Comment on Fact Check: GOP field flubs, big and small

Axios: “Infant deaths surged 12.9% in Texas compared with 1.8% for the rest of the country after the state in 2021 enacted a strict abortion ban with no exceptions for birth defects, according to a new study in JAMA Pediatrics.” “The findings add to a body of evidence showing infants born in states with more abortion restrictions are likelier to die before they’re 1 year old.”

“This House GOP is about to add another item to their long list of abnormal events: voting to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in ‘inherent contempt,’” Politico reports. “Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said she will force a vote this week on the rarely used tool, which would direct the House sergeant at arms to take Garland into custody.”

“The prosecution of Donald Trump over his retention of classified documents has moved so slowly that some legal observers have questioned whether the judge overseeing the case is in over her head,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The actions of U. S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, from her courthouse two hours north of Miami, have only added to the mystery.” “At a hearing on Friday, she took the unusual step of allowing a Texas law professor and two other lawyers unaffiliated with the case to argue on whether the special counsel behind the prosecution, Jack Smith, was unlawfully appointed.” Washington Post: Judge Cannon dives into Justice Dept.

“At Camp David, a movie theater and an airplane hangar have been outfitted with lights and production equipment to create a mock debate stage. At least 16 current and former aides, summoned from Washington and Wilmington, whiz back and forth on golf carts to join President Biden in strategy sessions,” the New York Times reports. “Mr.

Former North Dakota state Sen. Ray Holmberg (R) has signed an agreement indicating he will plead guilty to a “child sex tourism” charge, the North Dakota Monitor reports. In the agreement, the longtime legislative leader acknowledges he repeatedly traveled to Prague, Czech Republic, for the purposes of engaging in commercial sex with adolescents under age 18, the document states.

“It’s been two years since the conservative-leaning Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and things haven’t gone exactly as planned for anti-abortion advocates,” Bloomberg reports. “The court’s Dobbs v Jackson decision opened the door to states banning or severely restricting abortion access. But it also sparked a drive by backers of abortion rights to put the issue on ballots in the November election.