News Editor’s Roundup: McCarthy Calls on Pelosi to Take Action against Waters for ‘Inciting Violence’; Cornyn Suggests GOP Could Back $800 Billion Infrastructure Bill

BY JACK CROWE

April 19, 2021

Good morning and welcome to the News Editor's Roundup, a weekly newsletter that will ensure you're up to date on the developments in politics, business, and culture that will shape the week's news cycle — as well as those that might escape mainstream attention.

McCarthy Calls on Pelosi to Take Action against Waters for 'Inciting Violence'

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) is urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi to take action against Representative Maxine Water (D., Calif.), whom he has accused of "inciting violence" in Minneapolis with inflammatory rhetoric.

"Maxine Waters is inciting violence in Minneapolis — just as she has incited it in the past," McCarthy said in a tweet. "If Speaker Pelosi doesn't act against this dangerous rhetoric, I will bring action this week."

Addressing protesters in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on Saturday, Waters said they should "stay on the street" and "get more confrontational" if Chauvin is not found guilty.

Cornyn Suggests GOP Could Back $800 Billion Infrastructure Bill

Senator John Cornyn (R., Texas) on Sunday said he and his Republican colleagues could back an infrastructure bill of around $800 billion, compromising with Democrats who are pushing President Biden's $2.3 trillion plan.

During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, in response to a question about whether he could support an infrastructure package of around $800 billion, Cornyn said: "There is a core infrastructure bill that we could pass…So let's do it and leave the rest for another day and another fight."

The Texas Republican's comments came one day before Biden is set to meet with lawmakers to push his own plan.

DeSantis Hints at Political Consequences for Companies That 'Genuflect' to 'Wokeness'

Florida governor Ron DeSantis warned corporations against trying to "genuflect" to "wokeness" in comments on Fox News's Sunday Morning Futures.

When asked what he thought about Major League Baseball's decision to move the All-Star Game away from Atlanta, Ga., DeSantis hinted that corporations should expect some form of retaliation.

"I guess they have the right to do what they want, but if you're gonna stick your beak into issues that don't directly concern you, then I think elected officials are then gonna stick their beak into issues that may not concern them," DeSantis told host Maria Bartiromo.

Police Confiscated Indianapolis Shooter's Shotgun Months Before He Bought Rifles Used in Attack

The former FedEx employee who fatally shot eight workers at a company facility in Indianapolis on Thursday legally purchased two semiautomatic rifles months after police confiscated his shotgun, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said on Saturday.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives traced the rifles used in the attack and discovered that the shooter purchased them in July and September 2020. IMPD chief Randal Taylor and the FBI confirmed that police confiscated a shotgun from the shooter in March 2020, after the shooter's mother called police over fears her son would attempt "suicide by cop."

Judge: Minnesota Officers Can't Arrest, Use Force against Reporters Covering Daunte Wright Protests

A federal judge in Minnesota issued a temporary restraining order that prohibits law enforcement officers from arresting or using physical force against journalists covering the Daunte Wright protests.

U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina Wright issued the order on Friday and it will remain in effect for the next two weeks, according to the Twin Cities Pioneer Press. The ruling prevents police from using physical force or chemical agents against the media. Law enforcement also cannot take away reporters' press passes, the order says.

The ruling is the result of a restraining order filed by an international labor union for news media workers and a freelance journalist against Minnesota Department of Public Safety commissioner John Harrington and Minnesota State Patrol Col. Matthew Langer.

COVID-19 Death Toll Surpasses 3 Million Worldwide

More than three million people across the world have died since the pandemic began last year, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

"This is not the situation we want to be in 16 months into a pandemic, where we have proven control measures," said Maria Van Kerkhove, one of the World Health Organization's leaders on COVID-19.

The United States leads the world in COVID deaths — 566,224 — followed by Brazil with 368,749 and Mexico with 211,693.

Brazil's daily death toll, at an average of 3,000 deaths, accounts for almost a quarter of the deaths reported daily worldwide.

Officials: One Hundred Arrested in Brooklyn Center Riot, Emergency Curfew Put in Place

Police implemented an emergency curfew in Brooklyn Center, Minn. on Friday and arrested an estimated 100 people as rioting broke out outside police headquarters in response to the police-shooting death of Daunte Wright, officials said.

City officials had attempted to forgo a curfew on Friday for the first time since protests began on Sunday when a Brooklyn Center police officer fatally shot 20-year-old Wright during a traffic stop. The officer, who officials said intended to discharge a Taser and not a handgun, has resigned and has been charged with second-degree manslaughter.

Mayor Mike Elliot had tried to "take a different approach" in not implementing a curfew, though rioting led officials to announce at 10:30 p.m. that a curfew would be put in place from 11 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday.