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Apr 1, 2025 - World

In a major defeat for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) led the effort to advance remote voting for members of Congress who are new parents.Nine Republicans joined all House Democrats to advance the measure that would allow the new parents to designate a colleague to vote for them for 12 weeks after they or their spouse welcome a new child.The measure was introduced by Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) in January and gained bipartisan support. The fight against Johnson's attempts to undermine the measure caused Luna to leave the conservative House Freedom Caucus, whose members backed Johnson.Johnson and other Republicans have called proxy voting unconstitutional and rife for abuse.Political writer @Monaheart1229 posted to social media, "Johnson's attempt to block MAGA House Rep Anna Paulina Luna's DP giving proxy voting rights to new parents has FAILED 206-222 Nine MAGA 'no' votes Luna: 'Never bet against the Luna.” House Dem Rep Brittany Pettersen’s message to Johnson: “Don’t f--- with moms.”ALSO READ: 'The Hard Reset': Here's how the U.S. is exporting terrorism around the worldReporter Melanie Zanona wrote, "An effort by GOP leadership to kill @realannapaulina’s proxy voting push for new parents just failed on the House floor. Remote voting will still need to come to the floor & pass, but this is a big win for Luna — & big defeat for Speaker Johnson. 8 Rs sided w/ Luna."Luna, no liberal squish, did a brave thing by trying to enact a simple pro-family policy in a bipartisan manner. Mike Johnson tried to punish her for it and failed," wrote The Bulwark's Joe Perticone.Columnist Eric Michael Garcia posted, "Goodness gracious! EIGHT Republicans opposing this rule that would have killed Anna Paulina Luna's discharge petition! Mike Johnson is facing a mutiny!" Garcia added, "Conservatives just embarrassed Mike Johnson on a level I haven't seen since the McCarthy days. Johnson USED proxy voting regularly during the 117th Congress, but he needed to keep Chip Roy happy so he sided with her instead of Luna and got a jailbreak."Congressional correspondent Julie Tsirkin called it a "HUGE win for @realannapaulina… who moments before the vote expressed her disappointment with House GOP leadership’s efforts to kill her proxy voting push for new parents 8 Republicans joined Luna in defeating Speaker Johnson."And PatriotTakes wrote, "Anna Paulina Luna attacks Speaker Mike Johnson’s hypocrisy over proxy voting," along with photo evidence of Johnson having voted by proxy as late as 2022.Luna posted before the vote, "Here are some documents showing [Johnson] voting by proxy in the 117th Congress, as late as December 2022. He argues it's 'unconstitutional' but has done it several times! Since the case is being made to the public via press, I'm doing the same."

Apr 1, 2025 - World

President Donald Trump has signed more than 300 executive orders since coming into office — and a New York Times reporter thinks he knows why.According to opinion writer Carlos Lozada, Trump "favors the flourish of the order over the hassle of lawmaking." After all, "Why bother assembling legislative coalitions when you can just write, 'By the authority vested in me as president by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered' and then tack on whatever you like?" he asked.Lozada has read through every single Trump orders so far, and found that they laid bare "the assumptions, obsessions and contradictions of the man signing them." Lozada described Trump's orders as "a bit of a mess."ALSO READ: 'The Hard Reset': Here's how the U.S. is exporting terrorism around the worldHe continued, "Some of the orders are so generic as to be meaningless. One of the shortest declares that U.S. foreign policy must always 'put America and American citizens first.'" Another order "requires that taxpayer money should be spent 'only on making America great.' It’s hard to know how to execute such orders, other than to proclaim them."Lozada wrote that although some orders are "specific in their instructions," still "others list no precise actions but only instruct some new task force or council to think of things to do."For example, Lozada wrote, "An agency or program may receive new responsibilities in one executive order only to find itself dismantled in another. Orders sometimes echo Trump’s standard slogans, whether putting America first or making America great, without adding much meaning to them. And stylistically, they veer from formal policy pronouncement to campaign speech to social media diatribe, sometimes all within the same text."Lozada wrote that "despite the muddle — or perhaps because of it — the new administration’s orders fulfill one essential service: They affirm and expand Trump’s vision of the presidency, of politics, of our Nation...they "illuminate the president’s interpretation of America’s values — what kind of people belong herebelong here, how the nation’s history should be taught, which principles are worth upholding and defending."The trouble with executive actions, which Trump may find out one day, "do not carry the same legitimacy or endurance of laws passed by Congress and can be revoked by future presidents."Read The New York Times opinion piece here.

Apr 1, 2025 - World

As Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) continued a marathon floor speech which had passed 18 hours by Tuesday afternoon — protesting President Donald Trump's agenda — news was released that one of his staffers was taken into custody by Capitol Police, according to Politico.Authorities said they arrested the staffer, Kevin Batts, for allegedly carrying a gun without a license.Batts reportedly told officers outside the Senate galleries Monday that he was armed. The department said Batts had been led by Booker around security screening at a congressional office building earlier that day.ALSO READ: The new guy in charge of USAID doesn't believe in foreign aidBooker's spokesperson Jeff Giertz said, "Senator Booker’s office employs a retired Newark police detective as a New Jersey-based driver who often accompanies him to events. We are working to better understand the circumstances around this.”In a statement, the Capitol Police said, "All weapons are prohibited from Capitol Grounds, even if you are a retired law enforcement officer, or have a permit to carry in another state or the District of Columbia."Read the Politico article here.

Apr 1, 2025 - World

Volodymyr Zelensky and Elon Musk, who were both recently criticized for wearing "inappropriate" attire when visiting the White House, had nothing on Kid Rock's sartorial choice when he met with President Donald Trump at the Oval Office Thursday. The musician — clad in a loud red, white and blue American flag jumpsuit and matching hat ensemble — looked on as Trump signed an executive order to protect consumers from "unfair ticket scalping." Social media had all sorts of opinions on Kid Rock's presentation. Attorney Joe Gallina with Call To Activism wrote, "Kid Rock is now in the White House. Anyone who voted for this should be ... embarrassed." Political influencer Harry Sisson wrote, "Remember when MAGA complained about President Zelensky not wearing a suit in the Oval Office? This was what Kid Rock wore earlier and suddenly, MAGA is silent." ALSO READ: The new guy in charge of USAID doesn't believe in foreign aid "What the bloody hell is @KidRock doing in that idiotic get-up in the Oval? maga, can u explain?????" posted director Morgan J. Freeman (who is not the famous actor.) Quibi creator Mike Beauvais wrote, "Kid Rock showed up at the White House looking like Evel Knievel headed to family court," while political activist Chris D. Jackson wrote, "The White House is oozing class again—because nothing says elegance like… Kid Rock. Hope they’ve got bleach." During the executive order signing, President Trump asked Fox News' Peter Doocy, "Did Biden do news conferences like this, Peter?" Doocy responded, "I don't think so. He was never standing next to somebody [Kid Rock] who looked like they were about to be shot out of a cannon."Doocy then asked Trump if he'd ever wear such a getup. Trump answered, "I don't know, I was thinking about wearing it tomorrow. We've got a big day coming up, I'm not sure."

Apr 1, 2025 - World

No 10 says deal to cede UK’s last African colony now being finalised after months of doubtDonald Trump has signed off the UK’s handover of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, Downing Street has indicated, paving the way for the UK to cede sovereignty over its last African colony after a six-month standoff.Under the terms of the deal, the UK will give up control of the Chagos archipelago while paying to maintain control of a joint US-UK military base on the largest island, Diego Garcia, under a 99-year lease. Continue reading...