Wednesday, June 14, 2023

6/14 WAKE-UP CALL: Trump Pleads "Not Guilty"


Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to charges that he illegally retained and shared classified national-security documents at Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House. Trump, who was arraigned in a Miami federal court, is the first former U.S. president to face federal criminal charges. 

The front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination has used the 37-count indictment to seek campaign contributions and called it a politically motivated effort to undermine him. Some of his allies have called for payback. Today was Trump’s second courtroom appearance as a defendant since he lost the presidency. He was arraigned in April on charges stemming from his alleged role in a 2016 hush-money payment to a porn star who alleged she had an affair with him. The former president pleaded not guilty in that case, too.

Trump received a hero’s welcome Tuesday night as he returned to his New Jersey golf club after pleading not guilty in Miami federal court to more than three dozen counts related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving office in 2021. After taking the stage at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” Trump, 76, told a couple hundred supporters he had undergone “political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or communist nation.” “They ought to drop this case immediately, because they’re destroying the country,” the 45th president said during his 30-minute address.


FOX LABELS BIDEN 'WANNABE DICTATOR': Fox News called Joe Biden a 'wannabe dictator' who had his 'political rival arrested' as the president spoke at the White House following Trump's indictment.  The chyron at the end of Fox News' 8pm hour - which was broadcasting Trump's speech following his not guilty plea - read: 'Wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested.' The primetime broadcast was showing Joe Biden's speech in Washington DC, side by side with Trump's rally in Bedminster, New Jersey.  A Fox News Spox issued a statement to M-C, indicating the Chryron was immediately removed and was "addressed internally.'

➤CARROLL CAN SEEK ADDITIONAL DAMAGES FROM TRUMP: A federal judge in New York on Tuesday permitted E. Jean Carroll to amend her defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, a move that will allow her to seek additional damages. Carroll is asking the court for an award of at least $10 million. The decision from U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in the Southern District of New York came on the same day Trump was arraigned and pleaded not guilty in Miami on charges related to his handling of classified documents. A day after a jury last month assessed Trump $5 million in damages for sexual abuse and defamation, Trump said during a CNN town hall that Carroll − a former magazine columnist − was a "whack job" who told a "made-up story." Trump has appealed the verdict and the $5 million judgment against him.

➤UKRAINE REPORTS BIG ADVANCE: Ukraine's blue and yellow flag flew over a ruined grocery store and Russian soldiers lay dead in the street of the village of Neskuchne, reached by Reuters journalists on Tuesday in the first independent confirmation of Ukraine's biggest advances for seven months against Russia's invasion. Russia has not acknowledged any Ukrainian gains, and President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that for now he saw no need for a new mobilisation of fighting men to confront the Ukrainian counteroffensive launched last week. Not a single resident could be found in Neskuchne, one of a cluster of settlements on the Mokry Yali river that Ukraine says its troops have captured since their counteroffensive began in a steady advance southwards into Russian-held territory.


Ukrainian troops rode through the muddy streets on the back of a tank and in a pick-up truck. A warplane flew overhead, firing flares. The U.S. warned Ukraine last June not to attack the Nord Stream pipelines that bring Russian natural gas to Europe.  The CIA pressed Kyiv following a tip from the military intelligence service of the Netherlands about a Ukrainian plot, officials familiar with the exchange said. Though the CIA took the warning seriously, it questioned whether Kyiv could carry out such an attack, which would require placing explosive charges beneath the Baltic Sea. The pipelines were hit on Sept. 26. Ukraine has denied any involvement.

➤INFLATION DEFLATES: Inflation fell in May to around half last year’s peak.  The consumer-price index rose 4% last month from a year earlier, well below the recent peak of 9.1% last June and down from April’s 4.9% increase, the Labor Department said. Don’t start dancing in the streets yet, though. Inflation is still elevated, which means the Fed has cooled price pressures some, but the job isn’t done yet. Central bank officials are meeting today and tomorrow to decide whether to pause interest-rate increases after raising them aggressively. The Fed, which wants inflation at 2%, could signal that even if rates hold steady this month, it is prepared to lift them again this year.

➤COP SUSPENDED AFTER KILLING 11-YEAR-OLD: The Mississippi police officer who shot and wounded an 11-year-old last month after the boy called 911 for help has been suspended without pay. Indianola Police Sgt. Greg Capers shot Aderrien Murry in the chest on May 20 after the boy called for help with a domestic disturbance. Capers was suspended without pay at a city Board of Aldermen meeting Monday evening, Alderman Marvin Elder confirmed to USA TODAY on Tuesday. Elder said the vote was 4-1. "The family of Aderrien Murry, specifically his mother Nakala Murry, believes this is a step in the right direction," said Carlos Moore, an attorney for the Murry family. Moore said the family is still demanding that Capers be terminated from his job and not be allowed to serve as a law enforcement officer again.

➤2 DEAD AFTER ROBBERY GOES BAD: A 16-year-old boy and a 20-year-old clerk are dead after an attempted robbery at a liquor store in California sparked a shootout, police say. Police said officers were called around 11 p.m. local time Sunday to an EZ Mart Liquor Store in Visalia, about 40 miles southeast of Fresno, for a report of a shooting at a shopping center. When officers arrived, they found a 16-year-old-boy in the parking lot who had been shot. The boy was rushed to Kaweah Health Medical Center, where he died. A 20-year-old clerk was shot and killed inside the store, officers with the Visalia Police Department said. Visalia police investigated a deadly shooting at EZ Mart Liquor Store on Sunday, June 11, 2023. Violent crimes detectives said the 16-year-old boy tried to rob the store. The store clerk and the teenager exchanged gunfire and shot at each other multiple times, according to police.

ࣸ➤RYAN SEACREST IS REPORTEDLY IN TALKS TO REPLACE PAT SAJAK ON ‘WHEEL OF FORTUNE:’ Following Pat Sajak’s retirement announcement on Monday (June 12th), Bloomberg reporter Lucas Shaw tweeted that Ryan Seacrest “has been talking to the producers of Wheel of Fortune” to replace the longstanding host. “Some sources say he's the frontrunner,” Shaw wrote. “Others say he is just one of many interested.”

➤OBESITY CAN MESS WITH THE WAY YOUR BRAIN REACTS TO FOOD TO STOP YOU FEELING FULL, AND THE DAMAGE MAY BE PERMANENT: A recent study published in the journal Nature Metabolism reveals that obesity can disrupt the brain's response to food, preventing individuals from feeling full, and these changes may be long-lasting. In individuals with a healthy weight, the brain appropriately interpreted the signals and suppressed the areas responsible for stimulating hunger after a meal. Additionally, scans revealed a surge of dopamine in the striatum, a chemical associated with feelings of reward and satisfaction after eating, but this response was absent in individuals with obesity.

➤IT'S OFFICIAL: TOYOTA LAND CRUISER IS COMING BACK TO THE U.S.: The rugged, go-anywhere Toyota Land Cruiser is coming back to the American market after a brief hiatus. The brand confirmed the storied nameplate's return in a short video posted on its social media channels, but the next Land Cruiser sold here might be smaller than the last. Enthusiasts will immediately recognize the 20-Series, the 40-Series and the 60-Series models, among other variants of the Land Cruiser. An unverified report claims that the next Land Cruiser we'll see in showrooms won't be the new 300-Series model unveiled in 2021 and sold in several global markets, including the Middle East.

➤WOUNDED VA TEACHER OUT OF JOB AFTER SUING DISTRICT: Abigail Zwerner, the Virginia teacher shot by her student in January, is no longer working for the Newport News school district as her lawyer claims she was fired and the district says she resigned. Jeffrey Breit, Zwerner's lawyer, said the district is attempting to push the former teacher, 25, out after she filed a $40million lawsuit against the board. 'While this woman was protecting 20 other students and risking her life,' Breit said, 'they decided to fire her because she wouldn't drop her lawsuit.'  In an email shared by WAVY , however, Zwerner wrote to HR she wished 'to resign.' An official for Newport News Schools said her contract then ended on June 12. Breit maintains that Zwerner - who he claims hasn't been paid since February - was fired and that his client is struggling to understand the dismissal. 'I don't think you can read this any other way than you've been fired,' Breit said. 'And that's what she thinks. She doesn't understand it; there's no other communication.'


🏒NHL KNIGHTS ARE CHAMPS!: The Vegas Golden Knights hit the ultimate National Hockey League jackpot on Tuesday by crushing the visiting Florida Panthers 9-3 to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in the expansion franchise's six-year history. With the victory, the Western Conference's top-seeded Golden Knights closed out the best-of-seven championship series 4-1, triggering celebrations in and around the hotels and casinos along the famed Las Vegas Strip.


➤DENVER SHOOTING: 2 ARRESTED, 10 SHOT, 5 REMAIN HOSPITALIZED AFTER NUGGETS FANS CELEBRATE IN LODO: Ten people were shot, including the gunman, in Denver around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday morning as thousands of fans poured into the streets of LoDo to celebrate the Nuggets' NBA Finals victory. Denver police said five of those victims remained hospitalized on Tuesday. Police said they have two suspects in custody in connection to the shooting which left 9 men and one woman injured. One of those suspects remained hospitalized on Tuesday.

⚾MLB ANGELS 7 RANGERS 3: Hunter Renfroe hit a two-run homer during a three-run sixth inning and surging Los Angeles beat AL West-leading Texas. The Angels have won three straight and eight of nine. Shohei Ohtani reached base all five times with a single, double and three walks. Renfroe´s homer helped spoil the major league debut of Owen White (0-1), who was recalled from Double-A Frisco earlier in the day. White entered with one out in the fifth inning and gave up three runs on four hits with two strikeouts and one walk.

⚾MLB YANKEES 7 METS 6: Clay Holmes pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning and the New York Yankees stormed back from four runs down against Max Scherzer to beat the skidding New York Mets 7-6 in the Subway Series opener Tuesday night at Citi Field. Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu homered off Scherzer, and pinch-hitter Josh Donaldson drove in the tiebreaking run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth after Brandon Nimmo misplayed a ball in center field.

⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Clay Holmes
    Athletics 2 Rays 1
  • Phillies 15 D'backs 3
  • Oioles 11 Blues Jays 6
  • Rockies 7 Red Sox 6
  • Twins 7 Brewers 5
  • Giants 11 Cardinals 3
  • Cubs 11 Pirates 3
  • Reds 5 Royals 4
  • Astros 6 Nationals 1
  • Mariners 9 Marlins 3
  • Padres 6 Gardians 3
  • Dodgers 5 White Sox 1

⚾NEVADA SENATE PASSES $380M BILL TO FUND NEW A'S STADIUM IN LAS VEGAS: The Nevada state Senate passed a $380 million bill Tuesday to help fund a new stadium for the Oakland A's in Las Vegas, the first step toward the expected move of the franchise. After days of questioning from lawmakers about the wisdom of using public tax dollars to support a team owned by billionaire John Fisher, two amendments to the bill added Tuesday morning prompted a 13-8 vote in favor of the project.



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