“Former Detroit police Chief James Craig (R) and businessman Perry Johnson (R), two of the top candidates for the Republican nomination for governor, didn’t submit enough valid petition signatures to make the ballot,” the Detroit News reports.
Texas Lawmakers Target Businesses Over Abortion
Texas Tribune: “Fourteen Republican members of the state House of Representatives have pledged to introduce bills in the coming legislative session that would bar corporations from doing business in Texas if they pay for abortions in states where the procedure is legal.”
“This would explicitly prevent firms from offering employees access to abortion-related care through health insurance benefits. It would also expose executives to criminal prosecution under pre-Roe anti-abortion laws the Legislature never repealed, the legislators say.”
Christian University Seeks to Limit Speech on Gender
“A private Christian university is considering strictly limiting the free speech rights of its students when it comes to sexuality and gender, from how they behave to what they wear and what they can say on campus or even online,“ the AP reports.
“The policy also forbids sex between unmarried heterosexuals.”
Perdue Makes Racist Remarks About Stacey Abrams
“Former Sen. David Perdue ended his Trump-inspired campaign for governor of Georgia with a racist appeal to Republican primary voters on Monday, accusing Stacey Abrams, the Black woman who is the presumptive Democratic nominee, of ‘demeaning her own race’ in how she has described the state’s problems,” the New York Times reports.
Biden Veers Off Script Again
New York Times: “Offhand remarks that vary from the official talking points have become a feature, not a bug, of the Biden presidency, as he demonstrated again on Monday when he dispensed with decades of ‘strategic ambiguity’ and indicated that he would militarily defend Taiwan against attack by China.”
“Each time he says what he really thinks, there is the ritual cleanup brigade dispatched by the White House to pretend that he did not really say what he clearly articulated — or that even if he did, it did not really amount to a change in policy. But then Mr. Biden, unperturbed and unapologetic, goes out and does it all over again.”
Ronny Jackson Used Campaign Funds for Exclusive Club
“Congressional ethics investigators said on Monday that they had gathered “substantial” evidence that Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) improperly used campaign donations to pay for unlimited access for himself and his wife to a private dining club in Amarillo, Texas,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Jackson, who gained national attention as the White House doctor to former President Donald Trump and went on to win election to the House, is accused of using campaign money for the Amarillo Club, in violation of Federal Election Commission regulations prohibiting the use of campaign funds for such purposes.”
Alessandra Biaggi Seeks to Block Sean Patrick Maloney
“Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney’s (D-NY) decision last week to leave behind his current congressional district to campaign for a colleague’s safer seat infuriated fellow Democrats, who saw the actions as unacceptable for the man tasked with protecting their House majority,” the New York Times reports.
“On Monday, a progressive New York lawmaker, Alessandra Biaggi (D), said she would try to stand in his way, channeling the ire of the party’s left wing at the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.”
Biaggi called Maloney “a selfish corporate Democrat.”
Alex Mooney Under Ethics Investigation
The House Ethics Committee is furthering its review of alleged ethics violations by Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) — a top ally of Donald Trump — after receiving new allegations, including a family trip to Aruba covered by a company tied to the congressman, the West Virginia Metro News reports.
The office also alleges Mooney “routinely diverted official resources and staff time away from his constituents and official duties in favor of his and his family’s personal needs and sometimes for campaign activities.”
Zelensky Talks of Multiple Assassination Attempts
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky compared Russia’s repeated attempts to take his life to the film “Groundhog Day,” Axios reports.
Said Zelensky: “I wake up in the morning and it’s still the same.”
Tory Lawmaker Arrested for Rape
A Tory MP has been arrested on suspicion of rape – but has not yet been identified by either the media or Parliament, The Sun reports.
This was all Scotland Yard said: “A man was arrested on suspicion of indecent assault, sexual assault, rape, abuse of position of trust and misconduct in a public office.”
Ethics Committee Probes Madison Cawthorn
The House Ethics Committee announced it is investigating embattled Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) over a potentially “improper relationship” with a staffer and his promotion of an anti-Joe Biden-themed cryptocurrency, Insider reports.
The committee, which rarely makes public statements, said it voted unanimously to establish an investigation.
Michelle Obama Praises Oprah Winfrey
Michelle Obama praised Oprah Winfrey in a Time magazine essay as the country’s “common denominator.”
Said Obama: “No matter where you go, everyone knows her name. And all of it makes me wonder: maybe her success isn’t rooted in the fact that she found a common denominator that unites us all. Maybe Oprah is our common denominator.”
Democrats Up By Double-Digits In Connecticut
A new WTNH poll in Connecticut finds Gov. Ned Lamont (D) leading opponent Bob Stefanowski (R) by 13 points.
Meanwhile, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D) leads opponent Themis Klarides (R) by 10 points.
Al Franken Rips Democrats Over ‘Build Back Better’
Former Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) slammed Democrats on his podcast for failing to pass the Build Back Better Act.
Said Franken: “My feeling is that this wasn’t about Build Back Better is just the worst name for a bill ever. It was that we didn’t put what was in this bill before the people. And all they kept hearing was from the press. It was at 3 trillion is at 1.5 trillion? It was inside baseball. It was, it was a horse race.”
He added: “The fail here was that we, the American people never knew what was in the bill. And this is why I argued for putting these, these bills on the floor individually.”
Vaccines Are Still Mostly Blocking Severe Disease
Katherine Wu: “For the past year and a half, since the Covid-19 vaccines first became available—even as last summer’s reprieve gave way to Delta’s surge, then Omicron’s; even as the coronavirus continued to rack up mutations that lifted its speed and its stealth; even as millions of vaccinated Americans caught the pathogen and passed it on—there’s been one huge slice of solace to cling to: The shots we have are still doing an excellent job of staving off severe disease and death.”
One Third of the U.S. Senate Has Had Covid
Roughly one third of the U.S. Senate has reported testing positive for Covid-19 at some point, with Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) testing positive twice, Bloomberg reports.
Biden’s Catch-22 on Student Debt Relief
Wall Street Journal: “Students and recent graduates with heavy debt loads worry that Mr. Biden’s plan will be too weak, after the president and his advisers signaled they are considering relief that could be far less than the $50,000-per-borrower sought by prominent Democrats.”
“At the same time, voters who tightened their belts to pay off their loans or didn’t go to college say it would be unfair to make taxpayers subsidize school debt for Americans whose education can boost their earning power.”
A notable quote from a recent UNC grad: “They dangled it over our heads to get us to vote for Biden and then did nothing.”
Ken Paxton Claims He’s Way Ahead of Bush In Primary
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) told Fox News that he’s “way ahead” of GOP primary challenger George P. Bush (R) whose family’s dynastic name “actually helps me” on the campaign trail.
Wall Street Journal: “Some Republicans see Bush family as too liberal, but combative incumbent’s scandals raise questions about electability.”
