GOP Set for Tonight’s Debate, Minus Trump

The first Republican primary debate takes place tonight at 9 pm ET, featuring eight GOP candidates but not Donald Trump, the front-runner by a wide margin in all polls.

The debate will be televised only on Fox TV and several conservative streaming outlets. Trump has teased a plan to post an interview with Tucker Carlson on X, formerly Twitter, to compete with the debate, but details remain murky.

The physical lineup of how the candidates will stand on stage is set, with Gov. Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy at center stage, flanked by Mike Pence and Nikki Haley, and then Chris Christie and Sen. Tim Scott. At the ends will be Gov. Doug Burghum and Asa Hutchinson.

All the participants will have surrogates in the so-called spin room for the media. Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. will attend the debate as his surrogate. 

Thieves Hammer Dick’s Sporting Goods Profits

Dick’s Sporting Goods profits fell 23% in the second quarter because of rampant theft and shoplifting, CEO Lauren Hobart said Tuesday. The stock dropped 24% on the news.

Dick’s joins retail giants Target and Macy’s, among others, in citing organized shoplifting as a key factor in earnings decline. The company announced 250 layoffs on Monday.

The last time Dick’s sales suffered was several years ago, due to controversy over its decision to stop selling guns and eventually destroying millions of dollars worth of rifles.

Hollywood Studio Revives Mask Mandate

One of Hollywood’s major movie studios, Lionsgate, will require masks for all employees “until further notice,” according to a memo sent by the studio as Covid cases rise in Los Angeles.

The studio joins several universities across the country, including Rutgers and Georgetown, who still require indoor masking, even though the national Covid emergency was declared over in May.

Though most places have dropped mask mandates, schools in particular are rethinking the controversial policy as seasonal cases rise.

Enjoy reading The Flyover? Click here to share with your friends and family. 

➤ Donald Trump says he’ll turn himself in Thursday at the Fulton County jail in Georgia and post a $200,000 bond for his release. It’s unclear whether he’ll have the standard mug shot taken at the jail. (More) 

➤ House Republicans subpoenaed four FBI and IRS agents involved in the federal probe into Hunter Biden, seeking their testimony into special treatment Biden might have received from the Justice Department. (More) 

➤ President Biden named a new White House lawyer Tuesday to deal with ongoing investigations. The counsel, Ed Siskel, is a former Obama administration attorney who worked on the 2012 Benghazi investigation. (More) 

➤ U.S. lawmakers in both parties want subpoena power to get to the truth about UFOs, and they are pressing House leaders to appoint a select committee with broad investigative powers. (More) 

Flying together with:

Hearing aids just got their biggest upgrade yet

Ever heard the saying, “Good things come in small packages?” It’s certainly true for the latest Horizon AX hearing aids by hear.com. These devices pack an extraordinary amount of technology into a device so small, they’re nearly invisible!

Click here and see for yourself how Horizon AX completely disappears behind your ear.

But that’s not all. The game-changing device also features the world’s first-ever dual-processing system. And with double the power comes double the clarity. With Horizon AX, you never have to miss another word.

With over 385,000 happy customers, hear.com guarantees success – that’s why all Flyover readers get a 45-day no-risk trial and a 100% money-back guarantee.  Just click here for this special offer.

➤ Tampa Bay Rays’ all-star shortstop Wander Franco was placed on administrative leave indefinitely while officials in the Dominican Republic investigate social media allegations that he had a relationship with a minor. (More) 

➤ The Tampa Bay Bucs officially named quarterback Baker Mayfield as the replacement for Tom Brady this season. Mayfield will be starting QB for the Bucs, with Kyle Trask as his backup. (More) 

➤ The Washington Commanders ended the Baltimore Ravens’ run of 24 straight preseason victories dating back to the 2015 preseason. The Ravens lost by one point, 29-28. (More) 

Market Report   8/22/23

➤ Big Stock Move: Vinfast Auto shares shot up 109% Tuesday, essentially on investor hopes for a quick score. The new Vietnamese electric-car maker now has a market cap higher than Ford and General Motors. (More) 

➤ New York and California each lost $1 trillion in assets since 2020 as financial firms fled the two high-tax states for Florida and Texas, a new Bloomberg analysis shows. (More) 

➤ IBM is selling The Weather Channel and its related weather businesses to Francisco Partners, a private equity firm, for an undisclosed amount. IBM will retain the use of the weather data for its AI models. (More) 

Flying together with our sponsor

Speech clarity is the #1 most important factor when it comes to hearing aids. And audiologists are calling Hear.com’s Horizon AX unique dual processing system “the new gold standard” when it comes to clarity in conversation.

What does this mean? Speech gets clearer and crisper than ever before. Conversation and listening becomes effortless. And because they’re so small, no one will even know you’re wearing them.

Ready to experience the power of dual processing for yourself? Right now, all Flyover readers get a 45-day no-risk trial and a 100% money-back guarantee. Click here to start your Customized Hearing Success Program today!

➤ India’s Chandrayaan-3 moon lander is scheduled to touch down on the moon’s south pole early this morning, with a live telecast starting at 7 a.m. ET and a scheduled landing time of 8:30 a.m. ET. (Watch live here)

➤ NASA’s Perseverance Rover on Mars has given early warning of a large sunspot that won’t be visible from Earth for another week. Sunspots can launch solar flares impacting power grids and satellite navigation. (More) 

➤ Japan will begin releasing heavily-treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday. China and others have criticized the plan. (More) 

➤ Tennessee Titans rookie Will Levis signed a lifetime contract with Hellman’s Mayonnaise, the company’s first deal of its kind. Why? Because Levis puts a splash of mayonnaise in his coffee every morning. (More) 

➤ A baby giraffe with no spots was born at a Tennessee zoo, an animal so rare that it’s believed to be the only spotless giraffe on Earth. The zoo has asked the public to help name the female calf. (See Photo) 

➤ The Edinburgh Fringe Festival votes every year on the funniest gags. This year’s winner: “I started dating a zookeeper, but it turned out he was a cheetah.” Ba-boom. (See Top 10 Jokes of the 2023 Fringe) 

Flying together with our sponsor

➤ Dentist breakthrough can stop you from snoring in the first night. (More)

Would you obey renewed mask mandates?

Yes
No

Tuesday’s Results:

Are you a NASCAR fan?

Yes: 25.2%
No: 74.8%

Today’s Trivia

What was America’s first national park?