Tuesday morning news: August 29, 2023

Trump legal » Former President Trump will head to Washington courthouse on March 4th of next year. A judge on Monday announced the trial date in the federal case charging Trump with trying to overturn in the 2020 election.

Prosecutors wanted a January date. Trump’s lawyers wanted to push it back by years.

Former Federal prosecutor David Weinstein says the judge felt both proposals were unreasonable.

WEINSTEIN: So she picked one that was certainly reasonable in her mind, that she felt gave both sides enough time to get ready for trial.

And a state court in Fulton County, Georgia says Trump and 18 co-defendants will be arraigned one week from tomorrow.

Democratic Prosecutor Fanni Willis accuses them of scheming to overturn the state’s 2020 election.

Mark Meadows » Among Trump’s co-defendants in Georgia case is former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. And his lawyers say his portion of the case should be moved to a federal court, as he was serving in a federal role at the time.

Meadows also argues that he was just doing his job when he arranged a phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

MEADOWS: Mr President I'll turn it over to you.

TRUMP: I just want to find 11,780 votes which is one more that we have.

Several other co-defendants in the case are also trying to move their trials to federal court. They are accused of onspiring to overturn results of the 2020 presidential election in the state. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

A federal judge in Atlanta is considering whether Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows should have his portion of an election interference case tried in federal court.

Prosecutors from Fulton County, Georgia charged Meadows as one of former President Trump’s co-conspirators in an election racketering case.

Idalia / DeSantis halts campaign » As Hurricane Idalia continues to grow more powerful over warm Gulf waters, the warnings from Florida officials are growing more dire.

Forecasters originally thought Idalia would strike the Gulf Coast as a tropical storm. Then they predicted a Category-1 hurricane.

And now:

DESANTIS: It is forecast to reach landfall as a major hurricane, a Category-3.

Gov. Ron DeSantis heard there. He has declared a widespread state of emergency.

Communities along Florida’s Gulf Coast are still recovering from last year’s Hurricane Ian, which slammed the state as a monstrous Category-5 storm.

DeSantis response to shooting » Also on Monday, Gov. DeSantis announced action in the wake of a deadly racially motivated shooting in Jacksonville.

DESANTIS: We’re going to be able to do one million dollars to Edwin Waters College to increase security on campus. As I’ve said for the last couple of days, we are not going to allow our HBCUs to be targeted.

A 21-year-old shooter tried to enter the historically black college on Saturday before driving to a nearby Dollar General store, where he gunned down three black people and then turned the gun on himself.

The gunman had previous mental health concerns and left behind a racist manifesto.

Hawaiian Electric lawsuit » Maui County is suing Hawaiian Electric after company power lines sparked the recent devastating wildfires.

One local resident recalled hearing a loud pop from across the street.

RESIDENT: I look, there's a power line right there. It was just arching away on the ground, landed right in dry grass, so sparks, and then there was a fire.

Hawaiian Electric has admitted that their line ignited the first blaze. But the company said power to that area had been shut down for hours when the second blaze started, meaning firefighters failed to totally extinguish the first fire. And from there, it grew into fast-moving, mammoth wildfire. One of the deadliest in U.S. history.

Hawaiian Electric is facing dozens of lawsuits in the wake of the disaster.

Biden poll » Most Americans believe President Biden is too old for the Oval Office, according to a new poll. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher reports:

JOSH SCHUMACHER: The Associated Press/NORC poll surveyed more than a thousand Americans.

77 percent said the 80-year-old president is too old to serve another term in the White House.

Nine out of 10 Republicans said so, and seven out of 10 Democrats agreed.

By contrast, even though former President Donald Trump is only three years younger, only about half of the respondents felt that Trump is too old to serve.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

NYC Migrants » In New York City, police are bracing for more protests this week over migrant shelters branching out and overflowing throughout the city.

Police arrested 5 protesters outside Mayor Eric Adams’ home over the weekend.

One resident told Fox-5 New York:

NYC RESIDENT: This is a very quiet neighborhood where there’s a school 50 feet away that kids are running around, sometimes unsupervised, because it’s such a safe area. And now it’s not safe.

Some say they’re concerned that many migrants arriving in the city have not been vetted.

More than 100,000 asylum seekers and other migrants have arrived in the city since the start of last year.

New York is a self-proclaimed sanctuary city. But Mayor Adams continues to call on the federal government for more help in dealing with the migrants crisis.

China visit » U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is in Beijing this morning for a second day of trade talks with Chinese leaders.

Amid heightened tensions between the two countries, Raimondo said Monday:

RAIMONDO: The U.S. and China share one of the most significant economic relationships in the world. And it is profoundly important that we manage that relationship responsibly.

Raimondo and her Chinese counterpart agreed to talk about the possibility of loosening controls on exports.

And both governments agreed to put together a group of government and business leaders to help find more common ground between Washington and Beijing on trade.

I'm Kristen Flavin.

Straight ahead: India wins the race to the south pole of the moon. Plus, praying for prodigal children.

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