Shooting in Midtown Manhattan

New York Post reports five have been killed, including one NYPD officer: A police officer and at least four other people were shot and killed, and several others injured, by a crazed gunman who stormed a swanky Midtown skyscraper early Monday evening — before turning the gun on himself, sources said. The 27-year-old maniac … barged into the 44-story building — which houses Blackstone and the NFL headquarters — armed with a rifle and opened fire at around 6:30 p.m. during the evening rush, sending workers running for their lives, law enforcement sources told The Post (New York Post). Joe Piscopo: Dear Lord – In Midtown? (Piscopo). CNN: The officer shot is from a Bronx precinct and was on a post near the building when the shooting unfolded, according to the official. The FBI is responding to “provide support” at the “active crime scene,” according to an X post from Deputy Director Dan Bongino. New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed “there is an active shooter investigation taking place in Midtown right now” in a post on X. “Please take proper safety precautions if you are in vicinity and do not go outside if you are near Park Avenue and East 51st Street,” he wrote (CNN).

Starmer Stammers as Trump and Press Push Immigration Issue

The president met with the U.K. prime minister while he was in the UK for a private round of golf. He was clearly doing plenty of presidential business as well. Reporter: “The President [Trump] makes it look easy dealing with illegal migration. You must be envious of his record in such a short period of time.” Keir Starmer: Proceeds to fumble through his words (Twitchy). Trump: “if the boats are loaded up with bad people, and they usually are because other countries don’t send their best, they send people that they don’t want. And they’re not stupid people and they send the people that they don’t want and I’ve heard you’ve taken a much stronger stance on this” (Telegraph). The president was also very candid in his assessment of the Muslim Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan: Trump: “I’m not a fan of London mayor Sadiq Khan, a nasty person. He’s done a terrible job.” Starmer: “He’s actually a friend of mine.” Trump: “He’s done a terrible job” (Eli David). Trump is planning to meet with Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney today: [Trump and Starmer] will travel together to Aberdeen and will meet Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney. Trump will use the visit to open a second course at his Menie resort (BBC).

Migrants Behind 40 Percent of Sex Crimes in the UK

Sun: Nearly four in ten people charged over sex attacks in London in the last seven years are foreign nationals, police figures show. Police figures show these migrants were behind 2,809 of the 7,798 alleged crimes recorded in the capital since 2018 – despite making up less than a quarter of the city’s population. The number of annual sexual offence charges recorded in London has almost doubled in that period. Romanians were behind 308 sexual offence charges to be the highest non-British cohort in terms of raw numbers. But the 89 charges of Afghans makes them the most frequent offenders as a share of their population – estimated to be up to 12,000. The Centre for Migration Control obtained a breakdown from the Met on the nationalities of people who have had charges brought for sexual offences since 2018. Of the 7,798 offences, 4,631 were from British nationals, 2,809 from non-Brits, and 358 with unknown nationalities. If unknowns are counted as foreign nationals, it means non-Brits carried out 40.6 percent of the crimes. If they are excluded, the figure is still 37.8 per cent (Sun).

Trump Presses Senate to Confirm More Nominees Before August Recess: “Republicans must play to win”

Roll Call: With the House away, nominations and appropriations remain at the forefront of the Senate’s agenda for what is scheduled to be the final week before August recess. Advancing President Donald Trump’s nominations is straightforward but laborious, with Democrats showing little willingness to expedite the process. That’s led Trump and some GOP senators to call for slashing the regular August recess period. “Very Important. Republicans must play to win. Clear the 135. So badly needed!” Trump posted on social media Saturday. That was in response to an earlier X post from Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, calling for senators not to leave for the August break without addressing 135 pending nominations — or to actually recess and not hold pro forma sessions, potentially allowing Trump to make recess appointments (Roll Call). Senate Majority Leader is frustrated with the obstruction: Thune described what he called a “historic level of obstruction” being waged by the minority party, noting how Trump is the only president on record not to have a single civilian nominee confirmed by voice vote or unanimous consent at this point in his term. By comparison, the leader pointed out, former President Joe Biden had 44 civilian nominees confirmed by voice vote at this point in his first and only term. “Democrats haven’t offered a shred of courtesy to President Trump, to the voters who elected him, or the people who have stepped up to serve our country in his administration,” Thune said. Yet ultimately, “the ball is in [the] Democrats’ court,” he asserted. “They can continue to drag out the process on even the most uncontroversial nominees, and we can spend a lot more hours with each other in the Senate chamber,” Thune said. “Or they can rein in their reflexive anti-Trump sentiment and allow some of his rank-and-file nominees to proceed by unanimous consent or voice vote — just as Republicans did when the roles were reversed. And I’d remind my colleagues about the dangerous and ugly precedent that they’re setting here. But the choice is theirs … whether it’s the slow way or the fast way, we’re getting President Trump’s nominees confirmed (Daily Wire). Current list of nominations: (Senate).

Who’s Been Pushing the Gaza Starvation Meme? Look at Qatar

Yes: Elite outlets like the New York Times and BBC are more than happy to take the talking points from anyone helping them marginalize the Jewish state, but Qatar looks to be the source of the latest efforts. Israel National News: Israeli officials say Qatar is driving Hamas’ “famine in Gaza” propaganda, now gaining traction globally. Channel 12 reports the narrative is being echoed by major media—including some in Israel (Arutz Sheva). From Channel 12 in Israel: A security source clarified: “The US needs to put a gun on the table and make Qatar choose between Hamas and the US. Only the US has the power to force Hams back into negotiations. If it doesn’t do this, the situation will not change” (X). From Doha News—clarifying Qatar’s efforts in playing the hashtag game: @qcharity participated in a silent humanitarian solidarity stand in front of its headquarters on Monday over the ongoing #starvation of Palestinians by #Israel in the #GazaStrip.Staff from the Qatari entity raised banners and the hashtag #Gaza_Is_Starving_To_Death, urging immediate action to save the besieged enclave’s 2.1 million residents (Doha).

State Department Makes It Abundantly Clear: No, US Will Not Participate in the UN’s Two-State Solution Conference; “a publicity stunt”

From the State Department: This is a publicity stunt that comes in the middle of delicate diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.  Far from promoting peace, the conference will prolong the war, embolden Hamas, and reward its obstruction and undermine real-world efforts to achieve peace. As Secretary Rubio has made clear, this effort is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th and a reward for terrorism.  It keeps hostages trapped in tunnels.  The United States will not participate in this insult but will continue to lead real-world efforts to end the fighting and deliver a permanent peace. Our focus remains on serious diplomacy: not stage-managed conferences designed to manufacture the appearance of relevance. President Macron’s announcement about recognizing a Palestinian state was welcomed by Hamas.  This reflects a pattern of counterproductive gestures that only emboldens Hamas, encourages its obstruction of a ceasefire, and greatly undercuts our diplomatic efforts to end the suffering in Gaza, free the hostages, and move the whole Middle East towards a brighter and more prosperous future (State). The Hill: Trump has signaled he wants to be able to take credit for establishing ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, but Riyadh’s red line is no normalization with Israel absent a Palestinian state. Last week, Trump dispatched his ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, to meet with Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh. Part of negotiations to end the war between Israel and Hamas is finding an alternative governing body for the strip. While the Palestinian Authority is present in the strip, it is not viewed as the most credible actor or strongest political body to exercise control (The Hill).

Trump Releases Executive Order Charting New Course Addressing Homelessness

At its core, it seeks to shift the disposition of the federal government as it relates to committing homeless individuals without their consent. Axios: President Trump’s new executive order to combat homelessness encourages local governments to revive civil commitment, a process to place people with mental health issues in treatment facilities without their consent. Involuntary civil commitment has historically been used as a preventative method to confine people before they harm themselves or others, and most frequently affects vulnerable groups such as LGBTQ+, people of color and people with disabilities, according to several studies (Axios). From the executive order: Shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment through the appropriate use of civil commitment will restore public order.  Surrendering our cities and citizens to disorder and fear is neither compassionate to the homeless nor other citizens.  My Administration will take a new approach focused on protecting public safety (White House). To succeed, we’ll need more beds … more facilities. Carolyn Gorman of the Manhattan Institute: An executive order signed by President Trump last week marks a much-needed course correction from social advocacy to pragmatism. “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets” declares that “vagrancy, disorderly behavior, sudden confrontations, and violent attacks”—often a function of untreated serious mental illness—be addressed through civil commitment and humane treatment in long-term institutional settings. For this effort to succeed, the most urgent priority is expanding the number of available inpatient psychiatric beds. The U.S. currently has a significant shortage…. Today, state hospital bed capacity is down more than 97 percent from peak capacity, adjusted for population. While the IMD exclusion remains in place, simply maintaining current bed capacity is often financially unworkable for states. With so few psychiatric beds remaining, most now serve forensic patients—mentally ill individuals already involved in the criminal-justice system who have a constitutional right to be restored to competency. This further reduces inpatient capacity for civil patients in need of hospital-level care. Even so, inmates in 26 states wait a median of 60 days for a psychiatric bed, according to research by the Treatment Advocacy Center. At least 12 states have been sued for failing to provide timely treatment (City Journal).

US Government Formally Sanctions Maduro-Led Crime Cartel

The effort further exposes Maduro as the Marxist thug he is. From the Department of the Treasury: Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Cartel de los Soles (a.k.a. Cartel of the Suns) as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.  Cartel de los Soles is a Venezuela-based criminal group headed by Nicolas Maduro Moros and other high-ranking Venezuelan individuals in the Maduro regime that provides material support to foreign terrorist organizations threatening the peace and security of the United States, namely Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel. “Today’s action further exposes the illegitimate Maduro regime’s facilitation of narco-terrorism through terrorist groups like Cartel de los Soles,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The Treasury Department will continue to execute on President Trump’s pledge to put America First by cracking down on violent organizations including Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, and their facilitators, like Cartel de los Soles….” As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated person described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons is blocked and must be reported to OFAC.  In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.  Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked persons (Treasury).

California Researchers Planned Effort to “dim the sun’s rays”

Politico reports on a disturbing path of research led by the University of Washington with experiments carried out in California: A team of researchers in California drew notoriety last year with an aborted experiment on a retired aircraft carrier that sought to test a machine for creating clouds. But behind the scenes, they were planning a much larger and potentially riskier study of salt-water-spraying equipment that could eventually be used to dim the sun’s rays — a multimillion-dollar project aimed at producing clouds over a stretch of ocean larger than Puerto Rico. The details outlined in funding requests, emails, texts and other records obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News raise new questions about a secretive billionaire-backed initiative that oversaw last year’s brief solar geoengineering experiment on the San Francisco Bay…. In the initial experiment, the researchers appeared to have disregarded past lessons about building community support for studies related to altering the climate, and instead kept their plans from the public and lawmakers until the testing was underway, some solar geoengineering experts told E&E News. The experts also expressed surprise at the size of the planned second experiment. “Alameda was a stepping stone to something much larger, and there wasn’t any engagement with local communities,” said Sikina Jinnah, an environmental studies professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. “That’s a serious misstep” (Politico).

New Federal Government Policy Seeks to Restore Religious Freedom in the Workplace

Including the freedom to talk about your faith in a manner that hopes to persuade a coworker that your religion is true. Fox News: Federal agencies are now required to protect religious expression in the workplace, according to a new government-wide memo obtained by Fox News Digital on Monday—marking one of the most sweeping moves in decades to defend faith and freedoms in the civil service (Fox News). From the OPM (Office of Personnel Management) memo: This memorandum provides guidance to agencies on robustly protecting and enforcing each Federal employee’s right to engage in religious expression in the Federal workplace consistent with the U.S. Constitution, Title VII, and other applicable sources of law…. Agencies should allow personal religious expression by Federal employees to the greatest extent possible unless such expression would impose an undue hardship on business operations. And they should review and (if necessary) revise their internal policies to ensure that they appropriately protect religious expression. Notably, the memo gives explicit permission for an employee to keep a Bible on his or her desk: An employee may keep a Bible on her desk, and may read it during breaks. Similarly, an employee may keep rosary beads or tefillin on her desk. During breaks, she may use such items to pray. • An agency may restrict all posters, but an agency may not single out religious posters, such as those of a crucifix, a Bible verse, or a Star of David, for harsher treatment. • An employee may wear a cross, as well as clothing displaying a religious message (OPM).