Page 2924 – Shore News Network

CNN Guest Calls Small Donors ‘One Of The Biggest Problems For Democracy,’ Praises Wealthy Elite

by The Daily Caller August 10, 2023

By The Daily Caller

CNN Guest Calls Small Donors ‘One Of The Biggest Problems For Democracy,’ Praises Wealthy Elite

Harold Hutchison on August 10, 2023

Former National Review columnist Jonah Goldberg claimed Thursday that small donors in the Republican primary were a problem “for democracy” and “just venting their spleen” rather than acting strategically.

“Small donors in Iowa are more important as an indicator of grass root support than anything else. But I also think we’re dealing with a time where there’s of cheering and self-congratulations about the rise of small donors a decade ago,” Goldberg told “Inside Politics” host Dana Bash.

WATCH:

“Now small donors are one of the biggest problems for democracy, for the GOP. Because small donor — large donors actually have a strategic view about moderation, who can win, who can’t. Small donors really are just venting their spleen with their credit card, and they lock candidates into positions that can hurt them in the general election,” Goldberg added.

Former President Donald Trump currently leads Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida in the Real Clear Politics average of polls taken from July 12 to August 6, 54.2% to 15.9%, a margin of 38 points, with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy in third place with 6.1%. DeSantis has struggled to close the gap with Trump, firing campaign manager Generra Peck Tuesday and replacing her with longtime aide James Uthmeier.

Ad: Save every day with Amazon Deals: Check out today's daily deals on Amazon.

Over 110 donors in Iowa have given Trump $200 or more, compared to 25 for former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, 17 for DeSantis and seven for Pence, The New York Times reported.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].

August 10, 2023 0 comments

Opinion - Editorial Politics Top Headlines Trending News US and World News

Judge In Censorship Case Compares Biden Admin’s Relationship With Big Tech To The Mob

by The Daily Caller August 10, 2023

By The Daily Caller

Judge In Censorship Case Compares Biden Admin’s Relationship With Big Tech To The Mob

Katelynn Richardson on August 10, 2023

A federal appeals court judge compared the Biden administration’s relationship with Big Tech to the mob during oral arguments Thursday for the major censorship case Missouri v. Biden.

The Fifth Circuit heard oral arguments Thursday to consider the Biden administration’s appeal of a district court judge’s injunction barring the federal government from communicating with social media for the purposes of censoring protected speech. The three-judge panel pushed back on DOJ lawyer Daniel Tenny’s claim that the Biden administration had a “back and forth” relationship with social media companies that did not involve coercion, with one judge drawing an analogy between the government’s actions and how the mob operates.

“In these movies that we see with the mob … they don’t say and spell out things, but they have these ongoing relationships,” said Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, a George W. Bush appointee. “They never actually say ‘go do this or else you’re going to have this consequence.’ But everybody just knows.”

“I’m certainly not equating the federal government with anybody in illegal organized crime but there are certain relationships that people know things without always saying the ‘or else,’” she continued.

Earlier, Elrod said the administration had a “very close working relationship” with companies that was like “a supervisor complaining about a worker.”

Ad: Save every day with Amazon Deals: Check out today's daily deals on Amazon.

“What appears to be in the record are these irate messages from time to time form high ranking government official that say, ‘You didn’t do this yet!’ — and that’s my toning down the language— ‘Why haven’t you done his yet?’” she said. “It’s like ‘jump’ and ‘how high?’”

The other judges, Edith Brown Clement, a George H. W. Bush appointee, and Don R. Willett, a Trump appointee, also appeared skeptical of the government’s claims.

Willett said the government operated “out of the public eye” through “unsubtle strong-arming and veiled or not-so-veiled threats.”

“That’s a really nice social media platform you’ve got there, it would be a shame if something happened to it,” he summarized.

The Biden administration appealed the injunction issued by Western District of Louisiana Judge Terry A. Doughty to the Fifth Circuit on July 5, the day after it was issued. The Fifth Circuit issued a temporary stay on injunction July 14 “until further orders” of the court.

August 10, 2023 0 comments

Business News

US mortgage delinquency rates fall to all-time low

by Reuters August 10, 2023

By Reuters

By Safiyah Riddle

(Reuters) – U.S. mortgage delinquency rates fell to a record low in the second quarter due to a strong job market and low interest rates prevailing on most home loans despite the big jump in mortgage rates over the last two years, a report on Thursday said.

Delinquency rates fell to 3.37% at the end of the second quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey, their lowest since the MBA began collecting data in 1979 and down from 3.64% year-on-year.

Seriously delinquent loans, which are 90 days or more past due or in the process of foreclosure, fell to the lowest non-seasonally adjusted rate in 23 years at 1.61%.

Economists are watching mortgage delinquency rates closely for signs of weakness amidst the Federal Reserve’s aggressive 525 basis point interest rate increase since March 2022, which increased the cost of borrowing across the board.

While the MBA said many borrowers have been able to withstand surging mortgage costs in large part due to a resilient job market and strong wage growth throughout the year, most homeowners are also paying interest rates well below those charged on new loans.

Ad: Save every day with Amazon Deals: Check out today's daily deals on Amazon.

Real estate brokers estimated in June that more than eight in 10 loans outstanding featured at rate below 5% at the end of 2022, well below the MBA’s most recent contract rate above 7%. More than six in 10 pay 4% or less.

While the share of those paying such low rates is declining, many homeowners are opting to remain where they are rather than move and take on a new loan at current rates, which are approaching a 22-year high.

Despite the historically low delinquency rate, the MBA said not every borrower has been able to withstand the recent stress of hiked interest rates.

The delinquency rate on loans for low-income and first-time buyers, backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), edged up 10 basis points annually to 8.95% in the second quarter.

Separately on Thursday, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing that the median home price in the second quarter fell 2.4% year-on-year to $406,000, albeit with significant variations nationwide.

“Home sales were down due to higher mortgage rates and limited inventory,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “Affordability challenges are easing due to moderating and, in some cases, falling home prices, while the number of jobs and incomes are increasing.”

(Reporting by Safiyah Riddle; Editing by Dan Burns and Marguerita Choy)

August 10, 2023 0 comments

US and World News

Court skeptical of Biden admin’s bid to reverse curbs on social media contacts

by Reuters August 10, 2023

By Reuters

By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Thursday appeared skeptical of the Biden administration’s bid to reverse a court order sharply limiting its ability to ask social media companies to remove content that it considers to be misinformation.

Daniel Tenny, a lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice, told a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans that U.S. officials never forced social media companies to remove posts about COVID-19, the 2020 election and other topics, as Louisiana and Missouri claimed in a lawsuit. Instead, he said, the government had informed the companies of certain posts that spread harmful misinformation.

But Circuit Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod said that “irate” messages from officials taking social media companies to task for not removing certain posts quickly enough suggested “a very close working relationship” between the government and the companies.

“It’s like a supervisor complaining about a worker,” she said.

Circuit Judge Don Willett said public statements by Biden officials suggesting that social media companies could face antitrust enforcement, or lose immunity from certain lawsuits under federal law, could be seen as threats.

Ad: Save every day with Amazon Deals: Check out today's daily deals on Amazon.

“That’s a really nice social media platform you got there – it would be a shame if something happened to it,” Willett said, describing what he saw as the statements’ tone.

Elrod and Willett, along with the third member of the panel, Circuit Judge Edith Brown Clement, were all appointed by Republican presidents.

Tenny countered that the social media companies mentioned in the lawsuit, including Meta Platform’s Facebook, Alphabet Inc-owned YouTube and Twitter, now known as X Corp, regularly refused government requests to remove content.

“The notion that the social media companies felt they had to bend to the FBI’s will when half the time they didn’t – it doesn’t fit any of these theories,” he said.

John Sauer, a lawyer for the states, compared the administration’s efforts to the government pressuring publishers to hold mass book burnings.

He said that the social media companies gave in to “unrelenting pressure from the most powerful office in the world.”

The administration is appealing a July 4 ruling, in which U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty sided with the states in finding that the government engaged in an “Orwellian” program to suppress opposing views, including those questioning the efficacy of mask mandates and lockdowns to fight COVID and the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, which Democrat Joe Biden won over Republican incumbent Donald Trump.

The Trump-appointed judge, whose courthouse in Monroe has become a favored venue for Republican challenges to Biden’s policies, said the “widespread censorship campaign” violated the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment’s free speech guarantees.

He barred government agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, from talking to social media companies to seek the removal or suppression of content containing protected free speech, with narrow exceptions.

The order is currently on hold while the 5th Circuit considers the administration’s appeal.

(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Nate Raymond, Aurora Ellis and Alexia Garamfalvi)

August 10, 2023 0 comments

Business News

US court rules no class action on Goldman Sachs crisis-era claims

by Reuters August 10, 2023

By Reuters

By Jody Godoy

(Reuters) -Goldman Sachs shareholders cannot go forward with a class action alleging the bank misled investors about its business practices ahead of the subprime mortgage crisis, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday.

The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in three pension funds’ long-running case accusing the bank of unlawfully hiding conflicts of interest when creating risky subprime securities, costing investors more than $13 billion.

The court said that the bank’s statements about its ability to prevent conflicts of interest were not closely linked to Goldman being fined by U.S. authorities in 2010 over marketing materials for a subprime investment product, and therefore did not affect the stock price.

A Goldman Sachs spokesperson said the bank is “gratified by the Second Circuit’s decision in this case.”

A spokesperson for the law firm representing the investors declined to comment.

The Arkansas Teacher Retirement System and others that purchased Goldman shares between February 2007 and June 2010 accused the company and three former executives of securities fraud.

The investors said the bank’s fraudulent statements kept its stock price artificially high.

The plaintiffs said that when they bought Goldman shares they relied upon the bank’s statements about its ethical principles and internal controls against conflicts of interest, and its pledge that its “clients’ interests always come first.”

Goldman argued that these “aspirational” statements were too vague and general to have had any impact on the stock price.

The case stemmed from Goldman’s sale of collateralized debt obligations including Abacus 2007 AC-1, which it assembled with help from hedge fund manager John Paulson.

In 2010, Goldman reached a $550 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve charges that it cheated Abacus investors by concealing Paulson’s role, including how he made a $1 billion profit by betting that the sale of collateralized debt obligations would fail.

The plaintiffs said the share price would have been lower if the truth had been known about the company’s conflicts of interest.

On Thursday, applying a 2021 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case, the 2nd Circuit found that Goldman successfully showed the statements did not artificially inflate its share price because they were not sufficiently linked to the later disclosures.

Statements such as “integrity and honesty are at the heart of our business” are too generic to have affected the price, the court wrote.

The case is Arkansas Teacher Retirement System et al. v. Goldman Sachs, No. 22-484, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis and John Stonestreet)

August 10, 2023 0 comments

US and World News

Trump appeals dismissal of defamation claim against E. Jean Carroll

by Reuters August 10, 2023

By Reuters

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Donald Trump on Thursday appealed a judge’s dismissal of his claim that the writer E. Jean Carroll defamed him by accusing him of rape, after a jury awarded her $5 million for defamation and sexual abuse but not rape.

The former president asked the federal appeals court in Manhattan to overturn an Aug. 7 decision by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan that also rejected some of his defenses in a second defamation lawsuit by Carroll.

Kaplan said the May 9 verdict reflected a finding that Trump “deliberately and forcibly” penetrated Carroll’s private parts with his fingers.

He said that amounted to rape as people commonly use the term, though state law defines it more narrowly, establishing the “substantial truth of Ms. Carroll’s ‘rape’ accusations.”

Carroll, 79, a former Elle magazine columnist, is seeking at least $10 million from Trump, 77, in her second lawsuit.

Both cases stemmed from Trump’s denials that he raped Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan in the mid-1990s.

Lawyers for Carroll did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A trial in the second lawsuit is scheduled for Jan. 15, 2024, but Trump wants it put on hold during his separate appeal of Kaplan’s June 29 refusal to dismiss it.

Carroll’s lawyers opposed that request on Thursday, saying she has waited long enough, and the public would be “poorly served” by granting Trump an “effectively indefinite delay.”

Trump is the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

He has also pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in three separate criminal indictments, including over his effort to reverse his 2020 election loss and his role in events leading to the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol.

In suing Carroll, Trump said she tarred his reputation by maintaining in comments on CNN following the jury verdict that he had raped her.

The case is Carroll v. Trump, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 20-07311.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)

August 10, 2023 0 comments

Business News

Coach owner’s Michael Kors deal creates US giant to take on European luxury rivals

by Reuters August 10, 2023

By Reuters

By Aishwarya Venugopal

(Reuters) -Coach parent Tapestry will buy Michael Kors owner Capri Holdings in a deal valued at $8.5 billion, creating a U.S. fashion powerhouse to challenge larger European rivals for a bigger share of the global luxury market.

U.S. luxury firms have consistently lagged their European peers in scale, limiting their ability to compete better. Paris-listed LVMH owns 75 brands, including U.S. jeweler Tiffany and fashion labels Louis Vuitton and Dior.

Thursday’s deal will also bring under one roof Tapestry’s more affordable luxury brands Kate Spade, Stuart Weitzman and Capri’s Jimmy Choo and Versace labels.

“Scale appears to be more and more important in luxury given the resources big conglomerates can put into growing their smaller brands,” Morningstar analyst Jelena Sokolova said.

The combined company generated more than $12 billion in global annual sales in the previous fiscal year, Tapestry said. That compares with about $87 billion for LVMH last year and roughly $23 billion for another European rival Kering.

Tapestry will pay Capri shareholders $57 per share in cash, representing a premium of nearly 65%. The equity value of the deal is $6.69 billion, as per Reuters calculations.

Shares of Capri hit over a six-month high of $54.52 during trading hours and closed up 56% at $53.90, while Tapestry closed down 16% at $34.67 as investors balked at an $8 billion bridge loan taken by the company for the deal.

The acquisition is also a bulwark against a looming slowdown in demand for luxury goods in the U.S. as sticky inflation forces customers to cut back on discretionary spending.

“(The weakening demand) has put pressure on Tapestry and Capri, both of which are now looking to international markets to bolster growth. There is more security in embarking on bold international plans as a larger entity,” said GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders.

The deal will help Capri revive its Michael Kors brand under “better management” at Tapestry after weak sales in the past few quarters, analysts said.

Both companies have grown through acquisitions.

In 2017, Tapestry – then known as Coach – bought handbag maker Kate Spade for $2.4 billion. In the same year, Capri, formerly known as Michael Kors, acquired British shoemaker Jimmy Choo for $1.2 billion.

A year later, Capri bought Versace for $2.2 billion.

“We’re broadening and diversifying our customer base … that deepen our access to luxury consumers and market segments,” Tapestry’s CEO Joanne Crevoiserat said on a conference call discussing the deal.

The acquisition of Capri could also mark a revival in deal-making in the U.S. luxury space while European majors have snapped up high-end brands.

Last month, Gucci-owner Kering said it was buying a 30% stake in Italian fashion label Valentino. LVMH closed its $15.8 billion acquisition of Tiffany in early 2021.

The deal, which is expected to be immediately add to Tapestry’s adjusted profit, is expected to close in 2024.

The transaction is estimated to generate savings of more than $200 million within three years of closing, the companies said.

Separately on Thursday, Capri reported a 9.6% drop in its first-quarter total revenue to $1.23 billion, but beat analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Its adjusted profit came in at 74 cents per share, also topping estimates of 71 cents.

The company added that because of the announced deal it does not intend to provide any financial guidance at this time, and has withdrawn its previously issued forecast.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal, Savyata Mishra, Deborah Sophia and Chandni Shah in Bengaluru, Additional reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh; Editing by Sonia Cheema, Sriraj Kalluvila and Shinjini Ganguli)

August 10, 2023 0 comments

FDNY Ambulance on scene to provide medical assistance to victims.

Breaking News New York City News New York News Police Blotter

Elderly Woman Assaulted in NYC Robbery

by Adam Devine August 10, 2023

By Adam Devine

NEW YORK CITY, NY – A robbery incident is being investigated by the New York City Police Department.

The incident occurred on Monday, around 12:50 pm.

That day, a 69-year-old woman was ascending the stairs near E. 176 St and Fox Street when she was approached from behind.

An unknown individual forcefully snatched her purse. That caused her to tumble down the stairs.

The victim suffered injuries and was transported by EMS to NYC Health and Hospitals/Lincoln for treatment.

August 10, 2023 0 comments

Breaking News New York City News New York News Police Blotter

NYPD Investigating Multiple Robberies on Subway Trains

by Adam Devine August 10, 2023

By Adam Devine

NEW YORK CITY, NY – The New York City Police Department is actively seeking two individuals in connection to a series of robbery incidents.

On Saturday, June 10, around 4:30 pm, two unknown individuals targeted a 64-year-old man at the West 23 Street and 8 Avenue MTA ‘A’ train station, taking his wallet.

On last Sunday, at roughly 4:05 am, six unknown individuals approached a 35-year-old male inside the Saint Nicholas Avenue and West 145 Street MTA ‘D’ train station.

The victim was attacked, and his wallet was stolen.

On last Friday, August 4, at about 1:45 am, two individuals accosted a 46-year-old man on a southbound MTA ‘R’ train near the De Kalb Avenue and Flatbush Avenue Extension station. They took money from his backpack.

NYPD Investigating Multiple Robberies on Subway Trains

August 10, 2023 0 comments

Business News

Tutoring firm settles US agency’s first bias lawsuit involving AI software

by Reuters August 10, 2023

By Reuters

By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) – A China-based tutoring company has agreed to settle a U.S. government agency’s novel lawsuit claiming it used hiring software powered by artificial intelligence to illegally weed out older job applicants.

The 2022 lawsuit against iTutorGroup Inc was the first by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) involving a company’s use of AI to make employment decisions.

The commission, which enforces workplace bias laws, in 2021 launched an initiative to ensure that AI software used by U.S. employers complies with anti-discrimination laws. The EEOC has warned that it will focus enforcement efforts on companies that misuse AI.

ITutorGroup agreed to pay $365,000 to more than 200 job applicants allegedly passed over because of their age, according to a joint filing made in New York federal court on Wednesday. The settlement must be approved by a federal judge.

The company, which provides English-language tutoring to students in China, denied wrongdoing in the settlement.

The EEOC had alleged that iTutorGroup in 2020 programmed online recruitment software to screen out women aged 55 or older and men who were 60 or older.

ITutorGroup, a unit of Ping An Insurance Group Co of China , did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An EEOC spokesperson said the agency would not comment until the settlement is approved.

At least 85% of large U.S. employers are using AI in some aspects of employment, according to recent surveys.

That includes software that screens out job applicants before a human reviews any applications, human resources “chatbots,” and programs that conduct performance reviews and make recommendations for promotions.

Many worker advocates and policymakers are concerned about the potential for existing biases to be baked into AI software, even unintentionally.

In a pending proposed class action in California federal court, Workday is accused of designing hiring software used by scores of large companies that screens out Black, disabled and older applicants. Workday has denied wrongdoing.

Experts expect an increasing number of lawsuits accusing employers of discriminating through their use of AI software.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Andy Sullivan)

August 10, 2023 0 comments

Business News

US dollar recovers from inflation-related losses; yen slumps

by Reuters August 10, 2023

By Reuters

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar reversed losses on Thursday, led by gains against the yen, as investors digested U.S. inflation numbers that showed a moderate increase last month, but are still way above the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target.

The greenback climbed to five-week peaks against the yen of 144.735, and last traded up 0.7% at 144.71 yen. So far this year, the dollar has gained 10.4% versus the Japanese currency.

The U.S. unit also pared gains against the euro, which last changed hands at $1.0985, up just 0.1%. The recovery of the dollar against both the euro and yen pushed the dollar index up 0.1% to 102.56.

Earlier in the session, the dollar dropped after data showed the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2% last month, matching the gain in June. The CPI climbed 3.2% in the 12 months through July, up from a 3.0% rise in June, which was the smallest year-on-year gain since March 2021.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, the CPI gained 0.2% in July, the same as the June increase. In the 12 months through July, core CPI grew 4.7% after rising 4.8% in June.

“The story from this morning’s CPI release took a little while to settle into markets. While yes, year-over-year CPI did come in slightly below expectation, that 3.2% figure is still higher than it was last month,” said Helen Given, FX trader at Monex USA in Washington.

“It’s also still a good bit higher than the Fed’s 2% inflation target, so it’s still very much in the realm of possibility that there will be a further 25 basis point hike this year. Even if the Fed chooses not to hike interest rates again, a cut is not coming any time soon as inflation above target remains entrenched in the U.S. economy.”

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank Mary Daly on Thursday also said more progress is needed to tame inflation, even though it is moving in the right direction. She is a voter on the Federal Open Market Committee in 2024.

She said the July CPI numbers do not mean that the Fed can declare victory over inflation, adding that the labor market is not yet balanced.

Futures on the benchmark fed funds rate have priced in a pause in rate hikes at the next meeting and for the rest of the year. The next possible move by the Fed is a rate cut in May 2024, rate futures showed.

A separate report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 248,000 for the week ended Aug. 5. Economists had forecast 230,000 claims for the latest week.

In other currencies, the dollar slipped 0.1% to 0.8765 francs.

The euro gained against the yen, soaring to a 15-year high of 159.20. It was last up 0.8% at 158.96 yen.

Analysts had partly attributed the yen’s weak trend to higher oil prices, given that Japan is a major oil importer.

Investors are also on the lookout for possible intervention by the Japan to lift the yen. In September, Japan intervened when the dollar rose above 145 yen, pushing the pair to around 140 yen as the Ministry of Finance bought the yen to weaken the dollar.

========================================================

Currency bid prices at 3:53PM (1953 GMT)

Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid

Previous Change

Session

Dollar index 102.6000 102.4800 +0.14% -0.860% +102.6400 +101.7600

Euro/Dollar $1.0980 $1.0975 +0.06% +2.49% +$1.1065 +$1.0968

Dollar/Yen 144.7600 143.7500 +0.70% +10.41% +144.7850 +143.2550

Euro/Yen 158.96 157.73 +0.78% +13.30% +159.2000 +157.6700

Dollar/Swiss 0.8767 0.8773 -0.08% -5.20% +0.8776 +0.8690

Sterling/Dollar $1.2676 $1.2721 -0.35% +4.82% +$1.2818 +$1.2670

Dollar/Canadian 1.3439 1.3420 +0.14% -0.81% +1.3441 +1.3373

Aussie/Dollar $0.6524 $0.6529 -0.08% -4.30% +$0.6617 +$0.6521

Euro/Swiss 0.9626 0.9625 +0.01% -2.72% +0.9637 +0.9615

Euro/Sterling 0.8661 0.8625 +0.42% -2.07% +0.8665 +0.8626

NZ $0.6033 $0.6052 -0.31% -4.98% +$0.6117 +$0.6028

Dollar/Dollar

Dollar/Norway 10.2960 10.2080 +0.84% +4.89% +10.3040 +10.0900

Euro/Norway 11.3087 11.1970 +1.00% +7.77% +11.3210 +11.1587

Dollar/Sweden 10.6939 10.6654 +0.30% +2.75% +10.7006 +10.5459

Euro/Sweden 11.7419 11.7063 +0.30% +5.31% +11.7505 +11.6679

(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting Alun John in London; Editing by Mark Potter, Andrea Ricci and Richard Chang)

August 10, 2023 0 comments

Opinion - Editorial Politics Top Headlines Trending News US and World News

FRACOIS BAIRD: The Niger Coup Could Produce A Domino Effect Across West Africa

by The Daily Caller August 10, 2023

By The Daily Caller

FRACOIS BAIRD: The Niger Coup Could Produce A Domino Effect Across West Africa

Francois Baird on August 10, 2023

Niger’s recent coup threatens West Africa’s stability and American and French interests in Africa, while advancing Chinese opportunities. Africans will suffer and Moslem extremists will continue to gain ground. Niger is unlikely to return to democracy in the short term.

France hoped that the Niger Army would defuse the coup by the Presidential Guard, but the Army sided with the Presidential Guard. Deadlines set by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for the military to return deposed President Bazoum to power or face military intervention have passed.

Developments in Niger follow the deteriorating security in Burkina Faso, which is also affecting other countries in the region. This is an early test for the ability of newly-appointed Leonardo Simão, Mozambique’s former minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, as UN special representative for West Africa and the Sahel, to muster a coherent response. He is expected to pull together a better response to the risks in West Africa and SAHEL than has so far happened.

Niger’s military have learned from coups in Mali, Chad, Guinea, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau that the consequences are manageable. In other coups, when America and France walked away, Russians, in the form of the mercenary Wagner Group, were generally invited in.

But American and French governments have not learned from this near-term history. If America and France do not recalibrate their African approach, they would increasingly forfeit influence to China and Russia, suffering losses of access to strategic minerals, like over 7% of the world’s uranium in Niger, together with geographic, security and trade disadvantages.

The way forward for America requires both a focus on promoting the rule of law and democracy, while also having the fortitude for pragmatically dealing with undemocratic regimes and military governments. Pragmatism means also serving the interests of poor, disenfranchised people. Since France vacated its West African interests, particularly after the latest Burkina Faso coup, there are more displaced people, more incursions, slower economic growth and less democracy.

Risks for West Africa’s economy are obvious. Now Libya, Chad, Togo, Ghana, Senegal, Benin, Nigeria and Cote D’Ivoire are all at risk.

The biggest beneficiary of the situation is Guinea, another West African country recently captured by military coup. Guinea is proactively in favor of mining.

The Guinean government is already trying to capture Burkina Faso’s mining investment and income and will likely also be attractive to Nigerien miners. Guinea recently sent a counter-terrorism task force to its border with Mali.

Americans will know the situation is deteriorating further if Niger’s government forces lose several significant battles in a row, if a major military base is overrun or if there are significant attacks in Niyamey, the capital city, as happened in Burkina Faso.

Another sign of decline would be if high-ranking officials or civilians leave Niger, and the closed international offices and embassies do not reopen.

America should look out for growing displaced person camps and shortages of food, as well as declining tax income for the military government of Niger. Such developments will open the door for China, Russia and even Turkey, which is becoming more active in Africa.

Based on history, the coup will result in losses of American and French investment and counterterrorism bases in Niger. The winners are Russia, China and Moslem extremists.

The coup should be a wake-up call.

America and France need to recalibrate their approach and involvement in Africa so that they do not increasingly forfeit influence and lose access to strategic minerals, security, and trade.

François Baird is a founder and chairman of Baird’s CMC Ltd, Baird’s US LLC and Calbridge Investments (Pty) Ltd. Baird’s CMC is an international communications management consultancy with 47 partners across the world.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

August 10, 2023 0 comments

Opinion - Editorial Politics Top Headlines Trending News US and World News

Disgraced Former FBI Official Claims Trump To Blame For Agents Shooting Utah Man

by The Daily Caller August 10, 2023

By The Daily Caller

Disgraced FBI Official Claims Trump To Blame For FBI Shooting Utah Man

Harold Hutchison on August 10, 2023

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe claimed Thursday that “reckless” comments from former President Donald Trump caused an incident which led to the FBI shooting a Utah man.

FBI agents reportedly killed Craig Deleeuw Robertson Wednesday morning while attempting to take him into custody and search his home following allegations that he threatened government officials, including Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and President Joe Biden. Bragg secured a grand jury indictment against Trump in March in a case centered around a $130,000 payout to [censored] star Stormy Daniels.

WATCH:

“I’m confident that the multiple cases, investigations, what will ultimately be trials of Donald Trump, will continue to really fire up the most extreme portion of his supporters,” McCabe told “CNN News Central” host Kate Bolduan. “You know, he also made threats about Letitia James, made threats about Gavin Newsom, who is a very kind of outspoken Trump critic.”

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges during his Aug. 3 arraignment after special counsel Jack Smith secured a four-count indictment of Trump relating to his efforts to contest the results of the 2020 election. Smith previously secured a 37-count indictment against Trump in June based on an investigation into allegations surrounding classified documents.

“And let’s be clear, President Trump’s own rhetoric targeting these people, showing his supporters who he dislikes, airing out his own grievances, that has an encouraging impact on people who are prone to violence,” McCabe continued. “It’s reckless to engage in that sort of speech, but that’s what former President Trump does.”

McCabe was fired as deputy director of the FBI in 2018 following an inspector general’s report that accused him of lying about leaks to the media, but the firing was reversed in 2021 following a legal settlement in which he received his pension.

August 10, 2023 0 comments

Opinion - Editorial Politics Top Headlines Trending News US and World News

Biden Admin Agrees To $6 Billion Deal With Iran In Exchange For American Prisoners: REPORT

by The Daily Caller August 10, 2023

By The Daily Caller

Biden Admin Agrees To $6 Billion Deal With Iran In Exchange For American Prisoners: REPORT

Jake Smith on August 10, 2023

The United States and Iran have reached a deal to free five imprisoned Americans in exchange for $6 billion in assets and a number of Iranian prisoners, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

The Biden administration will transfer $6 billion in previously frozen Iranian assets and release multiple jailed Iranian nationals in exchange for five Americans wrongfully detained in Iran, according to the NYT. The deal will be completed through multiple phases, and the American prisoners will only be released after the $6 billion in assets is made available to Iran.

“We have received confirmation that Iran has released from prison five Americans who were unjustly detained and has placed them on house arrest,” said the White House in a statement released Thursday. “While this is an encouraging step, these U.S. citizens – Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz, Emad Shargi, and two Americans who at this time wish to remain private – should have never been detained in the first place. We will continue to monitor their condition as closely as possible. Of course, we will not rest until they are all back home in the United States.”

“Until that time, negotiations for their eventual release remain ongoing and are delicate. We will, therefore, have little in the way of details to provide about the state of their house arrest or about our efforts to secure their freedom,” the statement continued.

As part of the first phase of the deal, four of the imprisoned Americans – one of which have been detained since 2015 – have been released from Iran’s Evin prison into house arrest, according to the NYT. The other American detainee was released into house arrest earlier in the week.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian states that his country is prepared to swap prisoners with the United States pic.twitter.com/po6le21SLM

— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) August 9, 2023

“While I hope this will be the first step to their ultimate release, this is at best the beginning of the end and nothing more,” Jared Genser, a lawyer for one of the American prisoners, said, according to the NYT. “But there are simply no guarantees about what happens from here.”

Genser said the five Americans are currently being held in a hotel under the guard of Iranian officials, according to the NYT.

The $6 billion in assets, originally Iranian oil revenue, was frozen by the U.S. as part of sanctions against Iran, the NYT reported. It is currently being held in South Korea and will be transferred to the central bank of Qatar, where the funds will be controlled by the Qatari government and doled out to Iran only for humanitarian purposes, including food and medicine.

A number of Iranian nationals imprisoned for violating sanctions on Iran will also be released as part of the deal, according to the NYT.

“We are in touch with the families of U.S. citizens involved, and we continue to monitor these individuals’ health and welfare closely,” the State Department said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “While we welcome the news of these individuals’ release from prison to house arrest, they should never have been imprisoned in the first place. We continue to work diligently to bring these individuals home to their loved ones.”

August 10, 2023 0 comments

US and World News

United cancels some Hawaii flights due to Maui wildfires; Alaska Air flags delays

by Reuters August 10, 2023

By Reuters

(Reuters) -United Airlines Holdings said on Thursday that it had canceled flights to Kahului Airport in Hawaii’s Maui and would fly empty planes to the wildfire-hit island to bring passengers back to the mainland.

Separately, Alaska Air Group flagged some delays because of the wildfires earlier in the day, but said that it was sticking to its regular flight schedule from Maui.

Alaska Air is also adding an extra flight to facilitate rescue efforts and may consider including more depending on the situation, it said.

“In terms of operational impact, we are delaying some flights to ensure smooth operations,” the carrier said in a statement.

At least 36 people have died after wildfires, fanned by winds from a faraway hurricane, devastated much of the resort city Lahaina on Hawaii’s Maui island, Maui County said in a statement late on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary and Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Anil D’Silva)

August 10, 2023 0 comments

US and World News

US NTSB cites United crew failure in Boeing 777 altitude loss incident

by Reuters August 10, 2023

By Reuters

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday cited United Airlines crew failure in a December 2022 flight that sharply lost altitude before recovering shortly after departing Kahului, Hawaii.

The Boeing 777 jet lost altitude about one minute after departure in heavy rain, descending from 2,100 feet to about 748 feet above the water before the crew recovered from the descent. The NTSB cited “the flight crew’s failure to manage the airplane’s vertical flight path, airspeed, and pitch attitude following a miscommunication about the captain’s desired flap setting during the initial climb.”

United Flight 1722, which was bound for San Francisco with 271 passengers and 10 crew, safely landed after the captain recovered from the descent.

Both pilots recalled hearing initial warnings from the ground proximity warning system (GPWS), the NTSB said. The first officer recalled announcing “Pull up,” repeatedly as the GPWS alarmed, according to a statement given to investigators.

The first officer recalled as the captain was performing the recovery, the GPWS alerted again as the descent began to reverse. The NTSB said the reversal occurred about 748 feet above the water.

After the plane began climbing again the remainder of the flight was uneventful, the NTSB said.

United said “there’s nothing more important than the safety of our crew and customers, which is why we’re drawing on the lessons learned from this flight to inform the training of all United pilots.”

United noted its “pilots voluntarily reported this event and United fully cooperated with the independent investigation so that insights could be used to enhance the safety of the entire industry.”

The NTSB said United issued an “awareness campaign about flight path management at their training center.” Boeing did not comment.

Because the NTSB did not learn of the incident for two months, there were no records from the cockpit voice or flight data recorder from the flight.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler and Aurora Ellis)

August 10, 2023 0 comments

US and World News

US Senator Joe Manchin says ‘thinking seriously’ about leaving Democratic Party

by Reuters August 10, 2023

By Reuters

By Moira Warburton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a maverick Democrat who has often bucked party leadership, told a radio station in his home state of West Virginia on Thursday that he is “thinking seriously” about leaving the party.

“I’m not a Washington Democrat,” Manchin said in the interview on Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval, a West Virginia Metro News show. “I’ve been thinking seriously about that (becoming an independent) for quite some time.”

Manchin and Democratic-turned-independent colleague Senator Kyrsten Sinema have been thorns in top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer’s side since the party won its majority in 2020. Democrats hold a 51-49 majority, including three independents who caucus with them.

Last month Manchin further stirred Democratic concerns with an appearance in the early-voting state of New Hampshire with the “No Labels” group, where he mulled starting a third-party presidential campaign in 2024, challenging Democratic President Joe Biden. Having a third-party candidate would “threaten” the two major political parties, Manchin said.

Manchin has used his influence to block legislation that he opposes – including expanding voting rights protections and child tax credits – and to ensure passage of bills he supports, such as a major tax and climate law that passed last summer.

He faces a tough re-election bid next year in Republican-leaning West Virginia, which former President Donald Trump won by almost 39 percentage points in 2020. Manchin has not yet said if he will seek re-election, but he would face an even steeper road if he spurned his party and the fundraising support it can provide.

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, a former Democrat-turned Republican, began his campaign in April for the Republican nomination to seek Manchin’s seat.

Manchin, a popular former governor who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010, has kept his seat in part by maintaining a reputation as a rare conservative Democrat in Washington.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Grant McCool)

August 10, 2023 0 comments

US and World News

Murder of Ecuador presidential candidate spooks voters in unsettled election

by Reuters August 10, 2023

By Reuters

By Alexandra Valencia and Tito Correa

QUITO (Reuters) – The murder of Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio has made some voters more wary of going to the polls on Aug. 20, making an unsettled election even harder to forecast.

Villavicencio, a vocal critic of corruption and organized crime, was killed on Wednesday during an evening campaign event in northern Quito.

The assassination less than two weeks ahead of voting shocked the country, where violent crime and drug trafficking have risen sharply in recent years.

Voters said they were afraid of more bloodshed, with some weighing whether to comply with mandatory voting rules.

“I am scared and I’m thinking about whether to go vote,” said Quito manicurist Margarita Alvarado, 45. “If a candidate with bodyguards couldn’t be saved … I’m afraid something violent will happen at the polling station.”

“I prefer to pay the fine,” Alvarado said, referring to the $45 charge levied on those between 18 and 65 who do not cast ballots. “I can’t suffer this distress.”

Even before the assassination there was widespread uncertainty about the race.

The candidates between second and fifth place, battling for a spot in a possible October runoff vote, are polling within the margin of error of each other, pollster Cedatos said in a Tuesday post to X, the platform previously known as Twitter.

People planning to turn in protest or blank ballots represented about 25% of voters, the pollster said.

“The assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio complicates what is already an atypical and complex political crisis in Ecuador,” said Verisk Maplecroft chief analyst Jimena Blanco and lead Americas analyst Eileen Gavin in a note.

“With some 40% of voters undecided, current polling data was already unlikely to be very accurate; the assassination now adds a new source of unpredictability to the electoral outcome,” they added.

Villavicencio’s supporters, about 8% of respondents in recent polls, may not fall neatly into another camp. Despite his union ties, Villavicencio was sharply opposed to leading leftist candidate Luisa Gonzalez.

“On paper, the most obvious beneficiary of Villavicencio’s murder would be Jan Topic … who is running a tough-on-crime campaign,” said consultancy Teneo in a note. “However, Topic … has limited name recognition and does not appear to have made much of an impact.”

Despite the suspension of campaigning by two opponents and widespread condemnation of the murder, politicians lost little time in trading barbs.

Villavicencio’s party denounced “political use” of his death and some supporters lobbed criticism at former President Rafael Correa, whom Villavicencio clashed with as an investigative journalist.

Gonzalez, the Correa-backed candidate who leads the race with just below 30% voter support, took aim at current President Guillermo Lasso, accusing him of ties to the Albanian mafia, an allegation Lasso has always denied.

Along with driving up voter abstention, Paulina Recalde of polling firm Perfiles de Opinion, said the violence and its fallout could eventually sow doubt in the electoral process.

That could worsen the political crisis that led Lasso to call an early election, Recalde said, “if political forces don’t curb this rhetoric of blaming each other.”

The electoral contest will head to a second round on Oct. 15 if no candidate wins more than 50% of valid votes or more than 40% if 10 points ahead of their nearest rival.

The winner will serve until May 2025 – a truncated term that ensures another heated contest soon after voters put this one behind them.

“Despite being a candidate, Fernando was a regular person like anyone else and just like he was attacked, anyone could be, in a market, at a school, in a church,” said voter Santiago Avilez, 37.

“Anything could happen, any disaster (in the elections),” he added. “We have to vote with conscience.”

(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia and Tito Correa in Quito; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Brad Haynes and David Gregorio)

August 10, 2023 0 comments

Breaking News New York City News New York News Police Blotter

Off-Duty NYPD Officer Arrested for Assault

by Adam Devine August 10, 2023

By Adam Devine

NEW YORK CITY, NY – On Tuesday, at 5:57 am, an off-duty New York City Police Department officer was taken into custody.

Yulissa Santana-Rosario, a 28-year-old female officer, has been charged with assault.

No further information has been released on this matter.

August 10, 2023 0 comments

Breaking News New York City News New York News Police Blotter

Police Seeking Suspects in Attacks on Officers in Union Square

by Adam Devine August 10, 2023

By Adam Devine

NEW YORK CITY, NY – The New York City Police Department is seeking the public’s help in locating two individuals connected to an assault incident at Union Square East and 14 Street.

On Friday, August 4, around 3:46 pm, officers tried to disperse a large gathering.

During this effort, two unidentified persons hurled construction barrels at a 59-year-old male officer.

The officer sustained multiple injuries, including a head wound.

After the attack, the suspects fled without a trace.

August 10, 2023 0 comments

Business News

Oil settles lower as US rate hike fears subside, China demand weighs

by Reuters August 10, 2023

By Reuters

By Laura Sanicola

(Reuters) -Oil prices settled lower on Thursday, with Brent crude holding close to January highs, as speculation about another U.S. interest rate hike faded following inflation data and OPEC remained positive on the oil demand outlook.

Both benchmarks have been on a sustained rally since June, with West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) trading on Thursday at its highest this year and Brent hitting its highest price since January.

Brent crude fell $1.15, or 1.3%, to settle at $86.40 a barrel while WTI settled down $1.58, or 1.9%, at $82.82.

Oil prices have been boosted in recent days by extensions to output cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia, alongside supply fears driven by the potential for conflict between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea region to threaten Russian oil shipments.

But recent data showed the consumer sector in China fell into deflation and factory gate prices extended declines in July, raising concerns about fuel demand in the world’s second-largest economy.

The U.S. is also prohibiting some investment in China in sensitive technologies like computer chips and requires government notification in other tech sectors.

“China’s data just gets worse and worse, and this is only going to make it more difficult for China to ramp up its economy,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.

Lending support to prices, OPEC said in its monthly report on Thursday it expected a healthy oil market for the rest of the year, and stuck by its forecast for robust oil demand in 2024, as the outlook for world economic growth slightly improves.

Thursday’s U.S. consumer prices data for July fuelled speculation the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its aggressive rate hike cycle.

Markets largely shrugged off a higher-than-expected 5.85 million-barrel build in U.S. crude stocks reported on Wednesday, after a record drawdown the week before.

Low inventory levels have pushed gasoline positions to their highest since the day Russia invaded Ukraine, and investors and analysts say they may continue to rise if record Atlantic Ocean heat draws a hurricane into the Gulf of Mexico and disrupts refineries.

“With gasoline and distillate deficits expanding, both markets will likely prove sensitive to the first suggestion of a major storm event capable of working its way into the Gulf of Mexico with hurricane status,” said John Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Illinois.

(Additional reporting by Natalie Grover in London and Muyu Xu in Singapore Editing by Mark Potter, Elaine Hardcastle and Andy Sullivan)

August 10, 2023 0 comments

US and World News

Biden expands US aid for Hawaii as wildfires grip Maui

by Reuters August 10, 2023

By Reuters

By Nandita Bose

SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) -President Joe Biden on Thursday expanded federal aid to Hawaii and promised help to its suffering citizens as deadly wildfires engulfed the island of Maui, and he expressed condolences for the devastation in a call with the state’s governor.

Biden approved a disaster declaration for Hawaii aimed at spurring resources to allow the island to rebuild, the White House said in a statement after the fire killed at least 36 people as it swept through a historic resort town.

“Anyone who’s lost a loved one, whose home has been damaged or destroyed, is going to get help immediately,” Biden said during remarks in Utah, where he is traveling.

Biden said “we’re working as quickly as possible” to fight the fires and evacuate residents and tourists.

“Our prayers are with the people of Hawaii, but not just our prayers. Every asset we have will be available to them,” he said.

The White House said the order would make federal funding available to affected people in Maui County.

In a call with Hawaii Governor Josh Green, Biden “expressed his deep condolences for the lives lost and vast destruction of land and property,” the White House added.

The declaration will allow affected individuals to apply for grants for temporary housing and home repairs, and allow business owners to apply for programs to recover from the disaster, according to the White House.

Those grants come in addition to current emergency assistance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard and other federal agencies, it added.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose, Susan Heavey, Rami Ayyub and Jeff Mason; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Jonathan Oatis)

August 10, 2023 0 comments

US and World News

Explainer-Why has Ecuador become so violent?

by Reuters August 10, 2023

By Reuters

(Reuters) – Ecuador was reeling on Thursday from the slaying of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio the night before, less than two weeks before elections were to take place.

The killing of Villavicencio, a vocal critic of corruption and drug crime that have beset Ecuador, underlines a deteriorating security situation in much of South America.

A combination of chronically weak economic growth, volatile politics, the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing reach of cocaine trafficking gangs has destabilized swathes of the continent.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO SECURITY IN ECUADOR?

Security in Ecuador has been worsening since the pandemic. From late 2020, violence erupted in many of the country’s prisons, with hundreds of inmates killed in jail riots.

Gangs operating inside Ecuador’s prisons have taken advantage of the state’s weak control to expand their power, threatening inmates’ lives, according to human rights groups and prisoners’ families.

Outside prisons, murders have exploded. Since 2016, Ecuador’s homicide rate has soared by almost 500% to an estimated 22 murders per 100,000 people in 2022, global risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft said in a note.

Guyaquil, considered Ecuador’s most dangerous city, registered 1,390 violent deaths in the first half of this year, nearly as many as it tallied in all of 2022, and close to half of the 3,500 cases registered nationally, police data showed.

WHY HAS THE VIOLENCE EXPLODED?

Conservative President Guillermo Lasso, who called early presidential elections in a bid to avoid impeachment, has repeatedly blamed the violence, including in prisons, on drug trafficking gangs.

The government on Thursday said Villavicencio’s killing was the work of foreign nationals in drug gangs.

Verisk Maplecroft similarly attributed an “unprecedented surge in brutal criminality” to growing “ trans-national drug-trafficking organizations and violent street gangs.”

Ecuador, the world’s top banana exporter, has traditionally escaped the violence that has long engulfed its northern neighbor, Colombia, the planet’s No. 1 producer of coca, the chief ingredient in cocaine.

With less attention from law enforcement, drug gangs have moved into Ecuador, experts said, often disguising vast loads of cocaine in shipments of bananas bound for Europe, where demand for the white powder is booming.

Ecuador is not the only South American nation to feel the impact. Paraguay, a key logistical hub for the global cocaine trade, has been scarred by high-profile cases of drug violence, and traditionally peaceful nations like Chile and Uruguay are also affected.

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO TACKLE THE PROBLEM?

Lasso has declared frequent states of emergency to ramp up security, which include military patrols on the streets and nightly curfews.

In April, Lasso authorized the civilian use of guns to fight rising insecurity. Ecuadoreans have headed to gun ranges to improve their skills in a bid to protect themselves.

IS THERE A PRECEDENT FOR POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN LATIN AMERICA?

Yes. Villavicencio’s murder recalled the 1984 assassination of Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio and the 1989 killing of Colombia’s Liberal party candidate Luis Carlos Galan, the Verisk Maplecroft analysts said.

It also follows an assassination attempt against prominent Argentine politician Cristina Fernandez De Kirchner last year, as well as the stabbing and attempted murder of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in 2018, among others

(Reporting by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

August 10, 2023 0 comments

Opinion - Editorial Politics Top Headlines Trending News US and World News

‘Too Important For Political Games’: Brian Kemp Slams Trump For Refusing To Sign GOP’s Loyalty Pledge

by The Daily Caller August 10, 2023

By The Daily Caller

‘Too Important For Political Games’: Brian Kemp Slams Trump For Refusing To Sign GOP’s Loyalty Pledge

Mary Lou Masters on August 10, 2023

Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp took aim at former President Donald Trump Thursday and criticized him for refusing to sign the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) loyalty pledge to support the eventual presidential nominee.

The RNC is requiring GOP presidential candidates sign the pledge to make the first debate stage on Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which Trump is considering skipping. Kemp knocked the former president in a tweet for playing “political games” after Trump told Newsmax Wednesday that he would not be signing the loyalty pledge.

“Every Republican running for President would be better than Joe Biden,” Kemp wrote. “Any candidate who does not commit to supporting the eventual nominee is putting themselves ahead of the future of our country. 2024 is too important for political games.”

Along with telling Newsmax he’ll “let it be known next week” whether he’ll attend the first debate, Trump said he wouldn’t sign the pledge because there were several people he wouldn’t want to endorse for president, and took aim at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson during the interview.

“I can name three or four people that I wouldn’t support for president,” Trump said. “So right there, there’s a problem right there. There’s a problem.”

The RNC is also requiring candidates meet a 40,000 unique donor threshold with at least 200 coming from 20 states or territories, as well as polling criteria. The contenders must be polling at least at 1% in three national polls, or 1% in two national polls and two key early primary state polls — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina.

In mid-June, Kemp warned Republicans to not get “distracted” by the second indictment of Trump, when he was charged for allegedly mishandling classified documents, and that the GOP must focus on winning in 2024. The governor parted ways with Trump in 2020 when he refused to corroborate the former president’s allegations that the Georgia election was stolen from him.

Kemp has since closed the door on running for president next year, but has stoked rumors that he’ll launch a Senate bid once his second term is up in 2026 to challenge Democratic Sen. John Ossoff.

August 10, 2023 0 comments

Opinion - Editorial Politics Top Headlines Trending News US and World News

Former Border Chief Says ‘Chainsaw Devices’ On Abbott’s River Buoys Prevent Climbing, Are Not Dangerous

by The Daily Caller August 10, 2023

By The Daily Caller

Former Border Chief Says ‘Chainsaw Devices’ On Abbott’s River Buoys Prevent Climbing, Are Not Dangerous

Jennie Taer on August 10, 2023

Former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott said “chainsaw devices” on Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s floating buoy barrier are meant to prevent climbing and were previously tested by the federal government in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation Thursday.

Scott, who served during the Trump administration and for a short stint under President Joe Biden, said Border Patrol tested different kinds of buoy barriers and that what appear to be blades are known as “passive radial discs” that make people trying to traverse them “uncomfortable” without injury. Democratic Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro posted a video from the barriers in Eagle Pass, Texas, Tuesday calling the discs “chainsaw devices” used for Texas’ “barbaric” operation.

“When I was Chief, USBP tested numerous variations of buoy barrier features to include what some are calling a ‘saw’ blade,” Scott said. “It is actually called a passive radial disc. It is an anti-climb deterrent and was tested by USBP in 2020 and determined to be passive and make climbers uncomfortable but would not break skin or injure a person,” Scott told the DCNF.

“During testing, USBP personnel jumped on top of it from different platforms without issue. The teeth were designed to avoid injuring illegal aliens,” Scott said.

In early June, Abbott announced he would erect the floating buoy barrier in the Rio Grande River to deter illegal immigration.

Authorities found one dead body in Abbott’s barrier Aug. 2. Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw said the deceased individual was believed to have drowned “upstream from the marine barrier” and later floated into the buoys, in a previous statement to the DCNF.

Another was found near the barrier, the Mexican government told ABC News Aug. 3.

Democratic Texas Rep. Sylvia Garcia said the buoys posed a “true danger and brutality,” in a video from Eagle Pass posted Tuesday.

Abbott’s office hit back against “false information” about the barriers, in a statement to the DCNF.

“President Lopez Obrador and Democrats spreading false information that Texas’ marine barriers caused any death are flat-out wrong. Where was this outrage from Democrats when President Biden’s reckless open border policies encouraged migrants to make the dangerous and illegal trek across the border, ultimately taking the lives of over 850 migrants last year?” Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said.

“These marine barriers help deter illegal river crossings, redirecting migrants to use one of the 29 international bridges on the Texas-Mexico border where they can safely and legally cross. No one drowns on a bridge,” Mahaleris said.

Regarding the structural purpose behind the bladed plates, Mahaleris referred the DCNF to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), which didn’t respond to a request for comment. Cochrane, the company contracted for Abbott’s buoy barrier, also didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The Biden administration sued Abbott on July 24 over the buoys, arguing that they violate parts of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 for allegedly obstructing navigable waters and allegedly flouting approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

August 10, 2023 0 comments

Newer Posts

Older Posts