By , HOUSTON (Reuters) - Less than a week before Election Day, Joe Biden is tantalizingly close to a prize that has eluded generations of Democratic presidential candidates: Texas.Public opinion polls show Biden and Republican President Donald Trump effectively tied in the Lone Star State. They also suggest the former vice president is leading among those helping to set its staggering early vote totals.As of Tuesday, nearly 8 million Texans had cast ballots, approaching 90% of the entire 2016 vote - a higher percentage than any state in the country, according to the U.S. Elections Project...…By , HOUSTON (Reuters) - Less than a week before Election Day, Joe Biden is tantalizingly close to a prize that has eluded generations of Democratic presidential candidates: Texas.Public opinion polls show Biden and Republican President Donald Trump effectively tied in the Lone Star State. They also suggest the former vice president is leading among those helping to set its staggering early vote totals.As of Tuesday, nearly 8 million Texans had cast ballots, approaching 90% of the entire 2016 vote - a higher percentage than any state in the country, according to the U.S. Elections Project...WW…

By , MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Despite a last-minute court battle and a stay-at-home order, thousands of Wisconsin voters on Tuesday braved the coronavirus outbreak to wait 6 feet (1.8 m) apart in lines for hours and cast ballots in the state’s presidential primary and local elections.Some Wisconsinites who had requested absentee ballots said they never received them, forcing them to choose between risking their health to cast a ballot in person or forgoing their right to vote.The confusion and frustration among the Midwestern state’s residents - as well as the 11th-hour legal wrangling over...…By , MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Despite a last-minute court battle and a stay-at-home order, thousands of Wisconsin voters on Tuesday braved the coronavirus outbreak to wait 6 feet (1.8 m) apart in lines for hours and cast ballots in the state’s presidential primary and local elections.Some Wisconsinites who had requested absentee ballots said they never received them, forcing them to choose between risking their health to cast a ballot in person or forgoing their right to vote.The confusion and frustration among the Midwestern state’s residents - as well as the 11th-hour legal wrangling over...WW…

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comApril 26 (Reuters) - Texas, Florida and North Carolina are among the states that will gain congressional seats based on new population data from the U.S. census, a shift that could boost Republican chances of recapturing the U.S. House of Representatives from Democrats in next year’s midterm elections.The overall U.S. population stood at 331,449,281, the Census Bureau said on Monday, a 7.4% increase over 2010 representing the second-slowest growth of any decade in history.The release of the data, delayed for months due to the coronavirus...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comApril 26 (Reuters) - Texas, Florida and North Carolina are among the states that will gain congressional seats based on new population data from the U.S. census, a shift that could boost Republican chances of recapturing the U.S. House of Representatives from Democrats in next year’s midterm elections.The overall U.S. population stood at 331,449,281, the Census Bureau said on Monday, a 7.4% increase over 2010 representing the second-slowest growth of any decade in history.The release of the data, delayed for months due to the coronavirus...WW…

Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile.Redeem nowGet a daily selection of our top stories based on your reading preferences.Something is loading.The top executives of more than three dozen Michigan-based companies, including General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co, on Tuesday issued a joint statement opposing Republican-backed legislation to restrict voting.The move appeared to be pre-emptive, after Georgia companies such as Coca-Cola Co and...…Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile.Redeem nowGet a daily selection of our top stories based on your reading preferences.Something is loading.The top executives of more than three dozen Michigan-based companies, including General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co, on Tuesday issued a joint statement opposing Republican-backed legislation to restrict voting.The move appeared to be pre-emptive, after Georgia companies such as Coca-Cola Co and...WW…

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comApril 13 (Reuters) - The top executives of more than three dozen Michigan-based companies, including General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co , on Tuesday issued a joint statement opposing Republican-backed legislation to restrict voting.The move appeared to be pre-emptive, after Georgia companies such as Coca-Cola Co and Delta Air Lines Inc endured public backlash for failing to take a stronger stance before that state enacted a raft of last month. "Government must avoid actions that reduce participation in elections - particularly among...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comApril 13 (Reuters) - The top executives of more than three dozen Michigan-based companies, including General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co , on Tuesday issued a joint statement opposing Republican-backed legislation to restrict voting.The move appeared to be pre-emptive, after Georgia companies such as Coca-Cola Co and Delta Air Lines Inc endured public backlash for failing to take a stronger stance before that state enacted a raft of last month. "Government must avoid actions that reduce participation in elections - particularly among...WW…

By , MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Before resting their case in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, prosecutors are planning to show the jury photographs of George Floyd as a younger man and question one of Floyd’s brothers, who is expected to recall Floyd’s close relationship with his mother.The pictures and reminiscences are not intended to shed any light on the central question before the jury: whether Chauvin, who is white, committed a crime during his deadly arrest of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man in handcuffs, when he knelt on Floyd’s neck for some nine...…By , MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Before resting their case in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, prosecutors are planning to show the jury photographs of George Floyd as a younger man and question one of Floyd’s brothers, who is expected to recall Floyd’s close relationship with his mother.The pictures and reminiscences are not intended to shed any light on the central question before the jury: whether Chauvin, who is white, committed a crime during his deadly arrest of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man in handcuffs, when he knelt on Floyd’s neck for some nine...WW…

By , , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Texas appeared on Thursday to become the next flash point on politically charged issues in Corporate America after legislation passed by the state Senate to limit voting access prompted a rebuke from American Airlines.“We are strongly opposed to this bill and others like it,” Fort Worth, Texas-based American said in a statement.The legislation, which is now set to go before the Texas House of Representatives, would eliminate drive-through voting, limit polling site hours and give partisan poll watchers more autonomy.Southwest Airlines, also based in Texas,...…By , , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Texas appeared on Thursday to become the next flash point on politically charged issues in Corporate America after legislation passed by the state Senate to limit voting access prompted a rebuke from American Airlines.“We are strongly opposed to this bill and others like it,” Fort Worth, Texas-based American said in a statement.The legislation, which is now set to go before the Texas House of Representatives, would eliminate drive-through voting, limit polling site hours and give partisan poll watchers more autonomy.Southwest Airlines, also based in Texas,...WW…

By (Reuters) - Civil rights groups intensified their legal fight against Georgia’s new voting restrictions with a third federal lawsuit, while Atlanta-based corporations Delta Air Lines Inc and Coca-Cola Co continued to face boycott calls from activists who say they need to do more to oppose the law.The Republican-backed law, which Governor Brian Kemp signed last week, strengthened identification requirements for absentee ballots, gave lawmakers the power to take over local elections, sharply limited the use of ballot drop boxes, shortened early voting periods for runoffs and made it a...…By (Reuters) - Civil rights groups intensified their legal fight against Georgia’s new voting restrictions with a third federal lawsuit, while Atlanta-based corporations Delta Air Lines Inc and Coca-Cola Co continued to face boycott calls from activists who say they need to do more to oppose the law.The Republican-backed law, which Governor Brian Kemp signed last week, strengthened identification requirements for absentee ballots, gave lawmakers the power to take over local elections, sharply limited the use of ballot drop boxes, shortened early voting periods for runoffs and made it a...WW…

By (Reuters) -Georgia’s sweeping new voting restrictions came under attack on Friday, with civil rights groups challenging them in court and President Joe Biden saying the U.S. Justice Department was examining what he called an “atrocity” of a law.Among other limits, the Republican-backed law enacted on Thursday imposes stricter identification requirements, limits drop boxes, gives lawmakers the power to take over local elections and shortens the early voting period for all runoff elections. It also makes it a misdemeanor for people to offer food and water to voters in line, in a state...…By (Reuters) -Georgia’s sweeping new voting restrictions came under attack on Friday, with civil rights groups challenging them in court and President Joe Biden saying the U.S. Justice Department was examining what he called an “atrocity” of a law.Among other limits, the Republican-backed law enacted on Thursday imposes stricter identification requirements, limits drop boxes, gives lawmakers the power to take over local elections and shortens the early voting period for all runoff elections. It also makes it a misdemeanor for people to offer food and water to voters in line, in a state...WW…

By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, joining a growing chorus of Republicans and military leaders criticizing Republican President Donald Trump amid nationwide protests.Powell, a Republican who led the U.S. military during the 1991 Gulf War in Iraq under President George H.W. Bush and later headed the State Department under President George W. Bush, said Trump “lies all the time,” has “drifted away” from the U.S. Constitution and poses a danger to American democracy.“I cannot in any way support...…By , WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, joining a growing chorus of Republicans and military leaders criticizing Republican President Donald Trump amid nationwide protests.Powell, a Republican who led the U.S. military during the 1991 Gulf War in Iraq under President George H.W. Bush and later headed the State Department under President George W. Bush, said Trump “lies all the time,” has “drifted away” from the U.S. Constitution and poses a danger to American democracy.“I cannot in any way support...WW…