THE SHOW NOTES: The Radical Tim Walz, Donald Trump's Elon Musk Interview, & Russia Withdraws From Southern Ukraine
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FINALLY: Pro-Trump super PAC plans $100M ad blitz - Politico
HEADLINE: FAFSA rollout was ‘a stunning failure,’ college aid expert says. Here’s how next year will compare - CNBC
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MUST WATCH: Radical Tim Walz
Newly unearthed video from Minnesota state media shows just how radical Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz’s agenda was during the George Floyd riots. Minnesota infamously lost a police precinct to the rioters. MPD Sergeant Anna Hedberg says, "I heard the Governor say, 'Give it up.'" Watch:
Tim Walz granted the organization of a well-known anti-Israel activist $100K in recent years and called her a “master teacher” in a newly unearthed video clip from The Washington Examiner. Asad Zaman has promoted neo-nazi propaganda films that were sympathetic to Hitler and praised the attacks of October 7th.
However, on Friday, the Harris campaign said that Walz does not “have a personal relationship” with the radical Asad Zaman. But watch:
Russia
A Ukrainian surprise attack has upended Russia’s progress in southern Ukraine and is resetting battle lines in the war-torn country’s east. Russia has withdrawn troops from Zaporizhzhia and Kherson and sent them to the Kursk and Belgorod regions of southern Russia to refortify its beleaguered battalions.
The move marks the first time Ukraine has made substantial inroads into previously Rusian-controlled areas. Ukraine now controls 1,000 square kilometers (386 miles) of Russian territory. The news has infuriated Vladimir Putin who was pressing for a devastating “truce” that would result in significant swaths of Ukrainian land being given to Russia. Important note from Bloomberg:
A deepening shortage of soldiers for its war in Ukraine is prompting Russia to hike recruitment bonuses to avoid a repeat of an unpopular mobilization. So far, there’s little sign it’s working.
The military isn’t getting enough new soldiers to keep pace with frontline losses that are at their highest since the February 2022 invasion began, according to three people close to the Kremlin and the Russian Defense Ministry, asking not to be identified because the issue is sensitive. Regional officials are now failing to meet more than a third of their recruitment quotas on average, a person familiar with the situation said.
According to the Financial Times, Russia has trained its Navy for war-game scenarios that would use nuclear-capable missiles to target sites deep inside Europe. The plans included maps of targets as far west as France and the United Kingdom in a presentation for officers that predated the invasion of Ukraine.
Iran
The FBI is investigating a cyber attack against the Trump campaign and potential attempts against the Harris campaign from state-sanctioned hackers in Iran. The attempts were executed via spear-phishing emails which are designed to look legitimate in order to get the subject to click on a malicious link.
Donald Trump x Elon Musk
Former President Trump joined Elon Musk for a wide-ranging, audio-only interview on the Musk-owned Twitter platform last night. Technical issues plagued the conversation and forced a 45-minute delay before the interview began.
While Trump performed better than expected and the conversation earned 1.3 million live listeners at its peak, the technical issues were reminiscent of Ron DeSantis's failed presidential campaign launch.
A Washington Post reporter essentially asked the White House what they were doing to prevent misinformation from spreading as a result of Trump’s interview with Elon Musk. Watch:
Politico: The nation’s best hackers found vulnerabilities in voting machines — but no time to fix them
Some of the best hackers in the world gathered in Las Vegas over the weekend to try to break into voting machines that will be used in this year’s election — all with an eye to helping officials identify and fix vulnerabilities.
The problem? Their findings will likely come too late to make any fixes before Nov. 5.
Full story at Politico.
Presented Without Comment
NYT: Worried About a Convention Clash, Democrats Woo Uncommitted Delegates
Thousands of demonstrators are expected in the streets and the parks of Chicago for next week’s Democratic National Convention, most of them to protest the U.S. role in the war in Gaza. But officials are concerned about the potential for a more embarrassing spectacle: prime-time disruptions inside the arena itself.
About 30 uncommitted delegates representing the Democratic primary voters who opposed President Biden — largely over what they see as his tilt toward Israel in the brutal war launched after the Hamas attacks last October — will have unfettered access to make their voices heard. State party leaders, led by Lavora Barnes, the chairwoman of the Michigan Democratic Party, and Ken Martin, the chairman of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in Minnesota, have for months worked to defuse tensions and head off a high-profile clash.
Full story at The New York Times (paywall)
Trending news:
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Fox’s Doocy tussles with Karine Jean-Pierre over Harris’s stance on the southern border, Biden - The Hill
The "forgotten" oil basin that's slated for more growth - Axios
Wholesale inflation measure rose 0.1% in July, less than expected - CNBC
Biggest shakeup in a century set to hit real estate agents this week: Here’s how they’re preparing - CNN
Fewer Americans want companies to take stance on politics - Axios
Polar bears kill worker at remote radar site in Canadian Arctic - CBS
Americans who locked in a job, a home, and stocks are thriving. Everyone else missed out on their ticket to wealth. - BI
New Breed of EV Promises 700 Miles per Charge (Just Add Gas) - Bloomberg (paywall)
Market snapshot:
I have one very simple, truthful comment. If you think for one second that a Harris-Walz Administration would protect this country or its Allies in the face of aggression from Iran, China, Russia or North Korea you are as demented as Joe Biden. Stop the games and get straight to this point. If you value our country--even as flawed as it can be--and you appreciate the freedoms you have as a citizen, you cannot allow a weak Administration to come to power. There is no doubt, given past proclaimed policies of Harris and Walz, that the military defense of this country, the sovereignty of our borders and the safety of our citizens would be sacrificed further than has already resulted under a failed Biden Administration.
I am not a Trump fan, I supported Nikki Haley after Ron Desantis. Harris and Walz are incompetent to understand the economy and as a result can't responsibly author fiscal policy. They have NO experience with foreign policy at all and will thus fail to support the strength we need militarily and simply could not understand trade policy. I'll take Trump over these two any day!!
Joe Card
"The nation’s best hackers found vulnerabilities in voting machines — but no time to fix them" And once again, conspiracy theorists are proven right. If they can do it, and they weren't even really trying, anyone can. It doesn't matter. The fact that they "can" throws the whole thing into doubt.
I don't like paper ballots. They are archaic and have their own issues, but its very difficult to hack a paper ballot.
And this doesn't even count the states that dont require an ID. YES, you can literally walk into 1 polling station in Penn, give a name on the voting roster, vote. Then get in your car drive to another polling station and vote again giving a completely different name. No ID check, no problem. Times that 1000 and add in mail in ballots. You see where this goes.