*By Chloe Aiello*
Michigan became the first Midwestern state to fully legalize recreational marijuana on Tuesday ー one of four states with marijuana-related legislation on the ballot in the 2018 midterms. Marijuana was one of the key issues up for review on multiple state ballots on Election Day Tuesday alongside criminal justice reform.
Michigan voters approved Proposition 1, granting all cannabis enthusiasts 21 or older access to the drug, as well as the right to possess up to 10 ounces of marijuana and grow 12 plants in their homes. In Utah, a traditionally conservative state, voters approved Proposition 2, which allows people with certain illnesses to acquire medical cannabis and in some cases, grow up to six plants for personal use. In Missouri, voters had three chances to pass medical marijuana at various tax rates. Voters passed Amendment 2, which will tax marijuana at 4 percent and apply those revenues to health care and veteran services.
North Dakota was a bit of a different story. Voters overwhelmingly rejected legalizing recreational marijuana, voting down a measure that would have also erased certain prior marijuana-related convictions from the records of offenders.
Marijuana wasn't the only major ballot initiative up for review on Tuesday.
Florida and Louisiana both had ballot initiatives that addressed criminal justice reform. Florida voters passed Amendment 4, which gives convicted felons the right to vote after completing their sentences ー so long as they are not convicted murderers or felony sex offenders. Louisiana now gives convicted felons the right to seek public office five years after completing their sentence. Oregon voters rejected an effort to repeal the state's sanctuary status, meaning police cannot arrest illegal immigrants there unless they violating the law.
Republicans dropped Rep. Jim Jordan on Friday as their nominee for House speaker, making the decision during a closed-door session after the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump failed badly on a third ballot for the gavel.
Canada has removed 41 of its diplomats from India as tensions rise between the two nations.
Mitt Romney said he believes right-wing media is the reason for the radicalization of the GOP party.
An Army private who fled to North Korea before being returned home to the United States last month has been detained by the U.S. military, two officials said Thursday night, and is facing charges including desertion and possessing sexual images of a child.
Israel bombarded Gaza early Friday, hitting areas in the south where Palestinians had been told to seek safety, and it began evacuating a sizable Israeli town in the north near the Lebanese border, the latest sign of a potential ground invasion of Gaza that could trigger regional turmoil.
The Justice Department has secured a $9 million settlement with Ameris Bank over allegations that it avoided underwriting mortgages in predominately Black and Latino communities in Jacksonville, Florida, and discouraged people there from getting home loans.
Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes on Thursday, including in the south where Palestinians were told to take refuge, and the country's defense minister told ground troops to “be ready” to invade, though he didn’t say when.
Addressing the nation from the Oval Office, President Joe Biden has made his case for major U.S. backing of Ukraine and Israel in a time of war.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that inflation remains too high and that bringing it down to the Fed's target level will likely require a slower-growing economy and job market.
Despite deepening opposition, Rep. Jim Jordan is expected to try a third vote to become House speaker, even as his Republican colleagues are explicitly warning the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump that no more threats or promises can win over their support.
