Good morning! Here is your news briefing for Thursday June 24, 2021
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Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics — 6.24.20
Your morning review of the issues and players behind Florida politics.
Good Thursday morning.
Senate President Wilton Simpson is the Florida Chamber of Commerce’s pick for this year’s “Most Valuable Legislator” award.
The Florida Chamber said Simpson’s first Legislative Session leading the Senate was a stellar one, resulting in nearly two-dozen Chamber priorities making it to the Governor’s desk.
Among the many: COVID-19 liability protections, online sales tax reform, strengthening Florida’s Unemployment Comp Trust Fund, and a cut to the commercial rent sales tax from 5.5% to 2%.
“The same innovation, resilience, and spirit of Florida’s businesses that kept our state afloat during the pandemic are leading us back to precrisis economic prosperity,” Simpson said.
“As a farmer and a business owner myself, I understand firsthand the sacrifices and commitment our business families made to ensure Floridians had the goods, services, and safe food supply needed to get through these challenging times, and it was our responsibility to have their backs as we addressed important issues. The Florida Chamber has been a steadfast partner for us as we’ve worked to make Florida the most business-friendly state in the country, and I am grateful to them for this acknowledgment of that partnership.”
The Chamber described the MVL award as the business community’s premier legislative award honoring a single Florida lawmaker for their outstanding legislative leadership in policy to keep Florida competitive and willing to stand up for free enterprise.
“The Florida Chamber’s close partnership with Senate President Wilton Simpson this year led to 22 Chamber priorities reaching Gov. (Ron) DeSantis’ desk, several of which were legacy issues that have been years in the making,” Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson said.
“Further, his steadfast support of Florida’s job creators was also central to preventing several harmful bills from passing both chambers, such as the data privacy bill, which included the trial lawyers’ dream of another new private cause of action.”
The MVL announcement came after the Chamber last month recognized 23 lawmakers with its 2021 Distinguished Advocate Award. Like the MVL, the Distinguished Advocate Award recognizes lawmakers who fought for Chamber-backed policies during the Legislative Session.
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Mercury on Thursday announced that it hired Lisa Kauffman as a vice president in its Florida office.
Kauffman comes to the global, bipartisan public strategy firm from the Florida Senate Majority Office, where she served as the press secretary.
“We are thrilled to welcome Lisa Kauffman to the Mercury Florida team,” said Mercury Partner Ashley Walker. “With her deep experience and relationships within the Florida Legislature, Lisa will be a major asset to our growing roster of top experts on both sides of the aisle.”
Kauffman is a seasoned pro and brings years of experience in communications, government relations, and event execution. At the Florida Senate Majority Office, Kauffman worked closely with Senate leadership to craft messaging for priority policy and on Florida’s $100 billion proposed budget.
Before that, Kauffman served as the press secretary for Adam Putnam’s gubernatorial campaign. She has also worked for the Florida House of Representatives and the Orange County government.
“Mercury is a top-tier public affairs firm with an exceptionally talented slate of public affairs professionals,” Kauffman said. “I’m excited to be joining their team and I look forward to delivering successful outcomes for our clients.”
Originally from Valrico, Kauffman earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida.
Mercury provides a comprehensive suite of public strategy services that includes federal government relations, international affairs, digital influence, public opinion research, media strategy, and a bipartisan grassroots mobilization network in all 50 states.
The company has been expanding in the Sunshine State for years, including with the addition of former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Emilio González and former U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller as co-chairmen of its Florida team last year.
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The Florida Democratic Party is hiring seven field directors across the state as the party looks to increase its grassroots organizing investment this cycle.
FDP says the new hires “show a commitment to building the sustainable grassroots organizing systems needed to win in Florida.” Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz also added a statement, arguing the hires will help Democrats get a head start on high-profile 2022 contests.
“By investing early in statewide, grassroots organizing, we will meet Florida voters where they are now, not just 3 months before each election,” Diaz said.
“To flip Florida blue, we are building a long-term, sustainable infrastructure and deploying field staff all across Florida earlier than ever. Our field team is the heart of the foundation necessary to defeat Marco Rubio, Ron DeSantis, and Republicans up and down the ballot.”
The hires include Desmond Batts in the central west region, Ric Gable for the central Panhandle region, Pensacola native Keith Hardy in the western Panhandle, activist Ebony Hardy-Allen in the northeast region, Rick Ibarria in the southeast, Jamie Jarvis in the central north region, and Drake Thomsen in the central region.
Democrats saw several near misses in 2018 before seemingly losing ground in 2020. Republicans’ performance in Miami-Dade County was particularly concerning, helping President Donald Trump win the state by 3 points and allowing the GOP to expand its hold on the state Senate.
With Diaz now leading the Party, the FDP hopes this cycle’s investments will pay off, with big-time races for U.S. Senate and Governor on the ballot in 2022. The FDP release says the organization “will be expanding the team further and hiring organizers throughout the summer.”
— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —
—@WFLAJustin: #Breaking Graydon Young has agreed to plead guilty to two charges 1) conspiracy 2) obstruction of an official proceeding in exchange for other charges being dismissed. He has agreed to cooperate with the US government and testify before grand jury.
—@DWUhlfelderLaw: The dominoes on January 6, 2021, are beginning to fall right here in Florida federal court
—@kenbensinger: If Young testifies to having conspired to block certification of the Electoral College, and prosecutors show evidence (like Signal chats) of planning among Oath Keepers in advance, it becomes very difficult for remaining defendants to claim there was no conspiracy.
—@kylegriffin1: Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, on Matt Gaetz‘s critical race theory remarks: “I personally find it offensive that we are accusing the United States military, our general officers, our commissioned, noncommissioned officers of being ‘woke’ or something else.”
—@samanthajgross: Trial date set in the State vs. Frank Artiles and Alex Rodriguez for August 30, 2021, per judge
—@FBSaunders: After waffling on a congressional bid earlier this month — former Florida Health employee Rebekah Jones now has a campaign website for Florida’s 1st District: rebekahjonescampaign.com/platform
—@jacobogles: I interviewed John McAfee while he was running for President as a Libertarian, which just from that tells you the type of guy he was. One way or another, a life of fleeing the law and other enemies while carrying a machine gun and trolling social media caught up with him. RIP?
— @GrayRohrer: Free idea for a bill next year: Make @amazon recycle all the cardboard they drop at your house. Or at least make them pay for another recycling can
— DAYS UNTIL —
F9 premieres in the U.S. — 1; Bruce Springsteen revives solo show, “Springsteen on Broadway” — 2; ‘Tax Freedom Holiday’ begins — 7; Fourth of July — 10; ‘Black Widow’ rescheduled premiere — 15; MLB All-Star Game — 9; Jeff Bezos travels into space on Blue Origin’s first passenger flight — 26; new start date for 2021 Olympics — 29; second season of ‘Ted Lasso’ premieres on Apple+ — 29; the NBA Draft — 39; ‘Jungle Cruise’ premieres — 41; ‘The Suicide Squad’ premieres — 47; Florida Behavioral Health Association’s Annual Conference (BHCon) begins — 55; St. Petersburg Primary Election — 61; Disney’s ‘Shang Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings’ premieres — 70; NFL regular season begins — 77; Broadway’s full-capacity reopening — 82; 2022 Legislative Session interim committee meetings begin — 88; ‘The Many Saints of Newark’ premieres (rescheduled) — 92; ‘Dune’ premieres — 99; Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary party starts — 99; MLB regular season ends — 101; ‘No Time to Die’ premieres (rescheduled) — 106; World Series Game 1 — 125; St. Petersburg Municipal Elections — 131; Florida’s 20th Congressional District primary — 131; Disney’s ‘Eternals’ premieres — 133; ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ rescheduled premiere — 147; San Diego Comic-Con begins — 155; Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ premieres — 169; ‘Spider-Man Far From Home’ sequel premieres — 179; NFL season ends — 199; 2022 Legislative Session starts — 201; Florida’s 20th Congressional District election — 201; NFL playoffs begin — 205; Super Bowl LVI — 234; ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ premieres — 274; ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ premieres — 316; ‘Platinum Jubilee’ for Queen Elizabeth II — 343; “Black Panther 2” premieres — 379; ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ sequel premieres — 470; “Captain Marvel 2” premieres — 505.
“Trial date set for Frank Artiles, Alex Rodriguez over spoiler candidate charges” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — Former Sen. Artiles will face trial on Aug. 30 as prosecutors accuse Artiles of propping up a sham candidate in a Miami-Dade Senate race last fall. That candidate, Rodriguez, is also facing charges and will face an Aug. 30 trial start date with Artiles. Authorities arrested Artiles in mid-March and hit him with multiple charges. They also seized multiple electronics in connection with the investigation during a raid on Artiles’ Palmetto Bay home. Investigators say Artiles, a Republican, illegally funneled money to Rodriguez, who ran as a nonparty affiliated candidate in the 2020 Senate District 37 contest. Rodriguez collected nearly 6,400 votes in that contest. Then-Democratic Sen. José Javier Rodríguez lost the race to Republican candidate Ileana Garcia by just 32 votes.
“Top Florida political players scrutinized in Artiles case ahead of August trial” via Samantha Gross and Ana Ceballos of the Miami Herald — A public corruption investigation that took root in a single Miami-Dade legislative race has roped in prominent players across Florida over the last several months. Most prominently, it includes emails, contracts and invoices from Data Targeting Inc., a Gainesville research firm operated by Pat Bainter with Artiles’ Miami Firm, Atlas Consulting LLC; as well as bank records from a Tallahassee-based group called Let’s Preserve the American Dream, run by Ryan Tyson, one of Florida’s most prominent Republican strategists and pollsters. The evidence list also ties in Baptist Hospital of Miami, which was served a subpoena for “email correspondence between investigators and an employee at Baptist.” It lists Wendy Kemp, the associate vice president of Baptist Health of South Florida, as a “witness.”
— 2022 —
“Ron DeSantis leads Democratic gubernatorial challengers by nearly double digits” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — DeSantis is sitting pretty with a nearly double-digit lead over his nearest 2022 challenger. Polling released Wednesday put the first-term Republican Governor in head-to-head matchups against Charlie Crist and Nikki Fried, the two Democrats vying for their party’s nomination. Crist, who was elected Governor in 2006 as a Republican, polls the closest to DeSantis, but is still down 45% to 55%. Fried, the only Democrat to win a statewide election in Florida since 2012, is down by a considerable 22-point margin, 39% to 61%. The bulk of Fried’s deficit to Crist appears rooted in support from Democrats. And that could be attributed to Crist’s advantage in name recognition.
“Watchdog flags ‘ongoing ethics violation’ by Florida Democrat” via Matthew Foldi of The Washington Free Beacon — Within hours of announcing her Senate bid, Val Demings committed a blatant ethics violation. Demings used her official Twitter account, which has more than 300,000 followers, to direct people to her far less popular campaign account. The Tweet, which was pinned to the top of her timeline before it was deleted by Demings, was in violation of House rules banning the use of taxpayer-funded resources for campaign purposes. Demings deleted the post, which had already gained thousands of retweets. “Demings has committed a clear violation by using her official account to link to her campaign account,” the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust wrote in a complaint to the Office of Congressional Ethics.
“Wilton Simpson, Kathleen Passidomo endorse Colleen Burton for SD 22” via Drew Wilson of Florida Politics — Simpson and Passidomo, the Senate Rules Chair, endorsed Burton in the race for Senate District 22. “Colleen Burton is the right person to represent Florida’s 22nd Senate District. She is a fearless conservative who is ready to advance common-sense policies that benefit and uplift Floridians,” Simpson said. Passidomo added, “With deep-rooted conservative values and the track record to prove it, Colleen Burton is a no-brainier for Florida’s 22nd Senate District. I believe Colleen has what it takes to advance our shared conservative values, which is why she has my endorsement for her Senate race.” Burton, a Lakeland Republican, is running to succeed term-limited Sen. Kelli Stargel. Last week, Stargel endorsed Burton in the SD 22 race.
“Candidates file for Jeff Brandes, Kamia Brown seats” via The News Service of Florida — St. Petersburg Democrat Eunic Ortiz opened a campaign account to run in what is now Pinellas County’s Senate District 24. Brandes will leave the seat next year because of term limits. Also running for the seat are Rep. Nick DiCeglie and Largo Republican Timothy Lewis. Meanwhile, Clarcona Democrat Melissa Myers this week became the first candidate to open an account to succeed Brown in Orange County’s House District 45. Brown plans to run in 2022 for a state Senate seat.
Assignment editors — The Florida House Republican Campaign Committee (FHRCC) will host a news conference featuring Chair Paul Renner announcing a series of new initiatives for the 2022 election cycle, 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, Zoom link here. Meeting ID: 968 857 9303. Passcode: 4SXYEq. RSVP to Andres Malave at AMalave@rpof.org.
“Sports betting amendment filed for 2022 ballot” via Florida Politics — Two of the biggest sports betting platforms are launching a ballot initiative to open the market to all comers. The proposed constitutional amendment comes a little over a month after the Legislature approved a new Gaming Compact, which, among other things, gave the Seminole Tribe of Florida the exclusive rights to offer sports betting statewide. Sources say the proposed constitutional amendment say it is being pushed by DraftKings and FanDuel. The companies have reportedly staked the sponsoring political committee with a “significant amount” of cash. The initiative comes as the Gaming Compact faces an uncertain fate. Though approved by lawmakers and the Governor, it still requires approval from the U.S. Department of Interior and is expected to face several court challenges.
“Court sides with consultant in campaign dispute” via The News Service of Florida — An appeals court backed political consultant Randy Nielsen in a dispute with former state Rep. Carl Domino involving a 2014 congressional campaign. Domino argued in the lawsuit that Nielsen, who was a consultant on Domino’s unsuccessful campaign, breached a fiduciary duty related to the hiring of a fundraiser. The ruling by a 4th District Court of Appeal panel upheld a decision last year by Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Janis Brustares Keyser. The decision by Keyser said Nielsen helped direct the hiring of Annie Marie Delgado to work as a fundraiser for the campaign but that Domino fired Delgado in September 2014. Delgado sued Domino over the firing, alleging a breach of contract.
— DATELINE TALLY —
“Toll road revamp goes to DeSantis” via News Service of Florida — A bill (SB 100) that would scuttle large parts of a plan to build and expand toll roads was formally sent Wednesday to DeSantis. The bill takes aim at a law pushed through the Legislature by former Senate President Bill Galvano. The 2019 law called for building a toll road from Collier County to Polk County, extending Florida’s Turnpike to connect with the Suncoast Parkway, and extending the Suncoast Parkway from Citrus County to Jefferson County. But the bill passed this year would eliminate the planned road between Collier and Polk while requiring plans to extend the turnpike west from Wildwood to the Suncoast Parkway and plot a route that would weave the Suncoast Parkway north along U.S. 19.
“Bill for free book delivery hits DeSantis’ desk” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — The proposal (HB 3), sponsored by Rep. Dana Trabulsy, a Fort Pierce Republican, would implement Florida’s first statewide book distribution plan as part of House Speaker Chris Sprowls‘ New Worlds Reading Initiative. The voluntary program would provide free book delivery to the homes of elementary students who read below grade level. Recipients would get one free book every month for nine months of the year, throughout the school year. Florida and the state Department of Education must select a state university to administer the program. The measure would also require school districts to identify eligible students and raise awareness for the initiative. Participating students could annually select book topics and genres at the start of each school year.
“Intense backlash on increase: LGBTQ community outraged by Governor’s Pride Month actions” via Tom McLaughlin of the Northwest Florida Daily News — DeSantis is having a Pride Month for which he likely long will be remembered. Many in the state will recall June 2021 as the month Florida’s leader took extraordinary steps that some say harm and humiliate the LGBTQ community. “It feels like Pride Month, at every turn, has been insult added to injury,” said Brandon Wolf, spokesman for Equality Florida, the largest civil rights organization in Florida dedicated to securing full equality for the state’s LGBTQ community. DeSantis chose June 1 to travel to a Christian school in Jacksonville to sign a bill banning transgender girls from competing in girls’ and women’s sports.
“Art Graham, Andrew Fay seek to keep PSC seats” via Jim Turner of The News Service of Florida — Florida Public Service Commission members Graham and Fay, along with a former congressional aide for Gov. DeSantis, are among 10 candidates seeking to be named to the utility-regulatory panel. Unlike other recent openings on the five-member commission, the list of candidates does not include members of the Legislature. Graham and Fay, whose terms will expire in January, are seeking reappointment to the commission. Graham joined the PSC in 2010 after being appointed by former Gov. Charlie Crist and was reappointed twice by former Gov. Rick Scott. Fay was appointed by Scott. In his new application, Graham pointed to his experience on the commission, which regulates major electric utilities, along with water, gas and telecommunications companies.
“Harvard provost of research to helm Florida State University” via The Associated Press — The governing board of Florida’s university system confirmed Richard McCullough, vice provost for research at Harvard University, to become the 16th president of Florida State University. The move came about a month after the university’s board of trustees unanimously selected McCullough for the job after interviewing its pool of finalists. McCullough replaces retiring FSU President John Thrasher and takes over on Aug. 16, the university said. According to his biography on the university’s website, McCullough has held his position at Harvard since 2012. McCullough is also a professor of materials science and engineering at Harvard. He has a Ph.D. in engineering from Johns Hopkins University. McCullough previously served as vice president for research at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
“FSU, New College president picks confirmed” via News Service of Florida — The state university system’s Board of Governors also confirmed Patricia Okker as president of New College of Florida. Okker, dean of the University of Missouri’s College of Arts and Sciences, was selected to lead New College by the school’s trustees in April. Okker’s five-year contract will begin July 1, and she will earn a base salary of $305,000. She will replace Donal O’Shea, who has served as New College president since 2012.
— STATEWIDE —
“USF survey finds most Floridians are concerned about hurricane season, but ill-prepared” via Kelly Hayes of Florida Politics — Most Floridians are concerned about this year’s hurricane season, according to a recently released survey from the University of South Florida. But, are they prepared? USF’s School of Public Affairs created the survey to measure the preparedness of Floridians for natural disasters while also examining the impact of COVID-19 on household readiness. The survey found that while a large majority of Floridians are worried about this upcoming hurricane season (81%), most also considered themselves prepared (78%). And, 81% of respondents said their household would be either severely or somewhat affected by a category 3 or higher storm. More than half of Floridians (58%) do not have an evacuation plan or hurricane-specific preparedness items, like an NOAA weather radio (57%) or a stocked emergency kit (51%).
“John McAfee, software entrepreneur with outlaw persona, dies in prison at 75” via Glenn Rifkin of The Washington Post — McAfee, the eccentric British American software entrepreneur who sold his eponymous antivirus company in the 1990s and embarked on a globe-trotting life of bizarre, often allegedly criminal pursuits while embracing the persona of a gun-toting rogue and outlaw, was found dead in his prison cell near Barcelona on June 23. He was 75. Described as belligerent, attention-seeking and media savvy, McAfee was also considered a technology genius. With the riches he gained from selling McAfee Associates in 1994 — reportedly for $100 million — the self-proclaimed “lover of women, adventure and mystery” commenced a series of exploits that led, by his count, to 21 arrests in 11 countries for crimes involving gun violations, drug trafficking, tax evasion and securities fraud.
— CORONA FLORIDA —
“Celebrity Cruises drops requirement for passengers to show proof of COVID-19 vaccine for Florida cruises” via Morgan Hines of USA TODAY — Celebrity Cruises passengers will not be required to show proof of vaccination on ships that depart from the Sunshine State, starting with the cruise line’s first sailing with paying passengers, departing Saturday from Fort Lauderdale. Instead, it will be at the passenger’s discretion whether they decide to tell the cruise line if they are vaccinated. Passengers were asked about their vaccination status during the booking process. If a passenger chooses not to share proof of vaccination upon boarding, they will not be denied boarding but will be subject to additional restrictions. And in addition to costing passengers onboard freedoms, not showing vaccine proof has a monetary price, too. Antigen tests are $178 and must be paid for by the passenger.
“Palm Beach County to let mask mandate, state of emergency order expire” via Hannah Morse of the Palm Beach Post — The mechanism through which Palm Beach County could mandate masks, close businesses and request reimbursement for dollars spent on the coronavirus pandemic will expire at midnight on Sunday. County Mayor Dave Kerner signed the final weeklong local state of emergency declaration related to COVID-19 on Tuesday, 466 days after he first deemed the pandemic an emergency on March 13, 2020. “I was ready to not continue the state of emergency,” Kerner said. “I don’t want this to go on in perpetuity.” It is far and away the county’s longest emergency declaration. The typical local state of emergency declaration, most often used to respond to hurricanes, lasts just a few weeks.
“A sign on a Miami highway flashed ‘Arrest Fauci.’ The message wasn’t in the traffic plan” via Michelle Marchante of the Miami Herald — An electronic road sign on the Dolphin Expressway in Miami-Dade County went beyond traffic warnings this week. Way beyond. Drivers on State Road 836 saw this flashing message: “Arrest (Anthony) Fauci.” The sign also shared messages of misinformation, including “COVID-19 was a hoax” and “vaccines kill.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FDA say the shots are safe. Miami-Dade’s Expressway Authority said the electronic sign was hacked early Tuesday and directed other questions to the Florida Department of Transportation, the agency running the sign because of nearby construction. FDOT did not respond to whether the hacking was done from outside or inside the agency.
“COVID-19 outbreak in Manatee government building has cruise ship parallels” via Frank Cerabino of the Palm Beach Post — There’s a reason most people say they don’t want to go on a cruise ship that allows unvaccinated passengers. And it’s hard to enjoy your vacation when the people around you start having trouble breathing and dying. I’m not being dramatic. Look at what happened last week at Manatee County’s nine-story Administration Building in Bradenton. The building was abruptly shut down Friday afternoon after COVID-19 infections swept through the seventh-floor Information Technology Office during the week. Two of the four IT workers in that office died from the virus. Three others who were in contact with them were hospitalized with the virus. Over the weekend, three more county workers contracted the virus.
— CORONA NATION —
“President Joe Biden to extend CDC eviction moratorium by one month, reports say” via Rene Rodriguez of the Miami Herald — Biden is expected to extend the current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eviction moratorium, which is scheduled to end on June 30, by another month. News of the extension, which was first reported by Reuters, comes after a group of 44 U.S. Democratic lawmakers, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Carolyn B. Maloney, sent a letter to the CDC arguing that nearly six million renter households are behind on their rents and could face eviction once the current moratorium runs out. Renters need to supply their landlords with an executed declaration form stating loss of income or other hardship caused by the pandemic.
— CORONA ECONOMICS —
“Millions of Americans refinanced last year — but fewer Black and Latino homeowners did” via J.J. McCorvey and Julia Carpenter of The Wall Street Journal — Refinancings were popular in 2020, but not every household caught the wave. From January to October of last year, only 6% of Black borrowers refinanced their mortgages, versus 12% of white borrowers. The findings appear in a new report by economists at the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta, Philadelphia and Boston. Researchers matched borrower data with data from firms that track mortgage performance, including Equifax and mortgage-data firm Black Knight. The report found that 14% of Asian borrowers refinanced, while borrowers identified as Latino clocked in at 9%. Of an estimated $5.3 billion of savings for all households that refinanced during the 10-month period examined in the Fed report, only $198 million, or 3.7%, went to Black households.
“Janet Yellen says extraordinary measures to avoid default could run out in August” via Robert Schroeder of MarketWatch — Treasury Secretary Yellen on Wednesday urged Congress to raise or suspend the U.S. debt limit, saying failure to do so would have “catastrophic” consequences for the U.S. economy. Speaking at a Senate hearing on the Treasury’s budget, Yellen said she would plead with Congress to raise the limit “as soon as possible.” A suspension of the debt limit expires after July 31. The Treasury would after that have to take so-called extraordinary measures to prevent the U.S. from defaulting, and Yellen told lawmakers that the point of default could come in August. Yellen earlier this year said her department was concerned that such measures would last a limited time.
— MORE CORONA —
“The Delta variant is a grave danger to the unvaccinated” via Dhruv Khullar of The New Yorker — Much of what we know about Delta is preliminary, and based on reports from India and, more recently, the U.K., where it now accounts for more than 90% of new cases. The variant has spread widely enough among those who remain vulnerable to fuel a quadrupling of cases and a doubling of hospitalizations in the past month. The vast majority of Delta-variant cases seem to have occurred in adults under fifty, whose vaccination rates remain lower than those of older people. In any reopening society that’s failed to vaccinate everyone, a collision between the virus and the vulnerable is inevitable. Because of its exceptional transmissibility, the Delta variant is almost certain to intensify the force of the collision.
“Scientist finds early virus sequences that had been mysteriously deleted” via Carl Zimmer of The New York Times — About a year ago, genetic sequences from more than 200 virus samples from early cases of COVID-19 in Wuhan disappeared from an online scientific database. Now, by rooting through files stored on Google Cloud, a researcher in Seattle reports that he has recovered 13 of those original sequences — intriguing new information for discerning when and how the virus may have spilled over from a bat or another animal into humans. The new analysis, released on Tuesday, bolsters earlier suggestions that various coronaviruses may have been circulating in Wuhan before the initial outbreaks linked to animal and seafood markets in December 2019.
“The only way we’ll know when we need COVID-19 boosters” via Katherine J. Wu of The Atlantic — Nearly all experts say the need for boosters is looking more and more likely, but no one knows for sure when they’ll arrive, what the best ones will look like, or how often they’ll be needed, assuming they’re part of our future at all. What underlies this uncertainty isn’t scientific ignorance: We know the signs that will portend an ebb in vaccine protection, and we’re actively looking for them. But their timing could still surprise us. We do have, at least, hints about the longevity of vaccine protection. Antibodies that recognize SARS-CoV-2 are known to stick around in high numbers for at least six months after the first round of shots is administered.
— PRESIDENTIAL —
“Biden anti-crime effort takes on lawbreaking gun dealers” via Colleen Long, Jonathan Lemire and Michael Balsamo of The Associated Press — Biden’s plan focuses on addressing gun violence, providing money to cities that need more police and offering community support. Crime rates have risen after plummeting during the initial months of the coronavirus pandemic, creating economic hardship and anxiety. But there are also tricky politics at play, and Biden’s plan shows how few options the Democratic president has on the issue. The steps he is taking aim to crack down on gun dealers who break federal law and establish strike forces in several cities to help stop weapons trafficking. He also is seeking more money for the agency that tracks the nation’s guns. But the rest of his new strategy is largely suggestions for beleaguered localities.
“Biden administration removes Rodney Scott as head of U.S. Border Patrol” via Nick Miroff of The Washington Post — The Biden administration has forced out the head of the U.S. Border Patrol, clearing a path for a leadership overhaul at an agency strained by a 20-year high in illegal border crossings, and whose top officials were broadly sympathetic to Trump. Scott, a 29-year veteran, published a statement on social media Wednesday saying he had received a letter offering him the option to resign, retire or relocate. He said the notice did not provide a rationale for his removal, describing it as a pro forma notice “so the new administration can place the person they want in the position.” Scott’s departure was widely anticipated, with several of his current and former colleagues surprised he remained in the post long after Biden’s inauguration.
“Biden administration removes Fannie, Freddie overseer after court ruling” via Andrew Ackerman and Brent Kendall of The Wall Street Journal — The Biden administration ousted the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency after the Supreme Court ruled it was structured unconstitutionally, dealing the latest blow to investors betting that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be returned to private hands after more than 12 years of government control. The White House decision to replace Mark Calabria as head of the FHFA paves the way for Biden to install his own appointee to oversee Fannie and Freddie, regulated by the agency and back roughly half of the $11 trillion mortgage market. The Biden administration has signaled it won’t be in a hurry to privatize the companies.
— EPILOGUE: TRUMP —
“‘Freedom, Faith, and America’: Donald Trump slates Sarasota rally for early July” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics — On Saturday, July 3, the former President is giving the Sunshine State an early look at what a third Presidential campaign from Trump may look like. According to the media release from the Save America PAC, the Trump rally is co-branded with the Republican Party of Florida. “We are thrilled to be hosting President Trump as he launches out on his next voyage to continue making American great,” said RPOF Chair Joe Gruters, who was instrumental in bringing Trump to Sarasota. “We played an important role in his election and we want to show our support for his strong leadership as President.” The “45 Fest” at the Sarasota Fairgrounds leads off at 2 p.m. At 5 p.m., the “preprogram speakers” offer remarks. Then, at 8, Trump “celebrates Freedom, Faith, and America.” Fireworks of a more conventional variety follow the President’s remarks, filling the Sarasota sky by 9 p.m.
“‘The Tea Party to the 10th power’: Trumpworld bets big on critical race theory” via Theodoric Meyer, Maggie Severns and Meridith McGraw of POLITICO — Former top aides to Trump have begun an aggressive push to combat the teaching of critical race theory and capitalize on the issue politically, confident that a backlash will vault them back into power. These officials, including Trump’s former campaign chief and two former budget advisers, have poured money and organizational muscle into the fight. They’ve aided activists pushing back against the concept that racism has been systemic to American society and institutions after centuries of slavery and Jim Crow. And some of them have begun working with members of Congress to bar the military from holding diversity training and to withhold federal funds from schools and colleges that promote anything that can be packaged as critical race theory.
“Michigan Republicans debunk voter fraud claims in unsparing report” via Reid J. Epstein of The New York Times — A committee led by Michigan Republicans on Wednesday published an extraordinary debunking of voter fraud claims in the state, delivering a comprehensive rebuke to a litany of accusations about improprieties in the 2020 election and its aftermath. The 55-page report, produced by a Michigan State Senate committee of three Republicans and one Democrat, is a systematic rebuttal to an array of false claims about the election from Trump supporters. The authors focus overwhelmingly on Michigan, but they also expose lies perpetuated about the vote-counting process in Georgia. The report is unsparing in its criticism of those who have promoted false theories about the election. It debunks claims from Trump allies, including Mike Lindell, Rudy Giuliani and Trump himself.
“Some Republicans find failure to grapple with climate change a ‘political liability’” via Lisa Friedman of The New York Times — For four years under Trump, even uttering the phrase “climate change” was verboten for many Republicans. His administration scrubbed the words from federal websites, tried to censor testimony to Congress, and mocked the science linking rising fossil fuel emissions to a warming planet. Now, many in the Republican Party are coming to terms with what polls have been saying for years: independents, suburban voters and especially young Republicans are worried about climate change and want the government to take action. This month in Miami, a group of young Republicans carrying signs that read “This Is What an Environmentalist Looks Like” held what was billed as the first rally for “conservative” climate action.
— CRISIS —
“Judge rebukes GOP for downplaying U.S. Capitol riot as he hands out first sentence in insurrection” via Marshall Cohen, Katelyn Polantz and Hannah Rabinowitz of CNN — A Trump supporter who spent 10 minutes inside the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 insurrection was sentenced to probation Wednesday, avoiding jail, becoming the first rioter to learn their punishment in the riot investigation. At a hearing in DC federal court, Judge Royce Lamberth said the insurrection was a “disgrace” and forcefully rebuked the “utter nonsense” coming from some Republican lawmakers and other right-wing figures who are whitewashing what happened. “I don’t know what planet they were on,” Lamberth said of the GOP lawmakers, without mentioning any names. Anna Morgan-Lloyd, 49, from rural Indiana, had pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor for trespassing inside The Capitol as part of the crowd on January 6. She was also assessed a $500 fine.
“Second alleged Oath Keepers member pleads guilty in Jan. 6 Capitol riot, will cooperate as prosecutors seek momentum” via Spencer S. Hsu of The Washington Post — A second alleged member of the Oath Keepers involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot pleaded guilty Wednesday to reduced charges and agreed to cooperate with U.S. prosecutors in hopes of lowering a recommended six-year prison term. Graydon Young, 55, of Englewood, admitted to two federal felony counts, including conspiracy and obstructing Congress’s confirmation of the results of the 2020 presidential election. The government agreed to dismiss four other counts in a plea agreement and could request a sentence below a recommended 63-to-78-month range in exchange for Young’s substantial cooperation. Young’s plea was one of three Wednesday by defendants charged in The Capitol breach as prosecutors seek to build momentum with nearly 500 federally charged cases.
— D.C. MATTERS —
“Supremes side with cursing cheerleader in campus free speech case” via The Associated Press — The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a Pennsylvania public school wrongly suspended a student from cheerleading over a vulgar social media post she made after she didn’t qualify for the varsity team. The court voted 8-1 in favor of Brandi Levy, a 14-year-old high school freshman when she expressed her disappointment over not making the varsity cheerleading squad with a string of curse words and a raised middle finger on Snapchat. Levy was not in school when she made her post, but she was suspended from cheerleading activities for a year anyway. Justice Stephen Breyer‘s opinion was that the high court ruled that the suspension violated Levy’s First Amendment freedom of speech rights. But the justices did not foreclose schools from disciplining students for what they say off-campus.
“High court curbs police warrant powers, ending ‘hot pursuit’ precedent” via The Associated Press — The Supreme Court limited when police officers pursuing a fleeing suspect can enter a home without a warrant. The high court ruled that when officers pursue someone suspected of a misdemeanor, a less serious crime, they cannot always enter a home without a warrant if a suspect enters. The court had previously given police greater freedom to enter homes in cases involving more serious crimes. The case the justices decided is important both to law enforcement and to groups concerned about privacy. But it doesn’t give police a bright line for when they can and cannot enter a home to pursue someone suspected of committing a misdemeanor.
“Rick Scott jabs Biden’s ‘do-nothing executive orders’ as no answer to crime wave” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics — The Senator said Biden had finally “figured out there was a crime surge in this country due to the policies of the radical Democrats.” But Biden failed to follow the “real simple advice” to “stop defunding the police.” “The Democrats’ radical policies have caused this unbelievable crime wave,” Scott said. Scott was on Fox Business Network’s “Evening Edit” when he made the comments, which continued messaging from one of his political arms ahead of the speech. Scott’s National Republican Senatorial Committee blasted “defund the police” Democrats as “crazy and dangerous” in a new ad. “Here’s the Democrat plan for America: Crime.”
To watch the ad, click on the image below:
“Scott claims Dems’ ‘political science’ blocked his anti-mask mandate bill” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics — Unanimous consent would have been required to move what Scott called a “pure common sense” bill out of committee and to the floor for a vote. That did not come to pass because Democrats couldn’t help but follow their “political science,” Scott argued. “While we choose to listen to the science, all the Democrats care about is following their political science,” Scott said in a news release Wednesday evening. The Stop Mandating Additional Requirements for Travel (SMART) Act was intended, Scott said on the Senate floor, to contest the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decision “to buck the science when it comes to travel” by continuing to require masks on mass transit.
“Military leaders push back on questions by Rep. Matt Gaetz about critical race theory” via Dartunorro Clark and Mosheh Gains of NBC News — Military leaders excoriated Gaetz after the Florida Republican raised questions about critical race theory being taught to the nation’s soldiers. “We do not teach critical race theory, we don’t embrace critical theory, and I think that is a spurious conversation,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Gaetz during a House Armed Services Committee hearing. “And so, we are focused on extremism behaviors and not ideology, not people’s thoughts, not people’s political orientations.” Gaetz claimed that he has heard from soldiers who have raised concerns about the subject being taught. Austin sharply responded. “And thanks for your anecdotal input, but I would say I’ve gotten 10 times that amount of input, 50 times the amount of input on the other side that have said, ‘We are glad to have had a conversation with ourselves and our leadership.’”
“Frederica Wilson wants action after Local 10 investigation into rotting utility poles” via Jeff Weinsier of WPLG — The utility pole behind Adassa Woodward’s Miami Gardens house is cracked, rotting, weak, bending and likely being held up by attached power lines and — a whole lot of luck. The pole on the side of her house is cracked from top to bottom and hollow. Both have transformers on them. At 80 years old, Woodward says the last thing she needs is to be surrounded and worried about rotting poles. Local 10 News showed Woodward’s situation to Rep. Wilson, the Congresswoman representing the 24th District, along with photos from other residents who have reached out about the issue. “Very disturbing,” Wilson said. “This is quite a danger zone.” She added: “My office is on this like a pit bull.”
“The U.N. voted for the 29th time to end the Cuba embargo. COVID-19 added some drama.” via Adriana Brasileiro of the Miami Herald — As it has every year since 1992, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in support of a resolution that calls for the U.S. to lift its embargo against Cuba — and this time, the pleading focused on the devastating impact of the economic blockade during the COVID-19 pandemic. The vote on Wednesday was 184 in favor, three abstentions by Colombia, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates and two “no” votes by the U.S. and Israel. Member states once again said the blockade goes against international law and the U.N. Charter. Cuba called the embargo “a systematic violation of the rights of the Cuban people.”
“Federal council lowers bag limits on Mahi. Not far enough, South Florida anglers say” via David Goodhue of the Miami Herald — A federal fisheries council voted Friday to lower the bag limits on Mahi-Mahi from the Keys to the Carolinas. But to many people who make their living catching the popular deep sea sport and food species in South Florida, the new rules don’t go far enough. Some actually want to see more restrictions on keeping the colorful migratory fish — also commonly called dolphin — because they say there just aren’t nearly as many as there used to be, and the ones they are catching are smaller on average. These fishermen say Mahi are being overfished recreationally and commercially in the U.S. and especially internationally, where other nations are not policing conservation laws.
— LOCAL NOTES —
“Alleged murderer of former Florida state Senator’s son caught by U.S. marshals, police say” via Devoun Cetoute and Charles Rabin of the Miami Herald — The death of former state Sen. Daphne Campbell’s son was the result of a love triangle with a twist, according to state prosecutors: The woman who shot him was the jilted ex-girlfriend of a woman who spent the night in Jason Campbell’s bed. On Monday, federal marshals found Lakoria Shamece Washington, 24, in Port Orange, Florida, and took her into custody. She has been charged with the first-degree murder of Campbell, 23. By Tuesday, Washington had not yet been extradited to Miami-Dade. The Miami-Dade Police Department, which announced Washington’s arrest, cited Marsy’s Law and did not name the woman at Jason Campbell’s apartment when he was murdered.
“Miami Beach says it won’t enforce 2 a.m. ban on alcohol sales after judge’s ruling” via Martin Vassolo of the Miami Herald — South Beach bars with early-morning liquor licenses can once again serve alcohol until 5 a.m. after the city announced late Tuesday it would no longer enforce a 2 a.m. prohibition on the sale and consumption of alcohol in its South Beach entertainment district. The announcement came a day after Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Beatrice Butchko granted the Clevelander hotel a temporary injunction blocking the city of Miami Beach from limiting the hours of alcohol service at the Ocean Drive business for the duration of the lawsuit. The Clevelander sued the city last month over the new law, which was enacted on May 22.
“Chief fires Miami’s most powerful police couple. They vow to fight for their jobs” via Charles Rubin of the Miami Herald — Two of Miami’s top-ranked police officers — a couple with almost a half-century of combined law enforcement experience and personnel jackets brimming with commendations and promotions — were fired Tuesday for not being truthful about an accident involving a city-issued SUV, said Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo. The termination of Deputy Police Chief Ronald Papier and his wife Nerly Papier, a commander in Little Havana, came almost three months after Nerly Papier ran her SUV into a curb one morning on her way to police headquarters and blew two tires, an accident she claimed happened after steering quickly away from a car that had veered into her lane of traffic.
“South Florida CEO charged in massive money-laundering case targeting illicit gold trade” via Jay Weaver of the Miami Herald — The owner of a transportation company that hauls gold around the country has been charged in a massive money-laundering case extending from Latin America to South Florida that is still shaking up the precious-metals industry four years after the initial indictment was filed in Miami. Jesus Gabriel Rodriguez Jr., CEO of the Doral-based armored truck company Transvalue Inc., is the latest defendant to be charged in the multibillion-dollar conspiracy in which authorities say gold shipments were smuggled out of foreign countries with falsified paperwork to dupe U.S. Customs officials at Miami International Airport into thinking they were legitimate. Rodriguez, 45, is accused of participating in a piece of the international smuggling scheme.
“Commissioners consider requiring businesses to increase security in area of South Beach” via Annaliese Garcia of WPLG — Nightclubs, bars, and restaurants in the entertainment district in South Beach are allowed to stay open and serve alcohol until 5 a.m. again. Earlier this month, a judge ruled that Miami Beach’s 2 a.m. last call for alcohol in a part of the district was unlawful. Commissioners are meeting on Wednesday at City Hall to discuss the possibility of requiring security at the bars in the area from midnight to after closing. This would increase costs for people like David Wallack, the owner of Mangos on Ocean Drive. Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber was a supporter of the 2 a.m. alcohol ban.
“South Florida home prices have settled at last. But will the calm last?” via Rebecca San Juan of the Miami Herald — In a sign that South Florida’s astronomical home prices may be settling, median sales prices for both houses and condos in Miami-Dade and Broward counties slipped or remained flat, according to data released Tuesday by the Miami Realtors Association. Median sales prices of single-family homes in Miami-Dade dropped by 3% between April and May, from $515,000 to $500,000, despite a surge in the number of transactions. Condo prices remained steady, with a median price of $325,000. While prices also slipped in February to $450,000 from $469,500 the prior month, they later surged.
“Hialeah plans to impose new rules for adults-only motels — but won’t ban hourly rates” via Aaron Leibowitz of the Miami Herald — In late April, the Hialeah City Council gave initial approval to a plan to ban hourly hotel and motel rentals, a change with the potential to transform an Okeechobee Road corridor teeming with adults-only motels that some city officials say are hotbeds for criminal activity. But since then, lobbyists and owners for the motels — which are notorious for their romance-themed rooms and private garage entrances ostensibly designed for one-night flings — have succeeded in softening the council’s stance, working with the city on new legislation that was approved Tuesday night on first reading. The legislation that got a preliminary OK in a 4-2 vote Tuesday would impose three-hour minimum stays at motels in the city.
“Documents show rifts remain in negotiations for David Beckham Miami soccer stadium complex” via Joey Flechas of the Miami Herald — After two and a half years of quiet negotiations, the controversial no-bid deal to build a $1 billion soccer stadium complex for Miami’s Major League Soccer team still faces considerable obstacles, according to internal documents obtained by the Miami Herald that offer the public’s first glimpse inside the talks. The next step for co-owner Beckham’s eight-year quest to field an MLS franchise in a Miami stadium is a major vote at Miami City Hall, though it’s unclear when that will happen. City administrators and Inter Miami’s ownership said they’re optimistic, but attorneys for both sides apparently can’t even agree on where they have disagreements.
“Safety chief resigns from Broward schools, one more high-level departure” via Scott Travis of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — Brian Katz, the Broward schools safety chief who was passed over this month as interim Superintendent, is the latest top administrator to resign from a school district in turmoil. Katz, 43, was hired in Feb. 2019 to oversee safety and security in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland. His last day will be July 30, according to a letter Superintendent Robert Runcie sent Wednesday afternoon to the School Board. “I am grateful for what Mr. Katz has accomplished and contributed to this district as he built a national model for school safety and security,” Runcie wrote. “We were fortunate to secure his talent and passion for this work at such a critical time.”
“The Pahokee Marina mess: Distributed photos show rotting algae, not ‘floating feces’” via Kimberly Miller of the Palm Beach Post — Widely distributed images of “suspected floating feces” at the Pahokee Marina is more likely rotting algae stirred up by pumps circulating water to mitigate toxic algae bloom, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. A South Florida Water Management District employee apologized for sending breakfast-time images of the alleged poo in an email this month that went to dozens of district, county and state employees. The note followed a June 8 report from samplers who saw and smelled the debris when collecting water to be tested for microcystin toxins.
“‘It was a terrible odor’: Boca removes over 1,000 dead shad from Sabal Lake” via Victoria Villanueva-Marquez of the Palm Beach Post — The putrid smell of dead fish has finally started to fade. On Monday, an environmental contractor for Boca Raton removed more than 1,000 dead shad from the bank of Sabal Lake. The rotting fish, which ranged from small to large in size, carried a stench that wafted from the water to the Boca Square neighborhood. For Gina Tayem, 60, whose home sits about 20 feet from Sabal Lake, the odor made her want to vomit. “My husband thought there was a dead body in the yard,” Tayem said. In the four days since the dead shad were discovered, its odor had stretched far and wide.
“Accused Delray Beach LGBTQ Pride crosswalk vandal may face enhanced hate crime charge” via Victoria Villanueva-Marquez of the Palm Beach Post — The State Attorney’s Office will review the case of a man accused of burning two 15-foot-long skid marks into the new LGBTQ Pride intersection and crosswalk in Delray Beach to determine whether he will face an enhanced charge of a hate crime. The enhanced charge could be prosecuted as a second- or third-degree felony. “It’s policy in the office to use the hate crime enhancement statute if it’s applicable,” said Mike Edmondson, spokesman for the State Attorney’s Office. “It’s done when we have the supporting evidence to actually apply it.” In its review, the agency will also examine whether Florida’s new Combating Public Disorder law fits the case.
— TOP OPINION —
“Battle over critical race theory won’t benefit GOP in the long run” via Jonah Goldberg of the Tampa Bay Times — When proponents of critical race theory say they are merely proposing a belated corrective to the way American history has been framed, many parents don’t buy it, having seen what their children are taught now. The current battle over critical race theory is a wonderful gift to the Republicans in the short term. The GOP would love to win back white suburban parents with culture-war issues, now that it has no credibility on fiscal matters. But in the long run, this could be disastrous for the party and the country, because the last thing anyone needs is to redefine the culture war as a racial conflict.
— OPINIONS —
“Biden is rushing America’s return to normalcy” via Scott Duke Kominers of Bloomberg Opinion — On July 4, Biden is planning to mark “a summer of freedom,” with a large event at the White House. It will be a key moment for the administration, which has been encouraging a return to normalcy. But a close look at the situation suggests this may project an excess of optimism. Vaccination rates are the first sign of the gap. After setting a partial vaccination target of at least 70% by July 4, Biden will have to settle for something less. Another red flag was raised by studies on the U.K. outbreak showing that the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines aren’t particularly effective against the delta variant on just a single dose. The risks described above could push COVID-19 deaths up even higher.
“Supreme Court sides with Florida on college athletes” via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board — Florida rarely leads the nation in progressive ideas. Last year, however, our state was at the forefront of a long-overdue movement to modernize college sports. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that colleges can’t limit compensation for athletes only to the four-year undergraduate scholarships they receive. The often-divided court torched the myth that young men and women must be amateurs while all the adults around them make millions off their skills. Old-school types will grumble about what happens. Consider, though, that not long ago, coaches could break contracts and leave schools immediately while athletes had to sit out for a year if they transferred.
“Yes, you can cruise from Florida without a vaccine — if you pay for testing and sail in ‘mask class’” via Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel — As you probably know, DeSantis told cruise lines they couldn’t ask for proof of vaccination. So now we’re seeing how the cruise lines are responding. Some are threatening to defy the Governor. But others are saying unvaccinated passengers can sail — with the understanding that they will face rules, restrictions and costs that vaccinated passengers won’t. For instance, Royal Caribbean requires unvaccinated adult passengers to cough up $136 for a COVID-19 testing package before boarding and another before disembarking. That makes sense to me. Actually, it made sense to let private businesses set health and safety precautions aboard their own private vessels. That’s gotten lost in the politicization of COVID-19: Cruise lines have long had health screenings and rules that prohibit some guests from boarding.
— ON TODAY’S SUNRISE —
Florida gets an assist from First Lady Jill Biden, who holds two events in the state to encourage people to get vaccinated.
Also, on today’s Sunrise:
— College kids can say adios to Zoom. The head of the Florida Board of Governors says the state university system is ready to return to full-time face-to-face instruction.
— The board also approved the appointment of two new university presidents … including the first full-time female president at New College of Florida. Don’t let her looks deceive you: Dr. Okker can probably kick your butt … and outrun it too.
The board also approved a new president for Florida State University and the reappointment of Florida Poly and Florida International presidents.
— Sprowls asks the people who run universities to produce innovative ideas to make sure conservative students and faculty members aren’t silenced on campus.
— Gaetz claims the military stand-down to address White supremacy and extremist behavior that is hurting the service … but the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says they need to know.
— And finally, police are accusing a Florida Woman of battering her boyfriend — with a plate full of chicken.
To listen, click on the image below:
— ALOE —
“Animal Kingdom birth adds to Disney’s giraffe population” via Dewayne Bevil of the Orlando Sentinel — The giraffe population of Disney’s Animal Kingdom has grown by one with the recent birth of a male Masai giraffe. Disney says the newborn arrived in a backstage barn at the theme park almost two weeks ago and is nearly 6 feet tall and 183 pounds. His mother is Lily. “He’s playful, curious, and pretty chill,” Scott Terrell, director of animal and science operations, wrote on the official Disney Parks Blog. Mother and son will stick close together for a while but will eventually join their herd on Kilimanjaro Safaris. Maple and Zella, two calves born in September and October, became visible to guests on the savanna in December.
“Loki is confirmed as the MCU’s first openly bisexual character in Episode 3: ‘I could cry right now’” via Ethan Alter of Yahoo Entertainment — Loki (Tom Hiddleston) mostly stayed in one place (and one timeline) for the third installment of his eponymous Disney+ series. But that didn’t make “Lamentis” any less dramatic. Midway through the episode, the gender-fluid Loki casually disclosed that he’s the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first openly bisexual character. That revelation came in the midst of a conversation with his female counterpart, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino). While discussing their romantic pasts, Sylvie asked whether Loki’s status meant that he was ever wooed by “princesses” or “perhaps another prince.” Without missing a beat, Loki replied: “A bit of both. I suspect the same as you.” Not long after the episode dropped, director Kate Herron took to Twitter to confirm Loki’s bisexual identity.
— HAPPY BIRTHDAY —
Celebrating today are Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady, Rep. Diane Hart, Blake Dowling, one of St. Pete’s best, Mario Farias, Katie Flury of GrayRobinson, Tara Price, and our dear friend Rich Newsome.
___
Sunburn is authored and assembled by Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Renzo Downey and Drew Wilson.
5.) MORNING BREW
6.) THE FACTUAL
7.) LIBERTY NATION
8.) FOX NEWS
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9.) UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
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12.) THE FLIP SIDE
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13.) AXIOS
Axios AM
Happy Thursday! Smart Brevity™ count: 1,192 words … 4½ minutes. Edited by Zachary Basu.
💻 Please join Axios’ Russell Contreras today at 12:30 p.m. ET for a virtual event on Latino LGBTQ issues. Guests include Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) and Latino Equality Alliance executive director Eddie Martinez. Sign up here.
We’re #28! Or 10. Or 35.
For anyone comforted by President Biden’s “America is back” mantra, N.Y. Times columnist Nick Kristof stacks up a sobering array of data to warn that the U.S. is actually weak on many vital fronts:
- “Greeks have higher high school graduation rates,” Kristoff writes (subscription).
- “Chileans live longer.”
- “Fifteen-year-olds in Russia, Poland, Latvia and many other countries are better at math than their American counterparts.”
- “[O]ne-fifth of American 15-year-olds can’t read at the level expected of a 10-year-old.”
Why it matters: “How are those millions of Americans going to compete in a globalized economy?” Kristof asks. “[T]he greatest threat to America’s future is less a surging China or a rogue Russia than it is our underperformance at home.”
- The column contends that Biden proposals for a child tax credit, national pre-K, affordable child care and broader internet access would all help: “Our greatest threats today are ones we can’t nuke.”
Just last week, Times columnist David Brooks looked through the other end of America’s telescope and found that the COVID reset had “cleared the way for an economic boom and social revival.”
- Many Americans used the grievous, anxious year “as a preparation period, so they could burst out of the gate when things opened up,” Brooks argued in the column, “The American Renaissance Has Begun.”
Economic growth could stay hot for longer than expected, as shortages extend demand, Axios Markets correspondent Sam Ro writes.
- Economists tell Axios that while growth may slow, it’ll still be unusually strong because so many people and businesses are holding off on purchases — since stuff isn’t available, or prices are too high.
Bank of America economist Ethan Harris says the U.S. economy is like “a coiled spring.”
Companies are beefing up HR departments to navigate the return to work, Erica Pandey writes for Axios What’s Next.
- Human resources job postings are up 53% from their pre-pandemic level — far outpacing the average job posting bump of 31%, according to data from the jobs site Indeed.
Firms face two massive HR challenges in the next year or so:
- They need to figure out what balance of remote and in-person work functions best for their workforce.
- And they need to fill open roles as droves of workers quit in “the great resignation.”
Making more semiconductors in the U.S. is an urgent matter of both economic and national security, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo tells Axios chief tech correspondent Ina Fried.
- Why it matters: The U.S., which once accounted for more than a third of global chip production, now makes just 12%.
The most advanced chips are manufactured abroad, nearly all in Taiwan or South Korea, Raimondo said: “Right now we don’t make any leading edge chips in America — zero percent.”
Microsoft followed Apple to become the second U.S. company to reach a $2 trillion market value, “buoyed by bets its dominance in cloud computing and enterprise software will expand further in a post-coronavirus world,” Bloomberg reports.
- “Saudi Aramco eclipsed that threshold briefly in December 2019, but currently has a market value of about $1.9 trillion.” Apple is $2.2 trillion.
Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: Paul Hennessy/Getty Images
Following his successful effort to ban critical race theory in public schools, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis expanded his war against student “indoctrination” by signing three new bills yesterday, Axios Tampa Bay reporter Selene San Felice writes. The bills:
- Require state colleges and universities to annually survey their students, faculty and staff about their beliefs to ensure “viewpoint diversity and intellectual freedom.”
- Prevent state colleges and universities from limiting student access to ideas “they may find uncomfortable, unwelcome, disagreeable, or offensive.”
- Create a K-12 civics curriculum that contrasts the U.S. with communist and totalitarian governments using “portraits in patriotism.”
Why it matters: DeSantis, viewed as a top 2024 presidential candidate and a leader in the GOP culture war, hinted his administration might cut funding to schools that don’t comply.
Barbara Walters interviews former President Gerald Ford at ABC News election-night headquarters on Nov. 4, 1980. Photo: Steve Fenn/ABC via Getty Images
Susan Page, after N.Y. Times bestsellers on Barbara Bush and Speaker Pelosi, is now tackling celebrity interviewer Barbara Walters for a biography expected in early 2023.
- A forthcoming announcement by Simon and Schuster and Javelin notes that Walters was the first woman to host a network morning show (“Today”), and to co-host one of the Big 3 evening shows (ABC).
- Walters, age 91, developed and hosted “The View,” and interviewed everyone from Lucille Ball to the Obamas.
Page, the D.C. bureau chief of USA Today, says: “She defined a new sort of journalism … [S]he was … sometimes ruthless. She also suffered disdain (some of it on the air from her male co-anchors) and pain.”
📚 Valerie Biden Owens — President Biden’s sister and longtime strategist — will be out April 12 with “Growing Up Biden,” from Celadon Books and Javelin. “Our family’s story is a very American one — full of joy but also shadowed by tragedy,” Owens said. “[O]ur story, I hope, will resonate and inspire.” (AP)
Graphic: NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal will stream some of the most popular Tokyo Olympics sporting events exclusively on its new streaming service Peacock, Axios Media Trends expert Sara Fischer writes.
- Why it matters: It marks the first time that NBC — the longtime exclusive media partner for the Olympics — will make events available to cord-cutters who do not have a cable or satellite TV subscription.
Hamilton Place Strategies, which was founded by Bush 43 alumni and became one of D.C.’s most innovative public-affairs firms, has sold a majority stake to a private-equity firm in Charlotte, sources tell me.
- Why it matters: Hamilton Place shook up the Washington model by pioneering “analytical public affairs” — think The Upshot or FiveThirtyEight for reputation management.
The founders — Tony Fratto, Matt McDonald and Stuart Siciliano — worked together in President George W. Bush’s White House, and since have added Democrats, including partner Stacy Kerr.
- HPS sold to the PE firm Falfurrias Capital Partners.
An L.A. County Sheriff’s deputy watches a procession of Britney Spears supporters march outside yesterday’s court hearing. Photo: Chris Pizzello/AP
Britney Spears pleaded with an L.A. judge yesterday to free her from a conservatorship that has allowed her father to control her life and $60 million fortune for 13 years, after he brought concerns about her mental health and potential substance abuse to court in 2008.
- Why it matters: It was the first time the world had heard directly from Spears about her struggles, which have spawned a global “Free Britney” movement among her fans and fellow celebrities.
The 39-year-old Spears alleged she has been drugged, forced to work against her will and prevented from having children, the N.Y. Times reports.
- “I’ve been in denial. I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized,” Spears said in an emotional phone address broadcast to the court. “I just want my life back.”
📬 Thanks for reading! Please invite your friends, family, colleagues to sign up here for Axios AM and Axios PM.
14.) THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON
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15.) THE WASHINGTON POST MORNING HEADLINES
16.) THE WASHINGTON TIMES
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17.) THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
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18.) ASSOCIATED PRESS
19.) FORT MYERS (FLORIDA) NEWS-PRESS
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20.) CHICAGO TRIBUNE
21.) CHICAGO SUNTIMES
22.) THE HILL MORNING REPORT
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23.) THE HILL 12:30 REPORT
24.) ROLL CALL
Morning Headlines
The Republican Main Street Partnership, a centrist-leaning GOP organization that includes an affiliated super PAC, has tapped former Oregon Rep. Greg Walden as an outside adviser as it seeks to raise more than it ever has, $25 million, in the 2022 election cycle. Read more…
Ongoing disputes in states over voting rights won’t disappear after Senate Democrats lost their attempt to rewrite federal election law on Tuesday — and they may yet return to Congress for an uglier fight next year. Read more…
With freedom rides and ‘states’ rights’ refrains, old times in America are not forgotten
OPINION — It’s ironic that so many Republicans are fighting to keep schools from teaching about how race and racism have affected our country’s laws when it’s obvious they themselves have much to learn, starting with a lesson on the 15th Amendment to the Constitution. It was needed in 1965 and it’s needed now. Read more…
Click here to subscribe to Fintech Beat for the latest market and regulatory developmentsin finance and financial technology.
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Washington eulogizes John Warner and the ideals he represented
John Warner embodied the Senate’s most patrician principles: compromise in the face of intransigence, conviction in the face of political consequence, and a sense of comity and duty to his countrymen. Washington’s old guard eulogized Warner — and, perhaps, the ideals he came to personify — Wednesday at the National Cathedral. Read more…
Pentagon leaders push back on GOP ‘critical race theory’ accusations
The politics of race spilled over into a hearing on the Defense Department’s fiscal 2022 budget request Wednesday, with top Pentagon leaders pushing back against accusations that critical race theory was undermining cohesiveness in the military. Read more…
Kamala Harris to visit southern border amid mounting pressure
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the U.S.-Mexico border during a trip Friday to El Paso, Texas, the White House said Wednesday. The visit will be Harris’ first to the border since she took office, and Republicans have criticized her for months for not visiting the area sooner despite her role in addressing an influx of migrants. Read more…
House spending bill boosts Capitol Police, office budgets
House Democratic appropriators on Wednesday released the text of a $4.8 billion fiscal 2022 Legislative Branch appropriations bill, which includes key boosts for offices and agencies stretched thin in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic and Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Read more…
CQ Roll Call is a part of FiscalNote, the leading technology innovator at the intersection of global business and government. Copyright 2021 CQ Roll Call. All rights reserved Privacy | Safely unsubscribe now.
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Washington, DC 20004
25.) POLITICO PLAYBOOK
POLITICO Playbook: Biden catches his white whale
Presented by
DRIVING THE DAY
ENGAGED! — EUGENE DANIELS, a POLITICO White House reporter and co-author of Playbook from South Carolina, and NATE STEPHENS, a social change facilitator from South Dakota. Pic … Another pic … One more pic … OK, a final pic
PRESIDENT AHAB: Well, we’ll be damned. JOE BIDEN appears to have all but secured that elusive bipartisan infrastructure deal that both parties have been prattling on about for years. The core group of 10 Senate centrists working on the proposal emerged from a meeting with White House officials Wednesday night and declared that they had a working framework.
TODAY members of that group have been invited to the White House to meet with the president.
Republican Sens. ROB PORTMAN (Ohio) and SUSAN COLLINS (Maine) cautioned that there are still a few details to iron out. But a well-positioned administration source tells us this thing is basically cooked. All that’s left are the handshakes.
SO NOW WHAT? While lawmakers draft up the text, expect the White House to start leaning on Democrats to get in line. We know that so far at least 11 Senate Republicans have agreed to back this plan, but just as many Democrats have expressed reservations, creating tricky math for leadership.
Sen. CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.) alluded to this predicament on CNN on Wednesday night. “That deal has 20 votes — not 60 votes,” he said, noting that the group of 21 that wrote the plan will now need to sell this to their colleagues.
The whipping campaign will heat up at a time when party tensions are on the rise. Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) — who, at least in the immediate term, looks like the loser in this deal — fumed Wednesday on national television that he’s sick of talking about Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.). (We hear you, senator!) Our colleagues Laura Barrón-López and Nicholas Wu have a story up today about how Biden’s honeymoon with the left is over, as progressives are now calling him out by name.
The winners, aside from Biden? Manchin and Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-Ariz.) top the list. The Democratic duo comes out of this with not only their bipartisan deal, but also effective veto power over the massive reconciliation bill that Sanders et al. are drafting. Neither moderate senator has offered an assurance they’ll back it, despite demands from liberals.
Indeed, the big remaining question about the almost-done deal — which we’re told includes $559 billion in new spending — is whether progressives will go along. It’s one thing to issue threats via the media, another to reject a personal plea from your president. But progressives will also be taking a risk if they do abide. The list of priorities they’d like to pack into the reconciliation bill runs off the page: paid family leave, child care subsidies, climate investments, free community college, an expansion of Medicare, corporate tax hikes. And who knows what Manchin and Sinema will insist on axing after the thing they wanted most — infrastructure — will already be signed into law.
The optimistic view of the situation, from the White House perspective, goes something like this: Manchin and Sinema will be under enormous pressure to support a reconciliation bill after Biden bucked his left flank to make a bipartisan deal on infrastructure. They also point out that by first moving $1 trillion of infrastructure spending through a bipartisan bill, it reduces the price tag of the reconciliation bill by that same amount, making it easier for moderates to support it. There’s also an argument that with $1 trillion of infrastructure removed from the bigger bill, progressives have some more room now for their other priorities.
Seems a bit rosy, but then again, we would not have predicted the bipartisan talks would go this far.
Finally, the Biden-Schumer-Pelosi plan is to move these two bills simultaneously, with each bill needing the other to pass. “We can’t get the bipartisan bill done unless we’re sure we’re getting the budget reconciliation bill done,” Schumer said Wednesday night. “We can’t get the budget reconciliation bill done unless we’re sure of the bipartisan [bill].” Democratic leaders are trying to lash Manchin and the moderates to Bernie and the progressives. The message seems to be: If one side’s bill goes down, so does the other’s.
More headlines: “Bipartisan group of senators to brief Biden on infrastructure ‘framework’ after potential breakthrough in talks,” WaPo … “Senators say a deal with the White House is in hand on infrastructure,” by Sam Mintz … “Infrastructure Negotiators Agree to Framework for Package,” WSJ
Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri.
FOR YOUR RADAR — “Building collapses on Collins Avenue near Miami Beach; hundreds of rescuers on scene,” Miami Herald: “A 12-story oceanfront condo tower partially collapsed early Thursday morning on Collins Avenue in the town of Surfside, spurring a massive search-and-rescue effort.”
THAT TIME FAUCI THOUGHT HE MIGHT BE A DEAD MAN — ANTHONY FAUCI was opening his mail at his desk Aug. 27 when white powder literally blew up in his face. According to a new book out Tuesday, previewed by Playbook, Fauci had three thoughts: It was a prank to scare him, anthrax that would make him seriously ill but which he could probably survive, or ricin — in which case he was a “dead duck.” Over the next few hours, his team hosed him down to his skivvies in a chemical lab, making him stand naked in what looked like a kiddy pool as they awaited the results of tests on the substance. He called his wife to warn her before breathing a sigh of relief a few hours later when the findings came back negative for both deadly substances.
The story leads “Nightmare Scenario” ($24), a book by WaPo’s YASMEEN ABUTALEB and DAMIAN PALETTA that depicts the Trump administration’s hellish response to the pandemic. The duo asks how Fauci, the top doctor steering the nation through the deadliest pandemic in modern history, became a target for death threats and pranks like this. We’ll give you one guess — and yes, he’s the former president of the United States.
Other nuggets from the book: DONALD TRUMP saying he hoped Covid-19 would kill JOHN BOLTON, who had just published his tell-all about working in the administration, and floating the idea of detaining infected Americans from abroad at Guantánamo.
BIDEN’S THURSDAY:
— 10:15 a.m.: The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief.
— 2 p.m.: Biden will depart the White House en route to Raleigh, N.C., where he is scheduled to arrive at 3:30 p.m.
— 4:50 p.m.: The president will visit a mobile vaccination unit and meet workers.
— 5:15 p.m.: Biden will deliver remarks on vaccinations at the Green Road Community Center in Raleigh.
— 6:35 p.m.: Biden will depart Raleigh to return to the White House, where he is scheduled to arrive at 7:55 p.m.
Principal deputy press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will gaggle on Air Force One on the way to Raleigh.
First lady JILL BIDEN will travel to Kissimmee and Tampa, Fla., to visit vaccine sites today.
KAMALA HARRIS’ THURSDAY: The VP will meet virtually at 4:15 p.m. with organizations that are helping people get vaccinated.
THE SENATE is in. Energy Secretary JENNIFER GRANHOLM will testify before the Armed Services Committee at 9 a.m.
THE HOUSE will meet at 10 a.m, with first and last votes expected between 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. An Administration subcommittee will hold a hearing on voting in America at 10 a.m., with former A.G. ERIC HOLDER among those testifying. Education Secretary MIGUEL CARDONA will testify before the Education and Labor Committee at 10:15 a.m. Speaker NANCY PELOSI will hold her weekly press conference at 10:45 a.m.
PLAYBOOK READS
CONGRESS
COMING SOON: BIDEN AGENDA TO CRASH INTO THE DEBT CEILING — This isn’t being talked about nearly enough, and we’re glad our colleague on the budget beat, Caitlin Emma, has a primer on this today. In a matter of a few weeks, Congress is going to have to raise the $28 trillion debt ceiling — yes, $28 trillion and counting — around the same time that Democrats will be trying to pass Biden’s $6 trillion infrastructure-climate-family plan(s). This could prove a major headache for members like Manchin who are going to see this price tag — combined with the ever-ballooning federal debt — and flip out.
Emma lays out the two options being considered by Democratic leaders: “They could use the filibuster protections of the budget process to raise the debt ceiling … without GOP support, or they could find 10 Senate Republican votes to suspend the debt limit by reaching a bipartisan deal.”
“Neither option is especially easy or palatable. The former path requires support from moderate Democrats, who aren’t sold on circumventing the normal legislative path and might face political blowback for voting to hike a national borrowing limit … The latter path relies on help from Republicans who are demanding fiscal reform in exchange for their votes, with the stability of the American economy on the line.”
Time is short. Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN on Wednesday “urged Congress to raise or suspend the debt ceiling within the next month, floating the possibility of a crisis-level situation as early as August — when lawmakers are scheduled to be out of town.”
— Plus, a good column from WaPo’s Greg Sargent: “Adam Schiff wants to ‘Trump-proof’ the White House. Will Biden agree?”
ANTITRUST THE PROCESS — “Google, Facebook Pressure Falls Short as Antitrust Measures Advance in House Committee,” WSJ: “A House committee approved far-reaching legislation to curb the market dominance of tech giants, including Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. … In a package of six bills, the most significant measure to pass by late Wednesday requires that the largest internet platforms make it easier for users to transport their data to other platforms and even communicate with users on other platforms. …
“The bills must still pass the full House, where the timetable for bringing them to the floor for final votes remains unclear. … The centerpiece of the package, a measure to bar big tech companies from favoring their own products in a range of circumstances on their platforms, had yet to be considered as of late Wednesday night. … But the White House suggested further work might be needed on some of the legislation, reflecting potential problems ahead.”
HOLE, MEET SHOVEL — “U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse releases statement regarding membership to Bailey’s Beach club,” Newport Daily News: “U.S. Sen. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE released a statement late Wednesday afternoon regarding the controversy he is a member of an elite private beach club that has been questioned about the lack of diversity in its membership. …
“‘There have been calls for me to resign from the club, which I understand. However, I have no membership to resign, nor will I ask my wife or any other family members to do so,’ Whitehouse said in the statement. ‘First, they are on the right side of pushing for improvements. Second, and more importantly, my relationship with my family is not one in which I tell them what to do.’
“After noting that the club in question has ‘diversity in the membership and there are non-white club members,’ the senator went on to disclose that he belongs to a separate sailing club that’s apparently all-white. ‘Failing to address the sailing club’s lack of diversity is squarely on me, and something for which I am sorry.’”
THE WHITE HOUSE
FUND THE POLICE — “Staving Off G.O.P. Attacks, Democrats Show New Urgency on Crime,” by NYT’s Alex Burns: “Facing a surge in shootings and homicides and persistent Republican attacks on liberal criminal-justice policies, Democrats from the White House to Brooklyn Borough Hall are rallying with sudden confidence around a politically potent cause: funding the police. …
“Senior Democrats said they expected party leaders to lean hard into that issue in the coming months, trumpeting federal funding for police departments in the American Rescue Plan and attacking Republicans for having voted against it. … At the highest levels of the president’s party, there is a developing consensus that Democrats need to treat crime as an urgent political issue, and that they cannot allow voters to see the 2022 election as a choice between a liberal party that supports police reform and a conservative party that supports the police in the name of a broader law-and-order message.”
DEPRESSING AND UNSURPRISING — “Afghan Government Could Collapse Six Months After U.S. Withdrawal, New Intelligence Assessment Says,” by WSJ’s Gordon Lubold and Yaroslav Trofimov
POLITICS ROUNDUP
SAD DEM SUMMER — “‘A lot of people are jaded’: Dems despair amid D.C. gridlock,” by David Siders: “Five months into the post-Trump era, the promise of Democrat-occupied Washington is crashing into reality. Donald Trump may be gone, but the sense of hope that permeated the Democratic Party’s rank-and-file after his defeat — and the accompanying capture of Congress — is being replaced by a haze of disillusionment that threatens the party’s prospects of generating enthusiasm in the run-up to a critical midterm election. …
“Democratic organizers and activist groups spent months registering and turning out young people and people of color who powered Democrats to victories in key swing states on the promise not just of outlasting Trump and surviving the pandemic, but of emerging better for it. Today, reality has set in. … Even moderate Democrats are growing worried about stasis in Washington.”
THE GOP <3 CRT — “Trumpworld: Critical race theory backlash is our springboard back to power,” by Maggie Severns, Theodoric Meyer and Meridith McGraw: “These officials, including Trump’s former campaign chief and two former budget advisers, have poured money and organizational muscle into the fight. They’ve aided activists who are pushing back against the concept that racism has been systemic to American society and institutions after centuries of slavery and Jim Crow. And some of them have begun working with members of Congress to bar the military from holding diversity trainings and to withhold federal funds from schools and colleges that promote anything that can be packaged as critical race theory.
“The immediate goal, two Trump alumni said, is to get legislative language included in a must-pass bill. The larger one is to harness a national movement that could unseat Democrats.”
IF YOU THOUGHT THE CLAIMS ABOUT HIS PILLOWS WERE B.S. … “Michigan Republicans Debunk Voter Fraud Claims in Unsparing Report,” by NYT’s Reid Epstein: “The 55-page report, produced by a Michigan State Senate committee of three Republicans and one Democrat, is a systematic rebuttal to an array of false claims about the election from supporters of Trump. The authors focus overwhelmingly on Michigan, but they also expose lies perpetuated about the vote-counting process in Georgia.
“The report is unsparing in its criticism of those who have promoted false theories about the election. It debunks claims from Trump allies including MIKE LINDELL, the chief executive of MyPillow; RUDY GIULIANI, the former president’s lawyer; and Mr. Trump himself.”
GOOD NEWS FOR REPUBLICANS IN COLORADO — “Dems pan proposed Colorado redistricting map,” by Ally Mutnick: “Colorado is rapidly turning blue, but Republicans might be on track to hold half the state’s House seats by 2022. The first official proposal released in the year-long process of redrawing the country’s congressional maps brought good news for the GOP. The preliminary plan from Colorado’s new independent redistricting commission keeps all three incumbent Republican members in red territory and creates a strong pickup opportunity in the Denver suburbs that bolster the GOP’s chances to recapture the House majority.”
NYC MAYOR’S RACE
THE ADAMS FAMILY … “How Adams Built a Diverse Coalition That Put Him Ahead in the Mayor’s Race,” by NYT’s Emma Fitzsimmons: “ERIC ADAMS’ strong showing in New York City’s Democratic primary for mayor reflected his ability to build an old-school political coalition that united Black and Latino voters with unions. He was able to persuade working-class people, largely outside Manhattan, that he was the best candidate to make the city safe from crime and return it to economic health. But even as he held a 75,000-vote lead on Wednesday night over his closest rival, MAYA WILEY, his victory was not assured.”
— The Times also has a breakdown of how Wiley or KATHRYN GARCIA could still win. (Spoiler alert: it’s highly unlikely.)
— “How Andrew Yang went from rock star to also-ran,” by Sally Goldenberg and Tina Nguyen: “It was a disappointing finish for someone who spent much of the race in a comfortable lead. When he launched his campaign in January, Yang was the most famous candidate by far. He topped his competitors in name recognition and quickly amassed a campaign warchest that allowed him to spend more than $8 million on the race. And his early support could be measured in individual donors — 21,138, compared to 9,390 for Adams, according to the city Campaign Finance Board’s latest disclosure.
“It was never enough. Damaging Yang’s chances were both circumstances outside of his control and his own failure to overcome his deficit of knowledge about municipal government.”
TRUMP CARDS
ANOTHER THING TRUMP BROKE — “Harvard won’t host joint campaign managers event with Trump aides,” by Daniel Lippman: “For almost half a century, the institute, a branch of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, has hosted its campaign managers conference in the weeks following each presidential election.
“That won’t be happening this year. On Saturday, there will be a ‘look back’ discussion, but only featuring one half of the 2020 campaign: the Democrats. But a parallel effort to invite former aides to Trump for a separate event is foundering over scheduling problems, amid internal worries of a backlash over hosting allies of the former president.”
NO WORD ON WHETHER THEY WERE TREATED WITH DISINFECTANT OR SUNLIGHT — “Nearly 900 Secret Service members were infected with the coronavirus. A watchdog blames Trump,” by WaPo’s Timothy Bella
JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH
A SIGN OF WHAT’S TO COME? — “The First Capitol Rioter Was Sentenced And Won’t Get Any Jail Time,” by BuzzFeed’s Zoe Tillman: “ANNA MORGAN-LLOYD, a 49-year-old Indiana woman charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection who described it as the ‘best day ever’ on Facebook, was sentenced on Wednesday to probation and no jail time after pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor.
“In announcing the sentence, US District Judge ROYCE LAMBERTH said Morgan-Lloyd had made it an ‘easy case’ by cutting a deal early with prosecutors and accepting responsibility but acknowledged that some members of the public upset by the events of Jan. 6 might not agree with him ‘giving you the break that I’m going to give you.’ He warned that other defendants charged with participating in the insurrection should not take away ‘that probation is the automatic outcome here.’”
MEDIAWATCH
PRETTY SOON WE’RE ALL GOING TO HAVE TO LEARN WHAT A SPAC IS — “BuzzFeed Nears Deal to Go Public Via SPAC, Eyeing Digital-Media Rollup,” by WSJ’s Benjamin Mullin: “BuzzFeed founder and Chief Executive Officer JONAH PERETTI could announce a deal with 890 5th Avenue Partners Inc. — a blank-check company named after the headquarters of Marvel’s Avengers superheroes and founded by investor ADAM ROTHSTEIN — as early as this week, the people said.
“The merger deal would generate capital to pursue additional acquisitions, including Complex Networks, a digital publisher that specializes in streetwear, music and pop culture. BuzzFeed is vying for greater scale to better compete for online ad dollars with tech giants such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Amazon. com Inc. and Facebook Inc.”
ODDS AND ENDS
A TASTE OF A POISON PARADISE — “Britney Spears rips ‘abusive’ conservatorship at stunning court hearing, says she wants to marry and have another baby: ‘I’m so angry it’s insane,’” N.Y. Daily News
PLAYBOOKERS
BOOK CLUB — The duo behind Room Rater, aka @ratemyskyperoom, is writing a book. Claude Taylor and Jessie Bahrey will release “The Official Room Rater Handbook: How To Create Your Best Room To Zoom In The Post Pandemic Era.”
SPOTTED: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), deputy national security adviser Jonathan Finer and U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking dining together at Cafe Milano on Tuesday night. … Alan Greenspan and Andrea Mitchell having dinner at Le Diplomate on Wednesday evening.
SPOTTED at a reception at the Capitol Hill Club to celebrate the launch of the Conservative Climate Caucus, hosted by CRES and ClearPath: Reps. John Curtis (R-Utah), Garret Graves (R-La.), Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), Ron Estes (R-Kan.), Blake Moore (R-Utah), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Chris Jacobs (R-N.Y.), Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.), Pat Fallon (R-Texas), Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.), Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Mike Bost (R-Ill.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.).
STAFFING UP — The White House announced several new nominations, including Michael Carpenter as U.S. representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Claire Cronin as U.S. ambassador to Ireland, Jack Markell as U.S. representative to the OECD, Cindy McCain as U.S. representative to the U.N. Agencies for Food and Agriculture and Homer Wilkes as undersecretary of Agriculture for natural resources and the environment.
TRANSITIONS — Mary Cronin is now VP of government affairs at 6K. She most recently has been founder and CEO of Strategy Hub LLC. … Salena Jegede is now chief advancement officer at the Sierra Club. She most recently was managing director at Fair Fight Action. … Allegra Harpootlian will be a comms strategist at ACLU. She currently is a comms manager at ReThink Media.
WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Matt Mowers, who runs a consulting firm advising nonprofits, startups and companies and is a Trump administration alum, and Cassie Spodak, a senior producer at CNN, welcomed Jackson Samuel Mowers on Father’s Day. He came in at 8 lbs, 9 oz and 20 3/4 inches. He’s named after his great-grandfathers Jack and Sam. Pic
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) … U.S. Chamber’s Suzanne Clark … MSNBC’s Omnika Thompson … Ralph Reed, who will always look 30 to us, turns 6-0 … Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Jeff Prescott … Matt Continetti of AEI and The Washington Free Beacon (4-0) … Robert Reich … Ben Tomchik … Quartz’s Zach Seward … Anna Massoglia … POLITICO’s Adrienne Hurst and Nirmal Mulaikal … Jonathan Yuan of Rational 360 … Roger Fisk of New Day Strategy … Heather Hurlburt of the New America Foundation … Alejandra Soto … Ed Traz … Jennifer Millerwise Dyck … Stephanie Craig … Amelia Makin … Gretchen Reiter … Job Serebrov … Mike Fullerton … Jesse Stinebring … Madison Fox Porter … former New York Gov. George Pataki … Edelman’s Kevin Goldman … Morgan Smith
Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross.
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26.) AMERICAN MINUTE
Colter’s Run, Jedediah Smith & the Mountain Men – American Minute with Bill Federer
- John “Grizzly” Adams;
- John David Albert;
- William Henry Ashley;
- Jim Baker;
- Black mountain man James ” Bloody Arm” Beckwourth;
- Jim Bridger;
- Robert Campbell;
- Kit Carson;
- Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, the son of Sacagawea and French fur trapper, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau;
- James Clyman;
- Thomas Fitzpatrick;
- John C. Fremont;
- Joseph Gervais;
- Hugh Glass;
- Moses “Black” Harris;
- David Edward Jackson;
- John Jeremiah “Liver-Eating” Johnson;
- Joseph L. Meek;
- Robert “Doc” Newell;
- Peter Skene Ogden;
- Étienne Provost;
- “Blackfoot” John Smith;
- Jedediah Smith;
- Thomas L. “Pegleg” Smith;
- William Sublette;
- John Sutter;
- Louis Vasquez;
- “Old” Bill Williams, M.T.
27.) CAFFEINATED THOUGHTS
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28.) CONSERVATIVE DAILY NEWS
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29.) PJ MEDIA
The Morning Briefing: We Can’t Let the Psycho Marxist Democrats Win the Critical Race Theory Fight
Top O’ the Briefing
Happy Thursday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Find someone who looks at you the way I look at a plate of assorted cheeses.
I would like to begin today by thanking all those who responded so positively to my VIP plug yesterday. We have a lot of new people joining the fight and joining the fun because of it. We’re also thinking of getting matching shirts, a jacuzzi, and a pet tortoise.
The fire hose of awful that has been blasting us ever since Papa Plugs was allowed to bring his Legos to the Oval Office is getting worse by the hour. The Kafkaesque governing philosophy of J.R. Biden’s puppet masters seeks to maximize American misery and greatly hasten the demise of the Republic as we know it.
I’ve taken to referring to their plan as “Soviet 2.0.”
The noise surrounding Critical Race Theory (CRT) has been getting a lot louder lately. Democrats keep paying obeisance to Karl Marx by trying to shove it down the throats of American school children. Parents who would prefer that their kids take a path that involves less communism are pushing back. It’s an ugly dance that can only end in people breaking beer bottles over each other’s heads out in the parking lot.
I’m one of those freaks who thinks that parents should have some say in what their children learn and how they grow up. That puts me at odds with almost every public school union teacher in the United States.
I wrote this in a post about CRT back in Aprill:
Public school teachers have made it plain that they’re not interested in teaching kids. If they have to be in a classroom with them they want to be indoctrinating them. That’s really what public education in America has been about for decades. When I wrote “the Death of Public Education” in the headline I didn’t mean that public schools were going away, I meant that education as we once knew it is going to disappear.
Megan had a post yesterday that featured a video of a teacher who was having a mini meltdown about the fact that she’s in Texas and no longer able to force CRT on her students:
Then she goes off the deep end and claims the children of Texas as her own to indoctrinate how she sees fit and encourages teachers to join her to continue brainwashing “our kids” as she calls them. Lady, these are not your kids. They belong to their families and those families have a right not to have their kids force-fed racist ideology from political hacks posing as teachers. Stick to reading, writing, and arithmetic, Karen, and everyone will get along just fine.
The woman talks about teachers being “activists.” Most parents who send their kids to public schools think that the teachers want to be educators.
Oops.
There have been any number of stories in recent weeks about parents having had enough of this commie arrogance. Tyler wrote about the latest to hit the news:
Loudoun County, Va., has become ground zero in the debates over Marxist critical race theory (CRT) and transgender orthodoxy in education. Parents have spoken out against the unjust attempted suspension of PE teacher Tanner Cross and the threat of CRT masquerading as “sensitivity training.” After a meeting of the Loudoun County School Board devolved into a shouting match on Tuesday night, police arrested two men, reportedly parents. The board chair then castigated parents for engaging in “dog-whistle politics.”
“Tonight, the Loudoun County School Board meeting was interrupted by those who wish to use the public comment period to disrupt our work and disrespect each other,” school board Chair Brenda Sheridan said on Tuesday as the meeting ended, Fox News reported.
“Dog-whistle politics will not delay our work. We will not back down from fighting for the rights of our students and continuing our focus on equity,” Sheridan declared.
There’s the plan: have the parents who get in the way of Marxist indoctrination hauled of to jail so the agenda can continue unimpeded.
CRT is so insidious that the Dems have begun screaming “RAAAAACISM!” even louder to distract from what they’re up to. Their media monkeys are playing along by constantly referring to CRT as “anti-racism” education.
Spoiler alert: it’s totally racist.
It’s not a stretch to say that this battle is ground zero in the fight for the soul of the United States. CRT has completely infected the commie teachers’ unions. Our woke military upper ranks are drunk on it. My conclusion from the April post is worth repeating:
Critical race theory is a key component in the leftists’ effort to turn the United States into a Third-World communist cesspool. The people behind it won’t suffer, they’ll be the ruling class that gets all the goodies, which is found in every commie society. They know that.
The idiots following them don’t.
CRT proponents in education are becoming more openly hostile to parents who oppose them. They feel protected by the fact that the President of the United States is married to a union teacher. It’s all coming together for them.
And unraveling for the rest of us.
This can’t happen.
While You Were Sleeping
Everything Isn’t Awful
PJ Media
Me: Politico: Mean Republicans Are Making Kamala Harris Finally Get to the Border and Do Her Job
BOO HOO: Texas Teacher Loses Her Mind Because She Can’t Teach CRT Anymore
VodkaPundit: Oregon Learning Lockdown: Lawmakers Say ‘You Don’t Need No Education’
EXCLUSIVE: Army Finally Defines ‘Extremism’ When It Comes to Screening Out ‘Hate Group’ Members
Police Arrest 2 Parents Who Spoke Out Against CRT, Transgenderism at Loudoun School Board Meeting
Female Olympic Weightlifters Must Boycott the Competition
Facebook’s New Announcement on Satire Doesn’t Bode Well for the Babylon Bee…
Trump Responds to Kamala Harris Finally Visiting the Border and IT’S EPIC
‘IMPOSTER’: Tamir Rice’s Mom Tells Shaun King He Is ‘a White Man Acting Black’
Wisconsin Official Blows Whistle on Zuckerberg-Funded Group That ‘Seized Control’ of Election
VDH: The Systemic Con Behind Wokeism
Elder: VP Harris, What About the ‘Root Cause’ of Urban Homicide?
Welcome to New East Berlin. Vaxxports and the Emerging Police State
Suddenly, Democrats Express Support for Voter ID Laws
Too Many Black Folks Break the Law? Get Rid of the Law! (Portland, of Course)
Democrats Unleashed a Crime Wave, and Now They’re Alarmed
Vice Advice: WhistlePig PiggyBack 6-Year-Old Rye and Farmstock Rye
What I Learned on Twitter About ‘Wypipo’ (White People)
Townhall Mothership
Schlichter: Republicans Are Questioning Whether They Want Trump Again
BREAKING: It Appears Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Has Been Reached: ‘We’re Happy It’s Over’
The Chinese Communist Party Goes After a Sitting Member of Congress, and He Responds in the Best Way
Good to know. Biden Reminds Gun Owners the Government Has Nuclear Weapons
Ammunition Background Check Bill Flying Under The Radar
Cam&Co. 2A Attorney Weighs In On Biden Gun Store Crackdown, CA Mag Ban Case
Slain Colorado Armed Citizen Hailed As Hero In Arvada Shooting – Update: Shot By Police?
Attacks On Preemption Really Attacks On All Gun Rights
Ted Cruz Absolutely Levels Chuck Schumer During Must-Watch Victory Lap Speech on S.1 Failure
Now Even Dems Are Telling Those ‘Awkward’ Joe Biden Stories
Ted Cruz Ties the Senate’s Most Vapid Senator in Knots After a Revealing Admission
Texas children’s migrant center: Panic attacks, suicidal attempts plague despondent detainees
Disturbing. Fascinating. I need a drink. Trailer: The greatest dating show ever
NY Times: China is using US social media to spread thinly disguised propaganda on Xinjiang
Meet the woman weightlifter who missed the Olympics after a trans competitor qualified instead
VIP
Kruiser’s (Almost) Daily Distraction: I’m in Love With My New Recliner and I Answer a Question
VodkaPundit, Part Deux: We’re Leaving Afghanistan… Then What?
Why These Two Races – Not the Ones You Probably Think – Are the Most Important in Texas in 2022
Was Meghan McCain Really That Blind About Joe Biden’s Abortion Radicalism?
If June is Pride Month, When’s Humility Month?
Will Renters Ever Have To Pay Rent Again?
GOLD Vulnerable Mark Kelly Put on Notice Over Filibuster Dodge
GOLD There’s No Such Thing as a Socialist
Around the Interwebz
Gotta keep the Sinaloa cartel healthy.
Justin Timberlake, Rose McGowan Join In Support Of Britney Spears Testimony
News we can use. Physicists show that flying beer coasters will flip 0.45 seconds into flight
The Democrats’ Dangerous Eucharistic Theology
10 Drinks From Around the World That You Can Buy Online
Bee Me
The Kruiser Kabana
Kabana Gallery
Kabana Tunes
The Slinky has no place on a first date.
For media inquiries, please contact communications@pjmedia.com.
PJ Media senior columnist and associate editor Stephen Kruiser is a professional stand-up comic, writer, and recovering political activist who edits and writes PJ’s Morning Briefing, aka The Greatest Political Newsletter in America. His latest book, Straight Outta Feelings, is a humorous exploration of how the 2016 election made him enjoy politics more than he ever had before. When not being a reclusive writer, Kruiser has had the honor of entertaining U.S. troops all over the world. Follow on: Gab, Parler, MeWe
30.) WHITE HOUSE DOSSIER
31.) THE DISPATCH
The Morning Dispatch: Hong Kong Loses an Important Voice for Democracy
Plus: An angry cheerleader has her day at the Supreme Court.
| The Dispatch Staff | 16 min ago | 1 |
Happy Thursday! The Dispatch’s softball team won again last night. We cannot be stopped.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
- The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled 8-1 in favor of the First Amendment rights of a high school cheerleader from Pennsylvania. The decision restricts the ability of schools to punish students for speech outside of school and school activities, but did not establish an absolute prohibition against regulation.
- The Supreme Court also ruled Wednesday, in a 6-3 decision, that a California law allowing union organizers to enter the property of agricultural businesses to drum up support for a union is unconstitutional. “Unlike a law enforcement search, no traditional background principle of property law requires the growers to admit union organizers onto their premises,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote. “And unlike standard health and safety inspections, the access regulation is not germane to any benefit provided to agricultural employers or any risk posed to the public.”
- The pro-democracy Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily announced on Wednesday that it is closing under intense pressure from the Chinese government, which has frozen its financial accounts and arrested several editors. Reporters for Apple Daily told the New York Times they were planning a final “obituary issue” to be published Thursday.
- Shortly after the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the president has the authority to remove the director of the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA), the Biden administration announced it was moving forward with plans to replace the current Trump-appointed director. Since the 2008 financial crisis, the FHFA has overseen Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government-sponsored enterprises that sell mortgage-backed securities.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom is officially facing a recall election after the California secretary of state’s office confirmed organizers of the recall push had collected more than the 1.5 million signatures necessary to kick off the process. A vote on whether to keep Newsom in office must now take place within 90 days.
- The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met yesterday to discuss rare reports (0.00126 percent likelihood overall) of young men experiencing temporary inflammation of the heart muscle and surrounding tissue after receiving a second mRNA COVID-19 vaccine dose, determining there is a “likely association” between the two. “This is an extremely rare side effect, and only an exceedingly small number of people will experience it after vaccination,” the committee wrote. “Importantly, for the young people who do, most cases are mild, and individuals recover often on their own or with minimal treatment. In addition, we know that myocarditis and pericarditis are much more common if you get COVID-19, and the risks to the heart from COVID-19 infection can be more severe.”
- The United States confirmed 12,825 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday per the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard, with 2.7 percent of the 469,261 tests reported coming back positive. An additional 378 deaths were attributed to the virus on Wednesday, bringing the pandemic’s American death toll to 602,833. According to the CDC, 12,402 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. Meanwhile, 648,209 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered yesterday, with 177,948,892 Americans having now received at least one dose.
An Apple a Day Keeps Totalitarianism Away
Longtime Morning Dispatch readers might remember our coverage last year of the Chinese government’s imposition of a sweeping national security law in Hong Kong, which experts warned signaled Beijing’s further encroachment on the special administrative region’s state of semiautonomy.
The law paves the way for Beijing’s intrusion into Hong Kong’s long history of judicial independence, allowing for the introduction of China’s repressive legal practices. It sets up extensive administrative networks to investigate and prosecute various vague offenses thought to undermine the Chinese government.
“China is criminalizing what, in places like the United States, and most countries in the world, would be considered normal discourse,” Fred Rocafort, a legal expert on China and former diplomat, told The Dispatch.
As Hong Kong opens its first proceedings under the controversial legislation—trying motorcyclist Tong Ying-kit without a jury for his involvement in July 2020’s pro-democracy protests—the world anxiously awaits a verdict to gauge the scope and severity of the law in action.
The city’s judicial system also turned against its free press this week. After a 26-year run covering everything from local celebrity gossip to American politics to human rights abuses and corruption in the ranks of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Hong Kong’s last pro-democracy print newspaper, Apple Daily, published its final edition today.
The shutdown follows a June 17 raid on the publication’s headquarters, during which officers arrested its chief editor and five executives on suspicion of national security law violations. Authorities also seized the newspaper’s equipment and froze its assets. In an announcement Wednesday, Apple Daily’s publisher noted that “current circumstances prevailing in Hong Kong” rendered it unable to operate any longer.
A Win for an Angry Cheerleader
In an 8-1 ruling on Wednesday, the Supreme Court expanded the scope of students’ free speech rights on social media, ruling in favor of an “angry cheerleader” who was suspended from her team after posting a profanity-laden video on Snapchat.
Brandy Levy (B. L.), a 14-year-old high school student from central Pennsylvania, became the center of a free speech controversy after her post—a video of her holding up her middle finger while exclaiming “F— school, f— softball, f— cheer, f— everything!”—was screenshotted by another student and sent to school administrators in the Mahanoy District. While B.L. was off campus when she recorded the video, her school claimed that her outburst was “directly related to the school district” and “harm[ed] the school.”
After both the district court and the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of B. L., her school district appealed the case to the Supreme Court. Much of the case centered around the seminal 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District decision, and whether it was applicable to speech outside of school and school activities. Tinker held that students don’t shed their free speech rights at the schoolhouse gate, but a school can regulate speech that “materially and substantially interferes” with the operation of the school. In the current case, school administrators claimed they needed similar power over off-campus speech—in part to prevent cyberbullying and other forms of online harassment.
The Supreme Court’s decision yesterday did not jettison the Tinker framework entirely, but it did hold that school officials have “diminished” leeway to regulate off-campus speech. Applying this diminished leeway to the school’s punishment of B.L., the court held that the school’s interest in prohibiting students from using vulgar language outside of school to criticize its teams or coaches was not enough to justify the punishment it had imposed.
Biden on Crime
President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland delivered remarks on Wednesday afternoon unveiling the administration’s plan to combat surging rates of violent crime nationwide by cracking down on illegal gun sales, supporting violence prevention programs, and providing resources to local police departments.
“Crime historically rises during the summer,” Biden said. “As we emerge from this pandemic, with the country opening back up again, the traditional summer spike may be more pronounced than it usually would be.”
Preliminary data from the FBI and local police departments suggest the homicide rate rose by at least 25 percent in 2020. If that figure holds, the United States eclipsed 20,000 murders in a single year for the first time since 1995. And the phenomenon didn’t stop when the calendar turned, either; the number of homicides in the first few months of 2021 is 20 percent higher than the same time period in 2020, and 49 percent higher than 2019.
Although the recent crime spike is afflicting both red and blue states—and its causes are both complicated and multifaceted—Biden and Garland’s remarks yesterday focused largely on gun control, with the president once again calling on Congress to act.
Worth Your Time
- On this week’s episode of The Argument podcast, Jane Coaston speaks with two demographers—AEI adjunct fellow Lyman Stone and Caroline Harnett of the University of South Carolina—about the United States’ falling birth rate and how concerned we should be. “I do think there’s a crisis here,” Stone says. “I do think that the current decline in birth rates we see in a lot of countries, rich countries, but also a lot of low-income countries where fertility is considerably below what women say they want, that this is a crisis.” The trio discuss how and whether public policy should attempt to boost these figures, population growth’s tenuous connection to climate change, and much more.
- Writing for Reason, Elizabeth Nolan Brown offers a libertarian critique of the antitrust approach to Big Tech championed by Biden administration adviser Tim Wu. “In Wu’s worldview, individuals and markets can’t be trusted,” she writes. “Only the government knows what’s good for you. In the name of some nebulous promotion of competition, Wu’s policies would let politicians decide which businesses succeed and on what terms. And in the process, they could end up allowing Facebook and today’s other big players to capture their marketplaces via favorable regulation—creating exactly the sort of stultified, startup-hostile environment Wu claims to be worried about. If nothing else—by his own admission—Wu’s policies would likely lead to higher prices for consumers. It’s a bad bargain no matter what technopanic it’s sold under.”
Presented Without Comment
DeSantis signed a law today that requires Florida colleges and universities to survey students about their viewpoints and beliefs. And he signaled that the surveys may be used to shape budget cuts. 
Also Presented Without Comment
Detailed GOP-led investigation in Michigan finds no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. Suggests many of the claims were made for personal gain. 
Toeing the Company Line
- This week’s Dispatch Podcast features the gang discussing the United States’ troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s predictable offensive, the smattering of recent Supreme Court’s rulings, early takeaways from the Democratic NYC mayoral primary, and the very online controversy surrounding In the Heights.
- David’s Wednesday French Press (🔒) focuses on Twitter, and why it holds such power. “It’s all transparently and incandescently silly, but what renders it toxic is the key fact that starts this piece,” he writes. “Twitter is the platform where the elite speaks to the elite. So the folks who are squabbling like children (and often deeply wounded and hurt in real life) are people with real power and influence. That’s why companies move so quickly to respond to Twitter mobs. That’s why politicians (and their staffs) often waste taxpayer time by diving down deep Twitter rabbit holes. It’s also why elites consistently seem to misjudge public opinion. They’re distracted by their own arguments, deceived by their online strength, and misunderstand the world around them.”
- In the midweek G-File (🔒), Jonah points to the progressives nagging Lin-Manuel Miranda for not including enough Afro Latinos in the cast of In the Heights—an almost entirely Latino movie—as an example of letting the perfect be the enemy of good. Miranda’s success “doesn’t mean he’s immune to criticism,” Jonah writes. “But my God, do you think this backlash is going to generate more movies like In the Heights or fewer?”
- Why have some former industrial cities thrived while others have floundered? In this week’s Capitolism (🔒), Scott Lincicome examines this question by contrasting Greenville, South Carolina and Youngstown, Ohio. Among the cities that have done well, “the overarching themes for all of them remain the same: adjustment, flexibility, and diversification beyond the industry or company that once defined them in the supposed ‘Good Ol’ Days.’” Although politicians from both parties might wish otherwise, federal assistance and “nostalgianomics” simply aren’t very effective at reviving manufacturing.
- On the website today: Price digs into why the mail is (still) so slow and Ali Noorani argues that by helping to fight corruption in Central America, the United States can help its own battle against illegal immigration.
Reporting by Declan Garvey (@declanpgarvey), Andrew Egger (@EggerDC), Haley Byrd Wilt (@byrdinator), Charlotte Lawson (@charlotteUVA), Ryan Brown (@RyanP_Brown), Harvest Prude (@HarvestPrude), Tripp Grebe (@tripper_grebe), Emma Rogers (@emw_96), Price St. Clair (@PriceStClair1), Jonathan Chew (@JonathanChew19), and Steve Hayes (@stephenfhayes).
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32.) LEGAL INSURRECTION
33.) THE DAILY WIRE
34.) DESERET NEWS
35.) BRIGHT
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36.) AMERICAN THINKER
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37.) LARRY J. SABATO’S CRYSTAL BALL
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KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE— Currently, one party controls all of the statewide elected executive offices in 36 of the 50 states. — Candidate decisions by down-ballot executive officeholders in Florida and Missouri could make Republican statewide sweeps easier in those states, and Democrats may have opportunities to sweep more states on their side. Party control of statewide officesThree of June’s most significant candidate announcements involved Democrats who serve in elected, down-ballot statewide offices. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) and Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried (D) launched bids for governor. Meanwhile, Missouri state Auditor Nicole Galloway (D) announced that she would not seek a second, elected full term in her position. Depending on how things go in their respective states next year, their decisions could have an impact on the dwindling number of states that have members of both parties serving in statewide elected offices. While it’s natural to just focus on state governorships and legislatures when assessing politics in the states, nearly all of the states — 44 of 50 — have partisan, statewide elected executive offices beyond the governorship. These range from higher-profile positions like attorney general and secretary of state to more obscure offices like land or agriculture commissioner. These positions often set up their occupants to run for governor or senator; indeed, the roster of announced or potential candidates for those top-tier jobs this cycle is dotted with these kinds of officeholders. Of the 50 states, Republicans have a monopoly on the statewide elected executive offices in 20 of them, while Democrats hold all of these offices in 16. This includes the six states that only have a single statewide elected executive officeholder (the governor). Five states have all Democrats except for a single Republican, four have all Republicans save a single Democrat, and just five have at least two members of each party in these offices (and there is a significant asterisk with one of these states, as we’ll explain below). The roster of statewide elected officeholders in the states — including governorships and other posts — is shown in Map 1. This article updates an accounting of these offices done by Crystal Ball Senior Columnist Louis Jacobson last year. A note on how we counted: We excluded some minor offices as well as non-elected offices and state Supreme Courts. We also excluded lieutenant governors unless they were elected separately in their own right (most are elected as part of a gubernatorial ticket). U.S. senators, even though they are elected statewide, are not considered here. No positions serving on multi-member commissions were included, even if some members are elected statewide. So, for instance, Colorado only has Democrats elected to its statewide executive offices, and that is noted on Map 1, but Heidi Ganahl (R) holds a statewide elected slot on the University of Colorado Board of Regents. She may run for governor or another statewide executive office next year as part of the Republicans’ bid to break up the Democratic monopoly on those offices. Map 1: Party control of statewide elected executive offices The one-party states align almost completely with the 2020 presidential results. Joe Biden carried all 16 of the states where only Democrats hold these statewide offices, although Wisconsin was decided by just six-tenths of a percentage point and Michigan was decided by a little less than three. Meanwhile, Donald Trump won 18 of the 20 all-Republican states. The exceptions were Georgia, which Trump lost by about a quarter of a point, and New Hampshire, which Trump lost by more than seven points but where incumbent Gov. Chris Sununu (R) easily won a third, two-year term. New Hampshire is one of the six states that has only one statewide elected office considered for the purposes of this article: The others are Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, and Tennessee.[1] Texas, still all-Republican, already is holding one of the marquee statewide down-ballot races next year: state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who faces charges of securities fraud, is being challenged in the GOP primary by both former state Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman and state Land Commissioner George P. Bush. Bush is the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and he has been handing out can koozies featuring him shaking hands with former President Trump along with a Trump quote: “This is the Bush that got it right. I like him.” The number of one-party states went up in aggregate in 2020. Republicans flipped the open Montana governorship and defeated the last remaining Democratic statewide executive officeholder in West Virginia, then-Treasurer John Perdue, to put those states in the all-Republican column. Meanwhile, Democrats flipped the open Oregon secretary of state’s office last year, shutting the Republicans out of statewide office there. However, Republicans did break up Democratic statewide office dominance in Pennsylvania, as they flipped the state auditor and state treasurer offices even as Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a likely gubernatorial candidate next year, won a second term and as Joe Biden carried the state by a little more than a point (the Pennsylvania governorship is elected in midterm years, the other offices in presidential years). In 2016, Democrats swept these three offices even as Trump was carrying the state. The Keystone State is one of five states that have at least two statewide elected officeholders from each party. It is joined in that category by two of the other very closely-contested presidential states from last year, North Carolina and Arizona. The Tar Heel State elects 10 statewide officeholders in presidential election years. Republicans hold six of these 10 offices: None changed hands last year, but many (particularly some of the Democratic-held ones) were extremely close. Kansas is the state noted above as an asterisk, because it really only has one Democrat elected statewide in her own right: Gov. Laura Kelly, who won in 2018. However, the state’s elected treasurer position opened up when its former occupant, now-Rep. Jake LaTurner (R, KS-2), won election to the U.S. House. So Kelly was able to appoint her running mate, Democratic Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers, to the post. Rogers is included here because he holds an elected office, even though he wasn’t actually elected to it. The outlook for 2021-2022Let’s get back to the aforementioned candidate announcements. Galloway’s decision not to run again for Missouri state auditor seems very likely to lead to the Republicans adding another statewide sweep: Missouri has become very Republican over the course of the last couple of decades, as evidenced by the GOP winning the state in every presidential election this century and, more recently, by Galloway losing by 16 points to Gov. Mike Parson (R-MO) in last year’s election. Fried’s decision to run for governor also imperils Democratic control of her post, Florida commissioner of agriculture. Fried narrowly won in 2018 even as Democrats lost close statewide races for governor and Senate. She has to contend with at least one other major Democratic candidate, Rep. Charlie Crist (D, FL-13), for the right to challenge Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) next year. We would expect Republicans to be favored in all the statewide races in Florida next year, given that Democrats could only capture one in 2018 despite being on the right side of a national midterm wave. In Arizona, Hobbs’ decision to seek the governorship leaves her secretary of state post open, although there is another Democratic incumbent, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman, who will be seeking a second term and could allow the Democrats to hang onto a statewide post even if the election otherwise goes poorly for them. There will be a lot of flux in the Arizona statewide races, because Gov. Doug Ducey (R) is term-limited, and state Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) and Treasurer Kimberly Yee (R) are running for senator and governor, respectively. Beyond these states, we could see others fall into the one-party column. With Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) term-limited in Maryland, Democrats have a golden opportunity to take all the statewide offices in that overwhelmingly Democratic state next year. Democrats might be able to do the same in Massachusetts, where Gov. Charlie Baker (R-MA) is mulling running for a third term. The lone Republican statewide official in Nevada, Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, is term-limited, although Nevada is a highly competitive state even though Democrats have more often come out ahead in recent years, and Republicans could make inroads there in other offices depending on the circumstances. Of the 20 states with currently all-Republican statewide elected executive officeholders, Georgia stands out as one where Democrats could hypothetically break the Republican lock on these offices, as 2018 gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams (D) seems likely to challenge Gov. Brian Kemp (R) in a rematch and Democrats should otherwise be able to credibly contend for other offices. New Hampshire’s governorship would also be a Toss-up if Gov. Sununu runs for U.S. Senate. One would expect Republicans to make major plays for all the statewide offices in Michigan and Wisconsin, the competitive Upper Midwest states where Democrats currently hold all the offices. Democrats are defending Virginia’s three statewide offices this November. Kansas will be a major Republican target as well: The state treasurer office will be back on the ballot and, more importantly, Gov. Kelly will be trying to win a second term in what is still a very Republican-leaning state. Elsewhere in the heartland, Iowa’s six statewide offices (including the governorship) will all be up next year. Despite the state’s turn toward Republicans in recent years, Democrats still hold half of those offices: state Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald has held his post since 1983, while state Attorney General Tom Miller has held his since 1979, with a four-year break from 1991 to 1995 after losing a gubernatorial primary. Fitzgerald is 69 and won by double digits in 2018; Miller is 76, and he didn’t even have a Republican opponent in 2018. Their decisions on whether to run for another term are of course important. The other statewide Democrat is Auditor Rob Sand, who is just 38 and won his first term in 2018. He may follow the lead of Hobbs and Fried and run for governor this cycle. While there are of course scenarios where the minority party could break through in some of the states where one party holds sway — several are noted above — let’s specifically look at the 14 where both parties currently hold at least one of these offices. Kentucky and Louisiana, where Democrats hold the governorship but nothing else, are not on the ballot again until 2023. Republicans should be heavily favored to win the governorship in Louisiana, where Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) is term-limited. Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) can seek a second term, and presumably will have a hard race. But these states will endure as split until at least after this midterm. So too will North Carolina and Washington state, which don’t have these races on the ballot this cycle, and Pennsylvania, where Shapiro will either become governor or remain attorney general, guaranteeing the Democrats control of at least one of these offices until 2024 (assuming he does not resign as AG). So that’s at least five states that will be split following 2022, barring something unforeseen. As noted above, Republicans could very well sweep Florida and Missouri now that the Democrats are not defending their single statewide office with incumbents. Democrats could sweep Maryland and maybe Massachusetts. Popular Gov. Phil Scott (R-VT), the lone Republican elected in Vermont, has to run every two years. If he were to not run again, Democrats could sweep there. Arizona, Iowa, Kansas, and Nevada are split states that all should feature competitive races next year. Sweeps can’t be ruled out in any of them. The bottom line is that we may have even more one-party statewide executive states after 2022 than we have now, which would fit in with a larger trend toward one-party dominance in many of the states. Footnote[1] There is actually an effort in Maine to allow voters to pick the state’s attorney general, secretary of state, and treasurer, but it appears that effort has stalled in the state legislature, which currently decides who occupies these offices. Read the fine printLearn more about the Crystal Ball and find out how to contact us here. Sign up to receive Crystal Ball e-mails like this one delivered straight to your inbox. Use caution with Sabato’s Crystal Ball, and remember: “He who lives by the Crystal Ball ends up eating ground glass!” |
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| © Copyright by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia |
This message was sent to rickbulow1974@gmail.com from goodpolitics@virginia.edu
Larry J. Sabato
UVA Center for Politics
PO Box 400806
Charlottesville, VA 22904
38.) THE BLAZE
39.) THE FEDERALIST
40.) REUTERS
41.) NOQ REPORT
42.) ARRA NEWS SERVICE
43.) REDSTATE
44.) WORLD NET DAILY
45.) CONSERVATIVE BRIEF
46.) BIZPAC REVIEW
47.) ABC
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48.) NBC MORNING RUNDOWN
  Thursday, June 24, 2021
Good morning, NBC News readers.
U.S. life expectancy plummeted compared to similar countries during the pandemic. A multi-story building in Miami Beach suddenly partially collapsed overnight, prompting a massive rescue effort. And celebrities have rallied around Britney Spears after her heart-wrenching call to end her conservatorship.
Here’s what we’re watching this Thursday morning.
 Average life expectancy in the United States plummeted in 2020 — by orders of magnitude not seen since World War II. The decline was particularly sharp among Hispanic and Black Americans, a new study found.
Health experts anticipated life expectancy would drop during the pandemic, but how much it did came as a surprise.
“I naively thought the pandemic would not make a big difference in the gap because my thinking was that it’s a global pandemic, so every country is going to take a hit,” said Steven Woolf, director emeritus of the Center on Society and Health at Virginia Commonwealth University, who led the new study. “What I didn’t anticipate was how badly the U.S. would handle the pandemic.”
Read more about the study here.
Thursday’s top stories  By Yuliya Talmazan | Read more Authorities in Miami Beach, Florida were involved in a frantic search and rescue operation early Thursday after a multi-story building appeared to have collapsed into a pile of rubble. Watch eyewitness video showing scenes of the “pancaked” building. By Suzanne Ciechalski | Read more Britney Spears received an outpouring of support from Justin Timberlake to Khloe Kardashian Wednesday after publicly asking a judge to end her 13-year conservatorship. By Katie Surma, Inside Climate News | Read more Activists have asked the International Criminal Court to investigate whether Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s actions — including weakening dozens of environmental protections and encouraging private development of the Amazon, leading to the displacement of Indigenous people and contributing to climate change — constitute crimes against humanity. LISTEN UP By Trymaine Lee | Read more Do more Black police officers mean better outcomes for Black communities? This week on Into America, Trymaine Lee digs into that question in Miami where diversification efforts in the police department have been underway for years. By Andrea Mitchell | Read more The last authorized humanitarian corridor between Turkey and Syria is at risk of closing because Russia has threatened to veto a U.N. resolution requiring it to stay open. The U.N.’s humanitarian relief coordinator said closing the corridor would be “catastrophic.” BETTER By Randee Dawn | Read more The 54-year-old actress added that age is just a number: “You can kick a– at any age.”
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Also in the news …
The most purchased products by Shopping readers during Prime Day 2021 include Apple AirPods Pro, Crest 3D Whitestrips, Fire TV Sticks and more.
One fun thing  Talk about sister power!
Kristie and Sam Mewis are making history as the first pair of sisters named to the U.S. Olympic soccer team.
The pair talked to Lester Holt as they look ahead to competing in Tokyo.
Watch the video here.
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49.) NBC FIRST READ
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From NBC’s Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Benjy Sarlin, and Carrie Dann
FIRST READ: Three ways this summer could break for Dems
Well, it looks like we have a deal on infrastructure – at least a tentative framework.
“We’ve agreed to a framework on the entire package,” Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, told reporters Wednesday night after meeting with Biden White House officials. “Republicans and Democrats have come together along with the White House, and we’ve agreed on a framework and we’re going to be heading to the White House tomorrow.”
Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images
The details, importantly, remain a work in progress. “There’s some details to be worked out,” Sen. Rob Portman said, per NBC’s Capitol Hill team.
Yet regardless if the deal holds or if it collapses (how are progressive Dem senators going to receive it?), one of these three scenarios will have become reality come Labor Day.
Scenario #1: Bipartisanship breaks out
In her op-ed for preserving the filibuster, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., argued that there’s more bipartisanship going on than the conventional wisdom suggests. There are the negotiations on infrastructure. There’s the Senate bill boosting scientific research to compete with China. And there are still ongoing talks on police reform and immigration.
Under this scenario, maybe Sinema’s right and we’re on the verge of a sudden breakout of bipartisan legislation, far more modest on the substance than what Democrats want, but at least enough to restore some faith in the ability of parties to cut deals and make incremental progress. Perhaps that’s what Biden’s presidency was meant to be all along, a general turning down of the temperature after Trump cranked the thermostat knob all the way. And this infrastructure deal – if it holds – becomes a model for future legislation.
Of course, how Democrats would feel about this has a lot to do with whether some of their partisan-only priorities make it into a follow-up reconciliation bill.
Scenario #2: Dems go big (and mostly alone)
Remember all the talk of an FDR-sized presidency? The proposals that generated that talk – historic investments in climate, education, child care, health care, housing, and more – are all still on the table. They’re just stalled while Democrats wait for Manchin, et al., to signal they’re ready to back a giant reconciliation bill.
Under this scenario, Democrats go big, either after a bipartisan infrastructure deal passes or talks collapse, and manage to get a significant portion of Biden’s proposals enacted. While it’s unlikely his proposed tax increases and spending make it past a narrowly divided House and Senate, even passing a major chunk of them would be a BFD, in Biden parlance, with potential achievements for almost every corner of the party. Given where the party has moved since 2009, it’s possible his domestic agenda could easily eclipse President Obama’s in its scale. Is that enough for Democrats disappointed by the failure to break the filibuster to feel like this presidency was a major step forward?
Scenario #3: Dems get played
Finally, maybe Democrats are being dangerously naive and wasting a once-in-a-generation chance at a governing majority that will soon disappear, all while Trump and Trumpism continue to gather power and threaten to retake control in 2024.
This is the fear of just about every faction of the party left of Manchin and Sinema, informed by President Obama’s struggle to bring Republicans along on issues like health care, where Democrats negotiated across the aisle for months before moving a bill on their own. In doing so, they ended up running out the clock on their 60-vote Senate majority, ending hopes for legislation on major agenda items like climate and immigration, as well as added economic stimulus.
It’s not hard to imagine a world where none of the bipartisan talks on the table produce anything significant and Democrats struggle to pass something on their own, either due to infighting, or an unexpected loss of a seat, or rising political fears ahead of the midterms. No infrastructure, no jobs plan, no families plan, no anything.
So what’s it going to be come Labor Day? A real outbreak of bipartisanship? Dems going it alone and succeeding? Or Dems getting played and coming up (mostly) empty?
Choose your own adventure.
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TWEET OF THE DAY: Manchin, Manchin, Manchin!
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Biden’s high-wire act
But to get both bills done – a bipartisan infrastructure deal, plus a go-it-alone reconciliation package with everything else – won’t be easy.
Can President Biden convince progressive Dem senators to fall in line and accept half a loaf on infrastructure?
If he does, can Republicans capitalize on the reconciliation package’s price tag?
Could the reconciliation talks drag into the fall – and thus closer to the 2022 midterms?
And maybe most important of all, will there be any changes to the Dems’ fragile majorities in the Senate and House?
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Data Download: The numbers you need to know today
1.9 years: The decrease in average life expectancy in the U.S. between 2018 and 2020.
4 percent: The decline in the U.S. birth rate in the last year, the largest single-year drop in 50 years.
33,724,033: The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, per the most recent data from NBC News and health officials. (That’s 14,175 more than yesterday morning.)
606,355: The number of deaths in the United States from the virus so far, per the most recent data from NBC News. (That’s 353 more than yesterday morning.)
319,872,053: The number of vaccine doses administered in the U.S.
41.8 percent: The share of all Americans who are fully vaccinated, per NBC News.
56.1 percent: The share of all American adults over 18 who are fully vaccinated, per CDC.
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ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world?
The recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom will go forward with ample signatures.
A new report by a Republican-led Michigan Senate committee finds no evidence of widespread fraud in the state and blasts Trump-backed efforts to lead an “audit” in the state.
Joe Biden has picked Cindy McCain for a United Nations food and agriculture post.
Rodney Scott is out as the head of U.S. border patrol.
Another tricky subject working its way through a key Hill committee: antitrust reform.
The New York Times looks at what the city’s mayoral race might mean for progressives.
Don’t miss Andrea Mitchell on how the U.S. and its allies are increasing pressure on Russia to keep open a humanitarian route to Syria.
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 TODAY’S MORNING JOLT WITH JIM GERAGHTY  
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June 24 2021
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Episode 23: This Weird State of… 
Kamala Harris to Finally… 
19 West 44th Street, Suite 1701, New York, NY, 10036, USA
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 Thursday 06.24.21 An extraordinary heat wave could hit the northwestern US this weekend, with triple-digit temperatures all the way up to Oregon. To make matters worse, people in some of these places may not have AC, since such record-breaking temps are almost unheard of. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On With Your Day.  Vehicles on Interstate 95 travel past a project this year to add three lanes to the I-95 Rappahannock River Crossing in Virginia.  Infrastructure
Senators and White House officials have reached a bipartisan deal on an infrastructure bill, according to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. That’s a significant breakthrough on one of President Biden’s biggest legislative goals, but there’s much left to be done. Senators are slated to meet with Biden today to discuss details of the plan. A lot of Republicans may still not support it. And some progressive Democrats still plan to support a bipartisan version of an infrastructure package, then use parliamentary processes to pass a larger, big-ticket bill without bipartisan support. The current agreement is worth around $1.2 trillion, with $579 billion in new spending.
Coronavirus
Just 10% of the world’s population is fully vaccinated from Covid-19, new data shows. In the US, two groups are being hit especially hard by the virus right now: Black Americans and younger people. Throughout the pandemic, Black people have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19, accounting for about 12.5% of the population but more than 15% of total deaths, according to the CDC. The average age of people dying from the virus has also recently shifted younger. Adults under 40 made up about 3% of Covid-19 deaths in May, more than double their proportion of total deaths since the pandemic began. Meanwhile, a Covid-19 outbreak at the US Embassy in Kabul has now ballooned to 159 cases, with several people on oxygen.
Afghanistan
The Taliban is rapidly regaining control of areas in Afghanistan as the US troop withdrawal continues ahead of the White House’s September 11 deadline. Since May, the group has taken control of at least 50 of the country’s 370 districts, according to the UN’s special envoy on Afghanistan. The Taliban puts the figure higher, at 90. Dire warnings about the future stability of Afghanistan have sounded since Biden announced the US and NATO troop withdrawal two months ago. While a possible resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan was always a known risk, conditions are now worse than expected — and the ongoing peace negotiations between the Taliban and the country’s government have proven to be thin at best.
Capitol riot
A judge handed down the first sentence related to the January 6 Capitol riot — and rebuked the GOP in the process. A woman from Indiana had pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor for trespassing inside the Capitol and avoided jail time with a probation sentence. But US Judge Royce Lamberth said some Republican lawmakers’ attempts to downplay the insurrection are “utter nonsense,” adding, “I don’t know what planet they were on.” Meanwhile, an alleged member of the Oath Keepers pleaded guilty to charges related to the insurrection, marking the first plea deal among the Capitol riot cases against extremist groups. The Oath Keepers is a far-right coalition of largely ex-military and law enforcement that organized paramilitary training and attendance at political events. A handful of others have filed guilty pleas, admitting their roles in the riot.
Canada
Hundreds of unmarked graves have been discovered at the site of the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Canada. The Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan is due to host a news conference today to announce the “horrific and shocking discovery.” This tragedy comes after the remains of 215 children were found in late May buried near the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia. Indigenous leaders and residential school survivors in Canada called on officials to conduct a thorough investigation of every former residential school in the wake of that discovery. In recent years, Canada has been contending with the damaging legacy of the country’s residential schools, where thousands of mostly Indigenous children were separated from their families and forced to attend.  A multiple-story building in Miami has partially collapsed
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People are talking about these. Read up. Join in. Whoever wins the NBA Finals, it’ll be their first championship in at least half a century
The new Netflix dating show, ‘Sexy Beasts,’ is … well, it’s quite something
The Ever Given could soon be released by the Suez Canal
On sale: $125,000 balloon trips to the edge of space
Could alien astronomers have spotted Earth?
Basically this conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good. I deserve to have a life. I’ve worked my whole life. I feel ganged up on, I feel bullied, I feel left out and alone. I’m tired of feeling alone. I deserve to have the same rights as anybody.
Britney Spears, who asked during a court hearing yesterday for an end to her nearly 13-year conservatorship. Spears, who rarely speaks about the situation in public, said she felt she had been forced to perform, was given no privacy and was made to use birth control, take medication and attend therapy sessions against her will.  1.2 million That’s how many nonbinary people are living in the US, according to a first-of-its-kind study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.
Brought to you by CNN Underscored  23 lounge pants you’ll actually want to wear all day Clothing fads may come and go, but comfy pants will always be a wardrobe staple. From cotton joggers to drawstring picks, these are the best lounge pants for doing anything and everything in, according to style experts.
I spy with my little eye … some real talent
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99.) MARK LEVIN
June 23, 2021
On Wednesday’s Mark Levin Show, Anyone listening to this program for the last 3 months knows that a movement of the silent majority is afoot, a new tea party movement. A movement that requires hard work and commitment. When a County Sherriff’s deputies arrest a parent for peacefully speaking out against racism in their public school curriculum, it is a disgrace. America has witnessed BLM and ANTIFA burn and loot, but here a concerned citizen is nearly tackled and arrested. The left cannot continue to abuse red-blooded American patriots of all races. They will exercise their rights to free speech. Parents must be careful of hucksters that will stand on their shoulders to raise funds. Afterward, law professor Kimberle Crenshaw, a so-called pioneer of critical race theory and intersectionality, refused to answer whether or not critical race theory is Marxism. Later, John Lott, President of the Crime Prevention Research Center, calls in to explain how the anti-gun lobby now wants to go after the gun dealers and manufacturers for shooting liability. Yet there is no accountability for George Soros and the likes of similar activist donors electing passive district attorneys that are soft on crime and hard on gun owners and dealers.
THIS IS FROM:
You Tube
Man arrested at school meeting on transgender policies
Politico
‘The Tea Party to the 10th power’: Trumpworld bets big on critical race theory
You Tube
Loudoun County School Board Meeting. Senator Dick Black Called Out the Board, They Cut Mic
Rumble
General Defends Teaching Critical Race Theory: We Need To Know White Rage
WUSA9
Indiana grandmother of five to be first sentenced in Capitol riot
Written and edited by Richard Sementa
The podcast for this show can be streamed or downloaded from the Audio Rewind page.
Image used with permission of Getty Images / Andrew Caballero Reynolds
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