Folks, I won’t lie to you – the NNR was postponed because I really, really struggled emotionally with some of this cycle’s stories. If you are someone with a personal stake in Gaza, someone gender nonconforming, or someone who was very traumatized by Orange Mussolini Round 1, you might want to have emergency icecream at the ready for this one.
Standard standing reminders still apply: I may be starting my eighth 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 an electoral candidate!–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:
Now that we’ve officially locked in candidates, the Election Et Cetera section is going to be the Trump and Biden show for the foreseeable future. Here’s what has happened since last time:
- Election Rapid Fire. (CW: racism, threat of violence) Obviously, the biggest news this cycle is that Super Tuesday came and went, and Donald Trump and Joe Biden are now the official candidates for the 2024 Presidential election. Mike Pence celebrated by refusing to endorse Trump, while Mitch McConnell celebrated by endorsing him but announcing his retirement at the end of the year. This news is possible in part because the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Trump can stay on the ballot in all 50 states, although they didn’t agree about why. They also agreed to hear the case about his made-up presidential immunity in April, so that will be fun. Meanwhile, the endless parade of upsetting Trump news has already kicked into high gear. In the past three weeks, we have confirmed that he can’t pay the $464M fraud penalty on his New York civil case, in part because absolutely no companies will loan him money (except that one company that helped with his other civil penalty). He is also now down to 88 criminal charges pending after three were dismissed this week, and those live ones include several about misusing classified documents, but he’s nonetheless getting intelligence briefings again. His early stump speeches include such gems as “we will throw Liz Cheney in prison for investigating me,” “immigrants aren’t people,” and “if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath.” So get ready for another 33 straight weeks of this reheated hell, I guess.
Unsurprisingly, the Capitol Hill Dales are also pretty election-flavored this cycle. Here’s what I have for you:
- Capitol Hill Highlights. Biden had his State of the Union this cycle, which unsurprisingly contained several campaign elements as well as tackling reproductive rights, assistance to Ukraine, and Medicare pricing. We also saw Congress keep the lights on for another few weeks, with the next shutdown deadline coming up this Friday. Finally, the Biden administration issued a new cap on credit card late fees – they now cannot exceed $8.
Your New Normal:
- Gazing at Gaza. (CW:starvation, death) The Biden administration and Congress have also become more vocal about the situation in Gaza this news cycle. Vice President Harris has been calling for a cease-fire and more humanitarian aid, while President Biden has ordered construction of a temporary aid port. The pushes come as Gaza is on the brink of famine, with reports of people eating animal feed and grass. In total, over 30,000 people have died in Gaza in the past five months, including 112 people who died waiting for aid last week after Israeli troops fired into an agitated crowd; meanwhile, an estimated 99 Israeli hostages have still not been released. There are also thousands of people missing. Notably, several Jewish members of Congress have started to speak up, including Senate leader Chuck Schumer, who called for another Israeli election this week. President Biden reportedly backed Schumer, though he did take a call with Netanyahu for the first time in a month today.
The Bad:
- Fires in TX and Examiners in OK. (CW: death, hate crimes) An issue with the power lines, apparently caused by power company facilities, has resulted in the largest Texas wildfire in history this cycle. The wildfire has killed over 7,000 cows, burned over 1M acres, and destroyed over 500 structures, which is likely to have long-lasting implications for the agriculture industry there. The situation was exacerbated by the hottest February on record, which created unusually dry conditions – and is itself the ninth broken record in a row for monthly temperatures. In unrelated news, except that it makes me incandescently angry, the one-page medical examiner report of Nex Benedict’s death was released last week, which concluded that Benedict’s death was a suicide caused by taking benadryl with Prozac. (Reader, you may read that and think “Isn’t that an incredibly common antidepressant combined with an incredibly common antihistamine, neither of which are contraindicated with each other?” Yes, that is true, and no, you are not missing anything, and I’m sorry, welcome to this terrible party.) Needless to say, many LGBT advocates are skeptical of this finding, including yours truly.
The Good:
- Recent Health Resilience. We did have some good health news this cycle. Alabama passed a law that protects in vitro fertilization, returning business on that front to normal after the practice was threatened by a court decision last month. And just today, the Biden administration banned asbestos, a long-overdue measure that was decades in the making. Progress!
So that’s what I have for you, and I’m sorry, there are no news refunds. For making it through, you deserve a new hope for Voyager 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 better news in the next cycle again cause the last one didn’t take.
National News Roundup 