Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) on Sunday said that Republicans are in “real trouble” ahead of the midterm elections because the GOP lacks strong leadership from both House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.).

“Republicans are in real trouble because we have no leadership. This is the problem,” Kinzinger said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Kevin McCarthy isn’t leading, he’s asking, ‘What does [Republican Rep.] Marjorie Taylor Greene [Ga.] want me to do?’

“Mitch McConnell’s just trying to save the Senate,” Kinzinger added. “We have no leaders, and no wonder our base basically believes everything Donald Trump says.”

With the midterm elections coming up, the race for control of Congress is heating up between Democrats and Republicans.

While GOP candidates slam the Biden administration with accusations of mishandling the economy and causing high inflation, Democrats are campaigning heavily on abortion rights and are seeking to paint Republicans as extremist on the issue.

A bellwether race in New York last week showed the odds may be tipping in favor of Democrats. In the special election for the House of Representatives, Democratic candidate Pat Ryan, who had focused on abortion rights in his campaign, eked out a victory over Republican Marc Molinaro.

Polls also show Republicans, who earlier this year enjoyed a healthy advantage headed into November, are now losing ground while forecasts are shifting toward Democrats.

The GOP is also experiencing in-fighting between former President Trump and McConnell. After the Senate minority leader said the House is more likely to flip control than the Senate, Trump called for McConnell to be ousted from his leadership post.

The former president has dubbed McConnell with the nickname “Old Crow” and has called for his ouster since the Senate leader denounced Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, rioting at the U.S. Capitol.

Kinzinger, a member of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, said on Sunday another concerning issue with the GOP headed into November is the 2020 election, which many continue to falsely claim was rigged.

“Republicans that are running against even left-wing Democrats that believe in democracy and believe in voting, that person should be elected over somebody who basically would overthrow the will of the people and ultimately destroy this country,” the Illinois lawmaker, who announced his retirement last October, told NBC. “This country cannot survive outside of democracy. It will turn into a power struggle between groups of different races, of different ethnicities, of different religions, because the thing that holds us together is this belief that we can self-govern.”

Source Article from https://thehill.com/homenews/3618671-kinzinger-republicans-in-real-trouble-because-we-have-no-leadership/

The Detroit Police Department is actively searching for the suspect of multiple deadly shootings in Detroit on Sunday.

UPDATE: Detroit police take alleged gunman into custody after 3 people ‘randomly’ killed on Sunday

At approximately 4:45 a.m. a 40-year-old woman was found shot multiple times in the area of Wyoming and Margareta.

While officers investigated the scene, a witness walked up and told them about a second scene at 7 Mile and Wyoming. Police said a 28-year-old man was fatally shot at that location.

At 6:50 a.m., at 19700 Livernois, a woman in her 40s was found shot multiple times, police said.

At 7:10 a.m. in the area of 19200 Pennington, a man was shot after noticing the suspect looking inside cars. The victim confronted him and the suspect shot him once, according to investigators.

DPD confirms that 4 people were shot. Three of the victims were killed. Police said this appears to be a random act.

DPD believes there’s only one suspect with one weapon linked to these shootings. He appears to be in his mid-20s to early 30s.

Suspect of multiple deadly shootings in Detroit (photo: the Detroit Police Department)

“To the families and friends of these victims, we will continue to work to get this suspect into custody. We again are prepared and have all assets deployed and will have a layered approach,” said Chief White.

DPD, MSP, and their helicopters have been activated. ATF, FBI, and Homeland Security are also actively involved in the investigation.

“Nobody in this department wants a violent confrontation with this individual,” said Mayor Duggan. It’s not safe for our officers, our perpetrators or civilians. The sooner we can intervene, and we have mental health specialists on site if that turns out to be needed, we will do it quickly. But this is a case where I think someone from the public calling will bring this to an end.”

Police believe the suspect is armed and dangerous. Anyone who sees him is asked to call 911 and not to approach him.

Stay with FOX 2 for updates.

READ NEXT: 3-year-old killed in crash on Inkster Rd; mom arrested for possible drunk driving

Source Article from https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/police-search-for-suspect-of-multiple-deadly-shootings-in-detroit-sunday

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday pushed back on Republicans who called President Joe Biden’s federal student loan forgiveness plan unfair — with Sanders arguing the GOP turned a blind eye to government assistance in other sectors.

“I don’t hear any of these Republicans squawking when we give massive tax breaks to billionaires,” Sanders, I-Vt., told ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos.

“Suddenly when we do something for working people, it is a terrible idea,” he said.

While Sanders agreed with Biden’s decision to forgive some federal loans — up to $20,000 for Pell grant recipients and up to $10,000 for individual federal loan recipients, both with a $125,000 income cap — the lawmaker also said he would go a step further by making public colleges and universities tuition-free to keep the U.S. “competitive in the global economy.” Sanders has long lobbied for such a move.

Biden on Wednesday announced a three-part student loan relief plan, which he had been considering in some form since before he took office. The program also continues the COVID-19 pause on federal student loans repayments, pushing it through December, with payments resuming in January.

On “This Week,” Stephanopoulos pressed Sanders on the arguments of fairness and scope.

“Several of your Democratic colleagues who are up for reelection this year have criticized [the policy] as well,” he said, citing those who say Biden’s plan isn’t clearly funded, doesn’t address larger school affordability issues and left out people without loans who could still use relief.

Sanders agreed that while not everyone who needs help will benefit from the loan forgiveness, those in need of assistance with student debt should not be ignored.

“Maybe, just maybe, we want to have a government that works for all working people and not just the people on top,” he said.

He renewed his longstanding calls to raise the minimum wage, provide free health care and lower the cost of prescription drugs.

Stephanopoulos pointed out that none of Sander’s proposals will be possible without a Democratic Senate, which will be decided in November’s midterms. Sanders said he thinks the party — with whom he votes on most issues — has a “reasonable chance” of retaining the upper chamber due to the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down nationwide abortion access.

“I think that decision is going to reverberate very poorly for Republicans who think that women do not have a right to control their own bodies,” he contended.

“I certainly hope we get more than 50 [seats] in the Senate, that we get at least 52, so we can start going forward and protecting working people in a way we have not been able to do up to now,” he said.

Stephanopoulos also asked about the affidavit used to justify the FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home earlier this month in relation to sensitive and classified documents that the government says he took with him when he left the White House. (Trump denies wrongdoing; many Republicans say it is a political attack.)

A redacted copy of the affidavit was released late last week and shows that at least 180 classified documents were recovered from Trump’s estate by the National Archives and Records Administration in February, some of which were labeled as “top secret.”

“It’s just incomprehensible to me,” Sanders said in response. “But then again, when we talk about President Trump, there’s a lot of incomprehensible things.”

Source Article from https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sanders-pushes-back-republicans-squawking-bidens-student-loan/story?id=88937152

The National Archives and Records Administration has faced a spike in threats and vitriol in the weeks since the FBI’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.

Why it matters: The National Archives isn’t the only federal agency facing a deluge of threats. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have also seen a surge in threats toward law enforcement in the wake of the Mar-a-Lago search.

What they’re saying: “NARA has received messages from the public accusing us of corruption and conspiring against the former President, or congratulating NARA for ‘bringing him down,’” acting archivist Debra Steidel Wall wrote in an email to staff on Wednesday, the Washington Post reported.

  • “Neither is accurate or welcome,” Steidel Wall wrote of the two types of messages.

The big picture: The National Archives has been engaged in a protracted battle for the recovery of documents from the Trump administration.

  • After the agency retrieved 15 boxes from Mar-a-Lago in January it later confirmed that it found classified information among the documents.
  • Officials at the National Archives believed more materials were still missing and referred the matter to the Department of Justice, per the Washington Post.
  • The FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago earlier this month led to the removal of 11 sets of classified information from Mar-a-Lago, including “Various classified/TS/SCI documents” — referring to documents containing “top secret” or “sensitive compartmented information.”

Source Article from https://www.axios.com/2022/08/28/national-archives-trump-search-threat

Student loan borrowers stage a rally in front of The White House on Aug. 25 to celebrate President Biden cancelling student debt. The plan has sparked heated debate, including about its economic fairness.

Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We the 45m


hide caption

toggle caption

Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We the 45m

Student loan borrowers stage a rally in front of The White House on Aug. 25 to celebrate President Biden cancelling student debt. The plan has sparked heated debate, including about its economic fairness.

Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We the 45m

President Biden’s plan to forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in student debt is sparking heated debate.

Biden last week announced plans to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt for Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for others who qualify.

The news will provide relief for borrowers at a time when the cost of higher education has surged.

But critics are questioning the fairness of the plan and warn about the potential impact on inflation should the students with the forgiven loans increase their spending.

Here are three key arguments – for and against the wisdom of Biden’s decision.

Raising living standards or adding fuel to inflation?

Undoubtedly, student debt is a big burden for a lot of people.

Under Biden’s plan, 43 million people stand to have their loan payments reduced, while 20 million would have their debt forgiven altogether.

People whose payments are cut or eliminated should have more money to spend elsewhere – maybe to buy a car, put a down payment on a house or even put money aside for their own kids’ college savings plan. So the debt forgiveness has the potential to raise the living standard for tens of millions of people.

Critics, however, say that additional spending power would just pour more gasoline on the inflationary fire in an economy where businesses are already struggling to keep up with consumer demand.

Inflation remains near its highest rate in 40 years and the Federal Reserve is moving to aggressively raise interest rates in hopes of bringing prices back under control.

Not all economists believe the debt forgiveness will do much to fuel inflation.

Debt forgiveness is not like the $1200 relief checks the government sent out last year, which some experts say added to inflationary pressure. Borrowers won’t suddenly have $20,000 deposited in their bank accounts. Instead, they’ll be relieved of making loan payments over many years.

President Biden announces student loan relief in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 24.

Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images


hide caption

toggle caption

Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

President Biden announces student loan relief in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 24.

Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Because the relief is dribbled out slowly, Ali Bustamante, who’s with left-leaning Roosevelt Institute says Biden’s move won’t move the needle on inflation very much.

“It’s just really a drop in the bucket when it come to just the massive level of consumer spending in our very service- and consumer-driven economy,” he says.

The White House also notes that borrowers who still have outstanding student debt will have to start making payments again next year. Those payments have been on hold throughout the pandemic.

Restarting them will take money out of borrower’s pockets, offsetting some of the additional spending power that comes from loan forgiveness.

Helping lower income Americans or a sop to the rich?

Another big point of contention has to do with fairness.

Forgiving loans would would effectively transfer hundreds of billions of dollars in debt from individuals and families to the federal government, and ultimately, the taxpayers.

Some believe that transfer effectively penalizes people who scrimped and saved to pay for college, as well as the majority of Americans who don’t go to college.

They might not mind subsidizing a newly minted social worker, making $25,000 a year. But they might bristle at underwriting debt relief for a business school graduate who’s about to go to Wall Street and earn six figures.

Students from George Washington University wear their graduation gowns outside of the White House in Washington, D.C, on May 18. Economists worry President Biden’s plan to forgive student loans could encourage more people to take on debt in the hopes of also being forgiven.

Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images


hide caption

toggle caption

Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Students from George Washington University wear their graduation gowns outside of the White House in Washington, D.C, on May 18. Economists worry President Biden’s plan to forgive student loans could encourage more people to take on debt in the hopes of also being forgiven.

Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

The White House estimates 90% of the debt relief would go to people making under $75,000 a year. Lower-income borrowers who qualified for Pell Grants in college are eligible for twice as much debt forgiveness as other borrowers.

But individuals making as much as $125,000 and couples making up to $250,000 are eligible for some debt forgiveness. Subsidizing college for those upper-income borrowers might rub people the wrong way.

“I still think a lot of this benefit is going to go to doctors, lawyers, MBAs, other graduates that have very high earnings potential and may even have very high earnings this year already,” says Marc Goldwein senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Helping those in need or making college tuition worse?

Goldwein also complains that the loan forgiveness doesn’t address the larger problem of soaring college tuition costs.

In fact, he suggests, it might make that problem worse — like a Band-Aid that masks a more serious infection underneath.

For years, the cost of college education has risen much faster than inflation, which is one reason student debt has exploded.

By forgiving some of that debt, the government will provide relief to current and former students.

But Goldwein says the government might encourage future students to take on even more debt, while doing little to instill cost discipline at schools.

“People are going to assume there’s a likelihood that debt is canceled again and again,” Goldwein says. “And if you assume there’s a likelihood it’s canceled, you’re going to be more likely to take out more debt up front. That’s going to give colleges more pricing power to raise tuition without pressure and to offer more low-value degrees.”

The old rule in economics is when the government subsidizes something, you tend to get more of it. And that includes high tuition and college debt.

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2022/08/28/1119687223/student-loans-debt-forgiveness-pell-grants-biden-inflation

U.S. intelligence officials plan to evaluate the natural security risks of the top secret documents obtained at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told lawmakers in a letter sent Friday.

The big picture: On Friday, the Department of Justice released a redacted version of the affidavit that led to the Mar-a-Lago search. The unsealed document said boxes obtained at the residence had a mix of confidential, secret and top secret documents.

Driving the news: Haines said in a letter to House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) that her office plans to investigate “the potential risk to national security that would result from the disclosure of the relevant documents,” according to Politico.

  • “The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) are working together to facilitate a classification review of relevant materials, including those recovered during the search,” Haines wrote, Politico reports.
  • She said in the letter the investigation will “not unduly interfere with DOJ’s ongoing criminal investigation.”
  • Politico was the first to report the story. Axios has also viewed a copy of the letter.
  • Haines’ office did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment.

What they’re saying: “We are pleased that in response to our inquiry, Director Haines has confirmed that the Intelligence Community and Department of Justice are assessing the damage caused by the improper storage of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago,” Schiff and Maloney said in a statement sent to Axios.

  • “The DOJ affidavit, partially unsealed yesterday, affirms our grave concern that among the documents stored at Mar-a-Lago were those that could endanger human sources. It is critical that the IC move swiftly to assess and, if necessary, to mitigate the damage done — a process that should proceed in parallel with DOJ’s criminal investigation.”

Context: The unsealed affidavit released Friday unveiled the evidence for the FBI’s search at former President Trump’s home. It revealed the contents of 14 of the 15 boxes recovered by the National Archives and Record Administration earlier this year.

  • The boxes contained 184 documents, 67 of which were confidential, 92 marked as secret and 25 marked as top secret.
  • The DOJ said in the affidavit that “there is probable cause to believe that additional documents that contain classified NDI [national defense information] or that are Presidential records subject to record retention requirements currently remain at the PREMISES.”

Go deeper: Read the redacted FBI affidavit for Trump’s home released by U.S. DOJ

Source Article from https://www.axios.com/2022/08/27/donald-trump-mar-a-lago-documents-security-risks

According to a partially redacted affidavit unsealed on Friday, the agents who conducted the search were seeking all “physical documents and records constituting evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed in violation of three potential crimes,” including a part of the Espionage Act outlawing gathering, transmitting or losing national defense information. The warrant also cites the destruction of records and concealment or mutilation of government material.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/27/trump-judge-special-master-fbi/

Intelligence officials in the Biden administration will review the national security risk posed by top-secret documents held at the Mar-a-Lago home of former President Trump.

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines sent a letter to two Democratic representatives on Friday, obtained by Politico, noting that intelligence would assess the risk resulting from potential disclosure of the classified information in the documents.

“The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) are working together to facilitate a classification review of relevant materials, including those recovered during the search,” wrote Haines to House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).

The letter was written shortly after the release of a redacted version of the search affidavit filed by the FBI before officers raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

The affidavit stated that reports indicated there could be “evidence of obstruction” at Mar-a-Lago, justifying a search for the documents.

Haines told Maloney and Schiff that intelligence officials’ assessment of national security risk would not “unduly interfere with DOJ’s ongoing criminal investigation.”

“We are pleased that in response to our inquiry, Director Haines has confirmed that the Intelligence Community and Department of Justice are assessing the damage caused by the improper storage of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago,” the two lawmakers told Politico on Saturday.

“It is critical that the IC move swiftly to assess and, if necessary, to mitigate the damage done — a process that should proceed in parallel with DOJ’s criminal investigation.”

Source Article from https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/3618212-haines-says-intelligence-officials-to-assess-national-security-risks-from-mar-a-lago-documents-reports/

Texas Senator Ted Cruz has been mocked for hitting out at so-called “slacker baristas” after President Joe Biden cancelled a chunk of student loan debt for millions of borrowers.

The Republican lawmaker – who infamously abandoned his state in the middle of a deadly winter storm to go on vacation to Cancun – fumed about the president’s student-loan forgiveness plan on his Verdict with Ted Cruz podcast this week.

In his rant, he branded the millions of Americans set to benefit from some relief from student loan repayments “slackers” and suggested that if they “get off the bong for a minute” they could become Democrat voters.

“There is a real risk that if you are that slacker barista who wasted seven years in college studying completely useless things, now has loans and can’t get a job, Joe Biden just gave you 20 grand,” he said.

“Like, holy cow! 20 grand. You know, maybe you weren’t gonna vote in November, and suddenly you just got 20 grand.”

Mr Cruz voiced his concerns that the plan to reduce debt for millions of Americans could pose “a real risk” to Republicans in the November mid-terms.

“And you know, if you can get off the bong for a minute and head down to the voting station,” he said.

“Or just send in your mail-in ballot that the Democrats have helpfully sent you, it could drive up turnout, particularly among young people.”

Mr Cruz was quickly schooled by Democrats and social media users on the issue of student loan debt.

Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders posted a video on Twitter where nurses spoke out about the crippling debt that they face from the education they needed in order to enter the profession.

“Senator Cruz, let me introduce to you a group of nurses and working class Americans who, in many cases, are working two jobs and over 40 hours a week just to pay off their student debt and pay for the basic necessities of life,” he tweeted.

“No, they are not slackers. They deserve relief.”

In the video, one nurse revealed that 120 nurses in her union had a combined student loan debt of $7m.

“You have to have a college degree to be a nurse and we’re struggling in the hospital, we need more nurses,” she said.

Another worker is seen telling the senator that she is paying $1,100 in student loan repayments every month and so is forced to work two jobs to make ends meet.

“That’s going to be my future for a while,” she said.

Others also condemned Mr Cruz for his comments, with former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner unfavourably comparing Mr Cruz’s work ethic to that of the baristas he slammed.

“Baristas work harder in a single shift than Ted Cruz has ever worked in his life,” she tweeted.

Brandon Friedman, who worked as former deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development under Barack Obama, also tweeted: “Since Ted Cruz knows baristas have been spitting in his coffee for years, it’s technically not punching down.”

Earlier this week, the Biden administration announced a new student-loan forgiveness plan which will cancel thousands of dollars of debt for millions of Americans.

Under the plan, up to $20,000 of debt will be cancelled for borrowers who earn less than $125,000 per year and who received Pell Grants – education grants for students from low- and middle-income families.

Borrowers who make less than $125,000 per year but did not receive a Pell Grant can have up to $10,000 of their loans forgiven.

While Democrats have welcomed the move – with progressives saying it needs to go further still – Republicans instantly blasted the move, claiming that other taxpayers without debt or a college education would lose out.

But the hypocrisy of some of those complaining was exposed when the White House fired off a series of tweets pointing out that they had personally benefited from loan forgiveness of their own during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Several Republican lawmakers including Reps Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mike Kelly and Markwayne Mullin were exposed as having had six- and seven-figure Payment Protection Program (PPP) loans forgiven.

Source Article from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ted-cruz-baristas-student-loan-debt-b2154228.html

With Mississippi’s Pearl River now expected to crest earlier than originally forecast, threatening to flood streets and creep into homes within the next 48 hours, some Jackson residents are being told to flee.

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba urged residents to “get out now,” during a news conference Saturday.

Authorities earlier predicted the Pearl River to reach 36 feet and crest by Tuesday after record-setting rainfall in recent days, however the river is now expected to crest late Sunday through Monday evening before slowly lowering.

Mississippi governor declares state of emergency amid massive flooding event

A flood stage is considered “major” at 26 feet. The current flood warning says dozens of additional streets in downtown Jackson will flood at 34 feet, with water close to entering homes in Northeast Jackson at 35.8 feet.

“We are expecting waters to begin to impact neighborhoods as early as Sunday evening,” Lumumba said, adding as many as 150 homes are expected to be affected by the flooding.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency Saturday due to the rising river waters and urged residents to remain calm. The state has already begun assessing water levels along the river using drones and deployed more than 100,000 sandbags, according to the declaration.

“The state of Mississippi is as prepared as possible for this flooding,” Reeves said. “My administration, including (Mississippi Emergency Management Agency), is monitoring this situation closely, and actively working to respond as quickly as possible to ongoing developments with flooding.”

It wouldn’t be the first time the river reached such a high level. Several neighborhoods in northeast and downtown Jackson were flooded and the Pearl River reached its third highest crest on record at 36.7 feet during a significant flooding event in February 2020.

Authorities are warning that communities affected by the flood in 2020 face a high probability of being impacted again. “Residents in those impacted areas should be ready to leave within 48 hours,” Lumumba said Saturday.

The mayor warned residents that flood waters may remain on the ground for several days, and residents should be prepared to be away from their homes for up to two weeks.

A flood warning remains in effect in parts of Mississippi, including in Jackson around the Pearl River, until further notice, the National Weather Service said.

In Ridgeland, Mississippi, just north of Jackson, residents who had to evacuate during 2020’s floods found themselves packing their bags again.

“Hopefully it won’t get bad. That’s all we’re praying for,” Ridgeland resident Krystal Ferguson told CNN affiliate WAPT. She said her family ended up staying in a hotel for five days during the flooding in 2020.

Mayor: Don’t put yourself in harm’s way

This week, a slow-moving weather system drenched parts of the South, triggering flash floods in Mississippi that forced evacuations, washed away roads, derailed a train, crept into homes and prompted numerous rescues.

On Saturday morning, after heavy rainfall, the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District increased the discharge from Barnett Reservoir to 60,000 cubic feet per second, a move the district warned will put water on Jackson streets.

A train is derailed and roads washed away after torrential rain clobbers parts of Mississippi

“Water will be in several streets in Jackson and could begin approaching some homes and businesses,” water district officials said in a news release Saturday morning. “It is likely that the discharge could be increased again during the next 24 hours, which could result in water entering homes.”

The threat of flooding will be limited to localized areas Sunday as slow-moving thunderstorms reform during the day, according to CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam. Scattered thundershowers could produce an additional 1-2 inches of rain by Sunday night, mainly south of Interstate 20.

Hot and humid conditions will persist, with highs in the middle to upper 80s.

Jackson’s mayor urged residents to stay away from flooded areas.

“We do not need sightseers, and we do not need you putting yourself or those that are helping with rescue efforts in harm’s way,” Lumumba said.

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/28/us/mississippi-pearl-river-flood-warning-sunday/index.html

WASHINGTON, Aug 27 (Reuters) – Two U.S. Navy warships sailed through international waters in the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, the first such operation since a visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi enraged China which regards the island as its territory.

The U.S. Navy, confirming a Reuters report, said cruisers Chancellorsville and Antietam were carrying out the ongoing operation. Such operations usually take eight to 12 hours to complete and are closely monitored by China’s military.

In recent years U.S. warships, and on occasion those from allied nations such as Britain and Canada, have routinely sailed through the strait, drawing the ire of China which claims Taiwan against the objections of its democratically elected government.

Pelosi’s Taiwan trip in early August infuriated China which saw it as a U.S. attempt to interfere in its internal affairs. China subsequently launched military drills near the island which have since continued.

“These (U.S.) ships transited through a corridor in the strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state,” the U.S. Navy said.

The operation demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, and the U.S. military flies, sails and operates anywhere international law allows, the navy said.

The Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command said it was following the ships and warning them.

“Troops in the theater remain on high alert and are ready to thwart any provocation at any time,” it added in a statement.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said the ships were sailing in a southerly direction and that its forces were observing but that “the situation was as normal”.

The narrow Taiwan Strait has been a frequent source of military tension since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with the communists, who established the People’s Republic of China.

Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was followed around a week later by a group of five other U.S. lawmakers, with China’s military responding by carrying out more exercises near the island.

Senator Marsha Blackburn, a U.S. lawmaker on the Senate Commerce and Armed Services committees, arrived in Taiwan on Thursday on the third visit by a U.S. dignitary this month, defying pressure from China to halt the trips.

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has sought to keep tension between Washington and Beijing from boiling over into conflict, reiterating that congressional trips are routine.

The United States has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

China has never ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control.

Taiwan says the People’s Republic of China has never ruled the island and so has no claim to it, and that only Taiwan’s 23 million people can decide their future.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Thomson Reuters

National security correspondent focusing on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Reports on U.S. military activity and operations throughout the world and the impact that they have. Has reported from over two dozen countries to include Iraq, Afghanistan, and much of the Middle East, Asia and Europe. From Karachi, Pakistan.

Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/exclusive-us-warships-carrying-out-taiwan-strait-passage-first-since-pelosi-2022-08-28/

The Senate Intelligence Committee also asked for a damage assessment, according to the panel’s chairman, Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, who said the request had been bipartisan.

On Friday, the Justice Department released a redacted version of the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant for Mar-a-Lago. That document included the revelation that Mr. Trump had retained highly classified material after leaving office, including documents related to the use of “clandestine human sources” in intelligence gathering.

Representatives Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California and the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, and Carolyn B. Maloney, Democrat of New York and the chairwoman of the Oversight Committee, issued an approving statement in response to Ms. Haines’s letter.

“The D.O.J. affidavit, partially unsealed yesterday, affirms our grave concern that among the documents stored at Mar-a-Lago were those that could endanger human sources,” the lawmakers said in their statement.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/27/us/politics/trump-documents-security-assessment-affidavit.html

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Florida told the Justice Department on Saturday to provide her with more specific information about the classified records removed from former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate and said it was her “preliminary intent” to appoint a special master in the case.

The two-page order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon signals that she’s inclined to grant a request from Trump’s lawyers, who this week asked for the appointment of an independent special master to oversee the review the records taken from Mar-a-Lago and identify any that may be protected by executive privilege, and to ensure the return of any documents outside the scope of the search warrant.

The judge scheduled a Thursday hearing to discuss the matter further, suggesting the Justice Department will have a chance to raise objections to the judge’s intentions. In other recent high-profile cases in which a special master has been appointed, the person has been a former judge.

Cannon also directed the Justice Department to file under seal with her more detailed descriptions of the material taken from Trump’s estate “specifying all property seized.” The former president’s lawyers have complained that investigators did not disclose enough information to them about what specific documents were removed when agents executed a search warrant on Aug. 8 to look for classified documents.

The special master appointment, if it happens, is unlikely to significantly affect the direction of the Justice Department investigation, though it’s possible an outside review of the documents could slow the probe down.

____

Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP

Source Article from https://apnews.com/article/florida-government-and-politics-1cc6c63010da10a19fb8cfc8595ffe38

WASHINGTON, Aug 27 (Reuters) – Some Republicans in Pennsylvania defended Donald Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano on Saturday after Reuters published a 2014 photo of him posing in a Confederate uniform.

The previously unreported photo was released by the U.S. Army War College to Reuters under a Freedom of Information Act request. It showed Mastriano among the 2013-14 faculty for the Department of Military Strategy, Plans, and Operations, where he worked at the time. read more

For years, the photo had hung at the college, which took it down following Reuters’ request, saying the image did not reflect its values. Mastriano, a state senator who retired from the Army in 2017, did not respond to requests for comment.

Lee Snover, chair of the Republican Party in Northampton County, downplayed the significance of the photo.

“It happened years ago. There was something called the Civil War and that included Confederate soldiers, so not sure what the big deal is,” Snover said.

Asked whether she supported the college’s decision to take down the photo, she said, “I wouldn’t have. I don’t like liberals tearing down our history.”

Sam DeMarco, head of the Allegheny County Republican Party, which includes Pittsburgh, once penned an op-ed airing his concerns about Mastriano’s electability. But he said the photo was being overblown by the candidate’s opponents.

“This story is another example of why the media is viewed poorly and with distrust by many on the right,” DeMarco told Reuters.

Faculty in the photo had been given the option of dressing as a historical figure, people familiar with the photo said, but most opted for regular attire. Mastriano is the only one wearing a Confederate uniform.

Displays of Confederate symbols can be seen as insensitive to those who view them as painful reminders of racial oppression and the Civil War that saw 11 rebelling Confederate states fight to keep Black people enslaved.

Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s attorney general who is running against Mastriano in the November ballot, said on Saturday that his opponent had voluntarily worn the uniform of traitors.

“This man is dangerous and out of touch,” Shapiro told a campaign rally. “This man doesn’t respect you or our shared values of common humanity.”

More than 33,000 soldiers from Pennsylvania died fighting for the Union during the Civil War, and the state was the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, the conflict’s bloodiest battle, which ended with a Union victory and inspired President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

Mastriano’s district, Pennsylvania’s 33rd, includes Gettysburg.

Democrat Austin Davis, a candidate for lieutenant governor and the first Black American to serve as a state representative for Pennsylvania’s 35th district, said it was “unconscionable” and “deeply hurtful” for Mastriano to wear a uniform that reflects the enslavement of Black people.

“We must defeat him in November,” Davis wrote on Twitter.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/world/us/some-pennsylvania-republicans-defend-mastriano-posing-confederate-uniform-2022-08-27/

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/27/democrats-republicans-house-midterms/

In a Friday rant against President Joe Biden’s student-loan forgiveness plan, Texas Republican Ted Cruz insisted that “slacker baristas” with debt will come out to support Democrats in the midterm elections. “If you are that slacker barista who wasted seven years in college studying completely useless things, now has loans and can’t get a job, Joe Biden just gave you 20 grand,” Cruz said his Verdict with Ted Cruz podcast. “Like, holy cow! 20 grand. You know, maybe you weren’t gonna vote in November, and suddenly you just got 20 grand.” The Texas Republican continued: “And you know, if you can get off the bong for a minute and head down to the voting station… or just send in your mail-in ballot that the Democrats have helpfully sent you, it could drive up turnout, particularly among young people.” Earlier this week, the Biden administration announced a plan to cancel at least $10,00 in student-loan debt for those whose annual income does not exceed $125,000.

Source Article from https://www.thedailybeast.com/texas-senator-ted-cruz-insists-slacker-baristas-with-student-loan-debt-will-help-democrats-in-midterms