A judge has made a decision on whether Donald Trump’s trial in Georgia will be televised. And some say the truth is out there — now the Pentagon may make it easier to find with a website all about UFOs. These stories highlight The Morning Rundown for Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
Donald Trump Georgia trial to be livestreamed
A Fulton County, Georgia superior court judge gave the OK on Thursday, Aug. 31 for former President Donald Trump’s trial to be televised and livestreamed.
Judge Scott McAfee’s decision comes as Trump pleaded not guilty to all 13 felony charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.
Trump also waived his right to appear at the arraignment scheduled for next Wednesday, Sept. 6, in Atlanta, which likely would have been shown on television.
Trump’s attorneys requested the judge on Aug. 31 to split his case from the other 18 co-defendants and asked for a later trial date to give the team time to prepare.
A trial date has not yet been set.
Former Proud Boys leaders sentenced for Jan. 6 sedition
Former organizer of the Proud Boys Joseph Biggs was sentenced on Thursday to 17 years in prison after being convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role at the Capitol on January 6th. This is one of the longest sentences handed down to a January 6th defendant — only behind Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, who received 18 years.
Zachary Rehl, the former president of the Philadelphia chapter of the Proud Boys, was sentenced alongside Biggs to 15 years.
The Justice Department had recommended a minimum of 30 years for both defendants. Norm Pattis, the defense attorney for Biggs, called the sentences significant.
“But they were half of what the government asked for, and so even at sentencing, our view is the government overreached. The case was overcharged. The government sought to make a point, and it did,” Pattis said.
Student loan interest resumes; payments restart next month
For those with student loans, Sept. 1 marks a significant step in the return of payments after a pause that has lasted more than three years. Borrowers will begin to see their interest accruing again after the federal policy keeping rates at 0% ends.
The Department of Education says borrowers will be charged the interest rate they were paying before March 2020 when the pandemic-related pause on student loan payments began. But those with student loans won’t need to take any further action just yet as borrowers still have another month before payments are due.
The Biden administration has instituted a yearlong grace period where late or missed payments will not be reported to credit agencies – but payments will still be due during this on-ramping period.
There is also a new income-driven repayment plan for borrowers launched by the Department of Education called SAVE. Find out how to apply for this plan in our report here.
Government launches ‘one-stop shop’ website for UFO information
There is now a “one-stop shop” for all declassified information on UFOs from the government, which will include photos and videos of unidentified aircraft, balloons and satellites.
The government agency All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) is in charge of analyzing aerial phenomena in U.S. airspace. Its website, AARO.mil, will serve as a hub of data accessible by the public.
The government is still in the process of building the site, but it’s live right now and includes graphs showing how high these objects often fly and where they are most often found.
The goal of the new site is to offer more transparency to an ever-so-curious public.
Labor Day weekend travel soars, so do gas prices
For many families, Labor Day weekend is the finale to a summer of fun. Fifty-seven percent of Americans say they plan to take a trip for Labor Day, which would round out the busiest summer travel season on record.
The TSA predicts this will be one of the busiest weekends of the year with more than a quarter of a million flights scheduled through Tuesday, Sept. 5.
Even more Americans will be driving to their Labor Day destination despite the price of gas being near all-time highs for this time of year. The average price of a gallon of gas as of Aug. 31 is $3.83. That’s one penny shy from the all-time record for the week leading up to Labor Day.
Lego begins selling braille bricks for the first time
Starting Sept. 1, Lego is selling a line of its famous toy bricks – that serve a special purpose. Lego Braille Bricks are now available to purchase through the company’s website for the first time ever.
They were only being distributed free of charge to organizations specializing in the education of children with vision impairment for the past three years. Each brick has studs that correspond to the braille system, along with the printed versions of the symbol or letter on it.
Lego says these bricks are designed for anyone six years and older who is curious about braille whether they are blind, partially sighted or sighted. And for those Lego enthusiasts wondering — the company says, yes, they are fully compatible with other Lego products.
