Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some pressing stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s going on.
Special Counsel Jack Smith makes a critical decision regarding the election case against President-elect Donald Trump, a top NATO official delivers an alarming message regarding China, and on the cusp of Thanksgiving, tens of thousands of turkeys have been culled after bird flu infections were detected.
Also, a federal agency warns there may be holiday travel slowdowns, and a retail giant says that one of its employees hid millions in expenses from company officials.
Special Counsel Drops Charges in Election Interference Case Against Trump
Special counsel Jack Smith has just dropped the charges in his election interference case against Trump, and also moved to discontinue his appeal of a judge’s decision in the classified documents case.Yesterday, the special counsel’s team filed its request in a federal court in Washington. In that document, the team notes that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has long argued “that the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated.”
The filing also says that the decision is “not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant.”
Smith’s office said that prosecutors have conferred with Trump’s attorneys, and that they’ve indicated that they do not oppose the government’s motion. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, will still have to approve the request from prosecutors.
At the same time, Smith also wrote that he is dropping his appeal of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s decision earlier this year to dismiss a case that accused the president-elect of illegally retaining classified records and allegedly obstructing an investigation.
However, Smith’s filing in that case said his appeal concerning two other defendants in the case, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, will continue, because “unlike defendant Trump, no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.”
So you know, yesterday’s filing marks an end to Smith’s criminal pursuit of Trump, whom he accused of attempting to illegally overturn the 2020 election—an allegation Trump continues to deny.
Top NATO Official Issues Warning Regarding China
NATO Military Committee Chief Lt. Adm. Rob Bauer says Western companies doing business in or with China must be prepared for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to take advantage of that relationship in the event of a conflict, given what Europe has seen from Russia.He made the remarks at an event in Brussels, Belgium, and he called it “naive” to think that “the communist party will never use that power” if a war ever breaks out.
Bauer also said that business leaders in both Europe and America “need to realize that the commercial decisions they make have strategic consequences for the security of their nation,” and that businesses “need to be prepared for a wartime scenario.”
He suggested that these companies should “adjust their production and distribution lines accordingly,” because “while it may be the military who wins battles, it’s the economies that win wars.”
Bauer warned that CCP leader Xi Jinping could unilaterally impose restrictions on industries in China that could affect the global supply chain, and as an example, he pointed to Russia banning natural gas exports to Europe following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The NATO chief noted that the world depends on China for rare earth minerals, as well as a number of critical pharmaceutical ingredients, including components used to make sedatives, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory medicines.
He went on to stress the importance of taking national security into consideration as an aspect of all business deals with both the Chinese and Russian regimes.
100,000 Turkeys Culled After Detection of Bird Flu
The state of Utah has just gathered up and eliminated over 100,000 turkeys after confirming the presence of the highly contagious bird flu.The state’s Department of Agriculture and Food says that the action was taken in order to prevent the infection, which is technically called the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), from spreading even further.
The agency said that the “overall risk to public health remains low.” However, it noted that HPAI is a serious disease that requires a rapid response, including the eradication of affected flocks.
The agency said the infection was discovered recently on three turkey farms in Piute County, as well as in one backyard flock of over 250 birds in Salt Lake County, and that the affected birds at each site were destroyed within 24 hours of diagnosis.
It also said that “overall impacts to the food supply are anticipated to be limited at this time.”
In case you’re not aware, the current bird flu outbreak in the United States began nearly three years ago, and in just the past month, infections have been confirmed in more than 6 million birds nationwide—most of them in California.
So you know, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that so far this year, there have been 55 confirmed cases of the avian flu among U.S. citizens.
The CDC also says that the immediate danger posed to the general public by avian flu is low, that there has not yet been a person-to-person spread of the infection, but that people who are exposed to infected animals, including cattle, are at a higher risk of infection.
FAA Warns of Air Travel Slowdowns
A number of forecasts suggest that wintry weather could complicate travel leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, and one federal agency has just issued a significant message regarding a shortage of air traffic controllers.The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a number of winter storm warnings and advisories across the United States, stretching from California to parts of Colorado and Utah, with additional warnings in upstate New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
Forecasters predict that the East Coast will be most impacted on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday. They say that people traveling in that region should “prepare for wet weather,” and that for now, they should expect rain, not snow.
However, private weather forecaster AccuWeather is warning that on Thanksgiving Day, a storm that could produce significant snowfall may impact the eastern portion of the United States, including areas in both the Northeast and the Ohio Valley.
Meanwhile, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says that the agency may need to reduce the number of flights during the Thanksgiving travel week due to air traffic controller shortages, especially in the northeastern United States.
The official said that the FAA will use “traffic flow management initiatives” to deal with any staffing shortages, that the agency expects to have those shortages, and that they expect today to be the busiest day for travel.
There’s also some good news to report. One National Weather Service meteorologist says he does not see any major storm systems arriving for next weekend anywhere in the country—meaning travelers can expect favorable conditions when they’re driving or flying home.
Macy’s Says Employee Hid Millions in Expenses
Yesterday, Macy’s Inc. announced that it is delaying the release of its third-quarter earnings, following the discovery that one of its employees intentionally hid somewhere between $132 million and $154 million in delivery expenses.An independent investigation revealed that over the past few years, the employee made incorrect accounting entries to hide the expenses. They continued through the most recent fiscal quarter before they were uncovered during the preparation of the company’s most recent unaudited financial statements.
Macy’s says that the employee responsible for the misconduct is no longer with the company, but did not say whether or not the person’s conduct had been referred to law enforcement authorities.
The company says that the hidden expenses represent a small portion of the more than $4 billion in delivery expenses that it recognized during the same period. It also said there’s no indication the incorrect entries had any impact on either the organization’s cash management or its payment of vendors.
By the way, Macy’s also reported weaker-than-expected preliminary sales for the fiscal third quarter. However, the company said it’s delaying the official release of its quarterly earnings until an investigation into the matter has been completed.
In the meantime, the company’s Chairman and CEO said that Macy’s is working diligently to complete the investigation, making sure that the matter is handled appropriately, and focusing on serving its customers and executing its strategy for a successful holiday season.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re gonna call it a wrap for the Tuesday edition of the Epoch Times News Brief.
So you know, you’re always encouraged to share your thoughts, comments, or suggestions with the News Brief crew. And please reach out to us via email—we’re at [email protected]. You can also leave comments for us on The Epoch Times app which you can download for free on either the App Store or Google Play.
Don’t forget the News Brief Motto: We’re portable, affordable, and always on-demand. Anywhere you go, we’re happy to tag along.
And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap everything up with a very notable quote and this one comes to us from actress Marilu Henner who said:
“It is now common knowledge that the average American gains 7 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. By my calculations, that makes me above average because I usually gain closer to 9 pounds.”
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
The Epoch Times News Brief program is written each day by David Ross.
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For now, let’s all continue to watch out for one another and have an absolutely superb day today. Bye for now.
