“Donald Trump’s election win is clouding the outlook for mortgage rates even before he gets back to the White House,” the Associated Press reports. “The president-elect campaigned on a promise to make homeownership more affordable by lowering mortgage rates through policies aimed at knocking out inflation. But his proposed economic agenda could potentially set the stage for mortgage rates to move higher.”
Brookings: For coming political battles, people need to be aware of how the current information ecosystem regularly is promoting falsehoods and skewing views about important issues. But we do not need to stand back and accept widespread misperceptions as the new reality. There are several things people and organizations can do to protect themselves for what will be a continuing wave of misinformation, disinformation, and false narratives.
There needs to be meaningful content moderation by social media platforms. Right now, many leading platforms are cesspools of rumors, false information, and outright lies. They are widely disseminated and seen by millions of people. If that continues, it will become increasingly difficult to discern fact from fiction—endangering our country’s ability to address major problems. Companies need to get far more serious about content moderation…
GlobalPets.com: The Pet Food Institute (PFI) warns that imposing these additional tariffs on consumer goods will increase the production costs of canned cat and dog food. “Those costs will be passed down to Americans who rely on affordable, quality canned pet food,” the PFI warns.
The US does not manufacture a sufficient supply of tinplate steel and relies on imports from other countries. The trade association representing American pet food and treat manufacturers told GlobalPETS that around 62% of tinplate steel was imported last year.
Consumer Brands Association (CBA) stated that if the tariffs go into effect, companies will be forced to raise food prices, which could decrease domestic output, placing up to 2,800 tinplate manufacturing jobs in danger.
It is estimated that the cost of canned food and products could increase between 19% and 30% if the new tariff receives the green light from US officials. Additionally, up to 40,000 manufacturing jobs could be cut.
Boing Boing: If anti-Trump Republicans like Mitt Romney and Mike Pence aren’t courageous enough to endorse Kamala Harris, how can we expect an anti-Trump voter married to a trigger-happy MAGA bully to speak up? Well, in the voting booth she doesn’t have to, says a new Lincoln Project ad called “Secret.”
Julia Roberts narrates the ad for the Lincoln Project:
Newsweek: More than 75,000 spectators gathered in Washington, D.C., to hear Vice President Kamala Harris’ closing argument speech at the same site of former President Donald Trump’s infamous “Save America” rally that preceded the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol…
Trump held his January 6, 2021, rally at the Ellipse on the same day a mob of his supporters rioted at the U.S. Capitol while Congress was certifying the 2020 election in which Trump lost to President Joe Biden. According to the House Select Committee tasked with investigating January 6, around 53,000 people attended Trump’s speech before the attack.
Meidas Touch Network: [The president’s grandson] Jason Carter told the Journal-Constitution in August that the former president is “more alert and interested in politics and the war in Gaza.” In June, Jason told reporters that Carter was no longer awake every day, and was “experiencing the world as best he can as he continues through this process.” The former president voted in the Georgia primary in May.
Carter has been in hospice care since February of 2023 after receiving treatment for metastatic brain cancer. Carter’s wife of 77 years, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter passed away in November.
On Oct. 9, 2024, Donald Trump announced that he had added a rally to his campaign schedule for Oct. 27. “We just rented Madison Square Garden,” Trump told the crowd at campaign rally stop in Scranton, Penn. “We’re gonna make a play for New York, it hasn’t been done in a long time. It hasn’t been done in many decades.”
It has been eight and a half decades in fact. From NPR:
On the evening of Feb. 20, 1939, the marquee of New York’s Madison Square Garden was lit up with the evening’s main event: a “Pro American Rally.” The organizers had chosen the date in celebration of George Washington’s birthday and had procured a 30-foot-tall banner of America’s first president for the stage. More than 20,000 men and women streamed inside and took their seats. The view they had was stunning: Washington was hung between American flags — and swastikas.
The rally was sponsored by the German American Bund, an organization with headquarters in Manhattan and thousands of members across the United States. In the 1930s, the Bund was one of several organizations in the United States that were openly supportive of Adolf Hitler and the rise of fascism in Europe. They had parades, bookstores and summer camps for youth. Their vision for America was a cocktail of white supremacy, fascist ideology and American patriotism.
Popular Information: On October 3, the Florida Department of Health sent a letter to Mark Higgins, the General Manager of WFLA, Tampa’s NBC affiliate. The letter, sent by Florida Department of Health General Counsel John Wilson, claimed that airing the ad violates Florida law. Wilson cites Florida’s law against “sanitary nuisance,” which prohibits “the commission of any act… by which… the health and lives of individuals… may be endangered.” Wilson argues that WFLA’s decision to air the ad could “threaten or impair the health and lives of women.” Wilson advised Higgins that, now that he has been notified that the ad is creating a “sanitary nuisance,” WFLA must stop airing it within 24 hours. Failure to do so, Wilson writes, would be a crime punishable by up to 60 days in prison under Florida law. The letter was first reported by investigative reporter Jason Garcia.
Trump chose hardliner Mike Huckabee to be
His man to dialogue with the Israelis.
Arkansas has 5,000 Jews,
But leave it to Trump to choose
A Huckabee to tough-talk those warlike Maccabees.
“I was shocked at the nomination. This is why the Senate’s advice and consent process is so important. I’m sure that there will be many, many questions raised at Mr. Gaetz’s hearing.”
— Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), quoted by Punchbowl News, on the nomination of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to be Attorney General.
“I’m struggling to find words. And look, he is uniquely qualified. How many other prospective attorneys general had previous experience as the subject of a criminal investigation?”
— An anonymous Justice Department official reacting to “President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of Matt Gaetz — a Florida congressman who was recently the target of an FBI investigation — to be the next attorney general of the United States,” reports NBC News.
“The election campaign is over. To achieve success in the election, Donald Trump relied on certain forces to which he has corresponding obligations. As a responsible person, he will be obliged to fulfill them.”
— Russian presidential aide Nikolay Patrushev, quoted by TASS.
“If these career DOJ employees won’t implement President Trump’s program in good faith, they should leave. Those employees who engage in so-called ‘resistance’ against the duly-elected President’s lawful agenda would be subverting American democracy. … Those that take such actions would be subject to disciplinary measures, including termination.”
— Mark Paoletta, a conservative lawyer working on Donald Trump’s transition, warned career Justice Department lawyers Monday to advance Trump’s agenda or face being fired, Politico reports.
“The election of Republican Kelly Ayotte as New Hampshire’s governor means 13 women will serve as a state’s chief executive next year, breaking the record of 12 set after the 2022 elections,” the AP reports. “Governors hold powerful sway in American politics, shaping state policy and often using the experience and profile gained to launch campaigns for higher offices.”
As of 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday, Nov. 4, a total of 78,041,301 early votes had been cast in the 2024 general election. In-person early votes totaled 42,664,880, with 35,376,421 mail ballots returned out of 67,464,164 mail ballots requested, according to the University of Florida Election Lab.
“As many as one in 20 Floridians, a million people, could be expelled from the country under a mass deportation plan that is a cornerstone of Donald Trump’s campaign, according to a report released by a Washington think tank and immigration advocacy group,” the Miami Herald reports.
The length of time Josseli Barnica suffered before dying during premature labor because doctors refused to treat her since it would have been a crime to give her an abortion.
The Washington Post has now had more than 250,000 cancellations — approximately 10% of all paid circulation — since the newspaper made its decision to not endorse in the presidential race, NPR reports. The Guardian: “The numbers are based on the number of cancellation emails that have been sent out, according to a source at the paper, though the subscriber dashboard is no longer viewable to employees.”