For roughly the last six years, Republican politicians have essentially been acting like the adults in that one Twilight Zone episode with the kid with godlike powers, putting on a big show about how everything Donald Trump does is “good” out of fear that he’ll cast them into the otherworldly cornfield from which there is no return. But according to New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns, there was at least one brief window where top GOP officials seemed ready to stiffen their spines and prevent their leader from ever holding office again: the days following the January 6 Capitol riot. 

On Thursday, the Times published an edited excerpt from Martin and Burns’s new book This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future, which claimed that Republican Party leaders Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) contemplated a series of drastic measures to remove Trump from office: including invoking the 25th Amendment, pressuring him to resign, and even impeachment. 

In public, McCarthy stayed true to his lily-livered persona, objecting to the election results and saying that the Democrats’ attempt to impeach Trump would “put more fuel on the fire.” He has since adopted a characteristically esoteric defense of Trump’s actions on January 6, saying that the real fault lies with Nancy Pelosi, who he (ridiculously) claims to have allowed a “security lapse” at the Capitol. 

However, in private conversations, McCarthy was irate and fully willing to lay the blame squarely on Trump’s shoulders. On Jan. 8, 2021, he reportedly told House Republicans that Trump’s conduct had been “atrocious and totally wrong” and blamed him outright for inciting the mob to storm the Capitol. During a Jan. 10 meeting, he claimed that he’d ask Trump to resign from office and allegedly said that he wished that the Big Tech companies would strip some far-right lawmakers of their social media accounts. 

“I’ve had it with this guy,” he reportedly ranted to a group of Republican leaders. “What he did is unacceptable. Nobody can defend that, and nobody should defend it.” 

Everton need to calm their nerves after Burnley took a scary step closer last night - a Merseyside derby at Anfield will be just the tonic.

Kate, Andy and Vish look ahead to a weekend of derbies across the land, as Chelsea take on West Ham and Man Utd will no doubt puncture any joy from the Erik ten Hag announcement by captiluating at Arsenal. All of that and loads more on today's Preview Show, sponsored by Betway!

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If you happen to be a pregnant person with questions—say, about the foods you should avoid, how big your developing fetus is, or when your morning sickness might finally abate—your online research may lead you to the cheerful and informative website of the American Pregnancy Association. In addition to providing answers to expectant parents, the site offers a wealth of other resources: advice about how to improve fertility, a due-date calculator, and even a hotline for pregnancy questions. For those seeking medical expertise about all things gestation-related, the American Pregnancy Association seems to be a one-stop shop. The group describes itself as “a national health organization committed to promoting reproductive and pregnancy wellness through education, support, advocacy, and community awareness.”

Better yet, it seems to be committed to science. “The Association believes that research is the foundation to significant reproductive discoveries,” the site says. Indeed, the group is cited as a source by many respected medical institutions, including the Cleveland Clinic, Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai, Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Maryland’s Johns Hopkins HealthCare. The New York Times, the Washington Post, and CNN have included its advice in articles. The official website about women’s health at the US Government’s Department of Health and Human Services links to the American Pregnancy Association as a resource for those seeking information about pregnancy tests. The Office of Child Welfare recommends that parents considering adoption peruse its list of potential questions to ask adoptive parents.

So comprehensive and widely known are the organization’s offerings that it’s easy to overlook the section about unplanned pregnancies, where the tone is decidedly different—fewer facts, more feelings. “If you’re researching your options, you probably need to talk,” the page says, offering a hotline number. “There will be no judgment, no guilt, only a friendly caring person ready to listen and talk.” Actual information about abortion is hard to find, and what the site does provide is sandwiched between warnings. “Consider the impact the procedure may have on your future,” the site advises.

Here’s another thing it doesn’t mention: The American Pregnancy Association isn’t the dispassionate medical authority it might appear to be. Rather, it’s the brainchild of a Texas-based pro-life activist named Brad Imler, and it’s rife with medically inaccurate information—on both abortion and other reproductive health topics. The site hawks unproven blood tests, infertility treatments, and products purported to support the pregnant person and developing fetus. The American Pregnancy Association presents all of its information and products as evidence-based and medically accurate—but nowhere can one find its activist foundations or learn that it doesn’t have a single medical professional listed on its staff of a handful of people.

This veneer of medical expertise isn’t a new phenomenon in the anti-abortion movement. Over the last few decades, pro-life groups have built a robust network of crisis pregnancy centers designed to look like doctors’ offices, complete with ultrasound equipment and available nurses. The purpose of these offices is to dissuade people from getting abortions, yet the staff and marketing materials rarely mention this—crisis pregnancy centers’ misleading messaging has been the focus of several recent court cases. The American Pregnancy Association is set up like a virtual version of these crisis pregnancy centers, attracting expectant parents with its promises of need-to-know information—then gently leading them through an experience subtly laid out to discourage abortion at all costs. It’s a highly successful design: Even the pro-choice think tank the Guttmacher Institute lists the American Pregnancy Association among its sources for information about fetal development.

With Roe v. Wade at risk of being overturned by the Supreme Court, 2022 is shaping up to be a historically bad year for reproductive rights. And while anti-choice lawmakers have been working toward this for decades, they’ve only gotten bolder with their moves in the past few years. 

If the court does away with Roe, 26 states will put in place bans or severe abortion restrictions, according to data from the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights think tank. Meanwhile, emboldened by the passing of other abortion bans in previous years, Republicans politicians have passed abortion bans left and right this year, setting reproductive rights back nearly half a century: In the first four months of this year alone, lawmakers across 42 states introduced a grand total of 536 bills restricting access to abortions—86 of which effectively banned abortion outright.

So far, six states have successfully passed versions of these bans, and most of them look eerily familiar. It appears as those legislators are taking a page straight out of either Texas or Mississippi’s playbook: In 2021, Texas passed a law that prohibited abortions only after six weeks of pregnancy, while three years prior, Mississippi passed a law preventing abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

The aftermath of these laws has been devastating. People seeking abortions in Texas have been forced to flee to other states—and sometimes other countries—to receive the procedure. Currently, there are eight states that have either banned or are attempting to ban abortions a maximum of 15 weeks after a pregnancy. Here’s a look at where they stand:

Arizona

On March 30, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill that mirrors Mississippi’s, forbidding abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The law also makes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. “In Arizona, we know there is immeasurable value in every life—including preborn life,” Ducey said. “I believe it is each state’s responsibility to protect them.” The law will go into effect in late June.

Kate, Andy and Luke recap more midweek Barclays, with Thomas Tuchel furious at his own pitch and an Angry Almiron smashing one top bins - just in time for a transfer!

Also, would you like to hear from managers at half-time? Soon you may be able to - though we realise Dundee boss Mark McGhee is probably not the man to ask.

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She hadn’t even reached the border when she felt her teeth crack. Diana Kyrychyk had just finished getting a root canal in Ukraine the previous day, but she still had four temporary fillings that needed to be replaced and now they were disintegrating. She pulled two bits of broken teeth from her mouth, carefully tucked them into her front jeans pocket, and kept moving. On a crowded road in northwest Ukraine, she was fleeing Russian missiles by foot with two suitcases, her husband, her sister, her three young children, and her 6-month-old niece.

At around five in the morning three days earlier, on Thursday, February 24, Diana was asleep in her apartment in Kyiv when she was awakened by the sound of explosions. She realized that, as unbelievable as it had seemed only days before, the Russian army was dropping deadly mortar shells on the country’s capital.

Diana and her husband, Dima Kyrychyk, packed up their essentials—laptops, documents, winter boots, medication, sandwiches, some toys for the kids. They loaded up the gray Citroën sedan they’d bought in 2013, soon after their wedding. They asked their children—Evangeline, 7, Oskar, 5, and Oliver, 3—to be obedient and attentive because anything could happen, even to their parents, and it was extremely important to listen and follow instructions. 

They drove toward her parents’ house in Volhynia, about 100 kilometers from Lviv and only 20 kilometers from the border with Belarus. A drive through the Rivne region that normally takes six or seven hours took 15. Along the road, they saw tanks and Ukrainian soldiers. They managed to make only two pit stops so the kids could use the bathroom. Their trusty Citroën was fuel-efficient, so they didn’t need to wait in the long lines for gas. 

Diana alternately cried and prayed for God to save them from explosions. “Every minute we were afraid of missiles,” she says. On February 26, two days after the Kyrychyks crossed over it, the bridge they took to leave the region was blown up by Ukrainian troops to prevent the Russian army from getting any closer to Kyiv.  

Sarah Palin made me laugh this morning. 

I was looking at my inbox and spotted a fundraising email from her. The subject heading was, “Did you see my interview?” Had I missed something important? Then again, how important could a Palin interview be? Yes, she’s running for Congress to replace Republican stalwart Rep. Don Young, who died in office last month, having served 49 years in the House as Alaska’s at-large congressional representative. But she is just one of 48 candidates competing for his seat. 

Regarding the question she posed, the email had a link to a segment she did with Fox News host Jesse Watters. I wondered what she might have said, so I clicked on it. But instead of being forwarded to a clip of the interview, in a classic bait-and-switch, I landed on a fundraising page for “Sarah for Alaska,” which notes she was endorsed by Donald Trump. 

I returned to the email—which addressed me as “Patriot”—to see how Palin is pitching herself these days. This is what she said:

A lot of people are asking me why I decided to run. The simple answer is: I’m in it for the right reasons. I’ve got a public servant’s heart, and I’m willing to serve the American people.

Editor’s note: This column by David Corn first appeared in his newsletter, Our Land. But we wanted to make sure as many readers as possible have a chance to see it. Our Land is written by David twice a week and provides behind-the-scenes stories about politics and media; his unvarnished take on the events of the day; film, book, television, podcast, and music recommendations; interactive audience features; and more. Subscribing costs just $5 a month—but you can sign up for a free 30-day trial of Our Land here. Please check it out.

In July 1980, President Jimmy Carter got some bad news. The Justice Department had filed a complaint against his younger brother, Billy, for failing to register as a lobbyist for Libya. Billy had taken two all-expenses-paid trips to Tripoli pursuing business deals there, and he had accepted $220,000 from the Libyans to develop what he called a “propaganda campaign” to promote the foreign policy objectives of dictator Moammar Qaddafi. In response to the Justice Department action, Billy belatedly registered as a foreign agent.

But the scandal persisted, and Carter handled the controversy well. Everyone knew he had little control over the irrepressible Billy, who had long struggled with alcoholism and only that summer sobered up. The president released a statement saying, “I do not believe it is appropriate for a close relative of the president to undertake any assignment on behalf of a foreign government.” The Senate Judiciary Committee, controlled by Democrats, initiated an investigation into what became known as Billygate, and Carter announced the White House would cooperate fully and waive any claims to executive privilege. Carter held a press conference and spent an hour taking questions about the matter, and he went further. He issued an executive order prohibiting relatives of the president from lobbying or interacting with US government officials, and he released a 92-page report that criticized Billy but refuted allegations of wrongdoing. The report even included excerpts of the president’s diary. His reaction was widely regarded as transparent and honest.

Billygate is a good point of reference when assessing what could be called Jaredgate. On April 10, the New York Times revealed that Jared Kushner, son-in-law and adviser of the 45th president, secured a $2 billion investment for his new private equity firm, Affinity Partners, from a fund controlled by the Saudi crown prince—even after advisers to the Saudi fund raised serious objections to the investment. The screening panel for the Saudi fund had cited “the inexperience of the Affinity Fund management”; an “unsatisfactory in all aspects” due diligence report; a proposed asset management fee that seemed “excessive”; and “public relations risks.” Yet the panel was overruled by the fund’s board, which is headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s autocratic de facto leader, who, according to US intelligence, green-lit the operation that resulted in the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

It’s damn hard to not see the $2 billion investment as either a payoff for past services rendered or a preemptive bribe should Trump manage to regain the White House. And it could be both. It’s a wonder that the disclosure of this deal hasn’t created more of a fuss and prompted congressional investigations. (Imagine what Republicans and Fox News would be doing if Hunter Biden received $2 billion from a Ukrainian government leader who was responsible for the gruesome murder of an American resident.) A 10-figure payment to a relative of a former president who is essentially the current (though undeclared) GOP frontrunner in the 2024 contest and possibly the next inhabitant of the White House is a major scandal.

If you're Manchester United, dragging off Phil Jones at half-time and letting Thiago stroll around like he's on holiday, it's not looking good. Best of luck, Erik ten Hag!

Jules, Vish and Lars look over United's capitulation at Anfield and celebrate Fulham's inevitable promotion. Lars also gives us his thoughts on the Erling Haaland rumours and how he might fit in at Manchester City.

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Nurses at Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital are ready to exchange thermometers and scrubs for picket signs in a planned strike starting on April 25. To avoid burnout and to continue to offer care during the chaos of the pandemic, the nurses say they need more staff, better mental health resources, better pay, and more paid time-off. More than ninety percent of the 5,000 nurses who belong to the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement (CRONA) union at the two hospitals voted for the strike. 

Rather than cave to their demands, Stanford had another message for them: Be prepared to lose your health care. On April 15, right before the Easter weekend and amid Passover and Ramadan, Stanford Health Care announced that in addition to withholding pay, it would also be suspending health insurance benefits for striking nurses and their families beginning on May 1.

Stanford isn’t outside of its rights to withdraw health care from picketing nurses, but it hasn’t been a common practice during recent hospital strikes. Workers at another one of California’s largest medical providers, Cedars-Sinai, are planning an upcoming strike, and the provider has not threatened to revoke their health care. The workers striking at Cedars-Sinai include nursing assistants, transportation workers, surgical technicians, and others. Workers at 15 Sutter Health locations in California also participated in a one day strike on Monday. 

Stripping nurses of their health care is a “bullying” intimidation tactic that targets some of the most vulnerable nurses, says Kathy Stormberg, vice president of CRONA. Without pay and health benefits, strikers are left to pay for care completely out of pocket through the federal COBRA program. “Targeting those among us with cancer or who are single moms is a really horrible look for a hospital,” she adds, though she said she didn’t think the intimidation tactic will have a significant effect on the number of nurses who plan to strike.

In an online petition urging Stanford Health Care not to cut benefits for the strike, CRONA members expressed their disappointment at the hospitals’ tactics, writing: “Instead of trying to address why 93% of eligible nurses voted to go on strike, the hospitals responded with this cruel move that’s clearly designed to punish nurses and break their resolve.” More than 25,000 people have signed the petition in just two days. 

The Democratic Party has taken steps to ban consultants from participating in anti-union activity, amid reports that a Democratic polling firm created anti-union videos and attended presentations designed to thwart a union drive at an Amazon warehouse, Politico reported today. 

The party plans to add an addendum to contracts between its political committees and their consultants. According to Politico, the provision would bar consultants from helping clients “persuade employees or workers to not form or join a union or otherwise discourage employees or workers from unionizing.” It would also prevent consultants from helping clients pass “legislation, ballot measures or other public policies” opposed by the labor movement or from working to defeat legislation that the labor movement supports. 

Last month, CNBC reported that Amazon had hired Global Strategy Group, an influential Democratic firm, to help fight unionization efforts at the JFK8 warehouse on Staten Island and at three other facilities. The firm reportedly created anti-union materials that were used as part of the company’s aggressive anti-union push. In a stunning win, workers at the JFK8 warehouse voted to unionize by a wide margin. 

After the CNBC report emerged, several large unions, including the American Federation of Teachers and the Service Employees International Union, said that they would not work with GSG going forward. AFT President Randi Weingarten tweeted that GSG’s actions were “really really disgusting.” 

GSG later apologized for the role it played in the union drive, telling CNBC that “while there have been factual inaccuracies in recent reports about our work for Amazon, being involved in any way was a mistake, we have resigned that work, and we are deeply sorry.”

Kate, Pete and Vish recap a chaotic afternoon in the EFL which saw Derby County finally relegated from the Championship. We give deserved props to Wayne Rooney and the squad, before asking where the club goes from here.

We also inadvertently start a ball boy revolution, celebrate some good times at St James’ Park and decide every goal is indeed a hit and hope.

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What a weekend of cup football! Man City laid out the red carpet for Liverpool to moonwalk all over, while Kai Havertz escaped Wembley prison rules with his own ticket to the final. 

Elsewhere, hands across Glasgow and Edinburgh served up two cracking Scottish cup semis, while the battle for the Premier League top four takes another bizarre turn.

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Owen Hargreaves has claimed that Tottenham should be able to seal the fourth and final Champions League spot for next season after Arsenal failed to beat Southampton today.

The Gunners had the chance to draw level with Spurs on 57 points with a win today after seeing them lose to Brighton in the early-afternoon, but once again we failed to bring home the points.

It was the Saints first win in seven matches, and leaves us with slim hopes of climbing back inside the top four, and looking ahead to our next matches we have plenty to be alarmed about.

Owen Hargreaves has taken that all in to name Tottenham as the side who are most likely to claim fourth after seeing the latest performances, with our upcoming fixtures definitely a big task.

‘Fixture-wise, it’s tough for Arsenal,’ he said on Premier League Productions(via the Metro). ‘They struggled against Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton.

Arsenal lost yet another game this afternoon to leave their hopes of a top-four finish in on tenterhooks, and youngster Sambi Lokonga has urged his team-mates to step-up.

The Gunners could take the easy excuse and blame the fact that they are missing some key players since the international break, with Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney no longer expected to play a part in the remainder of our campaign, and with Takehiro Tomiyasu having been missing for almost the entirety of 2022 thus far.

Our form has dropped off a cliff since the international break however, which could be down to those absences aforementioned, but at this point in the campaign there is zero room for error as we drift away from the Champions League places, and Lokonga has urged his team-mates to step up and make sure we ‘don’t feel like’ those injured players are missing.

Lokonga told Arsenal Media: “We know the plan, we know what we have to do, of course, [some of] the main players are missing but yeah, we need to give our best so we don’t feel they’re missing.

“We need to believe, I think that’s the first thing. We need to stick together. We’ve been through this so we can do it again.”

Mikel Arteta has claimed that having watched the game you would have seen that ‘Arsenal won the game’ despite the resulting proving to be different.

The Gunners had the chance to draw level with Tottenham after they folded against Brighton earlier on today, but we couldn’t take it.

We looked the better team, and while we had a number of clear-cut chances to break the deadlock in the opening 45 minutes, Fraser Forster was equal to our efforts, and we ended up going into the break behind.

We still tried to push on in search of the equaliser after the break, but Southampton were forcing us to to keep our distance from goal, packing out their back line in order to limit us to try something special, and we just couldn’t find it.

While the manager admits that it was a ‘huge’ opportunity which was missed this afternoon, he feels even worse given that he believes his side should have won the game.

Southampton have beaten Arsenal by a 1-0 score-line this afternoon, leaving pure disappointment on the faces of our fans.

The Gunners went into today’s match knowing that we needed to take advantage of Tottenham’s failure to beat Brighton earlier on today, but once again we leave disappointed.

Despite being winless in their last six matches, they put in a solid display of focus and used their more experienced players to get the better of a tactical game, although it wasn’t always destined to go that way.

Fraser Forster put in a number of saves in the first-half which he had no right to get to, with Bukayo Saka’s close-range effort one that is stuck in my mind, although the youngster should have done much better to find either of the low corners of the goal instead of hitting it towards the centre of the goal.

We were punished right before half-time at a point in the game where we had been looking dangerous, and they came out after the break with a purpose. For the majority of the second-half, while our players were trying to scrap, they couldn’t get close enough to the goal, and Forster isn’t the type of goalkeeper to be beaten from range.

Arsenal have been punished by Southampton who take the lead just before half-time to pile more misery on our side.

We should have had the bit between our teeth after seeing Tottenham lose to Brighton and gift us the opportunity to close in on fourth spot in the table, but despite our efforts, we go into the break behind.

It was Bednarek who found himself in the box to finish up, after we failed to clear the corner before it was fired in behind our defence once more, but it was hit with some power to beat goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

Pictures courtesy of Dazn

There is still another half to get the win here, with our team having had a number of chances to go ahead already, and we will need to be focused being more clinical after the break

Alexandre Lacazette has been missing from training in recent days, and was also a notable absentee from today’s playing squad to take on Southampton, and Arsenal have finally explained why.

Manager Mikel Arteta refused to explain any reasoning for his striker’s absence when speaking to the press on Friday, claiming that he was hopeful that he would be available today to take on the Saints at St Mary’s, but it has now been revealed that he has in fact tested positive for Covid-19.

Alex Lacazette misses out on today's matchday squad after testing positive for Covid.

Wishing you all the best, @LacazetteAlex

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 16, 2022

The teams are out for this afternoon’s Premier League clash at St Mary’s Stadium, with this Arsenal side set to take on Southampton.

Neither side comes into today’s outing in the best of form, with the Gunners losing both of their last two while the home side are winless in six, coincidentally conceding six in their last fixture also.

While you would think that the Gunners would be confident of a result with all things considered, there is key injury absentees as well as some disappointing performances which will be stuck in their mind, and you would hope that this team will give us the impetus to start the match brightly and look to assert things here today.

TEAM NEWS!

Tavares returns to the XI
Odegaard captains the side
Nketiah starts up front#SOUARS