President Joe Biden, taking the podium for his historic address to a joint session of Congress with two women sitting behind the President for the first time, emphatically called for Americans to work together to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression.

“It’s never a smart idea to bet against the United States,” Biden said as he wrapped up a highly optimistic and forward-thinking speech.

Biden outlined a number programs he has already championed since he’s been in office and legislation that is still working its way through the Congress, calling on Republicans to join the Democratic majorities to pass a series of bills to protect voting rights; equal rights for women and the LGBTQ communities; promote infrastructure; and address the epidemic of gun violence in the United States.

In his first address to a joint session of Congress, President Joe Biden will tell Americans the nation is “turning peril into possibility, crisis into opportunity,” urging support for infrastructure programs and new family assistance programs, according to the Associated Press.

Andrew Giuliani went on a bizarre, yet still pretty par for the course MAGA rant against the Deep State in Manhattan on Wednesday. Notably he says the only piece of incriminating evidence the FBI didn’t take from the apartment belongs to Hunter Biden, which really sounds like Rudy is in possession of stolen property, as if he just ganked another guy’s laptop off the table at Starbucks.

https://youtu.be/RJtT679b3vc

Tucker Carlson, light on truth and heavy on faux outrage, tells his audience that the FBI told their “allies at the Democratic Party’s campaign operation, The Lincoln Project,” BEFORE the raid took place, saying that the Lincoln Project “bragged online that they knew this raid was coming.”

An ardent Trump supporter was convicted of threatening to kill members of Congress just days after the January 6th domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol, posting a video online titled “KILL YOUR SENATORS: Slaughter them all.”

The Washington Post reports that 37-year-old Brendan Hunt of Queens, New York, posted the screed on BitChute, a site popular with far-right extremists, on January 8th.  He was arrested on January 19th.

The jury acquitted Hunt on other charges stemming from statements he made in 2020 against Democrats Senator Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  They ruled that those statements didn’t amount to threats.

In the aftermath of the police shooting of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant last week, city officials in Columbus, Ohio have requested the Department of Justice to conduct an investigation into the Columbus Police’s procedures and actions.

The Associated Press reports that Mayor Andrew Ginther and City Attorney Zach Klein, both Democrats, asked the DoJ to conduct the r after a series of incidents where people of color died in police custody and other interactions with the public that caused people to question the management of the agency.

“This is not about one particular officer, policy, or incident; rather, this is about reforming the entire institution of policing in Columbus,” Ginther and Klein said in Wednesday’s letter requesting the probe. “Simply put: We need to change the culture of the Columbus Division of Police.”

Sometime in Spring of 2019 Rudy said something like “Ummm, shit, Joe Biden is polling really well in a hypothetical head to head against President Trump in 2020. We need to find a way to torpedo his candidacy and that’s not good for me obviously since Bill Barr is at the DOJ slow-walking all these investigations into my crimes and Trump can pardon me if I get indicted” to which our favorite “award-winning” “journalist” John Solomon said “Step into my office.”

So those two assholes went ahead and got it in Trump’s head that he had to coerce the Ukrainian government into announcing an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden, which blew up in their faces completely and got Trump impeached. More importantly, the impeachment inquiry and subsequent trial made it sink in with swing voters that any of Trump and the GOP’s rants about Biden’s alleged corruption were just horseshit, thus making the big “October Surprise” about Hunter Biden’s laptop completely toothless and doing nothing at all to derail Joe Biden’s campaign.

And then Trump lost to Biden. It was called by the major networks the very moment Rudy was at his now-infamous Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference. Yet he persisted, and is now civilly liable for defamation claims from election tech vendors Dominion and Smartmatic totaling literally billions of dollars. This morning, he gets raided by the FBI, and if what happened to Trump’s other lawyer Michael Cohen is any guide, then Rudy’s going to be indicted soon. And there’s no Bill Barr at the DOJ to get in the way, and no Donald Trump at the White House to pardon him.

So things really did kind of go full circle for Rudy, huh?

Three white men who followed and ultimately shot and killed Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was out on a jog in Georgia in February 2020, have been charged by federal prosecutors with hate crimes in his death, USA Today reports.

Travis McMichael, 35; his father, Gregory McMichael, 65; and William “Roddie” Bryan, 51, were indicted Wednesday for targeting Arbery because of his race.   They are already facing nine state counts each for their actions:  malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

The McMichaels and Bryan followed Arbery as he jogged in their neighborhood, just two miles from Arbery’s own house.  They claim they suspected him of planning on looting a home construction site in their neighborhood after Arbery stopped for a drink from a spigot on the property.  After confronting him by trapping him between two vehicles.  Bryan filmed the encounter from the trailing car as the McMichaels approached Arbery.  The McMichaels claimed Arbery became belligerent and they shot him in self-defense.

With just one dissenting vote in each of the state’s house and senate, Hawaii’s legislature passed a comprehensive automatic voter registration bill that will automatically enroll citizens on the state’s voter rolls upon their eligibility date.

According to West Hawaii Today, the law with 23 votes in the state senate and 50 votes in the state house.  One Republican in each chamber voted “nay” on the bill, which will now go to the desk of Democratic Governor David Ige for his signature.  There is only one Republican in the state senate and four Republicans in the state house.

The law will make voter registration an automated part of applying for a driver’s license or a state identification card.  It will also automatically update a voter’s registration should the address or name on the identification changes, unless the individual opts out of doing so.

“Maricopa County Judge Daniel Martin rejects Cyber Ninjas motion to hide policies and procedures from public and media. Expects immediate appeal of ruling… Maricopa County Judge Daniel Martin rejects Arizona Democratic Party’s request for temporary restraining order against Arizona Senate Republicans’ audit. Again acknowledges possibility of appeal… Judge said Cyber Ninjas’ docs in court file will be made public by noon Thursday, barring action by higher court. Arizona Democratic Party lawyer says not having those Cyber Ninjas documents in hand makes it harder to argue for temporary restraining order. That could change Thursday” reports KNPX’s Brahm Resnik.

The short form of my essay on Florida’s HB-1 anti-protest bill will be posted to the Otter Globe and Intelligencer on Sunday, May 2nd. This is the essay that I’ve repeatedly mentioned was driving me up a wall. Below is the first paragraph from that essay. I felt that it can stand alone as an editorial on that bill.

Florida HB-1: Combating public disorder is the infamous anti-protest bill that was was signed into law by Florida Governor Rick DeSantis on April 15th of 2021. For someone who has studied American law, HB-1 is a difficult bill to read. It’s difficult because it makes you question your own sanity. You start to question the conclusions that you’re drawing and thinking “I sound like the guy who goes around insisting the FBI is monitoring his e-mails”. You cannot believe that lawmakers in the United States of America could write a piece of legislation like this. This essay took a very long time to write because of those thoughts and feelings. In the end, I had to realize that I know what I read, and I know how an aggressive prosecutor steeped in Trumpist ideology would try to use that language. Florida HB-1, and similar bills being considered in Republican controlled state legislatures around the country are nothing less than an attempt to turn the United States of America into a Russian style police state, where Civil Rights protesters can be savagely beaten and even murdered by police for exercising their right to speech and assembly. No one who supports Florida HB-1 or any similar measure has any right to claim to support the United States Constitution. Anyone who supports this bill, is an Authoritarian thug, who has no respect for the American people, or the rule of law. Anyone else who has read that bill and had similar feelings, you are not alone.

“F.B.I. agents on Wednesday morning also executed a search warrant at the Washington-area home of Victoria Toensing, a lawyer close to Mr. Giuliani who had dealings with several Ukrainians involved in seeking negative information on the Bidens, according to people with knowledge of that warrant, which sought her phone. Ms. Toensing, a former federal prosecutor and senior Justice Department official, has also represented Dmitry Firtash, a Ukrainian oligarch under indictment in the United States whose help Mr. Giuliani sought” reports the New York Times in an updated version of their original breaking news about the FBI raid on Rudy – not mentioned but should be obviously implied is that Toensig’s husband is Joe DiGenova.

UPDATE 4/28/21 3:13pm: Obviously if you’re listening right now, you’ll hear that Rudy’s show has been preempted by “special programming” with WABC host Dominic Carter and I guess former New York State Governor David Patterson. Rudy’s tweet promising a “special statement” at 3pm EDT on 77 WABC has been deleted, but I was able to grab a screenshot first:
Would be great to know if WABC77 owner John Catsimatidis fired Rudy finally.

Wall Street Journal: “Federal investigators executed a search warrant Wednesday morning at the New York City apartment of Rudy Giuliani, his lawyer said, an escalation of a yearslong investigation by Manhattan federal prosecutors into the former mayor. Mr. Giuliani, who became President Trump’s personal lawyer, has been under investigation since at least 2019 by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office for possible violation of federal lobbying laws related to his business dealings in Ukraine. The search warrant execution was first reported by the New York Times and was confirmed by Mr. Giuliani’s lawyer, Robert Costello.”

“Mr. Costello said authorities arrived at Mr. Giuliani’s apartment at 6 a.m. and seized his electronic devices. Mr. Costello said the search warrant describes the investigation as a probe into a possible violation of foreign lobbying rules. Mr. Costello said the warrant sought communications between Mr. Giuliani and individuals including John Solomon, a columnist who was corresponding with Mr. Giuliani about his effort to push for investigations of Joe Biden in Ukraine. Mr. Solomon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Spokespeople for the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment.”

My STONG SENSE is we are seeing PROSECUTORIAL Harassment of @RudyGiuliani —Why? Because he “has the goods” on @joebiden and HUNTER. LEAVE RUDY ALONE!!!!

— Greg Kelly (@gregkellyusa) April 28, 2021

Biden's gestapo just raided Rudy Giuliani's home.

— Nick Adams (Alpha Male) (@NickAdamsinUSA) April 28, 2021

Rudy has the truth about Joe and Hunter Biden.

— ACT For America (@ACTforAmerica) April 28, 2021

NPR: “An astronaut who flew on one of the most famous space missions of all time has died. Michael Collins, 90, was part of the three-member crew on Apollo 11, the first lunar landing mission in 1969. Unlike Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, he never walked on the moon. Collins stayed behind and piloted the command module as it circled above. Because of that, Collins is often called the ‘forgotten astronaut’. Collins had been battling cancer. In a statement released by his family, ‘He spent his final days peacefully, with his family by his side. Mike always faced the challenges of life with grace and humility, and faced this, his final challenge in the same way.'”

“When Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon and uttered the famous phrase, ‘Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed,’ Collins was in orbit, 60 miles above, just as busy, and just as excited, telling the team back in Houston he was listening to communications with his comrades, and it was ‘fantastic.’ Aldrin and Armstrong were on the lunar surface just under 22 hours. The world was transfixed. Seeing them bunny-hop along, take pictures and collect lunar samples during their single, short moonwalk. All the while, Collins circled the moon. Looking down at the barren lunar landscape and peering back at the Earth. ‘The thing I remember most is the view of planet Earth from a great distance,’ he said later. ‘Tiny. Very shiny. Blue and white. Bright. Beautiful. Serene and fragile.'”

“Federal investigators in Manhattan executed a search warrant on Wednesday at the Upper East Side apartment of Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who became President Donald J. Trump’s personal lawyer, stepping up a criminal investigation into Mr. Giuliani’s dealings in Ukraine, three people with knowledge of the matter said. One of the people said the investigators had seized Mr. Giuliani’s electronic devices. Executing a search warrant is an extraordinary move for prosecutors to take against a lawyer, let alone a lawyer for a former president, and it marks a major turning point in the long-running investigation into Mr. Giuliani” – New York Times.

McClatchy: “Republican lawmakers are struggling to define him. The conservative base is more agitated about ‘cancel culture.’ And even former President Donald Trump is turning his attention elsewhere. Right now, nobody inside the GOP knows quite what to do with President Joe Biden. In the nearly 100 days since Biden took office, Republicans have not yet mounted a sustained, vigorous opposition to the new White House, slowed by a president who has avoided being villainized thanks – at least in part – to a low-key style that stands in stark contrast with his immediate predecessor. It was a problem that plagued the GOP during the last presidential election, and party leaders say they’re still grappling with it as Biden marches onward with an aggressive agenda in the months ahead. ‘He’s very difficult to pin down one negative thing on him,” said Robert Blizzard, a Republican pollster. ‘That is an ongoing challenge for Republicans.'”

“The struggle has many GOP operatives already predicting the party will begin to shift their lines of attack to other prominent Democrats who are more polarizing, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, ahead of the 2022 midterm elections – though many of them remain confident that Biden’s approval will eventually erode as his presidency wears on. As they’ve struggled to consistently label Biden, influential Republicans have often directed their attention to other matters. Trump sought to attach derogatory nicknames to some of his opponents during his presidential campaigns, but has avoided directing much of his ire at Biden alone since leaving office. For instance, Trump has mentioned Biden in less than 20 percent of the written statements he’s issued since the inauguration, according to a review of emails sent from his political action committee and personal office. Since Friday, Trump has issued six statements about a GOP-led election recount in Arizona, while mentioning the Biden administration in just one statement.”

Satellite photos of glaciers around the world show that they’ve lost 31% more snow and ice during their annual thaws than they did 15 years previously, an effect of man-made climate change that will impact world ecosystems, the Associated Press reports.

Tracking the 220,000 mountain glaciers around the world using 3D imagery based on newly declassified satellite photos, scientists were able to determine that the glaciers are losing 328 billion tons of snow and ice each year.  From 2015 to 2019, that was 78 billion tons more, on average, than the annual loss from 2000 to 2004.

The glaciers in the US and Canada showed the greatest impact of the trend, accounting for half of the world’s glacial losses.  Alaska’s glacial melt was the greatest on the planet, with the Columbia Glacier losing a net 115 feet per year.