Thursday, May 30, 2024

5/30 WAKE-UP CALL: Jurors To Resume Deciding Trump's Fate


Former President Donald Trump’s fate rests in the hands of 12 Manhattan jurors in his historic hush money trial, with the verdict carrying the potential to alter the 2024 presidential campaign. The jury sent a note shortly before 3 p.m. EDT requesting to review four sections of testimony from the trial, three from media executive David Pecker, and one from former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. Almost an hour later, the jurors sent a second note asking to re-hear the jury instructions. Jurors were sent home for the day at 4:07 p.m. EDT. They will resume deliberations Thursday.

Jurors began deliberating Wednesday after hearing six weeks of testimony from a parade of 22 witnesses, including a felon convicted of perjury, a porn actress, and the former head of the parent company for the National Enquirer tabloid.

➤TRUMP CONSIDERS ADVISORY ROLE FOR MUSK:  Donald Trump is weighing an advisory role for Elon Musk should the presumptive Republican nominee reclaim the White House. The two men discussed ways to give the Tesla CEO formal input and influence over policies related to border security and the economy, issues Musk has grown more vocal about, people familiar with the talks said, though they added it might not happen. It’s the latest sign that Trump and Musk’s once-frosty relationship has thawed. Musk, along with the billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, briefed the former president on their plan to invest in a voter-fraud prevention project, according to some of the people. The two also told Trump about gatherings that Musk and his political allies host to try to convince powerful business leaders not to support President Biden’s re-election campaign.

➤TRUMP, GOP FAVORED TO WIN: Trump, GOP, favorites to win White House, Congress . . . Former President Trump and the GOP are the favorites to win the races for the White House and for both chambers of Congress a little more than five months before Election Day, according to a forecast model released Wednesday by Decision Desk HQ and The Hill. The model gives Trump a 58 percent chance of winning the presidency and shows him with slight leads in most of the key swing states in the presidential race. Republicans are a more comfortable favorite in the House and Senate, the model says. The GOP holds a 79 percent chance of winning the Senate majority and a 64 percent chance of holding its House majority.


➤U-S WEAPONS MAY STRIKE RUSSIA: Secretary of State Antony Blinken signaled that Washington might allow Ukraine to strike Russia territory with U.S. weapons. This marked the first time that a top Biden administration official has publicly indicated that Washington is considering the policy shift. Blinken’s comments come after European officials urged the U.S. to lift the restrictions, and as Moscow makes territorial gains. Kyiv has repeatedly asked for permission. Ukraine already used its own drones for cross-border attacks, but they’re less effective than Western systems.

➤WOMAN MAY BE MEXICO'S NEXT PRESIDENT: Mexico expected to elect its first female president on Sunday. The ascent of Claudia Sheinbaum, a Jewish woman with a Ph.D. in energy engineering and the former mayor of Mexico City, is historic in a largely Catholic country. Her commanding lead in polls stems from an endorsement by Mexico’s popular nationalist leader President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. She is unflinchingly loyal to him and embraces his stances on the energy industry and the economy. History is also brewing in South Africa. Nelson Mandela’s party, which ended apartheid 30 years ago, risks losing its absolute majority for the first time in national elections—a rebuke for years of corruption, a stagnant economy and one of the highest unemployment rates in the world.

➤DEM CANDIDATE POSTS PHOTO WITH FARRAKHAN: A top political adviser to a House Democrat, who is running for the Senate in a state that has become a hotbed for anti-Israel activism, attended a convention organized by one of the most notorious antisemites in the United States. Democratic Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin's deputy political director, Terra Defoe, posted on Facebook in 2017 about her "full week" of "supporting the Nation of Islam and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan" at the Nation of Islam's "Saviours' Day Convention." 

➤CHINA STOCKPILING FOR WAR?:  China's rapid accumulation of commodities has drawn global attention and led some analysts to speculate President Xi Jinping's country is girding itself for war over Taiwan. "Xi seems to have studied the sanctions playbook the West used against Russia over Ukraine and subsequently initiated long-lead protective measures to batten down the hatches of China's economy to resist similar pressure," former Office of Naval Intelligence head Michael Studeman wrote recently on foreign policy analysis website War on the Rocks

➤ISRAEL EXPANDS IN RAFAH:  Israel expands Rafah offensive, penetrates to the center of city . . . Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tanks reached the center of the town of Rafah, according to multiple media outlets, indicating that Israel intended to fight outwards toward the periphery rather than closing in from the outside. The tactic of penetrating to the heart of an enemy city and fighting back out was pioneered by Israel in the West Bank during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, and later became a model of urban counter-terror warfare. The idea is to confuse enemy fighters by attacking them from the rear. 

💩WELL THIS IS SH#TTY: North Korea sends balloons filled with excrement over the South . . . North Korea sends balloons over An unusual sight drifted into South Korean skies on Wednesday: Large white balloons carrying plastic bags of North Korean trash. Some contained something even more vile. All told, around 260 balloons were found scattered across a country roughly the geographic size of Indiana. Some journeyed more than 180 miles. One landed gently on a street—the pair of balloons and a clear plastic bag left intact. Another crashed through the greenhouse roof of a local grape farmer. Many others broke apart and spilled their contents onto sidewalks and streets: shreds of pink, blue and white paper, an empty laundry-detergent bag and dark clumps that looked like excrement. 

😋STORE BRANDS ARE SELLING:  Goodbye, Chips Ahoy cookies and French’s mustard. Hello…Great Value, Private Selection and Signature Select. U.S. consumers are trying many tactics to cut their food spending: eating out less, buying less groceries and ditching name brands. That is boosting lower-cost store brands, which last year claimed 22 cents out of every dollar spent in grocery stores—the largest share ever for so-called private-label products.

➤DIRTIEST CITY IS...:  Houston supplants Newark as America's dirtiest city . . . Do you think New York’s filthy sidewalks, gross subway cars and rat infestations make it America’s dirtiest city? You’re in for quite a surprise. A recent study by LawnStarter has crowned Houston, Texas, as the nation’s dirtiest city — bumping Newark, New Jersey from the top spot. New York City, despite its notorious grime, didn’t even crack the top 10. It landed in 12th place. While the Big Apple dodged the title of dirtiest, it’s still grappling with its trash and pest problems.

🏌SCHEFFLER CHARGES DRFOPPED: A Kentucky prosecutor on Wednesday dropped all of the criminal charges that had been filed against world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler, resolving the case less than two weeks after his shocking arrest. 

Scheffler, 27, was facing four criminal charges – including second degree assault on a police officer, which is a felony – after police said he disregarded an officer's command and dragged him with his car while attempting to enter Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville before his second-round tee time at the PGA Championship on May 17. In a brief court appearance Wednesday, Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell told a judge that his office had reviewed all of the evidence in the case and found that Scheffler's actions "do not satisfy the elements of any criminal offenses."


⚾YANKEES 2 ANGELS 1: Luis Gil gave up just two hits through eight innings, Alex Verdugo homered and the New York Yankees hung on to beat the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 Wednesday night in Anaheim, Calif. Gil (7-1) allowed only a single to Luis Rengifo in the third inning and a solo homer to Logan O'Hoppe -- his sixth of the year -- in the seventh on his way to winning his sixth consecutive start. Gil struck out nine and walked two while making 95 pitches, and at one point retired 11 straight Angels. With Gil out of the game in the ninth, however, the Angels nearly rallied.

⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Yankees 2 Angels 1
  • Rays 4 Athletics 3
  • Phillies 6 Giants 1
  • Mariners 2 Astros 1
  • Rockies 7 Guardians 4
  • Blue Jays 3 White Sox 1
  • Brewers 10 Cubs 6
  • Royals 6 Twins 1
  • Nationals 7 Braves 2
  • Orioles 6 Red Sox 1
  • Dodgers 10 Mets 3
  • Marlins 9 Padres 1
  • Pirates 10 Tigers 2
  • Tigers 8 Pirates 0
  • Rangers 6 D-Backs 1
  • Cardinals 5 Reds 3

🏀NBA SCORES:

  • Timberwolves 105 Mavericks 100

🠊The Timberwolves fell into a 3-0 series deficit but stayed alive with a 105-100 win in Game 4 on Tuesday night. Anthony Edwards led the team with 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 25 points with five boards. The outcome marked Minnesota's first win in the Western Conference finals since 2004 against the Los Angeles Lakers, who later advanced.

🏒NHL SCORES:

  • Oilers 5 Stars 2
➤THURSDAY'S WEATHER:



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