The GOP’s nightmare scenario
The Atlantic
“On paper, Republicans have a prime opportunity to recapture the Senate majority this fall,” said Russell Berman. But needing just one seat to turn a 50-50 Senate into a majority, they could blow it by nominating several extremist and “scandal-plagued” candidates. “How could you screw this up?” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell recently asked in a speech in Kentucky. “It’s actually possible.” That’s because at least four candidates running in Republican Senate primaries have baggage that “could render them unelectable” in November. In Missouri, Eric Greitens is seeking the nomination despite a sexual-misconduct scandal and accusations by his ex-wife that he abused her and their son. Former President Donald Trump has endorsed J.D. Vance in Ohio and Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, despite their extreme flip-flops on issues ranging from abortion to Trump himself, whom Vance once compared to Hitler. Former football player Herschel Walker may win a primary in Georgia, despite a troubled past and accusations he threatened to kill his ex-wife. In a polarized political environment, will voters pull the lever for such tainted candidates? McConnell and Republicans fear they won’t—but Democrats worry that they will.
Firefighters rescued a woman who fell headfirst into an outdoor toilet at the top of Washington’s Mount Walker while attempting to fish her cellphone out from the waste. After dropping the phone while using the vault toilet—a large public outhouse—the woman used dog leashes to hold herself while reaching down into the muck. “They didn’t work very well and in she went,” said Brinnon Fire Department Chief Tim Manly. The woman called 911, and after rescue workers pulled her out, she declined to seek medical attention. “She only wanted to leave,” a fire department spokesman said.
A passenger at an airport in Jaipur, India, was found hiding 2 pounds of gold worth some $55,000 in his rectum. After the man’s uncomfortable behavior drew their attention, officials executed a “personal search” that revealed three plastic capsules loaded with 791 grams of small granules of nearly pure gold. The gold was “extracted and was seized,” officials said.