An official with the World Health Organization said Thursday that human-to-human transmission of bird flu would be an “enormous concern” among an outbreak among dairy cows in the United States. “This remains I think an enormous concern,” Chief Scientist of the WHO Jeremy Farrar told reporters in Geneva, according to the Guardian. Bird flu, otherwise known as H5N1, has an “extremely high” mortality rate among humans, Farrar said, and has so far spread from animals to hundreds of people, qualifying it as a “global zoonotic,” or animal, pandemic. The chief concern, however, according to Farrar, w ..read more

LNG PAUSE MEASURE LEFT OUT OF FOREIGN AID BILLS: Speaker Mike Johnson had floated the idea of tying a provision reversing the Department of Energy’s pause on new liquified natural gas exports to help incentivize conservatives to vote for the bills providing aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. But ultimately, the measure was nowhere to be found in the text released yesterday.  “The LNG [provision] is part of the national security concept and philosophy here, because energy security is national security,” Johnson told reporters during a press conference yesterday. “We tried to put it in th ..read more

Hunter Biden is asking appellate courts in both of his criminal cases to consider dismissing his tax and gun charges, according to court documents. Biden asked the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday to hear his arguments for dismissal after a judge in Delaware denied Biden’s requests to drop three felonies related to a 2018 gun purchase. Biden had argued to Judge Maryellen Noreika that his charges should be dropped by claiming that a since-withdrawn plea agreement was actually active and had immunized him from being charged; that special counsel David Weiss, who is overseeing Biden’s pr ..read more

The Senate is newly receptive to legislation mandating the sale of TikTok after the House tweaked the bill to give its Chinese owners more “runway” to find a buyer. The House passed a bill forcing the sale of the popular social app in March, fueled by concerns over spying by the Chinese government, but the push hit a wall in the Senate as lawmakers raised concerns over targeting a single company in legislation.  The top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee supported the bill, but Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), whose committee has jurisdiction, expressed reluctance. Sh ..read more

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) expressed his displeasure with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) over his three foreign aid bills. According to Donalds, these three aren’t different from the Senate’s previous failed legislation. The Florida representative appeared on Fox Business’s Mornings with Maria Thursday to share his analysis. “I think that this bill is essentially the Senate package just chopped up into three so members can vote for each package, but then they’re going to merge them back together and send it to the Senate. Well, that’s just the Senate deal right there,” Donalds said. “There h ..read more

Prince Harry has named the United States his primary residence four years after moving away from the United Kingdom. The revelation comes from documents surrounding Harry’s travel company, Travalyst, which lists the U.S. as his residence from June 29, according to a report. This filing also refers to Harry as the “Duke of Sussex,” even though he resigned from royal duties. As a result, Harry could lose his role as a deputized royal on behalf of his father, King Charles III. He is one of seven members who can act as the king’s proxy when he is sick or abroad, but all eligible family members mus ..read more

A handful of House Republicans on the powerful Rules Committee are facing calls to resign from their positions after threatening to tank Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) foreign aid package before it can even reach the floor for debate.  At least three GOP members on the Rules Committee have threatened to vote against advancing the four foreign aid bills to the House floor, possibly halting progress just days after the bills were unveiled. The refusal to consider the bills has prompted criticism from other House Republicans, with some even going so far as to call on the GOP lawmakers to resi ..read more

Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) and Democratic Virginia legislative leaders announced they would hammer out negotiations on the state’s budget with a special session next month. The budget process has been one of several points of tension between the Republican governor and Democratic-led legislature this year over disagreements about various appropriations. The special session will convene on May 13, a group of Democratic legislative leaders and Youngkin announced after “a series of productive conversations.” “We are all committed to creating a budget that meets the needs of Virginians on time. Ov ..read more

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser traveled to and attended the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia, “as part of a sports and economic development visit” on official mayoral matters. The airline flights to and from the tournament were paid with city funds, a spokesperson told DC News Now. The cost of the fights was not released. Bowser was invited to attend the Masters by two people who are leading a city task force “to revitalize the Gallery Place and Chinatown neighborhood,” according to her communications director Susana Castillo. A very important update to Bowser’s schedule: s ..read more

Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) is not happy with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene‘s (R-GA) antics, including her threats to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). Greene threatened Johnson by filing a motion to vacate before the chamber’s Easter recess, but she did not file it as a privileged resolution, meaning it did not require immediate action. The New York Republican blasted Greene’s “theater” while on CNN’s The Source on Wednesday night. “Her theater and this constant effort to hold the Congress hostage has to come to an end. I’m gonna have no part in it. And a good number of my colleagues, cons ..read more