Colton Underwood (image via Instagram)Some news items you might have missed:
• US Weekly: While promoting his appearance on CBS’ Beyond The Edge reality competition, Colton Underwood shared he doesn’t think a second season of his Coming Out Colton series would be a good idea.
• Washington Blade: The Phoenix Mercury’s WNBA star Brittney Griner had her detention in Russia for the possession of vape cartridges containing hash oil extended until May 19. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had assigned an U.S. Embassy team to work on Griner’s case.
WNBA star Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia extended until May 19 https://t.co/yYVB82j5Uu
— Washington Blade (@WashBlade) March 17, 2022
• Reuters: The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in 52 years in early March as demand for labor remained strong, positioning the economy for another month of solid job gains.
• New York Times: The House voted overwhelmingly (424-8) to strip Russia of its preferential trade status with the United States, moving to further penalize the country’s economy in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
In case anyone's curious which eight members voted "no," they were all Republicans. In alphabetical order:
Biggs (Ariz.)
Bishop (N.C.)
Boebert (Colo.)
Gaetz (Fla.)
Greene (Ga.)
Grothman (Wis.)
Massie (Ky.)
Roy (Texas) https://t.co/yng2wJIuSb— Steve Benen (@stevebenen) March 17, 2022
• Quinnipiac Polling: 45 percent of Republicans say they view politicians who praise Russian President Putin less favorably, while 46 percent say it doesn’t affect their opinion.
• OAN: A pundit on the far-right leaning One America News suggested the bombing of a maternity ward in Ukrain was a “false flag operation” by President Biden to distract from domestic issues in the U.S.
OAN suggesting today that the bombing of the maternity ward in Ukraine was a false flag operation by Biden to distract people in the US from domestic issues. pic.twitter.com/TVDKlbVqH6
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) March 17, 2022