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Year 8, Weeks 3-5 (February 4-24)

February 27, 2024 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

We’re doing a bit of before-spring cleaning here at the NNR as we settle into Year 8 – good gravy, it’s hard to believe we’re in our eighth year of this. I’m open to feedback if anybody has it, but no worries if not – despite the flood of stories this week, we’re still ramping up, news-wise. Which is a bit dispiriting, because several of this cycle’s stories are truly painful.

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 a primary!–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 think it’s likely that Election Rejection will feature 2024 election news from here on out, though I’m going to keep the name for now. Here’s what has happened since last time:

Election Rapid Fire. A whole pile of stuff has happened since the last NNR, so we’re just going to do a listicle to cover it all: 1) Joe Manchin has officially announced he’s not running for President, thanks goodness for small miracles; 2) Trump trounced Nikki Haley in her home state of South Carolina, when she was already having a bad time in Nevada – making him more-or-less a shoo-in for the official Republican nomination (though Haley refuses to drop out before Super Tuesday in March); 3) Trump was fined a giant pile of money and barred from conducting business in the New York civil fraud suit, which he likely doesn’t have and the RNC will probably pay; 4) Trump’s New York criminal trial is moving forward (likely with a gag order) and will begin on March 25; 5) the DC appeals court found that Trump has no Presidential immunity from January 6 prosecution, and consequently he is appealing to SCOTUS; 6) the GA criminal case is technically proceeding forward but is a hot mess; and 7) Biden’s now enjoying a funding advantage in the 2024 election because Trump keeps making the RNC pay his legal bills.

Similarly, I’m rebranding the “everything else federal government” section to more accurately reflect its range. We’re going to call this one the Capitol Hill Dales, at least for now. Here’s what I have for you:

Capitol Potpourri. I’ve got a similar list for you in federal government news: 1) Biden is officially absolved of wrongdoing for holding onto classified papers, though the report stirred up some rumors about his memory that he’s now trying to shake; 2) Biden also announced a new student loan forgiveness plan that prioritizes people with loans under $12K who have already made 120 payments, which says truly damning things about how student loans work in this country; 3) the House did manage to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on the second try by a single vote; and 4) the Senate passed a $95B military aid package, but the House appears poised to kill it a second time.

Your New Normal:

Infections and In Vitro. The CDC announced this cycle that they plan to relax the 5-day covid isolation standard in the near future, which of course puts immunocompromised people in a bad position. Meanwhile, as Florida has another measles outbreak at a Broward County elementary school, its state surgeon general basically told parents YOLO. But the biggest health news by far this cycle is the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision to rule that frozen embryos are legally children, which immediately created massive disruptions for the state’s in vitro fertilization facilities and access to fertility treatments. Unsurprisingly, this was unpopular with a lot of Americans, and the GOP began falling all over itself to show how pro-IVF it is almost immediately. By the time that I type this, Alabama lawmakers and Donald Trump are both publicly claiming they are going to pass legislation to protect IVF procedures.

The Bad:

This Month’s Senseless and Preventable Murders. (CW: murder, hate crimes, bigotry) Two men and two juveniles have now been criminally charged after opening fire into a Superbowl parade in Kansas City earlier this month. The mass shooting killed a much-beloved local DJ, Lisa Lopez Galvin, and injured 21 other people. In other lethal news from this cycle, a sixteen-year old nonbinary student who lived on a reservation in Oklahoma, Nex Benedict, died after being beaten in the bathroom of their high school. Benedict’s family report that they experienced severe bullying for at least a year leading up to the incident. Notably, Oklahoma has introduced 54 pieces of anti-trans legislation in the 2024 legislative session, and had previously issued rules requiring Benedict to use the girl’s bathroom where they were attacked. In the wake of Benedict’s death, an Oklahoma state senator called Benedict “filth”, while school superintendent Ryan Walters reiterated his belief that trans students should not be allowed to live in accordance with their gender identity. It is painfully ironic that this story unfolds in the same cycle that 2022 Trans Survey data shows 94% of trans and gender-diverse adults have more life satisfaction when living authentically in a gender identity not assigned at birth. Needless to say, both of these deaths were preventable tragedies that should never have happened in the first place.

The Good:

Recent House Resilience. Surprisingly, given everything else going on, the House managed to extend the Child Tax Credit with strong bipartisan support this past week. I genuinely have no idea how that happened, but I’ll take it.

So that’s what I have for you, and I think we can agree that it was more than enough. For making it through, you deserve these parrots’ cactus love affair 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 dear God.

Year 8, Weeks 1-2 (January 21–February 5)

February 6, 2024 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

It’s a new year, with surprisingly little new news! Which is to say, most of the news I have for you this cycle relates back to elections – either the upcoming 2024 election, or fallout from the insurrection of the 2020 one. And the 2024 election is looking more and more like a complete repeat of the 2020 circus. Everything new is old again, y’all.

Cleanup in Aisle 45:

I think it’s likely that Election Rejection will feature 2024 election news from here on out, though I’m going to keep the name for now. Here’s what has happened since last time:

Wins and What? The New Hampshire primary came and went, with Trump soundly beating Nikki Haley and disappointing half the country. Biden won the Democratic primary there as well, despite needing a write-in campaign and therefore earning no delegates. He also won the endorsement of the United Auto Workers, and handily won the first “real” DNC primary in South Carolina this past Saturday as well. It was a good week for E Jean Caroll as well, as she won a $83M verdict against Trump in her defamation suit. Meanwhile, nobody won when the federal DC judge decided to postpone Trump’s insurrection trial this week by vacating the March 4 trial date without selecting a new date. (It’s not canceled, don’t worry – likely the new trial date will be sometime in May.) And for reasons I still don’t understand even after reading the ‘explanation,’ Trump and half of his minions have apparently declared ‘holy war’ on Taylor Swift.

Meanwhile, Biden Rebuilding features a by-now-rare asterisk, as I cover a topic that I think needs attention even though it’s not my lane. Here’s what I have for you:

Airstrikes and Sanctions in the Middle East.* After three Americans were killed in Jordan by drone strike last week, the Biden Administration launched airstrikes on Iraq and Syria this past Friday. They then followed up with a strike on Yemen the following day. Now the Houthis are threatening escalation, though Biden is apparently trying to avoid striking Iran. Foreign policy isn’t exactly my main expertise, but I think this needs attention, especially during an election year and against the backdrop of Biden sanctioning several Israelis in the West Bank last week. I’ll try to keep reporting on this as things develop.

Your New Normal:

Immigration Immolation. The biggest news threads from Capitol Hill right now all center around far-right people absolutely losing it over immigration issues. After the Supreme Court agreed last cycle that Texas needs to stop basically usurping the federal immigration process at the southern border and let Homeland Security function, House Republicans responded by advancing impeachment articles for the Secretary of Homeland Security. They’re also signaling that they will tank the bipartisan deal in the Senate that was successfully brokered yesterday on this very topic, and for some reason Lauren Boebert wants to oust the current Speaker even though he called the Senate deal “dead on arrival.” Meanwhile, Texas governor Gangrene Abbot decided to take the MAGA up to eleven, and created an old-fashioned standoff with federal officials while he blocked their entry to the border. Abbott publicly compared federal presence to a “foreign invasion,” and 25 other governors backed his play.

The Bad:

Violence and Abortion. (CW: sexual violence, miscarriage, forced birth) With the election season now in full swing, there was a lot of news about the reproductive rights, much of it hard to read. The Democratic Women’s Caucus drew attention to a case in Ohio, where a woman faced felony charges after experiencing a miscarriage. A study letter was also published this cycle estimating that 64,565 rape-related pregancies have occurred in states that have banned abortion. On a related note, Texas was in the news because its medical board still hasn’t defined what emergency conditions would make medical abortion permissible.

The Good:

Recent House Resilience. Surprisingly, given everything else going on, the House managed to extend the Child Tax Credit with strong bipartisan support this past week. I genuinely have no idea how that happened, but I’ll take it.

So that’s what I have for you, and there’s definitely more where that came from. For making it through, you deserve Elmo checking in on you 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 more chocolate because we’re running out!

Year 7, Weeks 51-52 (January 7-20)

January 23, 2024 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

This past cycle has been something of a surreal odyssey of election (rejection), between Iowa primaries last week and New Hampshire semi-official primaries this coming Tuesday. It makes me think we’re getting a preview of what Year 8’s prolonged election season will be like, and let me tell you, I don’t really want to see that movie. Alas, we all bought a ticket just by living here.

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 an election campaign!–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:

This cycle featured an unholy melding Election Rejection and semi-regular election news. Here’s what has happened since last time:

Primary Chaos. I’m sure most folks reading this already know that Trump won the Iowa primary by a country mile, forcing most other GOP primary candidates to drop out – including Ron DeSantis, who had originally been considered his strongest contender. We’re now left with only two GOP candidates as we go into New Hampshire’s primary tomorrow: Nikki Haley and the indicted Cheeto. Meanwhile, it’s still an open question whether he’s even allowed to be a candidate in Colorado and Maine – oral argument on the Colorado case will be on February 8, and Maine has decided to pause until that is resolved. And while all this is happening, people in New Hampshire are reporting they are receiving robocalls telling them not to vote from an AI that sounds like Joe Biden. We’re definitely back on the track to unprecedented times, if we ever even left.

With election season officially underway, much of Biden Rebuilding looks like a campaign trail – but more about that below. Here’s what I have for you:

Another Month, Another Stopgap. As foretold by prophecy, we did indeed reach a deal to avoid shutdown this cycle with a 314-108 House vote–but just like last time, it only kicks the can down the road. The process also wasn’t without its drama, as the Freedom Caucus doesn’t seem to like the new Speaker much more than the old one; in fact, all but two opposing votes came from Speaker Johnson’s own party. And now we get to do this whole thing again in a little over a month, when the first of the funding runs out on March 1.

Your New Normal:

SCOTUS POCUS. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Supreme Court activity from this cycle. In oral arguments last Wednesday, the court appeared to signal that it plans to gut our existing administrative law system, which has functioned under the Chevron precedent for as long as I’ve been alive. (That said, we won’t know the full extent until the opinion is issued, which will likely be months from now.) Then today, in the wake of three migrants dying while trying to cross the Rio Grande, it agreed that Texas needs to stop basically usurping the federal immigration process at the southern border. This paves the way for the Biden administration to remove the razor wire that Texas placed there, among other things, though the underlying case is still ongoing.

The Bad:

Shouldn’t We Talk About the Weather? Most of the continental U.S. was hit this week with a series of winter storms, resulting in bitter cold and/or severe flooding in many places. The storms set new low records in much of the country, as normally-temperate places like Houston hit the teens and ordinarily-cold places like Kansas City had highs in the negatives. The weather also leaves more properties than normal at risk of repeat flooding. Shocking no one, research suggests that these extremes may also be caused by artificial climate change.

The Good:

Recent Campaign Resilience. As Biden hits the beginnings of his campaign trail, he has been forecasting or introducing a lot of constituent-pleasing initiatives this cycle. Last week, he announced a proposal to curtail surprise overdraft fees from most banks, which will be open for public comment until April 1. Some outlets have also suggested that the White House is again considering moving the menthol ban forward. But the biggest news of the cycle came just today, when he announced additional plans to expand access to reproductive health care through coverage of contraceptives and medications. It’s quite clear that the Biden administration plans to make reproductive health a central issue of his campaign.

So that’s what I have for you, and there’s definitely more where that came from. For making it through, you deserve this brave rescue pupper 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 a better timeline before November!

Year 7, Weeks 46-50 (December 3 – January 6)

January 9, 2024 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

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!

Year 6, Week 3 (January 30–February 5)

February 8, 2022 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

Well, another week has gone by, and the news really isn’t any better. I’m sorry to be the bearer of 2022, y’all. Hopefully we’ll get better luck next week.

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 a pardon!–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 seems to be true every week, there are a lot of Election Rejection updates to report, and they’re full-blown bananas again. Here’s what I have for you:

Insurrection Updates. Most of this week’s news is about the GOP being a) completely behind Trump and b) completely off the rails–and yes, I’m aware I basically just typed the same thing twice. First there was the part where the GOP censured two prominent Republicans who are participating in the House panel because, apparently, the January 6 insurrection–an event that, I remind you, killed ten people–was mere “legitimate political discourse.” Unsurprisingly, Trump immediately congratulated the RNC for their decision. Of course, he was already engaging in witness tampering by dangling pardons for January 6 participants and publicly threatening Pence because Pence defended his decision to refuse to overturn the 2020 elections. Trump was also in the news this week regarding his multiple attempts to seize voting machines during his last days in power. We also got to read more about his charming habits of ripping up official documents that he was legally required to preserve in office and hoarding documents at Mar-A-Lago.

This was a weirdly quiet week on the Biden Rebuilding front. Here’s what has happened:

Blinking Biden. Other than news about Russia, which I’ll cover below, Biden stories were kind of an afterthought this week. There were, however, a couple of threads about how Biden is mad at his chief health officer, and about a COVID surge in ICE detention facilities. There were also a couple of stories about how Joe Manchin says that Build Back Better is dead, which I frankly feel is almost as much a statement about Biden as it is a statement about Manchin.

Your New Normal:

Land War Landmine.* Okay, this is super not my lane, but it’s important so I want to attempt to touch upon it. The short version is that this is a tense time regarding Russia, as there are a lot of signals to suggest that Russia may invade Ukraine in the near future. Unsurprisingly, Russia is saying otherwise, and argues that the U.S. stationing troops in Eastern Europe is unnecessary. But the U.S. troops are actually there reinforcing NATO troops that were already deployed to respond to Russia’s military buildup, so obviously that’s an oversimplification. Needless to say, this is a tense time and we’ll want to keep an eye on this.
Black Lives Still Matter. I am extremely disheartened to be writing about not one, but two police shootings in the last week. The lion’s share of media coverage is going to Minneapolis, where police fatally shot 22-year-old Amir Locke in his own home while serving a no-knock warrant for a completely different person. His parents are justifiably calling the act an ‘execution,’ and though no-knock warrants have been paused in the city, there are still no charges pending at the time that I write this. As the Washington Post notes, there was also a fatal police shooting in Tennessee, where nine police officers surrounded and shot a man holding a box cutter named Landon Eastep on I-65. And both of these stories are on top of the bomb threats being called into historically Black colleges and universities, which have been their own source of terror for Black communities over the last month.

The Bad:

State of the COVID-19. COVID news this week is… a lot, y’all. The U.S. has now officially lost 900,000 lives to COVID, which, in case you were wondering, is way more than any other country with reliable access to vaccines. It’s an incredible indictment of our handling of the virus, especially because nearly half of those deaths occurred after vaccines became available. Meanwhile, our brand of ignorant nonsense is now also infecting Canada, where a week-long vaccine protest with bonus white supremacy flavoring has caused a state of emergency in its capital city of Ottawa. But in more positive news, Moderna was fully approved this week by the FDA, and Pfizer thinks it is nearing completion of a vaccine for children under 5.

The Good:

Recent Inmate Win. California was in the news this week because the state is closing down its death row, signaling that the state’s moratorium on executions is likely to be permanent. It’s a small step in the grand scheme of things, but honestly this week has been so awful that I’m glad I have anything good to report at all.

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 snow-loving mop 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 hope for a functional water heater!

Year 5, Week 39 (October 10-16)

October 19, 2021October 19, 2021 Kara Hurvitz1 Comment

As is fitting for late October, we’re starting to see the specter of elections really shift the news, especially on Capitol Hill. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but at least for this week, it sure is insufferable. Here’s hoping things get a bit less dysfunctional in DC in coming weeks.

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 a debt ceiling!–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’re seeing an exponential increase of nonsense on the Election Rejection front, and it does feel like this will get worse before it gets better. Here’s what happened this week:

Election Rejection Eruption. January 6 news is exploding, particularly regarding the House panel subpoena fight. The panel is moving to subpoena former Trump official Jeffrey Clark because they believe Clark has information about how Trump attempted to misuse the Justice department to claim election fraud. Meanwhile, former Trump aide and overall garbage human Steve Bannon pissed off so many people with his flagrant refusal to testify last week that the panel is moving to hold him in criminal contempt. Notably, President Biden has already given his blessing on that tactic, saying that his Justice Department should go after anyone who ignores the committee’s subpoena. And Trump is suing the panel because they’ve subpoenaed his records, as well as apparently threatening to get voters to stay home if GOP candidates don’t adopt his election fraud narrative.

We also saw some Biden Rebuilding news, particularly regarding immigration. Here’s what I have for you:

Immigration Updates. A thing I’ve noticed about this administration is that they tend to wait until they’ve done something very unpopular, immigration-wise, and then they pull a Trump-era policy reversal out of their pocket like Ron Swanson producing a permit. This week’s policy decision curtailing workplace ICE raids is no exception; it coincides with preparations to reinstate the Remain in Mexico asylum policy created under the Trump administration. In the administration’s vague defense, the latter is by court order, and I could fill an entire roundup with what I think of that august opinion. But since Mexico appears to have its own legal challenge going, we might not see the Remain in Mexico program reinstated by mid-November anyway.

Your New Normal:

Current Senate Dysfunction. The House did vote to pass the temporary debt relief bill from last week, so that’s over with until December, although notably no Republicans voted to pass the damn thing. But now we’re just back to Democrats fighting with Joe Manchin again, as he refuses to back key climate change and child care provisions of the Build Back Better legislation. Though progressives are downplaying it, it’s looking very likely that the party will have to cave to Manchin’s singular demands, which is galling when those demands come from an obvious conflict of interest.

Broken Supply Chain.* Several outlets have run stories this week on our country’s ongoing supply chain issues, which are causing shortages in various places around the country and the world. President Biden announced that he would dramatically expand work hours at the Port of Los Angeles to facilitate processing of goods; the Port of Long Beach’s hours were dramatically expanded a few weeks ago as well. But the shipping crisis is only part of a much larger problem, because price jumps from shortages and rent increases are also fueling inflation issues. It’s likely we can expect this to continue into 2022, because the pandemic created all kinds of issues that won’t resolve overnight.

The Bad:

State of the COVID-19. COVID news was pretty focused on boosters again this week, with the FDA recommending booster shots for some Moderna recipients who are over 65 and immunocompromised and for all adults who got the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. There’s some question about how the J&J recommendation will be implemented, though, because experts don’t agree about whether the second shot should be a different vaccine or the same one. And speaking of shots, the White House is also urging states to prepare for the release of pediatric vaccination, which might come as soon as next month. With so much of the international population potentially vaccinated, the U.S. is also opening its borders to vaccinated international travelers.

The Good:

Can We Use Cannabis (DOJ Edition). There was scant good news this week, but we did get a small gem in the Senate: Senators Booker and Warren are requesting that the Department of Justice remove cannabis from the federal schedule of controlled substances. The senators are hoping that this move will encourage more states to legalize its use, but it seems like they’re hoping to pass federal legislation as well.

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 how-to cat sushi video 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 more things to put under the Good section!

Year 4, Week 28 (July 26–August 1)

August 3, 2020August 4, 2020 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

We have a number of unpleasant stories swirling around this week, and it feels like we’re somehow getting worse but staying stagnant at the same time. It’s a bit of a neat trick, and I would find it impressive, if I weren’t so busy being frustrated.

Standard standing reminders 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 a post office!–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!

Constitutional Crisis Corner:

On the Disregard of Governing Norms front, we have yet another week of Operation Terrible and overall administrative mishandling. Here are the things to know:

Portland Pressure Persists. After an unnecessary amount of back-and-forth about it, Trump did withdraw federal troops from Portland towards the end of the past week. But after they left, news broke that DHS was compiling “intelligence reports” on journalists who reported on the conflict, and analyzed protester communications as well. The official in charge of that has since been reassigned–but, notably, not fired–and Trump was already threatening to send in the National Guard on the first day of the phase-out, so this may be a brief respite. Meanwhile, protests in Portland continue, but have refocused on local police activity.

Barr Testimony. Attorney General William Barr testified before Congress on Tuesday, and it went about as well as you might expect. He defended administrative actions in Portland, calling the protests “an assault on government of the United States” and claiming Operation Legend had nothing to do with Portland but was rather just a completely normal mobilization of federal forces “to solve crimes and keep their communities safe.” He also covered the 2016 election, refusing to condemn solicitation of foreign assistance and calling the House investigation a “bogus ‘Russiagate’ scandal” that involved “grave abuses.” And finally, he covered the Stone case, claiming that his own prosecutors were “not [following] the rule of law” when recommending seven to nine years–which, I feel the need to note, was literally the federal sentencing guideline recommendation. I’m certainly not the biggest fan of federal sentencing guidelines, but Barr’s willingness to commit brazen perjury when literally discussing prosecution for perjury is pretty stunning. If nothing else, it definitely showcases an incredible disregard for governing norms.

Trump’s Election Idea. There was a lot of election-related news this week, and much of it belongs in the “normal” weird below. But I would be remiss if I didn’t include a paragraph here about Trump’s incredible tweet on Tuesday, which appeared to sincerely float the idea of postponing the November election. Needless to say, he lacks legal authority to do this, as that date is set by Congress (a fact which Mike Pompeo appears confused about as well). Needless to say, nobody in Congress wanted to touch that suggestion, and ordinary citizens weren’t too happy either. After doubling down on the idea once, the administration did walk this one back. I’ve heard a lot of people speculate that the entire thing may have been intended to distract from economic news which broke the same day, but we should definitely keep an eye on this either way.

Your “Normal” Weird:

Election Oddities (Again). In addition to the nonsense chronicled above, we had a lot of weird election news this week about mail-in voting–in fact, Trump’s arguments about election fraud caused by mail-in voting have Republicans worried about voter turnout. People are also worried about the recent Postal Service changes, which I documented last week, causing backlogs for ballot delivery. Meanwhile, Trump did plenty of other weird and obnoxious things this week, such as promising suburban voters on Twitter that they “will no longer be bothered by . . . low-income housing”, threatening to sue Nevada for sending everybody mail-in ballots, and pulling television ads from Michigan with three months left in his campaign. (Before we get too excited about that last one, the New York Times points out that he has plenty of pathways to victory that don’t involve the state, and he’s also still doing door-to-door and digital advertising.)

The Bad:

State of the COVID-19.* COVID news continues to spiral further and further down the toilet for another week. Kodak–yes, the camera company–saw a jump in trade activity ahead of an announcement that they were receiving a giant government loan to make COVID treatments like hydroxychloroquine. (For those of you playing the home game, yes, that’s the same drug Trump loves that is widely discredited as causing heart problems.) NPR also reported irregularities in the contract awarded to track COVID data. Meanwhile, the body of data itself shows a devastating second wave, with experts noting more dissemination than in March and April, seven-day averages staying high at about 65,000 new cases, and multiple runs of over 1,000 deaths per day. Additionally, new research suggests that children can be carriers of COVID-19, and one of the first school districts to reopen had to quarantine someone within hours of opening.

Economic News.* Adding to frustration, reopening the country too quickly didn’t even stabilize our economy, which was ostensibly the whole reason to risk it. Unemployment is still rising, and it doesn’t help anything that Congress couldn’t reach a deal before supplemental COVID unemployment supports expired on Friday. But the real story is that our economy had its worst second-quarter GDP ever, dropping 32.9% on an annualized basis. It’s not clear what will happen in the third quarter, but this news is very bad–so bad, in fact, that some people theorized Trump tweeted about election postponement to distract from it.

Immigration Updates. We also had a weird, bad week on immigration news. The White House announced they will not be accepting DACA applications, despite the recent SCOTUS decision finding the program wasn’t legally terminated, so we’re all sort of waiting to see what happens on that one. Meanwhile ICE is complaining about their Netflix series, which launched today and accurately depicts, y’know, how bad they are. And rounding out the bad news, a new immigration application fee schedule goes into effect this week which dramatically increases the cost of many applications and imposes asylum fees for the first time ever.

The Good:

Recent Twitter Decency. After many years of frustratingly tepid response, Twitter continues to take off the kid gloves when it comes to irresponsible or hate-based communications. First they penalized Trump Jr for spreading COVID misinformation, creating twelve hours of “limited functionality.” Then they permanently banned white supremacist David Duke, which they honestly should have done eleven years ago, but it’s at least a step in the right direction to take away the KKK guy’s platform.

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 talking seal breakthrough and an eventual better government. I’ll be back next week with more (and hopefully more tolerable) 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 favorite animal videos!

Year 4, Week 24 (June 28–July 4)

July 6, 2020July 7, 2020 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

We’re back to the combination COVID crisis/civil unrest this week, assuming we ever left, and I would way rather be at a Taco Bell. Parts of the country are starting to close back up, but racial tensions are still very much 45’s bread and butter, and let me tell you, I am not proud to be an American this week.

Standard standing reminders 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 a rally–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!

Constitutional Crisis Corners:

Another week of different forms of constitutional crisis, this time mostly under the “COVID” and “Not COVID” categories. First up, we have more lingering stories from the Russia Investigation, though none of them are what I’d call a fun read. Here’s what has happened:

Bounties for Russia (continued).* News aboutRussian intelligence officers offering bounties to Taliban agents to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan just keeps on trickling in, and none of it makes any of this better. Former national security adviser John Bolton apparently had information on this as early as March 2019, in addition to the written briefing Trump received this past February, but none of these facts are stopping Trump from calling the whole thing a hoax. Meanwhile, some of Congress has been briefed as of this week, but not all, even though the White House is still claiming it was unverified intelligence. And for Putin, all of this is probably better than Sweeps Week.

Minor Mueller Updates. Speaking of improbable news involving Russia, the Supreme Court decided this week to block the release of select Mueller investigation documents until a hearing in the fall–an unprecedented move when we’ve never even had this kind of fight about subpoenaed documents before. This means we will likely get a decision about the documents’ release, ultimately, but not until after the election, so that’s fun. Also, Pence was in the news this week for raising almost $500K from donors to pay his legal fees for defense during the Mueller investigation.

On the Disregard of Governing Norms front, we have another week of growing COVID crisis and shrinking leadership. Here are the stories to know:

Trump on Racial Relations. Whenever Trump isn’t sure what to do with a national crisis, he responds by spewing some racism loudly, and this week was no exception. At Mount Rushmore ahead of the holiday (which is itself a statement of white supremacy), Trump railed against “new far-left fascism” (spoiler: that’s not a thing), describing protesters as “bad, evil people” who were “terroriz[ing]” innocent Confederate statues. He also announced he would create a new set of statues to honor… no apparent point of commonality, honestly, beyond “Trump has heard of these people.” After the rally, he also decided he had a lot to say about COVID-19, but we’ll talk about that below.

Messed Up Trump Response: COVID Edition. Having said his piece about race relations, Trump moved on to messaging about COVID by Sunday, and it was about as inspiring as you might imagine. According to our current President, Americans “need to learn to live with” COVID because “99% of COVID cases are harmless.” This, of course, is not particularly effective camouflage for all of the crisis problems the administration has managed to exacerbate–namely, skyrocketing COVID-related drug overdoses, our highest single-day infection rate since March, a massively mismanaged COVID small business loan program, a worsening recession, an undercounted death toll, and increasing infection among White House staffers.

Your “Normal” Weird:

Epstein Associate Apprehended. This week, long-time Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested this week for several years of helping Epstein groom teenage girls. Since Epstein was arrested about a year ago, the charges are from the 1990s, and Maxwell doesn’t appear to have really gone anywhere, it’s not clear why she’s only being arrested now. But presumably we’ll know more soon.

Confounding Court Cases. It continues to be SCOTUS season, and it’s hard to find a rhyme or reason out of the cases coming down–and several of them aren’t exactly great news for Team Awesome. Among the head-scratching and concerning cases released: 1) a decision that Trump can fire the head of the Consumer Protection Bureau without cause; 2) multiple decisions to delay voting by mail authorizations in Alabama and Texas; 3) a decision authorizing speedy removal proceedings on asylum cases; and 4) a unanimous decision that faithless elector laws are constitutional.

The Bad:

State of the COVID-19.* As I alluded above, things are really not going swimmingly in the COVID department. We’re currently experiencing an unprecedented rate of infection in the United States, with over 2.5 million recorded cases and over 131,000 recorded deaths –about one fifth of the entire world’s total cases to date. Dr. Fauci estimates we may see rates of up to 100,000 new cases per day, and we’ve already scaled past 50,000 per day at the time that I type this; thirty-nine states are recording rising infection. Against this backdrop, it’s hardly surprising that some states are closing back down. The infection rate remains particularly concerning in Florida, Arizona, and Texas, where lax standards combined with high concentrations of people seem to be creating a perfect storm. Texas is now requiring masks in every county with more than 20 positive tests, while bar owners are suing the state because they were ordered closed again. Meanwhile, Arizona lines for testing are sometimes miles long, and the country is beginning to prepare for a massive surge in evictions as people stop being able to pay rent.

Black Lives Matter News. We’re still seeing a lot of news about race relations and protests, particularly over the Fourth of July weekend. In many locations, protests passed without major incidents. But in Seattle, a protester was killed when a car drove onto the protest site, and in Oregon tear gas was used on angry protesters. Meanwhile, Aurora police who killed autistic youth Elijah McCain last year were fired for taking photos mocking his death in response to his memorial this week.

The Good:

Recent Court Resilience. We had some solid court cases this week in addition to the less-solid cases above. A federal district court judge struck down a law that makes asylum harder to claim in the United States, saying that the rule forcing applicants to apply in unsafe other countries first was arbitrary and capricious. And just today, a federal court ruled that the Dakota Access Pipeline must be closed down by early August for further environmental review.

Recent Racial Renaming. Increasingly, institutions with names that glorify racial violence are being pressured to change said names, and we saw movement on several fronts related to this last week. The NFL’s Washington team is reviewing their name as a first step towards changing it, and the Cleveland franchise doing the same. Meanwhile, students and faculty at Washington and Lee University are making a similar request, objecting to the glorification of a Confederate general in the school name. None of these steps are sufficient on their own, but it is progress in the correct direction.

So that’s what I have for this week, and I think we can all agree that it’s more than enough. For making it through, you deserve this baby shark rescue and an eventual better government. I’ll be back next week with more (and hopefully more tolerable) 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 photos of your pets because I could frankly use the pick-me-up!

Year 4, Week 5 (February 16-22)

February 24, 2020February 25, 2020 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

It has been three weeks since the death knell of impeachment articles, and the news cycle is settling into new routines. Unfortunately, the routines kind of stink. But nevertheless we persist, yes?

Standard standing reminders 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 acting Director of National Intelligence!–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!

Constitutional Crisis Corners:

We saw yet another active week for Attorney General Overreach, and Trump’s insinuation that he’s actually in charge of law enforcement was a whole new form of looking glass logic. Here’s what I have for you this week:

No Holds Barred. The week started off with more dog-and-pony show between 45 and Attorney General William Barr, with Barr claiming he was thinking of resigning and then walking it back. Meanwhile, Trump claimed “total confidence” in him and continued to tweet about retaliatory firings. Then he pardoned eleven people, which we’ll talk about more below, and declared himself “the chief law enforcement officer” of the entire country. And then his buddy and election manager Roger Stone’s sentencing hearing happened, and he started yelling about that too.

Roger Stone Spectacle. Roger Stone’s sentencing hearing went about as well as you might expect, given that all the trial prosecutors walked out instead of offering the sentence Trump wanted. Stone ended up with about forty months to serve and two years of probation for his repeated lying to Congress and witness tampering, and Judge Jackson is still considering a motion for a retrial. Stone also filed a motion demanding that Jackson recuse herself because she said the jurors had acted with integrity during the sentencing hearing, a move which has all the legal merit of a week-old tuna sandwich. Unsurprisingly, Jackson has already denied the request.

Pardonpalooza. As mentioned above, Trump issued eleven grants of clemency this week, almost all of whom were convicted of white-collar and corruption-based crimes and many of whom are pretty famously terrible human beings. (One wonders why he bothered to pardon Crystal Munoz, the sole recipient with no connections and an actual meritorious clemency claim.) Then at the end of the week, Trump started insinuating that Stone would just get pardoned too if he wasn’t acquitted in a new trial–a move that is technically legal, but definitely very corrupt, and probably designed to inch us closer to accepting a self-pardon if necessary.

We also saw some interrelated Disregard of Governing Norms, which will likely continue to ramp up in the coming weeks. Here’s what has happened so far:

Wikileaks Witness Lines. Wikileaks founder and real piece of work Julian Assange claimed this week that a Trump representative offered him a pardon back in 2017–all he had to do was say that Russia wasn’t involved in the hack job that leaked countless DNC emails. Naturally, 45’s spokeswoman denied this allegation and claimed that Trump hardly knows the person who allegedly made the offer, Representative Dana Rohrabacher. I’m gonna level with you, both Assange and Trump are sufficiently sketchy that it’s pretty hard to say who is more credible, but we may see more about this in the coming weeks.

Administrative Ousters (Again). We’re back on the firing staffers bandwagon in the White House this week, though it’s unclear if any of the firings are based on impeachment. Most noteworthy is Trump’s decision to replace his acting Director of National Intelligence, Joseph MacGuire, with current ambassador to Germany and complete intelligence novice Richard Grenell. Several outlets say this came about because MacGuire briefed Congress on Putin’s apparent desire to see Trump reelected, but others are reporting it’s simply because of the time limit for acting officials. Pentagon policy chief Jon Rood was forced out as well, for reasons that may or may not be impeachment-related. Their replacements seem selected more for perceived loyalty than any credentials, which is definitely normal and a good way to run a complex government.

Your “Normal” Weird:

Feats of Loathing in Las Vegas. On Wednesday, Nevada hosted the most recent 2020 Democratic Candidate debate, and it marked the first time that former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg participated in a debate. Given all of the negative things about him in the news this week, it’s no surprise that the debate was also a giant Bloomberg dogpile, with several candidates taking well-crafted potshots. Elizabeth Warren was particularly on fire, enjoying heavy coverage on a media platform that recently erased her and a massive uptick in campaign donations. But Bernie Sanders had a good night too, especially because the Bloomberg boxing makes it easier for him to preserve his Nevada lead. All told, it was an interesting lead-in to the caucus on Saturday, which Sanders did indeed carry by a wide margin (though Buttigieg and Biden both picked up delegates too). The next primary will be in South Carolina on Saturday, and we have the next debate tomorrow.

Other Election Oddities.* There has been plenty of other election noise this week, and a lot of it is pretty weird. As mentioned above, the acting head of intelligence reported that Russia favors Trump in the 2020 election, which set 45 off something fierce if his resulting outburst is any indication. Officials said Bernie Sanders is favored by Putin for the Dem nomination as well, though I’m not sure I believe that with Tulsi Gabbard still running around. Meanwhile, Buttigieg clapped back when Limbaugh dissed his marriage, Bloomberg offered to release some women from their NDAs about him (but not all), and Chris Matthews came under fire because he compared Bernie Sanders, whose parents were Holocaust survivors, to Adolf Hitler.

The Bad:

Immigration Updates. Another week, another set of bad immigration news. The Public Charge rule went into effect across the country today, with the final injunction in Illinois removed by Supreme Court decision on Friday. Ironically, Mick Mulvaney was also in the news for saying the U.S. needs more legal immigrants–you know, the very status this administration just made harder for most applicants to obtain because they created draconian public charge rules. The New York Times also reported unsafe health conditions for asylees under the M.P.P. program, which forces applicants to wait in Mexico instead of accessing healthcare in America while their application is pending. And ICE was in the news for using therapy notes to try to deport migrant children–a practice which is not new, but definitely deserves attention.

Corona Virus Creep (continued).* Corona virus continues to be in the news for another week. We’re seeing a rapid uptick in cases again in South Korea, Iran, and Italy, and the stock market is plummeting accordingly. Trump appears rattled as well, worried that a major outbreak might impact his 2020 campaign. (Heaven forfend he actually care about the people getting sick and dying.) Needless to say, this can have a lot of other political implications as well, and I will continue to track it.

The Good:

Greyhound Protection. Greyhound announced this week that it will no longer allow immigration checks on its buses, after a leaked CBP memo confirmed that they had no legal obligation to do so without a warrant. Needless to say, the ACLU is pretty happy about this development, and so am I–the new policy is in pretty much everyone’s interests except CBP’s.

Re-enfranchisement and Felony Re-entry. A panel of 11th Circuit judges upheld an injunction this week that prevents Florida from enforcing a new law that would make people to pay all legal fees before they are allowed to vote. More specifically, they found that the contested law, which responded to a referendum from 2018 that re-enfranchised people upon reentry, was counter to the spirit of the referendum and violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution. This is a pretty major victory, even though it’s not a decision on the merits, because it recognizes the role that economic class plays in enforcement of the rule. I’m hoping we’re able to keep the injunction in place until the November election, but we’ll have to see what happens.

So that’s what I have for this week, and I’m sorry, there are no news refunds. For making it through, you deserve bumblebees falling asleep face-first in flowers and an eventual better government. I’ll be back next week with more (and hopefully better) 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 a better Attorney General!

Year 4, Week 4 (February 9-15)

February 17, 2020February 18, 2020 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

Welp, the impeachment process has been over for about a week and a half, and I definitely think it’s fair to say we have a new constitutional crisis corner. Funny how Trump never closes one investigation door without opening a new crimetimes window, amirite?

Standard standing reminders 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 a dubious budget proposal!–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!

Constitutional Crisis Corners:

Well folks, after a week and a half of this nonsense it is my sincere displeasure to introduce you to yet another form of Constitutional Crisis Corner, which I’m tentatively calling Attorney General Overreach. Here’s what has been happening:

DOJ Turmoil. Shortly after all of Attorney General Barr’s candidate investigation nonsense last week, all of the prosecutors on Roger Stone’s criminal case either asked to be reassigned or straight-up quit because they didn’t want to change their sentencing recommendations. It turned out that Barr was forcing them to offer more leniency to Roger Stone because he’s a Trump ally, apparently based on pressure from Trump himself. Eventually Barr just announced he was taking control of the Stone sentence along with every other Trump-related legal matter. Needless to say, all of this blatant political interference has caused massive unrest in both current and former Department of Justice employees, who generally pride themselves on their integrity. At the time that I type this, over a thousand former DOJ attorneys and 9 Senators have called for Barr’s resignation, and Chuck Schumer has called for an investigation into the entire Roger Stone debacle.

A Quick Note About Fake Fighting. When people started calling for Barr’s resignation, he went on television and complained about how Trump’s tweets were undermining him, trying to argue that he’s making his own decisions independent of the President. This entire thing is belied, however, by Trump’s complete non-response to this announcement; it’s hard to imagine him saying that anybody “has the right . . . to publicly express their opinion” if they truly hold an ill opinion of him. Barr’s actions on the Stone investigation also immediately followed Trump’s tweets about the matter. So, basically, I encourage folks to view this story with healthy skepticism.

Parnas Implications.It would already be hard to know what all of the above means for the ongoing investigation into Lev Parnas, who is a Rudy Giuliani associate–it’s being led by DOJ officials in New York while Barr accepts Giuliani info on potentially related matters in PA, and that’s kind of an inherent conflict. But news also broke that the NY branch is considering adding new charges that would impact Giuliani, and that just throws gasoline on a department already on fire. The potential for misconduct here is really high, so we should keep an eye on this.

We also have a final few death rattles of Whistleblowing Ukraine Biden Bingo, which I think still deserve a separate section. Here’s the mop-up of the old scandal:

Whistleblowing Winds Down. We’re pretty much going out not with a bang, but with a whimper. Some Utah lawmakers tried to get Mitt Romney censured for, uh, voting with Democrats, but that doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote letters trying to get inspectors general to investigate Trump’s retaliatory firings from last week, but at least as I type this, that doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere either. Now that the investigation is over, Trump has basically admitted that he sent Giuliani to Ukraine. And last but not least, Trump has also started trying to get the military to publicly discipline Vindman for his testimony.

Your “Normal” Weird

Bloomberg Schmoomberg. In the last week or two, we suddenly started to see outlets reporting favorably on Mike Bloomberg’s candidacy, despite his incomplete participation in the DNC campaign process, which means we’ve also been treated to a parade of public records illustrating why this is not a great idea. First was the recording of Bloomberg talking about his stop and frisk policies, which included such charming quotes as “95% of murderers . . . are male minorities” and “you can just Xerox” suspect descriptions. (Spoiler: This is statistically untrue in New York and elsewhere, as a cursory review of the past two years’ mass shootings would illustrate.) Then people dug up his statements about redlining from 2008, when he said that it was a mistake to end the practice of freezing people of color out of neighborhoods by refusing loans for mortgages because it caused the 2008 housing crisis. Then we started talking about the numerous accounts of sexual harassment and his practice of making women sign NDAs as part of civil settlements. Then, with no apparent irony, Bloomberg released some ads complaining about “slanderous attacks” on him because people were talking about all of the above. I honestly can’t even make this stuff up.

New Hampshire and Nevada. Despite its iffy lead-up, New Hampshire was nonetheless a straightforward and successful primary, especially compared to the Iowa adventures. It even had a clear winner–Bernie Sanders, by a margin of about 1.3%. It also featured Pete Buttigieg as a close second and Amy Klobuchar in third, so both of them gained delegates for the upcoming race. Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden lagged behind, at least for now, but it seems likely that both of them will have stronger performances in other states. The next primary is the Nevada caucus, which happens on Saturday, and hopefully will prove less messy than Iowa.

The Bad:

Coronavirus Creep.* The new coronavirus now has an official name–Covid-19–and is still making the news for making problems. The most recent bout of news is about a cruise ship in Japan that was evacuated due to Covid 19 outbreak, only to discover that 14 passengers with the illness were evacuated to the United States alongside 314 other passengers because they were asymptomatic at the time of testing. (There were also an additional 44 American passengers who tested positive for the illness, who were brought to Japan.) Needless to say, everyone involved is being quarantined.

Budget Nightmare.* Trump released his by-now-signature nightmare budget this week,which includes old favorites like ‘who funds children’s health insurance,’ ‘why are we wasting money on loan forgiveness,’ and ‘I’m ordering Congress to end the National Endowment for the Humanities.’ Congress usually gives this stuff the due consideration it deserves (which is to say, even the Senate gives it none), but we should keep an eye on it anyway. This is a strange time in American politics, even for Trump.

Immigration Updates. Another week of painful immigration updates, I’m afraid. ICE was in the news for shooting a bystander in the face in Brooklyn when he interrupted an arrest, apparently not knowing that the plainclothes agents were officers. Unsurprisingly, the administration turned this into a fight about sanctuary practices, and it likely spurred their announcement on Friday that they would be sending ‘elite tactical agents’ to New York and other cities they deemed to be ‘sanctuary jurisdictions.’ Then, just to round out the week, they began disrupting native burial sites in Arizona, blowing them up to make room for their border wall.

The Good:

Recent Legislative Resilience. The House and the Senate both had a good week in terms of legislative action, which is always nice to see. The Senate passed a bill limiting Trump’s authority to declare war on Iran, which did not quite make it to a veto-proof majority but did show significant bipartisan support at 55-45. Since the bill was distinct from the version the House passed last month, the bill moves to the House next. And in other House news, they voted this week to eliminate the ERA’s deadline for ratification. The measure would effectively allow the amendment’s revival, since we have the requisite number of state ratifications already–which would be pretty awesome, though it’s not likely to gain traction in the current Senate.

Clearing the Playing Field. In the wake of the New Hampshire results, we have a new crop of 2020 hopefuls with low numbers who have decided to drop out. It’s bittersweet for the strongest of the contenders (you had a good run, Andrew Yang), but less so for candidates like Michael Bennet and Deval Patrick, who never broke 1% in the early primaries. And whatever your opinion, it furthers consolidation and coalition-building at a time when we really need it. So it’s certainly far from terrible to have a smaller playing field as we head into the Nevada caucuses on February 22.

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 hedgehog being enticed by a snack and an eventual better government. I’ll be back next week with more (and hopefully better) 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 hot cocoa for bedtime!