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Here is a collection of stories happening across the country, displaying the state of the economy, the heartbeat of American culture, and the craziness of modern-day politics…
1) Lawsuits: RNC Challenging States’ Acceptance of Late Mail-In Ballots
From Breitbart: Republicans are challenging several states that allow mail-in ballots to be counted after Election Day if they were postmarked on or before the day of voting, saying that such allowances “threaten the integrity of our elections.”
Approximately 20 states and Washington, DC, accept these late ballots in order to make room for postal issues and people who do not remember to mail in their votes until Election Day, according to NPR. The Republican National Committee (RNC) and “others” have filed lawsuits in Nevada, Illinois, Mississippi, and North Dakota to prevent this from happening — but all the challenges except the one in Illinois have already been thrown out by judges.
Arguing that the decision regarding the end of a federal election is up to Congress, not the states, RNC election integrity communications director Claire Zunk told the outlet that “the election should end on Election Day – that’s the law, and voters deserve fair and accurate results on November 5.”
2) Mortgage demand roars back to life as rates drop to lowest level in a year
From Fox Business: A key measure of home-purchase applications surged last week as mortgage rates dropped to the lowest level in more than a year.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) index of mortgage applications jumped 6.9% for the week ended Aug. 2, according to new data published Wednesday. At the same time, the average rate on the popular 30-year loan dropped to 6.55% last week from 6.82%. It marked the lowest level for interest rates since May 2023.
“Mortgage rates decreased across the board last week,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s deputy chief economist. He said the decline follows “doveish communication from the Federal Reserve and a weak jobs report, which added to increased concerns of an economy slowing more rapidly than expected.”
The drop in rates also fueled a surge in refinancing applications, which rose 16% for the week and were 59% higher than the same week one year ago. Refinancing allows homeowners to essentially take out a brand-new loan on their property, which is typically used to pay off the original mortgage. It can offer several benefits, including a lower interest rate, a lower monthly payment or a shorter loan life.
3) Yellen under fire from Senate Republican for big-ticket pledge to global Pandemic Fund
From Washington Examiner: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s pledge for the United States to dole out hundreds of millions of dollars to the World Bank’s global Pandemic Fund is facing intense scrutiny by a Republican opponent.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), in a letter sent to Yellen on Wednesday and first viewed by the Washington Examiner, accused the Biden Cabinet official of promulgating a proposal that is a “blatant waste of taxpayer dollars and a slap in the face” to Americans.
Last month, during the G20 world finance leaders’ meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Yellen committed that the U.S. will provide up to $667 million through 2026 as part of a broader $2 billion goal to raise money from developed nations for future pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response in low- and middle-income countries. Yellen’s pledge would mean the U.S. would have to provide another $217 million by the target date, as the U.S. has already provided $450 million. Schmitt assailed the commitment as “yet another brazen attempt to fund unaccountable entities from the American taxpayer’s wallet.”
4) ESPN Sportscaster Makes It Clear He Thinks Men Do Not ‘Belong In Women’s Sports’
From Daily Wire: ESPN sportscaster and College GameDay analyst Kirk Herbstreit made it clear he thinks that men do not “belong in women’s sports,” calling the idea “ridiculous.”
In a post on X on Tuesday that’s since gone viral, a person posed a question to Herbstreit that read, “Do men belong in women’s sports? Time for influential men in sports media to stand up, Kirk,” OutKick reported.
The broadcaster saw the post and replied, retweeting the person’s question and answered, “Of course not. Ridiculous question.”
His comments were met with praise by others who agreed that it’s wrong for men to compete against women in female sports, including former ESPN host Sage Steele, who left the network in 2023.
Of course not. Ridiculous question https://t.co/SpwZ07zewv
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) August 6, 2024
5) Tropical Storm Debby makes second landfall in South Carolina as dangerous flood threat continues
From Fox Weather: Tropical Storm Debby has made a second landfall near Bulls Bay, South Carolina as Debby slowly moves up the Eastern Seaboard and unleashes a dangerous flood threat for millions of Americans.
The death toll from Debby has risen to six after the latest news of a boater in Gulfport, Florida, was killed while trying to ride out the storm.
President Joe Biden has approved emergency declarations for Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida. These declarations authorize FEMA to provide federal assistance to save lives, protect property and ensure public health and safety.
After making landfall along Florida’s Big Bend on Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane, Debby dumped more than 20 inches of rain, sent feet of storm surge flooding into Southwest Florida and knocked out power to more than 300,000 customers in the Sunshine State at the height of the storm.
“There’s a 7-Footer.” 🐊 A large alligator was spotted crossing this road in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, during Tropical Storm Debby. pic.twitter.com/67xMONlCRJ
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) August 7, 2024
6) Popular sugar substitute linked to increased risk of heart attack, stroke
From New York Post: They’ve soured on this sugar substitute. Consuming foods that contain erythritol, a popular artificial sweetener and common ingredient in keto diet products, increases the risk of heart attack and stroke, a new Cleveland Clinic study warns.
Erythritol makes platelets in the blood more active, which may lead to blood clots, researchers explained Thursday in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.
“This research raises some concerns that a standard serving of an erythritol-sweetened food or beverage may acutely stimulate a direct clot-forming effect,” said study co-author Dr. W. H. Wilson Tang, research director for Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplantation Medicine at Cleveland Clinic.
7) Steve Martin refuses Tim Walz role on ‘SNL’ despite pleas from fans
From Fox News: Steve Martin is not interested in impersonating Kamala Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, on “Saturday Night Live” – despite pleas from fans.
Shortly after Harris announced the Minnesota governor would be her running mate, Martin spoke to the Los Angeles Times about receiving a phone call from “SNL” producer Lorne Michaels asking him to appear on the famed comedy show.
“I wanted to say no and, by the way, he wanted me to say no,” Martin told the outlet about his phone call with Michaels.
“I said, ‘Lorne, I’m not an impressionist. You need someone who can really nail the guy.’ I was picked because I have gray hair and glasses,” he continued.
SNL get Steve Martin on the phone NOW pic.twitter.com/7AbHn2zAFU
— Adam (@AdamJSmithGA) August 6, 2024
8) AUDIO: Walz establishes snitch program during COVID
Holy communism
Tim Walz established a “snitch” program during Covid where people report neighbors for violating his authoritarian stay-at-home orders
This is straight out of Fidel Castro’s playbook for anyone that spoke out against his regime
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) August 6, 2024
9) Bernie Sanders Says Sticking to Progressive Economic Policies is Key to Harris-Walz Win
From Free Beacon: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) said Tuesday evening that sticking to progressive policies on economic issues will help Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz win “pretty big” in November.
“I think to the degree that the vice president and the governor can stay focused on economic issues that benefit working people, demand that the billionaire class are paying their fair share of taxes—you know what? I think they’re going to not only win. I think they have a chance to win pretty big,” Sanders said on CNN, shortly after Harris announced Walz will join her on the Democratic ticket.
The Democratic socialist’s advice to the Harris-Walz campaign comes amid mounting scrutiny over Harris’s economic record as vice president following Monday’s stock market plunge, with even Democratic strategists worrying that the market upheaval and fears of an imminent U.S. recession will be a “tremendously huge problem” for Harris.
10) Astronauts who went to ISS for 8 days could be stranded in space a VERY long time
From Futurism: NASA admitted during a live conference today that it still isn’t confident enough in Boeing’s Starliner to safely return its two stranded astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, from the International Space Station.
The pair have been stuck on the orbital outpost since early June, but ongoing technical issues plaguing Starliner have pushed back their return date indefinitely.
And even with NASA’s contingency plan of having the pair be sent back on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft in place, their stay could be massively extended.
According to the head of NASA’s commercial crew program Steve Stich, if the pair were to secure two seats on the upcoming SpaceX Crew-9 mission, they’d have to wait until February 2025 to make it back.
