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The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill that would establish an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

The House voted 252-175 on the bill, with 35 Republicans breaking with their party to support the legislation. None of those 35 Republicans were among Minnesota's Congressional delegation.

Republican U.S. Reps. Jim Hagedorn (MN-01), Tom Emmer (MN-03), Michelle Fischbach (MN-07) and Pete Stauber (MN-08) all voted against the commission.

All four Minnesota Democrats in Congress Reps. Angie Craig, Betty McCollum, Ilhan Omar, and Dean Phillips voted in favor of the measure.

The commission, which would have an equal number of Democrats and Republicans, is aimed at investigating the insurrection,which involved a mob of people storming into the Capitol while Congress certified the election in favor of President Joe Biden

During the ordeal, numerous protesters violently attacked Capitol police officers (the family of one officer who killed himself after the insurrection is in support of the commission) and it led to the House impeaching President Donald Trump (who was ultimately not convicted in the Senate as the vote fell three short of the 60 senators required).

Phillips, represents Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District, tweeted about the lack of support from some Republicans on Wednesday, saying he "never imagined a single member of Congress would vote against a bipartisan commission to investigate" the bloody incident.

Emmer in a statement, according to the Star Tribune, cited three ongoing congressional committees that are investigating the insurrection and adding another one "does nothing to help the American people move forward or bridge the current political divide in our country."

It doesn't appear the other Republican members of Minnesota's Congressional delegation have released public statements about their decision. That being said, Hagedorn and Fischbach were among the Republicans who objected to certifying Biden's win as Trump, without evidence, claimed the election was stolen. While Stauber and Emmer joined efforts to overturn the election by supporting a lawsuit seeking to overturn results in several key swing states.

Emmer's objections to the bill mirror what other Republicans have said, like that this proposed commission would be counterproductive, citing the other commissions and federal agencies' investigation, Axios explains. Another reason GOPers have said they're against the legislation is because they're concerned the bill would be used to subpoena and alienate members of the party and Trump.

Among the criticisms from Democrats that have emerged in recent days is noting that while in control of Congress, Republicans approved 10 investigations into the Benghazi attack while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, which House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has previously admitted was partly motivated by hurting Clinton's election chances.

Others have tried to downplay the violence that occurred on Jan. 6 even after a deal on the scope and focus of the proposed commission had been reached, CNN said. Some Republicans pushed for the commission to also investigate protests and unrest last summer following George Floyd's murder, as well as other incidents.

Minnesota DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin released a statement slamming Republicans for voting against the commission, saying they propped up the "Big Lie" that the election was stolen, which helped inspire the insurrection at the Capitol and now they're blocking efforts to learn the truth behind what happened.

"Republicans are ready to move on in a hypocritical bid to bury their complicity in that storming," Martin said, adding: When Representatives Hagedorn, Emmer, Fischbach, and Stauber were given the opportunity to defend American democracy, they chose to defend Donald Trump, the Republican Party, a violent, lawless mob instead."

After the House's approval, the bill heads to the Senate, where Republican leader Mitch McConnell has voiced his opposition to the bill, calling it a "slanted and unbalanced proposal"and GOP leaders are pushing for other Republicans to vote it down.

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All 4 MN Republicans vote against bipartisan commission into Jan. 6 insurrection - Bring Me The News

Libertarian: NY Leads on Crazy COVID Codes

On Sunday mornings, Jerry Orbach Theater transforms into a church, allowing the 199-seat off-Broadway venue to fill to 50 percent capacity, writes Reasons Eric Boehm. A few hours later, its restricted to 33 percent for a performance of Perfect Crime, New Yorks longest-running play. That the exact same physical space that cant host more than 66 people for a performance is somehow considered safe when up to 99 people gather there to pray and sing together is a lingering reminder of the arbitrary and often nonsensical rules that have governed Americans lives and livelihoods for the past year. Thanks to Gov. Cuomo, New York has been a national leader in proving arbitrary restrictions on economic behavior are a poor way to fight this, or any, public health scourge.

Scientists: Duly Investigate Virus Origins

In an open letter to Science magazine, 18 scientists urge a proper investigation into COVID-19s origins. Theories of accidental release from a lab and zoonotic spillover from, say, bats, both remain viable, but the China-World Health Organization study that found no clear support of either didnt give them balanced consideration: Just 4 of the 313 pages of the report and its annexes addressed the possibility of a laboratory accident. Knowing COVIDs origins is critical for mitigating the risk of future outbreaks. We need a probe that is transparent, objective, data-driven, inclusive of broad expertise, subject to independent oversight and responsibly managed to minimize the impact of conflicts of interest.

Conservative: Bidens Mideast Mess

Events in Israel, observes Victoria Coates at National Review, are eerily similar to those in summer 2014. Iran, then buoyed by talks with the Obama administration, empowered its terrorist proxy Hamas to attack Israel from Gaza and the US response delighted it. President Barack Obama was so enraged by the Jewish states audacity in defending itself, he ordered additional review on an urgent Israeli request for additional Hellfire missiles. Israel de-escalated as Obama demanded, leaving Hamas bloodied but still intact to plot future offenses, while Iranian officials, convinced they had their desired negotiating partners, signed the nuclear deal with its highly favorable terms. President Biden is returning to those failed policies, claiming moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas, providing the Palestinians unconditional aid and giving Tehran hope for sanctions relief, which has the regime upping its financial support for Hamas from $70 million a year to $30 million a month. In just 100 days, Biden has completely undermined the extended period of relative calm and expanding peace under President Donald Trump.

Diplomats: Keep the Line 5 Pipeline Flowing

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmers order to shut the Line 5 pipeline based on environmental concerns is threatening US-Canadian relations, warn former US ambassador to Canada David Jacobson and ex-Canadian envoy Gary Doer at The Wall Street Journal. You dont have to look far to see the consequences of such a shutdown the Eastern Seaboard just lived through them when the Colonial Pipeline halted operations. Line 5 supplies nearly half of Michigans propane, 45 percent of Ontario and Quebecs fuel needs and thousands of jobs. In 2012, diplomats managed to resolve a similar dispute involving a bridge connecting Detroit and Ontario; President Biden, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Whitmer need to do likewise. Millions are depending on it for their homes, jobs and businesses.

Foreign desk: How IDF Tricked Hamas

An Israel Defense Forces tweet last week announced that air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip, and, smiles Jake Wallis Simons at Spectator USA, nobody noted the careful ambiguity. Media assumed that meant the IDF was preparing a ground invasion and so did Hamas. The result: By evening, Hamas fighters had prepared for battle, swarming into the metro tunnels and manning positions in the open. Both those below and above ground were summarily wiped out by Israeli jets. Bonus: The trick siphoned Hamas fighters away from civilian centers, sparing innocent lives.

Compiled by The Post Editorial Board

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NY leads on crazy COVID codes and other commentary - New York Post

Westmoreland, County, Pa. The race is on for the special election for the 59th Legislative District for the State House representing parts of Westmoreland and Somerset counties.

The vacancy was left when Rep. Mike Reese suddenly died in January after being elected to a seventh consecutive term in the fall.

It was reported that Reese died peacefully with his family by his side, at 42 years old, Saturday afternoon at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg following an apparent brain aneurysm.

[LIVE UPDATES: Pennsylvanias primary election]

Mariah Fisher is known to the local political landscape as a Ligonier Borough Council Member.

Republican Leslie Rossi is best known as the Trump House Creator in Youngstown.

Libertarian Robb Luther is a political newcomer.

Channel 11 made attempts to meet up with Rossi, who said she was spending the day in Somerset county before returning to Westmoreland later this evening. We caught up with Fisher and Luther this afternoon about how the last couple of months of campaigning has boiled down.

I think we should have choices in these elections. These local and state races are important and they affect our daily lives, and I think people need to know that and get involved and get out there and vote, Fisher explained.

My North Star is personal liberty and fiscal conservative spending. I wont spend a dollar more unless were saving a dollar and a quarter more, Luther stated.

Unlike other primary races, you do not need to be affiliated with a party to cast your vote.

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Special Election: The race to fill seat left vacant by death of Rep. Mike Reese - WPXI Pittsburgh

European Union foreign ministers called on Tuesday for a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and boosted humanitarian aid for Gaza, but failed to reach the unanimity that might give the EU leverage in peacemaking. read more

Hungary, Israel's closest ally in the bloc, declined to join the other 26 foreign ministers in calling for a truce on their video call, convened by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Nevertheless, the other ministers vowed that the EU would try to relaunch the peace process along with the United States, Russia and the United Nations.

"As a minimum we can try to get a ceasefire, then provide humanitarian aid, and then see what can be done to restart the Middle East peace process to address the root causes of the violence," Maltese Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo told Reuters.

"We cannot let the extremists on both sides feed off each other and set the agenda," he said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters in Paris that the Middle East quartet of mediators, comprising the EU, Russia, the United Nations and the United States, was the right forum to push for a resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which has been moribund since 2014.

"We must relaunch the peace process as quickly as possible and find a path to dialogue," he said.

SLOW TO RESPOND

Weeks of Israeli-Palestinian tensions boiled over into armed conflict at the start of last week, and Turkey in particular has criticised the West's failure to respond quickly. read more

Washington has long been the key broker in Middle East peacemaking, but President Joe Biden did not publicly back the idea of a ceasefire until a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. read more .

The EU is Israel's biggest trade partner and a big aid donor to the Palestinians. But it has been reluctant to use such leverage or discuss possible economic sanctions on Israel's government.

Borrell said he had spoken with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday.

At least eight smaller EU states, led by Luxembourg and including Belgium, Ireland, Malta and Finland, are vocal defenders of the Palestinians. Several Belgian lawmakers called this week for EU travel bans and asset freezes on Israeli politicians over the violence.

Germany, which still carries a burden of guilt over the Nazi crimes of World War Two, is unwilling to discuss coercive measures against Israel, but pledged 40 million euros ($49 million) on Tuesday in humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza.

Others, including Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, Greece, Cyprus and Poland, are more ready to speak out in Israel's favour. Austria flew an Israeli flag over the federal chancellery in Vienna on Friday. And in Hungary's nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban, Netanyahu has found an ally prepared to block statements or actions critical of Israel.

"The European Union should have, right now, a leading role (in defusing the crisis). It doesn't have that role, either because of differences in approach by member states or because there is no strategic approach from Brussels," Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides told Cypruss Alpha TV.

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EU - minus Hungary - calls for Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire - Reuters

European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium May 5, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman

The European Commission wants to propose in 2023 a more unified way of taxing companies in the European Union, hoping that such rules, which have failed to win support in the past, will stand a better chance if they follow global OECD solutions expected this year.

The Commission will present a plan on Tuesday including this proposal and other measures for adjusting the EU's business taxation to make it more up to date with the modern world, where cross-border business, often carried out via the Internet, is commonplace.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is to agree in June on global rules on where to tax large multinational corporations like Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple or Microsoft and at what effective minimum rate.

The deal is aimed at stopping governments competing with each other through lowering tax rates to attract investment and at creating a way to tax profits in countries where the customers are rather than where a company sets up its office for tax purposes.

The Commission wants to use the OECD deal to propose more unified rules for business taxation for the 27 EU countries, which currently have 27 different tax systems.

"The forthcoming global agreement will mark a decisive step ... in the reform of the international corporate tax system," read a draft statement prepared by the Commission for Tuesday and seen by Reuters.

"At EU level, we must build on this progress and take forward a similarly ambitious business taxation agenda that ensures fair and effective taxation," it said.

The Commission will propose "Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation" or BEFIT: a set of corporate tax rules for the whole of the EU which would allow taxing the same things across the bloc and the allocation of profits for taxation at national rates between EU countries according to a formula.

Key considerations for the formula would include how to give appropriate weight to sales by destination and how to reflect the importance of the market where a multinational group does business. Also important will be how assets, including intangible ones, and labour should be reflected to ensure a balanced distribution of corporate tax revenue across countries with different economic profiles, the draft said.

In a box on the draft statement spelling out a commitment on when the Commission aims to put forward its corporate tax proposal it put a date of 2023.

UNIFIED BUSINESS TAX RULES TO HELP ECONOMY

The Commission believes BEFIT would reduce barriers to cross-border investment, cut red tape and compliance costs in the EU's single market of 450 million people, combat tax avoidance and support jobs, growth and investment.

It would also provide a simpler and fairer way to allocate taxation rights between EU countries and ensure reliable and predictable corporate tax revenues for governments.

But the Commission's ideas for EU corporate taxation rules have failed before.

Since setting tax rates is a jealously guarded prerogative of parliaments, the Commission proposed in 2011 the EU should at least unify what they tax, rather than how much, in a proposal called the Common Corporate Consolidated Tax Base (CCCTB).

But the proposal went nowhere because many EU governments saw it as a foot in the door for the EU to have a say on national tax policies and potentially on actual tax rates later.

"While the principles of a common tax base and of formulary apportionment already featured in the previous CCCTB proposal, the new proposal will reflect the significant changes in the economy and in the international framework," the draft said.

"Most notably, it will seek to build on the approach taken in the forthcoming global agreement in its proposals for the definition of the tax base," it said.

"It will also feature a different apportionment formula, which will better reflect the realities of todays economy and global developments, in particular by taking better account of digitalisation," the draft said.

The Commission also plans to propose next year an EU law forcing large multinationals to publish the effective tax rate they pay in the EU and, by the end of this year, it plans to present a law against the abusive use of shell companies set up just to minimise the tax bill.

By the first quarter of next year the Commission wants to propose a law that would make it less attractive for companies to finance themselves through debt from a tax point of view, and more attractive to use equity.

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EU eyes another go at more unified European business taxation - Reuters