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West Virginia Republicans may very well nominate a man just out of jail on charges related to the deaths of 29 coal miners as their nominee for the U.S. Senate this year. We're joined by West Virginia's own BOB KINCAID, the always-colorful long-time radio host and president of West Virginia's Coal River Mountain Watch, to discuss the remarkable re-emergence of disgraced coal baron Don Blankenship, the former Massey Energy CEO. Blankenship, to the supposed horror of establishment GOPers, is running for the party's nomination in the state's May 8th primary, in hopes of taking on incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.\xa0 Kincaid details the once-wildly powerful Blankenship's deadly background and the contours of the now-bizarre race -- which is beginning to echo Roy Moore's disastrous GOP run for the U.S. Senate in Alabama last December. We also discuss what progressives -- whose own Democratic primary candidate, Paula Jean Swearengin, does not appear to be gaining traction in the state -- ought to do this November, if faced with a choice between a vote for Manchin and the eventual GOP nominee, amid our deepening Trump-induced national emergency. Also today: Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to block bi-partisan bills to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from being fired by Donald Trump and any new military authorizations for the use of force from coming to the Senate floor for a vote. Defense Secretary James Mattis reportedly insisted that Trump obtain Congressional authorization before attacking Syria last week, but was overruled by the President. In Kansas, a federal judge ruled against GOP Sec. of State Kris Kobach in a long-watched case challenging a state law which has kept thousands of voters off the rolls for failing to provide proof of citizenship documents, and also slapped Kobach with fines for contempt of court. New York's Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, facing a primary challenge from progressive actress and activist Cynthia Nixon, announced his plan to immediately restore voting rights to some 35,000 parolees by executive order.