Friday, January 13, 2023

Wake-Up Call: DOJ A-G Launches Doc Probe


Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday appointed a special counsel to investigate the presence of classified documents found at President Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, and at an unsecured office in Washington dating from his time as vice president. Robert Hur, a onetime U.S. attorney appointed by former President Donald Trump, will lead the investigation and plans to begin his work soon. His appointment marks the second time in a few months that Garland has appointed a special counsel, an extraordinary fact that reflects the Justice Department’s efforts to independently conduct high-profile probes in an exceedingly heated political environment.

Both of those investigations, the earlier one involving Trump and documents recovered from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, relate to the handling of classified information, though there are notable differences between those cases.

During a 2016 appearance on Jay Leno's Garage, Biden, then vice president, bragged that his sons Hunter and Beau had gotten the engine of the Corvette completely rebuilt as a Christmas present. In addition to the documents found in the garage, a separate document was found in a library in the Wilmington home. The same home that Hunter's driver's license was associated with in 2018 and 2019.

Karine Jean-Pierre was forced to defend Joe Biden against charges of hypocrisy on Thursday as she was grilled in her press briefing on why the White House waited nearly a month to reveal there were additional classified documents in the president's private possession. The White House press secretary was specifically interrogated - for the majority of her time at the podium - about Biden's promise to have a transparent administration in the wake of new details provided by the Justice Department in its probe of the president's classified cache.

➤LAWMAKER SUSPCICIOUS OF 'PLANT': Meanwhile, a Democratic lawmaker is planting seeds of suspicion about President Biden’s classified documents.  Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), who once worried Guam could sink from overpopulation, floated a conspiracy theory on Thursday that sensitive papers found at Biden’s Delaware home and an office he used at a Washington, DC, think tank could have been “planted.”  Johnson, 68, told Fox News he was “suspicious” that the 80-year-old president’s lawyers “conveniently” discovered the material from his days as vice president during the Obama administration.

➤CHICAGO MAYOR ON THE DEFENSIVE: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot apologized after her campaign asked public school teachers to support her re-election, a move that drew harsh criticism from her opponents. At a press conference on Thursday, Lightfoot blamed a member of her campaign staff for sending the request, saying it was “clearly a mistake.” The apology came after local news reports that she had emailed Chicago Public Schools teachers asking them to encourage students to volunteer help her win a second term.  The request drew criticism from her opponents, with candidates Paul Vallas and Kam Buckner calling for an investigation into the matter. Sophia King, and alderman who is also running for mayor, said she was “flabbergasted” and questioned the ethics of the request.

➤CONSUMER PRICES ARE FALLING A BIT: Consumer prices are coming down just a little. The Consumer Price Index fell 0.1 percent in December, the biggest decrease since April 2020. On an annual basis, inflation was 6.5 percent year to year. A sharp decrease in gasoline prices took some pressure off prices.


➤GEORGE SANTOS JUST WON’T QUIT: George Santos, the newly-elected Congressman from New York who can’t seem to stop making stuff up, vows that he won’t quit his job no matter what. This time, we can probably believe him. Members of his own Republican Party have called on him to resign after revelations that he fabricated or embellished much of his resume. The Republican leaders of Congress, wary of losing a crucial seat, are standing by him for now. Santos was sworn in last Saturday.


➤AT LEAST 7 DEAD AS STORM HIT THE SOUTH: A massive storm system whipping up severe winds and spawning tornadoes cut a path across the U.S. South, killing at least seven people in Georgia and Alabama, where a twister damaged buildings and tossed cars in the streets of historic downtown Selma. Authorities said a clearer picture of the extent of the damage and a search for additional victims would come Friday, when conditions were expected to clear. After the storm began easing Thursday night, tens of thousands of customers were without power across the two states. In Selma, a city etched in the history of the civil rights movement, the city council used lights from cellphones as they held a meeting on the sidewalk to declare a state of emergency.


Six of the deaths were recorded Autauga County, Alabama, 41 miles (66 kilometers) northeast of Selma, where an estimated 40 homes were damaged or destroyed by a tornado that cut a 20-mile (32-kilometer) path across two rural communities, said Ernie Baggett, the county’s emergency management director.  Christian AC “93.3 The Joy FM” WVFJ-FM Greenville/Atlanta GA is off the air as its tower was directly struck by a tornado.

➤ABOUT THAT CALIFORNIA DROUGHT: After a half dozen major rainstorms in recent days, most of California is no longer in a state of “severe” drought, but it’s still in a drought. The recent storms have not substantially helped the dwindling water levels in the reservoirs of Lake Mead and Lake Powell, according to a report in ABC News. A “severe” drought is the second highest of five levels. The rain is expected to continue this weekend. Local officials warn that the hard-hit Monterey Peninsula could soon be an island cut off from the mainland, at least temporarily.

➤MORE STATES BAN TIKTOK: North Carolina and Wisconsin are the latest states to ban use of the app TikTok on government-issued devices. More than 20 states have taken similar action since the FBI warned of possible security data security threats to users of the social media platform, which is owned by a Chinese company.

➤ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GETS A METAL DETECTOR: The Virginia elementary school where a six-year-old shot a first-grade teacher is being outfitted with a metal detector. The school has been closed since the shooting last Friday. Lisa Surles-Law, school board chair at Newport News Public Schools, said all of the district’s schools will soon be outfitted with metal detectors. The victim, who was shot in the chest and hand, is said to be improving.

➤CANCER DEATHS DOWN: Cancer deaths in the U.S. have decreased by 33 percent over the past three decades, according to a new study from the American Cancer Society. The study — published on Thursday in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians — estimated that this has resulted in about 3.8 million fewer deaths.  After peaking in 1991, the mortality rate from cancer has continued to fall over the last 30 years due to a decrease in smoking and improved cancer detection and treatment, according to the study.  This trend continued in 2020 — the most recent year for which data is available — with another 1.5 percent decrease in mortality rates compared to 2019.

👼U.S. BIRTH RATE IS LOW DESPITE AMERICANS WANTING CHILDREN: The American birth rate has reached record lows...even though the number of kids Americans want has remained the same. After the baby bust in the 1970s, birth rates in the United States have remained relatively stable. Starting in 2007, birth rates began to decline, and they've kept falling...dropping more than 20% by 2021. A recent study published by Sarah Hayford and Karen Benjamin Guzzo suggests that the costs of raising children, intense parenting standards, and uncertainty could be contributing factors. "The 'right time' to have a child, or have another child, may feel increasingly out of reach," the study authors wrote.

➤NO MORE 'BROWNIES': The Canadian Girl Scouts have dropped the name Brownie in favor of Embers after the term was deemed 'racist' and 'offended' some of its members.  The name change was announced by Girl Guides of Canada on Wednesday to create a more inclusive space for the seven and eight-year-old girls branch, according to a news release by Girl Guides. 'With this new name we're showing girls that what they say matters, and that Girl Guides is a place for everyone to belong,'  according to a tweet Girl Guides posted. 

➤SUSPECT IN STUDENT DEATHS IN COURT:  Accused Idaho killer Bryan Kohberger appeared in court today with a scratched face as he waived his right to a speedy trial.  The 28-year-old will return to court in Moscow on June 26 - six months from now - for a preliminary hearing.  He requested the gap in court proceedings  - waiving his right to a timely hearing - to allow his attorneys more time to learn more about prosecutors' case against him.   As he took his seat, scratches along the left side of his chin were clearly visible. It's unclear how he sustained the scratches.  A deputy from the Latah County Jail told DailyMail.com that the cuts were 'accidental', and that Kohberger inflicted them on himself.

➤SUSPECT'S SCHOOL CRUSH INTERVIEWED: FBI agents have interviewed Bryan Kohberger's middle school crush in hopes of piecing together the psyche of the man they believe is responsible for the gruesome murders of four Idaho college students. Kim Kenely, 27, contacted the bureau shortly after learning her former classmate had been arrested for allegedly butchering four housemates in November. The two were sixth-grade students at Pleasant Valley Intermediate School in Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania, when Kohberger, 28, developed a crush and began romantically pursuing the girl who would go on to be a high school cheerleader.

🏈THE FINAL WORD ON LAMAR JACKSON: Baltimore Ravens starting quarterback Lamar Jackson will not play in this Sunday’s wild card playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The decision has been put off day to day as Jackson recovers from a knee sprain. He posted the news on Twitter: “I wish I could be out there with my guys more than anything but I can’t give 100 percent of myself to my guys and fans,” he said in his post. It will be Jackson’s sixth missed game since he was injured.

🏈CHECK IT OUT: Who’s in and who’s out of this weekend’s games.

⚾ROJAS JOINS THE DODGERS: The Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired Miguel Rojas from the Miami Marlins in exchange for infielder Jacob Amaya. Rojas will fill the gap left by the departure of shortstop Trea Turner to the Philadelphia Phillies.

⚾IT SEEMS TREVOR BAUER IS NOW UNEMPLOYED: Trevor Bauer became a free agent yesterday after the Los Angeles Dodgers failed to find a team willing to trade for him by the deadline. The Dodgers preferred to sever ties with Bauer rather than keep him even though it will cost it the remaining $22.5 million on his contract. Bauer is eligible to play after completing a 194-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s sexual assault and domestic violence policy.

 
🏈KEVIN WARREN TO LEAD THE BEARS: Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren is moving to Chicago to be president and CEO of the Bears. He will replace Ted Phillips, who is retiring at the end of the season.



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