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Democrats erupt in laughter after Greene calls for decorum in House

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Democrats erupted in laughter on the House floor Wednesday when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — who was presiding over the chamber — called for decorum.

The heckling came as House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) was delivering floor remarks about the debt ceiling, which has been the subject of high-stakes negotiations between GOP lawmakers and the White House.

As Scalise was urging the Senate and White House to take action on raising the borrowing limit — referencing the bill House Republicans passed last month — a lawmaker yelled out in the chamber.

“We are in fact the only body in this town who has actually taken steps to address the debt ceiling and the spending problem in Washington. I would encourage the Senate to take up the bill, I would encourage the president to get engaged and address this problem, but we already have, the votes are on the board —” Scalise said before pausing to react to the yelling.

It is unclear which lawmaker shouted and what they said.

“Order,” Greene said from the dais, pounding her gavel.

“I ask that the House be in order and there be some decorum on the other side,” Scalise said.

After a roughly 15-second pause, Greene called for decorum in the chamber.

“The members are reminded to abide by decorum of the House,” she said.

Democrats in the chamber then erupted in laughter. Some members — including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.) — stood from their seats and started shouting.

As the laughter continued, Greene slammed her gavel a number of times.

The Hill reached out to Greene for comment.

The Democrats’ reaction was a reflection of the controversy swirling around Greene’s own bombastic behavior since arriving on Capitol Hill, which at times has played out on the House floor. During President Biden’s State of the Union address in February, the Georgia Republican yelled “liar” as the president delivered remarks on Social Security and Medicare.

And last month, Greene was silenced during a Homeland Security Committee hearing after she accused Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of being a liar.

Following the laughter, Greene said “the House will be in order” and recognized Scalise to continue talking on the floor.

“While some in this town might be interested in theatrics, House Republicans took action,” Scalise said, prompting groans in the chamber. “We passed a bill to address the problem, it’s time for my friends on the other side to start doing their job, call the Senate back in to take up the bill.”

“If they don’t like it they can amend it, that is part of the legislative process. Let’s get our jobs done; we’ve done ours, they need to do theirs,” he added.

Scalise took to the House floor Wednesday to inform lawmakers that they can leave Washington for Memorial Day weekend but should be prepared to return to the Capitol with 24-hours notice to vote on a debt limit ceiling as negotiations over raising the borrowing limit drag on.

For more than a week, Republican lawmakers and White House negotiators have been engaging in talks to come to an agreement. Pressure, however, has mounted in recent days as the calendar inches closer to June 1 — the day that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the U.S. could default by.

After announcing the scheduling plans, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) spoke on the House floor to criticize the GOP bill and celebrate that all members of the Democratic caucus signed on to a discharge petition, which liberal lawmakers are hoping can be used to force a vote on legislation to increase the borrowing limit.

Democrats erupted in applause.

While all 213 Democrats have signed onto the petition, the caucus needs five Republicans to join their effort to reach the threshold of a majority of the chamber, which is needed to force a vote through the discharge petition. That, however, is an unlikely scenario as Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has called on GOP lawmakers to stand behind him in negotiations.

Clark, however, called on Republicans to join the Democratic effort.

“It only takes five patriots to join us in the fight for the American people. Join us, sign the petition, stay here and fight for American families, fight for their American security,” she added.

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Body of O.J. Simpson to be cremated this week; brain will not be studied for CTE

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April 15 (UPI) — The body of O.J. Simpson, who died last week at the age of 76, is to be cremated, a lawyer representing the ex-football superstar’s estate said, adding his brain will not be donated for research.

Malcolm LaVergne, Simpson’s longtime attorney and executor, told the New York Post that his client’s body is to be cremated Tuesday in Las Vegas.

He said Simpson’s family also gave a “hard no” to scientists seeking to examine the former running back’s brain for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is better known as CTE.

CTE is a rare and little understood brain disorder that is likely caused by repeated blows to the head. According to the Mayo Clinic, CTE results in the death of nerve cells in the brain and the only way to definitively diagnose it is with an autopsy of the organ after death.

Memory and thinking problems, confusion, personality changes and erratic behavior, including aggression, depression and suicidal ideation, are among CTE’s symptoms, the Alzheimer’s Association said.

The disease has been found in those who play contact sports, including football and hockey.

LaVergne confirmed to NBC News on Sunday that at least one person has called seeking Simpson’s brain.

“His entire body, including his brain, will be cremated,” he said.

Simpson died Wednesday following a battle with cancer.

Known by the nickname “The Juice,” Simpson was a NFL superstar during the 1970s, which made him a household name that propelled him into film and television during the next decade.

But his stardom would come crashing down in the mid-1990s when he was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

His high-profile trial lasted months, but ended with his acquittal.

In 2008, he was found guilty on a dozen charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery, and was paroled in 2017 after serving nine years of his 33-year sentence.

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Africa

Donors raise more than 2 billion euros for Sudan aid a year into war

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PARIS/CAIRO, April 15 (Reuters) – Donors pledged more than 2 billion euros ($2.13 billion) for war-torn Sudan at a conference in Paris on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron said, on the first anniversary of what aid workers describe as a neglected but devastating conflict.
Efforts to help millions of people driven to the verge of famine by the war have been held up by continued fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), restrictions imposed by the warring sides, and demands on donors from other global crises including in Gaza and Ukraine.
Conflict in Sudan is threatening to expand, with fighting heating up in and around al-Fashir, a besieged aid hub and the last city in the western Darfur region not taken over by the RSF. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people have sought refuge in the area.
“The world is busy with other countries,” Bashir Awad, a resident of Omdurman, part of the wider capital and a key battleground, told Reuters last week. “We had to help ourselves, share food with each other, and depend on God.”
In Paris, the EU pledged 350 million euros, while France and Germany, the co-sponsors, committed 110 million euros and 244 million euros respectively. The United States pledged $147 million and Britain $110 million.
Speaking at the end of the conference, which included Sudanese civilian actors, Macron emphasized the need to coordinate overlapping and so far unsuccessful international efforts to resolve the conflict and to stop foreign support for the warring parties.
“Unfortunately the amount that we mobilised today is still probably less than was mobilised by several powers since the start of the war to help one or the other side kill each other,” he said.
As regional powers compete for influence in Sudan, U.N. experts say allegations that the United Arab Emirates helped arm the RSF are credible, while sources say the army has received weapons from Iran. Both sides have rejected the reports.
The war, which broke out between the Sudanese army and the RSF as they vied for power ahead of a planned transition, has crippled infrastructure, displaced more than 8.5 million people, and cut many off from food supplies and basic services.
“We can manage together to avoid a terrible famine catastrophe, but only if we get active together now,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, adding that, in the worst-case scenario, 1 million people could die of hunger this year.
The United Nations is seeking $2.7 billion this year for aid inside Sudan, where 25 million people need assistance, an appeal that was just 6% funded before the Paris meeting. It is seeking another $1.4 billion for assistance in neighbouring countries that have housed hundreds of thousands of refugees.
The international aid effort faces obstacles to gaining access on the ground.
The army has said it would not allow aid into the wide swathes of the country controlled by its foes from the RSF. Aid agencies have accused the RSF of looting aid. Both sides have denied holding up relief.
“I hope the money raised today is translated into aid that reaches people in need,” said Abdullah Al Rabeeah, head of Saudi Arabia’s KSRelief.
On Friday, Sudan’s army-aligned foreign ministry protested that it had not been invited to the conference. “We must remind the organisers that the international guardianship system has been abolished for decades,” it said in a statement.

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Africa

SA users of Starlink will be cut off at the end of the month

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Starlink users in South Africa are facing a major setback as the satellite internet service provider has issued a warning that their services will be terminated by the end of the month.

In an email sent to many South African users, Starlink stated that their internet access will cease on April 30 due to violation of its terms and conditions.

The email emphasized that using Starlink kits outside of designated areas, as indicated on the Starlink Availability Map, is against their terms. Consequently, users will only be able to access their Starlink account for updates after the termination.

Starlink, a company owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, operates a fleet of low earth orbit satellites that offer high-speed internet globally. Despite its potential to revolutionize connectivity, Starlink has been unable to obtain a license to operate in South Africa from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa).

Icasa’s requirements mandate that any applicant must have 30% ownership from historically disadvantaged groups to be considered for a license. However, many in South Africa resorted to creative methods to access Starlink services, including purchasing roaming packages from countries where Starlink is licensed.

However, Icasa clarified in a government gazette last November that using Starlink in this manner is illegal. Additionally, Starlink itself stated in the recent email to users that the ‘Mobile – Regional’ plans are meant for temporary travel and transit, not permanent use in a location. Continuous use of these plans outside the country where service was ordered will result in service restriction.

Starlink advised those interested in making its services available in their region to contact local authorities.

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