Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Watching PA Debate 'Troubling' For Many

Daily Mail 10/26/22

John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke in May, took on his Senate rival Mehmet Oz on Tuesday night in a fractious debate - one which even Fetterman's supporters said was troubling. The incumbent lieutenant governor, Fetterman had likely hoped for some support from CNN's panel, but the verdict was damning. 

Charlie Dent, a former Republican congressman for Pennsylvania, said he was 'astounded' and 'stunned' by Fetterman's poor performance, while Alyssa Farah Griffin, Donald Trump's former communications director, said she found it 'painful to watch'. Even CNN's host Alisyn Camerota said she was disturbed by the spectacle. 

On NewsNation, Chris Cuomo said he was troubled by the performance. 'John Fetterman struggled,' Cuomo said. 'He clearly is dealing with health issues that affect his ability to process and his ability to speak. Clearly, fitness for office is going to be on the table.' He added: 'That may not be fair, to some, for me to say - but if the voters aren't talking about it, I'll be shocked.' 

Other Democrats agreed. David Axelrod, a Democrat strategist who served as a senior adviser to Obama, tweeted: 'Fetterman needed to show he's sufficiently recovered, and this debate surely did not help.' And while some praised Fetterman's bravery in appearing on the debate stage at all, Olivia Nuzzi, Washington correspondent for New York Magazine, said: 'There is no amount of empathy for and understanding about Fetterman's health and recovery that changes the fact that this is absolutely painful to watch.'


➤TWH WORRIED ABOUT MID-TERMS:  The White House has lowered its earlier optimism about the midterm elections and is now worried that Democrats could lose control of both chambers of Congress, administration officials say. Recent polls have shown Democrats who once had comfortable leads in some Senate races on a knife's edge, and Senate elections that were considered toss-ups between the two parties now leaning Republican as high inflation persists.

The House of Representatives, which Biden and some allies and advisers predicted Democrats could hold earlier this year, is decisively swinging for Republicans, polling analysts including FiveThirtyEight say. Losing control of one or both houses of Congress will profoundly shape the next two years of Joe Biden's presidency, with Republicans expected to block legislation on family leave, abortion, policing and other Biden priorities while pushing new laws to curb immigration and spending, using the debt ceiling as leverage.


🛢U-S THOUGHT THEY HAD OIL DEAL: As President Biden was planning a politically risky trip to Saudi Arabia this summer, his top aides thought they had struck a secret deal to boost oil production through the end of the year — an arrangement that could have helped justify breaking a campaign pledge to shun the kingdom and its crown prince.

It didn’t work out that way, reports The NYTimes.

Biden went through with the trip. But earlier this month, Saudi Arabia and Russia steered a group of oil-producing countries in voting to slash oil production by two million barrels per day, the opposite of the outcome the administration thought it had secured as the Democratic Party struggles to deal with inflation and high gas prices heading into the November elections.  The move led angry Biden administration officials to reassess America’s relationship with the kingdom and produced a flurry of accusatory statements between the two governments — including a charge by the White House that Saudi Arabia was helping Russia in its war in Ukraine.

➤CALIFORNIA TO PASS GERMANY AS THE WORLD'S NUMBER 4 ECONOMY: The state of California is in position to overtake Germany as the world's number four economy, just behind the U.S., China, and Japan. According to recent data, California is already $72 billion ahead of Germany when you account for the state's recent growth rate.


➤AMERICANS LESS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE:  Americans have as little optimism as they have had at any time in nearly three decades about young people's chances of having greater material success in life than their parents. In all, 42% of U.S. adults think it is very (13%) or somewhat (29%) likely that today's youth "will have a better living standard, better homes, a better education and so on." This marks an 18-percentage-point drop since June 2019 and is statistically tied with the previous low in 2011.


➤TIKTOK CHALLENGE MAY HAVE CAUSED DEADLY CRASH: A deadly crash claimed the lives of four teenagers Monday morning. The tragic incident may have been linked to a TikTok challenge, according to authorities. A total of six teenagers were in a speeding Kia that crashed around 6:30 a.m. Monday.

The car had been reported stolen Sunday night, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told reporters Monday that the teens may have been participating in a TikTok challenge that encourages people to break into Kia cars using cellphone chargers.

WILL TIKTOK BE BANNED IN THE UNITED STATES?:  The U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has raised concerns over security issues. Could this concern be over TikTok...and could it mean the popular app will be banned? The AG reportedly called a press conference regarding a "non-state actor" who has been engaging in criminal acts. Some people speculate that Garland could be referencing the extremely trendy video-making app. Brenden Carr, the Federal Communications Commissioner, has suggested the app be removed from Apple and Google stores. "TikTok doesn't just see its users dance videos. It collects search and browsing histories, keystroke patterns, biometric identifiers, draft messages and metadata," Carr said.  India banned TikTok in 2020 for national security concerns.


🐀THIS CITY HAS THE MOST RATS...AND IT'S NOT NEW YORK:  Apparently, New York City is not the rattiest city in the United States! According to an Orkin survey, the honor goes to Chicago. Chicago has actually topped the list for eight years in a row. New York comes in second, and Los Angeles is third. Can't stand rats? Try Burlington, Vermont or Orlando, Florida instead.  Orkin says the “influx of outdoor dining structures brought on by the pandemic” might be causing rat populations to grow, as they now have a fantastic place to dine. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has vowed to demolish abandoned outdoor dining areas.

➤STUDENT SUES OVER 'WE DON'T NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS' REMARK AT RIDGEFIELD SCHOOL: A Ridgefield teacher is accused of telling an Arab American and Muslim student "we don't negotiate with terrorists" and is being sued in state Superior Court. Allegedly the teacher made the comment last October after the student, Mohammed Zubi, asked for extra time to complete homework in math class. In court documents, Zubi said classmates looked on and laughed and that the incident was upsetting and demeaning. The lawsuit was filed October 17th.

➤AARON DONALD AND JAYLEN BROWN ARE LEAVING DONDA SPORT:   Aaron Donald, a NFL star with the Los Angeles Rams, and Jaylen Brown, who plays with Boston Celtics NBA team, announced on Tuesday they were leaving Kanye West's marketing firm. They followed Adidas, Gap, Balenciaga, Vogue and Foot Locker in ending their deals with West. West on October 9 tweeted that he would go 'death con 3' on 'JEWISH PEOPLE,' an apparent reference to Defcon, the U.S. military defense readiness system. His Twitter and Instagram accounts were blocked in response, but the 45-year-old was unrepentant, refusing in multiple interviews to apologize. On Monday, West's ex-wife Kim Kardashian tweeted: 'Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end.' The same day, West gave a lengthy podcast interview reiterating his condemnation of 'Jewish people' for much of society's ills and his own personal trauma.

🏀RUSSIAN COURT DENIES BRITTNEY GRINER'S APPEAL OF 9-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE: A Russian court denied WNBA star Brittney Griner appeal on Tuesday. Griner, who is facing nine years in a Russian prison on drug charges, appeared virtually for her appeal hearing and urged the court to reassess her sentence, saying that people found guilty of lesser crimes were given shorter sentences. President Joe Biden told reporters on Tuesday, "we are in constant contact with Russian authorities to get Brittney and others out and, so far, we've not been meeting with much positive response. But we're not stopping."

🏈DALLAS COWBOYS ACQUIRE DT JOHNATHAN HANKINS FROM LAS VEGAS: The Dallas Cowboys acquired defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins from the Las Vegas Raiders for a 2023 sixth-round pick. Dallas also receives a 2024 seventh-round pick in this trade.

🏈TEXAS A&M SUSPENDS 3 FOOTBALL PLAYERS: Texas A&M has indefinitely suspended three of their players, all true freshmen, for violating team rules. The suspended players are defensive back Denver Harris, receiver Chris Marshall and offensive lineman PJ Williams. Not too many details are available discussing the reason behind the suspensions but TexAgs.com reports the suspensions stem from a postgame locker room incident. The Aggies started the season ranked 6th overall but have fallen to a 3-4 record.

➤DANIEL CORMIER FEELS EARTHQUAKE DURING TV SHOW: UFC commentator Daniel Cormier experienced a 5.1 earthquake in San Francisco while recording his latest episode of 'DCandRC' for ESPN. While Cormier was recording, the camera can be seen starting to wobble and the background can be seen starting to shake. Daniel immediately stops his sentence and says, ' Oh my god Ryan there's an earthquake. There's an actual earthquake going on right now.'  The earthquake struck at around 11:42 am pacific time and struck just east of San Jose. Following the initial earthquake, a 3.1 aftershock struck the area around five minutes later.

🏀NBA SCORES:
  • Washington Wizardd 120 Detroit Pistons 99
  • New Orlaenas Pelicans 113 Dallas Mavericks 111
  • Oklahoma Ckity Thunder 108 Los Angeles Clippers 94
  • Phoenix Suns 134 Golden State Warriors 105


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