Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican, signed a bill on Wednesday that many people disagree with. This new law says that more crimes will now require cash bail in Georgia.

The bill, known as S.B. 63, was supported by five Republicans in the state, including Senator Randy Robertson, who is a leader in the Senate.

Governor Kemp said during a ceremony where he signed the bill that it’s important for keeping dangerous people off the streets.

However, the ACLU, an organization that protects civil liberties, strongly criticized this bill. They said it’s cruel, expensive, and won’t make things better.

According to the ACLU, research shows that putting more people in jail doesn’t reduce crime and just costs taxpayers more money. Georgia already has a high rate of putting people in jail compared to other states.

The ACLU thinks this new law will make things worse by keeping more people in jail, especially those who are poor or have mental health problems.

They are disappointed that Governor Kemp signed this bill into law and said they will challenge it in court to stop it from taking effect.

Speaker Mike Johnson expressed his desire to keep his leadership role in the Republican Party for the next Congress. Despite facing criticism from conservatives who want him out, Johnson stated in an interview that he believes he’s been effective and hopes to continue his duties.

Johnson highlighted his plans for Congress and the country, expressing confidence in Republican victories in the upcoming elections. He emphasized his commitment to serving in whatever capacity his colleagues see fit.

However, some hard-line conservatives, including Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, are pushing for Johnson’s removal. Greene plans to bring a resolution to vote on ousting Johnson, although support for this effort remains limited.

While Democratic leaders intend to block any attempts to remove Johnson, critics within his party have their sights set on preventing him from leading the GOP in the future. They believe he lacks sufficient support among Republicans and may face challenges securing leadership positions after the elections.

Johnson’s fate depends largely on the election outcome. If Republicans gain more seats, he could argue for another term as Speaker. But if they lose control of the House, his chances diminish.

Despite criticism, Johnson defends his actions, emphasizing the need for a functional Congress to address national challenges.

Former President Trump spoke at a rally in Michigan, criticizing the legal cases against him as “bullshit.” He accused the judges handling his cases in New York of being corrupt and called his indictments fake.

Trump’s trial in New York City is about allegations that he falsified business records linked to a hush money scheme. He must attend court four days a week. Trump claimed that the charges against him were politically motivated and aimed at hurting him in the upcoming election.

During the rally, Trump also attacked Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing his trial, and complained about a gag order. He criticized other judges involved in his civil fraud and defamation cases. Trump didn’t mention the charges against him in Washington, D.C., and Georgia.

He spoke about his plans for a second term, including shutting down the southern border and extending his 2017 tax law. Trump also discussed abortion policy, saying it should be decided by the states.

He suggested that getting elected was crucial to implementing his agenda. The rally in Michigan was Trump’s first visit to a battleground state since his trial began. He also spoke at a rally in Wisconsin the same day.

President Biden will meet with families of police officers who died while working in Charlotte, North Carolina. He will go to Charlotte Douglas International Airport to show respect to the officers who were killed and wounded on Monday.

Biden will meet with the families of the fallen officers, those who were injured, and other law enforcement officers. He will also meet with elected officials. After that, Biden will travel to Wilmington, North Carolina, to talk about his plans, including building infrastructure and creating jobs.

Four police officers were killed while trying to arrest someone for having a gun illegally on Monday in east Charlotte. The officers were shot at when they approached the person. Deputy U.S.

Marshal Thomas Weeks and North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections officers Sam Poloche and William Elliott died. Officer Joshua Eyer was seriously hurt and later died in the hospital.

Biden has said he supports law enforcement, especially amid criticism from Republicans about rising crime rates in the country. He has pushed for more funding for police departments to hire more officers and spend more time in communities.

During the Democratic primary in 2020, he did not support the “defund the police” movement that some progressives backed after George Floyd was killed in Minnesota.

Biden’s visit to North Carolina is part of his campaign’s efforts to win the state, which former President Trump won in 2020. Biden visited North Carolina in March, and Vice President Harris went to Charlotte in April.

Representative Matt Gaetz from Florida criticized the House’s antisemitism law as a “ridiculous hate speech bill” before the vote on Wednesday.

The House passed a law to stop antisemitism on college campuses. This happened while there were protests supporting Palestine at American universities. Gaetz disagreed with the law before the vote. He said that some parts of the Bible could be considered antisemitic under this law.

Gaetz wrote on a social media site, “This evening, I will vote AGAINST the ridiculous hate speech bill called the ‘Antisemitism Awareness Act.’” He continued, “Antisemitism is wrong, but this legislation is written without regard for the Constitution, common sense, or even the common understanding of the meaning of words. The Gospel itself would meet the definition of antisemitism under the terms of this bill!”

The law would make the Department of Education use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. Gaetz said that according to this definition, some parts of the Bible could be considered antisemitic.

He said, “The Bible is clear. There is no myth or controversy on this. Therefore, I will not support this bill.”

The IHRA says antisemitism is “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.” The law would also include modern forms of antisemitism like calling the existence of Israel racist.

Another representative, Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia, also disagreed with the law. She said it could punish Christians who believe in the Gospel.

However, Representatives Mike Lawler and Jared Moskowitz defended the law. They said it wouldn’t make believing in the Gospel illegal.

The House passed the law with a vote of 320-91. Now it will go to the Senate for consideration.

Senator JD Vance from Ohio said on Wednesday that he doubts whether former Vice President Mike Pence was truly in danger during the riots at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

During an interview on CNN’s “The Source,” reporter Kaitlan Collins asked Vance if he had any concerns about potentially being chosen as former President Trump’s running mate, given how Trump treated Pence. Vance shifted the conversation to his concerns about President Biden, but Collins repeated her question.

Collins pointed out that Biden did not call Pence when his life was in danger during the Capitol riots and asked if Vance had any concerns about being Trump’s vice president. Vance said he hadn’t spoken to Trump about it and expressed skepticism about Pence’s safety during the riots.

Vance said, “I’m truly skeptical that Mike Pence’s life was ever in danger. I think politics and politicians like to really exaggerate things from time to time.” Collins disagreed, mentioning the chants of “Hang Mike Pence” during the riots.

Vance acknowledged that some people said bad things, but he didn’t believe Trump should be blamed for everything said by participants in American democracy.

The Secret Service confirmed in 2022 that Pence was taken to an underground loading dock during the riots, where he waited with his family for about five hours. Pence described feeling angry but not afraid during the incident.

Pence has criticized Trump’s actions on January 6 and defended his own decision to certify the 2020 election results. He briefly ran for president last year but dropped out in October.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers that her department is thinking about making the free tax filing program better. Right now, it’s a small program, but they want to make it bigger and add more features, like being able to use it in different languages and filling in some information automatically.

But, some people don’t like this idea. Republicans and some companies that make tax software don’t want the government to offer this service for free because they used to have a deal with the IRS that said they would be the only ones to help with tax returns.

Yellen said they are still figuring out if it’s worth it to keep running this program. Some Democrats think it’s a good idea because it helps people file taxes for free and easily.

The program had more users than expected this year, with over 140,000 people using it. Most users liked it, saying it was easy to use.

But, companies like Turbo Tax say the government is not telling the whole truth about how much it’s costing to run this program.

The government is also planning big changes to the IRS, spending a lot of money to make it better, especially for catching rich people and big companies who aren’t paying their fair share of taxes.

President Biden wants to raise taxes for wealthy people but promises not to raise taxes for those who make less than $400,000 a year.

California’s population grew by 67,000 people last year, marking the first increase since 2020. The total number of residents now stands at 39,128,162 as of January 1st.

This growth is due to several reasons. First, there have been better policies for legal immigration, meaning more people are moving to California from other countries. Second, more babies were born, contributing to natural population growth. Third, the number of deaths returned to normal levels after being higher for a while.

However, fewer people moved to California from other parts of the United States compared to previous years. Despite this, the state’s Department of Finance predicts that the population will continue to grow.

In total, 31 out of 58 counties in California saw their populations increase. This was especially true for areas like the Bay Area, the Central Valley, and the “Inland Empire,” which is the region east of coastal Southern California.

Los Angeles County and Orange County also saw slight increases in their populations. Some counties had growth rates of over one percent, including Sutter, Yuba, and Glenn counties in the Sacramento Valley, as well as San Benito County and Imperial County.

Housing gains played a big role in these increases, according to the Department of Finance. In fact, nine out of every ten counties with more than 1 million people saw their populations go up. Riverside County had the largest increase, adding 13,800 new residents.

Governor Gavin Newsom commented on the growth, saying that people from all over the world and the country are coming to California to chase the “California Dream” and take part in the state’s strong economy. He emphasized that this growth is helping to strengthen communities across California and secure the state’s future.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized protesters at Columbia University who broke windows and took control of Hamilton Hall. He said it’s not free speech when people break the law. Schumer thinks those who did it should face serious consequences. He said protests should not turn into crimes because it doesn’t help their cause.

The protesters at Columbia University barricaded themselves in a building. The university said they can’t keep interrupting classes with protests. They warned that there would be consequences for breaking the rules.

Schumer, who is Jewish, said it’s wrong when Jewish students are targeted. He talked about a speech he made about antisemitism. He said antisemitism is terrible and shouldn’t be accepted.

Some Republicans want Columbia’s president to resign for not controlling the situation. They said it’s not right that Jewish students have to fear for their safety.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell also criticized the pro-Palestinian protests. He said the protesters are promoting hate against Jewish people. He thinks universities need to do more to stop these protests from turning violent.

McConnell praised Princeton University for handling protests better. He said universities should not just talk about stopping disorder, they should take action too.

Testimony resumed on Tuesday in the trial of former President Trump. He’s accused of paying hush money to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress who said they had an affair during the 2016 election.

The day started with Judge Juan Merchan finding that Trump broke a rule nine times by making comments online about jurors and witnesses. The judge fined Trump $9,000 and warned that more violations could lead to jail time.

Trump responded to the ruling by saying his freedom of speech was being taken away. He called the trial rigged and criticized the judge.

The court heard from witnesses who talked about Michael Cohen, a long-time associate of Trump. They described Cohen in a negative way. Cohen’s former legal advisor said those descriptions were in the past.

Another witness, Gary Farro, said Cohen misled the bank about why he was opening an account. Cohen’s lawyer testified that a Playboy model sold her story to a media company instead of a news outlet to keep it from being published.

They also talked about a video where Trump made inappropriate comments. They said it changed how people viewed women who claimed they had affairs with Trump.

The trial will continue on Thursday.

The Trump campaign criticized the Commission on Presidential Debate’s decision not to change the debate schedule on Tuesday. They said it was not right because many people would have already voted before the debates started. They want the debates to happen sooner so voters can hear from both candidates before voting starts.

Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, Trump campaign spokespeople, said, “We are committed to making this happen with or without the Presidential Debate Commission.” They want to invite every TV network in America to host a debate and want Joe Biden’s team to work with them to set it up soon.

The campaign shared a Fox News report where the commission said they’re sticking to the current schedule. Biden said he’s willing to debate Trump now that both are the presumptive nominees of their parties. While Biden hasn’t talked much about debates, Trump has been pushing for them.

Trump said he’s ready to debate Biden anywhere, anytime, and anyplace. The first presidential debate is scheduled for September 16 at Texas State University. Then, there’s a vice presidential debate on September 25 at Lafayette College. Two more presidential debates are set for October in Virginia and Utah.

During the Republican primary debates, Trump didn’t take part because he was leading in the polls. Now, he’s facing legal trouble in New York over a payment made during the 2016 election.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama surprised high school students from Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia to celebrate College Signing Day and their choice to go to college.

She said, “Look, on a day when so much is about looking ahead, I just want to take a little moment to look back with you all. Because I know it has been a long, hard road for all of you to make it to this day… and [there] has been nothing normal about this journey, especially that your class has been through.”

Obama spoke at Capital One Arena on Tuesday. She praised the students for staying in school during the COVID-19 pandemic and encouraged them to sign up for FAFSA, the federal student aid form.

Despite missing out on regular high school experiences and having classes online, the students persevered and are now ready to graduate, she said.

“Now, I know that even on a day like this… maybe some of you are feeling some trepidation, some nerves about what’s to come… especially if you are a first-generation college student like I was,” Obama said.

She shared how she felt doubtful before going to college but wanted to talk to students to encourage them. This year is the tenth anniversary of Obama’s Reach Higher program.

“My goal then was to make sure that every student realized the importance of getting their education beyond high school and to ensure that everyone had the resources, information, and the tools to make that happen,” she said.

“But, more importantly, I wanted students to know that higher education wasn’t just for the privileged few, for the kids with connections and money who were expected to fill those seats on college campuses.”

Obama announced that Reach Higher was teaming up with Common App, an undergraduate college admission application that lets students apply to over 1,000 schools.

The event was organized by the DC College Access Program (DC-CAP) and brought 2,500 students to celebrate their achievements. Obama was joined by DC-CAP President Eric Waldo, DC-CAP Board Chairman Ted Leonsis, and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.

“You’ve got a community of people around you, including me and Barack, who is sending his love to you all too,” Obama told the students. “We are rooting for your every step of the way.”

New York state Senator Timothy Kennedy, a Democrat, has won the special election to take the place of retired Democratic Representative Brian Higgins in Congress. Decision Desk HQ projected his victory.

Kennedy defeated Republican Gary Dickson in New York’s 26th Congressional District. This district was expected to remain Democratic, but the race was closely watched as the GOP holds a small majority.

Both Kennedy and Dickson were chosen by local party leaders as their party’s candidates for the special election. Kennedy will serve the remainder of Higgins’s term.

Higgins left Congress in February after nearly 20 years, citing dysfunction and slow progress in Washington. He now leads Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo. He was one of many lawmakers who decided not to seek reelection due to frustration with chaos in Capitol Hill.

The district includes Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Kennedy pushed for gun safety laws in the New York state Senate following a mass shooting in Buffalo in 2022.

Dickson, the Republican candidate, was the first Republican town supervisor in West Seneca in many years.

Kennedy will hold Higgins’s seat for the rest of the year. He is also running for a full term in the House in the November elections, according to the New York State Board of Elections.

The special election took place while former President Trump is on trial in Manhattan. Trump faces charges of falsifying business records related to a payment during the 2016 election.

Senator Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee said that the U.S. government should cancel the visas of international students who support Hamas and send them back to their countries as protests continue at colleges all over the country.

She mentioned on to the media , “If they’re foreign students and they’re out protesting, shouting ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel’ and … being Hamas sympathizers, I would pull their visa and deport them.”

Blackburn also suggested that if these students are from the U.S. and have federal student loans, their loans should be canceled because taxpayer money funds them.

Her comments come after students at Columbia University took control of a university building. They blocked entrances and hung a Palestinian flag from a window at Hamilton Hall. The protests have spread to many other college campuses, with over 1,000 people arrested.

Although many student protesters call for their schools to stop supporting Israel and to seek a cease-fire, some incidents have raised concerns. Columbia University banned a student protest leader who said, “Zionists don’t deserve to live.” Another protest organizer, Khymani James, apologized for saying earlier this year that people should be grateful he doesn’t go around “murdering Zionists.”

Blackburn emphasized that if people openly declare support for Hamas, they should be put on the terrorist watch list and not allowed to fly. She stated, “You cannot sit by and just let this activity continue and have Jewish students put in harm’s way.”

President Biden’s campaign criticized former President Trump after he stated his intention to eliminate the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR).

The OPPR was created in 2022 due to government failures in responding to the COVID pandemic. Trump mentioned in a TIME interview that he doesn’t believe the office is necessary, calling it “a way of giving out pork.” He expressed doubts about its effectiveness, saying it’s an expensive solution that won’t work.

Biden’s campaign strongly opposed Trump’s idea, citing his handling of the COVID pandemic in 2020 as inadequate and lacking a clear plan. Campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz emphasized the devastating impact of Trump’s response, including economic turmoil, school closures, and unnecessary loss of lives.

Munoz, who previously served as a White House spokesman on COVID, stressed that returning to Trump’s approach is not an option.

Trump’s decision to disband the OPPR follows the elimination of a similar pandemic preparedness task force in 2018. The National Security Council’s Global Health Security and Biodefense unit was dissolved during a reorganization, leading to staff departures or absorption into other units.

Established after the Ebola outbreak in 2015, the unit aimed to develop response plans and logistical preparations for domestic health crises. Biden’s successor office, the OPPR, has already been involved in addressing a bird flu outbreak among American livestock this year.

Former President Trump said that the pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University had “paid agitators” involved. He made these claims during a Fox News interview while the New York Police Department officers were clearing out the protest encampments at the university.

During the interview with Sean Hannity, Trump said, “I really think you have a lot of paid agitators, professional agitators in here too, and I see it all over.” He pointed out that the signs carried by protesters looked identical, suggesting they were made by the same printer and possibly funded by someone else.

Trump expressed concern that these actions were harmful to both the world and the country.

However, there is no evidence to support Trump’s claims that any protester at Columbia University or in the nationwide pro-Palestine protests is being paid or not genuine.

The police’s response at Columbia University came after tensions had been rising for days. The protests were part of a larger movement against the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Students demanded a cease-fire, an end to military aid to Israel, and divestment from Israeli interests by their colleges and universities.

Columbia University has been a focal point of these protests, with visits from political figures and calls for the university president to resign if the protests continue.

Both Trump and President Biden have spoken out against the protests. Trump called them “a sad thing to see” and criticized Biden’s response. He urged action to combat antisemitism and called on Biden to take a stronger stance.

The protests have led to numerous arrests nationwide, with some demonstrations turning violent.