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Politics

Hunter Biden Guilty

Three federal felony gun charges

This nation’s Presidents continue to set new lows with historic rulings. President Trump became the first president to be convicted of a felony two weeks ago. And now, President Biden becomes the first president to have an immediate family member found guilty of a crime during their term.

Hunter Biden, son of Joe, was found guilty of all three federal felony gun charges he was facing. The 54 year old was found guilty of illegally purchasing and possessing a gun while abusing or being addicted to drugs. 

Hunter lied on the forms that are filled out when purchasing a gun, denying his use of “illegal drugs.” Two of the charges are in regard to that, with the third being the fact that he then actually possessed the gun (before his girlfriend eventually got rid of it, due to fear).

Now convicted, Hunter faces up to 25 years in prison for his crimes. But do we actually anticipate some sort of large punishment? Of course not. The interesting wrinkle is the fact that since his father is the president, again, a first, he could pardon his son at any time. The White House HAS ruled out that possibility, but apparently not the idea of commuting his sentence, which would spare Hunter from the eventually levied punishment. Sentencing is scheduled prior to election day, meaning his father will still be president at the time.

Hunter, for his part, did plead not-guilty. But the case took only two weeks and the jurors deliberated for less than three hours before handing down their ruling. 

What does this all mean for the election? Well, ironically, Biden passed Trump for the first time in a month on Wednesday. Meanwhile, another poll showed that less than half (48%) of adults approved of Trump's conviction, while the opinion on him did not change. 

So apparently, we prefer criminals. Maybe the new campaign strategy will be having your child commit a crime and hope it helps in the polling.

Meanwhile, we’re slated for a legendary TV event, when Trump and Biden, the two oldest candidates in our nation’s history, debate each other on June 27th. The two are neck and neck in the polls, with the election less than five months away. Buckle up!

World News

Cold War Pt. II

Russia coming closer to Florida

They say the point of history class is so we don’t repeat the same mistakes. But is history repeating itself with another impending Cold War?

The U.S. Navy deployed warships and aircrafts this week to track a Russian Naval flotilla after Russian vessels sailed less than 30 miles off of South Florida’s coast.

Moscow sent three ships and a nuclear-powered submarine to the Caribbean last week for what U.S. officials say will be a set of extensive military and naval exercises. These are the first of its kind in at least five years. 

The U.S. intelligence community has assessed that none of these Russian vessels are carrying nuclear weapons, if that helps you feel any better. 

Additionally, the White House has said it is not concerned by this activity from the Russians, but did still deploy some powerful ships… and they do say actions speak louder than words. 

Speaking of words, a senior administration official did say the U.S. Navy will adopt “whatever the necessary posture is to track and to monitor” the activity of these Russian vessels. 

The Biden administration anticipates these exercises will culminate worldwide for Russia, including deployments from the Caribbean to South Pacific.

Tech

How Do You Like Them Apples

Musk sure doesn’t

Elon Musk is back in the news, this time for battling with Apple. Musk threatened on Monday to ban Apple devices from his company. This comes after Apple announced a partnership with Open AI, which Musk called an “unacceptable security violation.”

Apple’s plan is to have Siri be able to tap into OpenAI’s generative chatbot ChatGPT. Users will be asked for permission beforehand and their information will not be logged. 

Musk doesn’t buy this plan, claiming that Apple has “no clue what’s actually going on.”

Musk continued his tirade on social media, posting “it’s patently absurd that Apple isn’t smart enough to make their own AI, yet is somehow capable of ensuring that OpenAI will protect your security and privacy.”

Apple, in response, claimed they are using their own AI, and the integration with OpenAi is just an optional feature. 

We’ll see if Apple calls Musk’s bluff(?). If not, Elon said that his companies’ visitors will be asked to check their Apple devices at the door upon entry. 

Remember, Musk co-founded OpenAi in 2015, before stepping down from its board in 2018. He has been a vocal critic of the company since. It could be sour grapes, or there could be a good reason why Musk stepped down and removed himself from the company. 

Since then, Musk raised $6 billion in funding for his would-be competitor, xAI, which would provide a politically incorrect counterpart to ChatGPT. 

Musk doesn’t trust Apple and/or OpenAI. So if/when this does go into effect, should we? 

Sports | NBA

A Legend Passes

It’s amazing to think that someone could be made the logo of the league, and then go on to have another 55 years of equal success in other roles. But that was the case for Jerry West, who sadly passed away Wednesday at the age of 86.

West spent his entire 14-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, playing in nine NBA Finals (he went 1-8). He was an All-Star all 14 years and was made the logo of the NBA in 1969, just before he led the NBA in scoring. 

West was even inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame THREE times: first as a player, then as a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic gold medal team, and then, this year, as an executive.

And that’s what’s amazing about Jerry West. For as great of a player as he was, he was an equally good front office executive. Which is rare for great basketball players… just ask Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan. 

After retiring, West became the coach of the Lakers, leading them to a winning season and playoff appearance all three years. Then West moved to the front office, where he helped build the Showtime Lakers of the 1980s, which won five NBA championships. 

West then traded Vlade Divac’s for Kobe Bryant in 1996, while also bringing Shaquille O’Neal to LA, and hiring Phil Jackson as coach. This led to the Lakers three-peat at the turn of the century. 

West later moved on to work with the Memphis Grizzles, where was named NBA Executive of the Year. Then he joined the Golden State Warriors, helping them win their first championship in 2015. Lastly, West worked for the Clippers, helping them to get Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

West played in nine NBA Finals as a player, and helped build 10 different NBA championship teams. He was successful in everything he did around basketball, really making him the greatest basketball talent of all-time, in some ways.

After an amazing career, West passed away in his sleep Wednesday morning at the age of 86.

Finance

Powell Talks Rates

Rate cuts look further and further away…

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said this week that “it may take longer than expected” for high interest rates to lower inflation. But did not suggest that the slowing labor market would mean earlier rare cuts. 

All in all, it wasn’t the best breakdown from Powell. He said, “we’ll need to be patient and let restrictive policy do its work. It may be that [high interest rates] take longer than expected to do its work and bring inflation down.” 

These remarks come after officials kept short term interest rates at a 23-year high (5.5%).

With inflation remaining high in 2024 so far, Fed officials said they likely would keep rates higher for a longer period of time now, after originally planning for the first, of three, rate cuts to take place this month.

Entertainment

Hot Dog Days of Summer

Joey Chestnut Out

It must be a very tough situation when the only thing you’re known for suddenly disappears. But that might be the case for professional competitive eater Joey Chesnut.

It’s been reported that Chesnut has been “banned” from the annual July 4th Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Competition. Which apparently is the only thing Chesnut can’t swallow. 

The report comes from a sponsorship deal Chesnut struck with a different hot dog maker. Which is understandable for Nathan’s to feel slighted. Chesnut is the biggest (not literally) competitive eater in the world. The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Competition is the biggest eating competition in the world. They’ve given Chesnut the largest platform, making him who he is, and yet, he wants to help promote a DIFFERENT hot dog brand? 

Oh, and by the way, Chesnut has been paid $200,000 a year by Nathan’s to appear in the contest. 

Meanwhile, Chesnut has played the victim on social media, but this seems pretty easy to understand. In fact, Nathan’s has even said they’ll drop the “ban”, if Chesnut drops the partnership deal. Something, so far, he is unwilling to do.

But, leading up to July 4th, which is just a few weeks away, this could be a game of chicken to see which side will blink first. Could Chesnut really afford to miss out on this year’s hot dog eating competition? Or has he become bigger than the actual competition by now? 

If you love starting your Independence Day by watching randos shove hot dogs down their gullets, well, then this year’s holiday may be a little different for you. We’ll see who blinks first. 

Chesnut, reportedly, has developed quite the ego over the years. Apparently that’s where all the food goes… 

Weekly Commute

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