Tuesday, May 16, 2023

5/16 WAKE-UP CALL: Russian Collusion Was Democrat-FBI Fantasy


A special counsel appointed in President Donald Trump’s administration issued a highly critical report on how the FBI handled allegations linking Mr. Trump to Russia in 2016, ending four years of work Monday after having lost the two criminal cases he took to trial. In his 306-page report, John Durham, the former top federal prosecutor in Connecticut, repeated prior criticisms faulting the Federal Bureau of Investigation on a number of points. He said the bureau swiftly pursued a vague tip about potential contacts between a Trump campaign aide and Russia authorities in July 2016, even though, the report says, the bureau had no other information in its files to corroborate any such contact. The Justice Department’s inspector general in 2019 found similar flaws in the FBI inquiry but found the investigation was justified.

He concluded the FBI was more cautious and skeptical of allegations of foreign influence on the Clinton campaign than on the Trump campaign in 2016. According to the report, the bureau didn’t aggressively pursue evidence of two instances in which foreign governments were potentially planning to contribute to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign to gain influence. The speed with which the FBI opened the investigation into the Trump campaign “based on raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated intelligence also reflected a noticeable departure from how it approached” those other allegations, it said. The FBI provided briefings to the Clinton campaign, the report said, an approach it said stood in contrast to the lack of such briefings provided to the Trump campaign.

He concluded that the FBI didn’t rigorously analyze information it received, especially from people and groups with political affiliation, prolonging the investigation and prompting the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. Durham said the FBI was overly reliant on investigative leads from Mr. Trump’s political opponents.

FL Congressman Matt Gaetz on Monday night said the FBI had 'weaponized' its information to go after Donald Trump and investigate reports of Russian collusion. Gaetz said the FBI should now have its funding cut, and the agents responsible should be fired and prosecuted. The 300-page Durham report, made public on Monday at the end of a four-year enquiry, found that the FBI relied too heavily on 'raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated intelligence'. Trump seized on the report, accusing the FBI agents involved of a plot to overthrow his presidency. 'Treason!' he wrote on Truth Social.

➤3 KILLED, 6 WOUNDED IN RANDOM SHOOTINGS IN NEW MEXICO:  An 18-year-old man armed with at least three guns roamed through a northwestern New Mexico community firing randomly at cars and houses Monday, killing three people and injuring six others including two police officers before he was killed, authorities said. The shootings occurred around 11 a.m. in Farmington, a city of about 50,000 people near the Four Corners — where New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado meet — that is a supply line and bedroom community to the region’s oil and natural gas industry. Officers responding to reports of shots being fired encountered the attacker within minutes and killed him with at least one shot, Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said in a video released Monday night. He said the gunman fired at least three weapons, including an “AR-style rifle.” The shooting was “honestly one of the most horrific and difficult days that Farmington has ever had as a community,” he said. The identities of the gunman and the victims weren’t immediately released.

➤RUSSIA LAUNCHES INTENSE AIR ATTACKS: Russia launched an exceptionally intense air attack on Kyiv in the early hours of Tuesday, using drones, cruise and probably ballistic missiles, city officials said, as the Ukrainian capital suffered its eighth air raid this month. "It was exceptional in its density - the maximum number of attack missiles in the shortest period of time," Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's city military administration, said in comments posted on the Telegram messaging app. "According to preliminary information, the vast majority of enemy targets in the airspace of Kyiv were detected and destroyed!" It was not immediately known how many objects were shot down over the city and if any of them managed to hit their target. After a weeks-long hiatus, Russia in late April resumed its tactic of long-range missile strikes and has launched a flurry of attacks in recent days, often targeting Kyiv. Ukraine has been able to repel vast majority of the attacks so far.


➤MAN WITH BASEBALL BAT ATTACKED STAFFERS AT REP. GERRY CONNOLLY'S OFFICE, POLICE SAY: A man wielding a metal baseball bat attacked two members of Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly's staff at his district office in northern Virginia on Monday morning, according to police. U.S. Capitol Police identified the suspect as 49-year-old Xuan Kha Tran Pham of Fairfax. He is in custody and faces charges of aggravated malicious wounding and malicious wounding. The congressman was at a ribbon-cutting event at a nearby food bank at the time of the attack.


➤'PREGNANT' WOMAN HAS 1,500 GRAMS OF COCAINE HIDDEN IN RUBBER BELLY: Two people have been arrested in South Carolina after Anderson County deputies conducted a traffic stop, and ended up finding cocaine hidden behind what they thought was a pregnant woman's belly. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies pulled over Anthony Miller and Cemeka Mitchem along Interstate 85 during what police said was a "proactive patrol." Mitchem appeared to be pregnant, but police said that they detected a "red flag" soon into the stop when the pair "gave conflicting information about her 'due date.'"

➤MARTHA MAKES S-I COVER: Martha Stewart is shining like the golden sun on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The 81-year-old is the oldest cover model to strut her stuff for the magazine — and the queen of thirst traps underwent some hardcore prep to look her best. The lifestyle master unveiled her cover during Monday’s “Today” show, revealing how she prepared herself for the sexy swimsuit pics. Stewart divulged that she was approached for the shoot in November 2022 and would be taking the snaps this past January. “To be on the cover at my age was a challenge. And I think I met the challenge,” she told hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb. The New Jersey native opted to get herself into shape by simply exercising and focusing on eating healthy. “I didn’t starve myself, but I didn’t eat any bread or pasta for a couple of months,” Stewart said. “I went to pilates every other day and that was great".

🚘AVERAGE CAR ON THE ROAD GETTING OLDER: For six years in a row, the average age of cars on American roads has gone up. The average light vehicle age is now 12.5 years old. Inflation and inventory issues are some contributing factors, as well as higher interest rates. The average electric vehicle on the road is 3.6 years old. Will sales recover? April data showed that used car prices are starting to go down, which could mean a surge in demand.

Dugout Glance
⚾MLB Yankees 7 Toronto 4: Aaron Judge homered twice, including a 462-foot drive over the center field batter's eye three pitches after manager Aaron Boone was ejected for arguing a called strike to the slugger, as New York beat Toronto.Willie Calhoun hit a two-run homer in the first, and Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Higashioka each drove in a run as New York won for the sixth time in eight games. Rookie Jhony Brito (3-3) earned the win.

Aaron Judge said he was trying to identify which of his Yankees teammates was yelling at plate umpire Clint Vondrak when he peeked into his own dugout before hitting a 462-foot home run in Toronto on Monday night. The Yankees slugger looked sideways for a moment before driving a 114.9 mph scorcher off right-hander Jay Jackson. 'There was kind of a lot of chirping from our dugout, which I really didn't like in the situation,' Judge said. New York led 6-0 at the time. Judge hit a pair of solo homers, putting the Yankees ahead in the first inning with an opposite-field shot to right against Alek Manoah (1-4) and extending New York's lead to seven in the eighth. Judge had three RBIs and reached base five times.

⚾MLB Angels 9 Orioles 5 Shohei Ohtani became the first starting pitcher since 1964 to reach base five times in a game as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-5 Monday night. Ohtani (5-1) had four hits and a walk to make up for his shaky pitching outing in which he allowed five runs in seven innings.  He hit a 456-foot, three-run homer and finished a double shy of the cycle on a night the Orioles tagged him for three home runs.

⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Yankees 7 Blue Jays 4
  • Giants 6 Phillies 3
  • Nationals 10 Mets 3
  • Angels 9 Orioles 5
  • Mariners 10 Red Sox 1
  • Cardinals 18 Brewers 1
  • Braves 12 12 Rangers 0
  • Astros 6 Cubs 4
  • Rockies 9 Reds 8
  • Diamondback 5 Athletics 2
  • Padres 4 Royals 0
  • Dodgers 9 Twins 8

⚾A'S REACH DEAL FOR LAS VEGAS STADIUM: The Oakland Athletics have reached an agreement to build a potential $1.5billion Stadium on the Tropicana hotel site along the Las Vegas Strip. Bally's and Gaming & Leisure Properties made the announcement Monday for a 30,000-seat stadium on the 35-acre site. The project is expected to cost about $1.5bn, and the A's are asking for nearly $400million in public support from the Nevada Legislature, which could vote on a proposal this week.

🏈EX-FALCON, COLTS QB MATT RYAN JOINS CBS SPORTS AS ANALYST: Veteran quarterback Matt Ryan, who was released by the Colts in March after one season in Indianapolis, has joined CBS Sports as an NFL analyst, the network said Monday. Ryan, who will turn 38 on Wednesday, will work as both a studio and game analyst across all CBS Sports platforms.

🏀JA MONT CALLED NBA FOOL: Former NBA player Kwame Brown has blasted Ja Morant after the Memphis Grizzlies star's second gun incident in two months. Morant, 23, appeared in an Instagram video with a friend over the weekend waving a pistol in his hand, two months after he filmed himself doing the same thing in a Denver strip club.  He was suspended for eight games after that incident and attended a counselling course, later admitting that his behavior had been a distraction for his Memphis Grizzlies team in the NBA. 

🏀76ERS COACH DOC RIVERS INTENDS TO RETURN NEXT SEASON; JAMES HARDEN HAS YET TO MULL HIS FUTURE: After losing in the Eastern Conference semifinals for a third year in a row, Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers said he intends to return as the team's coach next season, while Sixers guard James Harden said he hadn't begun to think about what his offseason decision-making process would be like ahead of determining whether to opt into his contract for next season or become a free agent.

🏒NHL HOCKEY: Dallas Stars defeat Seattle Kraken 2-1 in Game 7 to advance to the Western Conference Finals against Vegas Golden Knight. Oliver Bjorkstrand scored with 17.6 seconds left to prevent the shutout for Dallas, Roope Hintz's ninth goal of the playoffs was credited as an unassisted tally 

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