I’m running out of new ways to say that the news was actual garbage for another week, but nonetheless: The news was actual garbage for another week. Maybe I could just swap it up by typing it in a different language every roundup? Let’s be real, at this point you’d still know what I wrote. (Les nouveaux sont de vraies ordures, et le singe est sur la branch.)
Standard standing reminders still apply: I am no journalist, though I play one in your inbox or browser, so I’m mostly summarizing the news within my area of expertise. NNR summaries often contain some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise–I’m a lawyer, not an email!–but all offroad adventures are marked with an asterisk. And, of course, for the things that are within my lane, I’m offering context that shouldn’t be considered legal advice. Okay, I think that’s about it for the disclaimers. Onward to the news!
Cleanup in Aisle 45:
We had a fair number of updates on the Election Rejection front, but they pretty much all suck. Here’s what I have for you:
- Insurrection Updates. Yet another batch of bonkers emails was released this week, this time showing conservative lawyer John Eastman’s attempts to get legislators to toss absentee ballots through some kind of convoluted New Math scheme. Meanwhile, a final court decision means Marjorie Taylor Greene‘s officially allowed to stay on the ballot in Georgia, which I think we can agree is a loss for Georgia. And speaking of court decisions, Trump’s civil contempt will be dropped, but only if he pays the $110K total he owes–so let’s be real, he’s gonna stay in contempt of court. Finally, the Jan 6 House panel has graduated to subpoenaing 5 GOP legislators, including current House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, so that should be interesting.
In contrast, I don’t have a huge amount for you on the Biden Rebuilding front. Here’s what has happened:
- Recent Biden Economy Stuff.* For another week, the biggest Biden news is that inflation sucks. This time, there’s renewed focus on sky-high gas prices, and also Biden insisting that the inflation is all MAGA America’s fault (which, to be fair, is probably extremely true.) But he also expanded a discount Internet program, which is pretty cool. And also cryptocurrencies had a total meltdown, much like everybody else experiencing 2022.
Your New Normal:
- Reproductive Justice News. As predicted by prophecy, the Senate voted on reproductive justice protections this week, but the vote went 49-51 with Joe Manchin literally voting to block voting on it. The Senate did, however, successfully pass a bill making it harder to protest outside of SCOTUS judge’s houses. Meanwhile, Senator Warren and Rep Jayapal proposed a bill creating accountability of any kind for Supreme Court justices, but my guess is that one probably went straight into the circular filing cabinet, because I’ve heard exactly nothing about it being advanced at all. Aren’t Congressional priorities fun?
The Bad:
- State of the COVID-19. COVID news this week was a bit quiet, beyond the official confirmation of one million deaths in the U.S. The Biden administration is also mailing another round of free COVID tests, this time 8 tests per household. Finally, a few outlets ran stories this week about misappropriated COVID relief funds, covering things like identity theft and, in Texas’s case, diversion to immigrant detention programs. (The Texas thing is particularly galling when you consider that Title 42 is restricting immigration because of COVID.)
- White Supremacist Shootings (again). This was a truly awful week for gun violence. On Saturday, a white supremacist shot up a grocery store in Buffalo, NY, livestreaming the entire thing on Twitch as he did so, and resulting in 10 deaths and 3 injuries. We know the shooter is a white supremacist because he published a 180-page manifesto telling us he is, repeating the batshit “great replacement” theory that the alt-right propagates in campaign ads about white people being replaced by other cultures. Though the Buffalo shooting has gotten the most attention, there were two other racially-motivated mass shootings this week as well–on Wednesday, three women were shot in a hair salon in Dallas and on Sunday, five people were shot at a church in California. These shootings come on the same week as a report from the CDC documenting heightened gun violence during the pandemic; the report notes that gun homicides in 2020 were the highest in 25 years.
The Good:
- Recent Medical Resilience. For a second week in a row, I’m excited to announce a long-awaited piece of good news: Scientists have identified a risk marker for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. This is a huge breakthrough which opens up the long-term possibility of testing and treatment–and, of course, it’s also really valuable information for grieving parents. I’m gratified to be able to give you a bright spot in an otherwise dark news cycle.
So that’s what I have for this week, and I’m sorry, there are no news refunds. For making it through, you deserve this pouting Mastiff as well as a more consistently improved government. I’ll be back next week with more restructured and improved news, and I hope you will be back as well–but in the meantime, feel free to ping the National News Roundup ask box, which is there for your constructive comments. Send me questions! Send me feedback! Send me your review of Our Flag Means Death!
National News Roundup 