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NewsNation Chief Washington Anchor and On Balance host Leland Vittert was a foreign correspondent for four years in Jerusalem. He gives you an early look at tonight's 9 p.m. ET show, delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign of the times 📰: Vanity Fair hired a new editor to rebrand the magazine and connect with average Americans.

📷 One thing the new editor floated internally is a cover of Melania Trump.
You know, the first lady and former supermodel.
- Besides Melania Trump, over the past two decades, every first lady has been given a magazine cover and feature.
- Both Democratic and Republican first ladies.
📣 The staff revolted over their new editor's pitch.
- 📰 Some even threatened to quit their jobs and ran to tell The Daily Mail their thoughts:
  - 🚪"I will walk out the motherf***ing door, and half my staff will follow me," said one mid-level employee.
  - 🛒 "If I have to work bagging groceries at Trader Joe's, I'll do it," said another staffer.
Thought bubble 💭: The late great Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir once said, "Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us."
- Perhaps the same could be said for America's elite these days — they might return to power when they love America more than they hate Trump.

Taking the Bait 🎣

President Trump keeps on getting Democrats to take the bait on common sense issues that an overwhelming majority of Americans support.

Flag burning 🔥: The Left's latest battle is defending people who burn the American flag in protest — just because Trump signed an order to crack down on flag burning.
Immigration 🌎: Common-sense Americans support deporting criminals and closing the border — yet Democrats continue to fight Trump on this losing issue.
Crime 🚔 : Instead of embracing help from federal law enforcement, Democrats in D.C. and now Chicago are fighting against making their cities safer.
Whatever Trump is against, they are for.
- Full fangirl 📺: MSNBC's Rachel Maddow said someone should "shoot that right into my veins" after playing a clip of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's anti-Trump press conference yesterday.

In their shoes 👟: For those who live on the South Side of Chicago or Anacostia in D.C. and can't let their kids leave the house without fear of them being shot in a drive-by shooting, cracking down on crime is the top issue they care about.

Last night 📹: In addition to another murder in Chicago, click here to watch this video of a mob assaulting a police officer just trying to make an arrest.
- 🚔 You think those cops don't want help?
- The mayor doesn't.
- Watch 🎤: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson thought he would get a softball interview with "Morning Joe" on MSNBC — evidently, he needs teeball.
  - 🚔 Joe Scarborough had to ask him three times if 5,000 cops would help.
  - 🏡 Mayor Johnson said free housing would help more.
- Worldview 🌎: Progressives still believe people wouldn't commit crime if there were more free stuff.
Also last night 📺: Ameshia Cross told us on the program that Black and Brown communities are terrified of the new law enforcement presence.
- Fair question 💭: What's the biggest risk to minority communities — drive-bys and gang violence or more cops on the beat?
👮🏻‍♂️ When Democrats fight Trump's crackdown on crime, it makes them look like they don't care about their constituents.
- 🗳️ These are the voters they need to win back, but they're just pushing them farther away.
Worth a read 📰: "Trump is wrong about crime – but right about the fear of it," writes Austin Sarat of The Guardian in his latest op-ed.
- "But however you measure it, fear of crime is not just a District of Columbia problem. In New York City, 75% of residents say that crime is a serious problem … National surveys suggest that 'Americans' fear of crime is at a 30-year high'. Other survey evidence highlights the fact that '73% say crime has 'some' or 'major' impact on how they live their lives.' Among Black and Hispanic Americans, that number is even higher," Sarat writes.
More 📰: Politico's Rachel Bade agrees that Democrats need to listen to how voters feel about crime.
- "Trump Is Leaning in on Crime. Democrats Need a Better Response — and Fast," Bade headlines.
  - 📝 "The problem is that while some voters might not like overtly political power grabs, history shows they dislike feeling unsafe even more. Expanding homeless encampments and drug overdoses in plain view have left many of them fearful."
Yet when Dems do it: One Democrat seems to see how big the issue of crime is — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
- 📰 "Gov. Kathy Hochul touts anti-crime results as Trump presses blue states," Politico reports.
  - 📝 "Gov. Kathy Hochul's war on shoplifting is starting to show results — just as President Donald Trump is using the weight of the federal government to crack down on urban crime in blue states. Hochul today will announce her efforts to combat retail theft — bolstered penalties and more money for cops and prosecutors — have paid dividends."

Watch tonight 📺: Cenk Uygur of "The Young Turks" on why Democrats are falling for Trump's trap on the issue of crime.

ChatGPT = Bad Therapy 🤖

🤖 Young people — especially young men — are so lonely that they are turning to the artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT.

And ChatGPT is (allegedly) telling these teens to kill themselves.
- Read 📰: "A Teen Was Suicidal. ChatGPT Was the Friend He Confided In," headlines The New York Times.
  - "At first, Adam Raine, 16, used ChatGPT for schoolwork, but then he started discussing plans to end his life."
- Thought bubble 💭: AI is not only taking people's jobs, it's taking kids' lives.
Warning 🚨: New data on how Gen Z feels is shocking.
- 📈 8 in 10 Gen Z respondents have felt lonely in the past 12 months.
- 🤖 12% of teens use AI for emotional and mental support.
- 📉 Less than half of teens reported feeling positive about their lives.

Watch tonight 📺: Jay Edelson, the lawyer who just sued ChatGPT, plus Dr. Drew Pinsky on how to fix the actual problem of Gen Z malaise.

Hint 💭: You won't find the answer on ChatGPT.

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