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Friday, September 1, 2023

9/1 WAKE-UP CALL: Hard Time For Convicted Proud Boys

Two former leaders of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group were sentenced to more than a decade each in prison Thursday for spearheading an attack on the U.S. Capitol to try to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 presidential election. The 17-year prison term for organizer Joseph Biggs and 15-year sentence for leader Zachary Rehl were the second and third longest sentences handed down yet in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.

They were the first Proud Boys to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who will separately preside over similar hearings of three others who were convicted by a jury in May after a four-month trial in Washington that laid bare far-right extremists’ embrace of lies by Trump, a Republican, that the 2020 election was stolen from him.



➤2 DEAD, 1 CRITICALLY HURT IN SHOOTING AT AUSTIN, TEXAS, SHOPPING CENTER: One person was killed and another was shot and critically wounded in a shooting at an Austin, Texas, shopping center Thursday, police said. The gunman was also found dead, Interim Police Chief Robin Henderson said.

➤IDALIA CLEAN-UP UNDERWAY: The Southeast U.S. started cleaning up after Hurricane Idalia lashed the region. After making landfall early Wednesday morning, the storm plowed a course from Florida to North Carolina, flooding small towns, blowing down trees and power lines, and wrecking homes. Still, Idalia appeared to cause less damage than feared after touching down in Florida’s sparsely populated Big Bend region. Authorities have reported one official death. Roughly 174,000 customers were still without power in Florida and Georgia by midday Thursday, according to PowerOutage.us.

➤OPRAH WINFREY AND DWAYNE ‘THE ROCK’ JOHNSON CREATE MAUI WILDFIRE RELIEF FUND : The two are teaming up to bring aid to the people of Maui, following the devastating wildfires that claimed the lives of at least 115 people. The pair announced the news in an Instagram video shared on Thursday. “People being able to have their own agency, being able to make decisions for themselves about what they need and what their family needs — that’s our goal,” the Color Purple actress said in the video. 

Winfrey and Johnson started the People’s Fund of Maui with $10 million of their own money, and together they said they are "here to ensure with 100% guarantee that your donations will go directly into the hands of Lahaina residents." They added in the caption of the post: “Every adult resident who lives in the affected area and was displaced by the wildfires in Lahaina and Kula is eligible to receive $1200 per month to help them through this period of recovery. All you have to do is go to PeoplesFundofMaui.org to apply.”

💸CONSUMERS SPENDING TICKS-UP IN JULY: Household spending rose a robust 0.8% in July, the Commerce Department said, up from an upwardly revised 0.6% increase in June and the fastest rate since January. Americans spent more on groceries, recreational goods and vehicles, and on services such as housing, dining out and insurance. Inflation ran at a 2.1% annualized rate over the three months through July, close to the Fed’s 2% target. The latest figures leave the central bank on track to hold interest rates steady next month. U.S. stocks were mixed Thursday.

➤SIX IN 10 LIVING PAYCHECK2PAYCHECK: More than six in 10 Americans said they are living paycheck to paycheck as the rate of price increases remains stubbornly high despite the Fed Reserve’s battle to tame inflation, according to a study. The survey by LendingClub found that 61% of adults reported barely making ends meet in July — an increase from 59% compared to the same month last year. 

➤UKRAINE PENETRATES RUSSIAN LINE:  Ukrainian forces have penetrated the main Russian defensive line in their country’s southeast. The advance marks the first time Ukraine has broken through the line, an extensive system of minefields, trenches and antitank obstacles covered by artillery. It raises hopes of a breakthrough that would reinvigorate Kyiv’s grinding, three-month-old counteroffensive. Ukrainian forces are now working to expand the cracks to create a hole large enough for Western-provided armored vehicles to push through with sufficient logistical support. Serious obstacles, including heavy Russian artillery fire directed by aerial drones, remain.

➤JUSTICE FAILED TO DISCLOSE FINANCIAL DEALINGS: Justice Clarence Thomas defended his past failures to disclose free trips and other financial dealings with conservative billionaires. He said the omissions were due to inadvertent mistakes or legal guidance then in effect. The federal judiciary today released Thomas’ 2022 disclosure form, which listed three trips last year paid for by real-estate magnate Harlan Crow, as well as some transactions from prior years that had come under journalistic and congressional scrutiny. Justice Samuel Alito’s disclosure form, also released today, resembled those of previous years. Unlike other federal courts, the Supreme Court has refused to adopt binding rules spelling out ethical standards beyond the minimum required by federal law, drawing bipartisan criticism.

➤McCONNELL CLEARED TO WORK: Sen. Mitch McConnell's doctor cleared him to continue with his schedule, saying he has experienced "occasional lightheadedness," from dehydration and a previous concussion. "Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration," wrote Dr. Brian P. Monahan in a note McConnell's office released. McConnell, 81, froze Wednesday at a press conference in northern Kentucky. It was the second time in a matter of weeks that he had to pause taking questions at a press conference and receive assistance from aides.

➤MIGRANTS SURGE SOUTHERN BORDER: Record numbers of migrant families streamed across the U.S.-Mexico border in August, according to preliminary data obtained by The Washington Post, an influx that has upended Biden administration efforts to discourage parents from entering illegally with children and could once again place immigration in the spotlight during the 2024 presidential race. The U.S. Border Patrol arrested at least 91,000 migrants who crossed as part of a family group in August, exceeding the prior one-month record of 84,486 set in May 2019, during the Trump administration. Families were the single largest demographic group crossing the border in August, surpassing single adults for the first time since Biden took office. Overall, the data show, border apprehensions have risen more than 30 percent for two consecutive months, after falling sharply in May and June as the Biden administration rolled out new restrictions and entry opportunities. The Border Patrol made more than 177,000 arrests along the Mexico border in August, up from 132,652 in July and 99,539 in June.

➤PIT BULLS ATTACK BOY ON BIKE: A North Carolina boy who was riding his bike through his neighborhood was viciously attacked by a packed of 10 hungry pit bulls, his mother said. Hunter Bishop, 12, was pummeled by the animals while riding his bike to a friend's house on Saturday, August 26 in Rutherford County, mom Amber Barnes said.   'They looked like they were starving,' Barnes said, adding that she went out to find her son and located him in a ditch. 'The way I looked at it, they were eating my son.' Two people managed to pull the dogs off Hunter and he was rushed to the hospital where he was placed in critical condition, a Nextdoor post stated. Since the brutal attack took place, the boy has undergone at least four surgeries and is expected to need a fifth that will occur on September 2.

➤TWITTER BUY  'IMPLUSIVE': Elon Musk’s move to buy Twitter was one of the most surprising and controversial decisions of his career. The way that he acquired the company, which he renamed X, “was a harbinger of the way he now runs it: impulsively and irreverently,” writes Walter Isaacson in a forthcoming biography of Musk, set to be published on Sept. 12. In an exclusive excerpt, Isaacson details the behind-the-scenes story of the takeover, including Musk scrapping plans to launch his own blockchain-based social network, refusing to take a $5 billion investment from FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, and closing the acquisition early to fire then Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and other top executives “for cause” before their stock options could vest.


⚾MLB BRAVES 8 DODGERS 7: Ronald Acuña Jr. is officially in a club of one, and he entered in grand fashion. The Atlanta Braves star hit his 30th home run of the season on Thursday in a clash against the Los Angeles Dodgers, making him the first player in MLB history to hit 30 homers and steal 60 bases in a single season. Of course, Acuña didn't just homer to create the 30-60 club. He hit a grand slam in a highly anticipated meeting between the top two teams in the National League.

⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Tigers 4 Yankees 3
  • Marlins 6 Nationals 1
  • Giants 7 Padres 2

⚾REDS CLAIM BADER: The Cincinnati Reds added two veteran outfielders Thursday on waiver claims: Harrison Bader from the New York Yankees, and Hunter Renfroe from the Los Angeles Angels. National League Gold Glove outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021, Bader also was a finalist for a Gold Glove in 2019. Bader hit .240 with seven homers and 37 RBIs with 17 stolen bases in 310 plate appearances this season for the Yankees. In parts of seven seasons for the Cards and Yankees, he's hit .244 with 59 HRs and 214 RBIs with 74 SBs.

🏈VIKINGS' T.J. HOCKENSON SIGNS HISTORIC DEAL FOR TIGHT ENDS, SOURCE SAYS: T.J. Hockenson signed a four-year contract extension that will pay him at least $66 million and up to $68.5 million, a deal that resets the tight end market. The average annual value of the deal is $17.125 million and that Hockenson will make $42.5 million guaranteed, both the highest for a tight end in NFL history.

🏈JETS' AARON RODGERS SAYS GIANTS' JIHAD WARD MAKING STUFF UP: The war of words between the New York Jets and New York Giants escalated Thursday, with Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers firing back at Giants outside linebacker Jihad Ward. "He thought we were laughing at his teammate? That never happened and I think he's making s--- up," Rodgers said. "I don't care." On Wednesday, Ward took umbrage at Rodgers and the Jets, accusing them of laughing after Randall Cobb laid out safety Bobby McCain with an illegal, blindside block that left him with a concussion in Saturday's preseason game.



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