Russia – National News Roundup

Year 6, Week 9 (March 13-19)

March 22, 2022 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

This week, something in my laptop gave up the ghost and fried itself–my personal theory is that it saw this week’s COVID news and took matters into its own gears. I have promised to provide better working conditions if it accepts repairs; we’ll see if the motherboard finds that persuasive. In the meantime, the NNR continues on a loaner desktop! Please pardon any hiccups while we all adjust.

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 an RNC!–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 was a remarkably calm week on the Election Rejection front, likely because there are so many other places for right-wing wingnuts to put their attention right now. That said, we did get a few bits and bobs–here’s what I have for you:

Insurrection Updates. Salesforce, the entity that handles the RNC’s emails which the RNC is also suing, made it clear this week that they plan to give the January 6 panel the goods despite said RNC lawsuit. (Given the overall quality of Trump-branded attorneys over the past few years, I can’t really say that I blame them.) Meanwhile, in the wake of evidence regarding a literal insurrection blueprint labeled “1776 Returns”, a judge decided this week that former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio will be held without bail pending trial.

For yet another week, the big news on the Biden Rebuilding front is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Here’s what has happened:

Land War Landmines.* The Russian invasion of Ukraine has now been ongoing for 25 straight days. The port city of Mariupol is being hit particularly hard, with Russia targeting multiple civilian shelters in an attempt to force a surrender. Experts think the ongoing aggression could have global food supply implications, and obviously the humanitarian crisis remains very severe. Several EU officials visited Ukraine this week, potentially signaling support coming from that corner, and Biden is attending a European council summit on the topic later in the week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Congress by video on Wednesday, asking for further aid and generally trying to move the U.S. to further action.

Your New Normal:

SCOTUS Scuttlebutt. Today marked the beginning of the confirmation hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s SCOTUS nomination, which is expected to run for about three days in the Senate. So far it appears to mostly be going well, though of course it already features exactly as many Republican dog whistles as you might expect. Meanwhile, current Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was hospitalized over the weekend, apparently due to a flu-like infection that the family is saying is not COVID. That said, Thomas’s wife has said a lot of things this week, and I give basically all of them the lack of credibility that they are due.

The Bad:

State of the COVID-19. As I type this, parts of Europe and China are both showing strong signs of another variant COVID outbreak, this time an Omicron subvariant called BA2. The same variant is also already making up about a quarter of COVID infections here in the U.S. If this outbreak follows previous patterns, we’ll likely start to see a BA2 spike here within the next couple of weeks, which presumably also means a return of mask mandates and/or social distancing (one hopes). The timing sucks for a lot of reasons, but it’s particularly bad because the White House just ran out of funding for its testing and vaccine programs, and Congress declined to fund them further in the bills passed last week. This is forcing the programs to begin shutting down this week. Meanwhile, while Pfizer and Moderna are both seeking authorization for another round of boosters for adults over 65, only 44% of the population have even gotten the first set. Trust me, I too wish I were not typing any of this paragraph.

The Good:

Recent Court Resilience. For yet another week, the main good news comes out of the courts. This time, a federal judge found that civil liability can be imposed on the Kentucky former clerk who famously ignored the Supreme Court in 2015 by refusing to give people marriage licenses. To unpack that with less legalese: Essentially, said clerk, Kim Davis, looked at a civil suit brought by the people she wronged and said “you can’t sue me because First Amendment.” The judge essentially responded to her by saying, “The Fourteenth Amendment says yes they can.”

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 goat trying a banana 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 a functional motherboard!

Year 6, Week 8 (March 6-12)

March 15, 2022March 15, 2022 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

This week seemed to get rougher and rougher as it went, and it also dragged like a butt-scooting dog. Then we got to the weekend, which wrapped with a little light temporal larceny. So, you know, it has Been A Week. (Our house is coping through copious application of hamantaschen, and we’re willing to share if you are.)

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 Senate bill!–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:

Things are a bit calmer again on the Election Rejection front, but that makes them no less strange. Here’s what I have for you:

Insurrection Updates. There were a number of court case developments regarding January 6, between 1) the indictment of Enrique Tarrio, who leads the Proud Boys; 2) the criminal conviction on all counts of Guy Reffitt, who was the first January 6 defendant to go to trial; and 3) the lawsuit that the Republican National Convention is bringing against the entire January 6 House Panel, a piece of absolutely wild news that only gets wilder the longer you stare at it. Meanwhile, Tucker Carlson was in the news because his embrace of Russian propaganda led to instructions from Putin to Russian media to give his segments as much air time as possible, according to a recent document leak. (I’ll talk more about the implications of said propaganda for the invasion of Ukraine below.)

As I mentioned above, the big news on the Biden Rebuilding front is invasion of Ukraine for another week. Here’s what has happened:

Land War Landmine.* Invasion of Ukraine by Russia has escalated for another week, and attacks continue on both military targets and civilian targets alike. News outlets have also reported the intentional abduction of mayors of two different cities. U.S. and NATO officials think that recent Russian propaganda claiming that the U.S. has stockpiled chemical weapons in Ukraine–this would be the propaganda that Tucker Carlson is spreading–is likely a false-flag operation designed to create cover for Russia using chemical weapons in the region themselves. The ongoing aggression has been devastating for Ukraine, with mounting casualties and over 2.5 million people displaced. Countries all over the world are also still creating a vast array of consequences for Russian nationals in response, between 1) significant military losses; 2) massive economic sanctions; 3) a ban on Russian oil imports and other energy products by several countries; 4) the plummeting value of the ruble; and 5) removal of Russia’s trade status by the EU and several affiliated countries.

Your New Normal:

Busy Week on the Congress Floor. There were a number of bills that saw major movement this week, and some of them were very surprising. Both the House and the Senate managed to pass a bill that dramatically overhauls the U.S. Postal Service, providing much-needed financial support as well as more transparency and data collection. Both houses also passed a government funding bill more generally, which included $14B in aid to Ukraine but did not end up keeping the $15B for COVID aid that was in the original version. The Senate GOP also managed to block debate on a federal abortion bill. The House did pass the Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act, however, which will be the first federal anti-lynching legislation in the U.S. after it is reconciled with the Senate version. It is important to note, incidentally, that while lynching was most documented by the NAACP from 1882-1968, both recent high-profile cases such as the murder of Ahmed Arbery and documentation of lynching by hanging cases in the 21st century illustrate the modern need for this kind of legislation.

The Bad:

State of the COVID-19. COVID news is a bit quiet this week, with cases on the decline in most of the country and no major changes to policy. There were a couple of drips and drabs, however. NIH reported findings of a recent study concluding that mandatory masking in schools reduced COVID rates during the delta surge. We also learned that mask mandates will continue on many forms of transportation, including air travel and public transit. And speaking of transportation, if you’re bored, you can always read more about the copycat Freedom Convoy that is doing loops on the Capitol Beltway, because nothing says freedom like sitting in traffic repeatedly on purpose.

The Good:

Recent Court Resilience. We did see some positive court cases this week, so I guess that’s something. In Texas, the hateful policy declaring gender-affirming care to be a form of child abuse has already been enjoined, with a court noting it likely violates the State Constitution. Meanwhile, SCOTUS decided to leave court-drawn voting maps in place in both Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

So that’s what I have for this week, and I think we can agree that it’s more than enough. For making it through, you nonetheless deserve this brief fine cinema 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 back my 2AM!

Year 6, Week 7 (February 27–March 5)

March 8, 2022 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

The news really feels like a jumble of odds and ends this week, and we haven’t had a miscellany week like this in a little while. That said, it’s better than the abject misery of the past few weeks, so I guess we’ll take it.

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 court filing!–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 was a big week for Election Rejection, because the House Panel took some really significant steps. Here’s what I have for you:

Insurrection Updates. The House panel took a noteworthy step when they noted in a court filing that they believe they’ve found grounds for a criminal conspiracy charge against Trump. It’s likely this is a nudge for A.G. Garland, who has considerably more ability to charge Trump than the panel does, though the filing itself regarded a request to release records germane to their investigation. (The judge on the case has already rejected their opponent’s attempt to get the request tossed as I type this.) Speaking of criminal charges, this week also marked the beginning of the first January 6 criminal trial, since most cases to date have been resolved with plea bargains. Meanwhile, the U.S. Archives is turning over White House visitor logs, and this week’s panel subpoenas include Donald Trump Jr’s partner. Biden has also denied executive privilege for several more relevant records.

Your New Normal:

Land War Landmines. Russian invasion of Ukraine continued for another week, and shows no signs of ending as I type this. Though the countries were in talks over the week several times, and at one point agreed to both “humanitarian corridors” for civilians to escape and a temporary cease-fire, Ukraine reports that Russia failed to honor both of these agreements. Ukraine is calling for a no-fly zone over Russia, which would require the cooperation of several other Western countries. The U.S. is currently weighing its best options of support on that front, as Putin has indicated that he would treat a no-fly zone as declaring war. At the moment, Congress is negotiating on multiple pieces of relevant legislation, though Republicans are already threatening to bail if it’s linked to government funding provisions. At the time that I type this, invasion has created over a million refugees, and multiple Russian independent press outlets that were covering events were forced to shut down due to risk of imprisonment and other logistical challenges.

The Bad:

State of the COVID-19. The pandemic hit a grim milestone this week when we reached six million COVID-related deaths worldwide, in part due to another surge in Hong Kong. Nonetheless, the U.S. appears to move more and more towards an endemic COVID model, with the Biden administration announcing a “test to treat” approach that raises a number of questions about implementation. Finally, Florida’s surgeon general disturbed us all by recommending against pediatric vaccination, not bothering to cite any concrete research or even actual safety concerns, because Florida Official is Florida Man.

The Good:

Biden Rebuilding. This week, Biden Rebuilding goes under the Good, because the administration took a number of decisive steps in positive directions. The administration has paused deportation of Ukrainians in the United States, and also created temporary protected status, which will allow people to live and work in the U.S. for at least eighteen months. The administration also put out multiple strong statements of support and meaningful executive guidance regarding gender-affirming care for LGBTQI youth, creating protections against the recent guidance in Texas. Finally, following up on good news from last week, Judge Jackson’s confirmation hearing will begin in two weeks on March 21.

So that’s what I have for this week, and I’m sorry, there are no news refunds. For making it through, So that’s what I have for this week, because sometimes the news comes in small packages. For making it through, you nonetheless deserve this sleepy Shiba Inu 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 better sinuses!

Year 6, Week 6 (February 20-26)

March 1, 2022 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

The news is, quite understandably, very focused on the situation in Ukraine for another cycle, and that’s some grade-A nightmare fuel right there. Sadly, drinking the nightmare fuel is still important for many reasons, even though it’s awful. I’m going to do my best to help break it down, and if all else fails, remember that small sips help.

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 panel!–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:

There was a whole flood of Election Rejection stories this week, and we saw some related bits and bobs that might as well go in this section as well. Here’s what I have for you:

Insurrection Updates. After the invasion of Ukraine last week, Trump was in the limelight an awful lot–emphasis on “awful.” First he went on the radio to call Putin a “genius” who was “pretty savvy,” though his spokesperson’s feed opted not to include those quotes for some mysterious reason. While I generally try to ignore the inane grindings of the orange noise machine, these soundbites proved the building blocks for his campaigning for 2024 at CPAC on Saturday night, and I think we have to take that seriously. The signals about 2024 feel particularly noteworthy when stories are also hitting about the new Manhattan DA abandoning the Trump indictment groundwork laid by his successor. There were some positive scraps of news this week too, though; apparently Ivanka Trump is in talks with the House January 6 panel, and so is Rudy Giuliani.

As I mentioned above, the big news on the Biden Rebuilding front is aggression with Russia. Here’s what has happened:

Land War Landmine.* A lot has happened since Putin “recognized Donetsk and Luhansk’s independence” and began ordering Russian troops into both regions on Monday. Very early on Thursday morning, Putin declared a “special military operation” was occurring, and Russia launched a multi-front invasion of Ukraine. By Friday, Russia had reached the capital city of Kyiv and captured the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl. In response, President Biden and several other countries ordered prompt and escalating retaliatory sanctions. Then on Sunday, Putin put nuclear forces on high alert. The invasion has created over half a million refugees, though many Ukranians are also choosing to stay behind to fight. Incredibly, there have been massive anti-invasion protests in Russia, where protest is currently a very dangerous thing to do. Needless to say, this is a volatile situation with a lot of implications, and it’s a very dangerous and stressful time for a lot of people.

Your New Normal:

LGBTQ+ Kids’ Concerns. A number of hateful pieces of legislation have moved forward this week against queer kids. In Florida, a bill known as the “Don’t Say Gay Bill”, which prohibits discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity, has now passed in the House and moves to the Senate. In Texas, the governor has ordered mandated reporters such as teachers, doctors, and school officials to report gender-affirming care for transgender kids as “child abuse.”This apparently was done in response to an opinion from the state Attorney General, which some Texas district attorneys are already refusing to follow. I would be remiss if I did not stress that there is absolutely no scientific evidence to suggest that gender-affirming care is a form of abuse, though many credible medical organizations have put out statements indicating that withholding gender-affirming care can hurt transgender children.

The Bad:

State of the COVID-19. The biggest COVID news this week is new CDC guidance that relaxes mask requirements, which according to the current CDC director was done “to give people a break from things like masking” for a while until there’s another surge. (If you find yourself wishing I made that quote up, I assure you, I wish that too.) That same CDC apparently also thinks people should wait longer before getting a second COVID shot if they haven’t already, because spacing them out can reduce risk of heart inflammation. In more amusing news, an attempt to organize an American version of Canada’s “Freedom Convoy” fell very flat when only five rigs showed up.

The Good:

Biden’s SCOTUS Pick. Biden announced his selection for Supreme Court nomination this week, which turned out to be current appellate judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. This would be at least moderately exciting no matter what was going on, because it means he fulfilled one of his campaign promises, but Judge Jackson is an incredibly solid pick for many reasons. First of all, she was approved by the sitting Senate within the past year for her current seat on the D.C. Circuit, which creates less political cover for GOP obstruction in general. Second, her actual credentials are impeccable: She’s been a sitting judge for nearly a decade; she clerked for Justice Breyer at the beginning of her career; and she was an editor on the law review at Harvard Law School during her educational years. But I am particularly excited about Judge Jackson as a nomination because she also served as a public defender for two years, and if appointed she would be the first SCOTUS judge with public defense experience in modern history.

So that’s what I have for this week, and I’m sorry, there are no news refunds. For making it through, you deserve these booped danger kittens 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 hours in the day!

Year 6, Week 5 (February 13-19)

February 22, 2022 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

For most of the week, the news felt like it was holding its breath, which is never a comfortable feeling. Then this evening, one of the things we were waiting for happened when Putin invaded Ukraine via Donetsk and Luhansk. I can’t really say it’s better to have the shoe drop, but I’ll definitely keep everybody updated from here.

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 text message!–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:

There was a whole flood of Election Rejection stories this week, and we saw some related bits and bobs that might as well go in this section as well. Here’s what I have for you:

Insurrection Updates. On the January 6 front, the head of the Oathkeepers was denied bail by a second judge this week, meaning he’ll continue to be held in jail pending his July trial. Additionally, the Washington Post published a cache of text messages to then Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that were subpoenaed by the panel, and though they’re hardly a smoking gun, they’re definitely worth reading. An attempt by Trump to claim immunity against civil lawsuits regarding January 6 was rejected by a district court judge on Friday. Meanwhile, a Trump appointee district court judge issued an absolutely bananas opinion holding that only the Department of Justice can sue under the Voting Rights Act–which will probably get overturned on appeal, but good gravy. And speaking of Trump news, a judge in New York also ordered Trump and his children to testify in the NY AG’s civil suit–which technically is about his business practices, not election fraud, but you know what, same difference at this point.

As I mentioned above, the big news on the Biden Rebuilding front is aggression with Russia. Here’s what has happened:

Land War Landmine.* As we entered the week, despite the stalemate over the weekend, the Biden administration cautioned that threat of Russia invading Ukraine remained very high. Media began running more stories on Donetsk and Luhansk, regions of Ukraine where Russian-backed separatists had strongholds. Then yesterday, the U.S. told the U.N. that Russia had a list of Ukranians to put in camps, and continued urging diplomats and affiliates to move to safer locations. Just this evening, Russia “recognized Donetsk and Luhansk’s independence” and began ordering Russian troops into both regions. Needless to say, this is a volatile situation with a lot of implications, and it looks seriously likely that we’re seeing the beginning of a land war in Ukraine.

Your New Normal:

The Great Avocado Embargo. It feels kind of fitting that I honestly don’t have any normal news for you this week, but I do have one throwback to the Weird section. After a U.S. inspector who oversees the import of Mexican avocados received a death threat, we canceled avocado imports last Saturday, and the ban lasted for the whole week. But avocados are back on by the time I’m typing this, because the ban was lifted on Friday. So uh, welcome back to your new normal I guess?

The Bad:

State of the COVID-19. State of the COVID-19. For another week, COVID news is startling in its disconnect. We’re still learning about the BA.2 subvariant, and we’ve reached a million excess deaths total during the pandemic (though not all are directly from COVID). Experts are concerned that people are losing the thread about practices. And with California officially transitioning to “endemic” status and most states removing mask mandates, while high-risk people are… well, still high-risk, it’s easy to see why experts are saying that. Meanwhile, the “Freedom Convoy” in Canada is also ending, mostly with arrests and towed vehicles, and as Canadian truckers try to distance themselves, U.S. Congress reps are looking into who started it.

The Good:

Recent Medical Resilience. Recent Medical Resilience. This week, a third person was cured of HIV using a novel medical procedure called a haplo-cord transplant. Notably, this patient was the first woman cured using this method, and she’s also the first mixed-race patient. It’s an awesome advancement during a very strange time.

So that’s what I have for this week, and I’m sorry, there are no news refunds. For making it through, you deserve stories about Hank the Tank 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 hours in the day!

Year 6, Week 4 (February 6-12)

February 15, 2022 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

It’s Valentine’s Day as I type this, but I’m not really loving the news this week. We’re more on the “Bees!” side of St. Valentine’s legacy, all things considered, but that’s 2022 for you. Maybe next week we’ll get honey.

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 convoy!–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 a follow-up, this week we learned from Maggie Haberman’s new book that he also liked flushing document shreds down the toilet and/or eating them after he ripped them up (hopefully not at the same time).

Insurrection Updates. You may recall that last week, Trump was in the news regarding his habit of ripping up official documents that he was legally required to preserve in office and hoarding classified information documents at Mar-A-Lago. As a follow-up, this week we learned from Maggie Haberman’s new book that he also liked flushing document shreds down the toilet and/or eating them after he ripped them up (hopefully not at the same time). We also learned that some White House call logs from January 6 are missing. The National Archives have asked the Justice Department to investigate all of this mishandling of records, because said behaviors are in fact flagrantly illegal. Meanwhile, all of this is a very disturbing backdrop to the Supreme Court’s decision this week to restore gerrymandered districting maps in Alabama.

There were also some not-awesome developments on the Biden Rebuilding front. Here’s what has happened:

Blinking Biden. Biden announced a decision this week to award $3.5 billion in frozen Afghan funds to people suing the Taliban about 9/11, leaving only half of all available funds to actual Afghan people who are fleeing said Taliban. This came on the heels of his top science advisor, Eric Lander, stepping down due to systemic mistreatment of subordinates. Between that and the continued increase of inflation, it hasn’t been a particularly great week for the Biden administration. But on the plus side, a talk with Putin on Saturday left both countries in a stalemate; though the U.S. is still evacuating diplomats, Russia has signaled that it might be open to more negotiation.

Your New Normal:

Congressional Updates. This was a weirdly functional week for Congress, all things considered. A bill to ban stock trading in Congress has been gaining traction in both the House and the Senate. Meanwhile, both houses also passed a workplace sexual misconduct bill that banned a corporate practice of forcing arbitration for workplace harassment claims. Both of these bills are particularly unique for their bipartisan support, although in fairness, it did take four years for a #MeToo bill to actually pass.

The Bad:

State of the COVID-19. Over the last week, there were more and more stories about states removing their mask mandates as the omicron surge starts to subside. In the case of school mask mandates, there is some science to support the call, particularly for very young children who need to see faces in order to develop communication skills. However, in the wake of Pfizer stepping back its timeline for vaccination of young children, this is a tough pill for some parents to swallow, and the CDC isn’t supporting it either. And certainly for more general indoor mask mandates, which are also expiring or being removed in most states, there’s no real science to support the plan–particularly when we’re still coming back from the highest COVID death rates in a year. But speaking of mandates and poor decisions, the “Freedom Convoy” in Ottawa has continued on for another full week, blocking off more and more border crossing routes as the week went on. Earlier today, Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time ever, which means he’s essentially calling in the military to deal with it.

The Good:

Recent Constitutional Resilience. In anticipation of the upcoming Supreme Court decisions on reproductive rights, Vermont is preparing to guarantee reproductive rights in their state constitution. They’re the first state to consider this kind of protection, but I’m hoping they won’t be the last.

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 otter snoot 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 goofy memes for Palentine’s Day!

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!

National News Roundup: Year 3, Week 13 (April 14–20)

April 23, 2019 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

This week was full of dark, strange freaky funhouse mirror news — and the Mueller report’s release took it to a whole new level. There’s a lot of abyss to look into this week, but we’ll get through it all.

Standard standing reminders apply: I am no journalist, though I play one in your inbox or browser, so I’m only summarizing the news within my area of expertise. This week’s news contains some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise — I’m a lawyer, not a redacted report! — but all offroad adventures are marked with an asterisk. Okay, I think that’s about it for the disclaimers. Onward to the news!

Constitutional Crisis Corners:

Okay, this was a big week for the Russia Investigation both before and after the Mueller report was released (albeit in redacted form). Here’s what I have for you:

Mueller Report Rumblings.* Before the report was even released, the circus had several attractions — of particular note are Trump’s insistence that someone should “investigate the investigators” and Attorney General William Barr’s wild press conference bonanza on the morning the report was released. Against that backdrop, it’s no surprise that the House was immediately making it rain subpoenas — for both the full unredacted report and related underlying evidence. Then everybody had time to actually read and analyze the 400-page redacted report, and all heck broke loose.
(Redacted) Mueller Report Released.* Okay bear with me y’all, because this is going to be incredibly long — 400 pages is a lot of stuff. The report is separated out into two volumes; the first volume deals with Russian interference (and the question of collusion) in the 2016 Presidential election, and the second volume deals with Trump’s obstruction of the first investigation. Everybody and their kid sister has written a takeaway piece, and a few outlets have also outlined how much was redacted (Spoiler: A lot, particularly relating to prosecutorial decisions, but not as much of the obstruction section as we’d feared). There were some noteworthy things about collusion, but the real meat of the report is in the obstruction section, where Mueller looked at ten different incidents to determine if any of them were obstruction of justice. And the report makes clear that the answer is complicated, or at least more complicated than Barr depicted in his summary, in part because Mueller uncovered a lot of evidence but believed he couldn’t indict a sitting President. As a result, some outlets describe him as “punting [the issue] to Congress” or “[writing] a road map to impeachment.” In short: Trump did a bunch of bad stuff, y’all, but Mueller thought his hands were tied.
Mueller Report Reverberations.* Needless to say, we’re seeing a lot of stuff in the wake of the information above. One obvious and predictable outcome is that Trump’s approval rating has dropped to its lowest rate of 2019, hanging out at 37%. But Democrats are also divided on whether to impeach Trump, given what we’ve learned about his conduct, and in the meantime they plan to conduct further investigations as they hash that out. Sarah Sanders is catching flak for obviously lying in press briefings, Betsy DeVos’s brother Erik Prince is back on the radar, we learned at least one voting county was successfully hacked in 2016, and the pee tapes might be real. More attention is also being paid by both sides to the eight people who refused to obstruct justice for Trump — in everything from angry 45 Twitter rants to House subpoenas to testify. And Rudy Giuliani is publicly announcing that “there’s nothing wrong with taking information from Russia.” So this is definitely not the end of the story, and I’ll keep y’all posted.

Ironically, it was a fairly quiet week for Disregard of Governing Norms, simply because all eyes were on the Russia investigation. But we did see a bit of tax return balderdash. Here’s what I have for you:

Tax Return Fight.* In this week’s installment of As The Tax ReTurns, the House Democrats subpoenaed nine banks, Trump’s accounting firm, and various financial records. Trump responded by — no joke, y’all — suing his own accounting firm as well as the House Oversight Committee Chairman, Elijah Cummings, and the Oversight Committee’s investigative counsel. As said House committee chairman notes, there is no valid legal basis to this suit as far as I can tell. But this is pretty obviously just another skirmish in what’s going to be a loooong war.

Your “Normal” Weird:

Bill Weld Joins the 2020 Fray. Former Mass Governor Bill Weld announced he’s joining the 2020 primary this week — on the GOP side. Given his oddly progressive stances, his current position as a partner at Mintz Levin, and the general…everything of the current GOP, this is an odd choice. But who am I to look a gift party-divide in the mouth?

The Bad:

Awful International Violence.* On Easter Sunday, a coordinated terrorist attack on three churches and two hotels in Sri Lanka resulted in almost 300 deaths and another 500 people injured. Though the country has a lengthy history of civil war, this is the deadliest attack in over a decade. The Sri Lankan government has blocked social media and imposed a curfew in response. Meanwhile, this week also saw violent protests in Paris and riots in Londonderry.
Trump’s Stellar Foreign Policy.* Trump’s foreign policy was embarrassingly scattered this week, which is nothing new but did have some repercussions. First he praised the Libyan insurgents marching on Trinidad, even though we installed the government they’re marching on, and ultimately spoke with the insurgent general. He also vetoed a Congressional bill to end U.S. involvement in the Yemen war, and imposed sanctions on Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. And just to top everything off, North Korea announced that it tested a new weapon.
Iffy Medical News. In horrifying opiate news, 60 people in seven states were charged this week with trading sex and cash for opioid prescriptions as the Department of Justice brings a giant suit for opioid malfeasance. The charges allege that over 32 million pills illegally changed hands. And in other iffy legality medical news, Ohio became the sixth state this week to pass a “heartbeat” law, a type of anti-abortion law commonly understood to be illegal but which conservatives are hoping will result in a challenge to Roe v. Wade.
Your Painfully Regular Bad Immigration Updates. Immigration news this week is particularly godawful, which for this administration and the past month is saying something. Attorney General William Barr ordered immigration courts this week to withhold bail from asylum seekers who have already passed a credible fear interview — in other words, who have shown evidence of valid asylum claims — because he figures rotting in jail will deter people from coming here and claiming asylum. Meanwhile, Trump has ordered even more troops to the border and is considering travel restrictions for several more African countries as well as Cuba. He also wants to make it harder for immigrants to live in public housing and wants legal work in the marijuana industry to indicate ‘a lack of moral character’ for citizen applicants. And a vigilante group in New Mexico kidnapped 200 migrants at gunpoint near the border, claiming that they were ‘detaining’ them until CBP could arrive. Eventually the FBI arrested the head of the group for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. And the Trump administration is now temporarily allowed to again ship asylum applicants to Mexico to await the results of their application due to a stay of the injunction at the appeal stage. (Although I’m not sure if they plan to bother, since apparently the new plan is to just keep asylees in jails.)

The Good:

Recent Court Resilience. A federal judge held that the Trump administration can’t go forward on their plan to overturn an Obama-era prohibition on mining coal in public spaces. With all of the mess above, it’s nice to see the courts continue to challenge Trump on things, though I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of it in the coming weeks.
Warren Lights Up The Campaign Trail. This week, Elizabeth Warren has impressed a lot of people — and raised a lot of money — by insisting on impeaching Trump and revealing a plan to ease the costs of higher education. Her campaign plan would be complex and interesting enough, given its ambitious scope. But her call for impeachment kept the conversation going and likely contributed to the House’s deliberations on its next steps.

So that’s what I have for this week, and some of last as well. For making it through, you deserve this review of the Mueller report on GoodReads and an eventual better government. I’ll be back next week with more (and hopefully less confusing) 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 immigration news!

National News Roundup: Year 3, Week 9 (March 17–23)

March 26, 2019 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

Okay, folks. The Mueller report dropped this week, which appropriately has taken a lot of our attention. But as we watch the news unfold on that, it’s important to remember that Nixon wasn’t ultimately indicted by his Special Investigator report, and his impeachment process took years. There’s not going to be one fell swoop on this administration either; we all have to keep chipping away at this mess together.

Standard standing reminders apply: I am no journalist, though I play one in your inbox or browser, so I’m only summarizing the news within my area of expertise. This week’s news contains some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise — I’m a lawyer, not a House investigation! — but all offroad adventures are marked with an asterisk. Okay, I think that’s about it for the disclaimers. Onward to the news!

Constitutional Crisis Corners:

This was The Week When It Happened in the Russia Investigation, and I think we’re all pretty anxious to see what happens next. The important thing to keep in mind — and I’m talking to myself here as well as all of you — is that Mueller led the first of several separate credible investigations, which means we’re definitely not done no matter what comes next. Okay, here are the main things to know:

It’s Mueller Time?* Special prosecutor Robert Mueller released his final report to Attorney General William Barr on Friday afternoon. AG Barr initially responded with a letter promising “as much transparency as possible”, and spent the weekend reviewing the materials. Then on Sunday evening, he released a four-page public summary of the Mueller report’s findings — findings which, I feel the need to note, almost certainly spanned hundreds of pages, so a four-page summary after forty-eight hours is pretty bare bones to say the least. Nonetheless, the summary contains two pieces of information we all should track: 1) Mueller has issued no new indictments beyond the ones he has already filed (which means no indictment for Trump); and 2) Mueller punted on the obstruction of justice question, which Barr used to declare there wasn’t any. That last bit is important because Barr circulated his unsolicited iffy opinions about Mueller’s obstruction of justice investigation before he was even Attorney General, and right now nobody other than his team knows what evidence Mueller actually found. We also don’t know if Barr will release the Mueller report to anybody else.
So What Happens Now?* Democrats continue to push for a public release of the Mueller report, with sensitive information redacted — and have signaled that they are willing to subpoena Barr to testify if necessary. Trump is, unsurprisingly, gleefully announcing this exonerates him when the report literally says the opposite. Meanwhile, several investigations into Trump-related matters are still ongoing, and in particular the New York investigation has a much broader scope than Mueller’s did. So we’re definitely not done, and we may be gearing up for a court battle over the report not unlike the one Nixon caused.
House Probe Blues.* With the Mueller investigation wrapped up, it makes sense to shift focus to the House, New York, and other investigations still ongoing. Unfortunately, the House Judiciary Committee is encountering some snags in its requests for documents — by which I mean, several entities are totally refusing to send them anything. The naughty list contains lots of names you’d never expect, such as Julian Assange, Roger Stone, and the White House — by which I mean, ‘names you’d never expect to give the House Judiciary Committee any subpoenaed documents.’ Needless to say, this is probably the beginning of a protracted battle as well.

Against the backdrop above, the Disregard of Governing Norms stories almost seem like a distraction, but it’s important that we don’t get jaded about the Trump family’s bad behavior! Here’s what I have for you:

Personal Enrichment Redux (Again). Forbes reported this week that Trump has charged his own reelection campaign $1.3M in rent, food, lodging and other expenses since taking office. As far as I can tell, this is probably legal, but it sure doesn’t help his ongoing emolument lawsuits. Meanwhile, the New York Times reported on Trump’s sketchy relationship with Deutsche Bank, including its loans of over $2B despite many, many red flags.
Other Trump Family Malfeasance. Trump’s finances made a splash, but there was plenty of other special, special Trump family news to go around this week. First Jared Kushner made headlines because he’s been using WhatsApp to communicate with foreign officials — and the inevitable AOC and HRC commiseration tweets only somewhat soften that blow. And speaking of Twitter, Trump used the platform to have a one-sided fight with a dead guy, which I think it’s fair to conclude he lost. So we continue to be governed by a family of Roald Dahl villains.

Your “Normal” Weird:

Campaign Watch 2020. Speaking of elections, there has been a lot of movement on an already-crowded field for the 2020 Presidential election, so now seems like a fine time to do a mini-roundup. Here’s a quick blow-by-blow of some recent circus: 1) A bunch more people have announced their intent to run, including Beto O’Rourke and Kirsten Gillibrand; 2) Elizabeth Warren is calling to kill the electoral college, which will be popular here in MA (though she’s from MA, so I wouldn’t write home about that); and 3) Joe Biden hasn’t even announced he’s running yet but somehow he’s still in the news for considering Stacey Abrams as a running mate.
Boeing Follow-Up.* In horrifying follow-up to the Boeing crash, Boeing has announced this week they will no longer be charging extra for safety upgrades that make their planes safer — and if you’re like me, that’s how you learned that holy crow, Boeing used to charge airlines for safety upgrades. They also apparently billed the plane as not requiring pilot training if pilots had flown earlier versions of the 737, despite, you guessed it, a bunch of differences between the MAX and earlier versions of the 737. Can I just say, this entire story is like an object lesson in Why Deregulation is Bad.
Social Media Weirdness. Social media was extra weird this week, which in 2019 is really saying something. First Facebook was in the news for finally agreeing to stop letting advertisers blatantly illegally discriminate in their targeted ad practices. (Quick lawyer context note: Among other things, Facebook was alleged to be letting advertisers promoting housing and job opportunities screen out ad recipients of color, which is super duper not legal under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.) In less “would you like a cookie” and more “would you like some tea” news, former Congressdude Devin Nunes is suing Twitter over some mean tweets about him, which so far has mostly resulted in a truly wild parade of exhibits and a parody cow account gaining six million followers — which, incidentally, is more followers on Twitter than Nunes has. In case anybody is wondering whether Nunes has a valid case here…uh, no. No, he does not.

The Bad:

College “Free Speech” Executive Order. While Nunes was suing Twitter because people said mean things, Trump was signing a “free speech” executive order designed to make it easier for the alt-right to talk at universities. Needless to say, this might actually harm free speech, so it’s not awesome news.
Immigration Updates. Immigration was in the news on all kinds of unpleasant fronts this week. CBP detention centers in Texas are so overcrowded that the administration is releasing people en masse, which would be good news except that locals think they’re doing it to manufacture a crisis that will get them more funding. In the meantime, among the people CBP has detained at said border was a nine-year-old citizen they held for 30 straight hours after picking her up on her way to school and a Dreamer flight attendant they held for six straight weeks. We can expect this type of illegal detention to get worse, thanks to a recent Supreme Court case that held that immigrants can be detained without a hearing if they have a prior conviction — even if they were released to the community years ago. As Justice Breyer noted in his dissent, this decision has major potential for abuse in the current political environment, and also likely sets up a constitutional fight further down the road.
Bibi’s Trump Card. In “this definitely won’t destabilize the Middle East” news, Trump is endorsing Israel’s claim on the Golan Heights, which have been disputed territory since they were annexed by Israel over fifty years ago. This wouldn’t be great all by itself, since it overturns decades of U.S. policy, but the timing makes it look like he’s interfering with the Israeli election. And that’s particularly bad because Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, the corrupt sitting Prime Minister, is unapologetically using Trump as campaign leverage to try to keep ahead of his own scandals in a close election. So basically… Trump doesn’t like clean elections in Israel any more than he likes them here.

The Good:

Postpartum Pill. The FDA approved a drug that treats postpartum depression this week, which is the first of its kind to ever be approved. Unfortunately, it’s also quite expensive and requires a significant hospital stay, but just the fact that the drug is being developed speaks volumes about our shifting priorities in healthcare.
Recent Court Resilience. Despite the recent SCOTUS immigration case, there was a lot of positive court news this week. A federal judge halted drilling in Wyoming, asking the administration to document climate change implications, which is the first time that has ever happened. And in slightly better SCOTUS news, the court declined to hear a case about a Hawaiian B&B refusing service to a lesbian couple, which means the decision that it was an illegal action stands. And a federal district court judge issued an order telling the administration that there was still an injunction in place preventing a trans military ban — so they should scrap that new policy they just proposed, please and thank you.

So that’s what I have for this week, and I’m sorry that most of it isn’t better. For making it through, you deserve this collection of stories about nice moments of human connection and an eventual better government. I’ll be back next week with more (and hopefully less confusing) 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 springtime weather!

National News Roundup: Year 3, Week 7 (March 3–9)

March 12, 2019 Kara HurvitzLeave a comment

The word I would use for this week is “discombobulating” — though admittedly that may just be me, since I’m drafting this while sick again. But regardless of your fever state, there was a lot happening, much of it contradicted itself, and Congress and the Trump Administration continued to play tug-of-war with a variety of topics. I’ll do my best to unpack and outline for y’all!

Standard standing reminders apply: I am no journalist, though I play one in your inbox or browser, so I’m only summarizing the news within my area of expertise. This week’s news contains some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise — I’m a lawyer, not a sentencing hearing! — but all offroad adventures are marked with an asterisk. Okay, I think that’s about it for the disclaimers. Onward to the news!

Constitutional Crisis Corners:

We’re finally seeing a slower week on the Russia Investigation, but there were still a couple of significant news stories. Here are the main things to know:

Manafort Sentence Sadness.* Manafort’s sentencing hearing on his Virginia cases happened this week, and a lot of us found it pretty disappointing. Though sentencing guidelines suggest 19–25 years of prison time for his financial fraud convictions, he was sentenced to 47 months by a judge who described him as living “an otherwise blameless life.” He still has another sentencing hearing this week in front of Judge Amy Berman Jackson — the same judge currently fighting with Roger Stone about his inability to follow a gag order — and we might see a more severe sentence out of that hearing. That said, Judge Jackson’s case carries a maximum penalty of ten years, so we’re unlikely to see more than fourteen years total of incarceration.
Following Up on Kushner Clearance.* After I wrote last week that Trump pressured staff to grant Jared Kushner security clearance earlier in the year, news came out that he did the same thing for Ivanka, who didn’t actually pass her clearance check either. We learned this because a White House source gave documents to the House Oversight Committee in response to last Monday’s probe. So now House Democrats are arguing about how to proceed on investigating the Trump children, and there will almost certainly be more developments. I’ll keep y’all posted.

This was not a great week for Disregard of Governing Norms, particularly because Mitch McConnell dug in his heels on some major legislation. Here’s what I have for you:

Senate Slack and Showdown is Back. This week, the House Democrats passed H.R. 1, a sweeping ethics and election bill designed to address corruption and improve voting access. Though the bill contains many types of reform that benefit voters, Mitch McConnell is refusing to let it onto the Senate floor — and his stated reasoning was “Because I get to decide what we vote on.” (Someday dictionaries are gonna have a picture of him under ‘obstructionist jerkface.’) He thankfully cannot do the same on the resolution condemning Trump’s ‘national emergency,’ but the Senate still hasn’t moved on that either. That’s likely because GOP leaders are still trying to figure out a way around passing it, despite the bill’s bipartisan support. And while this is going on, Trump has introduced yet another budget that asks for billions in wall funding (among other nightmare demands such as ending subsidized FAFSA loans and making Medicare a block grant program). On the plus side, said budget is likely to wind up as toilet paper in the House, because let me tell you how much nobody wants another extensive shutdown after he’s already declared an emergency to get said funding.
This Week’s Trump Malfeasance. This week’s general Trump grossness, ho boy, where do I even start. Just like last week, we’re going with rapid-fire summary: 1) In response to last week’s report about Trump’s deep ties to Fox News, the DNC announced it officially is refusing to let Fox News host debates in 2020; 2) Relatedly, Fox-related staffer Bill Shine is resigning from his position as the White House’s top communications adviser to work on Trump’s 2020 campaign; 3) Just like last week, Trump quietly signed a sketchy executive order again, this time canceling reports of civilian deaths caused by drones; 4) News broke that Trump has ties to the woman who founded the massage parlor where Patriots owner Robert Kraft was caught soliciting sex from trafficked women; 5) Michael Cohen is suing the Trump Organization for failing to pay millions of dollars in legal fees; and 6) Trump claimed that “the Democrats hate Jewish people” at a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago.

Your “Normal” Weird:

Omar Upset Update. That last bit of Trump news above is likely a reference to ongoing conflict within the Democratic Party in the wake of Ilhan Omar’s comments last week, but it’s certainly not a fair summary of what ended up happening there. In light of some pretty awful official Islamophobic attacks on Omar as well as a generational divide within the party regarding Israel, the resolution originally planned for this week got broadened to a general anti-bigotry resolution. The resolution passed through the House and hopefully signals the end of this particular Dem fight — though incredibly, 23 Republicans refused to support the resolution, and noted in-House supremacist Steve King voted ‘present.’ (Every single Democrat, however, voted ‘yes.’)
Chelsea Manning Back in Jail. Chelsea Manning was held in contempt of court this week for refusing to testify in a grand jury for a Wikileaks case, saying that she had already given extensive testimony on the topic and that she objected to the secretive nature of the process. (It was also likely relevant that her immunity meant she could not invoke the Fifth Amendment to protect herself during testimony.) Manning will remain in jail until she decides to testify or the grand jury concludes, which could be a matter of weeks. Needless to say, given Manning’s history, this story has very complicated implications about the use of civil contempt of court against marginalized former inmates. I’ll be keeping an eye on it.

The Bad:

Immigration News. There was more immigration news this week, none of it especially great. News broke that the administration is continuing to separate families at the border despite a court order otherwise (more on that below). Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen defended the administration’s practices before Congress on Wednesday, insisting that there is a crisis at the border (and conveniently neglecting to mention that her department caused it). And ICE was in the news again, this time for keeping tabs on people who protest Trump in New York City.
North Korea Nuclearization. Shortly after Trump walked away from last week’s summit, we learned that North Korea appears to be rebuilding its missile launch facility. U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton is threatening further sanctions, but Trump is simply saying that it’s “too early to see” and that he “would be very disappointed” if he decides to believe the reports. (It figures that North Korea’s nuclear arsenal is the one time Trump pulls out the “I’m not mad” card as President.)
Boeing Tragedy Aftermath. Boeing 737 Max 8 planes are being grounded in many parts of the world after an aircraft crashed in Ethiopia today, resulting the deaths of all 137 passengers (including 19 United Nations staffers). This was the second deadly crash of this type of jet in the last six months, which contextualizes why many countries are leery of the jets, and there is some indication that the first crash may have been due to a lack of pilot retraining. The United States is still flying the Max 8 jets for now, though only two American airlines — American and Southwest — use them regularly.

The Good:

HIV Advances. News broke this week that scientists have successfully cured a second instance of HIV, about twelve years after their initial breakthrough. The procedure used is very complicated but suggests that a replicable cure may be possible — effectively, a second success illustrates a proof of concept. This is incredible news, even though we’re still pretty far from a widely-available cure; it represents a major milestone in research.
Recent Court Resilience. There were a lot of good court decisions this week. Another federal District Court judge ruled that Wilbur Ross violated the Constitution by trying to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, making two so far to say the move was illegal. Another federal judge held that the Trump administration is responsible for the additional families separated by the zero tolerance policy before its formal announcement last spring, including them in the class action lawsuit being brought on the subject by the ACLU. In the opinion, the judge noted, “The hallmark of a civilized society is measured by how it treats its people and those within its borders.” A Ninth Circuit judge also created more protections for asylum seekers, holding that they have a right to a habeas corpus review before deportation in certain contexts. And lastly, the Iowa Supreme Court held that Medicaid may be used to cover sex reassignment surgery, overturning a state ban on the practice.

So that’s what I have for this week, and it’s more than enough! For making it through, you deserve these photos from a bird photo booth and an eventual better government. I’ll be back next week with more (and hopefully less confusing) 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 system than Daylight Savings Time!