Wednesday, October 4, 2023

10/4 WAKE-UP CALL: McCarthy Ousted..Who's Next Speaker?

The House removed Kevin McCarthy as speaker in an unprecedented vote. Democrats sided with a band of GOP dissidents to oust the Republican leader after nine months of fighting with a hard-right conservative wing of his party and days after he engineered legislation to avert a government shutdown. McCarthy was vulnerable because of the GOP’s 221-212 majority. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) this week led the charge to remove McCarthy; the measure passed 216 to 210.

After a chaotic day of voting toppled McCarthy, Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R., N.C.)—running the House temporarily—closed the chamber to give colleagues time to find their next leader. He said Republican hopefuls would make their pitch next Tuesday with the goal of a vote the following Wednesday. House business, including efforts to fund the government before a November deadline, was put on hold until then. 

➤JUDGE GAGS TRUMP: A state judge hit Donald Trump with a limited gag order Tuesday after he publicly attacked the integrity of a court official during the second day of his bank fraud trial. “Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, not appropriate," Judge Arthur F. Engoron said.

Earlier in the day on his Truth Social website, Trump posted a picture of a court clerk standing with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., describing her as "Schumer's girlfriend" and demanding that the case be dismissed. The offending post was later removed. The trial went on. 

➤1A VIOLATION: The nation’s top cybersecurity defense agency likely violated the First Amendment when lobbying Silicon Valley companies to remove or suppress the spread of online content about elections, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals expanded an injunction issued in September to include the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, ruling that it used frequent interactions with social media platforms “to push them to adopt more restrictive policies on election-related speech.” The previous decision from a panel of three judges – nominated by Republican presidents – concluded that the actions of the Biden White House, FBI and other government agencies likely violated the First Amendment but that CISA – which is charged with securing elections from online threats – attempted to convince, not coerce.

➤HUNTER PLEADS 'NOT GUILTY': Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony gun charges, opening a fraught new chapter in his long legal saga in the same federal courthouse in Delaware where, roughly two months earlier, he had hoped to put those troubles behind him. Biden, who appeared during a 25-minute hearing, pleaded not guilty through his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, to three felony charges related to his 2018 purchase of a handgun, during a court hearing that opened a new stage in the Justice Department’s prosecution as his father campaigns for re-election. Biden said little in court except to acknowledge he understood the charges against him. He also responded, “Yes, Your Honor,” when asked whether he wanted to continue being represented by the lawyers who joined him Tuesday. If convicted on all three charges, Biden faces up to 25 years in prison.


➤NEW CAR SALES JUMP 17%: U.S. auto-industry sales continued to rise in the third quarter, with automakers and buyers largely unfazed by higher interest rates and the impact of a continuing United Auto Workers strike.  Automakers sold an estimated 3.9 million new cars and trucks during the quarter, up about 17% over the year-earlier period, according to J.D. Power, a data and analytics firm. American car buyers have continued to flock to dealership lots, despite high car prices and a cooling labor market. The sales strength in the car business reflects a resilience in consumer demand with many people giving priority to short-term needs over longer-term goals. The latest results build on the industry’s momentum in the first half of the year, with new-vehicle sales climbing 13% in the January-to-June period after hitting their lowest point in more than a decade in 2022.

➤NETFLIX TO RAISE PRICES OF AD-FREE TIER: Netflix plans to raise the price of its ad-free service a few months after the actors strike ends. The streaming service will likely begin with the U.S. and Canada, according to people familiar with the matter. The size of the increases or when they’ll take effect couldn’t be learned. Netflix declined to comment. This is one of several price hikes by the U.S.’s largest streaming platforms. Warner Bros. Discovery today said the monthly price of the ad-free version of its Discovery+ streaming service was rising to $8.99 from $6.99.

➤AT LEAST 5 WOUNDED: Multiple people suffered non-life-threatening injuries after gunfire broke out Tuesday night at Morgan State University. The Baltimore Sun reports Police and federal agents responded to campus after shots were fired around 9:30 p.m., striking multiple people, near a campus residential building and the home of the institution’s fine arts department. Shortly before midnight, police tweeted that there was no longer an active shooter situation on campus. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott tweeted that the matter is now an “ongoing investigation.” A shelter-in-place warning that was in effect for several hours Tuesday night has been lifted, the historically Black institution in Northeast Baltimore tweeted after midnight. Police said all victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries, but did not provide a count of how many people were shot ahead of a news conference planned early Wednesday morning. 

➤FINGERRINT LED TO KIDNAPPER: A man accused of abducting Charlotte Sena, 9, from a New York state campground was identified after police matched a fingerprint on a ransom note left at the girl's home Monday – a break that led to the man's arrest and Charlotte's rescue after an exhaustive two-day search.  

Charlotte Sena
Police were monitoring the Sena family home when a person pulled up to the house at 4:20 a.m. and dropped the note in the mailbox, Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a news conference late Monday. Around 2:30 p.m. investigators matched a fingerprint on the letter to Craig Nelson Ross Jr., who was in a database from a 1999 DWI case.

Hours later, SWAT teams raided a camper where Ross, 47, lived behind his mother's home in Saratoga County, less than 20 miles from the state park where Charlotte vanished Saturday. "After some resistance," Ross was arrested, Hochul said. Police said he sustained minor injuries while resisting. Charlotte was discovered hidden in a cabinet and appeared to be physically unharmed, Hochul said. She was taken to a local hospital, as is customary in such cases.

➤TEXAS COP CHARGED WITH MURDER OF CALIFORNIA FATHER OF 7​: A former Texas sheriff's corporal accused of killing a Lake Elsinore dad of seven in a hit-and-run crash in Riverside over the summer has been charged with murder. The suspect, 31-year-old Giovanni Ceja, was charged by the DA's office with second-degree murder and hit-and-run involving death. Ceja had entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment in Riverside Monday.

➤U.S. ISSUES FIRST-EVER SPACE JUNK FINE AGAINST DISH NETWORK IN 'BREAKTHROUGH SETTLEMENT': The U.S. government's crackdown on potentially hazardous debris floating in outer space began this week with its first-ever penalty against a company for failing to bring an aging satellite to a safe orbit. Dish Network disposed of one of its satellites at an orbit "well below the elevation required by the terms of its license," according to a Federal Communications Commission investigation that was announced on Monday. In a settlement, the U.S. satellite television company agreed to a pay a $150,000 fine, a first in the commission's ramped-up efforts targeting space junk.

➤MLB AL WILD CARD GAME 1

⚾Rangers 4 Rays 0 The Tampa Bay Rays will need to locate their offense -- and their defense, for that matter -- if they wish to avert a second sweep in as many years in the American League wild-card series. Tampa Bay mustered just one run in 24 innings during last year's wild-card series against the Cleveland Guardians. After being shut out in the series opener on Tuesday, the fourth-seeded Rays will host the fifth-seeded Texas Rangers on Wednesday afternoon for Game 2 of their best-of-three series in St. Petersburg, Fla.

⚾Twins 3 Blue Jays 1 The Minnesota Twins finally snapped their 18-game playoff drought. Now, the Twins will try to take it one step further and win their first postseason series in over two decades. Minnesota will face the visiting Toronto Blue Jays in Game 2 of a best-of-three American League wild-card series on Wednesday afternoon. The Twins are coming off a 3-1 win in the series opener that was fueled by two home runs from Royce Lewis.

➤MLB NL WILD CARD GAME 1

⚾Phillies 4 Marlins 1 Zack Wheeler tossed 6 2/3 strong innings, Alec Bohm hit an RBI double and the host Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Miami Marlins 4-1 in Game 1 of a best-of-three National League wild-card series on Tuesday night. Game 2 is Wednesday in Philadelphia. Bryson Stott and Cristian Pache each added an RBI single while Trea Turner had two hits and two stolen bases for the Phillies. Nick Castellanos also contributed two hits and an RBI.

⚾D-Backs 6 Brewers 3 After tagging Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes for three homers in a 6-3 victory on Tuesday to open the National League wild-card series, the pitching advantage now shifts to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona can sweep the best-of-three set with another road victory on Wednesday, and the Diamondbacks will send their ace, right-hander Zac Gallen, to the mound. "They're going to come with everything they have," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "That's for sure. I feel much better than I would ... be feeling if we lost this game. I know that. But we beat their ace. They're going to try to beat ours tomorrow. So we'll be ready to go."

🏀LONZO BALL SAYS HE'LL 'DEFINITELY' PLAY AGAIN DESPITE KNEE SURGERIES: Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball insists he will play again despite a series of knee surgeries that have derailed his promising career. Ball said Monday he is about halfway through the rehab process from a cartilage transplant in March -- the third operation on his left knee in a little more than a year. The No. 2 overall draft selection from 2017 will miss his second consecutive season in 2023-24.

🏈JETS' AARON RODGERS 'ATTACKING' REHAB, EYES RETURN THIS SEASON: New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, only three weeks removed from surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon, said Tuesday that he's "well ahead of the normal protocols" and still clings to the belief that he can shock the world by returning this season. "There's nothing normal about how I'm attacking this rehab," Rodgers said during his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show." "The common practice is about six weeks in a boot, and I was in a shoe in 13 days.

➤BRETT FARVE TO TESTIFY IN MISSISSIPPI WELFARE CASE OCT. 26: The Mississippi Department of Human Services has filed notice of its intent to depose former NFL quarterback Brett Favre as part of its lawsuit seeking to recover millions of dollars in misspent welfare funds. In a court filing Monday, the agency said its lawyers were scheduled to take Favre's sworn testimony beginning Oct. 26 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. According to Front Office Sports, this would be the first Favre deposition, but those involved in the case aren't commenting because of a judge's gag order.



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