Comment on PETER HITCHENS: A smacking ban? It may come back and slap us in the face

Manhattan prosecutors identified seven new violations by Donald Trump of the gag order against him in the “hush-money” criminal case. The judge is expected to take up the violations next Wednesday when the trial is on recess.

“Jury selection is set to resume Friday morning in Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York,” the Washington Post reports. “Twelve jurors have been picked to hear the case, along with one alternate. Five more alternates are still being sought, and opening statements are expected to begin Monday.”

Associated Press: “One woman miscarried in the restroom lobby of a Texas emergency room as front desk staff refused to admit her. Another woman learned that her fetus had no heartbeat at a Florida hospital, the day after a security guard turned her away from the facility. And in North Carolina, a woman gave birth in a car after an emergency room couldn’t offer an ultrasound.

Republican voters should be absolutely furious with their elected leaders. As I wrote in 2013 on the fight over Obamacare: .memberful-global-teaser-content p:last-child{ -webkit-mask-image: linear-gradient(180deg, #000 0%, transparent); mask-image: linear-gradient(180deg, #000 0%, transparent); } Join now to continue reading. Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more. If you’re already a member, sign in to your account.

“Speaker Mike Johnson’s sudden bid to deliver aid to Ukraine came days after fresh intelligence described the U. S. ally at a true make-or-break moment in its war with Russia,” Politico reports. “It was exactly the kind of dire assessment that President Joe Biden and the White House had spent months privately warning Johnson was inevitable.”

“The Biden administration is considering more than $1 billion in new weapons deals for Israel including tank ammunition, military vehicles and mortar rounds, U. S. officials said, at a time of heightened scrutiny of the use of American-made weapons in the war in Gaza,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The proposed weapons transfers—which would be in addition to those in a military aid deal currently before the Congress—would be among the largest to Israel since it invaded Gaza in response to Hamas’s attack that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on Oct.