The Republican-led House panel on homeland security is set to advance articles of impeachment today, seeking to oust Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, for his handling of immigration at the southern U.S. border.
In what are expected to be party-line votes, the committee plans to charge Mayorkas with refusing to uphold the law and breaching the public trust — specifically citing the Immigration and Nationality Act, which mandates that migrants not otherwise admissible “shall be detained” pending their removal. The full House could vote as early as next week.
The emerging consensus among legal scholars is that Republicans have produced no evidence that the secretary committed an impeachable offense, and the effort is all but certain to collapse if it reaches the Senate. But by making it there, Republicans could force an election-year trial of President Biden’s immigration policies.
Spurred by record numbers of border crossings and an asylum system that is effectively broken, immigration has become one of the biggest threats to Biden’s re-election. While he began his presidency pausing deportations and preaching compassion, Biden last week implored Congress to grant him the power to shut down the border.
Hamas said it is considering a deal to pause the war
Hamas’s political chief said today that the group was considering a proposal, floated by Israel, the U.S., Qatar and Egypt, to stop the fighting in Gaza for six weeks and exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. The comments raised hopes in the region for the possibility of a longer truce.
While signaling openness, the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, stuck with the group’s longstanding demand for the total withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, which Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, immediately rejected. Netanyahu also appeared defiant, saying in a speech today that “we will not compromise on anything less than total victory.”
Syphilis is soaring in the U.S.
Cases of syphilis, the sexually transmitted infection that was once nearly eliminated in the U.S., increased by 80 percent between 2018 and 2022. The rates soared in every age group, including newborns, bringing total new infections to their highest recorded rate since 1950.
Syphilis has been on the rise even in countries with national health care. Experts cited increased substance use, falling condom use and dwindling sexual health services as potential factors.
Chita Rivera, the electrifying Broadway star, died at 91
The dancer, singer and actress Chita Rivera, who leaped to stardom in the original Broadway production of “West Side Story” and dazzled audiences for nearly seven decades as a Puerto Rican lodestar of the American musical theater, died today at 91.
Her dancing sometimes overshadowed her thrillingly dramatic way with a song: husky yet clarion, unaffected but full of comment and character. Have a listen.
Also, check out her life in photos.
The men who try (and fail) to guard Caitlin Clark
Across the country, male college students — many of them good high school athletes — compete against the top women’s basketball programs during practice. Their job: Use their size and strength to prepare the women for upcoming opponents.
Perhaps no gig is harder than the one assigned to Will McIntire and Isaac Prewitt at the University of Iowa. They have the unenviable task of matching up against Caitlin Clark, 2023’s player of the year, who is one of the most talented scorers the game has ever seen and more than willing to get into her opponent’s face.
How does alcohol affect the gut?
There is still a lot that researchers do not know about microbiome science, but evidence suggests that heavy drinking is associated with less healthy guts.
People with alcohol use disorder often have an imbalance of “good” and “bad” bacteria in their guts, while moderate drinkers appear to have even more diverse gut microbiomes than people who don’t drink at all. For more, my colleague Alice Callahan took a close look at the research.
Is America ready for minute-long soap operas?
During the pandemic, minute-long, melodramatic tales of romance and revenge became hugely popular across Asia. One company is betting that the mini-soap operas, which are vertically shot and formatted for smartphone viewers, can succeed in the U.S.
ReelShort aims to get people hooked as quickly as possible, with much of the action happening in the first few super-short episodes. If the content is compelling enough, some viewers will pay as much as $10 or $20 to keep watching.
Have an engaging evening.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew
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