Wednesday, June 5, 2024

​ June 5, 2024 Good morning, Welcome to the news for independent thinkers ​ Leading the News . . . ​ Behind closed doors, Biden shows signs of slipping . . . When President Biden met with congressional leaders in the West Wing in January to negotiate a Ukraine funding deal, he spoke so softly at times that some participants struggled to hear him, according to five people familiar with the meeting. He read from notes to make obvious points, paused for extended periods and sometimes closed his eyes for so long that some in the room wondered whether he had tuned out. The White House and top aides said he remains a sharp and vigorous leader. Some who have worked with him, however, including Democrats and some who have known him back to his time as vice president, described a president who appears slower now, someone who has both good moments and bad ones. Wall Street Journal​ ​ Everyone knows the Democrats are waging the Kamala Harris presidential election campaign. ​ ​Biden's Time interview was full of senior moments​ ​ AG Garland hasn't listened to Biden interview tapes, rejects calls to release them . . . Attorney General Merrick Garland doubled down Tuesday on his refusal to release the tapes of President Biden's interview with a special counsel who called him an "elderly man with a poor memory," saying it would taint other investigations if the tapes became public. Mr. Garland admitted to lawmakers that he hasn't listened to the recordings, saying he trusted the transcript of the criminal prosecutor's interview with Mr. Biden. Washington Times​ ​ Biden likely sounds disastrously old and confused on the tapes. That's why you won't hear them until Republicans take over DOJ, unless they are destroyed first. Also, maybe something is missing from the transcript. Politics Prosecutors use Hunter Biden's voice, text messages to make case in gun trial . . . Federal prosecutors used Hunter Biden's voice and text messages to make the case Tuesday that President Biden's son was a drug addict who lied on paperwork to obtain a revolver in 2018. On the first day of testimony in the federal courtroom in Delaware, prosecutors played Hunter Biden's audio narration of his memoir in which he detailed his drug use, and they showed jurors text messages in which he claimed to have smoked crack days after purchasing the weapon. The jury also saw several videos, including one with a shirtless Hunter Biden holding what appeared to be a crack pipe. Another video showed a white substance on a scale. Washington Times​ ​ ​Hunter Biden's wife confronts former Trump aide outside courthouse: "Nazi piece of s—"​ ​ Sounds like a pleasant woman. ​ Conviction has not harmed Trump in polls . . . An Issues and Insights (I&I)/TIPP poll published Monday revealed that Trump and Biden are tied at 41 percent in a head-to-head matchup. That is an improvement for Trump, who was behind Biden in an I&I/TIPP poll in May by two points (42 to 40). In a Morning Consult survey conducted on May 31, the day after Trump was found guilty, Biden led Trump by one point (45 percent to 44 percent) in a poll of 2,200 registered voters. Newsweek​ ​ Conservative legal watchdog sues DOJ for records related to key figure in NY v Trump case . . . A conservative nonprofit is suing the Department of Justice after it failed to release records requested under the Freedom of Information Act pertaining to Matthew Colangelo, a key figure in the New York criminal trial of former President Trump. Colangelo left his high-ranking DOJ post to join Bragg's investigation of Trump months before the indictment of the former president. "It is not every day that the number three ranking DOJ official — the Acting Associate Attorney General — leaves his post to join a district attorney's office," American First Legal said. Fox News​ ​ Conservatives are being shut down by the liberal media for even suggesting there might be a link between the Biden admin and the prosecution of Trump. ​ Trump flips his 2020 stance, launches absentee ballot and early voting push . . . Former President Trump is urging Republicans to use "every appropriate tool to beat the Democrats," which the presumptive GOP nominee says includes early voting and absentee balloting. It's a major reversal from Trump's stance four years ago, when he repeatedly condemned early-in-person voting and mail-in balloting and said they were to blame for what he argued was massive election fraud that led to his defeat at the hands of President Biden. Fox News​ ​ There was little choice. You can oppose this kind of voting. But you can't disarm yourself before going into battle. ​ Trump allies go after Black voters on Biden's turf in Philadelphia . . . Two of Donald Trump's most prominent Black surrogates, Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas, ventured into Philadelphia on Tuesday evening to make their pitch at an event billed as "Congress, Cognac and Cigars." Between sips of Remy Martin and Hennessey and drags on Romeo Y Julieta cigars, the two Republicans tried to persuade the racially mixed, largely Black audience on why more Black voters would benefit from abandoning the Democratic Party. Politico​ ​ Republicans need to enter black neighborhoods and explain their position, just like Democrats do. And not just black Republicans serving as some kind of "ambassadors" for whites. ​ Former Black Panther leader says he supports Trump . . . A man who says he was a founding member of the Black Panther explained why he supported former President Donald Trump for president in an interview posted Monday afternoon to TikTok. The man in the video said he was David Hilliard, who served as the Chief of Staff of the Black Panther Party. He referred to Trump as a "friend to African Americans" and a "decent man" who financially supported his organization. He said he knew the former president as a college student during the time he allegedly supported the organization in the 1960s, where he reportedly "owned all of Harlem." Daily Caller​ ​ Trump-backed Sheehy will challenge Democratic Sen. Tester in Montana . . . Three-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester and Republican newcomer Tim Sheehy cruised to victory in Montana's primary election Tuesday, setting up a contentious November election that could tip the balance of power in the closely divided U.S. Senate. Sheehy is a former Navy SEAL backed by former President Donald Trump, Gov. Greg Gianforte and the Republican establishment. Associated Press National Security Biden unveils immigration executive order after insisting there was nothing he could do . . . President Joe Biden unveiled a new immigration executive order Tuesday after months of insisting there was nothing he could do about the ongoing southern border crisis. Biden's executive action would pause new asylum requests after the number of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border hits a daily average of 2,500 over the span of a week. Under the order, asylum requests can resume once the daily average falls back to 1,500. Daily Caller​ ​ Biden immigration order full of loopholes . . . President Joe Biden's executive order to limit illegal crossings on the southern border is full of exemptions for migrants who claim asylum, according to an internal memo from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But even after the border is allegedly shut down after 2,500 average illegal crossings a day over the course of the week, a number of migrants may still enter the United States. Any "noncitizen," the memo states, may be permitted to enter under "urgent humanitarian" conditions. Washington Free Beacon​ ​ Gunman captured after shootout outside US Embassy in Lebanon . . . A gunman was shot and captured by Lebanese soldiers after a Wednesday morning shootout outside the U.S. Embassy near Beirut that injured an embassy security guard, the military and embassy officals said. The attack by the Syrian national took place as tensions continued to simmer in the tiny Mediterranean country, where months of fighting between Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops has displaced thousands along the border, following years of political deadlock and economic hardship. Associated Press​ ​ International Israel and Hezbollah moving closer to full-scale war . . . Israel and Hezbollah are moving closer to a full-scale war after months of escalating hostilities with the Lebanese militant group, adding pressure on Israel's government to secure its northern border. Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization closely aligned with Iran, opened a battle front with Israel on Oct. 8, a day after the deadly Hamas-led raid inside Israel sparked the current war in Gaza. Wall Street Journal​ ​ Tiananmen's legacy at 35: Protests spurred Communist Party toward total control . . . Members of Congress and Chinese pro-democracy dissidents gathered on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to mark the 35th anniversary of the day some 200,000 Chinese troops launched a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters occupying Tiananmen Square. The 1989 massacre all but extinguished a growing national trend for democratic reform in China, a trend that included elements of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that were seeking a move away from the repressive political system. Washington Times​ ​ Kate Middleton "may never come back" to her former royal role . . . By all accounts, Kate appears to be on the road to recovery. In her emotional March announcement, the princess revealed that she was in the treatments. But according to a source: But "she's not able to see many people because she is susceptible to getting sick and they don't want her compromised, but she's up and about," a source said. Kate's team is "reevaluating what she's going to be able to take on when she comes back," noting, "She may never come back in the role that people saw her in before." US Magazine​ ​ Video | Terrifying moment man shoots neighbor nine times during heated argument . . . A dispute between neighbors turned deadly after a man pulled out a gun and fatally shot the other at point blank range in a dispute over a shared water valve. Surveillance footage shows two couples in Escazú, Costa Rica, launching into a heated argument which took a dramatic turn. One of the neighbors, Otoniel Orozco Mendoza, escalated the verbal altercation into a physical one, throwing punches at his neighbor Eduardo Ramírez Zamora. In retaliation, Zamora pulled out his gun and opened fire on Mendoza, firing at least nine shots at point-blank range and killing him instantly. Daily Mail​ Money New Texas stock exchange takes aim at New York's dominance . . . A group backed by Wall Street heavyweights BlackRock and Citadel Securities is planning to start a new national stock exchange in Texas, aiming to take on what they see as onerous regulation at the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. The Texas Stock Exchange, which has raised approximately $120 million from individuals and large investment firms, plans to file registration documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission later this year, CEO James Lee said. The goal is to begin facilitating trades in 2025 and host its first listing in 2026. Wall Street Journal​ Culture Ten NFL teams refuse LGBTQ Pride Month messaging . . . As many as ten professional NFL teams have refused to offer any LGBTQ Pride Month messaging for the month of June. Of the NFL's 32 professional teams, just 22 commemorated Pride Month with the start of June over the weekend via social media, reaching a combined 42 million followers overall. The teams are mostly red state: The Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, Tennessee Titans, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, and the Atlanta Falcons. Last year, the National Hockey League said its teams would no longer wear rainbow-colored LGBTQ-themed jerseys during pregame warmups for Pride nights. Bretbart​ ​ ​NY school district sorry for 'exclusionary language' to promote event for non-white students ​ Biden judicial nominee can't say whether chromosomes determine sex . . . One of President Biden's judicial nominees is under scrutiny for refusing to answer whether chromosomes determine one's biological sex, insisting that she never studied biology and is unqualified to answer. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn pleaded innocence of the question when asked it in a written questionnaire by Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Washington Times​ ​ Pro tip: They do. You should also know Last World War II vets converge on Normandy for D-Day . . . Veterans of World War II, many of them centenarians and likely returning to France for one last time, pilgrimaged Tuesday to what was the bloodiest of five Allied landing beaches on June 6, 1944. They remembered fallen friends. They relived horrors they experienced in combat. They blessed their good fortune for surviving. And they mourned those who paid the ultimate price. They also bore a message for generations behind them, who owe them so much: Don't forget what we did. More than 4,400 Allied troops were killed on D-Day, including more than 2,500 Americans. The Allied toll grew appallingly in the Battle of Normandy that ensued, with 73,000 killed and 153,000 wounded. Politico​ ​ Chicago woman loses unborn baby after she and husband attacked by teens . . . A group of teens forced a woman to miscarry with a brutal attack after she and her husband dared to stray onto a Chicago street that the youths claimed as their own. The 41-year-old mother was returning home with her husband from a date night on Friday when they were surrounded by at least 10 young people in the city's notorious Streeterville neighborhood. The woman, who gave her name only as Nina, told Fox32 that she was pepper-sprayed in the face, kicked in the stomach and lost a clump of hair as her husband was held back by the mob. 'They didn't steal anything. They said like, "we own the street, we own the street. You can't just walk around prancing in your little dress". Daily Mail​ ​ Let's keep defunding the police and see what happens. ​ Children with total deafness regain hearing after 'groundbreaking' gene therapy . . . Five children who were born completely deaf have had some reversal of hearing loss after receiving a "groundbreaking" gene therapy. The clinical trial, which was co-led by Mass Eye and Ear in Boston and the Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai, was the first in the world to apply gene therapy to children in both ears, according to the researchers. Fox News​ Guilty Pleasures Hot mic catches Sen. Joni Ernst delivering zinger about Biden and cannibals . . . Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst was caught on a hot microphone appearing to mock President Joe Biden over his claim that his uncle was eaten by cannibals in Papua New Guinea during World War II, according to video footage circulating on social media. While walking off the stage after a conference centered on the border crisis, Ernst was speaking with Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy when she took a jab at the president that was caught on the microphone. "Bottom line, never trust a man whose uncle was eaten by cannibals," she said, according to the footage. Daily Caller​ ​ Support Cut to the News Please consider a donation to Cut to the News. 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