Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we’ve got some really interesting stories to share with you today, and here’s what’s going on.
An incumbent representative in Missouri loses her seat, a U.S. Supreme Court justice defends a key ruling affecting presidents, and some key House races have just been decided in Michigan. Also, a U.S. senator wants the U.S. attorney general to investigate schools linked to communist China, and another restaurant chain is filing for bankruptcy.
Rep. Cori Bush Loses Primary
Tuesday night, voters in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District chose Wesley Bell in the state’s Democrat primary election. Preliminary numbers show 51.2 percent of the district’s Democrat voters picked Bell, while 45.6 voted for the incumbent, Rep. Cori Bush.Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), another Squad member, was defeated in his primary election by a 17-point margin one month ago.
The results were consistent with pre-election polling, which showed Bell taking a slight advantage over Bush. Bell, the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County, campaigned on the premise that Bush was too wrapped up in national political issues in Washington while he would be more focused on his constituents and their local interests. In the final days of the race, Bell also received an important endorsement from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper.
Bush, who was elected to Congress in 2020, is a member of the “Squad,” a group of nine left-wing Democrats in the House. So you know, Bush has repeatedly called for a cease-fire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and has called for the United States to end its aid to Israel. She also said the Jewish state is committing a “war crime” and an “ethnic cleansing campaign” against Palestinians.
As a result, Bush was targeted by a super political action committee associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) with millions of dollars in negative spending. AIPAC’s endorsement message of Bell during the campaign called Bush “a leading anti-Israel voice in Congress.”
Interesting to note, in a post on X following Tuesday’s election, AIPAC pointed out that its “4.5 million grassroots members were proud to help progressive pro-Israel leader Wesley Bell defeat anti-Israel Squad member Rep. Cori Bush.”
Justice Gorsuch Defends Supreme Court’s Presidential Immunity Decision
Earlier last month, the high court issued a 6–3 decision, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, that presidents cannot be prosecuted for actions that are within their constitutional powers. The justices tossed a lower court’s ruling that rejected former President Donald Trump’s claims of immunity from federal charges relating to his activity after the 2020 election.During an interview with Fox News this week, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch was asked about that decision. He explained that it was an extension of the Supreme Court precedent in Nixon v. Fitzgerald, which granted President Richard Nixon immunity from civil lawsuits that stemmed from his official actions.
He cited the court’s ruling back in 1981, which found that presidents are “entitled to absolute immunity from damages liability predicated on his official acts,” saying that the high court was concerned that civil lawsuits could prevent the executive branch from “exercising the powers” of their office.
Meanwhile, in a separate interview with The Associated Press, Gorsuch reiterated the view that the high court’s ruling was necessary to prevent presidents from being hampered while in office by threats of prosecution once they leave.
Gorsuch concluded that all the court did in Trump’s case was to simply apply that same precedent and idea to the criminal context.
You should know that the Trump-related election case is now back in the hands of U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who scheduled a hearing for next week on how to move forward with the case. The judge also denied a motion from Trump’s attorneys to dismiss the case.
Key House Races Decided in Michigan
Winners have been declared in various primaries across Michigan, with some notable results from the U.S. House districts that are expected to be competitive come November.Michigan’s Seventh Congressional District, currently represented by Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, falls into that category. The closely divided district includes the state’s capital, Lansing.
Slotkin is running for the Senate seat occupied by outgoing Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow. The House race features two unopposed candidates, Republican Tom Barrett and Democrat Curtis Hertel.
In Michigan’s Third District, freshman Democrat Rep. Hillary Scholten fended off a primary challenge from entrepreneur Salim Al-Shatel. He’s one of several Arab American candidates in Michigan who ran against incumbent Democrats perceived as pro-Israel.
Meanwhile, on the GOP side, another entrepreneur, Michael Markey, lost to Paul Hudson, a lawyer who says he has “common sense conservative messaging.”
The Eighth District saw more candidates on both the Democrat and Republican sides. On the Democratic side, state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet won a race that pitted her against Matt Collier, a former mayor of Flint, as well as Pamela Pugh, president of the Michigan Board of Education. In the Republican primary, Paul Junge, a Trump administration alumnus who lost the 2022 general election to Dan Kildee, who is retiring, will go on to face his Democratic opponent in November.
By the way, Tuesday’s primaries coincided with Vice President Kamala Harris’s announcement that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz would be her running mate.
You should know that while some Michiganders in the Democrat Party praised Walz as a positive addition to the Democratic ticket, others said he was too liberal for Michigan.
Sen. Cotton Calls on AG Garland to Investigate Schools Allegedly Linked to China
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate colleges and universities that may have ties with China’s communist regime.Cotton, along with seven other GOP senators, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, explaining that failure by the schools to disclose their financial ties with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could threaten our national security. They also wrote that policymakers need to know the extent of the problem so they can work on solutions to protect both students and national security.
Cotton cited two examples in the letter, where the University of Maryland and Stanford University agreed to pay fines in order to resolve allegations of failing to disclose foreign funding.
He went on to say these hidden financial relationships between U.S. academia and the CCP are causing glaring national security risks and can leave the United States vulnerable to intellectual property theft, improper influence, and even espionage.
You should know that last year, Mike Gallagher, then-chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, warned about China’s threat to U.S. education in a speech to 70 university presidents at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Universities.
He said that the Party’s goal is not for mutual benefit; instead, it aims to leverage its “technological advances, spread its coercive influence, and enmesh dependencies to strengthen its international position while eroding ours.”
Further, a 2023 study by the Washington-based think tank Hudson Institute examined the CCP’s “cognitive warfare” campaign, which it said aims to promote CCP propaganda, shape American views about the United States, and steal scientific, technological, and military research.
Italian Restaurant Chain Buca di Beppo Files for Bankruptcy
Earlier this week, Buca di Beppo announced its decision to voluntarily file for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Texas. The company says the move is aimed at optimizing operations and positioning the brand for future success.The chain, which was founded in Minneapolis in 1993 and is now headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is known for its quirky decor, large portions, and an upbeat atmosphere.
As part of its restructuring efforts, Buca di Beppo is focusing on 44 core locations and is even in the process of opening one new location.
Officials want everyone to know that all Buca di Beppo restaurants will continue to operate as usual, and that gift cards, reservations, and promotional services will remain active and redeemable during this period.
You should know that the company is not alone. Other restaurant chains that cited higher operating costs as reasons for filing for bankruptcy include Red Lobster and Rubio’s Coastal Grill. Other chains, like In-N-Out, have raised their prices to keep up with the higher operating costs.
Buca di Beppo officials have expressed gratitude for the continued support from customers, employees, and vendors, and say the company aims to come out of the bankruptcy process more resilient and well-positioned for future growth.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Thursday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
Thanks for sharing some time with us today and please tell your friends, family, and co-workers to join the News Brief family as well.
My pal John was kind enough to send over an email, and he says he digs the format and the content. Pamela, an old college friend, sent us a note from Southern California.
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And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap everything up with a very notable quote. This one comes to us from a guy called Ross Perot, who said: “Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game, one foot from a winning touchdown.”
Never give up. Ross Perot was an American businessman, philanthropist, and politician, and he ran for president in both 1992 and 1996.
Before we go, you should know that today is National Tarantula Appreciation Day. These beautiful, elegant, and hairy spider creatures are often misunderstood. While they can look rather intimidating, they’re actually quite gentle. Today is also National Frozen Custard Day, and some people call that the perfect dessert. Tarantulas and frozen custard—it’s going to be a peculiar day.
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
Thank you for making us your one-stop source for a concise, accurate, and unbiased daily synopsis of many of the news stories you need to know about.
Enjoy the remainder of your Thursday, and we’ll see you right back here tomorrow for another edition of The Epoch Times News Brief. Let’s all continue to watch out for one another, have a superb day today, and bye for now.
