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Monday, June 12, 2023

Trump Will Give Himself to Authorities for Arraignment in Miami on Tuesday

Wall Street Journal: Donald Trump is preparing to surrender to authorities Tuesday and be arraigned at a federal courthouse in Miami as the Justice Department’s unprecedented criminal case against the former president moves to its next phase. Law-enforcement officials are bracing for the possibility of unrest as demonstrators both supporting and opposing the former president made plans to rally around the courthouse. Federal prosecutors on Friday unsealed a sweeping 49-page indictment on 37 counts related to Trump’s postpresidential handling of classified materials at his Mar-a-Lago residence, taking the country into uncharted waters as it is the first prosecution of a former president in U.S. history (Wall Street Journal). Tulsi Gabbard: Trump indictment undermines democracy because if a law is going to be enforced, it should be enforced equally and fairly across the board. The selective use of govt institutions and law enforcement to go after political or personal opponents, undermines the very essence of the rule of law, which is the foundation for our democracy (Twitter).

Democrat Sen. Chris Coons: "There's no evidence that the federal Department of Justice has been weaponized"

ABC: Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons on Sunday said he thinks Donald Trump’s federal indictment over handling of classified records creates electoral trouble for the GOP in 2024 — and, at the same time, he admits some worry over Trump’s White House prospects. Trump was indicted on 37 counts in the federal case in Florida, alleging he “willfully” retained documents containing sensitive U.S. secrets and conspired to obstruct justice as the government sought to retrieve the records after Trump left the White House. This is the first time a former U.S. president has been charged with a federal crime (ABC). RNC Research: Democrat Senator Chris Coons: “There’s no evidence that the federal Department of Justice has been weaponized.” What about the Russia collusion hoax? Targeting parents at school board meetings and pro-life demonstrators? Suppressing conservatives’ speech (Twitter)?

AM Radio Remains Essential for Vehicles

Fox News: Every month, more than 80 million Americans listen to AM radio. They rely on AM to provide them with news, especially local news, as well as safety alerts, talk radio, sports and music. Now, several major automakers want to take away this important resource in new cars going forward. That would be a serious mistake. Number one, AM radio stations serve a critical role in our Emergency Alert System. AM radio signals cover a much larger geographical area than FM radio signals or cell towers and continue to function during hurricanes, tornadoes, or other severe weather events, when other communications networks can be unreliable and stop working (Fox News). Ted Cruz: Getting rid of AM radio in cars means that some people may miss essential communications during an emergency, especially as 40% of radio listeners are tuning in from their cars (Twitter). Guardian: The ABC will undergo a “significant transition” towards digital transmission, reducing the resources invested in AM radio stations and programs, and broadcast TV channels, by 2028 and increase podcasts and on-demand programs instead (Guardian).

Half of US Adults Disapprove of Universities Using Affirmative Action in Admissions

Fox News: The Supreme Court is soon set to rule on two cases concerning affirmative action and race-based admissions by universities. Affirmative action and race-based admission policies have experienced some blowback for discrimination in the name of diversity. High school student, Boston Globe contributor and prospective Brown University student Alex Shieh joined ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ on Saturday morning to weigh in on college admissions policies and how the ‘deck is stacked’ against Asian Americans through affirmative action. Shieh shared with host Rachel Campos Duffy that he was grateful to be accepted to the prestigious university, but was wary of the admission policies. He commented on how affirmative action is discriminating against Asian Americans as “university administrators don’t think that we’re diverse enough for their schools” (Fox News). Pew Research: Half of U.S. adults say they disapprove of selective colleges and universities taking prospective students’ racial and ethnic backgrounds into account when making admissions decisions. Fewer (33%) approve of colleges considering race and ethnicity to increase diversity at the schools (Pew Research). HotAir: The split among partisans is not surprising. Nearly 75% of Republicans oppose it and 54% of Democrats approve of it. Still, that leaves 29% of Democrats who disapprove. The racial divides are also probably what you would predict (HotAir).

White House Institutes Mask Mandates, Social Distancing for Unvaccinated at Event

Outkick: Masks are back at the White House. Even in 2023, well after all available evidence has confirmed that masks are completely ineffective at stopping COVID, the Biden administration just won’t quit. President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are inviting national championship teams from NCAA Division I, II and II to the White House on Monday. Both men’s and women’s teams will be honored by the administration for their accomplishments. Unless they’re unvaccinated, of course. Beyond masks, unvaccinated guests will be punished with “social distancing,” combining multiple disproven pseudoscientific restrictions (Outkick). Townhall: According to a study conducted by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, masks are not practical to prevent the transmission of viruses, and even the N95 masks that everyone has become obsessed with are “non-inferior” to a surgical masks “in terms of influenza transmission rates among health care workers.” A video posted by parliamentarian Rob Roos showed pharmaceutical giant Pfizer admitting that the Covid vaccine was never tested for stopping the transmission of the virus. In May, the federal government officially ended the Covid-19 Public Health Emergency while the World Health Organization announced that the China virus is no longer a global emergency (Townhall).

George Soros Hands His $25 Billion Empire to His 37-Year-Old Son Who Vows to Be More Involved in Politics

Fox News: Left-wing billionaire, investor and philanthropist George Soros, 92, is reportedly handing the reins of his $25 billion empire to his younger son, 37-year-old Alexander “Alex” Soros. “I’m more political,” Alex Soros said in the first interview since his selection, indicating his intent on broadening his father’s liberal goals. Alex Soros has recently met with Biden administration officials, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y, and heads of state, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Fox News). Daily Wire: He previously said he would not allow one of his five children to take over the organization. But Soros reportedly changed his mind after confirming his son Alex would command the group, which has funded several leftist activist groups around the world as well as educational organizations (Daily Wire).

New York to Follow in California’s Footsteps, Create a Reparations Task Force

Associated Press: New York would create a commission to consider reparations to address the lingering, negative effects of slavery under a bill passed by the state Legislature on Thursday. The state Assembly passed the bill about three hours after spirited debate on Thursday. The state Senate passed the measure hours later, and the bill will be sent to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul for consideration. New York is following the lead of California, which became the first state to form a reparations task force in 2020 (Associated Press). New York Post: This bill would also require the city to install “explanatory” plaques on sidewalks or other public spaces near schools deemed by the commission and city agencies to be named after a person who profited from slavery or committed other “crimes against humanity” (New York Post).

California Looks to Redefine “Infertility,” Give Gay Couples Access to IVF for “Fertility Equality”

Post Millennial: California Bill SB 729 seeks to redefine “infertility” to be a status, as opposed to a medical condition. Changing the definition to “a person’s inability to reproduce either as an individual or with their partner without medical intervention” would classify gay men as infertile. The bill, which passed the Senate last month, would require insurance companies to cover in-vitro fertilization procedures. With the change in definition, this would also include forcing the firms to cover surrogacy for gay males. “This bill seeks to further erode the father, mother, and child nuclear family and make everyone in society pay for it to further a make-believe cause named ‘fertility equality,'” said Greg Burt, director of the California Family Council. “The reason healthy singles and same-sex couples can’t reproduce has nothing to do with infertility; it has to do with biology” (Post Millennial). Free Beacon: LGBT and fertility nonprofts backing the legislation have been clear about their agenda. They seek to decouple pregnancy from biological sex and traditional conceptions of gender and family (Free Beacon).

North Korean Hacking Group, Stole $600 Million to Help Fund Country’s Nuclear Program

Wall Street Journal: Last year an engineer working for the blockchain gaming company Sky Mavis thought he was on the cusp of a new job that would pay more money. A recruiter had reached out to him via LinkedIn, and after the two spoke over the phone, the recruiter gave the engineer a document to review as part of the interview process. But the recruiter was part of a vast North Korean operation aimed at bringing in funds to the cash-poor dictatorship. And the document was a Trojan Horse, malicious computer code that gave the North Koreans access to the engineer’s computer and allowed hackers to break into Sky Mavis. Ultimately they stole more than $600 million—mostly from players of Sky Mavis’s digital pets game, Axie Infinity. It was the country’s biggest haul in five years of digital heists that have netted more than $3 billion for the North Koreans. That money is being used to fund about 50% of North Korea’s ballistic missile program, U.S. officials say, which has been developed in tandem with its nuclear weapons. Defense accounts for an enormous portion of North Korea’s overall spending; the State Department estimated in 2019 Pyongyang spent about $4 billion on defense, accounting for 26 percent of its overall economy. Sky Mavis has now repaid victims of the cyberattack (Wall Street Journal).

10.

Cracker Barrel Participates in Pride Month, Pushback is Immediate

New York Post: Southern-based fast-food chain Cracker Barrel was blasted for going “woke” by some of its biscuits-and-gravy-eating customers after posting an image of a rainbow rocking chair to celebrate Pride Month. Aside from serving oversized portions of country staples, the chain is beloved for the Tennessee-made rocking chairs that line the porches at all Cracker Barrel trinket-filled Old Country Stores. Thus, the chain honored Pride Month in June with an Instagram photo of a rocking chair with each wood slat painted a different color of the rainbow in nod to the Pride flag (New York Post). PJ Media: This is not the first time the chain has participated in Pride Month marketing. A search of their Facebook page turns up pride month posts in preview years. The company also has a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion page on its official website, which boasts that “In 2021, Cracker Barrel scored 80 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index” (PJ Media).