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POLITICS

Dismissed

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas can keep his job.

Back in February, the House cited the U.S.-Mexico border crisis when bringing two charges against Mayorkas:

1. Refusing to enforce immigration laws

2. Breach of public trust by making false statements

The two impeachment articles narrowly passed (214 to 213) on their second attempt, making Mayorkas the first sitting cabinet secretary to be impeached in U.S. history.

On Wednesday, those charges met a swift end in the Senate, which voted mainly along party lines to rule both charges “unconstitutional,” saying they failed to meet the legal bar of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said a cabinet member can’t be impeached for carrying out his administration’s policies. 

Republicans say Senate Democrats shirked their constitutional duty by refusing to even examine the evidence.

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CHOOSE HUMILITY
It’s easy to see the shortcomings of our opponents and cast ourselves in the right. As you root for justice, remember compassion and leave ultimate judgment to our impartial Lord. 

“Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use. Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye?”  
Matthew 7:1-3 (CSB)

U.S. NEWS

News From the Hill

Congress heard two noteworthy testimonies on Wednesday. 

Nemat (Minouche) Shafik, President of Columbia University, faced questions from a congressional committee about rising antisemitism on her campus. The hearing was a reboot of one in December — which ultimately led to the resignations of the presidents of Harvard and Penn.

Shafik, unlike her ousted peers, clearly stated that antisemitism is against the code of conduct and not tolerated on campus. However, Republicans criticized her for not imposing strict enough consequences on faculty members who expressed antisemitic views.

Elsewhere on the Hill, a Boeing engineer testified before a Senate committee that the company cut corners on its 787 and 777 models and said he’d received “physical threats” after expressing concerns. Boeing called the allegations of cutting corners “inaccurate” and said tests on nearly 700 aircraft found no issues.

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Verse to consider whether you’re testifying before Congress or working in anonymity… “Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15 (CSB)

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U.S. NEWS

Resignation after Suspension

NPR’s senior editor Uri Berliner’s exit after 25 years has been… loud.

On April 9th, Uri wrote an article for The Free Press saying NPR has lost its way. He asserts the outlet has become increasingly liberal and lost its “open-minded spirit” since President Trump took office in 2016. He criticized the outlet for failing to admit it got major stories (like “Russiagate” and the origins of COVID) wrong and for employing 87 registered Democrats and zero Republicans as editors in D.C.

NPR suspended Uri for failing to clear his work for an outside outlet — he resigned five days later.

NPR’s top editorial executive strongly disagreed with Uri’s assessment of how the outlet goes about its work, and other former colleagues say his essay was “filled with errors and omissions.”

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CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
When discussing divisive topics like the question of bias in the news, remember that both your stance and how you take your stance reflect on Christ. We shouldn’t sacrifice relationships to win arguments.

“If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Romans 12:18 (CSB)

Toronto Raptor’s Jontay Porter has been banned from the NBA for life. An investigation found the 24-year-old had been betting on NBA games, changing his participation in games to impact bets, and disclosing confidential information to other bettors. The Raptors said they are fully behind Porter receiving the league’s most extreme punishment.
 

New York City’s rats aren’t just spooky… they’re making people sick. Cases of leptospirosis, a bacterial illness caused by rat urine, are on the rise. Mayor Eric Adams says the problem starts with trash bags on the streets, something the city’s Rat Czar (a real job) is addressing. The city is also considering distributing rat birth control instead of poison.
 

The Justice Department has agreed to pay ~$100M in settlements to the sexual assault victims of Larry Nassar, USA Gymnastics’ former team doctor. An internal investigation backed up victims’ claims that FBI agents mishandled abuse allegations for over a year before Nassar was arrested. The deal — which isn’t finalized yet — would bring total compensation for Nassar victims to nearly $100B.
 

When it rains, it pours. Dubai received a record-breaking two years’ worth of rain on Monday and Tuesday, flooding the desert city and clogging one of the world’s busiest airports. Meteorologists say low pressure and high temperatures are to blame for the deluge, not cloud seeding (airplanes sprinkling rain clouds with substances like silver iodide to juice out maximum precipitation).
 

The Beatles: 2nd Generation. Sean Lennon and James McCartney—the sons of John and Paul—have released a single together called “Primrose Hill.” It’s not the only Beatles news: Ringo Starr also released a new song last week, and Disney+ is set to re-release the Beatles’ 1970 documentary Let it Be (restored by filmmaker Peter Jackson) next month.

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