Off to Biden

• The bill is a long-awaited victory for the Biden administration, who made passing a new Democratic spending agenda a core part of his presidential campaign.
• The bill almost died in the Senate but was revived when Senators Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer reached a compromise on the current bill to avoid a Republican filibuster.

Key wins

• President Biden's administration has secured some key wins in cooperation with Congress. In addition to passing the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress passed the PACT Act, approved Finland and Sweden's applications to NATO, a bill requiring background checks for young gun buyers, and the CHIPS and Science Act.
• While most Republicans were not sold on the bill, Democrats passed the bill in the House today.

House seals the deal

• The bill includes $740 million in spending to enact new climate change initiatives, make healthcare less expensive, and create new tax provisions.
• The bill passed the House with a 220-207 vote.
• Senate Democrats have been negotiating the bill's specifics for about a year. Every House Democrat voted in support of the bill.

Ring ring

• MGM is developing the show "Ring Nation" hosted by comedian Wanda Sykes. The show will feature videos from the Amazon Ring.
• The show will reportedly feature videos of people falling, proposals, and other shenanigans.
• Amazon acquired Ring in 2018 and has caught significant flack over the use of footage in police investigations. Amazon bought MGM, the company making the show, earlier this year.

Sykes signs in

• Comedian Wanda Sykes will host the show.
• The series will feature videos submitted by users of the Ring camera.
• The show is expected to debut on September 26.

Location tracking

• Google will pay up after they were found to have breached Australian Consumer Law from 2017-2018 by failing to accurately represent which settings allowed Google to compile and use location data from Android phone users.
• Google tried to fix the settings error by the end of 2018.

Secretive practices

• The case began in 2019 when the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission began investigating Google's collection of personal location data from Android users without their explicit consent.
• The setting, "Web & App Activity," which enabled location tracking, did not specify that increased search speed or accuracy would be powered by Google knowing the phone's location. Users could only turn off the location tracking element in a completely different setting.
• When setting up a google account on Android, the settings failed to mention that they use location tracking data, giving users no option to opt-out.

Warrant still under wraps

• While the warrant obtained by the Justice Department that authorized the raid on Mar-a-Lago remains sealed, sources close to the investigation told reporters at the Washington Post that the warrant was to find documents that were related to nuclear weapons.
• The documents were taken from the White House and stored at Mar-a-Lago.
• The Post emphasized that the seizure of the documents reflected the anxiety felt by the Department of Justice about classified secrets and documents about nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands.

Trump disagrees

• President Trump responded to the report, calling the allegations that the documents pertained to nuclear secrets false.
• He has not opted to release a list of the documents taken from his residence, even though the FBI gave him such a list.
• Trump did say that his lawyers will not oppose the release of the list of the original warrant used to search Mar-a-Lago.

Receipts

• The receipt of the items taken in the raid was also publicized today.
• The list of items contains a dossier regarding the pardon of Roger Stone, documents about the President of France Emmanuel Macron, and several other classified documents.

Authorized search

• The warrant reveals that the DOJ is investigating Trump for three possible criminal violations: violating the Espionage Act by sharing defense information, tampering with records, and hiding records from the National Archives.
• The warrant authorized the agents to remove anything that had evidence of the three criminal violations from Mar-a-Lago.

Investigation escalates

• The issuing judge unsealed the warrant obtained by the FBI to search Mar-a-Lago in search of documents that Trump took from the White House.
• The warrant revealed that the DOJ is investigating Trump under the Espionage Act and for potential obstructions of justice.
• The agents were instructed to seize any documents that were categorized as classified, showed evidence of tampering, or were related to domestic defense.

Meh attitude

• While Gen Z's screentime is increasing, their usage of Facebook is declining. The generation seems to have moved on from Facebook. Only 32% of teens use the platform.
• While Facebook struggles, Tik Tok is thriving. 67% of teens use the video-sharing app.
• The latest data reflect an attitude of ambivalence amongst teens towards Facebook.

Over it

• Teens spend most of their time on Youtube, with Tik Tok, Snapchat, and Instagram as solid contenders for their time.
• YouTube is used by 95% of teens.
• In 2013, a Pew Research study of teens' social media use showed that 71% of teens used Facebook.

Inbound to inbox

• The FEC voted 4-1 to allow Google to proceed with a pilot program to enable campaign emails to bypass Gmail spam filters, landing them right into users' inboxes instead of the spam folder.
• Republicans had previously criticized Gmail filters for selectively banning their emails from users' inboxes for their content.

Spam-proof

• The approved program allows political committees to apply to bypass Gmail's spam filters and send spam or spam-like emails directly to users' inboxes.
• The program won't prevent campaigns from using spam-like tactics, like those employed by Trump's campaign, to target users.

Garland speaks

• Attorney General Merrick Garland delivered two minutes of remarks in response to the growing anger amongst Republicans over the search of Mar-a-Lago.
• He called the raid a necessity since earlier attempts to recover the documents Trump's team was storing in Florida had failed.
• He added that he filed a motion to unseal the warrant, which granted the FBI permission to conduct the raid and seize the documents from Mar-a-Lago. He also moved to unseal the receipt of the items taken in the raid.
• Garland reminded reporters that the FBI is filled with dedicated civil servants, and attempts to disparage the agency's agents were misguided.

Team informed

• In his remarks, Garland told reporters that Trump's legal team had been informed of the search and that a representative from his counsel was present during the search.
• Trump will have the opportunity to request that the warrant and receipt of seizure remain sealed.
• The raid was in response to a DOJ investigation on behalf of the National Archives that is requesting the return of documents that Trump removed from the White House and stored at Mar-a-Lago.

Three choices

• Warner Bros. caught significant flack online after they scrapped the release of Batgirl but are seemingly moving forward with the release of The Flash starring Ezra Miller.
• Miller has been all over the news for their erratic behavior. They was arrested for felony burglary in Vermont, and state authorities are searching for a woman and her children who were last heard from while staying with Miller.
• The parents of a minor whom Miller exerted their influence on also filed for a restraining order against the star.
• Miller reportedly did reshoots for the film inbetween arrests and while Warner Bros. was well aware of their extremely problematic behavior.

Backlash

• Warner Bros. can either scrap the film entirely, limit Miller's press exposure, or prevent him from interacting with the press during the film's promotion.
• The studio may be weighing an option where Miller returns home and seeks professional help, after which they could speak to the press explaining their behaviors.
• The studio may choose to release the film without involving Miller in the promotion of the project and replace them in any subsequent sequels.

F-bomb

• At a campaign stop in Mineral Wells, Texas, the Democrat Beto O'Rouke was holding a town hall where he spoke about the Uvalde Shooting, which killed nineteen children and two adults.
• During his remarks, a heckler started laughing, which prompted O'Rouke to call him out, saying that while the shooting might be funny to the heckler, it was certainly not funny to him.
• O'Rourke added the expletive, mother f* while addressing the heckler.

Viral campaign

• O'Rourke's exchange with the heckler has gone viral.
• Gun control has become a central tenet of O'Rourke's campaign, and he has criticized incumbent governor Gregg Abbott for failing to protect students from mass shootings. During his office as governor, Abbott has loosened gun regulations and refused to pass any gun control measures.
• At a press conference after the shooting in Uvalde, O'Rourke confronted Abbott, saying his policies were to blame for the deaths at Robb Elementary School.

Targeting Bolton

• Sharam Poursafi was charged with plotting to murder John Bolton after a drone strike killed Qassem Soleimani in January 2020. Soleimani served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and at the time of his death, he was the leader of an elite special ops group.
• Poursafi repeatedly attempted to pay $300,000 to the unnamed source in the investigation to kill Bolton, who was a national security advisor when the strike killed Soleimani.

Pompeo as well

• In the correspondences between Poursafi and the source, he hinted that he had a $1 million job for a second hit.
• The Department of Justice revealed that the second hit was meant to target former secretary of state Mike Pompeo.

Changed mind

• The FCC tentatively approved Starlink's application in 2020 for subsidies to provide internet to rural parts of America at the cost of $885 million over ten years.
• But, the FCC rejected their application today, saying that the plan was too expensive for consumers and that Starlink had failed to demonstrate that it could follow through on the proposal.

Try again

• Under the Starlink proposal, rural customers would need to purchase a $600 dollar satellite dish to get access to broadband satellite internet.
• Starlink had applied to access subsidies $9.2 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.
• The head of the FCC said that the cost of the satellite made the plan "risky" and added that there was little proof that the proposal would provide quality internet to users.

Pack the parks

• The number of Disney+ subscribers hit 152.1 million during the third quarter. Experts had initially predicted that the number of subscribers would grow to 147 million.
• Disney also revealed that they beat bottom and top line earning expectations. The boost in revenue was partially due to increased spending at Disney parks and on experiences.
• Disney's Q3 revenue was $21.5 billion.

Ad-supported plan

• Disney announced they will launch an ad-supported plan on Disney+ for $7.99 a month on December 8th.
• As of December 8th, Disney will raise the price of their original, ad-free plan to $10.99 a month.
• Netflix is also launching an ad-supported plan, which isn't expected to launch until 2023.

Silent interview

• Former President Donald Trump sat down with New York Attorney General Letitia James today to be deposed in a civil case determining whether the Trump organization falsified documents to avoid taxes and secure loans.
• Before being deposed, Trump released a statement saying he intended to invoke the fifth amendment, meaning he would remain silent in the face of James's questioning.
• Trump finally testified after a lengthy legal back and forth between the Trump family and the Attorney General's office. The Trump family tried to avoid the subpoena to testify in the civil case.

Plead the fifth

• President Trump said that he decided to remain silent at the advice of his attorneys. He also called the civil case unfounded and politically motivated.
• Trump's children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. were deposed earlier in the month as part of the investigation.
• James's office has been investigating Trump's organization for falsifying financial statements tied to his New York business dealings to obtain tax cuts and loans.

Rising prices

• Ford paused reservations for the F-150 Lightning for nine months, but they reopened reservations today. But, they raised the price of the truck by $7,000.
• Ford said the reason for the price hike is the rising cost of materials and technological components.

Long list

• The cheapest model of the F-150 Lightning will be listed at $46,974 instead of the original price, which was less than $40,000.
• Ford is betting that demand for electric vehicles will stay high enough to sustain the price hike.
• The price hike reflects a global shortage of components that go into electric vehicle batteries.

Over here!

• RCS is a cross-platform messaging protocol designed to streamline and improve the messaging experience between iOS and Android users.
• To pressure Apple publicly into adopting RCS, Google released a new "Get the Message" website that aggregates why the tech giant should hop aboard.
• They also started a hashtag with the same name as the site.

Going public

• In Google's campaign, they claim to be pushing Apple to get with the times and adopt the messaging protocol.
• Apple uses SMS and MMS for messages outside of iMessage, which Google slammed, calling them outdated. Google wants Apple to adopt RCS instead.
• Google's push for RCS is unlikely to make Apple change its mind about adopting RCS for non-iMessage texts.

Signed in

• The Senate passed the CHIPS bill off to Biden, and he signed the ambitious bill into law today.
• Biden was joined by a crowd of tech executives, members of Congress, and observers as he signed the bill.
• The bipartisan bill invests billions into semiconductor manufacturing and scientific research on American soil. It also includes tax credits for companies that invest in semiconductor chip manufacturers.
• The bill joins a list of recent accomplishments for the Biden administration, including the passage of the Democratic spending agenda in the Senate and a successful drone strike that killed al-Qaeda's leader in Afghanistan ahead of the midterms.

Competitive edge

• The bill aims to help the US compete with countries like China, which is investing billions into its chip-manufacturing capabilities, and protect the country from supply chain disruptions that may be caused by tensions with China or the ongoing war in Ukraine.
• The bill will provide $52.7 billion in subsidies for chip manufacturers to build domestic production plants and pull their manufacturing stateside.

Executing the raid

• The FBI executed a search warrant to look for documents that are part of an ongoing investigation from Trump's time in office which may have been transported or stored at his resort in Palm Beach.
• While Trump announced the search last night, the FBI began searching his residence yesterday morning.
• The National Archives requested the search as part of an ongoing investigation into the handling of classified documents during Trump's presidency.

Republican Backlash

• House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican Representative from California, expressed outrage at the raid. He said that if Republicans win the House in the upcoming primaries, they will investigate the DOJ for raiding Trump.
• Republican allies of Trump decried the raid, calling it an overstep of the DOJ's powers.
• Democrats defended the raid, calling it an appropriate measure as part of the ongoing investigation into Trump.