Monday Afternoon Update: Fetterman Has A Face For Movies, Confederate Statue Comes Down, Gigantic Caravan Crosses Border

This article is a companion piece to today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click here.

Future Fusion Energy?

A new report indicates that U.S. scientists have found a “breakthrough” in viable nuclear fusion.

In the past two weeks, scientists at a federal facility in California were able to produce more energy than the amount of energy put into the experiment using lasers to ignite a fusion reaction with a small amount of hydrogen plasma, according to insiders. A full report from the government is expected this week.

Lockerbie Bomber In Custody, Reports Say

The Libyan man suspected of making the bomb that took down a commercial flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 270 people, including 190 Americans, is in U.S. custody after more than three decades, authorities said Sunday. The suspected bomber is due to appear in the U.S. District Court of Columbia as early as this week. Family members of the victims have waited 34 years for justice.

Biden Admin Can’t Force Religious Hospitals To Pay For Sex-Change Surgeries

A federal appeals court has ruled that the Biden administration cannot force religious health care providers to perform or pay for sex-change surgeries.

House GOP Pledges To Subpoena 51 Intelligence Veterans Behind Discrediting Hunter Biden Laptop

House Republicans will subpoena the 51 intelligence veterans who signed a letter suggesting the Hunter Biden laptop story could be part of a Russian disinformation operation, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) pledged over the weekend.

John Fetterman: Movie Star

Senator-Elect John Fetterman will have a cameo in a Netflix film titled “The Pale Blue Eye,” directed by Scott Cooper. The film stars Christian Bale as a detective who attempts to solve the murder of a West Point Cadet. The film was shot entirely in Braddock, Pennsylvania, when Fetterman was the mayor, and the makers of the movie became friends with the Democrat. But it was his unique mug that sealed the deal.

“John’s got this fantastic face. And so I said to Scott, ‘We’ve got to have him in the tavern. You got to have that face. That’s a face that fits in the 1830s, because a lot of faces don’t fit in the 1830s,’” Bale said.

Gigantic Caravan Crosses Border

A caravan of about 1,000 migrants crossed illegally into El Passo, Texas, Sunday night. A video posted by Fox News reporter Bill Melugin shows scores of migrants walking across the shallow river into the U.S. Melugin reports that prior to the mass crossing, Mexican police escorted nearly 20 buses of migrants to Juarez, where they were given to NGOs and then released to cross the border.

U.S. Kills Two ISIS Leaders

U.S. Central Command forces conducted a helicopter raid in Syria on Sunday that killed two officials of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

Confederate Statue Comes Down

The city of Richmond, Virginia, removed the final city-owned Confederate monument, a statue of Confederate General A.P. Hill, in Old Dominion’s capital Monday morning. Since 2020 and the George Floyd riots, more than a dozen Confederate memorials have been removed from the city.

Court Orders Southwest To Pay Fired Pro-Life Flight Attendant

A federal court has ordered Southwest Airlines to provide back pay and maximum punitive damages to a former flight attendant named Charlene Carter, who was fired after speaking out against her union’s political activism. Carter was fired in 2017 after posting pro-life messages and supporting a recall of her union’s president. The court ordered her reinstatement as well. Carter was represented by attorneys from the national right to work foundation.

Texas Basketball Coach Arrested

The head coach of the men’s basketball team at the University of Texas, Chris Beard, was arrested Monday morning and was charged with third-degree assault on a relative.

Mississippi State Football Coach In Critical Condition

Mississippi State University head football coach Mike Leach is in critical condition after suffering a massive heart attack Sunday.

The university issued a statement acknowledging the situation and stating that “Mike’s family is with him and appreciates the overwhelming expressions of love and support for the coach, but also requests that their family’s privacy be respected at this time.” Leach is in his third year as head coach at Mississippi State.

Longer Tweets Coming, Musk Announces

On Sunday, Elon Musk said Twitter will up its character limits from 280 to 4,000 for individual tweets.

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