Becker Brief: Evening Report for 2-22-23
Trump's visit to East Palestine, Soros DA under fire, Florida shooting suspect's identity, 2024 race heats up as Trump unloads on Florida governor, more!
BIDEN TRUMPED IN OHIO
Former President Donald Trump visited East Palestine, Ohio, on Wednesday, a community still grappling with the aftermath of a train derailment earlier this month that led to a large release of toxic chemicals.
During the visit, Trump highlighted Americans he said had been "forgotten" by the Biden administration following the disaster, and pledged to help the community hold those responsible for the damage accountable.
“This is Donald Trump at his best.”
President Trump delivering pallets of bottled water to East Palestine
“I asked President Trump what his message to Joe Biden was. His response: ‘Get over here’.”
“Locals have started chanting ‘No More Joe’ as they await Trump’s arrival to East Palestine”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will visit the site of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Thursday.
The secretary has come under intense pressure from East Palestine residents and other critics to visit the town in the wake of the February 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train that released toxic chemicals.
WW3 COMING?
Biden administration may release intelligence that 'reveals China IS considering giving Putin weapons for the war in Ukraine:' Move comes ahead of US Secretary of State's address to UN Security Council tomorrow
FLORIDA DRIVE-BY, REPORTER KILLED
Authorities: TV reporter, girl fatally shot in Florida
A central Florida television journalist and a little girl were fatally shot Wednesday afternoon near the scene of a fatal shooting from earlier in the day, authorities said.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a news conference that they’ve detained Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who they believe is responsible for both shootings in the Orlando-area neighborhood.
Besides the Spectrum News 13 journalist and the 9-year-old girl, a TV crewmember and the girl’s mother were wounded during the second shooting.
“Multiple victims including media reporters have been shot”
DESANTIS REJECTS MSNBC’S WEAK APOLOGY FOR BLATANT LIES
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office announced Wednesday it would boycott all further interviews with NBC or MSNBC until a host corrected misinformation about his education agenda and said a "non-apology" from the network failed to make amends.
2024 RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Trump is back to his 2015 tactics, calling likely GOP primary opponent @GovRonDesantis part of the "establishment" he defeated years ago -- going so far as to compare him to Jeb Bush. Recent polls have Trump rebounding after losing momentum to DeSantis.
Democratic support for Biden in 2024 rises while Republicans grow skeptical of Trump: poll
Half of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents questioned in an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released Wednesday said their party has a better chance of winning the White House in 2024 with Biden as the nominee. Forty-five percent said another candidate would improve their chances of winning.
"I'm not running for President of the United States. I can assure you of that as we sit here today," Manchin told MetroNews during a radio interview broadcast from the State Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia.
CHINESE SPY BALLOON SAGA
Pentagon releases U-2 photo of Chinese spy balloon in flight before it was shot down
The Department of Defense has released of a photo of the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down earlier this month off the coast of South Carolina after it had traversed the country.
BIDEN BLUNDERS
Biden trips up the stairs as he leaves Poland!
Trump trolls Biden
Did Biden Really Say That to the Polish President?
“What’s a little ethnic humor between world leaders? President Biden joked with his Polish counterpart on Tuesday that he wanted to add ‘ski’ or ‘o’ to his last name because he purportedly lived in an area of Delaware with a large population of Poles and Italians and wanted to fit in.”
Kamala Harris says Biden admin has reduced heat, electric costs amid record prices
Vice President Kamala Harris claimed Wednesday that the Biden administration has worked to provide Americans with lower gas and electricity bills despite higher-than-normal energy prices putting a financial crunch on many families.
SOROS-BACKED ATTORNEY UNDER FIRE
Mayor Jones: Kim Gardner has ‘lost trust of the people’
Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner is now facing criticism from another St. Louis elected official as political pushback grows over a tragic situation involving a teenage girl.
Janae Edmondson, 17, was in town for a volleyball tournament. While walking to her hotel with family, a driver who was out on bond failed to yield and collided with another vehicle.
Missouri AG Bailey: “Instead of protecting victims, Circuit Attorney Gardner is creating them. My office will do everything in its power to restore order, and eliminate the chaos in St. Louis caused by Kim Gardner’s neglect of her office.”
Meet Kimberly Gardner, the Rogue Prosecutor Whose Policies Are Wreaking Havoc in St. Louis
Like many other rogue prosecutors around the country, she was swept into office by winning her 2016 election with a wave of money from George Soros and tech billionaire-funded entities, who again contributed heavily to help her win reelection in 2020.
RADICAL POLITICS
Bernie Sanders Calls for 4 Day Work Week With No Loss of Pay
“With exploding technology and increased worker productivity, it’s time to move toward a four-day work week with no loss of pay. Workers must benefit from technology, not just corporate CEOs.”
JAN 6 TAPES FREAK-OUT
Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner subpoenaed in Jan. 6 probe: report
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as special counsel in November
Democrats are warning against the release of Jan. 6 tapes to a Fox News host
Democrats are sounding the alarm that a Fox News host's access to thousands of hours of security tapes from the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol could endanger the Capitol further and trigger a new wave of disinformation.
Schumer: McCarthy giving Jan. 6 footage to Tucker Carlson 'worst security risk since 9/11'
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) decision to hand over security footage from the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to Fox News host Tucker Carlson creates "grave security risks" to the Capitol complex.
NYT: McCarthy Puts Jan. 6 Footage in the Hands of a Conspiracy Theorist
In granting exclusive access to Jan. 6 Capitol surveillance footage to a cable news host bent on rewriting the history of the attack, the speaker effectively outsourced a politically toxic re-litigation of the riot.
Olbermann: "It is time to de-platform and close down FoxNews as a threat to national security.”
BIG TECH TITANS
Elon Musk, Gavin Newsom announce Tesla's new engineering HQ in California
Musk famously moved Tesla's corporate headquarters from Palo Alto to Austin, Texas, in 2021, and moved from California to the Lone Star State himself. He previously slammed California for "overregulation, overlitigation, overtaxation." But Newsom and Musk celebrated together during their announcement Wednesday.
ENDLESS TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS
Former prosecutor slams Georgia grand jury investigation into Trump: 'Political persecution'
A former federal prosecutor believes recent media reports about the Fulton County, Georgia, grand jury's probe into allegations former President Trump attempted to disrupt the 2020 election is "political persecution" and not a justifiable investigation.
"No one should give any credibility to the findings of this grand jury," von Spakovsky, a former member of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) who also served on the Fulton County elections board, told Fox News Digital.
"I say that because the DA there, Fani Willis, has made it very clear that she is not only politically ambitious, but that she is unethical."
CHAUVINIST NEWS NETWORK
Kelly fired back after Licht failed to fire Don Lemon in response to his repeated anti-women rhetoric. Instead, CNN told Lemon to take a couple of days off and undergo “formal training.” “Do women matter?” Kelly said on her podcast.
GO WOKE, GO BROKE
NPR says it’s cutting jobs by 10% as ad revenue drops
NPR’s chief executive announced the network would lay off roughly 10% of its current workforce – at least 100 people – and eliminate most vacant positions. CEO John Lansing cited the erosion of advertising dollars, particularly for NPR podcasts, and the tough financial outlook for the media industry more generally.
DEEP STATE ACCOUNTABILITY
Malcolm X’s daughter to sue CIA and FBI for wrongful death
The family of slain civil rights leader Malcolm X marked on Tuesday the anniversary of his 1965 assassination by announcing plans to sue agencies including the CIA, FBI, the New York Police Department and others for $100 million, accusing them of playing a role in his death.
EPSTEIN MYSTERIES CONTINUE
EXCLUSIVE: Arkansas cops rule suicide in death of Clinton aide linked to Jeffrey Epstein - who was found shot and tied to a tree with an electrical cord around his neck - despite no sign of weapon
Bill Clinton's special advisor Mark Middleton, who signed Jeffrey Epstein into the White House several times, killed himself in May 2022
His body and car were found at the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas
Nice summary. Couple things:
1) Why does Trump keep putting down DeSantis? It seems to me they have more in common than not, and each would become stronger if they formed an alliance, but hey, that’s just my opinion.
2) I don’t agree with calling Bernie’s proposal “radical politics’. He’s absolutely correct that we should reduce the 40 hr. work week, as AI & robotics will become more and more part of the workforce.
The U2 has some of the most advanced cameras and surveillance equipment in the world, and we get a selfie...