www.cnbc.com
Apple didn't raise prices for new iPhones in the U.S. during the pandemic, although the company dealt with parts shortages and said inflation was raising costs.
www.nbcnews.com
Young people shut out of the labor market or burned out from overwork are being hired by their parents to do housework and be on hand whenever needed.
abcnews.go.com
Full article text: --- The governor had told the government: "Texas will see you in court." --- The Department of Justice on Monday sued the state of Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott over the installation of a barrier of buoys in the Rio Grande River intended to keep migrants from crossing into the U.S. The DOJ based its lawsuit on allegations that in building the buoy barrier, Texas violated the Rivers and Harbors Act by obstructing navigable waters of the U.S. Texas officials began constructing the barrier near the Camino Real International Bridge in Eagle Pass earlier this month, finishing last week, according to the DOJ lawsuit. Federal officials are asking a judge to order that Texas remove the existing buoys at their own expense and also that they be enjoined from constructing any further barriers in other waters near the U.S.-Mexico border. Abbott and the state of Texas allegedly did not seek authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prior to installing the buoys, as required under law, and that because of that, "the Corps and other relevant federal agencies were deprived of the opportunity to evaluate risks the barrier poses to public safety and the environment, mitigate those risks as necessary through the permitting process, and otherwise evaluate whether the project is in the public interest," the DOJ lawsuit alleges. The buoys are part of Operation Lone Star, Abbott's major border policy. "This floating barrier poses threats to navigation and public safety and presents humanitarian concerns. Additionally, the presence of the floating barrier has prompted diplomatic protests by Mexico and risks damaging U.S. foreign policy," Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement on Monday. A judge from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas had not yet been assigned to the case as of Monday afternoon. It was not immediately clear how soon until Texas has to answer the allegations in court. Abbott's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a letter on Friday, the DOJ had warned the governor that Texas' "actions violate federal law, raise humanitarian concerns, present serious risks to public safety and the environment, and may interfere with the federal government's ability to carry out its official duties." On Monday, Abbott responded with a letter to President Joe Biden remaining defiant -- and indicating his state's defense will hinge on what he describes as Texas' "sovereign authority" to protect its borders. "Texas will see you in court, Mr. President," Abbott wrote, hours before the DOJ announced its suit. Abbott, a Republican, has long assailed what he calls the failure of the Biden administration's border and immigration policies. He's also been busing migrants out of Texas to Democratic-led states and cities -- a move that has stoked outcry from advocates. On Friday, the governor said in a statement that his administration, along with Texas' Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard, are "continuing to work together to secure the border; stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas; and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal behavior between ports of entry," citing statistics on hundreds of thousands of apprehensions and criminal arrests made under Operation Lone Star. Responding to the DOJ lawsuit on Monday, White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan, said, in part: "Governor Abbott's dangerous and unlawful actions are undermining that effective plan, making it hard for the men and women of Border Patrol to do their jobs of securing the border, and putting migrants and border agents in danger."
www.independent.co.uk
Full article text: --- Florida schools have embraced curriculum that shys away from discussing the evils of slavery --- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis defended a hard-right school curriculum that went into effect in his state this week while on the campaign trail for the Republican presidential nomination. At an event in Utah, Governor DeSantis defended how slavery will now be taught in Florida middle schools. Children will now be taught that enslaved persons picked up skills that they later “parlayed” into profitable crafts after slavery was abolished. “They’re probably going to show that some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into doing things later in life,” DeSantis told reporters on Friday. However at the same press conference, the GOP candidate also appeared to back away from the specific assertions of the teachings, saying of the curriculum: “I didn’t do it. I wasn’t involved in it.” He went on to say that the curriculum was “rooted in whatever is factual”. “It was not anything that was done politically,” he added. The Florida governor’s hard-right record will likely be a key talking point on the 2024 campaign trail - potentially presenting both a boon for DeSantis in the GOP primary but also a challenge as he seeks to woo moderates in a general election. Florida Department of Education’s social studies standards for the 2023-2024 school year provide lesson topics for teachers including a “benchmark clarification” which instructs educators to teach students that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit”. It isn’t clear what “their personal benefit” would be in this scenario. The line is included as part of a broader lesson entitled: “Examine the various duties and trades performed by slaves (e.g., agricultural work, painting, carpentry, tailoring, domestic service, blacksmithing, transportation).” The majority of polling puts DeSantis second in the crowded GOP primary field, though he trails former president Donald Trump by a wide margin and faces a number of rivals closing in on his position including Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley. [Video (Twitter)](https://twitter.com/KitMaherCNN/status/1682544846681305088)
www.thedailybeast.com
Full article text: --- The Supreme Court ruled that Alabama must create two congressional districts that would encompass majority-Black electorates. Republicans in the state didn’t listen. --- Republicans in the Alabama legislature have passed a new congressional map with only a single majority Black district—ignoring a [recent Supreme Court](https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-scotus-shock-voting-rights-call-may-be-window-dressing-david-daley-tells-the-new-abnormal) ruling that ordered the creation of a second. In a June ruling, the conservative-leaning Supreme Court surprised some onlookers when it ruled 5-4 that Alabama’s new map of congressional districts likely violated the Voting Rights Act as an illegal racial gerrymander. Under that map, only one out of Alabama’s seven districts had a majority Black electorate, even though Black residents comprise more than a quarter of the population. The justices, upholding a lower court’s ruling, ordered Alabama’s Republican-controlled legislature to redo the maps, this time carving out a second Black-majority district, “or something quite close to it.” But Republicans in the state didn’t go through with it, effectively ignoring the high court’s order, opponents argue. After a special session convened in response to the ruling, Alabama’s legislature passed a new map on Friday that created only one seat with a majority Black electorate, NBC reported. Another seat included in the revised plan has a 40 percent Black voter base. The new maps passed a vote on Friday afternoon—as a court-mandated deadline loomed—and got Alabama governor Kay Ivey’s signature that night. They advanced over the objection of Democratic lawmakers, as well as the advocacy groups that successfully challenged the previous maps—and which have promised to fight the new one as well. "The Legislature knows our state, our people and our districts better than the federal courts or activist groups, and I am pleased that they answered the call, remained focused and produced new districts ahead of the court deadline,” Ivey said in a statement Friday night.
abcnews.go.com
Full article text: --- Cornel West, a Green Party 2024 presidential candidate, fights to reach ballots in states with differing laws. --- With the 2024 presidential election heating up, debates over the role of third parties are beginning to simmer -- and Democrats fear the Green Party could offer voters an enticing alternative who could hamper their chances in the general election. At the center of those concerns is newcomer presidential candidate Cornel West, a philosopher and activist who announced his intent to run with the left-wing, populist People's Party on June 5 before switching, saying on June 14 he would seek the Green Party nomination. Bernard Tamas, a political science professor at Valdosta State University, told ABC News that American third-party candidates don't need to win elections to be influential. Rather, they often "sting like a bee" and shock one of the two major parties to take up issues they're passionate about. Tamas believes that the best hope for Green Party members is that the Democratic Party will shift towards their preferred positions in an effort to neutralize the threat that they could siphon away voters. "I don't think anyone in the Green Party has any delusions that they're going to win anything," he said. "This is a way for the progressives, those on the left, to force the Democratic Party to take [seriously] issues that they take seriously." In other words, Tamas said, the possibility that West might cost Biden the election isn't a coincidence: It's a core part of third parties' strategy. "They're between a rock and a hard place," he said of the Green Party. "Stepping aside for this election, well, it would effectively end their impact at all." The stated priorities of the U.S. Green Party's platform are decreasing the U.S. military budget, addressing global climate change through a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, social justice, and democratic reforms like the public financing of elections. The U.S. Green Party has about 200,000 registered members as of July 2023, according to a party database, and 133 members of the Green Party hold elected office. So far, the only candidate competing against West for the Green Party nomination is Randy Toler, a co-chair of Florida's Green Party, who has filed to enter the race but has not yet formally begun his campaign. Toler is also running for Florida's open Senate seat in 2024. With the endorsement of Jill Stein, a two-time Green Party presidential nominee who is now West's campaign manager, and as the only candidate who is actively campaigning so far, West is considered the clear frontrunner in the race. Like the Democrat and Republican parties, the Green Party nomination will be decided through primaries or conventions across the country starting early next year, culminating in the 2024 Green National Convention. The date of the convention has not yet been announced. No third party nominee has ever won a presidential election -- but some famous third-party bids, such as that of businessman Ross Perot, may have shifted electoral outcomes, and campaigns from Teddy Roosevelt, Strom Thurmond and others even won a few states. ### Who is Cornel West and why is he seeking the Green Party nomination? ### According to his staff, West, who is a philosopher and former professor of the practice of public philosophy at Harvard University, switched to seeking the Green Party nomination because it is more widely listed on presidential ballots than his original selection of the People's Party. In order to appear on the ballot, presidential candidates need to meet state-by-state requirements – a fairly costly and labor-intensive endeavor. In the U.S., only a select few parties, like the Libertarian Party and the Green Party, have the organizational and grassroots support needed to meet those requirements across the country. "It became clear that he needed a party that could actually get him on the ballot," said Stein. While the Democratic and Republican parties also have those resources, Stein argued, West sought a third party nomination because he believes neither party met the Green Party's standards on the issues of climate change, the influence of corporations and wealthy donors in U.S. politics, and more. "Dr. West is acting on the reality of the cards that we've been dealt," said Stein. "If you know anything about the polls, you know that American voters have broken with the system. ... People are hungry for more choices and more voices in this election and Dr. West is speaking to the deeply felt need." West's candidacy has sparked fears and heated criticism from Democrats that the professor's campaign could "spoil" the election for Biden, pulling votes away from the incumbent in vital swing states and tipping the election towards former President Donald Trump. In 2016, the number of people who voted for Stein, then the Green Party presidential nominee, exceeded Trump's margin of victory in Michigan, though Stein has disputed that she cost Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton the election there, arguing that not all of her voters would have voted for Clinton otherwise. "I think that Democrats have reason to worry," Tamas said. "1% of the vote, 2% of the vote, could very well shift the election over to the Republican Party." Stein dismissed that possibility as "propaganda." "This is about the party elite protecting themselves," she said. "To call that spoiling, when people like Dr. West stand up and offer people another way forward, instead of this pathway that has just been throwing working people, poor communities of color, under the bus, that's just nonsense." West has also drawn backlash from progressives for a recent op-ed where he praised Florida Gov. and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis for supporting a "classical education" oriented around the Western literary canon. ### Which voters will West woo? ### Given West's background in racial justice, Tamas said the natural inclination would be to believe West could attract African American voters. But history suggests that might not be the case, Tamas said. Historically, African-American voters have been a fairly risk-averse voting bloc, only voting for candidates that are thought to have good odds of winning. "They are much less likely to jump on board to a challenge," he said. However, West's left-wing platform could appeal to a certain base of progressive voters, said Melissa Deckman, a researcher and CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute. This is especially true among younger voters for whom socialism is an appealing economic policy divorced from its negative Cold War-era connotations. "Generally speaking, the term 'socialism' is not one that is necessarily embraced by the general public. However, younger Americans, especially young women, I found in my research, tend to be more open to the concept of socialism," Deckman said. "Many Americans would say that capitalism as a system isn't working well for them," she continued. "For example, many Americans are struggling to make ends meet, increasingly because the cost of living is too high." Deckman also named climate change as a factor shaping some voters' perception of capitalism. West has made the issue a pillar of his campaign, frequently naming "ecological collapse" as one of his key priorities. ### The first challenge: Getting on the ballot ### The potency of West's campaign could turn on a set of relatively obscure proceedings surrounding ballot access laws. Each state has different rules for who can qualify to appear on the ballot for a certain office. Most states require candidates to gather signatures or pay a filing fee. But the Green Party argues these laws unfairly benefit well-funded candidates. "There's always been, even in the Constitution, a check on the people," wrote Tony Ndege, a co-chair of the Ballot Access Committee for the Green Party, in an email to ABC News. "They spin the propaganda of, 'Well, these are the serious candidates.' Well, they're the candidates serious about remaining beholden to big money interests." The swing state of Pennsylvania could become a key battleground. The Green Party gathered the sufficient number of signatures for ballot access in that state during the last presidential election cycle, but it was disqualified from the ballot due to technical issues with how the requisite signatures were gathered. The Green Party is already on the ballot in two other key swing states: Michigan and Wisconsin. Taken together, Ndege said he is expecting an "interesting 2024." "There will always be pushback from those in power when you are doing the right thing. I think that will intensify dramatically as the months continue," Ndege said. The party has not announced a date or location for its convention.
www.thedailybeast.com
Full article text: --- “It’s pretty remarkable that you’re not concerned about it, given the fact that they wanted to hang you on on Jan. 6,” Bash told the ex-veep. --- Former President Donald Trump warned on a conservative talk-radio show last week that it would be “very dangerous” if he went to prison over the Jan. 6 insurrection, as his supporters are “a passionate group of voters.” But his former vice president, Mike Pence, who encountered a large group of passionate Trump voters out for his blood two years ago, doesn’t seem worried. “Everyone in our movement are the kind of Americans who love this country, are patriotic or law-and-order people who would never have done anything like that there or anywhere else,” Pence told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday’s State of the Union. “I have more confidence in the American people than that. I hear my former running mate’s frustration in his voice, but I'm sure the American people will respond in our movement in a way that will express, as they have every right to under the First Amendment, to express concerns that they have about what they perceive to be unequal treatment of the law. But I'm not concerned about it beyond that.” The winding answer seemingly left Bash flabbergasted, prompting her to note why someone like Pence of all people should be concerned. “It’s pretty remarkable that you’re not concerned about it, given the fact that they wanted to hang you on on Jan. 6,” she said through a laugh before attempting to move on. But Pence wouldn’t let that stand, refusing to let the CNN anchor “use a broad brush” to classify everyone at the Capitol on Jan. 6 as being perpetrators of violence. “The people in this movement, the people who rally behind our cause in 2016 and 2020, are the most God-fearing, law-abiding, patriotic people in this country,” he said. “And I just I won’t stand for those kinds of generalizations because they have no basis in fact.” But Pence wouldn’t say much about the person being investigated for allegedly helping to perpetuate some of the violence itself: His former boss. Earlier in the interview, Bash asked Pence whether the Department of Justice should charge Trump if it finds evidence he committed a crime related to the insurrection. The ex-veep, however, would only note that Trump’s actions were inappropriate—though perhaps not criminal. “I've said many times that the president’s words were reckless that day,” he said. “I had no right to overturn the election. But while his words were reckless, based on what I know, I’m not yet convinced that they were criminal.”
www.thedailybeast.com
Full article text: --- There is no reason campaigns should run for a year and a half, and Congress actually has the power to end this political insanity. --- The first [Republican presidential primary debate](https://www.thedailybeast.com/gops-debate-rules-make-it-impossible-for-trump-to-lose) is scheduled for Aug. 23. It is but one of [10 to 12 such events](https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/republicans-set-their-first-2024-presidential-primary-debate-for-milwaukee/), in addition to at least eight other forums hosted by outside organizations, to say nothing of the array of town halls and one-on-one interviews which will inevitably appear on cable channels, network news, and any number of fringier online video outlets. By the time the primary race officially begins with the Iowa caucuses in January, we’ll have had dozens of opportunities to see former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and the probable also-rans who populate the rest of the field deliver their finely-honed canned sniping and consultant-crafted one-liners. And that’s exactly the problem: Our presidential elections are far too long and much too stupid. No one wants this. Certainly, no one needs this. Congress can and should cut down on the stupidity by limiting the length, and this is something our lawmakers could manage with ample bipartisan support. Election law, particularly where campaign finance is concerned, is often a contentious subject. Who gets to donate and how much money they can give, how and when we can vote, where to draw district lines, who will count the votes and who will check their work—these are all questions easily drawn into partisan battles because of the politically disparate effects different answers can have. But what I’m interested in here is time, and time passes equally for us all. It also happens to be clearly within congressional purview. Parts of our election timeline are already determined by federal law and the Constitution. [Congress fixed the general Election Day in 1845](https://www.history.com/news/why-is-election-day-a-tuesday-in-november), a decision prompted by the rise of the telegram. National uniformity was needed, the thinking went, because if news could travel more quickly, early results might unfairly sway decisions in later voting states. > > > “The sheer length of our presidential elections isn’t only annoying and inconvenient. It’s a two-year simmer, cooking our bitterness at politicians and neighbors alike into a reductive concentrate.” > > The Constitution [also gives](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articleii) Congress the authority to “determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United States.” That part happens in mid-December, and the electors’ votes are counted in Washington, D.C. by Congress on—I’m guessing you know this one, given how it went last time—Jan. 6. Finally, the 20th Amendment, adopted in 1933, finishes out the schedule with the president’s inauguration date, Jan. 20, moved up from Mar. 4 due to faster modes of travel. So here’s my very simple proposal: If Congress can determine when our presidential elections end, it should also determine when they begin. And they should begin much later than they do. Other, similar countries do not have elections this long. (The United Kingdom, for example, allows official campaigning for just 25 working days.) They’re spared months of televised inanities. They needn’t pretend to care about the nth “debate” which doesn’t deserve the name. They don’t have a six-month primary debacle in which later votes are not just unfairly swayed but rendered completely irrelevant. We could be free of all that stuff too. Maybe it would take a constitutional amendment, just to be safe, but I don’t think so, given that 1845 precedent. All Congress needs to do is add three dates to our campaign law: one for the earliest launch of campaign exploratory committees, one for the launch of campaigns proper, and one for a universal primary vote and caucus day. The crucial question, of course, is what those dates should be. I’d suggest a pretty aggressive schedule of a month for exploration, a month for primaries, and a month to pick the winner. Working back from the election in early November, we wouldn’t be in election mode until—at the earliest—Aug. 1, 2024. I’m practically salivating at the thought. We could reclaim about 18 (mostly useless) months out of every four years. We could ignore these people’s babbling and bickering, the personal spats and the howling vacuum where policy content ought to be. Candidates would be forced to strategize more carefully, to prune their content to just the most important stuff, just what they can fit in three short months. That’s a discipline they very obviously need. And a tightly scheduled election wouldn’t mean no debates. My timeline would allow about three debates ahead of each vote, assuming a once-weekly schedule. Paying attention to six two-hour sessions over the course of two months is a reasonable proposition for normal, busy adults who have real things to do in our lives. From the first primary debate in early September to Election Day, the whole thing would be roughly the length of a British TV series—or a class at your gym, or a book club you actually stick with, or half a semester of school, from the first day through midterms. We could do this—and we might even be able to do it well. Or at least a little bit better. The sheer length of our presidential elections isn’t only annoying and inconvenient. It’s a two-year simmer, cooking our bitterness at politicians and neighbors alike into a reductive concentrate. Maybe it’s unavoidable that we’ll hit a political boiling point by Election Day. With so much power at stake, I suspect that’s true. But it could at least be a quick boil. We might then get burned less along the way.
abcnews.go.com
Full article text: --- Former Sens. Joe Lieberman and Doug Jones on Sunday faced-off in a debate over the viability of No Labels' potential bipartisan third-party presidential ticket in 2024 --- Former Sens. Joe Lieberman and Doug Jones appeared Sunday on ABC's "This Week" to debate [the viability of a bipartisan third-party presidential ticket](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/unity-ticket-2024-presidential-race-democrats-objecting-3rd/story?id=99773854) in 2024 -- and whether that effort could serve as a spoiler in the race for the White House. Lieberman, a Democrat-turned-independent who represented Connecticut, is the founding chair of No Labels, which is preparing a possible "unity" ticket that would include both parties and offer, he said, another option for those voters dissatisfied with a potential rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. "We're in this to give the majority of the American people who feel that the major two parties are failing them a third choice, both in policies, such as we're going to release in New Hampshire [on Monday], but also possibly in a third candidate," Lieberman told "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos. "And we've been very explicit ... If the polling next year shows, after the two parties have chosen their nominees, that, in fact, we will help elect one or another candidate, we're not going to get involved." Jones, an Alabama Democrat and staunch Biden ally who has joined a group to counter No Labels, rejected that thinking. "Those polls right now mean nothing," he shot back at Lieberman, referencing reticence for both Biden and Trump. "This past weekend, you saw that the Biden-Harris team raised $70 million, 30% of those were new donors," Jones added. "That is not a candidate that is being rejected by the American people. Of No Labels, he said, "There is no way on God's green earth that they can get to 270 electoral votes, which means they will be a spoiler, one way or another." Not so, Lieberman insisted. The problem wasn't No Labels, he said. "The problem is the American people are not buying what the two parties are selling anymore. And I think the parties would be wiser to think about that." Lieberman has experience facing third party bids himself: As the Democratic vice-presidential nominee in 2000, he and presidential hopeful Al Gore lost Florida by a few hundred votes in a state where the Green Party's Ralph Nader got nearly 100,000 ballots, with Lieberman at the time calling any vote for Nader actually a vote for opponent George W. Bush. The dueling views on No Labels come amid Democratic handwringing over whether the group's plan -- which it says would comprise of one Democrat and one Republican on the same ticket next year -- is more likely to peel off disaffected Republican voters who would vote for Biden in a pure head-to-head with Trump next year. Lieberman said Sunday that No Labels would hold off on its campaign if Democrats and Republicans both embrace centrism. "We have said all along that we're not yearning to run a third-party ticket. If one or both parties move more toward the center in their policies ... and maybe think about the two candidates being so unpopular among the American people, we won't run," he said. Jones said there was already a more moderate option available in Biden, noting the president's cooperation with Republican lawmakers in Congress. "Look at what he has done, bringing the infrastructure package together, pulling that together for the first time in decades to do infrastructure, for the PACT Act [for veterans], the CHIPS Act [for manufacturing]," Jones said. "I don't know why in the world somebody thinks that Joe Biden's administration is so far left, unlike a Donald Trump or someone else that is an extreme right," he argued. In interviews and public statements, the group has repeatedly insisted that while polling proves there's an appetite for a third option in 2024, No Labels would take an "off ramp" if they are wrong. "That sort of runs against human nature, doesn't it? Once a campaign starts, it's hard to stop," Stephanopoulos pressed Lieberman on "This Week." "The American people don't like what the two parties are doing," Lieberman responded. "And they particularly don't like the two candidates that they seem set on nominating." Jones, however, took issue with No Labels largely operating outside of public scrutiny. "They're not disclosing their donors. They're not playing by the same rules," he said. (A No Labels spokesperson previously told ABC News: "We never share the names of our supporters because we live in an era where far-right and far-left agitators and partisan operatives try to destroy and intimidate organizations they don't like by attacking their individual supporters.") Jones on Sunday criticized how No Labels might also put together its ticket -- not through a series of public primaries but through back-room discussions that undercut the very pitch Lieberman was making. "That's not very democratic. That's not a choice," he said. "It's a false choice and really an illusion as to what they're doing." Even some Republicans have cast doubts on No Labels' viability, pointing to past failures by third-party candidates to make a legitimate run at the White House. The group has also faced roadblocks in its effort to get access to the ballot in all 50 states. "I think it’s a fool’s errand. ... I’m not in this for show time. I’m not in this, you know, for making a point. I’m in this to get elected president of the United States," former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is running for the White House as a Republican, said on "This Week." "And there are only two people who will get elected president of the United States in November of '24 -- the Republican nominee for president, and the Democratic nominee for president."
www.thedailybeast.com
Full article text: --- The candidate insisted to Fox News that stories of his campaign’s issues were just attacks by a “corporate press” out to get him. --- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has seen woe after woe in his campaign for the Republican nomination, forcing him to cut staff and actually engage with traditional media outlets. But the governor seemingly donned a pair of rose-colored lenses in an interview on Fox News’ MediaBuzz on Sunday, downplaying problems and pointing to his trips to early primary states. It’s there, he told host Howard Kurtz, where he’s found his voting audience—once they meet him in person. “We were just in Iowa on Friday at the Family Leaders Summit. That was effectively the kickoff to Iowa caucus season,” DeSantis said. “So Iowans are starting to pay more attention to it. We were able to talk to thousands of people over a two-day period, and the number one thing I hear from people is this. They’re like, ‘Yeah, you know, I knew you did good things in Florida, but I hadn’t seen you yet, and now that I’ve seen you, I’m for you.’” DeSantis’ claim comes despite an avalanche of media reports about his personal awkwardness and questions about whether he has the charisma to succeed on the trail. DeSantis framed the barrage of negative press stories as the workings of a “corporate press” that does not want to see him “dismantle the administrative state.” He insisted the Republican debates would be another vector for highlighting his personality to voters. “There’s a lot of Republican voters out there, they like what we’ve done in Florida. They know I’m a good governor,” DeSantis said. “But they haven’t seen a lot about me up close and personal, so that gives us a great opportunity to be able to share our vision.” Even with six months before a single vote is cast in the race, DeSantis’ time to make that case to voters is short. The candidate has largely limited sit-down interviews to conservative media outlets, such as Fox News and the Christian Broadcasting Network. His finances have been strapped, and he burned through nearly $8 million in the first six weeks of his candidacy, according to an NBC News analysis. DeSantis raised $20 million in the second quarter, millions ahead of Donald Trump, but $14 million of that was from donors who maxed out their donations and $3 million must be set aside for a general election campaign. There have been signs of a strategy shift. DeSantis fired about 10 event planning staffers on Thursday, according to Politico, though he still boasts the largest campaign staff in the Republican field. CNN also announced that Jake Tapper would interview DeSantis on Tuesday, the governor’s first extended interview on the network since 2017. DeSantis refused to address these issues head-on during his MediaBuzz interview, instead noting just how well he does—once voters meet him. “The more I’m out there, the more support we get in these early states, and it is a state-by-state primary,” he said. “So I think it would be political malpractice to be running for president fixated on national rather than Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina. So that’s what we’ve done. You can make up ground, and we are making up ground in all those states. That is not really going to be reflected in the national poll because they’re such small states that you’re not going to end up doing that. We have our eye on the prize.”
www.nbcnews.com
Full article text: --- A landmark referendum backed by the government would give Indigenous people constitutional recognition and greater say on legislation and policy affecting them. --- A proposal by the Australian government to recognize the country’s Indigenous people in the constitution has inflamed a culture war and set off divisive debates — including among Indigenous people themselves. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor government is backing a landmark referendum to enshrine in the Australian Constitution an Indigenous body — known as a “Voice to Parliament” — to advise the government on legislation and policy affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who make up almost 4% of Australia’s population of 26 million. Unlike other former British colonies such as the United States, Canada and New Zealand, Australia has no treaty with its Indigenous people, who are not mentioned in the 1901 constitution. Like Indigenous peoples in the United States and elsewhere, Indigenous Australians fare much worse than their fellow countrymen on life expectancy, incarceration rates and other measures of socioeconomic well-being. Supporters say the referendum’s success would improve Australia’s image and help Indigenous peoples in other nations. “It’s an opportunity for Australia to be unique in the world, sharing over 60,000 years of Indigenous heritage and culture in a practical way that gives greater fairness to Indigenous people,” said Thomas Mayo, director of the nonprofit group Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition, as well as a Kaurareg Aboriginal and a Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander. After being approved by the Senate last month, the referendum is expected to be held between October and December. Opposition conservatives are actively campaigning against it, saying that no other demographic in Australian society is allowed such privileges and that they would give Indigenous people excessive power in Parliament. Earlier this month, thousands of people across Australia turned out at rallies organized by the referendum’s “yes” campaign. But a poll last month by The Sydney Morning Herald found that support for the referendum was at 49%, down from 53% in May. Australians have voted on 44 referendum proposals since 1901, only eight of which have succeeded. Polarization over the Voice referendum has fueled racist behavior, Mayo said, including on social media, where he said he had seen “a sharp rise in vile, racist comments towards me and towards other Indigenous people that are advocating for this.” Nine Entertainment, a major Australian media outlet, apologized last week over a full-page advertisement in its daily newspaper that featured Mayo and was criticized as racist. The advertisement, paid for by the “no” campaign, showed Michael Chaney, chairman of the Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers and a supporter of the referendum, handing money to Mayo, who is depicted as a child standing at his feet. The referendum also has strong opponents within the Indigenous community. “Of course it’s creating division, because we’re trying to fit into a framework, a colonialist framework,” said Taylah Gray, a member of the Wiradjuri people and Indigenous rights campaigner who has not yet decided how to vote. The Voice proposal is a futile and “cosmetic” change, said Gary Foley, a veteran Indigenous activist, member of the Gumbaynggirr people and a professor of history at Victoria University in Melbourne. He said the referendum was likely to fail due to Australia’s deepening polarization and its reluctance to confront its problematic past. “The majority of Australians know absolutely nothing of their own history,” he said. “How are Australians today in a position to make an informed decision about something they know nothing about?” Some Indigenous people who oppose the constitutional change argue that it means ceding sovereignty to those who took their lands by force. What Indigenous people want, Foley said, “is self-determination — political and economic independence.” Lidia Thorpe, the first Aboriginal senator from the state of Victoria, said the Voice could override existing Indigenous governance systems. “I have supported and amplified the voices of the Sovereign ‘No’ camp, which is made up of First Nations people across the country that have never ceded their sovereignty and do not want to be recognised in the colonizer’s constitution,” she told NBC News in a written statement. Thorpe is instead calling for more concrete actions, saying the government should first implement the recommendations from reports in 1991 and 1997 on the deaths of Aboriginal people in custody and the separation of Aboriginal children from their families. “Our people are in a desperate situation as a result of record incarceration and child removal rates and the government already has the policies that will make an immediate difference,” said Thorpe, who voted last month against holding the referendum. Thorpe has urged Australians, who are required to vote by law, to vote no, while Foley is encouraging them to spoil their ballots. “It’s about time governments enabled Aboriginal people to determine their own destiny, instead of having white racists determine what our destiny is,” he said. Finlay said she was confident that constitutional recognition would not impede Indigenous sovereignty, and could even breathe life into the treaty process. “At the moment,” she said, “I don’t see that we have any mechanisms” that will allow a treaty to be negotiated at the federal level. “The Voice will allow us to do that,” she said. Every past Indigenous advisory body has ended up being either watered down or abolished as governments have changed, fueling a mistrust of such initiatives among some Indigenous people. Gray said she remained “wary” of any government structure aimed at improving the lives of Indigenous people, saying they had been subjected to “centuries of violence, displacements, broken promises” by governments from both the left and the right. But Mayo said enshrining the Voice in the constitution will protect it from the same fate as its predecessors, putting it out of reach of future governments “that either are avoiding accountability or using Indigenous lives and our issues as a political football.” Despite their opposing views, Foley, Mayo, Finlay and Grayl agreed that a majority “no” vote on the referendum would be irreversibly harmful for Indigenous rights. “There’s everything to gain if we succeed in being able to self-determine who speaks for us, and to influence the decisions that are made about us,” Mayo said. If the referendum should fail, he said, Indigenous people will be worse off “because the Australian people will have officially dismissed that long and proud history, heritage and culture.” “It’ll be officially dismissing a step towards greater fairness in our country,” Mayo said.
www.nbcnews.com
A landmark referendum backed by the government would give Indigenous people constitutional recognition and greater say on legislation and policy affecting them.
abcnews.go.com
Full article text: --- A federal judge has ruled Oregon’s voter-approved gun control measure – one of the toughest in the nation – is constitutional. U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut ruled that banning large capacity magazines and requiring a permit to purchase a gun falls in line with “the nation’s history and tradition of regulating uniquely dangerous features of weapons and firearms to protect public safety," Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. The decision comes after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Second Amendment that has upended gun laws across the country, dividing judges and sowing confusion over what firearm restrictions can remain on the books. It changed the test that lower courts had long used for evaluating challenges to firearm restrictions, telling judges that gun laws must be consistent with the “historical tradition of firearm regulation.” Oregon voters in November narrowly passed Measure 114, which requires residents to undergo safety training and a background check to obtain a permit to buy a gun. The legislation also bans the sale, transfer or import of gun magazines with more than 10 rounds unless they are owned by law enforcement or a military member or were owned before the measure’s passage. Those who already own high-capacity magazines can only possess them at home or use them at a firing range, in shooting competitions or for hunting as allowed by state law after the measure takes effect. Large capacity magazines “are not commonly used for self-defense, and are therefore not protected by the Second Amendment,” Immergut wrote. “The Second Amendment also allows governments to ensure that only law-abiding, responsible citizens keep and bear arms.” The latest ruling in U.S. District Court is likely to be appealed, potentially moving all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Oregon measure’s fate has been carefully watched as one of the first new gun restrictions passed since the Supreme Court ruling last June.
www.nbcnews.com
Full article text: --- The Florida governor has struggled to break into Trump’s lead and his campaign has been burning through money. --- Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign has fired roughly a dozen staffers — and more are expected in the coming weeks as he shakes up his big-money political operations after less than two months on the campaign trail. Those who were let go were described to NBC News by a source familiar as mid-level staffers across several departments whose departures were related to cutting costs. The exits come after the departures of David Abrams and Tucker Obenshain, veterans of DeSantis’ political orbit, which were first reported by Politico. Sources involved with the DeSantis campaign say there is an internal assessment among some that they hired too many staffers too early, and despite bringing in $20 million during its first six weeks, it was becoming clear their costs needed to be brought down. Some in DeSantis’ political orbit are laying the early blame at the feet of campaign manager Generra Peck, who also led DeSantis’ 2022 midterm reelection bid and is in the hot seat right now. “She should be,” one DeSantis donor said. “They never should have brought so many people on, the burn rate was way too high,” said one Republican source familiar with the campaign’s thought process. “People warned the campaign manager but she wanted to hear none of it.” “DeSantis stock isn’t rising,” the donor added. “Twenty percent is not what people signed up for.” The person noted that DeSantis has a penchant for switching out staff, which means that he has no core team that has worked together before. DeSantis had three different campaign teams for each of his three runs for Congress, and notably had a huge campaign shakeup during his first run for governor in 2018. "Americans are rallying behind Ron DeSantis and his plan to reverse Joe Biden’s failures and restore sanity to our nation, and his momentum will only continue as voters see more of him in-person, especially in Iowa. Defeating Joe Biden and the $72 million behind him will require a nimble and candidate driven campaign, and we are building a movement to go the distance," DeSantis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo told NBC News. DeSantis’ campaign had 92 people listed as being on the payroll for at least some period of time during its first fundraising period, according to campaign finance reports filed Saturday with the Federal Election Commission. It is by far the most of any Republican presidential candidate, and it has left his campaign with huge payroll expenses and, [the new filings](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/ron-desantis-campaign-finances-flashing-warning-signs-rcna94108) show, fewer resources than originally thought. DeSantis has $12 million in the bank, but of that $3 million can be used only during the general election. And about $14 million of his second quarter haul came from donors who gave the maximum legal amount. In other words, roughly two-thirds of his early donors will not be able to give directly to his campaign for the duration of the race. Never Back Down, the pro-DeSantis super PAC, has said it will spend up to $200 million to boost the governor's White House bid and has a significantly larger staff than the official campaign. The moment of potential reset comes ahead of a national finance committee meeting for DeSantis' campaign Sunday in Tallahassee, which will bring the campaign’s brain trust together as they try to figure out how to chip into Trump’s massive GOP primary lead. The event will include a briefing at the campaign’s Tallahassee headquarters followed by a barbecue at the governor’s mansion, according to an invite reviewed by NBC News. DeSantis has been unable to make up ground against Trump after nearly two months as an official candidate. That stagnation is starting to frustrate some supporters, who want a shakeup of the campaign, which is led day-to-day by Peck and Ryan Tyson, a longtime Republican Florida pollster. “Yeah, there are people grumbling about it, no doubt,” one DeSantis donor said. “There is an overall sense, including with me, that he just has not ignited the way we thought he would.” The person said that they think DeSantis’ inner circle underestimated just how hard — and expensive — it would be to break the grip on the Republican base held by Trump, who has a commanding lead and is seen as the overwhelming frontrunner. Even in Florida, a state that re-elected DeSantis by nearly 20 percentage-points just seven months ago, Trump now has his own 20-point lead on DeSantis, according to [a Florida Atlantic University poll released last week](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4088873-florida-poll-finds-trump-well-ahead-of-desantis-in-state/). The shake-up could include the reemergence of Phil Cox, the veteran Republican operative who helped run DeSantis' 2022 re-election campaign and served as an adviser to Never Back Down before stepping away from that role in late May. Cox is in Tallahassee for the national finance meeting, but he does not have a formal role with the campaign, a source familiar told NBC News. DeSantis has signaled that he is aware his campaign did not start the way he wanted, but her has largely blamed media coverage and other outside factors. To try and re-center, his campaign is doubling down on the early states, especially Iowa, whose first-in-the-nation nominating contest is now seen as a crucial marker. If DeSantis wins, the field will get smaller and he will get closer to the one-on-one matchup with Trump that he wants. But losing the key state would likely cement Trump's status as the unbeatable frontrunner even further. That assessment was outlined in a confidential [internal memo](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/confidential-ron-desantis-campaign-memo-reassures-donors-stumbles-rcna93995) NBC News obtained Friday outlining the campaign’s strategy to regain its footing. The memo indicated that there would be a heavy focus on early states where, DeSantis advisers think, Trump’s supporters can be won over. “Early state voters are only softly committed to the candidates they select on a ballot question this far out -- including many Trump supporters,” read the memo. “Our focus group participants in the early states even say they do not plan on making up their mind until they meet the candidates or watch them debate.” Never Back Down is bolstering those efforts, focusing both on early states and a handful of Super Tuesday states — most notably California — where the group is expected to hire roughly 80 organizers in the near future. For some supporters, though, there are now three keys to DeSantis remaining viable: Iowa, Iowa, Iowa. “They need to treat it like it’s all that matters right now,” the DeSantis donor said. “If Trump wins it it is over. It means he needs to be there a lot. He needs to do all the retail politics he can.” The person said DeSantis’ wife, Casey, is a great asset when doing the sort of retail politicking needed to win Iowa, but DeSantis himself needs to improve. “He needs to find that gear,” the person said. “He needs to find it fast.”
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
While his super PAC has already raised $130 million, it can't run his campaign. Campaigns rely on many continuous small donations which DeSantis is just not pulling in. Mega donors too seem uncertain on DeSantis, and justifiably so given that he has been trailing Trump by 30% points in the national polls for a few months now and isn't closing in. No one wants to fund a loser.
www.nbcnews.com
Full article text: --- Most of DeSantis' money came from donors who “maxed out” and can’t give again, as small donations have been a struggle for Trump's GOP challengers. --- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tapped out top donors and burned through $7.9 million in his first six weeks as a presidential candidate, according to an NBC News analysis of his new campaign finance disclosure. The numbers suggest, for the first time, that solvency could be a threat to DeSantis’ campaign, which has touted its fundraising ability as a key measure of viability. They reflect the broader reality that DeSantis stalled after his launch: polling ahead of the Republican primary pack but far behind former President Donald Trump. The irony for DeSantis is that he raised a total of $20.1 million between mid-May and the end of June, easily ahead of other Republican candidates — with the possible exception of Trump, who has yet to reveal how much money his campaign raised in the second quarter. But more than two-thirds of DeSantis’ money — nearly $14 million — came from donors who gave the legal maximum and cannot donate again, NBC’s analysis shows. Some of those donors gave the $3,300 limit for both the primary and general elections, boosting DeSantis’ totals with cash that can’t be used to try to defeat Trump. DeSantis finished June with more than $12.2 million in the bank, but his filing indicates that $3 million of that can only be used in the general election. At the same time, DeSantis spent about 40 percent of what he raised, in part by paying salaries to 92 people. That gives him by far the biggest staff footprint of any of Trump’s Republican challengers, but also leaves him with the question of how he can sustain his payroll — or anything close to it — without finding new sources of revenue. Already, he is [struggling to keep high-profile supporters on board](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/12/desantis-donors-worried-about-campaign.html). DeSantis does have a financial edge no one else can match in the form of his super PAC, [which can accept donations of unlimited size and already took in $130 million](https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/desantis-campaign-announces-20-million-raised-second-quarter-super-pac-rcna92940). But keeping a campaign humming on smaller donations can be a different matter entirely. More broadly, Saturday’s second-quarter campaign finance filing deadline showed the challenge that each of Trump’s rivals has in trying to wrest the nomination from him at a time when about half of GOP primary voters say he is their top choice. No other Republican raised more than $6 million from donors into their campaign account, with North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy exceeding that number only by tapping their own personal wealth. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s campaign raised almost $5.9 million, while former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley’s campaign raised $5.3 million. And two candidates who waited until June to jump in posted lower numbers: former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie raised $1.7 million and former Vice President Mike Pence raised $1.2 million. Their reports show a presidential field largely reluctant to invest in staffing and other major campaign costs, candidates having trouble tapping small-dollar donors for big returns, and a handful of candidates already in danger of missing the Republican National Committee’s first debate. Here’s what else we saw in the second-quarter finances. --- ### Small campaign staffs stand out in the early going ### DeSantis stands out among those who have filed their reports in having the largest campaign staff — by a mile. His 92 staffers on payroll are more than double the next-largest campaign so far. Scott reported 54 campaign staffers while Ramaswamy reported 27 and Haley had 22 staffers. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson had six people on staff. Other campaigns were operating on a shoestring budget. Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder had one campaign staffer, while former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Texas GOP Rep. Will Hurd and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez did not list anyone on their payroll as of June 30. --- ### Debate qualification already looking tricky for some ### The reports also show how difficult it may be for many of the lower-polling candidates to hit the Republican National Committee’s 40,000-donor threshold to qualify for the party’s first debate in August — let alone the polling threshold too. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who raised just $580,000, said in a statement that his campaign had just 3,928 unique donors in the second quarter, as well as another 2,516 in the first 13 days of July. He needs six times that many to hit the threshold. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s reports names just 352 unique donors, and he raised less than $29,000 from unitemized donors who gave less than $200. Even if every single unitemized dollar was raised from a different unique donor (which is unlikely), Suarez still wouldn’t have hit the debate threshold through June. And former Texas Rep. Will Hurd’s report names just 193 unique donors, along with another $54,000 from unitemized donations. Small dollar donor struggles One of Trump’s campaign strengths has long been his appeal to small-dollar donors. The flip side of that: His challengers are not getting much small-donor help themselves right now. DeSantis, who raised the most of Trump’s challengers in the second quarter, only saw about 14% of his total fundraising haul coming from small-dollar donors, for about $2.9 million. Haley and Scott, who spent millions building up small-donor fundraising infrastructure before launching presidential campaigns, raised only 16% ($870,000) and 21% ($1.2 million) of their second-quarter totals from small donors, too. Among the field of Trump challengers, former Gov. Chris Christie took in the biggest share of his total from small donors: just below 35%. But that still worked out to only about $571,000 of his $1.6 million haul.
www.nbcnews.com
“Financial penalties, as well as conduct changes, are important to make sure that JPMorgan Chase knows the cost of putting its own profits ahead of public safety,” said U.S. Virgin Islands attorney general.
www.cnbc.com
Musk said early Saturday that cash flow at Twitter remains negative because of a nearly 50% drop in advertising revenue coupled with "heavy debt."
www.thedailybeast.com
Full article text: --- Kennedy said “COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and black people,” but not “Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.” He later denied saying that, despite video evidence. --- At an [off-the-rails event Tuesday in New York City](https://www.thedailybeast.com/a-gigantic-fart-derailed-rfk-jrs-nyc-press-dinner), notable anti-vaxxer and longshot 2024 Democratic presidential candidate [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.](https://www.thedailybeast.com/contrarian-defenses-of-robert-f-kennedy-jr-arent-brave-theyre-boring) parroted what has been characterized as a white supremacist COVID-19 conspiracy theory. “In fact, COVID-19, there’s an argument that it is ethnically targeted,” Kennedy told a room full of press in a [video obtained by the New York Post](https://nypost.com/2023/07/15/rfk-jr-says-covid-was-ethnically-targeted-to-spare-jews/). “COVID-19 is targeted to attack caucasians and Black people. The people that are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.” The [Anti-Defamation League](https://www.thedailybeast.com/adl-warns-twitter-against-working-with-obvious-antisemite-tucker-carlson) and other organizations have previously identified those claims as one iteration of a baseless anti-semitic and sinophobic conspiracy theory voiced by [white nationalists](https://www.thedailybeast.com/gops-going-full-white-nationalist-even-sooner-than-expected). Jewish advocacy groups on both the right and left have torn into the Kennedy family scion for his unhinged remarks. The ADL said in a statement that Kennedy’s claim “feeds into sinophobic and anti-semitic conspiracy theories about COVID-19 that we have seen evolve over the last three years.” The Post also quoted an infectious disease expert, who said, “I don’t see any evidence that there was any design or bioterrorism that anyone tried to design something to knock off certain groups.” [In a Twitter post](https://twitter.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1680227322509635595?s=20) on Saturday, RFK Jr. insisted—despite video evidence—that he “never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews.” Rather, he argued that he was simply pointing out that COVID-19 is “least compatible with ethnic Chinese, Finns, and Ashkenazi Jews,” during a conversation about how “the U.S. and other governments are developing ethnically targeted bioweapons.” “In that sense, it serves as a kind of proof of concept for ethnically targeted bioweapons,” Kennedy wrote. “I do not believe and never implied that the ethnic effect was deliberately engineered.” Kennedy was also peeved that the Post exposed what he called an off-the-record conversation. Squeezed between other attendees at a packed dinner table, Kennedy went on to expound on other outlandish theories that have helped form the basis of his conspiracy-fueled bid for the Democratic nomination. “We do know that the Chinese are spending hundreds of millions of dollars developing ethnic bioweapons and we are developing ethnic bioweapons,” Kennedy said. “They’re collecting Chinese DNA so we can target people by race.”
Moving to: m/AskMbin!
What are some cool psychological phenomena?
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
Damn it really persists. Good one
Just any psychological biases/effects/conditions/disorders/syndromes or other phenomena that you find interesting. Edit: Do link an article! Thanks
abcnews.go.com
Full article text: --- Donald Trump declared to his supporters earlier this year that "I am your retribution" and his base's appetite for that promised vengeance hasn't waned --- Donald Trump has told supporters [not to just see him as a candidate](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/running-president-2024/story?id=96849127) but as "your retribution." In [his comeback bid for the White House](https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-white-house-bid/story?id=92820500), the former president -- twice impeached but twice acquitted and [now twice indicted](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-campaign-insists-deterred-indictment/story?id=98075581) -- has vowed that if reelected, he will wield his power to personally remake parts of the federal government to a degree that historian Mark Updegrove said was unprecedented. Trump has promised to hamstring perceived enemies, including in the Department of Justice, which is currently investigating him, and target Republican bogeymen like President Joe Biden. He swore in June to appoint a special prosecutor to "go after" the Bidens and that he would "totally obliterate the deep state," referring to a conspiratorial view of how the government operates. "This is the final battle. ... Either they win or we win," he said in March. Among Trump's policy proposals is reviving an executive order from the final months of his presidency, revoked by Biden, that observers say would let him essentially turn broad swaths of federal workers into at-will employees whom he could fire and replace -- rather than terminating them only for cause, such as bad performance, and after satisfying certain employment protections. Shortly after being indicted in New York in April on felony charges of falsifying business records, which he denies, related to money paid to an adult film actress during his 2016 campaign, Trump exhorted Congressional Republicans via social media to "DEFUND THE DOJ AND FBI UNTIL THEY COME TO THEIR SENSES." He's also directed ire at longtime nonpartisan institutions, deriding national security and intelligence workers as "corrupt," and he's crassly attacked both the special counsel who is investigating his alleged mishandling of government secrets -- and the prosecutor's family. Experts says all of this is stretching -- maybe snapping -- the boundaries of how past presidential candidates have criticized the very government they hope to lead. "Time and time again, we have seen Donald Trump attempt to remake our government in his image, not based on our country’s ideals and traditions, but based on a personal agenda," said Updegrove, a presidential historian and ABC News contributor. But conversations with GOP insiders and attendees at recent Trump campaign events confirm the base's appetite hasn't waned for the revenge he promises. [According to FiveThirtyEight](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-r/2024/national/), early polls show Trump is the clear front-runner for his party's nomination, with his support not stifled [by either of his two historic indictments](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-indictment-marks-unprecedented-moment-presidential-history/story?id=97948293), to which he has pleaded not guilty. "It makes me more supportive and more prone to help him in any way I can," Larry Miller from Merrimack, New Hampshire, told ABC News earlier this month at an event Trump held in New Hampshire. Another attendee at that event, Krisia Santiago, said she was a two-time Trump voter who was sticking with him. She spoke bluntly: "They're scared because he can finish this war. … If you believe in him, you're gonna be a supporter no matter what." Many of Trump's attacks against the FBI and DOJ at best stretch the truth -- with no evidence suggesting wrongdoing by the current president or by special counsel Jack Smith in bringing the recent federal indictment against Trump over his handling of classified information while out of office. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Smith have defended their work. "This indictment was voted by a grand jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida, and I invite everyone to read it in full to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged," Smith said last month. The support from Trump loyalists for a complete overhaul of parts of the government has set off a chicken-or-the-egg debate over whether he has convinced his voters to turn against bodies like the FBI -- or if he's exacerbating a sentiment they already feel, given the myriad legal troubles and investigations Trump has faced. "He has persuaded people that the FBI and the DOJ are at least enemies of Donald Trump" asserted veteran GOP pollster Whit Ayres. "He gets the people who care about him to care about people who are standing in his way. And the agencies of law enforcement ... he's declared war on them, and his followers will believe what he says," Ayres continued. [A Fox News poll](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/06/Fox_June-23-26-2023_National_Topline_June-28-Release.pdf) released last month showed that 40% of registered voters have a lack of confidence in the FBI. And even intraparty critics of the former president concede how much his suspicions of law enforcement and his anti-government messaging have seeped into the broader GOP. "The deep distrust and dislike that these people have and feel about these institutions just comes through so strong when you talk to these voters. Trump's message is in line with how the voters are thinking about these institutions. They don't trust them at all," said Gunner Ramer, the political director of the Republican Accountability PAC, which conducts focus groups with GOP voters. "I think that this is very much about what Donald Trump has been able to really activate within the Republican Party base," Ramer said. "When you ask these Republican primary voters, 'How do you feel about Trump's campaign promise of investigating the Bidens?' It's near unanimous support for that." Trump has so far survived a slew of legal problems since launching his political career, including a probe of his 2016 campaign's alleged links to Russia and two subsequent impeachments while he was in office. (While the Senate acquitted him in both cases, with fewer than two-thirds of the chamber voting against Trump, a bipartisan group of senators did vote to convict in both trials. ) Now, facing the indictments over hush money payments to a porn star and his handling of classified information after leaving office, Trump and his allies have turned their ire toward the president's son Hunter Biden, who recently reached a plea deal on tax and gun charges that will likely see him avoid prison time. There's no evidence that Hunter Biden received preferential treatment in his deal, and the White House says it is actually proof of accountability -- but Republicans insist otherwise, claiming it as the latest evidence of what New Hampshire Trump voter Larry Miller called a "two-tiered justice system" that treats people differently according to politics. [The Hunter Biden investigation](https://abcnews.go.com/US/hunter-biden-congressional-scrutiny--doj-charges/story?id=97201254) was conducted by U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who was appointed by Trump, remained in his position under President Biden and has said he was never "denied the authority to bring charges in any jurisdiction." "For many voters, both base Republicans and independents who see very clearly what's going on, this has been something that they've been following for years," claimed one Trump adviser, who like some others in this story asked not to be quoted by name in order to speak candidly. "Whenever he speaks to himself as a victim, he is providing focus and color to the picture that they already recognize," added a former campaign official who remains in touch with the president's current team. The ceaseless attacks from Trump have raised speculation over how far he would go if elected to a second term -- including if he would indeed launch investigations into Hunter Biden or others, like Hillary Clinton. He has backed off of past promises of prison for his rivals, including Clinton. "She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways, and I am not looking to hurt them at all," he [told The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/22/us/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-investigation.html) in 2016, weeks after beating her in the presidential election, when he often rallied voters with chants of "lock her up!" "I would not be surprised that if any Republican takes over -- not just Trump, any Republican -- that you would see a further politicization-slash-weaponization of the Justice Department and less of the courtesy that they used to give former elected officials," one former Trump adviser who's still in contact with his campaign said. "Everything's on the table," this person said, adding, "I think everybody needs to be put on notice ... I don't think that courtesy that Trump gave Hillary would exist the second time around." A Trump campaign spokesman did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Marc Lotter, the director of strategic communications on Trump's 2020 bid and now with the America First Policy Institute, said the 2024 strategy builds off of Trump's 2016 pitch, when he channeled voter frustration over trade and Barack Obama's presidency into a surprise win. "He captured this feeling of people who are tired of being lied to, tired of being lied to by politicians and officeholders of both political parties," Lotter said. "And they were sick and tired of another poll-tested Washington creation politician. ... I think he taps into that, and he has been able to keep that going." To be sure, Trump vowed broad changes to the government when he first ran in 2016, epitomized by his "drain the swamp" slogan that left critics, even other Republicans like current primary challenger Ron DeSantis, saying he didn't follow through. Samara Klar, a professor at the University of Arizona who studies political attitudes and behavior, said that she "optimistically" thinks "our institutions will remain strong" in the face of Trump's attacks on the government. However, she conceded her belief is not universally held among her colleagues, some of whom she said think Trump could pose a more existential risk. Democracy experts [have previously spoken to ABC News](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/election-experts-worry-american-democracy/story?id=89133703) about how they worried Trump was corroding crucial institutional trust. "For the election system to work, our entire democracy to work, depends on trust in the election system. That is the reason why there is and has always been a peaceful transition of power after elections in the United States," Wendy Weiser, who directs the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, said last year. According to the GOP operatives and outside experts who spoke to ABC News for this story, Trump's continued assault on the federal government's legitimacy will likely be a mainstay of his 2024 campaign and return him to comfortable and controversial territory -- urging supporters to embrace him even if it means rejecting everyone else. "There are very few Americans -- and frankly, probably very few people worldwide at this point -- who don't have a pretty crystallized attitude about Donald Trump. I don't think he can appeal to uncertain voters," Klar said. "At this point, his best strategy is to garner as much enthusiasm among the people that already like him."
abcnews.go.com
Full article text: --- The Department of Education on Friday will forgive the debts of 804,000 people, an effort to fix what it calls "administrative failures" that denied student loan borrowers relief they were eligible for under their repayment plans. Those 804,000 borrowers are people who have been paying their loans back through income-driven repayment plans, which allow debts to be forgiven once they've been paid for 20 or 25 years, depending on the plan. But because of errors in tracking payments, officials said, many borrowers have been left paying well beyond their payment end-dates. "For far too long, borrowers fell through the cracks of a broken system that failed to keep accurate track of their progress towards forgiveness," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement Friday. "By fixing past administrative failures, we are ensuring everyone gets the forgiveness they deserve, just as we have done for public servants, students who were cheated by their colleges, and borrowers with permanent disabilities, including veterans," Cardona said. Though there are multiple types of income-driven repayment plans offered by the Department of Education, they all have the same goal: set a borrower's monthly payment based on their income and cancel any remaining loans after 20 to 25 years of payments. Friday's debt relief for over 800,000 people acknowledges that the second part of the plan -- cancellation -- often isn't happening, an issue that has also been well-documented by government watchdogs. In 2022, the Government Accountability Office wrote that "the Department of Education has had trouble tracking borrowers' payments and hasn't done enough to ensure that all eligible borrowers receive the forgiveness to which they are entitled." "We found thousands of borrowers still in repayment who could be eligible for forgiveness now," the GAO, a nonpartisan watchdog, wrote in its report. In total, the fixes to the income-driven repayment plans being made by the Department of Education on Friday will result in $39 billion of automatic debt relief. Borrowers will be notified on Friday by the Department of Education and relief will begin 30 days later, the department said. If borrowers don't want their debts discharged, they can contact their loan servicers, the department advised. Servicers will be in charge of notifying borrowers once their debt is relieved. "At the start of this Administration, millions of borrowers had earned loan forgiveness but never received it. That's unacceptable," Department of Education Under Secretary James Kvaal said in a statement on Friday. "Today we are holding up the bargain we offered borrowers who have completed decades of repayment." The debt relief announced Friday is part of a wave of fixes to programs that weren't holding up their end of the deal. That includes $45 billion to people enrolled in Public Service Loan Forgiveness who weren't getting the debt relief they were promised, and $22 billion to borrowers who were defrauded by for-profit colleges. The fixes addressed Friday for people in income-driven repayment plans bring the total debt relief to $116.6 billion, the department said. The relief has reached more than 3.4 million borrowers. The efforts to fix errors in the Department of Education's loan system come as President Joe Biden's program to cancel debt relief on a massive scale was rejected by the Supreme Court in June. That program, a Biden campaign promise, would have canceled between $10,00 and $20,000 in loans for people making below a certain income, but it was ruled as beyond the scope of the president's power. Since then, the White House has announced a new income-driven repayment plan that will lower monthly payments to 5% of a person's discretionary income, down from 10%, and decrease the timeline for forgiveness down to 10 years of payments, from 20 or 25, if the initial loan was less than $12,000. The Department of Education is also in the rulemaking process to attempt debt forgiveness again through a different law, the Higher Education Act, though it's likely to face legal challenges.
www.nbcnews.com
Eighteen months after Facebook banned communities and users connected with the “Boogaloo” anti-government movement, the group’s extremist ideas were back and flourishing on the social media platform, new research found. The paper, from George Washington University and Jigsaw, a unit inside Google that explores threats to open societies — including hate and toxicity, violent extremism and censorship — found that after Facebook’s June 2020 ban of the Boogaloo militia movement, the content “boomeranged,” first declining and then bouncing back to nearly its original volume. “What this study says is, you can’t play whack-a-mole once and walk away,” said Beth Goldberg, Jigsaw’s head of research and development. “You need sustained content moderation — adaptive, sophisticated, content moderation, because these groups are adaptive and sophisticated.”
Politics
Doug Burgum is offering $20 to people donating $1 to his presidential campaign. Is that legal?
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
There are so many from the GOP this time I've barely heard of. Useful resource to track them and their campaign positions. Though none of them are any competition to DeSantis in the opinion polls. Neither is DeSantis to Trump. Never imagined I'd say that's a good thing but oh my god Ron
Full article text: --- Looking to make a splash in the crowded pool of Republican presidential contenders, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is offering an unusual deal to donors: Anyone who sends a donation of at least $1 will get a $20 gift card in return. The [campaign's offer](https://winred.dougburgum.com/doug-burgum-for-america/gift-card-receive?exitintent=true) is good for the first 50,000 donors — and is an unconventional bid to meet the fundraising thresholds required to be onstage for next month's Republican primary debate. In this case, it's not the dollar amount of donations that matters; it's the number of donors. To participate in the debate, candidates must have at least 40,000 donors. They also have to bring in donations from 200 or more donors in at least 20 states. The rules create "some unusual incentives" for quickly building a wide donor base, Nick Bauroth, who chairs the political science department at North Dakota State University, told NPR. "This offer could cost Burgum up to a million dollars, but well worth it if he gets on the main stage" at the debate, Bauroth added. Also worth remembering: Burgum is a billionaire. --- ### Why would a campaign trade $20 gift cards for $1 donations? ### Burgum's gift card strategy is a sign that his long-shot campaign sees the debate in Milwaukee as a potential make-or-break moment. "Depending on the outcome, it will either be viewed as genius or the dumbest political move in history," Patricia Crouse, a political science and legal studies professor at the University of New Haven, told NPR. Participating in the debate would raise Burgum's profile — something his unique offer is already accomplishing, drawing stories by FWIW, Axios, The New York Times and other national media outlets. The online donation process itself could expand Burgum's base: When people donate, the campaign gleans their email and street addresses. Anyone who adds a phone number also agrees to receive phone calls and text messages. As for what type of gift card is at stake, the [campaign says](https://twitter.com/DougBurgum/status/1678511942950965249) donors "will actually get a Visa or Mastercard gift card to their mailing address." --- ### Is this new practice ethical — or legal? ### Burgum's offer raises questions about money's role in U.S. politics and the ethics and legality of sending money to potential voters. "My immediate reaction to this scheme is a concern that it violates the federal prohibition on straw donors," Michael S. Kang, a professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, told NPR. "It's illegal to reimburse another person for their campaign contribution. Giving a donor a $20 gift card for donating seems a bit like that." Crouse says that in her view, the practice might not be illegal, "but from my perspective, it's a bit unethical." Burgum isn't technically "buying" votes, she noted: "He is simply buying the right to compete." The threshold for competing on the debate stage on Aug. 23 is set by the Republican National Committee, which hopes to winnow a wide field of 2024 presidential hopefuls down to a manageable group. "Burgum is competing within the Republican primary and is just trying to game the debate qualification rules," Kang said, adding, "The scheme does test the limits of current law." When contacted by NPR, a Federal Election Commission representative declined to comment on the legality of Burgum's offer, saying the agency "is unable to comment on specific activities, nor may we speculate on matters that may have the potential to come before the agency." --- ### Who is Burgum? ### He's a former political outsider who surprised many in 2016 when he won the race to become his home state's governor. That year, Burgum had placed third in the running for the Republican convention's endorsement — but he [won the party primary](https://news.prairiepublic.org/politics-government/2016-06-15/burgum-defeats-stenehjem-in-gop-governor-primary) just two months later. "In the past, the party endorsement decided the matter," Bauroth said, but Burgum overturned that norm. He was reelected in 2020. Burgum now hopes to repeat his odds-defying performance, facing off against politicians from more politically influential states, including a former president and former vice president. As before, he has shown a willingness to dip into his private wealth to fuel his campaign. Burgum [announced his candidacy for U.S. president](https://www.npr.org/2023/06/07/1178963154/north-dakota-doug-burgum-announces-presidential-bid) last month via a launch event in Fargo and an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal. He's battling for attention against the likes of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump. "If the polls are to be believed ... he's probably hovering just under 1%," Prairie Public News Director Dave Thompson said on Monday. "And that's important," he added, because the 1% polling mark is another threshold required to be invited to the August debate. --- ### Where did Burgum get his money? ### Burgum is a billionaire thanks to a successful tech and investing career. He was an early investor and played prominent roles in three business-software companies that went public and/or were bought by large corporations: the Great Plains accounting-software company, human resources management firm SuccessFactors and Atlassian, the company behind workflow and collaboration tools such as Jira and Confluence. Burgum was also an executive at Microsoft after the company bought North Dakota-based Great Plains for $1.1 billion in stock in 2001. Those successes came after Burgum, a North Dakota native, attended Stanford University's business school and mortgaged part of his family's farmland to invest in Great Plains, as he told Forbes.
www.thedailybeast.com
Former clandestine officer Shaun Wiggins allegedly assaulted the woman repeatedly in what he insisted was a covert program to train her to use her body “as a weapon.” The woman claims she was told it would replicate the purported “off limits” work every CIA officer was inevitably called on to do, and that the techniques she picked up would become a valuable part of her “technical skillset.” But the “fabricated and extended ‘training exercise’” did nothing to help the young cybersecurity specialist realize her dream of joining the agency, and instead groomed her for ongoing sexual abuse—ultimately landing her in a psychiatric facility.
www.nbcnews.com
Full article text: Rep. Ken Buck, a member of the conservative group, offered some of the most definitive comments yet about Greene’s status in the caucus in an interview with NBC News. --- A member of the House Freedom Caucus confirmed Wednesday that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has been removed from the conservative group, citing her repeated “attacks” on GOP colleagues. “She’s not a member of the Freedom Caucus, and she shouldn’t be in the future,” Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., said in an appearance on NBC News' “Meet the Press NOW” in some of the [most definitive comments yet](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/freedom-caucus-members-wont-say-marjorie-taylor-greene-booted-rcna93729) about Greene’s status in the group. Greene, a fundraising powerhouse with an enormous social media following, has been one of former President Donald Trump’s top defenders on Capitol Hill. She is the first lawmaker to be ousted from the Freedom Caucus since it was started in 2015 by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, then-Reps. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., and others. Other members of the ultraconservative group had said a vote was taken June 23 to eject Greene over her [altercation with Rep. Lauren Boebert](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/marjorie-taylor-greene-calls-lauren-boebert-little-b-house-floor-gop-p-rcna90592), R-Colo., and her vocal support for Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s ultimately successful bid for speaker and his trillion-dollar debt-ceiling deal with President Joe Biden. But for the past two weeks, there was confusion about her status after Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry, R-Pa., declined to comment about the matter and Greene insisted that no one had informed her that she had been voted out. Some Freedom Caucus members suggested that Greene has been avoiding Perry’s attempts to reach her to deliver the news. By Wednesday, Perry and Greene still had not personally spoken about the issue, even though they would have been on the House floor together during votes. “No, I haven’t talked with him about any of that,” Greene said. “I’m mostly focused on the work I’m doing and serving my district, not interested in any drama.” A spokesman for Greene had no immediate comment about Buck’s remarks. Greene did not attend a Freedom Caucus meeting Tuesday night after lawmakers returned to Washington from the July Fourth recess. Buck, who is one of the more mild-mannered members of the often rambunctious Freedom Caucus, said Greene’s ouster was about not her political views but her repeated attacks on other members of the group, including her criticism of colleagues for blocking McCarthy, R-Calif., from winning the speaker’s gavel in January. “She has consistently attacked other members of the Freedom Caucus in an irresponsible way, and as a result of that she was kicked out of the Freedom Caucus,” Buck said, “and she should not be, she should not be a member. “We have diverse opinions in the Freedom Caucus. It’s not monolithic, but insofar as attacking other members, it just shouldn’t be tolerated over and over again,” he continued. “It’s not one simple attack. It’s not what happened on the floor a few weeks ago with Lauren Boebert. It is a series of really poorly thought-out attacks on other members.”
www.thedailybeast.com
Full article text: #### | ‘LUDICROUS, IRONIC, ABSURD’ | #### Christopher Wray, a longtime Republican, was peppered with contentions questions from members of his own party during a six-hour House hearing Wednesday. --- FBI Director Christopher Wray fielded hours of “absurd” questions on Wednesday from the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, as the party continues to ramp up its attempts to discredit both Wray and the agency that he runs with claims of political bias against conservatives. Ironically, as he pointed out repeatedly during the six-hour hearing Wednesday, Wray is a [lifelong Republican](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/12/insane-ludicrous-absurd-fbis-wray-shows-teeth-gop-critics/) and member of the right-wing Federalist Society. He was also appointed to his post in 2017 by then-president Donald Trump. “I hope you don’t change your party affiliation after this hearing is over,” Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) joked at one point. Despite his sterling conservative resume, Wray was forced to defend himself from charges of bias from members of his own party, many of whom alleged that the FBI was unfairly targeting the right in its recent investigations and prosecutions. Wray used a variety of adjectives to describe recent right-wing conspiracies lobbed at the FBI—including that the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was an inside job masterminded by the agency—calling Republican attacks on his character “insane,” “absurd,” “ironic” and “ludicrous.” “The idea that I’m biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me, given my own personal background,” he told the committee. None of the director’s fiery language stopped Republicans on the committee from questioning Wray about Jan. 6, entertaining a years-old conspiracy theory that the FBI helped incite the riot. It was a claim championed by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, [who was sued alongside the network earlier Wednesday by Ray Epps](https://www.thedailybeast.com/ray-epps-sues-fox-news-over-tucker-carlsons-jan-6-conspiracy-theory), who was falsely smeared by right-wing media and accused of being an FBI informant despite little evidence. Wray tried his best not to feed into the narrative. “I will say this notion that somehow the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was part of some operation by FBI sources and agents is ludicrous and is a disservice to our brave, hard-working, dedicated men and women,” he said. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) even brought up the COVID-19 lab-leak theory, insinuating that Wray’s FBI was helping the broader U.S. government cover it up. Wray called the claim “ironic” and “somewhat absurd,” considering the FBI was, at one point, “the only agency in the entire intelligence community” to give credit to the lab leak theory. Wray largely avoided getting too heated with even his biggest critics Wednesday, keeping a steady demeanor throughout a number of contentious lines of questioning. Near the end of the hearing, he subtly warned those on the committee who may hope to see him bend amid the political gamesmanship. “No one should ever mistake my demeanor for what my spine is made out of,” he said.
abcnews.go.com
Full article text: --- The Cuban Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called the stop by a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay a "provocative escalation.” The U.S. nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Pasadena, stopped at the naval base in Guantanamo Bay earlier this month, the Cuban Foreign Ministry said. A U.S. Navy spokesperson told ABC News it was a "scheduled logistics stop" as the submarine transits to Colombia to participate in a multinational maritime exercise. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly rejects the arrival of a nuclear-powered submarine in Guantanamo Bay on July 5, 2023, that stayed until July 8 at the US military base located there, which is a provocative escalation of the United States, whose political or strategic motives are not known," the statement read. "The presence of a nuclear submarine there at this moment makes it imperative to wonder what is the military reason behind this action in this peaceful region of the world," the statement continued. The U.S. government notified the Cuban government that the submarine would stop in Guantanamo Bay on the morning of July 5, a U.S. Navy spokesperson said. "This is not without precedent. Other nuclear-powered submarines have stopped at Guantanamo before without incident," the spokesperson added. On the other side of the island, a Russian naval vessel arrived at Havana's port on Tuesday. The naval vessel -- a Russian training ship named the Perekop - entered the port carrying "humanitarian aid, as well as equipment delivered directly from the Russian Museum of St. Petersburg for multimedia exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts of Havana," Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the official state newspaper of Russia, reported. The Perekop traveled across the Atlantic Ocean from the Russian port city of Kronshtadt to the Caribbean Sea. It departed Russia on June 20 and arrived in Cuba on July 11. The ship will go on to make other stops in the Caribbean, South America and Africa before returning to Russia in September, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The presence of the Russian naval ship on Cuba's shores is a sign of [increased diplomatic relations](https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/cuban-officials-conclude-russia-trip-agreements-oil-wheat-100256902) between the two nations. Cuba, which was hit hard by the pandemic, has been experiencing severe shortages of basic goods like food and gas for months.
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
I see. Thanks for pointing it out. The Daily Beast has never asked me for a sign up or anything so I posted. I'll copy all the article text into the post body from now on.
abcnews.go.com
North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters Wednesday, South Korea said, two days after the North threatened “shocking” consequences to protest what it called a provocative U.S. reconnaissance activity near its territory.
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
Did an oopsie! It's okay though nothing a good ol' confession to Jesus won't get him out of
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
A California church deacon allegedly sexually abused numerous boys on religious mission trips under the guise of inspecting their genitals for “concerning” moles—helping protect the children, he told them, from the ravages of skin cancer.
But beware of drag queens folks
www.thedailybeast.com
Bradley Reger was seen chatting up a young girl at a Nevada airport just the night before his arrest last week, authorities said.
www.thedailybeast.com
The Department of Justice said Tuesday it was abandoning the defense of Trump in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case.
www.nbcnews.com
The number of out athletes competing has more than doubled since the 2019 Women’s World Cup. The total number of LGBTQ athletes in each competition is likely higher, because some players might not feel comfortable coming out publicly.
Technology
Discord bans AI-generated child sex abuse material and teen dating servers
www.nbcnews.com
The policy changes come after an NBC News investigation last month into child safety on the platform.
www.nbcnews.com
Gal Luft, 57, was charged with acting as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government, trafficking weapons and lying to federal agents.
theconversation.com
All Nordic states are now members of the military alliance, bolstering key border regions with Russia.
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
@politicus on kbin. There is also @USpolitics. This magazine should allow for politics from all over. Especially so if you plan to allow discussion threads revolving around general political themes instead of specific stories, since you will likely draw in more participation from non-Americans as well.
abcnews.go.com
A federal judge has handed Microsoft a major victory by declining to block its looming $69 billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard
www.vox.com
A new federal appeals court decision is a terrible blow to trans rights, and a potential earthquake in the fight for LGBTQ equality.
www.thedailybeast.com
Losing elections, registered voters, and all its money hasn’t scared the Grand Canyon State’s Republican Party into acting normal and sane.
www.nbcnews.com
One pollster sees “flashing red” signs on youth turnout as Gen Z and millennial voters, who are not satisfied with either party, could again play a decisive role in the next election.
abcnews.go.com
Multiple states across the country are engaged in fights over redistricting -- and the outcomes could help determine whether Democrats or Republicans have control of the House in 2024. The redrawing of congressional boundary lines happens every 10 years, following the completion of the census. Those results shift how many representatives each state gets depending on their population and which parts of each state get grouped together into districts that each elect someone to the House. Depending on how those lines are drawn, districts can be designed to unfairly favor one party over the other based on information like historical voting patterns, voter demographics and voter registration. (Some states use independent groups during redistricting to decrease the chance of this.) Three years after the last census, the dust is far from settled on congressional maps in some parts of the country. As the 2024 election approaches, a series of high-profile court cases has brought redistricting in the spotlight once again. Here is a closer look at how the process is playing out in six states that have to -- or could soon -- redraw their maps.
www.nbcnews.com
Speaker McCarthy and the Republican-led House have moved to spend less than the new budget caps and impose conservative policies, conflicting with the Senate's bipartisan path.
linuxmemes
Linux Mint is still going strong after being my daily driver for 4 months, and I don't think i will be going back anytime soon.
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
I see you've got it! Here's a guide to kbin if you need
politics
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
Is this the fOrMiDaBlE iNtElLiGeNcE you referenced in your anti-LGBTQ+ ad, Ron? That lost you millions of dollars worth of business to pander to a bunch of internet trolls that probably aren't even old enough to vote? sigh
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
While I understand the fediverse may pose a learning curve, please note it does not refer to a forum, which is why there are introduction pages. As for Reddit being straight forward, it's been developing for about 18 years now. Kbin in comparison is about two months into development.
Space
The James Webb Space Telescope captures image of Saturn and its rings in all their shiny glory
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
An excerpt:
Methane gas absorbs almost all the sunlight falling on the atmosphere at this picture’s specific infrared wavelength (3.23 microns). As a result, Saturn’s familiar striped patterns aren’t visible because the methane-rich upper atmosphere blocks our view of the primary clouds. Instead, Saturn’s disk appears dark, and we see features associated with high-altitude stratospheric aerosols, including large, dark, and diffuse structures in Saturn’s northern hemisphere that don’t align with the planet’s lines of latitude. Unlike Saturn's atmosphere, its rings lack methane, so at this infrared wavelength, they are no darker than usual and thus easily outshine the darkened planet.
Space
The James Webb Space Telescope captures image of Saturn and its rings in all their shiny glory
kuontom
1 year ago
•
0%
See the official press release by SETI institute here -> seti.org/press-release/new-image-james-webb-space-telescope-reveals-astonishing-saturn-and-its-rings
Moving to: m/AskMbin!
Is anyone using Google search less than before?
kuontom
1 year ago
•
0%
Google Search has been accusing me of being a robot a lot lately, making me solve a bajillion captchas. So I've stopped using search engines entirely. I've bookmarked a lot of the sites I regularly visit and have realized I don't really need Google, apart from for getting the correct links to said websites because I can't remember their .orgs and .coms.
BrainFood
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
Tiny blips indeed. In time and space. Very humbling to reflect on.
Moving to: m/AskMbin!
What is the most unsettling/disturbing unsolved mystery that you are aware of?
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
The second case is infuriating.
Mendonça was 11 years old
A prostitute, Alcina Dias, confirmed that [Afonso Dias] had taken Mendonça to see her on the day he disappeared. [Afonso Dias] allegedly drove up to see her in his car and asked her if she was working. When she assented, he offered to pay her to have sex with Mendonça.
and later
police forces raided alleged members of an international child pornography ring known as the Wonderland Club. The operation was code-named Operation Cathedral and resulted in the confiscation of 750,000 images and videos depicting 1,263 different children. Mendonça was among the few children (16 only) that could be identified. However, his whereabouts remain unknown and police suspect that he was murdered by his abductors after being abused on camera for other members of the paedophile ring.
Top it off with the fact that the police refused to take his disappearance seriously initially and just assumed he was lost or injured and would eventually turn up.
Fucked up.
Reddit Migration
Transcribers of Reddit, who make transcriptions for blind users, will close on the 1st July
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
It's the same as Lemmy just replace c/ with m/ in the links for kbin instances
lemmy.sdf.org/c/main@rblind.com
kbin.social/m/main@rblind.com
Reddit Migration
Transcribers of Reddit, who make transcriptions for blind users, will close on the 1st July
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
Link from kbin: kbin.social/m/main@rblind.com
kbin prefixes communities (magazines) with m/ instead of c/
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
See also: Uganda enacts harsh anti-LGBTQ law including death penalty (Source: Reuters)
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni signed one of the world's toughest anti-LGBTQ laws, including the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality", drawing Western condemnation and risking sanctions from aid donors.
It stipulates capital punishment for "serial offenders" against the law and transmission of a terminal illness like HIV/AIDS through gay sex. It also decrees a 20-year sentence for "promoting" homosexuality.
In Africa, same-sex relations are now punishable by death in 4 countries (Nigeria, Somalia, Mauritania and Uganda), imprisonment of 10 years to life in 8 countries, and imprisonment of less than 10 years/other penalties in 20 countries. Somalia’s penal code mandates a prison sentence of up to 3 years, but the death penalty may be imposed under sharia law. Similarly, the Nigerian penal code mandates a 14-year jail sentence, but the death penalty may be applied in the 12 northern states under sharia. (Source)
Today I Learned
TIL that in 1962, NASA's Mariner 1 spacecraft failed to orbit and had to be blown up 5 minutes after liftoff due to a single typo in its programmed guidance equations, causing NASA a setback of $80 mi
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
Ah shucks, here's an image
I'll fix the title, seems that those symbols don't show on all devices.
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
After you've seen the post, go back to lemmy.world and click on the comments rather than the post's title. Similar to what you would do if lemmy.world redirected you to some other website instead of kbin.
Programming
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
Segmentation fault (core dumped)
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
Anddd now come the posts pointing out how there are so many posts pointing out that the same thing is being reposted so many times. Wonder how many layers till the meta-posting dies out. Can't say it's not funny though.
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
The kbin search at the top of the page searches all content not just magazines. To specifically get magazines from the top bar search, you need to enter @magazineName@instanceName. Like so
In general, if searching for a kbin.social magazine, go to the magazine section at the top of the page and use the search bar that shows up on the page you are redirected to. See here
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
Moving to: m/AskMbin!
Are lemmy community posts automatically federated into their kbin counterparts?
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
The important thing to understand is that kbin.social and a lemmy instance like lemmy.ml are federated but still different websites. Therefore the magazine /m/technology is different from the lemmy.ml community /c/technology. It's just that you can access lemmy.ml magazines from kbin.social and vice versa.
Across instances, magazines are not uniquely identified by their name, but by their address. The address of the kbin.social magazine /m/technology is technology@kbin.social, whereas the address of /c/technology on lemmy.ml is technology@lemmy.ml. You can subscribe to both from kbin itself. If you're on kbin, just 'technology' is interpreted as technology@kbin.social. So the magazine page for kbin magazines is kbin.social/m/magazineName and the page for magazines from other federated websites is kbin.social/m/magazineName@website.
/m/technology -> kbin.social/m/technology
/c/technology -> kbin.social/m/technology@lemmy.ml
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
You can search for a particular instance name in the magazine search like lemmy.ml or beehaw.org to see all magazines from those instances. You can also just search for a topic and it'll show you all magazines across instances with that topic in the name or description of the magazine.
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
- Go to your profile, you should see a tab for 'subscriptions' in the menu where you see tabs for 'threads', 'comments' etc. Or go to kbin.social/u/sapient_noodles/subscriptions
- Not as of now. But the feature has been requested.
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
The link slrpnk.net/c/kbinMeta@kbin.social works fine, as you can see here
You can't access the science community from your instance because your instance's server seems to not have caught up (or federated) entirely yet. Check in a few days time.
It will work when the servers are caught up. Here's the kbin.social science community from another Lemmy instance, beehaw.org, to assure you it will work: beehaw.org/c/science@kbin.social
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
You can. Visit the kbin magazine you want to add by either searching for it from your Lemmy instance's search feature or by going to the URL slrpnk.net/c/magazinename@kbin.social.
For example, you are currently on the /kbinMeta magazine. To add it, you can go to slrpnk.net/c/kbinMeta@kbin.social and click 'Subscribe'.
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
AFAIK, no. When you click on a thread's title from your feed, you are redirected to the thread's page. Clicking on the title again from here will take you to the external link.
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
Upvotes do not contribute to your reputation, but they do count (along with boosts and comments/replies) towards how the 'hot' comments (or threads) are determined. Upvoting yourself can slightly improve visibility.
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
Notifications are off by default. To turn them on click here https://kbin.social/settings/general. Once turned on, notifications will be indicated to the left of your username at the top right.
Moving to: m/AskMbin!
What is the most useful website you know?
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
Every Noise At Once: Recommend this website to find new music that suits your tastes. Play around with the options at the top, best way to see what they do.
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
Strange. Working for me so doubt its a bug though can't say for sure. Make sure you're saving after updating. Also note that when you open kbin.social, you will see 'All' (the landing page). But if you have set your homepage to default to 'Subscriptions', clicking on the kbin logo on the top left will take you to your homepage, which should be kbin.social/sub after updating and saving settings. Editing post to reflect this.
If none of those are it, you can find known issues here
kuontom
1 year ago
•
100%
You're correct
Favorites look like Reddit upvotes, but do not contribute to Reputation. You can favourite threads, microblogs/posts and comments. All content you favourite can be accessed through the 'Favourites' channel. Click the list icon near your username on the top right of the page and select 'Favourites'.
Boosts contribute positively to reputation. At the moment boosts are not much of a feature for kbin.social users. Use it as an upvote button for now.