Good morning. I’m Corinne Straight, and this is AlterNet America.
Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo got out of a red-light ticket by saying “I’m Joe Lombardo.” Elon Musk has been referred to prosecution in Wisconsin for writing $1 million checks to two voters. A 28-year-old Mexican national is dead in Florida after running from ICE into the path of a tractor trailer. And MAGA supporters are outraged after a new ranking of the worst states to live in was dominated entirely by Republican-led states.
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Nevada’s Governor Pulled Rank to Get Out of a Ticket
It turns out the fastest way to beat a traffic ticket in Nevada is to already have the state’s most recognizable name and a former career at the department pulling you over.
Bodycam footage obtained by the Associated Press shows Nevada Republican Governor Joe Lombardo using his name to escape a citation after a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer pulled him over in May.
The officer approached the white truck to explain the stop. Lombardo cut him off. “I’m Joe Lombardo,” the governor said, index finger raised.
“I’m aware,” the officer replied, before citing a red-light violation on a right turn.
“Come on, man,” Lombardo protested.
“You’re good to go,” the officer said. “Have a good day.”
Lombardo was himself a member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department before entering politics, which makes the maneuver less of a discovery than a skill. His office released a statement saying he “fully complied with all instructions” and remains “grateful for the professionalism of the officer involved.”
The professionalism in this case was letting the governor go.
Elon Musk Could Face Prosecution For Voter Bribery
Elon Musk just found out that buying an election is a lot harder than buying Twitter.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission has voted 5-1 to forward two bribery complaints against Musk to the Brown County District Attorney. The bipartisan commission found probable cause that he violated state law banning election bribery.
Musk’s American PAC wrote $1 million checks to two Republican voters in the 2025 election. It was part of the tens of millions he poured into the failed campaign of conservative Brad Schimel, who sought a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
The commission pointed specifically to his post on X offering $1 million to those who voted, saying it showed probable cause of inducement. Musk also handed out smaller prizes, $20 to $100, to people who signed the “Petition in Opposition to Activist Judges.”
Schimel lost to Susan Crawford, a liberal who had served as a circuit court judge in Dane County. In other words, Musk spent tens of millions to lose.
Musk can write million-dollar checks to voters and pour tens of millions into a single race. No one can write us a check and tell us what to write. AlterNet America doesn’t have a broadcast license to protect, an advertiser to placate, or a billionaire in the ownership suite with opinions about which stories make it to print. We just have you. If that’s worth something, please consider upgrading your subscription today.
Florida Man Dies While Fleeing From ICE
A 28-year-old man is dead because he was more afraid of ICE than a tractor trailer.
The man ran across a busy road into the path of a tractor trailer while fleeing ICE and HSI agents near St. Augustine on Tuesday. He was one of four occupants of a vehicle that stopped there. All four fled on foot when agents approached.
It was the third death in a week involving ICE encounters, after shootings in Texas and Maine. It was at least the tenth death connected to immigration encounters since Trump launched his mass deportation campaign last year.
The pattern is not new. Last summer a man died running from officers outside a Home Depot in California. In October, a gardener named Josué Castro Rivera was struck on a Virginia highway.
DHS did not respond when the AP asked about the status of the other three people in the car. State Rep. Angie Nixon, a Jacksonville Democrat, called it the work of “an out-of-control agency.” She said the outcome is always the same: “fear, chaos and death.”
Republicans Sweep ‘Worst States to Live in’ List
Finally, a red wave.
CNBC released its worst-states ranking on Saturday, and critics quickly noticed the entire bottom ten is Republican-led: Tennessee, Texas, Indiana, Louisiana, Georgia, Utah, Missouri, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
Tennessee landed dead last with a quality of life score of 64 out of 290 with one of the highest violent crime rates in the country and the third-highest drug death rate. Texas came in second, also an F, with the nation’s highest uninsured rate at 16.7%, more than double the national average, and dead last in primary care physicians per capita.
Over 17% of Texas adults skipped a needed doctor visit last year because they couldn’t afford it. Arkansas has the worst food insecurity in the country, with nearly one in five households unable to put adequate food on the table.
The Republican response was to argue with the scoreboard. Rep. Lance Gooden called it “another garbage list from the mainstream media.” Gov. DeSantis called the rankings “typical nonsense.” Sen. Marsha Blackburn said Tennessee wouldn’t be “bullied by the woke mob.”
The woke mob in this case being FBI crime statistics.
That’s your Wednesday morning rundown. Nevada’s governor got out of a red-light ticket by pulling rank, Elon Musk has been referred to prosecutors in Wisconsin for writing million-dollar checks to voters, a 28-year-old man is dead in Florida after running from ICE, and Republicans are mad at facts. The pro-Trump billionaires who own the major networks won’t cover these stories the way we do. That’s exactly why AlterNet America exists, and why we’ll never take on a billionaire backer or corporate advertisers. But that model only works if enough readers chip in to keep this going. If you’ve been reading our stories on a free subscription, make today the day you upgrade to a paying one. Your support keeps all of this going.
Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you tonight.
POSITIVE STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
Senate Democrats Block a $1.15 Trillion Defense Bill Over Iran War Objections. Senate Democrats blocked the $1.15 trillion defense bill on Tuesday, voting 50-46 to stop it short of the 60 votes needed. Their argument: maybe don’t hand a record Pentagon budget to a president who started a war with Iran without asking Congress, reimposed a naval blockade the same day, and is simultaneously trying to cut social programs to pay for it. Republicans accused Democrats of playing politics. Democrats accused Republicans of writing a $1.15 trillion blank check. The NDAA also includes a 3.6% troop pay raise, which means both sides now get to accuse the other of not supporting the troops.
DOJ Is 0-15 After Judges Toss Voter Roll Lawsuits Against Virginia and New Mexico. Trump’s DOJ is now 0-15 in its quest to get states to hand over their complete, unredacted voter rolls after federal judges in Virginia and New Mexico tossed out both cases on Tuesday. Six of those fifteen losses have come from Trump’s own appointees, including the Virginia judge, who ruled that federal law simply doesn’t require what the DOJ is asking for. The department sued 30 states and D.C. as part of Trump’s crusade to prove widespread illegal voting, which remains unfounded. The DOJ is now appealing its first loss at the appellate level in Michigan, presumably operating on the legal theory that if you keep doing the same thing sixteen times, the seventeenth will be different.
Trump Administration Backs Off Attempt to Nationally Ban Gender-Affirming Care. The Trump administration has quietly backed off its proposed rule to ban every hospital in America from providing gender-affirming care to trans minors or lose their Medicare and Medicaid funding. The rule, pushed by CMS director and daytime TV graduate Mehmet Oz, drew over 30,000 public comments, including opposition from the American Medical Association and the Children’s Hospital Association, both of which recognize gender-affirming care as the medical standard of care. A former HHS general counsel called it a victory for trans rights but cautioned it doesn’t signal a broader change in posture — which is government-speak for “they’ll be back.”
The House Votes 308-117 to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent. The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act on Tuesday by a margin of 308-117, moving to end the twice-yearly clock change. Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida has introduced the measure every Congress since 2018, arguing permanent daylight saving time can improve public health, reduce traffic accidents, and lower crime. Twenty states have already passed trigger laws to adopt it once signed, and the Senate passed a version by unanimous consent back in 2022 before it stalled in the House. Trump has consistently backed the change, meaning the clocks may finally stop moving for a reason both parties can agree on.
