House Republicans fail to impeach the Homeland Security secretary and pass an Israel aid bill. And voters in Nevada send a message as a winner of the state’s GOP primary is declared. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024.
House GOP fails to impeach Mayorkas, pass Israel funding bill
It was a busy night on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Feb. 6, and a rough one for House Republicans as two of their efforts failed to pass a full House vote, impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and a standalone Israel aid bill.
In both votes, Republicans joined Democrats to shut down the two initiatives. By a vote of 250 to 180, the House failed to pass legislation that would have sent $17.6 billion to Israel. With the standalone bill needing a two-thirds majority to pass, 14 Republicans opposed it due to a lack of offsets.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called the failure a “disappointing rebuke to our closest ally in the Middle East.”
Democrats hope a bipartisan package in the Senate, including funding for Israel, Ukraine, and border security, will gain traction. However, its outlook is bleak, with Republicans challenging it in both chambers.
House Republicans also failed in their effort to impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas over his handling of the border crisis, with four Republicans voting no, siding with Democrats that Mayorkas’ conduct does not constitute an impeachable offense.
A spokesperson for the DHS called the impeachment “baseless” and said it “should have never moved forward.” Despite the loss, GOP leaders say they plan to bring up the impeachment vote again soon.
Nikki Haley loses to ‘none of these candidates’ in Nevada primary
The winner of last night’s Nevada Republican primary has been declared, and it wasn’t Nikki Haley, who was the only major candidate on the ballot. The winner was the “none of these candidates” option. It got the most votes, at 62%, with Haley capturing 32%.
Former President Donald Trump did not compete in the primary, opting to participate in Thursday’s, Feb. 8, caucuses, which will award Nevada’s delegates to the winner. Haley becomes the first candidate for either the GOP or Democratic party to lose to the “none of these candidates” option since it was introduced in Nevada in 1975. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden easily won the state’s Democratic primary.
Mother of school shooter found guilty of involuntary manslaughter
For the first time, the parent of a school shooter has been held criminally responsible for the violent actions carried out by their child. After 11 hours of deliberation, a Michigan jury found Jennifer Crumbley guilty of involuntary manslaughter on Tuesday, Feb. 6.
Crumbley was convicted on four counts, one for each of the students who were killed during the mass shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021. Her son, Ethan Crumbley, who was 15 years old at the time, was sentenced to life in prison last year after pleading guilty to 24 charges, including first-degree murder.
The Associated Press reporting that prosecutors are asking for consecutive sentences on the four counts which means Crumbley is facing up to 60 years in prison. Crumbley’s sentencing is scheduled for April.
NTSB: Alaska Airlines flight was missing bolts before panel flew off
The panel that flew off an Alaska Airlines plane midflight in January 2024 was missing four bolts needed to keep it in place, according to a new report by the NTSB. Investigators said the panel, known as a door plug, likely left a Boeing factory without the bolts in place. The incident resulted in the FAA grounding all Boeing 737 Max 9 airplanes.
A Boeing spokesperson said the company will review the findings and continue to work with investigators. The report came out on the same day the FAA’s top official, Michael Whitaker, testified before House lawmakers. He said the current inspection system is not working and the FAA will take appropriate actions to keep flying safe for all passengers.
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to interview Putin
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has announced in a video on the social media platform “X” that he will interview Russian president Vladimir Putin.
“We are in Moscow tonight, we are here to interview the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin,” Carlson said. “We will be doing that soon.”
In his video, Carlson said it is his duty as a journalist to inform the American people and accused American media of bias towards Ukraine throughout the Russia-Ukraine war, which began more than two years ago after Putin launched a full-scale invasion.
With Ukraine aid stalled in Congress and no clear path forward, this interview would mark Putin’s first interview with Western media since the beginning of his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The New York Times reported that the Kremlin has yet to confirm the interview is happening. Still, Russian state-run media has reported every move of Carlson’s trip to Moscow, only increasing anticipation of the potential interview. Carlson said that the interview will be aired unedited on his website and on “X.” Carlsom added that he also requested to interview Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
ESPN, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery to launch sports streaming service
Most sports are a team effort; now, that same group mentality goes for streaming sports as three of the biggest broadcasters are banding together to form a new streaming service. Disney’s ESPN, the Fox Corporation, and Warner Bros. Discovery announced they will launch a new service in the fall to showcase their sports assets.
Each company will own a third of the service, streaming games from the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB, as well as FIFA World Cup matches, NASCAR races, UFC fights, and PGA tournaments. The companies have not announced a name yet for the streaming service or said how much a subscription will cost.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this report stated that the Oxford High School shooting occurred on Nov. 30, 2022 The shooting occurred on Nov. 30, 2021 and SAN has updated this report. SAN regrets the error.
