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Monday, March 20, 2023

Wake-Up Call: Hundreds Could Be Arrested At Trump Protests


Former President Donald Trump’s calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap. The ambivalence raises questions about whether Trump, though a leading Republican contender in the 2024 presidential race who retains a devoted following, still has the power to mobilize far-right supporters the way he did more than two years ago before the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. It also suggests that the hundreds of arrests that followed the Capitol riot, not to mention the convictions and long prison sentences, may have dampened the desire for repeat mass unrest.

Still, law enforcement in New York is continuing to closely monitor online chatter warning of protests and violence if Trump is arrested, with threats varying in specificity and credibility, four officials told The Associated Press. Mainly posted online and in chat groups, the messages have included calls for armed protesters to block law enforcement officers and attempt to stop any potential arrest, the officials said.

➤TRUMP RIPS 'ANIMALS AND THUGS': Donald Trump on Sunday attacked prosecutors investigating the hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels, calling them 'animals and thugs' and saying they were intent on wrecking the US. Earlier on Sunday he said the grand jury would hear from 'the most important witness', who would undermine Michael Cohen. He called Cohen a 'convicted felon, jailbird and serial fake storyteller and liar'. 

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans quickly coalesced around Trump, suggesting that his arrest would be overreach and politically motivated. Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. and Twitter Inc., and off-hours US political prognosticator, mused on his social media platform that if Trump is arrested and placed in handcuffs he “will be reelected in a landslide victory.” 

In a post on his Truth Social media platform early Saturday morning, Trump said he expects to be arrested Tuesday as part of the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into hush-money payments to an adult film star. He urged his supporters to protest in echoes of his public statements ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol to overturn his electoral loss to President Joe Biden.  

➤TRUMP SECURITY INSTENSIFIES: The NYPD and US Secret Service are huddling to prep for Donald Trump’s possible indictment in Manhattan after the former president said he expected to be arrested this week and told supporters to protest. The FBI, state court officers and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office have also been kept in the loop on security discussions, with the Big Apple bracing for the worst after Trump, 76, urged his followers to “take our nation back” in light of his looming indictment, police sources said. “We will use all of our available resources,” one NYPD source said Sunday, noting that the department’s Strategic Response Group — which responds to civil unrest and major events — “has a role in this agency and when needed they will be called in.” Officials from several agencies met on Sunday and are expected to confer again on Monday, according to sources.

➤DeSANTIS, HALEY MUM ON TRUMP: Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley have been attacked by a number of Trump loyalists for failing to comment on rumors the former president will be arrested on Tuesday. MAGA Republicans have criticized DeSantis and Haley for not speaking out against the Manhattan DA's office for what they claim is a weaponization of the justice system. DeSantis is widely rumored to be preparing to run against Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Haley was the first to enter the race after Trump.

➤BANK MOVE TERMED 'SHOTGUN WEDDING': Moves by authorities to avert a global banking crisis lifted market confidence on Monday as investors welcomed a historic Swiss-backed acquisition of troubled Credit Suisse by UBS Group and emergency dollar liquidity from top central banks. In a package orchestrated by Swiss regulators on Sunday, UBS Group AG will pay 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.23 billion) for 167-year-old Credit Suisse Group AG and assume up to $5.4 billion in losses. Major central banks, faced with the risk of a fast-moving loss of confidence in the financial system, also scrambled on Sunday to bolster the flow of cash around the world with a series of coordinated currency swaps to ensure banks have the dollars needed to operate. The shotgun Swiss banking marriage is backed by a massive government guarantee, helping prevent what would have been one of the largest banking collapses since the fall of Lehman Brothers in 2008.


➤PUTIN VISITS CONQUEST: In his first trip to territory seized in the past year, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the occupied Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which for Russia is a symbol of its goal to control eastern Ukraine and for Kyiv an illustration of Russian atrocities.  Putin drove through the streets of Mariupol, which was captured by his forces in May, after arriving there by helicopter, the Kremlin said in a statement. A clip of the visit broadcast on Russian state television shows the Russian president behind the wheel of a vehicle as a Russian official reports on the city’s reconstruction. The clip shows him driving through streets lighted by streetlights. Since the start of the war, Mariupol has assumed special significance for both Ukraine and Russia. For Ukraine, it has become a symbol of Russian brutality indiscriminate shelling of civilians in pursuit of its war aim.

➤UN PREPS NO-KO FOR WAR: Kim Jong Un condemned US and South Korean military exercises as provocative, and ordered his own troops to be ready to launch a nuclear attack, North Korean state media said on Monday. Kim Jong Un spent the weekend observing military drills, including an ICBM with a mock nuclear warhead. The North Korean leader was accompanied for the launch by his nine-year-old daughter Kim Ju Ae during the missile tests - continuing a trend that has led to speculation the young girl is being lined up to inherit the hereditary hermit kingdom. Kim said the exercises improved the military's actual war capability and highlighted the need to ensure its readiness posture for any 'immediate and overwhelming nuclear counterattack' through such drills.

➤SO. BORDER REMAINS A SIEVE: Nearly 70 non-US citizens on the FBI’s terror watch list have been caught trying to illegally cross the country’s southern border since October — a disturbing trend that appears set to easily beat last year’s alarming figure, reports The NYPost. There were 16 such people listed in the Terrorist Screening Database who were encountered attempting to illegally enter the US from Mexico last month alone, according to new data released by Customs and Border Protection. The total number of the illegals who were on the terror watch list and stopped at the southern border since Oct. 1, the start of the CBP’s fiscal year 2023, is now at 69, authorities said. Compare that figure to the same one for all of the agency’s last fiscal year — or 98 non-US citizens on the watch list who were halted — and it appears there will easily be even more caught this fiscal year. Another non-US citizen also was caught trying to cross the country’s northern border since October, according to the  CBP’s Office of Field Operations.

➤150 VEHICLES INVOLVED IN SATURDAY PILEUP NEAR PORTLAND, MI, 16 PEOPLE HOSPITALIZED: Michigan State Police said 150 vehicles were involved in the pileup on Interstate 96 near Portland Saturday, although only 16 people were transported to area hospitals and none with serious injuries. A serious of crashes in the eastbound lanes about 5 p.m. resulted in the freeway being closed in both directions for about five hours Saturday evening. The Michigan State Police Sixth District headquarters said in a tweet that 84 vehicles were damaged and 66 others slid off the road but were undamaged. Police had initially estimated 50-100 vehicles were involved.

➤DISNEY..NOT SO HAPPY PLACE: Executives at The Walt Disney are reportedly planning to cut 4,000 jobs in the next two weeks - much sooner than expected - as CEO Bob Iger works to save the company some $5.5 billion.  One report indicates managers are currently working to identify 4,000 employees who are 'redundant and disposable' and will be required to turn in their lists in the coming weeks with the first big hit to occur in April.  The employees who are on the lists will then be informed of their termination, the report states. It's unclear, however, if the layoffs will happen all at once. 

➤THE PARTY'S OVER: Miami Beach again imposed a curfew Sunday night after a bloody weekend in which two people died during separate shootings and large, rowdy crowds flooded the streets. Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said in a video message posted Sunday that the throngs of people, combined with a number of guns, has created a “peril that cannot go unchecked.” “We don’t ask for spring break in our city,” Gelber said. “We don’t want spring break in our city. It’s too rowdy, it’s too much disorder and it’s too difficult to police.” The curfew started at about midnight Monday and would be lifted at 6 a.m., the city said in a news release. Officials may instate another curfew Thursday through March 27, with the restrictions primarily focused on South Beach, the popular tourist spot spring breakers love.

➤‘SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS’ UNDERWHELMS AT THE DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: According to Deadline, projections were low to start with at $35 million for Shazam! Fury Of The Gods’ opening weekend, but it appears the sequel didn’t even reach that goalpost. The film brought in just $30.5 million, down 43% from the original film’s opening at $53.5 million in 2019. Scream VI took second place with $17.5 million, and Creed III followed close behind with $15.3 million. Box Office Numbers from Friday (March 17th) through Sunday (March 19th):

1. Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, $30.5 million
2. Scream VI, $17.5 million
3. Creed III, $15.3 million
4. 65, $5.8 million
5. Ant-man and the Wasp Quantumania, $4.07
6. Cocaine Bear, $3.87
7. Jesus Revolution, $3.5 million
8. Champions, $3 million
9. Avatar: The Way of Water, $1.92 million
10. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, $1.5 million

⚾ASTROS' JOSE ALTUVE SIDELINED INDEFINITELY WITH THUMB FRACTURE: Houston star Jose Altuve suffered a fractured right thumb in Team Venezuela's World Baseball Classic game Saturday and will need surgery, Astros general manager Dana Brown announced Sunday. There is no timetable for his return, according to Brown. The Astros will announce a prognosis after the surgery, which will happen in the coming days.

🏈DALLAS COWBOYS TRADE FOR TEXANS WR BRANDIN COOKS: The Dallas Cowboys acquired Houston Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks on Sunday for a fifth-round pick in 2023 and a sixth-round pick in 2024. The trade for Cooks likely takes the Cowboys out of the competition for free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

🏈TEXANS REACH $75M EXTENSION WITH LT LAREMY TUNSIL: Houston Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil has become the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL after agreeing to a three-year, $75 million extension. The deal includes a $30 million signing bonus with $50 million fully guaranteed and $60 million in total guarantees.


⚾PITCHER ROKI SASAKI TO START FOR JAPAN IN WBC SEMIFINAL: Roki Sasaki, potentially the best pitcher in the world who's not in the major leagues, will take the ball for Japan in its World Baseball Classic semifinal matchup against Mexico from LoanDepot Park on Monday, Japanese manager Hideki Kuriyama announced after his team's workout Sunday. Sasaki, 21, has posted a 1.95 ERA in 212⅔ career innings for Nippon Professional Baseball, striking out 260 batters and walking 42 while overwhelming hitters with a 100-plus-mph fastball and a devastating splitter.

➤FERNANDO ALONSO LOSES 100TH F1 PODIUM DUE TO POSTRACE PENALTY: Fernando Alonso has been stripped of what would have been his 100th Formula One podium after a postrace penalty at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Shortly after he had received his trophy, the stewards' investigation was confirmed, with the 10-second penalty coming shortly afterwards and moving Russell up to third.

🏀NBA SCORES:
  • Denver Nuggets 108 vs Brooklyn Nets 102
  • Oklahoma City Thunder 124 Phoenix Suns 120
  • san Antonio Spurs 126 Atlanta Hawks 118
  • Miami Heat 112 vs Detroit Pistons 100
  • New Orleans Pelicans 117 vs Houston Rockets 107
  • Milwaukee Bucks 118 Toronto Raptors 111
  • Los Angeles Clippers 117 Portland Trail Blazers 102
  • Los Angeles Lakers 111 Orlando Magic 105






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