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CNBC Daily Open: The Dow lost steam but the U.S. economy didn’t 2023-07-28 - This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here . Streak shattered The Dow Jones Industrial Average finally ran out of steam and closed the day in the red, ending its 13-day winning streak. Other major U.S. indexes had a losing day as well. Europe's Stoxx 600 index advanced 1.35%, juiced by a 4.2% jump in media stocks and a 4.1% rise in the technology sector. What recession? The U.S. economy's showing no signs of stopping. Gross domestic product grew at an annualized 2.4% rate in the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department. That's higher than the 2% estimate from Dow Jones and the first quarter's 2% growth. In other good news, the personal consumption price index rose 2.6% in the second quarter, down from 4.1% in the first. Intel's unexpected profit Intel returned to profit in the second quarter after two straight quarters of losses, even as revenue fell year-on-year around 15% to $12.9 billion. That's because its gross margin was nearly 40% on an adjusted basis. Intel's forecast for its third-quarter earnings was higher than analyst expectations. In sum, investors appeared pleased, pushing shares up more than 7% in extended trading. New bank rules Banks with more than $100 billion in assets may need to set aside more money against possible losses by July 2028. U.S. regulators announced a set of proposed changes to regulations for the banking industry Thursday. And in response to Silicon Valley Bank's failure, regulators want more banks to include unrealized losses in their capital ratios under the new rules. Another much-anticipated hike The European Central Bank on Thursday raised interest rates by 25 basis points, bringing its main rate to 3.75%. The move was widely anticipated, but market watchers aren't sure if the ECB will pause or continue hiking at its September meeting. Like Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell yesterday, ECB President Christine Lagarde left the ECB's upcoming decision open. [PRO] Reasonably priced stocks Stock markets have undeniably been rallying, but most of the growth has been driven by Big Tech shares that are trading at expensive valuations, that is, at multiple times their projected earnings. In light of this, Goldman Sachs looked for stocks at a "reasonable" price that are still projected to experience healthy growth.
Another effect of climate change? More flight delays and cancellations. 2023-07-28 - How climate change is contributing to flight delays, cancellations Travelers have had to suffer through a record number of flight delays and cancellations this summer. Although ongoing crew shortages partly explain such disruptions, there is another factor that will be harder to remedy: climate change. Indeed, severe weather events linked to the rising mercury are proving to be a challenge for airlines across the globe. "There are a lot of ways climate change can affect air travel. Thunderstorms are an obvious one," Wired magazine reporter Amanda Hoover told CBS News. "When there is more heat in the air, there is more moisture, more thunderstorms." Wildfire smoke from Canada that in June wafted across the Northeast and beyond has also thwarted on-time departures. Scientists link the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires to global warming. "We've also had a ton of wildfire smoke on the East Coast this year, and plane navigation systems aren't really designed to work well through wildfire smoke. They work well through rain and fog, but that can cause delays as well," Hoover said. That requires airlines to space out departures and reroute planes, causing frustration for travelers. Even high temperatures can slow flight operations. "Really high heat can cause delays because a plane in high temperatures needs more time and more distance to take off to fight gravity," Hoover said. Hotter air trapped close to the earth's surface can cause "invisible turbulence." Unlike with storms, such turbulence can occur even when skies are clear. Even changing wind patterns linked to climate change can be disruptive to flights. The bottom line: Passengers should prepare for more turbulence in the air. Airlines and aircraft manufacturers will also have to adapt. "So it's really a conversation between manufacturers, between airlines, between the FAA and other organizations around the world to come up with solutions for this," Hoover said. "Part of it is efficiency, part of it might be changing flight patterns and routes because we might see, as the jet stream changes and wind patterns change, that it could take a lot longer to fly places, and some places we might get to a lot quicker." Just don't expect a fix by your August vacation. "This is a years-long problem," Hoover said.
Flexibility gives way to workday "dead zone" 2023-07-28 - A look at productivity "dead zones" in the workday It's common for employees' productivity to ebb and flow over the course of a workday. These days, when their energy wanes, workers are shifting gears to take care of personal chores during standard business hours. "It's kind of a holdover from the height of the pandemic era. You think about the flexibility many of us enjoyed when we were working in fully remote environments — you'd step away maybe to get started on dinner, or you'd get in your workout, maybe pick up your kids," Wall Street Journal reporter Callum Borchers told CBS News. Remote and hybrid work models give workers flexibility that full-time, in-office work doesn't allow. Workers are clinging to the freedom and added control they gained over their schedules at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In some cases, though, their workdays now extend past dinnertime. That's a trade-off they're willing to make for taking a mid-afternoon hiatus from their desks. "Even though many people are back in offices, they've clung to this habit of clocking out early and then trying to make it up later. They're not necessarily slacking off, sometimes they're putting in a third shift after dinner, putting the kids to bed," Borchers said. Convenient for some, but not everyone Keyboard stroke data from Microsoft shows three peaks in activity throughout the course of a typical workday. It spikes in the morning and afternoon, and again around 10 p.m., when workers wrap up loose ends and prepare themselves for the next day. But only certain kinds of workers can decide when and where their work gets done. "You cant leave your construction shirt early, of course," Borchers said. While it suits individual workers and their schedules, keeping such a schedule can inconvenience managers and colleagues who want to take care of business during normal business hours. "This is great for the people who are doing the flexing. But I hear some complaints, too, from managers and colleagues who say, 'If I email you at 4:30 or want to call a meeting, I'd rather just handle it right now,'" Borchers said. Some managers are willing to wait until after dinner for workers to respond to requests, though, because it benefits organizations in other ways. "I do hear from CEOs who say this is a perk that you can give to employees and it fosters retention, and that's worth a lot right there," Borchers said.
Trader Joe's recalls broccoli cheddar soup because it contains bugs 2023-07-28 - Trader Joe's is recalling nearly 11,000 cases of the grocery chain's branded soup products because they contain bugs, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The agency said in a recall notice that Trader Joe's Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup "has insects in the frozen broccoli florets." The soup is being voluntarily recalled by its manufacturer, Winter Gardens Quality Foods of New Oxford, Pa., according to the FDA. The recall affects 10,889 cases of the 20-ounce soup product sold at Trader Joe's stores in seven states, including California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. The soup sells for $4.99 a container, according to Trader Joe's website. Nearly 11,000 cases of Trader Joe's Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup are under recall because the florets contain insects, according to the FDA. Trader Joe's Trader Joe's could not immediately be reached for comment. Earlier this week, the company recalled two varieties of cookies, Almond Windmill Cookies and Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies, because some batches contain rocks. All potentially contaminated products were removed from store shelves and destroyed, Trader Joe's said in a statement. But the retailer urged consumers not to consume the cookies and to throw them out or return them to a Trader Joe's store for a full refund.
More kids are working dangerous jobs amid weaker labor laws, child migration 2023-07-28 - A troubling trend is brewing underneath America's strong employment market: more children are working in dangerous jobs, violating the nation's labor laws and putting their lives at risk. In the last 10 months, federal regulators have found almost 4,500 children working in violation of federal child labor laws, an increase of 44% from a year earlier, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Some of the children were operating dangerous machinery, such as deep fryers and meat-processing equipment, the agency noted. The surge in cases of illegal child labor come as some states are weakening their child labor laws, while some lawmakers have also pointed to an influx of unaccompanied minors crossing into the U.S. as an underlying cause. On Wednesday, a congressional hearing focused on the hundreds of thousands of children who have entered the U.S. alone since 2021, with some lawmakers questioning Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra about their safety. "Earlier this year, news reports detailed cases of unaccompanied minors working in harsh conditions in plants and factories," Rep. Kathy Castor, a Democrat from Florida, said at the hearing. "The reports were shocking and deeply disturbing." Almost 400,000 children have entered the U.S. alone since 2021, according to government data. The numbers have spiked in 2021, 2022 and 2023 compared with 2020, the data shows. A New York Times investigation published earlier this year found that the use of child migrant labor in factories across the U.S. has "exploded" since 2021, and concluded that "the systems meant to protect children have broken down." Some of the children entered the U.S. alone and then went to live with relatives or friends, who sometimes pressure the youths to make money by getting jobs at meat-packing plants, food processors and other employers. These jobs can even be fatal, such as in the case of a 16-year-old boy from Guatemala who died earlier this month in a machinery-related incident at a Mar-Jac poultry plant, NPR reported. The boy, Duvan Tomas Perez, was too young to be legally working at the poultry plant, according to federal law. Employers have faced fines of $6.6 million since October, an 87% increase from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday. Rolling back labor laws Meanwhile, some states are rolling back child labor regulations, with state policymakers arguing that such changes can provide parents with more flexibility in helping their kids get jobs. Earlier this year, Arkansas weakened some child labor protections when Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a law to make it easier for children under 16 to get hired. At least nine states have introduced laws that would allow children as young as 14 to serve alcohol, according to the Economic Policy Institute. These changes come amid a tight labor market across much of the U.S., with some employers still struggling to fill positions. But children working in factories or serving alcohol encounter safety risks, with the EPI noting that the latter puts kids at risk of sexual harassment and increases the chances that those child workers will consume alcohol. Government regulators have closed 765 child labor cases since October, and have another 700 open cases, the Labor Department said on Thursday. "Child labor is an issue that gets to the heart of who we are as a country and who we want to be," said acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su in the statement. "[W]e believe that any child working in a dangerous or hazardous environment is one child too many."
Ohio train derailment costs double to $803 million, Norfolk Southern says 2023-07-28 - The costs associated with Norfolk Southern's fiery February derailment in Ohio have more than doubled to $803 million as the railroad works to clean up the mess and moves forward with all the related lawsuits. Norfolk Southern recorded another $416 million charge related to the East Palestine derailment on Thursday as part of its second-quarter earnings after previously announcing a $387 million charge earlier this year. Most of the costs are related to the cleanup of the hazardous chemicals that were released, but $222 million is a combination of legal fees and the $63 million of assistance it has offered to the community. The company faces a number of class-action lawsuits as well as a suit filed by Ohio authorities and a federal civil suit brought by the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. The derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border prompted a national conversation about railroad safety after thousands of people had to evacuate when officials decided to blow open several tank cars filled with vinyl chloride, a gas used to make plastic, because they believed they might explode. The resulting fire sent a towering plume of black smoke over the town three days after the derailment spilled several other hazardous chemicals, including butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate and isobutylene. The company said in February that the derailment contaminated at least 15,000 pounds of soil and 1.1 million gallons of water. The $803 million cost estimate doesn't include funds to compensate the East Palestine community for any long-term health effects, drop in home values or drinking water issues because those are still being negotiated, so the total will grow. Since the derailment, residents have expressed fears about drinking tap water, even though state officials say municipal drinking water is safe to consume. But Norfolk Southern also expects to eventually recover some of those costs from its insurance and lawsuits against other companies involved in the derailment. The additional charges related to the derailment, combined with a 6% drop in the number of shipments the railroad delivered, more than halved the Atlanta-based company's profit to $356 million, or $1.56 per share. That's down from $819 million, or $3.45 per share, a year ago. This photo taken with a drone on Feb. 4, 2023, shows portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train still on fire after it derailed on Feb. 3, in East Palestine, Ohio. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar Without the derailment costs, Norfolk Southern says it would have earned $2.95 per share in the quarter, still well below Wall Street expectations. The analysts surveyed by FactSet Research generally expected Norfolk Southern to report earnings per share of $3.11. Norfolk Southern's revenue declined to $2.98 billion in the quarter, which also disappointed. Analysts were expecting $3.08 billion in revenue. The railroad's traffic was hurt by the derailment because Norfolk Southern had to operate with only one of its two tracks by East Palestine running on a busy corridor. But consumer demand for imported goods has also weakened, and Norfolk Southern's main competitor in the east, CSX, has said it was able to pick up some of Norfolk Southern's business in the wake of the derailment. CEO Alan Shaw, who testified about the derailment before Congress in March, said Norfolk Southern's service has improved to levels rivaling its 2019 performance before the deep cuts it made during the pandemic once it reopened both rail lines through East Palestine. The railroad has also been hiring aggressively over the past year to give it enough crews and other workers to handle all the freight. The average speed of Norfolk Southern's trains reached 21.5 mph this month on average, coming close to the 21.8 mph it recorded before the derailment in January.
Anheuser-Busch to lay off hundreds of workers amid slumping sales of Bud Light 2023-07-28 - Bud Light and Dylan Mulvaney: Why the extreme backlash from a single social media post? Anheuser-Busch InBev is laying off hundreds of employees as it grapples with months of slumping sales for Bud Light. In a statement, Anheuser-Busch said it is eliminating close to 2% of workers "across every corporate function." That represents about 380 of AB InBev's roughly 19,000 employees. The company didn't give a timeline for when the layoffs will begin. Hammered by Modelo Sales of Bud Light took a hit after the company designed a marketing campaign in April with social media star and trans rights activist Dylan Mulvaney. Amid calls from some conservatives for a boycott, Bud Light lost its longtime ranking in May as the nation's best-selling beer, with rival Modelo Especial taking the lead. In the month ending July 15, Bud Light's U.S. sales were down 26.5%, while Modelo's were up 13.5%. Bud Light held a 6.8% share of the U.S. beer market in that period, while Modelo held an 8.7% share. AB InBev sold $71.5 million worth of Bud Light during the week ending July 16, compared with Modelo Especial which generated $90.3 million in sales that same week. Michelob Ultra came in third with $68.6 million in sales, according to data from sales tracker Circana. "While we never take these decisions lightly, we want to ensure that our organization continues to be set for future long-term success," Anheuser-Busch Chief Executive Brendan Whitworth said in the statement. "These corporate structure changes will enable our teams to focus on what we do best — brewing great beer for everyone." The layoffs will not impact brewery workers, drivers, field salesman or warehouse staff, the company said. The promotion with Mulvaney entailed an Instagram post by the social media influencer, in which she revealed a commemorative Bud Light can with her face on it, celebrating her "365 days of girlhood" series on her transition. That single post sparked an outcry from some conservatives, including singers Kid Rock and Travis Tritt, who called for a boycott of the popular beer. (Several media outlets have since reported that the brand has not been removed from the menu at Rock's Nashville bar where the beer is still being served, according to CNN correspondent Ryan Young. Mulvaney said in the weeks following the promo that she felt abandoned by Bud Light, and faced "more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined" over the post. Meanwhile, members of the LGBTQ+ community have also called for boycotts, saying they have been disappointed by the brand's rigorous attempts to distance itself from Mulvaney and the original marketing message. Even though Bud Light was no longer the nation's top selling beer in May, the brand has still sold more beer than any other brew so far this year, according to beverage industry experts. July and August will be pivotal months for Bud Light's sales growth, the experts added. — The Associated Press contributed to this report.
What recession? Latest GDP data shows economy is holding firm 2023-07-28 - Economic growth accelerated in the second quarter of the year, adding to evidence that the U.S. may avoid a recession even as interest rates rise to a two-decade high. The nation's economic output grew at a 2.4% annual rate in the three months ending in June, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday. That shows the economy is gaining speed, rising from 2% in the January-March quarter, not decelerating as many economists had predicted only a few months ago. Consumer spending slowed to a 1.6% annual rate, from 4.2% in the first quarter of the year, a likely consequence of higher borrowing costs. But business investment and state and local government spending grew faster. "This is a strong report, confirming that this economy continues to largely shrug off the Fed's aggressive rate increases and tightening credit conditions," Olu Sonola, head of U.S. economics at the Fitch Group, said in an email. "The bottom line is that the U.S. economy is still growing above trend, and the Fed will be wondering if they need to do more to slow this economy." Indeed, economists with the central bank no longer expect a recession this year, Fed Chair Jerome Powell revealed Wednesday. In April, the Fed's staff had predicted a "mild" recession later in 2023. At a press conference, Powell noted that the economy has proved resilient despite Fed hikes and that the job market "remains very tight." "We will be able to achieve inflation moving down to our target without the significant kind of downturn that results in high levels of job losses," he said. "That's been my view, that's still my view." Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs lowered the odds of a recession this year to just 20%. The International Monetary Fund also upgraded its assessment of U.S. economic growth this year to 1.8%, from 1.6% earlier this year. Steady job growth Hiring has slowed since last year, but employers still added a solid 209,000 jobs in June. The nation's unemployment rate is 3.6% — the same level as when the Fed started raising interest rates in March of 2022. The share of working-age people with a job hit a new high last month. "General labor market resilience, as indicated by initial claims for unemployment easing over the last few weeks, moderating inflation and gently slowing final demand growth offer hope of an economic soft landing," Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY, said in a report. Inflation, which peaked last summer, has slowed to a 3% annual rate, and for the first time in two years Americans' paychecks are growing faster than prices. —With reporting by the Associated Press.
Bank of Japan, in Surprise, Signals a Move Away From Easy Money 2023-07-28 - No country in the world holds as much debt as Japan, which has well over $1 trillion in U.S. government treasuries alone. Even the slightest shift to Japan’s low interest rates reverberates well beyond its borders, with the potential to drive up rates globally. So, when the Bank of Japan on Friday loosened its grip on a benchmark government bond, it was big news for investors around the world. The move was the latest signal that the country may revise its longstanding commitment to cheap money, meant to spur Japan’s sluggish economic growth, as rising interest rates abroad have driven up inflation and weakened the yen. Until recently, Japan’s economy, the world’s third largest, has been held back by low prices and low wages. In an announcement that came after a two-day policy meeting, the bank said it would take a more flexible approach to controlling yields on 10-year government bonds, effectively allowing them to slip above the current ceiling of 0.5 percent.
‘Depths of depravity, criminality’: Nicolle Wallace on superseding Trump indictment revelations 2023-07-28 - A superseding indictment has added a new charge against Donald Trump: one additional count of willful retention of national defense information. It also adds a third defendant to the case, alongside Trump and his longtime valet Waltine Nauta. Carlos De Oliveira was the head of maintenance at Trump’s Florida resort and reportedly helped Nauta move boxes of documents from the infamous storage room at a key moment, a day before prosecutors came to retrieve those remaining classified documents. Joy Reid and her expert guests bring you the latest developments.July 28, 2023
'Classic mob prosecution’: Why new Mar-a-Lago defendant spells trouble for Trump 2023-07-28 - The special counsel has brought new charges against Mar-a-Lago worker Carlos De Oliveira in the Trump documents case. Rep. Jamie Raskin joins Jen Psaki to explain why this is “like a classic mob prosecution.”July 28, 2023
Did government just announce aliens are real? UFO whistleblower lacks evidence. 2023-07-28 - On Wednesday, David Grusch, a former military intelligence officer, told a House Oversight subcommittee that all those stories you’ve read on the internet are true: The government has debris collected from crashed alien spacecraft. He also told the assembled lawmakers that federal retrieval teams have collected biological remains from alien bodies. He also claimed the Pentagon has been working for years to collect and study crashed UAPs, or unidentified anomalous phenomena. Grusch, who considers himself a whistleblower, claims he has interviewed dozens of people, several of whom claim to have been injured by UFOs, now officially known as unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs. He also claimed the Pentagon has been working for years to collect and study crashed UAPs. That is a truly extraordinary claim, begging for extraordinary evidence. But where is the evidence? It’s MIA. Neither Grusch nor anyone else claiming to have knowledge of secret government UAP programs has ever been able to publicly produce convincing photos showing alien hardware splayed across the landscape. And remember, we’re not talking about a Cessna that plowed into a wheat field. We’re talking about, presumably, an alien interstellar rocket, capable of bridging trillions of miles of space, and sporting technology that is obviously alien. The believers maintain that such photos exist but are being kept under wraps. For reasons that are always unclear, the critical evidence that would convince anyone of alien presence in our 'hood is classified. It can’t be made public. Note that this week’s star witness, Grusch, made this claim, too. This is an argument I have long viewed with skepticism. Society should not (and generally does not) accept scientific “discoveries” without any evidence. The cure for cancer cannot be classified. If there really was some physical evidence of visitation, thousands of scientists would be fighting one another to study it. And the government would want it studied. This has always been another big sticking point in the UAP conspiracy theory universe. What is the point of hiding extraterrestrial technology in a Nevada hangar? What would be the goal, at this point, of shutting out the scientific community. The information, technology and — importantly — wealth incentives here seem overwhelming. Returning to the issue of visual evidence, there are thousands of satellites orbiting Earth. The majority sport cameras aimed downward. Actual alien craft in our airspace bigger than an office desk would likely be visible to satellites that — among other things — supply imagery to Google Earth. Hypothetically, a vast conspiracy to scrub such images could exist. And the American populace readily accepts conspiracy explanations. Ever since the government’s disingenuous response to the 1947 discovery of crash debris near Roswell, New Mexico, the public has decided that the feds will never tell civilians the truth about visiting aliens. Not even dead ones, such as the crew of the spacecraft that reputedly pancaked into the desert that year. This theory is even prevalent in the halls of Congress, as evidenced by this week’s testimony. But I still strongly maintain that alien visitation is not something that could be kept secret. The size of such a secret is just too big. Even the most conservative scientist can’t rigorously argue that it’s impossible for extraterrestrials to visit Earth. Nevertheless, a 2021 Gallup poll showed that more than 40 percent of Americans believe that some UFOs are alien spacecraft. And even the most conservative scientist can’t rigorously argue that it’s impossible for extraterrestrials to visit Earth. It doesn’t violate physics to go from one planet to another, even if that planet is in orbit around another star. Hard, yes. Impossible, no. But admitting that aliens could be here is a far cry from claiming that they are here. And that they somehow manage to arrange things so that they’re exclusively met by government employees anxious to hide them. And why is it that the aliens at least seem to invariably set their navigation hardware to visit America and not some other country that might not feel the need to keep these visitors under wraps? There is a kind of national hubris operating here: If extraterrestrial beings are going to come to Earth, they’re going to visit us! So have the aliens arrived? From the standpoint of science, there’s still no good evidence for that, only an “argument from authority.” David Grusch says they’re here. But either he can’t prove it, or he won’t. Until he does, we should consider his stories to be just that: stories.
Trump charged by Jack Smith over document he showed in Bedminster recording 2023-07-28 - One of the new charges against Donald Trump in the classified documents case adds onto the 31 counts of “willful retention of national defense information” that he’d already been hit with. Specifically, he’s now charged with holding onto the document he’d been waving around in the now-infamous Bedminster meeting in 2021. Helpfully, that’s made obvious in the text of the newly released charging document: “The document that TRUMP possessed and showed on July 21, 2021, is charged as Count 32 in this Superseding Indictment.” Interestingly, the counts against Trump related to his keeping the classified documents all list the “dates of the offense,” or when the alleged crime took place. All of those dates begin with Jan. 21, 2021, the day Trump left office; many of them give Aug. 8, 2022, the day of the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, as the end date. All the rest of the original charges list June 3, 2022, when the supposedly “complete” set of documents were returned under subpoena. But this newest charge lists the date as January 17, 2022 — the day that Trump originally returned 15 boxes of materials to the National Archives. That suggests Trump had handed it back in prior to the original Justice Department investigation and before the subpoenas had begun flowing in. It also seems to imply that the DOJ may have had it this whole time, despite having issued a subpoena to Trump’s attorneys to fork it over earlier this year. Trump’s lawyers said in mid-March that they couldn’t find it — which makes sense considering they didn’t actually have it at the time. Another thing to keep in mind, as my colleague Lisa Rubin pointed out in our live blog coverage of the superseding indictment: Recall the superseding indictment states unambiguously that Count 32 concerns the document Trump showed at Bedminster. That means, to my mind, that at least one of the participants in that meeting — the writer or publisher of Meadows’s book, Margo Martin, and/or Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington — must have been shown the document and confirmed that it was the document Trump displayed to them that day. I, for one, would love to know the backstory on how that document finally turned up. But the fact that it was among the Mar-a-Lago documents means that it eventually made its way back from New Jersey to Florida, leaving special counsel Jack Smith able to add it to the charges he’d already filed against Trump in South Florida.
Effort to find Trump Jan. 6 lawyers reportedly called a 'suicide mission' 2023-07-28 - MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell lays out new reporting detailing the many reasons why Trump is having trouble finding lawyers willing to defend him in the Jan. 6 case, including Alan Dershowitz who complained last year about being “blackballed” on Martha’s Vineyard after defending Trump. Andrew Weissmann describes why he thinks the struggle is of Trump’s “own making.”July 27, 2023
California stabbing suspect arrested after posting video of the fatal attack online, police say 2023-07-28 - A California man is accused of fatally stabbing a woman and posting video of the killing on Facebook, San Mateo police said Thursday. The investigation started after someone in Nye County, Nevada, reported having seen the video to Nye County authorities, San Mateo police said. That person provided the name and phone number of the person who posted it, which led police to the San Francisco Bay Area city. After almost three hours of searching, officers found a woman dead in a unit at a large apartment complex, police said. Emergency vehicles outside the scene of a murder in San Mateo, Calif., on Wednesday. NBC Bay Area Mark Merchikoff, 39, was arrested in San Jose, around 20 miles southeast of San Mateo, police said. San Mateo police said Merchikoff knew the victim, whose name was not released. A motive was under investigation and was not known Thursday, police said. “We do know Merchikoff mercilessly filmed the last moments of the victim’s life and posted the video to Facebook, then fled the area,” police said in a statement. Merchikoff was arrested on suspicion of homicide, police said. Online court records did not appear to show a case for him Thursday night. It was not clear Thursday night whether Merchikoff had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. “It’s pretty hideous what that video contained,” San Mateo police spokesman Jerami Surratt said, according to NBC Bay Area. Facebook’s parent company, Meta, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Driver arrested in fatal hit-and-run near National Mall 2023-07-28 - A driver has been arrested in a hit-and-run crash near the National Mall in Washington, D.C., that killed a pedestrian this month, U.S. Park Police said Thursday. Benjamin Robertson, 33, of Washington, was arrested Thursday on a charge of second-degree murder, the agency said in a statement. The crash happened July 12 after Secret Service agents, who were in uniform, tried to stop a Honda Accord at the intersection of 17th Street NW and Constitution Avenue, the Secret Service said at the time. Police investigate the scene of a crash that killed a man in Washington, D.C.., on July 12. NBC Washington The driver of the Accord fled and struck a 75-year-old man from Philadelphia, who died later, officials said. The intersection is adjacent to the National Mall. Agents tried to stop the car for expired registration around 1:30 p.m. The driver indicated he would stop but then fled south on 17th Street NW, ran a red light and hit several people in a crosswalk, the Secret Service said. Bing Wong was killed, Park Police said. A 13-year-old girl was injured and was treated on the scene for minor abrasions and released, the agency said. Wong had three children and six grandchildren, NBC Washington reported. It was not clear whether Robertson had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Florida woman sentenced to 4 years in romance scam that stole Holocaust survivor’s savings 2023-07-28 - A Florida woman who swindled the life savings from an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor in a "romance scam" was sentenced to over four years in prison Thursday, federal prosecutors said. Peaches Stergo, 36, stole over $2.8 million in the scam, which lasted years. She was arrested in January and pleaded guilty to wire fraud in April. Stergo met the victim, whom authorities have never publicly identified, on a dating website and asked for money that she said was needed to help get funds from a legal settlement, according to court documents. She then told a series of more lies, fabricating stories that she needed money to gain access to a TD Bank account or else she would never be able to repay the victim, prosecutors said. Stergo also sent heartless text messages, the U.S. attorney's office for Southern New York said in a statement. Stergo called the scam her "business" and told her real lover in a text that the elderly man said he loved her; she added "lol" to that message, the prosecutor's office said. She also remarked that he had become "broke." Stergo was sentenced to 51 months in prison, or four years and three months, the prosecutor's office said. She was also ordered to pay $2.8 million in restitution. She also will forfeit the home she bought in a gated community, as well as over 100 luxury items, including Rolex watches and jewelry, prosecutors said. Stergo's attorney, Ann Fitz, said the 51-month sentence was fair. Prosecutors sought 96 months, according to court documents. Stergo suffered childhood instability and trauma, which caused compulsive behaviors like past drinking and gambling, and the scam was also a compulsion, Fitz wrote in a sentencing submission. Fitz said in an email Thursday night, "Ms. Stergo has expressed remorse for her actions and will make every effort to repay the restitution in this case." The scam lasted from around May 2017 until October 2021, prosecutors said. The man’s son eventually found out what was going on and put a stop to it, but it was too late. The man lost his life savings and had to give up his Manhattan apartment, according to the indictment. In a scheme to persuade the elderly man to send more money, Stergo created an email account to pose as a TD Bank employee and created fake letters and invoices. At one point Stergo wrote to her real significant other that she needed money and a car, and “I don’t want you to work like you are it’s too hard,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing submission. Prosecutors called the texts “jarring in their callousness.” “Not only did she manipulate the Victim’s emotions for a period of years, she secretly mocked the Victim for saying he loved her,” prosecutors wrote. “She thought it was hilarious that she was destroying his life for her own benefit.” The victim lost both his parents in the Holocaust and moved to the U.S. in his 20s for a better life, he wrote in a letter to the court, which is excerpted in the government's sentencing request. "Over the next 60 years, I worked tirelessly to establish a successful business, family, and home in New York," the victim's letter reads. "I am now 88 years old, and the last thing I expected was to finish my days in the same manner that I started them — penniless and betrayed." The FBI warns that romance scammers sometimes use fake profiles to gain people’s trust on dating websites, which eventually leads to asking for money. In some cases they ask to invest in cryptocurrency by falsely claiming insider knowledge and using fake websites. Last year there were around 19,000 victims of romance scams in the U.S., with almost $740 million in losses, the FBI said. There were around 24,000 victims in 2021, with losses reported at around $1 billion, it said.
Tim Scott rebukes Ron DeSantis over Florida Black history standards about slavery 2023-07-28 - ANKENY, Iowa — Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican in the Senate, rebuked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday for new public school standards that teach that some Black people benefited from slavery because it taught them useful skills. "As a country founded upon freedom, the greatest deprivation of freedom was slavery. There is no silver lining … in slavery," Scott — like DeSantis, a GOP presidential candidate — said here in response to a reporter's question after a forum with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. "What slavery was really about was separating families, about mutilating humans and even raping their wives. It was just devastating," Scott said. "So I would hope that every person in our country — and certainly running for president — would appreciate that. People have bad days. Sometimes they regret what they say. And we should ask them again to clarify their positions." The Florida State Board of Education’s new standards include language asserting that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit,” according to a 216-page document posted by the state. The language has sparked widespread backlash, some of it from Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, who criticized the standards last week in a visit to Florida. Harris said the changes aim to "replace history with lies." DeSantis has deflected blame to the state education board, which he appoints, while also defending the changes and trying to reframe them as a political fight between him and Harris. "At the end of the day, you got to choose: Are you going to side with Kamala Harris and liberal media outlets, or are you going to side with the state of Florida?" DeSantis told reporters at a stop in Iowa. "I think it’s very clear that these guys did a good job on those standards. It wasn’t anything politically motivated." Republicans have been critical, too. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, another GOP presidential contender, has mocked DeSantis for deflecting blame. And Rep. Byron Donalds, a Republican from Florida who has endorsed former President Donald Trump in the 2024 race, this week called on the state Education Department to "correct" the new standards. DeSantis staffers lashed out at Donalds on Wednesday. Christina Pushaw, the campaign's rapid response director, wrote in reply to a Donalds tweet: "Did Kamala Harris write this tweet?"
Senate passes defense bill with bipartisan support, but clash looms with House over social issues 2023-07-28 - WASHINGTON — The Senate has passed a massive annual defense bill that would deliver a 5.2% pay raise for service members and keep the nation’s military operating, avoiding partisan policy battles to move the bill forward with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote. Senate passage, 86-11, sets up a clash with the House, which passed its own version of the annual defense bill along party lines after repeated clashes over social issues like abortion access and diversity initiatives. The partisan debate over the House legislation veered from a bipartisan tradition of finding consensus on national defense policy. The strong bipartisan vote for the legislation in the Senate could give it momentum as the two chambers next look to settle their differences. “I don’t think either party got exactly what they wanted,” said Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, but he said the bipartisan bill would help the military improve recruitment and prevent conflict. The two chambers will now have to write a final bill, a test of the deeply divided House, in particular, as the traditionally bipartisan legislation was swept up in the disputes over race, equity and women’s health care that have been political priorities for the Republican party. Wicker said talks with the House would start “very soon” and he feels confident they will be able to pass legislation, as Congress has annually since 1961. “We always have,” Wicker said. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., predicted the bipartisan Senate approach would prevail. “The fact that we’re going to have a strong bipartisan approach on it says that we’re probably closer to where we’re going to end up than what the House has done on a partisan basis,” said Rounds. The massive Senate defense bill would set defense spending levels at $886 billion for the coming year, in line with President Joe Biden’s budget request. Congress has to pass separate spending legislation to allocate the money, but the defense legislation lays out budget and policy for the Pentagon. The House debate earlier this month was marked by amendments from hardline conservatives that pushed the bill to the right. In the Senate, where most amendments need 60 votes to pass, additions to the bill were bipartisan and more focused on military policy, with many focused on countering potential American adversaries like Russia and China. A bipartisan group of senators, with an eye toward the potential for Donald Trump to return to the White House, included a provision to require two-thirds of the Senate to approve if a U.S. president tries to withdraw from NATO. Trump has been deeply critical of the military alliance and repeatedly questioned its value to the U.S. Rounds also joined with Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana to successfully push an amendment to the bill that would prevent agents of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from purchasing agricultural land in the U.S. Another bipartisan duo, Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas and Bob Casey, D-Pa., pushed an amendment to increase Treasury Department oversight of U.S. investment into Russian and Chinese technology firms that work with “sensitive technology,” such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence. Both Republicans and Democrats also supported the inclusion of a provision that would allow the Treasury Department to use sanctions against people and organizations involved in the international fentanyl trade. Still unresolved is Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s refusal to allow hundreds of military nominations and promotions to speed through the Senate in protest of the Defense Department’s abortion policy, which covers the cost of travel for service members seeking abortion and reproductive care. Tuberville has shown little interest in backing down even as some members of his own party have encouraged him to drop it. He is preventing quick action on over 260 nominations of senior military officers, including a commandant for the U.S. Marine Corps, frustrating leaders at the Pentagon and his own colleagues. The House bill contains a provision that would end the Defense Department’s abortion policy. But that would not pass the Democratic-led Senate.
GOP senators express anxieties about Mitch McConnell's health — and what comes next 2023-07-28 - WASHINGTON — Some Republican senators harbor concerns about Mitch McConnell’s health, saying they have personally witnessed changes in the minority leader, 81, after he fell and sustained a concussion in March. Publicly, Senate Republicans are rallying around McConnell, R-Ky., sending him their support and well-wishes. None are calling on him to step down, and the senators who are next in line for the top job say they’re making no succession plans. “I don’t know how much longer he will want to serve, but I support him as long as he wants the job,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a former GOP whip and a McConnell loyalist who has been floated as a potential successor. But anxieties have risen after McConnell froze for 19 seconds at a news conference Wednesday before he left and returned. “He suffered a really bad fall, and that’s actually had an impact on him,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who didn’t go into greater detail or say he has seen evidence to question McConnell’s ability to carry out his duties. “Obviously, that fall affected him.” “Age affects us all,” Johnson said. “You can’t deny that reality.” The murmurings underscore how the GOP is struggling to deal with the sensitive health issues of the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history. McConnell owes his longevity to a deep loyalty among Republican senators, and he defeated a rare challenge to his leadership post in November after the midterm elections, which led to a debate about the party’s future. But the incident Wednesday has sparked further questions about what’s next. A Republican senator who considers themselves a McConnell ally and requested anonymity to discuss a sensitive subject wondered what the episode portends. “I kind of do” think he should step down, said the senator, who added that the “murmurings” about his future are inevitable. “I’d hate to see it forced on him. You can do these things with dignity, or it becomes less dignified. And I hope he does it in a dignified way — for his own legacy and reputation.” The senator said they have noticed that McConnell doesn’t speak or answer questions from members as often as he used to in their weekly GOP closed-door lunches, with two of his top lieutenants — Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Conference Chair John Barrasso, R-Wyo. — stepping in more often. “People think that he’s not hearing well,” the senator said. “I think that he is just not processing.” The senator said McConnell is “intellectually sharp” and “bright on a whole host of issues, including baseball.” “But lately … he’s not the go-to guy for ‘How are things going?’ … It’s been noticeable in the last few weeks,” the senator added. Another Republican senator who is close to McConnell said they have noticed that he is “definitely slower with his gait” and added that McConnell doesn’t discuss his health during private meetings. Health concerns are a common theme in the Senate — particularly for aging members — and they often put colleagues in uncomfortable positions. Numerous episodes indicate that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., 90, has slowed down mentally and physically in recent years; she relinquished top positions under pressure from Democrats before she announced she wouldn’t seek re-election in 2024. The ailing Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., resigned mid-session in 2018, acknowledging his declining health. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, 89, surprised many when he opted last year to run for another six-year term — and won handily — although he hasn’t given colleagues reason to question his mental or physical fitness. “When hell freezes over, there will be three things left: Chuck Grassley, Mitch McConnell and cockroaches,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., voicing confidence in the minority leader. McConnell sustained a concussion and fractured a rib in March when he took a bad fall at a private dinner at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington, his aides said. It was the worst of three known falls this year, and the injuries sidelined him for six weeks. Several times since March, he has appeared to have trouble hearing and responding to questions from reporters. On Wednesday, moments after he was escorted away from the lectern, McConnell returned and said, “I’m fine,” before he responded to a series of questions. Later that day, he quipped to reporters in the Capitol that President Joe Biden “called to check on me,” and “I told him I got sandbagged.” McConnell’s office declined to comment for this article. Some Republicans say they want to see McConnell replaced — but not because of his health. “I didn’t vote for him for leader. So for me, if you’re asking what my preference is, my preference would be for different leadership,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. “But that doesn’t really have anything to do with his health. … I have no commentary on his health or any other senator’s.” Hawley said he has “no idea” whom he’d support, but he insisted he would “absolutely not” run for the position himself. “There are several folks who, I’m sure, would want the job,” he said. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., a McConnell foe who ran unsuccessfully against him this year, declined to speculate about his future and wished him well. “I think he’s got to get healthy, and that’s all we should focus on,” Scott said. Cornyn has been seen as one possible successor as GOP leader, along with the two other Johns, Thune and Barrasso. But Thursday, Cornyn said he’s “happy to wait” before he has the conversation of who should replace McConnell, who first won election to the Senate in 1984 and has served as the top Republican since 2007. Others, too, are defending McConnell without hesitation. Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., was traveling with McConnell in Helsinki in February when McConnell fell on his way to a meeting with the Finnish president, a fall CNN first reported Thursday. Budd said that it was “icy” that day and that it could have happened to anyone. “He’s doing a great job. He’s very skilled and obviously a better manager than Leader Schumer,” Budd said, referring to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer D-N.Y. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., said Thursday that she heard McConnell speak Wednesday and that he was “on his game, reciting numbers off the top of his head, talking about policy, talking about politics.” “He was the same old pithy, smart Mitch McConnell,” Lummis said. “I fully support him. I know that when he feels that he wants to throw in the towel, he’ll let us know.”