Former President Donald Trump faces new accusations in the classified documents case. And health officials say they have found the surprising cause of a mysterious food allergy plaguing thousands of Americans. It’s time for The Rundown for Friday, July 28, 2023.
Trump accused of attempting to have video deleted
Federal prosecutors have tacked on three additional charges against former President Donald Trump in the classified documents case.
The new accusations claim Trump conspired to pressure a staff member to delete security footage at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in order to obstruct the Justice Department’s investigation.
The DOJ is also charging a third defendant in the case – Mar-a-Lago worker Carlos de Oliveira.
Trump responded to the new charges on July 27 by criticizing the DOJ as a two-tiered system of justice, referencing classified documents found in President Joe Biden’s possession.
Trump now faces 40 charges related to the classified documents.
Senate passes defense policy bill
The Senate passed a sweeping defense bill the evening of July 27 in a bipartisan vote of 86 to 11.
The Democrat-controlled Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would give a 5.2% pay raise to service members.
The bill would also set defense spending levels at $866 billion for the coming year.
Earlier this month, the Republican-led House of Representatives passed its own version of the bill with added amendments over social issues including abortion, transgender care and diversity initiatives at the Pentagon.
The NDAA is one of the few major bills Congress passes each year.
DOJ to investigate Memphis police over Tyre Nichols’ death
The Justice Department announced it’s investigating the police in Memphis, Tennessee, six months since the death of Tyre Nichols.
Five police officers were charged with his murder after the 29-year-old was kicked, pepper-sprayed, and Tazed during a reckless driving traffic stop. The confrontation was caught on police body cameras. Three days later, Nichols died from blunt force trauma.
Attorney General Merrick Garland says investigators will look into allegations that the city and police department engaged in a pattern of unconstitutional conduct and discrimination. The five former officers accused of murdering Nichols have pleaded not guilty.
UK investigating emails mistakenly sent to Mali
Last week, Straight Arrow News told you about millions of U.S. military emails that have ended up in the hands of a Russian ally. Now, an ally to the U.S. is looking into a similar matter.
Authorities in the United Kingdom announced July 28 they are investigating “a small number” of U.K. defense ministry emails that “were mistakenly forwarded to an incorrect email domain.”
While U.K. officials didn’t confirm which domain, it’s presumed the emails were intended for the Pentagon with the domain of “.mil” and were accidentally sent to the “.ml” domain belonging to the country of Mali.
Mali has developed close ties with Russia since a coup took place in the West African nation back in 2021.
A spokesperson for Britain’s Ministry of Defense says they are confident the emails “did not contain any information that could compromise operational security or technical data” and that “all sensitive information is shared on systems designed to minimize the risk of misdirection.”
“The MOD constantly reviews its processes and is currently undertaking a programme of work to improve information management, data loss prevention, and the control of sensitive information,” the statement read.
Rise in red meat food allergy linked to tick spit
There has been an uptick in the number of Americans allergic to red meat caused by either eating red meat or getting bit by a tick.
According to the CDC, since 2010, between 100,000 and 450,000 Americans have developed a red meat allergy, which would make it the 10th most common food allergy in the U.S.
So what causes it?
There’s a specific sugar found in meat from mammals that can lead to a severe allergic reaction.
That same sugar found in red meat is also found in the saliva of a tick, which can enter a person’s body when they get a bite. The CDC says this type of meat allergy is potentially life threatening.
The number of ticks and tick-borne infections nationwide is on the rise. But the good news is tick-borne infections are easily treatable with antibiotics.
However, get bit by the wrong tick that gets spit into your system and you could develop a lifelong red meat food allergy.
Threads loses more than half of users
After signing up more than 100 million people in less than a week, Threads is now looking at ways to keep those users from fleeing the new social media app.
During a company townhall on July 27, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees that more than half of Threads’ users have left the platform since its launch earlier this month.
Zuckerberg said he considered the drop-off normal and is expecting to retain users as the company adds more features including a desktop version of the app.
Meta is also looking at other “retention-driving hooks” which includes users on the Instagram app being able to see important posts from Threads.