Friday, August 5, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Key Dem Lawmaker Supports Economic Plan

Senator Kyrsten Sinema
U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona said last night that she will support a sweeping economic package that President Joe Biden sent to Congress for approval. Her vote means almost certain passage for the plan. A vote as early as Saturday is expected.

Senator Gillibrand demanded-and got-removal of a proposed new tax on hedge fund managers’ profits, but she added a tax on corporate stock buybacks. The bill includes the nation’s largest-ever investment in energy and climate programs.
  • It extends health care insurance subsidies for three more years.
  • It imposes a 15% minimum income tax on big corporations.
  • It gives the Medicare program the power to negotiate prescription drug prices for the first time.

No Republicans are expected to vote in favor of the bill. That means all 50 Senate Democrats will have to vote in favor to pass it.

➤ALEX JONES ORDERED TO PAY SANDY HOOK PARENTS $4 MILLION: The parents of the children killed at Sandy Hook will receive a little over $4 million in compensatory damages for the harassment and threats they endured from people who believed the claims of talk show host Alex Jones that the elementary school massacre was a hoax. A separate decision on punitive damages will follow.

➤CHINA LAUNCHES MILITARY ‘DRILLS’ IN TAIWAN’S WATERS AND AIR SPACE: China has launched a series of aggressive military drills—using live ammunition—in the waters and airspace around the nation of Taiwan. The hostile action is an apparent response to an official visit to Taiwan by U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who arrived earlier in the week to underline American support for the nation’s independence. The Chinese action included launching 11 ballistic missiles, five of which Japan said landed in their waters. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan.

➤CLEAN SWEEP FOR MAGA CANDIDATES IN ARIZONA: Kari Lake has won the Republican Party nomination for governor of Arizona, according to a CNN projection. Lake, a former television journalist, had the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. She’s the fourth of the Arizona candidates Trump endorsed for statewide office to win nomination this week.


➤FOUR OFFICERS FACE CHARGES IN BREONNA TAYLOR’S DEATH: The U.S. Justice Department has brought federal charges against four police officers who were involved in the night-time raid during which Louisville, Kentucky, resident Breonna Taylor was killed. Three officers were charged with entering false information into an affidavit used to justify the raid. A fourth was charged with firing blindly into Taylor’s apartment and one next door. The death of Taylor, who was Black, set off a nationwide series of racial justice protests.


➤DICK CHENEY ENTERS THE FRAY: Former Vice President Dick Cheney has stepped forward to defend his daughter, Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, from the wrath of former President Donald Trump. In a campaign ad for his daughter, Cheney said that Trump “tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters rejected him.” He called Trump a “coward” and said: “there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.” The former president has targeted Representative Cheney for defeat in Wyoming’s Republican state primary, scheduled for August 16th.


⛽OIL PRICES SLIDE TO 6-MONTH LOW: Prices in the oil market slid to a six-month low of under $90 a barrel yesterday. Oil traders were reacting to a government report that indicates that the oil supply is rising and demand for gasoline is cooling. The average nationwide price at the pump has declined for 51 straight days, hitting $4.14 yesterday.


💸MORTGAGE RATES DROP A LITTLE: Home mortgage interest rates dipped under 5 percent this week for the first time since April. The interest on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.99%, still well above the 2.7% rate available just one year ago.


Brittney Griner
🏀BRITTNEY GRINER SENTENCED TO 9 YEARS IN RUSSIAN PRISON: WNBA star Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony yesterday. She also was fined a million rubles, which is about $16,300 U.S. After the sentence, President Joe Biden pledged to “work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue” to gain her release. Griner is accused of bringing less than a gram of cannabis oil into the country last February. The U.S. is reported to be trying to swap Griner and another American being held in Russia with a Russian arms dealer now in prison in the U.S.

🏈NFL PICKS JUDGE FOR APPEAL OF WATSON PENALTY: The NFL has picked former New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey to hear the appeal of the six-game suspension for Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. The NFL wants Watson to be suspended for at least a year for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

🏈DIONTAE JOHNSON GETS A DEAL WITH THE STEELERS: Wide receiver Diontae Johnson has accepted a two-year, $36 million contract extension to stay with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Johnson is in the final year of his rookie contract.

🏀LEBRON JAMES IN ‘PRODUCTIVE TALKS’ WITH LAKERS: LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are said to be in “productive talks” about a contract extension. If they don’t reach an agreement, James will become a free agent on June 30, 2023. James has his heart set on playing with his oldest son, a high school basketball star, before he retires, but “Bronny” won’t be eligible to play for the NBA until 2024.

⚾BASEBALL CARD GOES FOR $7.25 MILLION: A Honus Wagner baseball card has shattered sales records, drawing $7.25 million in a private sale. Only 200 of the cards were printed by the American Tobacco Company from 1909 to 1911. That’s when Wagner, known as “the Flying Dutchman,” was playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates.


➤U.S. EAST COAST AND SOUTH ARE GETTING ROASTED: Dangerously high temperatures continued for a third day in much of the East Coast and the South yesterday. It was close to 110 degrees in Washington D.C. and near 100 degrees in New York City, according to the National Weather Service. Both cities expected thunderstorms and a slight cooldown this weekend.



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