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News briefs
Moderna to ramp up production of COVID-19 vaccineWASHINGTON — Moderna plans to ramp up production of its COVID-19 vaccine, the U.S. pharmaceutical company said Wednesday. The company will increase its capacity in a bid to produce up to 1 billion doses this year. "We believe from our discussions with governments around the world that there will continue to be significant demand for our COVID-19 vaccine and we now are committed to materially increasing our manufacturing capacity," Stephane Bancel, Moderna's chief executive, said in a statement. The announcement was made as U.S. President Joe Bid...
Tribune News Service
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Pro-Trump candidate plans to challenge Rep. Kinzinger, one of the former president’s critics
CHICAGO — In what could be a foreshadowing of national fault lines in the Republican Party, a pro-Donald Trump Republican announced plans on Wednesday to challenge one of the former president’s most vocal critics in Congress, Illinois U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger. Catalina Lauf, of suburban Woodstock, first announced her intentions on social media to challenge Kinzinger for the 16th Congressional District, which skirts the Chicago suburbs from the Indiana border to the Wisconsin line. Lauf, who last year ran an unsuccessful Republican primary bid in the 14th Congressional District where she lives,...
Chicago Tribune
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DeKalb elections board members decry 'harmful' Georgia voting legislation
Four members of DeKalb County, Georgia's elections board issued a joint statement Tuesday denouncing "harmful legislation" being considered by state lawmakers. Elections board chair Sam Tillman, vice chair Baoky Vu and members Dele Lowman Smith and Susan Motter all signed on to the statement calling for legislators to withdraw House Bill 531, a wide-ranging and controversial proposal that would, among other things, end early voting on Sundays, limit the use of absentee ballot drop boxes and require ID for absentee ballots. Anthony Lewis, one of the DeKalb board's two Republican appointees, was...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Georgia Senate passes bill that would let state take over local election boards
ATLANTA — The Georgia Senate approved a bill Wednesday that would allow the state to take over local election offices that fail to meet standards. Senate Bill 89 would allow the State Election Board to establish criteria for “low-performing” election offices and, if they don’t improve, to replace the local officials with new election superintendents indefinitely. Supporters said the bill would mean more support for local election officials, as well as accountability for those — such as Fulton County — that have repeatedly had election problems. “The state has come down on Fulton County numerou...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Internal emails reveal Michigan county's response to voting problem that fueled conspiracies
DETROIT — Antrim County has inspired nationwide conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 presidential election, but internal emails from the northern Michigan county clerk's office show election officials quickly identified the human errors that led to problems with initial results. There wasn't a mysterious glitch with the Dominion Voting Systems election technology, as some lawyers and advocates have suggested without providing clear evidence. Instead, late changes to the ballot and the lack of a thorough rechecking of the machinery led to the discrepancies. Antrim County election officials ...
The Detroit News
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David Perdue won’t mount comeback bid for US Senate in Georgia in 2022
ATLANTA — Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue of Georgia will not launch a comeback bid next year, clearing the way for other Republicans to enter what could be a crowded 2022 race against Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock. Perdue announced the decision Tuesday, just eight days after filing campaign paperwork exploring a challenge against Warnock, who won a Jan. 5 U.S. Senate runoff against Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler. “This is a personal decision, not a political one,” he said in an email to supporters. “I am confident whoever wins the Republican primary next year will defeat the Democra...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Bill requiring ID for absentee voting passes Georgia Senate
ATLANTA — The Georgia Senate approved a bill Tuesday to require more identification for absentee voting, the first elections bill to pass either legislative chamber as lawmakers consider new voting rules after last year’s heated presidential race. Voters would have to provide a driver’s license number, state ID number or a copy of photo ID when requesting absentee ballots, according to Senate Bill 67. Currently, absentee ballots are verified based on voters’ signatures and registration information rather than an ID. The Senate approved the bill mostly along party lines, 35-18. It will next be ...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Beijing official signals changes to Hong Kong's electoral system
Xia Baolong. Image from Chinese government's official site. This story was written by Kelly Ho and was originally published by Hong Kong Free Press. An edited version is republished here under a content partnership agreement. A Beijing official in charge of Hong Kong affairs has signaled that Hong Kong will undergo a set of electoral reforms under the leadership of the Chinese authorities, with an aim to block “anti-China” opposition forces from the city’s governing bodies. The Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) Xia Baolong outlined a sort of code of conduct for Hong Ko...
Global Voices
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David Perdue won’t mount comeback bid for US Senate in Georgia in 2022
ATLANTA – Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue will not launch a comeback bid next year, clearing the way for other Republicans to enter what could be a crowded 2022 race against Democrat Raphael Warnock. Perdue announced the decision Tuesday just days after filing campaign paperwork exploring a challenge against Warnock, who won a Jan. 5 U.S. Senate runoff against Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler. “This is a personal decision, not a political one,” he said in an email to supporters. “I am confident whoever wins the Republican primary next year will defeat the Democrat candidate in the general ele...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Christine Quinn confirms she’s not running for NYC mayor
NEW YORK — Christine Quinn, the former City Council Speaker who now runs a non-profit for the homeless, announced Monday that she would not run for mayor after months of speculation among politicos that she might. Quinn, who served as Council Speaker during Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s tenure, made an ill-fated run for City Hall in 2013, emerging as an early front-runner, but ultimately suffering a devastating loss to Mayor Bill de Blasio. In her announcement Monday, Quinn said she would “continue fighting for homeless families” and then hauled off on the current field of candidates for not offer...
New York Daily News
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