Good morning and welcome to RedState’s Morning Minute – a quick look at what stories are trending right now and a look ahead to what the day might bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to support you start your day.
UP IN THE MORNING
Ted Cruz leaves Colin Allred’s campaign in tatters with masterful debate performance
Allred did not go to Washington and defy his party to support solve the border crisis. Instead, he merely mustered one vote for a meaningless resolution.
SURPRISE: The FBI just secretly overhauled its violent crime rate and blasted Democratic and press coverage
The idea that violent crime is “down” has been a mainstay of Democratic Party policy in recent years. Will the press cover these changes that upend the narrative?
Fake “Neo-Nazi MAGA Supporters” Try to Crash Trump Boat Parade, Experience Epic Humiliation
I hope the sea water tasted good.
WHAT’S UP?
Today on Capitol Hill…
As the animals prepare for election day, several of them take part in debates. On Tuesday night, it was Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) turn as he faced off against Representative Colin Allred (D-TX).
And even though Congress may not be in session, House Judiciary Committee investigators were busy Tuesday questioning former Fulton County special prosecutor Nathan Wade in a closed-door deposition seeking information about Wade’s relationship with District Attorney Fani Willis and Find out whether federal tax dollars helped finance it.
What’s going on in the White House?
President Joe Biden will do it give a laudatory speech for Ethel Kennedy at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, DC, early Wednesday afternoon. Later, he and first lady Jill Biden will speak at an Italian American Heritage Month reception.
The home stretch
Vice President Kamala Harris will travel from Detroit, Michigan, to a campaign event in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday afternoon, then travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But first! She will have a compact interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier. Second (none) Gentleman Doug Emhoff will speak at a campaign rally in Lambertville, New Jersey on Wednesday evening. Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz will also campaign in Cobb County, Georgia.
Former President Donald Trump’s women-only town hall with Harris Faulkner airs Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. Eastern on Fox News. Our very own Jennifer Oliver O’Connell was in attendance! Trump’s vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), will headline campaign events in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, North Carolina, on Wednesday.
Full court press…
The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments today in two additional cases:
1. Bufkin vs. McDonough —
Joshua Bufkin and Norman Thornton, two veterans who lost in the lower courts, urged the justices to take up their cases, calling the “faith decision” one of the “oldest and most fundamental building blocks of the veterans’ compensation system.” If the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruling stands, it will significantly limit Veterans Court review, resulting in many veterans being denied benefits they earned through their service and to which they are entitled by law .”
Must the Veterans Court ensure that the benefit of the doubt provision was properly applied during the claims process to comply with 38 USC § 7261(b)(1), which directs the Veterans Court to give “due consideration” to VAs. Application of this rule?
2. City of San Francisco v. EPA —
The Clean Water Act of 1972 regulates the discharge of pollutants into regulated waters. The City and County of San Francisco received a permit from the EPA under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Act, which allowed San Francisco to discharge wastewater from its wastewater treatment plant into the Pacific Ocean. San Francisco challenged the terms of its permit, arguing that the permit’s terms were so vague that it failed to tell the city how much it would have to limit or treat its discharges to comply with the law, while exposing it to liability Violations of the permit suspend regulations. After exhausting administrative resources, San Francisco petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit for review.
A divided 9th Circuit panel rejected San Francisco’s petition, concluding that the provisions were not overly vague and were “consistent with the CWA and its implementing regulations.” Judge Daniel Collins disagreed, concluding that these provisions were “contrary to the text of the CWA.” He argued that the permit violated the CWA by placing responsibility for maintaining water quality standards on the permit holder without specifying what discharge restrictions would meet its responsibility.
Whether the Clean Water Act allows EPA (or an authorized state) to impose general prohibitions in NPDES permits that subject permit holders to enforcement for exceeding water quality standards, without establishing specific limits that their discharges must meet.
There is no ruling yet from the New York Court of Appeals on Trump’s appeal of the civil fraud ruling against him – but it looks like more decisions will be made on Thursday. Stay tuned!
Family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted of killing their parents in 1989, will hold a rally and news conference Wednesday afternoon outside a Los Angeles, California, courthouse as District Attorney George Gascón is considering a possible resentencing in the case.
Nebraska Supreme Court governed Wednesday that people with felony convictions will be able to vote in the upcoming election. (It’s ironic that this ruling is thought to swing the election in Harris’ favor, isn’t it?)
Morning rumination
This isn’t a complaint, just an observation: it’s becoming increasingly hard to put together these Morning Minutes quickly. There is so much information to highlight on any given day, and much of it isn’t available until the morning, so I can prescribe a little in the evening – but only a little. So if you’ve noticed these arriving a little later than normal, I can only attribute it to my inability to multitask faster. My thanks to those of you who stop by every day!
LIGHTER COST
I feel so seen…
😂😭 I apologize to all men, I don’t even know why we are like this. pic.twitter.com/VhRqKY3ftG
– Linda (@turtledumplin) October 15, 2024
