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Monday, September 16, 2024

Would-be Trump assassin exploited security hole Secret Service knew of for years

The gunman who allegedly staked out former President Donald Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course with an SKS rifle was able to exploit a security hole that the Secret Service has known about for years.

News photographers — including those hired by The Post — have had no problem repeatedly securing spots around the perimeter of the course to snap pictures of Trump playing golf or driving around in a golf cart.

They have even taken images — which require a clear line of sight to the 45th president — unnoticed through the bushes with telephoto lenses. Some have gotten as close as 75 yards — without so much as a sideways glance from the Secret Service.

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“They’re always amazed how close they can get to Trump and his entourage — it’s easy for them,” one photo agency source told The Post.

Photographers typically announce themselves to the Secret Service so that they are not mistaken for threats.

Authorities say Ryan Wesley Routh got within 300 to 500 yards of Trump after spending 12 hours in a makeshift sniper nest just outside the fence along Summit Boulevard, a busy thoroughfare of Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach.

The golf club — which Trump frequents when he is a staying at Mar-a-Lago — is a sprawling, wide-open expanse covering hundreds of acres, lined with dense tropical foliage and tree cover.

The source said photogs can snag pics of Trump “shockingly easily” at his West Palm Beach course, one noting “dozens” of covert gaps in the thick brush around the border.

In areas where there’s no obvious break in the tree line, dedicated snoops can still sneak a view of the course. Some of the lighter flora can simply be pulled apart by hand, easily creating new gaps where just about anyone can watch golfers in action without being seen, the source said.

Here's what we know about the assassination attempt on Trump in Florida:

Former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach on Sept. 15, 2024.
Trump sent out a statement to supporters soon after to report that he was “SAFE AND WELL.”
The suspect — identified as Ryan Routh, 58, of Hawaii — was able to get within 300 to 500 yards of Trump at a chain link fence on the edge of the course, where he had an AK-47 and a GoPro camera set up, apparently to record the planned shooting.
Routh has a history of supporting progressive causes online and has made 19 donations to Democratic candidates since 2019.
A Secret Service agent spotted and opened fire on Routh as he put his gun through the fence. The suspect fled and was arrested on I-95 a short time later.
According to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, Trump’s security detail was lighter because he isn’t a sitting president — despite the previous attempt on his life in July.

Even on rare instances when Secret Service agents do see a photographer near the course, they’re rarely questioned, the source said.

The security detail is also exceedingly easy to see approaching on their golf carts, meaning photographers can keep an eye out for them and then hang back and lie low until Trump arrives.

“If they do approach the photographers, sometimes they quickly check their credentials but that’s about it,” the source claims.

The outside of the course is dotted with “No Trespassing” signs, but photographers are easily able to take their pictures from behind those signs, and they’re certainly no deterrent for someone up to no good.

Trump was playing the fifth hole when Secret Service snipers noticed Routh’s gun barrel poking through a chain link fence between the sixth and seventh holes and opened fire on the suspect.

However, the location Routh chose to lie in wait in West Palm Beach wasn’t particularly favorable for photographers, owing to tricky angles and long distances.

“Routh could easily have picked a better spot, but maybe he was worried about being seen by a photographer,” the source added.

The source said it’s even easier to take pictures at the former president’s other Florida golf complex, Trump National Doral, about 77 miles from West Palm Beach.

Doral has four courses, including the famed “Blue Monster,” which is “wide open” for photographers to take pictures.

He appeared, smiling and wearing shackles on his hands and feet, in a Florida federal court Monday morning as he was hit with felony gun charges.

https://nypost.com/2024/09/16/us-news/trump-gunman-exploited-security-hole-that-secret-service-has-known-for-years/

Ukraine Military Seeks To Legitimize Kursk Presence By Inviting UN & Red Cross In

In what could be an effort to legitimize its ongoing occupation of southern Russian territory, the Ukrainian government has issued formal invitations for the United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to come to the Kursk region and verify the situation on the ground.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha revealed the request on Monday, saying it has been issued for the international organizations to "prove [Ukraine’s] adherence to international humanitarian law".

The Kremlin has accused the invading Ukraine forces, which have held territory since Aug.6th, of committing atrocities and abuses against civilians

The Zelensky government still says its forces control some 100 settlements on the Russian side near the border, but days ago also acknowledged there is a large Russian counteroffensive underway.

Sybiha has claimed Ukraine forces are overseeing "humanitarian assistance" and "safe passage" to Russian civilians still in the Kursk region.

The UN and Red Cross have yet to issue formal response to Ukraine's request for them to send teams to assess the situation; however, Moscow has slammed it as a provocation.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blasted the invitations as a "pure provocation" but also said he expects "a sober assessment" from the international bodies.

Already, Russia has issued legal cases against Western journalists who have crossed into Kursk while embedded with the Ukrainian army. This includes a CNN team and some European correspondents.

Russia sees any and all international presence on its territory as a violation of Russian law and as part of an 'illegal' occupation.

From Ukraine's perspective the Kursk operation is a legitimate tit-for-tat invasion, however risky and sure to fail it remains. Kiev's hope is that Russia is forced to divert manpower from Ukraine's east, where the front lines of fighting are, to Kursk.

But that doesn't appear to have happened yet on any kind of large scale. Instead, President Putin appears to be patiently waiting while Ukraine's own manpower and resources continue to be depleted both in Donetzk and Kursk.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraine-army-seeks-legitimize-kursk-presence-inviting-un-red-cross

Sheriff Suggests "Ominous... Conspiracy" Behind Trump Assassination Attempt

by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

Martin County Sheriff Will Snyder suggested there may be an “ominous” wider “conspiracy” at play regarding yesterday’s suspect in the attempted assassination of Trump given that the gunman appeared to know Trump’s private schedule.

Ryan Wesley Routh appeared to know that Trump was playing golf at a Florida resort despite this not being public knowledge and the decision to play being last minute.

“To my knowledge does he have any ties to Martin County? The answer is no…I think what we’re finding out is he’s not from this area, which of course raises the bigger question is how does a guy from not here get all the way to Trump International, realize that the former president of the United States is golfing and is able to get a rifle in that vicinity,” commented Snyder.
“Is this guy part of a conspiracy? Is he a lone gunman? If he’s a lone gunman, President Trump is that much safer because we have him. But if he’s part of a conspiracy then this whole thing really takes on a very ominous tone,” added the Sheriff.

Former FBI assistant director Chris Swecker also told Newsweek that Routh appeared to have insider knowledge of the former president’s movements.

“The biggest question to answer is: ‘How did the would-be assassin know to be at that location at that time?'” he said.
“There are only three possible answers:
He guessed and got very lucky; he conducted surveillance on Trump and followed him to the golf course or he had inside information about Trump’s schedule.”

Bodycam footage released by the Sheriff’s office shows Routh, who reportedly was hanging around the golf course for 12 hours, being apprehended.

Meanwhile, the legacy media is still claiming that Routh’s politics are “unclear,” despite him literally having a Biden/Harris sticker on his truck.

As we highlight in the video below, there are already a ton of unanswered questions surrounding the assassination attempt, although the shooter’s political leanings clearly isn’t one of them.

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https://www.zerohedge.com/political/sheriff-suggests-ominous-conspiracy-behind-trump-assassination-attempt

Guardian Pharmacy Services sets terms for $101 million IPO

Guardian Pharmacy Services, which provides pharmacy services to long-term healthcare facilities, announced terms for its IPO on Monday.

The Atlanta, GA-based company plans to raise $101 million by offering 6.75 million shares at a price range of $14 to $16. At the midpoint of the proposed range, Guardian Pharmacy Services would command a market value of $913 million.

Guardian provides pharmacy services to long-term healthcare facilities (LTCFs) in 36 states. Its services include automatic robotic drug dispensing and delivery, as well as value-services designed to facilitate successful drug administration, such as billing, managing patient profiles, integrating drug plans with facility records, and providing training to caretakers. As of 6/30/24, it owned 50 locally-run pharmacies which served 174,000 residents at 6,700 LTCFs, primarily assisted living facilities, behavioral health facilities and group homes, and skilled nursing facilities.

Guardian Pharmacy Services was founded in 2003 and booked $1.1 billion in sales for the 12 months ended June 30, 2024. It plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol GRDN. Raymond James, Stephens Inc., and Truist Securities are the joint bookrunners on the deal. It is expected to price during the week of September 23, 2024.

Relevant Profile: GRDN

https://www.renaissancecapital.com/IPO-Center/News/106710/Guardian-Pharmacy-Services-sets-terms-for-$101-million-IPO

US interest rate futures see higher odds of super-sized Fed move

Futures on the fed funds rate, which measures the cost of unsecured overnight loans between banks, have priced in a nearly 60% chance of a 50 basis-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, LSEG calculations showed.

That was up from 45% last Friday and from 25% following the release of an in-line U.S. consumer price index report last week.

The Fed will hold a two-day policy meeting starting on Tuesday and is widely expected to reduce the benchmark overnight interest rate currently in the 5.25% to 5.50% range. The rate reduction, however, has turned into a coin flip between 50 and 25 bps over the last few days.

For 2024, rate futures have factored nearly 120 bps in easing, and about 250 bps in cuts by September of 2025.

Up until last Friday, the odds were pretty much tilted toward a 25-bp cut. But reports by the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times late Thursday saying a 50-bp rate reduction is still an option, and comments from former New York Fed President Bill Dudley arguing for an outsized cut, triggered a pivot in market expectations.

On Monday, Dudley reiterated his stance on the need for the Fed to do a big cut on Wednesday. In an opinion piece on Bloomberg News, the former Fed official noted that the Fed's dual mandate of price stability and maximum sustainable employment has become more balanced, which suggests monetary policy should be neutral, neither restrictive nor boosting economic activity.

"Yet short-term interest rates remain far above neutral. This disparity needs to be corrected as quickly as possible," Dudley wrote.

But whether the Fed goes 50 or 25 bps, Boris Kovacevic, global macro strategist at Convera in Vienna, said it does not really matter in the end "given the long lag and transmission mechanism, but it does matter in terms of how they want to be perceived."

"If they go 50, there is chance that the Fed has some information that investors don't have and that recession risks are more likely than currently anticipated and priced in."

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-interest-rate-futures-see-144435208.html

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