Posts tagged with "Reuters"

Above, a Tesla Cybertruck in the East Village, Manhattan, on July 6. (Photo source: Julia Bonavita/Fox News)

Tesla halts orders for $61,000 Cybertruck; cheapest version available now is $100,000

August 14, 2024

On August 11, Tesla stopped taking orders for the cheapest model of its Cybertruck electric pickup, which was priced at $61,000. Now, its $100,000 version is the cheapest model available for order on the automaker’s website, reports Fox Business.

Consumers and investors have closely monitored the supply and demand of Tesla’s Cybertruck after CEO Elon Musk invested heavily in the EV truck line in recent years with the goal of producing 200,000 annually.

Musk said last fall that Tesla had 1 million reservations for the truck. Some customers have indicated they’re waiting for less expensive versions to be available—because its prices have been higher and driving ranges lower than originally forecast.

The unconventional, futuristic Cybertruck was first unveiled as a prototype by Musk in 2019, when he estimated it would cost $40,000 and be able to travel 500 miles on a single charge. Interested buyers were able to place a reservation with a refundable $100 deposit to secure their truck once deliveries began after lengthy delays that pushed it back until late November 2023.

Tesla’s website no longer offers would-be buyers the ability to reserve a $61,000 version of the Cybertruck, which had been offered with a 250-mile range and a targeted delivery of  2025. It currently offers a $99,990 dual-motor variant Foundation limited series model that has a 318-mile range and is estimated to be delivered as early as this month.

The $119,990 tri-motor Foundation Cyberbeast variant, with a range of 301 miles, will be available starting in October.

Guidehouse Insights analyst Sam Abuelsamid told Reuters that Tesla’s move “shows that demand is a lot less than a million trucks” and added, “They’re sitting on a lot of inventory of two-motor and three-motor trucks right now.”

Deliveries of the Cybertruck—which features a trapezoidal exterior design that was inspired by the movie “Bladerunner,” as well as a stainless steel body—began in November 2023 after years of delay and a difficult production ramp-up.

The first production candidate Cybertruck was completed in July 2023—roughly four years after Musk announced Tesla’s plans to make the truck and two years after production was initially planned to begin.

Musk said in 2022 that supply chain shortages affected the sourcing of components and contributed to the production delay.

Research contact: @FoxBusiness

Above, Evan Gershkovich is being freed from Russian lockup as part of a prisoner swap. (Photo source: The Wall Street Journal)

Putin frees Gershkovich and Whelan in exchange for Russian hitman

August 1, 2024

Russia freed American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and others on Thursday, August 1, in the biggest prisoner swap deal between tWashington, D.C., and Moscow since the end of the Cold War, with a Russian assassin heading back to his homeland as part of the arrangement, reports The Daily Beast.

.A total of 26 people and seven countries were involved in the exchange, which took place in Ankara, Turkey, the Turkish presidency said. It also confirmed that Vadim Krasikov—an FSB hitman jailed in Germany for a shocking daylight murder—was included in the exchange.

As well as Gershkovich, fellow American and former U.S. marine Paul Whelan was confirmed to be part of the deal. Russian-American radio reporter Alsu Kurmasheva also was reported to be included, according to CBS News.

Bloomberg separately cited a European official in reporting that Vladimir Kara-Murza, a British-Russian dissident, would be released. Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment in April 2023 on treason and other charges after speaking out against the war in Ukraine.

While the agreement saw the release of Western journalists and dissidents who had originally been locked up on charges that the United States considered baseless, Russian President Vladimir Putin secured the release of his own countrymen and others who had been convicted of major crimes.

Among them was Krasikov, a colonel in Russia’s FSB security service. Krasikov was serving a life sentence in Germany for the chilling 2019 slaying of Chechen insurgent leader Zelimkhan Khangoshvili. Krasikov carried out the assassination in broad daylight in a busy playground in Berlin in front of children and their parents.

No official confirmation of the deal has yet been made by the White House or the Kremlin.

Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency confirmed in a statement on Thursday that it was coordinating an “exchange operation” that it described as “the most comprehensive of the recent period,” according to Reuters.

The release of Gershkovich comes the month after he was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security penal colony after being convicted on espionage charges.

He was arrested by Russia’s FSB security service in March 2023 during a reporting trip to the eastern city of Yekaterinburg and accused of gathering secret information about a Russian tank factory on behalf of the CIA. The Journal and the Biden Administration vehemently denied the allegations, accusing Russia of conducting a sham trial.

Whelan, meanwhile, was detained in Moscow in 2018 and similarly sentenced in 2020 to 16 years’ imprisonment after his conviction on contested espionage charges. He figured in the last U.S. prisoner swap with Russia, in December 2022, in which WNBA star Brittney Griner was exchanged for the Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

At the time, U.S. officials said Russia would not consider including Whelan in the deal. President Joe Biden said Moscow was treating his case differently from Griner’s “for totally illegitimate reasons”—but nevertheless vowed to “never give up” on bringing Whelan home.

Research contact: @thedailybeast

Above, a McDonald's in Haifa. (Photo source: Flickr)

McDonald’s to buy Israel stores as turmoil rages in Middle East, boycotts loom

April 8, 2024

McDonald’s announced on Thursday, April 4, that it has agreed to buy its Israel franchise, which has 225 restaurants and more than 5,000 employees. This comes as the war between Israel and Hamas continues and other unrest in the Middle East upticks, reports Fox Business.

Alonyal, which owns and operates McDonald’s restaurants in Israel, has signed an agreement with McDonald’s for the sale.

“For more than 30 years, Alonyal Limited has been proud to bring the Golden Arches to Israel and serve our communities,” Omri Padan, CEO and owner of Alonyal Limited said in a statement from McDonald’s. “We’ve grown the brand to be the leading and most successful restaurant chain in Israel and are grateful to our management, employees, suppliers, and customers who made this possible. We are encouraged by what the future holds.”

McDonald’s said it will own Alonyal’s restaurants and operations, and employees will be retained on equivalent terms.

“We thank Alonyal Limited for building the McDonald’s business and brand in Israel over the past 30 years. McDonald’s remains committed to the Israeli market and to ensuring a positive employee and customer experience in the market going forward,” said Jo Sempels, President of International Developmental Licensed Markets at McDonald’s.

A large percentage of McDonald’s restaurants around the world are owned by franchisees. Buying the Israeli franchises comes at a time when the fast-casual dining global chain aims to increase its number of stores worldwide by about 8,800 to bring its total to 50,000 restaurants before 2028.

McDonald’s, one of the world’s largest fast-food chains, said its operations in the Middle East have taken a hit with the ongoing war and other regional conflicts, according to McDonald’s Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski.

Kempczinski said operations there are being affected due to “misinformation” about the fast-food chain’s position on the conflict. He wrote that “several markets in the Middle East and some outside the region are experiencing a meaningful business impact due to the war and associated misinformation that is affecting brands like McDonald’s.”

Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, McDonald’s said it would donate free meals to the Israeli military, according to Reuters. This sparked a regionwide boycott of the fast-food chain, as well as other American fast-food restaurants like Starbucks, Burger King, Pizza Hut; and American products like Coca-Cola and 7-Up.

The agreement is subject to certain conditions, with closing of the agreement anticipated in the coming months, the corporation stated in a press release. (Reuters contributed to this report.)

 Research contact: @FoxBusiness

Above, the crash highlights the potential risks of driving a vehicle as stiff as the Cybertruck. (Photo source: Citizen App via KTVU)

Driver slightly injured in first Cybertruck crash

January 9, 2024

It was only a matter of time before the first Tesla Cybertruck was involved in a collision.

Futurism reports that, just before 2023 drew to a close, a Toyota Corolla crashed into a Cybertruck that was traveling along a road near Palo Alto, California—an accident that’s attracted immense scrutiny due to the Cybertruck’s unconventional and widely criticized design.

According to a statement released by the California Highway Patrol, the Toyota swerved and hit a dirt embankment on the right shoulder, reentered the road shortly, crossed the double yellow lines, and crashed into a Cybertruck that was traveling the other way.

The Tesla driver “sustained a suspected minor injury,” and “declined medical transportation.” No other “injuries were reported,” per the CHP—suggesting that the Corolla driver walked away unscathed despite images showing the vehicle’s airbags deploying.

“It does not appear that the Tesla Cybertruck was being operated in autonomous mode,” the statement reads.

While we await further details regarding the injuries and the investigation still remains “ongoing,” the crash highlights the potential risks of driving a vehicle as stiff as the Cybertruck. For decades, carmakers have designed vehicles to have crumple zones, which protect the driver during a collision. The Cybertruck, on the other hand—with a design that represents a notable departure from conventional car composition and materials—has raised concerns among experts.

Apart from potential risks for the driver, experts have also pointed out concerns over pedestrian safety. The 6,600-pound EV has extremely limited sight lines and lacks visibility of what’s going on in front of the vehicle—and that’s without getting into its ultra-hard exterior.

“The big problem there is if they really make the skin of the vehicle very stiff by using thick stainless steel, then when people hit their heads on it, it’s going to cause more damage to them,” Adrian Lund, the former president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), told Reuters last month.

European regulators have expressed similar concerns, and the truck is more than likely never making it across the pond.

Tesla, however, has maintained that the Cybertruck is much safer for those behind the wheel and others sharing the road.

“Yes, we are highly confident that Cybertruck will be much safer per mile than other trucks, both for occupants and pedestrians,” CEO Elon Musk tweeted.

The company also has claimed that the truck’s “front underbody casting is designed to break into small pieces,” which “helps reduce occupant impact by absorbing and dispensing energy.”

Tesla only began delivering Cybertrucks to long-waiting customers late last year, and only time will tell whether it’s a “guideless missile” or the latest and greatest in driver safety.

Research contact: @Futurism

Above1, Elon Musk's Neuralink startup received FDA approval to start human trials earlier this year. (Image source: NurPhoto)

Thousands of people are reportedly lining up to have one of Elon Musk’s brain chips implanted

November 8, 2023

Thousands of people have expressed interest in receiving one of Neuralink‘s brain implants, according to a recent Bloomberg report from one of Elon Musk‘s biographers, Ashlee Vance, reveals Business Insider.

Neuralink, which Musk co-founded in 2016, has yet to implant its device in a human—but aims to operate on 11 people next year and over 22,000 by 2030; according to Vance, who said he visited the company’s facilities ten times over the course of three years.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave Neuralink approval to launch human trials of its device, which Musk has described as a “Fitbit in your skull.”

The FDA previously had rejected Neuralink’s bid for human testing in March, Reuters reported, citing safety concerns, including that the wires connected to the brain chip could move around within a subject’s head or that the chip could potentially overheat.

In September, the company began recruiting for its very first human trial. Neuralink said in a blog post that it was looking for people who had paralysis in all four limbs due to a spinal cord injury or ALS. The company eventually hopes to make a device that would create a sort of symbiosis between humans and machines; and would allow people to send messages or play games, using only their thoughts. But, first the company aims to help people with neurological disorders.

 Vance, who authored the 2015 biography “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future,” said in his report that despite “an outpouring of interest from thousands of prospective patients,” the company is still looking for its first volunteer or “someone willing to have a chunk of their skull removed by a surgeon so a large robot can insert a series of electrodes and superthin wires into their brain.”

Musk’s biographer said it takes a “couple of hours” for a surgeon to perform the craniectomy and then about 25 minutes for the robot to insert the device, along with its ultra-thin array of about 64 different threads. The device will replace the portion of skull that had been removed. Vance said the threads are so thin they’re about 1/14 the width of a single strand of human hair.

Neuralink has done 155 implantation surgeries using the robot on a variety of animal test subjects, including pigs and monkeys, Vance wrote. But, in typical Musk fashion, the billionaire has continued to push for the robot to move faster, as well as for the surgery to be performed without human help.

A spokesperson for Neuralink did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication.

The biographer said Musk has pointed to the need to combat competition from other brain-computer startups like Synchron and Onward, which already have begun human trials.

“They are currently kicking our ass,” Musk said after Synchron implanted its first device in a U.S. patient in July 2022. (In December 2021, one of the Synchron’s patients in Australia was the first person to send a tweet using only his thoughts.)

The billionaire also has warned that Neuralink needs to pick up its pace “like the world is ending” to keep up with AI and the possibility of an AI being that wouldn’t be friendly to humans, Vance wrote.

Yet while Musk’s “maniacal sense of urgency” might work at Tesla or SpaceX—where he has initiated sprints and slept on the factory floor to meet deadlines—at least one Neuralink executive has taken a note of caution.

“We can’t blow up the first three. That’s not an option here,” Shivon Zilis, Neuralink’s director of Special Projects and the mother of two of Musk’s children, told Vance in a reference to SpaceX’s first three rockets, which exploded.

Research contact: @BusinessInsider

Above, former president Donald Trump released a grievance-filled video after being indicted on June 8, calling the indictment 'a hoax.' (Photo source: The Washington Post)

Trump charged in classified documents case, second indictment in months

June 12, 2023

Former president Donald Trump disclosed on Thursday night, June 8, that he had been charged by the Justice Department in connection with the discovery that hundreds of classified documents were shipped to his Mar-a-Lago home after he left the White House—a seismic event in the nation’s political and legal history, reports The Washington Post.

The call from the Justice Department came to his attorneys in the early evening, around 7 p.m., and the former president wanted to announce the indictment himself, two of people familiar with the matter said.

A seven-count indictment has been filed in federal court naming the former president as a criminal defendant, according to confidential informants, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a case that has yet to be unsealed.

The charges include willful retention of national defense secrets, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy, which carry the potential of years in prison if Trump is found guilty.

Trump, who currently is the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, will appear in federal court in Miami for an arraignment on Tuesday, June 13, at 3 p.m. (EDT).

The willful retention charge is a violation of a section of the broad Espionage Act, although spying is not among the charges against the former president. It is the second time he has been criminally charged since March, when he was indicted in state court in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments from 2016. Trump, who has denied wrongdoing in both cases, is the only former president ever charged with a crime.

“I have been indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Trump wrote on the social media site Truth Social. He claimed he was being treated unfairly. “I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States,” he said in a lengthy post that ended: “I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!”

A spokesperson for Special Counsel Jack Smith, who has been running the classified-documents investigation, declined to comment.

Trump learned of his indictment while at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, huddled with advisers, according to multiple people familiar with the situation, who like others interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details that had not been publicly released.

His team had expected his indictment and staff already had fundraising pitches, statements and videos ready, according to advisers. He dictated his own Truth Social post within an hour after getting the news. Surrogates also were lined up, advisers said, and a satellite truck was at Bedminster for the legal team to appear.

“Nobody is disappointed that the venue is Miami,” one person said of the legal team’s thinking.

Trump lawyer Jim Trusty—whom Reuters reports resigned the morning after the news broke, on Friday, June 9, along with John Rowley, Trump’s other lawyer—took to CNN on Thursday night to defend his client as innocent, while also confirming the charges against the former president. In addition to willful retention, obstruction, and conspiracy, he said Trump was charged with false statements. Trusty said he was not sure when Trump’s legal team would receive the indictment, and was not aware of whether any other individuals connected with the case had also been charged.

The charges cap a high-stakes investigation that began in early 2022 and slowly built steam over the summer, until FBI agents conducted a court-ordered search of Trump’s home and private club in early August that turned up more than 100 classified documents. Trump’s advisers had told the Justice Department in June that they had conducted a diligent search for such papers in response to a subpoena and had handed over all they could find.

In the months since that search, investigators have been gathering evidence to determine whether the former president set out to obstruct law-enforcement efforts to recover the top-secret material that was stashed at Mar-a-Lago.

While the charges will likely test Trump’s staying power as the leader of an increasingly crowded Republican field, the case will also put new strains on the Justice Department and FBI, which must bring to trial a tycoon-turned-politician who has publicly demonized federal law enforcement for years. In preempting any official announcement of the charges, Trump sought to gain the upper hand and blame the Biden Administration.

The White House declined to comment on the indictment Thursday night and referred inquiries to the Justice Department. But earlier Thursday, before Trump announced he had been charged, President Biden  was asked by a reporter what he could say to Americans to “convince them” that they “should trust the independence and fairness of the Justice Department.”

Biden replied that he has “never once, not one single time, suggested to the Justice Department what they should do or not do relative to bringing a charge or not bringing a charge.”

Research contact: @washingtonpost

Above, medical device fraud is a relatively well-kept secret in the healthcare industry, (Photo source: NS Medical Devices)

Former biotech CEO arrested for implanting phony medical devices in patients

March 14, 2023

New bad guy alert: According to an FBI indictment, Laura Perryman, the former CEO of a health-tech company called Stimwave, was arrested on Thursday, March 9, in connection with a scheme to create and sell a non-functioning dummy medical device for implantation into patients suffering from chronic pain,” Futurism reports—accusations that Perryman’s lawyer has since denied.

In other words, the FBI is alleging that Florida-based Perryman knowingly created and sold fake medical implants that were entirely made out of plastic to medical systems and their patients, under the guise that the devices would be able to ease chronic pain.

The news comes after Stimwave filed for bankruptcy last year, and has previously agreed to pay $10 million over a related whistleblower lawsuit, Reuters reports.

Perryman and Stimwave—which, according to Engadget, received FDA approval for an early version of its implant back in 2014—actually sold two different rodlike implants, which they claimed could alleviate pain by way of electrical signaling (no addictive painkillers supposedly required).

“From the patient perspective, they definitely want pain-relief alternatives that are not opioids,” Perryman told Engadget in an interview back in 2017, “but taking the leap from opioid to surgery and a tiny battery inside your body sounds daunting.”

Perryman’s firm even had some big-name celebrity sponsors, notably football Hall of Famer Joe Montana.

“If this [were] another major surgical process, I probably would’ve said no,” Montana told CBS—which did a whole segment documenting Montana’s experience undergoing the “state of the art” procedure—in 2019. “But I really think this is going to be the answer to my knee and I’m looking forward to an hour or two from now when I get done.”

Montana added, “It’s just like anything. What’s good for me is not always what’s good for you, right? Everyone should do their own research on it. But I wouldn’t be doing this and moving forward with it if I didn’t believe it wasn’t something that could help people.”

But as Vice explains, their first product—a nine-inch-long, computer-chip-embedded device dubbed the “Pink Stylet”—was often too large for doctors to comfortably implant into some patients. But rather than turn down any potential sales, the FBI alleges that Perryman and Stimwave instead came out with the “White Stylet that they claimed was just a smaller and more comfortable— but equally as effective—version.

It’s unclear which version of the device Montana received—which, as it turns out, could’ve made a huge difference.

Because the White Stylet was nothing more than a piece of plastic, according to the FBI’s indictment. No computer chip, no electrical signaling. Just plastic.

And they weren’t cheap, either: According to the FBI, Perryman and Stimwave sold the phony plastic tubes at over $16,000 a pop.

“As alleged, at the direction of its founder and CEO Laura Perryman, Stimwave created a dummy medical device component — made entirely of plastic — designed to be implanted in patients for the sole purpose of causing doctors to unwittingly bill Medicare and private insurance companies more than $16,000 for each implantation of the piece of plastic,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in the indictment.

“The defendant and Stimwave did this,” he added, “so that they could charge medical providers many thousands of dollars for purchasing their medical device.”

Meanwhile, Perryman’s lawyer Jared Dwyer of Greenberg Traurig called the allegations “wrong, starting with the description of the neurostimulator that Laura invented” in a statement to Futurism.

“Every piece of that system had a function and was necessary depending on the patient’s needs,” he added. “And, at the end of the day, the components that were used were up to the doctors. This is a case about a company looking for a quick way out that decided to scapegoat the founder.”

Per the indictment, Perryman has officially been charged with “one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and healthcare fraud, which carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of health care fraud, which carries a maximum potential sentence of ten years in prison.”

As the FBI notes in the indictment, these are still only accusations, and Perryman has yet to go to trial.

“Laura looks forwarded to addressing these allegations in court,” Dwyer told Futurism.

But given the evidence, things aren’t looking great for her. Besides, you involve Joe Montana in your scam, and you involve the fury of the American public.

“Our Office will continue to do everything in its power to bring to justice anyone responsible for perpetuating health care fraud,” said Williams, “which in this case led to patients being used as nothing more than tools for financial enrichment.”

Research contact: @futurism

Above, former President Donald Trump, whose company has been convicted of tax fraud. (Image source Pee Linforth/Pixabay)

Trump Organization receives maximum fine for New York tax fraud scheme

January 16, 2023

On Friday, January 13, the Trump Organization received the maximum fine under New York law after it was convicted last month of running a 15-year tax fraud scheme, reports Axios.

A New York judge ruled that a pair of the former president’s business entities must pay a $1.6 million penalty, the AP first divulged. The Trump Organization said it plans to appeal the ruling, per Reuters.

Last month, Trump Organization subsidiaries Trump Corp. and Trump Payroll Corp. were convicted of 17 felonies, which included criminal tax fraud, falsifying business records, and conspiracy.

  • Under New York law, the company faced up to a $1.6 million fine from the verdict.
  • Trump and his family were not charged in the case.
  • Earlier this week, former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg was sentenced to five months in jail for his role in the scheme. He was taken into custody and is expected to serve his sentence at Rikers Island in New York.
  • Weisselberg pleaded guilty in August to assisting in the scheme and admitted to 15 felonies.

Friday’s ruling could lead to additional consequences if companies that are not allowed to conduct business with felons choose to cancel their contracts with the organization, ABC News reports.

In addition, New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a civil lawsuit accusing the former president and members of his family of financial fraud and referring them to federal prosecutors and the IRS for criminal investigation.

Research contact: @axios

Above, Sam Bankman-Fried, shown in July at the FTX office in Nassau, lived in a shared house in the Bahamas with some of his top executives. (Photo source: Robyn Damianos for The Wall Street Journal)

FTX confirms ‘unauthorized transactions,’ as upwards of $1B in crypto reportedly vanishes

November 15, 2022

Embattled cryptocurrency exchange FTX announced on Saturday, November12, that it would move funds into offline storage after reporting “unauthorized transactions.” Analysts said millions of dollars’ worth of assets—$1 billion or more—had been withdrawn from the platform, reports Fox Business.

Indeed, according to Fox, a full-fledged liquidity crisis forced FTX to file for bankruptcy on Friday, November 11.

Two sources told Reuters that FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried—in a meeting he confirmed took place—shared records with other senior executives that revealed the financial hole. Spreadsheets reportedly showed that between $1 and $2 billion dollars of the funds were not accounted for among Alameda’s assets and that the spreadsheets did not indicate where the money had been moved.

Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter, reported that at least $1 billion of customer funds had disappeared and that people told the news outlet that Bankman-Fried transferred millions  of customer funds from FTX to his trading company Alameda Research.

Further, CNBC reports, the quant trading firm Sam Bankman-Fried founded was able to quietly use customer funds from his exchange FTX in a way that flew under the radar of investors, employees, and auditors in the process. The way they did it was by using billions from FTX users without their knowledge, says the source.

Today, Bankman-Fried’s wealth, which was estimated to be $15.6 billion earlier in the month, also has disappeared, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The index currently estimates Bankman-Fried has no material wealth.

“Following the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings—FTX US and FTX [dot] com initiated precautionary steps to move all digital assets to cold storage. Process was expedited this evening—to mitigate damage upon observing unauthorized transactions,” FTX U.S. General Counsel Ryne Miller tweeted.

Cold storage refers to crypto wallets that are not connected to the Internet to guard against hackers.

Miller had previously written that FTX was “investigating abnormalities with wallet movements related to consolidation of FTX balances across exchanges,” although noting that facts were unclear “as other movements [were] not clear.”

An administrator in the official FTX Telegram channel wrote that “Ftx has been hacked.”

That administrator told users not to visit the FTX site “as it might download Trojans,” adding, “Some funds were retrieved.”

Coindesk reports that the message was pinned by Miller.

FTX did not immediately return Fox Business’ request for comment on the matter.

Research contact: @FoxBusiness

Above, Republican Lauren Boebert and Democrat Adam Frisch are fighting it out for the 3rd Congressional District in Colorado. (Photo source: The Journal)

Boebert is locked in unexpectedly close race, as some constituents say they’re tired of a ‘mini Trump’

November 15, 2022

In the heart of Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, a rural region spanning much of the southwestern part of the state, some people who voted for Republican U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert two years ago said they were fed up with what seemed like her desire to grab the national spotlight instead of fighting for them, reports NBC News.

The Donald Trump loyalist’s surprisingly close race against little-known Democrat and former Aspen city councilman Adam Frisch has become one of the nation’s most closely watched midterm election battles over a seat most political observers thought Boebert would win easily.

As of Friday morning, November 11, Frisch trailed Boebert by 1,122 votes in the U.S. House race. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report had rated the district as solidly Republican ahead of Tuesday’s election. Trump won the district twice—capturing 53.1% of the vote in 2016 and 52.9% four years later.

The results of the Boebert-Frisch showdown are likely to lead to a recount as control of the House hangs in the balance. Under state law, an automatic recount is required when a margin of victory in an election is less than or equal to 0.5% of the winner’s vote. Losing candidates may also request a recount at their own expense.

Apple Gibson, 69, of Pueblo County, who is registered as Independent, said she usually votes Republican but not this time around: “Her loud mouth; she’s a mini Trump. That was a turnoff,” Gibson said when asked why she switched her vote this time. Gibson said she believed Boebert wanted to create jobs at the expense of the Rocky Mountain region’s natural beauty and landscape.

Boebert could not be reached for comment Friday.

Observers said Frisch has gotten this far by running a steady campaign as a moderate Democrat who sometimes spoke out against President Joe Biden’s policies, got a head start on fundraising, and took advantage of a polarizing Republican incumbent who turned some voters off.

“He was just kinda written off,” said Steve Welchert, a Colorado-based Democratic political consultant, referring to how local and national Democrats never gave Frisch much of a shot to win. “The truth is, he did this by himself.”

Boebert, who was voted into office after besting five-term incumbent Scott Tipton in the 2020 primary, has helped Frisch by being an unwavering Trump loyalist and one of Congress’ most conservative members, some said.

“What she really cared about was being a television star,” Welchert said.

Frisch said on MSNBC on Friday that the race’s closeness can be partly attributed to citizens’ frustration. “Our country has been harmed by our current representative,” he said. “Our veterans have been harmed by our current representative. And our district has been ignored for two years while she’s been on this entertainment national circus.”

On the campaign trail, he vowed to improve medical care for military veterans, protect natural resources, and support abortion rights.

“I trust women and believe each woman deserves the freedom to choose what is best for her, her body, her family, and her future,” Frisch wrote on his campaign site.

His plan to remain competitive in a congressional race that includes rural Pueblo in southern Colorado and Grand Junction along the state’s western slope has worked, said Seth Masket, a Political Science professor at the University of Denver.

“A lot of this is about Boebert,” he said. “She’s been all about drawing a lot of attention to herself. Her style may have cost Republicans a seat that they should not be losing.”

Research contact: @NBCNews