Well folks, it’s April, and the news is full of fools. (I wish I could claim this was intentional, but sadly it is not.) Nonetheless, the NNR is here, and that’s no joke!
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:
I hope everybody’s ready for another episode of The Trump and Biden Show, because we’re back with more Election Et Cetera. Here’s what has happened since last time:
- 45 Annoyances. We did have some news this cycle about South Carolina using an illegal districting map for the November election, which is always fun–but the vast majority of the news involved Trump. At the top of the week, there was a giant rigmarole about his bond payment on the civil fraud case, which he did successfully argue down to $175M from its original $454M pending appeal and then paid today. He was also placed under a gag order for the hush money case, which is scheduled to begin in a couple of weeks. That gag order was then promptly expanded to include comments about the judge’s family after Trump wouldn’t shut up about said judge’s adult daughter. Meanwhile, the Trump attacked Biden for acknowledging Trans Day of Visibility–something he has done every year of his Presidency–because this year it happened to fall on Easter.
Unsurprisingly, the Capitol Hill Dales also remain pretty election-flavored this cycle. Here’s what I have for you:
- Capitol Hill Highlights. Likely as part of a campaign push, Biden announced another student debt forgiveness wave this cycle, this time for public service workers. He also signed a final budget deal, which will keep the government funded until September. That is particularly helpful because the House GOP is again calling for the removal of their own Speaker, even as their majority drops to a margin of a single vote due to Rep. Mike Gallagher retiring early. We also learned that the Department of Justice is suing Apple for having a monopoly, and the EPA issued new rules that incentivize electronic vehicles and cutting carbon emissions in cars.
Your New Normal:
- Health News Roundup. This was something of a promising cycle for health news. AstraZeneca announced a $35 cap for inhaler costs, following the example of Boehringer Ingelheim earlier this month. And in oral arguments before SCOTUS on the mifepristone case, the court seemed to signal that it might reject the appeal for lack of standing – which would keep medication abortion relatively accessible in much of the country. Obviously, we’ll have to see what happens when the opinion comes out, but it’s a promising sign.
The Bad:
- Baltimore Key Bridge Collapse. Much of the country was shocked this cycle by the collapse of the Key Bridge in Baltimore, which was hit by a massive cargo ship after the ship lost power. Incredibly, there were no cars on the bridge when this happened, because the ship was able to send a distress signal fast enough for officers on site to block access – and the crew of the ship survived as well. There are, however, six construction workers who went missing when the bridge collapsed, and at this point are presumed dead. President Biden has promised that the federal government will cover costs of rebuilding, but the process will likely take a long time.
The Good:
- Recent Survey Resilience. In news that is exciting if you’re me, the U.S. Census Bureau is refining its race and ethnicity census questions. The new census question will ask about race and ethnicity together, and offers options for identifying as Latino or Middle Eastern/North African. It’s a major improvement for two populations that have been inaccurately measured for a long time.
So that’s what I have for you, and let’s enjoy this relative reprieve while we can. For making it through, you deserve this truth in advertising 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 your peep recipes!
National News Roundup 