I’m back from family time in Philly, and the news is back right on time as well! (I know, I’m as shocked as you are.) This week’s stories are more of a continuation than anything else, but that doesn’t mean they are unimportant–there were a lot of updates this week.
Standard standing reminders still apply: I guess after six years I’m conceding that I’m a journalist, but I summarize news within my areas of expertise. NNR summaries often contain some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise–I’m a lawyer, not a hearing!–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:
As you might imagine would happen during the week of the last public hearing, the Election Rejection front was busy. Here’s what I have for you:
- Insurrection Update: Odds and Ends. The final public hearing regarding January 6 was held this past Thursday, and it primarily focused on what was happening during the 178 minutes that Trump refused to call off the insurrectionist mob. (That said, it also touched on how scary it was to be on Mike Pence’s detail that day.) The panel plans to continue investigating, and the DOJ has signaled that they will continue investigation even if he runs in 2024, which he seems to be planning as I type this. And speaking of future planning, a group of Senators want to make the Vice President’s role in vote counting ceremonial so that January 6 doesn’t happen again in 2025. Meanwhile, Steve Bannon was found in contempt of court at his trial on Wednesday because he didn’t bother to defend himself. And in the Georgia election interference case against Trump et al, Giuliani was ordered to testify this week. Needless to say, this segment isn’t winding down anytime soon.
There’s also a fair amount going on with the Biden Rebuilding section, though I know a lot of us wish there were more. Here’s what has happened:
- Climate Change Trundling. Biden briefly considered declaring a national climate emergency again this week, but contented himself with several executive orders instead. Since the whole country sweltered through a massive heat wave while all this was happening, that wasn’t necessarily ideal, but it’s possible we’ll see more movement on this front soon. I’ll keep everyone posted.
Your New Normal:
- Contagion Corner. There’s a lot going on in the contagious disease world right now. Both Biden and Manchin have caught COVID in the current wave, and BA.5 is now the dominant strain worldwide. Nonetheless, as we move into a crappy endemic stage of the pandemic that never ends, the administration is reorganizing to create a more permanent pandemic division. They’ve also signaled that second booster shots are on hold for people under 50–the idea is that we’ll have omicron-specific vaccines by the fall, though that’s far from a given as I type this. Meanwhile, monkeypox is now officially a global emergency, because of its global spread but also possibly because it is now spreading to kids. And just to top everything off, New York reports that polio is back in circulation, because this is the worst timeline.
The Bad:
- Black Lives Still Matter.^ An off-duty corrections officer in the Bronx shot and killed an eighteen-year-old who was playing with a water gun during the heatwave on Friday. The corrections officer is facing murder charges, though he apparently won’t be terminated from his job unless he is convicted. The shooting happens in the same week that footage from Uvalde shows that officers waited 77 minutes to enter the classroom where shooting was happening. All told, it’s a very rough and frustrating week of news regarding police forces and violence against children.
The Good:
- Recent House Resilience. The House had a productive week this past week! First it passed a right to contraception bill, which managed to get eight GOP votes and pass by 228-195 vote. Then for an encore, they passed a bill protecting marriage equality, this time with considerable bipartisan support and a 267-157 total vote. The bipartisan support in the House on the latter might mean support in the Senate as well, and I’ll definitely keep folks posted on this one.
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 dogpro-captured ball game, this happy lizard, and a more functional 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 cooler weather because heat waves are still the worst!
National News Roundup 