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Georgia’s elections board just made it easier for Trump loyalists to delay the certification of votes None - On Tuesday, a Republican majority on Georgia’s State Election Board voted to change the process for certifying election results in a way that could allow Trump-supporting election deniers in key positions to dubiously cause delays. The three members who voted for the change had been praised by Donald Trump by name at his rally in Atlanta over the weekend. The changes are disturbing — and justifiably being met with outrage — given that Team Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election involved calling for state election officials to delay certification, potentially allowing the Republican-packed Supreme Court to weigh in, or even the GOP-controlled House of Representatives. It didn’t work, but Republicans have since taken control of several powerful positions overseeing local elections in battleground states, which could make a similar scheme more successful this time. Atlanta-based journalist George Chidi summed up Tuesday’s vote well for The Guardian: Georgia’s state board of elections adopted new rules for local election boards that permit them to withhold the certification of a vote in the face of unspecified discrepancies — a Republican-led move that could cause uncertainty and confusion after future election days. The five-person board passed the measure in a 3-2 vote. The three board members who voted for it — Dr. Janice Johnston, Rick Jeffares and Janelle King — were praised by name three days ago by Donald Trump at an Atlanta campaign rally. ... The rule requires local boards to initiate a “reasonable inquiry” when discrepancies emerge at a poll, and gives the power to withhold certification until that inquiry was completed. It does not define the term “reasonable inquiry”, nor does it establish strict limitations on the breadth of an inquiry. Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, seemed eager to downplay concerns about the change. “Georgia’s Election Integrity Act requires counties to certify the election results by November 12th and we fully anticipate that counties will follow the law,” he wrote on X. But whether or not Republicans end up being able to use this particular mechanism to undermine democracy, Raffensperger’s assurance doesn’t change the fact that Georgia Republicans have made moves to enhance their electoral chances — and established avenues to sow chaos and potentially undermine results that don’t break their way. They’ve accomplished this by passing voter suppression laws that have created hurdles for liberal-leaning constituencies — such as Black voters and young voters; mass purges of voter rolls, largely at the behest of right-wing activists; gerrymandering districts to water down Black voters’ electoral power; and, indeed, with votes like the one we saw Tuesday. Republicans have spent years gaslighting Americans about “rigged” elections. Meanwhile, they’ve broadly done everything in their power to tip the scales come November. And Georgia is a prime example.
Bitter Trump-Vance campaign is no match for Harris-Walz joy None - This is an adapted excerpt from the Aug. 7 episode of "Morning Joe." Even conservatives have been talking about Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz’s rally on Tuesday, remarking how well those two did — and the vibrancy of it all. It’s hope, optimism and joy versus the promise of retribution, anger, bitterness and division. It’s hope, optimism and joy versus the promise of retribution, anger, bitterness and division. And if you look at the candidates’ schedules, it’s also the active versus the inert. You have Harris flying out of Washington on Wednesday and heading to Wisconsin, doing an event there and then going straight to Detroit. Her schedule is busy morning, noon and night. Here’s how Donald Trump laid out his schedule for Wednesday: “I will be interviewed tomorrow morning at 7:30 A.M. on Fox & Friends. Much to talk about. ENJOY!” The truth is, whenever Trump does go out he damages his campaign. His campaign has been very straightforward and honest about that. They want to hide him. They want to keep him from going out and talking because we see what happens when he does. He went to Georgia and basically created a political civil war inside the Georgia Republican Party — making devastating comments, not only about Gov. Brian Kemp, but the governor’s wife, which again, is the last thing he needed to do. It’s clear this is going to be a campaign of contrast.
Kamala Harris choice of Tim Walz for VP disappoints anti-Trump Republicans None - While it might seem lifetime ago, it’s been just over two weeks since President Joe Biden announced that he would not seek re-election and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris. Knowing she would be running against the clock, with a very compressed campaign schedule, Harris quickly jumped into action. In the first week, she reached out to party leaders and raised a lot of money very quickly. Then came the much tougher — and significant — task of picking a running mate. A good running mate should strengthen a ticket’s chances in key states, help win over a certain block of voters and share a policy agenda with their presidential nominee. Immediately after the Walz announcement, my phone exploded with friends, family and colleagues all saying basically the same thing. By picking Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris has opted for compatibility and a more left-leaning policy agenda. But I know for a fact that a lot of moderate Republicans and right-leaning independents are less than thrilled about it. Immediately after the Walz announcement, my phone exploded with friends, family and colleagues all saying basically the same thing: "I was excited about Harris, and I’m still going to vote for her, but only as a vote against Trump." In other words, this choice may not push anti-Trumpers back into the MAGA fold, but it is very disappointing. Some of the sparkle and promise is now gone. During the last couple of weeks there was a palpable buzz among moderates especially. Biden stepped down, Harris stepped up, and both Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly were being floated as possible running mates. Shapiro, has been working with a Republican-controlled state Senate to get things done in Pennsylvania, and Kelly most recently supported bipartisan immigration reform legislation, an issue he has publicly disagree with his own party on. What was so appealing to moderates about these men is that they are consensus-builders; they have worked with Republicans and picking either of them would prove that Harris wasn’t going to be the progressive candidate that they feared. Polling strongly suggests that most people do not vote for a president based on their vice presidential pick. However, this decision does give voters a glimpse of what kind of leader the candidate would be if elected, and how they might govern. As governor, Walz has successfully pushed a progressive legislative agenda in his home state, and this agenda will now be used by Republicans to frame Harris as a “San Francisco Liberal.” Among the issues that Republicans will certainly try to exploit are Walz’s push to allow undocumented migrants to be eligible for driver licenses, his restoration of voting rights for felons and his passage of tough climate change regulations. A glowing endorsement from Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez will not help matters with swing voters. Although, to be fair, moderate West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin also supports the choice. I was a senior adviser to The Lincoln Project and oversaw the day-to-day operations of Republicans and Independents for Biden. This coalition, along with other like-minded organizations, helped persuade moderate Republicans and right-leaning independents to vote for Biden, which in turn helped Biden over the finish line in 2020. So I know a fair amount about how to appeal to the sort of Republican who is desperately seeking a Trump alternative. By putting Walz on the ticket, it appears that the Harris campaign is betting that the people who voted for Trump in 2016, then flipped and voted for Biden in 2020, will either grimace and vote for Harris anyway, or just sit this election out. (And this may very well be true.) It also shows that Team Harris must still be at least a little worried about the liberal base, especially the “uncommitted” voters turned off by Biden’s support for Israel. It is likely that after the Democratic National Convention in a couple of weeks, we won’t see or hear much about Gov. Walz. It is also likely that Walz will not cause the headaches that Ohio Sen. JD Vance is already inflicting on the Trump ticket. Still, Walz is far from the bold choice that swing voters were looking for. We had hoped for better.
Former student of Tim Walz: 'He made learning exciting' None - Walz, Harris can speak to the middle class and do it with joy: David Plouffe
Pressed on Ten Commandments displays, Louisiana governor gives bad advice None - Gov. Jeff Landry seems to realize that he’s created a controversy by requiring every public school classroom in the state to promote the Protestant version of the Ten Commandments. But the Louisiana Republican told reporters earlier this week, “I don’t see what the whole big fuss is about.” As NBC News reported, the first-year governor also had some related advice for families who prefer religiously-neutral public education: Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has a suggestion for parents who don’t believe the Ten Commandments should be displayed in public school classrooms throughout the state. “Tell your child not to look at them,” he told reporters Monday. Whether the Louisiana Republican is aware of this or not, this is a familiar argument with an unfortunate history. Before U.S. Supreme Court rulings in the middle of the 20th century protecting the separation of church and state, it was common in many parts of the country for public schools to promote religious symbols, practices and prayers. If students and their families weren’t part of the local majority on matters of faith, they heard advice similar to what Landry offered this week. You’re part of a Jewish family in a public school that promotes Christianity? Tell your child to go wait in the hall while the rest of the class recites a Christian prayer. You’re a Catholic student in a school promoting the Protestant version of the Ten Commandments? Your parents can simply tell you to avert your eyes as the state government promotes its preferred sacred text. The far-right governor may be confused about “the whole big fuss,” but in the United States, there’s no reason to turn back the clock to an era in which public officials intervened in children’s religious upbringing, communities fought over whose religion would be favored, and kids from minority traditions were told to tolerate being treated as second-class students. The underlying principle couldn’t be simpler: It’s not the job of politicians in state government to endorse and promote the tenets of a preferred religion. Schools can and should remain neutral on matters of faith. Why Landry and his cohorts would want government officials to interfere in matters better left to families remains something of a mystery. When the Republican first created this law in June, requiring Decalogue displays in all public classrooms — from kindergarten to state-funded universities — Landry declared, “If you want to respect the rule of law, you’ve got to start from the original law giver, which was Moses.” In reality, of course, if Louisiana Republicans want to respect the rule of law, they have to start with their own country’s Constitution, which includes the First Amendment, and to honor U.S. Supreme Court precedent, which GOP officials in the state have decided to ignore. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Assault weapons ruling raises possible Supreme Court guns test None - The Supreme Court declined to further expand gun rights this past term in the Rahimi case, when a lopsided majority (over Justice Clarence Thomas’ dissent) upheld firearms restrictions for people subject to domestic violence restraining orders. But a new federal appeals court ruling on assault weapons could prompt another test for the justices. In that ruling on Tuesday, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals approved Maryland’s assault weapons ban. The appeals court said the state “was well within its constitutional prerogative to legislate as it did,” despite the Supreme Court’s gun rights expansion in the 2022 Bruen ruling. The high court's Republican-appointed majority said in that decision that gun regulations can only survive Second Amendment challenges if they’re consistent with the nation’s historical traditions. “We conclude that Bruen did not mandate an abandonment of our faith in self-governance, nor did it leave the balance struck throughout our history of firearms regulation behind,” Reagan-appointed Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III wrote for the 4th Circuit majority on Tuesday, noting that “it would have been shocking to the Framers to witness the mass shootings of our day”: To see children’s bodies “stacked up ... like cordwood” on the floor of a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas; to hear a Parkland, Florida high school student describe her classroom as a “war zone” with “blood everywhere”; to be at a movie in Aurora, Colorado when suddenly gunfire erupted, leaving “bodies” strewn and “blood on seats, blood on the wall, blood on the emergency exit door”; to run past “shoes scattered, blood in the street, bodies in the street” while bullets blazed through the sky in Dayton, Ohio; to watch law enforcement officers encounter “a pile of dead children” in Sandy Hook, Connecticut; to stand next to one of those officers as he tried to count the dead children, but “kept getting confused,” as his “mind would not count beyond the low teens.” “These are not our forebears’ arms, and these are not our forebears’ calamities,” Wilkinson wrote. Given that the challengers have vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court, it’s important to consider the 4th Circuit dissent, authored by Trump appointee Julius Richardson. In a lengthy writing, Richardson accused the majority of sidestepping the Second Amendment, demeaning weapons’ lawful functions and exaggerating their unlawful uses, and implausibly analyzing the nation’s historical tradition of firearms regulation. Obviously, the two opinions tell different stories with different priorities. The forthcoming Supreme Court appeal will seek to harness Richardson’s dissent to make it the law of the land. The high court has discretion over whether to take appeals, with four justices needing to agree to review them. So the first question will be whether the court wants to take up the contentious issue — and if it does, then the question, left open in the Rahimi case, will be how far a majority of the court wants to take the Second Amendment. 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.
Rep. Cori Bush loses her primary after pro-Israel group poured millions into race to defeat her None - Rep. Cori Bush, a progressive Democrat and one of Congress' most vocal critics of Israel’s policies toward Palestinians and its assaults on the Gaza Strip, lost her primary Tuesday night after a pro-Israel group spent millions attacking her and boosting her opponent, St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell. Bush, who was seeking a third term for Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, is the second of the progressive “squad” lawmakers in the House to lose a primary after pro-Israel groups poured money into their races. More than $18 million was spent in Bush's primary, almost $9 million of which came from the United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the pro-Israel group AIPAC. Earlier this week, Bush expressed her discontent with the outsize spending by external groups. “I’m just trying to make sense of why so much money would be spent in our congressional race when our district has so many needs,” she told NBC News. In June, Rep. Jamaal Bowman also lost his New York primary to a moderate opponent backed by the United Democracy Project to the tune of almost $15 million. (My colleague Zeeshan Aleem wrote that Bowman had glaring vulnerabilities as a candidate, which the UDP successfully spotlighted.) Bush’s race was the second-most expensive primary of the cycle, behind Bowman’s. Bell will likely carry the deep-blue district in the general election. The prosecutor, who was initially running for Missouri's seat in the U.S. Senate, abandoned that campaign in October to mount a primary challenge against Bush. On the campaign trail, he sought to draw a contrast between Bush's position and his pro-Israel stance, and he pointed to her vote against the Biden infrastructure bill as an example of her failure to deliver results for her constituents. Bush's "no" vote on the bill was part of a pressure campaign to expand the child tax credit and a slew of other programs in the bill that she said would benefit low-income families in her district. Bush was also attacked over a Justice Department investigation into her use of campaign funds; she has denied wrongdoing and said she is cooperating with the probe. Bush suggested that she won't be leaving politics just yet. In her interview with NBC News this week, she pointed to her previous unsuccessful runs for Congress, saying, “One thing I don’t do is go away.”
NASA says chances are growing that astronauts may switch from Boeing to a SpaceX ride back to Earth None - NASA says chances are growing that two test pilots who flew a new Boeing capsule to the International Space Station in June may have to switch to SpaceX for a ride home NASA says chances are growing that astronauts may switch from Boeing to a SpaceX ride back to Earth CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- What should have been a quick trip to the International Space Station may turn into an eight-month stay for two NASA astronauts if they have to switch from Boeing to SpaceX for a ride home. There's lingering uncertainty over the safety of Boeing's new Starliner capsule, NASA officials said Wednesday, and the space agency is split over the risk. As a result, chances are increasing that test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams may have to watch from the space station as their Starliner is cut loose to return to Earth empty. If that happens, NASA would leave behind two of four astronauts from the next SpaceX taxi flight in late September, with the vacant seats set aside for Wilmore and Williams on the return trip next February. The pair expected to be gone just a week or two when they launched June 5 as Starliner’s first crew. NASA is bringing in additional experts to analyze the thruster failures experienced by Starliner before it docked. At the same time, NASA is looking more closely at SpaceX as a backup, At this point, “we could take either path,” said Ken Bowersox, NASA’s space operations mission chief. During a recent meeting, “We heard from a lot of folks that had concern, and the decision was not clear,” he said. A final decision is expected by mid-August. Boeing issued a brief statement following NASA's news update, repeating its position that the capsule could still safely bring the astronauts home. “We still believe in Starliner’s capability and its flight rationale." the company said. Boeing will need to modify the capsule's software in case Starliner ends up returning without a crew. No serious consideration was given to launching a separate SpaceX flight just to retrieve Wilmore and Williams, according to commercial crew program manager Steve Stich. Tests on the ground have replicated the thrust problems, pointing to seals as one culprit. But it’s still not understood how or why those seals swell when overheated and then shrink back to the proper size, Stich noted. All but one of the Starliner’s five failed thrusters have since been reactivated in orbit. These thrusters are essential for allowing Starliner to back away from the space station following undocking, and for keeping the capsule in the proper position for the deorbit. At the same time, engineers are grappling over helium leaks in Starliner’s propulsion system, crucial for maneuvering. The first leak occurred before liftoff, but was deemed isolated and stable. Then more cropped up in flight. NASA hired Boeing and SpaceX to ferry astronauts to and from the space station, after the shuttles retired in 2011. SpaceX flew its first crew in 2020. Boeing stumbled on its first test flight without a crew and then fell further behind after a repeat demo. Officials repeated their desire for a backup taxi service on Wednesday, A situation like this one could happen again, and “that’s why we want multiple vehicles," Bowersox said. The next crew flight will be SpaceX's 10th for NASA. On Tuesday, it was delayed for a month until late September to allow for extra time to figure out how best to handle Starliner's return. Three NASA astronauts and one Russian are assigned to the flight, and managers on Wednesday declined to say who might be bumped. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Beyond Meat reports better-than-expected sales despite demand remaining weak None - Beyond Meat says its revenue fell nearly 9% in the second quarter on lower demand for its plant-based burgers, chicken and other products Beyond Meat on Wednesday reported better-than-expected sales in the second quarter despite continuing weak demand for its plant-based burgers, chicken and other products. The El Segundo, California-based company said its revenue fell nearly 9% to $93.2 million for the April-June period. That was better than the $87.8 million Wall Street anticipated, according to analysts polled by FactSet. Beyond Meat narrowed its net loss to $34.4 million, or 53 cents per share, from $53.5 million a year ago, as it worked to streamline its operations. That was in line with analysts' forecasts. It said its net revenue per pound rose 6.1% as it offered fewer discounts and raised prices for some products in the U.S. But its sales volumes fell 14% on weaker retail and food-service demand in the U.S. and international markets. Beyond Meat has been trying to boost demand with new, healthier products. Earlier this spring, the company introduced Beyond Burger patties and Beyond Beef grounds with 60% less saturated fat than the previous products. A healthier sausage, made with avocado oil, followed in June. And last month, it debuted Beyond Sun Sausage, a product filled with bell peppers, spinach, lentils and other vegetables and fruits. Unlike previous products, Beyond Meat said the new sausage isn’t intended to replicate meat, but to be a healthier protein option. Its stock, which has fallen 66% in the past 12 months, jumped 8% in after-market trading following the earnings report.
Beyond Meat's second-quarter revenue fell nearly 9% on lower demand for plant-based burgers, chicken and other products None - Beyond Meat's second-quarter revenue fell nearly 9% on lower demand for plant-based burgers, chicken and other products Beyond Meat's second-quarter revenue fell nearly 9% on lower demand for plant-based burgers, chicken and other products
How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday, 8/7/2024 None - Wall Street slumped after a morning rally evaporated, but the losses weren’t as bad as the manic moves that wracked markets worldwide over the last week How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday, 8/7/2024 The Associated Press By The Associated Press Wall Street slumped after a morning rally evaporated, but the losses weren’t as bad as the manic moves that wracked markets worldwide over the last week. The S & P 500 fell 0.8% Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 1%. Stocks swung lower as Nvidia, one of Wall Street’s most influential companies, went from a morning gain to a loss of 5.1%, making it the heaviest weight on the S & P 500. Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks have been struggling on worries their prices shot too high amid Wall Street’s frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology. On Wednesday: The S & P 500 fell 40.53 points, or 0.8%, to 5,199.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 234.21 points, or 0.6%, to 38,763.45. The Nasdaq composite fell 171.05 points, or 1%, to 16,195.81. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 29.19 points, or 1.4%, to 2,035.11. For the week: The S & P 500 is down 147.06 points, or 2.8%. The Dow is down 973.81 points, or 2.5%. The Nasdaq is down 580.36 points, or 3.5%. The Russell 2000 is down 74.20 points, or 3.5%. For the year: The S & P 500 is up 429.67 points, or 9%. The Dow is up 1,073.91 points, or 2.8%. The Nasdaq is up 1,184.45 points, or 7.9%. The Russell 2000 is up 8.04 points, or 0.4%.
Iran warns airlines to avoid its airspace for 3 hours on Thursday over military drills, Egypt says None - Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry says it's ordered Egyptian airlines to avoid Iranian airspace for three hours on Thursday after a notice from Tehran to do so because of military exercises Iran warns airlines to avoid its airspace for 3 hours on Thursday over military drills, Egypt says CAIRO -- Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry said Wednesday it has ordered Egyptian airlines to avoid Iranian airspace for three hours the following day after a notice from Tehran to do so because of military exercises. The warning comes amid soaring tensions in the region following last week’s assassination of Hamas’ leader in Tehran. The Egyptian ministry said the warning came in a notice sent by Iran to all commercial airlines. The ministry said the ban from Iranian airspace was to last for three hours, 4:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. on Thursday. Iran’s warning also covered three hours earlier on Wednesday, the ministry added. Speaking to Iran’s ISNA news agency, the head of Iran’s international airport in Tehran, Saeed Chalandari, denied reports of a warning against entering the airspace of western Iran, but it was not clear if that applied to the entire country. Israel has been bracing for an attack by Iran and its allied militias over the assassinations in Tehran of Hamas’ top leader Ismail Haniyeh and a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut. Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for the July 31 explosion in Tehran that killed Haniyeh. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility. The escalation prompted many international carriers to suspend flights to Lebanon, Israel and Iran.
Addicted to the Olympics? A turnaround for the Peacock streaming service probably contributed None - Three years ago in Tokyo, NBC's Peacock streaming service was a laughingstock, riddled with glitches and unfulfilled promise Addicted to the Olympics? A turnaround for the Peacock streaming service probably contributed Four boxes with live Olympics action filled Peacock's screen during its “Gold Zone” show one afternoon this week — one showing women hammer toss competitors, another with long jumpers going aloft, a third with racers leaping hurdles and the last showing the minutes counting down in the U.S.-Germany women's soccer match. Occasionally producers punch up a concentrated look at one event. This was a gripping display of the breadth of Olympic sports, and it was hard not to get hooked. Millions of Americans have shared similar experiences during the past week and half, powering a much-needed rebound for Peacock, the streaming service that was often the target of ridicule during Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 and Beijing in 2022. “It's been a real turnaround,” said Mark Lazarus, chairman of the NBC Universal Media Group. With several days of competition remaining, NBC has surpassed 17 billion minutes streamed for the Paris games — the vast majority on Peacock — exceeding the streaming minutes for all of the previous Olympics combined. Rather than detract from it, the chief executive believes Peacock has helped NBC's television outlets to a ratings performance in Paris that has network honchos giddy with joy. Lazarus ordered a teardown of Peacock's Olympics operation, memorably conceding in June that consumers had reacted with “the big digital middle finger” to their past work. Peacock was hard to navigate and plagued with glitches. NBC also admits to failing to deliver on promises that Peacock would be the comprehensive Olympics experience, balking at showing some live events for fear it would cannibalize TV audiences — a traditional line of thinking that Paris has proven outmoded. Led by a new executive team that included Matt Strauss, chairman of NBC's direct to consumer unit, and Peacock President Kelly Campbell, they studied other sports and streaming outfits for new ideas. “This in many ways is not their first bite of the apple, but they had a number of years to learn,” said Craig Moffett, analyst for the technology and media research firm MoffettNathanson. It's clear they learned several smart lessons, he said. The whip-around “Gold Zone” product, which has proven enormously popular in Paris, is a knockoff of DirecTV's NFL “Red Zone,” including some of the same personnel. It matches the original's high-adrenaline pace, taking viewers to noteworthy events — particularly when medals are decided. Peacock offers several multi-view screens that show a handful of live events happening at the same time. While “Gold Zone” is curated by producers, on multi-view consumers can click on one of the boxes to concentrate on one event in particular. In effect, viewers can produce their own show. Most importantly, they're effective navigation tools leading people into all Peacock has to offer. Many viewers are entranced by events they knew little about, like when Peacock on Tuesday highlighted Cuban Mijain Lopez winning a fifth straight gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling. Such an achievement would be lost on television, since NBC focuses on high-profile sports like gymnastics, swimming and track. “As a lifelong Olympic watcher and a lifelong Olympic broadcast/streaming complainer, really have to hand it to NBC for how incredible Peacock has been this go around,” Brandon Wall, a social media director at CBS News, wrote on X. Kelsey McKinney of defector.com, which covers sports and culture, wrote that Peacock had created the perfect Olympic experience for someone like her. “This is such a sensible approach — one that understands and respects the desires of an average viewer — it's almost hard to believe an American network came up with it,” McKinney wrote. The Paris games have also afforded Peacock some advantages, including strong performances by the U.S. team and a return to crowds at events after COVID-19 restrictions. A time zone six hours ahead of the eastern United States also helped; NBC would have hated that in the past, since there are no live events available for its prime-time show, but it's a bonanza for Peacock users in the afternoon. More people working at home in the post-COVID era is also helping Peacock, Lazarus speculated. “It's probably not hard to imagine a lot more people are watching the Olympics from their home offices than they would from cubicles,” he said. Peacock offers other Olympics features, including a personalized highlights package narrated by an artificial intelligence-generated voice of Al Michaels, and a comic look with Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson. Since the games have started, it has begun offering a collection of Snoop Dogg moments from NBC broadcasts, and a service that shows medal ceremonies since consumers requested it. Peacock had 33 million paid subscribers earlier this year. NBC would not say how many people have signed up for the Olympics. The key question for NBC Universal is how many of those new subscribers will be motivated to stick with Peacock after the games end. They don't necessarily need a lot of those new customers to stay for it to be considered a success, Moffett said. Lazarus said that some 70 percent of people who signed up for the service because it was broadcasting an NFL playoff game last winter wound up keeping their subscriptions for at least three months. “I feel really good about it,” he said. ___ David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://twitter.com/dbauder.
Desperate right-wingers accuse Tim Walz of being 'anti-white' None - Donald Trump’s campaign and the conservative movement have been grasping at straws trying to tar Kamala Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, since he joined her ticket this week. They have revived previously debunked allegations downplaying Walz’s 24 years of military service. And Trump has said Walz would “unleash hell” on the U.S. and denounced his handling as governor of Minnesota of the 2020 social justice protests — a claim that's undercut by recently unearthed audio in which Trump praised his handling of those protests. So Republican influencers and media types are pushing another line of attack: claiming Walz secretly despises white people. Newsmax host Rob Schmitt, claiming to know Walz’s true motivations, said on Wednesday that Walz has been eager to “decimate the history of his own state to capitulate to a population of asylum-seekers in this country from Africa.” “Tim Walz is the white guy with a white wife and white kids who hates white people," Schmitt argued. “That’s who Tim Walz is. We all know a guy like that. He’s the left-wing cancer that we can’t seem to cure in this country. He is the embodiment of that.” Right-wing activist Christopher Rufo posted a long thread on X suggesting that because Walz may have read Black authors, he's been inspired to “exclude whites from government programs.” That was a dubious characterization of Walz's commitment to distribute 50% of a government funding program to minority business owners. Rufo also retweeted a user who claimed Walz is a “self-hating white man” who’s “trying to be forgiven for his skin crime.” And during a recent appearance on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, former Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota falsely claimed Walz signed a law that “infused all the school curriculum with wokeism” and mandated the teaching of what she called a “George Floyd hate whitey curriculum.” She added, "Everything is about race. It’s 'hate white people, white people are evil.' And that’s in all of the curriculum.” In reality, Walz signed a law this year that prohibited school libraries from banning a book “based solely on its viewpoint or the messages, ideas, or opinions it conveys,” a counter to Republican efforts to ban books about systemic racism and inequality. That law still allows schools to restrict access to books over "legitimate" concerns about appropriateness. These are some of the scare tactics right-wing influencers and media are using, trying to portray a white man who’s shown concern for marginalized people as some sort of menacing, anti-white race traitor. This is a tactic that's been deployed against white Americans who’ve opposed racism in the past. But aside from exposing those who make such claims as bigots, it also makes them look flat-out bizarre. As the Harris campaign continues to make the case to voters that its opponents are “weird,” in plain speak, Republicans can't seem to resist embracing the toxic rhetoric of the darkest right-wing fringe.
Harris-Walz crowd size likely to get under Donald Trump's skin None - This is an adapted excerpt of the Aug. 8 episode of "Morning Joe." The recent attacks from Republicans targeting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military career are just a small part of a much larger theme within the Trump-Vance campaign — a campaign that feasts on dishonesty and disinformation. They do that to deflect from a record where the cruelty, the violence, the antidemocratic values, the disrespect for our Constitution is the entire point. That’s who they are and that’s what they want to distract from. They do that to deflect from a record where the cruelty, the violence, the antidemocratic values, the disrespect for our Constitution is the entire point. And to do so, they are trying to tear two very positive, joyful and energetic people down. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are riding a high right now. Their best strategy is just to keep moving forward and deflect the disinformation that comes their way. But they also need to embrace the joy — which you see them doing. Just look at the crowds they’re attracting. There has been a burst of energy and enthusiasm. You have people waiting out in the hot sun for hours. When you have to move a rally to an airport hangar, and that’s not even big enough, you’re onto something. Harris isn’t on a roll just with her vice presidential pick, it’s her entire campaign. We know Donald Trump depends on crowd size for his own sense of value. We saw that from his very first event as president, his inauguration, where he had to lie about it. Clearly crowd size is very important to the former president, so what we’re seeing from Harris and Walz will, no doubt, be very scary to the Trump campaign moving forward. And it doesn’t look like their crowds will be getting smaller anytime soon.
What special counsel David Weiss wants to show at Hunter Biden's tax trial None - The criminal tax case against Hunter Biden is taking shape ahead of his trial set for next month, with a new court filing providing insight into special counsel David Weiss’ approach. According to that filing — part of a flurry of pretrial litigation — federal prosecutors want to introduce testimony from an associate with whom, they say, the defendant agreed to help a Romanian businessman contest bribery charges in Romania. Prosecutors say they expect evidence will show Biden and the associate “received compensation from a foreign principal who was attempting to influence U.S. policy and public opinion and cause the United States to investigate the Romanian investigation.” Prosecutors also want to introduce evidence of Biden’s business dealings with a Chinese energy conglomerate and his compensation for his position on the board of a Ukrainian energy industrial conglomerate. “This evidence will not include evidence that the defendant performed lobbying activity in exchange for this compensation,” prosecutors wrote. “Rather,” they said, “the evidence will show the defendant performed almost no work in exchange for the millions of dollars he received from these entities.” The government filing comes in response to the defense request that the judge exclude allegations of improper political influence or corruption — including any allegations that Biden acted on behalf of a foreign principal to influence U.S. policy or public opinion. His lawyers cited a federal rule that bars one side from introducing unfairly prejudicial evidence against the other. “None of these alleged crimes involve evidence or testimony relating to conspiracy theories about Mr. Biden’s supposed improper political influence and/or corruption, and such evidence or testimony is wholly irrelevant in this case,” they previously wrote to U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi in California, who’s presiding over the tax case. In June, the president’s son was found guilty in the separate gun trial prosecuted by Weiss’ team in Delaware, where he is due to be sentenced in November. When it comes to Biden’s request to exclude allegations of acting on behalf of a foreign principal, prosecutors responded that Biden “did receive compensation from a foreign principal to attempt to influence U.S. policy and public opinion, as alleged in the indictment, and this evidence is relevant and not unfairly prejudicial.” Arguments over what evidence can be introduced at trial happen in every criminal case, though here that exercise is playing out in the extraordinary prosecution of the sitting president’s son. Generally speaking, defendants want to narrow the prosecution’s evidence to make it more difficult to carry the heavy burden of proving a case beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecutors, meanwhile, want to paint broadly, to tell what they see as the full story surrounding a defendant’s alleged criminality. That full story can involve unsavory elements, which is seemingly what Biden’s lawyers want to prevent. The extent to which they succeed on that score remains to be seen, but the defense may have a difficult task ahead. 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.
Trump and Vance offering 'dark and dystopian' vision of the future None - ‘Vote just this time’: Trump tells Christians they would never need to vote again if he’s elected 04:32
Fact-checking Trump's hour-long Mar-a-Lago news conference None - MSNBC's Chris Jansing fact-checks the various claims former President Trump made during a wide-ranging news conference, the first he has held since Vice President Harris announced Minnesota Gov. Walz as her running mate.Aug. 8, 2024
Harris cannot let Trump turn her into 'just another version' of the Biden admin None - Harris cannot let Trump turn her into 'just another version' of the Biden admin Former President Trump held a press event today Mar-a-Lago as he is scrambling to reclaim campaign momentum. Former RNC chairman Michael Steele and President of House Majority PAC Robby Mook join Chris Jansing to share their political analysis.Aug. 8, 2024
Two teens arrested in connection to foiled terror plot at Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in Vienna None - One of the suspects in the foiled terrorist attack to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna confessed a plan to kill himself and that a large number of others would be using knives and explosives. NBC News' Tom Winter and former assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI Frank Figliuzzi join Chris Jansing to report more.Aug. 8, 2024