The Full Belmonte, 10/24/2023
Emmer wins GOP speakership nomination on fifth ballot
“Tom Emmer won the House GOP’s speakership nomination after a grueling set of secret ballots Tuesday, teeing up his next and more challenging task — winning on the floor.
The Republican whip secured a majority of the conference, 117-97, according to one person familiar with the tally. But there are still significant doubts that the Minnesotan has the near-unanimous GOP support needed to secure the gavel from the full House.”
Read the latest at Washington Post
41 states and D.C. sue Meta, claiming Instagram and Facebook are addictive and harmful to children
“The barrage of lawsuits — from states including Colorado and California — represents the most significant effort by state enforcers to rein in social media’s impact on children’s mental health. The complaints underscore the groundswell of concern among government leaders that major social networks risk the well-being of young users by designing products in ways that optimize for engagement over safety. But efforts to pass new privacy and safety protections for children online have languished at the federal level, largely leaving states to forge ahead with aggressive new measures.”
Read more at Washington Post
Former Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis pleads guilty in Georgia case
“Former Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis has pleaded guilty in the Georgia election subversion case to one count of aiding and abetting false statements in writing.
The development comes after back-to-back guilty pleas last week in the sprawling case from former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, who helped devise the fake electors plot.”
Read More at CNN
Trump Files 4 Late Night Motions in Hours Over D.C. Case
“Donald Trump’s legal team filed four motions in a late night frenzy on Monday surrounding the former president’s D.C. case. In one, Trump filed a motion to dismiss his federal 2020 election subversion case, citing First Amendment rights surrounding Trump’s belief the election as stolen and claiming the indictment, ‘taken as true, violates this core principle.’ The second motion seeks dismissal on statutory grounds, arguing, ‘The prosecution does not explain how President Trump violated these statutes, beyond simply saying he has while regurgitating the statutory language.’ The third motion asks Judge Chutkan to remove ‘repeated references to the actions of independent actors at the Capitol on January 6, 2021’ from his indictment, claiming Trump was not charged ‘with responsibility for the actions at the Capitol’ and therefore the ‘allegations related to these actions are not relevant and are prejudicial and inflammatory.’ The fourth saw Trump request dismissal ‘on the basis of selective and vindictive prosecution.’” [Daily Beast]
41,000 autoworkers now picketing after strike at Stellantis plant shuts down big profit center
“The United Auto Workers union has once again escalated its strikes against big Detroit automakers, this time adding a factory that makes Ram pickup trucks for Stellantis. The union says that 6,800 members walked out Monday morning.” Read More at Washington Post
The Supreme Court confronts its own failure in an appalling case about guns
Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
“On November 7, the next gun rights case — United States v. Rahimi — will be brought before the Supreme Court. The case will decide whether domestic abusers are allowed to possess firearms.
The lowdown: Three years ago, Zackey Rahimi physically assaulted his girlfriend and fired a gun at a bystander who witnessed the abuse, according to the Justice Department. Rahimi then threatened to shoot his girlfriend if she told anyone about his abuse. Additionally, Rahimi is accused of five shootings between December 2020 and January 2021.
In 2022, a federal appeals court, the Fifth Circuit, struck down a federal law — which under certain circumstances calls for abusers to be disarmed before being convicted of their crimes — and ruled that Rahimi has a constitutional right to own a gun. Here’s what led to this ruling and what’s likely to come:
The precedent set by New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. In this 2022 ruling, the Supreme Court held that to justify nearly any law regulating firearms, ‘the government must demonstrate that the regulation is consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.’ Essentially, lawyers defending any gun law must find a similar case from the 18th century.
Even the Supreme Court justices who made the Bruen ruling knew some exceptions would be necessary. The justices who formed the majority ruling on Bruen subscribed to the concept of ‘originalism,’ or the belief that the Constitution means what it did at the time it was ratified. But some of these justices, in a separate concurring opinion, also laid out clear exceptions to the universal right to bear arms, particularly for convicted felons and the mentally ill.
‘It’s likely the Supreme Court will reverse the Fifth Circuit’s decision, despite the fact that the Fifth Circuit's decision is entirely consistent with Bruen,’ senior correspondent Ian Millhiser told me.
The stakes: ‘I think the Supreme Court was probably drunk on ideology when it decided Bruen,’ Ian told me. ‘The issue, in this case, is whether people who endanger their own families have a right to own a gun — and I'm not convinced that there are more than three justices on the current Court who would accept the monstrous proposition that such individuals do have such a right.’”
Read Ian’s full piece here. [Vox]
At least seven people were killed in a 158-vehicle pileup in Louisiana.
“What to know: The crash happened on Interstate 55 yesterday morning. The area had been affected by a ‘super fog’ created by wildfire smoke mixing with thick fog.
The latest: Rescuers were continuing to search the crash site yesterday. More than 25 people were hospitalized, and it’s possible the death toll could rise, officials said.”
Read this story at Washington Post
Pilot faces federal charge in alleged attempt to stop engines on Alaska Airlines flight while off duty
“Joseph David Emerson, 44, is facing a federal charge of interfering with flight crew members and attendants, according to a complaint, while an affidavit filed in support of the federal charge says an altercation between Emerson and the pilots played out in about 90 seconds. Emerson was off duty and riding in the plane's jump seat when airline officials say he tried to shut down the engines of a San Francisco-bound flight Sunday by deploying the aircraft's fire-suppression system.”
Read more at Washington Post
The moon could be 40 million years older than we thought.
“How do we know? Scientists carried out an atom-by-atom analysis of ancient crystals embedded in rocks brought back from the moon by Apollo astronauts in 1972.
What it means: The 4.46 billion-year-old crystals complicate the timeline of when a Mars-size object crashed into the Earth, ejecting hot debris that formed into our moon.”
Read this story at Washington Post
RSV drug shortages prompt CDC to update its recommendations, prioritizing infants most at-risk amid rising cases
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a health alert in response to limited supplies of nirsevimab, an antibody drug designed to protect infants from the respiratory disease RSV. The CDC is now advising pediatricians and other health-care providers to prioritize administering certain doses of the monoclonal antibody, sold under the brand name Beyfortus, to infants with the highest risk of developing severe respiratory syncytial virus. The update comes as RSV cases have started to rise in parts of the United States with the onset of cold and flu season, creating a conundrum for many pediatricians.”
Read more at Washington Post
Panera Bread ‘Charged Lemonade’ Led to Student’s Death: Suit
“The family of an Ivy League student with a heart condition who died last year is suing Panera Bread, alleging that her death was the result of her consumption of the chain’s caffeinated lemonade. Sarah Katz, 21, went into cardiac arrest hours after buying a ‘Charged Lemonade’ drink from a Panera Bread in Philadelphia on Sept. 10, 2022, her friend and roommate told NBC News. Katz, who had a condition known as long QT syndrome type 1, ‘was very, very vigilant about what she needed to do to keep herself safe,’ the friend said. ‘I guarantee if Sarah had known how much caffeine this was, she never would have touched it with a 10-foot pole.’ The lemonade, according to the wrongful death lawsuit Katz’s family filed Monday, contains a ‘dangerous’ 390 milligrams of caffeine—more than the caffeine content of standard cans of Red Bull and Monster combined. A Panera spokesperson told NBC in a statement that the company was ‘very saddened to learn this morning’ of Katz’s death, and that they would ‘work quickly to thoroughly investigate this matter.’” [Daily Beast]
Read it at NBC News
MSU Staffer Suspended After Hitler Flashes on Video Boards
“Michigan State University said Sunday that it had suspended an employee after an image of Adolf Hitler was broadcast on stadium video boards before the school’s football game a day prior. The staffer, who was not named, will be paid pending an investigation into the matter, according to MSU athletic director Alan Haller. ‘Antisemitism must be denounced,’ Haller said in a statement. ‘The image displayed prior to Saturday night’s game is not representative of who we are and the culture we embody. Nevertheless, we must own our failures and accept responsibility.’ The image flashed on the screens as part of a trivia question that was apparently ripped without permission from a popular quiz-themed YouTube channel, whose owner said he wasn’t asked by the school about usage. According to the Associated Press, the creator, Floris van Pallandt, also took to his page to defend the question about Hitler as ‘an absolutely normal trivia question, shown in an inappropriate setting.’” [Daily Beast]
Read it at Associated Press
Rangers boot Astros in Game 7 to reach 1st World Series since '11
“Adolis García had an ALCS for the ages, with no shortage of drama, homering twice in Texas' 11-4 victory and setting the record for the most RBIs in a playoff series to help end rival Houston's season.
Adolis mashes his way to ALCS MVP honors
Adolis García homered twice in Game 7 and finished the series with 10 hits in 28 at-bats, five home runs and 15 RBIs.
D-backs defuse Phillies' home-field edge, force decisive Game 7
Arizona extended its season with a 5-1 win in Philadelphia, the franchise's first elimination-game victory on the road after having lost its previous four.
Rangers clinch home-field advantage in World Series
The Rangers will host Game 1 of the World Series on Friday no matter which team wins NLCS Game 7.
Hyped for another Game 7? Here are tonight's key storylines
A Game 7 in the NLCS looked unlikely five days ago, but the D-backs won three of the next four games to get us here. Tonight at 8 ET, we'll see how it all plays out.” [MLB Morning Lineup]
Olympic Star Mary Lou Retton Is Out of the Hospital
“Mary Lou Retton, 55, has been released from the hospital amid her battle with a rare type of pneumonia, according to her daughter, McKenna Kelley. ‘Mom is HOME & in recovery mode,’ Kelley wrote in a Monday afternoon Instagram post. ‘We still have a long road of recovery ahead of us, but baby steps.’ Almost two weeks ago, Kelley said that her mom had been hospitalized and was ‘fighting for her life.’ She said that Retton had been in an intensive care unit and could not breathe without aid. Kelley also mentioned on her mom’s Spotfund page that the former gymnast did not have health insurance. Since then, fans have offered more than $459,000 to finance the treatment, which had a ‘pretty scary setback’ last week. Retton made history in the 1984 Olympics when she became the first American woman to win the all-around gold medal in gymnastics.” [Daily Beast]
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World’s oldest dog ever dies in Portugal, aged 31
“Bobi, the world's oldest dog ever, has died at the age of 31. That's 217 in dog years. The owner of the purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo said Bobi's secret to a long life was good food, fresh air and lots of love.” Read More at Washington Post