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Lawyer, doctor, body man, bookkeeper: Joe Biden’s personal aides get involved in his relatives’ business dealings
National, Politico

Lawyer, doctor, body man, bookkeeper: Joe Biden’s personal aides get involved in his relatives’ business dealings

By BEN SCHRECKINGER | Politico For years, Joe Biden shared a bookkeeper with his son, Hunter. He also shared a personal lawyer with his brother, Jim. And when Jim Biden wanted to know more about one of Hunter Biden’s associates, he hired the former head of Joe Biden’s Secret Service detail to investigate. Since 2019, Joe Biden has repeatedly distanced himself from his family’s business dealings, saying that he has never so much as discussed them with his relatives or with anyone else. But House impeachment inquiry interviews, public records and emails reviewed by POLITICO show that members of his inner circle were regularly enmeshed in those dealings: Many of the president’s closest staffers and advisers have doubled as his relatives’ business associates, both during and after their ...
Treasury secretary blames labor unions for blocking return-to-work at IRS
National, The Washington Times

Treasury secretary blames labor unions for blocking return-to-work at IRS

By Stephen Dinan | The Washington Times  The IRS is struggling to get its employees back to work in person at least 50% of the time, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the agency’s labor union is the chief hurdle. In striking testimony to Congress, Ms. Yellen suggested that the department could have to renegotiate the contracts to get those employees back to their desks more often. “Some of the employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. They’re members of a union and to enforce those rules requires an agreement with the union,” she told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Air Force’s top leaders urge unity, patience in face of changes
Air Force Times, National

Air Force’s top leaders urge unity, patience in face of changes

By Rachel S. Cohen | The Air Force Times Four months after Air Force leaders rolled out a slew of initiatives aimed at readying troops to compete with China, they’re grappling with the most difficult part of change: turning ideas into reality. As the service hashes out the details of its future force, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvinand Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David Flosi are urging airmen to stick together and trust the process. “I have been through many chief of staff transitions and watched how the Air Force is trying to find its way forward,” Allvin said in a joint interview with Flosi in early May. “Sometimes you don’t need a new thing; sometimes you just need to follow through on the old things.” READ THE FULL STORY AT THE AIR FORCE TIMES...
Steve Bannon, one time Trump advisor, will be in prison on Independence Day as he appeals contempt case
National, THE HILL

Steve Bannon, one time Trump advisor, will be in prison on Independence Day as he appeals contempt case

By ZACH SCHONFELD | The Hill A federal judge ordered Steve Bannon, the one-time adviser to former President Trump, to begin his four-month prison sentence in July as he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction.  U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols agreed with prosecutors at a Wednesday hearing, ordering Bannon must self-surrender by July 1 since his bid to overturn his conviction was rejected by a three-judge appeals panel last month.  “The government’s motion is granted,” said Nichols, a Trump appointee. Bannon had opposed the move, insisting he will appeal all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary, and arguing he should remain free in the meantime. Bannon was found guilty in 2022 of failing to appear for a deposition ordered by the now-disba...
Under new CEO, major changes could be realized at Costco
National, The Street

Under new CEO, major changes could be realized at Costco

By Daniel Kline | The Street Costco has been almost stubborn in how slow it has been to adopt new technology. The company embraced the internet years after rivals like Walmart and Target, and it remains well behind them when it comes to its digital presence. That was due to a longstanding belief by company leadership that members did not want money to be spent on technology that could instead go into keeping prices low. It's not that the warehouse club ignored the internet and advances like guaranteed two-day, then one-day, and now same-day delivery, it just didn't see the need to invest in the required infrastructure. Costco (COST) has been clever in adding features like same-day delivery by partnering with Instacart, and it has slowly improved its website, both in what it sells ...
DOD failed to share rules on partisan politics with service members before election season
Air Force Times, National

DOD failed to share rules on partisan politics with service members before election season

By Nikki Wentling | The Air Force Times The Pentagon failed to properly train and guide troops about off-limits political activities ahead of the 2024 presidential election season, a federal watchdog said. The lack of communication about Pentagon policies means service members may be prone to violating rules they don’t know exist and portraying the Defense Department as politically partisan, the DOD’s Office of Inspector General argued in a report published May 28. The IG asked the Pentagon to share a memorandum immediately with all service members to outline what they can’t do during a presidential election. A Pentagon policy adopted in 2008 encourages service members to vote, serve as election officials and sign political petitions as private citizens, rather than as represen...
Sloan: After DA Alvin Bragg’s unorthodox case against Donald Trump, now what?
Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice

Sloan: After DA Alvin Bragg’s unorthodox case against Donald Trump, now what?

By Kelly Sloan | Contributing Columnist, Rocky Mountain Voice It is pretty much universally accepted, at least quietly and with furtive glances, that Manhattan Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump was… er… unorthodox, to say the least.  The legal gymnastics required to take a misdemeanor for which the statute of limitations has long since expired and transmogrify it into 34 felonies are almost disturbingly impressive. They are similar, in reverse, to the circumlocutions that liberal DA’s go through to reduce charges and keep real criminals out of jail. It’s nearly impossible, for instance, to get convicted of a felony and get sentenced to prison in Denver, the local appetite being more geared towards pleading down to misdemeanors whatever crimes the Colo...
Hunter Biden was using drugs around the time he bought a gun, ex-partner and sister-in-law Hallie says
National, Politico

Hunter Biden was using drugs around the time he bought a gun, ex-partner and sister-in-law Hallie says

bY BEN FEUERHERD and BETSY WOODRUFF SWAN | Politico  Hunter Biden’s sister-in-law and former romantic partner, Hallie Biden, took the stand at his trial on gun-related charges Thursday and told jurors she believed he was using crack cocaine around the time he bought a pistol in the fall of 2018. Federal prosecutors asked Hallie about a series of text messages she exchanged with Hunter in the days after he bought a Colt revolver on Oct. 12, 2018. In the texts, Hunter said he was “waiting for a dealer named Mookie” and said he was “sleeping on a car smoking crack.” The texts, along with Hallie’s testimony, are pivotal evidence as prosecutors try to prove that Hunter was an active drug user when he purchased the firearm. Special counsel David Weiss has charged the president’s son ...
Thanks to Title IX, I was a champion gymnast. Now it’s been corrupted
Commentary, National

Thanks to Title IX, I was a champion gymnast. Now it’s been corrupted

By JENNIFER SEY | Sey Everything Substack Fifty-two years ago this month, Title IX was enacted to prohibit sex discrimination in educational programs and activities at institutions that receive federal funding. And for all of its wide-reaching impacts, it is best known for mandating equality in sports between the sexes. This was predicated on the commonsense truth that men and women are biologically different, and without sex-based categories in sports, girls and women would never have the opportunity to compete on an equal playing field. Title IX changed the game for young women, unleashing opportunities for them that had never existed. As of 1972 there were about 300,000 women and girls playing college and high school sports in the U.S. Female ...
Dozens of energy groups ask Congress to overturn Biden’s green power plant rules
National, The Daily Signal

Dozens of energy groups ask Congress to overturn Biden’s green power plant rules

By Nick Pope  | The Daily Signal Dozens of energy policy and advocacy groups are pushing Congress to repeal one of President Joe Biden’s signature climate policies. A coalition of more than 40 organizations signed on to a letter being circulated Thursday to lawmakers, taking aim at the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently finalized emissions-reduction regulations for coal-fired and new natural gas power plants. The letter urges lawmakers to back expected resolutions from Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Rep. Troy Balderson, R-Ohio, that would overturn the rules using the Congressional Review Act, a tool allowing lawmakers to overturn certain federal regulatory actions. The EPA’s rules, finalized in April, require many existing coal plants a...