02/16/24
Good morning! It’s Friday, February 16th.
National Almond Day.
Hey, stick around because at the end of the episode I’m gonna knock your socks off with an almond-related pancake tip.
And now, the news.
Update: Chiefs Parade Shooting
First up, we’ve got an update on the shooting that took place on Wednesday at the Chief’s Super Bowl parade. According to Kansas City police, the shooting was the result of a dispute. Two juvenile suspects have been detained but not yet charged. A third was detained but released.
Several guns were recovered at the scene.
Several?
Yeah because, in Missouri, there are no background checks, purchase permits, concealed carry permits. The state does not require secure storage or child access prevention, nor does it prevent guns in bars, K-12 schools, or regulate open carry.
So yeah – two kids got into a fight, and started shooting.
America.
Montana Senate Race
-via NBC News
After one whole week on the campaign trail, Representative Matt Rosendale, a Republican out of Montana, has dropped his bid for the Senate after Trump endorsed his opponent. So – two things here.
One, does anyone do any research when deciding to run for office? Like, did he not want to check in and see if Dear Leader was going to endorse anyone else?
And two – this is actually something to be aware of because that’s how much of a chokehold Trump has on the party. That this dude didn’t even last a week against a Trump-endorsed candidate. Didn’t even want to try.
So for us, folks who are not into a second Trump term, it means that we need to be serious about supporting people who actually are standing up to Trump.
One week. I can’t.
Trump’s New York Hush Money Trial
-via NPR
Just a heads up that Trump’s primary calendar is filling up quickly, because he’s added the hush money trial start date to his March.
As a reminder, because we haven’t talked about it in a while, this is the case where Trump falsified business records and tried to basically launder money in order to cover up his affair with Stormy Daniels, so that the affair would not come to light ahead of the 2016 election. Which is yet another, though very different than other things he’s done, form of election fraud.
That trail will start March 25th.
Fani Willis Trial
-via NY Times
On Thursday, Georgia DA Fani Willis found herself on the other side of the witness stand as she defended her personal relationship with one of the prosecutors, a relationship she doesn’t deny but does deny has benefited either of them financially.
It’s a lot about trips they took and who paid. The prosecutor called Willis “independent strong woman” (we love to see it) and said she always paid her own way whenever they went anywhere.
It was a very contentious hearing with some pretty worrisome consequences. If Willis is found to have done something that should disqualify her from office, she will be taken off the Georgia RICO case, which could delay if not derail the Georgia case.
Which is a bummed because if there’s a conflict of interest, that’s not great. Not even a little. In general, you know me, I love when people follow the rules. But if their confict of interest isn’t what caused to be a giant loser, I mean, in terms of the electoral college, that he lost many states, including Georgia and then tried to overturn the will of the Peach State voters. So the idea that this whole thing falls apart over a romance, that didn’t even last… would be super frustrating. And right after Valentine’s Day, too!
Biden “Crime” Drama
-via AP News
And hey here’s some news that I’m worried is gonna get buried so I’ll tell you and then you tell everyone else, deal?
An FBI informant who, in 2020, said that executives associated with Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter Biden and President Biden a cool $5 million each to have Hunter, through President Biden, protect the company from “all kinds of problems,”… has been accused oif making it up.
He lied.
That did not happen.
These claims, which he is now being accused to making up, are central to the House’s attempt to impeach President Biden, so we’ll see what happens if this guy is found guilty of lying (probably nothing. House Republicans aren’t going to do anything silly like inject reality into their work. But still).
Anyway, that guy has been accused of lying. Please go tell more people about this.
Caitlin Clark Breaks Record
-via ESPN
Iowa Hawkeye Guard Caitlin Clark has broken the NCAA scoring record. The record was previously set by Washington’s Kelsey Plum, but just a few minutes into her Thursday night game, Clark set her own news on a ling three-pointer.
The game is still going on as of this recording, but hey, that’s some fun news to end a Friday show with!
And that’s it. That’s the news.
Monday is a holiday, so I’ll see ya back here Tuesday.
Hey let me tell ya something – next time you make pancakes, toss a little almond extract in there. I promise, you’re gonna love it.
But more than almonds, because you’re also a little nutty… I’m proud of you.