Thursday, August 10, 2023

8/10 WAKE-UP CALL: Paradise Becomes Hell

Daily Mail US Composite 8/10/23
36 people have been confirmed dead after wildfires fueled by hurricane winds began burning in Maui overnight, destroying much of the popular tourist town Lahaina. Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said in a press conference Wednesday that it was too early to know how many homes, businesses or other structures have been destroyed or damaged. He said “many have been burned to the ground,” particularly in the Lahaina area on Maui’s west coast. Three wildfires caused the damage and were still burning Wednesday afternoon, Bissen said. More than 1,000 acres of the island’s Upcountry, an agricultural inland area that includes Haleakala National Park, have been charred. 


Evacuations have been ordered in 13 communities and towns and many roads closed around Maui, while roughly 2,100 people have taken refuge in shelters. State and county authorities have urged tourists to stay away from the region or leave Maui if they can. Bissen said he didn’t know whether the six people who died in the fires were local residents or tourists.

➤JACK SMITH GOT SEARCH WARRANT FOR TRUMP'S TWITTER ACCOUNT: Special counsel Jack Smith obtained a search warrant earlier this year requiring X to produce data and records related to Donald Trump’s account. A federal appeals court affirmed a lower-court decision that held the social-media company formerly known as Twitter in contempt of court for its slow response to the warrant and imposed a $350,000 fine. Smith also got a nondisclosure order that prohibited X from notifying anyone about the warrant. X argued in court that it violated the company’s First Amendment rights. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment beyond an auto reply from its media email contact. The former president posted on his social-media website, Truth Social: “Just found out that Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ secretly attacked my Twitter account, making it a point not to let me know about this major ‘hit’ on my civil rights.”

➤EDCUADOR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ASSASSINATED: Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, a vocal critic of corruption and organized crime, was killed at a campaign event on Wednesday, authorities said, amid an upsurge in violence in the Andean nation blamed on drug traffickers. Local media reported some 30 shots had been fired at an event in the north of the capital, Quito. Video footage posted on social media showed Villavicencio getting into a car after the event, before the sound of apparent gunfire and screaming.


Robertson
➤UTAH MAN SHOT AFTER POSTING THREATS AGAINST BIDEN: New footage shows FBI agents arriving on Wednesday at dawn at the Provo, Utah home of Craig Robertson. The 75-year-old had posted graphic and increasingly specific threats against Biden. The FBI began investigating Robertson in April, and the Secret Service was informed in June. For months, Robertson had posted daily threats on what is believed to be his Facebook page, revealing his obsession with the president and fantasies about hurting him. While conducting surveillance on Robertson's home on March 19, a special agent attempted to speak with Robertson about his posts, according to Fox13. Robertson replied: 'I said it was a dream!' He told the agent to come back with a warrant. On Monday he wrote on Facebook: 'Hey FBI, you still monitoring my social media? Checking so I can be sure to have a loaded gun handy in case you drop by again.'

TRUMP: IT'S A BRIBE: Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday weighed in on newly revealed bank records showing the Biden family raked in at least $20 million from foreign nationals, arguing that the documents obtained by the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee show that President Biden took bribes as vice president.   “That’s a tremendous amount of money. And nothing was done for it. It was just a bribe. It’s just a bribe – extortion and a bribe,” the 77-year-old former president told Newsmax host Eric Bolling during an interview at his Bedminster, NJ golf club.  “When you see him talking about the billion dollars for the prosecutor – I’m amazed nothing was ever done. You know, you talk about quid pro quo that was quid pro quo,” Trump added, referring to Ukrainian prosecutor-general Viktor Shokin, who was fired after then-Vice President Joe Biden threatened to pull $1 billion in US aid.

 ➤IGER CHANGES TUNE OVER WRITERS' STRIKE: Walt Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger on Wednesday said he was committed to finding a solution to the Hollywood writer and actor strikes, citing his "deep respect" for creative professionals, as he signaled a turn from comments that inflamed tensions last month. Iger last month told striking actors that their demands were "not realistic." The Hollywood writers' strike entered its 100th day on Wednesday with contract talks stalled and people on the picket lines protesting what they say is a disregard for their demands. The actors strike started less than a month ago.

➤OHIO VOTERS TURN OUT FOR ABORTION RIGHTS MEASURE: Ohio voters overwhelmingly defeated a ballot issue that would have made it more difficult to add abortion rights to the state’s constitution. The ballot question didn’t mention abortion rights. But if passed, it would have required 60 percent approval for passage of a ballot question rather than a simple majority. The measure was widely viewed as a ploy to make it more difficult to add the right to an abortion to the state constitution. The turnout hit a record high for an off-year August election date.

➤NEW YORK MAYOR PLEADS FOR HELP WITH MIGRANT CRISIS: New York City Mayor Eric Adams is asking the federal government to declare a state of emergency at the border and help the city manage an overwhelming influx of asylum seekers into the city. Adams said nearly 100,000 asylum seekers have sought shelter in New York since last year. The city has spent $1.45 billion on shelter, food and services for them this year alone. Adams is seeking some federal reimbursements for that expense.


➤PHILLY ARCHDIOCESE SETTLES SUIT: Archdiocese of Philadelphia agrees to $3.5 million settlement in priest sexual assault lawsuit. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia will pay $3.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that one of its priests sexually assaulted a 14-year-old boy in Delaware County nearly two decades ago. Filed in 2020, the lawsuit alleges that Pastor John Close raped the boy at St. Katherine’s of Siena in Wayne in 2006.

➤MORTGAGE RATES TOP 7 PERCENT: The average national rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed to 7.09 percent from 6.93 percent this week. That’s the highest number since last November. The increase is blamed mostly on the downgrading of U.S. government debt by Fitch Ratings.

🚆SPEEDING ACROSS TEXAS: Texas Central Partners and Amtrak have announced they are seeking a partnership for a proposed bullet train from Dallas to Houston. If the plan goes ahead, it would mean a trip of less than 90 minutes to travel the 205 miles between the two cities. The companies have applied to several federal programs for approval of further study and design work, according to Bravos Valley station KBTX.


⚾MLB PHILLIES 7 NATIONALS 0: Michael Lorenzen threw the 14th no-hitter in Philadelphia Phillies history, a dazzling performance in only his second start with his new team, which beat the Washington Nationals 7-0 on Wednesday night. The 31-year-old Lorenzen (7-7) struck out five, walked four and improved to 2-0 since he was acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline for a minor leaguer. As a result, Lorenzen became the first pitcher to toss a no-no in his home debut for a team since Don Cardwell did so for the Chicago Cubs in 1960. Lorenzen retired Lane Thomas on a grounder to open the ninth and struck out Joey Meneses looking.  The crowd of 30,406 erupted when Lorenzen retired Dominic Smith on a flyball on his 124th pitch to end the game. Lorenzen flipped his cap backward and was mobbed by his teammates in a rowdy celebration near the plate.

⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Cardinals 6 Rays 4
  • White Sox 9 Yankees 2
  • Marlins 5 Reds 4
  • Brewers 7 Rockies 6
  • Athletics 2 Rangers 0
  • Tigers 9 Twins 5
  • Astros 8 Orioles 2
  • Braves 6 Pirates 5
  • Red Sox 4 Royals 3
  • Blue Jays 1 Guardians 0
  • Mets 4 Cubs 3
  • Angels 4 Giants 1
  • Mariners 6 Padres 1
  • Dodgers 2 D-Backs 0

➤O-J SLAMS RUGGS' PRISON SENTENCE: The NFL legend and ex-convict, 76, slammed the prison sentence handed down to ex-Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs on Wednesday, feeling the 'math doesn't add up' over the three-to-10-year stretch. Simpson said he was left puzzled when Ruggs, 24, received a three to 10 year sentence, despite causing the death of 23-year-old Tina Tintor after driving drunk at over 155mph down a Las Vegas strip in November 2021. And Hours after the sentence was read in the same courthouse he was convicted in 14 years ago, Simpson shared his thoughts on the court proceedings with his 900,000 followers on X, formerly known as Twitter. 'You're driving a car at roughly 160 miles per hour on a public street and end up killing a girl and her dog and you get three to ten years?' he said, noting Ruggs' crime. In comparison to his own arrest for armed robbery, he said: 'You go to a hotel room, that you're invited to, to retrieve your own personal stolen property - property I now have because it was ruled to be mine by the state of California - and you get nine to 33 years?' 'Same courthouse, same city, same state. I don't know. Somehow just does not add up to me... I'm just saying,' he finished.



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