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Just In | The Hill 

(NEXSTAR) – For most of the country, buying a lottery ticket is as simple as driving to the nearest convenience store or gas station. But for some, getting their hands on a Mega Millions or Powerball ticket requires a trip to another state entirely.

Forty-five states (as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) currently allow the sale of lottery tickets or scratch-offs under the laws in each jurisdiction. But five — Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah — have passed on the opportunity or vetoed proposals to participate in statewide or multi-state lottery programs.

That doesn’t stop people from playing, of course. Residents in states with no lottery programs have found ways to get their hands on lottery tickets, largely by crossing over into a state that allows the sale. Just this week, for instance, plenty of Nevada residents made a pilgrimage to an Arizona truck stop about 60 miles outside of Las Vegas, for a chance to try their luck with the Mega Millions, Nexstar’s KLAS reported.

Some lottery dealers in Florida, too, are reportedly seeing more folks from Alabama as the jackpot grows.

“People traveling now, with the Mega Millions as high as it is. People are trying to pay off that Christmas debt or trying not to be in debt coming in 2023,” one store operator told Nexstar’s WDHN.

Why, then, do states like Nevada or Alabama choose not to operate or participate in statewide or multistate lotteries? Reasons vary, but it all comes down to politics.

Alabama

Alabama came close in 1999 to approving a lottery after then-Gov. Donald Siegelman (D) touted the money it would generate for the state’s schools, the Associated Press reported at the time. But religious groups opposed the idea, and a recent scandal (regarding traffic tickets) made voters think twice, according to the outlet.

Current Gov. Kay Ivey (R) had previously said she was disappointed that lawmakers didn’t pass a gambling bill in 2022, which would have given residents the right to vote on the matter, Nexstar’s WIAT reported. But political analysts say Ivey and lawmakers may want to reintroduce the issue during the next legislative session, especially since Ivey is positioning herself as “the education governor.”

Proponents, too, argue that Alabama is losing potential revenue to lottery-friendly states just over the border.

“I think there’s a recognition that there’s a need that Alabama take control of this industry,” Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore), who introduced a comprehensive gaming bill last year, told WIAT in June, shortly after the bill failed to pass.

“… Alabama needs to benefit from the gaming that’s already going on,” he added.

Alaska

Alaska has kept statewide and multistate lotteries at bay, at least partially over concerns that allowing such lottery games would take away interest or revenue from certain types of charitable lotteries, which are legal in the state.

For decades, however, Alaska has been very careful in authorizing which types of charitable gaming is actually allowed, due to a clause in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act that would require the state to allow tribal casinos to operate the same games, according to local outlet KTUU. The state’s tribal casinos, for that reason, largely offer bingo or pull-tab games.

Charitable gaming, meanwhile, is authorized within the state. Non-profits or municipalities can apply to host “games of chance” only if the revenue supports an approved charitable endeavor. These games include “bingo, raffles and lotteries, pull-tab games, ice classics, race classics, rain classics, goose classics, mercury classics, deep freeze classics, canned salmon classics, salmon classics, king salmon classics, dog mushers’ contests, snow classics, snow machine classics, fish derbies, animal classics, crane classics, cabbage classics, Calcutta pools, big bull moose derbies, and contests of skill,” according to state laws.

Hawaii

Gambling in any form is against the law in Hawaii, but that doesn’t mean lawmakers haven’t tried to loosen restrictions. Proposals to create bingo halls or state-run lotteries are routinely introduced — largely with the goal of raising money for affordable housing in the state’s native Hawaiian communities — but none have managed to pass.

Opponents sometimes cite crime as one of their reasons against allowing any form of gaming, according to Nexstar’s KHON. Others say gambling would disproportionately hurt poorer communities and encourage addiction, the Associated Press reported.

Hawaii’s residents, meanwhile, may be split on the issue of gaming, in general. A survey conducted by the University of Hawaii in 2021 determined that only a slim majority of poll respondents (52%) opposed casino gambling as a way to entice tourists.

Las Vegas, meanwhile, remains one of the top travel destinations for Hawaiians heading out-of-state, according to KLAS. Sin City is also sometimes referred to as Hawaii’s “ninth island,” thanks to snowballing tourism interest created by a Vegas casino owner in the 1970s.

Nevada

Despite being home to one of the biggest gambling meccas on the planet, Nevada’s State Constitution has never allowed the sale of statewide or multi-state lottery tickets.

“From the start, Nevada was against lotteries,” David Schwartz, the director of the University of Las Vegas’ Center for Gaming Research, told Nexstar’s KLAS in 2016.

As Schwartz explained, lotteries were viewed as crooked “early on,” whereas other forms of gambling — like those often played on casino floors — were tolerated.

These days, he said, the gaming industry views the lottery as competition for revenue. But some locals claim there’s no need to worry.

“It wouldn’t cut back on the money I spent in casinos. It wouldn’t put a damper on that at all,” one resident told KLAS last week, after driving from Vegas to Arizona to buy lottery tickets. “I like to play my luck and we like to have a good time whether it’s in the lotto or the casinos.”

Utah

Utah’s State Constitution has long prohibited “games of chance,” and most lawmakers appear intent on keeping it that way.

In recent years, the state government has even taken measures to crack down on fringe gambling — or operations that attempt to skirt the state’s rules by offering entries into sweepstakes-style games or the use of electronic slot-like machines “in exchange for anything of value or incident to the purchase of another good or service,” as defined by Utah code. Three years ago, Utah lawmakers even introduced a bill to close loopholes that led to confusion over the legality of such games, the Salt Lake City Tribune reported in March 2020.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is headquartered in Salt Lake City, also frowns upon any form of gambling and encourages its members to oppose “legalization and government sponsorship of any form of gambling.”

The majority of the state’s population, meanwhile, is made up of residents who identify as members of the church of Latter-day Saints, according to a recent report by the Salt Lake City Tribune. LDS members also generally make up majorities of the state’s legislative bodies as well, per the outlet.

​Nexstar Media Wire News Read More 

Just In | The Hill 

A federal appeals court on Thursday blocked two GOP-led states’ attempt to secure former White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s testimony in their lawsuit claiming the Biden administration unlawfully pressured social media companies into taking down content.

A three-judge panel on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court’s ruling authorizing Psaki’s deposition in the case, determining that her testimony did not merit the “extraordinary circumstances” needed to proceed with depositions of current or former high-ranking government officials.

Missouri and Louisiana’s attorneys general and a group of private individuals filed the lawsuit in May, accusing the Biden administration of effectively censoring content related to the pandemic, elections and the Hunter Biden laptop story by pressuring social media companies.

The two states had argued they needed Psaki’s deposition to explore the basis for various public statements she made about the Biden administration’s conversations with social media companies and misinformation.

U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty, who was appointed by former President Trump, in October had allowed depositions of Psaki and more than half a dozen other officials to proceed, but the appeals panel on Thursday ruled that much of the states’ desired information from Psaki’s potential deposition was already apparent.

“As Press Secretary, Psaki’s role was to inform the media of the administration’s priorities, not to develop or execute policy,” read the ruling from Judges Leslie Southwick, Edith Clement and Stephen Higginson. “Unsurprisingly, then, the record does not demonstrate that Psaki has unique first-hand knowledge that would justify the extraordinary measure of deposing a high-ranking executive official.”

The three-judge panel, two of whom were appointed by former President George W. Bush while the other was appointed by former President Obama, ordered the states to pursue less intrusive alternatives to her deposition.

Psaki served as Biden’s press secretary until May, when she left the administration before joining MSNBC.

The Hill has reached out to Psaki as well as spokespeople for Missouri and Louisiana’s attorneys general for comment.

The appeals court had previously overturned the lower ruling authorizing the depositions of White House Director of Digital Strategy Rob Flaherty, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly.

​Court Battles, Policy, Technology, Censorship, Jen Psaki, Social media Read More 

Just In | The Hill 

President Biden is set to mark the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol on Friday, putting the spotlight on individuals who have stood up for democracy amid discord among House Republicans, some of whom continue to downplay the riot.

Biden will deliver remarks from the East Room of the White House. His speech will focus on those who stood up for democracy two years ago as rioters descended on the Capitol to try to stop the certification of the 2020 election results.

Biden is expected to award the Presidential Citizens Medal, a major civilian honor, to election workers, Republican state officials and several law enforcement officers who were heralded for their actions in the aftermath.

The event is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET.

Watch the video above.

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Politics, Policy, Political News Top Stories 

They’re two of the most iconic images from the riot at the Capitol following the 2020 presidential election: Proud Boys member Dominic Pezzola using a purloined police shield to smash in a window and Arkansas resident Richard “Bigo” Barnett sitting with his boots propped up on a desk in then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.

Now, on the second anniversary of the melee, jury trials involving each of those episodes are getting underway in federal court in Washington just blocks from where the pitched battles between supporters of President Donald Trump and police took place.

The two-year windup for the trials also illustrates how the federal court system has struggled to manage the slew of criminal cases, search warrants, grand jury subpoena fights and other investigative demands stemming from the storming of the Capitol as lawmakers prepared to certify the electoral college votes cementing Joe Biden’s win over Trump in the presidential race.

Almost 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the events of Jan. 6, 2021, according to a new Justice Department tally released this week. More than half of those charged have already pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial. Prosecutors have a near-perfect conviction record in the cases, with only one defendant–who only faced misdemeanor charges–being acquitted outright.

One judge handling Jan. 6 cases said this week that he expects another 1,000 could be filed before the prosecution effort is complete.

“Our work is far from over,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Wednesday. “We remain committed to ensuring accountability for those criminally responsible for the January 6 assault on our democracy. And we remain committed to doing everything in our power to prevent this from ever happening again.”

Five Proud Boys — including the group’s former national chair Enrique Tarrio — stand accused of seditious conspiracy in a trial that started jury selection on Dec. 19 and continued that process this week after a holiday break. They were featured by the Jan. 6 select committee as the central players in the ultimate breach of the Capitol, chronicling their presence at multiple points where police were overwhelmed and the building’s defenses were overcome.

Proud Boy Joe Biggs of Florida, one of Tarrio’s co-defendants, was standing alongside fellow member Ryan Samsel just before Samsel charged through police barricades, the first clash of the day. A third co-defendant, Seattle Proud Boy Ethan Nordean, was nearby as an early wave of rioters removed police barricades, facilitating the advance of the larger mob. One of their allies, Jeremy Bertino, has already pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy, even though he wasn’t in Washington, D.C. on the day of the attack while he recovered from a stab wound he incurred at a Dec. 12, 2020 rally for Trump.

Tarrio was also absent during the attack, the result of a court order to stay away from Washington, D.C., after his Jan. 4, 2021 arrest for burning a Black Lives Matter flag at the same Dec. 12 protest. But prosecutors say he coordinated from afar, remaining in touch with top Proud Boys lieutenants from a Baltimore hotel. A photographer and Tarrio associate posted a video of a masked Tarrio in front of the Capitol on Jan. 5, titled “Premonition,” that prosecutors have cited in their charging documents. Prosecutors have also described Tarrio’s possession of a document, titled “1776 Returns” that sketched out plans for occupying federal buildings to impede the transfer of presidential power. The document included a section called “Storm the Winter Palace,” an allusion to the Russian Revolution.

And after the attack, Tarrio and Bertino exchanged jubilant texts. “The Winter Palace,” Tarrio said, after Bertino celebrated the attack. Bertino told the Jan. 6 select committee about that exchange, saying he didn’t know about the “1776 Returns” document until the FBI showed it to him during a debrief.

“I think that it possibly could have been a way to later on — if it was successful — say, see, I knew about it … without saying he knew about something happening,” Bertino said. “If it was successful, then he could claim credit. If it wasn’t, it meant nothing.”

The panel also released a deposition transcripts of figures associated with the Proud Boys, including Tarrio himself. But that deposition of Feb. 4, 2022 occurred before Tarrio was charged along with his fellow Proud Boys and before the details of the “1776 Returns” document were publicly known.

Another Jan. 6 committee witness, a cryptocurrency advocate named Samuel Armes, told the panel he may have been a source for portions of the document, which he said he shared with a mutual associate of Tarrio over the summer of 2020.

Barnett’s separate trial, set for jury selection on Monday and opening statements as soon as Tuesday, is expected to be a far briefer and more straightforward affair. At a pretrial hearing this week, Barnett’s lawyers said they plan to argue that the combination stun gun/flashlight/walking stick he was wearing in Pelosi’s office didn’t have any batteries in it during the chaos on Jan. 6 so shouldn’t be considered a weapon.

Sparks could literally fly at next week’s trial. The defense said it will fight prosecutors’ plan to demonstrate a version of the “ZAP Hike ‘n Strike Hiking Staff” for the jury.

Barnett’s attorneys also plan to argue that he shouldn’t be facing a felony charge of obstructing the congressional proceedings because the House and Senate had already recessed before he entered the building.

“They’re accusing Mr. Barnett of doing something that would require him to have a time machine,” one of his defense lawyers said Wednesday.

Prosecutors have said anyone who prevented Congress from resuming the certification of the electoral vote and did so intentionally can be convicted under the obstruction statute, which carries a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The first Jan. 6-related trial on seditious conspiracy charges featured Oath Keepers’ founder and Yale Law School graduate Stewart Rhodes along with 4 co-defendants. In late November, a jury convicted Rhodes and one associate, Florida Oath Keeper Kelly Meggs, of the weighty charge, while finding the other three defendants not guilty of seditious conspiracy but guilty on other felony charges. All five await sentencing.

Four additional Oath Keepers affiliates are currently on trial in the same D.C. courthouse on seditious conspiracy charges over their roles on Jan. 6. That trial began last month and is ongoing. A third Oath Keepers trial on obstruction charges is set for February.

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