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Friday, December 2, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Twitter Says Nay To Ye

Daily Mail US Composite 12/2/22

Kanye West has been booted off Twitter after new owner Elon Musk said the rapper had 'gone too far' for sharing an image of a swastika inside a Star of David as his 'presidential campaign symbol'. West's account was initially locked for 12 hours, and later suspended. It's unclear whether the suspension is temporary or permanent. He shared what appears to be a text message exchange with the billionaire tech entrepreneur during his wild social media meltdown on Thursday night. Musk, who reinstated West's banned Twitter account just last month after taking control of the company, said the rapper was encouraging violence. 'I tried my best,' Musk wrote on his social media platform after Twitter deleted West's offending tweet and temporarily locked his account. Shortly afterward, Musk tweeted 'FAFO' which are initials for the term 'f*** around, and find out.'

➤APPEALS COURT RULES OUT SPECIAL MASTER IN TRUMP CASE: A federal appeals court has stopped a third-party review of documents seized by the government from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. A lower court judge had allowed appointment of the so-called “special master” to review thousands of documents and decide which could be seen by federal investigators, The documents allegedly include confidential government records.

"The law is clear," the three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. "We cannot write a rule that allows any subject of a search warrant to block government investigations after the execution of the warrant. Nor can we write a rule that allows only former presidents to do so." The judges had told Trump’s lawyers during oral arguments that the traditional way to challenge what becomes part of an investigation through a government seizure is to challenge the evidence after charges have been filed, which they have not. 

➤ JUSTICES ACCEPT STUDENT LOAN CASE: The Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the Biden administration can cancel student-loan debt for millions of Americans. The justices didn’t act on the administration's emergency request to move forward with the debt relief immediately and instead set arguments on the matter for this winter. A final ruling could come by June. Republican officials in six states brought the lawsuit, claiming that the program is an unlawful exercise of presidential authority that would affect state revenues and tax receipts.


➤OCTOBER SAW A JUMP IN CONSUMER SPENDING: The seasonally adjusted 0.8% is the strongest gain since June, the Commerce Department said. Spending outpaced inflation, but the personal saving rate hit its lowest level since 2005, a sign that rising prices are squeezing household budgets. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, dropped to a seasonally adjusted 225,000 last week, according to the Labor Department. That was near the 2019 weekly average of around 218,000, when the labor market was also robust. U.S. stocks were mixed.

➤CHINA EASES UP ON ‘ZERO COVID’ POLICY: China’s government is sending signals that it may ease up on its tough “no COVID” policies, apparently in response to huge demonstrations in a number of cities. China has reported only 6,000 deaths due to COVID among its 1.4 billion people. But that success came at the cost of severe restraints on citizens, including repeated forced lockdowns and mass testing requirements.

➤CHINA CLAMPS DOWN ON INTERNET: China clamped down on internet access in an effort to end Covid-19 demonstrations. The country's online regulators told tech companies to expand their censorship efforts and remove sales postings and information about VPNs, or virtual private networks, which protesters and their supporters have used to circulate videos, according to people familiar with the matter. A heavy police presence across major cities has kept demonstrators off the streets, and investigators are using cellphone data and social media sites to find participants opposed to China’s zero-Covid policies.


Hunter & Friends
➤SECRET SERVICE LOCATES 'MISSING' HUNTER BIDEN RECORDS: The Secret Service has located hundreds of pages of records tied to the investigation of a gun belonging to Hunter Biden – despite having denied they existed, a government watchdog group said Thursday. Judicial Watch is investigating whether the Secret Service intervened on behalf of President Biden’s son after the incident, and it has sued the agency for all materials related to the reported purchase, possession, and disposal of the firearm owned by Hunter Biden. The group has accused the Secret Service of repeatedly changing its position on whether it has any documents related to the investigation.  “The Secret Service’s changing story on records raises additional questions about its role in the Hunter Biden gun incident,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.


➤NATIONWIDE RAIL STRIKE AVERTED: A bill that will impose a new labor agreement on union railroad workers and their employers has passed the Senate and now goes to President Joe Biden for his signature. Congress entered the dispute at Biden’s urging. A strike would have disrupted freight deliveries nationwide. The union workers are said to be furious that the Senate did not include any paid sick days in the final deal. Biden says he’ll keep pushing for paid sick leave for all workers.

➤MORTGAGE RATES EASE: Mortgage interest rates declined last week for a third straight week. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.49 percent in the week that ended on December 1st. Which is good news until you recall that the rate averaged 3.11 percent just one year before.

 🐀NEW YORK CITY CRACKS DOWN ON RATS: New York City has declared war on its resident population of rats. The city just posted a job listing for a Director of Rodent Migration, meaning a rat killer. The tongue-in-cheek listing indicates that the ideal candidate must possess “a general aura of badassery” and a “virulent vehemence for vermin.” Mayor Eric Adams is apparently listening to New Yorkers’ complaints about the resident rat population, which increased 70 percent this year.

⛽CHEAPER GAS FOR THE HOLIDAYS: The average price of a gallon of regular gas dropped to $3.47 last week, according to AAA. That’s 29 cents a gallon less than the previous month. Prices for diesel also are falling. A slowdown of global demand due to economic concerns is credited.


⚽JAPAN AND SPAIN PROGRESS TO WORLD CUP ROUND 16: Japan’s team defeated Spain 2-1 and Germany defeated Costa Rica 4-2 at the World Cup yesterday, but the Cup’s group scoring system left Germany on the dust heap while Japan and Spain move on to the knockout stage. Japan will face Croatia on Monday while Spain will play Morocco on Tuesday. Team USA plays The Netherlands in the Round of 16 on Saturday.


🏈EX-BUCCANEERS ANTONIO BROWN SOUGHT BY POLICE: Antonio Brown is wanted by the Tampa police on a domestic violence charge. The arrest warrant issued yesterday indicates the charge as misdemeanor battery, domestic violence. The former wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has not played since January 2nd, when he made a dramatic exit from the field during a Buccaneers game against the New York Jets.
 
🏈DESHAUN WATSON ONLY WANTS TO TALK ABOUT FOOTBALL: Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson appeared before the press yesterday but refused to answer questions that were not related to football. That is, he didn’t want to answer questions about the 20-plus women who have sued him or are currently suing him for sexual misconduct, leading to his suspension by the NFL for 11 games. Watson returns for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans.

⚾TAMPA BAY RAYS SIGN ZACH EFLIN: Right-hander Zach Eflin has agreed to join the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-year contract worth $40 million, ESPN reports. Eflin has been a free agent since turning down an offer to stay on with the Philadelphia Phillies.

⚾HALL OF FAMER GAYLORD PERRY HAS DIED: Baseball Hall of Famer pitcher Gaylord Perry died yesterday at his home in South Carolina. He was 84. Perry played for eight major league teams over his career, which stretched from 1962 to 1983. He won the Cy Young award while pitching for the Cleveland Guardians in 1972 and again in 1978 while he was with the San Diego Padres.



🏈NFL WEEK 13 TNF SCORE: Buffalo Bills 24, New England Patriots 10



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