Condition update: Congressman Steve Scalise has been readmitted to the intensive care unit at the Washington, D.C., hospital he’s been staying in due to new concerns about an infection. Scalise was in serious condition Wednesday night, MedStar Washington Hospital Center says. The Louisiana congressman and four others were wounded last month after a gunman opened fire on Republicans practicing for a baseball game near Alexandria, Virginia. Scalise, who is House Majority Whip, was shot in the left hip with the bullet traveling across his pelvis, fracturing bones, injuring internal organs, and causing severe bleeding. He has undergone multiple surgeries. Capitol police shot and killed the gunman, James Hodgkinson. The hospital says it will provide another update on Scalise’s condition today.
Welcome all: Shreveport microbreweries are applauding a new city law that allows those under the age of 21 to legally enter the alcohol-producing businesses. The Shreveport Times reports the city council revised an ordinance last month redefining how a brewery is classified, thereby allowing minors to enter. Until the change, only individuals over 21 could enter breweries. Local brewery operators say the move is beneficial for businesses, to the city and and to patrons with families. “Breweries are a tourist destination. We’ve had instances where people are stopping on their way to the Gulf Coast or something and we have to tell the patrons they have to leave—or at least their kids do,” says Jared Beville, co-founder of Red River Brewing. “They don’t understand it.” Read more.
Fined: Hobby Lobby has agreed to pay $3 million for illegally smuggling thousands of ancient Iraqi artifacts into the United States. The Washington Post reports the arts and crafts chain acquired more than 5,500 artifacts—clay bullae, cuneiform tablets and cylinder seals that were falsely labeled—for $1.6 million in December 2010 from an unidentified dealer. Federal prosecutors say the acquisition was fraught with red flags. Hobby Lobby will forfeit the artifacts, which were shipped to the company through the United Arab Emirates and Israel, according to a civil complaint and settlement agreement filed in a New York court say. Hobby Lobby in a statement says it “did not fully appreciate the complexities of the acquisitions process” and relied on dealers who did not understand how to properly ship the items. Read more.
