Republicans in Congress should immediately move to repeal the @MLB's anti-trust exemption.

Grow some balls and fight fire with fire. https://t.co/2HBuUu26xv

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) April 2, 2021

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Major League Baseball announced Friday that its All-Star game, which had been scheduled for Truist Park in July, will be moved out of Georgia. The decision was a response to the state’s new voting law. ‘I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star game,’ MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. The push to move the game had gathered momentum after several large corporations condemned the voting law and President Joe Biden said he would ‘strongly support’ relocating the event. MLB formally awarded the 2021 All-Star game to Atlanta during a May 2019 announcement ceremony at Truist Park (then named SunTrust Park). The Braves had been lobbying MLB to bring the event here since the Cobb County stadium opened in 2017.”

BREAKING:  One Capitol Police officer has died in an attack on the Capitol as a man attempted to drive his car onto Capitol grounds.  The officer suffered unspecified wounds, but the driver of the car reportedly attacked officers with a knife, wounding one and killing another.

“A senior member Rep. Matt Gaetz’s staff resigned Friday amid a widening scandal relating to allegations of sex trafficking and an inappropriate relationship with a minor.  Luke Ball, Gaetz’s communications director, tendered his resignation Friday, hours after the New York Times released a second bombshell story detailing cash payments that the close political ally of former President Donald Trump made to several women, apparently in exchange for sex” Yahoo News reports.

“An ongoing Justice Department investigation is looking into whether Gaetz, 38, had sex with a 17-year-old girl and provided her with anything of value in return. Federal child sex trafficking law prohibits providing anything of value to someone under the age of 18 in exchange for sex.  The Times was shown the records of payments made by Gaetz to a woman on two mobile apps, the paper reported Thursday, but the documented sexual encounters at Florida hotels extended to multiple women who, according to the Times, told friends that they were paid for their services.” 

AP: “A car rammed a barricade outside the U.S. Capitol on Friday afternoon, injuring two Capitol Police officers and leading to the driver being shot, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. At least one officer was in serious condition, while the driver was in critical condition, the officials said The crash and shooting happened at a checkpoint near the Capitol as Congress is on recess. It comes as the Washington region remains on edge nearly three months after a mob of armed insurrectionists stormed the Capitol as Congress was voting to certify Joe Biden’s presidential win. Capitol Police say that someone ‘rammed a vehicle into two USCP officers’ and that a suspect was taken into custody. The law enforcement officials told the AP that the suspect was shot and was being taken to the hospital in critical condition.”

“One of the officers who was injured was taken by police car to the hospital; the other was being transported by emergency medical crews, the officials said. The officials could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. The U.S. Capitol complex was placed on lockdown after the shooting and staff were told they could not enter or exit buildings. The incident occurred about 100 yards (91 meters) from the entrance of the building on the Senate side of the Capitol. Fencing that prevented vehicular traffic near that area was recently removed as the Capitol has started to open up after the Jan. 6 riots.”

UPDATE 4/2/21 2:19 PM EST: Suspect has died of his gunshot wounds, per ABC and NBC.

https://youtu.be/cGT0fX98-2g

A Newsmax host conducted an entire minute and a half-long on camera live interview with former White House Press Secretary and guy who still wears the Easter Bunny costume for fun Sean Spicer without anyone on the network noting that Spicer’s audio wasn’t being broadcast.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated guidance on traveling during the time of the coronavirus pandemic, saying people who are fully vaccinated can travel with little risk to themselves, but advising travelers to still wear masks and take other precautions, CNN reports.

Fully vaccinated individuals may travel within the United States without having to getting tested before traveling or quarantining after they arrive at their destination, the CDC said.  For international travel, fully vaccinated people do not have to quarantine upon returning to the United States, but they still should take a coronavirus test.  Prior to international travel, people do not need to take a coronavirus test unless it is required by the destination country.

Someone is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after they received the final dose of their vaccine regimen, which is two doses spaced weeks apart for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and one doses for the Johnson & Johnson version.

“A push to attract young and diverse talent and global consumers is behind some of corporate America’s willingness to speak out on politically charged issues like Georgia’s new voting law, executives and corporate governance experts said. Georgia’s decision last month to strengthen identification requirements for absentee ballots and make it a misdemeanor to offer food and water to voters waiting in line, among other changes, drew condemnation from many U.S. companies this week, including Microsoft and Citigroup. A number of companies say it disenfranchises some voters. Some, such as Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola Co., are based in Georgia, where state lawmakers have the power to raise state taxes. Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a public memo that his decision to speak out was informed by discussions with leaders and employees in the Black community. The companies criticizing the law so far represent a sliver of the business landscape.”

“Yet they are part of a growing group of companies shedding their reluctance to speak out on politically controversial social issues that matter to many of their employees and customers globally, business leaders interviewed by Reuters said. ‘Young people want more than words, they want action,’ Debra Lee, the former chair and CEO of BET Networks, a TV network owned by ViacomCBS Inc, said in an interview on Thursday. ViacomCBS has also criticized the Georgia law. A new focus from investors on environmental, social and governance issues such as climate change and the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements has also emboldened companies. Recent examples range from companies criticizing former President Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud, to Washington Redskins football stadium sponsor Fedex Corp asking for a team name change. Retailers Walmart Inc and Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc, for example, have adopted new restrictions on gun sales following mass shootings” – Reuters.

Daily Beast: “In late January 2020, U.S. Secret Service agents received information that Rep. Matt Gaetz had accompanied a Florida county tax official they were already investigating on an unusual nighttime visit to a government office – where the local official was allegedly making fake IDs, a source close to the investigation told The Daily Beast. That tip to the feds came in a text message conversation that Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg had with an employee explaining why they were both in the office one weekend two years earlier, according to this person. A timestamp visible in the text message thread indicated the conversation took place on Monday, April 16, 2018. According to three people with direct knowledge of the incident: Greenberg visited the Lake Mary, Florida branch of his tax collection agency that weekend.”

“Grainy surveillance footage captured Greenberg standing near a manager’s desk with another man. Greenberg forgot to set the alarm on the way out, which concerned the assistant branch manager when she walked into the office Monday morning. That employee was surprised to find that driver licenses – which are normally turned in when expired at the tax office for shredding – were scattered all over the desk instead of in the appropriate disposal basket. She reviewed the camera footage and alerted her boss, who in turn contacted Greenberg via text. ‘Did you happen to visit the Lake Mary Office on the weekend?’ the text message read. The image obtained by The Daily Beast shows that Greenberg allegedly responded: ‘Yes I was showing congressman Gaetz what our operation looked like. Did I leave something on?'”

“When Greenberg later came under investigation by the Secret Service for identity theft and stalking, agents approached former employees at the tax office to obtain proof of the public official’s activities. That’s when they were suddenly directed to Gaetz. According to the source who provided the text message conversation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to guarantee their safety, Secret Service agents directed them in the final days of January 2020 to print out the full text message conversation with Greenberg from online AT&T records. That source said those text messages were delivered to the Secret Service, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and most recently, another federal agency.”

“Big jobs numbers this morning. Economy added 916,000 jobs last month as unemployment rate drops to 6%. Americans are heading back to work” reports CNN’s Jim Acosta.

CNN: “Georgia’s Republican-controlled House on Wednesday voted to revoke a major tax break for Delta Air Lines as punishment for its CEO’s public criticism of the state’s controversial new law clamping down on ballot access. The state Senate did not take up the measure before lawmakers adjourned for the year, rendering it dead for this year – but the threat underscores the potential political backlash corporations could face for opposing efforts to restrict voting.”

“Voting rights activists are lobbying major companies to take a stand against elections bills under consideration in key political battlegrounds, where Republicans are moving to erect new barriers to voting after record turnout in 2020 helped Democrats win the White House and the majority in the US Senate. Many Republicans advancing these bills have cited former President Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud to tighten rules around voting. Lawmakers in 47 states have introduced 361 bills that include voting restrictions as of March 24, according to an updated tally released Thursday by the liberal-leaning Brennan Center for Justice. Lawmakers in Texas, Georgia and Arizona have introduced the most restrictions, according to the center’s count.”

“A swim on holiday at a Western Australia beach has resulted in a painful octopus ‘whipping’ – and a video of the encounter that has gone viral. Geologist and author Lance Karlson was about to take a dip near the resort he and his family were staying at in Geographe Bay, on Australia’s southwest coast, when he spotted what he thought was the tail of a stingray emerging from the water and striking a seagull. Upon walking closer with his two-year-old daughter, he discovered it was an octopus, and took a video, which shows the animal in shallow water take a sudden strike in Karlson’s direction with its tentacles. ‘The octopus lashed out at us, which was a real shock,’ Karlson said in emailed comments to Reuters.”

“After setting up a sun protection tent for his family on the beach, Karlston put on goggles and went in the water alone to explore a collection of crab shells, which he believed were left by dead sea creatures. As he was swimming, he felt another whip across his arm – followed by a more forceful sting across his neck and upper back. ‘My goggles became fogged, the water was suddenly murky and I remember being shocked and confused,’ Karlson added in the email. Karlson said he raced back to shore and saw raised imprints of tentacles across his arm, neck and upper back. Since he did not have vinegar, his preferred treatment for sea animal stings, he poured cola over the affected area, which worked well to stop the stinging. The footage Karlson posted with the comment: ‘The angriest octopus in Geographe Bay!’ was widely shared, but he said he felt apprehension but no animosity toward the animal. ‘This was clearly the octopus’s domain,’ he said” – Reuters.

New York Times: “Go page by page through Georgia’s new voting law, and one takeaway stands above all others: The Republican legislature and governor have made a breathtaking assertion of partisan power in elections, making absentee voting harder and creating restrictions and complications in the wake of narrow losses to Democrats.”

“The New York Times has examined and annotated the law, identifying 16 provisions that hamper the right to vote for some Georgians or strip power from state and local elections officials and give it to legislators. Republicans passed and signed the 98-page voting law last week following the first Democratic victories in presidential and Senate elections in Georgia in a generation. President Biden won the state by just 11,779 votes out of nearly five million cast. The new law will, in particular, curtail ballot access for voters in booming urban and suburban counties, home to many Democrats. Another provision makes it a crime to offer water to voters waiting in lines, which tend to be longer in densely populated communities.”

“Six months after his ouster from Liberty University, Jerry Falwell Jr. was back at the university he’d led for 13 years, cheering on the home team. ‘Congratulations on an exciting 14-9 win over NCAA team from Walsh University in North Canton, OH!’ Falwell wrote on Instagram on March 13, beneath photos of a Liberty lacrosse game and himself in the stands with daughter and wife, Becki. ‘Didn’t realize LaCrosse was so much fun to watch.’ The posting struck some in the Liberty community as the first step in an attempted comeback – an assertion that, despite having sued the university for having removed him as president in the wake of questions about his personal life and financial dealings, he still considers Liberty his home turf, now and forever.”

“In an interview, Falwell said nothing to discourage that notion. The 58-year-old son of the late Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr. said he has been suffering from blood clots since last fall but plans to ‘definitely’ have more of a presence on campus as his health continues to recover. ‘The employees and the board have been nothing but supportive, 100 percent. The students all want to get their picture with me. They thank me,’ Falwell said. Falwell said he and Liberty’s board had also resolved a dispute over his severance payment, which Falwell said last fall amounted to him being owed $10.5 million after being let go from Liberty. Falwell had signed the contract, which included newly generous terms for severance payments, with Liberty’s executive committee just a year before he was asked to resign. ‘The contract was terminated without cause. I’m entitled to full severance,’ which includes two years of pay and retirement benefits, Falwell said. He declined to say how much the package is ultimately worth, but said it amounts to more than $9 million. ‘And the university board admitted there was no fireable offense and they were reacting more to the press and the Twitter mob than anything else,’ Falwell said” – Politico.

Daily Mail: “Donald Trump’s former bodyguard has told how the job ruined his life – and says the former President still owes him over $100 for cheeseburgers he bought for the McDonald’s loving billionaire. Kevin McKay worked for The Donald in Scotland and claims that after five years of putting up with his rants, arguments and temper tantrums, he is still out of pocket now. Kevin was fired in 2012. And he says he is shocked that the 45th US President forgot to pay back the $130 he lent to him for fast food. Kevin, 50, revealed: ‘He still owes me money for McDonald’s He told me he would pay me back, but he never did. ‘For much of the time I was working for him, I kept thinking he would say, ”Kevin, here’s that money I owe you,” but it didn’t happen.”

“‘I thought he was an okay guy when I first started working for him but I guess that as we have all come to see, he is not a man of his word. Kevin reveals he bought fast food for Trump in 2008 when the future President was heading to Aberdeen airport in northeast Scotland after visiting his beloved Trump International golf course. The former bodyguard said: ‘We were driving from Mr. Trump’s estate and just as we got to the Bridge of Don, he asked to stop at McDonald’s so he could buy food for the flight back to New York. ‘We were in a convoy of six blacked out Range Rovers with about 15 men in suits inside, so there must have been some shocked expressions as we pulled up in the carpark. ‘Mr Trump didn’t have any UK currency – pounds – so he asked me if I could front him the cash. ‘I said, ”Sure” and took everyone’s order – about 20 cheeseburgers and fries with around 10 or 15 Coca Colas. ‘I think Mr Trump ordered two cheeseburgers with fries and a diet coke – that was his usual order and he always wanted McDonald’s to take with him on the private jet. ‘It cost me about £95 in total and Mr Trump told me, ”You’ll get it back.’. ‘It was a decent amount of money for me because I was earning about £2000 ($2700) a month working for Mr Trump. ‘I never heard about it again after that. I should have asked him for the money but I brushed it under the carpet at the time.”

“Just one month after Donald Trump left the White House, a top donor to his campaign received a call on his personal cellphone from a Republican candidate seeking financial support. The call was unsolicited, according to four people familiar with the situation, and it rubbed the donor, whose friends had received similarly unexpected fundraising pleas, the wrong way. Shortly thereafter, the firm Jones Day, which served as counsel to Trump’s campaign committee, sent out a letter to former staff and consultants, warning them that they risked prosecution if they misused campaign resources. The letter then asked recipients to destroy or return any information they might have taken from the Trump campaign’s vast Rolodex of donor contacts. A senior adviser to Trump insisted that the directive wasn’t in response to ‘a particular act’ but merely to ‘make sure no one was misusing valuable campaign data.'”

“But inside Trumpworld, the episode sparked a game of whodunit over who had the audacity to abuse the confidential donor list, with GOP sources speculating that a pair of ex-Trump campaign hands were working to amass a donor profile of their own. And it added to the cold war that has broken out among competing factions that are seeking to capitalize on their time with Trump to score new business and political clients. ‘These are people who didn’t like each other four months ago and now they all have a common interest: how to get some coin out of the Trump post-presidency,’ said a former senior administration official, who like others would talk about internal squabbles only on condition of anonymity. For staff of a losing presidential candidate, the weeks and months after that loss present difficult career choices. Many choose to move on from politics altogether, worn down from the days on the trail. Others take time off or explore the lucrative fields of consultancy or K Street. For some Trump aides, the landscape has been different. Getting jobs in corporate America has been difficult, owing to the often toxic reputation of the 45th president, especially after the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill. Their boss, meanwhile, continues to float the idea that he will run for president again, and he is in the process of setting up a political – and, potentially, social media – apparatus aimed at cementing him as a lasting fixture in GOP politics. That has incentivized his onetime aides to stay in the game. It’s also sparked infighting, as those aides view maintaining their MAGA bona fides as critical for landing jobs on current and future Republican campaigns” – Politico.

CNN: “North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum declared a statewide emergency Thursday as wildfires led to the evacuation of one small town in the state. The declaration will allow the National Guard to deploy two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to help fight the fires, the statement said. The governor has put the state’s National Guard on standby for wildfire response and the town of Medora in Billings County has been evacuated. Medora is about 25 miles east of the Montana border and has a population of around 130 people.”

“The US Forest Service-Dakota Prairie Grasslands warned people to avoid the area southwest of Medora to give emergency responders easy access to the fire, according to a Facebook post. It also asked people to “drive cautiously” because smoke from the fire is reducing visibility in the area. ‘North Dakota must be prepared to respond to wildland fires during periods of ongoing dry conditions and drought patterns,’ Burgum said in a statement. ‘At this time, North Dakota has an elevated spring and summer fire potential; a significant number of fires have occurred to date.'”

New York Times reporters have seen receipts and text messages that allegedly confirm Matt Gaetz and an associate from Florida used smartphone apps and cash machines at pay multiple women for having sex with the two men and another Florida Republican.

The men reportedly used ApplePay and another app called CashPay to transfer money to the women’s accounts.  The women were solicited online and told to meet Gaetz and/or Joel Greenberg at a specific location at a specific time.  Many times, those locations were hotels around Florida.

A former county tax collector in Florida, Greenberg is currently sitting in a Florida state prison after violating terms of bail, facing charges for various crimes including sex trafficking, stalking a political opponent and identity theft, among other things. 

DISCLAIMER:  This is NOT an April Fool’s Day prank.  South Dakota Republican Governor and woman still upset she wasn’t named Homecoming Queen in high school Kristi Noem doesn’t understand why Amtrak doesn’t run to Alaska and Hawaii.  And she’s really upset that the infrastructure plan the GOP has already announced it doesn’t support doesn’t give her state any Amtrak money.

Biden’s “infrastructure” bill spends more on electric cars than on roads or bridges.

It gives $80 billion to Amtrak to build rail lines to every state EXCEPT Alaska, Hawaii, or SOUTH DAKOTA.

And it repeals Right to Work protections that are proven to grow the economy.

— Governor Kristi Noem (@GovKristiNoem) April 1, 2021