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Group of House Lawmakers Urge Pelosi to Make Stock Trading Ban for Members of Congress a Priority

Pelosi says the John Lewis Voting Rights Act is constitutionally ironclad

A group of House lawmakers led by Representative Jared Golden (D-Maine) has urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to make a bill banning stock trading among members of Congress a priority.

The Ban Conflicted Trading Act would prohibit members of Congress and their immediate family members from trading stocks. Meanwhile, the TRUST in Congress Act would prohibit stock trading by lawmakers and their senior staffers. read more

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Kyle Rittenhouse Went to Court to Ask for the Rifle Used in Wisconsin Killings Back

Kyle Rittenhouse, who last year was acquitted on all charges related to the fatal shootings of two men and the injuring of another during the Kenosha unrest, asked a court to return the rifle he used in the killings. Rittenhouse’s attorney said Rittenhouse would like the rifle back so he can destroy it. His attorney has also asked for the return of a 30-round capacity magazine, bullets, an iPhone, and some clothing.

“Mr. Rittenhouse further wishes to ensure that the firearm in question is properly destroyed,” attorney Mark Richards wrote in the document filed in Kenosha County Circuit Court, arguing that Rittenhouse “is the lawful owner of the firearm “per the verbal contract enacted with Dominick Black,” who was dating Rittenhouse’s sister at the time.

Rittenhouse was too young to purchase a firearm at the time and earlier this month, Black agreed to plead no contest to a non-criminal citation of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in exchange for the dismissal of two felony counts.

Following his acquittal, Rittenhouse made clear he intended to destroy the firearm.

“We’re having [the rifle] destroyed right now. We don’t want anything to do with that,” he said during an appearance on the conservative podcast The Charlie Kirk Show in December.

Rittenhouse faced multiple criminal counts, including first-degree intentional homicide and attempted homicide was acquitted of all charges relating to the fatal shootings of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and injuring Gaige Grosskreutz during the Kenosha unrest.

The protests erupted following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, who was paralyzed from the waist down.

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White House Launches New Phone Line That Americans Can Use to Order At-Home COVID Tests

The White has officially launched a new phone line that Americans can use to order at-home COVID-19 tests. The move is part of an effort to reach people who do not have reliable internet access.

Starting today, Americans who cannot put in an order for COVID-19 tests via the website the White House launched earlier this week can call 1-800-232-0233.

The call line offers services in English, Spanish, and over 150 additional languages. It is open from 8 a.m. to midnight seven days a week. A text-based line for hearing impaired callers is also available at 1-888-720-7489.

The White House announced its website for Americans to order at-home COVID-19 tests had launched on Tuesday. According to the website, covidtests.gov, “every home in the U.S. is eligible to order 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests. The tests are completely free. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days.”

Some users had reported technical issues while attempting to order their tests due to the address verification tool enforcing the four-per-household cap on apartment buildings and other dwellings with multiple units.

In December, the White House said it was preparing to ship as many as 500 million kits, part of an effort to deal with a surge of COVID-19 cases attributed to the highly contagious Omicron variant.