Imminent Danger: President Joe Biden last night sounded the alarm that he believes American democracy is in imminent danger. 

  Opening with the break-in at Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home and the attack on her husband, Biden cited the increase in political threats and violence going into next week’s mid-term elections.  “This intimidation, this violence against Democrats, Republicans and nonpartisan officials just doing their jobs, are the consequence of lies told for power and profit,” he said, “lies of conspiracy and malice, lies repeated over and over to generate a cycle of anger, hate, vitriol and even violence.”

  Hundreds of Republican candidates across the country deny that Biden won the 2020 election and some say the only result they will believe next week is if they win. Speaking at Union Station in Washington, just a stone’s throw from the site of the Capitol insurrection, Biden said, “You know, American democracy is under attack because the defeated former president of the United States refused to accept the results of the 2020 election.”

  Referring to the Trump slogan “Make American Great Again, the President said, “MAGA Republicans aim to question not only the legitimacy of past elections, but elections being held now and into the future.

  Biden is not usually an inspiring speaker, but last night might have been one of his best performances. He said, “What we’re doing now is going to determine whether democracy will long endure and, in my view, is the biggest of questions, whether the American system that prizes the individual bends toward justice and depends on the rule of law, whether that system will prevail.”

  And in a message to those who turn violent when they lose, or refuse to accept the result, he said, “You can’t love your country only when you win.  

Politics Page:  Like the President, other Democratic leaders are making last-minute attempts to message their way out of an election rut with just days to go before the mid-terms. They are pounding away on abortion rights, gerrymandering of voting districts, and voting rights. But it’s late in the game.

   California Gov. Gavin Newsom told CBS News the Republican wave is coming and he’s frustrated with the Democrats. “You feel it,” he said. “And it goes to my fundamental grievance with my damn party. We’re getting crushed on narrative. We’re going to have to do better in terms of getting on the offense and stop being on the damn defense.” 

  The Republicans are rising as they inject the public with fear of crime while blaming President Biden for inflation, and high gasoline prices. An astounding number of Republican political television ads have the candidate firing a gun, claiming to be the one who will protect Second Amendment rights.

  The Democrats have been late to warn voters that the Republicans have on their agenda making cuts to Social Security and increasing recipient costs for Medicare. 

Econ 101: The Federal Reserve yesterday hiked interest rates another .75 percent for the fourth month in a row, the 6^th hike this year. 

  Stocks took a dive after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said they were nowhere near the end of rate hikes and efforts to slow economic growth and stall inflation. 

Trump World: The Justice Department offered to grant criminal immunity to Donald Trump’s close adviser Kash Patel if he testifies about Trump’s handling of secret presidential and government documents. A month ago Patel pled the Fifth in front of the grand jury.   

Executive Suite: Former CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves and parent company Paramount have agreed to pay $9.75 million after a New York state investigation found that the network and its senior leadership had concealed accusations of sexual misconduct against Moonves and that one executive did some insider trading related to the allegations.

  Paramount pays $7.25 million and Moonves, $2.5 million. Separately, Paramount has agreed to pay $14.75 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit related to the claims.

  Moonves either quit or was fired from CBS in 2018 in one of the higher profile cases of executive misconduct. He’s married to Julie Chen, a one-time CBS anchor who’s 21 years younger.

 The Ball Game: For just the second time in World Series history, a no-hitter was thrown as the Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-0, tying the series at 2-2. Starting pitcher Cristian Javier struck out nine and walked two in six innings. 

The Obit Page: Julie Powell, the blogger who rose to fame in a yearlong mission to cook every recipe in Julia Child’s book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” died at home of cardiac arrest at age 49. 

  Her blog, “The Julie/Julia Project,” had hundreds of thousands of readers. It became a bestselling book, “Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen.” Nora Ephron then made it into an Oscar-nominated movie, “Julie & Julia.”

  Writing about Julia Child in The Los Angeles Times, Powell said, “The discipline, hard work and fascination she emphasized had led me, unexpectedly, to the beginnings of a career and, less unexpectedly but perhaps more essentially, to a truly beautiful boeuf bourguignonne.”

The Spin Rack: Capitol Police Security cameras trained on the San Francisco home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were not monitored at the time of the break-in during which the Democratic leader’s husband, Paul, was seriously injured. — Nikolas Cruz, 24, convicted of the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, was sentenced to 34 life terms in prison. —  Another four Michigan State football players have been suspended following a brawl after the game in the tunnel leading to locker rooms. That makes eight players suspended for the fight in which you can see one of them swinging his helmet against a University of  Michigan player. There’s been no explanation of what it was all about.

Below the Fold: Fabiola Valentín, who was Miss Puerto Rico 2020, and Mariana Varela, Miss Argentina 2020, announced that they are married. They’re a good looking couple.

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