Kennedy family endorses Biden in bid to counter RFK Jr.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden called it an “incredible honor” as he received endorsements from more than a dozen members of the Kennedy family, in a public show of force aimed at undercutting the presidential campaign of independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Biden, flanked by his rival’s siblings on stage at the event in Philadelphia, spoke of the family’s legacy and their impact on his own political life, calling their father — the former U.S. senator and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy — and Martin Luther King Jr. the “only two political heroes I had growing up.”

“I remember to keep looking and remind myself what they would do in tough calls,” Biden said, referencing the busts of Kennedy and King he keeps in the Oval Office.

Kerry Kennedy, the sister of the third-party candidate, introduced Biden and was joined by fellow siblings including Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a former Maryland lieutenant governor; filmmaker Rory Kennedy; former Congressman Joe Kennedy II, Christopher Kennedy, and Maxwell Kennedy Sr.

—Bloomberg News

Calexico resoundingly ousts town's first transgender mayor and a council ally

LOS ANGELES — Voters in Calexico have resoundingly ousted the first out transgender member of the City Council and her council ally after a bitter recall campaign rife with accusations of transphobia and political cronyism in the struggling city on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Nearly 74% of voters in the April 16 special election supported the recall of City Councilmember Raúl Ureña, according to early results released by the Imperial County registrar of voters Wednesday night. Ureña, who uses all pronouns but prefers "she," publicly came out as transgender after taking office, becoming a target for harassment online and in person.

Nearly 73% of voters supported the recall of Councilmember Gilberto Manzanarez, another outspoken young progressive. Roughly 77% of ballots received had been tallied by early Thursday, said Linsey Dale, the registrar of voters.

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