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Canadian Spying Scandal At Olympics

Your unbiased daily news brief

Author

James Kratch
July 25, 2024

Good Thursday morning. Monday was apparently the hottest day in the history of the planet. The hits just keep on coming. Have a great day!

In Today’s Brief

  • Biden: ‘Pass the torch’

  • Cuba: Mass exodus

  • Veepstakes: Kelly makes move

  • Markets: Brutal day

  • NBA: TV deal drama

... and more

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Top Tips

1) Strange brew

Team Canada has some explaining to do after an embarrassing start to the Paris Olympics.

  • What happened: A member of the Canadian women's soccer coaching staff allegedly flew a drone over New Zealand's practice to spy on the Kiwis before today's preliminary round matchup in Saint-Etienne. New Zealand alerted the International Olympic Committee and French police, who apprehended a Canadian man flying the drones.

  • The fallout: Canadian officials have apologized and sent home the man, who they say was not an official staff member,and an assistant coach he reported to. The man also pleaded guilty to filming the training sessions in a French court and received a suspended eight-month sentence. Canadian Head Coach Bev Priestman will serve a voluntary game suspension. Canada is the reigning Olympic champion. 

  • Up and running: While the opening ceremony is not until tomorrow, Olympic competition began yesterday in some team sports. Morocco upset Argentina in a chaotic and controversial men's soccer match while the U.S. men's soccer team was waxed by France, 3-0, and the American men's rugby sevens squad fought the hosts to a 12-all tie along with a loss to Fiji, the two-time reigning gold medal winner.

2) Getting somewhere

FBI Director Christopher Wray actually answered questions on Capitol Hill.

  • The news: Wray was pressed by lawmakers about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during House Judiciary Committee testimony. He fared far better than former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, revealing new details and infomation about gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks and the incident.

  • What he said: Crooks conducted web searches about the Kennedy Assassination before trying to kill Trump, according to Wray. The director also confirmed officials believe Crooks fired eight shots, a fact Cheatle refused to confirm on Monday. The FBI believes Crooks used a drone to surveil the rally site, used a collapsible stock to conceal his rifle and climbed onto the roof he fired from without a ladder.

  • Big picture: Wray indicated the FBI is struggling to pinpoint Crooks' motive or ideology. He also pushed back against reports Crooks had photos of public officials on his phone, saying he was searching for news articles instead. Crooks was not on the FBI's radar prior to the assassination attempt.

3) Mind the gaps

NATO has some work to do.

  • The news: Alliance officials have determined member nation militaries are severely deficient in several key areas, including air defenses, ammunition, cybersecurity and personnel numbers. The conclusions come after a review of defense capabilities amid growing tensions with Russia.

  • Big bucks: NATO expects it will cost billions to address the weaknesses, but an exact projected price has yet to be determined. Alliance leaders reportedly agree member states will need to spend more than the bloc's 2% of GDP target on defense -- something that would be music to Trump's ears.

  • Big picture: Things are pretty complicated for the alliance at the moment. The possibility of Trump's re-election and his past NATO skepticism, hangs over the bloc. NATO also has internal disagreements about how serious the Kremlin threat is and how the war in Ukraine should be resolved. And getting nations to spend more is always a big ask; some may be maxed out at their current rate while heavyweights like Canada and Germany still fail to hit the target.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

  • President Joe Biden said it was time to "pass the torch" in an address to the nation last night. He said he ended his re-election bid to help save American democracy and praised Vice President Kamala Harris' candidacy (More)

  • Almost 1K travelers were evacuated after an escalator at New York’s JFK Airport caught fire. At least nine people suffered non-life-threatening injuries; four were hospitalized (More)

  • Two more Massachusetts police officers involved in the Karen Read case face internal affairs investigations. The lead investigator was previously suspended after the high-profile murder trial ended with hung jury; there was insufficient evidence to pursue a probe against a fourth officer (More)

World News

  • Over 1M people left Cuba between 2022 and 2023, according to official government data. That is more than 10% of the island nation's population; crackdowns on dissent and economic woes are responsible for the mass migration (More)

  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called some Gaza war protesters "Iran's useful idiots" and called for U.S.-Israel unity in an address to a joint session of Congress. Many Democrats boycotted the speech and panned the remarks; Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib held a sign accusing him of war crimes (More)

  • German Chancellor Olaf Schulz will seek re-election next year. The decision is somewhat surprising given his low approval ratings and the ruling Social Democratic Party's struggles in the recent European parliamentary elections (More)

Campaign News

  • Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly will support legislation making it easier for workers to unionize. The Democrat and former NASA astronaut is in contention to be Vice President Harris' running mate; labor groups had expressed concern he was not backing the PRO Act (More)

  • Fox News has proposed a Sept. 17 presidential debate to the Harris and Trump campaigns. The network said the event would be in Pennsylvania and moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum; President Biden and former President Trump previously agreed to a Sept. 10 debate sponsored by ABC (More)

  • The House will begin its summer break this morning, a week earlier than originally scheduled. Republican leaders want members to hit the campaign trail; late Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee's upcoming memorial services also factored into the decision (More)

Business & Markets

  • Major indexes closed lower yesterday. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 suffered their worst sessions since 2022 while the Dow Jones dropped over 500 points (Dow -1.25%, S&P 500 -2.31%, Nasdaq -3.64%).

  • Red Lobster is headed for new ownership after declaring bankruptcy in May. The seafood chain is seeking a judge's approval to accept a takeover offer from Fortress Credit Corporation, a lender that specializes in restaurant management (More)

  • U.S. single-family new home sales dropped to a seven-month low in June. Existing home sales hit a six-month low; high mortgage rates and housing prices were attributed to the declines (More) 

Entertainment & Sports

  • The NBA rejected Warner Bros. Discovery's attempt to retain a media rights package, saying the media giant did not match an offer by Amazon Prime. WBD indicated it plans to sue to save TNT's almost 40-year run broadcasting the league (More)

  • Viewership of Veep on HBO's Max streaming platform has increased by over 350% since President Biden ended his re-election bid and endorsed Vice President Harris. Julia Louis-Dreyfus played a VP who replaced a sitting president in the comedy series (More)

  • A Disneyland workers strike appears to have been averted. The entertainment giant has reached a tentative contract agreement with 14K park staffers after they authorized a work stoppage (More)

Quick Hitters

  • Fun Stuff: We typically think of birds as animals that can mimic and repeat what human beings say. After watching this video of Pluto, a very chatty Siberian Husky, we may need to reassess.

  • New Idea: Researchers believe anesthesia therapy may be effective in treating patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. A study at Stanford found two people saw a significant reduction in symptoms after having dreams induced by an anesthetic.

  • Go Deep: The Academy Awards will begin honoring casting directors in 2026. The decision will shine a light on the critical, and somewhat mysterious, occupation.

  • Take Note: Eating mushrooms can be beneficial to your health. But you must be careful and know what you are doing, especially if you consume them raw.

  • Life Hack: Most people throw away the silica packets in packaging for safety reasons. Here is an argument for keeping them out of the trash and repurposing them for many uses.

How much do we know about the ancient Olympics?

Looking Ahead …

Minnesota has become the second state to legalize flying cars, joining New Hampshire. Legislation defining a "roadable aircraft" will take effect next month as lawmakers anticipate the future development of hybrid vehicles.

Question of the Day — Thursday Trivia

Where was the first Red Lobster located?

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