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1 Hunter Biden Indicted On Felony Gun Charges
A three-count federal indictment was handed down yesterday for Hunter Biden on firearms charges from special counsel David Weiss, who says more indictments could still come. President Joe Biden’s son is accused of lying about his drug use when he bought a firearm in October of 2018, a period of time when he has admitted he was struggling with a crack cocaine addiction. He’s also under investigation over his business dealings, and Weiss has said that tax charges could be filed at some point in the future as a result of that investigation. The gun charge was part of the plea deal Hunter’s legal team had worked out with prosecutors, a deal that fell apart when the presiding judge questioned it. Despite the launch of an impeachment inquiry into President Biden this week, Republicans have so far uncovered no evidence linking the president to any wrongdoing. Hunter is charged with two counts of making false statements and one charge of possessing a gun for around 11 days despite knowing he was a drug user. Hunter’s attorneys say the immunity clause included in the previous plea deal still covers their indictment and prevents the current indictment from moving forward, but prosecutors say the plea agreement never took effect and is no longer valid.
2 United Auto Workers Strike
After weeks of negotiations failed to reach a deal, United Auto Workers officially went on strike at midnight Eastern Time last night. The union, which represents almost 150,000 auto workers, is now striking against the Big 3 U.S. Automakers, General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis. While the strike has begun, it hasn’t begun for all members of the union; last night, around 12,700 union workers walked out at the GM plant in Wentzville, Missouri, the Stellantis plant in Toledo, Ohio, and Ford’s Wayne, Michigan plant. The move is called a “stand-up” strike, where not all union members strike at once. The UAW has demanded a 46% pay increase over the four-year contract, plus a 32-hour workweek at 40-hour pay and health benefits for retirees. The three automakers countered yesterday with their own proposals, with GM and Ford offering workers a 20% pay increase over the four years, and Stellantis offering a 17.5% pay increase. All three automakers preserved a 40-hour workweek in their offers, which were refused by the union. Ford Motor Company said just before the strike began last night that the union’s counterproposal to those offers “showed little movement from the union’s initial demands submitted Aug. 3.” All three automakers say they’ll continue to bargain and try to reach a deal that’s acceptable for all parties.
3 Hurricane Lee Headed To New England Area This Weekend
Gov. Janet Mills of Maine has declared a state of emergency in advance of Hurricane Lee, which is expected to pass just east of the state’s coastline this weekend. “We continue to strongly urge Maine people – particularly those Downeast – to exercise caution and to take steps to ensure they have what they need to stay safe as the storm draws closer,” Mills said in a statement. She also requested a preemptive Presidential Emergency Disaster declaration from President Joe Biden to make it easier to draw on federal resources. Tropical storm warnings were in place last night along the New England coast, with a wind gust of 52 mph reported in Bermuda late yesterday afternoon. Lee had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph late last night, making it a Category 1 hurricane. It’s not expected to strengthen, and will most likely continue to lose strength as it approaches landfall between Maine and Nova Scotia this weekend.