The Atlantic Ocean witnessed no major tropical storms between early July and the end of August for the first time since 1941, according to meteorologists.

From the Weather Underground:

The hurricane season may not produce a single storm in August for the first time in 25 years, though this quiet snap won’t last. 

It’s now been almost two months since the last named storms – Bonnie, then Colin – briefly made their appearances in the Atlantic Basin in the first days of July.

That’s the first time since 1941 no storms have formed in the Atlantic Basin in the period from July 3 through August 30, according to Colorado State University tropical meteorologist Phil Klotzbach.

Hurricane season tracks-to-date through Aug. 31, 2022. Bonnie crossed Central America and became a hurricane in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Black line segments correspond to when a system was a “potential tropical cyclone.”

Only one August in the last 56 years of the satellite era failed to produce a single tropical storm.

That was in 1997, during which an El Niño rapidly developed into one of the strongest on record by fall. El Niños tend to produce increased sinking air and wind shear in parts of the Atlantic Basin, which lead to fewer tropical storms and hurricanes.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre viciously attacked supporters of Donald Trump Wednesday, saying ‘MAGA Republicans’ pose an “extreme threat” to our “freedoms and rights.”

“The President thinks there is an extremist threat to our Democracy. He’s been clear on that. When we talk about our Democracy, when we talk about our Freedoms, the MAGA Republicans are an extreme threat to our Democracy, to our freedom, to our rights,” said Jean-Pierre.

Watch her comments above.

Bad timing, California.

According to a report from The Daily Wire, Californians are being asked to voluntarily not charge their electric vehicles to avoid overpowering the power grid. This ask comes just days after California lawmakers announced their intent to phase out gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

From The Daily Wire:

The western United States is facing a likely “prolonged and record heat wave” that could lead to temperatures as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service. As a result, the California Independent System Operator is seeking to bring all available resources online to handle higher electricity demand and expects to issue “voluntary energy conservation” notices over the Labor Day weekend.

“The top three conservation actions are to set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, avoid using large appliances and charging electric vehicles, and turn off unnecessary lights,” according to the American Public Power Association. During a “Flex Alert,” residents are encouraged to reduce energy consumption from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm — the hours in which “demand for electricity remains high and there is less solar energy available.”

California also experienced a round of blackouts during last year’s Labor Day weekend. The state issued Flex Alerts because grid operators predicted “an increase in electricity demand, primarily from air conditioning use” related to extreme temperatures.

The warnings of low grid capacity come days after the California Air Resources Board issued new rules requiring 35% of new vehicles to produce zero emissions by 2026 — a standard that will rise to a 68% benchmark by 2030 and a 100% level by 2035. Yet experts have warned that the state’s electric grid will require significant upgrades to manage a rapid transition away from internal combustion vehicles.

More over at The Daily Wire:

Former President Donald Trump shot back at allegations made by the DOJ that he tried to obstruct a federal investigation and removed documents from Mar-a-Lago; Trump commented on TRUTH Social.

“Terrible the way the FBI, during the Raid of Mar-a-Lago, threw documents haphazardly all over the floor (perhaps pretending it was me that did it!), and then started taking pictures of them for the public to see. Thought they wanted them kept Secret? Lucky I Declassified!” Trump wrote.

The former President also congratulated whistleblowers and asked what happened to “nuclear.”

“Congratulations to the many FBI & DOJ Whistleblowers who have flooded the offices of our Senators & Congressmen/women with really bad things to say about what is going on. This is the time, after many years of lawbreaking & unfairness, to clean things up. All things for a reason. DRAIN THE SWAMP!!!”

“Whatever happened to NUCLEAR, a word that was leaked early on by the FBI/DOJ to the Fake News Media!”

More over at Fox News:

Congresswoman Liz Cheney blasted Donald Trump after images were posted on social media showing classified documents on the floor of Mar-a-Lago, a photograph the former President claims was orchestrated by the FBI.

“Yet more indefensible conduct by Donald Trump revealed this morning,” posted Cheney.

“Terrible the way the FBI, during the Raid of Mar-a-Lago,

threw documents haphazardly all over the floor

(perhaps pretending it was me that did it!), and then

started taking pictures of them for the public to see.

Thought they wanted them kept Secret? Lucky I

Declassified!” explained Trump on ‘Truth’ social.

According to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll completed on Tuesday, Biden’s approval is sliding back down to his all-time low; only 38% of Americans approve of Biden’s job performance, the poll shows.

From Newsmax:

While Biden’s approval rating hit 41% last week, it has been mostly below 40% since mid-June despite a string of Democratic legislative victories that Biden’s allies hope will help them defend their narrow congressional majorities in November.

Democrats are expected to lose control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November and possibly the Senate as well.

Even with control only of the House, Republicans would be able to bring Biden’s legislative agenda to a halt and launch potentially politically damaging investigations.

Biden’s overall approval rating has been below 50% for over a year as Americans have grappled with high rates of inflation and an economy scarred by the COVID-19 health crisis. Biden’s lowest ratings of 36% – in four weekly polls in May, June, and July – rivaled the lows of his predecessor, Donald Trump, whose popularity bottomed out at 33% in December 2017.

After U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon indicated her “preliminary intent” to appoint a special master to review the evidence seized from Mar-a-Lago by the FBI on August 8th, the government responded in two ways. “It’s too late, baby” was the first shot, saying that the FBI had completed its “taint team” work and the evidence has all been reviewed and handed over to the prosecution team. “It’s a conspiracy!” was the second shot.

The first argument contends that Trump’s motion is moot, since a special master would be doing work that’s already done, according to the FBI. Andrew McCarthy noted in National Review that “the Justice Department has already gotten through its review of what it deemed to be privileged information — by assuming that what was potentially privileged was much narrower than what Trump claims is privileged.”

The government’s standard is based on past rulings dealing with ex-presidents and executive privilege, and what it considered attorney-client privilege. McCarthy goes into the legal weeds, but the gist of it is that President Biden made a political decision to treat Trump as an enemy of the state, and grant no privilege to anything he did. He characterized the government’s response as “Justice Department hardball.”

As for Judge Cannon, McCarthy wrote that if he were her, “I’d be livid” at the government’s bulldozing of Trump’s motion.

The government has put itself in a conundrum of its own making. If it intends to prosecute and indict Trump for violations of the PRA and laws dealing with the handling of classified information, the “taint team’s” handing over of documents to the prosecution team that a court-appointed special master would find to be privileged would greatly harm their case. Then again, if they don’t intend to prosecute, it won’t matter at all.

But it it doesn’t matter at all, what was the purpose of the search warrant on August 8th in the first place? If it was just a retrieval mission, then why did the DOJ publicly release this photo?

The DOJ contends that classified documents were “likely concealed and removed” from Mar-a-Lago in an effort to obstruct their investigation. The way the evidence is laid out reminds me of the drug raid photos regularly released when law enforcement makes a big bust. It’s clearly intended to show how Trump and his staff casually treated highly classified documents bearing the “TS/SCI” cover page, mixing them in with other papers and storing them in a Bankers Box.

The government’s position is that Trump is a clear and present danger to national security, a mastermind who is plotting seditious and treasonous acts against the United States; and also that he’s a bumbling fool, who, despite being a billionaire, left the evidence in desk drawers in his office.

Also, the government’s position is that it doesn’t matter if the primary case is tainted, as long as the narrative is presented to the public. Keep in mind, that the government has about as open-and-shut a case on PRA violations as it could possibly want. All it had to do was not proceed at breakneck speed, and let Trump’s lawyers have their say.

Judge Cannon will preside over a hearing tomorrow on the special master, and possibly Trump’s earlier cease and desist motion, which she did not grant, but also didn’t rule out. The government went ahead with its own plans as if none of that had occurred. Today, Trump’s legal team gets to respond to the government.

I’m sure whatever they say, folks who want Trump locked up will take it as so many lies. And Trump supporters will defend him. The government’s approach here is puzzling, because it makes it’s case more fraught. But if viewed politically, in the home stretch to midterm elections, it makes more sense. Keep Trump in the news, promote the narrative casting him in the worst light, but don’t worry about convicting him—or at least making a conviction stick. As long as Democrats make gains in November.

Don’t say that this is just about legalities and justice. The FBI is shot through with partisan politics. Look at former FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office, Timothy Thibault. He’s no longer with the FBI, Fox News and other media reported. Thibault was accused by a whistleblower of withholding evidence and interfering to squash an investigation of Hunter Biden.

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, as ranking minority member of the Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

“As you are aware, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Tim Thibault is not the only politically biased FBI agent at the Washington Field Office,” Grassley wrote. He added that “the FBI answers to Congress and the American people.”

Whistleblowers against Trump were treated as heroes by the media. Not so much when FBI agents blow past rules and evidence to protect Joe Biden’s family and reputation.

This doesn’t lessen the gravity of potential cases against Trump. The Fulton County case regarding election interference is still the best shot at holding Trump and his cabal of “stolen election” liars accountable in a real way. The federal government’s behavior harms that effort, because it’s obvious that, to the White House, this is a political operation.

If there’s a conspiracy going on, it’s probably not Trump’s conspiracy. He’s not capable of one, other than a sales pitch or a grift. When the con is over, the con artists scatter or turn on each other. I’m much more skeptical of the motives of lifelong politicians, staffers, consultants and their media connections. Trump knows how to survive, but the people pursuing him are professionals.

If Democrats don’t think voters get a whiff of this toxic gas, they’re whistling past the graveyard. The only thing Democrats have in their favor is that most people agree that Trump is toxic. Democrats need to be careful that they’re not more toxic.

Follow Steve on Twitter @stevengberman.

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The DOJ may be making a case for obstruction.

According to a report from AP News, a recent DOJ filing reveals that it believes it’s likely that certain documents were “likely concealed and removed” from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as part of an effort to obstruct the federal investigation.

From AP News:

The filing offers yet another indication of the sheer volume of classified records retrieved from Mar-a-Lago. It shows how investigators conducting a criminal probe have focused not just on why the records were improperly stored there, but also on the question of whether the Trump team intentionally misled them about the continued, and unlawful, presence of the top secret documents.

The timeline laid out by the Justice Department made clear that the extraordinary search of Mar-a-Lago came only after other efforts to retrieve the records had failed, and that it resulted from law enforcement suspicion that additional documents remained inside the property despite assurances by Trump representatives that a “diligent search” had accounted for all of the material.

More over at AP News:

Even for Joe, this is a stretch.

In Wilkes-Barres, Pennsylvania on Tuesday night, President Biden delivered an incredibly strange speech about keeping communities safer; Joe said he once helped an old woman take down a gang.

According to The Daily Wire, “while discussing the need for police officers to be known within their community, the president said he remembered going into the East Side of Wilmington, ‘in one of those old Victorian two, three-story apartment buildings and going up to see a woman, whose name — she’s passed away but won’t mention her name now — and stand in that rotunda, that part that stuck out around the building. And she said, ‘Joey, I know. I know what’s going on. They all plan it downstairs. I can hear them, but I’m afraid to tell anybody. I’m afraid to tell anybody. The gangs.’”

“And so I got a phone number, I got a phone number for the local cops. She called they promised not to identify her because I knew there’d be retribution, and the crime rate began to drop for real, not a joke,” he added.

Watch a clip from the bizarre story below:

New York residents must now show ID when purchasing cans of whipped cream, a move the state claims will limit the abuse of nitrous-oxide gas by teens and other minors.

From Fox News:

ID checks for whipped cream are rolling out at stores in New York as more retailers begin to enforce a year-old state law banning the sale of whipped cream canisters to anyone under 21.

The law passed last year amid concern that teenagers are increasingly getting high by inhaling the nitrous oxide used as a propellant in the canisters, according to the Albany Times Union.

The first offense of selling whipped cream canisters to someone under 21 comes with a $250 fine, with fines of up to $500 for subsequent violations.

Nitrous oxide, or “laughing gas,” is a dissociative anesthetic that can be inhaled by discharging nitrous gas cartridges known as “whippets,” according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation. In addition to short-lived euphoria, the drug can also cause loss of blood pressure, fainting, heart attack and sudden death. Potential long-term effects include memory loss and psychosis.