Trump to surrender in Georgia next week:
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Former President Trump is expected to surrender to Georgia authorities next week on charges related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in the state.
Trump’s legal team is reportedly negotiating with prosecutors to settle a date before the Aug. 25 deadline. Busy week: |
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Trump is scheduled to hold a press conference on Monday to address the Georgia charges.
The first GOP primary debate is Wednesday night in Milwaukee, but Trump has until Monday to decide whether he will participate.
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Upstaging: Will Trump steal the thunder from his GOP rivals at the debate by having his jail appearance outshine the lower-polling candidates? Downplaying: Will he try to sneak in and evade the media with a last-minute display?
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The former president is known to be a bit unpredictable, so only time will tell.
Elsewhere in the news: A Texas woman has been charged with threatening to kill the judge overseeing Trump’s 2020 election case and a House Democrat who is running for Houston mayor
Abigail Jo Shry called Judge Tanya Chutkan’s chambers at the federal courthouse Aug. 5, just days after Trump was indicted on charges stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. She later reportedly admitted to making the threatening phone call after authorities traced the number.
According to court documents, the woman allegedly called Chutkan a racial slur before threatening to kill anyone who comes after Trump, saying “You are in our sights, we want to kill you.”
Prosecutors also accuse Shry of saying, “If Trump doesn’t get elected in 2024, we are coming to kill you.” (The Hill) |
Former federal judge says Trump attacks could ‘imperil’ cases: |
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J. Michael Luttig, a former federal appeals court judge, says Trump’s social media attacks on prosecutors and judges could harm his cases. The former president has repeatedly taken to his Truth Social platform to demean his legal rivals. (The Hill) |
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Former chief of staff gets swept up in Trump’s legal troubles: |
Mark Meadows, who was chief of staff to former President Trump at the end of his tenure in the White House, has so far evaded charges in the federal investigation into the former president’s alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. But not anymore, as he was named and charged — along with 17 others — in the recent Georgia indictment.
The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch, Alex Gangitano and Brett Samuels break down what the Georgia case could mean for Meadows moving forward. |
The Hill’s Niall Stanage ranks the risks from all four of Trump’s indictments. |
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Death toll reaches 111; officials defend decision not to sound alarms:
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The death toll from the catastrophic wildfires on Maui has climbed to at least 111, as officials face questions about the decision not to sound the alarms to warn residents of the danger as fires spread.
Maui Emergency Management Agency administrator Herman Andaya told reporters this week that the alert system is meant to respond to tsunamis, so officials were worried that they would lead people toward the fires rather than away. “We were afraid that people would have gone mauka,” Andaya said, using a Hawaiian navigational term that means moving toward the inland mountain areas. “If that’s the case, then they would have gone into the fire.” Maui instead deployed other warning systems, including emergency texts and broadcast emergency signals across TV and radio stations.
Search and recovery efforts remain underway on the island, and the death toll is expected to continue to rise. Less than 40 percent of the island has been searched so far. (The Hill) |
Disasters increasing in Hawaii — analysis: |
Hawaii is more frequently being pummeled with natural disasters, especially wildfires like the one that decimated much of Maui last week, according to a new Associated Press analysis of Federal Emergency Management Agency records. (The Hill) |
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Anti-abortion movement split on how to further cause:
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More than a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, anti-abortion rights are splintered, and it could have major implications for Republicans as they try to maintain control of the House and gain control of the Senate in the 2024 election. Where things stand: Some groups want candidates to back away from extreme positions like a national ban, which is unlikely to get enough votes in Congress anytime soon, and instead focus on more moderate positions that can help win elections.
Others insist on holding candidates to being vocally dedicated to the most conservative positions — strict bans with limited exceptions.
GOP strategists say unless there’s a cohesive message, more defeats could be coming after a disappointing Republican performance in the 2022 midterm cycle. (The Hill) |
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Poll suggests ‘Bidenomics’ hasn’t lifted approval on economy: |
The White House’s big push to hype its “Bidenomics” agenda this summer hasn’t quite moved the needle on how voters feel about President Biden‘s economic track record. A new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll out this week found that just 36 percent of Americans approve of Biden’s economic policies — slightly below his overall approval rating of 42 percent.
The White House has deployed key members of Biden’s cabinet, in addition to the president and Vice President Harris, across the country to talk up key policies in recent weeks. (The Hill)
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Trump complains about Fox using his ‘worst pictures’: |
Former President Trump isn’t pleased by how he’s being portrayed on his once-favored network Fox News, complaining that he’s getting unfair and aesthetically unflattering coverage.
“They purposely show the absolutely worst pictures of me, especially the big ‘orange’ one with my chin pulled way back. They think they are getting away with something, they’re not,” he said on Truth Social. “Just like 2016 all over again … And then they want me to debate!” Trump and the conservative-leaning news network have experienced a falling out since the 2020 presidential election cycle ended. The outlet is slated to host the first GOP presidential debate on Wednesday. It is still unclear whether Trump will take part.
The RNC said qualifying candidates have until Monday to say if they plan to be there. (The Hill) |
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Gender studies major lands on the culture war front lines: |
Gender studies majors could be in danger on some college campuses as it becomes the latest culture war target.
The New College of Florida voted recently to shutter the liberal arts school’s 28-year-old gender studies department, after a conservative takeover of the school’s trustee board by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for president. Gender studies — an offshoot of women’s studies — generally examines the relationship between gender and society, including topics of feminism, LGBTQ issues and politics.
The Hill’s Lexi Lonas reports on the new challenges the field faces: “Conservatives across the country have increasingly taken up arms against gender studies, especially as the debate around transgender youth and what children should be taught in schools about LGBTQ issues has ignited.”
Major support: “They’re trying to capitalize on what they see as a political moment. And it’s really unfortunate because what they’re doing is going to have long-term negative effects on our education system, and the health and well-being of our children,” Amy Reid, director of New College’s gender studies department, told The Hill.
Defenders of change: New College trustee Matthew Spalding, a professor at the private Christian-centered Hillsdale College in Michigan, told a conservative media outlet that the board’s decision “is fully in accord with its strategic mission to be the state of Florida’s liberal arts honors college.”
“Any substantial topic taken up in gender studies may be found thoroughly treated in the ordinary academic disciplines such as history, psychology or biology,” Spalding said. More from the Hill here. |
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With less than a week left until the first GOP debate, the analysts over at Medium Buying have posed a question to followers on X: “Who will be the first GOP presidential candidate to suspend/end their campaign?” Their top four guesses: Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez or businessman Perry Johnson. |
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The House and Senate are out today. President Biden is in Pennsylvania before heading to Camp David later today, and Vice President Harris is in Los Angeles. |
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Today is National Black Cat Appreciation Day! They’re associated with Halloween, witches, Friday the 13th and bad luck in general.
Let’s face it, black cats get a bad rap. It’s not their fault, but research has found that black cats are more likely to be euthanized in shelters and less likely to be adopted than cats of other colors.
So, if you come across un chat noir today, don’t be superstitious or play into stereotypes! |
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