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McCarthy says he’s not Speaker because ‘one person’ in Congress wanted to avoid ethics complaint
Approved, National, THE HILL

McCarthy says he’s not Speaker because ‘one person’ in Congress wanted to avoid ethics complaint

LAUREN IRWIN | The Hill Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said at an event Tuesday that he is no longer the leader of the House because “one person” in Congress wanted to avoid an ethics complaint about sexual misconduct. Speaking at an event at Georgetown University, McCarthy linked his historic ousting as Speaker to the allegations against Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). “I’ll give you the truth why I’m not Speaker. Because one person, a member of Congress, wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old,” McCarthy said. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE HILL
Washington’s ban on high-capacity gun magazines ruled unconstitutional
Approved, National, Seattle Times

Washington’s ban on high-capacity gun magazines ruled unconstitutional

David Gutman | Seattle Times A Cowlitz County judge ruled Washington’s ban on high-capacity magazines unconstitutional Monday, but just minutes later the state Supreme Court issued an emergency order keeping the law on the books while the state appeals the decision. Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Gary Bashor ruled that Washington’s ban on the magazines, which hold more than 10 rounds and have been banned since 2022, violated both the Washington state and U.S. constitutions. Bashor issued an immediate injunction, which blocks the state from enforcing the ban. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE SEATTLE TIMES
Ex-Rep. Ken Buck knocks ‘Moscow Marjorie’ Taylor Greene in CNN interview
Approved, National, THE HILL

Ex-Rep. Ken Buck knocks ‘Moscow Marjorie’ Taylor Greene in CNN interview

NICK ROBERTSON  | THE HILL Former Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) took shots at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Monday, attacking his former GOP colleague as “Moscow Marjorie.” The jab comes after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called Greene a “very serious legislator” following her threat to force a vote to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) over Ukraine aid. Buck disagreed with McCarthy’s assessment. “My experience with Marjorie is, people have talked to her about not filing articles of impeachment on President Biden before he was sworn into office, on not filing articles of impeachment that were groundless made on other individuals in the Biden administration,” he told Erin Burnett in a CNN interview Monday.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE HILL...
Read the questions prospective Trump jurors have to answer before they’re selected in hush money trial
National, Washington Examiner

Read the questions prospective Trump jurors have to answer before they’re selected in hush money trial

Annabella Rosciglione | Washington Examiner The jury selection process is tricky in high-profile cases, especially when involving former President Donald Trump.  The jury is being selected for Trump’s New York hush money case. Judge Juan Merchan indicated that the trial would move forth by outlining his jury selection process in a letter sent to the defense and prosecution. In a typical manner for a trial, possible jurors may excuse themselves before the trial for an “honest, legitimate and good faith reason” they may not be able to serve on the trial.  After that process, the remaining possible jurors will be asked various questions to determine if they can serve in People v. Donald Trump.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Editorial: Trump abortion policy a turn toward state’s rights
Approved, Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice

Editorial: Trump abortion policy a turn toward state’s rights

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board The issue: President Donald Trump this week announced his abortion policy, favoring states independently deciding how to regulate abortion. We say: Regardless of your position on abortion, this view respects the concept of state's rights written into the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by the Founding Fathers, and is a respectful position for freedom and liberty. The Founding Fathers of a young nation they called the United States of America never had the intention for an over-intrusive federal government to create a nanny state, where our every action is regulated and legislated. We were to be an independent, free people; a republic, if we could keep it. In the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the final entry into the Bil...
Krannawitter: Without mutual civic trust, there would have been no American Founding
Approved, Commentary, National

Krannawitter: Without mutual civic trust, there would have been no American Founding

THOMAS L. KRANNAWITTER, PH.D. | Liberty Lyceum The Signers of the Declaration of Independence concluded with a famous and solemn pledge—their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor. This was no small matter. What they were calling “revolution” was, from the British point of view, treason against the Crown and punishable by death. Yet, the Signers stood strong and launched the greatest experiment in freedom the world has witnessed, a movement held together by a powerful kind of social and political glue: Trust. The pledge offered by the Signers in the Summer of 1776 was not a promise to God, nor to fellow citizens. The pledge they made was to each other. They knew, every one of them, that if some broke the trust when the going got tough—and the going was about to get very tough!—others wou...
FBI arrests Idaho 18-year-old for ‘violent plot’ to attack churches on behalf of ISIS, Justice Department says
Approved, Fox News, National

FBI arrests Idaho 18-year-old for ‘violent plot’ to attack churches on behalf of ISIS, Justice Department says

Greg Norman | Fox News The FBI has arrested an 18-year-old in Idaho after uncovering his "truly horrific" and "violent plot" to attack churches in Coeur d’Alene this past weekend on behalf of ISIS, the Justice Department says.  Alexander Mercurio is now facing a federal charge of attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization after the FBI says he devised a plan to "incapacitate his father, restrain him using handcuffs, and steal his firearms to use for maximum casualties" in an attack he had been planning to carry out in the northern Idaho resort city on Sunday, April 7.  "The defendant allegedly pledged loyalty to ISIS and sought to attack people attending churches in Idaho, a truly horrific plan which was d...
Get ready for $5-a-gallon gasoline as result of gains in crude oil pricing
Approved, National, The Street

Get ready for $5-a-gallon gasoline as result of gains in crude oil pricing

Charley Blaine | The Street Ah, summertime. The sun will be out. The days will be warm and long.  For many of us, it'll be just the time to load up the kids into the family van and head off to Maine, Yellowstone National Park, Niagara Falls and the Great Lakes, or maybe Walt Disney World.  But be ready. There's a chance you will be looking at paying even more than you are now to fill up at a gas station (assuming you aren't driving an electric vehicle).  Don't be too surprised if you see $5 a gallon or more at the gas pump — if you're not paying that much already.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE STREET
The Left’s latest scheme to permanently change elections in America
Approved, Commentary, National, Washington Examiner

The Left’s latest scheme to permanently change elections in America

Paul Teller and Jason Snead | Washington Examiner Imagine a Super Bowl referee bending the rules to give his favorite team the win. Few would call that fair. Yet that is precisely what the Left wants to do to America’s elections. From noncitizen voting to lawsuits inviting activist judges to rewrite our election laws, left-wing activists are taking every opportunity to change elections permanently for partisan gain. Their latest tactic is to undermine the basic principle of “one person, one vote” with a new scheme called ranked choice voting. As we speak, liberal special interests are leading a sophisticated national campaign to push ranked choice voting in nearly every state. They have hired lobbyists, formed astroturf activist groups, and are financing state ballot measures acro...
Total solar eclipse photos: NASA astronauts take historic images from space
Approved, Forbes, National

Total solar eclipse photos: NASA astronauts take historic images from space

Jamie Carter | Forbes You’ve seen the best photos of the total solar eclipse from the path of totality on April 8—now see them from space. From Earth, the passing of the moon across the sun revealed, during totality, the “hole in the sky” silhouette of our only natural satellite, with the sun’s shimmering corona around it. However, for space, the same event was viewed only as a dark shadow moving gradually across a continent. Astronauts on the International Space Station—in orbit 250 miles above Earth—captured views of the moon’s umbral shadow created by the total solar eclipse on April 8. Weather satellites also captured this image. READ THE FULL STORY AT FORBES