Thursday, April 27, 2023

4/27 WAKE-UP CALL: House Passes Bill To Raise Debt Ceiling

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy
House Republicans narrowly passed sweeping legislation Wednesday that would raise the government’s legal debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion in exchange for steep spending restrictions, a tactical victory for Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he challenges President Joe Biden to negotiate and prevent a catastrophic federal default this summer. Biden has threatened to veto the Republican package, which has almost no chance of passing the Democratic Senate anyway, and the president has so far refused to negotiate over the debt ceiling which the White House insists must be lifted with no strings to ensure America pays its bills. But McCarthy’s ability to swiftly unite his slim majority and bring the measure to passage over opposition from Democrats and even holdouts in his own party gives currency to the Republican speaker’s strategy to use the vote as an opening bid forcing Biden into talks. The two men could hardly be further apart on how to resolve the issue.

The bill now goes to the Senate.


➤JUDGE TO BE URGED TO KEEP LEAKER IN CUSTODY: Federal prosecutors will urge a judge Thursday to keep behind bars a Massachusetts Air National guardsman accused of leaking highly classified military documents, arguing he may still have access to secret national defense information he could expose. In court papers filed late Wednesday, the Justice Department lawyers said releasing 21-year-old Jack Teixeira from jail while he awaits trial would be a grave threat to the U.S. national security. Investigators are still trying to determine whether he kept any physical or digital copies of classified information, including files that haven’t already surfaced publicly, they wrote.


➤RUSSIA PREPS FOR UKRAINIAN OFFENSE: The anti-tank ditches near Ukraine's occupied southeastern town of Polohy stretch for 19 miles. Behind are rows of concrete "dragon's teeth" barricades. Further back are defensive trenches where Russia's troops will be positioned. The defenses visible in satellite imagery taken by Capella Space are part of a vast network of Russian fortifications sweeping down from western Russia through eastern Ukraine and on to Crimea built in readiness for a major Ukrainian attack. Thousands of Ukrainian troops have been training in the West to use different military assets on the battlefield in a combined way ahead of a counteroffensive Ukrainian officials say will come when its forces are ready.

➤'I'M HERE BECAUSE DONALD TRUMP RAPED ME': E. Jean Carroll, a writer who has accused Donald Trump of raping her nearly three decades ago, testified Wednesday in searing detail about what she says was a brutal assault carried out by the future president of the United States. Taking the stand as part of her lawsuit against Trump, Carroll laid out the core of her case against him: Trump violently attacked her, Carroll said, leaving her emotionally scarred. And when she publicly accused him decades later, Carroll said, Trump’s denials caused her further torment. “I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen,” Carroll said. “He lied and shattered my reputation, and I’m here to try to get my life back.” Trump has said the episode never happened and assailed Carroll, calling her a liar. She sued him for battery and defamation last year, leading to the civil trial unfolding in Manhattan.

Before Carroll took the stand, however, the judge in the case, Lewis A Kaplan, rebuked Trump for an “entirely inappropriate” statement on his social media platform, Truth Social, shortly before proceedings began. Kaplan warned the former president’s lawyers that such statements about the case could bring more legal problems upon himself. Trump, who has not attended so far, called the case “a made-up scam”. He also called Carroll’s lawyer “a political operative” and alluded to a DNA issue Kaplan has ruled cannot be part of the case.



➤MURDER HOTSPOTS REVEALED: The murder rates in major US Cities have soared more than 10% in the past two years — with most homicides occurring in Democratic areas with soft-on-crime policies. In a study released by WalletHub Wednesday, researchers found that Memphis, Tennesse; New Orleans, Louisana; Richmond, Virginia; Washington, DC; and Detroit, Michigan are suffering from the biggest homicide rate problems. All five cities are led by left-wing mayors.

After comparing the rise in murder rates in 45 of the country’s most populated cities between 2021 and 2023, scholars noticed that killings were rising faster in Democrat-led cities than in their Republican counterparts. Though the Covid-19 pandemic can be blamed for the initial jump in homicides, scholars theorized that soft-on-crime policing has exacerbated the issue in progressive cities. Chidike Okeem, an assistant professor at Western New England University, pointed to social movements such as the public unrest to the killing of George Floyd.

➤BOB IGER SUES FL GOV. DeSANTIS: The Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday escalated its war with the Florida governor by suing the Republican lawmaker in federal court over the elimination of the company’s special tax district. The House of Mouse accused DeSantis, his five-member board that oversees the now-defunct Reedy Creek Improvement District, and other state officials of launching “a targeted campaign of government retaliation” against the company, according to a lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Florida. Two weeks ago, the Disney boss had said he did not view the scrum over the district “as a going-to-mattresses situation for us.” But on Wednesday, Disney filed the suit minutes after the DeSantis-picked oversight board struck down last-minute agreements made between Disney and the board that rules the 25,000-acre resort complex in Orlando.

➤ASA HUTCHINSON ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDACY: Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson yesterday announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the presidency. He criticized only President Biden in his announcement, but he has emerged as a vocal critic of former President Trump, saying his nomination for a second term would be the “worst scenario” for Republican chances.

➤NRA SUES OVER WASHINGTON STATE GUN BAN: The National Rifle Association sued the state of Washington this week right after its governor signed a ban on sales of semiautomatic rifles into law. “No one needs an AR-15 to protect your family,” Governor Jay Inslee said. “You only need it to kill other families.” A spokesman for the NRA called the ban “blatantly unconstitutional,” adding that the Supreme Court has ruled that states cannot ban firearms that are in common use.

🏀KNICKS MAKE IT TO THE SEMIFINALS: The New York Knicks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-95 last night in Game 5 of the opening-round playoff series. That gives the Knicks a 4-1 series win and means they’re in the playoffs for the first time since 2013.


🏀MIAMI HEAT SCORCHES THE BUCKS: The Miami Heat overcame a 16-point deficit to eliminate number one-seeded Milwaukee Bucks from the playoffs with a 128-126 victory in overtime. The victory gets the Heat to the conference semifinals where they’ll face the New York Knicks.

🏈COMMANDERS DECLINE OPTION ON CHASE YOUNG: The Washington Commanders have decided they will not exercise their fifth-year option for defensive lineman Chase Young, according to the NFL Network. That means Young will be a free agent after the 2023 season. Young was the number 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft and was named Defensive Rookie of the Year after his first season. A knee injury in the middle of the 2021 season sidelined him for all but 12 games since then.

⚾MARINERS’ ROBBIE RAY OUT FOR THE SEASON: Seattle Mariners pitcher Robbie Ray needs surgery on his left elbow, and it’s a season-ender for him. Mariners manager Scott Servais announced the news just before yesterday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies.


🏀ANTHONY EDWARDS IS A SORE LOSER: It seems that Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves is a sore loser. He has been cited for third-degree assault after allegedly hitting two women with a folding chair at the end of the team’s series-ending loss to the Denver Nuggets. The incident occurred right after the final buzzer sounded on the Timberwolves 112-109 loss to the Nuggets. Edwards missed a chance at a game-tying 3-pointer and then ran off the court. Denver police allege Edwards then picked up a chair and threw it, causing minor injuries to a security guard and another woman.

➤LONG JUMPER STRIPPED OF TITLE: American long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall has been stripped of her national title after a positive test for THS, the psychoactive compound found in cannabis. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced the decision this week. The sample was collected after Davis-Woodhall won the title at the indoor national championships in Albuquerque and was not competition-related.


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