Thursday, March 7, 2024

3/7 WAKE-UP CALL: It's The Battle of Two Grumpy Old Men

The likely matchup between President Biden and former President Donald Trump is unlike any other contest in modern history. Never has America had to choose between two candidates so old, and never in modern times has the choice been between two so strongly disliked hopefuls. 


The campaign is playing out against a backdrop of criminal cases that could land Trump in jail, as he faces adverse civil judgments that could cripple his family business. The former president is on track to clinch the GOP nomination as soon as next week. His last Republican challenger, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, exited the race after a dismal showing in yesterday’s primaries but declined to immediately endorse him. Trump did pick up an endorsement from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, despite years of acrimony. Long-shot Democratic presidential hopeful Dean Phillips also suspended his campaign. After meeting with Trump on Sunday, Elon Musk said he won’t donate to either Biden or the former president.

➤HOPES FOR GAZA CEASE-FIRE DIMS:  The Gaza cease-fire negotiations aren't going great. Hamas appeared to reject a plan Wednesday, saying it fails to meet crucial demands that Israel withdraw troops. A statement said Hamas was showing "flexibility" and would continue to work with mediators to reach an agreement.  What was the plan? The latest proposal calls for a six-week cease-fire, a sharp increase in humanitarian aid, release of the sick, wounded, elderly and female hostages as well as hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails. The U.S., Egypt and Qatar have scrambled to broker a deal ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which will start in a few days.

➤SOU TONIGHT: Just one week ago, President Joe Biden, ice cream cone in hand, signaled a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas could be in place in a matter of days − a political victory he desperately needed, and one he could taste. “My national security advisor tells me we’re close,” he said in a Van Leeuwen’s ice cream shop in New York City following an appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers. “We’re close. It’s not done yet. My hope is by next Monday, we’ll have a cease-fire.”

Not only did the breakthrough fail to happen, but cease-fire negotiations also appear to have stalled, tensions are running high, and conditions in Gaza have deteriorated to the point that the U.S. has begun airdropping food to Palestinians amid warnings of widespread starvation and disease. 

For Biden, the elusiveness of a deal to pause fighting and release some of the hostages held by Hamas means he will deliver his State of the Union address on Thursday, the five-month mark of the war, without the benefit of a crucial political victory and a key talking point.

NY Post 3/7/24

➤NAT'L GUARD ON PATROL: New York Gov. Hochul announced that 750 National Guard and 250 New York State Police troopers will be deployed to New York City subways after a series of violent attacks. The news comes amid another attack on a subway conductor in the Bronx.

➤FED ON TRACK TO CUTS RATES:  Jerome Powell told Congress the Fed is on track to cut rates this year. At the start of two days of testimony on Capitol Hill, the Fed chair said rate cuts won’t be warranted until officials have “gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably” toward the central bank’s 2% goal. Stocks bounced back on the news. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended 0.6% higher, the S&P 500 climbed 0.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%. Elsewhere in Washington, the SEC approved new requirements that public companies disclose their greenhouse-gas emissions, but dropped a key provision that was fiercely opposed by business groups.

➤TECH BROMANCE GONE WRONG:  A legal battle between OpenAI co-founders Sam Altman and Elon Musk is the latest twist in a volatile partnership. The two men co-founded the AI pioneer as a nonprofit research lab in 2015, with tens of millions of dollars of early funding coming from Musk himself. For years, Altman relied on Musk’s fame and fortune to get OpenAI off the ground. In a lawsuit filed last week, Musk accused his former protégé of abandoning its original mission in pursuit of profit, which OpenAI denies. Those close to Altman say Musk is jealous of how his former mentee upstaged him in the AI race. Those close to Musk say his concerns about safety are genuine, and that he sees his own AI startup, xAI, as crucial to developing a better alternative to OpenAI. In a blog post Tuesday evening, OpenAI said it intended to move to dismiss all of Musk’s legal claims.

🎥'RUST' JURY FINDS ARMORER GUILTY: A jury has found "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 death of 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was shot when Alec Baldwin's gun went off during rehearsals for the Western film. The trial, which began in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Feb. 23 and saw various witness and expert testimony, concluded Wednesday with closing arguments from the prosecution and the defense. 


Several hours later, the jury handed down the verdict. Gutierrez-Reed, 26, was ordered to be taken into custody by deputies immediately after the verdict was read in the court. 

➤'A GHASTLY SIGHT': Thousands of livestock have been killed in the wildfires that have ripped across the Texas Panhandle over the past week, inflicting unprecedented damage upon the largest cattle region in the nation. Wildfire devastation: More than 3,600 cattle have died since the fires – some of which are still burning – spread through multiple counties and into Oklahoma, destroying hundreds of homes and killing at least two people, officials said. The number of dead cattle is expected to double or triple in the coming days as land is inspected and animals are euthanized because of burn injuries and trauma. The largest of the blazes, the Smokehouse Creek fire, burned more than 1 million acres, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island, and is the largest wildfire in state history.

➤8 STUDENTS SHOT AT PHILLY BUS STOP: Police say eight Philadelphia high school students waiting to board a city bus after classes Wednesday were wounded by gunshots from suspects who jumped from a car and opened fire, the fourth shooting on the transit system in as many days. The previous three shootings each involved a fatality. At least one student was critically wounded at the bus stop, a 16-year-old who was hit nine times, Kevin Bethel, the city's police commissioner, said at a news conference. The others were in stable condition. Bethel said the Northeast High School students, ranging in age from 15 to 17, were waiting for the bus around 3 p.m. when three people emerged from the car, which was waiting at the scene, and fired more than 30 shots.

🏀CLARK GETTING ENDORSEMENT DEALS:  Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark landed another endorsement deal, signing a multi-year contract with Panini, it was announced Wednesday. Clark, the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer, becomes the first female athlete to have an exclusive partnership with Panini, one of the prominent sports and entertainment collectibles companies that features trading cards and signed memorabilia. While the deal with Panini begins now, her trading card exclusivity with the company begins April 1.  

Clark also adds to her list of expanding partnerships as she prepares for her final college basketball games and gets ready for the WNBA. She also has deals with State Farm, Nike, Bose Corporation, Buick, H&R Block, Gatorade and Gainbridge, which has the arena naming rights to the building where the NBA's Indiana Pacers and WNBA's Indiana Fever play. The Fever happen to have the No. 1 pick in the April draft.


➤THURSDAY'S WEATHER MAP:





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