Important Takeaways:
- Menendez is the first senator to be convicted of acting as a foreign agent.
- Menendez pleaded not guilty to 16 federal charges including bribery, fraud, acting as a foreign agent and obstruction.
- Federal prosecutors in New York alleged the New Jersey Democrat accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, mortgage payments and more in exchange for the senator’s political clout.
- Three New Jersey businessmen who were also charged, along with the governments of Egypt and Qatar, were the alleged recipients.
- The FBI found gold bars and more than $400,000 in cash stashed in places including jackets and shoes throughout his home, prosecutors said.
- “The only honest verdict I submit here is to acquit him on each count,” defense attorney Adam Fee told the jury on July 9. “His actions were lawful, normal and good for the country.”
- This marked the second time the senator was charged with corruption. A 2015 indictment ended in a mistrial in 2018 after a jury failed to reach a verdict on all counts.
- Menendez will be sentenced on Oct. 29 and faces decades in prison.
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Important Takeaways:
- “After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio.”
- Trump’s pick is expected to be formally unveiled at the convention in Milwaukee later this afternoon just before being formally nominated.
- Vance is perhaps most ideologically aligned with the former president and would energize his base. At age 39, he would add a millennial contrast to the older men at the top of their parties’ tickets.
- After Saturday’s shooting, Trump’s choice carries considerably more gravity. If a bullet had struck just a little bit to the right, Trump likely would have been killed or seriously injured.
- The close call puts in stark relief the significance of a position that is a heartbeat away from the presidency. Trump has repeatedly claimed that choosing someone who was qualified to take over as commander in chief was his top consideration for the role.
- “It’s a very important position especially if something bad should happen,” Trump said. “That’s the most important, if something bad should happen.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Corey Comperatore’s quick decision to use his body as a shield against the bullets flying toward his wife and daughter rang true to the close friends and neighbors who loved and respected the proud 50-year-old Trump supporter, noting that the Butler County resident was a “man of conviction.”
- At least two other people were injured: David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania State Police. Both were listed in stable condition as of Sunday.
- Randy Reamer, president of the Buffalo Township volunteer fire company, called Comperatore “a stand-up guy” and “a true brother of the fire service.” He said Comperatore served as chief of the company for about three years but was also a life member, meaning he had served for more than 20 years.
- “He definitely stood up for what he believed in, never backed down to anyone. … He was a really good guy.”
- “As soon as I heard what happened and then learned that it was to Corey, I went upstairs as soon as I got home and I registered to vote,” Morehouse said. “This is the first time I’ve ever voted and I think it will be in his memory.”
- A GoFundMe launched to support Comperatore’s family had already surpassed more than $696,000 in donations as of Sunday.
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Important Takeaways:
- It’s uncomfortably hot nearly everywhere this week.
- The National Weather Service issued an Excessive Heat Watch for cities including Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and New York, where feels-like temperatures could hit 110 through Tuesday.
- Heat advisories are in place for the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Florida, where dew points will increase the moisture in the air, making it harder for your body to cool.
- The central U.S. joins in on the sweaty situation with triple-digit feels-like temperatures forecast as the West continues to swelter in deadly conditions.
- “Basically, anytime you see dew point temperatures in the 60s and 70s, it means it is sticky, muggy and humid. It almost feels like after you get done taking a hot shower and you step outside of the shower, right, you feel all of that moisture. That’s what it feels like when dew points are in the mid and upper 70s. And then we have what’s called a heat index or what it feels like to exposed skin,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Michael Estime said.
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Important Takeaways:
- Some supporters of Joe Biden have been accused of being “Blue MAGA” for their staunch defense of the president in the wake of the CNN debate.
- While there is no official definition for the term, Blue MAGA has been used to describe those who are fierce advocates of the so-called “vote blue no matter who” initiative and are not willing to criticize Democrats in any way.
- The “Blue MAGA” accusations have been aimed at those who have suggested they will still vote for Biden despite accusations he is too old or lacking cognitive ability to remain in office for a second term.
- The Blue MAGA accusation has also been attached to those who have pushed false claims about Biden and his popularity, while urging the president to remain in the White House race.
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Important Takeaways:
- The Chinese defense ministry said in a statement that forces from both sides recently patrolled the western and northern Pacific Ocean and that the operation had nothing to do with international and regional situations and didn’t target any third party.
- The exercise aimed to demonstrate the capabilities of the navies in addressing security threats and preserving peace and stability globally and regionally
- NATO’s European and North American members and their partners in the Indo-Pacific increasingly see shared security concerns coming from Russia and its Asian supporters, especially China.
- In response, China accused NATO of seeking security at the expense of others and told the alliance not to bring the same “chaos” to Asia. Its foreign ministry maintained that China has a fair and objective stance on the war in Ukraine.
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Important Takeaways:
- With around 270,000 homes and businesses still without power in the Houston area almost a week after Hurricane Beryl hit Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday said he’s demanding an investigation into the response of the utility that serves the area as well as answers about its preparations for upcoming storms.
- “Power companies along the Gulf Coast must be prepared to deal with hurricanes, to state the obvious,” Abbott said
- While CenterPoint Energy has restored power to about 2 million customers, the slow pace of recovery has put the utility, which provides electricity to the nation’s fourth-largest city, under mounting scrutiny over whether it was sufficiently prepared for the storm that left people without air conditioning in the searing summer heat.
- Abbott said he was sending a letter to the Public Utility Commission of Texas requiring it to investigate why restoration has taken so long and what must be done to fix it.
- With months of hurricane season left, Abbott said he’s giving CenterPoint until the end of the month to specify what it’ll be doing to reduce or eliminate power outages in the event of another storm.
- A post Sunday on CenterPoint’s website from its president and CEO, Jason Wells, said that over 2,100 utility poles were damaged during the storm and over 18,600 trees had to be removed from power lines, which impacted over 75% of the utility’s distribution circuits.
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Important Takeaways:
- The Florida judge overseeing Donald Trump’s classified documents trial dismissed the case against the former president Monday on the grounds that the appointment of and funding for special counsel Jack Smith was illegal.
- U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump nominee, said in her 93-page decision that Smith’s appointment was “unlawful” and unconditional. “The clerk is directed to close this case,” the judge wrote.
- Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith as special counsel in November 2022, tasking him with overseeing the federal investigations into Trump’s handling and retention of classified documents after he left office as well as his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
- Trump’s lawyers argued in court papers filed in February that the appointments clause of the Constitution “does not permit the Attorney General to appoint, without Senate confirmation, a private citizen and like-minded political ally to wield the prosecutorial power of the United States. As such, Jack Smith lacks the authority to prosecute this action.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Israel is “prepared for a very intense operation,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on a visit to the Lebanese border last month
- In Lebanon, Israel would face a larger, better-armed and more-professional foe, experts warn, and the threat of an even deeper military quagmire.
- Hezbollah insists it will not lay down its arms, or consider retreating from the Israeli border, until a cease-fire is in place in the Strip.
- Israeli military leaders have been drawing up plans for a Lebanon offensive for months
- Since the start of the operation in Gaza, 326 Israeli soldiers have been killed, more than four times the toll from the 2014 war against Hamas.
- To avert a Lebanon war, Israeli officials are demanding — through U.S. and European diplomats — that Hezbollah retreat about 10 miles north of the border, past the Litani River, a military demarcation agreed upon at the end of the 2006 war.
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Possible gunfire breaks out at Trump rally in Pennsylvania
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/possible-gunfire-breaks-out-trump-rally-pennsylvania.amp
