Tip News
Posts
Walz Goes On The Offensive

Walz Goes On The Offensive

Your unbiased daily news brief

James Kratch
August 14, 2024

Good Wednesday morning. It is apparently already pumpkin spice season in some precincts. Pretty aggressive, no? Have a great day!

In Today’s Brief

Florida: Lab meat lawsuit
Canada: Polar bear attack
UAW: Trump grievance
Starbucks: CEO shocker
Taylor Swift: Returns to stage

... and more

First time reading? Sign up here

Top Tips

1) Fighting back

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is defending his military service record.

What happened: The Democratic Vice Presidential candidate said he is "damn proud" of his National Guard career during his first solo campaign event as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate. He said no military member's service should be denigrated and criticized recent attacks by Republicans, most notably Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, his VP counterpart.
Catch up: Vance, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, and others have accused Walz of retiring after 24 years in the National Guard to avoid a deployment and being untruthful about his record. Walz has faced questions about embellishing his final rank and past comments suggesting he saw combat and was on a deployment. Democrats have also criticized Vance's record in response.
The facts: The Harris-Walz campaign said Walz previously "misspoke" regarding carring a weapon "in war." He did deploy to Italy in 2003 and later said it was "in support" of Operation Enduring Freedom. Walz achieved the rank of Command Sergeant Major, but did not complete the coursework to finalize the promotion before retiring from a benefits standpoint.
Big picture: The furor surrounding Walz has generated Democratic flashbacks to the "Swift Boat" attacks that significant damaged then-Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry's presidential bid in 2004. Chris LaCivita, considered the mastermind behind the campaign on Kerry's military record, is now a top advisor to former President Donald Trump. But Walz has already weathered similar challenges in winning House and gubernatorial elections and it remains to be seen if the GOP push will significantly impact this race.

2) Northern closure

The U.S. is tamping down its other border.

What happened: The Biden Administration will take steps to curb the flow of migrants entering the nation from Canada, according to a CBS report. The changes are set to begin today; they will speed up the processing of asylum seekers and largely mirror policies established on the southern border with Mexico.
The surge: Border Patrol agents have taken 16.5K migrants into custody at the northern border so far during the 2024 fiscal year. There were 10K total detentions last year and only 2.2K in 2022. Three-quarters of this year's apprehensions have occurred in a rural region encompassing parts of New Hampshire, New York and Vermont; the detentions in that area exceeds the sum of the past 13 fiscal years.
Big picture: The northern border has quietly become an issue for federal authorities with so much focus on the southern border. The U.S. also has a more willing partner in Canada; the countries have an agreement that allows asylum seekers to be returned across the border under the premise both nations are safe havens for refuge.

3) Still searching

Long COVID continues to befuddle scientists.

The news: A lengthy National Institutes of Health-sponsored study found that routine blood and urine tests are not reliable methods to detect and diagnose the chronic illness. Nor is there a proven method to treat the issue, which greatly diminishes quality of life for some.
Catch up: Long COVID is a catch-all term to describe patients experiencing an array of long-term symptoms after contracting the virus. Chronic pain, brain fog, shortness of breath and fatigue are among them.
Big picture: Over $1B was spent on this specific study with no major findings due to inconclusive evidence. Almost all remaining scientific unknowns following the pandemic are related to long COVID, which is estimate to impact millions worldwide. The study's authors called it "a major public health burden."

Quick Tips

U.S. News

A lab-grown meat manufacturer is suing Florida in federal court. Upside Foods alleges the state's ban on selling the synthetic product gives in-state farmers an unconstitutional advantage over out-of-state competitors (More)
A convicted murderer escaped from a North Carolina hospital yesterday. Ramone Alston freed himself from leg restraints and bolted from a police vehicle while awaiting a medical procedure; he was on the run as of last night (More)
President Joe Biden announced new "Cancer Moonshot" initiatives. The federal government will send $150M to eight organizations to boost research aimed at halving deaths from the disease (More)

World News

Two polar bears killed a worker at a remote station in Canada's Arctic territory. It is extremely rare for the animals to attack humans; the man was a contractor who assisted military radar defense systems (More)
A Bangladeshi court has opened a murder investigation against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and six others. The longtime authoritarian leader resigned and fled to India last week amid violent nationwide protests; authorities say 450 people were killed in the demonstrations (More)
Iran will only scrap plans to attack Israel if there is a Gaza ceasefire deal. It is not clear how long the country and its proxies will give negotiations, which are scheduled to resume this week (More)

Campaign News

United Auto Workers filed federal labor charges against former President Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The group alleges the men expressed support for union-busting comments and intimidated organized workers during an interview on X (More)
Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus will host a panel with female Democratic governors during the party's convention next week. The Veep star previously said she would play a role in Chicago after Vice President Harris ascended atop the ticket (More)
A cryptocurrency-affiliated super PAC will spend $12M to back Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno. He is running against Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in a race that could determine the majority in the upper chamber; the progressive lawmaker has been skeptical of the industry (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes closed higher yesterday. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq each jumped over 400 points on the day (Dow+1.04%, Nasdaq +2.43%, S&P 500 +1.68%).
Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol will take over Starbucks in a surprise move, replacing the ousted Laxman Narasimhan. The struggling coffee chain's move signals founder Howard Schultz's influence will wane (More)
Ford and Mazda have issued do-not-drive advisories for almost 550K vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. The warning covers a range of makes and models produced from 2003-15 that contain airbags that are a safety risk (More)

Entertainment & Sports

Taylor Swift will begin a five-show Eras Tour stint at London's Wembley Stadium today after last week's concerts in Vienna were canceled due to a terrorist plot. Police have said fans without tickets cannot congregate outside the venue (More)
Frozen 3 will hit theaters on Nov. 24, 2027. The other installments of the Disney animated franchise were also releasedaround Thanksgiving; the first two Frozen films have made close to $3B at the box office (More)
The Dallas Cowboys are the first professional sports team valued at $10B, according to Sportico. The Los Angeles Rams are the NFL's second-most valuable club at $7.8B (More)

Quick Hitters

Fun Stuff: How did foam fingers become a stadium staple for sports fans? It all started at an Iowa high school in the early 1970s.
Go Deep: The recent prisoner swap between the U.S., Russia and other countries served as a reminder The Americanswas realistic fiction. Because the Kremlin still relies on deep-cover agents in rival nations.
Take Note: Extreme storms have many impacts on modern life. Among them: Environmental changes may be degrading the taste of tea by altering the boiling point of drinking water supplies.
Hidden Gems: There is a secret warehouse in Atlanta that holds artifacts recovered from the Titanic. The BBC was recently allowed inside to view the priceless treasures.
Life Hack: You may not be an Olympic athlete, but you can carry yourself like one. Here are some tips from Team USA on how to live at your best.

Watch This

A credit card scammer reveals his secrets