Trump doubles down: $1 million reward for uncovering fraud
The Trump administration has shown more muscle in the hunt for voter fraud than any other administration in living memory, and it shows no signs of stopping. On Monday, President Donald Trump announced that the reward for a tip leading to a voter-fraud conviction has increased to $1 million. The reward applies to any conviction resulting from a tip in previous elections or the current midterm election. Trump has long warned of the dangers of voter fraud. Previously, the Leftmedia was able to disingenuously claim that voter fraud is so rare that it cannot possibly affect an election, but as it turns out, previous administrations made little to no effort to uncover voter fraud, leaving a data gap. The Trump administration has turned that tide, uncovering thousands of cases in recent months.

Anthropic overrates its IPO
On Monday, the AI company Anthropic filed paperwork indicating it could sell shares of its stock to the public for the first time as soon as next month. It could be the largest initial public offering (IPO) ever, beating SpaceX’s record and putting Anthropic ahead of its rival OpenAI. Anthropic’s value has skyrocketed, and an IPO could accelerate that expansion. The company reported $80.7 billion in net losses for the first half of this year. Using different metrics, however, Anthropic says it made $2.7 billion in profit. Anthropic’s increase in value can make its financial statements look worse on paper while making its investors’ financial statements look better. Amazon and Alphabet invested in Anthropic and have reported large gains.

Appeals court refuses to force CA to lose illegal ballots
On Monday, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 to dismiss the Justice Department’s lawsuit against California regarding setting aside the ballots from 20,000 alleged noncitizens. In its decision, the Court faulted the DOJ for waiting until the last minute to issue its emergency claim, after California had already begun sending out ballots. The DOJ launched its lawsuit after California’s top election official failed to respond to Acting Deputy AG Trent McCotter’s request to review the citizenship status of 20,000 registered voters. The lone dissenting judge, Patrick Bumatay, reasoned that the federal government has the authority to stop potential attacks on election integrity, observing, “Simply, the federal government has a sovereign interest in safeguarding federal elections and ensuring that the votes of noncitizens do not undermine our electoral results.”

DOJ charges Comey again
According to newly unsealed court documents, former FBI Director James Comey has been charged with disclosing sensitive national defense information in 2016. The DOJ alleges that Comey told an individual to share classified information with a New York Times reporter in October 2016. He is facing two counts of relaying information and conspiring to relay information concerning matters of national defense. Comey denied the allegations, calling the prosecution an “appalling abuse of the Department of Justice.” He has moved to dismiss the case, and lawyers noted that two other attorneys’ offices had previously investigated and refused to bring charges. Comey’s lawyers also argue that the case should be dismissed because the 10-year statute of limitations for some espionage-related offenses requires an indictment, which the DOJ has not obtained in Comey’s case.

Comey’s prosecutor daughter reinstated
A federal judge yesterday ordered the White House to reinstate Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI head James Comey. She was dismissed last year from her role as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office. District Judge Jesse Furman opined that although the attorney general could remove Comey, this action exceeded the limits Congress had imposed on the AG. The DOJ countered that President Trump should be able to fire individuals who wield executive power on his behalf. Maurene and her father have clashed with President Trump over the years, most notably when the latter fired James Comey from his FBI post when he wouldn’t preemptively clear him of the 2016 Russia allegations. Furman’s ruling operates on the basis that the president can’t fire non-principal federal officials without reason, or otherwise someone who isn’t operating under direct presidential supervision.

Ethiopian Christians massacred, Leftmedia hides the motive
Ethiopia is one of the oldest Christian nations on earth, tracing its history back to the Apostle Philip ministering to the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. Despite 2,000 years of Christian history, Ethiopian Christians are not free to practice their ancestral religion. A series of attacks on Sunday in the Oromia region killed 60 and left homes burnt out. Leftmedia reporting covers the massacre and blames a rebel coalition, the Alliance for Survival, and its subgroup, the Oromo Liberation Army. Another outlet suggests that the massacre is due to ethnic tension, “with armed groups using religion to inflame divisions.” The truth is that Islamist militias are targeting the Amhara ethnicity due to the belief that they are all Christians. The BBC elides that fact by only mentioning Islam to suggest there have been some documented attacks against Muslims.

U.S. military bans Chinese EVs on Okinawa base
The U.S. military has banned electric vehicles manufactured by Chinese company BYD from its air base in Okinawa. The Pentagon blacklisted BYD because of its ties to China’s military and the CCP. These vehicles have sensors, cameras, and Internet capabilities designed to gather information and send it to other destinations, including, most likely, the CCP. Norway was the first to notice that these current-gen vehicles had capabilities that presented privacy concerns. Other EU nations have warned against connecting phones or inputting personal information into Chinese-manufactured vehicles. BYD is one of nearly 200 companies listed by the Pentagon as supporting the Chinese military.

FORTRESS initiative
Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell, who is leading the Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy, Supply, and Survivability (FORTRESS) initiative, says that every major military installation in the U.S. will be expected to operate independently of civilian infrastructure for at least 90 days, including access to electricity, water, fuel, and communications. The new requirement is part of a broader shift to prepare for threats to the American homeland that could involve major disruption to infrastructure. Parnell noted that homeland defense was built “around the antiquated assumption that two oceans would protect us,” and that world is gone. FORTRESS will use portable nuclear reactors, large-scale battery storage, and microgrids, which enable military installations to operate during prolonged power disruptions and reduce dependence on civilian power grids. The initiative also requires reserves of munitions, fuel, critical minerals, electronics, spare parts, and medical supplies.

America’s worst governor
The Cato Institute’s recently released “Freedom in the 50 States” grades every state’s governor on a list of economic and personal freedom policies and ranked New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul dead last among the nation’s 50 governors. Giving her an “F,” the report scored Hochul at just 18.02% regarding how her policies promoted state residents’ freedoms. New York also ranked 49th nationally for overall freedoms, with a score of 31.9%, just ahead of Hawaii’s 29.24%. Only one state governor earned an “A”: Montana’s Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte. In fact, only two of the top 15-ranked governors are Democrats, while 11 of the bottom 15-ranked governors are Democrats. When it comes to states upholding individual freedom, unsurprisingly, red states rise to the top.

Paper straws actually suck
A recent South Korean study found that paper straws are worse for the environment than plastic straws. Researchers measured the life cycle impact of four types of straws using 16 categories. Paper straws had the largest impact in three categories, and plastic straws had the smallest impact in 10 categories, including climate change, acidification, and human toxicity. Specifically, paper straws had 2.04 times the acidification impact. The study also stated, “Bio-PE straws had the largest impact in 10 categories, including ozone depletion, acidification, and smog.” None of the supposedly eco-friendly options performed better. In 2022, South Korea restricted plastic straws at restaurants. A survey, though, found 90% of Koreans prefer plastic straws.

Headlines

  • Wisconsin Elections Commission bans 1,800 clerks from verifying citizenship status (Townhall)
  • Illegal alien accused of beheading Iwo Jima statue gets big break from judge (RedState)
  • Texas Children’s Hospital launches nation’s first detransition clinic (Daily Signal)
  • Israel goes to the polls: A guide to the election and the battle to form a government (Times of Israel)

The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, Jacob Geoffrey, Hudson Baldwin, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.