Hello from the other side of the holidays! The last few weeks were truly chaotic for me, and I appreciate your patience while we closed out 2023. Now it’s a whole new year, and the NNR is back, baby! Sadly, so is the terrible news.
Standard standing reminders still apply: I may be rounding out my seventh year of journalism, 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 voting ballot!–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:
Boy howdy, did a lot happen on the Election Rejection front during the break. Here’s what has happened since last time:
- 45 Rollercoasters. I’m sure most of y’all have already heard by now that Trump was removed from the ballot in both Colorado and Maine last month due to his previous insurrection. (Fun fact, there are movements in IL and MA to do the same thing, though Michigan officially closed the door this week.) Unsurprisingly, Trump has appealed the CO decision to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case on Friday. In other Trump court news, the D.C. Circuit Court decided that he did not have Presidential immunity when he committed said resurrection – but he still went ahead and moved today to dismiss the GA election case on the same exact Presidential immunity grounds. Sadly, all of this remains relevant because he’s kicking every other elephant’s tail in primary polls, despite not even showing up to any GOP debates. And just today, he implied he plans to have Biden indicted if re-elected in 2024. Fun times, amirite?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Biden Rebuilding front had a lot of news too. Here’s what I have for you:
- Federal Mini-Roundup. There are a lot of odds and ends from Capitol Hill to cover, which we’re just going to address piecemeal: 1) NJ rep George Santos was indeed expelled from the House last month, though it’s not yet clear who is going to replace him; 2) the Biden Administration announced an initiative to replace lead water pipes over the next ten years; 3) NJ Senator Bob Mendez was newly charged with acting as an agent of Qatar this week in addition to all his other foreign agent charges; 4) Biden issued thousands of pardons for people convicted of use and possession of marijuana in DC; and 5) Congress ostensibly reached a deal to avoid shutdown this weekend, though the Freedom Caucus is yelling about it (so who knows if it will actually pass).
Your New Normal:
- Contagion Corner (Again, Still). Rough news on the health fronts – as I’m sure folks are mostly aware, we’re in the middle of a new COVID peak due to strain mutation yet again, with this strain being particularly good at reinfection. Meanwhile, flu infection is extra rough this year, particularly with RSV creating additional strain. And though a new study suggests that multiple vaccines protect better against long COVID, the CDC estimates that only about 19% of adults have received the most recent booster. (This matter isn’t helped any by the Florida Attorney General publicly calling for a halt to mRNA vaccines in the state.)
The Bad:
- Bad News Frequent Flyers. This cycle also saw several Bad News stories we’ve seen repeatedly before, like rabid moles that keep popping up to bite us. Here are the lowlights: 1) We’ve already had the first high school mass shooting of the year, when seven people were shot at a high school in Perry, Iowa on Thursday; 2) 2023 was officially the hottest year in human history due to human-made climate change; 3) the DOJ is suing Texas over its illegal immigration system yet again; and 4) the Fifth Circuit held that Texas law trumps federal statute on the subject of emergency abortions, continuing its long trend of absolutely Opposite Day abortion opinions. I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m definitely beyond tired of seeing every single one of these stories.
The Good:
- Recent Redistricting Resilience. We did get one nice glimmer of sunlight in election news, which was a Wisconsin SJC opinion that ordered new state districting, finding that the current version is badly gerrymandered. (Though opponents are upset that this finding came after a recent change in majority, said districts are also completely non-contiguous, which is pretty egregious, so I’m calling this a fair win.)
So that’s what I have for you, and I’m sorry, there are no news refunds. For making it through, you deserve Edgar Allan Poe ukulele and a more functional government. I’ll be back next time 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 the energy to shovel my driveway!
National News Roundup 