August 15, 2024
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Welcome to the news for independent thinkers
Leading the News . . .
Ukraine sabotaged the Nord Stream pipeline . . . The Ukrainian operation cost around $300,000, according to people who participated in it. It involved a small rented yacht with a six-member crew, including trained civilian divers. One was a woman, whose presence helped create the illusion they were a group of friends on a pleasure cruise. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky initially approved the plan, according to one officer who participated and three people familiar with it. But later, when the CIA learned of it and asked the Ukrainian president to pull the plug, he ordered a halt, those people said. Zelensky's commander in chief, Valeriy Zaluzhniy, who was leading the effort, nonetheless forged ahead. Wall Street Journal
Politics
Kamala's dilemma: As inflation cools, economy does too . . . Federal Reserve policymakers and top economists say the U.S. has turned the corner on inflation. Now, Vice President Kamala Harris has to sell American voters on how she'll keep the economy afloat through its aftermath. The labor market is cooling. Banks like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs are raising their projections for a U.S. recession. More Americans are skipping credit cards and auto loan payments. Delinquency expectations — which reflect the likelihood of a missed minimum payment on outstanding debt — are at the highest levels since the peak of Covid-19 lockdowns. Politico
And the inflation issue isn't going away. Even if prices stop rising, it will take time for people to mentally and financially absorb previous increases.
KJP ties Harris to Bidenomics . . . "When did you guys learn that Vice President Harris wants to distance herself from Bidenomics?" Fox News' Peter Doocy asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, to which she responded by asking him why he believed that. "Do you know this is the Biden-Harris administration?" the press secretary asked. "Are you aware that this is the Biden-Harris administration, and she is indeed the vice president?" Washington Examiner
Whoops. Watch as tension grows in the White House between the Biden and the Harris camps. Harris has to distance herself from the unpopular president, which will cause friction. Let's see how far she takes the betrayal.
Harris to call for federal ban on price-gouging in Friday speech . . . Vice President Harris on Friday will outline a series of economic policy proposals as part of her presidential campaign, including a call for a federal ban on corporate price-gouging. Harris will deliver remarks in North Carolina, a battleground state in November, where her campaign said she will focus on plans to lower the cost of groceries. The vice president will say that soaring meat prices in particular have contributed to a spike in grocery bills, and she will call out corporate consolidation in the market. The Hill
GOP divided over how to beat Harris . . . While former President Trump is focused on crowd sizes and allies are bashing Vice President Harris for not sitting down for media interviews, some Republicans, like former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, assessed that her party's leaders need to "quit whining" and focus on policy instead. Harris has taken the lead over Trump in the national polling average by Decision Desk HQ/The Hill and is ahead of the former president in six out of the seven battleground states since replacing President Biden at the top of the ticket. The Hill
Walz Gave Almost $100K in COVID-19 Funds to 'Abortion Doula' Trainers . . . Presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz directed almost $100,000 in COVID-19 relief funds to an organization specializing in "abortion doula" services, state contracts show. Walz, the governor of Minnesota, spent almost $2 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds without the approval of the state Legislature, using his emergency powers, according to the Minnesota-based outlet Alpha News. Part of those funds went to SPIRAL Collective, a "reproductive justice nonprofit" that describes itself as a "queer, trans, disabled, BIPOC lead organization committed to the values of reproductive justice and decolonial practices." Daily Signal
Trump tops Harris by one point in Fox News poll
Hackers' conference shows vulnerabilities in election machines . . . Hackers at a conference last weekend found numerous vulnerabilities in election machines while the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) confirmed that current voting systems to be used in the November election have not been tested by third parties for vulnerabilities. While many vulnerabilities were found in election machines at the conference, Georgia is set to use outdated election machines for the November presidential election, and the EAC doesn't have a standard testing process in place to search out vulnerabilities in election equipment. Just the News
White House says deals struck to cut prices of popular Medicare drugs . . . The Biden administration is taking a victory lap after federal officials inked deals with drug companies to lower the price for 10 of Medicare's most popular and costliest drugs, but shared few immediate details about the new price older Americans will pay when they fill those prescriptions. White House officials said Wednesday night they expect U.S. taxpayers to save $6 billion on the new prices, while older Americans could save roughly $1.5 billion on their medications. Those projections, however, were based on dated estimates and the administration shared no details as to how they arrived at the figures. Associated Press
OMG almost-free stuff! And just in time for Election Day.
Fetterman failed to disclose kids' sizable investments . . . Sen. John Fetterman failed for years to comply with requirements to disclose his children's sizable stock portfolios, even as the Pennsylvania Democrat led a crusade to "hold Washington accountable" by banning lawmakers and their families from owning stocks. Fetterman's three minor children own between $45,000 and $675,000 in stocks, and between $53,000 and $445,000 in corporate bonds, according to an annual financial disclosure he submitted this week. Fetterman amended disclosures he submitted as a Senate candidate in 2021 and 2022 and as an elected official last year to reflect his kids' portfolios. Washington Free Beacon
Walz accepts vice presidential debate invitation and goads Vance to agree to terms . . .
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tried to meet with Kamala Harris to discuss Cabinet job . . . Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sought a meeting last week with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris to discuss the possibility of serving in her administration, perhaps as a Cabinet secretary, if he throws his support behind her campaign and she wins, according to Kennedy campaign officials. Harris and her advisers have not responded with an offer to meet or shown interest in the proposal, say people familiar with the conversations. Washington Post
Ah, so that's what this campaign about. Leverage.
Culture
Court Hears Man Arrested for 'Anti-Establishment Rhetoric' on Social Media . . . The new UK government's dragnet continues to dredge the internet, with the state broadcaster noting the arrest of an internet user for "anti-Muslim and anti-establishment rhetoric" going to court this week. The BBC states a 40-year-old man was arrested on Sunday in Lincolnshire over the use of social media. Wayne O'Rourke appeared in Magistrate's court on Tuesday, did not enter a plea, and will appear at Lincoln Crown Court on Friday. Breitbart
Judge slams UCLA for standing by as Jewish students barred from parts of campus . . . A federal judge slammed the University of California, Los Angeles, on Tuesday for standing by as anti-Israel activists prevented Jewish students from accessing portions of campus. "Jewish students were excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their faith," U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi wrote in a 16-page preliminary injunction. "This fact is so unimaginable and abhorrent to our constitutional guarantee of religious freedom that it bears repeating," he added, repeating the previous statement with emphasis. Three Jewish students, who filed the complaint in June, alleged that UCLA officials "routinely turned their backs on Jewish students. Washington Free Beacon
National Security
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin questioned about Tim Walz's 30 trips to China . . . Rep. Jim Banks is pressing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to answer questions about Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz's 30 trips to China, Mr. Banks said the trips by Mr. Walz, who spent 24 years in the Army National Guard, potentially violated foreign travel disclosure requirements for security clearance holders. Mr. Banks, an Indiana Republican who chairs the Armed Services Committee's military personnel panel, said there are "still many unanswered questions about Governor Walz's relationship with the Chinese Communist Party." Washington Times
Taliban celebrates three years in power by showing off US military equipment . . .
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International
Monkeypox is back . . . The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the mpox outbreak in parts of Africa a public health emergency of international concern. The highly contagious disease - formerly known as monkeypox - has killed at least 450 people during an initial outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It has now spread across parts of central and east Africa, and scientists are concerned about how fast a new variant of the disease is spreading and its high fatality rate. BBC
Money
Trump, in North Carolina speech, signals openness to expanding tariff plans . . . Former president Donald Trump on Wednesday appeared to open the door to significantly expanding his plans to impose sweeping new tariffs if he returns to office, suggesting an escalation in proposals that many experts already see as likely to cause a global trade war. Previously, the Republican presidential nominee had called for levying tariffs of 10 percent on all U.S. trading partners, aiming to create a "ring around the collar" of the national economy. But during remarks on the economy in Asheville, N.C., Trump for the first time floated tariffs of between "10 and 20 percent" on imports to the United States. Washington Post
Subway calls 'emergency' meeting with franchisees as sales plummet . . . Subway has called a hasty meeting with franchisees of its 19,000 North American sandwich shops as they grapple with faltering sales and profits, The Post has learned. The fast food giant — which sold itself in April for $9 billion toRoark Capital, owner of Dunkin, Arby's and Cheesecake Factory — told franchisees it will reveal plans to improve traffic and win back market share at the Thursday meeting. New York Post
You should also know
Columbia's president resigns after months of turmoil . . . Columbia University President Minouche Shafik resigned Wednesday after a brief, tumultuous tenure that saw the head of the prestigious New York university face heavy scrutiny for her handling of protests and campus divisions over the Israel-Hamas war. The Ivy League school in upper Manhattan was roiled this year by student demonstrations, culminating in scenes of police officers carrying zip ties and riot shields storming a building that had been occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters. Similar protests swept college campuses nationwide, with many leading to violent clashes with police and thousands of arrests. Associated Press
US could experience 48 blade failures annually, testimony reveals . . . Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., and Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., held a hearing examining the impacts of offshore wind on the East Coast, in Brigantine, New Jersey, a small town on the Jersey Shore. A single blade failed in calm weather and scattered shards of fiberglass and debris across beaches of Nantucket. President Joe Biden wants 3,000 turbines built off America's shores by 2030. Based on estimated failure rates, the U.S. could see dozens of these failures every year. Just the News
Have a safe trip: Olympia decriminalizes possession of psychedelics . . . The Olympia, Washignton City Council unanimously passed a resolution that decriminalizes the possession of psychedelics, including psilocybin mushrooms. The resolution does not permit driving while under the influence of psychedelics and it does not permit the possession or distribution of entheogens in schools. It also does not permit conduct that puts public safety at risk. Just the News
I think we can all agree, this is far-out.
Guilty Pleasures
Driverless cars wake residents with nighttime honking
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