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Tuesday, May 30, 2023

5/30 WAKE-UP CALL: Congress To Act On Debt Deal


President Joe Biden projected optimism Monday that Congress will back his agreement to raise the nation's debt ceiling as the White House worked behind the scenes to rustle up votes. “I feel very good about it,” Biden told reporters outside the White House as he left Washington for Delaware, adding that he had spoken to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "I spoke to a whole bunch of people and it feels good," Biden said. Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy struck a tentative agreement on Saturday to raise the debt ceiling until 2025 in exchange for a number of Republican demands to cut spending. As the text of that agreement became public late Sunday, both sides were spending the Memorial Day weekend selling the plan.

What's in Biden and McCarthy's debt ceiling deal?  In a last-minute deal to raise the debt ceiling, the White House was able to stave off the sweeping budget cuts that House Republicans pushed in their own legislation while keeping intact the president's signature domestic programs. The deal now faces an unclear outlook in Congress, where progressive Democrats and hardline Republicans have both criticized components of the agreement.

  • The tentative deal would raise the debt limit  on how much the government can borrow through the end of 2024, averting a default that could happen June 5 if the debt ceiling is not raised.The deal caps annual discretionary spending for two years, keeping non-defense spending levels flat.
  • Funding for domestic programs across the board − besides Social Security and Medicare − will stay the same next year. 
  • The White House succeeded in keeping intact the Inflation Reduction Act − the president's signature climate and prescription drug bill − and the president's program to forgive student loan debt for millions of Americans, at least for now.

➤DeSANTIS SLAMS DEAL: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday slammed the bipartisan debt ceiling deal. “Prior to this deal, our country was careening towards bankruptcy, and after this deal, our country will still be careening towards bankruptcy, and to say you can do 4 trillion of increases in the next year and a half, I mean, that’s a massive amount of spending,” DeSantis, who recently announced his 2024 presidential bid, said on “Fox & Friends.”

➤DRONES STRIKE MOSCOW AS RUSSIA ATTACKS UKRAINE: Russian barrages at nighttime have become commonplace in Kyiv. Daylight attacks cause a different level of terror. The Kremlin followed the former with the latter Monday, sending residents of the Ukrainian capital scurrying for cover from ballistic and cruise missiles in the late morning after a drone and missile fusillade several hours before. City officials said it was the 16th air assault on Kyiv this month. Even though Ukrainian chief of staff Valerii Zaluzhnyi said all 11 of the rockets fired at Kyiv around 11:30 a.m. were shot down, the sound of air sirens and the sight of white smoke above the city prompted the locals to scamper in fear and pack the central subway station, Tetatralna, to seek shelter.

In Moscow, residents reported hearing explosions and Mayor Sergei Sobyanin later confirmed there had been a drone attack. Sobyanin said in a Telegram post that the attack caused “insignificant damage” to several buildings. Two people received medical attention for unspecified injuries but did not need hospitalization, he said. Residents of two buildings damaged in the attack were evacuated, Sobyanin said. Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the wider Moscow region, later said several drones were “shot down on the approach to Moscow.” There was no immediate comment on the attacks from Ukrainian officials.


➤INJURIES, NO DEATHS IN BUILDING COLLAPSE: Eight people were rescued after a six-story apartment building in the eastern Iowa city of Davenport partially collapsed early Sunday evening, a city official said. There were rescues "out of multiple floors and multiple locations" in the building, which has 84 residential and commercial units, Fire Chief Michael Carlsten said in a Monday press conference. One of the eight people was located and extracted from the building overnight and taken to a hospital, Carlsten said. There are no confirmed deaths, and no people are known to be trapped in the building, he said. Davenport Mayor Mike Matson said rescuers with six search dogs worked through the night. The city concluded a search for people trapped in the rubble Monday.

➤9 WOUNDED, INCLUDING KIDS, IN MEMORIAL DAY SHOOTING AT HOLLYWOOD BEACH BROADWALK: At least nine people, including children, were hospitalized Monday after an altercation ended in gunfire at the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk, police said. Hollywood Police spokesperson Deanna Bettineschi said they received calls about multiple people who were shot near Johnson Street after two groups got into an altercation, which resulted in gunfire. Nine gunshot victims, including four children between the ages of 1-17 years old, were taken to Memorial Regional Hospital and Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, Bettineschi said. Five adults between the ages of 25-65 were also hospitalized. One of the victims was in surgery, while the rest were in stable condition, police said.



➤TARGET EXEC ACTIVE IN LGBT ORGANIZATION: A marketing executive at Target also serves as the treasurer of a LGBT organization which receives millions of dollars from the retailer and advocates allowing trans and nonbinary school students to keep their gender identity secret from parents. Carlos Saavedra, 43, is Target's vice president for brand management and also volunteers as a director at GLSEN, which supports LGBTQ youth in schools. Details of Saavedra's role at GLSEN come as Target's donations to the organization were placed under the spotlight following a backlash to the retailer's Pride month range, which includes 'tuck-friendly' women's swimwear.

Target has reportedly donated $2.1 million to GLSEN, whose policies include ensuring school staff should 'ensure that all personally identifiable and medical information relating to transgender and nonbinary students is kept confidential'.  GLSEN's policy said this should include withholding the information from 'parents or guardians... unless the student has authorized such disclosure'. Critics say the policy 'violates [a parents'] right to parent their own children]'.

➤TEXAS TO CONTINUE IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS: The Texas Senate will begin by Aug. 28 an impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton on charges that include bribery and abuse of public trust. The announcement, made Monday as the Legislature concluded its biennial session, comes after the Texas House of Representatives revealed last week a two-month-long investigation into the scandal-plagued Paxton and voted decisively for impeachment—a remarkable and swift downfall for the three-term attorney general, known as a champion of conservative legal causes and a standard-bearer for the right.

➤WHICH MOBILE PHONES EMIT THE MOST RADIATION... AND WHERE IPHONES COME ON THE LIST: Radiation can be emitted from phones which can be harmful to our health, experts have said. Apple recommends customers using its latest iPhones, including the 14 Pro Max and the iPhone SE, try "a hands-free option, such as the built-in speakerphone, headphones or other similar accessories” to “reduce exposure to RF (radio frequency) energy”. These five models emit some of the strongest radiation on the market: Motorola Edge, OnePlus 6T, Sony Xperia XA2 Plus, Google Pixel 3 XL, and the Google Pixel 4a in a tie with the Oppo Reno5 5G. Men are advised not to store your phone in your pant pockets while ladies should give them out of your bra.

🏀HEAT 103 CELTICS 84: For the past week, the Celtics have talked about how this was their chance to make history, their chance to do something no team has ever done. And when they roared out of a 3-0 deficit in the Eastern Conference finals against the Heat and returned home for a Game 7 on Monday night, it was hard to envision a scenario in which things would crumble after coming so far. But this team’s erratic, inconsistent play plagued it all season, and it resurfaced at the worst possible time. The Heat pummeled the Celtics, 103-84, at TD Garden, ending their quest to become the first team in 151 tries to climb out of a 3-0 playoff series hole. And, more importantly, it dashed the championship dreams once again.

🏀NURSE GETS NEW GIG: Five weeks after the Toronto Raptors dismissed him, the Philadelphia 76ers have reached a deal with Nicks Nurse to become their next coach, replacing Doc Rivers, a person familiar with the Sixers’ decision confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly until the Sixers made an official announcement. Nurse, 55, takes over a team that has championship expectations but has fallen short of that in the Joel Embiid era. The Sixers, who finished with the third-best record in the NBA this season at 54-28, have not advanced beyond the conference semifinals since 2001. They lost to Boston in seven games in the conference semifinals this season.

🏒NHL GOLDENS KNIGHTS 6 STARS 0: Goals came early and often for the Vegas Golden Knights as they defeated the Dallas Stars 6-0 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals to advance to their second ever Stanley Cup Finals. The Golden Knights will meet the Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers as they fight for one of the greatest trophies in sports.

⚾HENDRIKS RETURNS: Liam Hendriks made an emotional return to baseball on Monday night - less than five months after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Hendriks, 34, announced in January that he had been diagnosed with cancer and started treatment right away. In April, he revealed treatment had been successful and he was cancer free and began working up to a baseball return. On Monday, the Sox took him off their injured list for the series against the Los Angeles Angels and before the game started, made an appearance on the field with his wife Kristi as the Sox announced a donation to charity worth $104,189. FINAL: ANGELS 6 WHITE SOX 5

⚾JUDGE RULES: The New York Yankees started their six-game West Coach road trip off right with a 10-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Aaron Judge had a massive game for the Bronx Bombers - smacking two home runs on the night. He started off with a two-run shot in the top of the third to plate himself and Gleyber Torres - taking a 3-1 lead in the process. Later, in the top of the sixth, Judge hit a solo shot to extend their lead to 9-4.

⚾CUBS 1 RAYS 0: Marcus Stroman tossed a one-hitter for his fourth career complete game to dominate the Tampa Bay Rays, and the host Chicago Cubs snapped a four-game losing streak with a 1-0 victory Monday afternoon. Wander Franco ended Stroman's no-hit bid in the seventh with a flared single to left field. Brandon Lowe followed with the Rays' only walk of the game, but Stroman got Randy Arozarena to fly out and Josh Lowe to ground into an inning-ending double play. Stroman (5-4) threw 105 pitches and struck out eight.

⚾GIANTS 14 PIRATES 4: Patrick Bailey homered and Mitch Haniger doubled twice in a 13-batter, eight-run seventh inning, helping San Francisco separate from visiting Pittsburgh in the opener of a three-game series. Austin Slater hit his first home run of the year and joined Bailey with four RBIs for the Giants, who have won 11 of their last 14 games. Bailey, Haniger, Slater, Brandon Crawford and Casey Schmitt had three hits apiece for the Giants, who totaled 18, including eight for extra bases.

⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Guardians 5 Orioles 0
  • Rangers 5 Tigers 0
  • Royals 7 Cardinals 0
  • Twins 7 Astros 5
  • Diamondbacks 7 Rockies 5
  • Athletics 7 Braves 2
  • Angels 6 White Sox 4
  • Dodgers 6 Nationals 1

🏎RACING: Jumping into the crowd to celebrate a big race victory appears to have become a Team Penske thing. Ryan Blaney held off William Byron to win the rescheduled Coca-Cola 600 on Monday at Charlotte Speedway, giving team owner Roger Penske a sweep of the Memorial Day weekend’s top races in the United States. Josef Newgarden won a record-extending 19th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday for Team Penske. Like Newgarden, Blaney jumped out of his car and climbed into the crowd to celebrate the win with fans. “I only did it because Josef did it,” Blaney said. “I was pretty fired up. I don’t get that excited very often, but I was super pumped. I loved how Josef did it Sunday. ... I said, ‘I am going to go in the stands like Josef did and have some human contact.’”


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