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White House declines Comer testimony invite, declaring impeachment investigation 'over'

(The Hill) President Biden declined to appear before House impeachment investigators, writing in a Monday letter through an attorney that the investigation “is over.” Though brief, the letter tears into the impeachment investigation being led in part by House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), which has yet to uncover any wrongdoing by President Biden.

demmiblue

Johnson gambles on plan separating Israel aid from Ukraine funds

(Washington Post) After months of inaction, House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled on Monday evening an outline of his plan to address the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, defying Republicans who threatened to oust him from the speakership if he moved forward with funding for Ukraine. But Johnson (R-La.) risks appeasing no one with a convoluted plan to placate his critics on the right while also giving national security hawks a chance to advance billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

babylonsister

Reality of Being a Criminal Defendant Dawns on Trump

(Political Wire) “Donald Trump is learning a hard lesson: Criminal defendants don’t get to set their own schedules,” Politico reports. “Three times on Monday the former president asked Justice Juan Merchan to cut him loose from his hush money trial to attend to other matters — some personal, some political and some legal. Three times the judge responded with, essentially, ‘eh, we’ll see.’ It’s a jarring new reality for Trump, who has been accustomed to setting the agenda for most of his adult life — and, in the years since his presidency, has bounced between his sunny Florida resort and political rallies brimming with adoring fans. But this spring, he’ll have to spend most weekdays in a drab 15th floor county courtroom in a city with very little MAGA.”

marmar

Donald Trump was already a mess -- now he's falling asleep during his own trial

(Salon) Being in court every day is hard enough for normal people, but Trump is likely to make it much harder on himself with his bad personal habits, starting with his well-documented unwillingness to sleep like a normal person. While most of us were sound asleep at 5:30 on Monday morning, Trump was going full-tilt on Truth Social, with his usual mix of hysterical lies, poor grammar and random capitalization. He's also frequently known to post social media tirades at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning.

KS Toronado

Tuesday TOONs

marmar

Former GOP insider: Trump has "reprogrammed a generation" to fight against democracy

(Salon) Donald Trump has already attempted one coup, and the American people were fortunate that it failed. He has never disavowed the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and, not unlike Hitler, continues to threaten violence (including imprisonment and execution for “treason”) against anyone and everyone who oppose him and the MAGA movement. If Trump is actually sent to prison, the MAGA movement will likely be blunted, if not broken. American democracy and the might then be able to avoid the fate that befell Germany 90 or so years ago.

TexasTowelie

Jon Stewart on Iran, Israel, and Trump's Hush Money Trial

Eugene

Supreme Court Justices Compare Bribes to Taking a Teacher to Cheesecake Factory

(Rolling Stone) The Supreme Court, amid an unprecedented crisis of legitimacy pertaining to unreported gifts to justices, debated on Monday whether a contractor making a $13,000 gratuity to a politician is similar to taking a teacher to the Cheesecake Factory.

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

Senate Republicans' breathtaking cruelty is hidden in your tax returns

(MSNBC) By the end of Monday, tens of millions of American families will have claimed their child tax credit on their 2023 tax returns. But for many families, that credit will be hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars smaller than it could have been. And all the blame for those smaller credits belong to Senate Republicans.

RandySF

NM-02: GOP Congressional Hopeful Wished Her State Had 'Eliminated All Abortion' In 2020

(Huff Post) In a newly discovered video, former Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.) said in 2020 that she wished her state had banned abortion entirely ― a sharp contrast to her efforts to appear more measured on abortion issues ahead of the November election, when she is hoping to regain her old seat in Congress.

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OAN and Smartmatic settle election defamation case

2 min ago - By Marshall Cohen and Oliver Darcy, CNN Voting technology company Smartmatic and the far-right network One America News said Tuesday that they had settled a defamation lawsuit stemming from the outlet's lies about the 2020 election. "The case has bee ... (CNN)

Momentum builds to oust Johnson from House speakership

5 min ago - Two far-right members are now threatening to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson just as the embattled Republican leader has introduced a complex plan intended to fund key foreign allies during wartime. Johnson (La.) introduced a four-part proposal Monda ... (Washington Post)

NPR suspends veteran editor as it grapples with his public criticism

32 min ago - NPR has formally punished Uri Berliner, the senior editor who publicly argued a week ago that the network had "lost America's trust" by approaching news stories with a rigidly progressive mindset. Berliner's five-day suspension without pay, which beg ... (NPR)

Supreme Court seems divided over obstruction charge in Jan. 6 case that may impact Trump, rioters

33 min ago - Supreme Court seems divided over obstruction charge in Jan. 6 case that may impact Trump, rioters Updated 35 min ago The Supreme Court seemed deeply divided Tuesday over a challenge to a federal law that prosecutors used to charge more than 350 peopl ... (Washington Post)

Trans athlete ban in West Virginia overturned by federal appeals court

52 min ago - 29 minutes ago A federal appeals court has blocked a West Virginia law that bans transgender girls from participating on a sports team that aligns with their gender identity, saying the state’s law violates Title IX – the federal statute th ... (UK Independent)

Japan's govt. prepares bill to fine IT giants that hinder market competition

1 hr ago - The Japanese government has drawn up a bill that fines tech giants that obstruct other companies from competing in the market. Firms such as Apple and Google hold dominant positions in areas such as smartphone operating software and app stores. There ... (NHK)

Justice Thomas returns to Supreme Court after 1-day absence

2 hrs ago - Updated 9:14 AM CDT, April 16, 2024 WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is back on the bench after an unexplained one-day absence. Thomas, 75, was in his usual seat, to the right of Chief Justice John Roberts as the court met ... (AP)

US Pentagon chief speaks with Chinese counterpart for first time since November 2022

3 hrs ago - By LOLITA C. BALDOR Updated 8:35 AM CDT, April 16, 2024 WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with China’s national defense minister Tuesday morning, in the latest in a series of U.S. steps to improve communications with th ... (AP)

DOJ to sue Ticketmaster parent Live Nation for antitrust violations

5 hrs ago - 24 mins ago The Department of Justice (DOJ) is planning to sue Live Nation, one of the largest ticketing and live events companies in the country, on antitrust grounds, a regulatory source familiar with the DOJ's plans told Axios. Why it matters: The ... (Axios)

Fire rages through the 17th-century Old Stock Exchange in Copenhagen, toppling the iconic spire

6 hrs ago - By JAN M. OLSEN Updated 6:03 AM CDT, April 16, 2024 COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A fire raged through one of Copenhagen’s oldest buildings on Tuesday, causing the collapse of the iconic spire from the 17th-century Old Stock Exchange as passer ... (AP)

White House declines Comer testimony invite, declaring impeachment investigation 'over'

7 hrs ago - 04/15/24 10:08 PM ET President Biden declined to appear before House impeachment investigators, writing in a Monday letter through an attorney that the investigation “is over.” Though brief, the letter tears into the impeachment investigati ... (The Hill)

Nevada Secretary of State announces 'no evidence of widespread voter fraud' after review of 2020-2024

7 hrs ago - April 15, 2024, 10:02 PM The office of Nevada's Secretary of State announced in a new report Monday that there was "no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Nevada" in recent years, saying a large volume of election fraud reports that the office rece ... (ABC News)

Audit of governor's $19,000 lectern purchase released

7 hrs ago - Published April 15, 2024 at 7:07 PM CDT The Arkansas Legislative Audit released a report on Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ purchase of a lectern Monday afternoon, saying the governor may have broken state law after she spent tax money on a pricey ... (NPR/KUAR Little Rock)

Trump says $175 million bond is financially secure, asks judge to reject New York attorney general's challenge

7 hrs ago - Published 12:10 AM EDT, Tue April 16, 2024 CNN — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump said his $175 million bond posted to satisfy the judgement in the New York civil fraud case is financially sound, and they asked the judge to set aside ... (CNN Politics)

Biden targets wealthy in Pennsylvania tour with a hometown visit

7 hrs ago - April 16, 2024 5:04 AM EDT Updated 38 min ago PHILADELPHIA, April 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden kicks off a multi-city tour of the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday with a stop in his hometown of Scranton where he will renew cal ... (Reuters)

An accounting firm hired to vet Truth Social's financials quit after less than a year

8 hrs ago - Apr 15, 2024, 10:59 PM EDT The accounting firm that was first hired to audit former President Donald Trump's social media company quit just months after it was appointed, the Financial Times reported on Monday. WithumSmith+Brown was appointed to vet ... (Business Insider)

Exclusive: NAACP joins lawsuit against Arkansas LEARNS Act in attempt to fight anti-DEI efforts

8 hrs ago - April 15, 2024, 8:16 PM The Arkansas State Conference of the NAACP and the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights are calling on a federal court to enact an injunction against the state of Arkansas over its Literacy, Empowerment, Accountability, Readiness ... (ABC News)

White House issues worker protections for pregnancy termination

8 hrs ago - Posted April 15, 2024 at 8:41pm The Biden administration Monday issued regulations enforcing worker protections for women who have had abortions, miscarriages or fertility issues that require time off work, despite heavy Republican opposition to the ... (Roll Call)

Bob Menendez' Wife Had Corrupt Deal With COVID Lab, Feds Say

8 hrs ago - Published Apr. 15, 2024 7:39PM EDT The six-figure gig Sen. Bob Menendez’s wife landed with an Egypt-linked COVID-19 lab, and the millions of dollars of testing business it did in their home state of New Jersey, were “a direct outgrowth ... (Daily Beast)

Zuckerberg Avoids Personal Liability in Meta Addiction Suits

9 hrs ago - April 15, 2024 at 6:36 PM EDT Updated on April 15, 2024 at 7:49 PM EDT Mark Zuckerberg won his bid to avoid personal liability in about two dozen lawsuits accusing Meta Platforms Inc. and other social media companies of addicting children to their pr ... (Bloomberg)