Manuel Bracamontes was convicted of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and murdering 9-year-old Laura Arroyo in June 1991; he was sentenced to death in December 2005, and the California Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and death sentence in April 2022.
Richard Hudson is the Republican U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 9th District and chair of the NRCC, but Richard Ojeda is a West Virginia politician, not a North Carolina Democrat; there is no evidence Ojeda defeated Hudson in NC-09. This is an expression of opinion and frustration about Senate confirmations, not a checkable factual claim.
Spain announced a new €437 million military aid package for Ukraine, as stated by President Zelenskyy after talks with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Zelenskyy thanked both U.S. parties for supporting Ukraine and noted Democrats have been especially clear about providing aid, while welcoming calls to rebuild ties between Washington and Europe. This is a personal statement of resilience, not a checkable factual claim. This is a headline link about what Congress could do, not a verifiable factual assertion.
BSpain just put real money on the table for Ukraine — 437 million euros in new military aid.
BThat's a serious package. Zelenskyy announced it after meeting with Prime Minister Sánchez.
BAnd the timing matters. Russian attacks are still hitting Ukraine's energy, rail, and water systems.
BZelenskyy also made a point of thanking both U.S. parties — including Republicans — for supporting Ukraine.
BSmart politics. He knows the new Congress is going to be asking harder questions about every dollar.
BHe said Democrats have been especially clear about aid, but he welcomed calls to rebuild ties between Washington and Europe.
BThat's the part I want to dig into. Because there's a real fight coming over how much the U.S. keeps spending there.
BAnd it's not just about money. It's about whether Europe steps up or keeps leaning on Washington.
BSpain's package is a signal. But one package doesn't change the math.
BNo, but it's a start. And it's coming at a moment when Ukraine is trying to show it's still in the fight.
BThere's a post on Bluesky from a Ukrainian woman that hits harder than any aid number.
BWhat does she say?
BShe wrote: 'Good morning from a country that refuses to disappear. Ukraine is still here. And so am I.'
BThat's the human side of this whole debate. People are still waking up, still going to work, still living.
BAnd that's why the aid fight in Congress is going to be so brutal. Because it's not abstract.
BThere's already a push from some corners to force tougher Russia sanctions and restore Ukraine aid.
BA post on Bluesky links to a Kyiv Post piece saying Congress could do exactly that.
BBut 'could' is doing a lot of work there. The new House majority has its own priorities.
BRight. And some of those priorities are going to collide with the White House's foreign policy.
BSpeaking of collisions — there's a false claim going around about a North Carolina House race.
BLet me guess. Someone flipped a seat that didn't actually flip.
BA post claims a North Carolina Democrat, Richard Ojeda, beat NRCC chair Richard Hudson in a House race.
BRichard Ojeda? The West Virginia guy?
BExactly. Ojeda is a West Virginia politician. He's not running in North Carolina.
BSo the whole thing is just made up.
BCompletely false. Hudson is still the Republican representative for NC-09. No evidence of any such result.
BAnd this is the kind of garbage that spreads after every election. People want to believe the map is changing faster than it is.
BThe real story is that Democrats did make gains in North Carolina, but not that seat, and not with that candidate.
BIt's a reminder to check the name before you hit share.
BNow, there's another post making the rounds about Trump's DOJ targeting election lawyer Marc Elias.
BThat one's unverified. The post claims Liz Oyer is sounding an alarm, but there's no confirmation from reliable sources.
BMarc Elias is a big name in Democratic election law. If DOJ were actually going after him, that would be a major story.
BBut right now it's just a YouTube link and a scary headline. No official word.
BWe'll keep an eye on it. But we're not going to treat a rumor as news.
BOne more thing — there's a post complaining that the Senate hasn't confirmed certain nominees for a long stretch of time.
BThat's just frustration, not a factual claim. But it does speak to how slow the confirmation process has been.
BAnd with the new Congress coming in, that frustration is only going to grow.
BWe'll see if the new majority can actually speed things up. Or if it's just more of the same.