Two Staff Members of Israeli Embassy Murdered Near Event at Jewish Museum in D.C.; “a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism”

Washington Post: Two staff members of the Israeli Embassy were shot dead near the Capital Jewish Museum late Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem said.  “We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share,” she said in a social media post. “Please pray for the families of the victims. We will bring this depraved perpetrator to justice.” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had visited the scene with interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro. Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, in a social media post denounced the shooting as “a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism.” He said Israel is confident that U.S. authorities “will take strong action against those responsible” (Washington Post). President Trump: These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW! Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA. Condolences to the families of the victims. So sad that such things as this can happen!  God Bless You ALL! (Truth). The shooter screamed “FREE PALESTINE” before assassinating the diplomat, per DC police (X). Secretary of State Marco Rubio: This was a brazen act of cowardly, antisemitic violence. Make no mistake: we will track down those responsible and bring them to justice (X).

Trump Hosts South African President Cyril Ramaphosa: Media Claims Trump “Ambushes” Him With Video

The video demonstrated the threats and the violence perpetrated on white farmers (White House). The memo must have gone out: Call it an “ambush.” Sky News: Donald Trump ambushes South African president at White House meeting by playing video alleging ‘genocide’ (Sky News). Axios: Trump ambushes South Africa’s president with video footage in Oval Office (Axios) Telegraph: Trump ambushes South African president with footage of ‘white persecution’ (Telegraph). CNN: Trump ambushes South African president in Oval Office with video: (CNN). Guardian: Trump ambushes South African president with video and false claims of anti-white racism (Guardian). BBC: Trump ambushes South African president in Oval Office with claims of ‘white persecution’ (BBC). USNews: Second Oval Office Ambush by Trump Could Make Foreign Leaders Think Twice (USNews). Ed Morrissey: Did you vote for this? Because I ain’t gonna lie … I voted for this. For months, South Africa has tried to paint Israel as genocidal for fighting the war Hamas and the Gazans started on October 7. That began a rift with the US that has sharply accelerated since Donald Trump took office, who responded by granting asylum to white farmers claiming to flee from officially ignored and potentially unofficially sanctioned genocide in Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration. Ramaphosa signed a law in January that allows his government to expropriate private property, particularly from farmers, based on whatever they determine is in the state interest, which has accelerated the forced dislocation of white farmers from the land.  Ramaphosa decided to visit the White House in an attempt to reset the relationship…. Trump used this state visit to stuff South Africa’s legal actions about “genocide” in Gaza right back in Ramaphosa’s face. And yes, that’s exactly what I voted for last November…. (Hot Air).

On South Africa: “The farmer issue is just the opening act”

Elaine K. Dezenski and Max Meizlish: … the farmer issue is just the opening act. The real story, and the real threat to US national security, is what Ramaphosa’s government is doing on the global stage. South Africa wants tariff-free trade, American investment, and expanded commercial ties — yet under the leadership of Ramaphosa’s African National Congress, it is actively aligning itself with the very regimes the United States is working to contain. That game of two-faced diplomacy can no longer stand. South Africa isn’t an innocent, neutral party. It is playing both sides — courting the West while deepening its ties to China, Russia and Iran. Its leaders speak the language of nonalignment, but their actions tell a different story: They’ve welcomed Hamas and Hezbollah officials, hosted sanctioned Russian warships and worked with entities tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. (New York Post). What needs to change? Start with China: South Africa has deepened its strategic relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). To this day, the CCP provides political party training to ANC officials, supports ANC-linked state-owned enterprises, and partners with ANC-led institutions in support of the anti-Western BRICS framework, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa…. South Africa must cease its diplomatic pressure campaign targeting Taiwan, refrain from further action on behalf of China’s coercive foreign policy, and eliminate strategic research partnerships involving Chinese military-linked researchers and universities (FDD).

Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill Would Finally Defund Planned Parenthood

The nation’s largest abortion provider—with a staggering 402,200 abortions last year alone. Federalist: On Sunday, the House Budget Committee voted 17-16 to advance President Trump’s “one, big, beautiful bill,” and it achieves a goal social conservatives have had for years: It finally defunds Big Abortion. No Medicaid dollars “shall be used to make payments to a prohibited entity for items and services furnished during a 10-year period,” the bill states. It defines a prohibited entity as any 501(c)(3) charitable organization that “is primarily engaged in family planning services, reproductive health, and related medical care,” “provides for abortions,” and exceeded $1 million in Medicaid dollars in 2024…. In the last two years, Planned Parenthood — an ostensibly “nonprofit organization” — earned a stunning $206 million in profit, its own numbers reveal. Much of that is thanks to hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars flowing into its coffers. Last year, the organization took in $792.2 million from government grants, contracts, and Medicaid reimbursements — over $2 million a day, and approaching half its total revenue. What did the American taxpayer receive for their generous contributions? More abortions. Fewer services. Fewer breast exams and pap tests. And fewer prenatal services. The number of abortions Planned Parenthood performs continues to increase, reaching a staggering 402,200 last year (Federalist).

NIH Director Bhattacharya: NIH-Sponsored Research May Have Caused Pandemic

“And I looked at the scientific evidence, I believe it.” From his first townhall with his employees. Bhattacharya: This is important because it’s possible—there’s a lot of controversy over this—I’m sure there’s folks in the room who disagree with me, but it’s possible that the pandemic was caused by research conducted by human beings. And it’s also possible that the NIH partly sponsored that research. And if that’s true …  if it’s true that we sponsored research, if it’s true that we sponsored research that caused a pandemic, and if you look at polls of the American people, that’s what most people believe. And I looked at the scientific evidence, I believe it. What we have to do is make sure that we do not engage in research that’s any risk of opposing any risk to human populations (X). David Strom: Bhattacharya, speaking to his employees, told them the truth. He didn’t assert the unprovable—he merely stated the obvious: gain-of-function research is dangerous, and the American people want it stopped. And his employees freaked out, stormed out, and their colleagues applauded them for doing so. Dr. Francis Collins, when he was NIH Director, commissioned a “devastating takedown” of the Great Barrington Declaration, and he later admitted that the argument put forth by Dr. Bhattacharya and others was reasonable, but politically inconvenient. He did this because the recommendations were ones he and Fauci rejected, not because they were obviously wrong or outside public health norms. In other words, the very institution charged with promoting public health suppressed scientific discussion for its own institutional reasons, not the public good. This isn’t even in dispute these days. Yet NIH employees don’t want to hear the truth, so they walked out on their boss (Hot Air).

Backing the Blue: Justice Department Drops Lawsuits Against Police Departments in Minneapolis and Louisville

“The Civil Rights Division will work with, not against, our brave police.” Harmeet Dhillon, U.S. assistant attorney general for civil rights: I have directed the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to dismiss two last-minute Biden-administration lawsuits, against the Louisville, Ky., and Minneapolis police departments. The suits sought to subject both cities to sweeping, minutely detailed consent decrees that would inhibit local policing for years, make area residents less safe, and cost local taxpayers millions of dollars…. I have also directed the Civil Rights Division to close its investigations into, and to rescind, the Biden-era findings of constitutional violations by the following additional local police departments: Louisiana State Police; Memphis, Tenn.; Mount Vernon, N.Y.; Oklahoma City; Phoenix; and Trenton, N.J. Many of the Biden Civil Rights Division’s published reports lambasting these departments also praise them for resolving identified problems. Notwithstanding our reversal of the Biden administration’s flawed and unreliable attacks on police, we reiterate that the Justice Department plays an important role in protecting the civil rights of all Americans. This includes protecting against constitutional violations inflicted by law-enforcement officers. Nobody is above the law, not even the police. Yet the overwhelming majority of police officers should be free to continue what they do best: protect and serve their communities. The Civil Rights Division will work with, not against, our brave police. They risk their lives daily to keep their communities secure—the most fundamental of government services in a civilized society (Wall Street Journal).

Parents Pulling Their Little Ones Out of California Public Schools

There are now 20 percent less 1^st graders than 12^th graders. Los Angeles Times: California public school enrollment has declined for the seventh straight year and the number of students from low-income and homeless families has increased as many school districts throughout the state face financial pressures to downsize. Statewide, perhaps the most stark figure is a comparison between enrollment in 12th grade — 488,295 students — and in 1st grade — 384,822. That’s a more than 20% difference between the size of the class leaving school and the size of the class beginning its trek through the public school system (Los Angeles Times). Why wouldn’t a parent want their precious little one in a California public school? After all, they rank in bottom quarter of public schools across the nation—at number 38. Golden State public schools are 42nd in high school graduation rate and 43rd in college readiness (U.S. News). The only place where California clearly leads the pack?—Homelessness. Gavin Newsom’s California ranks #1: California alone accounted for over 24% of all homelessness in America, based on the 2024 estimates (U.S. News). On crime? 38th (U.S. News).

JD Vance on Immigration: “You cannot have a country where the American people keep on electing immigration enforcement and the courts tell the American people they’re not allowed to have what they voted for”

From a conversation with Ross Douthat while in Rome for Pope Leo’s installation: Stephen Miller, our immigration czar in the White House, a good friend of mine, is thinking of all of these different and new statutory authorities, because there are a lot of different statutory authorities the president has to enforce the nation’s immigration laws. And there is, candidly, frustration on the White House side that we think that the law is very clear. We think the president has extraordinary plenary power. You need some process to confirm that these illegal aliens are, in fact, illegal aliens and not American citizens. But it’s not like we’re just throwing that process out. We’re trying to comply with it as much as possible and actually do the job that we were left —— Douthat: OK, but —— Vance: Let me just make one final philosophical point here. I worry that unless the Supreme Court steps in here, or unless the District Courts exercise a little bit more discretion, we are running into a real conflict between two important principles in the United States. Principle 1 of course is that courts interpret the law. Principle 2 is that the American people decide how they’re governed. That’s the fundamental small-d democratic principle that’s at the heart of the American project. I think that you are seeing, and I know this is inflammatory, but I think you are seeing an effort by the courts to quite literally overturn the will of the American people. To be clear, it’s not most courts. But I saw an interview with Chief Justice Roberts recently where he said the role of the court is to check the excesses of the executive. I thought that was a profoundly wrong sentiment. That’s one-half of his job. The other half of his job is to check the excesses of his own branch. You cannot have a country where the American people keep on electing immigration enforcement and the courts tell the American people they’re not allowed to have what they voted for. That’s where we are right now (New York Times).

Army Gearing Up for 250th Birthday Celebration

June 14: Free and open to the public on the National Mall (Army). The Hill: The day will start with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and will conclude at The Ellipse, just south of the White House (The Hill). Washington Post: More than two dozen tanks, 34 horses, 50 helicopters and thousands of troops — many in period costume from past wars — will be part of the sweeping military celebration in D.C. next month to honor the Army’s 250th birthday, officials said Wednesday, offering new details on the multimillion-dollar event. The festivities for June 14 — which is also President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday — will feature country singers Noah Hicks and Scotty Hasting…. Events are planned across the country and around the globe, officials said. But the occasion is unlikely to engulf a city quite like it will the nation’s capital, where the National Mall will host a day-long festival, fireworks will decorate the sky and thousands of troops traveling to participate will sleep in downtown buildings. Officials estimate 200,000 people — about five times the capacity of Nationals Park — will attend (WaPo).

Hegseth Begins Prayer Services at Pentagon

“This is precisely where I need to be, exactly where we need to be as a nation, at this moment in prayer, on bended knee, recognizing the providence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Military.com: A program for the event called it the “Secretary of Defense Christian Prayer and Worship Service.” It was held at the Pentagon’s auditorium and was broadcast throughout the building on its internal cable network. While Hegseth made an opening prayer, the majority of the service was run by the defense secretary’s personal pastor from a Tennessee church ….  Standing behind a podium bearing the logo of the Defense Department, Hegseth declared that “this is precisely where I need to be, exactly where we need to be as a nation, at this moment in prayer, on bended knee, recognizing the providence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” according to an audio recording of the event obtained by Military.com. Hegseth proceeded to add that the prayer service was voluntary but encouraged those in attendance to “let those you work with know about it” (Military).