Finland is now officially a NATO member

As of today, the Nordic country is the 31st member of the defense alliance.

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Club for Growth moves to stop Jim Justice for Senate coronation

The Club for Growth will back GOP Rep. Alex Mooney’s West Virginia Senate bid, setting up a potential clash with Gov. Jim Justice, who is expected to enter the race at the behest of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

The conservative anti-tax group had vowed earlier to oppose Justice should he enter the Senate race. Their endorsement of Mooney came on the same day that Patrick Morrisey, the state’s attorney general, announced he would run for governor instead of making another run for Senate.

The endorsement adds another level of intrigue into one of the Republican Party’s primary Senate pick up opportunities this cycle.

The current incumbent, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, has not said whether or not he will seek reelection and doesn’t plan to make an announcement until the end of the year. Should he run again, he faces an uphill battle, running in a presidential year in a state that Donald Trump won by 39 points in 2020.

The Club supported Mooney, a member of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, in his 2022 run against GOP Rep. David McKinley for the seat he currently holds. But the group’s president, David McIntosh, had expressed support for both Mooney and Morrisey and the Club held off on an endorsement while both considered a Senate bid.

“Rep. Mooney has proven in his time in Congress that he is a conservative champion who will fight for lower taxes, safer streets, school freedom, and parental rights for the people of West Virginia,” McIntosh said in a statement. “Mooney will be a great US Senator and we’ll do whatever it takes to make sure he’s elected.”

The Club’s involvement could create a messy primary in a key state for Republicans, who are looking to reclaim the Senate majority.

Justice enjoys high approval ratings and massive personal wealth. He has met with NRSC Chair Steve Daines, who encouraged him to enter the race, according to a person familiar with the committee’s plans. The Mitch McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund also released a poll showing Justice as the only candidate who can beat Manchin.

McIntosh told reporters earlier this year that his group did not align with Justice, a former Democrat, but that it was interested in getting involved in the race.

“He would be in what we would call the moderate camp,” McIntosh said of Justice in February. “So we wouldn't support him in the primary.”

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White House: Trump surrendering is not Biden's focus today

Former President Donald Trump’s arraignment Tuesday is not a priority for President Joe Biden, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday.

“So first, I have to say this, it's an ongoing case, so we're just not going to comment on the case specifically itself,” Jean-Pierre said. “Look, the president is going to focus on the American people like he does every day. This is not something that is a focus for him. He is going to focus on things like making sure that that we lower, continue to lower prices for the American people.”

Jean-Pierre’s comments came minutes after Trump turned himself in to authorities in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, where he will be booked on criminal charges connected to his alleged role in a hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels.

“Of course, this is playing out on many of the networks here on a daily basis for hours and hours,” Jean-Pierre said. “So, obviously, he will catch part of the news when he has a moment to catch up on the news of the day, but this is not his focus for today.”

The White House has stuck to a “no comment” script since the news broke that Trump had been indicted Thursday.

Jean-Pierre said that when the White House first learned about the indictment, the president was not given a heads up.

The press secretary also said that the White House is prepared for any unrest that may happen in relation to Trump’s indictment. Biden on Monday said he has faith in New York City's police ahead of potential unrest in the city.

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Appeals court rejects Trump's bid to block aides from testifying in Jan. 6 probe

A federal appeals court in Washington rejected an emergency bid by former President Donald Trump to block several top aides from testifying in the special counsel investigation of his effort to subvert the 2020 election.

In a sealed order, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Trump’s urgent demand to block his aides from being required to appear before special counsel Jack Smith’s grand jury. Trump’s emergency motion triggered a frenzied set of overnight filings ahead of the Tuesday morning ruling.

It’s not immediately clear which aides were covered by the appeals court order, but Trump recently lost a bid to prevent top allies like Mark Meadows, Dan Scavino and Stephen Miller from answering questions he says should be covered by executive privilege. Trump appealed that ruling — issued in mid-March by U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell — last week, leading to the appeals court fight.

CNN has reported that the aides covered by Trump’s emergency order may include Meadows, Scavino, Miller and other former top Trump administration advisers like Robert O’Brien, John Ratcliffe and Ken Cuccinelli.

Smith’s investigation of Trump’s effort to seize a second term has intensified in recent months. He has won a series of rulings to compel testimony from top figures in Trump’s orbit, including former Vice President Mike Pence.

The three-judge panel that rejected Trump’s emergency motion consisted of Judges Patricia Millett, Robert Wilkins and Gregory Katsas. Millett and Wilkins are both appointees of former President Barack Obama, while Katsas was appointed by Trump. The appeals court’s action denying the motion was recorded in its public docket, although the actual order issued by the court and all other pleadings related to the dispute remain sealed.

Trump could try to take the issue to the Supreme Court, though he has opted against doing so in several other defeats connected to Smith’s Jan. 6 probe.

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Florida Republicans poised to make more changes to election laws

TALLAHASSEE — Florida voters beware: A voter registration card may not stop you from getting charged with voter fraud if a new bill rolled out Monday by the Florida Senate becomes law.

Senate Republicans released a 98-page comprehensive elections bill that includes a provision designed to undercut legal arguments that were made by those who were charged as part of a crackdown on voter fraud announced last August by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The lengthy bill also changes campaign finance deadlines, speeds up when local officials must scrub voter rolls for dead and ineligible voters and increases fines on voter registration groups if they break the law.

While Florida has seen its last two elections run without any major problems, this marks the third year in a row that legislators have advocated a long line of changes.

“We can all be proud that the 2022 election ran very smoothly across the state, but it is critical that we continue to safeguard against abuse, seek input from a variety of stakeholders, and make process improvements where we can,” said State Sen. Danny Burgess (R-Zephyrhills) in a statement about the legislation. “These efforts ensure we continue to maintain the integrity of our free and fair elections — a cornerstone of our nation’s democracy.”

The legislation does not address the state's resign-to-run law, even though GOP legislative leaders said they were willing to tweak the law to make sure that DeSantis does not have to give up his office should he become the Republican nominee for president.

But Democrats still reacted sharply to the proposed bill, which was released about one day before it is scheduled for its first vote in the state Senate. The House has yet to release a similar bill, but House Speaker Paul Renner has already said he expects his chamber to push through elections-related legislation.

“It is absolutely absurd to drop a 98-page elections bill with just a 24 hour notice for its first hearing,” said Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando). “Not only is it absurd, but it’s undemocratic and clearly designed to avoid public scrutiny. We should be introducing election reforms that make it simpler for people to vote and get registered to vote; not policies that make it harder."

The DeSantis administration last year highlighted the arrest of nearly two-dozen people for voting illegally because they had prior convictions for murder or sex offenses. But some of those arrested said they thought they were eligible because they had been issued a voter ID card. Under the process it is usually up to the state to figure out if someone is eligible.

The proposed bill (S.B. 7050) would now require a disclaimer to be placed on the card that says it is “not legal verification of the eligibility to vote.”

Desmond Meade, executive director and president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, called the proposal “a rush job” and a “legislative cover up to fix a flaw.”

Meade led the push for a 2018 constitutional amendment that restored voting rights for many convicted felons. Many people registered to vote after its passage, but there is not one central database available that can tell potential voters if they meet the new criteria.

“If a returning citizen can’t rely on the state to figure out if they are eligible, who can they rely on?” Meade said.

Since the 2020 election — where mail-in voting was repeatedly criticized by former President Donald Trump — GOP legislators in the Sunshine State have pushed through several changes to mail-in voting, many of them at the insistence of DeSantis. Democrats and voting rights groups widely criticized a 2021 law that place a two-ballot limit on how many mail-in ballots someone could gather for elderly or sick voters.

Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd had recommended several additional changes to voting laws this year including blocking voters from being able to request a mail-in-ballot by telephone. That change, however, was not included in the proposal released on Monday.

But some of the notable provisions in the bill would increase fines and penalties against outside groups that conduct voter registration drives. The proposed measure would require these organizations to give someone a receipt after they register.

The legislation would also make it a felony for anyone to intimidate or threaten election workers, a move that comes after local election officials have reported coming under repeated pressure the last few years after Trump falsely asserted there was widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

The measure would also tweak campaign finance laws by reducing the frequency that candidates and political committees have to file reports except for a five-month period during election years. It would also alter vote-by-mail request deadlines and require first-time voters to vote in person if they do not have a social security number or Florida driver's license or state issued identification.

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Florida Senate approves 6-week abortion ban as two Republicans vote 'no'

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Senate on Monday approved a proposed ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, with two Republicans opposing the bill amid outbursts from protesters.

The bill, S.B. 300, would ban most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for women facing life-threatening harm during pregnancy, and exemptions of up to 15 weeks for victims of rape, incest and human trafficking. There’s also $30 million for the Florida Department of Health to expand programs that support contraception, parenting and pregnancies.

The measure, which is sponsored by state Sen. Erin Grall (R-Vero Beach), was approved 26-13 and still must pass the state House before heading to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Before the vote Monday, Grall invoked comments made by former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat who had said abortions should be safe, legal and rare.

“We’re so far from safe, legal and rare, we have normalized and sterilized the taking of life as health care,” Grall said. “We’ve heard women will continue to have abortions, but that’s like saying people will continue murdering people.”

The House is expected to take up the issue next week. Republicans hold a supermajority in the Legislature, and the bill is expected to have no difficulties reaching DeSantis, who also supports it.

The debate on the bill was halted for 10 minutes by protesters in the public-viewing gallery who screamed comments such as “People will die” and "Abortion is health care." State Sen. Ileana Garcia (R-Miami) began pointing at protesters and said, “You shut up," before Senate President Kathleen Passidomo ordered security to clear the public-viewing gallery.

After the session resumed, state Sen. Alexis Calatayud (R-Miami) said she was voting against the 6-week ban on behalf of her constituents, but she still supported several other parts of the bill.

“I’m not supporting this bill today, but I believe it will pass and it will become the law in this state,” said Calatayud, who also voted against the bill in two committee hearings. “And I believe it will go a long way to help change the hearts and minds influenced by a decade of anti-life culture.”

The second opposing Republican vote was from state Sen. Cory Simon (R-Tallahassee), who offered no comment during the debate. Simon also did not vote on the bill during its final Senate committee meeting last week. Simon’s district includes Leon County, which is a stronghold for Democrats.

Democrats argued that the bill supported Christian principles over health care for women, and that the government should not interfere in decisions that a patient makes with a doctor. State Sen. Tracie Davis (D-Jacksonville) said the measure was written to make women feel ashamed of making health-care decisions.

“I won’t let anyone make me feel ashamed and not have to acknowledge it,” Davis said. “No woman should be ashamed to have an abortion.”

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Russian prison watchdog claims jailed U.S. journalist 'cheerful'

The White House has slammed Moscow's espionage charges against the American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

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