WTF Just Happened Today Matt Kiser

1/ The Supreme Court approved a white-dominated congressional district drawn by the Republican-controlled South Carolina legislature, reversing a lower court decision that found the map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander that resulted in the “bleaching of African American voters” from a district. The decision, however, won’t have a direct effect on the 2024 election. South Carolina had asked the justices to issue a decision by Jan. 1, but after that deadline passed the lower court ordered the state to use the map deemed unconstitutional this year no matter how the Supreme Court ruled. (New York Times / NBC News / NPR / Politico / Associated Press / Washington Post / CNN / Wall Street Journal)

2/ A second flag carried by rioters on Jan. 6 was flown outside Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s vacation home in New Jersey. The “Appeal to Heaven” flag has been embraced by Christian nationalists and, like the inverted U.S. flag, was carried by rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6. It dates back to the Revolutionary War. The flag was displayed at Alito’s New Jersey vacation home in July and September of 2023. An upside-down American flag – a symbol of the “Stop the Steal” movement – was hung outside Alito’s home days after the Jan. 6 attack. Democrats, meanwhile, called for Alito to recuse himself from cases related to Trump and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. In the coming weeks, the Supreme Court will rule on whether those who stormed the Capitol can be prosecuted for obstruction, and whether Trump is immune from prosecution for actions he took while president. (New York Times / Associated Press / CNN / Axios)

3/ House Republicans temporarily banned a Democrat from speaking in the chamber after he listed off Trump’s criminal charges. “Donald Trump might want to be a king, but he’s not a king,” Rep. Jim McGovern said. “We have a presumptive nominee for president facing 88 felony counts, and we’re being prevented from even acknowledging it. These are not alternative facts. There are real facts […] And yet, in this Republican-controlled House, it’s OK to talk about the trial, but you have to call it a sham.” McGovern went on to list the counts Trump was facing, including that he was “on trial for sendin...

1/ The Supreme Court approved a white-dominated congressional district drawn by the Republican-controlled South Carolina legislature, reversing a lower court decision that found the map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander that resulted in the “bleaching of African American voters” from a district. The decision, however, won’t have a direct effect on the 2024 election. South Carolina had asked the justices to issue a decision by Jan. 1, but after that deadline passed the lower court ordered the state to use the map deemed unconstitutional this year no matter how the Supreme Court ruled. (New York Times / NBC News / NPR / Politico / Associated Press / Washington Post / CNN / Wall Street Journal)

2/ A second flag carried by rioters on Jan. 6 was flown outside Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s vacation home in New Jersey. The “Appeal to Heaven” flag has been embraced by Christian nationalists and, like the inverted U.S. flag, was carried by rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6. It dates back to the Revolutionary War. The flag was displayed at Alito’s New Jersey vacation home in July and September of 2023. An upside-down American flag – a symbol of the “Stop the Steal” movement – was hung outside Alito’s home days after the Jan. 6 attack. Democrats, meanwhile, called for Alito to recuse himself from cases related to Trump and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. In the coming weeks, the Supreme Court will rule on whether those who stormed the Capitol can be prosecuted for obstruction, and whether Trump is immune from prosecution for actions he took while president. (New York Times / Associated Press / CNN / Axios)

3/ House Republicans temporarily banned a Democrat from speaking in the chamber after he listed off Trump’s criminal charges. “Donald Trump might want to be a king, but he’s not a king,” Rep. Jim McGovern said. “We have a presumptive nominee for president facing 88 felony counts, and we’re being prevented from even acknowledging it. These are not alternative facts. There are real facts […] And yet, in this Republican-controlled House, it’s OK to talk about the trial, but you have to call it a sham.” McGovern went on to list the counts Trump was facing, including that he was “on trial for sendin...

1/ Biden canceled $7.7 billion in student loans for another 160,000 borrowers. This latest round of forgiveness brings the total student debt relief approved by the Biden administration to $167 billion. More than one in 10 Americans with federal student loans have been approved for some form of debt relief under Biden. (Axios / Bloomberg / Associated Press)

2/ The Senate confirmed Biden’s 200th federal judge. At this point in his term, Trump had secured 196 judges. Trump ultimately confirmed 234 judges. If Biden and the Democrats exceed 234 confirmed judges, they’ll have replaced about one-quarter of the federal judiciary. (Politico / NBC News / Associated Press)

3/ Spain, Norway, and Ireland said they would recognize an independent Palestinian state. While a largely symbolic move, the group said they were “confident that further countries will join us in taking this important step in the coming weeks.” More than 140 countries currently recognize a Palestinian state, including more than two-thirds of the United Nations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the move, calling it “a reward for terrorism” that would “not stop us from reaching a victory over Hamas.” The White House also rejected unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood, saying “a Palestinian state should be realized through direct negotiations between the parties.” Still, the announcement comes days after the International Criminal Court requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israel’s defense minister, and the leaders of Hamas for war crimes stemming from the Oct. 7 attacks and the Israeli offensive in Gaza. (New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / NPR / NBC News / CNN)

4/ Months before Trump was indicted for mishandling classified documents, a federal judge said the Justice Department had “strong evidence” that Trump “intended” to hide classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. After Trump was informed by his attorney of a government subpoena for video footage from his Mar-a-Lago club, he realized that the security cameras could capture his employees moving classified government information that officials were attempting to retrieve. Trump allegedly instructed aides to then return several boxes they had previously removed – without being caught on camera. And, four months after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, four documents marked “classified” were...

1/ Israel’s Communications Ministry confiscated camera and broadcasting equipment from the Associated Press, claiming the news agency had violated a new broadcasting law for providing a live feed of Gaza to Al Jazeera. The Associated Press said the seizure was “not based on the content of the feed but rather an abusive use by the Israeli government of the country’s new foreign broadcaster law.” Following swift condemnation from the Biden administration and journalism organizations, Israeli officials said the equipment would be returned. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid also denounced the decision to seize press equipment, calling it “an act of madness.” Lapid added: “This government acts as if it has decided to make sure at any cost that Israel will be shunned all over the world. They went crazy.” Earlier this month, Israel shut down Al Jazeera’s operations in the country, accusing the Qatari-based news network of harming Israel’s security and inciting violence against its soldiers. (Associated Press / CNN / Axios / Washington Post / New York Times)

2/ Trump’s campaign adopted Nazi rhetoric in a social media post that referred to “the creation of a unified Reich” if he becomes president again. In a 30-second video posted to Trump’s personal social media platform, a narrator discusses “what’s next for America” if Trump wins again while a series of hypothetical headlines flash across the screen, including “BORDER IS CLOSED — 15 MILLION ILLEGAL ALIENS DEPORTED,” “ECONOMY BOOMS,” and “INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED BY THE CREATION OF A UNIFIED REICH.” The term “reich” is associated with Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler, who designated his Nazi regime as the “Third Reich.” The White House denounced the post, calling it “dangerous and offensive” and that it’s “abhorrent, sickening, and disgraceful for anyone to promote content associated with Germany’s Nazi government under Adolf Hitler.” Trump’s campaign responded, calling Biden “the real extremist” and that “this was not a campaign video, it was created by a random account online and reposted by a staffer who clearly did not see the word, while the President was in court” facing 34 felony counts of election interference. (Politico / New York Times / NBC News / NPR / ABC News / Associated Press / Washington Post / a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/trumps-social-media-account-posts-video-referencing-a-unified-reich-6707...

1/ The International Criminal Court will seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. A panel of three judges will decide whether to issue the arrest warrants and allow a case to proceed against Netanyahu, Sinwar, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and two other senior Hamas officials. The judges are expected take two months to decide. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said he has evidence that Netanyahu and Gallant are responsible for the “starvation of civilians […] willful killing or Murder […] intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as a war crime,” and “intentionally and systematically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of objects indispensable to human survival.” Netanyahu called the ICC’s decision “an utter distortion of reality” that “will not stop us from waging our just war against Hamas.” Biden, meanwhile, called the decision “outrageous,” saying “there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas.” (Axios / CNN / Associated Press / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News)

2/ Prosecutors, who charged Trump with 34 felony counts, rested their case in the election interference trial involving falsified business records. After the prosecution rested, Trump’s lawyers called two witnesses, including Robert Costello, a lawyer who has publicly accused Michael Cohen of lying. Separately, Cohen admitted that he stole $30,000 from the Trump Organization as a form of “self-help” after his bonus had been cut by two-thirds. At one point, Judge Juan Merchan briefly cleared the courtroom after Costello repeatedly made comments under his breath from the stand during objections by prosecutors. Costello is set to return to the stand tomorrow for cross-examination, and the defense said they do not expect to call any more witnesses. Once the defense rests, Merchan said he plans to send the jury home until closing arguments the day after Memorial Day. Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyer asked Merchan to dismiss the case. (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / Bloomberg / Associated Press / Politico / NBC News / ABC News)

3/ Rudy Giuliani was...

1/ Biden asserted executive privilege over the audio of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Biden’s handling of classified documents. Republicans had sought the audio recording of Hur’s interview with Biden as part of their stalled impeachment probe. Hur’s report recommended “no criminal charges,” but described Biden as someone who is “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.” Attorney General Merrick Garland advised Biden to assert executive privilege, arguing that releasing the audio would “damage future law enforcement efforts” and that House Republicans haven’t provided a compelling reason to override those concerns. In a letter to Republican House leaders, White House Counsel Ed Siskel added that “demanding such sensitive and constitutionally-protected law enforcement materials from the Executive Branch because you want to manipulate them for potential political gain is inappropriate.” Hours later, the House Judiciary Committee voted 18-15 to move forward with its effort Garland in contempt of Congress for his failure to comply with a subpoena to turn over the recordings. (ABC News / Associated Press / Axios / Politico / NPR / NBC News / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / CNN)

2/ The Justice Department formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. While the rescheduling of marijuana would neither make it legal nor decriminalized, it would change the classification from a Schedule I status, alongside heroin and LSD, to Schedule III would bring the drug into regulatory parity with other substances, like ketamine and anabolic steroids. (ABC News / CBS News / Associated Press / CNN)

3/ Despite facing powerful hurricanes, extreme heat, worsening toxic algae blooms, and rising sea levels, Florida eliminated climate change as a state priority. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation that removes most references to climate change in state law, repeals state grant programs that support energy conservation and renewable energy, bans offshore wind turbines, and reduces regulation on gas pipelines. The failed one-time presidential candidate called the bill a common sense policy that’s “restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots.” (a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment...