Tuesday Scoop: Bump Stock Ban

The big story…

Supreme Court Cuts Down Request to Halt Bump Stock Ban

The Supreme Court has denied a request to put a hold on the Trump administration’s rule that bans bump stock while legal challenges get sorted out in lower courts. CNN reports, “The court issued a one sentence order on the ban — which went into effect Tuesday — with no noted dissents.” In December, the Justice Department issued a rule that categorized bump stocks under an existing prohibition against fully automatic weapons, as a bump stock allows shooters to fire semiautomatic weapons continuously with one pull of the trigger.

In politics…

Chicago to Elect Female Black Mayor in Historic Runoff

The election for the next mayor of Chicago is in a historic runoff as Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle both fight for the seat. Lightfoot, 56, is a former assistant U.S. attorney and also openly gay; she was inspired to run on a reform platform after a white policer officer shot a black teenager in the city. Preckwinkle, is a former schoolteacher who has served on the Chicago City Coucil and the Cook County Board. Either candidate will be a historic win for the country’s third largest city.

In global news…

Slovakia Elects First Female President 

The Central European country of Slovakia elected its first female president, Zuzana Čaputová, in its history as a result of its national presidential runoff elections held on Saturday, March 30. The 45-year-old lawyer and anti-corruption activist, as well as government critic from the country’s capital city of Bratislava, received more than 58% of the popular vote while her non-partisan independent opponent, European Commission member Maroš Šefčovič, received about 41% of the popular vote. Čaputová will succeed current Slovak president Andrej Kiska and take office on June 15, 2019. Read more in Duane Paul Murphy’s report for CMN.

Also in global news…

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika Will Resign in Late April

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, a longtime leader for 20 years, will resign from office by April 28, 2019, according to state media. Bouteflika initially sought to seek a 5th presidential term despite having personal health issues at 82-years-old, but ultimately he decided not to do it. Internal pressure most likely came from his own people during street protests nationwide since February that publically called for his immediate resignation from office as well as future elections to be held in 2019. Read more in Duane Paul Murphy’s report for CMN.

Trending today…

April Fools’

Last but not least…

Meet the Artist: Ember Oceans

Ember Oceans is a quartet: Groebe on bass, Simonaitis on drums, Joe Cox on lead guitar, and Freddy Purcell as lead singer and keyboardist. Since their formation in 2012, the self-managed band has done well for themselves: a sold out December 2013 show at the Metro in Chicago, and opening up for Atlas Genius in September 2018 at the Chicago Bears kickoff block party to mention two highlights. Read more in Adam Shay’s report for CMN.

Today’s Morning Scoop was made possible by Natalia Kolenko, Adam Shay, Duane Paul Murphy, and the CMN Staff. Didn’t get your fill of April Fools’ Day pranks? Here are the best (i.e., the cringiest). P.S. Was this newsletter forwarded by a friend? Subscribe here to get the Morning Scoop straight to your inbox every day.