THE SHOW NOTES: Markets Tank, Prisoners Land, & Kamala Hates Christmas?

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HEADLINE: Biden admin freezes controversial migrant flight program after fraud revelations - Fox News

MUST READ: Republicans, You’re Going After Kamala All Wrong - The Free Press

DATA: Why are religious teens happier than their secular peers? - Boston Globe

NEW: ‘Bully’ Kamala Harris ‘berated staff,’ left them in tears after berating them with ‘F-bombs,’ intern told never to make eye contact - NY Post

TEXAS: Chevron moving its headquarters from California to Texas - CBS

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Seeing Red

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Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and 14 others were released from various Russian prisons in one of the most complicated prisoner exchanges in modern history. Thanks to extensive backchanneling spanning the political spectrum from Hillary Clinton to Tucker Carlson, US prisoners touched down in San Antonio, Texas late last night.

In return, Vadim Krasikov, a Russian assassin who gunned down a Chechen rebel in Berlin back in 2022, was returned to Russia along with seven others. Krasikov is a veteran of the Soviet-Afghan war and a personal friend of Vladimir Putin. Two convicted Russian spies who posed as an unassuming married couple in Slovenia were also returned to Russia despite their children being unaware of their parents’ occupation.

How it happened: After more than a year of little movement, CIA officials held secret meetings with Russian intelligence officers at an undisclosed Middle Eastern city in early June. The framework of the deal proposed by the Russians would center around exchanging Krasikov for Gershkovich and Whelan. However, since Krasikov was in German custody, the deal hinged on the US to convince Germany to let him go. Previous talks included negotiations to release Russian dissident Alexei Navalny who died in a Siberian penal colony earlier this year. Go deeper with WSJ,

Here’s what Kamala Harris had to say:

Kamala Hates Christmas?

The Employment Dud

Market indexes are tanking on underwhelming job growth numbers that appear to have caught everyone off guard.

Details: Only 114,000 new jobs were added to the US economy in July, missing analyst’s expectations significantly and forcing the unemployment rate to 4.3%. This is the highest unemployment rate since October of 2021.

WSJ: U.S. Says Opponent of Venezuela’s Maduro Won Presidential Election

The U.S. recognized the opponent to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as the winner of that country’s disputed presidential election, increasing the pressure on the Venezuelan strongman to step down despite his claim of victory. 

The announcement on Thursday by Secretary of State Antony Blinken is the latest escalation of rhetoric from Washington urging Maduro to step aside since last weekend, when polling data indicated he was trounced by his challenger, retired diplomat Edmundo González.

“Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election,” Blinken said in a statement released Thursday evening. 

Full story at The Wall Street Journal (paywall).

MUST WATCH: JD Vance Nails This

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• Max Boot Called Trump a Foreign Asset. Now His Wife Is Indicted for Just That. - Politico

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• Masked assailants ransack Venezuela opposition leader’s headquarters as post-election tensions mount - AP

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• Home valuations are rising faster than incomes. Here’s why that could hurt homeowners’ wallets - CNBC

• ISIS-K Goes Global - Foreign Affairs

• The Trillion Dollar Legal Memo - Bloomberg (paywall)

• As Misery Multiplies, Pakistanis Rise Up Against the Ruling Elite - NYT (paywall)