1. Arkansas has the LOWEST voter registration rate in the country, just 63%

Now, Republicans in the state are pushing a new rule to make it MORE DIFFICULT TO REGISTER TO VOTE

The move would thwart the efforts of a grassroots group that has successfully registered hundred of young voters

🧵 2. @GetLoudArkansas successfully registered hundreds of people -- most young and Black -- using an online form with an electronic signature.

They were told by Secretary of State John Thurston, a Republican, that electronic signatures were acceptable

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1. Eugene Ramirez, the lead anchor of @WeAreSinclair's national evening news broadcast, resigned this year over concerns about the accuracy and right-wing bias of the content he was required to present on air, three sources told Popular Information.

Follow along for details

🧵 2. The sources, one current and two former Sinclair employees, said one of the primary issues that prompted Ramirez's resignation was the mandate to include 3 stories produced by Sinclair's Rapid Response Team each night.

One current Sinclair employee described the RRT as "the right-wing propaganda arm of the national digital operation."

1. Minutes after Biden dropped out, the attacks on Harris began

One of the most common: Harris "helped raise money for a far-left organization that bailed a rioter who shot at police out of jail."

As it turns out, this one is complete BS

Follow along for the facts

🧵 2. Here are the things that are true:

In 2020, Harris encouraged people to donate to the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF), an organization that helps people who need assistance with cash bail.

The MFF did pay $75,000 to get Jaleel Stallings out of jail.

Stallings was "charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting at police during protests on May 30" 2020

But that's not where the story ends.

1. For months, @elonmusk's account has been the social media equivalent of 2000 Mules

Musk has bashed mail-in voting as "insane," "too risky," and a recipe for "large-scale fraud"

Now, Musk is donating $180 MILLION to a pro-Trump Super PAC focused on getting Trump supporters to vote by mail

🧵 2. On January 8, Musk wrote that it was "insane" that you can "mail in your ballot" in the United States. The same day, he said the government should require "in-person voting" on a single day, with few exceptions, "like other countries do."

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1. Trump's aides & allies are blaming Democratic rhetoric — such as calling Trump a threat to democracy — for inciting the attempted assassination

Meanwhile, the GOP convention features many speakers who use violent & extreme rhetoric

Follow this thread for details

🧵

2. Senate candidate Kari Lake (R-AZ) suggested she and millions of other Republicans would fight Trump's criminal conviction with firearms

“If you want to get to President Trump, you’re gonna have to go through me and you’re gonna have to go through 75 million Americans just like me, and I’m going to tell you … most of us are card-carrying members of the NRA.”

She is a featured speakers at the GOP Convention

1. Trump has COMPLETELY PLAYED the media on abortion

The GOP position to ban abortion nationwide, a possibility with the repeal of ROE, is deeply unpopular

80% of Americans — including 66% of GOP voters — oppose a national abortion ban

So Trump wants to convince people that's no longer the GOP's position 2. The 2016 GOP platform, which was ratified again in 2020 says that abortion was prohibited by the Constitution's 14th Amendment and called for legislation and a Constitutional amendment to make that "clear"

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1. Trump is running on a pledge to end taxes on tips

But the proposal would actually harm most tipped workers

The primary beneficiaries would be people (like Trump) who own and operate hotels and restaurants

🧵 2. First, many people who rely on tips earn so little that they already pay no federal income taxes.

Half of servers earn less than 32K. A server with a family who earns 32K does not owe federal income tax and would not benefit from Trump's proposal

popular.info/p/trumps-tip-t…

1. Trump says that if he returns to the White House, he will have the power to cancel any federal program — or an entire agency — by refusing to spend $ appropriated by Congress

A federal law prohibits this

But Trump says he will do it anyway

Here is how the scheme works

🧵 2. In a video, Trump says that the president has "the Constitutional power to stop unnecessary spending through what is known as Impoundment." According to Trump, if Congress appropriates money that he decides is unnecessary, he has the authority to "refuse to waste the extra funds."

1. Project 2025 is a radical blueprint for a potential second Trump administration, spearheaded by the right-wing @Heritage Foundation

Trump says he has "no idea who is behind" Project 2025 and has "nothing to do with them"

THAT IS A LIE

HERE ARE THE FACTS

🧵 2. Among other things, Project 2025 calls for withdrawing approval for the abortion pill, banning pornography, slashing corporate taxes, abolishing the Department of Education, replacing thousands of experienced federal workers with political appointees, imposing a "biblically based… definition of marriage and families," and placing the Justice Department and other independent agencies under the direct control of the president.

1. The biggest donor of the 2024 presidential campaign, by far, is Timothy Mellon, the reclusive billion and heir to the Mellon banking fortune.

Who is he and what has motivated him to spend more than $100 million already this campaign cycle?

Follow along for details.

🧵 2. Mellon has donated $75 MILLION to Trump's primary Super PAC AND $25 MILLION to RFK Jr's Super PAC.

Mellon sent $50 million to Trump's Super PAC the day after Trump was convicted of 34 felonies.

popular.info/p/the-reclusiv…

1. A lot of the coverage of yesterday's SCOTUS decision on presidential immunity focused on the impact on the charges against Trump

And that's important.

But what's even more important is how it fundamentally altered American democracy

🧵 2. The idea that the President is not above the law is directly embedded in the Constitution.

Article 1, Section 3 states that even if a President is IMPEACHED and CONVICTED, the President "shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law."

The Framers wanted to make clear that the law applied to the President just as it did to everyone else

1. On Friday, the Supreme Court executed one of the most brazen power grabs in the history of the United States, throwing out 40 years of precedent.

In many cases, instead of deferring to agency experts, federal judges will now decide how federal laws should be implemented

This has been a longstanding priority for right-wing ideologues seeking to dismantle regulations protecting the environment, curbing abuses in financial markets, and ensuring the safety of consumers 2. In 1984, the Supreme Court decided that when a statute contains an ambiguity, courts should defer to the judgment of the federal agency in resolving the ambiguity, as long as it is "reasonable."

The Chevron decision has been cited more than 18K times

popular.info/p/supreme-powe…

1. Things that will have absolutely no impact on whether Biden stays in the race or drops out:

Newspaper editorials
Tweets
Podcast hosts
Magazine columns
TV pundits

The only thing I think could possibly persuade Biden to step aside is extraordinarily bad polling

Not like, oh here is a poll that shows you down 6 points nationally.

But sustained, horrendous polling that makes it clear to Biden that the only thing that waits for him if he stays in the race is a humiliating defeat 2. The decision to run for president, as a Democrat or a Republican, take an absurd level of self-confidence and self-regard.

It’s the most powerful position in the world

The people who run thing: Yes, that’s for me. I should be the most powerful person in the world.

Biden has been trying to get into this position since the 1980s

1. On June 20, Missouri @AGAndrewBailey announced he is filing a lawsuit against the State of New York for prosecuting Trump

His legal theory is a farce

But the (still) nonexistent suit is already a success for Bailey

Because right-wing media outlets, including @WeAreSinclair, are legitimizing his stunt 2. In the U.S., in order to have standing as a plaintiff in a lawsuit, you must have an "injury in fact." In other words, it is not enough to allege that something illegal occurred

The lawsuit must show that the plaintiff was actually harmed

How was Missouri harmed by the criminal charges filed against Trump in New York? Bailey has struggled to come up with a convincing answer

1. At Thursday's debate, Trump MUST ANSWER whether he intends to restrict or ban abortion pills

He was asked about this in an interview w/Time Magazine on April 12

Trump refused to answer but promised to release a statement within 14 days

It has been 75 days

Trump still has not answered 2. Trump's campaign says he doesn't need to state his position on regulating abortion pills because the issue has been resolved by the Supreme Court

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY FALSE

The Supreme Court resolved nothing

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1. In less than 24 hours, the South Carolina Board of Education will impose a centralized and expansive censorship regime on every K-12 school library in the state

The new regulations could result in the banning of most classic works of literature from South Carolina schools — from The Canterbury Tales to Romeo and Juliet to Dracula.

Follow along for details.

🧵 2. The rules were championed by South Carolina State Superintendent of Education @ellenfored, who is closely aligned with @moms4liberty, a far-right advocacy group seeking to remove scores of books from school libraries.

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1. At the DC Pride Parade, @Deloitte promoted its support of the LGBTQ community with its name spelled out with hundreds of rainbow balloons.

But a Popular Information investigation found that since the last election, @Deloitte donated at least 679K to anti-LGBTQ state and federal politicians. 2. @Deloitte has plenty of company.

Our investigation found that 25 corporations rainbow-flag waiving corporations have collectively donated at least $17,840,761 in support of federal and state anti-gay politicians since November 2022

popular.info/p/these-25-rai…

1. 3/4 of Americans believe crime is INCREASING when the data shows it is DECREASING rapidly

Why?

GOP politicians keep claiming crime is increasing

Media outlets are unable or unwilling to correct them

🧵 2. On @ThisWeekABC, @SenatorTimScott said: "Under Joe Biden, we've seen the greatest increase in violent crime in my lifetime"

@jonkarl responded that violent crime "is actually down in the past year"

It has been down EVERY YEAR OF BIDEN'S PRESIDENCY

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UPDATE: @WeAreSinclair responds to Popular Information's story. It defends basing news articles on deceptively edited clips posted by @RNCResearch. And they "stand by... their reporting" -- reporting that includes multiple articles suggesting Joe Biden pooped himself. 2. This is the story @WeAreSinclair does not want you to read. They are continuing to advance the fiction that they are bipartisan.

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1. @WeAreSinclair is flooding a vast network of local news websites with misleading articles suggesting Biden is mentally unfit

At least 3 articles published this month falsely suggest BIDEN POOPED HIMSELF during an event

The thinly disguised political attacks are given the imprimatur of mainstream media brands, including NBC, ABC, & CBS

🧵 2. The articles attacking Biden's mental fitness are based on specious social media posts by @RNCResearch, which are then repackaged to resemble news reports

popular.info/p/sinclair-flo…

1. This article doesn't mention that in 2023, Detroit had the fewest homicides in 57 YEARS and homicides are down another 21% so far in 2024 2. Not sure how you write an entire article about Trump claiming crime is rampant in Detroit without actually stating the facts about crime in Detroit

Fewest homicides in 57 years in 2023:

Down 21% in 2024: detroitmi.gov/news/detroit-e…
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