Tuesday, August 6, 2024

August 6, 2024

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Harris readies a Philadelphia rally to introduce her running mate. . . . Vice President Kamala Harris will introduce her new running mate at a rally Tuesday evening in Philadelphia — but with the event mere hours away, her choice remains a mystery. In recent days, she has zeroed in on a trio of potential finalists: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, but decisions beyond that aren't yet publicly known. Harris' campaign planned to make the announcement via video message before the rally, though the exact timing remained unclear. Associated Press

Walz is most likely. He brings little baggage, makes the base happy, and doesn't outshine the candidate.

Politics

Everything was going Kamala Harris' way. Then came the market sell-off . . . Democrats aren't ready for the Kamala Harris honeymoon to end. Monday's stock market plunge is reminding them it can't last forever. The global stock market tumbles represented a dramatic reversal from the cooling inflation and steady growth economists had been heralding in recent weeks. It's also an unnerving reminder to Democrats, on the eve of Harris' vice presidential pick, that public gloominess over the economy could hurt the campaign. Politico

"We cannot win if people think we're headed into a recession," one Democratic National Committee member said.

Biden slammed for saying he 'cured the economy'

Harris says 'everybody needs to be woke' in newly unearthed clip . . . A clip of Vice President Kamala Harris from 2017 calling on "everybody" to be "woke" resurfaced on social media, sparking critics and conservatives to lambaste the official Democratic nominee as a "Communist functionary" who is "too radical" to serve as president. "We have to stay woke. Like everybody needs to be woke. And you can talk about if you're the wokest or woker, but just stay more woke than less woke," then-Sen. Harris said in 2017 during Recode's annual Code Conference, alongside philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, during the conference. Fox News

Former Secret Service chief wanted to destroy cocaine evidence . . . Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and others in top agency leadership positions wanted to destroy the cocaine discovered in the White House last summer, but the Secret Service Forensics Services Division and the Uniformed Division stood firm and rejected the push to dispose of the evidence, according to three sources in the Secret Service community. Multiple heated confrontations and disagreements over how best to handle the cocaine ensued after a Secret Services Uniformed Division officer found the bag on July 2, 2023. RealClearPolitics

The evidence from that investigation was disposed of in accordance with retention policies," Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. There was reportedly a partial ID of DNA found on the bag. Whose was it?

Jenna Ellis flips to help Arizona prosecutors in 2020 election case . . . Former Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis has agreed to cooperate with Arizona prosecutors in their 2020 election subversion case against aides to former President Trump and the state's so-called fake electors. Ellis previously faced nine felony counts including fraud, forgery and conspiracy, but in exchange for her cooperation, the charges were dismissed. In a statement, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes called the agreement a "significant step forward" in the case. The Hill

Data show Trump's claim about "black jobs" is true . . . Corporate media outlets recently locked arms to dispel Donald Trump's assertion that illegal immigration hurts "black jobs," yet experts say the former president is right about the problem being all too real. Immigration has a depressive effect on wages and employment, with experts pointing out how illegal immigration has disproportionately affected industries and localities where black Americans frequently work. Immigration has been a driver of black unemployment for "over 200 years," said Andre Barnes, Historically Black Colleges and Universities engagement director at NumbersUSA. Daily Caller

Pelosi says she has not spoken to Biden since he dropped out

Anti-Israel Squad member Cori-Bush fighting for political life . . . Rep. Cori Bush is fighting for her political survival in Tuesday's Democratic primary in Missouri where her anti-Israel stance threatens to make her the second "Squad" member ousted by Democratic voters. Ms. Bush, 48, a two-term incumbent, faces off against St. Louis prosecutor Wesley Bell, a well-funded challenger backed up by pro-Israel super-PACs that booted another Squad member, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, in the New York Democrat primary. Washington Times

Hawley demands suspension of lead site agent for Butler rally . . . Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) demanded that the Secret Service's "inexperienced" lead site agent at former President Donald Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 be suspended. In a letter addressed to Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe on Monday, Hawley wrote that several whistleblowers had told his office that the "lead site agent" at Trump's rally in Butler had lacked "competence and experience in the role" and "made decisions that likely compromised the overall security" that day. Breitbart

Culture

XY female boxers continue to advance at Olympics . . . Both fighters — Algeria's Imane Khelif and Taiwan's Lu Yu-ting — are scheduled to compete in the semifinals this week after easily defeating their female opponents in the women's quarterfinals. Khelif, 25, is scheduled to fight Tuesday in the 57 kg semifinal, while Lin will compete Wednesday in the 66 kg category. Both athletes are guaranteed medals under Olympic rules awarding bronze medals to the losing semifinalists. Washington Times

National Security

A rocket attack at an Iraqi military base injures US personnel . . . Several U.S. personnel were injured in a suspected rocket attack at a military base in Iraq, U.S. defense officials said Monday, in what has been a recent uptick in strikes on American forces by Iranian-backed militias. The attack comes as tensions across the Middle East are spiking following the killings last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas' top political leader in Iran, in suspected Israeli strikes. Both groups are backed by Iran. Associated Press

DHS released at least 99 terrorism suspects into U.S. under Biden, House report concludes . . . The Biden administration has caught and released at least 99 illegal immigrants whose identities matched the terrorism watch list, according to a congressional report Monday. They were caught by the Border Patrol along the southern border from 2021 through 2023 and were subsequently released as part of the Biden administration's more relaxed approach to immigration, the House Judiciary Committee said. Another 34 illegal immigrants flagged by the watchlist were still being held as of June. Washington Times

International

UN fires additional staffers linked to possible involvement in Oct. 7 attack on Israel . . . The United Nations said Monday it has fired additional staff members from its agency for Palestinian refugees after an internal investigation found they may have been involved in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack against Israel. The U.N. secretary-general's office announced the move in a brief statement to journalists. UNRWA previously fired 12 staffers and put seven staffers on administrative leave without pay over the claims. Politico

Money

Judge rules Google is a monopoly . . . A US judge has ruled Google acted illegally to crush its competition and maintain a monopoly on online search and related advertising. The landmark decision on Monday is a major blow to Alphabet, Google's parent company, and could reshape how technology giants do business. Google was sued by the US Department of Justice in 2020 over its control of about 90% of the online search market. It is one of several lawsuits that have been filed against the big tech companies as US antitrust authorities attempt to strengthen competition in the industry. after the two sides presented their closing arguments in early May. BBC

Stocks inch up in erratic trading as investors remain nervous . . . Global stocks rose in jittery trading on Tuesday, as the uncertainty generated by the previous day's aggressive selloff weighed on investor sentiment, even though central bank officials said all the right things to soothe nerves. The Nikkei's 10% rebound in Tokyo overnight delivered an initial sense of relief after the index's 12.4% drop on Monday - its biggest daily sell-off since the 1987 Black Monday crash. European markets see-sawed, with the pan-regional STOXX 600 bouncing between a daily loss of 0.4% and a gain of 1%, while U.S. stock futures remained volatile. Reuters

Why Californians have some of the highest power bills in the US . . . The state's big utilities are spending billions to bury power lines and insulate wires, while at the same time moving quickly away from fossil fuels by building big solar and wind farms and transmission lines to carry the power. As a result, resident Jessica Simpson Nehrer has seen her electricity bill for her ranch-style house soar. It hit $1,873.90 in June, far exceeding her $1,200 rent. Grocery store owner Rodger Gucwa tried cutting his power bill by raising the thermostat to 85 degrees—but found that the chocolate bars melted. Wall Street Journal

Depreciation crushes used EV values . . . Between safety and reliability issues, as well as a dearth of charging stations, electric vehicle owners have been having quite a bit of buyer's remorse, and now they may have another reason to go back to gas cars — EVs are rapidly depreciating.The data show that a Tesla Model 3 will depreciate 45% after three years. A gas-powered Toyota RAV4, for comparison, will depreciate 22% after three years. The resale value of the Tesla Model 3 after one year of ownership is only 64.38% of its purchase price. Just the News

You should also know

Bill Gates turned to Jeffrey Epstein in desperate bid for Nobel Prize . . . Bill Gates is desperate for the one thing his billions can't buy: a Nobel Peace Prize. He even has a team of staffers dedicated to making him seem like a "lovable nerd philanthropist" as part of his quest, according to a new book. It's also why he befriended Jeffrey Epstein — just one of the skeletons in his closet, Anupreeta Das writes in her new book, as they worked on a donor-advised fund through JP Morgan that would give wealthy members anonymity in how the money was directed. New York Post

Melinda French Gates confirmed that her husband's friendship with Epstein was a reason for their divorce.

Funeral home fined $950m in decaying bodies case . . . A US funeral home where 190 decaying bodies were found has been ordered to pay $950m to the families of the victims. The Return to Nature home, in the town of Penrose, Colorado, had given fake ashes to grieving relatives instead of their loved ones' remains. A judge ordered the payment in a civil case, but it's unlikely to be paid as the funeral home owners, Jon and Carie Hallford, had been in serious financial difficulties. BBC

They should at least be forced to change the name of the business.

Video captures mailman dropping mail in a dumpster . . . Footage has captured the wild moment a Tennessee postal worker appeared to remove mail from his truck and brazenly toss it in a dumpster. The shocking video, which was uploaded to TikTok on Saturday, appears to show a USPS employee taking bins of mail from his truck and then hurling it into the trash. The concerned resident, who recorded the video from a window in her home, narrated the clip in shock: 'This mailman is dumping people's mail in the dumpster.' Daily Mail

Look, he delivered the mail, just not to the exact right place.

Guilty Pleasures

Charge hogs ruining the "EV experience" . . . CNN reports that the growing popularity of electric vehicles has led to a significant increase in demand for public fast charging. However, this demand has also brought to light a frustrating issue for many EV owners: "charger hogs." These inconsiderate drivers linger at fast chargers, even when their batteries are nearly full, causing long wait times for others in need of a charge. A recent experience by a Chevrolet Blazer EV owner highlights the severity of this problem. What should have been a 90-minute drive turned into a four-hour ordeal due to long lines at EV fast chargers. Breitbart

"Hey dude, I'm trying to save the planet too, but cocktails are at 6 pm, and I've got to get moving."

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