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A new rule from the Biden Administration would require private gun sellers to be licensed and carry out background checks on potential buyers, closing the infamous “gun show loophole” that allows people who wouldn’t be able to buy weapons through licensed gun stores to get their hands on guns, Politico reports.

Submitted to the Federal Register by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Thursday, the rule leverages the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to cover people who sell weapons for profit at gun shows, on the internet, and out of their homes, transactions that have largely been unregulated.  It’s the most sweeping update to gun sales registrations in more than a quarter century.

An analysis released by the ATF last week found that 68,000 guns confiscated by the agency from 2017 to 2021 for being trafficked illegally were re-sold by private sellers.  More than 20,000 private sellers run businesses selling weapons through these unregulated channels.

Fourteen years after publishing confidential American military and diplomatic communications about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars stolen from US government systems, Julian Assange may soon find his years-long effort to avoid trial in the United States as President Joe Biden considers dropping the extradition order, the Washington Post reports.

The Australian government requested the Justice Department drop its effort to try Assange, saying the 14 years he spend holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years before being removed and put into a British detention facility in 2019.  British courts are considering an effort to send Assange to the US, but require demands that he will not face the death penalty and he will be able to use free speech protections in his defense.

A robocall featuring karaoke pop singer and co-chair of the RNC Lara Trump that was distributed last week asserted that there was “massive fraud” in the 2020 election her father-in-law, an adjudicated rapist, lost, CNN reports, a sign that the Trump campaign will use standard lines of attack that work well with the Republican base but don’t resonate with mainstream Republicans and Independent voters.

“We all know the problems. No photo IDs, unsecured ballot drop boxes, mass mailing of ballots, and voter rolls chock full of deceased people and non-citizens are just a few examples of the massive fraud that took place,” the pre-recorded RNC call done “on behalf of [RNC co-chair] Lara Trum” said. “If Democrats have their way, your vote could be canceled out by someone who isn’t even an American citizen.”

A source familiar with House Republicans tells the Daily Beast that members plan an all-out blitzkrieg against Hunter Biden starting next week, accusing him of some kind of campaign finance violation by getting a rich guy to pay his taxes because – wait for it – they want to counter-message fat former President Trump being on trial for interfering in the 2016 election by paying pornstar Stormy Daniels $130,000 to stay quiet about their 45-second sexual encounter from 2006.

The Beast quotes from experts at length about why the whataboutery won’t make sense, kind of missing the point that it won’t matter to the fanboys who crave sweet nothings about a “two-tier justice system.” If they want Dem donor Kevin Morris covering Hunter’s tax bills to be an illegal “in-kind contribution” to Joe’s 2020 campaign, they’re going to make it one, come hell or high water.

Pro-Trump scumbag Rita Palma confirmed to CNN on Wednesday she had been fired from her post as Robert F Kennedy Jr’s New York State campaign manager after video of her hyping up the effort’s ability to elect Trump surfaced this week. “I dealt with the campaign honestly. I have nothing to defend. Truth defends itself. My time with Team Kennedy has been one of the best political adventures of my life filled with some of the best people I’ve encountered, and I have encountered many. I look forward to the next seven months of watching Bobby shine,” said Palma.

A two-term Republican New Hampshire state legislator who is also the Sullivan County chair for Donald Trump’s reelection campaign was once fired from his job–as a police officer–after he threatened to murder his chief, rape the chief’s wife, and slaughter his colleagues after being suspended for having a romantic relationship with a 16-year-old girl attending a local high school, New Hampshire Public Radio reports.  And even with that resume, he opened a gun store after losing his job.

A member of the legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, Jonathan Stone has been in the state legislature since 2022 even though an internal Claremont police report of the incident concluded, “The seriousness of threatening to kill command staff officers, raping the Chief’s wife, tying people up and going postal are violations at the most serious level.” Stone was never charged for the terroristic threats.

Stone was fired on the grounds that he “lacked moral character” but his union rep negotiated the reference to be removed from Stone’s file and the records of his outburst sealed in exchange for his resignation.  He filed an unsuccessful suit to block a reporter’s state FOIA request for his records.  Stone became a favorite of Trump after presenting Trump with a custom AR-15 Stone built for Trump during the 2016 campaign season.

South Dakota’s version of Billy Mays, Republican Governor and mercenary business endorser Kristi Noem was banned from the lands of a third tribal nation in the state, the Bismark Tribune reports, raising to ten percent the amount of the state’s land its governor cannot enter.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe voted to “banish” Noem from its reservation for unsubstantiated accusations Noem made linking unnamed leaders of unnamed tribes are cooperating with Mexican drug cartels to sell drugs on tribal lands.  The Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes previously banned Noem from their reservations.

“Governor Kristi Noem’s wild and irresponsible attempt to connect tribal leaders and parents with Mexican drug cartels is a sad reflection of her fear-based politics that do nothing to bring people together to solve problems,” Tribal Chairwoman Janet Alkire said in a statement. “Rather than make uninformed and unsubstantiated claims, Noem should work with tribal leaders to increase funding and resources for tribal law enforcement and education.”

With the National Park Service announcing it will be forced to cut down 300 trees including 158 Japanese cherry trees for a sea wall repair project on the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, the prime minister of Japan announced his government will gift the United States a fresh set of 250 new cherry trees to celebrate the upcoming semiquincentennial of the nation in 2026, the Washington Post reports.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is currently visiting Washington and made the surprise announcement during a White House visit, saying he learned the trees would be removed and wanted to provide the trees as a show of friendship.  Two thousand of the original cherry trees planted were gifts from the Japanese government during the Taft Administration.  The trees to be removed include one lovingly known as Stumpy, the Charlie Brown Christmas tree of Tidal Basin cherry trees.

Noting the lack of accountability and remorse, the state bar investigators from John Eastman’s disbarment probe urged the California bar court to not delay the sanctions recommended by the judge who heard the case, as Eastman has requested, saying Eastman “has not demonstrated that he no longer poses a substantial threat of harm to the public.”

Eastman requested the court indefinitely stay his disbarment so he can continue to work as a lawyer to earn money to fight his disbarment.  Eastman, the investigators say, continues to downplay the insurrection and the damage it did to the nation, and he still asserts he did nothing wrong.

“By misidentifying the type of harm that his conduct poses, and by continuing to show a lack of insight into his misconduct, respondent’s motion further demonstrates that inactive enrollment is required to protect he public,” the filing reads.  “An attorney’s lack of insight into their misconduct and lack of remorse are highly relevant when evaluating risks to the public and should be given significant weight.”

“Trump opposes the law, and the ruling,” a clearly desperate Trump aide, television propagandist Sean Hannity, stammers, “or you can believe Joe’s make pretend Donald Trump that doesn’t exist.  And you know what?  Arizona’s governor is a Democrat.  The state’s attorney general is a Democrat.  The state legislature is almost evenly divided.  If Democrats want to get rid of the law, well, you have a chance right now to get rid of it, and I would advise you, get rid of it.  They would rather use it as a political tool ahead of November

Well, no, Sean, the Democrats will get rid of the law in Arizona–a law that a state Supreme Court comprised 100% of Republican appointees resurrected outside the power of the Democrats you listed.  And Trump has not only stated support for similar draconian laws, but he also stated his support for punishing women who seek abortions.

South of the border in Texas, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Quintana Roo) has taken a remarkable new tack as he faces a tough re-election race against popular Houston Democratic, according to the Texas Tribune:  he’s casting himself as a better bipartisan option.

“I actually have very good relationships with many of my colleagues across the aisle,” Cruz told The Texas Tribune, citing his work with Democratic Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Cory Booker (NJ) and Amy Klobuchar (MN). “I’ve worked with all three of them and all three are friends.”  None of their offices confirmed that the Senators were, in fact, friends.

“Here’s the thing you have to understand about Ted Cruz,” former Minnesota Democratic Senator Al Franken wrote. “I like Ted Cruz more than most of my other colleagues like Ted Cruz. And I hate Ted Cruz.”

“I’ll tell you when it did work under the Trump economy,” demonstrated liar and Republican Florida Congressman whose name will arise again in the next Speaker fight Byron Donalds boasts. [We’re taking editorial control to fill in what Donalds doesn’t say.]  “… ’cause under the Trump economy, whether you were Black, Hispanic, white, everyone was getting ahead [thanks to increasing deficits and debt, and only if you were really wealthy already, and only until 2020].  You were actually able to increase your net worth [see previous note].”

“Remember those days?” Fox Hausfrau Laura Ingraham chirps in.  “I mean, 2019 was just awesome!”  [Editor’s note:  Donald Trump was president until 2020, when things weren’t so good.]

After upholding Special Counsel Jack Smith’s motion to protect the names and personal information of witnesses identified in Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta’s FBI interview, Florida federal Judge Aileen Cannon ordered a redacted version of Nauta’s interview transcript.  Concerning the grand jury testimony, the judge says that “presumably” the transcript is protected under existing law–something the judge herself should state affirmatively, not “presume.”

With respect to the substantive statements contained in Defendant Nauta’s FBI interview, the Court reaches a different conclusion. For similar but even stronger reasons than those articulated in the Court’s recent Order applying Rule 16 438 –and after balancing the parties’ asserted interests in this case of significant public concern–the Court finds the Special Counsel’s sweeping request and generalized rationales inadequate to overcome the public’s common-law interest in access to these materials. [Citations removed.] Accordingly, Defendant Nauta may attach his FBI interview transcript but shall (for the reasons stated previously) redact the names of any potential government witnesses and ancillary names where referenced therein. The final item of redaction implicated in the Motions is the transcript of Defendant Nauta’s grand jury testimony taken on June 21, 2022. For now, Defendant Nauta shall file that transcript under seal in its entirety because presumably it remains subject to protection under Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e). The parties shall be prepared, however, to present argument at the hearing on the need for continued sealing of that transcript given the Special Counsel’s partial use of that transcript in a public motion 381, and any other factors related to the need for continued secrecy under the circumstances.

In a separate order, Cannon set a May 9th date for the submission of lists of experts each side may use or call as witnesses, as well as the classified documents Trump may want to use as evidence.

Breaking the lesson into bite-sized morsels appropriate for the pupil, UK Foreign Minister and former Prime Minister David Cameron told former president and current multi-score indictee Donald Trump that he should be pushing for aid to Ukraine because a successful outcome is something he could take credit for if he retakes the Oval Office, the Washington Post reports.

Cameron explained the advantages to aiding Ukraine to Trump in a way Trump understood:  how it would benefit Trump.  Cameron said that the President in 2025 will be in a stronger position to mediate a peace deal if the Ukrainians are in a stronger position.  A strong Ukraine means a strong 2025 President (and we all know who he thinks that’ll be).

“[I]t’s in everybody’s interest that Ukraine is in a strong position and Putin is in a weak position at the end of this year,” Cameron said he told Trump. “Whoever is president wants to be able to push forward in a way that is backing success and not trying to overturn failure.”

Separate efforts by Democrats to advance bills legalizing abortion were blocked by Republicans in both chambers of Arizona’s state legislature on Wednesday, with state Senate Republican leaders removing a bill from the daily agenda and the state House’s GOP leadership adjourning for the day after a panicked Republican member reversed and made a motion to bring up a Democrat’s bill repealing the 1864 ban that had been idling for months, the Arizona Republic reports.

We’d been considering doing a piece comparing the situation in Arizona to fat former President Trump whipping Congressional Republicans into killing the bipartisan border security package negotiated in the US Senate because he didn’t want to give Joe Biden a “win” and he wanted to continue campaigning on the “invasion”. The electoral parallels are obvious enough and the incentives for the side that has the perceived advantage on the issue to avoid handling it are high.

Except where Republicans have made it very clear they value being able to scream on Fox News about white girls getting murdered by crazed third world savages than they do preventing white girls from getting murdered by crazed third world savages, Arizona Dems actually want to fix this and prevent pregnant women from suffering and dying needlessly, even though it is very much in their interest to avoid doing Kari Lake, Donald Trump, and the rest of the MAGA Nazis a favor by keeping this ban on the books until November when a measure repealing it will likely be on the ballot.

Rush Limbaugh replacement Clay Travis gushed Wednesday to Fox News about how generous fat former President Trump is by telling anchor Martha McCallum that the last time he interviewed Donald at Mar-a-Lago that he wasn’t allowed to leave until he was given a famous Mar-a-Lago milkshake. And then Travis said he didn’t think Hitler would be that nice to “journalists” like himself.

Putting aside that Travis is definitely more of a Leni Riefenstahl than a Gareth Jones, is saying Trump gave him a milkshake when Hitler would not have really the flex he thinks it is?

New York federal prosecutors on Wednesday agreed to delay Gold Bars Bob Menendez’s bribery trial to July or possibly August over health issues facing co-defendant/wife Nadine, Reuters reports.

The nature of the health issues was not disclosed by the pair’s attorneys, but if the feds bought it then it must be real enough. They still oppose the Menendezes’ efforts to be tried separately. The delay keeps the scumbag DINO in the Senate at least two months longer than it would’ve taken, but then again who the hell knows if the Dems would have the balls to expel him even after a conviction, so don’t be terribly surprised if he hangs on until January 2025 while still out on appeal. It’d be nice if he’d just take a fucking hint and resign already so Phil Murphy can appoint his wife or whoever to the rest of the term and keep it warm for presumptive Dem nominee Congressman Andy Kim.

Liddle Ron DeSanctimonius, the one-time White House aspirant done in by a pair of white boots and no personality, will now help raise funds for the presumptive GOP presidential nominee he had previously called “juvenile,” someone who “lost his fastball,” and an election-losing crybaby.  And now, the man Donald Trump implied was a gay cross-dressing pedophile will assist Trump’s fundraising team.

At a retreat to thank workers, donors and volunteers to his ruinous campaign held at the Hard Rock Cafe, CNN reports DeSantis told the crowd he’s “committed to helping Trump in any and every way,” Roy Bailey, a DeSantis supporter from Texas said. “We are going to follow his lead, and we’re excited to do everything we can to get Trump elected,” adding, “If we can unlock and motivate our donors for Trump and put more fuel in his tank, that’s what we want to do, and that’s what we need to do to make sure Biden is not reelected.”

“This is not going to be a state that’s competitive in November, and that’s just the reality. So I don’t anticipate there being much campaign here for the top of the ticket,” DeSantis said told the assembled faithful, knowing that it wasn’t true given that abortion and marijuana legalization will be on the ballot. “How I can help nationally, I want to be able to do that, I don’t know exactly.”

A new Quinnipiac survey in North Carolina finds Dem Attorney General Josh Stein leading insane far right Lt Gov Mark Robinson 52 to 44 percent ahead of November’s gubernatorial election, and 48 to 41 percent when the Libertarian and Green Party scrub candidates are added to the mix.

In a sign of potential reverse coattails from Robinson’s batshittery, President Biden trails fat former President Trump within the margin of error at 48 to 46 percent in a head-to-head and at 41 to 38 percent when Russian assets Robert F Kennedy Jr, Jill Stein, and Cornel West are included.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein is not to be confused with former Pennsylvania Attorney General and now Governor Josh Shapiro, especially if Stein wins, as just because they’d both be Jewish Democrats named “Josh S” who served as Attorney General before being elected to lead large purple-ish states on the East Coast doesn’t mean they’re the same guy or make it okay that we definitely called Stein “Shapiro” in at least one previously published article here on National Zero.

Nineteen national security-minded Republicans joined Democrats to end an effort by far-right members of the GOP to review and alter the regulations governing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which conspiratorial-minded rightwingers say is being used to spy on everyday Americans.  Preacher of the House Mike Johnson says a “clean” renewal will be voted on next week.

Typically supported by conservatives, FISA has come under fire recently because it was used to monitor Carter Page, a former advisor to Donald Trump’s campaign who was fired in September 2016 after the campaign learned he had unauthorized contacts with Russian officials.  Based on concurring information, the FBI received a FISA warrant to monitor Page’s communications with foreign nationals in October, a month later.  Trump and his cronies claim this was the Deep State spying on Trump and his campaign.

The loss marks the seventh rules vote failure of this House session, the most since Gerald Ford was President.  Immediately after the failure of the rule, the Republican Conference called a meeting for 4 p.m., its second meeting of the day, allegedly to discuss why the FISA reform bill failed for a third time, not at all to discuss Preacher Mike Johnson’s leadership.