New Zealand Massacre: Forty-nine people were killed today in attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. An equal number were wounded.

  Three people are in custody in connection with the attacks, including an Australian gunman who had worn a camera so he could stream the shooting live on Facebook.

  The shooter briefly shows his face in the video, then you can see him getting his guns out of the trunk of his car and entering the first mosque shooting. 

  The attacks took place at Friday prayer. Police later found two explosive devices in a car.

  The gunman is described as an Australian man in his late 20s who had posted an online manifesto describing immigrants as invaders. He said he is fighting against white genocide.

  A man who lives next door to one of the mosques said, “I saw dead people everywhere. There were three in the hallway, at the door leading into the mosque, and people inside the mosque.” He said, “I don’t understand how anyone could do this to these people, to anyone. It’s ridiculous.”

The Imperial Presidency:Twelve Republican senators defected from President Trump and voted to block his declared national emergency, setting him up to veto the bill. The vote was 59-41 to approve the House bill that is a resounding rebuke of Trump’s emergency declaration.

  Trump responded with a simple tweet, “VETO!” He followed up saying, “I look forward to VETOING the just passed Democrat inspired Resolution which would OPEN BORDERS while increasing Crime, Drugs, and Trafficking in our Country. 

  Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said “Never before has a president asked for funding, Congress has not provided it, and the president then has used the National Emergencies Act of 1976 to spend the money anyway.”  Alexander went on, “The problem with this is that after a Revolutionary War against a king, our nation’s founders gave to Congress the power to approve all spending so that the president would not have too much power.”

  It was of particular concern to some Republicans that Trump wants to grab $3.6 billion for the military construction budget after he was told he couldn’t have it. Kansas Republican Jerry Moran said, “I believe the use of emergency powers in this circumstance violates the Constitution.”

Free the Report:House Republicans voted stunningly in concert with Democrats yesterday to demand the public release of the full Special Counsel report into Russian election tampering after its completion. The vote was 420-0 with four Republican voting “present.”

  The resolution is not binding, but Rep. Jim Himes, Democrat of Connecticut and a senior member of the Intelligence Committee, said, “This report must see the light of day, must be available to the American public for a catharsis that will allow us to start with the facts, understand what happened and begin to rebuild the faith of the American people.” 

White Privilege: Following the college admission scandal, The Hallmark Channel has severed its relationship with actress Lori Loughlin, who’s accused of bribing her daughters into USC. Let the shunning begin.

  Gossip new site TMZ reports that Loughlin’s daughters will not be returning to school. The website also reports that when news of the indictments broke, Loughlin’s daughter Olivia Jadewas on board the yacht of USC’s billionaire chairman of its Board of Trustees.

Hoofbeats:An unusual number of horses has died at Santa Anita race track outside Los Angeles in recent months and the track announced that it’s banning whips and drugs until they figure out what’s happening. The announcement came after the death of a 22^ndhorse since Dec. 26^th. 

The News Roundup:Actor and musician Jussie Smollett pleaded not guilty in Chicago yesterday to charges that he staged an attack on himself to win sympathy and a higher salary on the television show, “Empire.” Despite what appears to be overwhelming evidence that he set up the attack himself, Smollett is sticking to his story that he’s a victim. — The Southern Poverty Law Center, the non-profit that tracks hate groups, has fired its 82-year-old co-founder Morris Dees in an undisclosed personnel issue.  The organization’s President Richard Cohen said in a statement that the SPLC expects its people to live up to the standards of the organization and, “When one of our own fails to meet those standards, no matter his or her role in the organization, we take it seriously and must take appropriate action.” Sounds like sexual harassment. — The Connecticut Supreme Court has reinstated a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the families of nine victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting against Remington Arms, the maker of the rifle used in the massacre. Lawsuits against gun manufacturers rarely get anywhere because the companies are protected by federal law, but the Connecticut court says that under state law, Remington can be sued over its marketing practices. 

The Obit Page:Former Indiana Sen. Birch Bayh, who wrote two constitutional amendments and Title IX, the law that gives women equality in education and college sports, has died at age 91.

  Bayh was unusually effective, although he was in Congress at a time when the two parties occasionally compromised. He was the primary author of the 25^thamendment, which provides a mechanism for removing a sitting president, and the 26^th, which gave 18-year-olds the right to vote. 

  Bayh’s 25^th Amendment has been a matter of discussion lately.

-30-