THE SHOW NOTES: Trump Case Delayed, Stormy's Explicit Account, & Israel vs Biden

Welcome! Did a dead worm eat part of RFK Jr.’s brain?

MUST READ 1: A Thank-You Note to the Campus Protesters - NYT (free)

MUST READ 2: Congressmen demand answers after CNN report contradicts Pentagon investigations into deadly Kabul airport attack - CNN

WATCH: “You work for the Biden administration?” - X

WHAT: Zoogoers outraged to discover ‘panda’ exhibit was actually dogs dyed black and white - NY Post

OUCH: NYT Times Editor says he won't allow his paper to become an "instrument of the Biden campaign.” - SEMAFOR

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Trump Case Delayed

Donald Trump’s document trial in Florida where he faces allegations of mishandling government documents and obstructing efforts from authorities to retrieve them has been indefinitely delayed.

Details: U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon reversed course after setting an aggressive trial date for May that most legal experts deemed unrealistic. Cannon defended the decision to delay by pointing to the complicated rules surrounding the use of classified evidence in a public criminal trial. The next pre-trial hearing is set for July 22nd.

Why this matters: The news significantly increases the odds that Trump’s criminal trial in New York could be the only trial to conclude before the election. Speak of New York, yesterday Stormy Daniels took the stand and offered an X-rated account of her previous relations with Donald Trump.

Israel vs Biden

The Biden administration confirmed to The New York Times last night that it had paused a shipment of 3,500 bombs headed to Israel over concerns that the weapons would be used in the recent invasion of Rafah. The news marks increased tensions with Israel as earlier this week, the White House botched its brokered negotiations with Hamas failing to keep the Israelis updated on the details.

Context: The impotence of the Biden administration is quite telling when it comes to Israel. Last month, Biden said that if Israel invaded Rafah, it would cross a “red line” and lose support from the United States. Last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Netanyahu that an invasion of Rafah would harm US relations with Israel. After Israel invaded Rafah on Monday night, Biden changed his tune claiming the invasion does not cross his ever-shifting “red line”.

Presented Without Comment

Americans Are Racking Up ‘Phantom Debt’ That Wall Street Can’t Track

It's hard enough for central bankers and Wall Street traders to make sense of the post-pandemic economy with the data available to them. At Wells Fargo & Co., senior economist Tim Quinlan is particularly spooked by the “phantom debt” that he can't see.

That specter lurks behind buzzy “Buy Now, Pay Later” platforms, which allow consumers to split purchases into smaller installments. The major companies that provide these so called “pay in four” products, such as Affirm Holdings Inc., Klarna Bank AB and Block Inc.’s Afterpay, don’t report those loans to credit agencies.

…

A recent survey conducted for Bloomberg News by Harris Poll found that 43% of those who owe money to BNPL services said they were behind on payments, while 28% said they were delinquent on other debt because of spending on the platforms.

Full story at Bloomberg (paywall).

Biden touts his four major infrastructure and clean energy laws. Voters doubt they’re working.

Voters say they don’t know very much about President Joe Biden’s major domestic spending initiatives. They don’t think they’re working. And they don’t give him credit for their benefits, anyway.

Those are among the key takeaways from a new POLITICO-Morning Consult poll about four major laws passed in the first two years of Biden’s administration — and the impact that spending has had on voters and the communities around them.

Full story at Politico.

Trending news:

• ‘He Just Shouldn’t Be President’: Jon Stewart Torches Biden at Comedy Show - Mediaite

• East Asia’s Coming Population Collapse - Foreign Affairs

• Super-aged Japan now has 9 million vacant homes. And that’s a problem - Yahoo

• Summer box office bust? This season’s movie slate could put up the lowest haul in decades - CNBC

• TikTok, ByteDance sue to block US law seeking sale or ban of app - Reuters

• Ukraine examines North Korean missile debris amid fears of Moscow-Pyongyang axis - Reuters

• Georgia appeals court will review decision that allowed Fani Willis to stay on Trump's Fulton County case - CBS

• Record Wave of Americans Fled Big Cities for Small Ones in 2023 - Bloomberg

• Nikki Haley won 22% of the GOP support in Indiana last night - NBC

• Leader of Hamas-cheering radical activist group Manolo De Los Santos hauled away by NYPD at FIT encampment - NY Post

• The Gap Between the Price You See and What You Pay Is Getting Worse - WSJ (paywall)

Market snapshot: