Wall Street Journal: “The chief executives of major passenger and cargo airlines said there could be significant flight disruptions when new 5G service goes live in the U.S. this week, unless implementation of the wireless service within 2 miles of major airport runways is delayed.”
Democrats Ponder Plan B on Voting Rights
“Senate Democrats are scrambling for a Plan B to pass voting rights legislation after Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced last week that they would not vote to change the Senate’s filibuster rule despite the pleading of President Joe Biden,” The Hill reports.
“Now some Democrats are discussing a novel approach to circumventing a Republican filibuster that may allow voting rights legislation to pass with 51 votes without changing the Senate’s rules.”
“These Democrats, including Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), are exploring the possibility of forcing Senate Republicans to actually hold the floor with speeches and procedural motions.”
Punchbowl News: “It’s unclear what Schumer is planning. He’s promised a cloture vote on the voting-rights bill, and if that fails – it will thanks to unified GOP opposition to the legislation – then Schumer has vowed to hold a vote on changing Senate rules on the filibuster. What changes he will suggest are unclear. Schumer could move to eliminate the filibuster outright or modify the process to make filibustering more difficult.”
Biden Went for Broke and Now He’s Broke
Gerald Baker: “Has there ever been a figure a year into his term reduced to such impotence that his aides are impelled to whine to friendly media about the ‘disrespect’ shown him by a first-term senator? Can you imagine Lyndon Johnson’s acolytes doing that for him? Ronald Reagan’s?”
The Left Stares Into the Abyss as Biden’s Plans Wither
“Just three years ago, as they vied to lead the country, the Democratic Party’s presidential candidates competed to produce novel and dramatic policy proposals aimed at America’s most serious problems,” the Washington Post reports.
“The party’s insurgent liberals, who at times ran at the front of the pack, brought to the national stage dozens of new policy ideas on health care, housing, climate, education and more. The scale of their ambition startled Washington and captivated millions of voters. The establishment candidates were forced to move left in response, adapting to incorporate the new policy energy pouring out of the party’s base.”
“But with the 2022 midterms months away, the intellectual optimism and energy that defined the American left during that window has been markedly deflated.”
The Political Wild Cards of 2022
Gerald Seib: “For Mr. Biden and his party, the key question is whether his rapid slide in popularity in the second half of 2021 was the temporary result of the messy process of getting things done in a closely divided Washington, or a descent to levels of popularity that will remain a drag on his party.”
“In any case, there is a long way to go before the election, and ample time in today’s sped-up political environment for the landscape to change. In the end, Democrats will want the election to be about the things they have done to help the country get through the pandemic, and to help working Americans pull ahead on daily challenges. Republicans will want to focus voters’ minds on immigration, crime and a messy withdrawal from Afghanistan that they will portray as a kind of metaphor for disappointing Democratic leadership.”
Senate Democrats Call In-Person Caucus Meeting
“Senate Democrats are convening a special, in-person caucus meeting on Tuesday as they brace for a fight on voting rights and the filibuster to come to a head,” The Hill reports.
“Unlike most of the caucus meetings in the wake of the rise of the omicron coronavirus variant, the meeting will be in person.”
Ex-Aide Says Boris Johnson Lied to Parliament
Boris Johnson’s former top aide Dominic Cummings accused the premier of lying to Parliament, saying he would “swear under oath” that the premier both was aware of and allowed a drinks party at Downing Street at the height of lockdown during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bloomberg reports.
QAnon Followers Say Trump Used ‘Body Double’ at Rally
QAnon followers claim Donald Trump was not at his rally in Arizona on Saturday, but that the person they saw was actually a “body doubly” or even John F. Kennedy in disguise, Newsweek reports.
Vice News: “Having spent the last two-and-a-half months holed up in Dallas awaiting the reappearance of John F. Kennedy and his son, a group of two dozen or so QAnon followers, led by an antisemitic guru called Michael Protzman, made the 1,000 mile trip to hear Trump speaking at his first major rally of 2022.”
“Ahead of the rally, Protzman, or Negative48 as he’s known to his followers, predicted the event would feature some major revelations. While most QAnon followers criticized Trump for talking about returning in 2024 rather than trying to overturn the 2020 election result, Protzman told his followers that something huge happened in the desert on Saturday night.”
Trump Aides Blame McConnell for DeSantis ‘Feud’
NBC News: “Both camps have denied any real friction and blamed ‘the media’ for overhyping tensions, but Trump advisers say that they see a hidden hand at play: that of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is in a pitched battle with the former president over the future of the Republican Party in political races all over the country.”
Nonetheless, the Daily Beast reports Trump has gossiped in recent weeks with certain confidants about DeSantis’ political vulnerabilities and “weaknesses.”
Russia Thins Out Its Embassy in Ukraine
“The week before intensive diplomatic meetings began over the buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border, American and Ukrainian officials watched from afar as Russia began emptying out its embassy in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital,” the New York Times reports.
“On Jan. 5, 18 people — mostly the children and wives of Russian diplomats — boarded buses and embarked on a 15-hour drive home to Moscow… About 30 more followed in the next few days, from Kyiv and a consulate in Lviv, in western Ukraine.”
Trump Backers Sought Way Into Michigan Capitol
“Supporters of former President Donald Trump privately discussed ways they could gain access to the Michigan Capitol on Dec. 14, 2020, when the battleground state’s presidential electors met,” the Detroit News reports.
“The conversations reveal some of Trump’s Michigan backers were considering further escalating their unsuccessful effort to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s victory by getting inside the building where the state’s true 16 electors were scheduled to meet to solidify the result.”
Lara Logan Dropped by Her Talent Agency
Lara Logan, the former 60 Minutes correspondent who as of late has earned a reputation for pushing conspiracy theories at Fox News, has been dropped by talent agency UTA over controversial comments she made about Dr. Anthony Fauci, Mediaite reports.
Novak Djokovic May Be Barred from French Open Too
“Novak Djokovic risks being frozen out of tennis as he chases a record 21st Grand Slam title, with rules on travelers who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 tightening in the third year of the pandemic and some tournaments reconsidering exemptions,” Reuters reports.
“The Serbian, who has not been vaccinated, was deported from Australia on Sunday ahead of the Australian Open after losing a court case to have the cancellation of his visa overturned.”
Meanwhile, Axios reports that all athletes must be vaccinated to compete in sporting events held in France, including the French Open in May.
Senate Democrats Push Ahead on Voting Rights
“Senate Democrats plan to press ahead this week with an effort to push new voting rights protections through Congress, in an all but doomed attempt to enact a key piece of President Biden’s agenda that has been undercut by members of his own party,” the New York Times reports.
“The push to proceed even in the face of almost certain failure reflects the party’s conundrum, facing two key defections in its ranks and a wall of Republican opposition.”
Michigan Democrats Questioned Parents’ Role In Schools
“The Michigan Democratic Party has deleted a weekend Facebook post that questioned the role parents have in deciding what is taught in public schools and drew criticism from conservative and school choice groups,” the Detroit News reports.
The post suggested that parents who want more input on what their kids are learning “have the option to choose to send their kids to a hand-selected private school at their own expense.”
Harris ‘Not Going to Absolve’ Manchin and Sinema
Vice President Kamala Harris said that she is “not going to absolve” any member of the Senate who will not take action to pass voting rights legislation when she was asked specifically about Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Axios reports.
Said Harris: “As I’ve said before, there are a hundred members of the United States Senate, and I’m not going to absolve — nor should any of us — absolve any member of the United States Senate from taking on a responsibility to follow through on the oath that they all took to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
French Candidate Found Guilty of Hate Speech
Far-right French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour has been fined €10,000 by a Paris court for hate speech, the BBC reports.
The case was launched over a TV appearance, where he described unaccompanied migrant children as “thieves”, “rapists” and “murderers.”
Laura Ingraham Won’t Commit to Supporting Trump
Fox News host Laura Ingraham told Northern Virginia Magazine that she is not committing to supporting former President Donald Trump if he runs for reelection in 2024.
Said Ingraham: “I’m not saying I’m there for him yet. But I think whether he runs or not—I mean, his policies worked. Trump’s blueprint for policy — a forward-looking, optimistic set of pro-America policies — that blueprint, without a doubt, is winning.”
