Voter turnout barely improves; Emotions run deep at South Bend meeting on gun violence; and Warren’s economic patriotism

Warren’s economic patriotism
While I’m “all in” with Mayor Pete and am solidly committed to his campaign, that doesn’t mean I can’t respect a good plan rolled out by one of his competitors. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s plan released on June 4th calling for a new “economic patriotism” hits the nail on the head and could give a good lesson to Hoosier politicians of all stripes as to a winning political message. (Howey Politics)

May 2019 Voter Turnout Barely Improves Over Last Municipal Primaries
Just 13 percent of eligible, registered Hoosier voters cast a ballot in May’s municipal primaries. That’s barely an improvement over the last municipal primary elections in 2015. The numbers don’t include 23 counties that didn’t have primary elections this year. (Indiana Public Media)

Exonerated Prisoners May Be Entitled To Compensation Under New Bill
Until recently, there was little people wrongfully convicted of crimes could do short of suing over the wrongful conviction, which is what Bunch has done. But a law passed in the 2019 session of the Indiana General Assembly allows exonerated prisoners to be compensated for the time they spent in prison. (The Statehouse File)

‘Today’s realities’
We know Indiana women don’t fare well compared with females in other states. The state ranks 49th for gender pay gap. Its maternal mortality rate is third-highest in the nation. A 2018 national health survey ranks Indiana dead last for the effect of community and environment on infant well-being. (Journal Gazette)

Emotions run deep at South Bend meeting on gun violence
For nearly two hours, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and other city officials listened to the tales of violence, the calls for justice and the pleas that people start working together to solve issues with the police and community violence. (South Bend Tribune)

Trump vows to cure cancer and eradicate AIDS as he kicks off reelection campaign
As President Trump officially kicked off his 2020 campaign in Orlando Tuesday night, he made sweeping promises to tackle two of mankind’s most dreaded diseases. In front of the crowd at a packed Amway Center, Mr. Trump said his administration would work to cure cancer and again vowed to eradicate AIDS if he’s elected to a second term. (CBS News)

‘Why not now?’ Lawmakers debate reparations for slavery
The debate over reparations catapulted from the campaign trail to Congress on Wednesday as lawmakers heard impassioned testimony for and against the idea of providing compensation for America’s history of slavery and racial discrimination. (AP)

Mitch McConnell: We paid for ‘sin of slavery’ by electing Obama
We tried to deal with our original sin of slavery by fighting a Civil War, by passing landmark civil rights legislation, elected an African American president,” McConnell said. (Courier Journal)

Iran Revolutionary Guard shoots down US drone amid tensions
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S. drone on Thursday amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over its collapsing nuclear deal with world powers, American and Iranian officials said, though they disputed the circumstances of the incident. (AP)

The Shadow Cabinet: How a Group of Powerful Business Leaders Drove Trump’s Agenda
In the three years since that inaugural meeting, the council’s impact has been seen across the administration. At the urging of coal and oil industry representatives, Trump’s EPA has systematically rolled back environmental protections and frozen new ones, affecting the air and water of thousands of people. (Rolling Stone)