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Lawmakers clash over Trump gas tax holiday as Iran war drives prices higher
Capitol Hill lawmakers are clashing over President Donald Trump’s proposal to suspend the federal gas tax as prices climb past $4 a gallon amid the conflict with Iran.
Democrats are urging the president to “end the war,” while Republicans are split on whether the plan would deliver real relief.
“He’s got to bring this war to an end if he wants these gas prices to come down,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said. “And he’s gotta stop this war and stop looking for other gimmicks.”
“Why doesn’t he just end the Iran war, which is an illegal war, so that would take care of those issues?” Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said. “He did not get authorization. It’s on President Trump. And the rise in gasoline and everything else, it’s on him.”
DEMOCRATS POUNCE ON $4 A GALLON GAS, BLAME TRUMP’S IRAN WAR FOR ‘BROKEN PROMISE’
Lawmakers’ comments came after Trump backed a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax on Monday as escalating tensions with Iran pushed fuel prices higher nationwide. Gas prices have climbed to an average of $4.51 a gallon, and diesel prices have risen to $5.66 as of Wednesday, according to AAA.
“I mean we want to keep costs low,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said. “Higher gas prices add costs to groceries and everything else, and so I think it’s something worthy to consider, and I’d be amenable to it.”
The suspension would potentially slash the cost of each gallon of gasoline by 18.4 cents and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced legislation Monday to suspend the federal gas tax after Trump backed the idea. Hawley’s Gas Tax Suspension Act would provide relief at the pump for at least 90 days, while also allowing for an additional 90-day extension if prices remain elevated.
Support for suspending the gas tax has emerged from both parties, but other lawmakers have proposed alternative methods to address rising gas prices.
“I think that year-round E-15 is a better idea,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said. “Year-round, E-15 would bring down the price of gas maybe 30, 40 cents a gallon. You throw in our credit card bill, it would bring it down another dime, 15 cents a gallon. So I think those are probably two better ideas to do it.”
E-15 is a cheaper, ethanol-blended gasoline that cannot be sold nationwide during the summer months due to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s pollution rules. Some Republicans, like Marshall, argue year-round access to E-15 would lower gas prices more effectively than a gas tax suspension.
ARAB ALLIES RECOGNIZE IRAN’S DANGER, LAWMAKERS SAY, AS REGION VIEWS REGIME CHANGE CAUTIOUSLY
While some lawmakers focused on lowering costs at the pump, others argued the U.S. should maintain or even escalate pressure on Iran despite rising prices.
“Let’s finish Iran, the IRGC anyway, once and for all,” Bacon said. “The Iranian people are great people, but their government is our enemy. They’ve been the most ruthless enemy that we’ve had over four decades.”
“They should be pummeled,” he said.
Bacon’s comments reflect a group of Republicans who argue the surge in gas prices is a consequence of taking on Iran, warning that backing off pressure could carry far greater risks.
“Iran with a nuclear weapon is a threat to America and the whole region,” Bacon said.
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Tennessee angler lands monster 15-pound largemouth bass that shatters state record held since 2015
A Tennessee angler just landed the fish of a lifetime.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency confirmed this week that a new state record largemouth bass has officially been established after angler Darren Nunley reeled in an absolute monster earlier this year.
And when we say monster, we mean monster.
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Nunley’s fish weighed in at a staggering 15 pounds, 7 1/2 ounces and measured 27 7/8 inches long, officially breaking a state record that had stood for more than 11 years.
According to TWRA, Nunley caught the fish on Feb. 28 in Nickajack Reservoir using a jackhammer chatterbait lure while fishing with a 17-pound fluorocarbon line and a Shimano reel.
The Whitwell, Tenn., resident landed the fish around 8 a.m., and after the bass was weighed on a certified scale and underwent genetic testing, the state officially confirmed the new record on May 9.
The previous Tennessee record belonged to Gabe Keen, whose 15-pound, 3-ounce largemouth bass was caught back in 2015.
Longtime bass guide Hensley Powell was in the boat with Nunley when the record fish hit.
“I gave Darren a Z-Man JackHammer Chatterbait to tie on that morning,” Powell told Outdoor Life. “It was a half-ounce, colored green-pumpkin with a Hog Farmer Spunk Shad plastic trailer on the lure.”
At first, Powell thought Nunley had gotten snagged in grass.
“He was just swimming the lure along and had a strike,” Powell said. “I thought he was hung on grass when his rod bowed and he started cranking … I saw it boil the surface. It never jumped, but when it turned sideways, I told Darren that was a good one.”
Then came the moment every bass fisherman (and woman) dreams about.
“I told him, ‘Now that’s a fish,’” Powell recalled. “Darren was shocked when he saw how big it was.”
And the timing of all this couldn’t be much better for Tennessee’s bass fishing scene.
This fall, the Nashville area will host The Champions, a massive new bass fishing tournament featuring the top anglers from both the Bassmaster Elite Series and Major League Fishing’s Bass Pro Tour competing for a record-setting $3.25 million purse. The event is scheduled for Oct. 28-Nov. 1 on Old Hickory Lake in Hendersonville, just outside Nashville.
And after seeing the kind of fish Tennessee waters are producing these days, it’s pretty easy to understand why the Volunteer State is becoming a bass fishing hot spot.
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Toronto is handing out free World Cup-themed condoms, including one with an eggplant and attached soccer balls
In January, the Toronto Sun reported that Toronto Public Health was spending nearly $200,000 on “condoms and other sex paraphernalia for the World Cup.”
Among the items purchased were 576,000 branded condoms and 200,000 individual packages of lubricant. The outlet added that the wrappers on the condoms would come in six designs.
The free World Cup-themed condoms are so that fans can “score safely” next month when the tournament arrives in the city. The last thing the TPH wants is STDs in Toronto getting out of hand.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
Yesterday, the six World Cup condom designs hit social media and they are something. The six different designs didn’t just have a soccer ball or World Cup logo slapped on them.
These things are supposedly designed for fans “attending a soccer match, a watch party, hitting a summer festival or partying.” They look like they’re designed for collectors.
That’s plain to see when you see the wrappers for the first time. There are phrases like “block those shots” and “what a finish” on them. But the true magic of the designs is the ones with an eggplant emoji with soccer balls attached to it.
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That alone, in my humble opinion, would have made those wrappers. But they went a step further for public safety or promoting sexual health, or whatever they’re doing, by also including a peach emoji on that same condom wrapper standing in front of a goal.
I thought the point of these was for people to use them. Who in their right mind is going to tear open one of these bad boys?
I’m not even a soccer fan, not even when the World Cup is taking place, and if I got my hands on one of these, there isn’t a chance I’m destroying that kind of artwork.
That could just be me. I am a bit of an aesthete.
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