Friday August 29, 2025

August 29, 2025

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Newsom's support surges among Democrats ahead of 2028: Poll . . . An Emerson College Polling survey released on Friday showed 25 percent of Democratic primary voters saying they would support Newsom as the nominee, a jump from the 12 percent he received in a similar poll conducted in June. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg received support from 16 percent of respondents, consistent with what he received in June, while former Vice President Harris's support slid from 13 percent in the June poll to 11 percent in Friday's poll. The Hill

Newsom recently assumed Trump's persona as a dynamic tough guy. For now, it seems to be working.

Politics

Unearthed letter exposes how Minnesota Catholic leaders warned Walz on school safety . . . In a resurfaced letter to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the head of the Minnesota Catholic Conference expressed that Catholic and other nonpublic schools were in "urgent and critical need" of security improvements, saying, "Our schools are under attack." The plea went unheeded, and two years later, the concerns raised by Catholic leaders materialized when a gunman opened fire on students of a Minneapolis Catholic school while they were attending Mass, leaving two dead and 17 injured. Fox News

Trump Cancels Kamala's Secret Service protection . . . President Donald Trump revoked Secret Service protection for former Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday as she prepares for a nationwide book tour. Harris received six months of protection from the Secret Service after leaving office by federal law. However, shortly before leaving office then-President Joe Biden quietly extended her protection by an additional year in an undisclosed directive not revealed until now, according to a CNN report. Daily Mail

Former Yankee And 3-Time MLB All-Star Running For Chip Roy's Texas Seat . . . Former three-time All-Star first-baseman Mark Teixeira, one of the most powerful switch-hitters in MLB history who played 14 years in Major League Baseball with the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, and the New York Yankees while amassing a whopping 409 home runs, announced he would run for the GOP seat vacated in Texas' 21st Congressional District by Rep. Chip Roy. Roy announced on August 21 he would run for attorney general of Texas. Daily Wire

Leavitt Rips Psaki Over Belittling Prayer After Minnesota shootings . . . White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday sharply criticized comments made by one of her predecessors, Jen Psaki, about the mass shooting Wednesday at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, characterizing the remarks as "insensitive and disrespectful." Psaki wrote: "Prayer is not freaking enough. Prayers does not [sic] end school shootings. Prayers do not make parents feel safe sending their kids to school. Prayer does not bring these kids back. Enough with the thoughts and prayers." Daily Signal

Democrat gubernatorial candidate suggests she would make Virginia a sanctuary state . . . Democrat nominee for Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger says she plans to revoke an order by Gov. Glenn Youngkin designed to facilitate cooperation between Virginia and federal law enforcement officers to combat illegal immigration. "Virginia is not a sanctuary state," the order says. But in an interview with Virginia Mercury, Spanberger said one of her first acts in office would be to reverse that order. Daily Signal

A gift to her GOP opponent, Winsome Earle-Sears.

Culture

NPR host issues gender 'clarification' after Klobuchar refers to Minnesota shooter as 'he' . . . An NPR host issued a clarification Wednesday after Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., referred to the Annunciation Catholic School shooter in Minneapolis as a "he" during an interview with NPR host Ailsa Chang. After the interview ended, Chang said: "And just a point of clarification, Sen. Klobuchar referenced the shooter as 'he.' Although police have identified a suspect, it's still unclear at this time what that person's gender is or how they identify." Fox News

This is why NPR now identifies as "defunded."

Minnesota bishop rebukes Dem mayor for dismissing prayer following deadly Catholic school attack . . . Minnesota Bishop Robert Barron sharply criticized Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for dismissing calls for prayer following Wednesday's deadly Catholic school shooting, calling the mayor's remarks "completely asinine." "Catholics don't think that prayer magically protects them from all suffering. After all, Jesus prayed fervently from the cross on which he was dying," Barron told Fox News Digital. Fox News

National Security

A Gap to Plug at the Southern Border . . . There is a gap to plug at the southern border, and it's not in the wall. The Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, is combating illegal border crossings underground through the city's extensive storm-drain system. El Paso has more than 100 access points to its storm drain system, according to interim Border Patrol Chief for the El Paso Sector Walter Slosar. In January, agents in El Paso discovered a large tunnel system leading from Juarez, Mexico, and connecting into the El Paso storm drain system. Daily Signal

International

Most Trump Voters Agree: Hamas To Blame for Suffering in Gaza . . . President Donald Trump's voters overwhelmingly agree that Israel does not bear responsibility for any suffering in Gaza, according to a new poll from the Vandenberg Coalition and TargetPoint. Fifty-six percent of those voters said that Hamas, after "launching a brutal attack on Israel, stealing international aid from the Palestinian people, and shielding itself behind civilians in Gaza," is to blame, while only 10 percent named Israel as the cause. Washington Free Beacon

Trump administration approves $825 million weapons sale to Ukraine . . . The Trump administration on Thursday authorized a major weapons shipment to Ukraine to aid the country in its fight against Russian invasion, intensifying pressure on Moscow to end its war on Kyiv. The State Department notified Congress that Ukraine is using funding from allies, in addition to U.S. foreign military financing, to pay Washington for $825 million worth of weapons, including 3,350 Extended Range Attack Munition missiles and 3,350 GPS units, along with military training and technical support. Washington Examiner

Estimated 7,000 Cuban mercenaries fighting for Russia in war on Ukraine

Some things never change.

Money

Higher Prices Are Coming for Household Staples . . . U.S. companies have an unwelcome message for inflation-weary consumers: Prices are going up. Companies including Hormel Foods, J.M. Smucker and Ace Hardware said this week they would raise prices for reasons ranging from higher meat costs to tariffs. Large retailers like Walmart, Target and Best Buy said some tariff-related price increases are already in place. More are on the way. Wall Street Journal

US economy grows 3.3% in second quarter, government says, in second estimate of April-June growth . . . The U.S. economy rebounded this spring from a first-quarter downturn due to fallout from President Donald Trump's trade wars. In an upgrade from its first estimate in July, the Commerce Department said Thursday that U.S. gross domestic product — the nation's output of goods and services — expanded at a 3.3% annual pace from April through June after shrinking 0.5% in the first three months of 2025. The department had initially estimated second-quarter growth at 3%. Associated Press

You should also know

Ashli Babbitt, Jan. 6 rioter killed in Capitol, offered military funeral honors . . . The U.S. Air Force will provide military funeral honors for Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran who was shot and killed by police during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. "After reviewing the circumstances of SrA Babbitt's death, the Air Force has offered Military Funeral Honors to SrA Babbitt's family," a spokesperson for the Department of the Air Force said in a statement Thursday. Politico

Mother of Minneapolis shooter hires lawyer who represented George Floyd protesters . . . Mary Grace Westman hired criminal defense attorney Ryan Garry following Robin Westman's horrific attack on Annunciation Catholic Church. 'She is completely distraught about the situation and has no culpability but is seeking an attorney to deal with calls like this,' Garry told Fox News. Garry was hired by NFL star Colin Kaepernick and his Know Your Rights Campaign to represent the George Floyd protesters. FBI agents descended on Mary Grace's Florida condo last night after she refused to cooperate with authorities. Daily Mail

Trump's DC Force Thwarts Juvenile School Shooter Threat Hoarding 7 Weapons . . . The juvenile was arrested in Ward 7 for threats to kidnap and injure, as well as receiving stolen property, possession of a large capacity feeding device, and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition. Authorities executed a search warrant and recovered 7 firearms from this juvenile, who was arrested "after an investigation was initiated based on social media posts allegedly threatening violence toward a school." Daily Wire

Guilty Pleasures

Little legs, big dreams: More than 100 teams compete in Lithuania's international Corgi race . . . Thousands of Lithuanians gathered in the capital's largest park on Saturday and Sunday to watch the events — a solo sprint, a contest for the "mightiest voice," costume challenges, and group racing. The event is set to culminate on Sunday with the so-called World Corgi Meetup, where dogs in Lithuania will be connected via a live broadcast with their peers in the United States, Ireland and Poland. Associated Press