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Monday, May 20, 2024

5/20 WAKE-UP CALL: Iranian President Dead


Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi dead in helicopter crash, state media says Raisi was returning from Azerbaijan with Iran’s foreign minister and other officials Sunday when the helicopter went down in foggy conditions. He was elected in 2021, widely seen as the choice of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after a career in the judiciary. Raisi oversaw the crackdown on anti-government protests that erupted in late 2022 and Iran’s first-ever direct attack on Israel in April.

➤BIDEN, TRUMP SEEKING TO ENERGIZE CAMPAIGNS: Biden and Trump are seeking a breakthrough moment to energize their campaigns. For many Americans, the race between two universally known but widely disliked candidates has had the low drone of background noise. Despite substantial TV ad spending, the president's approval ratings remain low. Both President Biden and Donald Trump have agreed to an early televised debate next month in an attempt to invigorate their campaigns amid a stagnant race. Biden's team hopes to leverage his legislative successes and Trump's controversial past, while Trump's camp plans to target Biden's perceived weaknesses. The debate signals the start of a busy few months of campaigning, including party conventions and another debate in September.

➤TRUMP TRIAL CONTINUES: A Trump conviction hangs on an alleged second crime that hasn’t yet been spelled out for the jury. Manhattan prosecutors have framed their case against Trump as a simple story about the criminal coverup of a sex scandal. But to win a conviction, they’ll have to convince jurors that Trump orchestrated the coverup to conceal another crime. Jury deliberations in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president could begin as early as this week. During closing arguments, the prosecution will make their final push to convince jurors of Trump's alleged intent. 

NY Post Graphic 5/20/24
🎓SOME GRADS TURNED BACKS TO BIDEN:  Multiple students at Morehouse College turned their backs on President Biden during his commencement address in Atlanta Sunday — as support for the 81-year-old commander-in-chief among black voters plunges. Biden’s speech at the historic black, all-male college marked the first time he has set foot on campus since mass anti-Israel protests erupted at schools across the country. “I support peaceful nonviolent protest. Your voices should be heard. I promise you I hear them,” Biden told the graduates, many of whom had kaffiyeh, a traditional scarf associated with the Palestinians, draped over their shoulders.

Although there were no major disruptions during Biden's speech, a few students walked out when Biden received an honorary Morehouse degree. More than a dozen graduates and at least three faculty members wore keffiyehs, while one student entered the ceremony draped in a Palestinian flag.

RUSSIANS ADVANCING IN UKRAINE:  A new Russian offensive has clawed back miles of terrain near the key Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, but a surge of U.S. weapons and Russia’s inability to coordinate its ground and air forces make a breakthrough unlikely, according to U.S. officials and military analysts. Ukrainians remain under threat from Russian drones, missiles and shelling as fighting picks up along a 700-mile front. Ukrainian troops, backed by billions of dollars worth of U.S. weapons, are expected to limit Russian gains. But Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, southeast of Kyiv, could face more bombing as Russian artillery draws near. The view that Russia’s gains remain incremental in the grinding, two-year war of attrition is based on interviews with U.S. and Ukrainian officials, intelligence assessments and military experts.

🔯BODY OF HOSTAGE RECOVERED: The Israeli military said Saturday its forces recovered the body of Ron Binyamin, who was among 252 people seized by Hamas-led Palestinian gunmen in a cross-border October 7 massacre last year.  Chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Binyamin was found along with three other slain hostages whose repatriation was announced on Friday. Citing intelligence information, the military said all had been killed on Oct. 7. The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters, a coalition of hostage families advocating for their release also known as Bring Them Home Now, issued a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying that it “bows its head and mourns upon receiving the difficult news.”

🌞HUNDREDS OF TEXANS SWELTER: Hundreds of thousands of Texans sweltered in unrelenting heat and humidity Sunday as a fleet of utility workers tried to restore electricity three days after a derecho and a few tornadoes slammed the Houston area, leaving seven dead. The heat index – what the temperature feels like – is expected to increase in the Houston region each day through the first half of the week, reaching into the triple digits on Tuesday and Wednesday. The largest electricity provider in the region, CenterPoint Energy, estimated that 80% of its 2.6 million customers would have power restored by Sunday night. Meanwhile, more than 9 million people face a slight to moderate risk for more severe weather on Sunday afternoon and evening as the National Weather Service reported the possibility of a similar high wind derecho event in central Kansas. 

A slight risk of severe weather extends northward from Oklahoma into South Dakota, across western Nebraska and into the northwest corner of Missouri.


➤TRUMPERS PLAN IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN: A cadre of former Trump administration officials, Trump supporters and conservative immigration wonks are writing executive orders, policy memos and other documents in a bid to transform campaign rhetoric into policy. The goal, the people said, is to be ready on the first day of a Trump presidency to stem the flow of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border, unwind President Biden’s immigration agenda and lay the groundwork for what the former president has said would be the largest mass deportation in U.S. history. The plan includes an effort that would deport asylum seekers to other countries.

➤6 DEAD IN IDAHO ACCIDENT: Police are investigating a car accident involving a large passenger van traveling through Idaho Falls, Idaho, that resulted in six deaths. Idaho State Police are investigating a fatal car accident involving an eastbound Ram pickup and a westbound Chevrolet passenger van that blocked both lanes on U.S. 20 for more than five hours, according to a news release from police. The roads were shut down while crews cleared debris. The westbound lane was closed for an additional hour while police investigated.

➤AOC CALLS OUT SENATOR FETTERMAN: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., knocked Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., for comparing a recent House Oversight Committee hearing - that left Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., butting heads - to The Jerry Springer Show. Fetterman shared a CNN article on X, formerly Twitter, describing the details of the fight and wrote, “In the past, I've described the U.S. House as The Jerry Springer Show. Today, I'm apologizing to The Jerry Springer Show.” The hearing descended into chaos after Greene attacked Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, saying she was wearing “fake eyelashes.” The comments immediately drew outrage from Ocasio-Cortez who criticized Greene for her remarks and demanded she apologize.

➤ILLEGALS PRIVACY RIGHTS OUTWEIGH PUBLIC'S RIGHT TO KNOW: DHS says privacy interests of illegal on terror watch list outweigh public's right to know . . . The Biden administration has refused to reveal the nationalities of individuals on the terrorist watchlist who were arrested crossing the border — on the same day it was revealed that an illegal immigrant on the list was arrested for attempting to infiltrate the Quantico Marine Corps base in Virginia. The Department of Homeland Security denied a Freedom Of Information Act request for the data from Fox News reporter Bill Melugin, writing, “The privacy interests of the individuals in the records you have requested outweigh any minimal public interest in disclosure of the information.

➤DUTCH WOMAN GRANTED EUTHANASIA APPROVAL: A 29-year-old Dutch woman who has been granted her request for assisted dying on the grounds of unbearable mental suffering is expected to end her life in the coming weeks, fueling a debate across Europe over the issue. Zoraya ter Beek received the final approval recently for assisted dying after a three-and-a-half-year process under a law passed in the Netherlands in 2002. Her case has caused controversy as assisted dying for people with psychiatric illnesses in the Netherlands has risen. In 2010, there were two cases involving psychiatric suffering; in 2023, there were 138: 1.5% of the 9,068 euthanasia deaths.

⚾PADRES POUND BRAVES:  Yu Darvish pitched seven shutout innings, extending his scoreless streak to 25 innings, and earned his 200th professional victory on Sunday as the visiting San Diego Padres hammered the Atlanta Braves 9-1. It was the 107th win in the major leagues for Darvish, who won 93 times in Japan. Hiroki Huroda (203) and Hideo Nomo (201) also won 200 games between the major leagues and Japan. Darvish (4-1) allowed only two hits and one walk and struck out a season-high nine. He retired the last 13 batters he faced after a two-out walk in the third inning to Ronald Acuna Jr. He has not allowed a run since missing 12 games on the injured list with neck tightness.

⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Blue Jays 5 Rays 2
  • Yankees 7 White Sox 2
  • Phillies 11 Nationals 5
  • Padres 9 Braves 1
  • Dodgers 3 Reds 2
  • D-Backs 6 Tigers 4
  • Giants 4 Rockies 1
  • Angels 4 Rangers 1
  • Pirates 3 Cubs 2
  • Royals 8 Athletics 4
  • Astros 9 Brewers 4
  • Guardians 5 Twins 2
  • Mets 7 Marlins 3
  • Orioles 6 Mariners 3
  • Red Sox 11 Cardinals 3

🏀NBA SCORES

  • Timberwolves 98 Nuggets 90
  • Pacers 130 Knicks 109
🠊The Timberwolves are headed to the Western Conference finals for the first time in 20 years after winning in Denver for the third time in the series. Minnesota won Game 7 against the Sacramento Kings in a second-round playoff series in 2004 to reach the conference finals. The Timberwolves, the No. 3 seed, face the fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.

🠊The Pacers put on an offensive show from the start. Every shot the Pacers took they made. While that’s figuratively speaking, it wasn’t that far from being literally true. They made 10 of their first 11 shots, 20 of their first 25 and 26 of their first 32, including 8-for-11 on 3s for a 54-32 lead.

🏒NHL SCORES

  • Oilers 5 Canucks 1
🠊Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard both had a goal and two assists to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a 5-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, sending their Western Conference semifinal series to a winner-take-all Game 7.

🏌SCHAUFFELE WINS FIRST MAJOR: Xander Schauffele, for the first time in his career, is a major winner. Schauffele held off charges Sunday by Viktor Hovland, who was also seeking his first major title, and Bryson DeChambeau to win the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky with a record-setting score of 21-under par.

➤MONDAY'S WEATHER:





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