Another Assassination Attempt, An Awards Show, & AirPods Get Upgraded

September 16, 2024

Hello, readers – happy Monday! Today, we’ll be talking about Trump’s conspiracy theories & assassination attempt (it was a busy weekend), a CIA plot, deadly flooding, RFK Jr. being under investigation, the Emmy Awards, and AirPods as hearing aids.

It’s time to play… Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader (if that 5th grader read a TON of news). Test your knowledge of recent world news with this short quiz. Submissions must be made by 12pm EST Wednesday, 9/18. The winner, announced Friday, 9/20, will win bragging rights for the week as well as a free Daily Pnut t-shirt.

“Each person holds so much power within themselves that needs to be let out. Sometimes they just need a little nudge, a little direction, a little support, a little coaching, and the greatest things can happen.” – Pete Carroll

Trouble In Trump-Land

(Trump Golf Course by Chandan Khanna via Getty Images)

Donald Trump has not had the best time on the campaign trail this year, and unfortunately for the former president, things didn’t improve in the wake of the presidential debate. In an appearance on CNN yesterday, JD Vance told the nation that he felt compelled “to create stories so that the … media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people.” The surprising (but also unsurprising) admission from Vance came as Republicans have received criticism for spreading rumors about Haitian migrants eating cats and dogs off the streets of Springfield, Ohio.

Some GOP politicians have called out Trump for restating the obviously fake story during the presidential debate, and have blamed Laura Loomer for pushing the story on him. Loomer, a conspiracy theorist known for espousing very, very racist ideas, has become increasingly close to Trump over the course of the campaign. One of her tweets, which included racist stereotypes about Kamala Harris’ Indian heritage, has landed her in hot water with more mainstream Republicans, including JD Vance himself.

Besides getting flak for his associates’ antics, Trump found himself in physical danger on Sunday as well. The former president was apparently the target of a second assassination attempt yesterday, though his Secret Service agents were able to intercept the would-be assassin before he got a shot off this time. The attempt took place at one of Trump’s Florida golf courses, and the FBI has already named its primary suspect in the plot, a 58-year-old man named Ryan Routh. Routh apparently abandoned an AK-47-style rifle with a scope, multiple backpacks with ceramic armor plates, and a GoPro-like camera at the scene of the crime – in the past, he had expressed his desire to fight and die to defend Ukraine against Russia and was featured in a New York Times article about American volunteers in Ukraine.

Keep Your SSN Off The Dark Web

Every day, data brokers profit from your sensitive info – phone number, DOB, SSN – selling it to the highest bidder. And who’s buying it? Best case: companies target you with ads. Worst case: scammers and identity thieves. It’s time for you to check out Incogni.
Incogni scrubs your personal data from the web, confronting the world’s data brokers on your behalf. And unlike other services, Incogni helps remove your sensitive information from all broker types, including those tricky People Search Sites.
Help protect yourself from identity theft, spam calls, and health insurers raising your rates. Plus, our Daily Pnut readers can get 55% off Incogni using code PNUT55!

An Assassination Accusation

(Maduro by Yuri Cortez via Getty Images)

According to the U.S. State Department, the CIA definitely wasn’t involved in a plot to kill Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Late last week, Venezuelan authorities said they had arrested six foreigners involved in the alleged assassination plot: three of the would-be assassins were Americans (including one U.S. Navy SEAL), two were Spanish nationals, and the last was a Czech citizen. The six plotters apparently had a stash of over 400 U.S. rifles as well.
Venezuela has been criticized by Western nations for its latest presidential elections, as Maduro’s government has declined to make voter tally sheets publicly available. The U.S. has made clear that it wants Maduro out of office, as the leftist strongman is no friend to the White House and Venezuela sits atop the largest proven crude oil reserve in the world.
“The CIA is at the forefront of this operation,” said Venezuelan interior minister Diosdado Cabello in a statement over the weekend, adding that U.S. involvement “does not surprise us at all.” In response, the State Department called the accusations “categorically false,” claiming that the U.S. “continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela.” We’re sure the truth will come out in 25 years when the CIA documents are declassified.

Europe Needs An Ark

While assassination plots were unfolding in the Americas, the weather was the biggest threat in Central Europe. Days of heavy rain late last week have caused massive floods across the region, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee. The weather has affected communities in Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Romania – Slovakia and Hungary are next on the list as a low-pressure system continues to make its way through Europe.
At least eight people have died, with at least four others missing in the Czech Republic alone. Tens of thousands of households are without power thanks to the floods, and floodwaters have cut off entire villages in the Czech Republic’s mountainous regions. The massive storms arrived after another year of record-breaking heat across the continent – while a little bit of rain might have been a welcome reprieve from the heat, the torrential downpour is probably not what most people had in mind.

More Mixed Nuts

Middle East Mixed Nuts

The Woke Mob Won’t Even Let You Behead A Whale These Days…

Let’s lighten things up a bit with some comedy: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., revealed this weekend that he is under investigation for “collecting a whale specimen 20 years ago,” saying that this was an example of “the weaponization of our government against political opponents.”
Just to quickly recap, RFK’s daughter gave an interview over a decade ago that resurfaced around the time his “I dropped a bear carcass in Central Park” story broke. In the interview, she described how he went to behead a beached whale and then strapped its head to the top of their car. Ahh, family bonding.
The Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund accused Kennedy of having “violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and possibly the Endangered Species Act, by illegally cutting the head off of a dead whale in or around 1994 in Hyannis Point, Massachusetts, and bringing it to his New York house.”

Small Screen, Big Night

Last night, the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards took place in Los Angeles. Dan and Eugene Levy took on father-son hosting duties, and it was certainly a better result than the time Jo Koy hosted the Golden Globes. There were a couple of references to J.D. Vance specifically that earned some loud cheers from the audience, but otherwise, the night mostly avoided the politics that have taken over the U.S. news cycles.
“The Bear” took home multiple awards in the comedy category despite the ongoing argument about whether or not it qualifies as a comedy. Liza Colón-Zayas became the first Latina to win Best Supporting Actress in a comedy. “Baby Reindeer” was a surprisingly strong contender, taking home multiple trophies. “Shogun,” which had a whopping 26 nominations, took home some of the bigger trophies – Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Drama – while “Hacks” took home the award for Best Comedy.

More Nuts In America

A New Gift For Grandma?

Thanks to a recent decision by the Food and Drug Administration, you might have a pair of hearing aids in your pocket right now. Last Thursday, the agency approved Apple’s new “Hearing Aid Feature,” which will turn certain generations of Apple AirPods into government-approved hearing aids.
The change will come with a free update scheduled later this fall, and will only affect Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 (when they’re paired with iOS 18-compatible iPhones or iPads). However, the development likely means that future AirPods Pro generations will also be able to act as hearing aids as well.
According to the National Council on Aging, hearing aids can be a big purchase, costing anywhere from $99 to $7,000. Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 are on the lower end of that range, costing $249, and some people in need of hearing aids might already own a pair. Combined with new AirPods-based hearing tests that Apple plans to roll out soon, you might see a lot more people trying to talk to you with their earbuds in – don’t be offended, they might just be hard of hearing.

More Loose Nuts