New swing-state polling has revealed a rare — and alarming — consensus: Roughly equal shares of Republicans, Democrats and independents believe violence could plague the 2024 election. Why it matters: Former President Trump and his allies have already signaled they will not accept the results of the election if they believe it's "unfair," reviving the type of rhetoric that helped incite the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. In seven swing states, nearly half of Republicans (48%) and Democrats (47%)...

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) was temporarily banned from speaking on the House floor Wednesday by Republicans in the chamber, not for suggesting that Donald Trump is guilty of things he hasn’t been convicted of but simply for listing the particulars of his many ongoing legal battles. McGovern took issue with being admonished for mentioning that Trump is on trial, while a Republican had previously referred to Trump’s ongoing hush-money trial as a “sham” without any pushback from the chair. “...

Vivek Ramaswamy, who unsuccessfully mounted a bid for the Republican presidential nomination, has purchased a 7.7% stake in BuzzFeed, a regulatory filing revealed Tuesday. The purchase raised questions about Ramaswamy’s intent. The filing indicated he intended to be an activist investor, pursuing discussions with management and BuzzFeed’s board of directors about strategy and even changes to ownership of the company. BuzzFeed is the parent company of HuffPost, which it acquired in 2021....

The police chief for the University of California at Los Angeles has been removed from his post three weeks after campus officials came under fire for their handling of a violent, overnight mob attack on pro-Palestinian activists encamped at UCLA. John Thomas, who was formally appointed UCLA police chief in January, has been "reassigned temporarily, pending an examination of our security processes," Vice Chancellor Mary Osako said in a statement on Wednesday. Campus police Captain Gawin...

The inventory of existing homes for sale rose to 1.2 million in April, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), marking the highest point since October 2022, as prices and borrowing costs remain elevated. Compared to March, the available unsold homes in the market was up 9 percent, to 3.5 months' worth of supply and jumped more than 16 percent from the same time a year ago, NAR reported. Sales of existing homes fell by nearly 2 percent to a yearly rate of 4.14...

Wall Street Journal owner News Corp struck a major content-licensing pact with the generative artificial-intelligence company OpenAI, aiming to cash in on a technology that promises to have a profound impact on the news-publishing industry. 

Israel released previously unseen footage from the October 7 massacre this week that showed Hamas terrorists kidnapping several young Israeli girls. The country said that Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniela Gilboa, and Naama Levy have been held for nearly 230 days inside Gaza. “The families of Liri, Karina, Agam, Daniella and Naama have approved the release of the footage to raise awareness about the horrors their daughters are facing as hostages in Gaza,” Israel said in a...

Social media powerhouse TikTok announced Tuesday that it would start cutting global operations and marketing employees Wednesday. While TikTok didn’t confirm the number of employees it will lay off, the company is expected to cut mostly from its content and marketing teams. The company also plans to eliminate its user operations team, with some members moving to other departments. The cuts will continue into Thursday. Globally, TikTok has around 66,000 employees and 1,000 in operations...

President Joe Biden is set to not appear on Ohio’s presidential ballot in November, the state’s secretary of state confirmed. In a letter to Ohio Democratic Chairwoman Liz Walters on Tuesday, Secretary of State Frank LaRose said, “Today, the Speaker of the Ohio House told members of the media there would not be a legislative solution,” adding he was “duty bound to instruct boards of elections to begin preparing ballots that do not include the Democratic Party’s nominees for president and...

Just about everyone has had the depressing experience of sitting through a long queue to get concert tickets, only to find when they were ready to check out, the price was 30 to 40% higher because of service fees added by the ticketing company. People often have the same experience when ordering food through an app, only to see a massive service fee applied right before they're ready to place their order. These service fees, known by many as “junk fees,” are popping up everywhere these days, from surprise resort fees charged when checking out of a hotel to a 4% surcharge on a dinner bill that the restaurant added so you can help pay for their employees' healthcare.The good news for people in California is that a new bill will go into effect on July 1st that bans hidden or unexpected fees on everything from concert tickets to cruise packages. Senate Bill 478 (SB 478) makes it illegal for businesses to advertise or list a price for a good or service that does not include all required fees or charges other than certain government taxes and shipping costs.California establishments have been relying on these junk fees for years. A new law passed this year will ban these fees, thank goodness. https://t.co/sH6WcfFcRy https://t.co/2h78DlchMj— Travis (@mcsuggafree) March 4, 2024 “Our price transparency law is about clear and honest communication with consumers so consumers can make the financial choices that are best for them and their families. This new guidance provides information for businesses across California to ensure that clear answers are available, particularly for small businesses,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “The law is simple: the price you see is the price you pay. Laws work when everyone can comply. I am pleased that we can offer this guidance to help facilitate compliance with the law and make a more fair and level marketplace for businesses and consumers."A 2023 survey of Americans found that 2 out of 3 said they were paying more in surprise charges now than they had five years earlier.The bill is good news for consumers who want to make thoughtful decisions about how they spend their money, especially when inflation has made it a lot harder to stretch a dollar. However, the bill probably won’t make things any cheaper. Businesses most likely won’t stop charging these hidden fees; instead, they will be rolled into the listed price instead of popping up out of nowhere right before you hit the “pay now” button.Not just hotels, airlines & Ticketmaster piling on junk fees.Client had $112.61 Uber fare before tip today to LAX from hotel 20 miles away, reserved last night.Look at breakdown: Over 1/2 cost ended up being fees.Hope CA new "junk fee" law starting 7/1 applies to Uber too. pic.twitter.com/g5u9BZpQuU— Janice Hough (@leftcoastbabe) May 22, 2024 State Senator Bill Dodd from Napa, the bill's co-author, stated its goals: “A consumer shouldn’t discover hidden fees made up by a business when they pay their bill.”As the old saying goes, “As goes California, so goes the nation,” and when companies are forced to alter their pricing and marketing in America's most populous state, it’s bound to create changes for consumers across the country. The new law could be the first shot in a larger war against junk fees.In 2023, President Biden called out Ticketmaster and others who charge "junk fees" in his State of the Union address, claiming he’ll get “rid of junk fees, those hidden fees at the end of your bill that are there without your knowledge.” In his 2022 State of the Union speech, Biden criticized the hotel industry for surprise fees at checkout. "We’ll ban surprise ‘resort fees’ that hotels tack on to your bill. These fees can cost you up to $90 a night at hotels that aren’t even resorts,” Biden said.This Federal pressure led several companies, including Live Nation, SeatGeek, xBk, Airbnb, the Pablo Center at the Confluence, TickPick, DICE and the Newport Festivals Foundation, to make their pricing more transparent.