Author: Sky York Journal

Sky York Journal The Trump administration used a tool created in the early days of the War on Terror to obtain financial information without a search warrant as part of its broad crackdown on opposition groups, new documents show.  In newly released emails, agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) used the law, established by the PATRIOT Act, to canvas financial institutions across the country for an investigation. While the target of the search is not clear, DHS produced the emails through discovery as part of the case against a supposed Minneapolis “Antifa” cell. Fifteen people were eventually charged with conspiracy…

Sky York Journal This story was originally reported by Mel Leonor Barclay of The 19th. Meet Mel and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy. House lawmakers formally censured Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards of North Carolina over findings that he behaved inappropriately toward two women staffers, showering them with gifts and attention, including reciting poetry for one and giving each a personalized handgun. The resolution was backed by members of both parties with overwhelming support. The vote marked a rare moment where a member of the party in power faced disciplinary action in the form of censure,…

Sky York Journal A whistleblower complaint released this morning by the office of Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D) offers a detailed and alarming portrait of the implementation of a new Postal Service rule as the agency scrambles to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order on mail-in voting ahead of the midterms. The rule, the whistleblower complaint says, creates multiple layers of verification that each individual ballot must go through before it is delivered to a potential voter. The entire system was produced rapidly, in a “slapdash” manner, and, at times, the whistleblower alleges, in violation of court orders. It has…

Sky York Journal To hear him tell it, Victor Marx has done many, many incredible things. Over his years as a Christian nationalist leader, author, and self-described “high risk missionary,” the Republican Party nominee for governor in Colorado has boasted of having personally rescued thousands of people from conflict zones and attaining multiple black belts in various martial arts. After Marx launched his political career last year, these claims have been extensively questioned. Yet, even with all of these dubious heroics, there is probably no wilder part of Marx’s mythos than his stories about performing what most people might call…

Sky York Journal The Trump administration wasted no time appealing a district judge’s Thursday night order temporarily keeping it from enforcing an executive order that would give the federal government unprecedented control over vote-by-mail. The government appealed the order to the First Circuit Court of Appeals Friday afternoon.  The recent flurry of litigation is all heading to one place: the Supreme Court, which will make the final determination of whether the executive order — which would create citizenship lists and stands to disenfranchise thousands of voters — can go into effect. The right-wing majority previously skirted ruling on the merits,…

Sky York Journal The most prominent throughline that has emerged in the 2026 Georgia Senate race is that one candidate, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), seems to be virtually surrounded by fringe figures. Collins himself has — at times slowly — responded to each new revelation by denouncing things he should, including antisemitism and racism. But his ties to out-right antisemites and racists have continued to emerge. Those ties, the most recent of which was exposed by a Washington Post article on Thursday morning, shine a new light on Collins’ own controversial social media presence, where he’s interacted with openly anti-Jewish…

Sky York Journal U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani on Wednesday lifted an injunction that was the last bulwark against President Donald Trump’s order to let the federal government take over large parts of voting by mail. But the executive order is unlikely to remain unblocked for long. Talwani wrote that the League of Women Voters’ complaint that led to the now-lifted injunction would likely be shot down by the Supreme Court on the same grounds that it turned back another challenge to the executive order on Monday: The agencies that the executive order directs to act hadn’t yet promulgated final…

Sky York Journal On Monday afternoon, Craig Moss was testing out a new silage chopper. The machine can dice up an entire green corn plant into half-inch chunks before the milky pieces are packed tight into what Moss calls “big concrete bunkers” where they’ll ferment and become cow feed. “It’s got a really distinct smell to it,” Moss told TPM in a phone interview. “You probably wouldn’t wanna eat it, but cattle love it.” An average day on Moss’ farm in Sioux County, Iowa starts around 6:30 a.m. He works alongside Eric, his farm’s one full-time employee, and a part-time…

Sky York Journal Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) defeated Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) in Tuesday’s South Carolina runoff, securing the Republican nomination for the state’s Senate seat — which had been occupied by her brother, late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), until earlier this summer. With some 91% of the votes counted, per the AP, Graham had 52% to Norman’s 48%. Graham will run in the general election against Democrat Dr. Annie Andrews, a pediatrician. Graham was tapped for the role by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) after her longtime senator brother passed away unexpectedly last month. Shortly after she started…

Sky York Journal Tom Smith sort of stumbled into the Republican nomination in his Michigan House district. But based on dozens of posts he made on social media, Smith’s path to the Jan. 6, 2021 protests against President Donald Trump’s election loss was far more deliberate.  After unearthing the series of messages, which were posted to the X.com account for “Jar Head Salsa,” a business Smith has operated with his son in their hometown of Flint, TPM reached out to him for comment. In a statement, Smith said he did not participate in unlawful activity in conjunction with the protests,…