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Benjamin Netanyahu frequently makes claims of antisemitism. Critics say he’s deflecting from his own problems Israel’s prime minister has long used the travails of the Jewish people to color his political rhetoric. His supporters say he is honestly worried for the safety of Jews around the world. But his detractors say he is overusing the label to further his political agenda and try to stifle even legitimate criticism. Read more. Why this matters: The Israeli leader accused the International Criminal Court's top prosecutor of being one of “the great antisemites in modern times,” after he sought arrest warrants for Netanyahu, his defense minister and top Hamas officials.” As protests roiled college campuses across the U.S. over the war in Gaza, he said they were awash with “antisemitic mobs.” These are just two of many instances in which he has accused critics of antisemitism. “Not every criticism against Israel is antisemitic,” said Tom Segev, an Israeli historian. “The moment you say it is antisemitic hate ... you take away all legitimacy from the criticism and try to crush the debate.” The prime minister’s critics say that his actions risk diluting the term’s meaning at a time when antisemitism is surging worldwide. The war in Gaza has reignited a debate about the definition of antisemitism and whether any criticism of Israel — from its military’s killing of thousands of Palestinian children to questions over Israel’s very right to exist — amounts to anti-Jewish hate speech. Many Israelis view the war in Gaza as a just act of self-defense and are befuddled by what many think should be criticism directed at Hamas. Related coverage ➤ US-built pier on Gaza coast suffers damage from rough seas Algeria proposes UN resolution demanding Israel halt offensive in Rafah Palestinian prime minister visits Madrid after Spain, Norway and Ireland recognize Palestinian state

South Africa election Millions of South Africans will cast their votes today in what is expected to be the most pivotal general election since the end of apartheid. For months, polls have shown the ruling African National Congress party could lose its majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela led it to power in 1994. If support for the ANC drops below 50%, the party will be forced to enter into a coalition government. Almost 28 million people are registered to vote — the highest number to date, according to the Independent Electoral Commission.

Bird flu A group of alpacas on a farm in Idaho recently tested positive for H5N1 bird flu for the first time, according to the USDA. The gene sequence of viruses isolated from the alpacas shows it is closely related to the H5N1 viruses currently circulating in dairy cattle. For more than two decades, H5N1 has primarily affected birds. In the past two years, however, the virus has been infecting a wider variety of wild and farmed mammals, raising concern that it could be moving closer to becoming a pathogen that can transmit easily between people. Human cases have been reported sporadically around the globe over the years, including three in the US, but no person-to-person transmission has been reported in the ongoing US cattle outbreak.

Gaza President Joe Biden is not altering his policy toward Israel following the recent Israeli strike that killed more than 45 people at a displacement camp in Rafah, the White House said Tuesday. Despite international outrage over the strike, the White House indicated that the attack did not cross a red line that would affect US support. Notably, munitions made in the US were used in the deadly strike, a CNN analysis has found. Also on Tuesday, the temporary pier constructed by the US military to transport aid into Gaza broke apart in heavy seas, the Pentagon said. The repairs will take more than a week, further delaying efforts to get the maritime corridor fully operating.

The 12-person jury in former President Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial will begin deliberations today, moving them one step closer to deciding Trump's legal fate. During closing arguments on Tuesday, the defense and prosecution delivered diametrically opposed stories about the hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 and the subsequent reimbursement to Trump's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen the following year. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the 34 felony counts for falsifying business records and denied the affair with Daniels. A felony conviction of a former president, and presumptive 2024 Republican nominee, would be unprecedented.

Severe storms Hundreds of thousands of people in the southern and central US are now contending with widespread power outages after enduring an unrelenting series of storms. Around 500,000 utility customers in Texas were without electricity early today, including more than 240,000 in Dallas County. At least eight people have been killed in the state since Saturday as severe weather pummeled the region over Memorial Day weekend. After a brief reprieve today, another round of powerful storms will rumble back into the same area Thursday, the National Weather Service said. Forecasts show threats of large hail, damaging winds and localized flooding to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

White House announces actions to modernize America’s electrical grid, paving the way for clean energy and fewer outages The White House on Tuesday announced steps to modernize a major roadblock to the clean energy transformation: America’s aging electrical infrastructure. https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/28/climate/energy-grid-modernization-biden/index.html?

May 29, 2024 By David Leonhardt Good morning. We’re covering the Democrats’ surprising early strength in Senate races — as well as Trump’s trial, U.S.-made bombs in Rafah and photos of space. Images from each of the six candidates’ campaign ads. The New York Times Six populists Recent polls contain a surprising combination of results: Democrats appear to be leading in six tough Senate races even as President Biden trails Donald Trump in the same states. What are these Democratic Senate candidates doing right? To answer that question, I studied their campaigns, looking at advertisements, social media posts and local news coverage. In today’s newsletter, I’ll highlight the single biggest theme that emerged: The six Democrats are basing their campaigns around a populism that harshly criticizes both big business and China. (In a follow-up newsletter, I’ll look at several other campaign themes.) It’s still early in the campaign, obviously, and some candidates who are leading now may lose in November. Still, most of the Democrats in these races aren’t merely ahead in the polls; they also have a track record of winning tough races by appealing to voters who are skeptical of the Democratic Party. I think that their use of populism is crucial to that appeal. ‘Corporate greed’ From a Bob Casey campaign ad. The New York Times Successful campaigns, like movies and novels, tend to have heroes and bad guys. Republicans are comfortable with this idea. Their bad guys in recent years have included criminals, illegal immigrants and cultural elites. Democrats are sometimes squeamish about naming antagonists (other than Republicans) and prefer a higher-minded version of politics. This year’s swing-state Democrats are not squeamish. They portray both China and big business as making life hard on working families. Here’s a flavor of what they are saying about corporations: “I’ll never stop fighting to crack down on corporate greed,” Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio says in one ad. Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania talks about corporate “greedflation” and “shrinkflation.” One ad, set to “Pink Panther”-style music, shows fictional C.E.O.s sneaking around a supermarket at night to shrink product sizes. In an ad for Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, workers talk about how “Wall Street greed” slashed their pensions and say that Baldwin “fought like hell” to restore them. Brown has run a similar ad, in which a truck driver talks about how Wall Street is trying to “screw Ohio workers.” An ad for Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada boasts that she “took on the big drug companies — and won.” Senator Jon Tester of Montana and Ruben Gallego, an Arizona congressman running for Senate, also criticize Big Pharma. “The rich and the powerful — they don’t need more advocates,” Gallego says in an ad introducing himself to voters. “It’s the people that are still trying to decide between groceries and utilities that needs a fighter for them.” ‘The greatest threat’ From a Sherrod Brown campaign ad. The New York Times The other main antagonist is China, which the candidates portray as using unfair trade tactics to undermine American jobs. Tester’s first television ad of the campaign described China as “the greatest threat facing our nation,” Marissa Martinez of Politico noted. Baldwin, in one of her ads, says, “We can’t let China steal Wisconsin jobs.” Casey and Brown have trumpeted their work on a law that requires the federal government to use American steel on infrastructure projects. “We were getting screwed,” a steelworker in Casey’s ad says. In another Brown ad, workers at a washing-machine maker joke about his reputation for looking rumpled, disheveled and wrinkled — and say they don’t care because he fights to protect their jobs against companies that break trade rules. Brown’s blue-collar reputation is central to his uncommon electoral success. He is the only Democrat to have won a Senate, governor or presidential race in Ohio over the past decade. He, Tester and Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia (who’s retiring) are the only Democratic senators who represent states that Trump won in 2020. What about Biden? This kind of populism, in which politicians promise to fight for ordinary people against the powerful, was once core to the Democratic Party. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman were more populist than many people now remember. Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign was notably populist, too, as was Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. It’s true that almost all elected Democrats today favor some populist policies, like raising taxes on the rich. But as the party has become dominated by college graduates and white-collar professionals, it has tended to emphasize other issues, like climate change and cultural liberalism, that fail to resonate with working-class Americans. Remember — most Americans don’t have a bachelor’s degree. Biden has shown some signs of running a populist campaign this year. (He has begun to emphasize Trump’s wealth, as my colleague Jess Bidgood has noted.) Still, Biden devotes more attention to Trump’s anti-democratic behavior and to what Biden calls “the very soul of America.” Democracy is obviously a vital issue. So far, though, the polls suggest that pocketbook issues may be more resonant this year. For more: My recent essay on “neopopulism” tries to explain why many Americans are so frustrated with the economy. And you can watch the campaign ads mentioned in today’s newsletter here. ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS Trump on Trial Donald Trump Pool photo by Spencer Platt The prosecution and the defense made their closing arguments in Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial. The jury will begin deliberating today. Trump’s lawyer tried to undermine Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s key witness, calling him the “M.V.P. of liars” and “the human embodiment of reasonable doubt.” Read takeaways from the trial. The prosecution walked jurors through their case over more than five hours, describing “a conspiracy and a coverup” and calling the hush money an “effort to hoodwink the American voter.” Prosecutors also sought to bolster Cohen’s credibility. In a moment of stagecraft, one of them feigned a short phone call to show that Cohen could have spoken to both Trump and his bodyguard in quick succession, as Cohen testified. 2024 Election Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized the removal of Confederate monuments as “destroying history,” adding there were “heroes in the Confederacy who didn’t have slaves.” Many of the Republicans angling to be Trump’s running mate have visited him in court or joined him at rallies. Senator Marco Rubio is trying a quieter strategy. An early deadline threatened to keep Biden off the ballot in Ohio. To get around it, Democrats will nominate him virtually before their official convention. More Politics Justice Samuel Alito said his wife flew an upside-down American flag in response to a neighbor’s insult. But the name-calling happened weeks after the flag came down, and the neighbor says Alito’s wife started the conflict. The judge overseeing Trump’s classified documents case denied prosecutors’ request for a gag order. The request was a response to Trump’s claim that Biden authorized F.B.I. agents to kill him during their raid on Mar-a-Lago. In Senator Robert Menendez’s bribery case, prosecutors showed private messages between Menendez and his future wife — what they say was the start of a conspiracy. Israel-Hamas War Israeli forces used U.S.-made bombs in the strike that killed dozens of Palestinians on Sunday when fires spread quickly through a camp for displaced people near Rafah. Israel said it had sent more combat troops to southern Gaza. Nikki Haley wrote “Finish Them!” on Israeli artillery shells during a Memorial Day visit to Israel, CNN reports. A floating pier built by the U.S. to get more aid into Gaza broke apart in rough seas. The U.S. will try to repair it. The Great Omari Mosque has been central to life in Gaza for centuries. It has been badly damaged during the war. South Africa’s Election South Africans vote today. It’s the country’s most consequential election since the end of apartheid 30 years ago. Read what to know. Polls predict that the governing party will receive less than half the national vote for the first time since 1994. Learn about its competitors. More International News Pope Francis Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters Pope Francis apologized after the Italian media reported that he had used an anti-gay slur in a private meeting with bishops. Haiti named a new prime minister, Garry Conille. He takes office in a deep crisis and is expected to serve until elections can be held. There will be no French fries for athletes at the Olympics. France is trying to update its culinary reputation, and chefs will serve quinoa instead. Other Big Stories In Valley View, Texas. Julio Cortez/Associated Press A storm with high winds and golf-ball-sized hail killed one person in Texas and left half a million without power. In a private text thread, a group of Mississippi deputies joked about rape, shooting people and shocking suspects in the genitals, a Times investigation found. Their supervisor often joined in the conversations. A federal judge sentenced an executive at the failed crypto exchange FTX to seven and a half years in prison. Opinions Democrats want criminal law to decide whether Trump is worthy of a second term. It’s really for voters to decide, Matthew Walther writes. By taking fewer positions on hot-button issues, universities can promote the intellectual pursuit of truth, argue Noah Feldman and Alison Simmons, who helped write Harvard’s new policy. Here is a column by Bret Stephens on necessary wars. Readers of The Morning: For a limited time, enjoy 7 free days. Don’t miss this opportunity to discover all of The Times, from news to games to cooking, sports and more, free for one week, then $1/week for your first six months. Discover The Times now. MORNING READS Wet striped shrimp. Chris M. Rogers/Gallery Stock Shellfish: Americans love shrimp. Is it good for you? Flaco the Owl: The American Museum of Natural History will keep Flaco’s remains. Ask Well: Influencers say you should delay your morning caffeine for a better buzz. We fact-checked their claims. Brief romance: A trailblazer, a magic dress and waiting in the rain. Enjoy readers’ Tiny Love Stories. Lives Lived: Sue Johnson, a British-born clinical psychologist and best-selling author, developed a method of couples therapy based on emotional attachment, challenging what had been the dominant behavioral approach. She died at 76. SPORTS M.L.B.: Starting today, the league will officially recognize Negro Leagues statistics from around a century ago, which will change who holds some records. N.B.A.: The Minnesota Timberwolves won Game 4 over the Dallas Mavericks. N.H.L.: Sam Reinhart’s overtime goal pushed the Florida Panthers past the New York Rangers, tying their Eastern Conference final series at 2-2. “Inside the NBA”: The TNT studio show, beloved by basketball fans for over two decades, may end after next season. Charles Barkley isn’t going quietly. ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS Images by ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA The European Space Agency recently released images and early science gathered from Euclid, a telescope that it launched into space last summer. The telescope can capture, in impressive detail, large swaths of sky. It will help astronomers make sense of two universal mysteries: dark matter and dark energy. See images captured by Euclid. More on culture The house from “Home Alone,” in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, Ill., is for sale. Asking price: $5.25 million. A museum in Tasmania will let visitors hear songs from a one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album, which has never been played for the public. See what people are wearing on the streets of New York this season. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … John Kernick for The New York Times Combine beans and cheese for this easy five-ingredient dinner. Read books about California. Prepare for wildfires. Fight clothing stains with these products. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was namecheck. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David P.S. We heard from some readers who thought that our use of the phrase “happy Memorial Day” in Monday’s newsletter trivialized a day to honor Americans killed in wars. We understand that criticism, and we won’t use the phrase again. We always welcome feedback and critique from readers. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch

THIS DAY IN HISTORY May 29 1953 Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reach Everest summit At 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa of Nepal, become the first explorers to reach the summit of Mount Everest, which at 29,035 feet above sea level is the highest point on earth. The two, part of a British expedition, made their final assault on ... read more 19th CENTURY 1848 Wisconsin enters the Union 21st CENTURY 2014 Laverne Cox becomes first transgender person to appear on the cover of TIME magazine American Revolution 1780 British Colonel Tarleton gives "quarter" in South Carolina Art, Literature and Film History 1913 Controversial ballet "The Rite of Spring" shocks audience in its Paris premiere 2003 Bob Hope celebrates 100th birthday Black History 1851 Sojourner Truth delivers powerful speech on African American women's rights SPORTS 2005 Danica Patrick becomes first woman to lead Indy 500 U.S. Presidents 1917 Future President John F. Kennedy is born World War II 1942 German authorities decree that Parisian Jews must wear a yellow star

Drone-flown beach ads Rendering: Sustainable Skylines Drones towing aerial advertisements will soon begin flying over Miami's beaches — competing for airspace with traditional banner planes, Axios' Martin Vassolo writes. Why it matters: Miami-based Sustainable Skylines says its hybrid-electric drones are quieter, safer and more eco-friendly than gas-powered planes. The drones will fly lower to bring ads closer to the public. But CEO Jacob Stonecipher says the ads shouldn't bother beachgoers. The company, which hopes to launch its service in July, is the first drone-based banner hauler to be approved by the FAA, Stonecipher tells Axios. Keep reading ...

⚾ MLB incorporates Negro Leagues records Josh Gibson of the Homestead Grays (right) with Satchel Paige before a game in Kansas City in 1941. Photo: Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics via Getty Images Major League Baseball will announce today that it's adding statistics from the Negro Leagues to the MLB historical record, Axios' Russell Contreras writes. Why it matters: Negro League players who were barred from MLB during segregation, but called greats by those who saw them, will hold some of baseball's most prominent records. The intrigue: Negro Leagues legend Josh Gibson will become MLB's single-season and career record holder in batting average (.466 in 1943 and .372 career). The career record broke Ty Cobb's .367 mark that has stood since his retirement in 1928. Keep reading.

✈️ Blockbuster travel weekend Data: TSA. Table: Axios Visuals Five of the 10 busiest American airport travel days have occurred in the past two weeks, according to TSA screening data. A record 2.95 million travelers were screened at airports on Friday. The previous record, since the TSA was founded in 2001, was set last Thanksgiving. 9 of the top 10 days took place in the past 12 months.

⚖️ Trump's waiting game The hush-money case against former President Trump will go to the jury today, after Judge Juan Merchan delivers jury instructions. Why it matters: The country will soon find out whether Trump will be the first former president who's a convicted felon — or be freed from 34 of the 91 felony counts he faces in four cases. An inpatient Trump, the lawyers and the media will stay in the courtroom as the jury deliberates. If the 12 jurors can't reach a unanimous decision, the trial could end in a mistrial. This is the only Trump trial likely to conclude before voters head to the polls. Screenshot: Via Truth Social Above: During a break yesterday, Trump posted his opinion of the prosecution's closing argument. The defense's closing argument ran nearly three hours. The prosecution went more than five hours, finishing just before 8 p.m. ET. Riffing on GOAT, the sports acronym for "greatest of all time," Trump lawyer Todd Blanche labeled Michael Cohen the GLOAT — "greatest liar of all time ... the human embodiment of reasonable doubt." Blanche said there's "not a shred of evidence" Trump falsified business records. (AP) Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass accused Trump of "chutzpah": "Everything Mr. Trump and his cohorts did in this case was cloaked in lies. ... We'll never know if this effort to hoodwink voters made the difference in the 2016 election, but that's not something we have to prove." (NYT) Keep reading.

🗳️ Biden's new strategy to win Black voters President Biden is kicking off an effort to regain ground among Black voters with a visit to Philadelphia today — including a rally at a majority-Black school, with Vice President Harris by his side, Axios' Hans Nichols writes. Why it matters: Polling shows a lack of enthusiasm for Biden among Black voters. A recent New York Times/Sienna survey put Biden at 69%–18% over Trump with Black voters. Flashback: Biden ran up even bigger margins — 92%–8% — with Black voters as part of his winning coalition against former President Trump in 2020. Biden's new plan will include Black student organizations, community groups, churches and surrogates. 💰 First on Axios: Addressing the roots of Black economic inequality has the potential to unlock as much as $1 trillion per year in domestic U.S. economic growth, Axios' Javier David writes from a new study by the Black Economic Alliance Foundation. Keep reading.

Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios. Photos: Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket, Taiwan's Military News Agency/Anadolu, Anwar Amro/AFP, Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images This election year could be turned on its head by an international crisis — and it won't necessarily come from the Middle East, Axios' Dave Lawler writes. Why it matters: The war in Gaza is dominating coverage. But the past few days have been peppered with warning signs from other global hotspots: Taiwan, North Korea, Ukraine and Iran. 🌏 The big picture: Global alliances have shifted over the past few years. China and Russia — joined by other autocracies — have deepened a partnership heavily focused on challenging America and the West. Snapshots of that competition are popping up all over the world: Pacific Island countries being aggressively courted by Beijing and Washington. African nations booting the U.S. and welcoming Russia. Chinese President Xi Jinping visiting Europe for the first time in five years. Then there are the much-feared scenarios that could see the "new cold war" with autocratic powers turn hot: A Chinese move on Taiwan. Escalation by Russia beyond Ukraine. North Korean brinkmanship. A nuclear crisis with Iran. Zoom in: None of those appear imminent. But the past week showed they all remain plausible: 🇹🇼 1. China has conducted large-scale military exercises around Taiwan in the week since a proponent of close ties with Washington was inaugurated as president. It's part of a pattern of intimidation that some experts and officials see as a prelude to eventual invasion. 🇷🇺 2. Russian troops are clawing back territory in eastern Ukraine and menacing the country's second-largest city, Kharkiv, in Moscow's most significant battlefield successes in more than a year. President Biden is facing growing pressure from NATO allies to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weapons to strike inside Russia. 🇰🇵 3. A North Korean spy satellite exploded in a failed rocket launch Monday. U.S. officials are expecting more, potentially serious, provocations this year from Kim Jong-un. The U.S. is also watching Kim's burgeoning partnership with Vladimir Putin. 🇮🇷 4. Iran has increased stockpiles of near-weapons-grade uranium, the UN's nuclear watchdog warned Monday. The country's upcoming presidential election to replace Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash, comes amid fears of a clash with Israel. What to watch: Israel's escalation in Rafah poses a major test for President Biden and his foreign policy team. Fellow Democrats are urging him to withdraw military support after an Israeli strike killed 45 displaced Palestinians. Keep reading.

⚡️ Scoop: MoveOn jumps into Md. Senate race By Stephen Neukam Angela Alsobrooks. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images MoveOn, a top progressive organization, is backing Maryland Democrat Angela Alsobrooks in a bid to protect a blue Senate seat, Axios has learned. Why it matters: The GOP candidate, former Gov. Larry Hogan, has made the race surprisingly competitive. What once seemed a safe seat is now drawing national Democratic groups to help defend it. Alsobrooks is just the second Senate candidate MoveOn has endorsed. The endorsement will give Alsobrooks access to funding from MoveOn's PAC, which has raised nearly $26.5 million so far this election cycle, according to federal filings. The big picture: An Alsobrooks victory in November is critical for Democrats. The party has several vulnerable incumbents and a slim Senate majority. Read more

⚖️ Today's Trump trial highlights Donald Trump's lawyer called star witness Michael Cohen the "MVP of liars" during the Trump trial's closing arguments today, while a prosecutor accused the ex-president of "overt election fraud." Why it matters: The first-ever criminal trial of a U.S. president is near conclusion after hours of closing arguments. The case — over whether Trump's alleged hush money payment to a porn star was an illegal campaign contribution in 2016 — is expected to be in the jury's hands tomorrow. Today's defense highlights: 1. Michael Cohen: Trump trial lawyer Todd Blanche hammered at the credibility of Trump's former fixer, calling him the "GLOAT," or the "Greatest Liar of All Time," and the "MVP of liars." "You cannot convict President Trump on any crime, beyond a reasonable doubt, on the words of Michael Cohen," Blanche said. 2. "Access Hollywood": The infamous tape, which aired about a month before the 2016 election, "was not a doomsday event" that led to a conspiracy to cover up allegations Trump had a liaison with porn star Stormy Daniels, Blanche said. 3. Regarding Daniels: "They did it to try to embarrass President Trump," Blanche said of the prosecution having her testify. Prosecution highlights: 1. Cohen: Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told jurors Trump "chose Mr. Cohen for the same qualities his attorneys now urge you to reject." "We didn't choose Michael Cohen. We didn't pick him up at the witness store. ... This case is about Donald Trump and whether he should be held accountable." 2. "Access Hollywood": Steinglass said the tape in which Trump described grabbing women "was capable of costing [Trump] the whole election, and he knew it." 3. "Subversion of democracy": That's how Steinglass described the alleged scheme with the National Enquirer to quash negative stories about Trump ahead of the 2016 election. It "could very well be what got President Trump elected," he said. Go deeper

🗳️ Biden's nomination really loses its suspense The Democratic National Committee plans to conduct one of its convention's signature moments — when each state announces its nominee for president — weeks before its convention in Chicago in mid-August. Why it matters: The DNC's unusual step to have a "virtual roll call" is a response to the political uncertainty created by an Ohio deadline (Aug. 7) for when a candidate's name needs to be submitted for that state's ballot. As a practical matter, the early roll call will make Biden his party's formal nominee weeks before Democrats gather in person for their convention on Aug. 19. As a political matter, it's unlikely to change Democrats' plan to nominate Biden for a rematch against former President Trump in November. But symbolically, it will turn one of the convention's most memorable traditions into an empty ritual. Driving the news: Ohio Republicans couldn't guarantee they'd resolve the ballot issue before the state's GOP-controlled legislature leaves for the summer. Today, Democrats moved to avoid the uncertainty by nominating Biden before Aug. 7 — but didn't specify when. Read more

I tend to agree with Ghansen, in the area I live these genderless bathrooms are called "tranny cans". Ironically tranvestite's appear to not like this idea as it "endangers women" by allowing men to do their business next to females. Odd I know but this is the culture we find ourselves in these days.

Mexican government says the arm of a 19th century mummy came off after mishandling by museum staff MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s federal archaeology agency on Monday accused the conservative-governed city of Guanajuato of mistreating one of the country’s famous mummified 19th century bodies. https://apnews.com/article/mexico-mummies-mistreatment-lost-arm-1f268720e46264b533b8eb62bdcbd377?

(N) Malachi 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

Toyota shows ‘an engine reborn’ with green fuel despite global push for battery electric cars That’s how Japanese automaker Toyota introduced plans to cast a futuristic spin on the traditional internal combustion engine. https://apnews.com/article/toyota-engine-electric-emissions-subaru-mazda-japan-997d6311ead7f9e41c11a2e47be6ad0e?

Judge denies request to restrict Trump statements about law enforcement in classified records case WASHINGTON (AP) — The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s classified documents case in Florida on Tuesday denied prosecutors’ request to bar the former president from making public statements that could endanger law enforcement agents participating in the prosecution. https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-law-enforcement-maralago-4900bebe9fa20533f50622e155bb70d8? ps:What a piece of work this Judge is!!!!!!

A woman could be Mexico’s next leader. Millions of others continue in shadows as domestic workers MEXICO CITY (AP) — Concepción Alejo is used to being invisible. https://apnews.com/article/mexico-election-women-domestic-workers-c617636b5d3ef6125a3b036ff557265f?

Kentucky families struggling after being hit for a second time by a tornado in the same locations BARNSLEY, Ky. (AP) — Devin Johnson’s life was uprooted for a second time when a tornado flattened his home over the Memorial Day weekend — on the same lot in Kentucky where another storm left him homeless in 2021. https://apnews.com/article/kentucky-tornado-severe-weather-b8fd3a678e00fc09ea303c72d7b9d9ad?