WTF Just Happened Today: Recent Episodes
Matt Kiser
Wednesday, September 13, 2023
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1/ Inflation accelerated for a second consecutive month – the fastest pace in more than a year – due to a jump in gasoline prices, which accounted for more than half of the increase. Consumer prices rose 0.6% in August from the prior month – the m... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
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1/ Kevin McCarthy directed three House committees to open an impeachment inquiry into Biden as far-right Republican lawmakers threaten to remove him as speaker. McCarthy said the impeachment inquiry would center on whether Biden benefited from Hun... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, September 11, 2023
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1/ The FDA approved updated Covid-19 vaccines targeting the omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant. The new vaccines are authorized for people 12 and older and are under emergency use for children 6 months through 11 years old. The CDC is expected to sign off... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, August 31, 2023
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1/ Trump pleaded not guilty to 13 felony charges alleging his role in a criminal conspiracy to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia – it’s the fourth time Trump has formally denied criminal charges this year. Trump also waived his right to a... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
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1/ Georgia Senate Republicans are considering ways to punish District Attorney Fani Willis for indicting Trump and 18 other defendants, saying “we believe she is definitely tainted.” State Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch threatened hold legisla... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
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1/ The Biden administration named the first 10 medicines that will be subject to price negotiations between Medicare and pharmaceutical companies under the Inflation Reduction Act. The medications are some of the most widely used and costliest dru... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, August 28, 2023
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1/ Trump’s trial on federal charges that he conspired to overturn his 2020 election loss will start March 4 – two years sooner than he requested and one day before Super Tuesday, when 14 states hold their presidential primaries. U.S. District Judg... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, August 24, 2023
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1/ Trump will surrender at the Fulton County jail on 13 state charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia – it’s the fourth time this year that Trump will have turned himself in to face criminal c... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
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1/ Rudy Giuliani surrendered to Georgia authorities and was booked on charges that he illegally conspired to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss in the state. Giuliani, who was released on $150,000 bond, told reporters that he was “very, very hono... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, August 22, 2023
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1/ The Trump lawyer who led efforts to overturn the 2020 election surrendered at the Fulton County jail. John Eastman was the second of 19 co-defendants to turn himself in. He faces nine counts charges, including racketeering, conspiracy to commit... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, August 21, 2023
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1/ The House Freedom Caucus threatened to oppose a stopgap funding bill, which would avert a government shutdown at the end of September. After Kevin McCarthy floated the idea of a stopgap bill last week, the ultraconservative House lawmakers are ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, August 17, 2023
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1/ The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is investigating online threats against the grand jurors who voted to indict Trump on racketeering charges after their names, photographs, phone numbers, and home addresses were purportedly posted on social me... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
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1/ Federal Reserve officials warned of “significant” inflation risks, which could require them to raise rates again this year. At their July policy meeting, “most” Fed officials said inflation remained “unacceptably” high. A “couple” officials, ho... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, August 15, 2023
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1/ Trump and 18 others were indicted by an Atlanta grand jury in connection with efforts to overturn Biden’s 2020 win in Georgia. The 41-count indictment – 13 of which were lodged against Trump – is the fourth time Trump, the front-runner for the ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, August 14, 2023
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1/ A Montana judge ruled that the state’s oil and gas policies failed to consider climate change when approving energy projects, violating young people’s constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment.” District Court Judge Kathy Seele... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, August 10, 2023
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1/ Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted at least 38 vacations, 26 private jet flights, eight flights by helicopter, a dozen VIP passes to sporting events, two stays at luxury resorts in Florida and Jamaica, and a standing invitation to p... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
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1/ Special counsel Jack Smith obtained a search warrant for Trump’s Twitter account earlier this year as part of the investigation into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to a newly unsealed court filing. Twitter was forced to ha... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
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1/ Ohio voters will decide whether to make it harder to amend the state constitution in a special election that has implications over the future of abortion rights in the state. If Issue 1 passes, it would raise the threshold for passing future ch... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, August 7, 2023
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1/ Special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal judge to place Trump under a protective order after Trump posted a message to his social media platform saying: “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!” Prosecutors said Trump’s post “specifically o... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, July 31, 2023
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1/ A Georgia judge denied an effort by Trump to toss out evidence gathered by a special grand jury and remove the district attorney from the criminal investigation into his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. Fulton County Su... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, July 27, 2023
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1/ Trump’s attorneys met with prosecutors from special counsel Jack Smith’s office ahead of a potential indictment in connection with his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump said his lawyers had “a productive meeting” with the prosecutors... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
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1/ Rudy Giuliani conceded that he made “false” and defamatory statements that two Georgia election workers had mishandled ballots while counting votes in Atlanta during the 2020 election. Although Giuliani is no longer contesting the accusations b... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
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1/ Kevin McCarthy suggested that House Republicans may pursue an “impeachment inquiry” into Biden. Following a series of congressional investigations targeting Biden, his administration, and his family members, House Republicans have sought to bui... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, July 24, 2023
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1/ Biden will establish a national monument honoring Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. The monument will consist of three protected sites in Illinois and Mississippi central to the story of Till’s life and death at age 14. In August 1... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, July 20, 2023
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1/ The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced legislation that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to adopt a binding code of ethics. The legislation would require the Supreme Court to adopt and adhere to ethics and disclosure requirements equivalen... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, July 19, 2023
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1/ The U.S. and China need more time to “break new ground” to reach new climate agreements despite “productive” conversations. U.S. special climate envoy John Kerry said the two countries “had a very extensive set of frank conversations” and commi... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
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1/ Trump has been notified that he’s a target in the Jan. 6 criminal investigation by special counsel Jack Smith. Trump confirmed the development in a post on his personal social media platform, writing: “Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with J... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, July 17, 2023
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1/ An Iowa judge temporarily blocked the state’s new six-week abortion ban. For now, abortion is legal again in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy while the legal challenge plays out in the court system. On Friday, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the “feta... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, July 11, 2023
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1/ Trump asked a federal judge to postpone his trial on charges of illegally retaining classified documents until after the 2024 election. Trump’s lawyers argued that it would be “unreasonable, telling, and would result in a miscarriage of justice... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, July 10, 2023
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1/ The Biden administration will send cluster bombs to Ukraine, as well as armored vehicles and air defense missiles, in the next $800 million weapons package. Cluster weapons have been banned in more than 100 countries because they scatter “bombl... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, July 6, 2023
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1/ Earth recorded its hottest day ever for three straight days. The record was first set on Monday, when average global temperatures hit 61.16 degrees Fahrenheit, surpassing a previous record set in August 2016. That was followed by an average glo... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, July 5, 2023
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1/ July 4th was Earth’s hottest day on record, with the global average temperature reaching 62.92 degrees Fahrenheit. Although it was the highest temperature since records began in 1979, some scientists believe July 4 may have been one of the hott... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, July 3, 2023
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1/ A civil rights group demanded that the federal government end Harvard’s special admissions treatment for children of alumni, saying the policy discriminates against applicants of color in favor of less qualified white candidates. Following last... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
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1/ Roughly 87 million people in 17 states – representing nearly a third of the American population – are at risk for poor air quality as smoke from the Canadian wildfires spreads. Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, June 27, 2023
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1/ The Supreme Court rejected a legal theory that state legislatures have the power to decide the rules for federal elections and draw partisan congressional maps. The justices ruled in a 6-3 vote that the North Carolina Supreme Court was acting w... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, June 26, 2023
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1/ The Supreme Court dismissed Louisiana’s effort to block the creation of a second Black-majority congressional district, restoring a federal court’s ruling that the state’s congressional lines diluted the power of Black voters in violation of th... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, June 15, 2023
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Programming note: This is the last update until Monday, June 26. I’ll be spending time with family next week, unless something truly wtf-y happens, in which case I’ll publish an emergency update. Sound good? Stay safe and I’m glad you’re here.
1... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
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1/ Federal Reserve officials agreed to hold interest rates steady after 10 consecutive increases “in light of how far we have come in tightening policy, the uncertain lags in which monetary policy affects the economy, and the potential headwinds f... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
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1/ Trump surrendered to authorities and pleaded not guilty to 37 felony charges that he mishandled top secret classified information and obstructed justice after leaving the White House. Trump faces 31 counts of willful retention of national secur... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, June 12, 2023
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1/ Trump vowed to continue running for president even if he’s convicted as part of the 37-count federal felony indictment, saying “I’ll never leave.” Trump, who is not legally prohibited from running for president from prison or as a convicted fel... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, June 1, 2023
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1/ A group of Republicans threatened to delay plans to fast-track the House-passed bill to suspend the debt ceiling and limit federal spending before Monday’s default deadline. Lindsey Graham said he’d keep the Senate tied up “until Tuesday” unle... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, December 1, 2022
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1/ The Supreme Court agreed to an expedited review of the Biden administration’s plan to cancel student-loan debt, announcing that it will hear full oral arguments in February. A final ruling is expected by June. In the meantime, the court said th... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
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1/ House Democrats elected Hakeem Jeffries to lead their caucus – the first Black person to lead a major political party in Congress. Jeffries succeeds Nancy Pelosi, who has led the Democrats for two decades and announced earlier this month that s... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, November 29, 2022
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1/ The Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act to codify federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages. While the legislation doesn’t force states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, it does require states to recognize ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, November 28, 2022
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1/ Biden renewed his call for a ban on assault weapons following mass shootings at a Walmart in Virginia and a LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado, saying: “The idea we still allow semiautomatic weapons to be purchased is sick. It’s just sick. It has no s... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, November 21, 2022
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1/ A gunman killed five people and injured 18 others at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs on the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance, which occurs annually on Nov. 20 to honor victims of anti-trans violence. Anderson Lee Aldrich faces five ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, November 17, 2022
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1/ Nancy Pelosi will not seek a Democratic leadership role in the next Congress after Republicans take control of the House. “For me the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect,” Pelosi said a day ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
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1/ Trump — the twice-impeached former president who tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election, encouraged a deadly insurrection at the Capitol, and is the subject of multiple criminal investigations — filed to run for president for a third ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, November 15, 2022
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1/ Kevin McCarthy won the Republican nomination for speaker with 188 votes from the caucus in a secret-ballot vote. Assuming that Republicans take control of the chamber, McCarthy will need to win at least 218 votes on the House floor in January t... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, November 14, 2022
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1/ Democrats won the Senate while Republicans appear on track for a narrow majority in the House. As of Monday morning, 20 House seats remain uncalled, with 212 seats projected for Republicans and 203 for Democrats. To retain the House majority, D... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, November 10, 2022
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1/ Control of Congress continues to hang in the balance two days after the 2022 midterm elections. Republicans are on track to take a narrow House majority, needing 9 more seats with 37 more races still up for grabs. Meanwhile, three Senate races ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
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1/ Senate control hinges on three states, while Republicans have picked up fewer seats than predicted in the House. Republicans, however, are still poised to win a narrow majority in one if not both houses of Congress. In the Senate, Democrat John... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, November 8, 2022
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1/ Polls opened across the country today with control of Congress at stake in the first national election since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Republicans are favored to regain control of the House, where all 435 House seats are up for g... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, November 7, 2022
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1/ Earth is on track to see its 5th or 6th warmest year on record in 2022, with global average temperatures currently running about 1.15°C above the preindustrial average. “We just had the 8 warmest years on record,” the World Meteorological Organ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, November 3, 2022
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1/ Biden called the midterms “a defining moment” for democracy as the “ultra MAGA” are trying to “succeed where they failed” in subverting the 2020 elections with threats of political violence and voter intimidation. “We can’t take democracy for g... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
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1/ The Federal Reserve approved a fourth consecutive 0.75-point interest rate increase to combat inflation, despite concern about the risks of triggering a recession and putting millions out of work. The Fed has now raised rates six times this yea... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, November 1, 2022
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1/ Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily blocked a House committee from accessing Trump’s tax records. On Monday, Trump asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the case, claiming the Ways and Means Committee doesn’t have a valid legislative purpo... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, October 31, 2022
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1/ Federal prosecutors charged the man accused of breaking into Nancy Pelosi’s home with attempted kidnapping and assault. David DePape broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home through a glass door Friday morning, attacked her husband, Paul Pelo... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, October 27, 2022
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1/ The U.S. economy grew in the third quarter, marking its first increase in 2022 after two straight quarters of decline. GDP, a sum of all the goods and services produced from July through September, increased at a 2.6% annualized pace for the pe... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
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1/ Earth’s on track to warm above 2 degrees Celsius and global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are “nowhere near the scale” needed, according to a new report from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Under the current... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
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1/ Biden warned Russia against using nuclear or radioactive weapons in Ukraine after Moscow’s unfounded accusation that Kyiv was planning to use a “dirty bomb” on its own soil and blame Russia for it. Diplomats from the U.S., France, and Britain c... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, October 24, 2022
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1/ Fourth- and eighth-graders in most states and across almost all demographic groups fell behind in reading and had the largest ever decline in math in the first National Assessment of Educational Progress since the pandemic began. The average ma... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, October 24, 2022
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1/ Fourth- and eighth-graders in most states and across almost all demographic groups fell behind in reading and had the largest ever decline in math in the first National Assessment of Educational Progress since the pandemic began. The average ma... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, October 24, 2022
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1/ Fourth- and eighth-graders in most states and across almost all demographic groups fell behind in reading and had the largest ever decline in math in the first National Assessment of Educational Progress since the pandemic began. The average ma... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, October 24, 2022
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1/ Fourth- and eighth-graders in most states and across almost all demographic groups fell behind in reading and had the largest ever decline in math in the first National Assessment of Educational Progress since the pandemic began. The average ma... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, October 20, 2022
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1/ Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected a challenge to Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. The challenge came from the Brown County Taxpayers Association in Wisconsin. Barrett, however, dismissed the case for lack of standing, ru... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, October 20, 2022
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1/ Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected a challenge to Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. The challenge came from the Brown County Taxpayers Association in Wisconsin. Barrett, however, dismissed the case for lack of standing, ru... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, October 20, 2022
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1/ Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected a challenge to Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. The challenge came from the Brown County Taxpayers Association in Wisconsin. Barrett, however, dismissed the case for lack of standing, ru... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, October 20, 2022
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1/ Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected a challenge to Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. The challenge came from the Brown County Taxpayers Association in Wisconsin. Barrett, however, dismissed the case for lack of standing, ru... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
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1/ Putin declared martial law in the four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine that it doesn’t entirely control. The move follows Moscow’s internationally condemned staged referendums and illegal annexation last month. Speaking to his Security Coun... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
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1/ Putin declared martial law in the four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine that it doesn’t entirely control. The move follows Moscow’s internationally condemned staged referendums and illegal annexation last month. Speaking to his Security Coun... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
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1/ Putin declared martial law in the four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine that it doesn’t entirely control. The move follows Moscow’s internationally condemned staged referendums and illegal annexation last month. Speaking to his Security Coun... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
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1/ Putin declared martial law in the four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine that it doesn’t entirely control. The move follows Moscow’s internationally condemned staged referendums and illegal annexation last month. Speaking to his Security Coun... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
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1/ Biden pledged to codify Roe v. Wade into law if Democrats retain control of Congress in the November midterm elections. In a speech at a Democratic National Committee, Biden promised that the first bill he sends to Congress next year would be l... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
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1/ Biden pledged to codify Roe v. Wade into law if Democrats retain control of Congress in the November midterm elections. In a speech at a Democratic National Committee, Biden promised that the first bill he sends to Congress next year would be l... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
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1/ Biden pledged to codify Roe v. Wade into law if Democrats retain control of Congress in the November midterm elections. In a speech at a Democratic National Committee, Biden promised that the first bill he sends to Congress next year would be l... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
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1/ Biden pledged to codify Roe v. Wade into law if Democrats retain control of Congress in the November midterm elections. In a speech at a Democratic National Committee, Biden promised that the first bill he sends to Congress next year would be l... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, October 17, 2022
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1/ The Biden administration launched the online application for student loan forgiveness. The plan is expected to provide debt relief to as many as 43 million borrowers. “This is a game changer for millions of Americans,” Biden said. The applicati... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, October 17, 2022
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1/ The Biden administration launched the online application for student loan forgiveness. The plan is expected to provide debt relief to as many as 43 million borrowers. “This is a game changer for millions of Americans,” Biden said. The applicati... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, October 17, 2022
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1/ The Biden administration launched the online application for student loan forgiveness. The plan is expected to provide debt relief to as many as 43 million borrowers. “This is a game changer for millions of Americans,” Biden said. The applicati... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, October 17, 2022
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1/ The Biden administration launched the online application for student loan forgiveness. The plan is expected to provide debt relief to as many as 43 million borrowers. “This is a game changer for millions of Americans,” Biden said. The applicati... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, October 13, 2022
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1/ The Jan. 6 committee voted unanimously to subpoena Trump, demanding documents and his testimony under oath. “This is a question about accountability to the American people,” the panel’s chair, Bennie Thompson, said ahead of the vote. “He must b... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, October 13, 2022
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1/ The Jan. 6 committee voted unanimously to subpoena Trump, demanding documents and his testimony under oath. “This is a question about accountability to the American people,” the panel’s chair, Bennie Thompson, said ahead of the vote. “He must b... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, October 13, 2022
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1/ The Jan. 6 committee voted unanimously to subpoena Trump, demanding documents and his testimony under oath. “This is a question about accountability to the American people,” the panel’s chair, Bennie Thompson, said ahead of the vote. “He must b... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, October 13, 2022
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1/ The Jan. 6 committee voted unanimously to subpoena Trump, demanding documents and his testimony under oath. “This is a question about accountability to the American people,” the panel’s chair, Bennie Thompson, said ahead of the vote. “He must b... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
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1/ The FDA authorized updated coronavirus booster shots for children as young as 5. The CDC, which recommends how vaccines are used, signed off hours later. The reformulated boosters are bivalent, meaning they contain a combination of components t... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
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1/ The FDA authorized updated coronavirus booster shots for children as young as 5. The CDC, which recommends how vaccines are used, signed off hours later. The reformulated boosters are bivalent, meaning they contain a combination of components t... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
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1/ The FDA authorized updated coronavirus booster shots for children as young as 5. The CDC, which recommends how vaccines are used, signed off hours later. The reformulated boosters are bivalent, meaning they contain a combination of components t... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
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1/ The FDA authorized updated coronavirus booster shots for children as young as 5. The CDC, which recommends how vaccines are used, signed off hours later. The reformulated boosters are bivalent, meaning they contain a combination of components t... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
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1/ The International Monetary Fund warned that the world economy was headed for “stormy waters” and “the worst is yet to come.” The IMF’s World Economic Outlook report forecasts that global growth will slow to 2.7% in 2023, compared with projected... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
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1/ The International Monetary Fund warned that the world economy was headed for “stormy waters” and “the worst is yet to come.” The IMF’s World Economic Outlook report forecasts that global growth will slow to 2.7% in 2023, compared with projected... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
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1/ The International Monetary Fund warned that the world economy was headed for “stormy waters” and “the worst is yet to come.” The IMF’s World Economic Outlook report forecasts that global growth will slow to 2.7% in 2023, compared with projected... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
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1/ The International Monetary Fund warned that the world economy was headed for “stormy waters” and “the worst is yet to come.” The IMF’s World Economic Outlook report forecasts that global growth will slow to 2.7% in 2023, compared with projected... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, October 6, 2022
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1/ Biden pardoned anyone convicted of marijuana possession under federal law and urged governors to do the same. Biden also said his administration would review whether marijuana should continue to be listed as a Schedule 1 drug like heroin and LS... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, October 6, 2022
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1/ Biden pardoned anyone convicted of marijuana possession under federal law and urged governors to do the same. Biden also said his administration would review whether marijuana should continue to be listed as a Schedule 1 drug like heroin and LS... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, October 6, 2022
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1/ Biden pardoned anyone convicted of marijuana possession under federal law and urged governors to do the same. Biden also said his administration would review whether marijuana should continue to be listed as a Schedule 1 drug like heroin and LS... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, October 6, 2022
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1/ Biden pardoned anyone convicted of marijuana possession under federal law and urged governors to do the same. Biden also said his administration would review whether marijuana should continue to be listed as a Schedule 1 drug like heroin and LS... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
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1/ The World Trade Organization warned that the outlook for global trade next year has “darkened considerably” with “multiple shocks” – from higher energy and food prices to rising interest rates – curbing import demand. World trade is now expecte... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
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1/ The World Trade Organization warned that the outlook for global trade next year has “darkened considerably” with “multiple shocks” – from higher energy and food prices to rising interest rates – curbing import demand. World trade is now expecte... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
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1/ The World Trade Organization warned that the outlook for global trade next year has “darkened considerably” with “multiple shocks” – from higher energy and food prices to rising interest rates – curbing import demand. World trade is now expecte... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
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1/ The World Trade Organization warned that the outlook for global trade next year has “darkened considerably” with “multiple shocks” – from higher energy and food prices to rising interest rates – curbing import demand. World trade is now expecte... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, October 4, 2022
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1/ The United Nations warned that the world is “on the edge of a recession.” In a new report, the United Nations Conference on Trade Development said that tightening monetary policy meant to fight inflation by central banks in the U.S., Europe, an... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, October 4, 2022
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1/ The United Nations warned that the world is “on the edge of a recession.” In a new report, the United Nations Conference on Trade Development said that tightening monetary policy meant to fight inflation by central banks in the U.S., Europe, an... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, October 4, 2022
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1/ The United Nations warned that the world is “on the edge of a recession.” In a new report, the United Nations Conference on Trade Development said that tightening monetary policy meant to fight inflation by central banks in the U.S., Europe, an... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, October 4, 2022
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1/ The United Nations warned that the world is “on the edge of a recession.” In a new report, the United Nations Conference on Trade Development said that tightening monetary policy meant to fight inflation by central banks in the U.S., Europe, an... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, October 3, 2022
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1/ The National Archives told the House Oversight Committee that it hasn’t recovered all the presidential records from Trump administration officials that should have been transferred under the Presidential Records Act. The Archives will consult w... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, October 3, 2022
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1/ The National Archives told the House Oversight Committee that it hasn’t recovered all the presidential records from Trump administration officials that should have been transferred under the Presidential Records Act. The Archives will consult w... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, October 3, 2022
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1/ The National Archives told the House Oversight Committee that it hasn’t recovered all the presidential records from Trump administration officials that should have been transferred under the Presidential Records Act. The Archives will consult w... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, October 3, 2022
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1/ The National Archives told the House Oversight Committee that it hasn’t recovered all the presidential records from Trump administration officials that should have been transferred under the Presidential Records Act. The Archives will consult w... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, September 29, 2022
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1/ The Education Department scaled back eligibility for its student loan forgiveness plan after six Republican-led states sued to stop Biden from canceling up to $20,000 in student debt for millions of borrowers. The lawsuit filed in a federal cou... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
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1/ Biden promised to end hunger in the U.S. by the end of the decade, unveiling $8 billion in public- and private-sector commitments to make food healthier, more affordable, and accessible. It was the first White House summit dedicated to combatin... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
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1/ The Senate is set to vote on a short-term spending bill to keep the federal government running past Friday. In addition to maintaining current funding levels through Dec. 16, the bill also provides more than $12 billion to Ukraine, $1 billion t... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, September 26, 2022
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1/ An Arizona judge ruled that a 1864 ban on nearly all abortions in that state can be enforced, lifting a 1973 injunction that had barred enforcement of Arizona’s pre-statehood ban. The 1864 law mandates a two- to five-year prison sentence for an... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
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1/ New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump, Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, and executives at the Trump Organization. In the more than 200-page lawsuit, James alleges that the Trumps enriched themselves through “numerous acts of fr... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
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1/ A Texas sheriff opened a criminal investigation into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to fly 48 Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said the migrants appeared to have been “lured under false pretense... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, September 19, 2022
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1/ Biden said he believes “the pandemic is over” despite the U.S. recording more than 2 million Covid-19 cases and more than 12,000 deaths in the last 28 days. The declaration was an apparent off-the-cuff remark and not part of Biden’s planned re... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, September 15, 2022
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1/ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shipped about 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard without warning to make a political point about the record number of apprehensions at the southern border. While the two flights were paid for by Florida taxpayers under a... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
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1/ Biden approved the first $900 million in U.S. funding to build EV charging stations in 35 states. The bipartisan infrastructure bill, which Congress approved in November, allocated $7.5 billion to build a national EV charging network. By 2030, ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
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1/ Lindsey Graham introduced a bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy nationwide. While Graham’s measure stands no chance of enactment, it comes less than two months before the midterm elections when some Republican candidates a... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, September 12, 2022
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1/ Trump asked a federal judge to deny the Justice Department’s request to limit the role of a special master in its review of classified documents seized from Mar-a-Lago as part of its criminal investigation. Last week, federal prosecutors – citi... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, September 8, 2022
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1/ The Justice Department appealed a federal judge’s decision to grant a special master to review documents seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ordered the appointment of an independent attorne... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
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1/ Chuck Schumer promised a Senate vote on protecting same-sex marriage in the coming weeks whether or not there are 10 Republicans votes to pass it. Several GOP senators have already publicly expressed support, including Susan Collins, Rob Portma... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
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1/ The FBI found 48 empty folders that contained classified information at Mar-a-Lago. Agents also found 42 empty folders of sensitive documents labeled with instructions to return to the staff secretary or a military aide. In all, the Justice De... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, September 1, 2022
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1/ The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas pressed lawmakers to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory in both Arizona and Wisconsin. It was previously reported that Virginia “Ginni” Thomas emailed 29 Arizona state lawmakers in November and Decem... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
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1/ The Justice Department obtained the search warrant for Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate after receiving evidence that highly classified government documents were “likely concealed and removed” from a storage room as part of an effort to “obstruct” the... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
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1/ Weather models are warning of a “very dangerous” and “prolonged heat wave” over western states this week and into the Labor Day weekend. More than 55 million people are currently under heat alerts in the west, including 20 of the most populated... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, August 29, 2022
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1/ The Justice Department identified “a limited set” of documents seized from Mar-a-Lago that are potentially covered by attorney-client privilege. The disclosure that a Justice Department “filter team” had completed its review of documents taken ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, August 25, 2022
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1/ A federal magistrate judge ordered the Justice Department to release a redacted version of the affidavit used to justified the FBI’s search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. Judge Bruce Reinhart accepted the Justice Department’s redactions to keep se... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
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1/ Biden canceled up to $20,000 in student debt for Pell Grant recipients, and up to $10,000 for individual borrowers who make under $125,000 per year. Biden will also extended the federal student loan payment pause for what he called the “final t... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, August 23, 2022
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1/ The National Archives said it found more than 700 pages of classified material – including some labeled “Special Access Program” – in the 15 boxes recovered from Trump in January. The National Archives informed Trump’s lawyers about the discove... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, August 22, 2022
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1/ Dr. Anthony Fauci will leave the federal government in December to “pursue the next chapter” of his career. The nation’s top infectious disease expert has advised seven presidents in more than five decades of public service. (Associated Press /... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, August 18, 2022
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1/ A federal judge ordered the Justice Department to redact the probable cause affidavit used to justify the FBI search of Trump’s Florida estate. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart said it’s “very important” that the public have as “much information... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
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1/ The director of the CDC announced a restructuring of the agency to “transform” it to better respond to public health emergencies. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the agency had failed to effectively respond to the coronavirus pandemic, sayi... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
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1/ The Lower Colorado River Basin crossed an unprecedented water shortage threshold that will require mandatory water cuts. The Bureau of Reclamation declared a “Tier 2” water shortage, which will reduce the amount of water that Arizona, Nevada, a... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, August 15, 2022
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1/ The House passed the Inflation Reduction Act over unanimous Republican opposition, sending the multibillion-dollar climate, health, and tax bill to Biden’s desk to be signed into law. The legislation marks the single largest federal investment ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, August 11, 2022
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1/ A group of historians warned Biden that the current moment in America is among the most dangerous to democracy in modern history, comparing the threat to democracy to the pre-Civil War era and to pro-fascist movements before World War II. The g... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
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1/ Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a deposition with the New York attorney general’s office. Since March 2019, Letitia James’s office has been investigating whether the Trump Organization manipulated asset... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
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1/ The FBI executed a federal search warrant at Mar-a-Lago connected to the 15 boxes of presidential documents that Trump improperly took from the White House. The National Archives previously confirmed that it found many pages of classified infor... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, August 8, 2022
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1/ The Senate passed the largest investment in U.S. history to counter climate change, putting the nation on a path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 40% below their 2005 levels by 2030. The Inflation Reduction Act would also lower healt... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, August 4, 2022
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1/ The Justice Department charged four current and former Louisville police officers with violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights, who was shot and killed by police in 2020 while she was sleeping. The charges against Joshua Jaynes, Kyle Meany, Kel... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, August 3, 2022
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1/ Kansas voters rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have allowed the legislature to ban abortions. About 60% of voters wanted to maintain abortion protections compared with roughly 40% who wanted to strip them from the s... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, August 2, 2022
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1/ The U.S. killed al Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahri in a drone strike. Zawahiri oversaw the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, alongside the group’s founder, Osama bin Laden. The attack against Zawahiri is the first known counterterrorism strike there sin... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, August 1, 2022
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1/ A Trump-endorsed conspiracy theorist is the leading Republican candidate to be Arizona’s next secretary of state. Mark Finchem is an outspoken supporter of Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen, signed onto a resolution urging Congress ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, July 28, 2022
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1/ Biden hailed the Inflation Reduction Act as “a historic agreement to fight inflation” and “the most significant legislation in history to tackle the climate crisis.” Biden’s remarks came a day after Joe Manchin blessed the package that would ra... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
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1/ The Justice Department is investigating Trump’s actions leading up to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol as part of its criminal probe into efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Prosecutors are questioning witnesses before a grand jury abo... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
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1/ The Senate advanced a bill that would provide $52 billion in subsidies to domestic semiconductor manufacturers to boost U.S. competitiveness with China. The package, known as “CHIPS-plus,” would also invest billions in science and technology in... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, July 25, 2022
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1/ Biden continues to “improve significantly” from his coronavirus infection. “The president is responding to therapy as expected,” Dr. Kevin O’Connor wrote, adding that Biden still has a sore throat, though his cough, runny nose, and body aches “... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, July 21, 2022
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1/ Biden tested positive for Covid-19. The White House said Biden, who is vaccinated and received a second booster shot in March, has “very mild symptoms” and will “carry out all of his duties fully” while isolating and working remotely. Biden is ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
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1/ A bipartisan group of senators reached a deal to reform the 135-year-old Electoral Count Act that Trump and his allies tried to exploit as part of their attempt to overturn the 2020 election results. The legislation would clearly define the rol... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
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1/ Biden is reportedly planning to declare a national climate emergency in an effort to advance his environmental agenda that Joe Manchin has twice sabotaged. After Manchin torpedoed Democratic efforts to pass robust climate change legislation las... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, July 18, 2022
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1/ Joe Manchin abandoned negotiations with Democrats on an economic package that contained incentives to combat climate change and new taxes on the wealthy and corporations because he’s concerned about inflation. Instead, Manchin said he’s only wi... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
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1/ Inflation climbed to 9.1% in June compared with a year earlier – the biggest 12-month increase in 40 years. On a monthly basis, the consumer price index jumped 1.3% from May to June, after prices had jumped 1% from April to May. While average w... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
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1/ In its seventh public hearing, the Jan. 6 committee detailed how divisions between White House lawyers and outside advisers pressing Trump to pursue election fraud conspiracy claims exploded into an “unhinged” meeting that featured screaming, p... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, July 11, 2022
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1/ A federal judge refused to delay Stephen Bannon’s trial on charges of criminal contempt of Congress. After refusing to cooperate with a congressional subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee for nearly nine months, Bannon informed the panel over the ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, July 7, 2022
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1/ Federal Reserve officials expressed concern that elevated inflation posed a “significant risk” of becoming “entrenched” in the economy. According to minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s June meeting, officials said inflation had bec... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
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1/ Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone agreed to testify after receiving a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee. Cipollone will sit for a videotaped, transcribed interview behind closed doors on Friday. He is not expected to testify publicly. Fo... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
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1/ At least seven people were killed in a shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, during a Fourth of July parade, and more than 30 people were injured. The suspected gunman, Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, had “preplanned this attack for several weeks” and... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, June 30, 2022
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1/ The Supreme Court restricted the EPA’s ability to limit greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants, dealing a major blow to Biden’s efforts to fight climate change and shift the nation’s energy production toward renewable sources. In i... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
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1/ Virginia Thomas – the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas – told the Jan. 6 committee she saw no reason testify. In an eight-page letter to the committee, her attorney said he wants “a better justification fo... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
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1/ Trump knew some of his supporters were armed when he directed them to march on the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Hutchinson, testifying before the Jan. 6 c... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, June 27, 2022
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1/ A Louisiana judge temporarily blocked enforcement of a statewide “trigger law” ban on abortion, allowing the state’s three remaining abortion clinics to continue operating. Louisiana is one of 13 states that had trigger laws on the books in ant... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, June 23, 2022
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1/ The Supreme Court struck down a New York gun law enacted more than a century ago that limited who could carry a concealed handgun for self-defense in public, ruling for the first time that the Second Amendment protects gun rights outside the ho... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
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1/ The Jan. 6 committee will delay its public hearings for several weeks citing new evidence. Since the hearings started, the committee has obtained footage from a documentary filmmaker who followed Trump and his inner circle spanning “almost a ye... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
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1/ Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen backed Biden’s position that a recession is “not inevitable.” Yellen acknowledged, however, that she expects some economic slowing as the Federal Reserve aggressively tries to curb inflation with increased intere... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, June 16, 2022
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1/ Trump was told that his plan to overturn the 2020 election was illegal, but pressured Pence to go along with it anyway, according to testimony from the Jan. 6 committee’s third hearing. Conservative lawyer John Eastman, the architect of the pla... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
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1/ The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points – the biggest increase since 1994 – to tackle the fastest inflation in four decades. Chairman Jerome Powell called the move “an unusually large one,” adding that he expects either a 5... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, June 14, 2022
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1/ Attorney General William Barr told the Jan. 6 committee that Trump had “become detached from reality” while pursing efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. “Before the election it was possible to talk sense to the president,... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, June 9, 2022
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1/ The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection will present its findings to the American public tonight. The 90-minute hearing is the first in a series of six planned for this month and will lay out the evidence of what happen... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
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1/ A man armed with a pistol, a knife, and other weapons was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home. Nicholas John Roske told the authorities that he traveled from California to kill the Supreme Court justice. Roske told the police that he w... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, June 7, 2022
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1/ The World Bank warned that the global economy may be headed for several years of above-average inflation and below-average growth. The bank cut its annual global growth forecast to 2.9% from January’s 4.1%, saying “subdued growth will likely pe... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, June 6, 2022
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1/ Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to boost the domestic production of solar panels and their parts in an effort to shift the country toward clean energy. Biden also declared a 24-month tariff exemption for solar panels from four Southeas... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, June 2, 2022
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1/ The House will vote on legislation banning military-style “assault” weapons as early as next week following mass shootings in Texas and New York by 18-year-old assailants who used semi-automatic rifles to kill 31 people, including 19 children. ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, June 1, 2022
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1/ The Republican National Committee has reportedly recruited an “army” of trained operatives to contest votes in Democratic-majority polling places. The RNC plan, as outlined by Matthew Seifried, the RNC’s election integrity director for Michigan... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
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1/ Biden, calling inflation his “top economic priority,” met with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and outlined a three-part plan to tackle high prices. Biden said the Fed has “a primary responsibility to control inflation” and that he’s “not g... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, May 12, 2022
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1/ The Jan. 6 committee subpoenaed five House Republicans, including Kevin McCarthy. In addition to McCarthy, the panel sent summons to Jim Jordan, Scott Perry, Andy Biggs, and Mo Brooks. Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson said the Republican lawm... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
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1/ Senate Republicans and Joe Manchin blocked a bill to enshrine abortion rights into federal law, which would guarantee access nationwide even if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Democrats needed 60 votes to take up the Women’s Health Pro... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, May 10, 2022
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1/ Biden said that tackling inflation is his “top domestic priority” as the average price for a gallon of gas nationwide hit $4.37 – the highest price since 2000 when AAA started keeping track. The Consumer Price Index, which will be released Wedn... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, May 9, 2022
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1/ The White House warned that the country is at “serious risk” of a nationwide ban on abortion after Mitch McConnell called such a ban “possible” if the leaked Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade became final and Republicans gain contro... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, May 5, 2022
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1/ Senate Democrats moved to vote on a bill to codify abortion rights into federal law in the wake of a leaked Supreme Court draft decision that would strike down Roe v. Wade. The vote, however, is all but certain to be blocked by Republicans beca... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, May 4, 2022
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1/ Oklahoma’s Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a Texas-style abortion ban into law, which prohibits abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy and allows private citizens to sue abortion providers to enforce the law. The “Oklahoma Heartbeat Ac... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, May 3, 2022
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1/ The Supreme Court voted to strike down Roe v. Wade, according to a leaked draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito. While the draft could change before it’s finalized, the document was circulated among the justices in February and at least... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, May 2, 2022
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1/ A special grand jury was seated in Georgia to help investigate whether Trump and others tried to illegally influence the 2020 election in the state. The case centers on Trump asking election officials to “find” him enough votes to overturn Bide... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, April 28, 2022
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1/ Biden asked Congress for $33 billion in additional funding for military, economic, and humanitarian aid for Ukraine and “its fight for freedom.” The funding request includes more than $20 billion in military and security assistance, $2.6 billio... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
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1/ The White House is attempting to cobble together a narrower version of Biden’s Build Back Better bill that would win Joe Manchin’s support ahead of November’s elections. “There’s real fear inside the building that Manchin’s stonewalling will ru... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
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1/ Kamala Harris tested positive for Covid-19, making her the highest-ranking Biden administration official to report being infected. Harris received positive results on both rapid and PCR tests after returning from a weeklong trip to California, ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, April 25, 2022
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1/ A New York judge held Trump in contempt of court and fined him $10,000 a day for failing to turn over documents to the state’s attorney general. Judge Arthur Engoron said Trump failed to abide by his order to comply with the subpoena, and that ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, April 21, 2022
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1/ Biden announced another $800 million in military resources to Ukraine, calling it an “unmistakable message” to Putin that “he will never succeed in dominating and occupying all of Ukraine.” Biden added that the war was entering “a critical wind... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
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1/ The Biden administration is prepping another $800 million in weapons and assistance for Ukraine, which could be approved within the next 36 hours. Last week, Biden approved a package of aid for Ukraine that would provide “new capabilities inclu... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
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1/ The Biden administration will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that lifted the nationwide Covid-19 mask mandate on public transport if the CDC decides to extend the requirement, which is set to expire May 3. The Justice Department and the CDC “d... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, April 18, 2022
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1/ A federal judge in Florida struck down the Biden administration’s Covid-19 mask mandate for public transportation. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, a Trump appointee, said the CDC exceeded its authority and had incorrectly claimed t... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, April 14, 2022
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1/ Russia threatened to deploy nuclear weapons in the Baltic Sea region if Finland and Sweden join NATO. The threat came a day after Finland and Sweden officials suggested that they were stepping up consideration of joining the military alliance i... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, April 4, 2022
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1/ The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report warned that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius will likely be irrevocably out of reach within eight years. Holding global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial level... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
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1/ Trump’s Jan. 6 White House records are missing seven hours and 37 minutes of phone logs. The gap, which extends from a little after 11 a.m. to about 7 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, corresponds with the attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump’s supporters. ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, March 28, 2022
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1/ A federal judge asserted that Trump “more likely than not” committed felony obstruction in his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. “Based on the evidence, the Court finds it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly att... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, March 24, 2022
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1/ The U.S. and its allies imposed new sanctions on more than 400 Russian individuals and entities, including lawmakers, and defense companies. Biden said that while “sanctions never deter,” the “maintenance of sanctions, the increasing the pain” ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
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1/ The U.S. government formally accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine – four weeks after Russia launched its invasion. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that “based on information currently available, the U.S. gove... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
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1/ The Biden administration has exhausted the funds needed to purchase a potential fourth coronavirus vaccine dose for all Americans, unless lawmakers pass the $15 billion funding package. “Right now, we don’t have enough money for fourth doses, i... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, March 21, 2022
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1/ The Senate Judiciary Committee held the first day of confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Biden’s Supreme Court pick. Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to serve on the Supreme Court, pledged to decide cases “without fea... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, March 17, 2022
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1/ The House passed legislation to revoke Russia’s “most-favored-nation” trade status, which would allow the U.S. to impose higher tariffs on Russian goods. The legislation would suspend normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus, as well as r... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
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1/ Ukraine President Zelensky invoked Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11 terror attacks as he pleaded with the U.S. Congress for more help, telling lawmakers “we need you right now […] I call on you to do more.” The Ukrainian leader urged the U.S. to e... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
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1/ The White House will wind down a Covid-19 program that pays to test, treat, and vaccinate people who don’t have health insurance unless Congress approves more funding. The Biden administration also warned that the U.S. will soon run out of fund... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, March 14, 2022
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1/ NATO Secretary General warned that Russia’s false claim that the U.S. is working with Ukraine to develop biochemical weapons could be used by the Kremlin as a pretext for the use of chemical weapons. “We must remain vigilant because it is possi... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, March 10, 2022
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1/ The Biden administration warned that Russia could be preparing to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine after Russian officials accused the U.S. of funding “secret biological experiments” at laboratories in two Ukrainian cities. The Sta... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
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1/ The Pentagon rejected Poland’s offer to transfer its MiG-29 fighter jets to the U.S. for delivery to Ukraine, saying “we do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one” because there are “a range of logistical operational challenges” that wo... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
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1/ Biden banned all imports of oil and natural gas from Russia, punishing Russia for its “vicious war of choice” in Ukraine. “The United States is targeting the main artery of Russia’s economy,” Biden said. “We will not be part of subsidizing Puti... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, March 7, 2022
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1/ A bipartisan group of lawmakers reached a deal to ban the import of Russian energy and suspend normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus in response to the invasion of Ukraine. The bill also provides Biden with the authority to increase ta... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, March 3, 2022
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1/ The House select committee tasked with investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection says Trump violated multiple laws in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election. In a major release of its findings filed in federal court late Wednesday, the committee ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
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1/ During his first State of the Union speech, Biden condemned President Vladimir Putin, called on the world to support Ukraine, and made his case to Americans that his administration is working to overcome the coronavirus pandemic and return to a... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
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1/ Russian forces bombed Ukraine’s second-largest city and closed in on the capital on Monday. A 40-mile convoy consisting of hundreds of tanks and other vehicles moved on the capital Kyiv and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, shelling a residenti... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, February 28, 2022
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1/ The Biden administration expanded sanctions against Russia, cutting off U.S. transactions with the country’s central bank. The new sanctions effectively prohibit Americans from doing any business with Russia’s central bank as well as freezes it... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, February 24, 2022
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1/ Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine along three main fronts, marking the biggest land war in Europe since World War II. In televised remarks, Putin announced the start of a “special military operation” in Ukraine, adding that his goa... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
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1/ The Pentagon said 80% of the 190,000 Russian troops near Ukraine are now in combat-ready positions, suggesting that an invasion is most likely imminent. “They are literally ready to go now,” a senior defense official said. “It is our assessment... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
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1/ Biden announced “the first tranche” of new sanctions against Russia after Putin ordered troops into two Moscow-backed breakaway regions in Ukraine to carry out what Putin called “peacekeeping functions.” The sanctions, aimed at punishing Russia... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, February 17, 2022
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1/ Biden warned that “every indication” is that Putin will carry out an invasion of Ukraine “in the next several days.” Biden, maintaining there was a “diplomatic path” that avoids conflict, said the threat of a Russian invasion was “very high” an... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
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1/ Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there’s been “no meaningful pullback” of Russian forces at the Ukrainian border, disputing the Kremlin’s claim that it was withdrawing some troops. Blinken added that Russian troops “remain massed in a ver... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
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1/ Biden warned that a Russian invasion of Ukraine “remains distinctly possible” despite Putin’s claim that Moscow had withdrawn some troops from the border and that he was open to renewed talks to end the standoff with the West. Biden said the U.... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, February 14, 2022
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1/ The White House said it believes Russia could invade Ukraine at “essentially any time,” and Britain’s prime minister said Europe is “on the edge of a precipice.” Russia, meanwhile, left the door open to further negotiations with Russia’s foreig... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, February 10, 2022
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1/ U.S. inflation accelerated to 7.5% in January compared with a year ago – the steepest year-over-year increase since February 1982. It was the eighth straight month that inflation has been above 5% despite claims by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
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1/ New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois will ease mask requirements as the Omicron wave recedes, joining New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Oregon in lifting mandates. New York and Illinois will drop their mask-or-vaccine mandates for indoor busi... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
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1/ The House is scheduled to vote on a short-term funding bill to avert a shutdown and keep the federal government funded through March 11 while talks on a broader spending package continue. Funding is currently set to expire on February 18. Once ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, February 7, 2022
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1/ Jill Biden said that two years of tuition-free community college – her signature legislative initiative – is “no longer” part of the Build Back Better agenda, telling a group of educators that she is “disappointed” that the provision was droppe... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, February 3, 2022
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1/ The U.S. accused Russia of planning to fabricate a video showing an attack by Ukraine on Russia or Russian-speaking people as a pretext for an invasion. Defense Department press secretary John Kirby said the scheme to stage and film a fabricate... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
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1/ Biden directed the Pentagon to deploy more than 3,000 American troops to Eastern Europe to reinforce NATO allies as Russia continues its military buildup near Ukraine’s borders. Roughly 2,000 troops will be going to Poland, while another 1,000 ... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, February 1, 2022
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1/ Joe Manchin called Biden’s $2 trillion Build Back Better plan “dead.” When asked about the legislation, Manchin replied: “What Build Back Better bill? It’s dead.” Manchin, however, has said he remains open to a smaller bill aimed at reducing ca... Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, January 31, 2022
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1/ A bipartisan group of governors told Biden that the country needs to “move away from the pandemic.” The daily average of U.S. cases remains near 519,000 – more than double from last winter – while daily deaths are averaging more than 1,000 per day. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, said the U.S. should move toward treating the virus as endemic, asking Biden to “help give us clear guidelines on how we can return to a greater state of normality” in order to “move beyond the pandemic.” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat who also attended the meeting, added that “We’re not going to manage this to zero. We have to learn how to live with this.” White House officials, meanwhile, have reportedly grown so frustrated with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, saying he “is taking too passive a role in what may be the most defining challenge to the administration.” (CNN / New York Times / Washington Post)
2/ The FDA granted full approval to Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine. Moderna’s vaccine, which was previously available under emergency use authorization, is the second coronavirus vaccine to get full FDA approval. (Washington Post / Politico / New York Times)
3/ Biden’s nominee to lead the FDA doesn’t have the Senate votes needed to give the agency its first commissioner in more than a year. Biden nominated Robert Califf more than two months ago. Califf lead the FDA during the Obama administration, but the former commissioner has reportedly struggled to secure the support of the 50 senators needed over concerns about his past ties to the drug industry and regulatory track record on opioids. Five Democrats have signaled they’ll oppose him, while four Republicans have publicly backed his candidacy. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, meanwhile, indicated that she would support Califf’s nomination after he agreed to not seek employment or compensation from any pharmaceutical or medical device company that he interacts with “for four years” following his time in government. (Politico)
4/ The EPA will resume enforcing limits on the release of mercury from coal-fired power plants. The Trump administration reversed the 2012 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in May 2020, which were first implemented during the Obama administration, claiming they were not “appropriate and necessary” because they were too burdensome to industry. The EPA, however, determined that it was “appropriate and necessary” to limit mercury and other toxic air pollutants from power plants using the Obama-era method of measuring the impact of regulation, concluding that the costs to industry is offset by public health benefits, such as prevention of disease and premature deaths. The EPA is expected to start enforcing the rule later this year and said it’s also examining whether to make the rules more stringent. (New York Times / WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Thursday, January 27, 2022
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1/ The U.S. economy grew 5.7% in 2021 – its fastest pace since 1984, when the country was rebounding from a recession and an era of high inflation. From October to December, GDP increased at a 6.9% annualized pace. Consumer spending also jumped to 7.9%, the most since 1946, but consumer prices reached 7% – the fastest year-over-year inflation since 1982. A record-breaking 6.4 million jobs were also added in 2021. (Washington Post / Associated Press / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Politico / CNBC / Bloomberg / NBC News)
2/ The Biden administration’s coronavirus vaccine mandate for health care workers takes effect in roughly half the U.S. today, and will extend to the rest of the country in coming weeks. The mandate covers about 10 million workers at hospitals and nursing homes that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding. The Supreme Court blocked Biden’s vaccination-or-testing mandate for large employers earlier this month, but upheld a vaccination requirement for health care workers at facilities subsidized by federal funds. These medical facilities will lose funding if they do not comply. (Washington Post / New York Times)
3/ A record 14.5 million Americans signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act for 2022, eclipsing the previous enrollment record by nearly 2 million. “Health care should be a right, not a privilege, for all Americans,” Biden said, crediting the American Rescue Plan that Democrats in Congress passed last year, which increased subsidies and lifted the income cap to allow more people to be eligible for assistance. The enhanced benefits under the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package only last through the end of the year unless Congress takes further action. Biden’s proposed Build Back Better plan would extend the subsidies through 2025. Joe Manchin, however, has repeatedly said he opposes “a historic expansion of social programs” like Build Back Better because, he says, they would only feed inflation. (The Hill / NBC News / Washington Post / CBS News)
4/ Biden formally announced the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and reaffirmed his commitment to ...
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Wednesday, January 26, 2022
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1/ Justice Stephen Breyer will retire at the end of the current Supreme Court term. Breyer, at age 83, is the oldest member of the court and one of the three remaining liberal justices. After the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020 and the appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett by Trump, Breyer’s been under pressure to retire while Democrats control the Senate. Although Biden’s pick will not change the balance of the court, currently split 6-3 between conservative and liberal justices, the new nominee is expected to be a much younger liberal who could serve on the court for decades. The White House, meanwhile, said Biden remains committed to nominating the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. (NBC News / CNN / Politico / New York Times / Washington Post)
2/ Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. offered Russia a “serious diplomatic path forward” to de-escalating military threats against Ukraine. The U.S. and NATO formally responded to Russia’s demands that NATO pull back forces from Eastern Europe and bar Ukraine from ever joining the alliance. Russia also demanded that the U.S. “shall not establish military bases” in the territories of any former Soviet states that are not already members of NATO, or “use their infrastructure for any military activities or develop bilateral military cooperation with them.” The U.S. and NATO previously said those requests would not be accommodated. The response, which U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan hand-delivered to Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “sets out a serious diplomatic path forward, should Russia choose it,” Blinken said, adding: “The ball is in their court.” (NBC News / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / ABC News / CNBC / Washington Post)
3/ The Biden administration canceled two mining leases in Minnesota that had been granted under the Trump administration. The Interior Department said it found that the leases to extract copper, nickel, and other hardrock minerals near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness — were improperly renewed under Trump. The Obama Interior Department had blocked the Twin Metals Minnesota’s renewal request in December 2016 over concerns about the ecological and economic impact. (Washington Post / The Hill)
4/ The Federal Reserve said it would “soon” raise interest rates in order to ta...
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Tuesday, January 25, 2022
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1/ The seven-day average of Covid-19 deaths reached 2,188 a day – the highest level since February 2021 and up about 1,000 per day from two months ago. Omicron infections, however, are resulting in fewer hospitalizations than during the Delta wave in the fall. Pfizer, meanwhile, has begun a clinical trial to evaluate a new, Omicron-specific vaccine. (Wall Street Journal / New York Times / NPR)
2/ The Biden administration is withdrawing its Covid-19 vaccination and testing mandate for businesses, following the Supreme Court’s decision to block the requirement. The mandate would have applied to some 80 million people if it had not been struck down by the court, which described the regulation’s approach as “a blunt instrument.” (CNN / New York Times / CNBC)
3/ The White House warned that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is “imminent” and that Biden “may be moving” some troops into Eastern Europe to demonstrate American commitment to its NATO allies. Biden also said that he would consider personally sanctioning Putin if Russian forces invade Ukraine, warning of “enormous consequences” for Russia not only economically and politically but “worldwide.” Moscow, meanwhile, said it had “profound concern” over NATO’s military movements in eastern Europe, accusing the West of “building up tension” in the region. The Kremlin, however, announced military exercises on Ukraine’s border, including fighter jet and ballistic missile exercises. The Biden administration also announced that it was working with gas and crude oil suppliers to secure energy for European allies in the event that Moscow weaponizes energy supplies by cutting off fuel shipments. (CNN / Washington Post / New York Times / Bloomberg / USA Today / ABC News / CNBC)
4/ Federal prosecutors are reviewing fake Electoral College certifications that declared Trump the winner of states that he lost. The certificates contain the signatures of Trump supporters who falsely claimed to be the rightful electors in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, and New Mexico – all states that Biden won. The attorneys general in at least two of the seven states – Michigan and New Mexico – say they have referred investigations to federal prosecutors. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, meanwhile, confirmed that the Justice Department had “received tho...
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Monday, January 24, 2022
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1/ The Pentagon put 8,500 American troops on “high alert” as NATO and the U.S. prepare for a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. Biden has also reportedly discussed deploying several thousand U.S. troops, as well as warships and aircraft, to NATO allies in Eastern Europe. The options include sending 1,000 to 5,000 troops, with the potential to increase that number tenfold. The British government, meanwhile, warned that the Kremlin was planning to install a pro-Russian leader in Ukraine. And, the State Department ordered the families of all American personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine to leave, citing the “threat of Russian military action.” Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops and weaponry on Ukraine’s borders. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned that there will be “massive consequences” for Russia if it invades Ukraine. (CNN / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / Washington Post / CBS News)
2/ A draft executive order prepared for Trump would have authorized the secretary of defense to have National Guard troops seize voting machines following the 2020 election, and release an assessment 60 days later – well after Trump was set to leave office on Jan. 20, 2021. Additionally, the draft order – dated Dec. 16, 2020 but never signed by Trump – would have appointed a special counsel “to institute all criminal and civil proceedings as appropriate based on the evidence collected.” The document was titled “Remarks on National Healing” and was part of a trove of documents released by the National Archives to the committee after the Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s claim of executive privilege. (Politico / NBC News)
3/ A Fulton County Superior Court judge granted a request to seat a special grand jury to investigate Trump’s efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. The special grand jury will allow Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to issue subpoenas to compel witnesses to testify and to gather additional evidence. Willis said she expects to decide on whether to bring charges against Trump in the first half of 2022. (CNN / Washington Post)
4/ Former Attorney General William Ba...
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Thursday, January 20, 2022
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1/ Senate Republicans blocked voting rights legislation for the fifth time and then Democrats failed to unite behind changing the Senate’s filibuster rules to pass it anyway – despite all 50 Democrats supporting the voting rights bill. First, Democrats fell 10 votes short of the 60 needed to break the Republican filibuster. Then, Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema joined with Republicans in rejecting an effort to reinstate the “talking filibuster,” which would have allowed the elections legislation to pass by a simple majority vote. It is unclear how Democrats will proceed after the twin defeats, though some Republicans have appeared open to reforming the narrower election-related issue about how Congress deals with disputes over presidential election results. Biden, meanwhile, said he was “profoundly disappointed that the United States Senate has failed to stand up for our democracy.” (New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
2/ Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis requested a special grand jury to help investigate Trump and his efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. Willis said the grand jury was needed because a “significant number of witnesses and prospective witnesses have refused to cooperate with the investigation absent a subpoena requiring their testimony.” A grand jury could issue subpoenas compelling them to provide information. Willis said that Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, was among those who had refused to cooperate without a subpoena. In a Jan. 2, 2021, call, Trump pressured Raffensperger to “find” him enough votes to overturn the state’s presidential election results. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution / New York Times / CNBC)
3/ The Supreme Court rejected Trump’s request to block the release of more than 750 pages of his White House records related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The court’s order effectively rejected Trump’s claim of executive privilege and paves the way for the release of the material from the National Archives — which Biden has already approved. Congressional investigators have sought the documents, which include speech drafts, call and visitor logs, handwritten notes, and other files, to determine Trump’s actions and mindset in the weeks leading up to the Jan. 6 attack, as well as what he did as his supporters were rioting at the Capitol. Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the House committee investigating the attack, said the committee will make Trump’s White House records public “as soon as we can go through them.” (CNN / New ...
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Wednesday, January 19, 2022
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1/ Senate Democrats are pressing ahead on voting rights despite unified opposition from Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, and Senate Republicans. A vote on voting rights legislation is expected to happen tonight. Republicans are expected to block the bill, which will prompt Chuck Schumer to then hold a vote to change Senate rules to allow for a “talking filibuster” that only covers the voting package, allowing it to pass by a simple majority in the evenly divided Senate. Manchin and Sinema, however, are expected to oppose the proposed changes. Manchin, meanwhile, admonished Democrats’ effort to change the filibuster rules in order to pass voting rights legislation, calling it “a great misleading of the American people” and a “perilous course” for the nation, while accusing his Democratic colleagues of trying to take the “easy way out” by “break[ing] the rules to change the rules.” (Politico / CNN / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / CNN)
2/ Biden conceded that in order to get his Build Back Better agenda passed, Congress will have to “break it up” to get as much of it through as possible. “I’m confident we can get pieces, big chunks of the Build Back Better law signed into law,” Biden said, adding “and come back and fight for the rest later.” Biden pointed to roughly $500 billion in climate change provisions, funding for universal pre-kindergarten, and some financing provisions that he said had “clear” support. “I know that the two people who have opposed on the Democratic side at least, support a number of things that are in there,” Biden said, referring to Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. (CNBC / CNN / The Hill / NPR)
3/ The U.S. will make 400 million N95 masks available for free at pharmacies and community health centers starting next week. The move, which officials called the “largest deployment of personal protective equipment in U.S. history,” comes days after the CDC updated its mask guidance to recommend that people wear “the most protective mask you can that fits well and that you will wear consistently.” The masks will be sourced from the Strategic National Stockpile, which has more than 750 million masks on hand. (Bloomberg / Washington Post / Associated Press / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
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1/ The Senate started debate on voting rights legislation even though the measure appears all but dead – a day after Democrats failed to meet their symbolic deadline to pass election reform by Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Consideration of the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act kicked off with Chuck Schumer warning “the eyes of the nation will be watching what happens this week in the United States Senate.” Republicans, however, are determined to filibuster the bills. While Democrats plan to vote on changing Senate rules in order to pass the legislation, they lack the votes needed due to opposition from Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, despite both saying they support the bills. Debate is expected to continue into Wednesday or Thursday. Once it ends, the Senate will vote on a motion to end debate and move to a final vote on the bills, which is expected to fall short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a GOP filibuster. Senate Democrats are reportedly leaning toward voting on the revival of the so-called “talking filibuster” – which Sinema and Manchin won’t support either – that would, after lengthy debate, require a simple majority to advance any bill toward final passage. Schumer, however, made clear that the election reform vote and the associated filibuster reform would go forward, regardless if it’s guaranteed fail, saying: “If Republicans choose to continue the filibuster of voting rights legislation, we must consider and vote on the rules changes. Long odds are no excuse for this chamber to avoid this important issue. Again, members of this chamber were elected to debate and to vote. We’re going to vote.” (New York Times / Bloomberg / Politico / NBC News / ABC News / CNN / Wall Street Journal)
2/ Top career officials at the Census Bureau warned of “unprecedented” meddling by Trump’s political appointees in 2020. Officials wanted to address “an unusually high degree of engagement in technical matters” and “direct engagement” by political appointees with Wilbur Ross, who was then the secretary of the Commerce Department, which oversees the bureau. At the time, the Trump administration was pressing the bureau to end the count weeks early so that if Trump lost the election in November, he could still use the census numbers used to redistribute political representation in the House before leaving office. Ross, meanwhile, said he had no recollection of the memo. (New York Times / NPR / CNN)
3/ A fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose may not be sufficient at preventing breakthrough Omicron infections, according to a preliminary study in Israel. The early data suggests that a fourth dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna coronavirus vaccine can bring an increase in antibodies, but the level of antibodies nee...
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Thursday, January 13, 2022
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1/ The global average surface temperature in 2021 was the sixth-highest since reliable temperature record-keeping began in 1880 – marking the 45th consecutive year that global surface temperatures were above average. More than two dozen countries set their warmest years ever in 2021, while the U.S. recorded its hottest summer since 1936. July was the hottest month humanity has recorded. 2021 was also the seventh year in a row that global temperatures were more than 1 degree Celsius above the preindustrial average. Overall, 2021 ranked seventh lowest for Northern Hemisphere snow cover, ninth smallest for average Arctic sea ice extent, and 10th highest for number of named tropical storms. (Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / The Guardian)
2/ Kyrsten Sinema will not support changing the Senate filibuster to pass voting rights legislation under any circumstance. In a Senate floor speech – just before Biden arrived at the Capitol to meet with all 50 Senate Democrats – Sinema said: “While I continue to support these bills, I will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division infecting our country.” She added: “We must address the disease itself, the disease of division, to protect our democracy, and it cannot be achieved by one party alone.” Sinema’s comments came after the House approved a measure to combine the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act into a single bill. Chuck Schumer has said the Senate would begin debate on the House-passed bill by Monday, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. It will be the Senate’s fifth attempt to consider voting rights legislation after Republicans used the filibuster four times to prevent the bills from ever reaching the floor. Biden, meanwhile, conceded that “the honest to god answer is I don’t know whether we can get this done.” (Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / CNN / Bloomberg)
3/ The Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a vaccine-or-testing mandate for large employers. The rule would have applied to nearly 80 million American workers, and OSHA estimated that it would cause 22 million people to get vaccinated, prevent 250,000 hospitalizations, and save over 6,500 lives. The court, however, allowed a separate mandate requiring health care workers at facilities receiving federal money to be vaccinated. (New York Times / Associated Press / NBC NewsVisit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
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1/ The White House will provide 10 million free coronavirus tests a month to U.S. schools to help keep classes in person. The expanded testing initiative comes as the country is seeing an Omicron-driven surge of cases that risks overwhelming the nation’s hospitals. At a Senate hearing, Dr. Janet Woodcock, the acting commissioner of the FDA, warned that the nation needs to ensure police, hospital, and transportation services aren’t disrupted by the wave, saying “It’s hard to process what’s actually happening right now, which is, most people are going to get Covid.” Dr. Anthony Fauci, meanwhile, added that the Omicron variant will infect “just about everybody” regardless of vaccination status, adding that “If you’re vaccinated, and if you’re boosted the chances of your getting sick are very, very low.” (Washington Post / NBC News /Washington Post / New York Times / CNBC / Wall Street Journal)
2/ Inflation increased 7% in 2021 – the fastest pace in 40 years. Consumer price rise exceeded 6% year over year for third straight month. While high, on a month-to-month basis, prices rose 0.5% in December, which was lower than the 0.8% measure in November and 0.9% in October. Biden said that “demonstrates that we are making progress in slowing the rate of price increases,” but conceded that the report “underscores that we still have more work to do, with price increases still too high and squeezing family budgets.” Joe Manchin, meanwhile, called the report “very, very troubling.” Manchin has repeatedly warned “a historic expansion of social programs” like Build Back Better would only feed inflation and has cited high prices as one of the reasons he won’t back the legislation. (New York Times / Politico / Associated Press / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / CNN)
3/ The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol asked House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to voluntarily provide information about his communications with Trump and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Committee Chair Bennie Thompson said he wanted to hear about discussions McCarthy had with Meadows ahead of the attack, along with McCarthy’s communications with Trump during and after the violence. “It appears that you may also have discussed with President Trump the potential he would face a censure resolution, impeachment, or removal under the 25th Amendment,” Thompson wrote. “It also appears that you may have identified other possible options, including President Trump’s immediate resignation from office.” In particular, the panel said it was interested in a phone call that McCarthy had with Trump during the riot ...
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Tuesday, January 11, 2022
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1/ Biden endorsed “getting rid of the filibuster” in order to pass voting rights legislation. With less than 10 months until the 2022 midterms, Biden said “this is the moment to defend our democracy” and that the repeated obstruction of election reform by Senate Republicans had left Democrats with “no option but to change the Senate rules […] to prevent a minority of senators from blocking action on voting rights.” In his remarks, Biden cited the Jan. 6 insurrection, characterizing the “violent mob” of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol to try to stop Biden’s electoral college win as an “attempted coup.” He added that the only way to protect the right to vote and ensure election security was to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. “Pass it now,” Biden said. “I am tired of being quiet.” Changing the Senate rules, however, would require the support of all 50 Democrats and the vote of Kamala Harris to break a tie. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, meanwhile, have expressed strong public opposition to changing filibuster rules, and several other Democrats, including Mark Kelly, Jon Tester, and Jeanne Shaheen, haven’t committed to changing the Senate rules to allow elections reform legislation to pass by a simple majority. (NBC News / New York Times / ABC News / Politico / Washington Post / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / CNN)
2/ A record 145,982 people are in U.S. hospitals with Covid-19, passing the record of 142,273 set on Jan. 14, 2021. Overall the seven-day average of new cases stood at more than 714,600 – up 74% from a week ago. The U.S., however, reported 1.34 million cases in a single day on Monday, beating the previous record of 1,044,970 cases, which was set on Jan. 3. The daily average of new deaths was 1,674 – up 6% from a week earlier. (Washington Post / NBC News)
3/ The CDC is considering updating its mask guidance to recommend that people opt for N95 or KN95 masks rather than cloth face coverings. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky previously declined to officially recommend Americans wear N95s regularly. The White House, meanwhile, is weighing whether to offer better, higher quality masks, like KN95 or N95s, to all Americans for free. A senior administration official, however, said the effort would make little difference because “half the country won’t wear any mask.” A half dozen former health policy makers, including members of Biden’s transition team, said the Biden administration needs a reset on its Covid-19 strategy because “trust in the CDC, it feels like we have gone backwards.” (Washington Post / WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, January 10, 2022
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1/ More than 5,400 K-12 schools stopped in-person instruction at some point last week due to the coronavirus pandemic. Coronavirus-related shutdowns during the 2021-2022 school year had previously peaked at about 2,800 in November. Meanwhile, classes in Chicago’s school district, the third largest in the country, have been canceled since last Tuesday after 73% of teachers voted to stop reporting to work amid concerns over the rapidly spreading Omicron variant. (Washington Post / New York Times)
2/ The Biden administration will require private health insurers to reimburse people for up to eight over-the-counter Covid-19 tests per month beginning Jan. 15. Under the new policy, Americans will be able to either purchase home testing kits for free under their insurance or submit receipts for the tests for reimbursement, up to the monthly per-person limit. PCR tests and rapid tests ordered or administered by a health provider will continue to be covered by insurance with no limit. (Associated Press / Politico)
3/ Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and Rep. Mo Brooks asked a federal judge to dismiss three lawsuits alleging that they incited the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell, two members of the Capitol Police, and a group of House Democrats have each accused Trump of inciting the insurrection. The suit filed by Swalwell also named Giuliani and Brooks. The suit from 11 House Democrats claimed Trump and Giuliani violated the Ku Klux Klan Act, which prohibits interference in Congress’s constitutional duties. During a hearing on the lawsuits, Trump argued he has “absolute immunity” from liability in the three civil suits and claimed that his speech outside the White House before the riot – urging attendees to “fight like hell” and march to the Capitol “to make your voices heard” – were protected by the First Amendment. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, however, repeatedly highlighted that Trump’s last words were “‘go to the Capitol,’” but that Trump waited two hours to ask people to stop the violence. “What do I do about the fact the president didn’t denounce the conduct immediately?” Mehta continued: “Isn’t that, from a plausibility standpoint, that the President plausibly agreed with the conduct of the people inside the Capitol that day?” (Washington Post / Politico / CBS News / CNN)
- Fox News hosts were more influential in Trump’s White House than previously known. “There were times the president would come down the next morning and say, ‘Well, Sean thinks we should do this,’ or, ‘Judge Jeanine thinks we should do this,’ ” said Grisham, referring to Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro. (Washington Post / Rolling Stone)
4/ Rep. Jim Jordan will not cooperate with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capi...
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Thursday, January 6, 2022
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1/ Biden condemned Trump and his allies of holding “a dagger at the throat of America,” denouncing “the former president” for promoting a “web of lies” and going to extraordinary lengths to cling to power because he “can’t accept he lost” a free and fair election. Speaking from Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol on the anniversary of that Jan. 6 attack, Biden said “for the first time time in our history, a president not just lost the election, he tried to prevent a peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol.” Biden charged Trump with waging an “undemocratic” and “un-American” campaign to “pre-emptively sow doubt about the election results,” adding that Trump bears “singular responsibility” for the attack. “You can’t love your country only when you win,” Biden said. “You can’t obey the law only when it’s convenient. You can’t be patriotic when you embrace and enable lies.” (Washington Post / NBC News / NPR / Politico / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNBC / ABC News / CNN)
2/ Republicans accused Democrats of “exploiting” the deadly Jan. 6 attack for political purposes instead of “conducting basic oversight” of Capitol security. Top Republicans, however, were nowhere to be found at the Capitol as Biden and members of Congress commemorated the deadliest attack on the building in centuries. In a statement, Mitch McConnell called Jan. 6 “a dark day for Congress and our country” before accusing Democrats of trying to “exploit this anniversary” to advance voting rights protections that Republicans have repeatedly blocked. (NBC News / New York Times)
3/ Federal judges in D.C. have imposed lighter sentences than prosecutors have sought in 49 out of 74 sentencings held for Capitol riot defendants so far. Of the 701 federal defendants, 174 of defendants have pleaded guilty to storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, and 74 have been sentenced, but nearly all for misdemeanors. Of the 74 people who have been sentenced, fewer than half have received prison time for their actions. (Washington Post / Politico)
4/ The number of children in U.S. hospitals with Covid-19 more than doubled to over 4,000 in less than two weeks. An averag...
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Wednesday, January 5, 2022
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1/ The CDC’s independent vaccine advisory committee recommended booster doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for 12- to 17-year olds. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is expected to accept the recommendation and make it official policy later today. The CDC also updated its vaccine guidance, recommending that individuals who received the Pfizer shot get a booster five months after getting their second shot instead of six. The updated guidance means nearly 6 million more people are now eligible for a booster shot. (Washington Post / NBC News / Axios / CNBC)
2/ The CDC will not add a testing requirement to its isolation guidelines for people infected with Covid-19 who want to end their isolation after five days. Last week, the agency shortened the time people should isolate after they test positive from 10 days to five if they’re free of fever and their symptoms have improved – no test required. The CDC also said it is not changing the definition of being fully vaccinated to include booster shots. “Individuals are considered fully vaccinated against Covid-19 if they’ve received their primary series. That definition is not changing,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said. (NPR / NBC News / ABC News)
3/ Coronavirus cases have been reported on all 92 cruise ships sailing with passengers in U.S. waters, according to the CDC. In every case, the CDC has either started an investigation or has investigated and continues to observe the ship. Last week, the CDC warned all travelers, including those who are vaccinated, to avoid cruise ships. (Washington Post)
4/ Trump canceled his planned Jan. 6 news conference to mark the first anniversary of the attack on the Capitol by a mob of his supporters, blaming the media and the bipartisan congressional committee investigating the attack. Instead, Trump promised to “discuss many of those important topics” at a rally he is planning for Jan. 15 in Arizona. Republican senators had said a press conference from Mar-a-Lago wasn’t a “good idea.” (Washington Post / Politico / New York Times)
5/ Trump’s former press secretary will speak to the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol today. Stephanie Grisham resigned from the White House on Jan. 6 in response to the riot. Separately, Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of select committee, wants Pence to voluntarily speak with the panel about what he witnessed on Jan. 6 and the conversations he had with Trump and allies in the days leading up to the a...
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Tuesday, January 4, 2022
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1/ The U.S. reported more than 1 million new Covid-19 infections – a single-day record for new cases for any country in the world. The seven-day average of cases climbed to 485,363 on Monday, more than doubling in the span of a week. The U.S. is reporting a seven-day average of about 1,200 Covid-19 deaths – well below last year’s holiday season when the January 2021 daily average was above 3,000 – and about 98,000 daily hospitalizations, a figure that’s approaching September’s peak Delta wave levels of about 103,000. The CDC estimates that the Omicron variant now accounts for up to 95% of all U.S. Covid-19 cases – up from 77% in the previous week. (CNBC / NBC News / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)
2/ The U.S. doubled its order of Pfizer’s coronavirus antiviral pills, bringing the government’s total order of the drug to 20 million treatment courses. Monthly deliveries of Paxlovid, however, are not expected to ramp up into the millions until April and the combined order is not due to be filled until the end of September. Doctors, meanwhile, say the limited initial supply of the pills means they’re unlikely to alleviate the current strain on hospitals due to the Omicron surge. (Washington Post / New York Times)
3/ A record 4.5 million Americans voluntarily left their jobs in November – up from the 4.2 million who left or changed jobs in October, and surpassing the previous record of 4.4 million in September. The Labor Department also reported that employers posted 10.6 million job openings in November, down from 11.1 million in October but well above pre-pandemic levels. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, has fallen to 4.2%, close to what’s considered full employment. (Politico / CNN / New York Times / Bloomberg / Washington Post)
4/ Joe Manchin told reporters he’s had “no negotiations” with Democrats about reviving Biden’s $1.75 trillion social and climate spending bill. Last month, Manchin said he opposed the House-passed version of the bill, ending his party’s hopes of passing the package before the end of 2021. “I’m really not going to talk about Build Back Better because I think I’ve been very clear on that,” Manchin said outside his office today, adding that he feels “as strongly today” as he did in December about his concerns that the plan could exacerbate high inflation. When asked about possible rule changes to the filibuster, Manchin called it a “heavy lift” and indicated that his “absolute preference” is to do it with Republican support. Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, warned that Manchin will have to vote on Biden’s signature spending bill at some point, saying “I intend to hold a vote in the Senate on BBB and we’ll keep voting until we get a bill passed. The stakes ar...
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Monday, January 3, 2022
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1/ The U.S. reported a pandemic record 403,385 Covid-19 cases over the past week – about 60% higher than the previous U.S. peak in Jan. 2021. The seven-day PCR test positive rate in the U.S. hit 17% – the highest since April 2020. The number of tests reported by states, however, are running below the 2021 highs, which suggests that cases are significantly undercounted. Hospitalizations and deaths, meanwhile, remain below previous peaks. Dr. Brian Monahan, the attending physician for Congress, warned of an “unprecedented” number of cases among members and staff, saying the seven-day coronavirus positivity rate within the Capitol has gone from less than 1% to greater than 13%, with Omicron making up a majority of those cases. (Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / Politico)
2/ The FDA authorized booster shots of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds. The agency also shortened the timeframe between the second and third shots to at least five months, down from six months. The agency will also allow some immunocompromised children ages 5 to 11 to get a third dose. (NPR / Politico / New York Times / Washington Post / CBS News)
3/ Twitter “permanently suspended” the personal account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for “repeated violations” of its Covid-19 misinformation policies. The suspension came after she published a tweet falsely suggesting “extremely high amounts of Covid vaccine deaths.” Facebook, meanwhile, suspended Greene 24 hours for spreading similar misinformation about the coronavirus. (NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / New York Times)
4/ New York Attorney General Letitia James subpoenaed Ivanka Trump and Trump Jr. as part of her civil tax fraud investigation into the Trump Organization. Ivanka and Trump Jr., however, have refused to comply with subpoenas. The attorney general’s office previously subpoenaed Trump for testimony and set a Jan. 7 deadline. Eric Trump was previously subpoenaed and provided testimony in Oct. 2020. (NBC News / WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
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1/ U.S. Covid-19 cases hit their highest level of the pandemic. The U.S. reported 441,278 new Covid-19 cases Tuesday – the highest single-day total – and surpassing the previous daily record by nearly 150,000. The seven-day average of U.S. cases topped 267,000 – more than double the rate in early December – exceeding the previous high mark of about 252,000 average daily cases set on Jan. 11, 2021. Hospitalizations and deaths, meanwhile, have been rising, but remain far below peak levels. The CDC reported that Omicron accounted for 58.6% of all Covid-19 cases in the U.S., while the Delta variant accounted for 41.1% of cases. (Politico / New York Times / NBC News / CNBC / Bloomberg)
2/ The CDC defended its decision to shorten the recommended isolation from 10 to five days for asymptomatic individuals who test positive for Covid-19, saying “we must adapt” as the coronavirus has also “proven its ability to adapt quickly.” The agency said the change in guidance was “motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness.” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, however, acknowledged that minimizing disruptions to the economy in part motivated the decision, saying it “really had a lot to do with what we thought people would be able to tolerate […] that people were willing to adhere to.” As part of the updated guidance, the CDC did not recommend that people test negative for Covid-19 before reentering society, which public health experts and union leaders have criticized as reckless because it relies on people’s self-judgment to assess their transmission risk – which could lead to more spread and more Covid-19 cases. Instead, the CDC recommended that those ending their isolation can go back to their regular activities as long as they wear a mask for an additional five days. (Politico / NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / NPR / NBC News)
3/ Biden conceded that his efforts to expand Covid-19 testing capacity is “not enough. It’s clearly not enough,” adding that the long testing lines over the Christmas weekend “shows that we have more work to do.” The Biden administration, however, announced plans to order 500 million at-home test kits, which officials expect the free tests to be available as early as January. During a meeting between state leaders and members of his Covid-19 response team, Biden added: “I wish I had thought about ordering a half a billion [tests] two months ago,” before the recent surge. The FDA, meanwhile, said preliminary research shows some rapid antigen tests may be less ...
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Wednesday, December 22, 2021
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1/ Biden announced that pandemic relief for federal student loan borrowers will be extended once again until May 1, 2022. The extension affects about 41 million borrowers, including nearly 27 million who haven’t been paying their monthly bill since early in 2020. (New York Times / NPR / CNN / CNBC / Associated Press)
2/ The FDA issued an emergency use authorization for the first pill for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 cases in adults and children ages 12 and older. The Pfizer pill, Paxlovid, is a faster way to treat early COVID-19 infections, though initial supplies will be extremely limited. All of the previously authorized drugs against the disease require an IV or an injection. “The efficacy is high, the side effects are low and it’s oral,” said Dr. Gregory Poland of the Mayo Clinic. “It checks all the boxes.” (Associated Press)
3/ Corporate donations to Sen. Joe Manchin’s PAC surged as he fought against Biden’s agenda. The political action committee received 17 contributions in October and 19 last month, according to a CNBC analysis of Federal Election Commission filings. (CNBC)
4/ The House committee investigating the Capitol riot is seeking information about Rep. Jim Jordan’s contact with Trump on Jan. 6. Committee investigators want to ask Jordan about “possibly multiple communications” he had with Trump on the day of the invasion, according to a letter from committee chair Bennie Thompson. The Ohio Republican has emerged as the top conduit for GOP House members involved in Trump’s efforts to overturn the election. (CNN / CNBC / Washington Post)
5/ A judge rejected a bid by former Trump advisor Michael Flynn to block a subpoena for his Jan. 6 phone records a day after he filed suit. Flynn claimed in federal court in Florida that the subpoena issued to him by the House Jan. 6 committee was too broad and that it punishes him for constitutionally protected speech as a private citizen. The judge, however, left the door open for Flynn to renew his bid if he thinks he can satisfy two issues that the judge cited in denying a restraining order against the committee. (CNBC / CNN / The Guardian / NBC News)
6/ A member of the Proud Boys pleaded guilty for his ro...
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Friday, December 17, 2021
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1/ Biden acknowledged that the Build Back Better bill will not clear Congress this year despite efforts and pledges by Democrats to pass the $1.75 trillion social spending and climate bill before Christmas. “It takes time to finalize these agreements, prepare the legislative changes, and finish all the parliamentary and procedural steps needed to enable a Senate vote,” Biden said after it became clear that his team, so far, has failed to secure Joe Manchin’s vote. Pushing back the Build Back Better bill until next year means that the Dec. 15 child tax credit payments, which have been sent to families for the past six months but expired Wednesday, will be the last ones until the program is renewed. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the administration has “talked to Treasury officials and others about doing double-payments in February as an option,” if the Build Back Better Act passes in January. (Politico / Bloomberg / CNBC / Business Insider / Bloomberg)
2/ The Senate parliamentarian rejected the Democrats plan to include immigration reform in the social spending bill for the third time. Elizabeth MacDonough said provisions to extend work permits and provide temporary deportation protections for some immigrants who have been in the U.S. since before 2011 don’t comply with Senate rules associated with the reconciliation process. A so-called reconciliation bill can’t have provisions that are driven more by policy changes than by changes in the federal budget. Democrats had argued that the work permits and other provisions would have a budgetary impact. (Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / NPR / Politico / Bloomberg)
3/ The Trump administration engaged in “deliberate efforts” to undermine the nation’s response to the coronavirus for political purposes, the House Select subcommittee on the coronavirus said in a report. The committee said the administration repeatedly overruled public health and testing guidance by the nation’s top infectious disease experts, blocked officials from speaking publicly in order to promote Trump’s political agenda, and attempted to interfere with other public health guidance. The subcommittee also found that the Trump White House blocked the CDC from conducting public briefings for more than three months after a top CDC official in late-February 2020 “accurately warned the public about the risks posed by the coronavirus.” (NBC News / CNN)
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Wednesday, December 15, 2021
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1/ Talks between Biden and Joe Manchin reportedly soured over the size and scope of the $1.75 trillion climate and social safety net legislation. Manchin continued to push for spending reductions, including eliminating the measure’s expanded child tax credit – a federal program that sends monthly tax credit checks to roughly 35 million families with young children. The final child tax credit payments went out today and the program is set to expire at the end of this year, unless lawmakers reauthorize it as part of the Build Back Better Act. Manchin, however, denied that his resistance to the bill was related to the inclusion of the child tax credits, telling reporters: “I’m not negotiating with any of you all, okay? […] This is bulls—. You’re bulls—. Okay. I’m done, I’m done!” Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, hasn’t said he’ll delay work on the bill, but the unresolved disputes with Manchin make it increasingly likely that Democrats will miss their self-imposed deadline to pass BBB before the end of the year. (Washington Post / Associated Press / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNBC / NBC News / The Hill)
2/ The House voted to hold Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress over his refusal to cooperate with the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The former White House chief of staff initially provided numerous documents to the committee before he abruptly stopped cooperating with the panel a day before his scheduled Dec. 8 deposition, claiming executive privilege. The matter now goes to the Justice Department, which will decide whether to pursue criminal charges. Before the vote, lawmakers shared a series of text messages – from Fox News personalities, Trump Jr., and unnamed lawmakers – sent to Meadows as a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, urging him to get Trump to end the violence. At least half a dozen people, including Rep. Jim Jordan, reached out during the riot to Meadows to get Trump to intervene. (NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / NPR / ABC News / WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, December 13, 2021
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1/ Joe Manchin signaled concerns about inflation and the cost and structure of the Democrats’ $1.7 trillion climate and social spending bill ahead of a phone call with Biden on the bill. Manchin, objecting to the way the entire bill is constructed, indicated that he’s concerned that the Build Back Better legislation relies on temporary spending that will likely become permanent, which – he says – hides the true costs over 10 years. “Inflation is real, it’s not transitory,” Manchin said. “It’s alarming. It’s going up, not down. And I think that should be something we’re concerned about.” Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, is pressing for the Senate to adopt the bill by Christmas. Manchin, however, hasn’t committed to the timeline. (Politico / The Hill / CNN / Bloomberg / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal)
2/ The U.S. surpassed 800,000 Covid-19 deaths – more than any other nation. About 600,000 of the 800,000 who have died so far have been 65 or older, and one in 100 older Americans has died from the coronavirus. For people younger than 65, the ratio is closer to 1 in 1,400. The total number of known coronavirus cases in the U.S. has surpassed 50 million. (New York Times / NBC News)
3/ The Supreme Court denied an emergency request to block New York’s coronavirus vaccine mandate for health care workers, doctors, and nurses. The legal challenge was filed by a group of 20 doctors and nurses who argued that the vaccine mandate violated the First Amendment because it allowed for medical objections exemptions but not for people with religious objections. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Clarence Thomas dissented, with Gorsuch criticizing New York Governor Kathy Hochul for saying in September that unvaccinated people “aren’t listening to God and what God wants” while defending the lack of a religious exemption. (CNBC / CNN / Bloomberg)
4/ Mark Meadows turned over a PowerPoint presentation suggesting that Trump could declare a national security emergency in order to delay the certification of the 2020 election to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. A version of the PowerPoint, which spanned 38 pages and was titled “Election fraud, Foreign Interference and Options for 6 JAN,” was sent to Meadows on Jan. 5, and recommended that Trump declare a national emergency, seize paper ballots, and for all electronic voting to be rendered invalid, citing foreign “control” of electronic voting systems. Phil Waldron, a retired U.S. Army colonel who worked with Trump’s outside lawyers and circulated the proposals to ...
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Friday, December 10, 2021
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1/ The Supreme Court allowed abortion providers in Texas to challenge the new state law that essentially bans abortions after about six weeks. The law – the most restrictive in the country – remains in place while abortion providers challenge the law in federal court. But at the same time, the court limited which state officials could be sued by abortion providers to four licensing officials who are involved with enforcement of SB8. Separately, the court also dismissed a challenge to the law brought by the Justice Department. White House press secretary Jen Psaki, meanwhile, said Biden was “very concerned” about the ruling, which is “a reminder of how much these rights are at risk.” (NPR / CNN / New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / NBC News / ABC News / CBS News / USA Today / Associated Press)
2/ A federal appeals court rejected Trump’s effort to stop the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol from obtaining his White House records. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously denied Trump’s request to block the National Archives from releasing roughly 800 pages of Trump documents, saying Biden’s decision not to invoke executive privilege over the material outweighed Trump’s residual secrecy powers. The court said Congress had a “uniquely vital interest” in studying the events of Jan. 6 and that Biden had made a “carefully reasoned” decision that the documents were in the public interest when he declined to assert executive privilege. “On the record before us, former President Trump has provided no basis for this court to override President Biden’s judgment and the agreement and accommodations worked out between the Political Branches over these documents,” the panel concluded. The court, however, paused its ruling for two weeks so that Trump could seek a Supreme Court intervention. (Associated Press / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / NBC News / Politico / WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
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1/ Preliminary laboratory tests suggest that three doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine offer significant protection against the Omicron variant. The early data, which has not been peer reviewed or published, found that a third dose increased antibodies 25-fold compared with two doses against Omicron. The lab findings also indicate that the two-dose regimen “may not be sufficient” to protect against infection with Omicron, but may still protect against severe disease. Dr. Anthony Fauci, meanwhile, added that the emerging evidence suggests Omicron may be more transmissible than previous variants but cause less severe illness. (New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNN / Politico)
2/ A U.S. District Court judge temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s mandate for federal contractors to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Judge Stan Baker of the Southern District of Georgia said Biden likely exceeded his authority under the Procurement Act when he issued the Sept. 9 mandate, which applies to roughly a quarter of the U.S. workforce. The White House originally gave contractors until Dec. 8 to comply but later pushed back the deadline until Jan. 4. Senate Republicans, meanwhile, are expected to invoke and pass the Congressional Review Act to force a vote on a potential repeal of Biden’s employer vaccine mandate. Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Jon Tester have said they support the legislation. The bill would still have to pass the House and overcome a presidential veto. Nancy Pelosi, however, has said she does not plan to schedule a vote on the repeal in the House. (Bloomberg / CNBC / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / The Hill)
3/ The House approved legislation to create a one-time pathway for Senate Democrats to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling without Republican support, who have refused to drop their blockade against legislation to raise the borrowing cap long-term in protest of Biden’s economic agenda. The House took the first step to implement the plan by passing the measure 222-212, which allows Democrats to raise the debt ceiling once using a simple majority in the Senate rather than the 60 votes needed for most legislation. At least 10 Republicans in the Senate now need to support that bill in order to set up the process for Democrats to then increase the debt ceiling by a simple majority vote. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the d...
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Monday, December 6, 2021
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1/ The Biden administration announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, citing China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses.” American athletes, however, are free to participate in the games. Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, as well as human rights advocates, have called on the Biden administration to pressure Beijing over abuses against the Uyghur community (which has been declared a genocide both by Biden and the Trump administration), a crackdown on pro-democracy free speech protests in Hong Kong, China’s recent aggression toward Taiwan, pursuit of hypersonic weapons, and its secrecy surrounding the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the White House is looking to send a “clear message” that the human rights abuses in China mean there cannot be “business as usual.” (New York Times / Politico / NBC News / Washington Post / Bloomberg / CNN / CNBC)
2/ The Justice Department sued Texas over its plan to redraw congressional and state legislative voting districts, alleging that the Republican-led legislature’s redistricting plans disenfranchise minorities in violation of the Voting Rights Act. Texas’ redistricting plan “denies Black and Latino voters the equal opportunity to participate in the election process,” and was created “with discriminatory intent,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said. The suit claims Texas is “refusing to recognize the State’s growing minority electorate” and asks the court to stop the state from holding elections under the new maps and to redraw Texas’s congressional and state House districts for 2022. The Justice Department previously sued Texas, as well as Georgia, over laws limiting ballot access. (Politico / NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / USA Today / CNBC)
3/ The metadata in a draft letter written by a Trump Justice Department official “indicates some involvement with the White House” in Trump’s failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election. In Dec. 2020, Jeffrey Clark drafted a letter to the Georgia governor and legislative leadership urging them to convene a special session of the le...
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Friday, December 3, 2021
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1/ Biden signed legislation to keep the government funded through Feb. 18 after Republicans dropped a threat to force a shutdown over the administration’s vaccine mandates. The House passed the measure 221-212, sending it to the Senate, where a handful of Republican senators threatened to hold up the measure over the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate on private employers. Senators, however, voted down an amendment on the issue on a 48-to-50 vote, with two Republicans absent. The Senate then voted 69-28 to approve the spending bill. “Funding the government isn’t a great achievement,” Biden said. “It’s a bare minimum of what we need to get done.” Democrats and Republicans will now turn to several must-pass items in the coming weeks, which include increasing the debt limit and passing the annual National Defense Authorization Act. Chuck Schumer has also promised a vote before Christmas on Biden’s roughly $2 trillion Build Back Better legislation. (NPR / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / ABC News / Washington Post / CNBC)
2/ The U.S. added 210,000 jobs to the economy in in November – the smallest gain since December 2020 – while the unemployment rate fell to 4.2% from 4.6% – a new pandemic-era low. Economists had expected more than half a million new jobs in November. So far the U.S. has recovered about 82% of the jobs lost during the pandemic. “Simply put, America, America is back to work,” Biden said. “Because of the extraordinary strides we’ve made, we can look forward to a brighter, happier New Year, in my view.” (CNBC / NBC News / CNN / Politico / NPR / New York Times / CBS News / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / Bloomberg)
3/ New research indicates that the Omicron variant is spreading more than twice as quickly as Delta, which was previously the most contagious form of the coronavirus. Researchers concluded that the Omicron mutation has a “substantial ability to evade immunity from prior infection” and that the variant is at least three times more likely to cause reinfection than previous variants, such as Beta and Delta. In the U.S., Omicron has been detected in five states. The CDC also reported that nearly 2.2 million vaccine doses were administered over a 24-hour period ending Thursday – the largest single-day total ...
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Wednesday, December 1, 2021
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1/ The Supreme Court appeared likely to uphold a Mississippi law that bans almost all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. At issue is Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, a 2018 Mississippi law that banned abortions for women roughly two months earlier than current Supreme Court precedent allows. It is the most direct challenge to Roe v. Wade in nearly three decades. Lower courts have blocked the law, ruling that it violated the Supreme Court’s decisions in 1973’s Roe v. Wade, as well as 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Those rulings held that women have a fundamental right to an abortion, states cannot ban abortion before the point of fetal viability — roughly between 22 and 24 weeks — and that laws restricting abortion should not pose an “undue burden.” Mississippi, however, appealed the decision to the Supreme Court and asked the justices to reverse all its prior abortion decisions outright and return the abortion question to the states. During arguments, the court’s six-member conservative majority appeared divided about whether to stop at 15 weeks or whether to overrule Roe entirely, allowing states to ban abortions. The court’s liberal justices, meanwhile, said overturning Roe would make the court appear political and that its reputation would be irreparably damaged if it cast aside decades of precedent because of new justices. “It is particularly important to show that what we do in overturning a case is grounded in principle and not social pressure,” Justice Stephen Breyer warned. Justice Sonia Sotomayor added: “Will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the Constitution and its reading are just political acts? I don’t see how it’s possible.” Should 50 years of legal precedent be overturned, at least 20 states will immediately make almost all abortions unlawful: a dozen states have trigger laws that would automatically end most abortions and nine more have pre-Roe bans on the books. A decision is not expected until late June or early July. Last month, the justices heard arguments over a Texas law that bans abortion after about six weeks and allows enforcement by private citizens. The court has not yet issued a decision in the Texas case. (NBC News / NPR / New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / CNN / CNBC / Bloomberg)
2/ The first confirmed U.S. case of the coronavirus omicron variant was detected in California. The CDC said the fully vaccinated traveler, who returned to California from South Africa on Nov. 22, has mild Covid-19 symptoms that are improving. Since the new variant was first reported in South Africa last week, it has been identified in at least 24 countries. The World Health Organization has warned that the global risk of the omicron variant is “very high.” Federal judges in Kentucky and Louisiana, WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, November 29, 2021
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1/ Biden called the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus “a cause for concern, not a cause for panic,” urging Americans to get vaccinated, obtain booster shots, and to wear masks in indoor public places. Biden added that he didn’t believe there would be a need for lockdowns, saying “We’re throwing everything we have at this virus, tracking it from every angle; I’m sparing no effort, removing all roadblocks to keep the American people safe.” While administration officials believe the current vaccines likely provide protection against the new variant, it’ll be a few weeks until scientists know how effective they are against Omicron. Drugmakers, however, cautioned that existing vaccines could be less effective and the CDC now recommends that all adults “should” get a booster shot. The new Covid-19 variant has been detected in more than a dozen countries, though not yet in the U.S. Biden, meanwhile, announced travel bans on South Africa and seven other countries, warning that it’s “almost inevitable” that the variant will turn up in the U.S. “at some point.” (NPR / New York Times / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / Politico / ABC News / CNBC)
2/ The White House told federal agencies they can delay punishing the roughly 3.5% of federal workers who failed to comply with Biden’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate, which took effect last week. Agencies instead will pursue “education and counseling […] as the first step in an enforcement process” and take no further actions beyond letters of reprimand for unvaccinated employees until Jan. 1, 2022. As of last week, 92% of the roughly 3.5 million people in the federal workforce and the military had received at least one shot, while an additional 4.5% had requested exemptions. (Bloomberg / Washington Post / Reuters)
3/ Trump argued that the pursuit of his White House records by the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack could permanently damage the presidency. “The [committee’s] clear disdain for President Trump is leading them to a course of action that will result in permanent damage to the institution of the presidency,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in a brief filed in federal court. Trump has asserted executive privilege over his White House records, which Biden has refused to grant. Earlier this month, Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled against Trump, saying that he had no power to override the current administration’s decisions. A federal appeals court will hear oral arguments on Nove...
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Wednesday, November 24, 2021
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1/ The Biden administration will require all foreign travelers crossing U.S. borders to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 22. The administration previously announced that fully vaccinated nonessential foreign travelers could enter the U.S. beginning Nov. 8. The White House, however, delayed the requirement for essential foreign travelers, such as truck drivers and government officials, to allow more time to get vaccinated and not disrupt trade. The Biden administration also asked a federal appeals court to reinstate its workplace rule requiring employees at larger companies to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or face weekly testing. Republican-led states, private employers, and conservative groups challenged the requirement, arguing that OSHA lacked the authority to mandate vaccines. The Justice Department said in its filing that the federal government should be permitted to address “the grave danger of Covid-19 in the workplace.” (NBC News / Washington Post / Associated Press)
2/ Weekly unemployment claims totaled 199,000 last week – the lowest total in 52 years. The four-week average of initial jobless claims also dropped by 21,000 to about 252,000 – the lowest since mid-March 2020. (Politico / Washington Post / CNBC / Wall Street Journal)
3/ Biden authorized the release of 50 million barrels of crude from its strategic reserves to help offset a surge in gasoline prices. Biden called it the “largest-ever release,” which was done in concert with China, Japan, India, South Korea, and the U.K. “We’ve made historic progress over the last 10 months,” Biden said, pointing to the jobs added to the economy since taking office. But “disruptions related to the pandemic have caused challenges in our supply chain, which have sparked concern about shortages and contributed to higher prices.” He also vowed to continue “taking action.” (ABC News / Bloomberg)
4/ Biden will nominate Shalanda Young to serve as the administration’s budget director. Young, currently the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, would be the first Black woman to hold the post on a permanent basis. The administration withdrew its initial selection of Neera Tanden for budget director after bipartisan criticism about her past social media attacks on lawmakers. (New York Times / Washington Post)
5/ A federal appeals court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Nov. 30 about whether Congress can receive Trump’s White House records related to the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol. Earlier this month, Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the National Archives to hand over th...
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Monday, November 22, 2021
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1/ The number of U.S. Covid-19 deaths in 2021 surpassed the 2020 death toll. The total number of reported deaths linked to Covid-19 topped 770,800 on Saturday, according to federal data and Johns Hopkins University. New cases, meanwhile, are increasing with the seven-day rolling average ticking up to more than 90,000 cases a day after it dropped to about 70,000 last month. More than 30 states are seeing sustained upticks in infections. (Wall Street Journal / New York Times)
2/ More than 95% of the 3.5 million federal workers are in compliance with the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate. About 90% of workers have received at least one shot and the other 5% have requested a medical or religious exemption that has been either approved or is pending. Workers who are not in compliance will receive “education and counseling” with the goal of getting more federal workers fully vaccinated. Workers who don’t get vaccinated or secure an approved exception could ultimately be terminated. (Reuters / Associated Press / NPR / CNN)
3/ Biden nominated Jerome Powell for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman. Powell, a Republican, was originally appointed to the Fed’s governing board by Obama and was later elevated to the chairman’s post by Trump. Under Powell’s stewardship, the Fed set aside its practice of raising rates to pre-empt inflation and instead has kept interest rates near zero to stimulate a faster recovery following downturns, like from the Covid-19 pandemic. Inflation, meanwhile, has reached a three-decade high with the Labor Department reporting that prices in October were 6.2% higher than a year ago. Biden nominated current Fed governor Lael Brainard – seen as a leading contender to eventually replace Powell – to serve as vice chair. (NPR / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal)
4/ Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson publicly urged the Republican-controlled state Legislature to take over the running of federal elections and direct local officials to ignore election guidance issued by the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission. Johnson, a Republican, claimed that Republican control of Wisconsin elections was necessary despite previously acknowledging that there was “nothing obviously skewed about the results” of the 2020 presidential election. Johnson baselessly accused Democrats of cheating. Last month, a report on the 2020 results that was ordered by Republican state legislators found no evidence of voter fraud. Johnson’s push comes after a Republican member of the State Assembly formally proposed decertifying Wisconsin’s election results, and a Republican sheriff in Racine County called for five members of the state’s six-member election commission to be ...
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Friday, November 19, 2021
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1/ The House passed Biden’s roughly $2 trillion social and climate spending package to “build back better.” The 220-213 vote came after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy delayed the vote for more than eight hours with a meandering speech criticizing the bill and Biden’s policies. Centrist House Democrats had also demanded that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office release a full analysis of the legislation prior to voting. The CBO found that the package would add more than $367 billion to the deficit over the next 10 years. The White House, however, said that figure didn’t include revenue expected to be generated from beefing up tax-enforcement efforts at the IRS, which could capture roughly $400 billion in additional revenue. The package would provide universal pre-K for all children ages three and four, subsidize child care and expand family leave, cap certain drug costs, and expand financial aid for college. The bill would also set aside more than $550 billion to combat climate change, promote greener energy, and provide new incentives and tax credits for renewable energy and electric vehicle purchases. The legislation would also provide relief from deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants, provide hungry Americans with access to food, and promote affordable new housing nationwide. The measure now goes to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future. “For the second time in just two weeks, the House of Representatives has moved on critical and consequential pieces of my legislative agenda,” Biden said in a statement, referring to the recently enacted $1 trillion infrastructure bill. “Now, the Build Back Better Act goes to the United States Senate, where I look forward to it passing as soon as possible so I can sign it into law.” If passed by the Senate, the legislation would be the most significant expansion of the social safety net by the government since the 1960s. In a floor speech before the vote, Nancy Pelosi said “with the passage of the Build Back Better Act, we, this Democratic Congress, are taking our place in the long and honorable heritage of our democracy with legislation that will be the pillar of health and financial security in America. It will be historic in forging landmark progress for our nation.” (New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / Politico / NPR / USA Today)
2/ All American adults are now eligible for coronavirus vaccine boosters. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky authorized the booster doses hours after the agency’s independent panel of vaccine scientists unanimously endorsed opening up eligibility to everyone 18 and older. The panel said that all American adults “may” opt for a booster, while those 50 and older “should” get a booster. Earlier in the day, the FDA authorized Pfizer and Moderna boosters for people 18 and older. (WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
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1/ The House voted to censure Rep. Paul Gosar for posting an animated video that depicted him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking Biden. Gosar was also stripped of his committee assignments. The vote was 223 to 207, with two Republicans – Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger – joining Democrats in favor. Kevin McCarthy called the vote an “abuse of power” by Democrats. Nancy Pelosi, however, deemed the social media post an “emergency,” saying: “We can not have a member joking about murdering another. This is about workplace harassment and violence against women.” In a speech from the House floor prior to the vote, Ocasio-Cortez said: “As leaders in this country, when we incite violence with depictions against our colleagues, that trickles down into violence in this country, and that is where we must draw the line, independent of party or belief. It is about a core recognition of human dignity and value and worth.” Gosar, meanwhile, claimed that the video was “mischaracterized,” but did not apologize. (Politico / Associated Press / New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post)
2/ Trump asked a federal appeals court to block the National Archives from sending his White House records related to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol to Congress, arguing that the Constitution gives a former president the power to keep files confidential even though they are no longer in office – and even though Biden refused to assert executive privilege over them. Last week, a Federal District Court judge sided with Congress and the Biden administration that while Trump could invoke executive privilege, whatever residual secrecy powers he possessed were outweighed by the sitting president agreeing that the documents should be turned over to House investigators. The appeals court, however, temporarily put a hold on the ruling, and a three-judge panel is scheduled to review whether Trump can control records the National Archives is set to give to the House after Thanksgiving. (New York Times / CNN / Washington Post)
3/ The now-infamous shirtless insurrectionist wearing face paint and a horned helmet during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in the attack. Jacob Chansley, the so-called “QAnon Shaman,” pleaded guilty on Sept. 3 to one felony count of unlawfully obstructing an official proceeding. During the attack, Chansley left a note for Pence on the Senate dais that read: “It’s Only A Matter Of Time. Justice Is Coming!” Chansley’s sentence of roughly 3.5 years is the longest sentence handed down to any Jan. 6 participant so far. (ABC News / Washington Post / WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, November 15, 2021
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1/ Biden signed the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan into law – the largest federal investment in infrastructure in more than a decade. In total, the measure contains $550 billion in new funds to improve the nation’s highways, roads, bridges, ports, rail, pipes, and public transit systems, as well as upgrades to the electrical grid and expanded access to broadband internet. Before signing the legislation, Biden said “we’re finally getting this done” in a nod to Trump, who repeatedly tried and failed to secure a bipartisan infrastructure deal. “My message for the American people is this: America’s moving again, and your life’s going to change for the better.” Trump, meanwhile, said the 13 Republicans who voted for the bill “should be ashamed of themselves” for giving Biden and Democrats a victory. In the House, Democratic leaders expect to vote on the roughly $2 trillion climate, safety net, and tax package this week and send it to the Senate, despite uncertainty over the measure’s cost. The timing of Senate vote, however, is complicated by a Dec. 3 deadline to avoid a government shutdown, address the debt limit, and pass the annual defense policy bill. If the social safety net and climate bill passes the House and Senate, the total increased infrastructure spending as a share of the economy will eclipse Roosevelt’s New Deal. (New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Politico / Bloomberg / ABC News / CNN / CNBC)
2/ Nearly 200 nations reached a climate agreement intended to propel the world toward more urgent climate action, but it falls short of what’s needed to avert a crisis. After two weeks of United Nations COP26 talks, delegates left Glasgow with Earth still on track to blow past the 2015 Paris accord goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. The Glasgow Climate Pact doesn’t reflect the urgency expressed by international scientists in their “code red for humanity” climate report, after delegates agreed to “phase down” the use of coal power (the single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions), phase out “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies, and defer more action on reducing fossil fuel emissions to next year. The U.N. Environment Program reported that countries’ current COP26 commitments between now and 2030 would give humanity less than a 20% chance of keeping warming to 1.5 Celsius. The U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, meanwhile, reported that the world needs to roughly halve emissions over the next decade in order to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The world has already w...
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Friday, November 12, 2021
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1/ A federal grand jury indicted Steve Bannon on charges of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Bannon faces one contempt count for his refusal to appear for a deposition and another for his refusal to produce documents to the congressional investigators, the Justice Department said in a statement. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the indictment reflects the Justice Department’s “steadfast commitment” to ensuring that the department adheres to the rule of law. If convicted, Bannon could face up to a year behind bars and a fine of up to $100,000. Law enforcement expects Bannon to self-surrender on Monday and appear in court that afternoon. (NBC News / CNN / NPR / Washington Post / ABC News / / Politico / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press)
2/ Mark Meadows refused to appear for a deposition before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, setting up a potential criminal referral to the Justice Department for contempt of Congress. Meadows’ lawyer said the former White House chief of staff “remains under the instructions” of Trump to not comply with the House subpoena on claims of executive privilege. Biden, however, has refused to invoke executive privilege for Trump officials and records in the House’s inquiry. Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson said Meadows’ “willful noncompliance” would force the select committee to “consider invoking contempt of Congress procedures” that could result in a criminal referral to the Justice Department, as well as the possibility of a civil action to enforce the subpoena. (CNN / Politico / NBC News / The Guardian / CNBC / The Hill)
3/ A federal appeals court temporarily blocked the National Archives from turning over Trump’s White House records to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol – a day before the committee was set to receive the first batch. On Tuesday, a lower court ruled that Biden can waive Trump’s claim to executive privilege over the documents, say...
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Wednesday, November 10, 2021
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1/ The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot issued new subpoenas to 10 former Trump White House officials, including Kayleigh McEnany and Stephen Miller. The chairman of the select committee, Bennie Thompson, said his panel “wants to learn every detail of what went on in the White House on January 6th and in the days beforehand,” including “precisely what role the former President and his aides played in efforts to stop the counting of the electoral votes and if they were in touch with anyone outside the White House attempting to overturn the outcome of the election.” Among those subpoenaed to provide testimony and documents include John McEntee (former White House personnel director), Christopher Liddell (former deputy chief of staff), Keith Kellogg (national security advisor to Pence), Ben Williamson (former deputy assistant to Trump and senior adviser to Mark Meadows), and Nicholas Luna (Trump’s former personal assistant). The subpoenas come a day after the committee issued subpoenas to six former Trump administration and campaign officials, bringing the total number of subpoenas issued to 35. (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / NBC News / CNBC)
2/ A federal judge rejected Trump’s attempt to keep more than 700 pages of records from his White House secret. The decision by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan clears the way for the National Archives to release the documents requested by the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol beginning Friday. Trump’s lawyers had argued that the documents requested by the House committee – including White House call logs, visitor logs, and schedules related to Jan. 6, as well as three pages of handwritten notes from Trump’s then-chief of staff – were covered by executive privilege. In her ruling, however, Chutkan noted that the Biden administration had approved the release of Trump’s White House records, saying there can be only one president at a time, and that Trump’s assertion of executive privilege “is outweighed by President Biden’s decision not to uphold the privilege.” Chutkan added: “Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.” (Reuters / New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / NBC News)
3/ At least 13 of Trump’s senior aides campaigned illegally for his re-election in violation of the Hatch Act – a law designed to prevent federal employees from abusing the power of their offices on behalf of candidates. The Office of Special Counsel report described a “willful disregard for the law” by senior Trump administration officials who “chose to use their official authority not for the legitimate functions of the government.” Special Counsel Henry Ker...
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Monday, November 8, 2021
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1/ The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol issued subpoenas to six former Trump advisers “tied to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election,” including two who were involved in plans at the Willard hotel “command center” to overturn the election the day before the attack on the Capitol. Those subpoenaed to provide testimony and documents include John Eastman, who outlined a legal strategy to deny Biden the presidency, former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik, who led efforts to investigate voting fraud in key states, Michael Flynn, Jason Miller, Bill Stepien, and Angela McCallum. The committee “needs to know every detail about their efforts to overturn the election, including who they were talking to in the White House and in Congress, what connections they had with rallies that escalated into a riot, and who paid for it all,” Chairman Bennie Thompson said in a statement. The committee is demanding records and testimony from witnesses between late November and mid-December. (CNN / ABC News / Washington Post / NBC News / Bloomberg / CNBC / USA Today)
2/ The House passed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill to improve the country’s roads, bridges, pipes, ports, and Internet connections, which Biden hailed as a “monumental step forward for the nation.” After a months-long standoff between progressive and moderate Democrats, the funding package passed on a 228-to-206 vote: 13 Republicans joined 215 Democrats in support, while six progressive Democrats voted against the measure. Progressives had insisted that they could not back the measure without a vote on the $1.75 trillion social safety net and climate bill, which a half-dozen moderate-to-conservative Democrats refused to support without an official cost estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which could take a week or more. Progressives ultimately accepted a written commitment from moderates that they would pass the social safety net and climate package when it comes up for a vote in mid-November, provided the spending plan does not add to the deficit. Democrats are now aiming to vote on the safety net bill before Thanksgiving. “Finally, infrastructure week,” Biden told reporters. “I’m so happy to say that: infrastructure week.” (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / NPR / WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Friday, November 5, 2021
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1/ The House will vote on the $1 trillion infrastructure bill tonight after abandoning an agreement with progressive Democrats to first vote on a separate $1.75 trillion education, healthcare, and climate package. Party leaders began the day hoping to hold a vote on the social spending legislation, followed by a vote on the infrastructure legislation. A small group of moderates, however, refused to support the $1.75 trillion social safety net, climate, and tax package without a cost analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which could take a week or more. The opposition forced Speaker Nancy Pelosi to change course, announcing that the House would vote first on the infrastructure bill, which already passed the Senate, and then take a procedural vote to begin debate on the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better bill, with hopes of passing it by Thanksgiving. Progressives, however, rejected Pelosi’s move to vote on infrastructure without the broader social spending plan, saying “If our six colleagues still want to wait” for the CBO review, “we would agree to give them that time — after which point we can vote on both bills together.” Pelosi, however, said the bipartisan infrastructure bill was too important to put off any longer and that she believes a “large number” of progressives actually plan to support the bill. “The agenda that we are advancing is transformative and historic, hence challenging,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to Democrats outlining the new plan. Pelosi can’t afford to lose more than three votes, unless some Republicans vote for the infrastructure bill. Earlier in the day, Biden called on House members to advance both bills, which total nearly $3 trillion in investments in infrastructure, social policy, and climate programs. “I’m asking every member of the House of Representatives to vote yes on both these bills right now,” Biden said. “Send the infrastructure bill to my desk, send the Build Back Better bill to the Senate. Let’s build on incredible economic progress, build on what we’ve already done because this will be such a boost when it occurs.” When asked whether she had the votes to pass the infrastructure bill, Pelosi replied: “We’ll see, won’t we?” (New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Politico / Bloomberg / NBC News)
2/ The attorneys general in 11 states sued the Biden administration to stop new rules requiring workers at companies with at least 100 employees be vaccinated against Covid-19 or tested weekly. Under the new requirements, which apply to an estimated 84 million workers, employers have until Jan. 4 to make sure their workers are either vaccinated or produce a negative test weekly. Workers who remain unvaccinated must wear a mask at work, and employers aren’t required to provide or pay for the tests. A second rule requires about 17 million health care workers to be vaccinated, but with no option for weekly testing in lieu of vaccination. Employers could face penalties of up to nearly $14,000 per violation. (Wall Street Journal ...
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Wednesday, November 3, 2021
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1/ The Biden administration announced plans to heavily regulate methane emissions from oil and gas drilling. The proposed EPA rules aim to curb methane emissions coming from roughly one million existing oil and gas rigs in the U.S. The EPA previously had rules to prevent methane leaks from oil and gas wells built since 2015, which were rescinded by the Trump administration. An estimated 75% of the country’s methane emissions will be covered by the new EPA rules. Separately, Joe Manchin has pushed to remove or weaken a provision in the $1.75 trillion social safety net and climate measure that would impose a fee on emissions of methane. (NBC News / New York Times)
2/ The CDC recommended the low-dose Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. CDC director Rochelle Walensky’s recommendation came after a unanimous vote by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices supporting the use of the vaccine for the approximately 28 million children in the age group. Biden called the decision “a turning point in our battle against Covid-19,” adding that the federal government has purchased enough of the low-dose children’s vaccine “for every child in America.” (NPR / Washington Post / Associated Press)
3/ House and Senate Democrats reached an agreement on lowering prescription drug prices – a key part of Biden’s $1.75 trillion “Build Back Better” package. The proposed deal would establish a $2,000 out-of-pocket limit for seniors’ expenses in Medicare Part D, allow the government power to regulate the prices of some of the most expensive drugs, like insulin. Kyrsten Sinema, who opposed previous proposals on prescription drug reform, endorsed the new agreement. (NBC News / ABC News / CNBC)
4/ House Democrats added four weeks of paid family and medical leave back to the $1.75 trillion social spending bill. Democrats had previously scrapped the family leave provision after failing to reach a compromise with Joe Manchin, who had raised objections to using the reconciliation bill to pass significant policy proposals like paid leave. In response to the announcement, Manchin said he still opposes the paid leave proposal, adding: “They know how I feel about that.” (CNN / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
5/ Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Virginia’s gubernatorial election – a state that Biden won by 10 points 12 months ago. New Jersey governor’s race, meanwhile, remained too close to call, even though Democratic Gov. Phil Murp...
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Monday, November 1, 2021
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1/ Joe Manchin refused to endorse Biden’s $1.75 trillion social policy and climate package, saying he wants time to “thoroughly understanding the impact it will have on our national debt, our economy and the American people.” House Democratic leaders had planned to bring both the social safety net and separate $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bills to a vote this week. Manchin also rebuked liberal House Democrats for holding up a vote on the infrastructure legislation, saying “it’s all or nothing, and their position doesn’t seem to change unless we agree to everything. Enough is enough.” Manchin added: “Holding that bill hostage is not going to work to get my support of what you want.” The White House, meanwhile, said the House plan “is fully paid for, will reduce the deficit, and brings down costs for health care, child care, elder care and housing.” (New York Times / Washington Post / Axios / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg)
2/ A majority of Supreme Court justices seemed willing to let abortion providers in Texas challenge the state’s abortion law – the most restrictive in the nation. The justices are considering two cases: one brought by abortion providers in Texas, and the other by the Justice Department. The court’s focus isn’t directly on abortion rights, but rather on an unusual provision designed to thwart legal challenges by making the law only enforceable by private citizens rather than the state government. “There’s a loophole that’s been exploited here,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh said, agreeing with Justice Elena Kagan, who said the entire purpose of S.B. 8 was “to find the chink in the armor” of court precedent regarding judicial review. Justice Amy Coney Barrett added that the law was designed to prevent the abortion providers from presenting a “full constitutional defense.” The Justice Department, meanwhile, argued that the Texas law conflicts with a constitutional right established by Roe v. Wade, warning that if the Texas law remains in effect, “no constitutional right is safe. No constitutional decision from this court is safe.” Kavanaugh, however, characterized the Justice Department’s lawsuit as “irregular” and “unusual,” asking what authority the federal government has to sue over a state law. “The reason we’ve done it here,” federal solicitor general, Elizabeth Prelogar, argued, is because the law is “so unprecedented, extraordinary and extraordinarily dangerous for our constitutional structure.” (NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg)
3/ Biden warned world leaders at global climate summit that “climate change is already ravaging the w...
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Friday, October 29, 2021
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1/ House Democrats – again – postponed a vote on the $1 trillion Senate-approved infrastructure bill, pushing off its consideration until at least next week. The delay followed a visit to Capitol Hill by Biden, who asked House Democrats to support both the infrastructure plan and the separate social policy and climate change framework, saying: “We are at an inflection point. The rest of the world wonders whether we can function […] I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that the House and Senate majorities – and my presidency – will be determined by what happens in the next week.” Progressive Democrats, however, blocked the scheduled vote, saying they wanted to review the written legislative text of the $1.75 trillion social spending outline – and receive assurances that Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema would vote for it, which neither have outright given. The House, meanwhile, passed another temporary extension for highway funding until Dec. 3 – the same deadline to address government funding and a debt ceiling default. The Senate unanimously approved that extension after it passed the House. (Politico / Bloomberg / New York Times / ABC News / Washington Post / NBC News)
2/ The FDA authorized Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use in children 5 to 11. About 28 million children will be eligible to receive the pediatric doses, which are one-third of an adult dose. The Biden administration said it’s already procured 15 million doses that are ready to ship once the CDC signs off, which could happen early next week. Children will still need two injections three weeks apart. (New York Times / Associated Press / CNBC)
3/ Facebook relaxed its content moderation efforts before the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. After the election on Nov. 6, 2020, the company rolled back many of the anti-violence, -misinformation, and -hate speech safeguards it had put into place for U.S. users. Despite banning the main “Stop the Steal” Facebook group, the company allowed dozens of similar and look-alike groups to flourish on the platform. Facebook would later describe the formation of those look-alike groups as a “coordinated” campaign, according to the leaked documents. By the time the company attempted to reign in the spread of the groups, a mob was already storming the steps of the Capitol. (Washington Post / New York Times)
- Thousands of leaked internal Facebook documents revealed how the company caused or contributed to a long list of atrocities and other real-world harms and that the people in charge of the company were fully aware of the platform’s role. The documents, ...
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Wednesday, October 27, 2021
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1/ Joe Manchin panned a proposed billionaire income tax to help pay for the social safety net and climate change bill, which is expected to cost about $1.75 trillion. Manchin called the plan “convoluted,” saying he didn’t like “targeting different people” with higher taxes just because they’re wealthy. Instead, Manchin floated a 15% “patriotic tax” on corporations. The billionaire tax idea gained traction after Kyrsten Sinema blocked conventional tax rate increases for corporations and individuals. Sinema had reportedly supported the proposed tax on the 700 people in the U.S. with more than $1 billion in assets. Together, Manchin and Sinema’s objections have injected uncertainty into Biden’s domestic agenda and halved what had been a $3.5 trillion package. (New York Times / Bloomberg / Politico / Associated Press / Axios / ABC News)
2/ Senate Democrats dropped paid family and medical leave from Biden’s Build Back Better spending package. The plan initially included 12 weeks of paid family leave, which lawmakers later considered reducing to four weeks to overcome opposition from Joe Manchin, who said he didn’t want to create a new entitlement program. When asked about the provision, Manchin replied: “I just can’t do it.” Plans to bolster Medicare and Medicaid benefits have also been scaled back due to opposition from Manchin and industry groups. Manchin has reportedly soured on Medicare vouchers to help cover annual dental costs. (Bloomberg / Washington Post / NBC News / CNN / Wall Street Journal)
3/ Biden – again – refused to exert executive privilege over documents that Trump has tried to keep away from the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. White House counsel Dana Remus informed National Archivist David Ferriero that Biden “has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States […] Accordingly, President Biden does not uphold the former president’s assertion of privilege.” The National Archives is set to begin turning over records to the House on Nov. 12. Trump previously tried to assert privilege on more than 40 documents and sued to attempt to block the House from accessing them. The committee is also expected to subpoena John Eastman, the lawyer who outlined a scheme for overturning the election results in two memos, which served as the basis of an Oval Office meeting on Jan. 4 bet...
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Monday, October 25, 2021
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1/ Biden and Democratic congressional leaders are pushing for a vote this week on the social spending and climate bill. An agreement could also allow the House to pass a separate $1.2 trillion bill to upgrade the country’s roads, bridges, pipes, ports, and Internet connections, and send it to Biden’s desk as soon as this week. Together, the two packages could dislodge roughly $3 trillion in economic spending initiatives. Chuck Schumer said there were three to four open issues on the social safety net and climate change bill, but Democrats were “on track to get this done.” Joe Manchin added that he believes a compromise on the package will come together this week. Negotiators are still working out the details for how to pay for the package after Kyrsten Sinema rejected increasing the marginal tax rates on corporations, capital gains and individuals. Sinema, however, has indicated that she is open to a minimum tax on corporations and has not ruled out a tax hike on billionaires. And, while it’s unclear what level of new taxes Manchin will support, he’s indicated that he supports Biden’s proposal to roll back some of the Trump tax cuts for high earners and corporations, as well as the White House plan to tax the investment incomes of billionaires. The bill, initially drafted at $3.5 trillion, is expected to ultimately cost between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion. Biden said he wants a deal this week before he travels to Europe at the end of the week for the Group of 20 summit and a climate conference. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / Politico / CBS News / CNN / CNBC)
2/ A team of Trump advisers and lawyers setup a “war room” at a D.C. hotel in an effort to overturn the 2020 election in the weeks leading up to the Jan. 6 rally and attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. The group – Rudy Giuliani, Steve Bannon, former NYC police chief Bernard Kerik, conservative lawyer John Eastman, One America News reporter Christina Bobb, retired Army colonel Phil Waldron, Boris Epshteyn, and others – set out to pressure Pence into blocking or delaying certification of Biden’s victory, while also publicizing alleged evidence of voter fraud and urging members of state legislatures to challenge and decertify their results. They called the set of rooms and suites at the Willard hotel the “command center,” which was located a block from the White House. The Trump campaign later reimbursed Kerik’s firm for more than $55,000 for rooms for the legal team. The congressional panel investigating Jan. 6 also cited Bannon’s involvement at the “‘war room’ organized at the Willard.” (WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Friday, October 22, 2021
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1/ The Supreme Court – again – refused to block the Texas law that bans most abortions in the state after six weeks, but agreed to hear legal arguments over the nation’s most restrictive abortion law on Nov. 1. The court said it would focus specifically on whether the federal government has the authority to challenge the unusual way in which the Texas legislature crafted the law, which deputizes private individuals to sue anyone who performs the procedure or “aids and abets” it. The court, however, turned down a request from Texas to use the cases to decide whether to overturn the right to abortion established in 1973 in Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision legalizing abortion nationwide prior to viability, generally thought to be around 22 to 24 weeks. In December, the court will also consider a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks. Mississippi is explicitly asking the court to overturn Roe. (Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / CNN / NBC News / ABC News)
2/ Kyrsten Sinema won’t support raising taxes on businesses, high-income earners, or capital gains, potentially derailing the revenue-increasing provisions needed to finance Biden’s social safety net and climate plan. Democrats had hoped to pay for much of their plan by raising the corporate tax rate to 26.5% from 21%, moving the top personal income rate to 39.6% from 37%, and increasing the capital gains tax rate for those earning at least $400,000. The plan would also add a 3% surtax on income above $5 million. Instead, Biden’s advisers said that they are now pursuing a range of ideas to raise new revenues, including a new minimum tax on corporations, targeting America’s roughly 700 billionaires who don’t pay taxes on their unrealized gains, taxing stock buybacks, closing loopholes for high income Americans, and increased IRS enforcement. Sinema reportedly appears open to an excise tax on stock buybacks and a 15% minimum corporate tax rate. (Politico / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / CNN / NBC News)
3/ Five veterans on Kyrsten Sinema’s advisory board resigned from their roles, accusing her of “hanging your constituents out to dry.” In a letter to Sinema, the veterans accused the Arizona Democrat of “answering to big donors rather than your own people....
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Wednesday, October 20, 2021
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1/ Senate Republicans blocked a federal voting rights bill for the third time. All 50 Republicans voted against bringing the Freedom to Vote Act to the floor, a compromise version of the For the People Act, which Joe Manchin helped negotiate in an effort to win Republican support. Democrats remain at least 10 votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster to advance the bill without changing the Senate filibuster rule. Kyrsten Sinema and Manchin, however, remain reluctant to change the filibuster rules, saying any election overhaul needs bipartisan support. “If there’s anything worthy of the Senate’s attention, if there’s any issue that merits debate on this floor, it’s protecting our democracy from the forces that are trying to unravel it from the inside out,” Chuck Schumer said after switching his vote to “no” at the last moment in order to allow him to request another vote in the future. The Freedom to Vote Act would set federal standards for early and mail-in voting, allow for same-day voter registration, make Election Day a national holiday, and mandate that voters provide some form of identification before casting a ballot. Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, denounced the compromise legislation, saying: “The same rotten core is all still there.” (New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / ABC News / CBS News)
2/ Joe Manchin reportedly threatened to leave the Democratic Party if Biden and congressional Democrats didn’t agree to his demand to cut the size of the social infrastructure bill from $3.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion. Manchin would declare himself an “American Independent,” but it’s unclear whether he’d end up caucusing with the Democrats – allowing them to maintain control of the Senate – or side with the Republicans and place the Senate in GOP control. When asked about the potential plan, Manchin replied: “I can’t control rumors, and it’s bullshit, bullshit spelled with a B, U, L, L, capital B.” (Mother Jones / Business Insider)
3/ Biden lowered the new tax-and-spending proposal to between $1.75 trillion and $1.9 trillion, telling Democrats during a private meeting that he believed they could secure a deal at that level. While the number is not finalized, it is far closer to Joe Manchin’s $1.5 trillion top line, but a significant reduction from the $3.5 trillion that Democrats initially pursued. A package up to $1.9 trillion would allow Democrats to accomplish some of their priorities, including at least some expansion of Medicare, the introduction of universal prekindergarten, and billions of dollars to address climate change. Biden’s plan to offer free community college, however, is expected to be dropped from the final package, as is the $150 billion program to encourage utility companies to switch to renewable energy. The enhanced child tax credit will likely be extended for only one additional year. Democrats had pushed to keep in place for up to five years. (Washington Post / WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Monday, October 18, 2021
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1/ Trump sued the Jan. 6 select committee and the National Archives to block the release of his White House’s records related to the Capitol attack. In a federal lawsuit, Trump argued that the House select committee’s request for documents was “unprecedented in their breadth and scope and are untethered from any legitimate legislative purpose,” and “almost limitless in scope.” Trump alleged that the committee is seeking potentially millions of presidential records that he claims are covered by executive privilege, which the Biden administration previously declined to assert on Trump’s behalf. (CNN / Politico / Associated Press / NBC News / New York Times / Wall Street Journal)
2/ The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to temporarily block a Texas law that bans most abortions in the state while a legal challenge moves forward, calling the law “plainly unconstitutional.” The DOJ said that leaving the law in effect would allow Texas to “nullify” half a century of Supreme Court precedents “by banning abortion long before viability – indeed, before many women even realize they are pregnant.” In a 5 to 4 decision last month, the Supreme Court allowed the law to go into effect, saying the case presented “complex and novel” questions about whether the court had the authority to hear it. The court ordered Texas to respond by Thursday, and could rule this week. (New York Times / Associated Press / Washington Post / Politico)
3/ A key climate policy designed to phase out fossil fuels will likely be cut from the $3.5 trillion infrastructure package because Joe Manchin opposes the clean electricity program. Manchin, whose home state of West Virginia depends heavily on coal, told the White House that he is completely opposed to the Clean Electricity Performance Program, which would reward energy companies that switch from fossil fuels like coal and natural gas to clean power sources like solar, wind, and nuclear power. The Biden administration had been counting on the $150 billion program to achieve the bulk Biden’s pledge to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. As a result, the White House is rewriting the legislation without the climate provision while trying to cobble together a mix of other policies that could also cut emissions. Manchin is a crucial vote to passing any reconciliation package in the evenly divided Senate, and FEC filings show that he’s raised over $400,000 from energy companies in the third quarter. (NBC News / New York Times / WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
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1/ The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack subpoenaed a former Justice Department lawyer who tried to use department resources to push Trump’s false claims of voting fraud in the 2020 election. Internal emails show that Jeffrey Clark urged top DOJ officials to send out a letter he drafted that falsely claimed the FBI found evidence of voter fraud in multiple states. Richard Donoghue, who served as the acting deputy attorney general at the time, replied: “There is no chance that I would sign this letter or anything remotely like this […] from where I stand, this is not even within the realm of possibility.” In early January, Trump reportedly entertained a plan to fire acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen and replace him with Clark, who would publicly pursue Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud. The committee is seeking documents and a deposition from Clark by Oct. 29. Rosen, meanwhile, sat for an interview with the committee today. (Washington Post / Politico / NBC News / NPR / CNN)
2/ A federal judge held Washington, D.C.’s corrections director and jail warden in contempt of court, ruling they had improperly delayed medical treatment for a defendant detained as part of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Judge Royce Lamberth acted after jail officials failed to turn over the information needed to approve surgery for Christopher Worrell, who broke his wrist in May while in custody. Worrell, a member of the Proud Boys, was charged with four felonies, including rioting and spraying pepper gel at police. Prosecutors have alleged that Worrell traveled to Washington and coordinated with Proud Boys leading up to the attack. Lamberth, calling Worrell’s delayed treatment “incompetent” and “inexcusable,” said he would refer the case to the Justice Department to investigate whether the jail violated the civil rights of other detained Jan. 6 defendants. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press)
3/ The U.S. will lift travel restrictions at land borders with Canada and Mexico for fully vaccinated travelers. Starting in November, nonessential travelers, such as those entering for tourism or to visit family members, will be required to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination to Customs and Border Protection officers when they cross land borders. For the last 19 months, only “essential travel” had been allowed across the Canadian and Mexican borders. In January, essential travelers will also be required to be fully vaccinated. Unvaccinated travelers will continue to be banned from crossing. (New York Times / Associated Press / WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.