Category: NEWS
Trump’s bid to co-opt DOJ to fraud cause focus of latest Jan. 6 hearing
The Jan. 6 House select committee is turning its focus to Donald Trump’s efforts to get the Justice Department behind his bid to reverse the 2020 election results. …read more
https://nypost.com/2022/06/23/trump-bid-to-co-opt-doj-to-fraud-is-focus-of-latest-jan-6-hearing/
Married With A Toddler, I Appear Straight. I’m Finally Ready To Stop Hiding My Identity.
“I felt like I didn’t ‘count’ as queer since I presented as a straight, monogamous mom in the South.” I stood in the swampy summer heat awaiting instruction, ready for the New Orleans Pride parade to … https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/married-with-a-toddler-i-appear-straight-im-finally-ready-to-stop-hiding-my-identity/ar-AAYMp52
Column: California flushed $200 million down the toilet. Why won’t it fix the recall process?
Talk of reforming California’s recall system has stalled as voters and lawmakers have stopped caring.
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-06-23/california-recall-reform-efforts-stall
Column: California has long been a voice for abortion rights. But there’s a political ring to it
Fifty-five years ago this month, California enacted the nation’s most liberal abortion law. Back then, more legislators used to think for themselves, columnist George Skelton writes.
Trumpet the Bloodhound makes history by winning Best in Show at 146th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
Trumpet the Bloodhound’s selection marked history. He’s the first Bloodhound to ever win Best in Show in Westminster’s 146-year history.
Will we become a nation of renters? As housing prices soared, home buyers struggled
“There’s a delay in home ownership.” Housing prices and inflation have made it hard to buy a home, but ownership is still key to building wealth.
Book bombs: Trump aide tell-alls fail to sell
A year after Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows released a tell-all book about his 10 months in the White House that promised to be a “frank, candid account” of running Trump’s chaotic West Wing.
The buzz around it was heavy. But in the publishing world, it was a bust.
“The Chief’s Chief” has sold only 21,569 books, according to NPD Bookscan, a market research firm that tracks book sales. And it’s not the only book by an ex-Trump aide that has failed to fly off the shelves.
The memoir of Deborah Birx, the Covid response coordinator under Trump, has sold fewer than 6,000 copies; Dr. Scott Atlas’ book sold 27,013 copies; Dr. Ben Carson’s book sold 21,786 copies; former White House press secretary turned Trump critic Stephanie Grisham sold 38,249 books; counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway has sold 42,273 books since it was published in late May; and former defense secretary Mark Esper sold 20,900 books.
Former attorney general Bill Barr sold 64,103 books. But the one Trump post-White House book sales that did best appears to be Peter Navarro’s, whose “In Trump Time” has sold 80,218 copies of his book so far. The book, unlike the others, is less a revelation about life inside the former administration than an ode to Trump’s approach to governance. Perhaps for that reason, it has earned extensive publicity in MAGA circles and is currently advertised on Steve Bannon’s The War Room website.
“Since he left office, the Trump memoirs have not done great,” said one top publishing executive, who was granted anonymity to talk candidly about author sales. “Each of the people who have written a book so far was telling stories that we pretty much already knew.”
Bookscan data is not a full account of a book’s success as it captures around 70 percent of hardcover sales and does not track ebook and audio uploads. Still, the numbers show a sea change in the audience for works from Trump-tied authors. Dishy books by former Trump White House and administration figures, after all, used to be a boon for booksellers.
Former national security adviser John Bolton’s book “The Room Where It Happened,” has racked up a whopping 680,949 in sales according to BookScan. And former FBI director James Comey’s book, “A Higher Loyalty,” was also a success with 626,810 in sales.
But those works benefited from timing and intrigue. Trump was in the White House, and the nation was eager for a window into how things actually operated. Bolton’s book, in particular, benefited from his back and forth with the White House about whether he …read more
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/23/trump-aides-book-00041620
California has billions to spend on gas-price relief — and no deal on help
SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislators can agree on one thing: They should channel billions of dollars from the state’s overflowing budget to Californians pinched by high gas prices.
But for months they have been at odds over how to get that money into people’s pocketbooks — and who should get it.
Newsom is insisting the relief be tied to car ownership and sent to all vehicle-owning Californians, regardless of their income, which — critics are quick to point out — could include some of the state’s 189 billionaires.
Legislative leaders, who want to send the cash to lower-income residents, including those who don’t own cars, are not budging either.
The governor promised in an early March speech that he was taking “immediate action” to offer relief. In mid-June, as gas tops $6 a gallon — the highest in the nation — Californians are still waiting.
“I’m confused and frustrated that here we are months later and nothing’s happened, and we haven’t gotten a single dollar into a single pocket,” said Assemblymember Cottie Petrie Norris (D-Laguna Beach), who represents a slice of the perpetual battleground of Orange County and was part of a group of moderate Democrats who pitched an alternative proposal this spring. “I think Californians are super pissed off by what they see as inaction and what they perceive as indifference.”
The Sacramento dispute cuts to the vast socioeconomic divides — and paradoxes — of a high-cost state known for its powerhouse economy and progressive politics. The unfettered economic success of California’s wealthiest residents has triggered a record state budget surplus, even as sharply rising prices heap hardship on millions who were already barely hanging on.
California’s ability to bridge that gap could shape midterm elections in a period of growing economic anxiety. It could also affect Newsom’s political prospects as the Democratic governor, all but assured of re-election, looks to boost other Democrats on the ballot while working to boost his profile as a national Democratic leader.
Newsom, who has called for banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035, now wants to steer economic relief to car owners — with double the cash for people who have two. (The governor has signaled an openness to excluding luxury vehicles from the aid, but has not established the maximum value.)
The governor’s plan would send $11.5 billion back to Californians, while the Legislature’s would total $8 billion. Newsom has argued that limiting the relief to those making less than $125,000 per year, as Democratic lawmakers want to do, would freeze out some middle-class residents. But legislative leaders are adamant that relief be targeted to Californians who need help the most.
“We’re not going to give Elon Musk or whoever $400,” said a Democratic staffer who spoke on background because of the sensitivity of the talks. “It’s never going to happen under this Democratic Legislature.”
Lawmakers want to link the aid to individuals, with additional relief for dependents — $400 for …read more
Israel politics: Knesset moves closer to dissolving, setting stage for possible election
Israeli lawmakers have voted in favor of a preliminary measure to dissolve parliament. It is the first step toward a fifth election in less than four years. The vote could take place in autumn. …read more
‘What do we do when another disaster hits?’ Afghans face crises on all fronts after quake kills 1,000
Aid groups scrambled on Thursday to reach victims of a powerful earthquake that rocked eastern Afghanistan, killing more than 1,000 people in an area blighted by poor infrastructure, as the country faces dire economic and hunger crises.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/23/asia/afghanistan-earthquake-rescue-aid-efforts-intl/index.html