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Air Force dangles big bucks, expands eligibility for retention bonuses
Air Force Times, National

Air Force dangles big bucks, expands eligibility for retention bonuses

By Courtney Mabeus-Brown | Air Force Times Thinking about reenlisting? Eligible airmen in critical jobs can now nab bonuses of up to $180,000, up from $100,000 in previous years, for agreeing to stay in the service. Seventy-three career fields are eligible for selective retention bonuses in fiscal year 2024, up from 51 the previous year, the Air Force said in a recent release. The new list adds airmen like air traffic controllers, cyber defense superintendents and aerospace physiologists, and is retroactively effective as of Oct. 1, 2023. How much money someone can receive depends on how long they opt to stay in uniform and their experience level. Airmen are capped at earning up to $360,000 in selective retention bonuses over the course of their career, and can elect to take the m...
Tech glitch may have overcharged Walmart shoppers at self-checkout
National, The Street

Tech glitch may have overcharged Walmart shoppers at self-checkout

By Patricia Battle | The Street If you’ve recently used a self-checkout kiosk at Walmart  (WMT) , and felt like your bill was abnormally high, (even amid inflation) then you were probably right. The retail giant has just admitted that it may have overcharged shoppers who opted to use self-checkout machines in March at 1,600 stores across the nation due to a technical issue, according to documents that were seen by Bloomberg News. The documents reveal that the issue began on March 19, and that some customers were even undercharged for items across all categories such as food, apparel, etc. The source of the malfunction was due to an “internal system failure” that halted price data from being updated at self-checkout kiosks. Walmart’s tech staff were still...
Opening statements expected today in Hunter Biden federal gun trial
National, THE HILL

Opening statements expected today in Hunter Biden federal gun trial

By ELLA LEE AND ZACH SCHONFELD  | The Hill Twelve jurors and four alternates were selected in the first of what could be two federal criminal trials involving Hunter Biden, the son of President Biden, according to The Associated Press.  The panel of Delaware residents was selected after just one day, where prospective jurors were questioned over their views on gun rights, political prosecutions and whether the defendant’s father could influence their ability to be fair and impartial.  Hunter Biden will stand trial on federal gun charges involving his purchase of a firearm in 2018. Federal prosecutors contend the president’s son made false statements regarding his use of illegal drugs when obtaining the gun and then unlawfully possessed it for 11 days.   He has pleaded...
Fauci says he was always open to China lab-leak theory for coronavirus, blames others for Covid-era bungles
National, The Washington Times

Fauci says he was always open to China lab-leak theory for coronavirus, blames others for Covid-era bungles

By Stephen Dinan | The Washington Times Dr. Anthony Fauci on Monday said he never tried to squelch lab-leak theories about the origins of the coronavirus, distanced himself from a senior adviser who bragged about defying transparency laws and rebuffed Republicans who said he should have spoken out against the 6-foot social distancing rule. Dr. Fauci, the face of America’s response to the pandemic, admitted in public testimony to Congress that there was no basis for the 6-foot rule, but he said it wasn’t his place to clear that up. He said that was a decision for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “It was their decision to make — and they made it,” Dr. Fauci told a House subcommittee investigating the pandemic. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Trump says trial, conviction ‘very hard’ on wife Melania
National, THE HILL

Trump says trial, conviction ‘very hard’ on wife Melania

By NICK ROBERTSON | The Hill Former President Trump said Sunday that his weeks-long criminal hush money trial in New York City and conviction Thursday have been “very hard” on his wife, Melania, amid testimony recounting his alleged infidelity. Trump was convicted Thursday of 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents, the first time a former president was ever convicted of a crime. He has appealed the ruling. The charges were connected to hush money payments made in the weeks before the 2016 election intended to cover up alleged past affairs between Trump and an adult film star, which he has denied. The alleged affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels occurred in 2006, just a year after Trump had married Melania and months after the birth of their son, Ba...
What Are NIH Officials Hiding?: Fauci to Testify on America’s Response to COVID-19
National, The Daily Signal

What Are NIH Officials Hiding?: Fauci to Testify on America’s Response to COVID-19

By Robert Moffit and Mary McCloskey  | The Daily Signal Expect fireworks. On Monday, Dr. Anthony Fauci is scheduled to testify under oath before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic to account for his performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci, former director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appeared before the select subcommittee earlier this year for a closed-door, 14-hour transcribed interview conducted over two days. Needless to say, congressional investigators have a lot of ground to cover Monday, ranging from Fauci’s advice on mask mandates to his oversight of coronavirus research grants and response to the Chinese origins of the global pandemic. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DAILY SIGNAL
Where’s Hunter? President’s son in court today to begin case of illegal gun possession
National, Politico

Where’s Hunter? President’s son in court today to begin case of illegal gun possession

By BETSY WOODRUFF SWAN and HAILEY FUCHS | Politico As Hunter Biden walks into court Monday to go on trial, he’ll pass a familiar sight: a large photo of his father, sporting a reassuring grin. The photo — hanging prominently in the lobby of a federal courthouse in dilapidated downtown Wilmington — is a vivid reminder of how the president’s political career and now his son’s legal travails both run through this struggling port city. For years, Hunter Biden has drawn scrutiny for his links to controversial Ukrainian, Chinese and Romanian business ventures. Congressional Republicans and former President Donald Trump have accused him of influence-peddling and corruption. But the trial — which opens Monday morning with jury selection — isn’t about any of that. Instead, its focus is ...
Trump’s New York felony conviction can’t keep him from becoming president
CBS Colorado, National

Trump’s New York felony conviction can’t keep him from becoming president

By Kathryn Watson | CBS Colorado Former President Trump's New York felony conviction Thursday on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a "hush money" payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels can't stop him from becoming president if the voters put him back in office, legal scholars seem to agree.  The Constitution imposes very few prerequisites for the presidency — a candidate must be at least 35 years of age, a natural-born citizen and a U.S. resident for a minimum of 14 years. It says nothing about the impact of a felony conviction on a president's ability to serve.  "The short answer is yes, that there's no constitutional bar," said Corey Brettschneider, a lawyer and professor of political science at Brown Univers...
‘Rigged from the beginning’: Candidates for 4th District express deep concerns with Trump verdict
National, Rocky Mountain Voice

‘Rigged from the beginning’: Candidates for 4th District express deep concerns with Trump verdict

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice It is a largely rural area of Colorado, where cattle outnumber voters and where Donald Trump won by an 18.6% margin in his second bid for the presidency in 2020. One pollster termed the 4th District "MAGA Country", for the area's affinity toward the 45th President of the United States. In rural areas of the district, semi-truck trailers in numerous communities are retired to fields and painted in tribute to Donald Trump, and it is not uncommon to see a pop-up corner market of MAGA merchandise for sale on a weekend near busy intersections in places like Fort Morgan. Whether rural or urban, there's not a significant difference in Republican opinion toward the former President in the district. So, it may come as little surprise Republican can...
President Trump still facing 54 criminal charges after guilty verdict in New York case
National, THE HILL

President Trump still facing 54 criminal charges after guilty verdict in New York case

By LAUREN IRWIN | The Hill A 12-person New York jury convicted former President Trump on all 34 felony counts in his hush money trial Thursday. But he still faces 54 criminal charges in three other cases. Trump made history as the first former U.S. president to become a convicted felon after the jury found him guilty of falsifying business records to conceal his alleged affair with porn actor Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Judge Juan Merchan set a sentencing hearing for July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention where Trump is set to formally accept the GOP’s presidential nomination. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE HILL