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Thursday, August 31, 2023

8/31 WAKE-UP CALL: Florida Governor: 'You Loot, We Shoot"

Leaving behind shredded buildings and hundreds of miles of flooding, Hurricane Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning along Florida's Big Bend as one of the more powerful storms in state history. Radar imagery indicated the eye of Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach around 7:45 a.m. as a Category 3 hurricane, driving sustained winds of 125 mph.

  • Catastrophic storm surge, power outages: In the small town of Perry, near where the storm came ashore, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said some of the hardest-hit areas are laden with debris and severely damaged property. More than 450,000 homes and businesses were without power in Florida and Georgia on Wednesday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.
  • Warnings issued for Georgia, Carolinas: By Wednesday evening, Idalia had weakened to a tropical storm, centered about 115 miles west-southwest of Charleston with sustained winds of 70 mph. The storm is forecast to move over the Carolina coastline Wednesday night and into Thursday.

WARNING! CRUDE LANGUAGE


Florida High Patrol has so far reported two deaths in separate car crashes as storm surges reached 15ft in some places. Idalia downed power lines and swept cars through streets, with a press conference from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hit by a brief power outage.

➤PRIGOZHIN KNEW: The Wagner chief who led a short-lived mutiny against Russia had suspected he would be killed in an airplane. Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a crash last week northwest of Moscow, outfitted his jets with surveillance detectors and sought to evade a growing dragnet, according to former Russian air force officers, Wagner defectors, African and Middle Eastern officials and other people familiar with the paramilitary leader’s travel routine. The aircraft regularly turned off their transponders, and crews revised passenger manifests before takeoff and radioed air-traffic control midflight about destination changes. Early intel suggests Prigozhin was assassinated, according to U.S. officials.


➤McCONNELL FREEZES AGAIN: Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell appeared to briefly freeze up and was unable to answer a question from a reporter at an event in Kentucky on Wednesday, weeks after he had a similar episode in Washington. As seen on video from a local news station, the 81-year-old McConnell was asked whether he would run for reelection in 2026. The senator asked the reporter to repeat the question before trailing off and staring straight ahead for about 10 seconds. An aide standing at the front of the room with McConnell then asked him whether he heard the question and repeated it to him. When McConnell did not answer, the aide announced to the room that “we’re going to need a minute,” and McConnell continued to stare ahead. In all, he was silent for around 30 seconds.



➤JUDGE DECLARES NEW TEXAS LAW THAT WOULD ERODE CITIES' POWER TO ENACT LOCAL RULES UNCONSTITUTIONAL: A sweeping new Texas law aimed at undermining the ability of the state’s bluer urban areas to enact progressive policies is unconstitutional, a Travis County judge ruled Wednesday. State District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble made the ruling just days before the law, House Bill 2127 which opponents nicknamed the “Death Star” bill, is slated to take effect on Friday. The Republican-backed law aims to stop local governments from enacting a wide range of progressive-leaning policies by barring cities and counties from passing local ordinances that go further than what’s allowed under broad areas of state law.


➤MANCNHIN PITCHING MAJOR DONORS:  Joe Manchin and his daughter are pitching major donors on a $100 million-plus project to boost centrist policies and candidates. The project comes as the West Virginia Democrat is deciding whether to run for re-election to the Senate in 2024, pursue a long-shot run for president or do something else in politics. Heather Manchin, the former CEO of EpiPen-maker Mylan, said she registered a politically active nonprofit organization called Americans Together in late July. The senior Manchin’s camp didn’t respond to a request for comment, but earlier this month, he said that he was considering becoming an independent before the next election.

➤FORMER U.S. CARDINAL McCARRICK NOT COMPETENT TO FACE SEX ABUSE TRIAL, JUDGE SAYS: A Massachusetts judge on Wednesday dismissed a criminal case charging former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick with molesting a 16-year-old boy in 1974, saying the 93-year-old was not competent to stand trial after psychological experts found he had dementia. McCarrick, a former archbishop of Washington, D.C., who was defrocked by Pope Francis in 2019, became the only current or former U.S. Catholic cardinal to ever face child sex abuse charges when prosecutors in Massachusetts first charged him in 2021.

➤MARIJUANA USERS FOUND TO HAVE LEAD AND ANOTHER HEAVY METAL IN THEIR BLOOD AND URINE: Some marijuana users may have elevated levels of lead and cadmium, two heavy metals linked to long-term health issues, in their blood and urine, a new study shows. Among a group of more than 7,200 adults, the 358 who reported using marijuana within the past 30 days were found to have 27% higher blood lead levels than those who said they didn’t use either marijuana or tobacco. The marijuana users also had 22% higher levels of cadmium in their blood, according to the research. Urine samples showed similar results.

🎒STUDENT CAN KEEP SHOWING PATCH: A 12-year-old boy, who was kicked out of class for having a Gadsden flag patch on his backpack will be allowed to keep wearing it. An email from the Vanguard School Board of Directors on X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter. The email said that the boy, Jacien, could continue to wear the patch on his backpack. 


"From Vanguard's founding, we have proudly supported our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the ordered liberty that all Americans have enjoyed for almost 250 years," the email says. "The Vanguard School recognizes the historical significance of the Gadsden flag and its place in history. This incident is an occasion for us to reaffirm our deep commitment to a classical education in support of these American principles." The story of Jacien Boyak went viral earlier in the week, when he shared a video of a meeting between Jacien, his mom, and an unidentified school administrator. In the video, the school official tells Jacien and his mom that the Gadsden flag patch was "disruptive" and had "origins with slavery and slave trade." Jacien's mother pushed back, pointing out that the flag's origins were in the Revolutionary War and had nothing to do with slavery.

➤THAT'S A WHOPPER? Burger King attempted to dismiss the suit, but US Judge Roy Altman rejected the company's request last week. The company will now have to defend against claims that the burger chain made the Whopper sandwich appear 35 percent larger on in-store menu boards than it really is. Customers in the proposed class action lawsuit also complained that the Burger King ads show ingredients that "overflow over the bun" with double the amount of meat than they actually receive on the sandwich.

⚾MLB YANKEES 6 TIGERS 2: The Yankees hit three more home runs in support of Gerrit Cole as they beat the Tigers, 6-2, on Wednesday night. The Yankees offense had an odd start to this one. After the first two batters got out, Giancarlo Stanton hit a single to drive in Gleyber Torres -- who reached on a walk and stole second -- before Anthony Volpe was hit by a pitch. Harrison Bader singled to load the bases before Tigers starter Brendan White plunked Everson Pereira to push across another run. That was the end of White’s night as the Yankees went up 2-0 after one.

DJ LeMahieu launched a solo shot in the second to give New York a 3-0 lead. LeMahieu has now hit five home runs in August after hitting just five in the previous three months combined. Pereira had his most productive day at the plate in the big leagues so far. Aside from his HBP driving in a run, he hit a soft single through the drawn-in infield to pick up his second RBI of the day. He went 1-for-3 but drove in two runs and stole his first career base. Gerrit Cole continued his pursuit of his first Cy Young award with another strong start. The Yankees ace labored through the first few innings as he tried to find his fastball command, but would be more efficient as he went on.

⚾MLB DODGERS 7 D-BACKS 0: In a blowout of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers continued their torrid performance, finishing the month’s penultimate day with a 24-4 record since the end of July. They’ve won all nine series they’ve played in the month. Wednesday clinched their fifth sweep in that stretch. And, with one more to go in Thursday night’s series opener against the Atlanta Braves, they have a chance at franchise history, on the verge of winning 25 games in a month for the first time since relocating to Los Angeles (and the third time overall).

⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Angels 10 Phillies 8
  • Rays 3 Marlins 0
  • White Sox 10 Orioles 5
  • Guardians 5 Twins 2
  • Cardinals 5 Padres 4
  • Cubs 3 Brewers 2
  • Blue Jays 7 Nationals 0
  • Reds 4 Giants 1
  • Astros 7 Red Sox 4
  • Mariners 5 Athletics 4
  • Mets 6 Rangers 5
  • Pirates 4 Royals 1
  • Braves 7 Rockies 3

⚾PHILLIES STAR BRYCE HARPER BELTS 300TH CAREER HOME RUN: Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper has hit his 300th career home run, going deep Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels to become the 158th player in major league history to reach that mark. Harper hit the milestone homer against Matt Moore in the eighth inning for his 15th homer of the season. The two-run drive, in Harper's 1,481st game, put Philadelphia ahead 8-7. The Angels rallied for three runs in the ninth, however, en route to a 10-8 victory.

⚾MORE HOT WATER FOR FRANCO: A special prosecutor in the Dominican Republic is investigating Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco over a third allegedly inappropriate relationship with a minor. The first complaint against Franco was reportedly filed July 17, weeks before the accusations were aired publicly on social media. Since then, a second girl has told the D.R.'s special prosecutor's office, focused on minors and gender violence, that she also had a relationship with Franco as a minor. Authorities are reportedly now investigating a third alleged relationship but have not yet spoken to the girl involved. The age of consent in the Dominican Republic is 18 years old, with adults facing criminal charges if they engage in a sexual relationship with a minor. Franco last played for the Rays on Aug. 12. The next day, social media posts alleging that Franco was in a relationship with a minor began circulating and led to MLB placing him on the restricted list a day later.

🏈HOW 'BOUT THOSE COWBOYS: In news which shall surprise no one, the Dallas Cowboys still sit firmly atop the Forbes list of most valuable NFL franchises. America's Team is not only the most prized possession in pro football but in all sports across North America, and astonishingly, the globe. Jerry Jones' franchise is worth $9billion according to the outlet and generated a whopping $1.14b in revenue through the 2020 season. For context, the average NFL team is worth $5.1billion -- a new high, per the Forbes report. The Cowboys haven't won the Super Bowl since 1995. The NFL's second most valuable team is the New England Patriots, which is unsurprising given their two-decade dynasty beginning in the early 2000s.

➤BARSTOOL LAYOFFS: Dave Portnoy admitted this week that he's been forced to make layoffs at Barstool Sports. The 46-year-old regained full control of the company earlier this month, as he bought the company back for just $1 from PENN Entertainment, a security filing showed. And speaking on Barstool Radio, Portnoy said he's begun letting some staff go, with the company 'losing a lot' according to its chief.



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