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hookaleft's Journal8 injured after party bus shooting in Lincoln Park
Source: WGNTV
CHICAGO — At least eight people are hospitalized after a shooting involving a party bus in Lincoln Park, according to Chicago police.
The shooting happened just before midnight Wednesday in the 1600 block of North La Salle Drive. Police say the group had been traveling on the bus when a dark-gray Jeep Grand Cherokee pulled up, and someone inside fired shots. It is unclear if the victims were inside or outside the bus when the shooting occurred.
A 24-year-old man was shot in the arm and is in fair condition at Northwestern Hospital, along with a 26-year-old woman who was shot in the leg. She is in serious condition.
A 23-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the groin and is in serious condition at Northwestern Hospital.
Two men, ages 42 and 52, were both shot in the leg and are in fair condition at Illinois Masonic Hospital.
Read more: https://wgntv.com/news/chicagocrime/8-injured-after-party-bus-shooting-in-lincoln-park/
Biden to announce sanctions on Cuban officials
Source: POLITICO
MIAMI — President Joe Biden on Thursday plans to slap targeted individual sanctions on Cuba regime officials, bucking the progressive voices in his own party who called for an end to the embargo.
Biden’s response to Cuba — which also includes measures to bring increased internet access to the island and calls for more international pressure on the totalitarian government — was outlined Wednesday night in a call with Democratic Cuban-American activists in Miami who had been calling for more action ever since the July 11 uprisings on the island.
But it’s the proposal to extend the targeted sanctions of the Magnitsky Act, originally passed in response to Russian government oppression and then extended to governments such as Venezuela, that has most encouraged activists who want more pressure on Cuba.
“This is huge,” said Sasha Tirador, a top Miami political operative who was briefed on the plans Wednesday night.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/22/biden-sanctions-cuba-500534
Garland launches gun trafficking strike forces in 5 cities
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is launching an effort in five cities in the U.S. to reduce spiking gun violence by addressing illegal trafficking and prosecuting offenses that help put guns in the hands of criminals.
Attorney General Merrick Garland will launch the gun trafficking strike forces in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The effort will include stepped-up enforcement in so-called supply areas — cities and states where it’s easier to obtain firearms that are later trafficked into other cities with more restrictive gun laws.
Besides prioritizing gun crimes, the strike forces will embrace intelligence sharing and prosecutions across jurisdictions, Justice Department officials said. Authorities have also embedded federal agents in homicide units of police departments across the U.S., have been deploying additional crime analysts and are conducting fugitive sweeps to arrest people who have outstanding state and federal warrants for violent crimes.
Violent crimes, particularly homicides and shootings, are up in many cities around the country, and the Biden administration has sought to aid communities hamstrung by violence. But the initiative launched this week differs from other recent federal efforts to address violence, because it is not sending agents or prosecutors into cities with crime spikes. Justice officials say the strike forces are targeted prosecutions meant to be a longer-term effort to combat gun trafficking.
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https://apnews.com/article/health-government-and-politics-shootings-coronavirus-pandemic-gun-politics-fc16e2a1a4571be552d82def7bd5e781
I think I have the Delta variant........
It is not too bad. I have a horrible headache and runny nose and congestion. Couldn't get out of bed yesterday but today seems better. Had the Moderna second dose two months ago. My mom recently travelled to Seattle and came home with it, I picked her up from the airport.
REPORT: PROSECUTORS HAVE OBTAINED DAMNING INFORMATION ALLEGEDLY IMPLICATING TRUMP IN HIS COMPANY'S C
REPORT: PROSECUTORS HAVE OBTAINED DAMNING INFORMATION ALLEGEDLY IMPLICATING TRUMP IN HIS COMPANY’S CRIMES
After literal decades of avoiding any and all consequences for a life of corruption that has included everything from inciting an attack on the U.S. Capitol to attempting to extort Ukraine, to allegedly directing his lawyer to violate campaign finance laws, to lying to the public about COVID-19, to allegedly stiffing hundreds of contractors, is Donald Trump actually going to be held accountable for running a company accused of, among other things, conspiracy, grand larceny, and multiple counts of tax fraud and falsifying records? On the one hand, he never has, so why would anyone expect it to happen now? On the other, thanks to the work of Manhattan prosecutors and helpful witnesses, he appears to be closer than ever to a situation in which he spends numerous years in prison!
Weeks after the Trump Organization and its longtime CFO, Allen Weisselberg, were hit with a slew of criminal charges, for which the latter faces more than a decade in prison and to which they both pleaded not guilty, the Daily Beast reports that Weisselberg‘s ex-daughter-in-law, who’s been extremely helpful to Cyrus Vance Jr.’s office thus far, provided the Manhattan D.A.’s office with explosive information concerning Donald Trump’s involvement in the crimes his company and longtime employee have been accused of committing.
According to reporter Jose Pagliery, during a Zoom call with investigators on June 25, Jennifer Weisselberg, who was previously married to Allen’s son Barry Weisselberg, told investigators that she was in Trump’s office at Trump Tower during a January 2012 meeting in which the real estate developer discussed compensation with Allen and Barry, explaining that while the latter would not be getting a raise, his children’s private school tuition, which clocked in at more than $50,000 a year per child, would be paid for. According to Jennifer Weisselberg, Trump turned to her and allegedly said, “Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered.” While that might sound like an instance of the ex-president being an uncharacteristically generous guy, prosecutors have claimed that Allen Weisselberg was awarded numerous fringe benefits over the years—like a free apartment, cars, and, yes, private school tuition—for the express purpose of avoiding paying taxes. Which, according to the indictment against him, he did, to the tune of $900,000.
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https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/07/jennifer-weisselberg-donald-trump-prosecutors
Donald Trump Bashes Bret Baier Over Fox News' Arizona Election Audit Coverage
Former President Donald Trump has lashed out at Fox News anchor Bret Baier after he reported on the Maricopa County audit
The former president took aim at the anchor and other media outlets for reporting the low number of voter irregularities that will be further investigated, which counter his claims of widespread fraud.
In a post uploaded onto Telegram, Trump said: "Fox News and other media outlets incorrectly side with the outdated and terrible Maricopa County Election Board to report no fraud found in the Presidential Election.
"They spew the gross misinformation purposefully put out by the country and the Associated Press and ignore the very important Arizona Senate's hearing yesterday, which showed 168,000 fraudulent ballots printed on illegal paper (unofficial ballots), 74,000 mail-in ballots received that were never mailed (magically appearing ballots), 11,000 voters were added to the voter rolls after the election and still voted, all the access logs to the machines were wiped, and the election server was hacked during the election."
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https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-bashes-brett-baier-over-fox-news-arizona-election-audit-coverage-1610782
Ex-Trump Official Says GOP Greater National Security Threat to U.S. Than ISIS, Al Qaeda
Former Trump administration official Miles Taylor has slammed the Republican Party, arguing that the GOP represents a greater threat to the country than U.S.-designated terrorist groups ISIS and Al Qaeda.
Taylor served as the chief of staff to the secretary of Homeland Security under former President Donald Trump from February 2019 to September 2019 and worked for the Department of Homeland Security in the previous administration for more than two years. However, Taylor went on to publicly condemn Trump and work with conservative groups to campaign against the former president ahead of the 2020 election.
During a Thursday evening interview with MSNBC, Taylor touted his credentials working in national security and said that the present-day Republican Party represents the "number one national security threat" to the country. Notably, Taylor still described himself as a member of the GOP.
"I'm a national security guy. I've worked in national security against ISIS and Al Qaeda and Russia," he said. "And the number one national security threat I've ever seen in my life to this country's democracy is the party that I'm in, the Republican Party." Taylor reiterated that the GOP "is the number one national security threat to the United States of America."
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https://www.newsweek.com/ex-trump-official-says-gop-greater-national-security-threat-us-isis-al-qaeda-1610470
Federal judge blocks new DACA applications and says program is illegal
(CNN)A federal judge in Texas on Friday ruled that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama-era program shielding certain undocumented immigrants from deportation, is illegal and blocked new applicants.
The ruling from Judge Andrew Hanen would bar future applications. It does not immediately cancel current permits for hundreds of thousands of people -- though it once again leaves them in devastating legal limbo and is a reminder of the uncertainty they face.
DACA, created in 2012, was intended to provide temporary reprieve to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children -- a group often described as "Dreamers" -- many of whom are now adults.
But almost a decade since the program was established, DACA is still one of the only signs of potential relief for undocumented immigrants looking to remain and work in the US.
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https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/16/politics/daca-ruling-hanen/index.html
County officials in Arizona reported few suspicious ballots, undercutting Trump's claims
PHOENIX — Arizona county election officials have identified fewer than 200 cases of potential voter fraud out of more than 3 million ballots cast in last year's presidential election, undercutting former President Donald Trump's claims of a stolen election as his allies continue a disputed ballot review in the state's most populous county.
The 182 cases represent instances where problems were clear enough that officials referred them to investigators for further review. So far, only four cases have led to charges, including those identified in a separate state investigation. No one has been convicted. No person's vote was counted twice.
While it's possible more cases could emerge, the numbers illustrate the implausibility of Trump's claims that fraud and irregularities in Arizona cost him the state's electorate votes. In final, certified and audited results, Biden won 10,400 more votes than Trump out of 3.4 million cast.
AP's findings align with previous studies showing voter fraud is rare. Numerous safeguards are built into the system to not only prevent fraud from happening but to detect it when it does.
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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/county-officials-arizona-reported-few-suspicious-ballots-undercutting-trump-s-n1274238
Matt Gaetz Is Blowing Piles of Cash on Scandal--and on Roger Stone
With the possibility of sex trafficking charges still hanging over him, Rep. Matt Gaetz’s latest campaign finance report shows a spate of new legal spending, a massive public relations blitz, and continued payments to one conspicuous MAGA icon: Roger Stone.
Nearly half the embattled congressman’s $1.95 million in expenses—a little over $825,000—went to public affairs firm Logan Circle Group, which has handled Gaetz’s media strategy since The New York Times first reported in March that he was the focus of an investigation over federal sex crimes. Some of the payments were for “strategic campaign consulting,” while others were for “advertising.”
But perhaps the most notable strategist Gaetz paid is one who had contact with Gaetz wingman Joel Greenberg as the former Seminole County tax collector sought a presidential pardon.
Roger Stone—the longtime Trump operator who received a pardon himself for charges that he lied to Congress, obstructed justice, and attempted witness tampering—received $15,000 in three installments for “strategic campaign consulting.” Two of the payments, which went to Stone’s business Drake Ventures, came after the Justice Department sued Stone and his company for $2 million in unpaid taxes.
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https://www.thedailybeast.com/matt-gaetz-is-blowing-piles-of-cash-on-scandaland-on-roger-stone
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