Thursday, August 29, 2024

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1/ The Army defended the Arlington National Cemetery official involved in an incident with the Trump campaign, saying the employee was “abruptly pushed aside” and “unfairly attacked” after she sought to “ensure adherence” to cemetery rules that bar recording for political purposes. “Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds,” the Army said. “This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked.” The employee “decided not to press charges” due to concerns over retaliation, and so the Army “considers this matter closed.” Although Trump’s team was allowed to visit Section 60, the burial site for military personnel killed while fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, in his “personal capacity and bring personal aides, but not campaign staff,” the campaign falsely insisted it was “granted access to have a photographer.” (Politico / CNN / Axios / Associated Press / NPR / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News)

2/ JD Vance told Kamala Harris to “go to hell” for comments she didn’t make. When asked about the “incident” at the Arlington National Cemetery, Vance accused Harris of criticizing Trump’s visit, saying “she wants to yell at Donald Trump because he showed up? She can – she can go to hell.” He added: “Kamala Harris is so asleep at the wheel that she won’t even do an investigation into what happened.” The Harris campaign, meanwhile, called the confrontation between Trump’s campaign and a cemetery official “pretty sad” but “not surprising.” (Washington Post / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)

3/ The International Association of Fire Fighters booed JD Vance during his speech at their conference. After Vance claimed that he and Trump are the most “pro-workers Republican ticket in history,” the firefighters union booed him. Vance then replied: “It sounds like we got some fans and some haters here.” (Daily Beast / Axios / USA Today / HuffPost)

4/ The U.S. economy grew faster in the second quarter of 2024 than first reported. The latest reading of the gross domestic product came in at 3% – an upward revision from the ...

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