Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some very dynamic stories to share with you today, and here’s what’s going on.
A discussion between two people who both want to be president is coming up in just about a month, police release new bodycam footage from when former President Donald Trump was shot, and the Minnesota Supreme Court rejects a challenge to a voting rights law. Also, Virginia’s governor is tightening security for the upcoming election, and the CDC issues a health alert over a deadly virus.
ABC News Confirms Trump and Harris Agree to Sept. 10 Debate
ABC News just announced that both presidential candidates have agreed to let the network host the debate on Sept. 10.Trump had recently said he would not debate on ABC due to a “conflict of interest” regarding a lawsuit he filed against ABC news host George Stephanopoulos. He suggested a day before the announcement that he may go ahead with the debate despite the lawsuit.
You should know that the former president says he’d like to have two additional debates with Harris, one on Fox News on Sept. 4, and another on NBC on Sept. 25, but it’s not clear if Harris will agree to another two debates.
By the way, Harris was officially nominated as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate earlier this week after securing enough delegate support ahead of the party’s convention in Chicago, which is set to take place between Aug. 19 and 22.
Police Release New Bodycam Footage From Trump Shooting, Showing Rooftop Incident
Newly released bodycam footage from a local Pennsylvania officer shows the moment he tried to get on the roof of a building where the shooter, Thomas Crooks, was perched. Another officer helped lift the responding officer up to the roof after rallygoers alerted police to Crooks’s presence.In the clip, you can only see the officer’s hands as he’s being hoisted onto the roof, before he drops down. You cannot see Crooks in this footage.
However, it appears to support what the police said last month, when they told local news media that the officer was not able to draw his firearm because he was holding onto the building.
Interesting to note, Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe told the New York Post that those officers who interrupted Crooks may have saved Trump’s life since Crooks would’ve had to readjust after being distracted by their presence. Slupe said those 10 seconds or so on the part of the shooter, combined with Trump turning his head just at the right moment, could have caused the bullet to graze the president’s ear rather than a direct deadly hit.
Earlier, separate bodycam footage was released showing an officer who responded to the shooting after Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper. In that clip, at least three other law enforcement officials can be seen, along with what appears to be the body of Crooks. Although the shooter’s body is partially blurred in the video, a long trail of blood on the roof can be seen.
By the way, it’s been more than three weeks since that assassination attempt, and federal officials have still not disclosed the shooter’s motive, and his family has not issued a public statement responding to the incident.
Minnesota Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Voting Rights for Felons on Probation
The Minnesota Supreme Court has unanimously upheld a 2023 state law returning voting rights to Minnesotans with felony convictions immediately following their release from prison.The legislation, called House File 28 or the “Restore the Vote” bill, was signed into law by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in March of last year.
In their ruling on Wednesday, the justices rejected a challenge from the nonpartisan organization Minnesota Voters Alliance, alongside four citizen plaintiffs. They agreed with a previous lower court decision that found the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to challenge the measure. The ruling also stated that the plaintiffs failed to prove that the Legislature overstepped its authority when it voted to extend voting rights to people who are released from jail, but still on probation for a felony.
Interesting to note that the Restore the Vote bill also requires the Department of Corrections or judiciary system officials to inform convicted felons in writing that they can vote once they’re released.
By the way, at the time Walz signed the bill into law, he said it would likely apply to more than 55,000 convicted felons in the state who have completed their prison terms. Prior to the law, convicted felons had to wait until the completion of their probation period in order to vote again.
You should know that Harris chose Walz as her running mate.
Virginia Governor Orders Measures to Tighten Election Security
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has just signed an executive order that implements tighter security measures ahead of the November election.Those measures include the use of paper ballots, tracking the possession of ballots during early voting, and matching the number of ballots cast with the number of voters who have checked in and the number of ballots sent to voters. It also requires that absentee ballots be requested before being mailed out, and not accepting them once they’re mailed back unless the voter provides the last four digits of their Social Security number and birth year.
You should know that Virginia uses paper ballot-counting machines that are not connected to the internet, and these machines are tested before elections.
Youngkin also directed the state to update its voter rolls, which includes adding or removing people based on whether they’re allowed to vote in the state, removing those unable to prove residency in the commonwealth, removing the names of dead voters from voter rolls, and ensuring that noncitizens are not able to cast a ballot.
So you know, Virginia’s attorney general says 6,300 noncitizens have been removed from the voter rolls under the Youngkin administration, and the executive order says almost 80,000 deceased voters have been removed.
Interesting to note, Virginia also has cameras monitoring drop box locations 24/7.
By the way, Youngkin says that the issue of election integrity is not partisan and that every legal vote deserves to be counted without being watered down by illegal votes or inaccurate machines.
CDC Issues Health Alert to Doctors Over Deadly Mpox Virus Strain
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health alert on Wednesday, notifying clinicians and health departments about a more deadly strain of mpox, also known as monkeypox.The current mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is in Africa, has sickened 27,000 people—killing more than 1,100, mostly children, since the beginning of 2023.
The CDC says its alert is about the spread of a subtype of the mpox virus called Clade I from the DRC to 10 neighboring African countries in recent months. Clade I generally leads to more severe infections than another subtype called Clade II. This all triggered an alarm from the World Health Organization earlier this week about whether it could expand outside the continent.
However, the risk of Clade I infection spreading in the United States is considered to be very low. In fact, the CDC says there have been no cases of mpox reported outside central and eastern Africa at this time.
Mpox symptoms include a rash that may be located on the hands, feet, chest, face, mouth, or near the genitals; fever; chills; swollen lymph nodes; fatigue; headache; and respiratory symptoms like sore throat, nasal congestion, and cough.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Friday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief. The weekend is only hours away.
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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.
It was Warren Buffett who said: “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
Warren Buffett is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist, and he currently serves as the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
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 Friday, and we’ll see you right back here tomorrow for the Saturday edition (the weekend 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.
