The Patriot Post® · Thursday Top News Executive Summary

Above the Fold

TERROR WATCH LIST TAKES A BLOW: “The government’s watchlist of more than 1 million people identified as ‘known or suspected terrorists’ violates the constitutional rights of those placed on it, a federal judge ruled Wednesday,” according to The Washington Times. “The ruling from U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga grants summary judgment to nearly two dozen Muslim U.S. citizens who had challenged the watchlist with the help of a Muslim civil-rights group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations. But the judge is seeking additional legal briefs before deciding what remedy to impose.” Ironically, while terrorists are being pacified, San Francisco is designating lawful Americans as terrorists.

CAROLINAS BATTERED: The Weather Channel reports, “Hurricane Dorian is now unleashing its siege of storm surge flooding, rainfall flooding, high winds and tornadoes as it tracks near the coasts of South Carolina, North Carolina and southeast Virginia through Friday. Dorian’s maximum sustained winds increased to the 115-mph threshold required to regain Category 3 status. Despite that, its damaging impacts are likely to remain the same as it hammers this part of the Southeast coast.” Meanwhile, at least 20 deaths are being attributed to Dorian in the Bahamas.

CLIMATE BLUSTER: “Top Democratic presidential contenders talked tough Wednesday on cutting climate-damaging emissions from oil, gas and coal, turning their focus to global warming in a marathon evening of town halls that gave the candidates a chance to distinguish themselves on a topic of growing importance to their party’s liberal base,” the Associated Press reports. The only thing you really need to know is that the forum was long in length and short on facts.

Business & Technology

TRADE TALKS CONTINUE: “The Chinese Commerce Ministry announced Wednesday that the next round of trade talks with the U.S. will begin in October in Washington, D.C. ‘Both sides agreed that they should work together and take practical actions to create good conditions for consultations,’ the ministry announced.” (Washington Examiner)

BE EVIL: “Google agreed Wednesday to pay a $170 million fine to settled claims that its subsidiary, YouTube, violated children’s privacy by illegally gathering their personal information and selling it to advertisers without their consent or that of their parents. The fine, which is the largest civil penalty ever leveled for a such a privacy violation, was part of a settlement reached by the Federal Trade Commission and New York’s attorney general in response to Google’s violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).” (National Review)

CVS-AETNA MERGER APPROVED: “A federal judge reviewing a Justice Department decision to allow U.S. pharmacy chain and benefits manager CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) to merge with health insurer Aetna said on Wednesday that the agreement was in fact legal under antitrust law.” (Reuters)

Culture

THE SMOKING GUN? “The preliminary hearing for undercover journalist David Daleiden began Tuesday in California with Planned Parenthood admitting that it harvested aborted babies’ body parts and supplied them to human tissue procurement companies, according to the Center for Medical Progress. Daleiden and Sandra Merritt face 15 felony charges for invasion of privacy because they exposed the abortion chain’s gruesome baby body parts trade. Tuesday began a nine-day preliminary hearing about whether the case should go to trial.” (LifeNews.com)

AND NOT A MOMENT TOO SOON: According to The Daily Signal, “A city council in Texas has voted to stop renting out space at the local library to public organizations, essentially canceling the town’s ability to have a ‘Drag Queen Story Time’ for children, a move hailed by pro-family advocates. ‘These are people who are actually employed at adult nightclubs,’ Mary Elizabeth Castle, a policy adviser for Texas Values, a nonprofit organization that promotes faith, family, and freedom, said of the drag queens.” Unfortunately, for many children already exposed, the damage is already done.

Other Notables

LABOR AIDE REINSTATED: “The Department of Labor reinstated a political appointee Wednesday night who resigned under pressure after a Bloomberg Law reporter accused him of anti-Semitism for a Facebook post in which he was actually condemning anti-Semites in the alt-right,” The Daily Caller reveals. This is what happens in a trigger-happy society.

BREXIT HOOPLA CONTINUES: “In a major defeat for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the British House of Commons on Wednesday passed a bill designed to prevent a so-called no-deal Brexit as the country’s October 31 deadline for leaving the European Union draws near,” National Review reports. “Members of Parliament voted 327 to 299 in favor of a bill that would force Johnson to ask the EU for a three-month extension of the October 31 deadline if the two sides can’t reach a deal outlining the terms of future relations and mitigating the economic disruption Brexit is expected to cause by October 19.” The Daily Signal presents the implications and the way forward.

Closing Arguments

POLICY: Medicare reform can no longer be ignored: Warnings from the 2019 Medicare trustees report (American Enterprise Institute)

POLICY: Why the China trade war is justified (The Hill)

HUMOR: U.S. Treasury honors Ocasio-Cortez with new “zero cents” AOC coin (Genesius Times)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights.

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