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1 Federal Prosecutors Charge Ryan Routh With Attempted Assassination
Once you write down your intention to assassinate a former president and authorities find it, seeing your charges upgraded isn’t a surprise. Ryan Wesley Routh, who was arrested after spending hours laying in wait next to one of former President Donald Trump’s golf courses in West Palm Beach, Florida, was indicted yesterday on an additional charge of attempted assassination of a presidential candidate. Routh was previously charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. The Justice Department said that a grand jury in Miami returned the indictment yesterday afternoon. The case has been assigned to US District Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump appointee who dismissed the criminal classified documents case against Trump earlier this year.
2 Tropical Storm Helene Forecast To Make Landfall In Florida Tomorrow
Tropical Storm Helene formed yesterday as expected, and if the forecast from the National Hurricane Center is to be believed, the Big Bend area of Florida could see it make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane tomorrow with potential maximum sustained winds of 115-mph. The explosive growth of the storm is being helped by water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico that are near or above all-time highs. Surface temperatures in Helene’s path are as warm as 89-degrees Fahrenheit, which is two to four degrees above normal. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 61 counties ahead of the storm, and President Biden has also declared an emergency in the state.
3 Justice Department Files Antitrust Suit Against Visa
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced yesterday that the Department of Justice has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa, alleging that the card issuer is monopolizing debit card markets. According to the complaint, 60-percent of debit transactions in the US run on Visa’s network, which the DoJ says has allowed it to charge over $7-billion in processing fees every year. “Merchants and banks pass along those costs to consumers, either by raising prices or reducing quality or service.” Garland says Visa’s alleged practices “affects not just the price of one thing – but the price of nearly everything.” In a statement, Visa general counsel Julie Rottenberg said the lawsuit doesn’t take the “ever-expanding universe of companies offering new ways to pay for goods and services” into account.