Chad’s Morning Brief: Decision Day for Obamacare, Will Holder Be Held in Contempt, & More

Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of June 28, 2012. Give us your feedback below and tune in to Lubbock’s First News with Chad Hasty for these and many more topics from 6-9 am.

1. Decision Day (link)

Today is the big day at the U.S. Supreme Court. Around 9am today we should receive the ruling on Obamacare. That is just the beginning though. Today's decision could have a huge effect on the election and the economy. According to FOX:

The decision by the Supreme Court, easily the most hotly anticipated of the session, will have sweeping consequences. During an election year and a period of shaky economic recovery, what the high court decrees will ripple through the political world and, more importantly, the sector that counts for one-sixth of the American economy.

Will Americans be guaranteed coverage regardless of medical condition? Will they be forced to buy insurance? Will businesses be able to hire without worrying whether they can afford the accompanying health care costs?

Any predictions?

2. GOP Pushing Ahead With Contempt Vote (link)

House Speaker John Boehner will go forward with a vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt. Not only will Republicans vote for the measure, but a growing number of Democrats are joining them. According to FOX:

The congressional contempt vote against Attorney General Eric Holder is looking more and more like a fait accompli, as House Speaker John Boehner presses ahead with a Thursday floor vote and conservative Democrats one-by-one announce they will side with Republicans.

At least five Democrats so far have said they plan to vote to hold Holder in contempt over his refusal to turn over Operation Fast and Furious documents. Sources told Fox News that roughly 20 are likely to break ranks.

The Democrats that are siding with Republicans are conservative leaning, but they are making the right move even if some of them are motivated by politics. This is the right move, but after this I don't see much happening to Holder.

3. Guilty (link)

It took a jury in Amarillo about two hours to convict Khalid Aldawsari of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. According to KFYO News:

Aldawsari, who was arrested in February of 2011, was a former chemical engineering student at Texas Tech. He had a list of targets which included the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush.

A chemical supplier reported a suspicious attempted purchase of concentrated phenol by a man identifying himself as Khalid Aldawsari. Phenol is a toxic chemical with legitimate uses, but can also be used to make explosive trinitrophenol.

Excerpts from Aldawsari’s journal showed that he had been planning a terrorist attack in the United States for some time, saying “And now, after mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives and continuous planning to target the infidel Americans, it is time for Jihad.”

Prosecutors finished up their case against Aldawsari late Tuesday afternoon, and defense attorneys presented no evidence at the end of the trial.

Next up is the sentencing phase in which Aldawsari faces life in prison.

4. Not Bath Salts (link)

Remember the cannibal in Miami who was shot and killed after attacking and eating the face off another man? Everyone quickly started blaming bath salts, but according to the Medical Examiner, bath salts weren't even found in his system. According to CBS:

Rudy Eugene, the Causeway Cannibal who ate the face off a homeless man he attacked along the MacArthur Causeway, was apparently  not high on bath salts or any other exotic street drug at the time of the attack, according to a report released Wednesday by the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner.

The news leaves law enforcement officials wondering what drove Eugene to strip off his clothes, attack homeless man Ronald Poppo, and chew off pieces of flesh from Poppo’s face.

Speculation about the cause of Eugene’s rampage on Poppo’s face centered on drugs, specifically bath salts, after police union officials claimed an increase in bizarre behavior among people on the street using such drugs.

Maybe the guy was just a nut job?

5. Dumb Story of the Morning (link)

Don't ask this guy to pull your finger.

An elderly man was arrested Monday night after a neighbor's fart allegedly drove him to threaten him with a gun, police said.

Daniel Collins, 72, had been involved in an ongoing dispute with the unidentified neighbor for some time, Det. Lt. Andrew McGurr told NJ.com. The neighbor told officers that Collins pointed a revolver at him in the vestibule of their apartment building at 694 Cedar Lane at around 9:25 p.m.

Collins said he confronted the man after hearing him pass gas in front of his apartment door, but denied threatening him with a gun. He consented to a search, and officers recovered a .32 caliber revolver from his vehicle.

Other Top Stories:

Interactive Map of Business Patterns in Texas

Texas Association of Business Wants More Educational Accountability

Betty Crocker Boycott?

Obama Excludes Illegal Immigrants From Dinner

These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of Lubbock’s First News with Chad Hasty. Tune in mornings 6-9am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.