THE SHOW NOTES: Testing The Next War, College Campus Riots, & Currency Collapse
Welcome! Donald Trump was fined $9,000 for violating a gag order.
MUST READ: Another US precision-guided weapon falls prey to Russian electronic warfare, US says - Defense One
NEW: Ex-NSA employee sentenced to 21 years after selling classified documents to FBI agent posing as Russian agent - NY Post
OUTRAGE: Pro-Life Advocate Placed in Solitary Confinement for 22 Days for Sharing Food - Life News
LOL: GOP lawmakers say Marjorie Taylor Greene's motion to vacate has fizzled - Axios
WHAT: Dave & Buster's to allow customers to bet on arcade games - NBC 10
THE UN IS A JOKE: UN right chief troubled by treatment of pro-Palestinian protesters at U.S. universities - Reuters
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Protests: Columbia vs Florida
Antisemitic student protestors have taken over a building and barricaded themselves inside at Columbia University in the latest escalation of anti-Israel demonstrations on college campuses.
What happened: Around 12:30 this morning, student protestors broke into Hamilton Hall wearing keffiyehs (Arabic headdresses), zip-tied doors shut, and barricaded the entrances and exits with heavy furniture while chanting genocidal slurs against Israel. They accidentally took a maintenance employee hostage who they later released. NYPD was called to the scene but upon the school’s request, did not enter the building in order to avoid further escalation.
Update: Instead of ending the takeover, Columbia University has now banned reporters from its campus.
New: The situation is so bad that a White House press secretary was forced to condemn rioters' actions. As of this writing, the situation is still unfolding. Watch:
Meanwhile, after days of warning protestors at the University of Florida, campus police made dozens of arrests and broke up anti-Israel encampments. Here’s the statement from the university:
"This is not complicated: the University of Florida is not a daycare, and we do not treat protesters like children — they knew the rules, they broke the rules, and they’ll face the consequences."
Important: As rioters continue to burn down college campuses, a new poll from Harvard/Harris confirms that students are in the minority. Four out of five US voters back Israel in its war against Hamas with 72% of voters supporting an Israeli military operation in Rafah to “finish the war.”
Related: Rioters blocked Jewish students from entering the library at UCLA - Twitter
Biden Strategy to Tame Gas Prices Is in Peril as Iran Sanctions Pressure Mounts
With only six months to go before the election, President Joe Biden’s strategy to lower gasoline prices is in jeopardy.
The administration’s soft approach to sanctions on oil from Iran, Russia and Venezuela has been key to its efforts to tame fuel costs. But that leniency is becoming politically riskier: Iran’s attack on Israel has intensified pressure on Biden to crack down on crude exports from the Islamic Republic. The OPEC member produces approximately 3 million barrels a day, equivalent to about 3% of global supply. And though Iranian crude might not find its way into US gasoline tanks, its presence generally helps to limit price gains.
The calculus is getting tricky for Biden before an election in which the rising cost of living is expected to figure prominently in voting decisions. History has shown that the fortunes of US presidents are closely tied to prices at the pump, even though they have little control over the oil market in the short term. As violence roils the Middle East, US gasoline prices have surged 18% this year—and the summer driving season hasn’t started.
Full story at Bloomberg (paywall).
Trending news:
Florida locals infuriated as spring breakers caught dumping overfilled trash cans into the ocean - NY Post
Major U.S. newspapers sue OpenAI, Microsoft for copyright infringement - Axios
Middle schoolers who protested trans athlete’s participation are banned from future competitions - NY Post
Joe Biden Faces Rebellion From Governors Over National Guard Move - MSN
A Small Miracle: A Completed New U.S. Nuclear Power Plant - National Review
Dead bodies are left behind on Mount Everest, so why are hundreds of climbers heading into the ‘death zone’ this spring? - CNN
UN experts say North Korea missile landed in Ukraine's Kharkiv - Reuters
Ukraine's bottleneck - EVRO
China fires water cannons at Philippine ships in South China Sea - Nikkei
BOJ Accounts Suggest Japan Intervened Monday to Support Yen - Bloomberg (paywall)
A Strong U.S. Dollar Weighs on the World - NYT (paywall)
Who is supplying Russia’s arms industry? - The Economist (paywall)
Market snapshot:
Nikki Haley was right about Hamas. FINISH THEM.
"Middle schoolers who protested trans athlete’s participation are banned from future competitions"
The article sighted is incorrect. Kept referring to the student as a girl. Its a boy, no matter what it prefers.
So let me correct it. "Becky Pepper-Jackson, 13, won a track and field event earlier this month that five of ( HIS ) classmates protested."
And the point is that these athletes only get to participate at that age ONCE. So he is essentially ruining their one chance they have to compete at that competition. I still say they shouldn't have to quit or not compete, why them? The boy pretending to be a girl needs to step out.
And before you think this is not a problem here, I coach girls youth sports and there is plenty of boys competing on girls teams across Georgia even though it is supposedly not allowed. .