Groups run by by pro-Trump celebrities who’ve campaigned for months on the lie that Donald Trump’s second term was stolen for him have collectively given millions of dollars to the sham “audit” of Maricopa County, Arizona’s 2020 election results, constituting the vast majority of the audit’s funding.

In all, outside groups contributed $5.7 million to the audit, lead audit contractor Cyber Ninjas said in a statement.

By contrast, Arizona Senate Republicans — who authorized the audit and issued the subpoenas to Maricopa County that compelled the county to hand over its election materials to a bunch of inexperienced, conspiracy-theory-promoting tech professionals — provided just $150,000 for the audit.

As politicized “audits” proliferate around the country — including in Pennsylvania, where lawmakers pushing the review have considered using private funds — the new details provide a small window into the Arizona operation’s deep ties to the #StopTheSteal fringe, including Patrick Byrne, Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell and One America News Network. Cyber Ninjas in a statement referred to the fringe organizations as the audit’s “sponsors.”

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/with-millions-in-donations-celebrity-maga-sponsors-bankrolled-97-of-arizona-audit

The White House’s 2030 goal for electric vehicle sales could fall short of what experts say is needed to meet U.S. climate goals

When it comes to meeting President Biden’s climate goals, the math is clear: Half of all cars and SUVs sold in 2030 need to be electric.

Next week, the president, major carmakers and the nation’s largest auto union plan to promise to reach at least 40 percent by then — potentially rising to the 50 percent mark with generous federal investment.

The voluntary pledge, which is still under negotiation, highlights the challenge the White House faces as it seeks to translate the president’s bold rhetoric into reality. With United Nations climate negotiations just 3½ months away, the administration is struggling with how to transform the transportation sector, America’s biggest driver of carbon emissions.

The talks underscore the difficulty of reversing course after four years of environmental rollbacks. While Biden’s team can write new rules, it won’t fully offset the climate-warming pollution caused by the Trump administration’s decision to weaken standards on cars.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/07/29/biden-wants-turn-americas-auto-fleet-electric-its-harder-than-it-seems/

IMO range anxiety is the major consumer concern that has to be overcome before electric vehicles gain widespread public acceptance. I also felt that when taking my first extended journey driving a Tesla, but that's no longer a worry; I just completed my seventh cross-country trip.

It was a brilliant strategic move by Musk to put supercharging stations coast-to-coast as part of Tesla's rollout, and other automobile companies are having to face how to address that issue. Volkswagon's Electrify America program is attempting to meet that challenge, and I did see a number of those chargers on my trip, but no one was using them. The administration's initiative to install more chargers is a step in the right direction.

Source: Tampa Bay Times

Florida also reported 92 deaths and had a seven-day average of 57 deaths, according to the federal data.

Florida reported 16,038 new COVID-19 cases to the federal government on Tuesday, the highest number of new cases since Jan. 15, federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show.

The Tuesday total was the seventh consecutive day in which Florida reported more than 12,000 new cases and came as the Centers for Disease Control issued guidelines advising fully vaccinated people to wear masks while indoors in public places. The increased numbers and new federal guidance have come as the delta variant of the coronavirus sweeps across the nation and as many people remain unvaccinated.

With the increase in cases Tuesday, Florida’s seven-day “moving” average of new cases was 13,502. Florida also reported 92 deaths on Tuesday and had a seven-day average of 57 deaths, according to the federal data.

Nationwide, an additional 80,701 new COVID-19 cases were reported Tuesday, meaning Florida accounted for about 20 percent of the newly reported cases for the day. The 92 deaths reported in Florida were about 22 percent of the COVID-19 deaths reported nationwide.

Read more: https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2021/07/29/florida-tops-16000-new-covid-19-cases/

A former candidate for the New York state senate charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol asked people to delete videos and photos of him inside the building after his friends began to get arrested.

Daniel Christmann was taken into custody Wednesday on charges of disorderly conduct, entering a restricted building and demonstrating in a Capitol building, according to the Department of Justice.

Federal authorities said several people reached out to investigators with the FBI to provide information on Christmann's participation in the riot. A criminal complaint states that Christmann made several posts on his "dannyforsenate" Instagram account showing a large crowd of people inside the Capitol.

He had also shared a video of a man yelling, "We want Nancy ...we want the rest of them." The FBI said it believes the man, who was not Christmann, was referring to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers.

https://news.yahoo.com/ex-york-senate-candidate-charged-200500235.html

Source: New York Times

Key Republican senators say they’re ready to take up an infrastructure deal, paving the way for a vote. (Complete headline)

Key Republican senators said on Wednesday that they had resolved the biggest sticking points to a final agreement with the White House and Democrats on a far-reaching infrastructure bill, and planned to vote to allow the package to advance, paving the way for action on crucial piece of President Biden’s agenda.

“We now have an agreement on the major issues and we’re prepared to move forward,” said Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio and a lead negotiator for his party in bipartisan talks on the infrastructure measure.

The emerging deal was expected to fill in the details of an outline the group triumphantly announced at the White House in late June, but has spent weeks haggling over as they toiled to translate it into legislative text while keeping their fragile coalition together.

While details were not immediately available, the bill under discussion would pump the largest infusion of federal money in more than a decade into the nation’s aging public works system.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/28/us/politics/infrastructure-deal-biden.html

The select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol held its first hearing Tuesday, and Republican lawmakers took the occasion to demand justice — for the terrorists who took up arms against the U.S. government on that terrible day.

Six Republican members of the House, escorted by a man in a giant Trump costume bearing the message “TRUMP WON,” marched on the Justice Department Tuesday afternoon to speak up for those they called “political prisoners” awaiting trial for their roles in the insurrection.

“These are not unruly or dangerous, violent criminals,” Rep. Paul Gosar (Ariz.) proclaimed at a news conference outside DOJ headquarters. “These are political prisoners who are now being persecuted and bearing the pain of unjust suffering.”

Rep. Louie Gohmert (Tex.) speculated that “we have political prisoners here in America.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/27/jan-6-hearings-begin-republicans-side-with-terrorists/

The first meeting of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack was perhaps the least surprising but most important session the panel will hold. As the debate on the facts of Jan. 6 descends into another war of truth vs. partisan lies, riveting testimony from four police officers reminded the nation Tuesday that the riot was an assault on democracy — and that democracy survived because real people put their lives on the line in its defense. This reminder was sadly needed as Republican leaders continue to lie about what occurred.

Republican office holders have claimed that the rioters were peaceful. D.C. police officer Michael Fanone described how “I was electrocuted again and again and again with a taser. I’m sure I was screaming, but I don’t think I could even hear my own voice.”

They have claimed the insurrectionists were mere tourists. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell asked, “How do you call an attack on a police officer a ‘tour’ when you see my bleeding hands, when you see all the officers getting concussions, getting maimed, getting fingers shattered, eyes gouged?”

They have claimed that the insurrectionists were well-meaning patriots. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn recounted how a woman in a pink MAGA shirt screamed at him, “You hear that, guys, this n----- voted for Joe Biden,” eliciting cries of “Boo! F------ n-----!” from a crowd of about 20 people. Sgt. Gonell offered a list of deadly implements the crowd used against officers: “a baseball bat, a hockey stick, a rebar, a flagpole, including the American flag, pepper spray, bear spray.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/27/police-officers-beg-country-do-not-forget-hell-jan-6/

When most people think of cornhole, it usually involves a backyard BBQ setting with drinks and friends. But for some it’s a competitive sport, and this year the world championships are being hosted right in our backyard.

The American Cornhole Organization (ACO) World Championships is taking place this week in Bradenton, with hundreds of competitors from across the country. The week-long event is being held at the Bradenton Area Convention Center, and is free to the public to watch and cheer.

Founder and president of the ACO, Frank Geers, formalized the organization in 2005 when it held the first world championship. Geers was in marketing at the time and started the organization with a couple of friends in hopes of getting sponsors to pay for advertisements on the boards. After the turnout he realized how much he enjoyed the sport.

“I saw this opportunity to put company logos ... on the boards and the bags,” said Geers. “And then I thought, ‘This is a lot of fun. Is anybody organizing this backyard game?’ Nobody really was, so that’s when I conceived the idea.”

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/2021/07/27/american-cornhole-organization-world-championships-held-bradenton/8053496002/

Don't believe if I'd care to be known as a cornhole champion...

Florida agricultural commissioner Nikki Fried suspended the concealed-carry permits of nearly two dozen Floridians who are suspected of involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots Tuesday, according to her official Twitter account.

"I just suspended the concealed weapons permits of 22 people involved in the insurrection against the United States of America instigated by Donald Trump on January 6, 2021," Fried said, calling the former president out by name in the post.

Florida is among the nation's leaders in arrests related to the Jan. 6 riot in which hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in hopes of overturning the election results. There are 55 charged defendants in connection with the Capitol riots who were Florida residents, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Tuesday.

At least five Brevard County residents were charged in connection with the insurrection, according to the DOJ.

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2021/07/27/florida-nikki-fried-suspends-capitol-riot-suspects-concealed-carry-permits-trump/5394631001/

That's gonna make them cry...

The discussion came a day before the CDC reversed course on mask guidelines in schools.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday gathered a collection of scientists who railed against masking kids for the upcoming school year, a move that came just one day before federal guidelines were revised to say everyone should wear masks inside K-12 schools amid a national surge of COVID-19 cases.
.....

The new federal mask guidelines are almost certain to brew more tension in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis has been doubling down on his opposition to mask children as school boards across the state face more intense debates over whether children should wear masks inside schools when in-person learning resumes in August.

On Monday, DeSantis made his stance on school mask mandates very clear during a closed-door panel discussion. He invited a group of four physicians, a parent and a student, all of whom had views that aligned with the governor’s handling of the pandemic, to discuss the issue of mask mandates.

The panel discussion was closed to the public, and no reporters were invited. But a video of the 50-minute panel discussion was later posted by the governor’s office on Rumble, a video platform that is frequently used by DeSantis and that has emerged as a conservative alternative to YouTube.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/07/27/in-secret-meeting-desantis-pushes-against-masks-in-schools/