Briefs are posted every weekday morning, M-F

NEWS

Milwaukee a ‘horrible’ city? ‘Trump denies comment

Did Donald Trump call Milwaukee a “horrible city?”

In a social media post he says no, after having already acknowledged the comment in an interview with a Milwaukee broadcast journalist and with Fox News.

In a post Saturday on Truth Social, the 45th president posted: “The Democrats are making up stories that I said Milwaukee is a ‘horrible city.’ This is false, a complete lie.”

But that came after an interview with Fox 6 in Milwaukee in which Trump didn’t deny the remark and said he was commenting on crime and elections in Milwaukee. He made similar comments to Fox News.

The “horrible city” quote, first reported Thursday by Punchbowl News, was made before House Republicans in a morning meeting on Capitol Hill while discussing strategies for his campaign.

Republican congressmen in the room confirmed the comment to the Journal Sentinel with different takes on what Trump was talking about, but Trump in his social media post blamed Democrats, none of whom were in the room.

“I picked Milwaukee, I know it well,” Trump said in his post. “It should therefore lead to my winning Wisconsin. But the Dems come out with this fake story, just like all of the others. It never ends. Don’t be duped. Who would say such a thing with that important State in the balance? Vote for Trump, Wisconsin, I will not let you down!!!”

—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Joe Gow, fired as UW-La Crosse chancellor for porn videos, is fighting to keep his faculty job

A disciplinary hearing this week to decide whether Joe Gow should be fired as a faculty member from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is not technically a trial.

But it will closely resemble one, with witness questioning, cross-examinations and closing statements. Most of it will play out publicly, which appears to be highly unusual for these cases and comes at Gow’s specific request.

Gow led UW-La Crosse for nearly 17 years until the UW Board of Regents removed him as chancellor last December after discovering he and his wife had created sex tapes, sometimes with adult film stars, and posted them on porn websites. The couple also published two books about their unorthodox hobby.

Gow still retains his tenured faculty position and can only be fired if there is just cause. Both UW-La Crosse and Gow will make their case on whether there is in what is scheduled to be a two-day hearing beginning Wednesday.

—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Major heat wave to expand from Midwest to East Coast and could last a week or more

With Thursday’s seasonal solstice taking place amid a weeklong heat wave expected for the East Coast and the Midwest, the summer of 2024 is coming in hot. Extreme heat was forecast for Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, New York City and Albany, New York.

Models show the heat could last through Friday and beyond. “The duration of this heat wave is notable and potentially the longest experienced in decades for some locations,” the federal Weather Prediction Center said.

A high pressure system called an upper-level ridge is expanding over the Midwest and the East Coast and will produce clear skies, warm, stable air and record-breaking temperatures in the 90s and beyond, forecasters say. Some areas will experience temperatures as high as 105, according to the weather service. Forecasters say temperatures will reach as high as 25 degrees above normal for many areas under the summer system.

—NBC News

Trump: ‘Zelensky Is Maybe the Greatest Salesman of Any Politician’

Former President Donald Trump described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as being “maybe the greatest salesman of any politician.”

While speaking at Turning Point Action’s “People’s Conference,” in Detroit, Michigan, on Saturday, Trump criticized President Joe Biden for “wasting money at levels never seen before” and putting money into the Green New Deal.

The former president continued to add that Zelensky might be “the greatest salesman of any politician” to ever live, noting how “every time” he comes to the United States, he leaves with “$60 billion.”

—Breitbart News

U.S. surgeon general calls for tobacco-style warnings about social media

This morning, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on Congress to require a tobacco-style warning for visitors to social media platforms. In an op-ed published in The New York Times, Murthy said the mental health crisis among young people is an urgent problem, with social media “an important contributor.” He said his vision of the warning includes language that would alert users to the potential mental health harms of the websites and apps.

“A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe,” he wrote. In 1965, after the previous year’s landmark report that linked cigarette smoking to lung cancer and heart disease, Congress mandated unprecedented warning labels on packs of cigarettes, the first of which stated, “Caution: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous to Your Health.”

Murthy said in the op-ed, “Evidence from tobacco labels shows that surgeon general’s warnings can increase awareness and change behavior.” But he acknowledged the limitations and said a label alone wouldn’t make social media safe.

— NBC News

America has a fatherhood crisis, statistics show

Several reports indicate that America has a fatherhood crisis, which has created a culture of “floundering” young men.

Young men from non-intact families are more likely to end up in prison or jail, drop out of high school or not graduate from college compared to young men raised by their married biological parents with their father living in the home, a new Institute for Family Studies (IFS) report argues.

“What we see for young men today is a family-to-prison-or-college pipeline that is more likely to deliver boys from intact families towards college graduation and boys from non-intact families towards prison or jail,” the report states. “Young men raised by their two married, biological parents are almost 20 percentage points more likely to graduate college than end up in prison/jail.”

Declining marriage rates are “driving many of the country’s biggest economic problems.” The research found that young men who grew up in a married household with their two biological parents are more likely to graduate college, among other outcomes.

Also a Journal of Research on Adolescence report found that adolescent boys are more likely to be incarcerated if they grew up in father-absent households.

Federal data shows that “young men raised by their two married, biological parents … are almost 20 percentage points more likely to graduate college than end up in prison/jail.

According to the National Fatherhood Initiative, nearly 20 million American children live in homes where their biological fathers do not live.

Another IFS report points to data showing that fatherless families are more likely to be poor and “boys raised without their father are much more likely to use drugs, engage in violent or criminal behavior, go to jail, and drop out of school,” citing state and federal data.

—The Center Square

Detroit pastor thanks Trump for visiting the ‘hood,’ says Biden, Obama ‘never came’

Detroit Pastor Lorenzo Sewell of 180 Church thanked former President Donald Trump for visiting what he called the “hood,” and he pointed out that neither President Joe Biden nor former President Barack Obama made the trip.

“President Obama never came to the ‘hood, so-to-speak, right? President Joe Biden, he went to the big NAACP dinner, but he never came to the ‘hood. So thank you,” Sewell said Saturday during a roundtable discussion that Trump had with black leaders in Detroit.

Biden spoke at the NAACP’s Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner last month in Detroit, according to Fox News.

Meanwhile, while Trump spoke Saturday in Detroit, Biden and Obama were in Los Angeles for a fundraiser that raised about $30 million for the Biden campaign, a record for a single Democratic Party fundraising event, according to CBS News.

—Just the News

Southwest is considering changes to its famous free-for-all seating

Southwest became the biggest U.S. airline by domestic passengers by doing things its own way. Trouble is, that’s no longer working so well.

Expenses have ballooned and profit margins lag behind some rivals’. The airline is on track to receive only a quarter of the new jets it was expecting this year from Boeing, leading to bloated overhead. It is backtracking on pieces of an aggressive expansion strategy at a time when Americans are booking more flights than ever.

For decades, Southwest and its unflinchingly loyal base of fliers and employees were the envy of the U.S. aviation industry. The plucky, innovative airline spawned legions of copycats mimicking its simple operation, inspired business-school case studies, and generated industry-leading profit margins.

Southwest is so serious about improving its finances the airline is contemplating radical changes to its hallmarks.

It is studying whether to start assigning seats, shake up boarding or offer some rows with extra legroom for a fee to widen its appeal. It has started putting its fares in Google Flights, an airfare search site it long avoided because it preferred that customers book trips on its own website or app

Sacrificing attributes that helped make Southwest a fan favorite, like free checked bags, is a no-go for now. “You cannot be stubborn about change,” CEO Bob Jordan said Wednesday at an industry event. “At the same time, we’re going to stick to our values.”

Southwest finds itself in a new, uncomfortable position: trying to win over fliers who don’t get what’s so great about it. Fares aren’t always cheapest, and Southwest’s cabins lack in-flight amenities that travelers have come to expect, such as seat-back entertainment and extra-legroom options. It only recently began adding power outlets and upgrading Wi-Fi to higher speeds.

—Wall Street Journal

‘Inside Out 2’ scores massive $155M opening

Hollywood’s summer movie anxieties gave way to joy this weekend with the massive debut of Disney and Pixar’s “ Inside Out 2.” The animated sequel earned $155 million in ticket sales from 4,440 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Importantly, “Inside Out 2” audiences spanned ages and all demographics. Post-COVID, he said, breakout successes depend on attracting multicultural audiences.

—ABC News

OPINION

Congratulations To All The Dads Who Are Better Fathers Than Joe And Hunter Biden

If you’re a new dad looking for advice on what not to do as a father, look no further than Joe and Hunter Biden.

The leading men from America’s First Family provide new and prospective fathers a great case study on things you should avoid doing as a dad.

As patriarch of the Biden family, Joe is supposed to be a positive role model for not just his children, but his many grandchildren. But it’s clear that the 81-year-old president views his offspring as pawns that can be used to further his political interests.

For example, after the unfortunate passing of his oldest son Beau due to cancer in 2015, Joe has repeatedly weaponized the death of his child to co-opt moments of tragedy endured by his fellow Americans.

Whether it’s at a ceremony honoring police officers killed in the line of duty or during interactions with Gold Star families, Sleepy Joe instinctively steals attention away from the victims’ loved ones by making it all about himself — even if it means incessantly lying about how his son died.

It’s no surprise Joe’s penchant for bad decision-making rubbed off on Hunter.

When he’s not illegally purchasing firearms, Hunter — who is a father — is shelling out thousands of dollars on strippers and smoking crack like there’s no tomorrow. The First Son’s hobbies also include allegedly committing tax evasion and knocking boots with his dead brother’s widow while married to another woman.

Hunter’s worst offense, however, is his decision to neglect his 5-year-old daughter Navy Roberts, who was conceived out of wedlock with then-stripper Lunden Roberts. In the year following Navy’s birth, Hunter “repeatedly denied” he was the girl’s father, even going as far as to claim he didn’t have sexual relations with Lunden.

Even after a DNA test administered in November 2019 proved that he is Navy’s father, Hunter attempted to get out of paying child support to Lunden. He’s also reportedly hid at the White House to avoid being served legal papers over the matter.

Unfortunately for Navy, the phrase “Like father, like son,” could not be more applicable to Joe and Hunter. Aside from a pathetic PR statement run in People Magazine last year, the president — and the entire Biden family — have refused to publicly acknowledge Navy’s existence.

So, to all the great dads out there who don’t ignore the existence of their child or grandchild, smoke crack, use their kids as pawns in a self-enriching foreign influence-peddling scheme, or weaponize the death of their deceased child for political purposes, we at The Federalist salute you.

To Joe and Hunter Biden, please go to therapy and find Jesus.

— Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY – In 1972 the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters located on the 6th floor of the Watergate Hotel and Office complex in Washington, DC. were broken into.

The investigation into the break-in exposed a number of controversial actions (collectively known as “Watergate”) that led to the highest levels of the Nixon administration and ultimately to the President himself.

Not long afterward, the police apprehended five men. They were accused of attempted burglary and telephone and other communications eavesdropping.

As news of the break-in unfolded, a group of Washington Post reporters, including Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who helped identify the five burglars the next day, discovered that James W. McCord was linked to President Nixon’s reelection campaign – the Committee to Reelect the President (CRP). The reporters described McCord as a “salaried security coordinator for President Nixon’s reelection committee.”

Thus began one of the most intriguing and dramatic political events in American history, as President Nixon, under the threat of impeachment, ultimately resigned from the Presidency two years later, on August 9, 1974.