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YOUR MORNING

Trump calls Jack Smith filing ‘pure election interference’

Exclusive: Former President Donald Trump called the unsealing of documents in his election interference case by special counsel Jack Smith a “weaponization of the government” during an exclusive interview with NewsNation on Wednesday in Texas. The interview came after prosecutors, in a court filing unsealed Wednesday, said Trump “resorted to crimes” after losing the 2020 election by disregarding the advice of his vice president and other aides. The latest >

The filing: Smith’s team submitted the filing following a Supreme Court opinion that conferred broad immunity on former presidents for official acts they take in office, narrowing the scope of the prosecution charging Trump with conspiring to overturn the results of the election he lost to Joe Biden. “So what?” the filing quotes Trump as telling an aide after being alerted that his vice president, Mike Pence, was in potential danger after a crowd of violent supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Details >

Longshoremen strike: How much do dockworkers make?

Strike: Major ports are at a near standstill from Maine to Texas as tens of thousands of dockworkers strike over wages and the use of automation. Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association, or ILA, walked off the job Tuesday after they were unable to reach a new labor contract with port employers. The standoff could cost the U.S. economy $540 million per day. Here’s how much longshoremen currently make and what they’re asking for going forward > 

Some panic buying reported amid dockworkers strike >

No need to panic-buy toilet paper amid port strikes, experts say >

The president could invoke a 1947 law to try to suspend the dockworkers’ strike. Here’s how >

Exclusive: Mexican cartels using devices to disrupt US drones

Cartels: Mexican drug cartels along the U.S.-Mexico border are using electronic devices to disrupt drones being used by U.S. border officials to track immigrants who crossed into the U.S. illegally, NewsNation has learned. An alert, sent out borderwide by U.S. Border Patrol officials and obtained by NewsNation, indicates members of Cartel del Noreste are using the devices to counter and crash drones. What to know >

Mexican cartels flood US with fentanyl, causing 200+ deaths daily >

Advocates demand action as migrant deaths break record >

Biden administration expands asylum restrictions at southern border >

Kentucky judge’s death caught on ‘incredibly damning’ video, attorney says

Video: Sobs could be heard in a Kentucky courtroom Tuesday as prosecutors played a short video that appears to show former Letcher County, Kentucky, Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines shooting District Judge Kevin Mullins to death. “It’s a horrific video,” trial attorney and former prosecutor Matt Murphy told NewsNation’s “Banfield.” Police have given no motive for the shooting. Stines’ defense team said they are conducting their own “parallel investigation” of the case. Read more >

Pilot flying volunteer rescue missions in North Carolina ordered out

Helene: A man with law enforcement and firefighting experience helped rescue multiple people stranded in North Carolina from Helene until he says an official threatened to arrest him if he completed a mission to rescue someone waiting for him on a mountain. Jordan Seidhom thinks the Lake Lure fire official’s decision to order him and other pilots out of the rescue zone put lives at risk. He said if he had to do it all over again, he “would have rescued as many people until they decided they were going to arrest me.” Full report >

Factory under investigation after employees swept away in Helene flooding >

Human connections bring hope in North Carolina after devastation of Helene >

Helene’s health risks include contaminated water and mold: Doctors >

US school-entry vaccination rates fall as exemptions keep rising

Vaccinations: U.S. kindergarten vaccination rates decreased last year and the proportion of children with vaccination exemptions rose to an all-time high, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data posted Wednesday. The number of kids exempted from vaccine requirements rose to 3.3%, up from 3% the year prior. A total of 92.7% of kindergartners received their required shots, which is lower than the previous two years. Health officials say that translates to about 80,000 children not getting vaccinated. Read more >

Dyslexia-friendly font makes learning easier >

Breast cancer rates increasing among younger women: ACS >

DNA test leads Vegas family to sue fertility clinic >

 WHAT WE’RE WATCHING 👀

We’re keeping an eye on these topics today. Make sure you tune in to our latest coverage and share your thoughts with us on social media!

• Here’s everything you need to know about the candidates on the campaign trail today.

• President Joe Biden travels to Florida and Georgia to tour Helene devastation.

• The Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race debate will be held between candidates Democrat Bob Casey, the incumbent, and Republican David McCormick.

• The jury trial for Daniel Penny, the former U.S. Marine charged with fatally choking fellow New York subway rider Jordan Neely, begins in New York.

• The U.S. Department of Labor releases its unemployment report. 

• FEMA is expected to provide an update on Helene response efforts.

NEWS ACROSS AMERICA

Sixty-eight people have been indicted related to an organized crime ring in Los Angeles run by a neo-Nazi group affiliated with the Aryan Brotherhood. The latest > 

A Wyoming town has been put on a “ready to evacuate” status as a massive wildfire continues to spread across the Bighorn National Forest. Read more >

Two Texas teens have pleaded guilty to carjacking a man and using the car to smuggle migrants into the U.S., prosecutors said. The investigation > 

The FBI’s Chicago field office is investigating a bank robbery the agency says may be just one of several robberies committed by a man who authorities are calling the “Bare-Chested Bandit.” Full report > 

A Kentucky woman is in custody after allegedly blowing snot on deputies. Read more >

Colorado wildlife officials are investigating an incident where a man killed a mountain lion in self-defense. What to know >

A lawsuit filed against New York City claims an off-duty NYPD officer accused of targeting a man in a fit of road rage was a “ticking timebomb” who never should have been issued a gun. Details >

Several arrests have been made in connection with flash-mob style robberies at 7-Eleven locations in California after parents spotted their kids in surveillance footage. The investigation > 

Online voting in Alaska’s Fat Bear Week contest is underway after an attack killed one contestant. Read more >

Operation Breakthrough supporting Ed Kelce podcast

As the most-recent member of the Kelce family to get a podcast, Ed Kelce knows it’ll take a lot to catch up to his sons’ “New Heights” success. Ed’s “Stories with Papa” podcast is produced out of Kansas City’s Operation Breakthrough Ignition Lab, where students help set discussion topics, record, produce and promote the weekly episodes. Read more >

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