A political newsletter for normal people
WTF Just Happened Today? is a sane, once-a-day newsletter helping normal people make sense of the news. Curated daily and delivered to 200,000+ people every afternoon around 3 pm Pacific.
Day 596: "Dignity."
Today in one sentence: Chuck Schumer promised a Senate vote on protecting same-sex marriage in the coming weeks; a Michigan judge permanently blocked enforcement of the state's 91-year-old abortion ban; Steve Bannon is expected to surrender to New York prosecutors to face a new criminal indictment; the FBI found information about a foreign government’s nuclear-defense readiness at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence; and 67% of independents said they don't want Trump to run for president in 2024.
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 Portman, and Thom Tillis, while Lisa Murkowski hasn’t committed either way. Ron Johnson, meanwhile, said he wouldn’t support the bill, despite saying earlier this year he saw “no reason to oppose” it. Johnson added that he believes the Supreme Court case giving same-sex couples the right to marry was “wrongly decided.” And, Ted Cruz said he’d vote against the bill to codify same-sex marriage protections into federal law. The House passed legislation to protect same-sex marriage in July, with support from 47 House Republicans. (Politico / Bloomberg)
2/ A Michigan judge permanently blocked enforcement of the state’s 91-year-old abortion ban. The 1931 law criminalizing most abortions in Michigan, which was dormant until the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, violated the tenets of the state Constitution, Court of Claims Judge Elizabeth Gleicher ruled. “A law denying safe, routine medical care not only denies women of their ability to control their bodies and their lives — it denies them of their dignity,” Gleicher wrote. “Michigan’s Constitution forbids this violation of due process.” She added: “Issuing a permanent injunction will cause no damage to the defendant attorney general or the intervenors. The harm to women, on the other hand, is a wholesale denial of their fundamental right to an abortion, necessitating permanent injunctive relief.” The Republican-controlled House and Senate could appeal the ruling. Meanwhile, the Michigan Supreme Court is considering a proposed amendment to the Nov. 8 ballot that would add abortion rights to the state constitution. (Detroit Free Press / Bloomberg / NPR)
3/ Steve Bannon is expected to surrender to New York prosecutors to face a new criminal indictment. Prosecutors alleged that Bannon and others defrauded donors to a private, $25 million fundraising effort, called “We Build the Wall,” to construct a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border. The case is expected to mirror aspects of the federal case in which Bannon was indicted but never tried because Trump pardoned him before that could happen. (Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / NPR)
4/ The FBI found information about a foreign government’s nuclear-defense readiness at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. Some of the seized documents were so closely held that many senior national security officials aren’t authorized to review them. Only the president and some Cabinet-level or a near-Cabinet-level official could authorize other government officials to review these special-access programs. The documents, however, were stored at Mar-a-Lago, with uncertain security, for more than 18 months after Trump left the White House. (Washington Post)
poll/ 67% of independents said they don’t want Trump to run for president in 2024, while 28% said they want him to give it another go. Overall, 61% said they don’t want Trump to run again. Meanwhile, 27% want Trump to run for president even if he is charged with a crime, including 61% of Republicans. (NPR)
A political newsletter for normal people
WTF Just Happened Today? is a sane, once-a-day newsletter helping normal people make sense of the news. Curated daily and delivered to 200,000+ people every afternoon around 3 pm Pacific.
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