Tuesday, May 21, 2024

5/21 WAKE-UP CALL: Few Tears For Dead 'Butcher'


Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s death leaves the country with two succession challenges—president and supreme leader, which is Iran’s most powerful position. Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday along with the foreign minister, was widely seen as a potential replacement for the current top figure, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is 85 and has a history of illness. There is no publicly anointed heir-apparent. Under Iran’s constitution, new national elections are to be held within 50 days to elect a new president. Khamenei has announced five days of national mourning.

➤FDIC CHIEF RESIGNS: Martin Gruenberg said he would resign as FDIC chairman after an external investigation found widespread sexual harassment and lawmakers of both parties berated his leadership. He informed staff in an email of his plans to step down once a successor had been confirmed, avoiding a scenario that would leave FDIC Vice Chairman Travis Hill, a Republican, as the agency’s acting chairman. A WSJ probe revealed a toxic workplace culture at the FDIC, including sexual harassment, discrimination and bullying. That prompted the FDIC to commission a law firm to investigate.

➤ICC MAY ISSUE WARRANTS FOR BIBI, HAMAS LEADER: The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas’s top leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. It’s an unprecedented move against a close U.S. ally that could deal another blow to Israel as it fights a war sparked by the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks. 

The prosecutor says there were grounds to believe the men bore responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity; also named in the application are Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant; Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas’s armed wing; and Ismail Haniyeh, head of the militant group’s political wing. President Biden condemned the prosecutor’s decision, and some U.S. lawmakers want action taken against the court if the arrest warrants proceed. Israel’s foreign minister called the decisions “outrageous” and said he would press other countries to ignore arrest warrants issued against Israeli leaders. Hamas said the prosecutor’s action against Israelis came “seven months late” and should have included all officials and soldiers responsible. Separately, Palestinians are struggling for food and water after fleeing Rafah.

NY Post 5/21/24
➤PROSECUTION RESTS: Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial rested their case against the former president Monday, bringing an end to more than four weeks of testimony from witnesses they’ve called in their attempt to convince the jury that he orchestrated a scheme to cover up a payment to a porn star. The conclusion of the case from the Manhattan district attorney’s office moves the trial one step closer to determining whether Trump will become a convicted felon as he runs for president as the presumptive Republican nominee. Though Trump is indicted in three other criminal cases, the chances that any of those will go to trial before the November election have dwindled in recent weeks. In the Manhattan case, Trump’s team will now have a chance to call their own witnesses and introduce their own evidence. Trump is not obligated to call any witnesses, and the extent of his defense remains unclear.

➤DISORDER IN THE COURT: A furious Judge Juan Merchan cleared his Manhattan courtroom of jurors, spectators, and the press Monday afternoon to chastise a key defense witness for Donald Trump after he made an exasperated comment about the judge's rulings. 

The fireworks came shortly after the prosecution rested its case in Trump's historic hush money criminal trial. Lawyer Robert Costello muttered "Geez!" after Merchan sustained several prosecution objections to his testimony. When Merchan confronted Costello about his breach of basic courtroom decorum, Costello told the court stenographer to "strike it" from the record − something only the judge has the power to do. Merchan excused the jurors and began scolding Costello, a former federal prosecutor and veteran defense attorney, and then asked: "Are you staring me down right now?" The judge then ordered the entire courtroom cleared for a short time.


➤THE 'NEVER BIDENS' EMERGE: President Joe Biden has a new problem cropping up in polling data: more Americans now dismiss even the possibility of voting for him. Among likely voters living in six key swing states, 51% say there’s “not really any chance” they’d vote for Biden, compared to just 46% saying the same thing about former President Donald Trump, according to a May poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena College. The trend of more voters vowing never to vote for Biden than Trump extends beyond just one poll, with three polls stretching between November 2023 and April all finding more never-Biden voters than never-Trump voters. 

🦐'ENDLESS SHRIMP ENDS: Red Lobster, the casual dining chain that won fans with inventions like popcorn shrimp and “endless” seafood deals, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The 56-year-old chain made the filing late Sunday, days after shuttering dozens of restaurants. 

“This restructuring is the best path forward for Red Lobster. It allows us to address several financial and operational challenges and emerge stronger and re-focused on our growth,” said Red Lobster CEO Jonathan Tibus, a corporate restructuring expert who took the top post at the chain in March. 

➤HOMELESSNESS SURGES IN SAN FRAN: The number of homeless people in San Francisco jumped compared to two years ago, despite the city spending hundreds of millions of dollars to address the issue, city data shows. The total number of homeless people in San Francisco rose 7% to 8,328 in a one-night measurement in January 2024 compared to the same in 2022, reversing the 3.5% decline recorded from 2019 to 2022, according to the city’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. Funding for homelessness from the city increased to $676 million in the 2022-23 fiscal year, up from $284 million in 2018-19.

➤DRUG TEST FOR BIDEN? Republicans demand Biden pass a drug test before debate . . . Multiple Republicans have called for President Joe Biden to submit to a drug test before debating former president Donald Trump. Advocates to drug test the president often cite his performance during his State of the Union speech earlier this year — when the 81-year-old seemed exceptionally lively compared to other public appearances. “The truth of the matter is if you saw the State of the Union and you watched that performance, it was surreal. There was something going on, and if we could find the truth of what it was, we’re all better off,” Sen. Tim Scott said.

➤GRACELAND FACING FORECLOSURE:  Elvis Presley’s legendary Graceland mansion is on the verge of being sold at a foreclosure auction on Thursday — sparking a dramatic legal battle from his granddaughter, Riley Keough, who called the pending sale “fraudulent.” A notice from Shelby County Courthouse states that Graceland and its surrounding property in Memphis, Tennessee will be auctioned off to the highest bidder for cash on May 23, WREG-TV News reported. Keough, 34, the current owner of the property and granddaughter of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, is fiercely contesting the sale. She filed a lawsuit calling the auction a sham, and on Monday, her attorney secured a temporary restraining order. An injunction hearing is set for Wednesday.


⚾DODGERS CRUISE: The Dodgers exploded for six runs in the third inning, keyed by a grand slam from Freddie Freeman. It erased a short-lived Diamondbacks lead, swiftly erasing an RBI single from Joc Pederson in the top of the third. And then it turned the keys over to starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, getting a strong two-run, 6-⅓ inning start from the Japanese rookie.

⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Mariners 5 Yankees 4
  • Red Sox 5 Rays 0
  • Dodgers 6 D-Backs 4
  • Angels 9 Astros 7
  • Cardinals 6 Orioles 3
  • Royals 8 Tigers 3
  • Nationals 12 Twins 3
  • Marlins 3 Brewer 2
  • Braves 3 Padres 0
  • Guardians 3 Mets 1
  • Blue Jays 9 White Sox 3
  • Padres 6 Braves 5

🏀NBA SCORES:
  • Timberwolves 98 Nuggets 90
  • Pacers 130 Knicks 109
🏒NHL SCORES:
  • Oilers 3 Canucks 2


➤TUESDAY'S WEATHER:



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