New reports from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> indicate that at least 21 people have been killed and 33 have been injured in a bombing in the capital city of Kabul.
The <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/death-toll-kabul-mosque-bombing-rises-taliban-says">attack</a> took place on Wednesday evening, roughly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/it-is-the-day-of-conquest-taliban-celebrates-1-year-anniversary-of-u-s-withdrawal">one year after the Biden administration’s haphazard withdrawal</a> and the rapid collapse of the American-backed government. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, but as recently as <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/bombing-kabul-mosque-kills-10-including-prominent-cleric-88505346">last week</a>, ISIS killed a prominent Taliban cleric in the capital.
“It was evening prayer time, and I was attending the prayer with others, when the explosion happened,” a witness named Qyaamuddin <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/bombing-kabul-mosque-kills-10-including-prominent-cleric-88505346">told</a> the Associated Press. Qyaamuddin estimated that as many as 25 people may have been killed in the explosion. Another eyewitness reported that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.
The Italian Emergency Hospital in Kabul said that at least 27 civilians, including 5 children, were brought there from the blast zone for treatment.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the attacks, promising that &#8220;perpetrators of such crimes will soon be brought to justice and will be punished.&#8221; Nevertheless, the attack shows that the persistent violent conflict that has plagued the country for decades may be far from over.
Since taking power, the Taliban has faced serious economic problems as much of the international community does not recognize them as a legitimate government and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/15/politics/biden-administration-taliban-assets/index.html">billions of dollars of Afghan assets</a> have been frozen by the U.S. and other nations. Conflict with a local affiliate of ISIS and defectors from the regime pose further problems, although <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/death-toll-in-afghan-capital-mosque-bombing-rises-to-21-police-say">on Wednesday</a>, the Taliban reportedly killed one such defector, Mehdi Mujahid, a former commander of theirs from the predominantly Shiite Hazara ethnic group, who had reportedly been trying to cross into Iran.
The Taliban reportedly remains close with the terrorist group Al Qaeda, and a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/al-qaeda-now-has-safe-haven-in-afghanistan-under-taliban-operating-with-freedom-of-action-u-n-report">UN report</a> raised concerns that Afghanistan has become a “safe haven” for them. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-u-s-intel-kills-leader-of-al-qaeda-who-took-over-after-bin-laden-reports-say">Earlier this month</a> the United States killed Al Qaeda’s leader and Osama Bin Laden’s mentor/successor Ayman Al-Zawahiri in a drone strike in Kabul; Al-Zawahiri had been staying in the home of a high-ranking Taliban official.
The renaissance of Islamic terrorist groups the Afghanistan follows a decades-spanning mission to eliminate those organizations and deny them a safe haven to launch further attacks. While removing the U.S. military presence in the country was broadly popular, President Biden’s handling of the evacuation has been widely pilloried, as over <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/08/17/thousands-of-afghan-allies-still-trapped-year-after-biden-exodus/">1,000 Americans</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/in-hasty-withdrawal-u-s-left-behind-7b-of-military-gear-including-78-aircraft-and-12000-humvees-in-afghanistan-report">$7 billion</a> worth of military equipment were left behind, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-the-hero-u-s-military-members-killed-in-kabul-airport-attack-most-too-young-to-remember-9-11">13 service members</a> were killed in the process.

AFGHANISTAN-BLAST-PEOPLE

At Least 21 Killed In Kabul Mosque Bombing

Afghanistan

ISIS-K

Taliban

Terrorism

Terrorists

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/china">China</a>’s collapsing real estate market could throw the world’s second largest economy into chaos and worsen a global economic slowdown.
Chinese developers have lost at least $90 billion in the last year, according to reporting from <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-12/china-crisis-wipes-out-90-billion-of-developer-market-value">Bloomberg</a>, as home prices have gone down for the last 11 months. Dozens of developers have defaulted on their debts, and many of them have stopped work on unfinished housing, which has sparked mass outrage and even protests as <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-08-15/the-chinese-dream-of-home-ownership-is-crumbling-the-economy-could-go-with-it">more than 80%</a> of Chinese homebuyers take out mortgages and begin paying them down before their prospective home is completed.
This arrangement, which was once a source of easily accessible capital in a red-hot housing market, has left countless Chinese consumers holding the bag on half-finished homes that may never be fully constructed. Thousands of homebuyers are refusing to pay mortgages on unfinished properties in a <a href="https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2022/08/17/could-chinas-mortgage-boycotts-threaten-the-global-economy">mortgage boycott</a> that has spread to nearly 100 cities and has affected over 320 development projects.
“It’s gotten to the point where no one is taking care of it. So we naturally also have to defend our own rights,” one boycotter, who remained anonymous to avoid retribution, told <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-08-15/the-chinese-dream-of-home-ownership-is-crumbling-the-economy-could-go-with-it">The LA Times</a>. “If we the people are not happy, it’s difficult to have a stable society.” She also told the outlet that some homebuyers who demanded answers have been threatened or detained for their trouble.
Over half of household wealth in China is reportedly tied up in housing, so the reversal of fortunes in real estate could have wide-reaching economic consequences.
“We are seeing it everywhere,” <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-08-15/the-chinese-dream-of-home-ownership-is-crumbling-the-economy-could-go-with-it">said</a> Michael Pettis, finance professor at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management. “You get these spreading waves, and the bigger the sector is, the more powerful those waves are. And in China, unfortunately, the property sector is huge.”
Beijing has reportedly signaled that whatever rescue efforts take place are to prioritize protecting homeowners over developers, although much of the response has been left to local governments.
“The aim of the rescue measures is to save the property market and household confidence, but not the developers,” <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-12/china-crisis-wipes-out-90-billion-of-developer-market-value">said</a> Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis SA. “As it is unlikely to see significant policy changes, the golden age of fast revenue growth and high leverage for property developers is probably over.”
Local governments are likely to be somewhat handicapped in their response to the crisis, as their budgets were already strained during the COVID pandemic. Furthermore, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-economy-tested-by-strained-city-finances-11659261600">40% of their revenue</a> has come from land sales, which have dried up in the cratering real estate market that is driving this crisis.
Other economic indicators seem quite grim. Chinese youth unemployment has reached <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/990bda2e-54b0-4712-8b47-065eef49449e">nearly 20%</a>, consumer confidence has hit <a href="https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3180029/chinas-consumer-sentiment-hits-record-low-pessimistic">record lows</a> in recent months, and, in a sign that the Chinese government may believe the economy in more dire straits than they’re letting on, the People’s Bank of China (China’s central bank) has lowered interest rates while most of the world is raising them to combat inflation; inflation in China is not as severe as many other major economies, but it is still at a two-year high. Less than a week ago, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220815133732mp_/http://en.people.cn/n3/2022/0812/c90000-10134505.html#.YvpLI_0rx9Y.twitter">Chinese state media indicated</a> that the PBOC would prioritize combating inflation for the remainder of 2022.
Interference from Beijing has put further stress on the Chinese economy — crackdowns on private industry to combat “income inequality” and curb “unscrupulous business practices” have reportedly damaged the tech sector and private tutoring companies. China’s aggressive <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-faces-economic-slowdown-amidst-covid-lockdowns">“zero-covid” lockdowns</a> continue to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-62547503">disrupt day-to-day</a> life for millions of its citizens and have created widespread despair and uncertainty. Efforts to increase economic investment via greater liquidity may fall flat when Chinese consumers are <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/30/pboc-chinese-plans-to-save-hit-a-record-high-in-q2-job-concerns-rise.html">increasingly determined</a> to save whatever money they can rather than spend it.
“In this economy, cash is king, having money on hand is most important,” a 32-year-old construction worker, identified only as Gu, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-08-15/the-chinese-dream-of-home-ownership-is-crumbling-the-economy-could-go-with-it">told</a> The LA Times.
“China is definitely in a very desperate situation,” <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/990bda2e-54b0-4712-8b47-065eef49449e">said</a> Xingdong Chen, an economist at BNP Paribas. “The problem now is no effective demand. If you don’t allow people to come out and consume … there is no demand.”
A key sign of flagging Chinese demand is the sharp decline in imports, with <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-08-16/if-the-china-crisis-deepens-a-global-recession-will-be-much-harder-to-avoid#xj4y7vzkg">commodities like</a> iron and copper ore dropping drastically. China is a leading consumer of commodities on the global market, and a drop in demand for industrial materials could have major ramifications in developing countries in Africa and Latin America.
The world economy is already in a fairly precarious state: supply chains for vital resources such as gas, oil, and grain have been disrupted by the ongoing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine-russia-war">Russian invasion of Ukraine</a>, food shortages and famine are expected in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/asian-african-nations-face-famine-as-ukraine-crisis-hits-global-food-supply">much of the developing world</a>, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-in-a-recession-after-second-straight-quarter-of-negative-growth">by all reasonable definitions</a>, the U.S. is in a recession. The potential fallout from an economic catastrophe in China is difficult to gauge.
The ongoing conflict over the independence of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/taiwan">Taiwan</a>, for example, could be affected in myriad ways. On one hand, Xi Jinping, who is widely expected to seek an unprecedented third term as president to become the longest-serving ruler of China since Mao, may ratchet up tensions or even invade Taiwan to gin up nationalist support and distract from domestic woes. Alternatively, a flailing economy might convince him that China is not in a strong enough position to take the island or risk further disrupting its economy by destabilizing a major trading partner.

Abandoned Construction Site

Chinese Real Estate Collapse Throws Economy Into Crisis

Real Estate Collapse Throws China's Economy Into Crisis

China

Chinese Communist Party

Economy

Housing

Real estate

Recession

Xi Jinping

A routine traffic stop in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-york-city">New York City</a> took a horrific turn when the driver sped through a crosswalk to evade police, injuring three.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Yesterday during a routine traffic stop by the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NYPD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NYPD</a> a car took off on NYPD officers and ran over a woman with had a baby in a carriage. I&#39;m unclear where this happened. I&#39;m working on that now <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/news?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#news</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NYC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NYC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/thursday?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#thursday</a> <a href="https://t.co/RCN7NfjO5i">pic.twitter.com/RCN7NfjO5i</a>
&mdash; Viral News NY (@ViralNewsNYC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ViralNewsNYC/status/1557794618867081217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Police <a href="https://abc7ny.com/nyc-pedestrians-struck-hit-and-run-queens/12115626/">say</a> the incident took place on Wednesday in Queens around 5 p.m. The suspect was pulled over because of his loud exhaust, and the police discovered that his license was suspended. When the officers asked him to exit the vehicle so he could be placed under arrest, the driver gunned it, fleeing the scene and clipping a young mother pushing her toddler in a stroller.
The driver appeared to be swerving to avoid a parked truck, although he hit the 35-year-old man unloading it.
The 28-year-old mother and her two-year-old daughter sustained only minor injuries — bruising to the knees and wrists. The man was not so lucky, and suffered a compound fracture in his leg. The mother and daughter were quickly treated and released, while the man was admitted to Wyckoff hospital.
Police did not chase the suspect and remained on the scene to help the victims. The suspect’s car was discovered in Brooklyn an hour later, abandoned.
The suspect remains at large.

NYC Trump Security

WATCH: Driver Hits 3 Pedestrians While Fleeing Police

Car Crash

Cars

Crime

New York City

video

According to a recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/poll">poll</a> from Pew Research Center, more than 70% of American adults believe that the next generation will be poorer than their parents.
The <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/08/11/large-shares-in-many-countries-are-pessimistic-about-the-next-generations-financial-future/?utm_content=buffera9b6a&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer">poll</a> was conducted across 19 countries and the data from the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/united-states">United States</a> closely tracks with the global trend: 72% of Americans believe kids will be worse off than their parents, compared to a median 70% of respondents. The share of Americans who believe their children will be more prosperous mirrored the survey median exactly, with 27% expressing an optimistic view of their youth’s financial prospects.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/japan">Japan</a> was the least optimistic nation surveyed, with 82% of respondents stating that they believed their children would be worse off than they were, while only 12% thought they’d be better off. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/israel">Israel</a> and Singapore were the most optimistic countries: only 27% of Israelis believed their children would be worse off than they were, while Singapore was the only nation where a majority (56%) of those surveyed believed their children would be better off than their parents.
Current economic woes were correlated with a negative outlook for the future: in the U.S., 81% of those who described the current economic situation as “bad” projected a worse economic future for the next generation. However, even among those who thought the current economy was “good,” 49% believed kids today would be worse off in the future.
Eleven of the 19 countries reported record high levels of pessimism, with Australia, Hungary, and the Netherlands reporting an increase of more than 10% from last year. The United States reported a 4% increase from 2021. In recent years, the global economy has been buffeted by the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/johns-hopkins-study-lockdowns-had-little-to-no-effect-on-covid-19-mortality-but-had-devastating-effects-on-society">economic lockdowns</a> of the COVID pandemic and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/asian-african-nations-face-famine-as-ukraine-crisis-hits-global-food-supply">shortages of food</a> and fuel exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Interviews were conducted face to face in Israel, Hungary, and Poland, where more than 10% of respondents volunteered that they thought economic prospects for today’s children would be “about the same” as their own.
The nations that were polled are <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/hdi-by-country">highly developed</a> countries by most economic measures, and all but Israel have a <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/total-fertility-rate">fertility rate</a> below replacement levels.

3D72825A-3F89-46A2-BCF8-8E34893E3293

More Than 70% Of Americans Believe Kids Will Be Poorer Than Their Parents

America

Children

Polls

Eleven-year-old Jeremy Ryzhonkov was conned out of a full day of his lemonade stand’s profits when a scammer asked him to make change for a fake $100 bill.
The adolescent entrepreneur was selling lemonade, popcorn, soda, cotton candy, and various refreshments out of a cooler in Everett, Washington, on June 15 when a man approached him to buy $15 worth of snacks. According to the Everett Police Department, Ryzhonkov exhausted all his profits and had to dip into his allowance money in order to break the bill, but became suspicious soon after the man left, as the color and texture of the C-note felt off. The young man went to a nearby gas station to double check, and the clerk confirmed his fears.
“Nope, not real,” Ryzhonkov <a href="https://www.q13fox.com/video/1101544">said</a> in an interview with local news.
<iframe loading="lazy" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FEverettPoliceWA%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02khDRQVZjH4qH9U4MdVg1Ck5bawhJS8ezeRUtYsUJQteTiijanzKaSFvNbxRub19Tl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="754" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> 
Rhyzhonkov was filming his stand and caught the interaction on camera. Local police released a still image from the footage identifying the suspect, and are still investigating the case; two men are seen on tape, but only one is considered a suspect by the Everett Police Department.
“While our detectives work hard to bring closure to every case,” Everett PD <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=435973968574738&amp;set=a.225832992922171&amp;type=3">said</a> in a statement, “this case struck a particular chord with them, and they want to do everything they can to get justice for Jeremy and catch this counterfeiter.”
Ryzhonkov runs several business ventures, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/10/counterfeit-bill-scam-lemonade-stand/">The Washington Post</a>, including a seasonal lawn mowing and snow shoveling business, reportedly to “grow his empire” and send some money to support his ancestral homeland of Ukraine. The scam forced him to shut down his stand.
The police shared the story publicly on Thursday. Shortly afterward, Amy Steenfott, a neighbor of the Ryzhonkovs, started a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jeremy-rebuild-his-lemonade-stand">GoFundMe</a> to recoup Jeremy’s losses. As of Wednesday, the campaign was orders of magnitude past its initial goal of $250, as an outpouring of community support ballooned the fund to more than $25,000.
“This proves that there are so many great people in this world and we far surpass the bad ones,” Steenfott wrote in an update on Sunday.
Rzyhonkov reportedly reopened his stand last week, albeit with new anti-counterfeit policies; he now only deals in small bills and is far more diligent about checking them.

Southwest USA scenics

Counterfeiter Scams 11 Year Old At Lemonade Stand

Washington

Researchers in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/israel">Israel</a> have created the world’s first “synthetic embryos” in a landmark <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)00981-3?utm_source=STAT+Newsletters&amp;utm_campaign=492bf84a1c-MR_COPY_01&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_8cab1d7961-492bf84a1c-149563237">study</a>, without using sperm or egg cells.
Scientists at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, were able to make stem cells taken from mice form early embryo-like structures, including a gastrointestinal tract, a beating heart, and the early stages of a brain. The embryos are considered “synthetic” because they were not derived from a fertilized egg — but preliminary results suggest that “synthetic embryos” are fairly similar to natural embryos.
“Remarkably, we show that embryonic stem cells generate whole synthetic embryos, meaning this includes the placenta and yolk sac surrounding the embryo,” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/aug/03/scientists-create-worlds-first-synthetic-embryos">said</a> Dr. Jacob Hanna, who headed the study. “We are truly excited about this work and its implications.”
Researchers believe that this breakthrough could offer alternatives to animal experimentation and pave the way for new stem cell growth for human transplants. Skin cells could be potentially transformed into bone marrow stem cells, for example, to help treat patients suffering from leukemia. The demand for donated organs <a href="https://www.organdonor.gov/learn/organ-donation-statistics">often outstrips</a> the supply, and the immune system naturally attacks foreign cells, requiring already weakened patients to take <a href="https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/organ-transplant-after-the-transplant">immunosuppressant drugs</a> after a transplant. Being able to grow tissues from a patient’s DNA could bypass many of the compatibility issues current transplants face and greatly increase the availability of the treatment.
The synthetic embryos are not thought to have the potential to develop into fully-formed animals, and only 0.5% of the observed stem cells combined to grow distinctive tissue, although those tissues seemed fully functional and “95%” similar to natural tissues in basic structure.
Synthetic embryos failed to develop further when they were implanted into female mice. Human experimentation is purely hypothetical at this stage, although Hanna is optimistic about prospects for future research.
“In Israel and many other countries, such as the US and the UK, it is legal and we have ethical approval to do this with human-induced pluripotent stem cells. This is providing an ethical and technical alternative to the use of embryos,” Hanna said.
Other researchers are more uncertain about the practical and ethical prospects of future experimentation.
“Synthetic human embryos are not an immediate prospect. We know less about human embryos than mouse embryos and the inefficiency of the mouse synthetic embryos suggests that translating the findings to human requires further development,” Dr. James Briscoe, a researcher at London’s Francis Crick Institute, said to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/aug/03/scientists-create-worlds-first-synthetic-embryos">The Guardian</a>. “Now is a good time to consider the best legal and ethical framework to regulate research and use of human synthetic embryos and to update the current regulations.”
Hanna’s team has made many breakthroughs researching mouse embryos. Last year, they created an artificial womb that enabled natural mouse embryos to grow for several days, and more recently, they used the same device to sustain synthetic embryos for more than a week, nearly half the gestational period for a mouse.

Embryo

Scientists Create The First Synthetic Embryos

Scientists In Israel Create The First Synthetic Embryos

Animals

Health

Israel

Medical

Science

Phone records <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/alex-jones-attorney-sent-his-private-messages-to-other-side-opposing-counsel-says">accidentally</a> given to the plaintiff by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/alex-jones">Alex Jones</a>’ legal team in an ongoing lawsuit will likely be handed over to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/january-6-committee">January 6 Committee</a>.
The InfoWars founder was sued by the parents of Jesse Lewis, a victim of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sandy-hook">Sandy Hook</a> shooting, after Jones claimed the event was a hoax and the family members were “crisis actors.” <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/03/alex-jones-sandy-hook-phone/">At least</a> nine families have sued Jones for defamation since 2018. Jones has since <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-us-news-shootings-texas-lawsuits-d029d6736d2ce6755c9e89e7cf9f27af">conceded</a> that the massacre was “100% real.”
On Wednesday, the plaintiff’s attorney, Mark Bankston, revealed that Jones’ counsel had accidentally sent him all of the text messages on Jones’ phone, including communiques with Roger Stone and various other figures connected to the rally and later riot at the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
&#8220;I am under request from various federal agencies and law enforcement to provide [the records],&#8221; Bankston <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/04/politics/alex-jones-texts-federal-state-investigators-january-6/index.html">told</a> Judge Maya Guerra Gamble. &#8220;Absent a ruling from you saying you cannot do that &#8230; I intend to do so immediately following this hearing.&#8221;
Jones has been a person of interest to the January 6 Committee for some time; Jones was a prominent participant in the protest on January 6, but did not storm the Capitol. The committee issued a subpoena for Jones’ testimony and records in November 2021. Jones gave the committee an hours-long virtual deposition in January where he <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/08/04/1115674589/alex-jones-texts-jan-6-committee">invoked</a> his 5th amendment right “almost 100 times.”
Texas rules give lawyers 10 days to claim that privileged material was shared in error, which would require the opposing party to return the information. When Jones’ attorney, Andino Reynal, was notified of the slip up, he <a href="https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2022/08/04/alex-jones-texts-sought-jan-6-committee/65392054007/">replied</a> “please disregard” in an email, which he argues should have been sufficient to remove it from the record.
Bankston disagreed, arguing that Reynal would have been required to specify which records were privileged and provided grounds for why they should be.
Simply saying &#8220;please disregard … creates no &#8230; legal duty on me whatsoever,&#8221; Bankston <a href="https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2022/08/04/alex-jones-texts-sought-jan-6-committee/65392054007/">said</a>.
Reynal requested a mistrial on Thursday as a result of the accidental leak. He also filed an emergency motion for the destruction of the documents, which Judge Maya Guerra Gamble denied.
Gamble did allow Reynal to file a request that certain texts remain confidential, although she would have to approve that request and she “wasn’t sure she could block a subpoena.”
The defamation trial concluded on Thursday. Jones was ordered to pay the plaintiffs <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-alex-jones-fined-4-1-million-in-sandy-hook-defamation-trial">$4.1 million</a>.

Alex Jones

January 6 Committee Likely To Receive Alex Jones’ Phone Records

January 6 Committee Likely To Receive Alex Jones' Phone Records

Capitol Riot

Court

January 6

January 6 Committee

Former <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/puerto-rico">Puerto Rico</a> Governor Wanda Vázquez was arrested on Thursday on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bribery">bribery</a> charges, according to a statement by the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-justice">Department of Justice</a> (DOJ).
The federal charges are connected to the financing of Vázquez’s 2020 gubernatorial campaign. Between December 2019 and June 2020, Vásquez allegedly received $300,000 from a banker and a former FBI agent to pay political consultants for her campaign. Authorities believe that in return for the donations, Vázquez would have appointed the donors’ desired candidate to the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF).
Vázquez and other accused participants in the scheme have been charged with conspiracy, federal programs bribery, and honest services wire fraud, and face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
&#8220;The alleged bribery scheme rose to the highest levels of the Puerto Rican government, threatening public trust in our electoral processes and institutions of governance,&#8221; Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/04/americas/puerto-rico-wanda-vazquez-governor-arrested/index.html">said</a> in a statement.
Vázquez had previously served as Puerto Rico’s secretary of justice and as a district attorney, and she became governor in 2019, after her predecessor, Ricardo Rosselló, was forced to step down by island-wide protests after a <a href="https://www.latinorebels.com/2019/07/15/telegramgatescandal/">scandal</a> of his own.
The DOJ also <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-governor-puerto-rico-arrested-bribery-scheme">named</a> Herrera Velutini, Frances Diaz, John Blakeman, and Mark Rossini as accused participants in the corruption scheme. Velutini, 50, is a dual Venezuelan-Italian citizen and the owner of an international bank, and Diaz, a 50-year-old resident of Puerto Rico, was the bank’s president. Rossini, 60, was a former FBI special agent and a consultant for Velutini, and Blakeman, 53, is a political consultant who worked on Vázquez’s 2020 campaign.
Velutini’s bank was reportedly audited in 2019 by the OCIF. Velutini and Rossini are accused of reaching out via third parties to various political candidates and offering bribes and campaign support in exchange for the replacement of the current commissioner of the OCIF with a former consultant of Velutini’s. After Vázquez lost her party primary in 2020, the group allegedly attempted to reach out to her successor; an FBI informant posing as his representative caught them.
Diaz and Blakeman have both pleaded guilty to charges connected to the bribery scheme, according to the indictment.
Peter John Porrata, a member of Vázquez’s legal team, told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/04/americas/puerto-rico-wanda-vazquez-governor-arrested/index.html">CNN</a> on Thursday that Vázquez will plead not guilty to the charges.
Vázquez’s successor, Governor Pedro Pierluisi, said in response to the ruling that under his administration, there was “zero tolerance for corruption.”
&#8220;No one is above the law in Puerto Rico,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-puerto-rico-governor-wanda-vazquez-arrested-on-bribery-charges/">said</a>. &#8220;Faced with this news that certainly affects and lacerates the confidence of our people, I reiterate that in my administration, we will continue to have a common front with federal authorities against anyone who commits an improper act, no matter where it comes from or who it may implicate.&#8221;

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Ex-Governor Of Puerto Rico Arrested On Bribery Charges

Ex-Governor Of Puerto Rico Wanda Vázquez Arrested On Bribery Charges

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In a ruling released on Friday, a judge struck down a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/san-francisco">San Francisco</a> city ordinance allowing non-citizens to vote in school board elections.
The ordinance, which allowed non-citizen parents of school-aged children to vote in school board elections, was approved in 2016 and took effect in 2018, and was extended indefinitely in 2021. The law was <a href="https://usjf.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Complaint-Filed.pdf">challenged</a> by various groups, including the California Public Policy Foundation and the United States Justice Foundation.
“The State of California has a long-standing requirement that voters must be United States citizens,” the plaintiffs <a href="https://californiaglobe.com/articles/california-judge-overturns-san-francisco-law-allowing-noncitizens-to-vote/">argued</a>. “This requirement applies to every election in the state, even those conducted by charter cities, because determining voter qualifications is a matter of statewide concern where state law supersedes conflicting charter city ordinances.”
The court agreed.
“Transcendent law of California, the Constitution … reserves the right to vote to a United States citizen, contrary to (the) San Francisco ordinance,” San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Ulmer <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22123680-2202-07-29-lacy-order-granting-writ-of-mandate?responsive=1&amp;title=1">said</a> in a ruling that will prohibit the city from counting non-citizen votes.
The lawsuit also argued that because the San Francisco Unified School District receives money from state taxpayers, the entire state has an interest in the qualifications of its voters, and the city does not have unlimited autonomy to redefine who is eligible to vote.
A similar law in New York City, which would have allowed up to 800,000 non-citizens to vote in city elections, was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/27/nyregion/noncitizen-voting-ruling-nyc.html">struck down</a> in June.
San Francisco has not indicated whether or not it plans to appeal the case.

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Judge Strikes Down San Francisco Law Allowing Non-Citizens To Vote

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On Tuesday, President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Biden</a> appointed a national <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/monkeypox">monkeypox</a> response coordinator to address the growing outbreak, which has infected roughly 5,800 Americans and more than 23,000 people worldwide.
The White House tapped Robert Fenton, a regional manager for the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fema">Federal Emergency Management Agency</a> and former acting head of the agency, to lead the government’s response. Demetre Daskalakis, currently the director of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cdc">CDC’s</a> Division of HIV Prevention, will be his deputy.
“Bob’s experience in federal and regional response coordination, and Demetre’s vast knowledge of our public health systems’ strengths and limits will be instrumental as we work to stay ahead of the virus and advance a whole-of-government response,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/president-biden-names-monkeypox-czar-11659453748?mod=e2tw">said</a>.
The announcement comes days after California, Illinois, and New York declared a state of emergency as the virus continues to spread. As of August 2, nearly half of all cases were reported in those three states. However, infections have been recorded in <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/us-map.html">48</a>.
In particular, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/san-francisco-calls-for-state-of-emergency-because-of-surging-monkeypox">San Francisco</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/150000-new-yorkers-at-risk-for-monkeypox-officials-declare-public-health-emergency">New York City</a> have been epicenters, as both cities have declared their own state of emergency. NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D) has suggested that up to 150,000 New Yorkers could be at risk for infection.
“This outbreak must be met with urgency, action, and resources, both nationally and globally, and this declaration of a public health emergency reflects the seriousness of the moment,” Adams and Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the head of the New York City health and mental hygiene department, <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/555-22/new-york-city-health-department-declares-monkeypox-public-health-emergency">said</a> in a joint statement.
Monkeypox is in the same viral family as smallpox, and has historically been endemic to West Africa. It causes painful and visible rashes and lesions alongside fevers, aches, chills, and swollen lymph nodes. It has an estimated <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/monkeypox">3-6% mortality rate</a>. 
The recent outbreak has spread across at least <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/world-map.html">80 countries</a> and spread predominantly through body fluids and close physical contact. The outbreak is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-report-shows-lgbtq-community-hit-hardest-by-monkeypox">disproportionately affecting gay men</a>. A study in California found that 91.7% of cases in that state are of “[g]ay, Lesbian or same gender loving” people, with men accounting for 98.3% of all infections.

In this photo illustration, the word Monkeypox is seen on

Biden Names Monkeypox Czar After 3 States Declare State Of Emergency

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Three-year-old twins Bernardo and Arthur Lima were separated by a medical team in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/rio-de-janeiro">Rio De Janeiro</a>, Brazil, with the assistance of Great Ormond Street Hospital in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/london">London</a>, becoming the oldest pair of craniopagus conjoined twins to have ever been separated.
The pair underwent seven surgeries, and the final surgery alone took 27 hours to complete, as well as the efforts of more than 100 medical professionals.
The team spent months practicing for the surgery using virtual reality projections of the twins, using both <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/computed-tomography-ct-scan">CT</a> and <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/mri/about/pac-20384768">MRI</a> scans of the cranial area as a base. During the simulated surgeries, doctors from both countries wore virtual reality headsets and operated together in a “virtual reality room” for the first time.
Surgeon Noor ul Owase Jeelani described the procedure as “space-age stuff.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s just wonderful,” he <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-62378452">said</a>. “It&#8217;s really great to see the anatomy and do the surgery before you actually put the children at any risk. You can imagine how reassuring that is for the surgeons.”
Jeelani explained that prior attempted surgeries had left considerable scar tissue near the conjoined area and complicated further attempts to separate the boys.
Jeelani is the founder of the charity Gemini Untwined, which funded the operation, and has separated five additional pairs of conjoined twins while working with the group. He led the procedure alongside Dr. Gabriel Mufarrej, the head of pediatric surgery at Instituto Estadual do Cerebro Paulo Niemeyer.
Mufarrej explained that the aforementioned hospital had cared for the two boys for most of their lives.
&#8220;Since the parents of the boys came from their home in the Roraima region to Rio to seek our help two-and-a-half years ago, they have become part of our family here in the hospital. We are delighted that the surgery went so well.&#8221;
The twins&#8217; heart rate and blood pressure reportedly skyrocketed after their separation and only dropped back down four days later when they were reunited and allowed to touch hands. The twins are reportedly recovering well and will spend the next six months in the hospital for rehabilitation.
Conjoined twins are rare, accounting for about one in 60,000 live births, and their long-term survival rates are often very poor. The phenomenon occurs when a fertilized egg in a woman’s body splits into two embryos but does not separate entirely, leaving the identical twins connected by shared tissue. Separating them can be uncomplicated or impossible, depending on where their bodies join and what organs they share. Craniopagus conjoined twins are joined at the head, the rarest kind of conjoined twins.

Doctors Use Virtual Reality Tech To Help Separate Conjoined Twins

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jetblue">JetBlue</a> and Spirit Airlines announced a $3.8 billion merger on Thursday, one day after merger negotiations between Spirit and Frontier Airlines collapsed.
Together, JetBlue and Spirit would control about 9% of the domestic flight market, which would make JetBlue the 5th largest airline in the country. The four largest airlines – American, Delta, United, and Southwest – <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/28/jetblue-airways-reaches-deal-to-buy-spirit-airlines.html">control</a> about three-fourths of the market.
The Justice Department has expressed concern that competition in the sector has declined after previous mergers, and the Biden administration generally has taken a hard stance on anti-trust policies. JetBlue executives have argued that combining their fleet with Spirit’s would allow it to more effectively compete with the industry’s larger players, and that such competition would help drive down fares. JetBlue has also <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/jetblue-buys-spirit-38-billion-87538962">offered</a> to surrender some of Spirit’s gates and take off/landing slots at various airports, creating opportunities for other airlines.
“Our view is that the best way that you can bring more competition to the sector is to create an exciting, new, low-fare, high-quality national airline that can compete with the big four,” JetBlue Chief Executive Robin Hayes <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/jetblue-agrees-to-buy-spirit-for-3-8-billion-11659005196">said</a>. “So we will be making those arguments.”
Many prominent members of Spirit’s board had previously disagreed, and publicly argued that the prospective deal with Frontier was more likely to receive regulatory approval, despite the lower offered price — the final offer was <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/jetblue-agrees-to-buy-spirit-for-3-8-billion-11659005196">reportedly</a> $1 billion less than JetBlue’s bid.
Frontier and Spirit had been discussing a potential merger for years, and had reached a tentative agreement in February of 2022, but an aggressive bid by JetBlue in April disrupted those plans. Spirit executives were unable to secure enough support from shareholders to close the deal, and now find themselves in the somewhat awkward position of advocating for a merger they had vehemently opposed for months.
“Where we are today is we’ve got an exciting merger agreement with JetBlue. It’s going to create a very large, national low-cost carrier,” Spirit Chief Executive Ted Christie <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/jetblue-agrees-to-buy-spirit-for-3-8-billion-11659005196">said</a> in an interview. “Many things were said, but business is business.”
JetBlue will purchase Spirit shares for $33.50 per share, and the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2024.
The two companies have <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-pilot-shortage-shattered-frontiers-dream-to-buy-spirit-11659002170?mod=article_inline">very different</a> business models, and JetBlue has announced that it will raise employee salaries and reconfigure seating at Spirit to align with its own standard practices — which will inevitably raise fares. Some observers have speculated that Alaska Airlines, which has a more similar structure to JetBlue, would have been a better fit for a merger. However, Alaska Airlines uses Boeing aircraft, while JetBlue and Spirit have predominantly Airbus fleets, and in a time of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-airlines-desperate-for-pilots-consider-cutting-training-requirements">desperate pilot shortages</a>, an awkward merger is probably cheaper than cross-training and certifying limited personnel on different planes.
The Justice Department is <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-preparing-to-challenge-american-jetblue-alliance-11632232697?mod=article_inline">currently</a> suing JetBlue and American Airlines to break up an agreement between the two companies limiting competition between them in key hub airlines in the Northeast, fueling concerns that future deals may not be approved. If regulators block the merger, JetBlue has agreed to pay Spirit a $400 million break up fee.

Spirit Airlines Airbus A321-200 aircraft seen at Newark

JetBlue Buys Spirit Airlines For $3.8 Billion

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Michael Whittaker