Friday, July 15 top stories
It is Friday, July 15. Here are today’s top stories.
Ivana Trump passes away at 73
Ivana Trump, the first wife of Donald Trump and the mother to Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric, passed away at the age of 73.
Donald Trump announced the death, saying “I am very saddened to inform all of those that loved her, of which there are many, that Ivana Trump has passed away at her home in New York City.”
Ivanka tweeted, “Heartbroken by the passing of my mother. Mom was brilliant, charming, passionate and wickedly funny…”
Ivana was born in Czechoslovakia in 1949.
Sky News explained that Donald and Ivana married in 1977, turned into a celebrity couple popular in the New York City scene of the 80s, and had a very public and messy divorce in 1992.
In recent years, Ivana was on good terms with Donald and would call him from time to time to give him advice.
Secret Service erased text messages on Jan 5 & 6
The Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General Joseph Cuffari said on Wednesday that the U.S. Secret Service erased many text messages, including those sent on January 5 and 6, 2021, after he requested records of electronic communications as a part of his review of the events at the Capitol on January 6.
Cuffari said he was told that the texts were deleted as a part of a device-replacement program.
The Intercept was the first to report this news on Thursday. The article took a focus on Mike Pence’s refusal to get in the vice presidential limo on January 6 after he was evacuated from the Capitol. Pence said he believed that his Secret Service detail would “take off” if he got in the vehicle. Pence instead stayed in a secure area at the Capitol until the mob was cleared away and members of Congress returned so he could fulfill his role of certifying the 2020 election. Donald Trump had hoped he would block the certification but Pence refused.
The U.S. Secret Service said in a statement that it was untrue that they maliciously deleted text messages.
The Jan 6. Committee said it was a “troubling destruction of records” and would respond.
China’s economy slows down
The Chinese government said its economic growth slowed down last quarter with the economy expanding only 0.4% compared with a year ago.
Axios said China’s “zero COVID policy spurred lockdowns in major cities that lasted for much of the three-month period” causing “factory production and consumer spending to (go into) a crawl.”
China has the world’s second-biggest economy.
This week, there are 31 cities that are under full or partial lockdowns.
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Texas sues Biden Administration over emergency abortions
The state of Texas sued the Biden administration on Thursday seeking to block an executive order issued last week that requires physicians and hospitals nationwide to provide abortions in medical emergencies.
The Biden Administration said if a physician or hospital sees that it is necessary to perform an abortion to protect the pregnant person, they must do it.
Texas said the Biden Administration was trying to use federal law to transform every emergency room in the country into a walk-in abortion clinic.
Average rent in NYC is $5,000 a month
CNBC reported that the average monthly rent for a Manhattan apartment is a bit over $5,000 a month for the first time. Average rental prices are up 29% compared with last year. The median rent is $4,050 a month, which is up 25% from last year.
There is heavy demand for rental apartments and the vacancy rate for the island is less than 2%. Many families and renters who left the city during the pandemic are returning.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/uploads/20220714-letter-to-house-select-committee.jpg
https://theintercept.com/2022/07/14/jan-6-texts-deleted-secret-service/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/15/jan-6-i-alone-can-fix-it-book-excerpt/
https://news.sky.com/story/ivana-trump-former-us-presidents-first-wife-has-died-aged-73-12652199
https://twitter.com/IvankaTrump/status/1547706200942264331
https://www.axios.com/2022/07/15/china-economy-pandemic-lockdown
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/14/texas-sues-biden-administration-over-abortion-rule.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/14/texas-sues-guidance-emergency-abortions
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/14/average-rent-in-manhattan-was-a-record-5000-last-month.html