Mike's Blog Round-up

A blast from the sun has created a massive geomagnetic storm that is creating an incredible visual spectacle for the US. Many Americans across the country were able to see the Northern Lights. For people in many places, the most visible part of the storm will be the northern lights, known also as auroras.

“In an extended riff at his rally on Saturday in New Jersey, former President Donald Trump returned to a reference that has become a staple of his stump speech, comparing migrants to Hannibal Lecter, the fictional serial killer and cannibal from The Silence of the Lambs, as he aims to stoke anger and fear over migration in advance of the election,” the New York Times reports. Said Trump: “Has anyone ever seen ‘The Silence of the Lambs’?

Sen. J. D. Vance (R-OH), “who is a contender to be Donald Trump’s running mate, hedged on Sunday when he was asked whether he would accept the results of the November election,” the New York Times reports. Said Vance: “If we have a free and fair election, I will accept the results.” “Mr.

Paul Manafort, convicted felon pardoned by Trump, has backed away from his role advising the Republican National Convention. Paul Manafort, convicted and pardoned felon, has quit his again-unpaid role as advisor to the Republican National Convention. “As a longtime, staunch supporter of President Trump and given my nearly 50 years experience in managing presidential conventions, I was offering my advice and suggestions to the Trump campaign on the upcoming convention in a volunteer capacity,” Mr.

“Jim Justice, the businessman-turned-politician governor of West Virginia, has been pursued in court for years by banks, governments, business partners and former employees for millions of dollars in unmet obligations,” the New York Times reports. “And for a long time, Mr. Justice and his family’s companies have managed to stave off one threat after another with wily legal tactics notably at odds with the aw-shucks persona that has endeared him to so many West Virginians.

“Russian leader Vladimir Putin has removed Sergei Shoigu from his longtime position as defense minister and appointed him to lead the country’s security and defense council, a consultative body that advises the president, in a major shake-up of the Kremlin’s security team, the Kremlin said Sunday,” the Washington Post reports. “At the security council, Shoigu will succeed Nikolai Patrushev, one of the most powerful officials in Russia, who was not immediately named to any new position, prompting speculation about his dismissal.”