Evening Wrap

We’re less than six months out from an increasingly tight presidential election that will likely (again) be decided by a few thousand votes in a handful of key battleground states, where — fun coincidence — most major voting regulations remain mired in court battles, injecting an extra dose of uncertainty into a process that definitely did not require additional uncertainty. Will there be ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin? Dunno. Can third-party groups help Georgia voters request absentee ballots? TBD. Has Arizona made it too easy for Black and Hispanic people to vote? Seems unlikely, but until the courts weigh in, it’s a possibility!

In 1990, federal lawmakers voted to compensate people who had been impacted by government-sanctioned atmospheric nuclear tests and uranium mining. That program, known as the Radiation Exposure and Compensation Act (RECA), will run out of funding next month unless Congress approves an extension. Most lawmakers are on board with that idea. But they don’t agree on the specifics, the Utah News Dispatch reported.

Beginning in July, Florida school districts will have the option of allowing volunteer chaplains to “provide support, services and programs” to students on campus. The policy, signed into law in April by Gov. Ron DeSantis, imposes few requirements on prospective chaplains beyond passing a background check and agreeing to list their names and religious affiliations (if they have one — not a requirement) on the school’s website, per the Florida Phoenix. 

The Georgia Court of Appeals will likely take at least five months to decide whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from an election interference case against Donald Trump, diminishing the likelihood that the trial will conclude — or even begin — before this year’s presidential election, the Georgia Recorder reported. 

By December, Cinde Warmington had raised $1.059 million for her gubernatorial bid. But the details of those donations are a little harder to discern from the campaign finance report, which crams a host of details (contributor name, address, job title, and amount given) into a single spreadsheet using a tiny, garbled font that’s legible only after zooming in by at least 400%. 

Speaking of stomach-turning matters, adult film star Stormy Daniels — a Louisiana native, by the way — shared sordid details of her alleged sexual encounter with former President Donald Trump. She’s a key prosecution witness in the criminal case against Trump that claims she was paid campaign funds to keep quiet about the extra-marital encounter. 

Donald Trump last week bragged about his role in ending the constitutional right to abortion, lauded the GOP as the “party of fertilization” and predicted that Michigan voters would approve “a liberal policy” on abortion access, which they did — in 2022, per the Michigan Advance.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, killer of dogs and goats, appeared on Fox News Wednesday to blame “fake news” for the ongoing fallout over an excerpt from her memoir that recalled in detail the day she fatally shot her dog and goat, per South Dakota Searchlight.

Hello and welcome to the inaugural Q&A edition of the Evening Wrap, in which I attempt to answer your questions about politics, government, the difficulties of staying awake in court, our collective existential angst, and other trending topics. My goal, as always, is to help you make sense of the chaos, so don’t be shy — ping me with your political preoccupations and I’ll do my best to sort them out on a (hopefully) semi-regular basis. Thank you for being here! Please let me know what you think.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday characterized a wave of pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses as a threat to Jewish students and a form of speech that is not protected under the U.S. Constitution, our D.C. bureau reported.

Louisiana Republicans are doing their part for the kids by urging state officials to join a federal program offering additional food benefits to low-income students during summer break. The push, initiated last week, was the first time Republicans had weighed in on the proposal since February, when Gov. Jeff Landry declined to participate, per the Louisiana Illuminator.

What’s the best way to open a money-themed newsletter? By talking about a billionaire, obviously. Today’s rich guy of choice is Mark Cuban, part owner of the Dallas Mavericks and Shark Tank personality who is also, apparently, dabbling in the prescription drug game via the subtly named Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, the Ohio Capital Journal reported.