NATIONAL MEMO DAY UPDATES

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-Negotiations to avert a financial crash have clearly taken a bad turn, with the White House calling the latest proposals from Kevin McCarthy and the UltraMAGA faction for whom he works "step(s) back" in demanding further draconian cuts in social safety net programs while continuing to protect tax cuts for the wealthiest of the wealthy. President Biden, flying back from the G7 conference in Hiroshima, Japan, admitted as much while confusing the question of whether he may try to invoke the 14th Amendment to essentially end the use of the debt ceiling - Biden claimed he believed he had the authority to use it (a change, and not without some question about whether this Supreme Court would allow it) but also claiming 2-3 weeks wasn't enough time to implement it should he invoke it (???). Biden will reportedly speak to McCarthy while flying home as negotiations in the House continue, and -

-THIS JUST IN: McCarthy went on Fox New Sunday this morning to claim Biden was being led by the nose by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the debt ceiling showdown (though he said it in an oddly feminine Southern accent). The show went on to show how worried they are by giving Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Cancun, TX) an opportunity to discuss his priority: investigating Anheuser-Busch and their decision to hire a transgender influencer to sell watered-down beer to MAGAts who shoot them by the case.

-How likely are those debt ceiling negotiations in the House likely to go? WWWEEEELLLL ...

-Remember Title 42? The ruling that ended limitations at the Mexican border for who could apply to immigrate to the U.S. that Republicans were convinced would swamp the border with waves and waves and waves and waves of illegal immigrants? Funny thing - two weeks after Title 42 was revoked, attempts to illegally cross the border have DECREASED BY HALF. So in celebration of the White House's move which has, by most reports, eased the situation at the border, GOP Leader Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Z-Q-R, GA) has ... introduced articles of impeachment against President Biden for mishandling the situation at the border.

-Those articles are the fifth set of impeachment articles filed against Biden by Greene - the first of which were filed January 21, 2021 - and represents the ninth set of impeachment articles filed against Biden and members of the Administration, including Attorney General Merrick Garland, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and FBI Director Chris Wray.

-A reminder that the UltraMAGA caucus, with the full and vocal support of their leader, Ex-President Trump, wants the United States to go into economic default, believing that they can then blame Biden for the chaos likely to follow and therefore allow Trump to be reseated in 2025.

-Back to Hiroshima, where Ukrainian President Zelenskyy - appearing live at the G7 conference after a trip to visit leaders in the Middle East (huh!) - denied reports from Vladimir Putin and Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin that the city of Bakhmut had fallen after months of bloody warfare Russian troops have callen a "meat grinder." Zelenskyy sardonically noted that the city has been effectively destroyed by the fighting there, and most agree that Bakhmut - which has also cost Ukrainian forces dearly - is more of a symbolic than strategic win for a country whose belief they could invade a country and win in a matter of hours instead exposed the Russian Army as a corrupt and overrated fighting force.

-While at the G7, Biden announced that members of the Ukrainian Air Force would be trained to fly American-built F16 jets - a major step forward for the U.S., which previously were concerned that such a move would be seen as escalating the conflict by opening up the potential for attacks on Russian soil. The move comes as several NATO countries have announced they will be giving Ukraine F16s, seen as a major step in helping Ukraine in their air defenses as well as support for a still-anticipated offensive.

-SLAVA UKRAINI!

-Another week, another Trump attorney leaving Team Trump to dish on Team Trump. So it goes, as Timothy Parlatore, who earlier this week testified before the Grand Jury investigating Trump's handling of classified documents, resigned after doing so - and then in a series of interviews dumped on another Trump attorney (and former Sinclair Group commentator) Boris Epshteyn, claiming it was Epshteyn that stymied a search for such documents in the Trump compound at Bedminster, NJ. Team Trump vehemently denies Parlatore's charges, of course, as Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations continue.

-We close at the Cannes Film Festival, where an emotional appearance by Harrison Ford before the premiere of INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY (which, it must be said, is receiving meh reviews) was upstaged by Martin Scorsese's newest movie, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON. The Apple-produced movie about a series of murders of members of the Indigenous Osage Nation (which worked closely with Scorsese after demanding to do so, and after which their leaders talked about Scorsese "restoring trust" in the movie) and the investigation that helped lead to the creation of the FBI, was given a nine-minute standing ovation by the audience despite its 3-1/2 hour run time, and has garnered early rapturous reviews (though it is not in competition for the Palm d'Or), which could also mark it as an early favorite for Academy Awards - particularly for lead actress Olivia Gladstone. The movie premieres worldwide in October.

-On this date in 1881, the Red Cross was founded. On this date in 1927, Charles Lindbergh completed the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean - a feat followed up in 1932 by Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic solo and nonstop. On this date in 1999, Susan Lucci finally won an Emmy Award for her role as Erica Kane in ALL MY CHILDREN after 19 previous nominations. And on this date in 2017, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus gave its final performance.

-Happy Birthday to Alexander Pope, Earl Averill, Fats Waller, Harold Robbins, Raymond Burr, Andrei Sakharov, Ara Parseghian, Peggy Cass, David Groh, Ronald Isley, Richard Hatch, Leo Sayer, Al Franken, Mr. T, Stan Lynch, Kent Hrbeck, The Notorious B.I.G., Fairuza Balk, Ricky Williams, Gotye, and Josh Hamilton.

-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Jane Addams, John Garfield, Rajiv Gandhi, and Sir John Gielgud.

-Feed the Worms: Jeffrey Dahmer entered Earth on this date. Hernando de Soto bought it on this date.