Here are the stories that caught our attention.
Democrats Are Getting Tired Of Anemic Negotiations With Republicans
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) told CNN Wednesday evening that it’s time to pull the plug on the fruitless talks with Republicans on Biden’s sweeping infrastructure plan. “At the end of the day, if we can’t get the Republicans on board, we need to move forward,” he said. “And my view is that time has come.”
- Other Democrats have expressed similar frustrations. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) put it in blunt terms: “Pres. Biden & Senate Dems should take a step back and ask themselves if playing patty-cake w GOP Senators is really worth the dismantling of people’s voting rights, setting the planet on fire, allowing massive corporations and the wealthy to not pay their fair share of taxes, etc,” she tweeted yesterday.
Preparing For Battle In 2022: Gubernatorial Edition
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is now facing a primary challenge from former Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH).
It may not surprise you that the challenger is accusing DeWine of being insufficiently loyal to Trump. Renacci claims in his campaign announcement video that the governor is trying to be “Ohio’s wannabe Cuomo” through his “Trump-bashing reign.”
The Search For The Pandemic’s Origins
The E.U. is boosting Biden’s call for an investigation into whether COVID-19 came from a Chinese lab in Wuhan. “The world has the right to know what exactly happened in order to be able to learn the lessons,” European Council President Charles Michel told reporters on Thursday.
Vaccine Troubles
A hospital in Houston has suspended without pay 178 employees who refused to get vaccinated and did not get religious or medical exemptions to do so. The hospital’s president said that “unfortunately, a small number of individuals have decided not to put their patients first.”
- Woe is me: An ER nurse who was suspended complained that she and her unvaccinated coworkers were being “bullied.”
The Biden Admin’s Post-Trump Cleanup
The Environmental Protection Agency continues to roll back Trump’s rollbacks. The EPA is working to reinstate the federal clean water protections the previous administration had gutted in its ceaseless coddling of industry.
Developer ditches the Keystone XL oil pipeline project. The historic win for climate activists comes after the President revoked a crucial permit Trump had granted that allowed the pipeline to cross the U.S.-Canada border, one of Biden’s first actions after he was sworn in.
Biden DOJ Faces More Backlash
Happy pride month: The Justice Department is adopting the Trump administration’s argument that religious schools have a right to discriminate against LGBTQ+ students on Wednesday.
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- Please don’t be mad at us, guys! The administration scrambled to address the blowback from LGBTQ+ rights advocates, stating in a new filing that the Education Department would be “conducting a comprehensive review” of the policy.
- …buuut also we aren’t going to stop: “But until that process is complete, it would be premature to conclude that the government is an inadequate representative,” the amended document stated.
More In Pride
- A Wisconsin couple came up with a pretty great loophole after their neighborhood association told to take down their pride flag.
- “Landlords Squeeze Stonewall Just in Time for Pride” – The Daily Beast
On Police Brutality
A woman in Arkansas is suing the police after a state trooper’s aggressive attempt to pull her over led to her car getting flipped over. The woman was pregnant at the time.
- Watch the shocking video:
A cop flipped over a pregnant woman's car because she didn't pull over quick enough.
Not only is what she did not wrong, it's what you're supposed to do: turning on hazards to indicate you're complying and pulling over at the next safe place to do so…
This man is still a cop. pic.twitter.com/kvNEeEmdf6
— Stephen Ford (@StephenSeanFord) June 9, 2021
Three cops in Ohio have been charged for their alleged misconduct during the George Floyd protests last summer. Some of the charges include assault, dereliction of duty and interference with civil rights.
Odd Man Out
The Congressional Black Caucus isn’t letting in a Black Republican. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) told Buzzfeed News that he hasn’t heard back from the CBC even after other 2020 election winners were able to join six months ago.
Must Read:
This obituary of a Soviet soldier who was believed to be the last surviving liberator of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
New York, New York
The frontrunner of NYC’s mayoral race is facing questions over whether he actually, you know, lives in the city. The candidate definitely doesn’t live in New Jersey, he insists.
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