Friday, August 9, 2024

August 9, 2024

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Harris campaign walks back Walz bio amid 'stolen valor' controversy . . . The Harris campaign has altered its biography of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on its campaign website, making a change to a reference to his military service amid ongoing scrutiny of the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee's military credentials. Walz's biography initially said he was a "retired Command Sergeant Major." It has since been updated to say that he "served as a command sergeant major." When Walz left the Guard, he had achieved the rank of command sergeant major, but he was reduced in rank months after retiring, leaving him as a master sergeant. National Guard officials have said that he retired before fulfilling requirements for the position. Fox News

Politics

Walz oversaw worst pandemic fraud in nation; $250 million stolen from kids' program . . . Roughly $250 million that was intended to pay for meals for hungry children went instead into the pockets of fraudsters, according to federal prosecutors who charged 70 people with operating the massive scheme. A state audit said the Minnesota Department of Education missed repeated warning signs. The audit doesn't specifically fault the governor, but Rep. Lisa Demuth, the top Republican in the state House of Representatives, said the problem rests with him. Washington Times

Walz in 2010 said a plan to curb Social Security was 'very similar' to his approach

Walz lavished illegal migrants with taxpayer-funded 'blanket of benevolence' . . . Kamala Harris' vice presidential pick pushed for his home state of Minnesota to become a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants and lavished them with benefits, one critic says. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told CBS in 2018 that he didn't want local law enforcement hassling illegal Minnesotans about their immigration status. "All Minnesotans are safer when the limited resources of local law enforcement are focused on local crimes and when everyone feels safe to cooperate fully with the police," he told the network. Fox News

Biden-Harris 2020 staffers manipulated "disinformation" to hide Biden mental decline . . . Former Biden-Harris campaign Digital Director Rob Flaherty — now presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris's deputy campaign manager — revealed that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) created a program to detect, track and have social media platforms flag "misinformation narratives" including online discussion about Biden's mental fitness for public office, according to videos obtained by journalist Matt Orfalea. These videos showed a Zoom call Flaherty conducted with HOPE not hate, a U.K.-based activist group touting its mission of combatting "far-right extremism." Daily Calller

Harris promises to schedule an interview "before the end of the month" . . . Vice President Kamala Harris pledged to schedule an interview "before the end of the month" after speaking with her team on Thursday. It is unclear if the interview will take place in the last three weeks of August or whether the interview's scheduling will take place before August ends. Harris has not given one unscripted press conference since she joined the presidential race 18 days ago and may continue to avoid the press until Labor Day, 25 days away, a longtime Harris ally told Politico's West Wing Playbook on Wednesday. Breitbart

Which month?

Trump challenges Harris to three debates . . . Former President Donald Trump proposed a debate schedule during a press conference Thursday, challenging Vice President Kamala Harris to three contests. Trump held an unexpected press conference in Mar-a-Lago to rally support for his campaign, contrast his policies with Harris' and announce his debate plans. After previously wanting to hold out on scheduling a debate until Harris was the definite Democratic presidential nominee, Trump said he agreed to three debate dates with Fox News, ABC News and NBC News, respectively. Daily Caller

So far she has only agreed to the ABC debate she demanded.

Rashida Tlaib shares fake poll claiming Israelis support rape . . . Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) reposted a digitally altered image earlier this week that falsely claimed to show a poll saying Israelis believe soldiers should be allowed to rape Palestinians. The fake image was called out by users on X (formerly Twitter), including journalist Yashar Ali. Tlaib had reposted a post by Noura Erakat, a pro-Palestinian lawyer and academic. Erakat admitted the mistake, but claimed that the doctored image had seemed credible because of reports of the rape of a Palestinian detainee. Breitbart

Remember, an IQ test is not required to be a member of Congress.

Vance slams CNN anchor for minimizing his Iraq War service . . . Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio accused CNN anchor Brianna Keilar on Thursday of downplaying his military service while discussing his criticism of Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota over stolen valor allegations. Vance accused Walz of lying about his military service during a Wednesday campaign event in Wisconsin. Keilar argued on "Inside Politics" that Vance was a "public affairs specialist" during his service in Iraq, making him an "imperfect messenger" for attacking Walz, which prompted Vance to call her comments "disgusting." Daily Caller

Culture

Dunkin' Donuts hit with conservative backlash, calls for boycott: 'Go Woke, Go Broke' . . . Some conservative social-media influencers want to give Dunkin' Donuts "the Bud Light treatment." America's biggest donut chain is reportedly refusing to advertise on Rumble because of its "right wing culture" and the involvement of conservative personalities. Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski posted on social media platform X two images of emails to back his claim of blacklisting by Dunkin' and parent company Inspire Brands. Washington Times

Delta's top DEI officer jettisons 'ladies and gentleman' gate announcements . . . Over the last few years, Delta Air Lines has embraced the diversity, equity and inclusion agenda under the purview of a chief officer who believes that the phrase "ladies and gentlemen" isn't inclusive. Delta's Chief Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Social Impact Officer Kyra Lynn Johnson has said publicly Delta is striving to "boldly pursue equity" which has impacted every level of the company, from its hiring practices to the language it uses in gate announcements. "So we're beginning to take a hard look at things like our gatehouse announcements. You know, we welcome 'ladies and gentlemen.' And we've asked ourselves, 'Is that as gender inclusive as we want to be?'" Johnson said. Fox Business

National Security

Foreign social media accounts push political lies, oppose Trump . . . Intelligence officials have warned that the 2024 presidential contest could face an unprecedented flood of fake news, fueled by AI, from foreign actors. A Journal analysis of videos on TikTok has found it's already happening. A flood of anti-Trump videos, generated with the help of AI, traced back to hidden overseas networks. The Journal found thousands of videos with political lies and hyperbole. Further analysis led the Journal to identify 91 accounts that pushed these videos from China, Nigeria, Iran and Vietnam—and were tied together in complex ways. Wall Street Journal

International

US warns Iran of "serious risk" if it conducts major attack on Israel . . . The U.S. has warned Iran that its newly elected government and economy could suffer a devastating blow if it were to mount a major attack against Israel, a U.S. official said. "The United States has sent clear messaging to Iran that the risk of a major escalation if they do a significant retaliatory attack against Israel is extremely high," said the official. Those messages have also put Tehran on notice "that there is a serious risk of consequences for Iran's economy and the stability of its newly elected government if it goes down that path," the official added. Wall Street Journal

Russia struggles to repel deep incursion by Ukraine on fourth day of cross-border attack

Money

Don't bet on rapid drop in mortgage rates . . . with Treasury yields bouncing back over the course of this week, it might be premature to expect a continuing plunge in weekly mortgage rate measures—unless of course Treasury yields plunge again. What is more, the spread on key benchmark mortgage bonds, which is what the bonds pay over Treasury yields, remains at a fairly high historical level. Since mortgage originators often sell those loans into the market, those spreads are a key driver of the rates lenders offer. So even as Treasury yields fall, mortgage rates can still be relatively higher. Wall Street Journal

You should also know

Police officer says he told Secret Service to secure Trump shooter building days before rally . . . A local Pennsylvania police officer says he told the Secret Service to secure the building where former President Trump's would-be assassin fired off his rifle, newly released body cam footage suggests. The footage, recorded from the bodycam of a Butler Township police officer, also suggests that shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks may have used a wooden pallet to scale the building before he allegedly tried to assassinate the Republican presidential nominee at a campaign rally last month. Fox News

Bodycam footage reveals moment police officer confronted Trump shooter . . .

Guilty Pleasures

NYC's ice cream museum sued by man who says he broke his ankle jumping into the sprinkle pool . . . A man who says he broke his ankle jumping into the sprinkle pool at the Museum of Ice Cream in New York City has filed a lawsuit alleging that the facility was negligent for not warning visitors that it is unsafe to jump into the sprinkle pool. Plaintiff Jeremy Shorr says in his lawsuit filed Wednesday in state court in Manhattan that he visited the museum in SoHo with his daughter on March 31, 2023, and suffered "severe and permanent personal injuries" when he jumped into the sprinkle pool, a ball-pit-like installation full of oversized plastic sprinkles. Associated Press

Cut to the News reader alert: Always be careful when you jump into the sprinkle pool.

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