Charges filed against DePape:Â State and federal charges have been filed against David DePape, the right-wing extremist who now has confessed to fracturing Paul Pelosi’s skull with a hammer and planning to take House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hostage and break her kneecaps if she didn’t tell him what he wanted to hear. The charges include kidnapping and attempted murder. Some Republican candidates for office in next week’s election have made jokes about the attack, including Kari Lake who is running for governor of Arizona. Donald Trump Jr. posted online an image of a hammer being carried as a weapon as if to suggest that more use of hammers by supporters of his father would be welcome. Fox News personality Tucker Carlson posted a commentary questioning police reports about the attack and encouraging hate speech.
Bolsonaro silent on defeat:Â Brazil’s strongman President Bolsonaro as of this morning still had not accepted his defeat in that country’s presidential election. A Brazilian judge today ordered police to dismantle roadblocks around the country that had been put up by Bolsonaro’s supporters to stop traffic. Donald Trump’s aide Steve Bannon urged Bolsonaro to refuse to leave office and alleged the election that ousted Bolsonaro was not legitimate.
Judge blocks publishing deal: A federal judge has sided with the Justice Department and blocked the purchase of publishing company Simon & Schuster by rival publisher Penguin Random House. The deal was valued at $2.2 billion. The Justice Department feared the deal with hurt competition. Penguin Random House said it would appeal the judge’s decision.
Biden blasts oil companies:Â President Biden accuses the oil companies of war profiteering by keeping the prices of gasoline and other petroleum products artificially high while the war in Ukraine rages on. Three of the oil companies last week reported quarterly profits that total $40 billion. Biden called for a windfall profits tax on the oil companies if they don’t roll back prices.
No evidence of dirty bomb:Â Representatives of the United Nations International Atomic Energy agency have been looking for evidence in Ukraine that would back up Russia’s claim that Ukraine plans to set off a radioactive bomb and claim that Russia did it. So far they haven’t found any. Russia told the U.N. Security Council that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy ordered a bomb to spread radioactivity, also known as a dirty bomb, to be developed.
No Powerball jackpot winner:Â There was no winner in last night’s Powerball drawing. That means the grand prize next week will be $1.2 billion if taken as a 29-year annuity or $596 million in a lump sum. The odds of hitting the jackpot are about 292 million to one.
Photo by Mike Mozart / Flickr Creative Commons.
