Today’s Top 5:
MIAMI—Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty in a federal court in Miami on June 13 to 37 felony charges related to his handling of classified government documents.
“One of the saddest days in the history of our country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on June 13 while en route to the federal courthouse. “We are a nation in decline!!!”
Trump and his Republican supporters have decried the charges as politically motivated, while others see them as evidence that no one is above the law.
The plea marks the latest step in a years-long legal battle between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the former president, one that now has serious implications for the 2024 presidential race, in which Trump is the leading Republican candidate.
‘The Espionage Act has never been used to prosecute in this sort of a setting,’ says former federal prosecutor
“If a former President or Vice President finds Presidential records among personal materials, he or she is expected to contact NARA in a timely manner to secure the transfer of those Presidential records to NARA,” NARA’s website states.
However, the Presidential Records Act isn’t a criminal statute. If a former president refuses to turn over some documents or claims obviously official documents as personal, the worst he could face is a civil lawsuit.
There’s little case law on such matters. In 2012, Judicial Watch tried to force former President Bill Clinton to turn over dozens of interview tapes he kept from his presidency. Clinton claimed the tapes were personal and the court sided with him. Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an appointee of President Barack Obama, went so far as to argue that the court had no way to second-guess a president’s assertion of what is and isn’t personal.
“Since the President is completely entrusted with the management and even the disposal of Presidential records during his time in office, it would be difficult for this Court to conclude that Congress intended that he would have less authority to do what he pleases with what he considers to be his personal records,” Jackson wrote.
However, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is now arguing that former presidents can be charged under the Espionage Act of 1917 for possession of documents that they kept from their presidencies.
“That’s a totally novel legal issue,” Scharf said. “It’s never been tested before. The Espionage Act has never been used to prosecute in this sort of a setting.”
United Nations recently published three new Policy Briefs “to provide more detail on certain proposals contained in Our Common Agenda” – The UN Secretary-General’s vision for the future of global cooperation that will be decided at “The Summit of the Future” in September 2024. These briefings; A Global Digital Compact, Reforms to the International Financial Architecture and The Future of Outer Space Governance sets out a chilling course for our future.
Among the proposals are a new “apex body” in charge of the entire financial system that will “enhance its coherence and align its priorities with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” This could, according to Secretary-General António Guterres, be done through a “Biennial Summit between the Group of 20, Economic and Social Council, the Secretary-General, and heads of international financial institutions.”
This will further integrate the G20 with the United Nations into a body that can be described as an economic Security Council. It also seems like a perfect nest for the “apex predators” that runs the international banking system.
Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams has withdrawn charges against a man who was arrested when he arrived to preach Christianity at a city LGBT pride event in Reading, Pennsylvania.
“There was insufficient evidence that would warrant a charge of disorderly conduct, and, quite frankly, when you consider all the nuances of the First Amendment, freedom of speech, we also believe that under the facts and circumstances, it was not appropriate for charges to be filed as a result of this incident,” Adams told The Epoch Times. “I think that the officer was trying to prevent a disturbance from occurring. At the point that he interceded, a crime had not occurred.”
Street preacher Damon Atkins, 41, wore a T-shirt that said “You must be born again.” He held a two-sided sign with Bible quotes. One side said, “Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life,” and the other said, “Jesus said go and sin no more.”
He would have preached in a loud voice to the crowd gathered across the street from where he stood, but he did not get an entire sentence out before an officer with the Reading Police Department arrested Atkins, put him in handcuffs, and removed him from the pride event.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) introduced articles of impeachment Monday against President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing them of poorly handling their leadership roles.
The articles accuse Biden of “weaponizing” the presidency in an effort to “shield the business and influence peddling schemes of his family from congressional oversight and public accountability,” Fox News reported Monday.
WORLD NEWS
Putin allies haven’t shied away from making nuclear threats since the re-invasion of Ukraine last year, and now Belarussian ‘dictator’ Lukashenko has joined the club, saying he would not hesitate to use the weapons to deter aggression against his nation.
Belarus recently became a forward staging point for Russian nuclear weapons, yet despite claims that control would remain solely with Moscow, the Belarussian President strongly implied he has some discretion, saying he would not hesitate to use them if attacked.
China: America Risks ‘Third World’ Status over Trump Indictments
China’s state-run Global Times on Monday milked the indictment of former President Donald Trump for every drop of political advantage it could get, portraying the legal and political drama as evidence American democracy is on its deathbed and was fatally flawed from its inception.
“One problem that the earliest American lawmakers did not take into account was the possibility of elected leaders being bad people. The second problem is that they didn’t consider the possibility of the Congress failing to make an effective impeachment due to political struggles, as is happening now,” Chinese Academy of Social Sciences research fellow Lu Xiang opined, covering the “fatally flawed from inception” angle.
U.N. Proposes ‘Global Digital Compact’ to Stop Online ‘Hate’
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday touted his proposal for a “Global Digital Compact,” which would include planet-wide laws against “hate and lies in the digital space.”
“Digital platforms are being misused to subvert science and spread disinformation and hate to billions of people,” Guterres said.
“The proliferation of hate and lies in the digital space is causing grave global harm. This clear and present global threat demands clear and coordinated global action. We don’t have a moment to lose,” he declared.
Guterres said the U.N. policy brief on “Information and Integrity on Digital Platforms” provides a “framework” for a suitable coordinated international response.
Mobs Attack Vietnamese Communist Police, Killing Four Officers
Heavily armed gangs attacked two police stations in Vietnam on Sunday, killing nine officers and wounding a number of police and bystanders.
The Vietnamese government responded with massive raids on Monday morning, taking at least 26 alleged gang members into custody and confiscating both handguns and rifles.
The attacks occurred in the central province of Dak Lak, where police headquarters in two different communes in the Cu Kuin district came under fire on Sunday. Vietnamese state media described the attackers as a large group of “around 40 people wearing camouflage vests” who split up to hit both stations at roughly the same time.
Ukraine war drove biggest rise in displaced persons in decades
UN refugee agency said there were an estimated 108 million people affected globally by the end of last year
The war in Ukraine has driven the largest annual increase of people forcibly displaced by persecution, conflict, violence and human rights violations in decades, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
In 2022, the number of displaced people grew by 21%, standing at an estimated 108.4 million at the end of the year. That likely rose to over 110 million people in May 2023, with Russia’s ongoing invasion and the war in Sudan being the biggest drivers of the growth, according to a report released on Wednesday by UNHCR.
“These figures show us that some people are far too quick to rush to conflict, and way too slow to find solutions. The consequence is devastation, displacement, and anguish for each of the millions of people forcibly uprooted from their homes,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees.
The total number of refugees worldwide rose by the end of 2022 by a record 35%, or 8.9 million people, to reach 34.6 million, the report said. The increase was largely due to people from Ukraine, and revised estimates of Afghans in Iran and Pakistan.
Dozens killed as migrant boat capsizes off Greece
At least 59 migrants have drowned and more than 100 have been rescued after their fishing vessel capsized off the coast of southern Greece.
The shipwreck is the deadliest off Greece this year.
It is unclear how many people were on the vessel when it sank about 50 miles (80 km) south-west of Pylos.
But Greek officials and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) say that hundreds of people could have been on board.
Greece’s coastguard said the boat was spotted in international waters late on Tuesday by an aircraft belonging to EU border agency Frontex.
The coastguard said that the passengers “refused any help” and that none on board were wearing life jackets.
But just a few hours later, the boat capsized and sank, triggering a search and rescue operation, which was then complicated by strong winds.
The boat was reportedly en route to Italy from Libya, with most of those on board reportedly men in their 20s.
A migration ministry source told the AFP news agency that “hundreds” of people were on board. “We fear there will be a very large number of missing persons,” the official said.
The IOM tweeted: “We fear more lives were lost. Initial reports suggest up to 400 people were on board.”
The nationalities of the victims have not yet been announced. Survivors have been taken to the town of Kalamata for treatment.
Greece is one of the main routes into the European Union for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Governments Embrace Digital Identity Register, Foreigner ID Cards and Bank Partnerships
From Luxemburg and Estonia to South Africa and Vietnam, governments across the world are rolling out digital IDs, sometimes but not always in the form of cards, to serve a wide range of functions.
Cayman Islands starts partial rollout of ID register project
The Cayman Islands will start a partial rollout of its long-awaited digital identity register by mid-June.
The green light was given after the Carribean nation approved the Identification Register Bill in December last year. During the rollout, the country plans to draft regulations for the Identification Register Bill and another piece of legislation called the National Identification Card Bill, which aim to create a digital identity register and a system to issue ID cards respectively. Regulation is expected to be finalized later this year. At the same time, work will begin on establishing, developing and testing the new ID register, the Cayman Islands government said in a release.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Tucker on Twitter Episode 3: https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1668747661028081664
Tucker Carlson explains the real reasons why the U.S. Government … both sides of it … have gone after former President Donald Trump … because he “let the cat out of the bag” and exposed Deep State and Executive Branch wrongdoing that cost American lives.
Republican Lawmaker Warns Trump Supporters About Falling Into DOJ Trap
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) has issued a warning to conservative Americans about “falling for the trap” if they choose to protest against former President Donald Trump’s latest indictment.
Higgins, a member of the Homeland Security Committee, warned Trump supporters that the Department of Justice would like to have “J6 again,” a reference to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“My fellow conservatives, the DOJ/FBI doesn’t expect to imprison Trump, they expect to imprison you. They want J6 again, in Miami and in your city and in mine. They want MAGA conservatives to react to this perimeter probe and in doing so, set yourselves up for targeted persecution and further entrapment,” Higgins said in a statement on June 11.
“They want to intercept a busload of conservatives en route to protest and create conflicts during the stop. They are hoping to provoke conservative Americans. Don’t fall for the trap. Maintain your family. Live your life. Live free and pay close attention and make your voice heard,” Higgins added.
“Don’t become an incarcerated pawn in the agenda driven DOJ/FBI strategy to oppress conservatives across America.”
Citizenship fast track: US military entices immigrants to sign up
To counter recruiting shortfalls, the United States military is enlisting immigrants by offering them a fast track to American citizenship. An important part of the effort is using recruiters with similar backgrounds to those of potential recruits.
Target Stores in Five States Evacuated After Bomb Threats
Several Target locations throughout the country were reportedly threatened after receiving bomb threats.
Target stores were briefly evacuated in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area on June 10, after receiving what local law enforcement described as “vague bomb” threats, allegedly over the retail chain’s Pride Month merchandise.
Locations in at least five states were also evacuated over the weekend after receiving bomb threats, but no explosives were in any of those locations, The Washington Post reported on June 12.
News outlets in Oklahoma, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Louisiana all received emails from unknown individuals threatening to bomb the retailer in those states.
The emails accused Target of betraying the LGBT community and named the locations of four stores in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York.
Gaetz Demands Answers: Trump Prosecutor Karen Gilbert Donated to Obama, Biden, Democrats
Karen E. Gilbert, one of the lead prosecutors in Special Counsel Jack E. Smith’s attempt to convict former President Donald Trump of mishandling White House documents, is also a past campaign donor to Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and the Democratic National Committee, according to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).
Gilbert’s past political donations were flagged Tuesday by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who demanded answers in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, as well as a full roster of the staff working for the special counsel.
FEC records suggest that Gilbert, who is listed as a Department of Justice employee based in Florida, donated $1,000 to Biden and $250 to the Biden Action Fund in the 2019-20 cycle; $500 to the Democratic National Committee in 2013; $800 to Obama during the 2011-12 election cycle; and $1250 to Obama in 2007-08.
Fox News reported:
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R- Fla., sent a letter Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding information on the office of special counsel Jack Smith, revealing that one of the prosecutors on his team investigating Trump for his alleged mishandling of classified documents previously contributed to President Biden’s 2020 campaign and faced misconduct allegations in 2009.
Gaetz is demanding that the names of all the people working on the case in Smith’s office be made public.
The congressman claimed in his letter that Smith’s past work “is both highly irregular and of extraordinary public concern,” specifically “how his office is structured,” and is giving Garland until July 7 to cough up “all staff rosters, phone lists, or similar records, within the custody or control of the Department of Justice, depicting all employees hired by or detailed to the office of Special Counsel Jack Smith.”
Smith’s predecessor, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated then-President Trump for “Russia collusion,” faced criticism for hiring several Hillary Clinton donors, including the former attorney for the Clinton Foundation, a family charity that was at the center of corruption allegation by Clinton’s critics.
Gilbert is controversial for other reasons. As Breitbart News’ Kristina Wong reported, she “was once reprimanded by a federal judge for secretly recording a defense lawyer and his investigator.”
Federal Agencies Admit To $3 Trillion In Improper Payments Since 2004
Our OpenTheBooks.com auditors quantified the improper and mistaken payments admitted to by the 17 largest federal agencies. It amounts to a staggering $2.9 trillion since 2004, when the totals are adjusted for inflation.
Last year, in 2022, improper and mistaken federal payments totaled $247 billion. That’s about $20.5 billion per month, or more than $675 million every, single day.
What exactly is an improper payment? Federal law defines the term as “payments made by the government to the wrong person, in the wrong amount, or for the wrong reason.”
In other words, a corner grocery store has better accounting controls than our $6.82 trillion U.S. federal government had in 2021.
Biden ‘Doing Just Fine’ After Unexpected Dental Surgery, White House Says
The White House said that President Joe Biden is “doing just fine” after undergoing a two-day root canal procedure that upended his schedule on June 12.
“I can confirm that the procedure has been successfully completed,” Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, told reporters at a press briefing. “The president is doing just fine, and he’ll be certainly working in the residence this afternoon.”
According to a memo from his personal physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden first complained of pain in his lower right premolar on June 11. After an exam and X-rays were completed, an initial root canal surgery was performed that night at the White House by an endodontic specialty team from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Although there were no complications and Biden “tolerated the procedure well,” he complained of additional pain on the morning of June 12, which O’Connor said was anticipated.
Biden’s DHS Rewards Sanctuary Cities, NGOs with $290M for Resettling Illegal Aliens in U.S.
President Joe Biden is rewarding sanctuary cities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with more than $290 million in taxpayer money for resettling border crossers and illegal aliens across the United States.
Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is taking the millions in taxpayer money from the Shelter and Services Program (SSP) — a federal initiative launched by the administration and funded by Congress.
This week, DHS officials announced that more than $290 million from SSP had been rewarded to various towns and cities, many of which are sanctuary jurisdictions, along with NGOs like Catholic Charities and United Way for helping resettle hundreds of thousands of border crossers and illegal aliens across American communities after their release into the nation’s interior.
Biden’s DHS Extends ‘Temporary’ Amnesty for Over 300K Foreign Nationals in U.S.
President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the extension of temporary amnesty status for more than 300,000 foreign nationals living throughout the United States who would otherwise be illegal aliens.
On Tuesday, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the agency would rescind former President Trump’s decisions to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a quasi-amnesty program, for Hondurans, El Salvadorans, Nicaruguans, and Nepalese in the U.S.
A California state senator told a gathered crowd of parents at the California Senate Judicial Committee to flee the state on June 13 during a hearing on a bill which would put parents who don’t affirm their child’s “gender transition” in danger of child abuse charges.
Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, is the lone Republican on California’s Senate Judiciary Committee, and he has served in the California Legislature for 11 years. He was also the lone voice warning against language in AB 957, which a Democratic senator had amended on June 5 to rewrite the California Family Code to list “gender affirmation” alongside a child’s need for “health, safety, and welfare.”
2ND AMENDMENT
House Passes GOP Resolution to Block ATF Stabilizer Brace Rule
The Republican-run House passed H.J. Res. 44 on Tuesday. The resolution is designed to block the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) AR-pistol stabilizer brace rule.
H.J. Res. 44 was sponsored by Reps. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) and Richard Hudson (R-NC).
California’s Governor Wants to Add What to the Constitution?
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) wants a new constitutional amendment.
“Today Governor Gavin Newsom proposed a 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution to enshrine fundamental, broadly supported gun safety measures into law. While leaving the 2nd Amendment unchanged and respecting America’s gun-owning tradition, the Governor’s proposal guarantees common sense constitutional protections and gun safety measures,” read a press release from Newsom’s office.
His proposal is broken down into four parts, which he claims are broadly supported by the American people. As the California governor puts it, “The 28th will enshrine 4 widely supported gun safety freedoms — while leaving the 2nd Amendment intact.”
These “freedoms,” according to Newsom, include raising the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21, implementing a so-called “universal” background check law, constitutionally mandating a “reasonable” waiting period for gun purchases, and banning whatever might be deemed an “assault weapon.”
Nancy Pelosi Uses Orlando Pulse Anniversary to Push Gun Control the Orlando Pulse Attacker Passed
On Monday, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) used the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the Orlando Pulse attack to push gun control that the Orlando Pulse attacker passed in order to acquire his guns.
The Pulse attack occurred on June 12, 2016, and the next day CBS News reported that the attacker had passed a background check for the two guns he carried during the attack, a rifle and a handgun.
Moreover, the handgun purchase had a state-mandated three-day waiting period, which the attacker also underwent before taking possession of the handgun.
Despite his passage of a background check and waiting period, Rep. Pelosi used the seventh anniversary of the attack to push background checks.
She also pushed for an “assault weapons” ban, saying, “While progress has been made – including with President Biden’s new gun safety law last year – more must be done to protect our communities. House Republicans must join Democrats in passing legislation to reinstate the Assault Weapons Ban and enact universal background checks to save lives and bring an end to the bloodshed.”
Pelosi did not say a word about ties to terrorism, including the Pulse gunman’s pledge of allegiance to then-ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
On November 1, 2016, Breitbart News reported the release of 911 calls related to the Pulse shooting. One of the calls was the attacker himself, who called and said, “This is Mateen…I want to let you know I’m in Orlando, and I did the shooting.”
The operator said, “What’s your name?”
Mateen responded, “My name is, ‘I pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of the Islamic state.’”
Rep. Pelosi’s response to this is to ban guns owned by law-abiding Americans.
Nashville Shooter’s Autopsy Indicates No Testing Ordered for Potential Prescription Medications
Police chief previously said the transgender assailant was being treated for an ’emotional disorder’
The autopsy and toxicology report for the shooter in the attack at a Nashville Christian school in March showed no “positive findings of toxicological significance” in blood and urine tests performed, according to new autopsy and toxicology reports released to The Epoch Times from Nashville’s medical examination and forensic pathology services provider.
Nashville’s Police Chief John Drake said previously, the shooter was under a doctor’s care for an “emotional disorder” but noted that officials were unclear of what treatment she may have been receiving.
The autopsy also included a summary of physical characteristics, showing the 28-year-old Audrey Hale—who was reportedly transgender and also known by the male name Aiden—had made no listed physical changes to her body in her transition from female to male.
The 11-page document sent to The Epoch Times showed no indication of tests being performed to indicate whether Hale was on any type of medication for a psychiatric condition or any kind of hormone therapy to aid in her transition to male.
Two prominent firearms-related internet companies are crying foul over Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s (D) outrageous and expensive demands to turn over numerous documents in an investigation that both say has nothing to do with their business or business practices.
Davidson’s, Inc., an Arizona corporation that is a federally licensed firearms dealer engaged in the business of the wholesale distribution of firearms and associated products to properly licensed firearms dealers, and RSR Group, a Delaware-based wholesaler that sells firearm and accessories through FFLs, have filed suit against Ferguson in the matter. At issue is the March 28 order issued by the attorney general’s office declaring a Civil Investigative Demand for Answers to Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents (CID).
According to court documents, Ferguson’s office is investigating illegal sales of so-called “large-capacity” magazines (LCMs) to individuals in Washington since a new law took effect last July prohibiting the manufacture, import, distribution and sale of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. During the investigation, Ferguson decided to put Davidson’s and RSR Group on the spot and include them in the investigation.
There are, however, a couple of problems with the attorney general’s demand, which the two companies pointed out in their lawsuits.
“Davidson’s does not sell firearms, LCMs or any other products to individual consumers in the State of Washington, or elsewhere, and as such the Attorney General lacks authority to compel Davidson’s to respond to the exceedingly broad and unduly burdensome demands asserted in the CID,” the lawsuit states.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
The Commercial Real Estate Tsunami Just Shifted Into Another Gear
What is going to happen to our banking system as trillions of dollars worth of commercial real estate loans go bad? Many months ago, I warned that the greatest commercial real estate crisis in U.S. history was coming. At the time, a lot of people didn’t believe me and that was fine. As with so many other things, all I needed to do to be proven right was to wait. Sadly, a commercial real estate tsunami is now here, and it appears to be accelerating even faster than many of the experts had been anticipating. Just within the past few weeks, there have been several more high profile defaults, and San Francisco has become the epicenter of this crisis.
On Monday, we learned that Westfield has decided to purposely default on a 558 million dollar loan on the San Francisco Centre mall…
Shopping center giant Westfield is walking away from its San Francisco Centre mall, becoming the latest major company to leave the California city amid rampant crime problems.
Westfield confirmed to FOX Business Monday that the company and partner Brookfield Properties earlier this month stopped making payments on a $558 million loan securing the San Francisco Centre property.
Do you remember in 2008 when millions of Americans that were underwater on their mortgages simply walked away from them?
Well, now the same thing is happening, except that instead of homes we are talking about shopping malls and office buildings.
Kellogg’s Faces ‘Go Woke, Go Broke’ Boycott Calls as Dylan Mulvaney Links Arms With Tony the Tiger
Kellogg’s has become the latest company to face conservative boycott calls after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney was photographed posing and linking arms with the brand’s iconic “Tony the Tiger” mascot at an awards ceremony.
Mulvaney, a male who identifies as female, shared a video on Instagram of him interacting with and posing for photos with the Frosted Flakes mascot during the Tony Awards on June 11.
“Watch tonight for a wildly camp moment,” Mulvaney wrote in the caption, noting that his trip to the Tony Awards involved some type of partnership with Facebook parent Meta.
The post, which showed Tony the Tiger and gala dress-wearing Mulvaney clinging to the mascot’s arm, garnered considerable attention online.
Many of the reactions were critical and along the lines of the “go woke, go broke” rallying cry of those who oppose corporations pushing left-wing agendas.
“Folks, we have a new boycott to add to the list and I’m truly sorry to say it because I love this brand,” conservative political strategist Joey Mannarino said in a post on Twitter.
“The Frosted Flakes mascot, Tony the Tiger, has just posed for a photo with Dylan Mulvaney and even acted like a fan. That’s always been my line. You associate with Dylan Mulvaney and you’re done with me,” he continued.
“I’ll be dumping out my Frosted Flakes,” he added.
Kudlow on Consumers’ Research Report About Bank of America: ‘The Worst Woke Story I’ve Seen’
“This is the worst woke story I’ve seen,” Fox Business host Larry Kudlow said about Bank of America’s use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics against its own customers.
Kudlow made his comments during a Friday interview on his WABC radio show with Breitbart Economics Editor John Carney. The topic of discussion was a Breitbart report about the “Bank of UnAmerica” ad campaign launched by the advocacy group Consumers’ Research highlighting Bank of America’s ESG agenda.
“There’s this tremendous story up on Breitbart about Bank of America’s wokeness,” Kudlow said. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s, I guess, the second largest bank in the United States monitoring your purchases, tracking your emissions, helping fund abortions, attacking your Second Amendment rights, and forcing environment, social, and governance metrics (ESG) to potentially lock individuals and businesses out of key banking services.”
San Francisco Retail Exodus Continues; Westfield Mall Stops Paying Mortgage
The exodus of major retailers from downtown San Francisco continues, as Westfield has stopped making payments on its mortgage for the Westfield San Francisco Centre mall and plans to leave the premises.
As Breitbart News reported last month, the Nordstrom store in downtown San Francisco decided to leave the city due to a change in “the dynamics of the downtown,” a subtle reference to crime and decreased foot traffic.
Nordstrom was the anchor tenant of the Westfield mall, which has prompted the owners to leave the mall, too.
Fox News reports:
Shopping center giant Westfield is walking away from its San Francisco Centre mall, becoming the latest major company to leave the California city amid rampant crime problems.
Westfield confirmed to FOX Business Monday that the company and partner Brookfield Properties earlier this month stopped making payments on a $558 million loan securing the San Francisco Centre property.
The UK Daily Mail added further details:
San Francisco Centre generated $455 million in sales in 2019, before the pandemic.
Last year, sales were down about a third to $298 million.
Nordstrom occupied 312,000 square feet in the mall: when it closes, Westfield San Francisco will only be 55 percent leased.
Other Westfields are on average 93 percent leased.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Paul McCartney Says the Beatles’ Last Song was Created with Help from Artificial Intelligence
The Beatles might have broken up and gone their separate ways in 1970 but that hasn’t stopped them living on courtesy of the modern wonders of artificial intelligence (AI).
Paul McCartney revealed Tuesday that AI has been used to extract John Lennon’s voice from a crackly old demo tape to create “the last Beatles record” for release later this year.
The 80-year-old told BBC Radio 4’s Today program the ground-breaking technology was used to separate the Beatles’ voices from background sounds during the making of director Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary series, “The Beatles: Get Back.”
Jackson was “able to extricate John’s voice from a ropey little bit of cassette and a piano,” McCartney told BBC radio. “He could separate them with AI, he’d tell the machine ‘That’s a voice, this is a guitar, lose the guitar’.”
“So when we came to make what will be the last Beatles record, it was a demo that John had that we worked on,” he added. “We were able to take John’s voice and get it pure through this AI so then we could mix the record as you would do. It gives you some sort of leeway.”
SURVEILLANCE STATE
The Deep State Loves Surveillance Capitalism: Feds Buy Up Our Personal Data from Silicon Valley
A recent report from the Director of National Intelligence has unveiled that the U.S. government is buying vast quantities of Americans’ personal data generated by our cars, smartphones, and web browsers, mirroring the results of intrusive surveillance techniques and posing significant threats to privacy.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. government is exploiting commercially available information (CAI) to learn everything it can about private citizens. This data, sourced from cars, phones, and web browsers, has become so extensive that it replicates the results of intrusive surveillance techniques such as wiretaps, cyber espionage, or physical surveillance.
In response to a request from Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines ordered the report. He demanded that the intelligence community explain and make known how it makes use of CAI. The results were shocking.
“In a way that far fewer Americans seem to understand, and even fewer of them can avoid, CAI includes information on nearly everyone that is of a type and level of sensitivity that historically could have been obtained,” the report stated.
The data goes far behind simple information. It includes the thorough trails left behind by smartphones and their apps, social media sites, cars, and location-tracking gadgets like fitness watches. The report issued a caution, stating that such detailed information can now “cause harm to an individual’s reputation, emotional well-being, or physical safety.”
The report urged the intelligence community to improve its acquisition-related policies, practices, and safeguards. It also brought attention to how the intelligence community lacks transparency and oversight when it comes to the acquisition of private information.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Secret Push to Bury Paraquat’s Link to Parkinson’s Disease
Paraquat is an herbicide and registered desiccant that has been used on American farms since 1964. A desiccant is a chemical that speeds up the ripening of the crop and dries it out, which facilitates harvesting and allows it to be harvested sooner than were the crop left to dry naturally
Fifty countries have banned paraquat due to its extreme toxicity and adverse effects on health. A single sip is lethal to a human. A considerable body of evidence also links paraquat to Parkinson’s disease
As of mid-March 2023, 2,998 lawsuits filed by farmers with Parkinson’s disease had been consolidated in Illinois federal court. The first bellwether trial is scheduled to begin in October 2023. Class actions have also been filed with state courts in California, Florida, Pennsylvania and Washington. The first state court trial is scheduled to begin in September 2023 in California
The discovery process has unearthed a trove of documents showing Syngenta knew as early as the 1960s that paraquat posed neurological risks and kept the evidence from regulators
Research shows paraquat becomes exponentially more hazardous in combination with plant lectins, as the lectins help shuttle paraquat into your brain, where it induces the neuronal degeneration seen in Parkinson’s disease. Many of the foods treated with paraquat are high-lectin foods, such as peas, beans and potatoes, so strive to buy organic whenever possible
HEALTH
Health Officials Issue Warning After Man Dies From Eating Raw Oysters at Food Stand
Health officials in Missouri have issued a warning after a man died from eating raw oysters he purchased at a food stand.
Per a regional report from Fox 2 Now, the oysters in question were bought at Fruit Stand & Seafood in the Manchester area. The 54-year-old man’s death was announced on Friday via a health alert from the St. Louis County Department of Public Health.
“There is no evidence that the business did anything to contaminate the oysters, which likely were already contaminated when the establishment received them,” health officials said in a news release, adding that “all remaining oysters” from the business had been seized.
As an investigation continues into the original source of the offending oysters, a smattering of initial information has been publicly released. Per local health officials, the 54-year-old died last Thursday after being infected with the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria.
The CDC’s advice on such bacteria notes that the majority of Vibrio infections originating from oysters only cause minor symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea. Vibrio vulnificus, however, causes more severe infections; the agency estimates that as many as 30 percent of such infections are deadly. Those most at risk usually have an already compromised immune system. Symptoms from this type of infection include (but are not limited to) abdominal cramps and fever.
IN-DEPTH: GoFundMe Hosts Sex-Change Surgery Fundraisers for Minors
For children, raising money from strangers for a sex change is just a click away on GoFundMe.com.
GoFundMe is the world’s largest crowdfunding website. It has more than 100 million users and has collected $25 billion in donations for causes described on the website.
On the online platform, people of any age can ask for donations for almost any cause.
To confirm that, The Epoch Times anonymously created a fundraiser, identifying as a 12-year-old girl trying to get phalloplasty surgery to create a male appendage. After the page was successfully established and ready to receive donations, the test fundraising account immediately was closed by The Epoch Times.
A search on June 7 revealed that minors as young as 16 were raising money for sex-change surgery. Some of those fundraisers for children don’t list their ages.
The number of donations and the amount collected for sex-change fundraisers for children vary widely.
Some teens in search of breast amputation surgery haven’t received any contributions. The most successful current fundraiser on June 7 raised about $4,000.
Kidney and Gastro Issues Linked to Popular Pill to Get Thin
Semaglutide, the blockbuster drug being used for weight loss, is slated to bring in more than $10 billion in annual sales but serious adverse effects are emerging
A study using data from Eudravigilance, Europe’s system for analyzing adverse reactions to medications, found a high prevalence of gastrointestinal disorders among users
Other semaglutide patients “experienced rapid worsening of kidney function” after use
Semaglutide has also been associated with cancer, pancreatitis and retinopathy complications, including hemorrhage and blindness
Long-term use of GLP-1RAs like semaglutide may even leave your small intestine as inelastic as a loose spring, causing a potentially fatal intestinal obstruction
COVID RELATED NEWS
3 Years With COVID-19: The Real Story and Its Connection to the Erosion of Democracy
Exposing the propaganda narrative in Israel and the global community
In Pieter Bruegel’s painting “Landscape With the Fall of Icarus,” the canvas is dominated by workers going about their daily routines. A person looking at the painting must strain to find the legs of Icarus as he plunges into the sea—having flown too close to the sun—resulting in the melting of his wings, made of wax and feathers.
The message is clear: Those who succumb to hubris will ultimately become a minor detail in the grand fabric of social reality.
About three years ago, we first learned about the outbreak of the new coronavirus in China. The accumulated information and the perspective that has become evident over time make it possible to tell the true story of the pandemic, which is different from what many still believe.
The following may therefore surprise those who are not up to date on the world’s scientific literature. This story directly connects to the political, social, and economic processes that the world and Israel have been experiencing, including what amounts to a regime overthrow.
CANCEL CULTURE
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Warned for Breaking Hatch Act
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has warned White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre that her attacks on “MAGA Republicans” violate the Hatch Act, which bars federal employees from engaging in partisan politics.
The warning was revealed in a letter published by the Washington Post on Tuesday from the Office of Special Counsel to Protect the Public’s Trust, an organization of former federal employees focused on ethics rules.
Left-Wing Reddit Angers Its Userbase with Policy Changes, Causing Widespread Protests
The self-proclaimed “front page of the internet,” Reddit has seen hundreds of the notoriously left-wing platform’s most popular subreddits go private in response to recent policy changes resulting in the shutdown of multiple third-party apps.
The Washington Post reports that leftist social media platform Reddit recently announced a new policy requiring third-party apps to pay for access to its application programming interface (API), which has caused a great deal of controversy. Developers and users have reacted negatively to this change, which is scheduled to go into effect on July 1. As a result, there is an ongoing blackout protest and the shutdown of several popular subreddits.
Illinois Becomes First State to Punish Public Libraries for Banning Books
Illinois has become the first state to penalize public libraries for removing books under a new law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on June 12.
The law requires public libraries across Illinois to adhere to Chicago-based American Library Association’s (ALA) Bill of Rights in order to remain eligible for state funding.
While the ALA standards require libraries to provide materials presenting “all points of view on current and historical issues” and not to exclude books because of the author’s background or views, the Illinois law specifically focuses on just one tenet, which says that library books “should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”
The stated goal of the law, which takes effect in January 2024, is to encourage libraries to either adopt the ALA standard or develop their own polices that “prohibit the practice of banning specific books or resources.”
“Young people shouldn’t be kept from learning about the realities of our world,” Pritzker said at a bill-signing ceremony at a Chicago library, surrounded by a display of titles that have been pulled from school libraries across the United States at the requests of concerned parents, such as “All Boys Aren’t Blue” and “Gender Queer.”
“All Boys Aren’t Blue,” a memoir-manifesto by LGBT activist George M. Johnson, has been removed from school library shelves in at least 15 states because it dedicates an entire chapter to describe in detail the author’s first sexual encounter. “Gender Queer” by cartoonist Maia Kobabe, which frequently appears on the lists of books challenged by concerned parents, graphically depicts the transgender protagonist’s sexual fantasies.
“Everyone deserves to see themselves reflected in the books they read, the art they see, the history they learn,” the Democrat governor said. “In Illinois, we are showing the nation what it really looks like to stand up for liberty.”
Major League Baseball panics, tells teams to kill Pride logos
Anheuser-Busch teamed with a female-identifying man to promote its Bud Light beer to cowboys, truck drivers, suburbanites, NASCAR fans and more.
It lost some $27 billion in corporate value, and analysts predict the brand never will regain its customer base.
Target plunged head-first into promotions of transgender clothing and other LGBT ideology even for children, and lost some $15 billion in value.
One analyst called the losses, triggered by pushback from American consumers against the “woke” ideology, “staggering.”
Now, it appears, Major League Baseball is trying to avoid any such collapse.
A report in the Washington Stand explained the league has been “quietly ordering teams to ditch their Pride uniforms entirely.”
Which, the report said, “signals that the tables have, in fact, turned.”
“At a time when Americans are pummeling pro-trans companies, the sports world has been working since January to put out the fires lit by (NHL) defenseman Ivan Provorov. The Russian, who triggered a moral uprising across North American locker rooms by refusing to wear a Pride jersey, was the catalyst for a league-wide mutiny no one saw coming. In the months that followed, six teams decided to kill the rainbow gear altogether, and a steady drip of skaters and goalies opted out, creating a PR nightmare for the front office. By the end of the regular season, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman admitted that the league would have to reevaluate whether it would continue coercing players to wear a political message they personally opposed,” The Stand said.
Baseball, the report said, took note, “sending a blanket ban under the radar to every team in February. The news only started circulating last week when The Tampa Bay Times warned fans that Pride Night would look different this year,” The Stand said.
The Times report said there are no “rainbow-themed caps or uniform patches” for players.
It said the new direction was adopted at an owners meeting in February, just as the New York Rangers and New York Islanders, “in one of the bluest cities in America,” rejected the mandate for the “woke” ideology.
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