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Thursday, September 7, 2023

9/7 WAKE-UP CALL: Hunter To Be Indicted

A US prosecutor will seek to indict President Joe Biden’s son Hunter before the end of September, catapulting the case back into the public spotlight as the president ramps up his reelection bid. Special Counsel David Weiss told a federal court in Delaware Wednesday that he plans to seek an indictment from a grand jury by Sept. 29. Weiss’s legal filing comes after US District Judge Maryellen Noreika directed the government to update her on the status of its case against Hunter Biden.

Weiss didn’t indicate what charges he plans to pursue or where they would be brought. However, Weiss’s office previously said it was examining violations of tax and gun laws. The tax charges could be brought in Washington, DC, or in California because that’s where the crimes allegedly occurred. An indictment against Hunter Biden could hang over his father’s 2024 reelection campaign, giving Republicans fuel to criticize the Bidens over their business dealings. The GOP’s leading candidate, former President Donald Trump, faces his own criminal indictments in federal and state courts. 

💸BIG MONEY DESERTS DeSANTIS: Former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner was among Ron DeSantis’ biggest boosters during the 2022 midterm election, giving nearly $1 million to his reelection bid. But as he has surveyed the field of GOP candidates for president, Rauner — a wealthy former private equity executive who was DeSantis’ fifteenth biggest donor in last year’s election — has not given any more money to the Florida governor. Rauner told POLITICO he thinks another candidate, former U.N Ambassador Nikki Haley, has a better shot of defeating President Joe Biden than DeSantis.

➤DeSANTIS SAYS HE'LL REVIEW PROUD BOYS PARDONS: DeSantis stopped short of promising blanket pardons for the Proud Boys leaders who stormed the Capitol on January 6, but said he would 'look at' their sentences if he was elected president. The Florida Governor took aim at the 'excessive sentences' handed down to the activists, the longest of which was set Tuesday to the group's former leader Enrique Tarrio who was sentenced to 22 years for the breach. Sentences for the four Proud Boys leaders who have been sent behind bars have ranged between 15 and 22 years, with Tarrio's lengthy stint seen as harsh by some as he was not even in DC at the time of the riot Tarrio is among several other high-ranking former or current Proud Boys leaders to be sentenced over the January 6 attack, and prosecutors continue to add to the over 1,100 people charged over the siege.

➤BIDEN AT G20: President Joe Biden aims to seize on the absence of two key adversaries at this week’s Group of 20 leaders meeting in New Delhi to make fresh inroads with countries that China and Russia have previously courted.  Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping both opted to skip this year’s gathering, giving Biden an opening to re-establish the US as the polestar of the international system. He’ll take the US case to nations such as Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia — not to mention the host, India — that are eager for closer ties with China and have declined to take sides after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Central to that effort is a push to boost the funding and scope of the World Bank and other development banks, in a bid to deepen ties with the world’s emerging economies and offer an alternative to China’s state-backed lending. The US also plans to push for debt relief for poor countries and announce funding for new infrastructure projects. Biden will then visit Vietnam to announce commercial deals deepening ties with the country’s emerging technology sector.


➤BIDEN REJECTS 9/11 DEAL: President Joe Biden has rejected parts of the proposed plea deals for five alleged 9/11 plotters that would have seen them get life in prison instead of the death penalty, believing that it would not 'be appropriate in these circumstances.' The proposed deals sparked outrage from families of the almost 3,000 Americans killed in the attacks. Terms included the request for assurances that they would not be held in solitary confinement and could eat and pray together, the New York Times reported. They also wanted treatment for injuries sustained during their brutal interrogations. 

📲CHINA GOVERNMENT SHUNS FOREIGN PHONES: China banned government officials from using iPhones and other foreign-branded devices for work or bringing them into the office. The policy widens previous rules and signals tighter enforcement, people familiar with the matter said. This latest step in Beijing’s attempt to cut reliance on foreign technology and enhance cybersecurity could have a chilling effect for foreign brands in China, including Apple, which counts the country as one of its biggest markets. China’s State Council Information Office, the National Civil Service Administration and Apple didn’t respond to requests for comment. U.S. officials have similar bans against Chinese-owned TikTok and Huawei Technologies.

➤U-S SENDS MORE MONEY:  Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged more than $1 billion in additional aid to Ukraine for the war against Russia. His surprise trip to Kyiv appeared designed to reassure Ukraine and Western allies of the U.S.’s long-term support and send a message to the Kremlin that Washington doesn’t intend to back down. U.S. backing for Ukraine’s counteroffensive is indispensable, but limited progress has created friction between the two countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated he is ready to continue fighting for years—possibly calculating that Western support for Ukraine will wane. The U.S. has provided Ukraine more than $40 billion in military aid since the start of the war in February 2022.


➤CONSERVATIVE GROUPS PLAN FOR TRUMP’S RETURN: A number of conservative political organizations are preparing for Donald Trump’s potential second presidential term by recruiting thousands for a mission to dismantle the federal government and replace it with one that is closely aligned with Trump’s vision, according to The Associated Press. The plan, called Project 2025, is led by the Heritage Foundation, a well-known think tank, according to the report. Their aim is to have a civic infrastructure in place from Day One that would clear away what some Republicans call the “deep state” bureaucracy. “We need to flood the zone with conservatives,” Paul Dans, director of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project, told The Associated Press. Their plan includes removing up to 50,000 federal employees and replacing them with Trump loyalists, according to the report.

➤TEXAS ORDERED TO REMOVE ANTI-MIGRANT BUOYS: The state of Texas has been ordered to remove buoys they placed in the Rio Grande River to prevent migrants from crossing over the river into the United States. A federal judge was not convinced by the state’s argument that the barriers were necessary to prevent an invasion. The federal government brought the suit, citing the state’s failure to seek approval to obstruct navigable rivers.

➤INFLATION DRAGS U-S STOCKS: The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite slid 1.1% with some of the year’s best performers suffering the most: Shares of Nvidia and Apple both dropped more than 3%. The losses, however, were broad-based, with everything from shares of real-estate companies to manufacturers and banks falling. Nine of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors finished in the red, dragging the benchmark index down 0.7%. The Dow industrials lost 0.6%.

➤GOP TRIES TO BLOCK STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT RELIEF: Republicans in the U.S. Senate have introduced a resolution that would block implementation of the Biden administration plan to reduce student loan payments to affordable levels based on income. About four million people have already applied for the program, according to the Department of Education. The plan replaced the student loan forgiveness plan, which was struck down by the Supreme Court.

➤THE BOSS IS AILING: Veteran rocker Bruce Springsteen said on Wednesday he was indefinitely postponing eight tour dates this month with his E Street Band, citing medical treatment he is undergoing for peptic ulcers. Springsteen, 73, promised to reschedule the canceled performances, beginning with a show that had been set for Thursday at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York, as well as a previously missed date in Philadelphia a few weeks earlier.

"We'll be back to pick up these shows and then some," the singer-songwriter said to fans in a message posted to his account on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. "Thank you for your understanding and support." Ticketholders for the postponed concerts were told they would receive information regarding rescheduled dates. The other postponed dates were Sept. 9 in Baltimore, Sept. 12 and 14 in Pittsburgh, Sept. 16 in Uncasville, Connecticut, and Sept. 19 in Albany, New York.

⚾MLB ASTROS 12 RANGERS 3:  Jose Abreu matched his career high of seven RBIs with a grand slam and a three-run homer and the Houston Astros slugged five homers while completing a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers with a 12-3 victory on Wednesday night at Arlington, Texas. Yordan Alvarez, Michael Brantley and Chas McCormick also slammed homers as Houston again assaulted Texas pitching. The Astros slugged 16 homers and collected 50 hits in the series while outscoring Texas 39-10.

⚾MLB ORIOLES 10 ANGELS 3: Austin Hays went 4-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs as the red-hot Baltimore Orioles routed the Los Angeles Angels 10-3 on Wednesday in Anaheim, Calif., to complete a three-game sweep. The Orioles (88-51) won their fifth straight game, all on the road, and picked up their ninth sweep of the season. They kept their lead in the American League East at 3 1/2 games over the Tampa Bay Rays (85-55), who beat the Boston Red Sox 3-1 earlier on Wednesday.

⚾MLB YANKEES 4 TIGERS 3: Jasson Dominguez opened the third inning with a tiebreaking homer and produced his first career three-hit game as the host New York Yankees moved back over the .500 mark for the first time in more than three weeks with a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night. The Yankees (70-69) tied a season high with their fifth straight win. New York moved over the .500 mark for the first time since it was 60-59 following an 11-3 loss at Atlanta in the third game of a nine-game skid that pushed them out of contention.

⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Phillies 5 Padres 1
  • Rays 3 Red Sox 1
  • Pirates 5 Brewers 4
  • Guardians 2 Twins 1
  • Cubs 8 Giants 2
  • Athletics 5 Blue Jays 2
  • D-Backs 12 Rockies 5
  • Mariners 8 Reds 4
  • Marlins 11 Dodgers 4
  • Nationals 3 Mets 2
  • Cardinals 11 Braves 6
  • White Sox 6 Royals 4

⚾PIRATES’ McCUTCHEN IS OUT FOR THE SEASON: Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen is out for the rest of the season due to an Achilles tendon tear, MLB.com reports. He’s expected to be wearing a walking boot for six weeks, well beyond the end of the Pirates’ 2023 schedule. The injury occurred during the Pirates game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday.

🏈FORMER NFLer ON LIFE SUPPORT: Former NFL wide receiver Mike Williams, who spent most of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was on life support Wednesday due to injuries suffered in a construction accident. Williams, 36, was working at a construction site in the Tampa area when a steel beam fell on his head, causing a traumatic head injury, according to a GoFundMe post from his father, Wendell Muhammad. The accident caused swelling in Williams’ brain and along his spinal cord. Further complications resulted in Williams passing out and being rushed to an intensive care unit on Sept. 1, Muhammad said. While Muhammad’s post said Williams never woke up from his injury, the mother of Williams’ child told the Tampa Bay Times on Wednesday that Williams remained on life support while the family considered all options.

🎾U-S OPEN IS HOT: It was survival of the fittest on a hot day at the 2023 US Open, and 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev proved more up to the task in a quarterfinal clash with Andrey Rublev, outlasting the No. 6 seed, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. "The only good thing in these conditions is that both suffer!" Medvedev said with his inimitable gallows humor, revealing he had difficulty seeing the ball after the first set during his on-court interview. Medvedev trailed his childhood friend by early breaks in the all three sets before turning each around in his favor, making it through sweltering conditions to advance into his seventh career Grand Slam semifinals after two hours and 47 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Rublev fell to 0-9 in Grand Slam quarterfinals.

🌞SCORCHING HEAT: A record-breaking heat wave continued to stifle portions of the nation Wednesday, with forecasters imploring residents planning to spend time outdoors to hydrate and avoid strenuous activity. Scorching temperatures are expected to linger through Friday in the U.S. mid-Atlantic and Northeast and through the weekend in Texas and adjacent states, the National Weather Service said. The agency issued a heat advisory Wednesday affecting more than 90 million people in major population centers of the northeast from Washington, D.C., to Boston and into upstate New York as well as throughout east and west Texas, northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas. It also called for excessive heat warnings in the border area connecting Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, as well as an excessive heat watch in southeast California and southern Arizona – including Phoenix, where temperatures are expected to soar to 110 and above this weekend. In San Antonio, Texas, Wednesday marked the 70th day of 100-degree temperatures or above since June, marking an all-time record for the area.



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