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 302: "We must draw the line."
Today in one sentence: The House voted to censure Rep. Paul Gosar for posting an animated video that depicted him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking Biden; Trump asked a federal appeals court to block the National Archives from sending his White House records related to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol to Congress; the now-infamous shirtless insurrectionist wearing face paint and a horned helmet during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in the attack; the Commission on Civil Rights appointed the Republican attorney who helped Trump attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election to a federal election advisory board; and the seven-day average of new hospital admissions with Covid-19 climbed in 25 states from a week earlier.
1/ The House voted to censure Rep. Paul Gosar for posting an animated video that depicted him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking Biden. Gosar was also stripped of his committee assignments. The vote was 223 to 207, with two Republicans – Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger – joining Democrats in favor. Kevin McCarthy called the vote an “abuse of power” by Democrats. Nancy Pelosi, however, deemed the social media post an “emergency,” saying: “We can not have a member joking about murdering another. This is about workplace harassment and violence against women.” In a speech from the House floor prior to the vote, Ocasio-Cortez said: “As leaders in this country, when we incite violence with depictions against our colleagues, that trickles down into violence in this country, and that is where we must draw the line, independent of party or belief. It is about a core recognition of human dignity and value and worth.” Gosar, meanwhile, claimed that the video was “mischaracterized,” but did not apologize. (Politico / Associated Press / New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post)
2/ Trump asked a federal appeals court to block the National Archives from sending his White House records related to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol to Congress, arguing that the Constitution gives a former president the power to keep files confidential even though they are no longer in office – and even though Biden refused to assert executive privilege over them. Last week, a Federal District Court judge sided with Congress and the Biden administration that while Trump could invoke executive privilege, whatever residual secrecy powers he possessed were outweighed by the sitting president agreeing that the documents should be turned over to House investigators. The appeals court, however, temporarily put a hold on the ruling, and a three-judge panel is scheduled to review whether Trump can control records the National Archives is set to give to the House after Thanksgiving. (New York Times / CNN / Washington Post)
3/ The now-infamous shirtless insurrectionist wearing face paint and a horned helmet during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in the attack. Jacob Chansley, the so-called “QAnon Shaman,” pleaded guilty on Sept. 3 to one felony count of unlawfully obstructing an official proceeding. During the attack, Chansley left a note for Pence on the Senate dais that read: “It’s Only A Matter Of Time. Justice Is Coming!” Chansley’s sentence of roughly 3.5 years is the longest sentence handed down to any Jan. 6 participant so far. (ABC News / Washington Post / CNN)
4/ The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights appointed the Republican attorney who helped Trump attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election to a federal election advisory board. Cleta Mitchell was named to the Board of Advisors for the federal Election Assistance Commission. While the advisory board can’t directly make policy, it does recommend guidelines for the EAC, which certifies voting systems and advises on federal election compliance. On Jan. 2, 2020, Mitchell joined Trump on a phone call where Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes to overturn the election in his favor. (Associated Press / Business Insider)
5/ The seven-day average of new hospital admissions with Covid-19 climbed in 25 states from a week earlier. Two weeks ago, only 14 states saw a rise in hospital admissions. (Bloomberg)
6/ The Biden administration will purchase 10 million courses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 antiviral pill once authorized. In a clinical trial, Paxlovid reduced the rate of death and hospitalization by 89% when given to people at high risk of severe illness within three days of symptoms. Paxlovid could become available at pharmacies within weeks pending FDA authorization. The FDA, meanwhile, is aiming to authorize booster doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine for all adults as soon as Thursday. The CDC’s independent committee of vaccine experts is scheduled to meet Friday to discuss the booster dose’s efficacy and safety. (Washington Post / New York Times)
7/ More than 100,000 people died of drug overdoses between April 2020 and April 2021 – the first time that drug-related deaths have reached six figures in any 12-month period. Overdose deaths were up almost 30% from the 78,000 deaths in the prior year. (NPR / New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal)
8/ Biden called for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether oil and gas companies are engaging in “illegal conduct” by keeping gasoline prices high. In a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan, Biden said there’s “mounting evidence of anti-consumer behavior by oil and gas companies,” noting that gasoline prices are rising even as the price of unfinished gasoline goes down. The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $3.41 – that’s $1.29 more than a year ago. “This unexplained large gap between the price of unfinished gasoline and the average price at the pump is well above the pre-pandemic average,” Biden wrote. “Meanwhile, the largest oil-and-gas companies in America are generating significant profits off higher energy prices.” (Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / CNBC / New York Times / USA Today)
poll/ 40% of voters agree that Biden “is in good health,” while 50% disagreed – a 29-point shift since Oct. 2020. Biden turns 79 on Saturday. (Politico)
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.
Become a supporting member.
It's not enough to be a consumer of media. You must be a stakeholder in it. Invest in the continued production of WTF Just Happened Today? by becoming a supporting member. Choose from three recurring membership options below: