Category: Laptops

• Trump has escalated his feud with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell.
• He claimed that the Republican Party was “furious” with McConnell. 
• Trump said that the party would have to “do something” about McConnell, whom he labeled “bad news.”

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday lashed out once again at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

During an appearance on the conservative medial channel Real America’s Voice, Trump was asked to respond to McConnell’s hint in August that the GOP might not win the Senate because of the quality of Trump-backed candidates. 

“He’s such a negative for the party,” Trump said, adding that he was “embarrassed” by McConnell.

“I would’ve run somebody against him in the primary. But, who would’ve known that he turned out so bad? And I was never a big fan, but he turned out bad,” the former president said.

Trump also alluded again to the idea that he wanted to replace McConnell as Senate GOP leader. 

“He’s not good, and we’re gonna go through him, and then we’ll have to do something, later on, we’ll have to do something with him,” Trump said.

“The party is furious at him. We have to put up with him for a period of time, but eventually, he’ll be gone,” Trump added. “He’s bad news.”

A representative at Trump’s post-presidential press office and representatives for McConnell did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Trump’s comments came the same day that Sen. Rick Scott of Florida revived his ongoing rivalry with McConnell for criticizing the GOP’s “candidate quality.”

Scott said he had a “strategic disagreement” with McConnell during an interview with Politico that was published on Thursday. Scott also wrote in an op-ed in the Washington Examiner that the idea of “trash-talking” GOP candidates was “an amazing act of cowardice” and “treasonous to the conservative cause.”

Trump, too, has rebuked McConnell for questioning the quality of the GOP candidates he’s backed, calling him a “pawn for the Democrats” and calling for him to be replaced as GOP leader. 

The origins of the McConnell-Trump feud date back to February 2021, when McConnell rebuked Trump for his “disgraceful dereliction of duty” during the Capitol riot. Since then, Trump repeatedly attacked McConnell.

In November, Trump slammed McConnell and other Republicans who backed President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill, calling them “RINOs,” an acronym for Republicans In Name Only. Trump has also called McConnell an “Old Crow” on several occasions and accused the latter of “jeopardizing” other Republican senators’ reelection chances.

In February, McConnell shrugged off rumors that Trump might succeed in an attempt to oust him as majority leader if the GOP were to take the Senate in the November midterms. The comments came after Trump called McConnell a “loser” for defending GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who had contradicted Trump’s voter fraud claims.

Last month, Trump also called McConnell’s wife, former Transport Secretary Elaine Chao, “crazy” and “coco” in several Truth Social posts. McConnell, however, did not react to Trump’s insult, saying he had “no” response to the criticism.

• Michael Cohen thinks Trump could be have copies of the top-secret files found at Mar-a-Lago.
• Cohen said Trump might have stashed the documents at his homes in Bedminster and New York.
• Cohen also suggested that these files might also be in the homes of Trump’s children.

Michael Cohen, who was once former President Donald Trump’s lawyer, believes Trump likely has copies of the classified documents the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago stashed in other locations. 

Cohen was reacting on Twitter to an article from The Washington Post on the Department of Justice’s recent court filing, in which the DOJ suggested that Trump’s team may have concealed or moved top-secret files when officials were probing the matter.

“I believe Trump has copies, potentially other documents as well, at other locations including his children’s homes, Weisselberg’s florida home, Bedminster, NJ golf course, Fifth Avenue apartment, etc…” Cohen tweeted.

Cohen was referring to Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s former CFO, who in August admitted to orchestrating a payroll tax-dodge scheme at the organization.

During its search of Mar-a-Lago on August 8, the FBI seized 11 sets of classified documents, including some marked “top secret” and files that may have concerned nuclear weapons. According to the warrant for the search, the DOJ is looking into whether Trump broke any of three federal laws — including the Espionage Act — by keeping the documents at his Florida residence. 

This week, the DOJ also released a photograph from their search of Mar-a-Lago, which showed several folders bearing the word “top secret” strewn across the floor.

It is unclear if the former president ever made copies of these documents, or if these copies are being kept at the former president’s other homes. A representative at Trump’s post-presidential press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider. 

Cohen was Trump’s lawyer and close confidante for a decade. In 2018, he was the subject of a search of his home and office, as part of a Trump-related investigation into illegal hush-money payments to adult-film star Stormy Daniels. 

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to felonies including tax evasion, campaign finance violations, and bank fraud. He was sentenced in December 2018 to three years in prison and was disbarred in February 2019 by the New York Supreme Court.

For his part, Cohen has weighed in on many aspects of the Mar-a-Lago raid. He celebrated the news of the raid, saying that Trump was finally being “held accountable.”

He later weighed in on how Trump was likely nervous about a potential mole at Mar-a-Lago and said he would not be surprised if one of Trump’s children or his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was an FBI informant.

Cohen has also posited that Trump may attempt to find a scapegoat for any offenses uncovered by the Mar-a-Lago raid, such as his former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. He also speculated that Trump likely kept the classified documents as a “bargaining chip,” so he could threaten the release of classified information to America’s adversaries as a “get-out-of-jail-free card.”

• The DOJ released a photo from the Mar-a-Lago raid, showing top-secret documents strewn on the floor.
• In a corner of the photo appeared to be a framed TIME magazine cover from 2019.
• It depicts Trump’s enemies peering at him inside the Oval Office along with the words “knock knock.”

A photo released by the Department of Justice showing the documents found during the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid has also unveiled a curious discovery — a framed image of an unflattering TIME magazine cover featuring former President Donald Trump.

The cover, which appeared to be placed in a gold frame, was from a March 4, 2019 edition of the publication. It showed 15 of Trump’s Democratic challengers at the time — including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris — peering into the Oval Office at a nervous-looking Trump who is seated in his chair.

—KD (@Fly_Sistah) August 31, 2022

According to TIME, Trump ended his presidency with 35 appearances on its covers. Few were flattering, such as the one that was a cartoon depiction of his melting face and another that showed his trademark hair on fire. 

The DOJ’s photo was released as one of the attachments in a court filing on the Mar-a-Lago raid. 

In the filing, the DOJ said that “efforts were likely taken” to obstruct its investigation into Trump’s handling of government records.

The DOJ also argued that Trump’s request for a court-appointed “special master” to review materials seized from Mar-a-Lago should be rejected as the former president lacked the “standing” to raise such claims and is not entitled to such recourse “because those records don’t belong to him.” 

The court filing also revealed additional information about the raid, including how, in some instances, the documents were so sensitive that FBI agents and DOJ attorneys needed additional clearances before they could view the files. 

A representative from Trump’s post-presidential press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

During the search of Mar-a-Lago, the FBI seized 11 sets of classified documents, including some marked “top secret” and may have concerned nuclear weapons. According to the warrant for the search, the DOJ is looking into whether Trump broke three federal laws, including the Espionage Act, by keeping the documents at his Florida residence.

• Dershowitz said he had “concerns” about the caliber of Trump’s legal team.
• He said, however, that six other lawyers had contacted him to say they wouldn’t defend Trump.
• Dershowitz cited being “canceled” for defending Trump as a top concern for these lawyers. 

Alan Dershowitz, the lawyer who represented former President Donald Trump in his Senate impeachment trial, said six lawyers have called him to say that they would not defend Trump for fear of being “canceled.” 

Dershowitz made these comments to Newsmax host Sean Spicer on Monday, saying that while he had some “concerns” about the caliber of Trump’s current lawyers, many qualified lawyers are refusing to represent Trump. 

“I can tell you that six lawyers so far called me and said, ‘We will not defend Trump even though we’d like to because of what happened to you, Alan Dershowitz, because you have been canceled,’” Dershowitz said.

Dershowitz also said that he had lost jobs and speaking engagements after representing Trump, and those other lawyers had seen him as an example of what could happen to them if they took Trump as a client.

“People won’t speak to you. People are furious at you. I had a lawyer say to me, ‘I just don’t want to be ‘Dershowitzed,’” he said.

Dershowitz’s comments came after a report from The Washington Post this month outlined how Trump had trouble finding good lawyers to represent him. 

For his part, Dershowitz also said this month that lawyers at big firms were being asked by their companies not to touch cases involving Trump.

“These are firms that want to continue to have clients, and they know that if they represent Donald Trump, they’ll lose a lot of clients,” Dershowitz told Insider. 

“Everybody who has called me has shown reluctance to do it,” he added. “They say their law firms won’t let them do it. Their husbands or wives won’t let them do it. Their children won’t let them do it. Their friends won’t let them do it, even though they want to do it.”

Trump is currently represented by lawyers including Alina Habba, a New Jersey parking garage lawyer, and former One America News anchor Christina Bobb.

Trump’s slate of legal issues includes an investigation in New York into whether the Trump Organization violated banking, insurance, and tax laws and whether it engaged in financial fraud. He pleaded the fifth more than 440 times during his deposition in the case.

The former president could also be facing potential criminal charges following an investigation from the Department of Justice into whether he mishandled sensitive documents. According to the FBI’s warrant for its search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence earlier this month — during which 11 sets of classified documents were seized — the DOJ is looking into whether Trump broke three federal laws, including the Espionage Act.

A representative at Trump’s post-presidential press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

• Price hikes at Disney World and Disneyland are outpacing inflation, per The Wall Street Journal.
• The outlet ran an analysis of Disney’s prices using a travel company.
• It said Disney is focusing on how much each park visitor spends as opposed to drawing large crowds.

Prices at Disney World resorts and Disneyland parks are outpacing inflation rates in the US, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an analysis run for the outlet by travel firm Touring Plans.

The jump in consumer prices runs in tandem with a broader strategy by Disney to focus on maximizing how much each park visitor spends rather than drawing in larger crowds, the outlet reported.

The Journal noted that food and souvenir prices at Disneyland parks have jumped by as much as 33% since last summer. By comparison, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported earlier this month that the country’s Consumer Price Index saw an 8.5% year-over-year rise in July.

Examples cited by the outlet included studded Mickey Mouse-ears headbands, which cost $39.99 this summer compared to $29.99 last year, and pineapple-flavored Dole Whip, which cost $5.99 last summer but now retails for $6.99 at some locations.

Touring Plans also found that hotel prices at three Walt Disney World Resorts have risen faster than inflation rates, per the Journal. For example, the cheapest per-night room rate at the Pop Century hotel in Disney World Orlando was $95 in 2013 but rose to $168 this year, the outlet reported.

And 10 years ago, the standard room rate at the Animal Kingdom Lodge was $486, compared to $790 today, per the Journal. It also compared the prices of Disney’s most expensive one-day pass and reported that the ticket used to cost $129 in 2018 and now costs $159. The outlet didn’t specify which resort it was referring to.

Insider previously reported that standard admission to Disney World costs at least $109 per day in 2021, while park hopper tickets were priced at $174. That means that a family of four Americans would spend around $6,000 for a typical five-day trip at a Walt Disney World resort, Insider’s Daryl Austin wrote in April last year.

The Los Angeles Times reported in October 2021 that ticket prices at the Disneyland park in Anaheim, California had risen 8% while parking costs have increased by 20% since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

This year, food and beverage prices at the same theme park went up by 12%, the outlet reported in July.

Disney did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

• A new study suggests long-tailed macaques in Indonesia engage in tool-assisted masturbation.
• Researchers observed the monkeys tapping and rubbing stones against their genitals.
• Tool use is well documented in animals, though typically for survival purposes like eating.

Tool use in animals is well documented, but researchers recently discovered some monkeys in Indonesia that appeared to be using stones in a very specific way: as sex toys.

While studying a population of 173 long-tailed macaques, researchers observed the macaques tapping and rubbing stones on their genitals and groin area, according to a paper published this month in the journal Ethology. The behavior led the researchers to the “Sex Toy” hypothesis.

The researchers evaluated the theory in several ways. They observed young males were more likely than older males to partake in the behavior, and that it was often followed by sexual physiological responses, such as an erection. They also found actions with the stone were associated with other sexual behaviors, such as mounting.

Altogether, the researchers said the data partly supported the theory that the behavior was “sexually motivated.” Meaning that the monkeys seemed to be performing “a form of self-directed, tool-assisted masturbation,” Camilla Cenni, a PhD student at the University of Lethbridge in Canada and author of the study, told The New York Times.

The authors said the paper suggested monkeys over time may continue using tools for behaviors, such as masturbation, that are not directly tied to survival but have “pleasurable” or “self-rewarding” aspects, like “underlying playful and sexual activities.”

Many animals are known to use tools. Otters use stones to crack open shells for food, like clams and mussels. Dolphins use sea sponges to kick up sand and uncover prey on the seafloor. And monkeys have been documented on video using rocks to crack open nuts and shellfish.

Animals have also been documented masturbating with objects, though it’s less common. Most tool use serves a clear survival purpose, like eating.

“It’s arguably not really adaptive or useful,” Cenni told The Times of the object-assisted masturbation.

The authors noted the macaques that were observed lived in an area where they regularly have access to human food, so they may spend less time foraging than other populations.

• Rep. Matt Gaetz is being investigated over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid her to travel with him.
• Eight sources familiar with the probe told The Daily Beast the investigation is still unfolding.
• Any updates on the case would likely be announced after the midterms in November, per the report.

The Justice Department’s probe into whether Rep. Matt Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid her to travel with him has not made much noise recently since it was first reported in 2021, but the investigation appears to be ongoing, according to a new report.

Eight people familiar with the inquiry told The Daily Beast that the case continues to be investigated, while no formal charges have yet been brought against the Florida congressman.

If there are any updates on the case, however, the announcement would likely come after the midterms in November to avoid the appearance of meddling with the elections, two attorneys told the publication.

Gaetz has repeatedly and denied the allegations. On Twitter in March 2021, he claimed that the accusations were part of an “organized criminal extortion” scheme involving a former DOJ official seeking $25 million from Gaetz and his family.

A spokesman for Gaetz told Insider they would not be “providing comment to Insider on matters where he is considering litigation against Insider.”

—Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) March 30, 2021

 

A Florida businessman named Stephen M. Alford was sentenced to more than five years in prison on Tuesday for his attempt to defraud the congressman’s father, Don Gaetz, out of $25 million.

Alford claimed he could make investigations into Gaetz go away or secure a presidential pardon in exchange for the money, according to the Justice Department.

The DOJ’s probe into Gaetz stemmed from another investigation into one of the congressman’s associates, Joel Greenberg.

Greenberg, who was also a former tax collector in Seminole, Florida, pled guilty in May 2021 to several federal crimes, including trafficking a minor who was under 18 at the time.

“Greenberg also introduced the minor to other adult men, who engaged in commercial sex acts with the minor in the Middle District of Florida,” the Justice Department said.

In a letter obtained by The Daily Beast in the spring of 2021, that The Daily Beast said was written by Greenberg, he reportedly claimed that he and Gaetz paid for sex with multiple women, including a 17-year-old girl.

“From time to time, gas money or gifts, rent or partial tuition payments were made to several of these girls, including the individual who was not yet 18. I did see the acts occur firsthand and Venmo transactions, Cash App, or other payments were made to these girls on behalf of the Congressman,” The Daily Beast said Greenberg wrote, referencing Gaetz.

In response to The Daily Beast’s report on the alleged letter, a PR firm representing Gaetz told the outlet the following:

“Congressman Gaetz has never paid for sex nor has he had sex with a 17-year-old as an adult. We are now one month after your outlet and others first reported such lies, and no one has gone on record to directly accuse him of either. Politico, however, has reported Mr. Greenberg threatening to make false accusations against others, which seems noteworthy for your story and in fact sounds like the entirety of your story. Congressman Gaetz has had no role in advocating for or against a pardon for Greenberg and doubts such a pardon was ever even considered.”

In January, Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend testified before a federal grand jury investigating possible sex crimes by the congressman, NBC News reported. 

Gaetz won the primary for Florida’s 1st congressional district on Tuesday. He’ll face Rebekah Jones, a former data scientist, in the midterms in November. 

• Dr. Mehmet Oz encouraged the Trump White House to push hydroxychloroquine research, emails show.
• Oz, the Republican candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania, sent clips of his show to Jared Kushner.
• Numerous studies have found hydroxychloroquine is not an effective treatment for COVID-19.

Dr. Mehmet Oz’s Democratic rival, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, said it’s “actually not surprising” that, according to a new report, Oz pushed former President Donald Trump’s administration for research on an unproven COVID-19 treatment.

In the early weeks of the pandemic, former President Donald Trump embraced hydroxychloroquine, a treatment for malaria, as a possible treatment for COVID-19. Trump described hydroxychloroquine, along with another drug, as potentially “one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine.”

Behind the scenes, as well on Fox News and his own daytime television show, Dr. Mehmet Oz was encouraging optimism about the drug despite there being little evidence at the time that it worked. Since then, numerous studies have shown is not an effective treatment for COVID-19.

A new report, from House Select Committee on the Coronavirus, shows that Oz — now the Republican candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania — was emailing top White House officials to encourage the former president’s interest, as The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Wednesday.

“Here is a clip of my show,” Oz wrote to White House aide Jared Kushner on March 23, 2020, including a link to an interview with a French doctor who advocated that “all patients” should “immediately” begin taking hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, though he noted that “we should simultaneously start clinical trials.”

Screenshot/House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis

Five days later, Oz emailed Dr. Deborah Birx, then the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, to share that he had read a “pre-print” of a study from the same French physician analyzing the drug combination. “The French will not use a control group due to ethical concerns,” he noted, “but the treatment appears safe and results are better than expected.”

Rachel Tripp, a spokesperson for Oz, defended his early embrace of unproven treatments.

“At the outset of the pandemic, Dr. Mehmet Oz spoke with health experts worldwide who were seeing hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as viable treatment options for desperately ill COVID patients and he offered to fund a clinical trial at Columbia University,” she said.

Oz’s advocacy was previously reported by The New York Times, which in April 2020 noted that he “was in touch with Mr. Trump’s advisers about expediting approval to use the drug for the coronavirus.”

The report released this week details the Trump White House’s efforts to pressure the FDA to approve hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19; the former administration also stockpiled some 66 million doses of malaria drugs.

Studies have since found that hydroxychloroquine does not help those infected with the coronavirus. In May 2020, for example, a Columbia University study of nearly 1,400 people with moderate to severe COVID-19 found that those who received the drug “fared no better than patients who did not receive the drug,” per a news release.

At the time he was publicly and privately boosting hydroxychloroquine, critics accused Oz, then a member of the White House Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, of pushing the drug. “The fact that he has the uncritical ear of the president only magnifies any potential harm,” Timothy Caufield, chair of health law and policy at the University of Alberta, wrote in an April 2020 op-ed for NBC News.

Oz did temper his enthusiasm with calls for more research. But, as the Inquirer noted in its report, he has denied the findings. “Even today, two years later, we don’t know if it works. It’s never been allowed to be studied,” he falsely claimed earlier this year.

Oz’s promotion of dubious treatments, including weight-loss supplements, has emerged as an issue in his Senate campaign. At a press conference earlier this month, three doctors criticized him for at times promoting quack medicine on his television show, in particular green coffee bean extract, which he described as a “magic weight-loss cure.”

In that same vein, in response to the House report the Fetterman campaign said in a statement to Insider, “That’s….actually not surprising. That’s what he’s been doing on his TV show for two decades — cashing in on the trust of his viewers and causing real harm.”

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

• Jared Kushner said Trump governed in a “peculiar” way while weighing in on the Mar-a-Lago raid.
• He said his father-in-law probably did what he thought was “appropriate” with classified documents.
• Kushner also dodged a question on whether he would want to work for Trump again.

Jared Kushner this week weighed in on the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid and defended his father-in-law’s handling of classified information. 

Kushner, who served as an adviser to former President Donald Trump, was asked on Fox News on Wednesday if he thought Trump had made a mistake by bringing sensitive documents from the White House to his Florida residence.

While executing a search warrant on the property earlier this month, the FBI removed 11 sets of classified documents — some of which were marked top secret and concerned nuclear weapons. According to the warrant, the Justice Department is looking into whether Trump broke three federal laws, including the Espionage Act.

“Like I said, I’m not familiar with what was in the boxes,” Kushner told Fox News host Bill Hemmer.

“But I think President Trump, he, uh, he governed in a very peculiar way and when he had his documents, I’m assuming he did what he thought was appropriate,” he added. 

—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 24, 2022

During the same interview, Kushner was also asked if he would work for Trump again if the latter were to run for president in 2024. Kushner did not give a firm answer to the question and only said that working for Trump had been “an honor.”

“I’m very proud of the things I got done. It is a big toll, working in Washington,” Kushner said. 

When pressed if his answer was a “maybe,” Kushner responded that he was “enjoying my life in the private sector and loving the time with my kids.” 

For his part, Kushner has denied being an FBI informant who may have been working with the agency on the Mar-a-Lago raid — a theory that commentators like Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, and Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, have pushed.

Kusher has also called the raid a mistake made by Trump’s enemies that resulted from people trying to “overpursue” his father-in-law.

Representatives for Kushner did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

• Finland’s Helsinki-Vantaa international airport has become a key transit hub for Russian tourists.
• Many of them drive into Finland amid an EU ban on Russian flights into its airspace.
• Russian tourists holding valid EU Schengen visas can travel freely within the zone.

The European Union has banned Russian flights from its airspace over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but Russian travelers are still touring countries in the bloc.

Russian holidaymakers have been able to travel to various EU destinations by taking circuitous routes to their destinations — or, if their locations allow, by simply driving across the country’s northwestern border to Finland and making their way to the Helsinki-Vantaa international airport.

Since the EU flight ban, Finland has become a key transit hub for Russian tourists, so much so that their luxury cars — Porsches and Bentleys, among others — are packing the garage at the Helsinki airport, AFP reported on Tuesday.

“Helsinki airport is seeing a lot of Russian tourism at the moment,” Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told AFP.

That’s been the case since Russia eased Covid travel restrictions on July 15, sending border crossings up 80% in just one month from June, per AFP. The situation has angered many Finns, who find it difficult to accept Russians holidaying in Finland while the Kremlin is still at war with Ukraine.

An attraction popular with Russian tourists in Finland has even gone as far as to play the Ukrainian national anthem to protest war, the AFP reported.

Finland is planning to limit Russian tourist visas from September 1, according to the country’s foreign ministry in a statement last week. However, Russians can still enter Finland with visas issued by other EU countries in the borderless Schengen region. As it stands, two-thirds of Russians cross into Finland via its eastern border with visas issued by other EU countries, the Finnish border guard told AFP.

“They come here on Schengen visas issued by various different countries and then continue further via Helsinki airport,” Haavisto told the outlet. Under Schengen rules, Finland cannot unilaterally deny entry to those holding valid visas.

EU foreign ministers are set to discuss a region-wide visa ban for Russian nationals next week but not all member states think it’s a good idea as there may be those who want to flee President Vladimir Putin’s regime.

“This is not the war of the Russian people, but it is Putin’s war,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said last week at a press conference.