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Trump on Harris’ race: 'I didn’t know she was Black' None - Former President Trump answered questions from Black journalists at NABJ where he falsely questioned whether Vice President Harris is Black. He says he believes she was always of Indian heritage until “she happened to turn Black." Trump says he believes Harris should take a cognitive test. July 31, 2024
Trump asked to define 'Black jobs' at NABJ conference None - Former President Donald Trump participated in a Q&A with the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention in Chicago. He doubled down on previous claims that immigration at the Southern border is taking away what he refers to as "Black jobs."July 31, 2024
Trump speaks at Black journalists conference and attacks Harris on race None - Former President Trump spoke at the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago. He sparred with multiple journalists who interviewed him during stage Q&A. Trump spoke about Vice President Harris' race, making controversial comments about her identifying as Black and Indian.July 31, 2024
US road safety agency will look into fatal crash near Seattle involving Tesla using automated system None - U.S. road safety investigators say they will look into an April crash near Seattle after authorities determined that a Tesla was operating on the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system when it hit and killed a motorcyclist US road safety agency will look into fatal crash near Seattle involving Tesla using automated system DETROIT -- U.S. road safety investigators say they will look into an April crash near Seattle after authorities determined that a Tesla was operating on the company's “Full Self-Driving” system when it hit and killed a motorcyclist. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday that it is gathering information on the crash from law enforcement officers and Tesla. Investigators from the Washington State Patrol determined that the system was in use after downloading information from the event-data recorder on the 2022 Tesla Model S involved in the crash, agency spokesman Capt. Deion Glover said Tuesday. No charges have been filed against the driver but the investigation is still under way, Glover said. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said last week that “Full Self Driving” should be able to run without human supervision by the end of this year. He has been promising a fleet of robotaxis for several years. During the company’s earnings conference call, he acknowledged that his predictions on the issue “have been overly optimistic in the past.” Musk is staking much of Tesla's future on development of self-driving software and a humanoid robot. He has told investors that Tesla should be seen as a robotics and artificial intelligence company, and he has scheduled an event in October to reveal a new robotaxi. Tesla did not return messages seeking comment. Tesla has two partially automated driving systems, “Full Self-Driving,” which can take on many driving tasks even on city streets, and Autopilot, which can keep a car in its lane and away from objects in front of it. Sometimes the names are confused by Tesla owners and the public. Tesla says at present neither system can drive itself and that human drivers must be ready to take control at any time. “Full Self-Driving” is being tested on public roads by selected Tesla owners. Twice NHTSA has made Tesla recall “Full Self-Driving” because it disobeyed traffic laws. It also forced a recall of Autopilot, alleging that Tesla's system for making sure drivers pay attention was inadequate. In April, the agency began investigating whether the Autopilot recall actually worked.
Lawyers for families of passengers killed in 737 Max crashes ask court to block Boeing plea deal None - Families of some of the people killed in Boeing Max crashes are asking a judge to reject a plea agreement that the aircraft maker struck with the prosecutors Lawyers for families of passengers killed in 737 Max crashes ask court to block Boeing plea deal Lawyers for relatives of some of the people killed in Boeing Max crashes asked a federal judge on Wednesday to reject a plea agreement that the aircraft maker struck with prosecutors, saying it is too lenient and lets Boeing avoid accountability for causing 346 deaths. Some of the lawyers argued that the Justice Department is treating Boeing lightly because the company is a major contractor to the U.S. government. Boeing agreed in July to plead guilty to a single count of fraud to settle allegations that it deceived regulators who approved the 737 Max and then broke a 2021 settlement that would have let the company escape criminal prosecution. Under this month's deal, Boeing would pay a fine of at least $243.6 million, invest $455 million in compliance and safety programs, and be placed on probation for three years. The Justice Department and Boeing would pick a monitor to oversee the company's compliance. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, can accept the agreement and the proposed sentence, or reject the deal, which likely would lead to new negotiations between Boeing and prosecutors. Relatives of many of the victims want Boeing to be put on trial.
Top soccer leagues and broadcasters send letter to X demanding more action against illegal content None - Some of Europe’s main broadcasters and top soccer leagues have sent a letter to the CEO of social media platform X, Linda Yaccarino, demanding more action against the distribution of illegal content Some of Europe's main broadcasters and top soccer leagues have sent a letter to the CEO of social media platform X, Linda Yaccarino, demanding more action against the distribution of illegal content. The letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press, had 14 signatories, including the Premier League, Spanish league, Bundesliga, Italian league, DAZN, Sky, beIN, DirecTV and Movistar Plus+. Soccer governing bodies UEFA and CONMEBOL also signed the letter. The signatories said they wanted “to draw X’s immediate attention to its persistent failings in the fight against the availability of unlawful content on its platform and urgently call for a meeting with X’s representatives to address this unacceptable situation.” “X’s approach to taking down unlawful live content notified to them is woefully insufficient and inadequate,” the letter said. “This makes our respective intensive efforts to tackle this problem hugely inefficient. Critically, since you acquired the platform, we have witnessed a demoralizing reduction in technical support making it ever more difficult to engage with the platform in any kind of meaningful discussion on this topic.” The platform formerly known as Twitter did not immediately respond to a request from the AP for comment. The letter was obtained from a person on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the issue. In the letter, the signatories complained that X recently decreased its content moderation resources by 20%, and claimed the platform “lacks many of the features which other responsible social media operators deploy to combat piracy.” The letter added there is “an increased perception among pirates that they can do as they wish on X with impunity," resulting in an increased number of illegal live streams of games and ”making the overall situation absolutely untenable." They said “X is increasingly the home of unlawful social media piracy.” “The signatories to this letter express their severe concern as to the current state of affairs and urge X to take all necessary measures to (i) become a responsible platform which respects intellectual property and (ii) comply in full of its obligations under Digital Services Act as soon as possible.” ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Facebook parent Meta posts stronger-than-expected Q2 results, sending shares higher None - Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms Inc. reported stronger-than-expected results for the second quarter on Wednesday, sending shares sharply higher in after-hours trading SAN FRANCISCO -- Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms Inc. reported stronger-than-expected results for the second quarter on Wednesday, sending shares sharply higher in after-hours trading. The Menlo Park, California-based company earned $13.47 billion, or $5.16 per share, in the April-June period. That's up 73% from $7.8 billion, or $2.98 per share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 22% to $39.07 billion from $32 billion. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $4.72 per share on revenue of $38.26 billion, according to a poll by FactSet. "We had a strong quarter, and Meta AI is on track to be the most used AI assistant in the world by the end of the year,” said CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a statement. The number of daily active users for Meta's family of apps — Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger — was 3.27 billion for June, an increase of 7% from a year earlier. The company no longer breaks out user figures for Facebook as it had in the past. Meta said it expects its third-quarter revenue to land in the range of $38.5 billion to $41 billion. Analysts are expecting $39.1 billion. The company hasn't given guidance for 2025 yet — it said it will do so during its fourth-quarter earnings call — but it expects infrastructure costs to be a “significant driver of expense growth” in the coming year. Like other big tech companies, Meta is investing heavily in building its artificial intelligence capacity, including in data centers, and expects “significant capital expenditures growth in 2025 as we invest to support our artificial intelligence research and product development efforts.” Meta is in a good position to grow “at a much faster pace than the competition in both the AI and ad spaces going forward,” said Thomas Monteiro, senior analyst at Investing.com. “That’s because Zuckerberg’s company keeps showing signs that it is able to keep growing at the 20%+ per quarter level in a much more efficient way than other big tech peers, such as Alphabet and Microsoft, for example; which are not only struggling to keep revenue growth in the double digits, but also are progressively taking a bigger hit on the margins side,” he added. Monteiro added that Meta's strategy of focusing its growth on younger users outside of the U.S. appears to be paying off, though the numbers “would have been even better” were it not for its Reality Labs segment dragging revenue lower. Meta's stock rose $23.67, or 5%, to 498.50 in after-hours trading.
Facebook parent Meta reports stronger than expected Q2 results, sending shares higher in after-hours trading None - By The Associated Press July 31, 2024, 4:24 PM
Judge hears NFL's motion in 'Sunday Ticket' case, says jury did not follow instructions on damages None - The judge who presided in the class-action lawsuit filed by “Sunday Ticket” subscribers against the NFL said the jury did not follow his instructions in determining damages Judge hears NFL's motion in 'Sunday Ticket' case, says jury did not follow instructions on damages LOS ANGELES -- The judge who presided in the class-action lawsuit filed by “Sunday Ticket” subscribers against the NFL said the jury did not follow his instructions in determining damages. U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez made the remark as he heard the NFL's post-trial motion asking that Gutierrez rule for the league if he finds the plaintiffs did not prove their case. Gutierrez could also order a new trial because the eight-person jury came up with its own calculations for damages. In his jury instructions before closing arguments on June 26, Gutierrez said “damages may not be based on guesswork or speculation. Plaintiffs must prove the reasonableness of each of the assumptions upon which the damages calculation is based.” A federal jury on June 27 awarded $4.7 billion in damages to residential and commercial subscribers after it ruled the NFL violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service. The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package on DirecTV of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons. The lawsuit claimed the league broke antitrust laws by selling the package at an inflated price. The subscribers also say the league restricted competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only on a satellite provider. The jury of five men and three women found the NFL liable for $4,610,331,671.74 in damages to the residential class (home subscribers) and $96,928,272.90 in damages to the commercial class (business subscribers). The jury's amount did not conform to Dr. Daniel Rascher's college football model ($7.01 billion) or Dr. John Zona's multiple-distributor model ($3.48 billion). Instead, the jury used the 2021 list price of $293.96 and subtracted $102.74, the average price actually paid by residential Sunday Ticket subscribers. The jury then used $191.26, which it considered as the “overcharge” and multiplied that by the number of subscribers to come up with the damages amount. “The damages amount is indefensible,” NFL attorney Brian Stekloff said during his remarks to Gutierrez. Marc Seltzer, representing the “Sunday Ticket” subscribers, countered by saying “the evidence for the jury supported our case from the beginning.” There isn't a timeline on when Gutierrez could issue his decision. “Today we asked the district court to set aside the jury’s verdict in this case, which is contrary to the law and unsupported by the evidence presented at trial," the NFL said in a statement. "The NFL’s media distribution model is the most fan friendly in sports, with all games broadcast locally on free over-the-air television in addition to many other choices available to fans who want even more access to NFL content. We will continue to pursue all avenues in defense of the claims brought in this case.” Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14,121,779,833.92. The NFL has said it would appeal the verdict. That appeal would go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then possibly the Supreme Court. Payment of damages, any changes to the “Sunday Ticket” package and/or the ways the NFL carries its Sunday afternoon games would be stayed until all appeals have been concluded. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Text of the policy statement the Federal Reserve released Wednesday None - Text of the policy statement the Federal Reserve released Wednesday WASHINGTON -- Below is the statement the Federal Reserve released Wednesday after its latest policy meeting ended: Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. Job gains have moderated, and the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low. Inflation has eased over the past year but remains somewhat elevated. In recent months, there has been some further progress toward the Committee’s 2 percent inflation objective. The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. The Committee judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals continue to move into better balance. The economic outlook is uncertain, and the Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate. In support of its goals, the Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 5-1/4 to 5-1/2 percent. In considering any adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will carefully assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks. The Committee does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent. In addition, the Committee will continue reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage‑backed securities. The Committee is strongly committed to returning inflation to its 2 percent objective. In assessing the appropriate stance of monetary policy, the Committee will continue to monitor the implications of incoming information for the economic outlook. The Committee would be prepared to adjust the stance of monetary policy as appropriate if risks emerge that could impede the attainment of the Committee’s goals. The Committee’s assessments will take into account a wide range of information, including readings on labor market conditions, inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and financial and international developments. Voting for the monetary policy action were Jerome H. Powell, Chair; John C. Williams, Vice Chair; Thomas I. Barkin; Michael S. Barr; Raphael W. Bostic; Michelle W. Bowman; Lisa D. Cook; Mary C. Daly; Austan D. Goolsbee; Philip N. Jefferson; Adriana D. Kugler; and Christopher J. Waller. Austan D. Goolsbee voted as an alternate member at this meeting.
Fed maintains benchmark interest rate despite inflation cooling None - Fed maintains benchmark interest rate despite inflation cooling The Federal Reserve on Wednesday maintained its benchmark interest rate even as inflation has cooled. CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger explains when to expect the Fed to cut rates.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran. What happens next? None - Although Israel has not claimed formal responsibility, it’s widely believed that it launched the operation that killed the leader of Hamas’s political wing, Ismail Haniyeh. The fact that Haniyeh was targeted wasn’t a surprise; he had been on Israel’s radar for decades and was almost killed by an Israeli strike in 2003. The surprise was that Israel reportedly targeted Haniyeh in Tehran, hours after he attended the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. In the hours since, there has been much speculation about the wider consequence of Haniyeh’s slaying. Many observers foresee a war that expands beyond Gaza, which Israel has been attacking since Oct. 7 with the declared aim of destroying Hamas after it launched an audacious attack inside Israel that killed 1,200 people and led to more than 250 being taken hostage (to date, more than 39,400 people have been killed in Gaza, according to health officials there). For Iran, the killing of Haniyeh is, at the very least, a big embarrassment and demonstrated yet again the Iranian security services’ ineptness at securing high-profile people. The Biden administration is likely planning for the worst, with some U.S. officials expressing concern that Israel’s assassination of Haniyeh could undermine ongoing cease-fire talks and cause the region’s other flashpoints — the Israel-Lebanon border region, for one — to explode. For Iran, the killing of Haniyeh is, at the very least, a big embarrassment and demonstrated yet again the Iranian security services’ ineptness at securing high-profile people. Haniyeh was a frequent traveler to Tehran, meeting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei four times since November. But on this particular occasion he was a formal dignitary at Pezeshkian’s inauguration ceremony and an official guest of the Islamic Republic. The fact that, according to The New York Times, the Israelis were able, undetected, to kill Haniyeh by planting a bomb in a room of a guesthouse that he was known to stay at — and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps had the responsibility of securing — means that the slip-ups exposed years ago when a top Iranian nuclear scientist was killed in another Israeli operation remain unresolved. So, what next? Khamenei warned Israel that it will pay a “heavy price” for killing Haniyeh and reportedly ordered a retaliatory attack against Israel. If that happens, it wouldn’t be the first time Iran has tried to strike Israel directly; in April, approximately 300 drones and missiles were launched toward Israel following an Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria, which killed a top Iranian military officer. Even then, the Iranians gave advance notice of the operation in an evident attempt to mitigate the blowback. That incident showed that, Iran’s penchant for revolutionary rhetoric aside, its top leaders have shown themselves to be cautious and risk-averse during crises. It’s easy to see why: Iran has nothing to gain, and indeed has much to lose, from getting into an armed confrontation with Israel that could spiral into a war. Any Iranian retaliation therefore is likely to be limited, not indiscriminate. What about Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shia militia? Like Iran, Hezbollah would rather avoid a full-fledged war with Israel if it can. To the casual observer, this will sound strange. After all, Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets and missiles into northern Israel since October, killing 25 people (most of them soldiers), displaced 60,000 Israelis from the area and on July 27 killed 12 children in an unjustifiable, gruesome attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Yet the vast majority of Hezbollah’s attacks have occurred in a relatively depopulated area 5 or 6 miles south of the Israel-Lebanon border. The missile fire endangers the civilians who still live there but is far less than what Hezbollah is capable of. Hezbollah has attempted to accomplish two things simultaneously: support Hamas in Gaza but avoid any military moves that could push Israel into launching a full-blown war in Lebanon. Understandably, U.S. officials remain worried, particularly after Israel killed Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander and top adviser to the group’s overall leader, Hassan Nasrallah, on Tuesday. Hezbollah can’t be seen as complacent after receiving such a blow to its top echelons. The prospect of deeper Hezbollah strikes inside Israel and even more intense Israeli reprisals inside Lebanon aren’t inevitable but have certainly increased. If that happens, Iran would be pulled into the fray; Tehran is Hezbollah’s longtime patron and will at the least provide it additional weaponry. As for Hamas, it is struggling to survive Israel’s massive assault on Gaza and is in no position to respond to Haniyeh’s killing, save perhaps with some rocket attacks that Israel has the means to combat. Yet it’s safe to assume that Hamas will halt the cease-fire talks with Israel, at least temporarily, which John Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, has already acknowledged as a possibility. Though the United States blames Hamas for the logjam, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has never been keen on a permanent cease-fire and won’t be sorry to see the talks stalled. Will Haniyeh’s death seriously damage Hamas? Unlikely. There will be no shortage of fighters ready to join Hamas’ ranks. Israel has killed several of Hamas’ senior leaders in the past, including the movement’s founder and spiritual guide, the quadriplegic Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, in March 2004, Abdel-Aziz al-Rantisi the following month and Saleh al-Arouri in a drone strike in January. In November 2012, an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City killed Ahmed al-Jabari, the de facto commander of Hamas’s military wing, the Izz-al Din al-Qassem Brigades. And were it not for a last-minute intervention by Jordan’s King Hussein in 1997, Khaled Mashaal, Hamas’ former leader, would have been on that list: Israel poisoned Mashaal in Amman, Jordan, but was forced to hand over the antidote after significant pressure from Jordan’s then-king Hussein. Hamas has survived these assassinations because it has an institutional structure that has been built up over years (the movement was founded in 1987) and solidified its influence in Gaza during its 17-year rule over the territory. Haniyeh will soon be replaced, the war in Gaza will continue, and Hamas will endure. Most headlines written after Haniyeh’s killing warn of a wider war in the Middle East, but all of the parties involved in this latest flareup also have reason to be careful.
Our son is still a Hamas hostage. Why hasn't Israel's PM brought him home? None - Three hundred days ago today, Hamas terrorists set fire to Israel. They burned homes, raped women, murdered more than 1,000 innocent people and took hundreds more captive. Amid the death and destruction, our son — 20-year-old Edan Alexander, an American from Tenafly, N.J. — was taken hostage. We have not heard a word from him since. In a private meeting in the White House Cabinet room last Thursday, the families of American hostages sat beside the prime minister and President Joe Biden, and we did not mince words. Edan is one of 120 hostages — eight of whom are American — still trapped in the darkness of Hamas captivity. It is a world governed by torture, starvation and the constant fear of death. Despite this gruesome reality, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has put his personal political fortunes ahead of the release of innocent lives for nearly 10 months. In his appeal to the U.S. Congress last Wednesday, he hardly mentioned the hostages (American and Israeli) he has left behind. In a private meeting in the White House Cabinet room last Thursday, the families of American hostages sat beside the prime minister and President Joe Biden, and we did not mince words. We demanded answers from the prime minister: We told him that enough is enough, and in response, he committed to a three-phase proposal to release the remaining hostages. He said that it would only be a matter of days before we saw action. There would be no new requirements for Hamas, no new setbacks, and soon, the ball would again be in Hamas’ court. He not only made this promise to us, he did it in front of an audience that included Biden and national security advisor Jake Sullivan — two people we know are in our corner and who we trust to hold Netanyahu accountable. We left the meeting hopeful, but during this agonizing process of negotiations, we’ve learned to keep our optimism in check. What now, Mr. Prime Minister? You vowed to make the hostages your priority and to waste no time in bringing them home. A week has come and gone since our meeting, and Edan is still in hell. Instead of expediting a deal, you have added new demands that you promised to avoid. So, when exactly are you going to close this deal? You came to our country — to request our government’s support — and you are still standing in the way of our son’s release. We’re grateful that you met with us. We’re even more grateful that you committed to the total and swift release of the hostages. But words are nothing until Edan is in our arms. Edan does not have the luxury of time. Israeli authorities have pronounced a third of the remaining hostages dead, with the two most recent deaths announced just last week. We cannot delay the end of the war in Gaza any longer. In Israel, Netanyahu’s own defense and intelligence officials have said so. In the U.S., both presidential candidates have called for an end to the war, and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have shared their support for a hostage deal. The world is watching where Netanyahu goes from here. He made a spectacle of coming to America. He now has Washington’s attention and the attention of more than 20 other countries that count hostages in Gaza as their own. It is time Israel’s leader shows us new solutions. We are done with the political theater, Mr. Prime Minister. We need a statesman negotiating our son’s release, not a showman. We implore you to make good on what you promised us last week, put forth a hostage deal that Hamas will accept, and devote all of your energy towards seeing it through.
Neil Gorsuch features in Supreme Court bid against vague drug law None - A new Supreme Court appeal spotlights one of the strangest criminal sagas prosecuted under one of the most peculiar drug laws, known as the Analogue Act. The federal law bans selling substances that are “substantially similar” to ones that have already been deemed illegal. But the vague and unscientific nature of the term “substantially similar” has led to confusion in courts. Multiple federal judges have questioned its legality, and even chemists within the Drug Enforcement Administration have disagreed about its meaning. Notably, the justice most interested in the appeal could be Donald Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch. He wrote critically of the 1986 act when he was on the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. So it’s unsurprising that Charles Burton Ritchie and Benjamin Galecki name-check Gorsuch repeatedly in their petition filed Thursday, including a 10th Circuit decision in which he called the law “a curious animal,” deeming it “an open question, after all, what exactly it means for chemicals to have a ‘substantially similar’ chemical structure — or effect” and “whether terms like those will admit of fair application and afford citizens fair notice.” Cat-and-mouse game The Analogue Act passed in 1986 as an attempt to combat so-called designer drugs that enter the underground market faster than the government can ban them. Usually, breaking a drug law is straightforward — say, by selling cocaine or heroin, which everyone knows are illegal. By contrast, the Reagan-era act captures anything that federal prosecutors can convince a jury is “substantially similar” to an already scheduled drug. That gives the authorities a wide net, one whose ambiguous shape raises the question of whether it’s too wide for the Constitution, which is supposed to guarantee notice of what’s illegal. Ritchie and Galecki’s case gives Gorsuch the chance to weigh in from Washington, where it takes four justices to grant review. It’s unclear whether the court will do so, partly because the justices only take a relative handful of cases each term despite receiving thousands of petitions — this past term they heard about 60. But the court previously scrutinized the act in the 2015 case McFadden v. United States, before Gorsuch joined the court. In that decision, the justices unanimously put a greater burden on the government to prove analogue cases, but they left the law and its “substantially similar” standard intact. Citing remaining confusion after the McFadden ruling, Ritchie and Galecki told the high court in their petition on Thursday that there’s more work yet to do: While it may be initially comforting that after McFadden defendants cannot be convicted of an Analogue Act offense unless they “know” the substance at issue qualifies as an analogue, that comfort fades swiftly upon recognition that the supposed object of “knowledge” is the purely subjective question of “substantial similarity” in chemical structure. Because all that may be had regarding these assessments is opinion rather than knowledge, ... any finding that a defendant “knew” the substance qualified as an analogue is inherently fictional. Allowing juries to nevertheless speculate and decide that defendants had such “knowledge” – especially as to a substance the scientific community believes does not qualify as an analogue – is a game of roulette that cannot be permitted under the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment. The backstory of Ritchie and Galecki’s case is a long, strange one (I wrote a book about it, called “Bizarro,” which the petition cites). But they had a company based in Pensacola, Florida, that distributed synthetic products commonly called “spice,” seen as a cannabis alternative that some people have used to beat drug tests that would flag for the natural plant. The main ingredient in spice that gets people high is synthetic cannabinoids, which aren’t necessarily illegal; it depends on the specific chemical and there are many variations. It’s a cat-and-mouse game, with spice sellers like Ritchie and Galecki using chemicals that weren’t scheduled and shifting to new compounds as older ones were banned. One of their spice products was called “Bizarro,” named after Superman’s twisted doppelganger who was hatched in a “bizarre science experiment gone horribly wrong.” Ritchie then made a move that a typical drug dealer wouldn’t have: He invited the DEA to their Florida headquarters. They had a Nevada warehouse that was raided in a 2012 nationwide enforcement effort called Operation Log Jam. Ritchie then made a move that a typical drug dealer wouldn’t have: He invited the DEA to their Florida headquarters. He gave an agent a tour of their operation and samples of their spice, which he knew didn’t contain scheduled chemicals because they lab-tested their products before shipping them to shops around the country. Still, Ritchie offered to shut down the business, but the agent said it looked like they were trying to comply with the law and that he couldn’t interfere with their right to commerce. Nonetheless, they were charged under the Analogue Act in 2015, years after they had left the business and embarked on careers in film and entertainment. Remarkably, they were indicted in three separate federal districts and taken to trial three times to date. A packet of Bizarro spice left near a sidewalk in Washington, D.C., on July 16, 2015. Ricky Carioti / The Washington Post via Getty Images file Bizarro trials Their first trial, in Virginia (one of the states they distributed to), ended with a hung jury in 2016, because jurors couldn’t reach a verdict under the Analogue Act’s vague test. The 2017 retrial almost ended the same way, but the second jury eventually found them guilty, after prodding from U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson to decide one way or the other. He sentenced them to about three decades in prison apiece. But their convictions were overturned on appeal because the judge had wrongly blocked DEA chemist Arthur Berrier from testifying for the defense. Berrier thought the substances they sold weren’t analogues — that is, he thought they weren’t substantially similar to scheduled drugs. Obviously, that would have been damning testimony from a government expert. At the 2019 trial in Nevada leading to this Supreme Court appeal, the judge there let Berrier testify. But in another twist, the expert chemist was by then a convicted felon himself, following his arrest in a sting operation when he allegedly tried to meet an underage girl who was actually an undercover officer. So while he gave his expert testimony that contradicted the prosecution’s stance, the jury heard he was a felon who no longer worked for the DEA, clouding his testimony that could have otherwise demolished the government’s case. Ritchie and Galecki were convicted under the Analogue Act as well as a federal kingpin law that carried a 20-year minimum and life maximum. At their sentencing, U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon stuck to the 20-year minimum and called out the Analogue Act in the process. He was troubled that while a typical dealer “clearly knows he or she is selling an illegal substance,” someone accused of selling alleged analogues “may not know he or she is breaking the law until the jury decides it is in fact an analogue.” Gordon granted Galecki, 50, compassionate release last year for health issues he faced while incarcerated and reduced his sentence to time served; the judge also granted Ritchie’s release pending appeal, meaning the 53-year-old returns to prison if they lose. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Ritchie and Galecki’s analogue and kingpin claims last year, prompting the high court bid. On top of the analogue argument — that the act is “void for vagueness” in their case — they said in their petition that their kingpin convictions are invalid because one of their alleged underlings was acquitted at the Nevada trial; they cited disagreement among the federal circuits over whether a conviction can stand in that situation. Such a “circuit split” makes the justices more likely to grant review, providing an additional (or alternative) reason for the court to take the case. The Justice Department can respond with its own brief before the court considers whether to do so. Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for updates and expert analysis on the top legal stories. The newsletter will return to its regular weekly schedule when the Supreme Court’s next term kicks off in October.
Donald Trump loses latest gag order challenge in New York None - Donald Trump lost his latest bid to crush his New York gag order, with a state appeals court keeping the limits in place ahead of the former president’s sentencing on 34 counts of falsifying business records. After Trump’s trial ended with guilty verdicts on all counts in May, Judge Juan Merchan partially terminated the order as it pertained to trial witnesses and the jury, but kept its restrictions on speech targeting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s staff, court staff, their family members as well as family members of Bragg and Merchan. In a ruling on Thursday, the state appeals court rejected Trump’s argument that the trial’s conclusion was a change in circumstances warranting terminating the order completely prior to sentencing. “The fair administration of justice necessarily includes sentencing,” the appeals court wrote, citing the limited nature of the remaining order and noting that “threats received by District Attorney staff after the jury verdict continued to pose a significant and imminent threat.” The GOP presidential nominee is set to be sentenced Sept. 18, assuming Merchan rejects the former president’s immunity motion in a ruling due Sept. 6. The Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, rendered after Trump’s trial, raised questions about its effect, if any, on the so-called hush money case. Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for updates and expert analysis on the top legal stories. The newsletter will return to its regular weekly schedule when the Supreme Court’s next term kicks off in October.
Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion back Harris in bad news for Trump None - This is an adapted excerpt from the July 30 episode of “The Beat.” Newly released audio of Sen. JD Vance of Ohio has revealed what the vice presidential candidate really thinks about the 2024 Democratic ticket shake-up. Vance privately told donors Vice President Kamala Harris’ entrance into the race was “a little bit of a political sucker punch”: “The bad news is that Kamala Harris does not have the same baggage as Joe Biden, because whatever we might have to say, Kamala is a lot younger. And Kamala Harris is obviously not struggling in the same ways that Joe Biden did.” To say Harris isn’t struggling is an understatement. She is thriving. To say Harris isn’t struggling is an understatement. She is thriving. While no one knows who will win in November, Republicans can clearly see Harris’ appeal. That kind of appeal is the reason the party pushed hard at the Republican National Convention to feature anything that might feel somewhat cool or current — from Hulk Hogan to rap videos to Instagram star Amber Rose. Republicans know culture matters to voters. But now the party now has the oldest nominee ever. While Donald Trump did have a run on television and a presence online before he entered politics, “The Apprentice” debuted 20 years ago. It’s a relic of a reality TV past. Harris, on the other hand, taps into the now and the future. That much is evident from the soundtrack of her first campaign video, which features a song from a superstar currently on music charts: Beyoncé. In the song “Freedom,” Beyoncé recounts fighting uphill battles, both personal and political: “Freedom! Where are you? ’Cause I need freedom, too! I break chains all by myself.” And while the Harris campaign’s song choice does have political appeal, this isn’t just posturing from a candidate. The vice president is a genuine, longtime Beyoncé fan, even attending a show last year in the tour’s official sparkle theme attire. As a senator, she shouted out Beyoncé's documentary, “Homecoming,” for how it “celebrates” historically Black colleges. The feeling seems mutual. In 2020, on the eve of the election, Beyoncé posted a photo on Instagram wearing a Biden-Harris mask — broadcasting her approval of the ticket to over 300 million followers. Pop culture is a language young people speak fluently. That demographic was crucial to the winning Biden-Harris coalition in 2020. In 2024, the vice president needs their support again. Most voters oppose fake posturing from politicians, and Harris comes across in this cultural moment honestly. She did even so before there were signs she would top the ticket. Harris has used her platform as vice president to elevate artists and art forms Washington has long ignored. Last year, she hosted a celebration at her official residence to mark hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. The event featured artists like Lil Wayne and Jeezy. The celebration became something of a national Rorschach test: Do you see energy, optimism and inclusion? Or do you see something else? It’s clear the Republicans want you to see something else. On Tuesday, Trump released his first attack ad on Harris, featuring video of her dancing from that 2023 hip-hop celebration — an attempt to portray the vice president as somehow less serious of a politician. Most voters oppose fake posturing from politicians, and Harris comes across in this cultural moment honestly. But as Republicans continue their attacks on Harris, trying to see what sticks, another star has thrown her support behind the vice president: Beyoncé's fellow Houstonian Megan Thee Stallion. The rap star is no stranger to political statements. In 2021, she dropped her own anthem about women’s rights. The music video shows a Republican senator, in a MAGA-red tie, going online to hypocritically attack her in misogynistic terms. In the video, Megan confronts him for disrespecting the women who keep things running. On Tuesday, Megan Thee Stallion joined Harris for a rally in Georgia, where the star urged her fans — dubbed “Hotties” — to stand behind the vice president. A “Hot Girl Summer” for Harris, indeed. From Beyoncé to Megan Thee Stallion to Charli XCX, the vice president’s set list of support keeps growing longer and longer by the day. Can the Republican Party and Donald Trump muster anything to match it? Join Ari Melber, Rachel Maddow and many others on Saturday, Sept. 7, in Brooklyn, New York, for “MSNBC Live: Democracy 2024,” a first-of-its-kind live event. You’ll get to see your favorite hosts in person and hear thought-provoking conversations about what matters most in the final weeks of an unprecedented election cycle. Buy tickets here.
'U.S. diplomacy came through strong': Americans released in prisoner swap with Russia None - 'U.S. diplomacy came through strong': Americans released in prisoner swap with Russia Americans were freed in a multi-national prisoner swap today. Former Director of European Affairs for the White House National Security Council Alexander Vindman joined José Díaz-Balart to discuss the diplomacy done to get this deal.Aug. 1, 2024
Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan board plane to leave Russian captivity None - Video from Russia’s security service, the FSB, shows U.S. citizens Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan boarding a plane along with Vladimir Kara-Murza, Patrick Schobel and Vadim Ostanin. The five were part of the biggest East-West prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War.Aug. 1, 2024
Evan Gershkovich's family is 'on the moon' over release, WSJ colleague says None - Evan Gershkovich's family is 'on the moon' over release, WSJ colleague says Journalist Wall Street Journal assistant editor Paul Beckett, Evan Gershkovich's colleague, joins Chris Jansing to react to the prisoner exchange and to discuss what the imprisonment could mean for the future of journalism.Aug. 1, 2024
Biles clinches all-around gold with stunning floor routine None - With a near-perfect floor routine in her final event at the women's all-around final, Simone Biles clinches her sixth-ever Olympic gold medal and second in Paris.Aug. 1, 2024