Thursday, September 5, 2024

September 5, 2024

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Harris agrees to debate after "assurances" . . . Vice President Kamala Harris agreed to the final rules for the ABC News debate against former President Trump, allegedly following a few "assurances" from the network. On Wednesday, ABC News released the official rules for Tuesday's debate between Harris and Trump, including the hotly contested rule that microphones be muted while a candidate is speaking. The Harris campaign repeatedly pushed back on this rule, attempting to goad Trump into backing out of the original agreement to mute mics. CNN reported Wednesday that Harris accepted the rules after receiving separate "assurances" that mics could be turned on during the debate and the moderators would explain unheard exchanges. Fox News

Harris likely wants both candidates' mics muted ALL THE TIME.

Politics

Trump warns US approaching 'WWIII territory' under Biden-Harris: 'Clowns' . . . "We rebuilt our entire military. We upgraded our entire program. And, you know, the one program I hated to upgrade, hated it, was the nuclear program. And I understand it maybe better than anybody. My uncle was at MIT, a professor, the longest serving professor in the history of MIT. Very smart guy. We have a smart family. It's nice to have a smart family, but I knew, I understood, nuclear for a long time. The power of nuclear weapons. You need a president that's not going to be taking you into war." Fox News

AKA "peace through strength."

Harris won't say whether she would support her own EV mandate . . . Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign recently walked back Harris's position on EV mandates, stating she "does not support an electric vehicle mandate." The campaign on Wednesday ignored several questions from the Washington Free Beacon asking for it to clarify Harris's position on EV mandates. That came one day after a Harris campaign official declined to comment late Tuesday to Axios on whether she would even sign the so-called Zero-Emission Vehicles Act that she helped craft in 2019. Washington Free Beacon

Doocy asks Harris why her policies have changed if her values haven't

Garland to the rescue: DOJ revives election inference bogeyman . . . President Joe Biden's administration launched new accusations of election interference at Russia nine weeks before the 2024 election. The Department of Justice alleged Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered several Russian companies to target Americans through the use of influencers and social media pages to spread propaganda and interfere with the election in a campaign titled "Doppelganger." As a result of the indictment, the DOJ is charging two Russian-based employees of RT, a Russian state-controlled media outlet, with "conspiring to commit money laundering and to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act," according to a press release. Daily Caller

Anti-Israel group funded by Soros gains influence with 60 Biden White House visits . . . Officials at Emgage, a group that has promoted the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, have hobnobbed at the White House on at least 60 occasions combined since 2021, according to White House visitor logs reviewed by the Washington Examiner. Emgage notably blamed Israel for allegedly provoking Hamas's Oct. 7 attack last year and counts Khurrum Wahid, an attorney who was reportedly placed on a federal terrorist watch list and has a track record of associating with Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups, as one of its leaders. Washington Examiner

House panel subpoenas Walz over Minnesota nonprofit's COVID-19 fraud . . . The House Education and the Workforce Committee issued a subpoena Wednesday for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, in relation to a nonprofit in his state that has been charged with defrauding the government during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Minnesota-based Feeding Our Future (FOF) has been accused of misusing $250 million in taxpayer funds that were meant to go to hungry children. The federal government has charged more than 70 people associated with the nonprofit, and five of them have been convicted of fraud. The Hill

Walz claimed he was nearly finished with a PhD program he wasn't trying to finish . . . As recently as 2011, Tim Walz claimed in official biographies for his campaign and congressional office that he was on the verge of completing a doctorate in education, a decade after he enrolled in a Ph.D. program at St. Mary's University of Minnesota in the small town of Winona. The university, however, told the Washington Free Beacon that its last records indicating Walz was an active student are dated to 2004. Washington Free Beacon

Walz also refusing to take questions . . . Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ignored shouted questions about the economy during a campaign stop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday. Walz stopped in Lancaster on Wednesday and is set to travel to Pittsburgh and Erie to campaign for his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris. While speaking to locals in Lancaster, an unnamed individual shouted out questions about the economy and his plan to lower costs. "What's your policy on the economy? Can we get a question at some point, though?" Daily Caller

Trump thanks Patrick Mahomes's wife for 'so strongly defending me' . . . Former President Trump thanked Brittany Mahomes for "so strongly defending me" after she liked a post on Instagram from the GOP nominee last month. "I want to thank beautiful Brittany Mahomes for so strongly defending me, and the fact that MAGA is the greatest and most powerful Political Movement in the History of our now Failing Country," Trump wrote Wednesday in a post on Truth Social, referring to the wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Hill

Barron Trump has enrolled at New York University

Liz Cheney to vote for Kamala Harris . . . Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) revealed that she will be voting for Vice President Kamala Harris for president. While speaking at an event at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy, Cheney explained that she could not vote for former President Donald Trump because of the "danger" that he "poses." Cheney also warned about not having the luxury of "writing in" other "candidates' names." After President Joe Biden picked Harris to be his vice president, Cheney described Harris as being a "radical liberal." Breitart

There is not yet medication for Trump Derangement Syndrome, but researchers are working on it. Scientist hope that the Democratic platform, if it is ever published, will serve as a temporary antidote.

Nikki Haley cashes in . . . Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has joined global communications firm Edelman as vice chair of its international public affairs team, the company announced Wednesday. Edelman CEO Richard Edelman in an announcement pointed to Haley's experience as a former United Nations ambassador and two terms as governor of South Carolina. The Hill

Democrats maneuver to keep Kennedy on swing state ballots . . . Democrats spent most of this year battling to keep Robert F. Kennedy Jr. off the ballot in swing states but are now making sure his name stays on ballots in Wisconsin, Michigan and possibly North Carolina after he suspended his campaign and aligned himself with former President Donald Trump. Critics say the move appears to be a political attempt to siphon swing-state votes away from Mr. Trump. Washington Times

They say Trump is anti-democracy while they try to fool Amerians into voting for someone who is not running.

Culture

New Ford tech could turn cars into high-tech watchdogs . . . Ford Motor Company recently filed a patent application that's raising eyebrows and sparking debate about privacy and surveillance on our roads. The patent, "Systems and Methods for Detecting Speeding Violations," describes a system that could turn Ford vehicles into mobile speed detectors capable of reporting other drivers to the police. This innovative yet controversial technology has the potential to revolutionize traffic law enforcement while simultaneously raising significant concerns about privacy and civil liberties. Fox News

Harley Davidson, Ford, Coors Light, and others distance from gay-rights index . . . When Ford scaled back its diversity initiatives it called out one organization by name: the Human Rights Campaign. The automaker last week told employees it would stop providing workplace data to the gay-rights lobbying group, which spent decades persuading big companies to embrace policies hospitable to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees and customers. Other companies dialing down diversity initiatives this summer also said they would distance themselves from HRC. Wall Street Journal

National Security

Commander of warship protecting aircraft carrier relieved of duty . . . The commander of a destroyer that's helping protect the San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt during a tense deployment in the Middle East has been relieved of duty. Yaste was relieved of duty "due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command the guided-missile destroyer," the Navy said, without significant elaboration. His removal comes about four months after a photo was posted on social media showing Yaste firing a rifle whose scope was mounted backward. The image brought the Navy a lot of ridicule. San Diego Tribune

International

Netanyahu says Israel will control Egypt–Gaza border . . . In the wake of more murders of hostages by Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on Israel's maintaining control of the Philadelphi Corridor, the nearly nine-mile border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. Israel captured that sector during its counteroffensive against Hamas after the Oct. 7 terror attacks. Netanyahu outlined Israel's need to keep the border at a press conference on Monday after Hamas announced having murdered another six Israeli hostages on Saturday. Netanyahu called for unity among the Israeli people as they fight "an existential war." Control over the Philadelphi Corridor has stalled ceasefire negotiations. Just the News

Israel's Ultra-Orthodox Jews at a crossroads as military draft orders arrive . . Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jews, or Haredim as they prefer to be called, are at a critical juncture. So is the Israeli military, which, after a June Supreme Court ruling, is now aiming to draft some 3,000 Haredi men who had previously been exempted if they studied Jewish holy texts in religious seminaries full-time. Despite the interest shown by young men like Wais, most Haredi leaders fear the military is a melting pot that will pull ultra-Orthodox men into mainstream Israeli culture. Wall Street Journal

Money

Volvo gives up plan to sell only EVs by 2030 . . . Volvo has abandoned its target to produce only fully electric cars by 2030, saying it now expects to be selling some hybrid vehicles by that date. The carmaker blamed changing market conditions for its decision to give up a target it had announced only three years ago. It comes as the industry faces a slowdown in demand in some major markets for electric vehicles (EVs). Volvo, which has traditionally flaunted its environmental credentials, joins other major carmakers General Motors and Ford in rowing back on EV ambitions. BBC

Meta's Oversight Board decide 'from the river to the sea' isn't hate speech . . . Several members of Meta's Oversight Board – which faced intense criticism after it determined the anti-Israel phrase "from the river to the sea" doesn't constitute hate speech – have espoused views critical of Israel's actions in Gaza. The advisory board, which claims to be independent from Meta, determined that Facebook and Instagram users can use the controversial slogan – which has sprung up at anti-Israeli protests around the country – as long as it is not used in a way that glorifies Hamas or calls for violence. New York Post

You should also know

Teen charged with killing 4 at Georgia high school had been focus of earlier tips about threats . . . More than a year ago, tips about online posts threatening a school shooting led Georgia police to interview a 13-year-old boy, but investigators didn't have enough evidence for an arrest. On Wednesday, that boy opened fire at his high school outside Atlanta and killed four people and wounded nine, officials said. The teen has been charged as an adult in the deaths of Apalachee High School students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and instructors Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53. At least nine other people were taken to hospitals with injuries. All were expected to survive. Associated Press

California bill to require speed limit alarms in cars heads to governor . . . The California legislature passed a bill to require speed limit detectors and alarms to be installed in new vehicles made, sold or leased in a bid to use the state's market size to regulate the national automobile industry. If signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, SB 961 — by State Sen Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco — would require 2030 model year vehicles made, sold, or leased in California — except for two-wheelers and emergency vehicles — to elicit a visual and audio warning when a driver goes 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. Just the News

California can control the auto industry nationally with its regulations because carmakers don't want to make separate vehicles for one state.

NFL to stage game in Brazil . . . The NFL steamroller returns Thursday night, as the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Baltimore Ravens in a game that is sure to draw massive ratings, whether Taylor Swift is on hand or not. But the league that last year produced 93 of the 100 most-watched broadcasts in the United States isn't content with just owning American TV screens. The NFL has long had designs on taking its product global — and this season, that includes the league's first-ever foray into Brazil, where the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in Sao Paulo on Friday night. Washington Times

Guilty Pleasures

Ohio regulators: Marijuana sellers can't give out food from ice cream truck . . . Handing out food and drinks from an ice cream truck is off limits for marijuana businesses in Ohio, according to state regulators. So is an online promotion saying, "Can you take me higher?" Ohio's Division of Cannabis Control has proposed fines totaling $212,000 against five businesses for violating the state's advertising rules for marijuana sellers. UPI

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