Here’s everything you need to know about what happened last week:

Keystone XL Goes Bust:

The cost of gas is about to get a little higher.

Reuters reports:

A $9 billion oil pipeline that became a symbol of the rising political clout of climate change advocates and a flash point in U.S.-Canada relations was officially canceled on Wednesday.

Keystone XL, which was proposed in 2008 to bring oil from Canada’s Western tar sands to U.S. refiners, was halted by owner TC Energy Corp after U.S. President Joe Biden this year revoked a key permit needed for a U.S. stretch of the 1,200-mile project.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has given its blessing to Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Trump’s Leak Hunt:

The Trump White House reportedly targeted Democratic lawmakers specifically in its crusade to weed out those responsible for repeatedly leaking bad information about the Russia investigation to the press.

The New York Times reports:

As the Justice Department investigated who was behind leaks of classified information early in the Trump administration, it took a highly unusual step: Prosecutors subpoenaed Apple for data from the accounts of at least two Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, aides and family members. One was a minor.

All told, the records of at least a dozen people tied to the committee were seized in 2017 and early 2018, including those of Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, then the panel’s top Democrat and now its chairman, according to committee officials and two other people briefed on the inquiry. Representative Eric Swalwell of California said in an interview Thursday night that he had also been notified that his data had subpoenaed.

Perhaps it’s nothing, but it seems notable that Swalwell, who has to be dragged from the spotlight with his teeth marks still on it, said nothing about the subpoenaed data until now. A curious incident for him to have not mentioned at all until this week.

El Chapo’s Wife Pleads Guilty:

Another notch in U.S. law enforcement’s belt.

The Associated Press reports:

The wife of Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman pleaded guilty Thursday to charges in the U.S. and admitted that she helped her husband run his multibillion-dollar criminal empire.

Emma Coronel Aispuro, wearing a green jail uniform, appeared in federal court in Washington and pleaded guilty to three federal offenses as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors.

The charges include knowingly and willfully conspiring to distribute heroin, cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine for several years. She also pleaded guilty to a money-laundering conspiracy charge and to engaging in transactions with a foreign narcotics trafficker.

North Carolina Advances Bill to Ban Targeted Abortions:

It’s up to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to sign a Republican-led bill banning targeted abortion.

The Associated Press reports:

North Carolina senators approved a bill on Thursday to bar women from getting abortions on the basis of race, sex or a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome.

With the Senate’s party-line vote, the prohibition Republicans are seeking now heads to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is likely to veto it, having rejected previous anti-abortion restrictions.

Abortion rights groups say the GOP-led bill, which was universally opposed by Senate Democrats and supported by only six Democratic House lawmakers, would prevent women from having open conversations with their doctors and deny their constitutional right to an abortion.

Of course they say that, because they’ll say whatever is necessary to keep abortion available in all forms, on-demand, and with no questions asked.

We’re a long way away from the days of “safe, legal, and rare.”

Florida Stands Against Critical Race Theory:

The Sunshine State is taking a stand against racist “anti-racist” curricula.

The Miami Herald reports:

Lessons that deal with critical race theory and “The 1619 Project” are not welcome in Florida’s public schools following a State Board of Education vote on Thursday.

At the request of Gov. Ron DeSantis, the board unanimously adopted a rule that, in the words of member Tom Grady, emphasizes historical facts over “fiction, projects or theory masquerading as fact.”

Grady offered an amendment that named critical race theory and “The 1619 Project” as examples of two well-known educational approaches that would not be acceptable in classrooms.

U.S. Senate Takes on Chinese Tech:

The United States Senate appears to be taking the threat posed by Chinese technology seriously.

Reuters reports:

The U.S. Senate voted 68-32 on Tuesday to approve a sweeping package of legislation intended to boost the country’s ability to compete with Chinese technology.

An indignant China responded to the vote by saying it objected to being cast as an “imaginary” U.S. enemy.

The desire for a hard line in dealings with China is one of the few bipartisan sentiments in the deeply divided U.S. Congress, which is narrowly controlled by President Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats.

The measure authorizes about $190 billion for provisions to strengthen U.S. technology and research – and would separately approve spending $54 billion to increase U.S. production and research into semiconductors and telecommunications equipment, including $2 billion dedicated to chips used by automakers that have seen massive shortages and made significant production cuts.

This Week’s Losers:

• CNN: Welcoming back abusive weirdo and sex pest Jeffery Toobin, who was fired from the New Yorker last year after he was caught masturbating on a work Zoom call, brings the network nothing but embarrassment. Could they not find anyone else to provide subpar left-wing legal commentary?
• Jeffery Toobin: Go away.
• Joe Scarborough and Jim Acosta: They’re attacking the inspector general who found former President Donald Trump did not order federal police officers to clear Lafayette Square last year ahead of his photo-op in front of St. Johns. It’s okay again to question the trustworthiness of career civil servants.
• MSNBC contributor Frank Figliuzzi: He believes imprisoning members of Congress for incendiary rhetoric is a good way to fight fascism.
• Kamala Harris: She is in way over her head, especially when it comes to the immigration crisis.
• New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay: She finds conspicuous displays of the American flag “disturbing.”
• MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle: Dunking on small businesses for struggling to stay afloat amid the post-pandemic work shortage is exactly the sort of thing an oblivious ex-Wall Streeter would do.

This Week’s Winners:

• North Carolina Republicans: Three cheers for protecting all the unborn.
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: Critical race theory is a cancer. Let’s not give children cancer.

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