“Ukraine’s military intelligence chief said the country would keep fighting until it evicts Russian forces from all of its territory—including Crimea and other areas effectively seized by Moscow in 2014—and called for deliveries of longer-range heavy weapons and warplanes from the West to help,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
A Democratic Midterm Blowout Is Not Inevitable
Robert Kuttner: “Even so, Republican extremism is at risk of being overshadowed by economic conditions, none more than inflation. Federal Reserve economists project that inflation could begin to subside by fall. As with so much in politics, sheer luck and timing will play a role in the Democrats’ prospects and the future of our Republic.”
“Stranger things have happened than a Democrat midterm resurgence. A wipeout is still likely, but far from inevitable — if Democrats can get organized.”
Scientists on Alert Over Monkeypox
Nature: “More than 120 confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox, a rare viral disease seldom detected outside of Africa, have been reported in at least 11 non-African countries in the past week. The emergence of the virus in separate populations across the world where it doesn’t usually appear has alarmed scientists — and sent them racing for answers.”
“The number of cases detected outside of Africa in the past week alone — which is all but certain to increase — has already surpassed the number detected outside the continent since 1970, when the virus was first identified as causing disease in humans. This rapid spread is what has scientists on high alert.”
Ed Yong: “A new viral outbreak is testing whether the world has learned anything from Covid.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“About a third of our population is African American; African Americans have a higher incidence of maternal mortality. So, if you correct our population for race, we’re not as much of an outlier as it’d otherwise appear.”
— Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), quoted by Politico, saying maternal death rates are only bad if you count Black women.
Giuliani Meets with January 6 Committee
“Rudy Giuliani, former President Donald Trump’s onetime personal attorney and a lead architect of his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results, on Friday met with the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection,“ CNN reports.
“Despite Giuliani backing out of the original deposition, the two sides continued to negotiate an appearance, which led to a virtual appearance Friday that lasted for more than nine hours.”
New York Times: “The interview was transcribed, and he was under oath.”
Pennsylvania GOP Senate Primary Headed for Recount
The Pennsylvania Republican Senate primary is too close to call, the Washington Post reports.
“The contest is now in the hands of Pennsylvania’s secretary of state, who has until May 26 to announce a recount. That is supposed to automatically occur if the top two candidates finish within .5 percentage points of each other.”
Judge Blocks Biden from Ending Covid Border Policy
“A federal judge has blocked the Biden administration from ending Title 42 — a controversial border policy that has allowed officials to rapidly turn back migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border nearly 2 million times,” Axios reports.
“The administration had planned to end the policy on Monday.”
“Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have decried the end of the policy — implemented as public health initiative under the Trump administration to block migrants from coming during the pandemic — out of concern that ending Title 42 would exacerbate already record numbers at the border.”
Eric Garcetti’s Parents Register to Lobby for Their Son
“The parents of Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti have enlisted the help of prominent lobbyists to aid their son’s beleaguered nomination to serve as U.S. ambassador to India,” Politico reports.
“The registration is the latest sign that Garcetti’s allies are turning over every possible stone to get his nomination across the finish line.”
Clyburn Says Country ‘Is In Danger of Imploding’
House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) told the Washington Post “the country is in danger of imploding” while discussing the recent racist mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y.
Said Clyburn: “It’s just a mystery to me that we’ve become so tolerable of these kinds of incidents.”
He added: “It seems as if they were just supposed to happen then you go and wait for the next one to happen… It seems to be it’s coming from all sides. You wonder whether or not people just decided that the pursuit of a more perfect union has come to an end.”
Larry Ellison Joined Call Contesting Trump’s Loss
“Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle and the biggest backer of Elon Musk’s attempted Twitter takeover, participated in a call shortly after the 2020 election that focused on strategies for contesting the legitimacy of the vote,” the Washington Post reports.
Herschel Walker Wants No Exceptions for Abortion Ban
Georgia U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker (R) said there should be a total ban on abortion, with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the mother, WGXA News reports.
Said Walker: “There’s no exception in my mind. Like I say, I believe in life. I believe in life.”
Kevin Cramer Suggests Pompeo Would Be a ‘Fresh Start’
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) told CBS News he would “love to have four more years with Donald Trump” but suggested the country might want a “fresh start.”
Said Cramer: “I’m pretty close to him. I would love to have him start knowing what he knows now, start taking down the bureaucracy on day one rather than sort of trusting it. But at the same time, I think America, you know, would like a fresh start and maybe a Mike Pompeo. He’s got the Trump doctrine down. He’s believable on it. He understands it. He supports it himself.”
Pelosi Will Be Denied Communion Over Abortion
“The San Francisco archbishop issued a notice Friday that he would no longer allow House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to receive Communion, an escalation of his feud with the Catholic Democrat over abortion politics,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
“In a public notification to Pelosi, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone wrote that he had warned Pelosi in April that she must either repudiate her support of abortion rights or not refer to her Catholicism in justifying them, and that Pelosi declined to meet with him.”
Clinton Approved Leak of Trump-Russian Bank Link
Former Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook testified Friday that then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton approved the dissemination of materials alleging a covert communications channel between the Trump Organization and Russia’s Alfa Bank to the media, despite campaign officials not being “totally confident” in the legitimacy of the data, Fox News reports.
2022 House Overview
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GOP Candidate Called for Secession
Ohio congressional candidate J.R. Majewski (R) said in a livestream following the 2020 election that he thought every state won by former President Donald Trump should secede from the United States, CNN reports.
Democratic Lawmaker Floats Mandatory Vasectomies
Oklahoma State Rep. Mickey Dollens (D) floated an idea to go along with the most restrictive abortion law in the country, Mediaite reports.
Said Dollens: “I would invite you to co-author a bill that I’m considering next year that would mandate that each male when they reach puberty get a mandatory vasectomy that’s only reversible when they reach the point of financial and emotional stability.”
He added: “If you think that’s crazy then I think that maybe you understand how 50 percent of Oklahomans feel, as well.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Have your own media. It’s the only way to point out the insanity of the progressive left. The problem is that the western media is adjusted to the leftist viewpoint. Those who taught reporters in universities already had progressive leftist principles.”
–Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, quoted by The Guardian.
