Schumer backs El-Sayed, vows Democratic ‘big tent’ will win Senate

Sen. Chuck Schumer strongly backed Abdul El-Sayed after the progressive candidate’s slim victory in the Michigan primary and vowed that the Democratic “big tent” approach to intraparty feuds will succeed in taking back the Senate in the fall midterms.

The Senate Democratic leader told Punchbowl News he is 100% behind the newly minted nominee, even though the party’s political operation backed rival Rep. Haley Stevens in a contentious primary that El-Sayed narrowly won this week.

“What people don’t understand is that a big tent is a strength, not a weakness,” Schumer said. “It’s how you build a majority.”

He said Democratic candidates need to build their own divergent coalitions, which in El-Sayed’s case included criticizing Schumer and the Democratic establishment and calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel.

—New York Daily News

Rand Paul’s resolution holding Anthony Fauci in contempt passes Senate committee

A committee led by Sen. Rand Paul voted to hold former White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci in contempt following a contentious hearing where he pleaded the Fifth over 100 times.

Paul, who is chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said he brought the resolution forward to hold Fauci accountable.

“Seeking the truth is not a witch hunt,” Paul said. “Accountability is not vengeance. Accountability is what stands between the American people and a repeat of the mistakes and the very real consequences of the past.”

The resolution passed on an 8-5 vote along party lines Thursday morning. Republicans voted in favor, while Democrats opposed the measure.

—Lexington Herald-Leader

Toxic underground fires are spreading at California landfills

LOS ANGELES — Three years ago, environmental regulators discovered garbage burning deep inside the Chiquita Canyon Landfill in the Santa Clarita Valley. Few imagined the calamity that would follow.

Somehow the landfill’s pollution control system introduced oxygen below, causing decades-old waste to rapidly decompose, generating intense heat and eventually widespread smoldering, federal and state environmental agencies say.

The broiling temperatures released toxic gases and hazardous liquid waste that bubbled up to the surface. Residents living in the nearby communities of Val Verde and Castaic have phoned in thousands of complaints about stench and lived with nausea, dizziness and trouble breathing.

The underground fire has tripled in size since first confirmed in 2023. Recently a towering mound of landfill garbage perched on the hillside has warped and threatens to trigger an avalanche of garbage and chemical-filled liquid, or leachate, according to the California water board.

—Los Angeles Times

Explosive drone at German airport marks new threat for Europe

A German airport used to ship Ukraine military equipment resumed flights after discovering an explosive-laden drone, prompting warnings of new threats targeting Europe.

Germany’s Leipzig-Halle airport, a major hub for transporting cargo and arms, diverted several aircraft, including a passenger plane, and closed part of the airport after finding the drone. But operations are now back to normal, officials said.

The incident introduces yet another novel danger for NATO as Russia’s war against Ukraine grinds through its fifth year. While officials have not yet blamed Moscow, the drone was found near a plane carrying ammunition to Ukraine, according to German media reports. The tactic also resembles other alleged Russian provocations on European soil in recent years, including drone flyovers and suspect explosions.

“We must assume this is a very serious security incident,” German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told reporters Wednesday. “We are dealing with a hybrid attack scenario.”

—Bloomberg News