First Thoughts: 2012's High Stakes

“Look at me, I’m MTG. Lousy with stupidity,” he sings. “Trashy as hell, I can’t math, read or spell, oh well! I’m MTG!” Source: The Wrap After going eight months between parody songs, Randy Rainbow is back just 10 days after his last one with a new tune, this time targeting Marjorie Taylor Greene. Instead of starting his video as an anchor for “Fake News Channel,” Rainbow instead appears as an anchor for “60 MAGATS,” joking that Greene was told he’s actually Leslie Stahl in order to get the “interview.” “It’s rare for a member of the House of Representatives to become nationally well-known,” he says seriously.

There is speculation that the UK Conservative Party will be wiped out in Wales after the upcoming general election, losing all their seats. That would be a good thing. Source: Wales Online The general election is happening on July 4, 2024, and after all the results are counted, Wales will have 32 MPs.

"Maybe his lawyers should put these points in their pre-sentencing memo?" tweeted George, while daughter Claudia added, "I think you forgot to add "felon." Snap. Nothing like some good friendly family banter, teasing mom for continuing to support a now-convicted felon who only works to undermine American democracy. Source: Raw Story Former Trump White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Friday defiantly defended former President Donald Trump after he was found guilty of 34 felony counts earlier this week. Writing on Twitter, Conway used one of her tried-and-tested spin tactics that she regularly employed while at the White House: Namely, she pivoted to attacking Trump's political opponents. "This Verdict Won't Change One Fundamental Thing: It won't make Joe Biden any less 81 years old; won't make Kamala Harris smarter; won't excuse the fact that Joe Biden crushed the American Dream for so many; won't excuse the millions, including terrorists and Chinese nationals, Biden has let walk into our country." Conway's attempt to wave away Trump's felony conviction — the first for any former president of the United States — was met with mockery by many of her followers, including her ex-husband George Conway, who has for years been one of Trump's fiercest critics. First, George chimed in.read more

In 2022, Fred Prehn, whom Scott Walker had appointed to the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board, at the urging of the Republicans, refused to leave his position even though his term expired. The conservative-controlled state supreme court ruled that he could remain in that position until either he resigned or a new person was nominated and confirmed.

Hendersonville, N. C. — A North Carolina aquarium that said it had a pregnant stingray with no male companion now says the fish has a rare reproductive disease. Thursday’s statement from the Aquarium and Shark Lab in Hendersonville did not say what disease the stingray, Charlotte, has or comment on the status of her pregnancy.

This article is part of The D. C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. Even by Donald Trump’s standards, the ex-President’s and newly-minuted felon’s Friday morning free-association session in the lobby of his Midtown Manhattan tower was a doozy—and a warning that the march toward Election Day could be just as befuddling. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Without evidence, Trump claimed once more that the dozen jurors who voted unanimously to convict him on 34 felony charges a day earlier were working at the behest of his political opponent, President Joe Biden.