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 by Matt Kiser and delivered to 200,000+ people every afternoon around 3 pm Pacific.
Day 797: "Degenerate psychopath."
Today in one sentence: A 28-year-old woman shot and killed three children and three staff members at a Christian school in Nashville before being shot and killed by the police; Trump threatened “potential death & destruction” if he's indicted by the Manhattan grand jury; former publisher of the National Enquirer testified before the Manhattan grand jury investigating Trump's role in a hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels; a federal judge ordered Mark Meadows and other former Trump aides to testify to the grand jury investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election; the Fox News producer who sued the network alleging she was "conditioned and coerced" to give false testimony in the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems has been fired; Kentucky’s Democratic governor vetoed a Republican bill that would prohibit transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming care; and 38% of Americans said patriotism was very important to them – down from 70% in 1998.
1/ A 28-year-old woman shot and killed three children and three staff members at a Christian school in Nashville before being shot and killed by the police. The woman, Audrey Hale, 28, a resident of Nashville, was armed with two assault-style rifles and a handgun. The White House, meanwhile, said: “Enough is enough […] How many more children have to be murdered before Republicans in Congress will step up and act to pass the assault weapons ban, to close loopholes in our background check system, or to require the safe storage of guns?” [Editor’s note: This is a developing story.] (The Hill / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / ABC News)
- The gun that divides a nation. “This is how it came to dominate the marketplace.” (Washington Post)
2/ Trump threatened “potential death & destruction” if he’s indicted by the Manhattan grand jury investigating the hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. In a late-night post on his personal social media platform, Trump called Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg a “degenerate psychopath” while wondering aloud “What kind of person can charge another person […] with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed?” (Washington Post / CNN)
3/ The former publisher of the National Enquirer testified before the Manhattan grand jury investigating Trump’s role in a hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels. David Pecker, who previously served as CEO of American Media, also testified in January about how Michael Cohen asked American Media to buy the rights to Stormy Daniels’ story to keep her from publicly disclosing it – a practice known as “catch and kill.” The grand jury adjourned Monday without taking a vote on whether to indict Trump, and is next scheduled to meet on Wednesday. (CNN / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / CNBC / NBC News)
4/ A federal judge ordered Mark Meadows and other former Trump aides to testify to the grand jury investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Judge Beryl Howell rejected Trump’s claims of executive privilege to block more than a half-dozen former administration officials from responding to grand jury subpoenas issued by special counsel Jack Smith for testimony and documents. In a separate decision last week, Howell ordered Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran to testify in the classified documents case under the “crime fraud” exception, provision that allows prosecutors to work around attorney-client privilege if they have reason to believe that legal advice or services were used to further a crime. Howell’s order noted that Smith’s team had made “a prima facie showing that the former president committed criminal violations.” Trump is expected to appeal the sealed ruling. (ABC News / NBC News / New York Times)
5/ The Fox News producer who sued the network alleging she was “conditioned and coerced” to give false testimony in the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems has been fired. In the amended complaint, Abby Grossberg said she was fired in “yet another thinly veiled act of retaliation” while expanding on her earlier allegations about “impermissible coaching and coercion” by Fox lawyers, bias, unprofessional behavior by staff members, and discrimination by the network. Grossberg wants to correct the Sept. 14 deposition she gave about the network’s coverage of Dominion Voting Systems, which she says was inauthentic given how Fox News was “fraudulently inducing her to deny facts she knew to exist.” (NBC News / ABC News / Talking Points Memo / CNN / CBS News)
6/ Kentucky’s Democratic governor vetoed a Republican bill that would prohibit transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming care, such as surgical procedures or the use of certain hormones. The bill would also ban discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, and allow teachers to refuse to refer to transgender students by their preferred pronouns. The Republican-majority state legislature could still override Gov. Andy Beshear. (Associated Press / CNN)
poll/ 38% of Americans said patriotism was very important to them – down from 70% in 1998 – while 39% said religion was very important – down from 62% in 1998. (Wall Street Journal)
poll/ 44% of Democratic voters want Biden to step aside in 2024, while 25% want Biden to run again, and 30% have no preference. (Monmouth University Poll)
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 by Matt Kiser and delivered to 200,000+ people every afternoon around 3 pm Pacific.
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