abbott, who is on an economic development mission in Asia. Patrick said he spoke to Biden on Tuesday and made the formal request for federal assistance after he toured the damaged areas.
In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Biden alleged that state officials in Texas slowed down the federal efforts by not putting in a formal request with the administration sooner.
“I don’t have any authority to do that without a specific request from the governor,” Biden told the Chronicle.
Patrick, a Republican, later accused Biden of making the storm recovery “a political issue.”
(LITTLE ROCK, Ark.) — Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Arkansas has been home to one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country. Now abortion-rights advocates are petitioning to get a proposed amendment on the November ballot that would allow voters to decide whether abortion care should be enshrined in the state constitution.
Chelsea and Thomas Stovall are among the volunteers canvassing Arkansas streets, asking for people to sign a petition that would allow voters to decide if abortion should be legal in Arkansas.
“As soon as we found out about the ballot initiative, we were some of the first to come and sign up,” said Chelsea Stovall. “It wasn’t enough to change anything so we had to get more involved.”
Abortion rights is a personal issue for the couple. In 2022, the Stovalls were excited to be expecting their third child, but at a 20-week appointment they learned that their daughter had a fatal fetal anomaly and would not survive.
Chelsea Stovall did not qualify for the one exception to Arkansas’ abortion ban: to save the life of the mother in a medical emergency. As a result, the couple had to spend thousands of dollars and travel hundreds of miles to Illinois to terminate their pregnancy.
“It is painful to relive that over and over again,” Chelsea Stovall told “Nightline.” “But I think it’s so necessary to get people to understand that this is affecting real people.”
The Stovalls had been working to collect enough petition signatures to submit before the July 5 deadline. The amendment would restore abortion access up to 18 weeks post fertilization. After 18 weeks, abortion access would be allowed in circumstances such as fatal fetal anomaly, rape or incest, or to protect the mother’s life and health.
After the “Nightline” report aired on July 2, canvassers from Arkansans for Limited Government say they have surpassed 90,000 signatures from more than 50 counties, qualifying the amendment for November’s ballot. State officials have until August 22 to certify the measure.
Arkansas is one of the nearly dozen states where abortion rights could be up to voters this November. However, amendment supporters say it is not getting as much attention as initiatives in presidential election swing states like Arizona and Florida.
“I think we already know which way the state is going to go with regards to the presidency,” said Dr. Chad Taylor, an OB-GYN in Arkansas. “But I think what’s really important for people to know is that you can vote for whoever you want at the top of the ticket, and you can still support this amendment.”
In the two years since Roe v. Wade was overturned, six states, including Kansas, Kentucky and Ohio, have voted on ballot initiatives regarding abortion access. Voters in all six states have supported abortion rights.
The Stovalls appeared in ABC News’ “Impact x Nightline” documentary “On the Brink.” Thomas Stovall said in the 2023 special that he was once “100% against” abortions, even in cases of rape. But now, since the couple’s personal experience of losing their daughter, he has changed his mind and sees abortion as a private medical decision for families to make with their health care provider.
“It’s not that necessarily I went from one side to the other, it’s more that I had all the right information in front of me now and I know the full story,” said Thomas Stovall. “Before I only had half the story, I only had what I was raised and taught.”
As the couple now confronts the same ideas that Thomas Stovall once believed while out canvassing, the petition signing effort is sparking backlash from opponents of abortion. Some canvassers say that they have been run out of town by residents in smaller areas and even received death threats. In other places, protesters often set up near petition drives, with their own “Decline to Sign” events.
“This amendment is more extreme than Roe v. Wade,” said Jerry Cox, founder and president of Family Council, a conservative nonprofit group, which opposes the amendment. “It would obliterate all of the good laws that Arkansas has passed over the last 50 years to protect the health and safety of women.”
The amendment states that “the State of Arkansas, its officers, or its political subdivisions shall not prohibit, penalize, delay or restrict abortion services.”
“The amendment doesn’t define those words, but those are powerful words,” Cox said. He worries that the wording could negate Arkansas’ existing laws like parental notification for minors seeking abortions or mandatory waiting periods. Advocates for groups like Arkansans for Limited Government, which supports the amendment, says their lawyers disagree and do not think the amendment would impact those laws.
Family Council Action Committee is one of the seven groups opposing the abortion petition, with volunteers across the state, often reaching out through churches. But those fighting for the petition say the group has taken its efforts too far.
The committee recently posted a list of paid canvassers working to get signatures for the petition, including their names and hometowns. Some saw the action as doxxing.
“We took that as an act of intimidation,” said Gennie Diaz from Arkansas for Limited Government. “We have, unfortunately, had encounters with individuals who have threatened our volunteers and our paid canvassers, threatened to kill them. We have had to file police reports.”
Destiny Sinclair, one of the canvassers on the list, is a college student who also works a full-time job. She says she feels that Family Council has made her and everyone on the list a target.
“They doxed these canvassers, including myself, because they want to silence our voice,” said Sinclair. “And here I am using it even louder.”
Alison Guthrie, a paid canvasser who lives with her brother and disabled mother, says that Family Council potentially put her family at risk when the list went public.
“It’s taken my peace of mind. Every time I get a ring notification on my phone, I want to check and see, ‘OK, who’s at my front door?’” said Guthrie. “[I’m] out here fighting for what I believe in, but being put in danger because of what [Jerry Cox] believes in, I just don’t think is right.”
Cox believes that posting the list was necessary, he says, to be transparent with voters about who in their communities is collecting signatures. Cox stated that even though the committee could have published more information, including the canvassers’ home address and phone number, they did not.
“I don’t discount their concern, because we here at this office have had people actually threaten us,” Cox said. “I think the people have a right to know who’s getting paid to amend their constitution.”
Some volunteers believe that groups like Family Council are not the only ones working to stop the petition. State lawmakers are as well. The Arkansas State Constitution says petitions need to be signed by voters from at least 15 of the state’s 75 counties.
But last year, the Republican-controlled legislature passed a law to make it 50 of the 75 counties, even though the voters had voted down a similar measure in 2020.
“I think [it’s] because they know that if it gets on the ballot, the people will vote for it,” said Veronica McClane, a long-time volunteer canvasser.
Despite the challenges, canvassers like Chelsea and Thomas Stovall say that they are determined to try.
“I just want to shake people and wake them up. Like, ‘do you not know what’s going on?’” said Chelsea Stovall. “It should be an easy thing. Just give the people the right to choose. Give them the right to vote.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden is facing a crisis point in his reelection bid as Democratic calls for him to exit the 2024 race continue to mount despite his efforts to shut them down.
A poor debate performance against Donald Trump reignited questions about Biden’s age and fitness to carry out his campaign and serve another four years. Biden has defiantly insisted he is staying the course, telling lawmakers this week he is not going anywhere.
Trump, who has kept a relatively low-profile as anxious Democrats publicly and privately air concerns, returned to the campaign trail on Tuesday with a rally in Florida.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Jul 10, 2:07 PM EDT 8th House Democrat calls on Biden to step aside
New York Rep. Pat Ryan, a moderate Democrat, is now calling on Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee.
“Trump is an existential threat to American democracy; it is our duty to put forward the strongest candidate against him,” Ryan wrote on X. “Joe Biden is a patriot but is no longer the best candidate to defeat Trump. For the good of our country, I am asking Joe Biden to step aside — to deliver on his promise to be a bridge to a new generation of leaders.”
Ryan is the eighth House Democrat to publicly call on Biden to step aside.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
Jul 10, 2:03 PM EDT Biden gives a fist pump when asked about Pelosi’s comments
Despite her remarks, Biden suggested he still has Pelosi’s support to continue his reelection campaign.
“Is Nancy Pelosi still behind you?” Biden was asked after taking a family photo with NATO leaders.
The president didn’t say anything, but flexed his arm and fist in the air.
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Jul 10, 1:58 PM EDT Debate over future of Biden’s candidacy continues
After a day of closed-door Democratic meetings where lawmakers appeared to be absorbing the sober reality that Biden would stay as the party’s presumptive nominee, new comments on Wednesday stirred fresh debate on Biden’s viability and path forward.
First, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was noncommittal on whether she wanted Biden to continue to run despite Biden insisting repeatedly that he had decided to stay in the race.
“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” Pelosi said on MSNBC. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”
Then, George Clooney, in a stinging New York Times op-ed, said Biden should step aside.
“It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010,” Clooney wrote. “He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.”
(WASHINGTON) — Actor George Clooney, who just weeks ago hosted a fundraiser for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, called for the president to exit the 2024 race in a New York Times op-ed published Wednesday.
“I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced,” Clooney wrote.
“But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.”
Clooney’s comments go against Biden’s claims that the debate was just one “bad night” or a “bad episode,” as he told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos in Biden’s first post-debate television interview.
Also, the stinging language lands Clooney among the growing chorus of Democrats — from elected officials to high-profile donors — asking the president to allow another, younger nominee to lead the Democratic Party’s ticket.
“Would it be messy? Yes. Democracy is messy,” wrote Clooney. “But would it enliven our party and wake up voters who, long before the June debate, had already checked out? It sure would.”
“The short ramp to Election Day would be a benefit for us, not a danger,” Clooney continued. “It would give us the chance to showcase the future without so much opposition research and negative campaigning that comes with these ridiculously long and expensive election seasons.”
A Biden campaign official did not respond directly to the op-ed, but pointed ABC News to Biden’s recent comments insisting he is remaining in the race, including his Monday letter to Democratic lawmakers where he said he’s “firmly committed” to staying in the race to the end.
Biden praised Clooney’s character at a 2022 White House reception for the Kennedy Center Honorees — a group that included Clooney.
“One thing I respect most about George — and I mean this sincerely — is his deep empathy,” Biden said, adding that “he always remembers where he came from.”
After describing Clooney’s advocacy work, including on guns, Biden said, “He knows the work remains unfinished, yet he is unrelenting and undaunted. That’s character in real life. And that’s George Clooney.”
ABC News’ Chris Donovan contributed to this report.
Former U.S. Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi speaks to members of the press on Capitol Hill March 12, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images, FILE)
(WASHINGTON) — Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, appearing on MSNBC on Wednesday morning, declined to directly answer when asked if President Joe Biden had her support as he seeks reelection amid debate between Democrats on his viability as a candidate.
“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” Pelosi told “Morning Joe” co-host Jonathan Lemire. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”
“I think overwhelming support of the caucus — it’s not for me to say, I’m not the head of the caucus anymore — but, he’s beloved, he is respected and people want him to make that decision,” Pelosi added.
Biden, in a defiant statement to congressional Democrats on Monday, has said he’s “firmly committed” to staying in the race to the end.
Lemire followed up by asking Pelosi directly, “Do you want him to run?”
“I want him to do whatever he decides to do,” Pelosi responded. “And that is the way it is. Whatever he decides to go with.”
“I said to everyone — let’s just hold off. Whatever you’re thinking, either tell somebody privately, but you don’t have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week. But I am very proud of the president,” Pelosi added.
The Biden campaign’s response to Pelosi’s comments was, “He’s running.”
Pelosi led House Democrats for the first two years of the Biden administration, helping pass some of his signature policy achievements such as the bipartisan infrastructure law and gun safety legislation. As a Democratic leader who has worked closely with Biden, Pelosi’s thoughts on the president’s ability to hold the office could carry a lot of weight in an election year where Biden’s rematch with former President Donald Trump is expected to be a close contest.
ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, in Biden’s first post-debate television interview, repeatedly pressed the president what he would do if Democratic leaders such as Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries and Pelosi were to tell him they were worried his presence in the race would impact the party’s chances of controlling the House and Senate.
Biden told Stephanopoulos, “Well, it’s, like, they’re not gonna do that.”
Schumer on Tuesday simply told reporters multiple times, “I’m with Joe” — but declined to engage in broader questions on Biden’s path forward.
Jeffries, who earlier this week said he still supported Biden and that his position remained unchanged, huddled behind closed doors on Tuesday with House Democrats to discuss Biden’s path forward.
Some members described the meeting as “rough” and sobering, according to multiple participants. Others described feeling powerless to change course amid Biden’s defiance.
After the meeting, a seventh House Democrat — New Jersey’s Mikie Sherrill — publicly called on Biden to exit the race.
But others, including Rep. Jerry Nadler and Rep. Jim Clyburn, expressed support for Biden.
“Right now, President Biden is the nominee. We support the Democratic nominee,” Rep. Pete Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said at a press conference.
Senate Democrats also met for their own conference meeting on Tuesday.
Sen. Michael Bennet, during an interview with CNN, said in the meeting he expressed to colleagues his belief that Biden will not defeat Trump this November.
“Donald Trump is on track, I think to win this election and maybe win it by a landslide and take with him the Senate and the House,” Bennet said. “For me, this is not a question about polling, it’s not a question about politics, it’s a moral question about the future of our country and I think it’s critically important for us to come to grips with what we face if together we put this country on the path of electing Donald Trump again.”
Multiple sources confirmed to ABC that Sens. Jon Tester and Sherrod Brown conveyed similar concerns about Biden’s ability to win during the meeting. Brown and Tester are both facing difficult reelection campaigns of their own this cycle.
The Biden campaign pushed back on Bennet’s comments, saying the race was always going to be close and is “far from over.”
