Tuesday, June 4, 2024

June 4, 2024

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Hunter Biden gun trial jurors seated . . . Twelve jurors and four alternates were chosen Monday to decide Hunter Biden's fate in the case against the first son related to a 2018 gun purchase. Out of about 250 prospective jurors summoned to the federal courthouse in Wilmington, roughly 65 entered the courtroom one by one to answer questions while Biden, his defense attorneys, and some of his family members, including first lady Jill Biden, watched attentively. Hunter Biden's wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, first daughter Ashley Biden, and Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris were also in attendance. On the government's side, special counsel David Weiss watched the proceedings. Washington Examiner

Opening arguments begin Tuesday morning.

Hunter Biden dressed down by 'sugar brother' Kevin Morris' daughter . . . The daughter of Hunter Biden's "sugar brother" Kevin Morris accused the first son of "taking advantage" of the millionaire Hollywood lawyer, The Post has learned. Dulcie Lou Morris, 23, dressed down the first son face-to-face for taking millions from her father for his legal bills. Morris, 60, is a Hollywood entertainment lawyer and Democratic donor who began paying Hunter Biden's debts weeks after meeting him at a fundraiser for then-candidate Joe Biden in Brentwood, California, in 2019. New Y0rk Post

Five things to know about the Hunter Biden trial

Politics

Trump campaign raised $141M in May . . . Former President Donald Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee raised $141 million in May, even after a Manhattan jury convicted the former president. The Trump campaign revealed in a statement that the $141 million raised was from more than "2 million donations, which came in at an average of $70.27." Roughly 25 percent of donors in May were also reportedly "brand new to the 2024 campaign." Organizations that supported the former president also reportedly raised $150 million in May. Breitbart

Turley predicts Trump conviction will be overturned . . . Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley said: "Few people outside of Manhattan have a lot of faith in the New York system right now. Former President Trump may have some slow sliding initially on appeal but many of us see layers of reversible error here, and it could end up in front of the Supreme Court. I personally don't see how this verdict can be sustained. I was in that courtroom, and I was shocked by how the court was ruling. I would hope that eventually, maybe not initially, that eventually, an appeal will prevail in the verdict will be thrown out. Breitbart

Fauci vowed to make peoples' lives difficult so they would get Covid vaccine . . . Republican Rep. Rich McCormick of Georgia played audio on Monday of Dr. Anthony Fauci backing efforts to force people to get vaccinated by making things "difficult" for them. The audio was from an interview for the audiobook "Fauci," which was released in October 2020, during which he touted efforts to make objectors to vaccination "lose their ideological bullshit." "Once people feel empowered and protected legally, you are going to have schools, universities and colleges are going to say, 'You want to come to this college buddy, you're going to get vaccinated, lady, you're going to get vaccinated,'" Fauci said during an interview. Daily Caller

Dripping with arrogance.

Netanyahu to address Congress June 13

Biden ducks strife at Democratic National Convention with Zoom nomination . . . Facing a contentious convention this summer in Chicago and rumblings about replacing President Biden on the ballot, the Democratic National Committee on Tuesday will vote to change party rules to allow them to nominate him virtually before he sets foot in the convention hall. It's a move that Democrats said was needed to circumvent an early ballot filing deadline in Ohio. However, Gov. Mike DeWine signed a law on Sunday to extend the filing deadline to accommodate Mr. Biden. The DNC is nonetheless "moving forward" with the planned virtual nomination. Washington Times

You may remember the Chicago 1968 convention. Get ready for some nostalgia.

Trump bid to remove Fani Willis set for October . . . An effort by Donald Trump to secure a review of a Georgia judge's order declining to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was scheduled on Monday for an oral argument in October, cementing the likelihood of no trial until after the election. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee declined to remove Willis from the case earlier this year after Trump and several of his co-defendants alleged there was a conflict of interest following revelations of a secret relationship between Willis and her hired special prosecutor, Nathan Wade. Now an appeals court will weigh the same question later this year on Oct. 4. Washington Examiner

National Security

Biden to take a step to limit border crossings . . . President Joe Biden is preparing to sign off on an executive order that would shut down asylum requests at the U.S.-Mexico border once the average number of daily encounters hits 2,500 between ports of entry, with the border reopening only once that number declines to 1,500, according to several people familiar with the discussions. The impact of the 2,500 figure means that the executive order could go into immediate effect, because daily figures are higher than that now. Associated Press

Apparently, his GPS is finally working and he will find his way to the border to make the announcement today. He seems to have calculated that the long-term benefit of inviting future Democrat voters into the country is outweighed by the short-term problem that current voters don't want it.

International

Israel confirms death of four more hostages . . . The Israel Defence Forces confirmed on Monday that four additional hostages have died in Hamas's captivity. The four men—Nadav Popplewell, Amiram Cooper, Yoram Metzger, and Haim Peri—were captured in the Oct. 7 terror attacks and killed in Khan Younis while the Israeli military was carrying out operations in the area some months ago, the IDF said. While Hamas still holds the bodies, the IDF said its decision to pronounce them dead was "based on intelligence." Hamas still holds about 80 living hostages, with another 43 believed to be dead. Washington Free Beacon

Biden selling peace plan nobody wants . . . Both of the warring parties appeared lukewarm toward Biden's peace plan for separate reasons. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government hasn't yet achieved its goal of destroying Hamas militarily, and far-right members are threatening to quit the governing coalition rather than accept a halt to the war. Hamas appears to be in no rush to end the war either, believing that it is drawing Israel into a quagmire that is turning the country into an international pariah while reviving the Palestinian national cause. Wall Street Journal

Money

OPEC has bad news for Biden . . . OPEC+ reached an internal agreement to prolong its oil production cuts, a move that could raise energy prices in the U.S. ahead of the pivotal 2024 elections, Reuters reported Monday. The oil cartel, made up mostly of Middle Eastern nations and other oil-producing states — is prolonging existing production cuts of 3.66 million barrels per day through the end of 2025 and extending its ongoing cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day through September 2024, according to Reuters. The cartel's deal to extend the cuts could mean that oil prices will remain high through this fall's presidential election. Daily Caller

Culture

Harvard faculty drops mandatory diversity statements in latest blow to DEI push . . . The Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences announced that it will scrap diversity statements in hiring, eliminating the requirement for tenure-track applicants to submit what critics have decried as ideologically motivated loyalty oaths. The Harvard FAS, the university's largest faculty organization, had previously required a statement from job candidates on their "efforts to encourage diversity, inclusion and belonging, including past, current and anticipated future contributions in these areas." Washington Times

Columbia University alum snubs alma mater, donates $260M to Israeli university . . . A Columbia alumnus snubbed his alma mater and anonymously donated a staggering $260 million of his fortune to one of Israel's largest universities. Bar-Ilan, the public research university that is getting the gift, described the philanthropist as a "North American Jew and graduate of Columbia University who was active in World War II." It said Monday that the donor sees Bar-Ilan as "best able to undertake the great task of expanding science-based technological resilience in Israel." New York Post

School district DEI trainer: Submit or be fired . . . A diversity, equity and inclusion trainer spreading critical race theory in the public education system – affecting thousands of teachers and administrators – said that "resistant" employees who disagree with the concepts should be fired, according to her published work. Epoch Education CEO Dr. Nancy Dome called employees who don't accept notions included in CRT, such as the existence of "White privilege," a "poison to culture and climate," and criticized equality in favor of equity. "If someone continues to resist that culture or climate after multiple interruptions, then you know they do not belong," Dome added. Fox News

Call of Duty now has #pride . . . The game released seven new weapon skins this month that players can use to decorate their guns, based on the various letters of the intersectional alphabet. Guns can now be traditional pride, bisexual, lesbian, nonbinary, pansexual, transgender or asexual themed. Furthermore, some players have reported that there are "transgender bullets" in the game that have the appearance of the transgender pride flag. Daily Caller

You should also know

Louisiana close to approving castration for those convicted of sex crimes against children . . . Both chambers of the Louisiana legislature approved a bill Monday that would allow those convicted of sex crimes against children to undergo surgical castration. The new law would allow judges to sentence offenders of certain sex crimes to surgical castration as well as prison time. Applicable offenses include rape, incest, and molestation of those 13 and under. Washington Examiner

Mourners can now speak to an AI version of the dead. But will that help with grief? . . . Eternos says its technology will allow someone's family "to engage with his life experiences and insights." California-based StoryFile, allows people to interact with pre-recorded videos and uses its algorithms to detect the most relevant answers to questions posed by users. Another company, called HereAfter AI, offers similar interactions through a "Life Story Avatar" that users can create by answering prompts or sharing their own personal stories. Associated Press

Guilty Pleasures

Miss AI beauty pageant unveils top 10 fake models competing for cash prize . . . While real-life pageant girls have turned cold on participating in the glam extravaganza, these smoking hot bots are turning up the heat. "It's an exciting [day] for the Fanvue World AI Creator Awards as we announce the Top 10 shortlist for the first-ever 'Miss AI' award," declared pageant executives in a release Monday. And out of 1,500 automated applicants — submitted by AI content creators worldwide — a panel of human and droid judges cherry-picked 10 cyber sirens to compete for the $20,000 grand prize. Top bot and her creator gets $5,000 in cash and $15,000 in business perks, as well as bragging rights as the foremost Miss AI. New York Post

Support Cut to the News

Please consider a donation to Cut to the News. You may always continue to enjoy our concise summary of the news for free. But this is a reader-funded newsletter, and we rely on you to help us continue. Let's defeat liberal media bias together by supporting conservative-leaning journalism! Readers who give $50 or more, or who pledge $12 or more a month, receive a coffee mug as a free gift. But no amount is too small. Please click here to donate. Thank you!