Alec Baldwin charged with Involuntary Manslaughter; U.S. hits debt ceiling; SCOTUS has not discovered Dobbs leaker; Clinton-Lewinsky 25 years later; Naomi Judd's shocking suicide note
DeSantis makes request re: Trans students; Israel-Saudi relations? Sundance Film Festival returns in person; Netflix founder takes a small step down; T-Mobile hack; RIP David Crosby
(Editor’s Note: No large issue tonight but I wanted to bring you some top stories and fun stories of the day to ride into the weekend with. I am doing some traveling today. Have a great weekend! See you first of the week!)
Good Friday morning. TGIF!
My take: I just think we are going into backfire mode. I do not believe the prosecution of Alec Baldwin will be successful. They will not get a jury to convict him. It will backfire on the prosecutors. So too will the Debt Ceiling crisis backfire on Republicans. Hurting U.S. credit is not a smart move. I also see no reason for Ron DeSantis to be picking around state Universities about Trans students. It is an ignorant political move. If DeSantis runs for President he will learn that he needs moderates in his party and Independents to vote for him to win. Otherwise he will end up back in Florida, just as the former President did. In all these cases, the individuals who made these moves were looking for short-term publicity and not playing the long-game, just as the former President does daily (remember yesterday criticizing the Evangelicals). These are our leaders in law and politics….😟
Now to your “1 to…”
Start with a smile: 9-year-old Harlem student becomes New York state poet laureate: “In my mind, I used to be a child of poverty, not knowing that hopes and dreams can become reality," said Kayden Hern.
Alec Baldwin will be charged with Involuntary Manslaughter in ‘Rust’ killing: A gun that Mr. Baldwin was rehearsing with went off, killing the film’s cinematographer. The armorer responsible for weapons on set also faces manslaughter charges.
US hits debt ceiling, prompting Treasury to take extraordinary measures: The US hit the debt ceiling set by Congress on Thursday, forcing the Treasury Department to start taking extraordinary measures to keep the government paying its bills and escalating pressure on Capitol Hill to avoid a catastrophic default. The battle lines for the high-stakes fight have already been set. Hardline Republicans, who have enormous sway in the House because of the party’s slim majority, have demanded that lifting the borrowing cap be tied to spending reductions. The White House countered that it will not offer any concessions or negotiate on raising the debt ceiling. And with the solution to the debt ceiling drama squarely in lawmakers’ hands, fears are growing that the partisan brinksmanship could result in the nation defaulting on its debt for the first time ever – or coming dangerously close to doing so.
Supreme Court issues report on Dobbs leak but says it hasn’t identified the leaker: The Supreme Court issued an investigative report on Thursday, announcing that it has yet to determine who leaked a draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade to the media last year, but at least 90 people had access to the document at one point. In a statement, the court said that the investigative team “has to date been unable to identify a person responsible by a preponderance of the evidence.” It is also unlikely the leak resulted from a computer hack, the statement said. Investigators said they conducted 126 formal interviews of 97 employees, all of whom denied disclosing the opinion. They also conducted a fingerprint analysis, “looked closely into any connections between employees and reporters,” and “especially scrutinized any contacts with anyone associated with Politico.”
Trump calls for jailing journalists who broke Supreme Court’s draft abortion decision: Former President Trump is calling for the jailing of the journalists who published a leaked draft opinion showing the Supreme Court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade. Last spring, Politico reporters Josh Gerstein and Alexander Ward published a blockbuster report on a draft opinion penned by Justice Samuel Alito that would overturn the landmark abortion ruling.
Greene knocks Gaetz in exchange over committee assignment: Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) rebuffed a celebratory tweet from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Wednesday over her committee assignments, instead knocking her fellow far-right Republican for holding up Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (Calif.) Speakership bid earlier this month. In a tweet, Gaetz congratulated Greene for her appointments to the House Homeland Security and Oversight Committees, after being removed from her committee assignments under the Democratic majority.
'Boy Meets World' actor Ben Savage running for California House District 30: report: Actor Ben Savage, 42, unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the West Hollywood City Council in 2022.
Pentagon sends U.S. Arms stored in Israel to Ukraine: Israeli officials had initially expressed concerns that the move could damage its relations with Russia.
Netanyahu raises breakthrough with Saudi Arabia in meeting with US officials: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said he discussed steps on achieving a breakthrough in relations with Saudi Arabia as part of wide-ranging discussions with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu said diplomatic relations with Riyadh were discussed as part of the next steps to deepen the Abraham Accords, the normalization agreements brokered during the former Trump administration that established ties between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Iraq Economy reels as U.S. moves against money flows to Iran: Baghdad bristles over enforcement of controls on dollar transactions.
Monica Lewinsky marks 25 years since Clinton scandal with Vanity Fair essay, recounts lessons she's learned: Lewinsky says world has embraced 'bullying' and is 'closer to the reality' of 'The Handmaid’s Tale'.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis seeks information on transgender university students: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is seeking information on university students who have sought gender-affirming treatment, according to a survey released Wednesday. In a request sent to 12 state universities, top officials with the Republican governor requested data on the number of students who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria or who have received treatment in university clinics across the state.
Teacher who allegedly was shot by 6-year-old has been released from the hospital as child’s family issues first statement: The family of the 6-year-old Virginia boy who allegedly shot his first-grade teacher at a Newport News elementary school nearly two weeks ago have released a statement for the first time since the incident, lauding the teacher and saying their child has an acute disability.
“Our heart goes out to our son’s teacher and we pray for her healing in the aftermath of such an unimaginable tragedy as she selflessly served our son and the children in the school,” the Thursday statement, released by attorney James Ellenson, said. The statement comes on the same day officials announced Richneck Elementary School teacher Abby Zwerner, who was wounded in the January 6 classroom shooting, has been released from the hospital.
More than 1,300 nursing homes had COVID infection rates of at least 75 percent in 2020: HHS.
Fox’s Neil Cavuto: ‘We owe more than we’re worth’ as a country.
'Do not let Wy come to my funeral. She's mentally ill': Naomi Judd's suicide note is revealed as cops claim she threatened to kill herself SIX TIMES and release grisly images of her blood-spattered bed after family dropped lawsuit: Naomi Judd left a suicide note asking for Wynonna to be barred from her funeral. The Post-it-style paper was found near the 76-year-old's body after killed herself. The note was among documents released by Williamson County police this week. Cops also shared images of her bloody bedding and a picture of a gun on a table. An officer's notes also said that Naomi had threatened to kill herself six times.
David Crosby, Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash Co-Founder, Dies at 81.
T.J. Holmes allegedly had sex with 24-year-old intern in his office: T.J. Holmes allegedly had sex with a much younger subordinate while on the job. A source claimed to DailyMail.com on Thursday that Holmes had a months-long affair with Jasmin Pettaway, then 24, in 2015 — while the currently suspended “GMA3” co-host was married to his now-estranged wife, Marilee Fiebig. “He was a predator who took full advantage of his position, and he was reckless,” claimed the source, who reportedly knew Pettaway — a script coordinator — well at the time. “It was Jasmin’s first real job in television, and it was a big deal for her,” continued the source, who spoke to the outlet on condition of anonymity. “She was looking for a mentor, and she reached out to several people. T.J. was someone who was responsive, but he absolutely abused the position of trust.”
37 million T-Mobile customers were hacked: T-Mobile said a “bad actor” accessed personal data from 37 million current customers in a November data breach.
In a regulatory filing Thursday, the company said the hacker stole customer data that included names, billing addresses, emails, phone numbers, dates of birth, T-Mobile account numbers and information describing the kind of service they have with the wireless carrier. T-Mobile said no social security numbers, credit card information, government ID numbers, passwords, PINs or financial information were exposed in the hack.
Netflix founder Reed Hastings is giving up CEO role: Co-CEO Ted Sarandos will remain in his position. Greg Peters, most recently chief operating officer, will assume the post of co-CEO in Hastings’ place.
“Less Emphasis on the Stars”: Indie Market, and finding new talent, In Focus as Sundance returns: In conversations with 20-plus festival veterans, top of mind is how in-person screenings will impact the market, who will be discovered this year (plus: who will sign them) and what the new programming team has in store.
Defending champion Rafael Nadal ousted from Australian Open.
How to have fun at a Ski resort if you don’t actually ski: Tips and tricks from someone who’s been there—a lot.
That’s a wrap for the week. Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate it. Have a great weekend unless you have something else to do. See you next week unless news breaks.