Biden dog bites second victim at White House



One of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden's German shepherds bit a National Park Service employee on Monday, in the second White House "biting incident" involving the dog this month.

What are the details?

CNN reported that the incident occurred on the South Lawn of the White House, noting that the victim "was working at the time and needed to stop in order to receive treatment from the White House medical unit."

Michael LaRosa, Mrs. Biden's press secretary, told the outlet that Major, the younger of the Biden's dogs, is "still adjusting to his new surroundings," confirming, "Yes, Major nipped someone on a walk. Out of an abundance of caution, the individual was seen by WHMU and then returned to work without injury."

Major also bit a Secret Service employee on March 8, in an incident that also required medical attention for the victim. The Biden dogs were returned home to Delaware following the first incident, but President Biden said it was a planned trip and that the dogs had not been banished.

In an interview with ABC News earlier this month, Biden claimed that Major "did not bite someone and penetrate the skin" in the first incident, adding that "the dog's being trained now with our trainer at home in Delaware."

Major is 3 years old, and was adopted by the Bidens from a shelter in 2018 to serve as a companion for their older dog, Champ, who is roughly 13 and has not been implicated in either of the biting incidents.

In relaying the first White House biting incident involving Major, CNN reported that the younger dog "has been known to display agitated behavior on multiple occasions, including jumping, barking, and 'charging' staff and security" since arriving at the White House.

The White House has downplayed both biting incidents involving Major, and as news broke of the second attack White House director of message planning Meghan Hays tweeted out a picture of herself with the dog, writing, "Yesterday, I snuck a quick hug from my ol' friend Major! It's definitely feeling like Spring around here."

Yesterday, I snuck a quick hug from my ol’ friend Major! It’s definitely feeling like Spring around here. https://t.co/yy62zaMg9T
— Meghan Hays (@Meghan Hays)1617128355.0

How are people reacting?

Major Biden jokes and memes began flowing on Twitter.

Several folks on the left repeated the post, "I stand with Major Biden," while The Daily Wire's Jon Brown tweeted that "Major Biden should wear a mask."

But others took a more serious tone on the news. Numerous people came to the dog's defense by arguing that "a nip is not a bite," and therefore not worthy of concern.

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley wrote a blog post on the situation, and tweeted, "In a prior column, I noted that under tort law a dog is afforded (at most) 'one free bite' before strict liability applies. Major could now be treated as a known vicious animal for liability purposes."

McConnell signals that second impeachment trial won't happen while Trump is still in office



Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued a memo to his colleagues Friday spelling out how a second impeachment trial of President Donald Trump might be conducted in the upper chamber if House Democrats follow through with their vow to bring articles against the president next week.

One major detail sticks out in the plan: the soonest the Senate would even consider the matter would be the day before the president leaves office.

What are the details?

The Washington Post obtained the memo, and reported that the Senate "will not reconvene for substantive business until Jan. 19, which means the earliest possible date that impeachment trial proceedings can begin in the Senate is the day before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated."

The outlet noted:

Although the Senate will hold two pro forma sessions next week, on Jan. 12 and Jan. 15, it is barred from conducting any kind of business during those days — including "beginning to act on received articles of impeachment from the House" — without agreement from all 100 senators. With a cadre of Trump-allied senators in the Republican conference, that unanimous consent is highly unlikely.

The Washington Examiner pointed out that this revelation means that McConnell is effectively handing the prospective new impeachment battle in the Senate to Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), who will take over as Senate Majority Leader after the inauguration due to Republicans losing control of the Senate earlier this week.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) hailed McConnell's move on Friday, tweeting, "Completely agree with @senatemajldr's analysis that the Senate cannot process the impeachment being contemplated by the House before January 20. I firmly believe impeachment would further destroy our ability to heal and start over."

Democrats expressed outrage over McConnell's timeline, with Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)—who spearheaded the first impeachment of Trump—telling MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, "If Mitch McConnell wants to move with expedition, he knows how to do it. And if he doesn't, then he will bear the responsibility for whatever dangerous acts this president commits."

Anything else?

If the second impeachment trial does occur, "there is also a question of who exactly would preside over a trial of a former president," The Post stated.

The newspaper reported that according to McConnell's memo, "Senate impeachment rules require Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. preside over a trial of a sitting president, but whether he would have to once Trump is no longer president is 'unclear.'"

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Democratic Senate candidate Cal Cunningham backs out of town hall after second cheating allegation



Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cal Cunningham withdrew from a town hall before North Carolina voters Monday, after a second cheating allegation emerged days after he admitted to sexting a woman who is not his wife.

Cunningham, who is married with two children, is challenging incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).

What are the details?

On Friday, Cunningham apologized after his campaign confirmed reports that he had exchanged texts of a sexual nature with a public relations strategist who is also married.

TheBlaze reported:

Cunningham said he won't drop out of the Senate race following the sexting scandal. According to seven different polls, Cunningham leads his opponent, Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), by between 4 to 10 points heading into the election.

Then on Monday, National File — the publication that first broke the sexting scandal — reported that former Cunningham advocate and attorney Erin Brinkman said on Facebook of the Democrat, "He's been having an affair with a good friend of mine since 2012. Not the woman mentioned in the story. Needless to say, my friend was devastated. But my feeling is, if they'll cheat WITH you, they'll cheat ON you!"

Brinkman added a quote from the late President John F. Kennedy, "Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer."

After the story broke about the second accusation of unfaithfulness, Cunningham backed out of a town hall hosted by WUNC-FM that had been slated for the same day.

WUNC capitol bureau chief Jeff Tiberii tweeted, "A U.S. Senate town hall scheduled for Monday afternoon is off. Unfortunately @CalforNC has backed out. Organizers will try to reschedule."

Tiberii appeared not to have heard the latest allegations at the time. He continued, "I'm disappointed for the organizers who worked hard to put this together; also that we will not hear from Cunningham about sexually suggestive texts he sent to a woman (not his wife, nor mother of his children). Fascinated to see when he publicly addresses this."

I’m disappointed for the organizers who worked hard to put this together; also that we will not hear from Cunningha… https://t.co/NcoLcAFd1n
— Jeff Tiberii (@Jeff Tiberii)1601921674.0

Cunningham's opponent, Tillis, was one of three Republican senators to test positive for the coronavirus over the weekend, and is currently in quarantine.

Tiberii clarified that fears of contracting the virus had nothing to do with Cunningham ditching the town hall on short notice, writing, "One important addendum (because twitter being twitter): This was a virtual event that Tillis had declined an invitation to. So, the threat of COVID (while reasonable upon first blush) is not a factor in Cunningham canceling."

One important addendum (because twitter being twitter): This was a virtual event that Tillis had declined an invi… https://t.co/GipIK6S7Nn
— Jeff Tiberii (@Jeff Tiberii)1601922506.0