Month: October 2023

On Wednesday, Republicans nominated Rep. Steve Scalise to be the next House Speaker after the historic ousting of Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the position.

In a narrow margin, House Republicans pushed aside Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the firebrand Judiciary Committee chairman, after private balloting at the Capitol. Instead, they voted in favor of Scalise, the current majority leader. The Louisiana congressman is currently battling blood cancer; and is seen as a hero after surviving a shooting on lawmakers at a congressional baseball game practice in 2017. Scalise said: “We have a lot of work to do … We need to make sure we’re sending a message to people all throughout the world, that the House is open to doing the people’s business.”

Republicans will now attempt to quickly unite their deeply divided majority and elect the conservative in a public floor vote. A floor vote of the whole House was expected, but with tension still running high among Republicans after McCarthy’s stunning removal last week, the House broke indefinitely, with next steps uncertain. It is also uncertain whether lawmakers who supported Jordan, the hard-liner backed by Donald Trump, will throw their support behind Scalise. Democrats are set to oppose the Republican nominee, and plan to nominate their leader, New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.

Jordan said little after the vote, only that the GOP majority “is divided,” but gave Scalise a nominating speech on the floor in a show of support Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a centrist leader, said, “We do need to get a speaker in place so we can govern. What we should have heard today after the vote count was, ‘I will heartily support Steve. Let’s get behind him.’ We did not hear that.”

In a floor vote, Scalise would need to amass votes from almost all Republicans to overcome opposition from the Democrats. The majority needed would be 218 votes, but there are currently two vacant seats, dropping the threshold to 217.

Currently, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., who was named as the speaker pro-tempore, is effectively in charge. However, he has shown little interest in extending his role as interim leader.

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Authorities announced Wednesday that former NFL player Sergio Brown was arrested in San Diego and faces first-degree murder charges in connection with the September death of his mother. According to a news release from the police department, San Diego Police Department and other local and federal agencies took Brown into custody Tuesday when he was entering the United States from Mexico. Brown, 35, was booked at about 4 p.m. local time Tuesday and is being held without bail. He is awaiting extradition to Illinois to face first-degree murder charges.

The news comes three-and-a-half weeks after family members reported Brown and his mother Myrtle Brown missing on Sept. 16. They were unable to locate Brown and a had a warrant issued for his arrest. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said that Myrtle’s death is being investigated as a homicide, and that she died as a result of “multiple injuries due to assault.”

Disturbing social media videos from Brown began to surface days after his mother’s death. A video appearing to be Brown was posted on an Instagram account, and while Brown didn’t refer to his mother’s death directly in the video, he claimed that the FBI paid him an “unwarranted” visit on “Bob Marley’s death day.” He also claimed the Maywood Police Department “kidnapped” him on two occasions. In the since-deleted video, he also said he thought Myrtle was “on vacation,” and that “it had to be the FBI or Maywood PD,” without explicitly stating what “it” referred to. Two days later, he appeared in another video on the same Instagram account, singing a Drake song and making references to dying.

Brown played in the NFL for six seasons, signing with the New England Patriots in 2010 and retiring following the 2016 season, during which he played for the Bills.

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In remarks delivered from the White House, President Biden condemned the Hamas militant group’s bloody attacks on Israel that took place over the weekend, calling them an “act of sheer evil” and strongly emphasized that “we stand with Israel.” Ahead of his remarks, Mr. Biden met with his national security team, and he and Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss U.S. support for Israel.

The President, standing alongside Vice President Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said the people of Israel experienced “pure, unadulterated evil at the bloody hands” of Hamas, which has long been designated a terrorist organization by the United States.  Biden declared: “This was an act of sheer evil … and in this moment, we must be crystal clear: We stand with Israel. We stand with Israel. And we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, to defend itself and to respond to this attack. There’s no justification for terrorism. There’s no excuse.”

Biden also revealed that at least 14 Americans are among the more than 900 people killed in Israel, and American citizens are also among those being held captive by Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. After Biden’s remarks, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that while he could not confirm the precise number of U.S. citizens who are hostages, there are 20 or more Americans missing. Sullivan said: “We will work hour-by-hour both to determine whether we can account for any of those Americans, or to confirm exactly the number of Americans held hostage. We do not know the number of hostages we have at this time.”

The President’s remarks came after Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules the Gaza Strip, launched its surprise assault on Israel early Saturday morning. Israel Defense Forces have since said that at least 900 dead and roughly 2,700 wounded, and dozens more people are being held captive by the group. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, in Gaza the death toll is at least 900, with 4,500 wounded. Those numbers are expected to rise as Israel continues to launch airstrikes across the Gaza Strip.

Mr. Biden has repeatedly expressed unwavering support for Israel since the terrorist attack, with the White House lit in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, as a symbol of “the ironclad support and solidarity of the American people with the people of Israel in the wake of the barbaric terrorist attacks committed by Hamas,” according to the White House. Mr. Biden, along with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, also issued a joint statement condemning Hamas and “its appalling acts of terrorism. Our countries will support Israel in its efforts to defend itself and its people against such atrocities. We further emphasize that this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage. All of us recognize the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, and support equal measures of justice and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike. But make no mistake: Hamas does not represent those aspirations, and it offers nothing for the Palestinian people other than more terror and bloodshed.”

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Former MLB all-star Steve Garvey announced on Tuesday he will run for California’s open U.S. Senate seat in 2024. The 74-year-old Garvey, who enters the California U.S. Senate race as a Republican in a predominantly Democratic state, is seeking to succeed the late California Sen. Dianne Feinstein who died Sept. 29 at age 90. Feinstein had held the seat since 1992. A Republican candidate hasn’t won a Senate race in 35 years in California.

Garvey launched his campaign in a video filled with baseball imagery that recalled his career as a perennial All-Star who played first base for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.  Garvey said in the video: “I never played for Democrats or Republicans or independents. I played for all of you. It’s going to be a commonsense campaign.” Garvey added that his campaign will focus on improving the quality of life for all Californians by reducing inflation, addressing public safety issues, advocating for small businesses and reducing homelessness: “We need fresh voices; we need new ideas. We need people who are going to be exactly that: for the people. Simply, I’m running for all the people — the things that affect the daily lives of people in California.”

Steve Garvey was a 10-time All-Star and appeared in the World Series five times — four with the Dodgers and one with the Padres.  He won the NL MVP in 1974, when he batted .312 with 21 home runs and 111 RBIs while leading the Dodgers to the World Series. Seven years later, the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in the 1981 World Series, with Garvey batting .417 in the six-game series, finishing with 10 hits in 24 at-bats. After 14 seasons with the Dodgers, Garvey signed with San Diego before the 1983 season and helped lead the Padres to the first World Series appearance in franchise history the next season. He played his last major league game in 1987 with the Padres after an 18-year major league career.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom temporarily appointed Democrat Laphonza Butler, president of EMILY’s List, to fill Feinstein’s seat. She has not announced intentions to run in 2024. Other Democratic candidates in the Senate race include Reps. Adam Schiff, Barbara Lee, and Katie Porter.

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