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Suspect leads chase to Air Force base after allegedly shooting Oklahoma deputies, killing one

(KFOR) – An Oklahoma County Sheriff’s deputy is dead and another is fighting for his life after both were shot by a suspect Monday afternoon while serving an eviction notice. The suspect, who was not named, has been taken into custody after leading authorities on a pursuit that ultimately ended near an Air Force base.

During a press conference shortly after 2:30 p.m. CT Monday, Sheriff Tommie Johnson said two deputies had been serving an eviction notice at an Oklahoma City home as part of a routine procedure by the sheriff’s office.

According to court documents obtained by Nexstar’s KFOR, the homeowner had tried to evict a family member who owed at least $1,500 in back rent. A judge granted that request within the past week.

While serving the eviction notice, deputies made contact with a person at the front door, according to Johnson. He said the deputies then went to the back door but did not explain why.

“They went around to the backdoor, and that’s when the shooting began,” Johnson said. “[The suspect] shot the first deputy. The second deputy tried to get that deputy out of the way of gunfire, and then he was struck as well.”

At least one of the two deputies was able to return fire at the suspect, Capt. Valerie Littlejohn, of the Oklahoma City Police Department, said during a separate news conference shortly after 3:30 p.m. CT at Tinker Air Force Base.

Following the shooting, authorities say the suspect fled in a pickup truck with a boat attached. Law enforcement personnel quickly located the suspect’s vehicle, not far from the scene of the shooting, and pursued him, according to Littlejohn.

Police radio traffic said officials spotted the suspect’s vehicle along I-35, and that the suspect had begun shooting out of a window at police.

“During the pursuit, the suspect was firing rounds at the officers, and we had officers returning fire at the suspect,” Littlejohn said.

Helicopter footage showed the suspect’s vehicle enter I-40, heading eastbound with about 20 law enforcement officers in pursuit. The suspect could be seen speeding and hitting multiple construction cones as he entered the construction area of I-40 near Del City.

The chase approached the area of nearby Tinker Air Force Base and authorities were able to catch up to the suspect.

The pursuit came to an end at Tinker’s entrance.

Multiple agencies then assisted in taking the suspect into custody without further incident.

Littlejohn said it is currently unknown why the suspect surrendered at Tinker.

“At this time, we don’t know why he came here – if he purposefully came here or if he took a wrong turn,” she said.

Neither the suspect nor pursuing law enforcement personnel were struck by gunfire during the pursuit on the highway, according to Littlejohn.

“It’s fortunate that none of the other officers were struck by gunfire,” she said.

A type of rifle was found in the suspect’s possession, according to Littlejohn.

Oklahoma City police will handle the investigation into the shooting.

Both deputies, who were rushed to the hospital, were alive as Sheriff Johnson held his press conference after the suspect was taken into custody. He broke down in tears as he spoke about them.

“It’s a sad day for the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office,” Johnson said. He noted that agencies from around the state were sharing their support for his office. “Law enforcement is a tight community, and I’m so thankful … they were screaming across the state for my guys.”

Aaron Brilbeck, the Public Information Officer for the Sheriff’s Office, was also in tears as he discussed the shooting. He described both deputies as seasoned members of the Sheriff’s Office.

In a 4:30 p.m. CT post to social media, the Oklahoma City Sheriff’s Office confirmed one of the deputies, Sgt. Bobby Swartz, had succumbed to his injuries.

The second deputy, who has not yet been identified, is listed as being in stable condition at OU Health in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt called it a “heartbreaking day,” adding that “today and every day, Oklahoma stands with our law enforcement community.”

A procession of law enforcement members escorted Swartz’s body as it was being transported from OU Health to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

When asked what the community can do for the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, Brilbeck simply said “pray.”

Source: TEST FEED1

The Hill's Morning Report — Trump aims at foes as pressures mount

It was a banner day for a number of former President Trump’s nemeses as he kept up his battle with the Justice Department over the documents seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate and Anthony Fauci announced that he will retire from his governmental post by the end of the year. 

Trump on Monday turned to one of his favorite ways to go after a foe: a lawsuit. The former president filed suit in an attempt to block the FBI from examining the batch of classified documents that were seized in the search two weeks ago. In addition, he is asking the court to appoint a “special master” to look at the evidence investigators seized.

In a move similar to his fights with the Jan. 6 committee, Trump is arguing that classified documents covered by executive privilege should not be among those that were taken. 

“It is unreasonable to allow the prosecutorial team to review them without meaningful safeguards,” Trump’s attorneys wrote. “Short of returning the seized items to the movant, only a neutral review by a special master can protect the ‘great public interest’ in preserving ‘the confidentiality of conversations that take place in the president’s performance of his official duties’” (The Hill).

• The New York Times: Trump had more than 300 classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
• READ: Trump lawsuit responding to FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid.

The move marks Trump’s first major legal maneuver since his residence in West Palm Beach, Fla., was searched on Aug. 8. It also comes as a federal magistrate judge weighs whether to release the affidavit that gave the Justice Department the green light to search Mar-a-Lago. 

Judge Bruce Reinhart, who previously indicated that he wanted to release the document in some form, on Monday said that redactions made to the affidavit could render its public unveiling “meaningless.” 

“I cannot say at this point that partial redactions will be so extensive that they will result in a meaningless disclosure, but I may ultimately reach that conclusion after hearing further from the government,” Reinhart wrote in an order.

The Justice Department has until Thursday to propose redactions. Prosecutors late last week strenuously defended keeping the affidavit sealed for the sake of protecting their ongoing investigation and sources (The Hill). 

▪ Politico: Capitol Hill leaders want to see Trump Mar-a-Lago search documents.

▪ CNN: Justice Department issues new subpoena to the National Archives for more Jan. 6 documents.

▪ The Washington Post: Files copied from voting systems since 2020 were shared with Trump supporters, election deniers.

▪ Politico: Judge says FBI’s evidence for searching Mar-a-Lago is “reliable.”

▪ NBC News: Poll: 57 percent of voters say investigations into Trump should continue.

Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who has advised seven presidents, announced on Monday that he will retire by the end of December (The Hill). He will be 82 on Christmas eve and spoke to The New York Times about the “next chapter” in a career rooted in his work at the National Institutes of Health beginning in 1968, indicating that he will leave government but continue to work. 

“So long as I’m healthy, which I am, and I’m energetic, which I am, and I’m passionate, which I am, I want to do some things outside of the realm of the federal government,” he said in an interview with the Times, adding that he wanted to use his experience and insight into public health and public service to “hopefully inspire the younger generation.”

President Biden hailed Fauci as a “dedicated public servant, and a steady hand with wisdom and insight” in a statement released Monday. 

“Because of Dr. Fauci’s many contributions to public health, lives here in the United States and around the world have been saved,” the president said.

However, a number of Republicans greeted the news by indicating plans to haul the infectious disease expert before Capitol Hill panels next spring if the GOP retakes the lower chamber in November (The Hill). 

The New York Times: Sizing up four decades of Fauci.

Finally, the trifecta of Trump villains was completed on Monday as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that the Republican Party has a “50-50” chance of winning back the Senate this fall. 

“Flipping the Senate, what are the chances? It’s a 50-50 proposition,” McConnell said during a luncheon in Georgetown, Ky. “We’ve got a 50-50 Senate right now. We’ve got a 50-50 nation. And I think the outcome is likely to be very, very close, either way. But the stakes will be big, because if both the House and the Senate flip, I think the president will be a moderate. He won’t have any choice” (CBS News).

As The Hill’s Mychael Schnell notes, the remarks came after the ex-president reprised his attacks against the Kentucky Republican over the weekend. Specifically, Trump took aim at McConnell’s criticisms of the batch of GOP candidates. Last week, the Senate GOP leader said at a separate luncheon in his home state that the House is more likely to flip than the Senate and cited “candidate quality” as a reason.

Related Articles

▪ Axios: McConnell says there is “very little election fraud.”

▪ Jim Geraghty, National Review: Who’s not helping the 2022 GOP Senate candidates?

LEADING THE DAY

➤ POLITICS

While Democrats in the nation’s capital, Georgia and New York City keep klieg lights trained on separate investigations into Trump’s actions as a New York businessman and as a former president, ambitious Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is currying favor within the GOP, hoping to be seen as a top presidential standard-bearer in 2024, especially if Trump falters or does not run again. DeSantis has to get reelected first, and Democrats are asking whether he’s beatable, reports The Hill’s Max Greenwood.  

Progressives yearn to oust the governor at the ballot box in November, but recent polls have been mixed about the strength of potential Democratic challengers going into today’s Florida primary (The New York Times). 

According to the most recent poll this month, state Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried is leading Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.). Crist, once the state’s former GOP governor who over the years unsuccessfully ran for the Senate, switched parties and became an independent, then a Democrat — won a House seat in 2016 (Newsweek).

DeSantis, a former House member, last week stumped for GOP Senate candidates in Pennsylvania and Ohio who have been endorsed by Trump, offering a window into what the governor’s potential presidential narrative might sound like. He never mentioned the 45th president. DeSantis straddles both sides of the Trump divide, preferring to engage in culture wars in Florida rather than Trump’s falsehoods about the 2020 election (NBC News). And he’s a monster fundraiser, pulling in more money, including from prominent billionaires, than any candidate for governor in recent decades (Tallahassee Democrat).

“We can’t just stand idly by while woke ideology ravages every institution in our society,” the Florida governor told GOP voters in Pittsburgh. “We must fight the woke in our schools. We must fight the woke in our businesses. We must fight the woke in government agencies. We can never, ever surrender to woke ideology.”

▪ The Hill: Nine races to watch in New York, Florida and Oklahoma.

▪ NBC News: Three contentious New York Democratic primaries today will end a chaotic season that has featured clashes over ideology, generational change and the quality of the party’s leadership, with the careers of prominent politicians hanging in the balance.

Today’s special election in New York’s 19th Congressional District may turn out to be the last key bellwether for swing districts ahead of November’s midterms as Democrats seek to elevate abortion rights as an election issue, reports The Hill’s Julia Manchester.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has until 9 a.m. on Wednesday to file a motion with specifics as he seeks help from a federal court to avoid testifying to a Georgia grand jury as part of a criminal investigation into alleged election interference by Trump and his allies in the 2020 election, according to a Monday order from a federal judge. The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office would then have until 9 a.m. on Aug. 29 to respond, with Graham’s reply due at 9 a.m. on Aug. 31, the judge ordered. Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis (D) has expressed interest in questioning the senator, a Trump supporter, about conversations he had following the 2020 ballot tallies with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger (R) (The Washington Post). 

The president and first lady Jill Biden will end their summer vacation Wednesday and headline a grassroots Democratic National Committee event on Thursday at a high school outside Washington in Maryland. They want to rally Democrats and kick-start a planned itinerary into the fall of official and political events ahead of the November contests (Bethesda magazine).

On Aug. 30 in Martha’s Vineyard, former President Obama will be the VIP guest at a fundraiser to benefit the National Democratic Redistricting Committee led by his friend, former Attorney General Eric Holder, the organization’s leader, Politico Playbook reported.

A South Dakota ethics board on Monday said it found sufficient information that Gov. Kristi Noem (R) may have “engaged in misconduct” when she intervened in her daughter’s application for a real estate appraiser license, and it referred a separate complaint over her state airplane use to the state’s attorney general for investigation. 

The three retired judges on the Government Accountability Board determined that unspecified “appropriate action” could be taken against Noem, who seeks reelection this year and is weighing a possible White House bid in 2024. The board’s determinations could escalate ramifications for her after Jason Ravnsborg, the state’s former Republican attorney general, filed complaints that stemmed from media reports about Noem’s actions in office. She has denied any wrongdoing (The Associated Press).

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

➤ ADMINISTRATION

📚 On the pending question of extending an Aug. 31 deadline for the moratorium on student loan debt repayments (a policy decision Biden has not announced), former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, an emeritus president of Harvard, offered some Monday morning advice: Don’t do it (The Hill). 

“I hope the administration does not contribute to inflation macro-economically by offering unreasonably generous student loan relief or micro-economically by encouraging college tuition increases,” he said in a series of tweets. 

“The worst idea would be a continuation of the current moratorium that benefits among others highly paid surgeons, lawyers and investment bankers,” Summers wrote. “If relief is to be given it should not set any precedent, it should only be given for the first few thousand dollars of debt, and for those with genuinely middle class income.”

⚖️  Advocacy groups will urge the Senate beginning in September to confirm judicial appointments at a rapid clip before the end of the year (Politico). Thanks in part to a 2019 rules change, Biden has seen more judges confirmed (76) than his three immediate predecessors at this point in their terms. In the wings: more than 100 other current and future vacancies Democrats would like to fill in 2022. 

🏭 The Environmental Protection Agency gained a powerful change from Congress in the Inflation Adjustment Act this summer: A change in the Clean Air Act that specifically defines carbon dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuels as an “air pollutant.” The statutory language adjustment allows the agency to regulate climate change policies and thwarts the Supreme Court’s ruling in its last term in order to explicitly give EPA regulatory authority over greenhouse gas emissions and to use its power to push the adoption of wind, solar and other renewable energy sources (The New York Times).

OPINION

■ Singapore moves on from gay sex ban, just not very far, by Daniel Moss, columnist, Bloomberg Opinion. https://bloom.bg/3pAgzos 

■ Sincerity in policy debates? Of course. Seriousness? That’s another matter,by former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R), contributing columnist, The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/3AFu38H

WHERE AND WHEN

The House will meet at 10 a.m. for a pro forma session. It will reconvene on Sept. 13.

The Senate convenes at 10:30 a.m. for a pro forma session during its summer recess, which ends Sept. 6.

The president is in Rehoboth Beach, Del., until Wednesday and has no public events.

Vice President Harris has no public events scheduled. 

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is in Sacramento, Calif., where he will hold two events with Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.). The first is about reproductive health and includes Planned Parenthood, and the second is focused on how the Inflation Reduction Act will impact the state, held at UC Davis Health Patient Contact Center at 11 a.m. PST.    

🖥  Hill.TV’s “Rising” program features news and interviews at http://thehill.com/hilltv, on YouTube and on Facebook at 10:30 a.m. ET. Also, check out the “Rising” podcast here.

ELSEWHERE

➤ INTERNATIONAL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday said it will be “impossible” to negotiate an end to fighting with Moscow if individuals who helped defend Mariupol are put on trial for perceived crimes. Ukraine’s military intelligence arm warned days earlier that Russia has been remodeling the Mariupol Chamber Philharmonic and installing iron cages to hold a trial on Wednesday — the six-month anniversary of the start of the war and Ukraine’s independence day. 

“If this despicable show trial takes place, if our people are brought into this scenery in violation of all agreements, all international rules, if there is abuse … this will be the line beyond which any negotiations are impossible,” Zelensky said (The Hill).

As The Hill’s Laura Kelly reports from the region, refugees from the fallen Ukrainian city who have landed in Odesa have a common thread with the staff at the “Me Mariupol” refugee center — being forced to leave the port city in southeast Ukraine. 

Zelensky today convenes the second Crimea Platform summit in Kyiv. The aim is marshaling international responses to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 in order to return the peninsula to Ukraine’s governance. Among those participating: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (remotely) and Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić. Ukraine’s Independence Day is marked on Wednesday.

Russian leaders blamed Ukrainian intelligence for a Saturday car bombing near Moscow that killed Darya Dugina, the daughter of Alexander Dugin, a leading right-wing Russian political thinker. Her father was believed to be the target of the attack. 

Ukraine has denied involvement. Russia’s Federal Security Service — the modern day KGB — said a Ukrainian citizen carried out the attack before fleeing to Estonia (The Associated Press).

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Crimea, once a bastion of Russian power, now reveals its weakness.

▪ The Hill: U.S., South Korea launch largest military drills in years amid tensions with North Korea.

➤ PANDEMIC, POX & HEALTH

Pfizer on Monday asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve its COVID-19 booster shots tailored to the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of omicron for people 12 and older. Public health officials expect another wave of infection this fall as immunity from the currently authorized shots wanes and people head indoors to escape the colder weather (CNBC).

The FDA last week approved the drug Auvelity from Axsome Therapeutics, the first fast-acting oral drug for clinical depression. Patients reported progress beginning at week one during clinical trials and sustained benefits throughout the study window (The Hill). The company said more than 20 million U.S. adults prior to the pandemic experienced major depressive disorder a. With COVID-19’s arrival, approximately 30 percent of U.S. adults or more than 80 million people have said they have experienced elevated symptoms of depression. 

Monkeypox infections have been confirmed in all 50 states (The Hill).

Many psychologists and mental health experts say that diagnoses of mental health disorders are not a good predictor of potential mass killers, which is why some experts concentrate more on warning signs, including marked changes in behavior, demeanor or appearance; uncharacteristic fights or arguments; and telling others of plans for violence, a phenomenon known as “leakage.” This focus, reports The New York Times, is imperfect but has benefits: It can work toward intervention even when the mental health system does not, and it sidesteps the complaint that blaming mass shootings on mental illness increases negative attitudes and stigma toward those who suffer from it.

The Hill: Marijuana and hallucinogenic use reached all-time high among young adults in 2021.

Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported as of this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (trackers all vary slightly): 1,040,898. Current average U.S. COVID-19 daily deaths are 390, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

➤ TECH

Elon Musk’s legal team issued a subpoena for former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to submit evidence as part of the push by the Tesla CEO to end his previously attempted $44 billion takeover of the social media giant. Dorsey stepped down from his position in November and has pushed Musk toward acquiring the company. According to the filing, Musk is asking for all documents and communications related to the deal, along with those “reflecting, referring to, or relating to the impact or effect of false or spam accounts on Twitter’s business and operations.” That issue is holding up a deal from taking place. The trial between Twitter and Musk is set for October (CNN). 

THE CLOSER

And finally … Jupiter as it hasn’t been seen before. 

New photos taken by the James Webb Space Telescope and released by NASA on Monday show unprecedented shots of Jupiter, the largest of the eight planets in the solar system, that include its auroras and all of the grand bells and whistles that are pleasing to the eye. 

Among the features: the massive planet’s Great Red Spot, which is large enough to gobble up Earth, and multiple tiny moons. 

“We’ve never seen Jupiter like this. It’s all quite incredible,” said Imke de Pater, a planetary astronomer at the University of California, Berkeley, who helped lead the observations. “We hadn’t really expected it to be this good, to be honest” (The Associated Press).

Stay Engaged

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Source: TEST FEED1

Mariupol refugees of Russia's war tend to their own in Odesa

ODESA, Ukraine — The staff at the “Me Mariupol” refugee center knows what it’s like for survivors from one of the cities most devastated by Russia’s assault on Ukraine — all of them are from there, too.

“The main thing is not only to provide practical assistance and aid, like groceries, but to help Mariupol feel comfortable in Odesa, connect with them as former neighbors and show them around and make them feel like home,” said Serhii Marchuk, the head of the center and himself an internally displaced person (IDP) from Mariupol.

Marchuk, 40, evacuated from Mariupol in April, driving through Russia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland and then back to Ukraine, traveling with his wife and two children, aged 8 and 3.    

It took nine days and 5,000 kilometers, he told The Hill through a translator this week.  

The children are fearful of thunderstorms, he said — it reminds them of the bombing.  

In his previous life he worked in Mariupol under the mayor, ​​Vadym Boychenko, and his current position as head of the center in Odesa is an extension of that work. 

Scattered across their own country

The center, one of 11 across Ukraine catering to and staffed almost exclusively by IDPs from Mariupol, opened around a month ago.

Marchuk said he chose to settle in Odesa because its position along the Black Sea reminded him of his home city, which is on the coast of the Sea of Azov.  

The Odesa center, an initiative of Boychenko’s, according to Marchuk, is housed in what once was a school.

NGOs and aid agencies who help support it are listed on a posterboard on the entrance – including the Ukrainian government, Save the Children, World Central Kitchen, the Danish Refugee Council and local Odesa businesses.  

The building is clean and bright, sparsely decorated with a display spelling out the center’s intake process, including registration, medical exams and psychological evaluations, short-term child care and assistance to find housing, employment and groceries and other household items.  

Marchuk said they have managed to register about 1,700 refugees from Mariupol, including 300 children under the age of 18. He estimates there are about 6,000 more refugees in the city of Odesa and another 3,500 in the greater region.  

Sambina, a woman from Mariupol who arrived at the center on Thursday and only gave her first name, said she had seen it advertised on a Telegram channel. She called the center a relief, saying it is providing assistance so she can find more long-term housing for her family, including her husband, her husband’s brother and seven children aged 3 to 13.  

“The main thing is we need help buying property or renting property,” Sambina says through a translator. “Everything else we can do by ourselves.”

“The children are the most important thing in my life,” she adds for emphasis about the need to find stable housing.  

She left Mariupol in March after spending two weeks in a basement shelter surviving the Russian onslaught.  

“We were very scared. The most important thing was to save the children. We saw a lot of dead people,” Sambina said.  

Facing a new reality

Marchuk said the biggest issue they encounter is people who have yet to confront the reality that they have to start their lives anew.  

“The biggest psychological problem is that they’re still living there,” he said. “They are distraught, they lost their property, their jobs, savings and family. In this center, we want to help them start over, but it’s hard for these people.”  

The lobby of the center displays “Before and After” images of Mariupol that show the city as it is now, completely destroyed from the Russian siege, and images showing a hopeful future of rebuilding it if Ukrainian forces can succeed in ending the occupation of the city.   

“When the center opened, people came here and they started crying when they saw these photos because it hurt them so much,” Marchuk said, adding that “every person that comes from Mariupol understands the name of our problem. … Its name is [Russian President Vladimir] Putin; he’s evil and he causes a lot of trouble for us.”  

Still, Marchuk said people are optimistic.  

“Everybody still believes that victory will be on our side and they’ll go back to Mariupol, rebuild it and make it Ukrainian.” 

In the meantime, he hopes that the center, which is currently funded through December, can provide a sense of community for the IDPs.  

“The first, and most important thing, when Mariupol people come here, they feel normal. Because they see people who are also from Mariupol. They were living in the same city, they were shopping in the same places — they can understand each other, they speak in one language,” he said.

“Sometimes people come here, and they don’t even need anything, they just come here, maybe just searching for connection, community. One woman, she came here and she was sitting for more than an hour. I came and asked her, ‘Maybe I can help you, do you need something?’ And she said, ‘No, I’m just waiting — maybe somebody will come here who I know.”

The Hill’s Laura Kelly is on assignment in Ukraine. 

Source: TEST FEED1

Nine races to watch in New York, Florida and Oklahoma

A primary pitting two powerful Democrats against each other. A special election that could provide some clues about how Democrats might fare in November. Two well-known Democrats duking it out for the chance to face Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in November.

Tuesday will feature one of the last sets of competitive primaries ahead of November, and New York, Florida and Oklahoma will hold closely watched races.

Here’s a look at nine races to watch on Tuesday:

New York’s 10th Congressional District Democratic primary

New York’s new congressional map set off a scramble among Democrats after redistricting created several awkward member-on-member primaries and caused some lawmakers to switch districts. 

New York’s 10th Congressional District, which covers portions of northwest Brooklyn and lower Manhattan, drew a crowded Democratic field, including Rep. Mondaire Jones, who currently represents the 17th Congressional District; Dan Goldman, Democrats’ lead counsel in the first impeachment trial against former President Trump; New York City Council Member Carlina Rivera; New York state Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou and former New York City Comptroller Liz Holtzman.

Jones opted not to run in his current district in an effort to avoid going head-to-head with Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the House Democrats’ campaign arm. Maloney currently represents the 18th Congressional District but announced he would run in the 17th.

Goldman received a major endorsement from The New York Times editorial board, which strategists said would be a major boost in the primary. But he is not without fierce competition.

Niou notched endorsements from the New York Working Families Party and former New York gubernatorial candidate and actress Cynthia Nixon. Rivera, meanwhile, has received endorsements from several New York City borough presidents in addition to key health care workers union SEIU 1199. 

Holtzman is a former congresswoman who drew national attention when she beat Democratic incumbent Rep. Emanuel Celler (N.Y.) in the 1972 primary by a margin of more than 600 votes, going on to win the general election with two-thirds of the vote. 

New York’s 12th Congressional District Democratic primary

At least one high-profile Democrat will see their career in Congress come to an end as Reps. Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney battle it out in a primary for New York’s 12th Congressional District.

Maloney and Nadler, the chairs of the House Oversight and Reform Committee and House Judiciary Committee, respectively, have served in the lower chamber for decades, both starting their careers in Congress in the 1990s. 

Nadler currently represents the 10th Congressional District, while Maloney represents the 12th, but they found themselves facing each other following redistricting. Progressive attorney Suraj Patel is also vying for the seat. 

Nadler received a boost to his campaign when both The New York Times and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) endorsed him. 

Maloney responded that “it doesn’t surprise me. The old boys network is very, very close and they support each other.”

Meanwhile, Patel has touted himself as a forward-looking fresh face, telling The Hill in an interview last week that both incumbents “are campaigning on accomplishments or press releases or statements, frankly, from 1998 and 2006 and 2009. Neither of them are talking about 2024 or 2026, or what New York needs today.”

The district leans heavily Democratic, so Tuesday’s winner will likely come out ahead in November as well.

New York’s 19th Congressional District special election

Democrat Pat Ryan and Republican Marc Molinaro are facing off in a special election to serve out the remainder of Rep. Antonio Delgado’s (D) term after Delgado was appointed to serve as New York’s lieutenant governor.

The race is considered a bellwether for the November midterms, with Molinaro focusing on economic issues and crime and Ryan keying in on abortion.

The decennial redistricting process makes competing in the special election especially convoluted given that Ryan and Molinaro are seeking a seat that will not look the same beginning next year. Ryan is also on the ballot for the 18th District Democratic primary, while Molinaro will be the GOP’s midterm nominee in the redrawn 19th District.

Delgado won his seat in 2020 by double digits, but the data website FiveThirtyEight rates the seat a partisan lean of plus 1 point Republican under the old maps. 

New York’s 23rd Congressional District special election

New York will also be holding a special election in its 23rd Congressional District after former Rep. Tom Reed (R) resigned from his House seat to join government relations firm Prime Policy Group. He had earlier said he would not seek reelection following allegations that he had groped a former lobbyist. Reed apologized for the incident, saying the situation occurred “at a time in my life in which I was struggling.”

Republican Joe Sempolinski, a former district director for Reed, is vying for the open seat against Democrat Max Della Pia, the Tioga County Democratic Committee chairman who ran in the Democratic primary in 2018 and lost.

While Della Pia is running separately in the Democratic primary for the full two-time term that starts next year, Sempolinski is not, meaning he would be in Congress for only a short time. 

But Sempolinski seems likely to prevail given that FiveThirtyEight gives the seat a partisan lean of plus 15 points Republican. 

Florida’s Democratic gubernatorial primary

Four Democrats are running to take on DeSantis, with state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and Rep. Charlie Crist (Fla.), a former Republican governor-turned-Democratic lawmaker, considered the two front-runners. 

Crist has been seen as the favorite, notching endorsements from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), former Democratic National Committee chairwoman and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and the AFL-CIO, among others. In recent weeks, Fried and Crist have sought to portray each other in campaign ads as insufficiently Democratic.

A poll out last week from the Public Opinion Research Lab at the University of North Florida, conducted via email, showed Fried receiving 47 percent support among likely Democratic primary voters polled, compared to 43 percent for Crist. 

Meanwhile, a St. Pete Polls survey conducted via landline found that 59 percent of likely Florida Democratic party voters who said they either planned to vote or had already voted would back Crist, compared to 30 percent for Fried, according to Florida Politics.  

The more difficult task that lies ahead is beating DeSantis, regularly floated as a 2024 GOP presidential hopeful who has stoked culture wars on issues ranging from critical race theory to transgender girls and women participating in girls’ and women’s sports. 

Florida’s 7th Congressional District GOP primary

Florida’s 7th Congressional District has attracted a crowded field of eight Republicans running for a seat that is likely flip red in November after moderate Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D) said she wouldn’t seek reelection. 

Trump hasn’t waded into the GOP primary, but that hasn’t stopped some candidates from embracing him in an attempt to win over voters. 

Florida state Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R) touted his conversative track record and legislation he sponsored, including to rename a highway to include Trump’s name. Cory Mills, another candidate, touted his appointment by Trump to be a Pentagon adviser. 

Others have sought to show their ties to the governor, such as Rusty Roberts, who serves on the Florida Transportation Commission as a DeSantis appointee. 

Former Navy Seal Brady Duke has a serious financial advantage, according to the Orlando Sentinel. 

FiveThirtyEight gives the seat a partisan lean of plus 14 points Republican.

Florida’s 10th Congressional District Democratic primary

Ten Democrats are looking to get their party’s nod on Tuesday in a seat considered to heavily favor Democrats in November. The seat opened when Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) opted to run for Senate.

Democrat Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a 25-year-old who previously worked at the American Civil Liberties Union, could have a shot at becoming one of first Gen Z lawmakers in Congress. Democrats such as Former Rep. Alan Grayson (Fla.), the Rev. Terence Gray, state Sen. Randolph Bracy and former Rep. Corrine Brown (Fla.) are also seeking bids.

FiveThirtyEight gives the seat a partisan lean of plus 29 points Democratic, meaning that the Democrat who prevails Tuesday is likely to win in the midterms. 

Florida’s 13th Congressional District GOP primary

Crist opted not to run for another term in the House, instead seeking to return to the governor’s mansion and opening up the seat to a sea of challengers.

Trump waded into the primary, backing Air Force veteran Anna Paulina Luna. Luna ran against Crist in 2020, losing to him by single digits. The Air Force vet has also raked in endorsements from top Republican names such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.), Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Scott Perry (Pa.), and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).

Other Republican candidates include attorney Amanda Makki; attorney Kevin Hayslett, who received the endorsement of former Trump White House national security adviser Michael Flynn; law student Moneer Kheireddine; and business owner Christine Quinn.

The Cook Political Report rates the seat as “likely Republican.”

Oklahoma Senate GOP primary runoff

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) handily won reelection in 2020 but announced in February he wouldn’t finish out his term, triggering a special election to fill the seat.

Former state House Speaker T.W. Shannon and Rep. Markwayne Mullin (Okla.) were forced into a runoff for the Republican nod after neither candidate received at least half of the vote outright in the crowded June 28 primary. 

Several polls within the last week show Mullin leading Shannon. Trump endorsed Mullin, and the runoff will be considered another test of the former president’s power.

Whoever wins will face former Rep. Kendra Horn (D-Okla.) in the general election. 

The Cook Political Report rates the Senate seat as “solid Republican,” meaning whoever wins Tuesday will be considered the likely winner in November. 

Source: TEST FEED1

The Memo: Skepticism runs deep about Cheney's electoral future

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is swimming against a strong current of skepticism as she publicly mulls a future run for office.

Cheney has been clear that she is contemplating a White House run in 2024. Such a bid, if she made it, would have the explicit goal of denying former President Trump a return to the Oval Office.

But the obstacles are immense.

Cheney will be out of a job in January after getting thumped in her House primary in Wyoming last week. 

Despite raising around $13 million, holding the advantages of incumbency and getting enormous media coverage, Cheney lost to her Trump-backed challenger, attorney Harriet Hageman, by more than 35 points.

The defeat itself was not surprising — even Cheney and her team appeared to be reconciled to her fate in the closing weeks, saving a considerable amount of her campaign bank account for future endeavors. At the end of July, less than three weeks from primary day, Cheney had about $7 million in her coffers.

But the scale of the shellacking surely calls into question the appetite for any electoral ambitions harbored by the congresswoman.

Cheney remains defiant. 

In an interview with Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, she said she had “no regrets” about her ferocious criticisms of Trump. 

Those criticisms have found their most prominent expression during her time as vice chairwoman of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. She is one of only two Republicans on the panel, the other being Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), who is not running for reelection.

Cheney told Karl that she was going to be “very focused” on working to ensure “election deniers,” a category that includes Hagemen, would not win their races, adding, “I’m going to work to support their opponents.” 

The sentiment seemed to at least suggest she might back Democrats given that primary season across the nation is nearing its end.

Earlier last week, she had told NBC’s “Today” show that running for president is “something I’m thinking about” and that she would make a decision “in the coming months.”

In her ABC interview, she kept that prospect open but declined to get drawn into hypotheticals about whether she would run as a Republican or an independent.

Either way, there are plenty of people across the political spectrum who have serious doubts about her viability.

“Look, she has two problems if she chooses to run for president,” said Matt Mackowiak, the chairman of the Travis County Republican Party in Texas.

“The first is, her single issue of denying Trump the nomination is not one that has significant support among Republican primary voters anywhere. The second is, if she were to run as an independent, it would likely pull away more Democratic votes than Republican votes, and the challenges related to ballot access are immense,” he added.

Mackowiak also questioned the media’s focus on Cheney’s prospects, especially given the scale of her loss in Wyoming. Citing her appearance on “Today,” one of the most famous TV shows in the nation, he asked rhetorically what other candidate had got such coverage in the immediate aftermath of such a dismal result.

“There is a media fascination with Liz Cheney that is totally out of whack and is well beyond the interest that voters have,” he argued.

Such views aren’t confined to Republican operatives.

“She has very successfully elbowed her way to being the No. 1 Republican who the media love to interview,” said Tobe Berkovitz, a Boston University professor emeritus who specializes in political communication.

“She will always have that platform, but will it be as someone in the media or as a kind of gadfly annoyance to Donald Trump?” Berkovitz asked.

“The real question is, will there by a viable alternative to Donald Trump? That is not going to be Liz Cheney,” he added.

Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah), one of seven GOP senators who voted to convict Trump after his second impeachment, is also among the Cheney skeptics, at least when it comes to a bid for the Republican nomination.

“She would not become the nominee if she were to run. I can’t imagine that would occur,” Romney said last week, according to the Deseret News.

But an independent bid by Cheney could also quickly run into trouble given that, setting aside her fervent opposition to Trump, she remains the staunch conservative she has always been. 

Her right-wing views across the board, including a notably hawkish stance on foreign affairs, seem unlikely to commend her to disaffected Democrats.

That said, Cheney’s decision to stick to her conservative guns earns her admiration from some Republicans. 

On the right, there is a long-running disdain for a group of erstwhile conservative strategists and media pundits who are perceived to have become de facto Democrats, transforming their earlier views way beyond merely voicing disdain for Trump.

By contrast, Cheney “has held firm, and she has done so on her own terms, and she was willing to give up her seat for it,” said Doug Heye, a former communications director for the Republican National Committee. “That consistency and willingness to sacrifice draws respect.”

Respect is one thing, but votes are another.

And that’s the political reality that spells trouble for Cheney.

The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage.

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New York special election could be final litmus test before November

A special election in New York on Tuesday is being viewed as the last bellwether for how voters in swing districts could behave in November — and what issues will motivate them — as Democrats seek to put abortion front and center.

The state’s 19th Congressional District opened up when former Rep. Antonio Delgado (D) was appointed lieutenant governor. Republican Marc Molinaro and Democrat Pat Ryan are facing off for the seat, and polls show a tight race.

Molinaro has been zeroing in on the economy, while Ryan looks to seize on anger surrounding the overturning of Roe v. Wade to drive their respective voters to the polls.

“This is a good barometer of the national mood right now,” said Democratic strategist Jon Reinish, who lives in the district. 

A poll released last week by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) showed Molinaro leading 46 percent to 43 percent. Molinaro’s lead was within the poll’s plus or minus 4.5 percentage point margin of error. 

“This is the ultimate swing district,” Reinish said. “This is a 50-50 district.” 

While strategists agree the race could serve as a litmus test, they also acknowledge that holding the special election and primaries on the same day have made for a confusing predicament for voters.

Tuesday’s special election is for the 19th District as it exists pre-redistricting. The winner will represent the seat through January. Tuesday is also a primary day in New York to select nominees in newly drawn districts to go on to November’s general election. That includes nominees for the 19th District as it will exist post-redistricting.”

Regardless of who wins the special election on Tuesday, Molinaro will be the Republican nominee for the 19th District in November, while Ryan is also vying Tuesday in the Democratic primary for the newly drawn 18th Congressional District.

“If we think it’s confusing, imagine what the average voter thinks,” Reinish said. 

But Democrats argue that despite the confusion, enthusiasm is still in their favor. 

“It is a special election in the dog days of August, but despite that traditional enthusiasm dampening factor, people seem really engaged,” Reinish said. 

Democrats point to the issue of abortion access as a major galvanizing factor, given the pushback against the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June. 

“The momentum Pat Ryan has built in this race demonstrates that voters in swing districts are eager to elect candidates with integrity who will fight to protect abortion rights,” said DCCC spokesperson Nebeyatt Betre.

Various nationwide polls show that a majority of Americans are against the high court’s decision and a referendum vote earlier this month in Kansas showed the issue has the potential to be galvanizing for the liberal base.

Earlier this month, voters in Kansas rejected a ballot measure that would give the state legislature the authority to ban abortion. 

But Ryan was focusing on abortion as a major issue more than a month before the Kansas vote. The Democrat rolled out his first television ad of the campaign cycle, which focused on abortion, less than an hour after the Supreme Court announced its decision to strike down protections for the procedure. 

Molinaro, meanwhile, has followed the national Republican playbook of focusing on the economy and crime. 

“Obviously the coverage is going in the way of it being a bellwether because Pat Ryan has decided to run the entire campaign on abortion,” said one Republican strategist. 

Republicans argue that as nationwide polling has suggested, the economy and crime stand to be top drivers in Tuesday’s election. 

According to data released by Pew Research earlier this month, 79 percent of registered voters said that the economy was “very important” to their vote, while abortion clocked in at 40 percent. 

“These people are still dealing with inflation and high gas prices and the fentanyl crisis that’s in the Hudson Valley and all of these things,” the GOP strategist said. “He voluntarily supported the [Inflation Reduction Act], but he’s not even in Congress and he’s out there shilling for this legislation.” 

The Inflation Reduction Act is the sweeping climate, tax reform and health care bill Democrats passed earlier this month and Tuesday’s election could also be an early test of its impact on the campaign trail.

Democrats argue that the Biden administration’s recent legislative wins, including the long-awaited legislation, could end up playing well for a candidate like Ryan. 

“I think that prescription drug price win, climate win, health care wins, I think all of that taken together positions the party itself and previously dispirited voters with more enthusiasm, more motivation, feeling better about turning out for Democrats even than they were, I would say, a couple of months ago,” Reinish said. 

Republicans argue that the Democratic emphasis on prescription drug reform and combatting climate change is a way for Democrats to avoid talking about the legislation’s own namesake. 

“I don’t think that any Democrat is even out there calling this the Inflation Reduction Act anymore,” the GOP strategist said. “Just because Democrats in D.C. are declaring a win doesn’t mean that voters back home are seeing that as a win.” 

Source: TEST FEED1

Newsom vetoes safe-injection site pilot program in California

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has vetoed a bill that would’ve allowed for a safe-injection site pilot program in the state, citing a lack of leadership in its implementation.

In a memo issued on Monday, Newsom wrote that he is concerned about Senate Bill 57, and  the operations of the safe injection sites without engaged local leadership and a “well-documented, vetted, and thoughtful operational and sustainability plans.” 

The proposed bill would’ve authorized the use of safe injection or consumption sites, where residents can use illegal controlled substances at supervised facilities.

The state’s Senate passed the proposed bill in a 21-11 vote earlier this month.

“The unlimited number of safe injection sites that this bill would authorize – facilities which could exist well into the later part of this decade – could induce a world of unintended consequences. It is possible that these sites would help improve the safety and health of our urban areas, but if done without a strong plan, they could work against this purpose,” Newsom wrote in his memo, adding that open drug use in state cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland “cannot be taken lightly.” 

“Worsening drug consumption challenges in these areas is not a risk we can take,” Newsom added. 

Newsom also said that he’s instructing the state’s Secretary of Health and Human Services to convene city and county officials to discuss the best practices for safe and sustainable overdose prevention programs.

“I remain open to this discussion when those local officials come back to the Legislature with recommendations for a truly limited pilot program – with comprehensive plans for sitin , operations, community partnerships, and fiscal sustainability that demonstrate how these programs will be run safely and effectively,” Newsom said in his memo. 

This comes as GOP state lawmakers have applauded Newsom, who initially supported the proposed bill, to change his mind and veto the legislation. 

“Glad to see the governor veto this. People struggling with addiction need help, not a legal place to shoot up,” state Senator Scott Wilk (R) said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the governor to convince Democrats in the legislature that a compassionate approach to addiction is better done through medical and mental health treatments.”

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Trump held more than 300 classified documents since leaving White House: report

Former President Trump reportedly held onto more than 300 classified documents since he left office, half of which were recovered in January by the National Archives, which alerted the Justice Department in what eventually led up to the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago property.

The New York Times reported Monday, citing multiple sources who have been briefed on the matter, that the sheer volume of classified-marked materials recovered by the government is what triggered a federal criminal investigation into the former president.

The National Archives in January recovered 150 classified documents, while another set, which was also at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, was given to the Justice Department in June by Trump aides. Additional classified documents were later recovered in the FBI search earlier this month, totaling 300 such documents in all, according to the Times.

Some of the 15 boxes turned over to the Archives earlier this year included CIA, FBI and National Security Agency documents involving national security, according to a person briefed, the Times reported.

Two days after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, The Washington Post reported that some of the documents recovered in that search were related to nuclear weapons.

The Times also reported Monday that authorities are seeking surveillance video of Mar-a-Lago leading up to the Aug. 8 search in an effort to find out how some of the documents were being handled there.

An unsealed warrant executed at Mar-a-Lago made public days after the search revealed that federal authorities are investigating Trump on possible violations of the Espionage Act, among other statutes. A property receipt of items seized by the FBI shows authorities recovered a trove of documents, including 11 sets of classified documents, some of which were marked top secret. 

Trump has insisted he declassified the documents obtained by the FBI, but it is possible he did so without following the proper protocols. 

Trump and the National Archives have been at odds since he left office in 2021 after the agency determined he was in possession of White House documents that should have been turned over to the government when he ended his term.

Source: TEST FEED1

Afghan refugee arrested in New Mexico slayings of Muslim men faces third murder charge

Muhammad Atif Syed, an Afghan refugee arrested in connection to the murders of three Muslim men in New Mexico, is now facing a third murder charge in the case. 

A grand jury on Monday indicted Syed on a count of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Naeem Hussein earlier this month. 

Hussien, 25, was shot and killed outside of a funeral home on Aug. 5 after he attended the funeral services of Aftab Hussein, 41, and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, two men who police say were also killed by Syed, according to the Albuquerque Journal. 

New Mexico’s office of the Second Judicial District Attorney spokesperson Lauren Rodriguez told the New Mexico-based newspaper in a statement that the grand jury issued an indictment that includes three counts of first-degree murder and four counts of tampering with evidence in connection to the murders. 

“In the time between the arrest warrant for the homicides of Aftab Hussein and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, and the convening of the Grand Jury Friday, additional evidence deriving from cell phones came to light enabling us to present the homicide of Naeem Hussain to the Grand Jury,” Rodriguez said in her statement, adding that Hussien’s murder wasn’t included in the initial charges due to them finding new evidence in their investigation. 

The Hill has reached out to the Second Judicial District Attorney’s office for more information. 

Syed, 51, was arrested earlier this month by authorities in connection to the slayings of Hussein and Hussain. 

The killings gained national media attention and widespread concern for the safety of the Muslim community in Albuquerque.

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Parkland school shooter's defense lawyer urges jury not to seek death penalty

An attorney representing Nikolas Cruz, who prosecutors say murdered 14 students and three staff members at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida in 2018, urged a jury on Monday not to seek the death penalty, citing mental health issues that stem from alcohol abuse by his mother when she was pregnant with him.

Cruz pleaded guilty in October to the murder of 17 people and the attempted murder of 17 people. He is facing the death penalty or life in prison without parole. The sentencing trial now underway comes more than four years after the February 2018 massacre. 

Prosecutors are pushing for the death penalty, while Cruz’s defense argues that the 23-year-old should receive life in prison without parole.

Public defender Melisa McNeill told the court Monday that Cruz’s biological mother abused drugs and alcohol while Cruz was in the womb, which caused brain damage. She cited that as the main reason to spare his life.

“Wounded and damaged people wound and damage other people because they are in pain,” McNeill said. “We must understand the person behind the crime.”

“You’ll hear that he writes disturbing things, like a school shooter manifesto. Horrible things. We’re not hiding that from you. But his brain is broken. He’s a damaged human being. And that’s why these things happen,” she said.

Cruz’s guilty plea, McNeill argued, guaranteed he would be punished. “The question that now remains … is how he will be punished,” she said.

According to Florida law, a death sentence must be unanimously agreed upon by the 12-person jury, meaning Cruz’s defense needs to convince only one juror not to back the sentence. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer is presiding.

Prosecutors earlier this month led the jury on a rare trip to the Parkland high school, where the crime scene has been left essentially untouched since the shooting. Cruz was reportedly invited to join the trip but declined to attend.

Source: TEST FEED1