WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky returned to the Senate to vote on Monday for the first time in three months, looking noticeably more frail after he was hospitalized for a June fall in his home.
McConnell's lengthy absence from the Senate generated a flood of criticism and online speculation, as he initially remained quiet for weeks about his condition. The 84-year-old senator eventually disclosed a month later that he had been "briefly unconscious" due to the fall and had also been treated for mild pneumonia in the hospital.
He briefly addressed reporters Monday from a wheelchair outside the Senate chamber, smiling but speaking slowly and with some difficulty. McConnell joked that he wasn't sure how many reporters would be there after dodging so many questions during his almost two decades as leader.
He said he was back in the Senate to work on a pending farm bill and because he has an ongoing interest in NATO and "backing up our good friends who are totally in the fight against the Russians."
Reporters and photographers were told by Senate staff not to take video of his remarks in the second-floor hallway, even though video is often permitted in that area. Still images were allowed.

#mcconnell

"This is a case about swinging ****** s," wrote Judge Lawrence VanDyke of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in March. "You may think that swinging ****** s shouldn't appear in a judicial opinion. You're not wrong. But as much as you might understandably be shocked and displeased to merely encounter that phrase in this opinion, I hope we all can agree that it is far more jarring for the unsuspecting and exposed women at Olympus Spa—some as young as thirteen—to be visually ****** aulted by the real thing."
VanDyke was dissenting from the 9th Circuit's decision not to revisit Olympus v. Armstrong, a case that saw an all-female Korean spa sue on First Amendment grounds. The business, according to the Washington State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC), had broken the law when it declined to accept a preoperative transgender woman. This was a problem for Olympus Spa, which requires nudity in its pool area, and whose business model, relatedly, hinges on catering to a single-sex clientele.
In ruling against the business last year, the 9th Circuit acknowledged the thorniness of the case. "We are not unmindful of the concerns and beliefs raised by the Spa," wrote Judge M. Margaret McKeown. "Indeed, the Spa may have other avenues to challenge the enforcement action. But whatever recourse it may have, that relief cannot come from the First Amendment."
Olympus Spa is now taking its case to the Supreme Court. McKeown and VanDyke, whose vulgar approach elicited a rebuke from 27 of his colleagues, may appear irreconcilably at odds. In some sense, they are. Yet the rival sensibilities also help paint a more complete picture of a complicated case, one that naturally provokes strong reactions but for which there may be no immediately satisfying answer under the Constitution.
The ordeal traces back to 2020. Haven Wilvich, who has identified as a "nonbinary trans woman," lodged a complaint with the WSHRC after being turned away from the Olympus Spa location in Lynnwood, Washington, for having a ****** . (The spa says it accepts postoperative transgender women.) The Washington State Law Against Discrimination (WLAD) bars discrimination based on many characteristics, including ****** ual orientation, which the state defines as encompassing "heterosexuality, ****** ****** uality, bisexuality, and gender expression or identity."

#olympus #vandyke #state

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) tells Meet the Press that President Trump has "undoubtedly" committed impeachable acts in his second term and a third impeachment could be a "critical tool in the toolbox" for Democrats if they retake control of the House.

#raskin #press #president

By Emma Rumney and Jonathan Stempel
LONDON/NEW YORK, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Marlboro-maker Altria on Wednesday sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, seeking to force the agency to overhaul a product review ‌process that tobacco companies say has stifled their growth in the key U.S. market, a legal filing ‌showed.
Under U.S. law, the FDA must review new tobacco products before they can be sold, ******* sing whether they provide a net public health benefit, such as helping smokers quit.
But the system has been plagued by a huge backlog of applications and a booming illegal market of products sold without FDA authorisation.
Altria's lawsuit marks the latest industry challenge to a regime that has become one of the biggest obstacles facing tobacco companies in the $22 billion U.S. market. It follows an extensive lobbying ‌campaign targeting President Donald Trump.

#review #stempel

KYIV, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Ukraine on Tuesday accused Russia of committing a war crime after a video was released showing a drone chasing down and wounding a vegetable seller in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.
Footage released by Ukrainian police ‌shows the drone pursuing a man around a van being used as a street stand before exploding as he dives for ‌cover behind the vehicle. Police said the man in his 50s survived but suffered shock and shrapnel injuries.
Ukrainian officials later identified him only as a 52-year-old called Yurii and released a video interview with him from a hospital ward.
"Today, many were shocked by yet another video of the drone 'safari' Russians are carrying out against civilians in Kherson," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on X, saying that "Russia has gone mad" and calling for more pressure on Moscow and strong security guarantees for Ukraine.
"We must act and support life in ways that force Russia to think seriously about peace rather than expanding the range of its drones."

#police #tuesday

Oil industry executives and White House officials, rattled by President Donald Trump's growing criticisms of the sector, are making a renewed push to head off any move by the administration to curb U.S. petroleum exports, three people familiar with the effort said.
Industry representatives said the outreach extends to officials on the White House Domestic Policy Council, the National Energy Dominance Council, the Energy Department and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and comes as Trump has shown increasing frustration with stubbornly high fuel prices that could prove a drag on Republicans' chances to keep control of Congress in this November's elections.
"There's an all-hands-on-deck from industry and inside the administration to stave it off," said an energy industry executive who was granted anonymity to describe discussions. White House officials haven't formally pitched the idea, "but everyone knows Trump's gonna Trump," this person added.
The White House maintains that export restrictions are not under consideration.
"While the President and his entire energy team have taken several actions to mitigate temporary disruptions to the energy market, the Administration has been quite clear: there is no plan to implement restrictions on oil and gas exports," White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement.

#white #House #industry