New York Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD leadership on Tuesday introduced the city to a terrifying new cyber law enforcement unit consisting of an unknown number of large egg-shaped patrol bots, yellow “K5” Boston Dynamics dog-things, and smaller egg-shaped patrol bots that will be deployed to Times Square and subway stations under a pilot program, Bloomberg’s Lauren Nahmias reports.

“Crime is so bad now they have to hire robots there and even then their only job’ll be probably to stop people from buying gas stoves!” Congressman Jim Jordan did not say, but probably thought.

Pennsylvania Capitol rioter Robert Sanford, a retired firefighter who last year pleaded guilty to beating a cop over the head with a fire extinguisher during the insurrection and later (supposedly) hired a “cult deprogramming expert” to talk him out of believing MAGA conspiracy bullshit, was sentenced on Tuesday to 52 months in the tombs for his crime, NBC’s Ryan Reilly reports.

“The Committee on the Judiciary is investigating allegations that the Biden Administration interfered in the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authorization and licensure of the COVID-19 vaccines. According to reports, two top FDA vaccine officials, Dr Marion Gruber and Dr Philip Krause, resigned in the wake of President Biden’s premature and rushed announcement in August 2021 calling for adults to receive a COVID-19 booster shot, which put undue pressure on FDA health officials to quickly authorize the vaccinations. Dr Gruber and Dr Krause reportedly felt that the White House was getting ahead of the FDA on booster shots and disagreed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) involvement in FDA decisions. You replaced Dr Gruber as acting director of the FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review. Accordingly, we believe that you possess information relating to this matter, and we request your assistance with our inquiry,” writes Kentucky MAGA Congressman Thomas Massie under the House Judiciary Committee letterhead to Dr Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Where to start with this one. Before Biden even took office, it was reported that on December 11th, 2020 Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told the FDA Director Steven Hahn to approve the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use by the end of the day or he was fired. They did. That would seem like a more blatant example of political pressure than whatever Massie and Jordan are bitching about here. Then there’s that this seems to be more about booster shots than the approval of the vaccine itself, though Massie seems to intentionally muddle that by writing “authorization and licensure of the COVID-19 vaccines.” The booster is just another dose of the same vax.

Finally there’s a right winger acting like the FDA approval of something is still supposed to matter after that MAGA judge in Texas simply tossed it out for the abortion drug mifepristone.

Let’s skip that Bartiromo’s studio background is the Manhattan skyline, and within that skyline are both Fox News headquarters and her townhouse on the Upper East Side, or that Wisconsin is a far more violent state than New York, and just question if crime in New York City is really a topic of concern when this assclown is interacting with his constituents. Isn’t Chicago closer?

President Joe Biden’s Tuesday-to-Saturday trip to Northern Ireland will include a trip over the border from the UK-held Ulster and into the Republic’s County Mayo to visit with unnamed distant relatives in the whiskey-soaked northwestern hinterlands of the Emerald Isle, NBC News reports.

“He will meet with relatives, visit places of significance to the Finnegans of County Louth and the Blewitts of County Mayo and discuss how a fierce pride in being Irish and a value system that says everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect have been passed down to each generation,” said a White House official, who should be warned that the president may not actually be able to understand a single word these relatives are saying.

The 2024 Democratic National Convention will be held in Chicago, the New York Times reports citing sources from within the party. The Deep Dish city beats out NYC and Atlanta, the latter of the two might’ve been a smarter choice given that the Republicans are holding theirs in Milwaukee.

That said, maybe friendly territory – Blue City, Blue State – is the smarter course as there’d likely be no shortage of logistical sabotage and fuckery that Republican Georgia state officials could have thrown in the way if they were so inclined to make life difficult for Democrats. And ultimately maybe it doesn’t really matter electorally if the convention is held in a safe or swing state, as there’s no discernible pattern to be found over the last few decades in whether a state went red or blue based on whether the presidential coronation happened there.

The SIG Sauer P320 semi-auto handgun, a weapon owned by hundreds of thousands of civilians and used by more than one thousand police departments around the country, will fire a round without the trigger being pulled, a flaw that has resulted in scores of injuries, a review of data by the Washington Post shows.

Owners report the gun discharged while holstered, either being worn on their hip or carried in a purse.  Since 2016, more than 80 people have reported being wounded–typically in the thigh, buttocks or lower extremities–as the gun fired without the trigger being touched in what analysts describe as a significant design flaw; no fatalities from the discharges have been recorded.  A variation of the gun is the standard-issue sidearm for the US military; reports of accidental discharges in the military are not available.

The manufacturer doesn’t see a problem with a popular weapon that fires while holstered.  “These reports, among others, support three conclusions,” SIG Sauer said in a statement to the Post. “(1) unintentional discharges are not uncommon amongst both law enforcement and civilians, (2) improper or unsafe handling is one of the most common causes of unintentional discharges, and (3) unintentional discharges occur with several types of firearms and are not unique to the P320.”

“When we return to session the week of April 17th, I will offer a Senate resolution rejecting the former President’s call to ‘defund’ the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Donald Trump’s call for defunding federal law enforcement agencies is a baseless, self-serving broadside against the men and women who keep our nation safe. The good work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice sends criminals to prison for bank robbery, sex trafficking, child pornography, hate crimes, terrorism, fraud, and so much more.”

“The former President and his allies in Congress must not subjugate justice and public safety because of their own personal grievances. Senators from across the political spectrum and of both political parties should denounce such attempts by the former President and his allies to degrade public trust in our federal law enforcement agencies. The Senate must recommit that the United States is a nation of laws. As free people, we rely on the necessary and professional work of our federal law enforcement agencies to promote the safety and general welfare of our country,” writes Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a “Dear Colleague” letter announcing a vote on fat former President Trump’s demand to defund the FBI and Department of Justice.

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee will join Republicans led by spandex-wearing grapple freak Jim Jordan on next week’s moronic field hearing at a federal building in Manhattan in contrast to boycotts of past hearings, like the one held at the southern border, Punchbowl News reports.

Republican Texas state House member Bryan Slaton, a former Baptist minister who last month introduced a bill to run a referendum vote asking Texans if they want the state to secede from the US, has been accused of an “inappropriate relationship” with an intern in a complaint filed to a House Investigating Committee, alleging Slaton had the under-21 intern come to his Austin condo where he plied her with drinks and God knows what else happened, the Texas Tribune reports.

Slaton’s been MIA the past few days and missed work on Thursday during a crucial budget debate session, his absence sticking out particularly because he had proposed 27 amendments to the budget. “The Texas House does not tolerate misconduct or other inappropriate behaviors and takes all allegations related to these issues seriously. I expect this matter to be addressed in a swift and thorough manner under the rules governing our chamber for the 88th Legislature and all applicable standards of conduct,” said Speaker Dade Phelan, who isn’t a fan of the far right zealot Slaton.

Condemning the trans people testifying before the state house committee on which he sits, Republican Florida state representative Webster Barnaby, a 63-year-old self-identified Christian went through a number of biblical creatures–and maybe a couple from fantasy fiction–in a phobic screed.  We’ll let his words speak for themselves:

We have people that live among us today on planet Earth that are happy to display themselves as if they were mutants from another planet. This is the planet Earth where God created men male and women female. I’m a proud Christian conservative Republican. I’m not on the fence, not on the fence.  The lord rebuke you, Satan, and all of your demons and all of your imps who come parade before us.  That’s right, I called you demons and imps, who come and parade before us and pretend that you are part of this world.  So, I’m saying my righteous indignation is stirred. I am sick and tired of this. I’m not going to put up with it. You can test me and try to take me on. But I promise you I’ll win every time.

Because, yeah… that’s totally rational for a lawmaker to say in a committee hearing.  In Florida.

https://twitter.com/doug4senate/status/1645593497792049152

UPDATE 4/14/2023 10:05 AM EDT: We fucked up and didn’t do our due dilligence. This was from a spoofed account. Can’t tell if it was a liberal prank or a fan doing some wishful thinking, though we’re leaning toward the latter. As of this update Mastriano is indeed likely to declare for the 2024 Pennsylvania Republican Senate primary, but this tweet and video is (unfortunately) a fake.

One of the trove of disclosed secret documents posted online outlines a plan by the American-friendly Egyptian government to provide 40,000 missiles to Russia to aid in its invasion of Ukraine, the Washington Post reports.  Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi reportedly told his staff to keep the production secret “to avoid problems with the West.”

Asked about the memo, which was dated February 17th, the Egyptian ambassador to the US told the Post “Egypt’s position from the beginning is based on noninvolvement in this crisis and committing to maintain equal distance with both sides, while affirming Egypt’s support to the U.N. charter and international law in the U.N. General Assembly resolutions.  We continue to urge both parties to cease hostilities and reach a political solution through negotiations.”

“This is what happens when everything about you, from your physical features to your very soul has been altered by cosmetic surgery.  Just like Joe Biden, but younger,” Fox host and ditheri–wait… did he say your soul gets altered by cosmetic surgery?  How shallow is he?–Tucker Carlson smarms.  “You’ll say literally an-ee-thing.  Words have no connection to reality.  There’s no expectation you’re describing something real.  You’re merely using words as a way to gain power.  That’s terrifying.  It’s dishonest to its core.”

Set aside the obvious hypocrisy coming from the man who mocked the election fraud claims he supported in private text messages with his media-controlling colleagues.  I’d rather point out what Fox Corporation lawyers said of Tucker Carlson’s show during a 2020 defamation trial, saying the “‘general tenor’ of the show should then inform a viewer that [Carlson] is not ‘stating actual facts’ about the topics he discusses and is instead engaging in ‘exaggeration’ and ‘non-literal commentary.'”  The judge in the case found that those words had significant meaning, siding with Fox’s attorneys and denying the defamation claim… because as Fox argued, you can’t believe Tucker Carlson.

A report in the Journal of Climate asserts that the impact of climate change has increased faster than expected with sea levels rising along Southern states hitting rates that put cities along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts at risk, Yahoo News reports.

The study found sea levels have risen an average of one centimeter per year since 2010 along Southern states.  The researchers argue that increase in sea level and a similar increase in water temperature helped fuel more powerful hurricanes that have battered the region.

Should that rate continue, the sea would threaten cities along the coast like Miami, Houston and Mobile.  Miami has already installed a series of high-volume “water movers” that can pump a total of 800,000 gallons of water per minute back into Biscayne Bay, at the cost of $300 million; continuing water level rise would make such pumps virtually useless within ten years, when water levels would be ten inches higher than 2010.

South Carolina Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace, a supporter of limited abortion rights, says she would support the Food and Drug Administration ignoring an activist conservative federal judge’s upcoming ban of mifepristone, NBC News reports.

A survivor of rape when she was a teenager, Mace supports limited abortion rights in cases relating to rape and incest, but generally opposes additional access to the medical procedure.  “This is an FDA-approved drug. Whether you agree with its usage or not, that’s not your decision,” she said. “That is the FDA’s decision on the efficacy, safety and usage of that particular drug,” adding “This [order] should just be thrown out, quite frankly.”

While the Justice Department seeks a court injunction to halt Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s order, the Biden Administration will balance the need of the public to access the medication versus respecting the court’s questionable order. Republicans frequently ignore court orders–whether it’s Donald Trump thinking he’s no subject to court orders demanding the return of government documents or the Trump Administration refusing to process DACA applicants after the Supreme Court ordered them to do so.

ChatGPT falsely accuses Jonathan Turley of sexual harassment, concocts fake WaPo story to support allegation https://t.co/X85j7QiWum

— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 10, 2023

The state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s lease in the Trump Tower ended pretty abruptly in early 2021 – in the middle of a five-year extension of their lease that had been signed in 2019 – in what Forbes describes as a move pretty hard to see as not politically motivated.