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Oktoberfest München 2023 (Der Trachten- und Schützenzug 2023) Teil 2
Cheers to Oktoberfest: Inside the legendary beer festival
27 Photos October 4, 2023 10:41 AM CDT
Oktoberfest has its origins in a horse race that took place in 1810 to celebrate the wedding of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen.
Oktoberfest has its origins in a horse race that took place in 1810 to celebrate the wedding of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen.
https://www.reuters.com/pictures/cheers-oktoberfest-inside-legendary-beer-festival-2023-10-04/
More pictures... these are different... and award winners
Welcome to the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards
Comedy Wildlife Photo Award 2023 finalists revealed | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/04/travel/comedy-wildlife-photo-award-2023-finalists/index.html
Finalists :: Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards - Conservation through Competition
Gallery of Winners and Finalists 2015 thru 2021
Woohoo!! Here we go - another bumper year for the funniest wildlife photos on the planet!
There are 41 fantastic individual finalists entries, plus the best from the Video and Portfolio categories for you to feast your eyes on!
https://www.comedywildlifephoto.com/
🔗 https://www.comedywildlifephoto.com/gallery/finalists/
The simple solution to the oddity photo would be...
get an explanation from the professional photographer, Adam Schultz.
Adam Schultz, the chief official White House photographer, declined to explain when reached by The New York Times. Adam Schultz/The White House
Thanks for those distortion articles.
BUT, there were no actual images, especially group photos of people.
Lawyers say election denier and ‘MyPillow Guy’ Mike Lindell is out of money, can’t pay legal bills
by: STEVE KARNOWSKI, Associated Press
Posted: Oct 6, 2023 / 02:27 PM EDT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorneys who’ve been defending MyPillow chief executive and election denier Mike Lindell against defamation lawsuits by voting machine companies are seeking court permission to quit, saying he owes them unspecified millions of dollars and can’t pay the millions more that he’ll owe in legal expenses going forward.
Attorney Andrew Parker wrote in documents filed in federal court on Thursday that his firm and a second firm representing MyPillow in lawsuits by Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems can’t afford what it would cost to represent Lindell and MyPillow through the rest of the litigation. Continuing to defend him would put the firms “in serious financial risk,” he wrote.
It’s the latest in a string of legal and financial setbacks for Lindell, who propagates former President Donald Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen from him, in part by rigged voting machine
The Associated Press left phone messages with Lindell on Friday. In a rambling video posted on his FrankSpeech website Thursday night, he acknowledged that he’s out of money and that his credit has dried up, so he can’t pay his lawyers.
Amid his denunciations of the news media, including Fox News and other conservative outlets, he said his company had lost over $100 million after big-box retailers dropped his products. He depicted himself as a victim of “cancel culture” and said he wasn’t done fighting.
“I’m never going to stop trying to secure elections for this country ever,” a defiant Lindell said. He went on to say: “I ran out of money. I have no money personally. Nothing left. Nothing left.”
Parker filed the requests to quit in federal court in Minnesota, where Smartmatic filed a defamation lawsuit seeking over $1 billion, and in Washington, D.C., where Lindell is a defendant in a similar $1.3 billion lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems that also targets Trump allies Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell. Dominion won a nearly $800 million settlement from Fox News in April. Giuliani is being sued by a former lawyer over allegedly unpaid legal bills.
Parker’s firm also moved to withdraw for similar reasons from a defamation lawsuit filed against Lindell, MyPillow and FrankSpeech in federal court in Colorado by Eric Coomer, former director of product strategy and security for Denver-based Dominion.
In July, Lindell acknowledged to the Star Tribune of Minneapolis that his company was auctioning off equipment and subleasing some of its manufacturing space in Minnesota after several major retailers including WalMart and some TV shopping networks stopped carrying MyPillow products amid the negative publicity. He said the equipment was no longer needed as MyPillow consolidated its operations and turned its focus to direct sales.
In April, an arbitration panel ordered Lindell to pay $5 million to a software engineer for breach of contract in a dispute over data that Lindell claimed proves China interfered in the U.S. 2020 elections and tipped the outcome to President Joe Biden. Lindell had launched his “Prove Mike Wrong Challenge,” as part of the “Cyber Symposium” he staged in South Dakota in 2021 to further his theories.
Parker wrote in his filings that Lindell and MyPillow had regularly paid his firm in full and on time through the end of 2022. But he said the payments slowed this year while the litigation fees and costs “dramatically increased.” By May, the payments slowed to more than 60 days and didn’t cover the full bills. Lindell and MyPillow made no payments for the firm’s July and August bills, he wrote, though they did make some relatively small payments that were only a fraction of the total owed.
The attorney said his firm, Parker Daniels Kibort, or PDK, warned Lindell and MyPillow in August and September that it would have to withdraw if the bills weren’t paid.
He said Lindell and MyPillow understand his firm’s position, don’t object, and are in the process of finding new lawyers. No trial date is scheduled in either the Smartmatic or Dominion cases.
Ever the pitchman, Lindell, known as the MyPillow Guy, asked viewers of his webcast who wanted to help to call in and buy his pillows, towels and other products.
https://www.woodtv.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-lawyers-say-election-denier-and-mypillow-guy-mike-lindell-is-out-of-money-cant-pay-legal-bills/
Lawyers say election denier and ‘MyPillow Guy’ Mike Lindell is out of money, can’t pay legal bills
by: STEVE KARNOWSKI, Associated Press
Posted: Oct 6, 2023 / 02:27 PM EDT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorneys who’ve been defending MyPillow chief executive and election denier Mike Lindell against defamation lawsuits by voting machine companies are seeking court permission to quit, saying he owes them unspecified millions of dollars and can’t pay the millions more that he’ll owe in legal expenses going forward.
Attorney Andrew Parker wrote in documents filed in federal court on Thursday that his firm and a second firm representing MyPillow in lawsuits by Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems can’t afford what it would cost to represent Lindell and MyPillow through the rest of the litigation. Continuing to defend him would put the firms “in serious financial risk,” he wrote.
It’s the latest in a string of legal and financial setbacks for Lindell, who propagates former President Donald Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen from him, in part by rigged voting machine
The Associated Press left phone messages with Lindell on Friday. In a rambling video posted on his FrankSpeech website Thursday night, he acknowledged that he’s out of money and that his credit has dried up, so he can’t pay his lawyers.
Amid his denunciations of the news media, including Fox News and other conservative outlets, he said his company had lost over $100 million after big-box retailers dropped his products. He depicted himself as a victim of “cancel culture” and said he wasn’t done fighting.
“I’m never going to stop trying to secure elections for this country ever,” a defiant Lindell said. He went on to say: “I ran out of money. I have no money personally. Nothing left. Nothing left.”
Parker filed the requests to quit in federal court in Minnesota, where Smartmatic filed a defamation lawsuit seeking over $1 billion, and in Washington, D.C., where Lindell is a defendant in a similar $1.3 billion lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems that also targets Trump allies Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell. Dominion won a nearly $800 million settlement from Fox News in April. Giuliani is being sued by a former lawyer over allegedly unpaid legal bills.
Parker’s firm also moved to withdraw for similar reasons from a defamation lawsuit filed against Lindell, MyPillow and FrankSpeech in federal court in Colorado by Eric Coomer, former director of product strategy and security for Denver-based Dominion.
In July, Lindell acknowledged to the Star Tribune of Minneapolis that his company was auctioning off equipment and subleasing some of its manufacturing space in Minnesota after several major retailers including WalMart and some TV shopping networks stopped carrying MyPillow products amid the negative publicity. He said the equipment was no longer needed as MyPillow consolidated its operations and turned its focus to direct sales.
In April, an arbitration panel ordered Lindell to pay $5 million to a software engineer for breach of contract in a dispute over data that Lindell claimed proves China interfered in the U.S. 2020 elections and tipped the outcome to President Joe Biden. Lindell had launched his “Prove Mike Wrong Challenge,” as part of the “Cyber Symposium” he staged in South Dakota in 2021 to further his theories.
Parker wrote in his filings that Lindell and MyPillow had regularly paid his firm in full and on time through the end of 2022. But he said the payments slowed this year while the litigation fees and costs “dramatically increased.” By May, the payments slowed to more than 60 days and didn’t cover the full bills. Lindell and MyPillow made no payments for the firm’s July and August bills, he wrote, though they did make some relatively small payments that were only a fraction of the total owed.
The attorney said his firm, Parker Daniels Kibort, or PDK, warned Lindell and MyPillow in August and September that it would have to withdraw if the bills weren’t paid.
He said Lindell and MyPillow understand his firm’s position, don’t object, and are in the process of finding new lawyers. No trial date is scheduled in either the Smartmatic or Dominion cases.
Ever the pitchman, Lindell, known as the MyPillow Guy, asked viewers of his webcast who wanted to help to call in and buy his pillows, towels and other products.
https://www.woodtv.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-lawyers-say-election-denier-and-mypillow-guy-mike-lindell-is-out-of-money-cant-pay-legal-bills/
It's difficult to believe that the photographer really intended that photo to be placed in 'Jimmy Carter’s life in pictures'
As a professional he could have instantly seen that unnatural scene.
Maybe it was intended as a joke and maybe it was intended to be removed before publication.
Yes, there is alot more that needs to be explained, by the photographer.
It is a disgrace to place that photo of the Carters and Bidens in the historic "Jimmy Carter’s life in pictures"
“Adam Schultz, the chief official White House photographer, declined to explain when reached by The New York Times. Adam Schultz/The White House”
THAT PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER WHO PHOTOGRAPHED THAT IMAGE... DEFINITELY NEEDS TO EXPLAIN THE DETAILS.
THAT PICTURE OF THE CARTERS AND BIDENS SEEMS TO GET MORE QUESTIONABLE,
AND FROM MANY DIFFERENT SOURCES
“Adam Schultz, the chief official White House photographer, declined to explain when reached by The New York Times. Adam Schultz/The White House”
AFTER A SEARCH FOR MORE INFO:
Giant Bidens, Tiny Carters: A Look at Photographic Distortion
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com › U.S. › Politics
May 5, 2021 — Wide-Angle Oddity: Giant Bidens Meet Tiny Carters · It was a pleasant 86 or so degrees in Plains, Ga., when President Biden and Jill Biden ...
Wide-angle oddity: giant Bidens meet tiny Carters
The Seattle Times
https://www.seattletimes.com › nation-world › wide-angl...
May 5, 2021 — Wide-angle oddity: giant Bidens meet tiny Carters ... It was a pleasant 86 or so degrees in Plains, Georgia, when President Joe Biden and Jill ...
?
Podcast: Yes, We're Talking About That Biden Carter Picture
PhotoShelter Blog
https://blog.photoshelter.com › 2021/05 › podcast-yes...
May 11, 2021 — Photo of Carter, Biden in Georgia rouses Twitter commentary over surreal look (via Washington Post); Wide-Angle Oddity: Giant Bidens Meet Tiny ...
Biden Carter: What's going on in this picture?
BBC
https://www.bbc.com › world-us-canada-56988360
May 4, 2021 — Whilst Mr Biden is indeed slightly taller than Mr Carter, the image seems to be the result of distortion caused by using a wide-angle lens, says ...
Wide-Angle Oddity: Giant Bidens Meet... - Invest in Tunisia
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com › posts › wide-angle-oddit...
Wide-Angle Oddity: Giant Bidens Meet Tiny Carters Heather Murphy A picture of two presidents and first ladies led to many Hobbit jokes online. We explain...
This photo of Bidens and Carters shows what can go ...
DIY Photography
https://www.diyphotography.net › Inspiration
May 6, 2021 — Thanks to a wide-angle lens, the Carters look like giants in a tiny house and the longer you look, the funnier it gets. The Bidens visited the ...
Understanding the weird Biden-Carter photo could help ...
Popular Science
https://www.popsci.com › Science › Physics
May 4, 2021 — In wide-angle lenses, you'll typically experience a phenomenon called barrel distortion in which the whole image appears to bow outward from the ...
Wide-Angle Oddity: Giant Bidens Meet Small Carters
News 4 Social
https://en.news4social.com › Uncategorized
It was a enjoyable 86 or so degrees in Plains, Ga., when President Biden and Jill Biden frequented former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn.
Steven W. Thrasher, PhD, CPT
Twitter
https://twitter.com › thrasherxy › status
Jan 6, 2022 — nytimes.com. Wide-Angle Oddity: Giant Bidens Meet Tiny Carters (Published 2021). A picture of two presidents and first ladies led to many ...
THAT PICTURE
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden met with the Carters at the Carters' home in April 2021. The photo grabbed people's attention on social media because of what appeared to be a significant size difference between the two couples. While many experts theorized that it was the result of a wide-angle lens, Adam Schultz, the chief official White House photographer, declined to explain when reached by The New York Times. Adam Schultz/The White House
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/01/politics/gallery/jimmy-carter/index.html
U.S. Tobacco Lobbyist and Lobbying Firm Registration Tracker
[...]
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=172937835
https://ash.org/tobacco-money/?location=mn
U.S. Tobacco Lobbyist and Lobbying Firm Registration Tracker
[...]
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=172937835
https://ash.org/tobacco-money/?location=mn
Letitia James slams Trump’s comments on civil fraud trial
NBC NEWS
New York Attorney General Letitia James slammed former President Donald Trump’s comments on the civil fraud trial calling them "void of facts."
Oct. 4, 2023
https://www.nbcnews.com/video/letitia-james-slams-trump-s-comments-on-civil-fraud-trial-194427461879
Simone Biles leads U.S. women to record 7th straight team title at gymnastics world championships
By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
Updated 4:58 PM CDT, October 4, 2023
ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) — Simone Biles and her teammates were far from perfect, and yet nothing could stand in the way of a victory that set a record for both the U.S. women’s team and the greatest gymnast in history.
The U.S. women earned a record seventh consecutive team title at the gymnastics world championships on Wednesday night. For Biles, it was also her 33rd major championship medal — across the worlds and Olympics — to make her the most decorated female gymnast ever.
And it’s fitting that it came in Antwerp, the Belgian port city where Biles came to international prominence 10 years ago by winning her first world title in 2013.
“It wasn’t Team USA’s best day,” Biles said. “It’s crazy, we still pulled it out. So I’m really, really proud of the team.”
The American team of Biles, Shilese Jones, Skye Blakely, Joscelyn Roberson and Leanne Wong combined for a total of 167.729 points to edge second-place Brazil and France.
The U.S. team won by a margin of 2.199 points as the final proved to be a closer contest than anticipated after the Americans put up a dominant performance in qualifying to finish more than five points ahead of the field.
“We had some mistakes here and there, but just keep going, keep relying on our training,” Biles said. “But I think this team that we have brought this year has the most great courage and fight. ... We had so many emotions going throughout the day.”
The U.S. women have won gold in the team event at every world championship that included a team competition since 2011. Their victory in Antwerp broke a tie with the Chinese men for the longest streak of consecutive team titles.
Biles now has 26 world championship medals, 20 of them gold, to go with her seven Olympic medals, including the 2016 Olympic title.
Her 33 combined medals at the sport’s two biggest events are one more than what Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union achieved.
Russia was banned from the event because of sanctions imposed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) as a result of the war against Ukraine. In the absence of their Russian rivals — the defending Olympic champions — the Americans were the overwhelming favorites.
But the U.S team overcame an early scare as Roberson was forced out of the event even before it started after she seemed to hurt an ankle while warming up at the vault. She was helped off the mat and subbed by Wong.
“My ankle just ... popped,” Roberson said.
Jones then kicked off the competition smoothly for the Americans with a Double Twist Yurchenko, with only a small hop. Wong responded to the last-minute call with a clean effort before Biles opted for the slightly safer “Cheng” vault rather than the Yurchenko Double Pike she performed during qualifying on Sunday.
The Americans amassed 42.966 points and were second behind China after the first rotation following the Chinese gymnasts’ excellent display on uneven bars.
Biles and her teammates then bested their Chinese opponents’ performance on bars as they took the overall lead with a margin of 1.467 points. They increased it a bit further after the beam — despite a sixth-place finish on that apparatus — as Biles made up for the modest 11.700 Wong received by scoring 14.300 with a solid routine.
Biles capped off a successful night for the U.S team with a spectacular floor routine rewarded by a 15.166.
Biles is competing at her first international competition following a two-year absence. Her previous appearance was at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics, where she was hampered by a bout with a mental block known as “ the twisties ” that gymnasts can experience while in the air, and withdrew from several events.
Now she’s back in the same city that catapulted her to international fame a decade ago, winning the first of her five world all-around titles as a 16-year-old prodigy.
“Each and every time you are crowned world champion, it feels a little bit different,” Biles said. “I’m still surprised that I’m still going, I’m 26, I’m a little bit older. It’s different, but it’s exciting.”
Biles, who posted an overall score of 58.732 points, is also the favorite to add a sixth all-around title on Friday, although she will likely face a strong challenge from Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, the reigning world all-around champion. The event finals are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
Andrade led Brazil to its first medal ever in the women’s team competition. The French team, spurred on by the hundreds of fans cheering for them, secured their first women’s team medal at the world championships since a silver in 1950.
https://apnews.com/article/usa-biles-gymnastics-world-championships-b091160759582c14afb62c92d647822c
Letitia James slams Trump’s comments on civil fraud trial
NBC NEWS
New York Attorney General Letitia James slammed former President Donald Trump’s comments on the civil fraud trial calling them "void of facts."
Oct. 4, 2023
https://www.nbcnews.com/video/letitia-james-slams-trump-s-comments-on-civil-fraud-trial-194427461879
Report: Trump disparaged US war dead as ‘losers,’ ‘suckers’
By James LaPorta, The Associated Press
Sep 3, 2020
DELRAY BEACH, FLa. — A new report details multiple instances of President Donald Trump making disparaging remarks about members of the U.S. military who have been captured or killed, including referring to the American war dead at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France in 2018 as “losers” and “suckers.”
Trump said Thursday that the story is “totally false.”
The allegations were first reported in The Atlantic. ..https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/ .. . A senior Defense Department official with firsthand knowledge of events and a senior U.S. Marine Corps officer who was told about Trump’s comments confirmed some of the remarks to The Associated Press, including the 2018 cemetery comments.
The defense officials said Trump made the comments as he begged off visiting the cemetery outside Paris during a meeting following his presidential daily briefing on the morning of Nov. 10, 2018.
Staffers from the National Security Council and the Secret Service told Trump that rainy weather made helicopter travel to the cemetery risky, but they could drive there. Trump responded by saying he didn’t want to visit the cemetery because it was “filled with losers,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss it publicly.
In another conversation on the trip, The Atlantic said, Trump referred to the 1,800 Marines who died in the World War I battle of Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed.
Trump emphatically denied the Atlantic report Thursday night, calling it “a disgraceful situation” by a “terrible magazine.”
Speaking to reporters after he returned to Washington from a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Trump said: “I would be willing to swear on anything that I never said that about our fallen heroes. There is nobody that respects them more. No animal — nobody — what animal would say such a thing?”
Trump also reiterated the White House explanation of why he didn’t visit the cemetery. “The helicopter could not fly,” he said, because of the rain and fog. “The Secret Service told me you can’t do it. ... They would never have been able to get the police and everybody else in line to have a president go through a very crowded, very congested area.”
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said, “It’s sad the depths that people will go to during a lead-up to a presidential campaign to try to smear somebody.”
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Thursday, “If the revelations in today’s Atlantic article are true, then they are yet another marker of how deeply President Trump and I disagree about the role of the President of the United States.”
“Duty, honor, country — those are the values that drive our service members,” he said in a statement Thursday night, adding that if he is elected president, “I will ensure that our American heroes know that I will have their back and honor their sacrifice — always.” Biden’s son Beau served in Iraq in 2008-09.
[...]
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/09/03/report-trump-disparaged-us-war-dead-as-losers-suckers/
Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’
The president (Trump) has repeatedly disparaged the intelligence of service members, and asked that wounded veterans be kept out of military parades, multiple sources tell The Atlantic.
Thursday, September 03, 2020 6:28:23 PM
https://investorshub.advfni.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=158096572
Pictures of the month: September
https://www.reuters.com/pictures/photos-of-the-month/pictures-month-september-2023-10-01/
Jimmy Carter’s life in pictures
Updated 6:28 AM EDT, Sun October 1, 2023
Former US President Jimmy Carter turned 99 on Sunday.
The 39th president began receiving hospice care at his home in Georgia in February, according to a statement from The Carter Center.
The peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia, and US Navy lieutenant served a single term from 1977 to 1981.
Championing human rights at the center of US foreign policy, Carter forged a still-standing peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. He also established the Department of Energy in 1977.
Shortly after, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, established .. https://www.cartercenter.org/ .which has monitored international elections and promoted public health across the world.
He became the oldest former president to live in March 2019 when he surpassed the record held by George H.W. Bush, who died in November 2018.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/01/politics/gallery/jimmy-carter/index.html
Jimmy Carter’s life in pictures
Updated 6:28 AM EDT, Sun October 1, 2023
Former US President Jimmy Carter turned 99 on Sunday.
The 39th president began receiving hospice care at his home in Georgia in February, according to a statement from The Carter Center.
The peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia, and US Navy lieutenant served a single term from 1977 to 1981.
Championing human rights at the center of US foreign policy, Carter forged a still-standing peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. He also established the Department of Energy in 1977.
Shortly after, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, established .. https://www.cartercenter.org/ .which has monitored international elections and promoted public health across the world.
He became the oldest former president to live in March 2019 when he surpassed the record held by George H.W. Bush, who died in November 2018.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/01/politics/gallery/jimmy-carter/index.html
U.S. Tobacco Lobbyist and Lobbying Firm Registration Tracker
Tobacco companies spend millions of dollars lobbying in the U.S. every year in an attempt to weaken, delay or kill life-saving public health policies.
In 2022, while we continued to face a global respiratory pandemic, tobacco companies spent $29,751,276 at the federal level attempting to weaken public health and tobacco control policies, marking a 5% increase compared to their spending in 2021 (source).
As of April 24, 2023, tobacco companies have already expended $6,982,475 this year at the federal level alone (source).
The tobacco industry has 213 lobbyists registered at the federal level in 2023, 80.75% of whom are former government employees likely to have increased access to highly influential people (source). Former government employees now working for tobacco companies can permeate the House of Representatives, the Senate, and our Federal Agencies, to the detriment of public health.
At the state level for 2023, a total of 927 lobbying registrations for the tobacco industry were identified, involving 856 lobbyists or lobbying firms.
Almost two-thirds (577) of the registrations represented a company that is owned by or has a licensing agreement with adjudicated racketeers, including Altria, Reynolds American, Inc (RAI), and Juul. This is a crucial element to note, as lobbying is not inherently problematic; the problem arises when you’re lobbying on behalf of an industry dominated by federally adjudicated racketeers, especially those whose products kill when used exactly as intended.
Altria (previously known as Philip Morris USA) had a total of 293 registrations of lobbyists or lobbying firms, covering all 50 states and DC. Juul, with which Altria has an irrevocable licensing agreement, had a total of 95 registrations of lobbyists or firms covering 39 states and DC. Reynolds American had a total of 189 registrations of lobbyists or lobbying firms covering 49 states and DC. Most tobacco industry lobbyists and lobbying firms were also registered to serve a variety of other clients.
Notably, public records indicate that 12 states and DC require or allow lobbying firms to register, instead of individual lobbyists. Because lobbying firms often employ many lobbyists, the tobacco industry may be able to mask from public view the actual number and names of individual lobbyists who are working on their behalf in those states.
The ASH Lobbyist Tracker focuses on publicly-available state-level registrations, with links provided to each official state webpage.
A spreadsheet of the data found in the following map can be reviewed here.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/gxb0wps6xpinz72ycpwi1/FINAL-2023-ALPHA-MASTER.xlsx?dl=0&rlkey=fm9h74ngsmndywmaq8o3x8ylv
Click on each state to see the pop up with a top-level break down.
Then click More (or the state list in the side bar) for a detailed break down and sources.
. . .
More and with GRAPHICS
https://ash.org/tobacco-money/?location=mn
Mary Trump Explains 'Worst Thing' That Could Happen to Donald Trump
Story by Andrew Stanton • 10h
Donald Trump's estranged niece Mary Trump recently outlined the "worst thing" that could happen to the former president amid his ongoing legal battles.
Mary Trump—a clinical psychologist and daughter of the former president's older brother, Fred—is a vocal critic of the former president who is again running in the Republican 2024 presidential primary to set up a potential rematch against President Joe Biden. She frequently takes to social media to broadcast her opposition to her uncle and provided her insight into the former president's psyche during a new episode of The Nerd Avengers podcast, according to a transcript posted to her Substack on Friday.
During the podcast, hosted alongside several other political commentators, Mary Trump tore into her uncle, noting that he is "seriously being threatened for the first time in his life, from a financial, legal, and existential perspective" amid his ongoing legal troubles. The podcast discussion comes just days after Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit against the former president that he and some of his businesses committed fraud, such as inflating his net worth to mislead insurers and banks—a ruling Trump's legal team has pledged to appeal.
The former president's niece also revealed on the podcast what she believes is the worst thing that could happen to him.
"The worst thing that could happen to Donald Trump, other than being put in a room with no interconnect connection and no mirror, is to be forced to face the reality about who he is, which he knows deep down and just cannot allow to break through to his consciousness," she said.
Recommended video: Trump's Niece Says Uncle's Weakness More Dangerous Than His Strength: 'Donald's Stochastic Terrorism Will Find A Target' (Benzinga (Video))
https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/news/trumps-niece-says-uncles-weakness-more-dangerous-than-his-strength-donalds-stochastic-terrorism-will-find-a-target/vi-AA1hphOc?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=42189e617fcf493c984d617c2b0991f5&ei=96
She also said her uncle has "lived his entire life in fear of" being viewed as a failure by his family, which she added explains his "lashing out."
"He cannot allow any of that to break through, which explains the denial and the projection and the burn it all down mentality," she added.
Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign for comment via email.
Earlier in the week, Mary Trump wrote in a Substack post that Judge Engoron's ruling leaves the former president in "more danger" than ever before and will be "something of a tipping point" for him.
In addition to the New York ruling, Trump has been indicted in four criminal cases.
He is facing charges in two federal cases, one surrounding the January 6, 2021, riot at the United States Capitol building and the other related to classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Furthermore, New York prosecutors charged him in relation to an alleged hush money payment he made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign, and an Atlanta-area grand jury indicted him on charges stemming from an investigation into his alleged attempts at overturning Georgia's 2020 presidential election results.
The former president maintains his innocence in each criminal case. He has accused prosecutors of targeting him for political purposes, such as weakening his presidential campaign.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mary-trump-explains-worst-thing-that-could-happen-to-donald-trump/ar-AA1huwdp?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=3a5776f769fe45858dd013f8b1f5e111&ei=21
Biography Dianne Feinstein
As California’s senior Senator and the longest-serving woman senator ever, Dianne Feinstein has built a reputation as an independent voice, working hard to find commonsense solutions to problems facing California and the nation.
Since her election to the Senate in 1992, Senator Feinstein has built a significant record of legislative achievements across a wide range of issues.
[...]
https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/biography
A Proclamation on the Death of Dianne Feinstein
September 29, 2023
THE WHITE HOUSE
Briefing Room
Presidential Actions
Senator Dianne Feinstein was a pioneering American and a true trailblazer. In San Francisco, she showed enormous poise and courage in the wake of tragedy, and became a powerful voice for American values. In the United States Senate, she turned passion into purpose, and led the fight to ban assault weapons, also making her mark on everything from national security to the environment to protecting civil liberties. Senator Feinstein was a role model for so many Americans and she had an immense impact on younger female leaders for whom she generously opened doors. She was a historic figure, and our country will benefit from her legacy for generations.
As a mark of respect for the memory of Senator Dianne Feinstein, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, on the day of interment.
I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.
JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/09/29/a-proclamation-on-the-death-of-dianne-feinstein/
Is Donald Trump finished in New York?
How the former president's fraud ruling could ruin him in the city that made him famous
Photo by ALEX KENT / AFP via Getty Images
(Image credit: Photo by ALEX KENT / AFP via Getty Images)
By Rafi Schwartz
published 7 hours ago
For whatever else Donald Trump might be, he is and will always be a uniquely New York creation — a being forged at the intersection of Manhattan's cutthroat real estate jungle and heady nightlife scene. As then-CNN reporter Bill Hemmer mused nearly two decades ago, "it's a good bet" that Donald Trump and New York City will be "linked forever, for better or for worse."
This week, Hemmer's "good bet" was put to the test, with a New York State Judge ruling that the former president had regularly overvalued his properties and assets to banks and investors. Pointing out one instance in which Trump had allegedly inflated the value of the penthouse triplex in his eponymous Manhattan skyscraper by nearly three times its actual worth, Judge Arthur Engoron concluded that a "discrepancy of this order of magnitude, by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space of decades, can only be considered fraud."
Engoron's ruling, part of New York State Attorney General Letitia James' civil suit against Trump's business empire, effectively "short-circuited" the former president's legal team's plan to argue against the merits of the allegations in court, according to The New York Times. Instead, "no trial was necessary to determine that Mr. Trump’s financial statements were fraudulent," and if the ruling isn't overturned on appeal, any subsequent action will "largely focus on the size of the penalty against [Trump]." Already, though, Engoron's ruling will have an immediate impact on the former president's business empire, with the assets named therein set to be put in receivership and ultimately dissolved.
Poised to lose hundreds of millions in fines, as well as control over vast swaths of his eponymous business empire, is Trump finally finished in the city that made him who he is?
What the commentators said
Facing potential damages upwards of $600 million dollars, former Trump consigliere Michael Cohen suggested his onetime patron could be looking at financial ruin, asking "Will that put him into bankruptcy?" during a CNN interview on Tuesday. No matter the president's total worth, Cohen continued, he "does not have the liquid cash in order to pay that off."
Engoron's ruling is "essentially the equivalent of the corporate death penalty for the Trump Organization in New York State," agreed conservative lawyer George Conway. Noting that the statutory Martin Act relied upon in Engoron's decision allows for "extraordinary remedies" in these cases, Conway predicted that regardless of whatever damages are assigned, the corporate dissolution allowed under the act means the Trump Organization is essentially "out of business."
The decision cuts to the "heart of the identity that made [Trump] a national figure and launched his political career," The New York Times reported, suggesting that although previous prosecutions against the former president have bolstered his standing among his political base, Engoron's ruling "imperils both Mr. Trump’s public image and his business empire."
Comparing the situation to a car owner without a driver's license, former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Diana Florence told Insider that "without a corporate charter, you can’t operate as a corporation. You can’t get loans, you can’t apply for a government contract." But, cautioned corporate attorney Alex Fisher to the New York Post, while a "regular person would be very concerned about what happened today and they would probably start looking at new shareholders or selling or looking into perhaps transferring certain real estate into various different entities," Trump has been more than willing to "challenge civil rulings or civil outcomes in practicality," meaning "it might not have as big of an effect as somebody thinks it might."
What's next?
Judge Engoron's ruling doesn't mean AG James' case won't go to trial at all. While acknowledging that "the contour of the case has changed significantly" since he handed down his decision this week, Engoron will still preside over a trial to settle other, unresolved elements of James' suit, as well as to determine the full scope of the damages assigned to Trump. Meanwhile, attorneys have circled around the "previously appointed independent monitor, Barbara Jones" as their choice to become the "independent receiver to manage the dissolution of the cancelled LLCs," ABC News reported.
Trump also plans to immediately appeal Engoron's ruling, according to attorney Alina Habba, who called the decision "fundamentally flawed."
https://theweek.com/politics/is-donald-trump-finished-in-new-york
Is Donald Trump finished in New York?
How the former president's fraud ruling could ruin him in the city that made him famous
Photo by ALEX KENT / AFP via Getty Images
(Image credit: Photo by ALEX KENT / AFP via Getty Images)
By Rafi Schwartz
published 7 hours ago
For whatever else Donald Trump might be, he is and will always be a uniquely New York creation — a being forged at the intersection of Manhattan's cutthroat real estate jungle and heady nightlife scene. As then-CNN reporter Bill Hemmer mused nearly two decades ago, "it's a good bet" that Donald Trump and New York City will be "linked forever, for better or for worse."
This week, Hemmer's "good bet" was put to the test, with a New York State Judge ruling that the former president had regularly overvalued his properties and assets to banks and investors. Pointing out one instance in which Trump had allegedly inflated the value of the penthouse triplex in his eponymous Manhattan skyscraper by nearly three times its actual worth, Judge Arthur Engoron concluded that a "discrepancy of this order of magnitude, by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space of decades, can only be considered fraud."
Engoron's ruling, part of New York State Attorney General Letitia James' civil suit against Trump's business empire, effectively "short-circuited" the former president's legal team's plan to argue against the merits of the allegations in court, according to The New York Times. Instead, "no trial was necessary to determine that Mr. Trump’s financial statements were fraudulent," and if the ruling isn't overturned on appeal, any subsequent action will "largely focus on the size of the penalty against [Trump]." Already, though, Engoron's ruling will have an immediate impact on the former president's business empire, with the assets named therein set to be put in receivership and ultimately dissolved.
Poised to lose hundreds of millions in fines, as well as control over vast swaths of his eponymous business empire, is Trump finally finished in the city that made him who he is?
What the commentators said
Facing potential damages upwards of $600 million dollars, former Trump consigliere Michael Cohen suggested his onetime patron could be looking at financial ruin, asking "Will that put him into bankruptcy?" during a CNN interview on Tuesday. No matter the president's total worth, Cohen continued, he "does not have the liquid cash in order to pay that off."
Engoron's ruling is "essentially the equivalent of the corporate death penalty for the Trump Organization in New York State," agreed conservative lawyer George Conway. Noting that the statutory Martin Act relied upon in Engoron's decision allows for "extraordinary remedies" in these cases, Conway predicted that regardless of whatever damages are assigned, the corporate dissolution allowed under the act means the Trump Organization is essentially "out of business."
The decision cuts to the "heart of the identity that made [Trump] a national figure and launched his political career," The New York Times reported, suggesting that although previous prosecutions against the former president have bolstered his standing among his political base, Engoron's ruling "imperils both Mr. Trump’s public image and his business empire."
Comparing the situation to a car owner without a driver's license, former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Diana Florence told Insider that "without a corporate charter, you can’t operate as a corporation. You can’t get loans, you can’t apply for a government contract." But, cautioned corporate attorney Alex Fisher to the New York Post, while a "regular person would be very concerned about what happened today and they would probably start looking at new shareholders or selling or looking into perhaps transferring certain real estate into various different entities," Trump has been more than willing to "challenge civil rulings or civil outcomes in practicality," meaning "it might not have as big of an effect as somebody thinks it might."
What's next?
Judge Engoron's ruling doesn't mean AG James' case won't go to trial at all. While acknowledging that "the contour of the case has changed significantly" since he handed down his decision this week, Engoron will still preside over a trial to settle other, unresolved elements of James' suit, as well as to determine the full scope of the damages assigned to Trump. Meanwhile, attorneys have circled around the "previously appointed independent monitor, Barbara Jones" as their choice to become the "independent receiver to manage the dissolution of the cancelled LLCs," ABC News reported.
Trump also plans to immediately appeal Engoron's ruling, according to attorney Alina Habba, who called the decision "fundamentally flawed."
https://theweek.com/politics/is-donald-trump-finished-in-new-york
A judge found Trump committed fraud in building his real-estate empire.
Here’s what happens next
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and BERNARD CONDON
Updated 4:28 PM CDT, September 27, 2023
WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge’s ruling that Donald Trump committed fraud as he built his real-estate empire tarnishes the former president’s image as a business titan and could strip him of his authority to make major decisions about the future of his marquee properties in his home state.
The Tuesday order rescinds business licenses as punishment, which could make it difficult or impossible for some of Trump’s companies to operate in New York if not successfully appealed.
Trump’s attorney vowed to appeal, calling the decision “un-American” and part of a campaign to thwart his second bid for the presidency.
WHAT DID THE JUDGE SAY?
Trump and his company massively overvalued his assets, creating “a fantasy world” on the financial statements he gave to banks and others, Judge Arthur Engoron found in a lawsuit brought by the New York attorney general.
Trump’s Florida Mar-a-Lago club, for example, was overvalued on one financial statement by as much as 2,300%, the judge found.
The former president also lied about the size of his Trump Tower penthouse apartment, claiming it was nearly three times its actual size and worth $327 million, according to the ruling.
That discrepancy from a real estate developer describing his own longtime home “can only be considered fraud,” the judge wrote.
The exaggerated picture of Trump’s wealth could have gotten him more favorable loan terms or lowered insurance costs, the attorney general has argued.
The judge rejected Trump’s contention that a disclaimer on the financial statements absolved him of any responsibility to verify they were truthful.
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT TRUMP’S BUSINESSES?
Under the ruling, limited-liability companies that control some of his key properties, such as 40 Wall Street, will be “dissolved” and authority over how to run them handed over to receivers.
The judge’s order, if not successfully appealed, could mean Trump would no longer have any say in who to hire or fire, who to rent office space to, whether to pay back loans or take on new ones, essentially make any decision.
Lisa Renee Pomerantz, a lawyer in Bohemia, New York, who has helped businesses establish LLCs in the state, said canceling certificates is a significant order because you can’t operate without them.
“Their right to conduct business has been revoked,” Pomerantz said. “He’s just lost control of these entities.”
Importantly, the ruling also removes one of the bedrock protections of business suggested by the words “limited liability” themselves: Forcing lenders and other creditors, like victors in a legal judgment, to only go after assets and cash held by the business, not the owner’s stock and cash and other holdings.
WILL TRUMP’S PROPERTIES BE SOLD OFF?
It’s unclear.
Engoron tabled a discussion of whether just a step was required by his order when asked by Trump’s lawyers Wednesday, responding: “I’m not prepared to issue a ruling right now.”
What is clear, though, is that it is unusual for such valuable LLCs containing office buildings and other properties to lose business licenses, so trustees might not be inclined to make such a drastic move.
And they’re unlikely to feel pressure to sell from lenders if they are still getting paid. Sorting out who gets what from the proceeds of a sale would be a “logistical nightmare” if other claimants to Trump properties come forth, Thomas said. That group could include the attorney general herself if she wins on her other counts and Trump has to pay a fine.
If the trustees do decide to sell, Trump will get the cash from whatever is left after paying creditors.
The Trump Organization owes $100 million on Trump Tower. Lenders to 40 Wall Street, Trump’s most valuable skyscraper, were owed more than $125 million earlier this year.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
The judge will also weigh a possible $250 million in penalties and some remaining claims in a non-jury trial slated to start Oct. 2
Still, the ruling on one count during what’s known as the summary judgment phase could prove the most significant outcome of the case, said Will Thomas, an assistant professor of business law at the University of Michigan.
“This first count, even though it is easier in some respects from the other counts, it lets one of the biggest remedies kick in: ‘We’re going to stop you from doing business,’” Thomas said. “This is one of the worst outcomes you can get.”
Barring a successful appeal, Thomas said he doesn’t see how the Trump Organization can avoid losing control of his LLCs containing entities such as 40 Wall Street, Trump Tower and an estate outside New York City called Seven Springs. One strategy, establishing new LLCs in another state, is nearly impossible with legal claims such as a lien by a creditor or, in this case, a judge’s ruling.
“If someone is coming after your house, you can’t sell it to me for $1 and have me sell it back to you after your creditor goes away,” Thomas said. “You’re going to run into what’s called fraudulent transfer.”
In fact, Trump was accused by the attorney general of already trying to do that when he set up a Delaware company last year. A Trump lawyer denied any improper intention with the move, but Engoron was worried enough to appoint an independent monitor, Barbara Jones, to watch over Trump’s company, a role she retains under Tuesday’s ruling.
HOW DID THIS START?
New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, filed the civil lawsuit against Trump and the Trump Organization a year ago. It accused them of padding his bottom line by billions of dollars by routinely inflating the value of assets including skyscrapers, golf courses and the Mar-a-Lago estate. It came after Manhattan prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges over the same conduct.
Trump’s lawyers had asked the judge to throw out the case, arguing that there wasn’t any evidence the public was harmed and many of the allegations in the lawsuit were barred by the statute of limitations.
WHAT IS TRUMP SAYING?
In a series of statements on his Truth Social site, Trump insisted his company had “done a magnificent job” and the decision “horrible and un-American.”
His son Eric Trump said his father’s claims about Mar-a-Lago were correct, and the property is “speculated to be worth well over a billion dollars,” according to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Trump’s lawyer called the decision an attempt to “seize control of private property.”
This case is one of several faced by Trump, who has been criminally indicted four times in the last six months.
He’s accused in Georgia and Washington, D.C. of plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss, of hoarding classified documents at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, and in Manhattan of falsifying business records related to hush money paid on his behalf.
The Trump Organization, meanwhile, was fined $1.6 million in an unrelated case after being convicted of tax fraud.
James’s office has also previously sued Trump for misusing charitable funds, resulting in an order to give $2 million to charity as his own foundation was shut down.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-fraud-lawsuit-explainer-judge-business-empire-5e37f1468bd8ef63fff2e284886e3b8c
Judge rules Donald Trump defrauded banks, insurers while building real estate empire
By MICHAEL R. SISAK
Updated 4:54 PM CDT, September 26, 2023
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge ruled Tuesday that Donald Trump committed fraud for years while building the real estate empire that catapulted him to fame and the White House.
Judge Arthur Engoron, ruling in a civil lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, found that the former president and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.
Engoron ordered that some of Trump’s business licenses be rescinded as punishment, making it difficult or impossible for them to do business in New York, and said he would continue to have an independent monitor oversee the Trump Organization’s operations.
A message seeking comment was left for a Trump spokesperson. Trump has long insisted he did nothing wrong.
The decision, days before the start of a non-jury trial in James’ lawsuit, is the strongest repudiation yet of Trump’s carefully coiffed image as a wealthy and shrewd real estate mogul turned political powerhouse.
Beyond mere bragging about his riches, Trump, his company and key executives repeatedly lied about them on his annual financial statements, reaping rewards such as favorable loan terms and lower insurance costs, Engoron found.
Those tactics crossed a line and violated the law, the judge said, rejecting Trump’s contention that a disclaimer on the financial statements absolved him of any wrongdoing.
“In defendants’ world: rent regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land; restrictions can evaporate into thin air; a disclaimer by one party casting responsibility on another party exonerates the other party’s lies,” Engoron wrote in his 35-page ruling. “That is a fantasy world, not the real world.”
Manhattan prosecutors had looked into bringing criminal charges over the same conduct but declined to do so, leaving James to sue Trump and seek penalties that aim to disrupt his and his family’s ability to do business in the state.
Engoron’s ruling, in a phase of the case known as summary judgment, resolves the key claim in James’ lawsuit, but several others remain. He’ll decide on those claims and James’ request for $250 million in penalties at a trial starting Oct. 2. Trump’s lawyers have asked an appeals court for a temporary delay.
Trump’s lawyers, in their own summary judgment bid, had asked the judge to throw out the case.
Beyond mere bragging about his riches, Trump, his company and key executives repeatedly lied about them on his annual financial statements, reaping rewards such as favorable loan terms and lower insurance costs, Engoron found.
[...]
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-letitia-james-fraud-lawsuit-1569245a9284427117b8d3ba5da74249
Judge rules Donald Trump defrauded banks, insurers while building real estate empire
By MICHAEL R. SISAK
Updated 4:54 PM CDT, September 26, 2023
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge ruled Tuesday that Donald Trump committed fraud for years while building the real estate empire that catapulted him to fame and the White House.
Judge Arthur Engoron, ruling in a civil lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, found that the former president and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.
Engoron ordered that some of Trump’s business licenses be rescinded as punishment, making it difficult or impossible for them to do business in New York, and said he would continue to have an independent monitor oversee the Trump Organization’s operations.
A message seeking comment was left for a Trump spokesperson. Trump has long insisted he did nothing wrong.
The decision, days before the start of a non-jury trial in James’ lawsuit, is the strongest repudiation yet of Trump’s carefully coiffed image as a wealthy and shrewd real estate mogul turned political powerhouse.
Beyond mere bragging about his riches, Trump, his company and key executives repeatedly lied about them on his annual financial statements, reaping rewards such as favorable loan terms and lower insurance costs, Engoron found.
Those tactics crossed a line and violated the law, the judge said, rejecting Trump’s contention that a disclaimer on the financial statements absolved him of any wrongdoing.
“In defendants’ world: rent regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land; restrictions can evaporate into thin air; a disclaimer by one party casting responsibility on another party exonerates the other party’s lies,” Engoron wrote in his 35-page ruling. “That is a fantasy world, not the real world.”
Manhattan prosecutors had looked into bringing criminal charges over the same conduct but declined to do so, leaving James to sue Trump and seek penalties that aim to disrupt his and his family’s ability to do business in the state.
Engoron’s ruling, in a phase of the case known as summary judgment, resolves the key claim in James’ lawsuit, but several others remain. He’ll decide on those claims and James’ request for $250 million in penalties at a trial starting Oct. 2. Trump’s lawyers have asked an appeals court for a temporary delay.
Trump’s lawyers, in their own summary judgment bid, had asked the judge to throw out the case.
Beyond mere bragging about his riches, Trump, his company and key executives repeatedly lied about them on his annual financial statements, reaping rewards such as favorable loan terms and lower insurance costs, Engoron found.
[...]
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-letitia-james-fraud-lawsuit-1569245a9284427117b8d3ba5da74249
I don't follow golf closely anymore, so I didn't understand the PGA and LIV relationship either.
"The PGA Tour, the world’s pre-eminent professional golf league, and LIV Golf, a Saudi-funded upstart whose emergence over the past year and a half has cleaved the sport in two, have agreed to join forces.
The pact is complicated and incomplete: A document submitted to Congress and obtained by The New York Times includes only a handful of binding commitments. But numerous golfers hate it, and for the moment they are directing their wrath at the architects of the deal. Let’s start from the beginning.
What are the PGA Tour and LIV Golf?
The PGA Tour holds tournaments nearly every weekend, mostly in the United States but also in other countries in North America, Europe and Asia, with prize pools worth millions of dollars. The tour has been the home to practically every male golfer you can name: Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer and so on.
It has relationships with, but is separate from, the organizations that stage men’s golf’s four majors: the Masters Tournament, the P.G.A. Championship, the U.S. Open and the British Open. (The L.P.G.A., which runs the women’s tour, is separate.)"
...
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/07/sports/golf/pga-liv-golf-merger.html
World reacts to brutal Donald Trump news
Story by Kevin Harrish •5h
Over the past few years, Donald Trump has had a pretty strong relationship with LIV Golf as he has publicly supported the Saudi-backed golf league and has even hosted numerous LIV Golf events on his golf courses. But it sounds like that’s going to be changing this year.
According to a report from golf insider Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated, it does not look like LIV Golf will hold any events on properties belonging to Donald Trump in 2024.
“It appears that LIV Golf will not be returning to any of former President Donald Trump’s properties. It played at two last year, has played at two so far this year and is scheduled to play its season-ending Team Championship next month at Trump National Doral outside of Miami,” Harig wrote for Sports Illustrated on Monday.
“A preliminary schedule for 2024 shows no Trump venues and the season-ending team championship is listed as ‘South Florida.'”
This is a pretty brutal turn of events for former United States President Donald Trump given that he takes great pride in hosting prestigious golf events, and it led to plenty of reactions on social media as a result.
Bob Harig is reporting that Trump venues could be removed from the 2024 LIV schedule.
Bob Harig is reporting that Trump venues could be removed from the 2024 LIV schedule.
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) September 25, 2023
Whatever your opinion on Donald Trump, he’s incredibly divisive, and will be especially so in an election year.
This is a good PR move for the league imo.
Thoughts?https://t.co/TTGGp7defZ
Occasionally TRUMP actually spoke the truth
"Donald Trump was absolutely right in saying he hasn't changed much since first grade..."
Political commentator Mary Trump, the estranged niece of the former president,
said that Donald Trump's latest attack on General Mark Milley on social media is a sign that the "walls are closing in" on him.
10:52
https://www.newsweek.com/mary-trump-ominous-prediction-donald-trump-1829402
Newsweek
BY GIULIA CARBONARO ON 9/24/23 AT 8:28 AM EDT
The former president recently attacked Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for saying that he once said of a disabled veteran that "no one wants to see that." The general made the comment during an interview with The Atlantic to mark the upcoming end of his 43-year military career.
In response to Milley's claim, Donald Trump attacked the general over the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan at the end of August 2021, saying he "led perhaps the most embarrassing moment in American history" and accusing him of incompetence.
Writing on his social media platform, Truth Social, Donald Trump accused him of being "a 'Woke' train wreck" and "dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the president of the United States." In an escalation of his attack against Milley, Trump said that "in times gone by" this alleged act should have been punished with "death."
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday, Mary Trump—a clinical psychologist and daughter of the former president's older brother, Fred—wrote that "with the wall closing in, Donald is increasingly weak and pathetic, striking out at anybody he perceives to be an enemy—which is anybody who doesn't support him unconditionally."
She added: "He attacked General Milley via social media yesterday, not because he's up for a fight, but because he knows Milley has too much honor to strike back."
Mary Trump continued by saying that from here on "everything is going to escalate, everything is going to get worse—especially if the corporate media continue to give Donald a pass."
She added an invitation for people to reject the former president's attacks against his perceived enemies.
"We need to stop shrugging our shoulders and rolling our eyes at his most egregious behaviors and dangerous rhetoric," she wrote. "That's been the story of the last seven decades of Donald's life—and here we are. The future of our country depends on it."
Mary Trump had previously used the same expression in summer 2022, saying that the walls were closing in .. https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-cannot-wrap-his-mind-around-fact-he-loser-mary-trump-1727855 .. on the former president as the January 6 House committee brought forward more evidence against him.
Other recent attacks by the former president against his perceived enemies have led Mary Trump to say that he is showing signs of nervousness.
Last week, Donald Trump lashed out at conservative megadonor Charles Koch after he raised tens of millions of dollars for another 2024 Republican candidate. .. https://www.newsweek.com/mary-trump-explains-obvious-sign-weak-loser-donald-trump-squirming-1829038
Mary L Trump
@MaryLTrump
With the walls closing in, Donald is increasingly weak and pathetic, striking out at anybody he perceives to be an enemy—which is anybody who doesn’t support him unconditionally.
He attacked General Milley via social media yesterday, not because he’s up for a fight, but because he knows Milley has too much honor to strike back.
From here on in everything is going to escalate, everything is going to get worse— especially if the corporate media continue to give Donald a pass. We need to stop shrugging our shoulders and rolling our eyes at his most egregious behaviors and dangerous rhetoric. That’s been the story of the last seven decades of Donald’s life—and here we are.
The future of our country depends on it.
With the walls closing in, Donald is increasingly weak and pathetic, striking out at anybody he perceives to be an enemy—which is anybody who doesn’t support him unconditionally.
— Mary L. Trump (@MaryLTrump) September 23, 2023
He attacked General Milley via social media yesterday, not because he’s up for a fight, but because… pic.twitter.com/I3g9YeYmIX
Biden is creating a new White House office focused on gun violence prevention
Updated September 21, 2023 6:38 PM ET
By Asma Khalid, Elena Moore
Vice President Harris speaks about the victims of the mass shooting in Monterey Park, Calif. in front of a makeshift memorial at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio on Jan. 25, 2022.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
President Biden is creating a new office for gun violence prevention to coordinate his administration's efforts to reduce gun violence and elevate an issue that — while stalled in Congress — remains important to Democratic activists and young voters.
Biden will formally make the announcement at the White House on Friday. Vice President Harris will oversee the office, and White House staff secretary Stefanie Feldman will direct its work.
"This office will dig deep to find additional life-saving actions that this administration can take," Feldman told reporters, explaining that it will aim to coordinate support for communities hurt by gun violence.
Gun-control activists have been privately advocating for such an office for years and it comes as hopes of additional gun reform legislation seem unlikely. Two activists are joining the new White House office: Greg Jackson, a survivor of gun violence who has led the Community Justice Action Fund, and Rob Wilcox, who has worked at the groups Everytown for Gun Safety and Brady.
People protest against gun violence on May 7, 2023 in Allen, Texas, after a mass shooting at an outlet mall in the community.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Activists hope the office will enable Biden to make more use of his presidential bully pulpit to push for more gun safety measures.
"We need a White House team to focus on this issue on a daily basis," said Po Murray, chair of the Newtown Action Alliance, a grassroots organization started after a 2012 mass shooting at an elementary school killed 20 children and six adults.
"It is a national crisis," Murray said.
Murray argued that public opinion is on Biden's side. In a recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, a majority of Americans said it's more important to curb gun violence than protect gun rights.
'Poll: Most Americans say curbing gun violence is more important than gun rights'
https://www.npr.org/2023/05/24/1177779153/poll-most-americans-say-curbing-gun-violence-is-more-important-than-gun-rights#:~:text=More%20than%206%20in%2010,from%2025%25%20to%2035%25.
"I do believe that the president is aware that this is a winning issue for him, and it is the high political ground. And obviously it's a high moral ground," she said.
Family members speak about the victims of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, during a March For Our Lives rally on Aug. 27, 2022 in Austin.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Gun violence is a top-of-mind issue for Gen Z voters
The president has called for "common sense" regulations and a ban on assault-style weapons. Republicans and a small number of Democrats oppose the measures.
Advocates say Biden's new announcement helps show he is willing to act unilaterally on an issue important to young voters — at a time when he needs to energize this crucial voting bloc ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
During the 2018 midterm elections, addressing gun violence became a major part of the national Democratic campaign playbook. That was the first time gun control groups spent more money than gun rights groups like the National Rifle Association.
"There's been a paradigm shift, I think, in American politics around guns," said David Hogg, who co-founded March For Our Lives after a mass shooting at his high school in Parkland, Fla., five years ago.
"[Democrats are] no longer running from this issue. They're running on it and proudly," he added.
Hogg said Biden needs young voters to win reelection. "That's not even my opinion. That's just objectively true. He needs young voters to win again, he especially needs younger voters of color that were critical to his election in 2020," he told NPR.
https://www.npr.org/2023/09/20/1200712487/biden-is-creating-a-new-white-house-office-focused-on-gun-violence-prevention