THE SHOW NOTES: Holding Help for Israel, Kristi Noem's Disastrous Interview, & What Is Wrong With Taylor Lorenz

Welcome! An 18-1 underdog won the closest Kentucky Derby in 28 years.

🚨 MUST READ 1: Pro-Palestinian protesters are backed by a surprising source: Biden’s biggest donors - Politico

MUST READ 2: The Smear Campaign Against ‘Christian Nationalists’ - WSJ (paywall)

🔥 OUCH: Here are the best lines from The Roast of Tom Brady on Netflix last night.

🚨 BREAKING: Columbia just canceled its commencement ceremony.

STORM: 70 million at risk of severe storms, "intense" tornadoes possible Monday - Axios

🚨 Yikes: Confidence in Biden Economic Stewardship Historically Low - Gallup

The Show Notes is my blueprint for radio but is only for subscribers. You can subscribe and listen here.

Holding Help for Israel

Axios (and only Axios) is reporting that the Biden administration put a hold on a US ammunition shipment to Israel last week according to two Israeli sources. The Pentagon, White House, and State Department have all refused to comment.

Context: The White House has been feverishly brokering a ceasefire deal through the Qataris in Egypt that appears to have been rejected by Hamas. The result is that as mass anti-Israel protests on college campuses continue to engulf the US, the Israeli military is preparing to invade Rafah where the remaining hostages are located. More than 110,000 Palestinians in eastern Rafah have received evacuation orders as an invasion appears imminent.

Netanyahu: Prime Minister Netanyahu hinted at tensions between Israel and the White House on Holocaust Remembrance Day saying, "In the terrible Holocaust, there were great world leaders who stood by idly; therefore, the first lesson of the Holocaust is: If we do not defend ourselves, nobody will defend us. And if we need to stand alone, we will stand alone." The noteworthy quote came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a “tough talk” during a visit with Netanyahu last week.

Hamas: The primary border crossing where humanitarian aid flows into Gaza was attacked by Hamas resulting in the deaths of Israeli soldiers and the closure of the crossing. A similar attack occurred on a pier being built to supply humanitarian aid last week.

Funding: George Soros, Bill Gates, Nick Pritzker, and David Rockefeller Jr. are four of the primary funders behind the nationwide anti-Israel protests on college campuses. The four individuals fund progressive nonprofit entities that have paid protestors, purchased signs and organized anti-Israel riots on college campuses across the nation.

Sources: Axios, NYT, The Guardian, Politico

Kristi Noem's Disastrous Interview

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem had a disastrous interview on Face The Nation that somehow kept getting worse. Watch:

Taylor Lorenz Says Gay People Don’t Have Freedom Under Hamas Just Like Texas

Judge Finds Trump Violated Gag Order Again, Threatens Jail

A New York judge on Monday found Donald Trump violated the gag order in his hush-money trial for a tenth time and threatened to jail the former president if he continued to do so.

The ruling comes in response to prosecutors’ allegations that Trump violated the gag order four times, including in the courthouse hallway. The judge found that Trump had done so in one of the four instances—when he claimed the jury was mostly Democrats and that it was picked too quickly.

“Going forward, this court will have to consider a jail sanction,” Justice Juan Merchan said in court. The judge said the last thing he wanted to do was jail a former and possibly next president, but that the violations were a direct attack on the rule of law.

Full story at WSJ (paywall).

Russia plotting sabotage across Europe, intelligence agencies warn

European intelligence agencies have warned their governments that Russia is plotting violent acts of sabotage across the continent as it commits to a course of permanent conflict with the west. 

Russia has already begun to more actively prepare covert bombings, arson attacks and damage to infrastructure on European soil, directly and via proxies, with little apparent concern about causing civilian fatalities, intelligence officials believe. 

While the Kremlin’s agents have a long history of such operations — and launched attacks sporadically in Europe in recent years — evidence is mounting of a more aggressive and concerted effort, according to assessments from three different European countries shared with the Financial Times. 

Full story at Financial Times (paywall).

Trending news:

• 🚨 Gunman arrested after trying to shoot Pennsylvania pastor during church sermon in wild caught-on-camera moment - NY Post

• Kyle Larson Wins By .001 Seconds In NASCAR's Closest Finish Ever - Barstool

• 🔥 Reporter stunned by Biden voters' comments on economy: 'Nostalgia for Trump years... really shocking to me' - Fox News

• 🚨 ABC News President Kim Godwin Is Stepping Down - WSJ (free)

• 🔥 Trump's real-time reviews of 2024 VP possibles and other surrogates - Axios

• The Collapse of the News Industry Is Taking Its Soul Down With It - Politico

• U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar Charged with Bribery and Acting as a Foreign Agent - DOJ

• A missing New Mexico infant has been found and a suspect in her disappearance is in custody, FBI says - CNN

• Bodies of murdered Australian, US surfers identified in Mexico - Yahoo

• 🔥 At $2 Million Per Minute, Treasuries Mint Cash Like Never Before - Bloomberg (free)

• Democrats prepare to go on the offensive on immigration in the coming weeks - NBC

• Households Wince at the Rising Price of Going Green - WSJ (paywall)

Market snapshot: