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Wednesday, August 2, 2023

8/2 WAKE-UP CALL: Trump Facing Criminal Charges


Donald Trump was indicted in connection with his efforts to cling to power after his defeat in the 2020 election. The indictment handed up by a federal grand jury in Washington charges that the former president was responsible for efforts to reverse his defeat at the polls, culminating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol. It is the second federal criminal case against Trump under the administration led by President Biden, who beat him in the 2020 race for the White House and is now his potential rival for 2024. Trump has denied wrongdoing and accused prosecutors of going after him for political reasons.

  • The first charge alleges a conspiracy to defraud the U.S. “by using dishonesty, fraud and deceit to obstruct the nation’s process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election,” according to the Justice Department.
  • The second details “a conspiracy to impede” the Jan. 6, 2021, congressional proceeding where the election results were certified.
  • The third was “a conspiracy against the right to vote and to have that vote counted,” said DOJ in a statement.

The charges mark the unprecedented third criminal indictment against the former president since he launched his latest bid for the 2024 Republican nomination. No other U.S. president, current or former, has ever faced criminal charges.

➤INDICTMENTS 'CONVENIENTLY' TIMED: Republicans claimed that the third indictment of former President Trump is a 'witch hunt' conveniently timed to come down one day after Devon Archer testified about the Biden family business deals. 'When you drain the swamp, the swamp fights back. Trump did nothing wrong!' Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, cried on Twitter. 'Less than 24 hours ago, Congress heard testimony from Hunter Biden's longtime business partner that Joe Biden joined Hunter's business calls over 20 times,' said GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik. 'Today's sham indictment of Donald Trump is yet another desperate attempt to distract attention away from the mounting evidence of Joe Biden's direct involvement in his family's illegal influence peddling scheme.

➤JOE'S SUPPORTERS NOT ENTHUSIASTC: President Joe Biden has shored up support with voters in his party, but they're not enthusiastic - and he's neck-and-neck with former President Donald Trump, according to a poll released Tuesday.  A New York Times/Siena College poll found that just 20 percent of Democrats said they'd be enthusiastic with Biden as the party's 2024 nominee, with a bigger number - 26 percent - saying they'd be pumped if Vice President Kamala Harris topped the ticket.  That being said, Biden's numbers have improved from the two-thirds of Democrats who said last year that they wanted a different nominee.

✞NEW JERSEY LT. GOV. SHEILA OLIVER DEAD AT 71; FAMILY SAYS: New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who made history as the first Black woman to serve as speaker of the state Assembly, has died, her family announced Tuesday. She was 71. Oliver served with Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, acting in his stead when he was out of state and also administering the Department of Community Affairs. No cause of death was given in a statement released by Oliver's family through Murphy's office.



➤RON DESANTIS ON WHY HE'S STANDING HIS GROUND AGAINST KAMALA HARRIS: 'IT'S WRONG TO LET FALSE NARRATIVES STAND': Gov. Ron DeSantis says he is "ready to roll" when it comes to debating face-to-face with Vice President Kamala Harris in the controversy over a line in Florida’s new African American history curriculum that mentions "how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit." The Republican presidential candidate argued that Harris "seemed to have a lot to say about it. None of which has been true. And so, we are ready to have that debate."

➤ELON MUSK'S SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANY SUES NONPROFIT HIGHLIGHTING SITE'S HATE SPEECH: X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has sued a group of researchers, alleging their work highlighting an increase in hate speech on the platform cost the company millions of dollars of advertising revenue. The suit, filed late Monday night in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, accuses the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate of violating X's terms of service by improperly collecting a vast amount of data for its analysis. The suit also alleges, without offering evidence, that the organization is funded by foreign governments and media companies who view X as competition.

NY Post Composite (8/2/23)
➤FLEEING SUSPECT RAMS 10 PEROPLE: A man driving a stolen vehicle sped away police in Manhattan on Tuesday, plowing into three cars and several pedestrians during a wild chase that ended when New Yorkers tackled the suspect to the ground, cops and sources said.  Ten people, including two children, were injured during the mayhem that began after police tried to stop a stolen, red Hyundai SUV with Illinois license plates at Third Avenue and 43rd Street around 5:30 p.m., according to the NYPD and law enforcement sources. “It was crazy, it was horrific,” Michael Discioarro, who witnessed some of bloody injuries, told The Post. With police car lights flashing, the man initially “started to pull over” but then pumped the gas, Patrol Borough Manhattan South Deputy Chief James Kehoe said at a press conference. Officers continued to pursue the stolen Hyundai “at a lower rate of speed because of the heavy traffic” before the SUV turned onto Lexington Avenue and struck another motorist between 42nd and 43rd streets, said Kehoe. 

➤FRAN DRESCHER SAYS SAG-AFTRA IS PREPARED TO STRIKE FOR AT LEAST SIX MONTHS: SAG-AFTRA is “in it to win it,” according to the union’s president, Fran Drescher. The Nanny actress appeared on the Today show Tuesday (August 1st) and revealed that actors are prepared to strike for at least the next six months. "Well, I don't have a crystal ball," Drescher said, when asked how long she thinks the strike will last. "We have financially prepared ourselves for the next six months. And we're really in it to win it." Drescher added that they’ve tried to continue negotiating with the AMPTP.

➤LIZZO ACCUSED OF TOXIC WORK ENVIRONMENT: Lizzo has been sued by a trio of her former touring dancers for sexual harassment, assault, discrimination and fostering a “hostile work environment.” In a broad complaint for unspecified damages filed Tuesday morning in Los Angeles Superior Court, Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez also allege that they were body-shamed, put through a self-described “excruciating” audition for their own jobs after they were accused of drinking on the clock, and held to prohibitive “soft hold” retainers. Naming four-time Grammy winner Lizzo herself (aka) Melissa Jefferson, plus Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc. and Shirlene Quigley, the head of the performer’s dance team, the suit (read it here) vividly describes the dancers being forced to attend and participate in sex shows while on tour, having their virginity mocked, being subject to religious diatribes as well as a case of “false imprisonment.”

⚾MLB ROYALS 7 METS 6: Josh Walker balked home the winning run in the 10th inning and the Kansas City Royals rallied past the New York Mets 7-6 on Tuesday night for their season-best fourth straight victory. Hours after the retooling Mets traded star pitcher Justin Verlander and two other players to cap a stunning deadline selloff, they blew a 6-4 lead provided by rookie Francisco Álvarez's two-run homer in the top of the 10th. Bobby Witt Jr. hit an RBI double in the bottom half and MJ Melendez tied it with a run-scoring single off Brooks Raley.

⚾MLB RAYS 5, YANKEES 2:  Zach Eflin pitched six shutout innings of three-hit ball to become the American League´s first 12-game winner, Randy Arozarena hit a two-run homer off Carlos Rodón and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 5-2 on Tuesday night. Yandy Díaz also connected for the Rays, who won their third straight game and have gone deep six times in the last two nights at Yankee Stadium. Manuel Margot hit an RBI double and Brandon Lowe added a run-scoring single for the Rays, who matched a season high with seven walks.

⚾MLB BRAVES 5, ANGELS 1 Michael Harris II ended a homer drought with two blasts, including a go-ahead shot in the fifth, Spencer Strider added to his majors-leading total with nine strikeouts and the Braves beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-1 on Tuesday night. Strider has nine or more strikeouts in 17 of 22 starts, giving him 208 for the season. Strider broke his own record for reaching 200 strikeouts in the fewest innings, hitting the mark in 123 1/3 innings by fanning Shohei Ohtani in the first inning. He broke the record set by Randy Johnson in 2001 by reaching 200 strikeouts in 130 innings last season.





⚾MLB SCORES

  • Phillies 3 Marlins 1
  • Brewers 6 Nationals 4
  • Pirates 4 Tigers 1
  • Orioles 13 Blue Jays 3
  • Rangers 2 White Sox 0
  • Cubs 20 Reds 9
  • Astros 2 Guardians 0
  • Padred 8 Rockies 5
  • Red Sox 6 Mariners 4
  • Giants 4 D-Backs 3
  • Dodgers 7 Athletics 3



⚾TIGERS' EDUARDO RODRIGUEZ BLOCKS TRADE TO DODGERS, SOURCES SAY: Detroit starter Eduardo Rodriguez invoked his no-trade clause to block a trade that was in place between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tigers, killing the deal ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline. Rodriguez, a left-hander, had a 10-team no-trade clause that included the Dodgers.

⚾HOUSTON ASTROS ACQUIRE JUSTIN VERLANDER FROM NEW YORK METS: The Houston Astros and Justin Verlander are reuniting in hopes of securing a third championship together. The Astros reached agreement with the New York Mets on Tuesday to reacquire Verlander, bringing the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner back to Houston, the team announced Tuesday. Outfielder Drew Gilbert, rated as the Astros' best prospect by MLB.com, is heading to New York in the deal, as is minor league outfielder Ryan Clifford.

⚾PADRES TRADE FOR RICH HILL, JI MAN CHOI; ADD SCOTT BARLOW, SOURCES SAY: The San Diego Padres pulled off a trade that addressed two of their most glaring needs on Tuesday morning, acquiring left-handed-hitting first baseman Ji Man Choi and longtime starting pitcher Rich Hill from the Pittsburgh Pirates, the teams announced. The Pirates receive first baseman Alfonso Rivas and a pair of minor leaguers, Double-A left-hander Jackson Wolf and 17-year-old outfielder Estuar Suero. Wolf was ranked 16th in the Padres system by MLB.com.

⚽RAPINOE ACCUSED OF POISONING U-S TEAM: Megyn Kelly claimed Tuesday that Megan Rapinoe has 'poisoned' the US women's national team, with the host saying she will root for the team of 'morons' to lose in the Round of 16. The USA narrowly advanced to the next round with a 0-0 draw against Portugal, and the majority of the starters once again did not sing the national anthem before the match. And while Rapinoe was not even included in the first 11, Kelly believes that the 38-year-old is responsible for the culture of the group. 

'Megan Rapinoe, she's the leader of all this... She's not a starter. So that's why she's not on camera when they're doing the national anthem, but she's behind a lot of this,' Kelly said while hosting the Megyn Kelly Show. 'She's poisoned the entire team against the country for which they play. I don't know about you, but I'm not rooting for them. I'm not with them. I hope they lose…It's shameful. These girls are shameful. They ought to be ashamed of themselves.'



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