‘Newsom has effectively assumed the presidency’

‘Gavin Newsom is the de facto president of the United States right now’

Joe Mathews at the San Francisco Chronicle

Gavin Newsom is the “chief executive of America’s richest and most populous state,” and in “this peculiar moment, that makes him the real president, by default,” says Joe Mathews. There’s a “guy living in the White House who some people call president. But real presidents swear an oath to execute the laws and to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.” Newsom is “acting like the president, not a governor, because the country needs someone to act like a president.”

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‘When lawyers apply a law aimed at VHS rentals to the streaming world of today’

Chicago Tribune editorial board

In the 1980s, Congress “lost its collective mind over the idea that its members’ rental histories could undergo public scrutiny,” but now the “same law is being invoked to attack Weigel Broadcasting,” says the Chicago Tribune editorial board. Americans “should be aware that practically every keystroke on every website could potentially be tracked.” But “most Americans are still surprised to learn how much of their personal information is being collected. And once it’s given away, there’s no getting it back.”

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‘The grace of Wayne Gretzky’

Spencer Neale at The American Conservative

Alex Ovechkin scored his “895th goal, a new record in the NHL,” and Wayne Gretzky “provided a fitting bridge from past to present,” says Spencer Neale. It’s “not easy to watch your greatest successes pass by, but Gretzky has done so with great honor and respect.” Gretzky’s “goal record has long stood as one of the most insurmountable achievements,” but “instead of dismay, Gretzky displayed humility, honor, and dignity as his lofty achievement was torn from the record books.”

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‘A Trump-Congo minerals deal may not be worth the risk’

Liam Karr at The Hill

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has “presented U.S. officials and the American people with a proposal: help bring security to the embattled central African country and, in return, receive access to valuable mineral deposits,” says Liam Karr. But “American leaders should ask if it is worth the risk it poses to U.S. service members.” The U.S. “should develop a comprehensive critical minerals strategy and seek out partnerships that best suit this strategy, not build a strategy around external offers.”

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