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Friday, August 25, 2023

Donald Trump’s Mugshot Released

Spencer Brown: Former President Donald Trump surrendered to officials in Fulton County, Georgia, on Thursday evening — the fourth jurisdiction in which he’s had to turn himself in less than six months — to face an indictment on 13 state felony counts for his alleged misdeeds in the wake of the 2020 presidential election. As part of his processing by Fulton County, Trump was required to have a mugshot taken in a departure from the three previous times the former president surrender to face the other indictments against him. The photo was subsequently released by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office (Townhall). Mike Gallagher: I’m just returning from outside the Fulton County jail where I met furious Atlantans who came here to show support for #45. Seb is absolutely correct. Beyond shameful (Twitter). Townhall: TRUMP: “This is a really sad day for America. It should never happen” (Twitter).

House Judiciary Committee Investigating Fulton County DA Fani Willis’s Investigation into Donald Trump

National Review: House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan has launched an inquiry into Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis’s handling of her investigation into former president Donald Trump. The former president is facing 13 felony counts in connection with Willis’s investigation into Trump and his allies’ alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia. Those charges include conspiracy to commit forgery, filing false documents, Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer, and violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Now, the Judiciary Committee is investigating whether her investigation was politically motivated and whether she coordinated with the Department of Justice when charging Trump (National Review). Fox News: House Republicans are justifying the oversight of Georgia state indictments by pointing to news reports claiming Willis utilized many of the same witnesses and materials as Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith. The committee is demanding the district attorney’s office turn over all documentation of its use of federal funds, communications with the DOJ or its components, and any records of cooperation with officials of the executive branch (Fox News).

Democrats Urge Biden to Push Through Student Loan Cancelation

Washington Examiner: “Squad” member Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) led nearly 90 Democratic members of Congress who are pushing President Joe Biden to “use your authority” to cancel student debt for millions of Americans. The Democrats sent Biden a letter on Wednesday night acknowledging that the Supreme Court “has chosen to stand in the way” of the initial student forgiveness plan, which the president introduced one year ago on Thursday. “Working and middle class families need this relief to come as soon as possible. We urge you to continually find ways to use your authority to bring down student debt, address the rising cost of college, and make postsecondary education affordable for all students who choose that path,” the Democrats wrote. The Supreme Court struck down Biden’s plan in a 6-3 decision on June 30. The plan would have canceled up to $20,000 in federal student loans for millions of borrowers, amounting to almost $400 billion (Washington Examiner).

New York Governor Pleads for Federal Assistance for Immigration Crisis

Daily Caller: Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is begging President Joe Biden for help as her state suffers from a migrant crisis, she said Thursday. Hochul is asking the Biden administration for expedited work permits for migrants in the city, additional funds to help them go to school, help erecting more shelters, reimbursements for deploying the national guard and payment for future costs of the deployments, she announced (Daily Caller). Breaking911: SANCTUARY STATE GOV. HOCHUL: “This migrant crisis originated with the federal government and it must be resolved through the federal government… Help us out financially” (Twitter). Townhall: And while Hochul may finally be right about one thing — that there’s an illegal immigrant crisis stemming from the Biden administration’s border and immigration policies — she entirely misses the obvious solution to stop the flow of illegal immigrants. Instead of calling on Biden to secure the border and remove individuals who illegally enter the country, Hochul calls on Biden to add even more incentives or “pull factors” for migrants to unlawfully enter the US (Townhall).

DOJ Suing Elon Musk’s SpaceX for Hiring Practices

ABC: The Department of Justice is suing SpaceX, the aerospace company owned by Elon Musk, over alleged discriminatory practices against people living in the country under asylum and refugees. The federal government contends in its civil lawsuit, which was filed Thursday, that the company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act between September 2018 and May 2022 by discouraging asylees and refugees from applying to the company and refusing to hire or consider them (ABC). Katie Pavlich: In other words, SpaceX hired Americans and DOJ is unhappy about it. For years the Biden administration has targeted Musk and snubbed Tesla, the most successful and productive electric car company on the planet, at official White House events because the employees are not unionized. When Musk purchased Twitter late last year, the White House questioned the sale and Democrats like Senator Elizabeth Warren on Capitol Hill demanded a federal investigation (Townhall).

T-Mobile Announces Thousands of Layoffs

CNN: T-Mobile on Thursday announced it plans to lay off 5,000 employees, or around 7% of its total staff, over the next five weeks. The reductions will largely affect corporate and back-office jobs that are “primarily duplicative” to other roles and will reduce the company’s middle management layers, CEO Mike Sievert said in a letter to employees Thursday. The company also plans to reduce its spending on “external workers and resources,” but its retail and “consumer care” staff who work directly with customers will not be affected, he said. T-Mobile’s cuts comes after months of mass layoff announcements at a range of other technology companies — including Microsoft and Meta — as firms grapple with an uncertain economic environment (CNN). ABC: The Bellevue, Washington-based company became one of the country’s largest cellphone service carriers in 2020 after buying rival Sprint, In May, T-Mobile also announced plans to acquire Mint Mobile, partly owned by actor Ryan Reynolds, in a cash-and-stock purchase of Ka’ena Corp. worth as much as $1.35 billion. T-Mobile shares were down 2% in afternoon trading Thursday (ABC).

Norway to Send Ukraine F-16 Jets, US to Train the Pilots

Associated Press: NATO-member Norway will donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Thursday, amid Kyiv’s difficult counteroffensive against Russia (Associated Press). Washington Examiner: The Department of Defense will train Ukrainian pilots on advanced fighter aircraft as soon as next month, a spokesman announced on Thursday. First, the Ukrainian pilots will undergo an English language course, expected to begin in September, to teach them how to communicate about the F-16s at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. They will then start the F-16 training at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona, which is slated to begin in October and will be facilitated by the Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing (Washington Examiner).

North Carolina Energy Company Caught Raising Prices on Customers to Fund Their ESG Priorities

Spencer Brown: Duke Energy, a company that enjoys what is a near-monopoly on energy in North Carolina, is the target of a new campaign from Consumers’ Research for its pursuit of woke ESG — environmental, social and governance — policies that have come at the expense of the company’s customers in the form of higher energy costs amid already rampant inflation. You see, while pursuing “net-zero” emissions goals, Duke Energy has moved away from reliable and affordable sources of energy to more costly and less-reliable wind and solar sources, leading the company to repeatedly — and predictably — raise rates for customers while warning them of more cost increases on the horizon. Rather than pursuing cheaper forms of energy to help ease costs that already soared as a result of President Joe Biden and the Democrats’ work to kill off American energy independence, Duke Energy is apparently choosing ESG over its customers (Townhall). Will Hild: Duke Energy has admitted (and even bragged about) the fact that they are increasing prices on American families to fund their ESG To-Do List (Twitter).

All Eyes Were on the GOP Wednesday Evening as the Debate, Tucker Carlson’s Interview with Trump Garner Over 100 Million Views

Daily Wire: Former President Donald Trump skipped the Republican debate Wednesday night and sat down with Tucker Carlson for an extensive interview that garnered over 100 million views on X in a matter of hours. Trump answered questions ranging from why he did not attend the debate to if he believes the U.S. is headed for a civil war — and was even asked by the former Fox News host if he’s worried about an assassination attempt. The interview, which was posted to X five minutes before the start of the Republican debate amassed over 100 million views before the end of the night. By Thursday morning, Carlson’s interview with Trump had reached over 180 million views (Daily Wire). Hill: Nearly 13 million people watched the first Republican primary debate on Fox News on Wednesday night, well below the 20 million that tuned into Fox to watch the first GOP primary debate in 2015 — when Donald Trump debuted on the stage (Hill).

10.

Chicago Mayor Suing Automakers for Failure to Prevent Auto Thefts

Julio Rosas: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) announced on Thursday the city is suing automakers Kia and Hyundai for “their failure to include industry-standard engine immobilizers in multiple models of their vehicles,” which according to the city, is the reason for the high rate of crimes involving cars. The lawsuit is the latest move by the new mayor as public safety continues to be a major issue for the city’s residents due to soft-on-crime policies and judicial system. Stolen cars are often used by criminals to carry out other crimes, such as drive-by shootings and robberies, so it is an acceptable loss should they have to ditch it afterwards (Townhall). Chicago Tribune Reporter Alice Yin: Mayor Brandon Johnson announced today the city of Chicago will sue Kia and Hyundai over a spate of auto thefts that mostly comprise those car models (Twitter).