Wednesday, August 9, 2023

8/9 WAKE-UP CALL: Judge Calls For Trump Gag Order Hearing


A federal judge presiding over former President Donald Trump's trial on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election has ordered his attorneys and federal prosecutors to appear in court on Friday for a hearing to help determine how evidence can be used and shared in the case. U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan set the hearing for Friday at 10 a.m. ET, shortly after Trump's attorneys and members of U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith's office had clashed in a joint court over when to schedule the proceeding. Friday's hearing comes after Trump's defense team on Monday opposed a request from prosecutors for Chutkan to impose a protective order to ensure confidential evidence is not shared publicly by Trump, suggesting he could use the information to intimidate witnesses. Trump has pleaded not guilty and called the charges politically motivated.

➤TRUMP CLAIMS GA D-A IS HAVING AFFAIR: Donald Trump claimed the Fulton County district attorney who is expected to slap him with a fourth indictment soon is having an affair with a gang member in a wild tirade Tuesday. 'They say there's a young woman, a young racist, in Atlanta, and they say, I guess, they say she was after a certain gang, she ended up having an affair with the head of the gang or a gang member,' Trump claimed, referring to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. 'This is a person who wants to indict me. She's got a lot of problems but she wants to indict me to try and run for some other office,' the former president went on at a campaign event in New Hampshire, 'wants to indict me for a perfect phone call. This is even better than my perfect phone call with Ukraine,' he added, referring to his call with Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger.

➤RUNNING MATE FOR TRUMP IS WIDE OPEN: The Republican presidential front-runner remains focused on party primaries, aides said, but there’s plenty of speculation. Possible running mates range from staunch congressional loyalists such as Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia to popular party figures, including former Arizona television host Kari Lake. One prominent critic, Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, has been warming to the idea of serving alongside him, people familiar with her thinking say. The former president has also indicated he could tap a current 2024 rival for the job. The Trump campaign declined to comment.

➤BIDEN TALKS WEATHER: President Joe Biden has given an exclusive interview to the The Weather Channel on Tuesday to discuss climate change and climate policy, Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group announced. The full interview with meteorologist Stephanie Abrams, a 20-year veteran of the network, will air Wednesday during “America’s Morning Headquarters,” which begins at 6:00 a.m. EDT

➤DeSANTIS HIRES NEW CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Republican U.S. presidential candidate Ron DeSantis replaced his campaign manager on Tuesday as the Florida governor tries to reboot his flagging bid to overtake front-runner Donald Trump in the race for his party's 2024 nomination. Generra Peck, a longtime DeSantis aide who had served as campaign chief since the governor launched his candidacy in May, will be replaced by James Uthmeier, another close adviser, said Andrew Romeo, the campaign's communications director. The campaign had already made significant staff moves in July, firing almost 40 employees and reshuffling some middle- and upper-level positions. Still, donors are anxious, and some remaining staff members are frustrated by a campaign they see as rudderless and lacking a clear vision on the trail, according to people close to the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

🗡FOOTAGE EMERGES OF D-C STABBING: New footage has shown the horrifying moment Senator Rand Paul 's staffer was brutally knifed on the street by a man who had just been released from prison. 

Phillip Todd was randomly pushed to the ground and stabbed multiple times in broad daylight on a Washington DC sidewalk on March 25. Todd, the chief economist for the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, was left with a fractured skull and multiple life-threatening wounds. Cops arrested and charged suspect, DC resident Glynn Neal, 42, with assault with intent to kill in the aftermath of the vicious attack. Todd - wearing a light colored jacket - is seen being pushed on to the ground by Neal, as he tries to defend himself from the man who is stabbing him.

➤DIVERSITY FACES LEGAL CHALLENGES: The legal assault on corporate diversity efforts is under way. Conservative activists are using some of the same tactics that progressive groups have used to advance diversity, equity and inclusion programs. In lawsuits, shareholder letters and EEOC petitions, they argue that DEI initiatives violate rules against race- and sex-discrimination, including those drawn from legislation designed to secure Black Americans’ rights. Companies say their initiatives are legal, but many are privately asking their lawyers if and how much they should modify them in light of the Supreme Court’s decision striking down affirmative action in college admissions.


➤DISNEY TASK FORCE STUDIES A-I: Walt Disney has created a task force to study artificial intelligence and how it can be applied across the entertainment conglomerate, even as Hollywood writers and actors battle to limit the industry's exploitation of the technology. Launched earlier this year, before the Hollywood writers' strike, the group is looking to develop AI applications in-house as well as form partnerships with startups, three sources told Reuters. As evidence of its interest, Disney has 11 current job openings seeking candidates with expertise in artificial intelligence or machine learning. The positions touch virtually every corner of the company - from Walt Disney Studios to the company's theme parks and engineering group, Walt Disney Imagineering, to Disney-branded television and the advertising team, which is looking to build a "next-generation" AI-powered ad system, according to the job ad descriptions.

💵CREDIT RATINGS SLASHED FOR 10 BANKS: Ten regional banks have had their credit ratings slashed by risk assessment firm Moody's - which warned it was considering downgrading a further six. Major lenders Bank of New York Mellon, U.S. Bancorp, State Street and Truist Financial, Cullen/Frost Bankers and Northern Trust are now under review, and the agency also assigned a negative outlook to 11 further banks, including major institutions Capital One and Citizens Financial. Shares in big US banks, such as Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup also fell - despite not being under Moody's review. Ana Arsov (inset), managing director of financial institutions at Moody's said that there is no need for panic. 'What we're doing here is recognizing some headwinds - we're not saying that the banking system is broken,' she said. Moody's said higher rates have continued to decrease the value of assets owned by mid-size regional banks, leaving them exposed to drops in share prices if investors get spooked.

➤OHIO SPECIAL ELECTION COULD DETERMINE FUTURE OF ABORTION RIGHTS IN THE STATE: Ohio voters will decide in a special election on Tuesday whether to make it more difficult to pass state constitutional amendments, including a November ballot initiative that would protect abortion rights statewide. The Republican-backed constitutional measure would raise the threshold to approve an amendment from 50% to 60% of the vote, while also implementing more stringent standards for amendments to get on the ballot in the first place.


➤ARREST WARRANTS ISSUED FOR 3 MEN IN MASSIVE FIGHT AT MONTGOMERY RIVERFRONT DOCK: Arrest warrants have been issued for three men involved in the chaotic brawl at a riverfront dock in Montgomery, Alabama, on Saturday that was captured on video and involved an array of punches, a chair to the head and several people in the water. 
The fight stemmed from a dispute over a dockside parking spot at Riverfront Park between the crew of a large riverboat and the owners of a small private boat, Montgomery Police Chief Darryl J. Albert said Tuesday at a press conference. Richard Roberts, 48, was charged with two counts of third-degree assault, and Allen Todd, 23, and Zachary Shipman, 25, were each charged with one such count, Albert said. The chief described the three as White men who were connected to the private boat.


🔫DIVIDED SUPREME COURT ALLOWS 'GHOST GUN' RULE TO TAKE EFFECT: The Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily revived the Biden administration’s regulation of “ghost guns”, kits that can be bought online and assembled into untraceable homemade firearms. In defending the rule, a key part of President Biden’s broader effort to address gun violence, administration officials said such weapons had soared in popularity in recent years, particularly among criminals barred from buying ordinary guns. The vote was 5 to 4.

💸MEGA WINNER IN FLORIDA: One person in Florida has won the $1.58 billion Mega Millions prize - making it the largest total in the lottery's history. The winner will now have the option of claiming a single lump sum of around $757.2 million, or opting to claim the full prize in 29 annual payments. The winning numbers were 13, 19, 20, 32, 33 with a gold Mega Ball of 14 - which matched one lucky player in Florida, according to the lottery's website. 

➤MAHER BLASTS 'ZOMBIE' MYTH: Bill Maher has condemned the blockbuster film Barbie for perpetuating a 'Zombie lie' that men wield more power and influence than women. Maher on Tuesday said he went to the cinema 'hoping it wouldn't be preachy, man-hating, and a #ZombieLie - alas, it was all three.' Maher explained that a 'Zombie lie' is a myth. 

He said the idea of a male-dominated world was incorrect and outdated, giving the example of the Mattel board in the film being all-male, while in reality it is comprised of seven men and five women. Of a patriarchy, Maher said: 'Yes, there was one, and remnants of it remain - but this movie is so 2000-LATE.'

➤NYC CRUSHED WITH MIGRANTS: Disastrous immigration policies are crushing New York City with over 10,000 migrants continuing to arrive monthly demanding shelter, meals and services, new statistics show. Despite the Biden administration claiming it is reducing the number of asylum seekers flooding into the country, figures seen by The Post show no sign of a slowdown.In the first six months of this year, 66,117 migrants entered the country and gave their destination as New York to the border guards arranging hearings for them in immigration court — more than double the number arriving at the next most popular destination. That equates to almost 10% of the total 671,721 migrants let into the US so far in 2023, per figures compiled by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, which uses data obtained from the Executive Office for Immigration Review.

➤MAYOR..NYC NEEDS FED HELP: Mayor Eric Adams says the city has received over 90,000 migrants in total since spring 2022. The mayor’s office says 57,200 migrants are still in 194 shelters set up by the city as of this week, leaving 8.4 million NYC taxpayers — just 2.5% of the US population — to foot the bill to feed, shelter and provide for an outsize number of asylum seekers, many of whom are staying in the shelter system for months on end. The bill for meeting the demands of the crisis is set to reach $4.2 billion according to Adams, who has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for $300 million but received less than half to date, and repeatedly expressed his frustration at the lack of help at the federal level.

📲iPHONE USERS WILL SOON HAVE TO ADJUST TO THIS SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT CHANGE: Get your thumb ready for next month. Apple is making a subtle change to the iPhone’s software that will likely mess with your muscle memory: The big red “end call” button is moving. The iPhone’s phone app will get a series of updates coming to iOS 17, including an updated design that repositions the hang up button to the bottom right of the screen, next to other functions. The button currently sits separately at the bottom middle of the phone app, underneath the buttons to mute, access the keypad or add a call.

⚾BOONE EMBARRASSED: New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he felt embarrassed by his theatrical display during an argument with plate umpire Laz Diaz after he was ejected during New York´s 5-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Monday. Boone also said he spoke to MLB Senior Vice President of On-Field Operations Mike Hill on Tuesday. He would not reveal details of their discussion. 'I don't like doing that,' Boone said. 'But I also felt like I needed to fight with what was happening in that game.'

⚾MLB SCORES: 

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

⚾SHANE MCCLANAHAN 'HIGHLY UNLIKELY' TO PITCH AGAIN IN 2023, KEVIN CASH SAYS: Tampa Bay Rays All-Star left-hander Shane McClanahan might not pitch again this season. Rays manager Kevin Cash said before Tuesday night's game against the St. Louis Cardinals that McClanahan will have his injured left forearm evaluated by another specialist soon but it is "highly unlikely" that he will pitch again this season.

⚾X-RAYS ON ACUNA'S ELBOW NEGATIVE AFTER BRAVES STAR HIT BY PITCH: Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. was hit on his left elbow by a pitch from Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Colin Holderman in the sixth inning Tuesday night and left the 8-6 victory. It was a 97 mph sinker from Holderman that Acuna tried to dodge before it ran into his yellow elbow guard. Two innings later, the team announced that X-rays on Acuna's elbow were negative. He is considered day to day.

🏈SOURCES:KAREEM HUNT TO MEET WITH COLTS AFTER SAINTS VISIT: Free agent running back Kareem Hunt had what was called a "great visit" with the New Orleans Saints and will now meet with the Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday. Hunt received a call from the Colts before he set foot on the field to work out for the Saints and was offered more money.

🏈RAVENS' MELVIN GORDON ON RBS: 'WE'RE KIND OF SCREWED': Baltimore Ravens running back Melvin Gordon became the latest veteran running back to voice displeasure over the position not getting paid like others in the NFL. "We're kind of screwed, I feel like, for the next couple years," Gordon said Tuesday, alluding to the fact that the CBA runs through 2030. "So, the only thing we could do is just kind of stack it and just ball out."



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