09/25/23

Good morning! It’s Monday, September 25th.

National Lobster Day.

Okay, I have kind of a bummer but also interesting news… turns out lobsters don’t mate for life. They mate for like… a couple days, or at most, maybe two weeks?

So… don’t fall in love with lobsters, okay?

And now, the news.

Changes at Fox News

-via AP News

I’m back baybee! After a week of hardly being able to move, I’m happy to report that I can… move a little bit.

So let’s talk about a few big stories I missed last week.

First up: hey remember how Succession was a great show about terrible people? Okay, so this story is kind of like that but it’s not going to be, in any way, something interesting that I’ll want to watch.

Rupert Murdoch has announced he’ll step down as the head of both the News Corp. and Fox Corp. His son Lachlan will take his place. His siblings, who previously fought him for the top spot, don’t appear to have fought this time. I wonder if the $787 million settlement in the Dominion lawsuit had anything to do with them being like… actually, on second thought…

So that’s… news, I guess. We’ll see what Lachlan does with the brand. But since he hasn’t said his first task is to make people tell the truth, I can only assume he’s not gonna do anything interesting or good. Hey! Very on brand for Fox News!

Sen. Bob Menendez

-via NPR

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, a democrat out of New Jersey, has been in indicted on corruption charges, as prosecutors allege he accepted cash, gold, and other things in exchange for your classic super corrupt acts like providing sensitive information to Egypt.

In all, five people , including Menendez’s wife are named in the 39-page indictment, in which Menendez is charged with three counts. All are expected in federal court on Wednesday for the first hearing.

This is all old hat (is that a phrase? Should it be?) for Menendez who, six years ago, was tried on unrelated corruption claims – though that one ended with a hung jury.

Given all of that, some Democrats are (rightfully) calling for him to step down, though to be honest – I’d like to see a few more jump in. For what it’s worth, Sen. John Fetterman was the first to call for his resignation. New Jersey’s governor, Phil Murphy, has also joined the calls for him to step down. He, however, says he will stay in office and let justice prevail.

Good luck babe. Ya had gold bars stuffed in your monogrammed jacket. It doesn’t look great, bob!

Over the weekend, New Jersey Hour Rep Andy Kim, a democrat, said he would challenge Menendez for the seat next year.

New Dress Code in the Senate

-via Vox

Speaking of John Fetterman, and also the Senate… John Fetterman, who is 6’ 8” and about 270, is well known for wearing shorts and oversized sweatshirts around town. Probably a little because it’s comfortable, also who in their right mind WANTS to wear a suit and jacket in DC in the summer, and also because… dude is 6’ 8”! Do you know how hard it is to shop for someone that tall? Well neither do I, because I’m 5’1 ½” – the same height as America’s sweetheart Rachel Bilson. But it seems really hard.

For years, the Senate has had a dress code that previously required men to wear a suit and tie, and women to wear pantsuits or dresses. Here’s the thing about Congress – while there are some big rules, famously the nitty gritty rules are up to each Congressional session to decide about. Recall that there’s a House Rules Committee and a Senate Rules Committee. There’s also a leader of each of those.

All of that brings me to last week, when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer relaxed the dress code. And people have lost their dang minds. Joey Manchy said it “degrades” the institution. Joey Manchy! Babe – please care more about the filibuster that is preventing anything from being done, than what someone else is wearing.

That’s not like – BIG news, but a lot of Republicans are using it as a talking point, because they don’t want you to realize that they’re not doing anything.

Cool party. No notes.

Truck vs Train

-via CNN

Six people are dead, including three children, after a train hit an SUV as it crossed the railroad tracks in Florida.

One person in the car survived the crash.

An absolutely horrific reminder to please, please, please – do not try to beat the train.

UAW Strike Update

-via AP News

The United Auto Workers union has expanded their strike, with workers walking out of all 38 parts-distribution centers operated by GM and Stellantis in 20 states. Ford, which appears to be making progress in their negotiations, was spared from the strike expansion.

Biden is expected to visit the picket lines tomorrow, a historic first for the pro-union president.

But because we’re also in the circus of an election cycle, Trump is expected to visit the striking workers on Wednesday.

Hear me out… I think one of those is going to go better than the other.

WGA Strike Update

-via CNN

A tentative agreement has been reached between the AMPTP and Writers Guild. This is breaking news, so we’ll hopefully know more.

As a reminder, this will still have to be ratified by the writers. But if that happens, that means that the second-longest writers’ strike will finally, mercifully, come to an end.

Meanwhile, SAG-AFTRA is still on strike with no forward movement being made, at least as far as we know. So, while the writers’ strike may be coming to an end, we still need to be out in the streets for the actors. Because what do we say – union solidarity all day everyday baybee.

OR

The latest round of negotiations because the writers guild and the APMPTP is still… you know… negotiating. Despite hoping to have a tentative agreement before Yom Kippur, which began at Sunday’s sundown and ends tonight at nightfall, the two sides have yet to reach an agreement. However, it sounds like they are getting closer!

As a reminder, once a deal is reached, this will still have to be ratified by the writers. But if that happens, that means that the second-longest writers’ strike will finally, mercifully, come to an end.

Meanwhile, SAG-AFTRA is still on strike with no forward movement being made, at least as far as we know. So, while the writers’ strike may be coming to an end, we still need to be out in the streets for the actors. Because what do we say – union solidarity all day everyday baybee.

And that’s it. That’s the news.

I mean, that’s actually not all of the news. There’s a pretty big piece of news in regards to the House but it is SLOPPY so that’s going to be a special episode coming out tomorrow.

In the meantime… I’m proud of lobsters. I follow this guy on TikTok who fishes lobsters in Maine and I’ve really learned a lot about them. About the barnicales that grow on them. About how the pregnant lobsters get notches in their tail so if they get caught when they’re not pregnant, they can get set free. Very interesting.

But more than lobsters. Because you don’t need a notch in your tail (I don’t think?)… I’m proud of you.