Military vs. Tuberville: The secretaries of the Navy, Army and Air Force have written an Op Ed that appears in The Washington Post today calling on Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville to stop blocking more than 300 nominations of key military officers. They say that Tuberville’s actions jeopardize the military readiness of the U.S. Tuberville has been blocking the Senate from confirming the military officers to their new positions as his way of opposing military policies. Key among them is the policy ensuring that female military personnel have access to all of their the health care needs even when they’ve been assigned to a state where Republicans have made abortion illegal.
Burning Man festival: Many of the 70,000 people who were trapped at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert when torrential rain turned the area into a field of mud continue to slowly leave the area. The foot-deep mud made even walking difficult. It was expected to take several days for everyone to leave. The death of one man at the festival is being investigated by Nevada’s Pershing County Sheriff.
Paxton impeachment trial: Today is the first day for the Texas Senate’s impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives voted 121 to 23 to impeach Republican Paxton. Paxton has faced a series of scandals since first being elected attorney general in 2014. The scandals have ranged from bribery to securities fraud.
Navarro contempt trial: Donald Trump’s aide and confidant Peter Navarro is on trial in Washington for contempt of Congress. He was indicted by a grand jury for refusing to produce documents demanded by Congress and then refusing to testify. Navarro has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, Navarro could be sentenced to up to two years in federal prison and a $200,000 fine.
China’s chip manufacturing: Reuters reports that China is planning to create a new investment fund that will attempt to raise $40 billion to be used to buy equipment for China’s chip manufacturing industry. China already has two funds that raise money to support its chip industry. Reuters said that the new investment fund is in response to limits imposed by the U.S., Japan and The Netherlands on China’s access to equipment for chip production.
Strike cost: Warner Bros. Discovery said today it expects the Hollywood writers and actors strikes will cost it from $300 million to $500 million. Warner said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission it expects the strikes to last at least until the end of the year. Warner also said that even with the impact of the strikes it expects earnings for 2023 will be between $10.5 billion and $11 billion.
Cover photo of Sen. Tuberville courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
