Wednesday, May 15, 2024

5/15 WAKE-UP CALL: Convicted Liar Testifies At Trump Trial


Donald Trump’s lawyer portrayed Michael Cohen, the star witness of the former president’s hush-money trial, as a self-serving opportunist. The defense on cross-examination cited the former fixer’s expletive-laced rants against Trump. Lawyers have seized on Cohen’s frequent media appearances, past inconsistencies and nearly constant social-media posts to paint him as vengeful and unreliable. Cross examination is expected to continue Thursday. Cohen is the only witness to tie the coverup of a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels directly to Trump. She testified that she had an affair with him years ago. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and denied the affair. (Graphic: NY Post 5/15/24)

CONTAINER SHIP LOST POWER SEVERAL TIMES:  The containership that plowed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge had lost power several times in the hours before. The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report looked into the causes of the March collision, which killed six people and largely closed the busy Port of Baltimore. The agency is still investigating the electrical configuration after the Dali’s first blackout and its possible connection to the ship’s losing propulsion later. 

The NTSB probe is separate from an FBI criminal investigation into whether the crew or companies behind the Dali violated a centuries-old seaman’s manslaughter statute.

RAFAH OFFENSIVE STRAINING ISRAEL-EGYPT TIES: Israel’s Rafah offensive strains close to 45 years of peace with Egypt. Cairo is considering downgrading diplomatic ties and said it would join South Africa’s court case charging Israel with genocide. Israel rejects the accusation. Egypt also has refused to reopen its border with Gaza after Israeli forces seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing with hours’ notice after months of negotiations, Egyptian officials said. Israel’s military declined to comment, and the Foreign Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that taking control of the Rafah crossing was necessary to cut off Hamas smuggling. The countries still cooperate on intelligence sharing and security issues, and Egypt relies on billions of dollars in U.S. military aid that depends on the peace treaty.

➤GAZA DEATH TOLL CUT:  UN Cuts Gaza death toll figure by half, confirming Hamas lying about casualties . . . The United Nations cut its Gaza death toll figures by half, confirming that Hamas officials have been lying for months about the total number of casualties in statistics repeatedly cited by the U.N. and American government as proof Israel is harming civilians. The U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs drastically reduced its child fatality figures, dropping them to 7,796 on May 8 from 14,500 just the day before. It also revised the figures for the number of women killed, lowering them from 9,500 to 4,959.

➤FAKE STUDIES ARE BEING CIRCULATED:  Fake studies have shut down top scientific journals, forced thousands of retractions and threatened the legitimacy of the nearly $30 billion academic publishing industry. Scientists pay businesses or individuals, so-called paper mills, to list them as an author of a wholly or partially fabricated study. The mills then flood journals with submissions, generally avoiding the prestigious ones with more thorough review processes. Scientists vying for grants and promotions are under pressure to publish in peer-reviewed journals. Mills in Russia, Iran, Latvia, China, India and other countries advertise on social media and, according to one researcher, charge $50 to $8,500. Fake studies are a small percentage of submissions.

➤BIDEN RAISES TARIFFS ON CHINESE EVs: President Joe Biden is hiking tariffs on electric vehicles, semiconductors and several other goods imported from China, escalating a trade war between the two world's largest economies as the Biden administration accuses Chinese competitors of unfair practices in industries the U.S. is trying to grow. The moves, which come amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China, are designed to protect American industries in clean energy that the administration has targeted with major investments to try to catch up with China.


➤BOEING MAY BE FACING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION:  Boeing has violated a 2021 agreement that shielded it from criminal prosecution after two 737 Max disasters left 346 people dead overseas, the Department of Justice told a federal judge in a court filing Tuesday. According to the DOJ, Boeing failed to "design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations." The government has not yet decided if it will pursue prosecution of Boeing, but lawyers representing families of the victims who died in the crash said they hope to see further action in the case.

🦞RED LOBSTER SHUTTING DOWN: Red Lobster has abruptly closed dozens of restaurants across the country. A look at the restaurant chain's website reveals 87 stores temporarily closed across 27 states, with some of them having their kitchen equipment up for auction on an online restaurant liquidator. The liquidation website lists auctions for 48 locations that have closed, ending on Thursday, and that each winner will receive the "entire contents of the Red Lobster location they bid on."

➤TERROR GROUPS REBOUNDING:  After U.S. withdrawal, terror groups ‘gaining strength’ in Afghanistan, report warns . . . The power vacuum that America left behind in Afghanistan is fueling a resurgence of Islamist terrorists who have the will, and perhaps the capability, to target the U.S. and its interests abroad, according to a major report by the United States Institute of Peace, which argues that the Biden administration should consider unleashing more military strikes against terrorist targets in the country. Critics question effectiveness of 'over the horizon' surveillance. 

➤PRIDE MONTH EVENTS TARGETED?  Federal authorities have issued a public service alert warning that foreign terrorist organizations may potentially target LGBTQ+ “events and venues” during Pride Month in June. No specific threats or intelligence suggesting targets were mentioned in a statement from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. But officials said efforts by foreign terrorist organizations “to commit or inspire violence” against holiday celebrations, including Pride events or LGBTQ+-related venues, are compounded by the current heightened threat environment in the United States and other Western countries.

➤NFL PLAYER RIPS BIDEN OVER ABORTIONS: NFL player rips Biden for ‘murder of innocent babies’ . . . Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker criticized President Joe Biden during a commencement speech at Benedictine College on Saturday. Butker, an outspoken and devout Catholic, slammed Biden for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as cultural issues such as abortion and radical gender ideology. He blasted the president as someone who supports the “murder of innocent babies” during his speech. 

➤MANY MIGRANTS UNEMPLOYED:  More than half of immigrants in US are unemployed . . . More than half of the foreign-born immigrant population in the United States under President Joe Biden’s administration is unemployed, according to a recent report. The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) released a report on Monday that showed that just 46 percent of migrants who had arrived in the U.S. “in 2022 or later” were employed as of the beginning of 2024. “Immigration clearly adds workers to the country, but it just as clearly adds non-workers who need to be supported by the labor of others,” Steven Camarota and Karen Zeigler, researchers said.

➤JIMMY CARTER..COMING TO THE END: Jason Carter, former President Jimmy Carter’s grandson, gave an update on his grandfather’s health on Tuesday, saying that he’s “coming to the end.” “My grandfather is doing okay. He has been in hospice, as you know, for almost a year and a half now,” Jason Carter said at the 28th Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum at the Carter Center. Jason Carter is the chair of the board of trustees for the global charity established by former president and former first lady Rosalynn Carter in 1982. Jimmy Carter, 99, entered hospice care in February 2023.

DODGERS ROUT GIANTS: - Shohei Ohtani came within a triple of a cycle, Mookie Betts collected a triple and a single, and the Los Angeles Dodgers made it two in a row over the host San Francisco Giants with a 10-2 romp Tuesday night. Rookie Gavin Stone (4-1) extended his unbeaten streak to six games with six innings of one-run ball, helping the Dodgers win for the 10th time in their last 12 games. Giants rookie Keaton Winn (3-6) matched zeroes with Stone through three innings before Ohtani launched his first pitch of the fourth 446 feet to right-center field for his 12th home run of the season.

⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Yankees 5 Twins 1
  • Phillies: First to 30 Wins
    Red Sox 5 Rays 4
  • Phillies 4 Mets 0
  • Dodgers 10 Giants 2
  • Royals 4 Mariners 2
  • Rockies 6 Padres 3
  • Reds 6 D-Backs 2
  • Cardinals 7 Angels 6
  • Astros 2 Athletics 1
  • Guardians 7 Rangers 4
  • White Sox 4 Nationals 0
  • Brewers 4 Pirates 3
  • Braves 7 Cubs 0
  • Marlins 1 Tigers 0
  • Nationals 6 White Sox 3
  • Blue Jays-Orioles PP

🏀NBA SCORES:

  • Nuggets 112 Timberwolves 97
  • Knicks 121 Pacers 91
With backup guard Miles McBride replacing Precious Achiuwa in an injury-ravaged starting five, Isaiah Hartenstein, Josh Hart and the Knicks destroyed the Pacers with a whopping 27-11 rebounding edge in the first half — and 53-29 overall — to take a 3-2 lead in their second-round playoff series Tuesday night at the Garden. 

🏒NHL SCORES:

  • Oilers 3 Canucks 2
  • Bruins 2 Panthers 1

The Bruins staved off elimination with a 2-1 victory over the Panthers on Tuesday night at Amerant Bank Arena. This best-of-seven, second-round series will now ship back to Boston for Game 6 Friday night at TD Garden.

➤WEDNESDAY'S WEATHER:



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