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Biden, Trump Are Ready To Rumble

Biden, Trump Are Ready To Rumble

Your unbiased daily news brief

James Kratch
May 16, 2024

Good morning and happy Thursday. Feeling stressed? You can take this 10-question quiz to determine just how stressed you are. Have a great (and hopefully stress-less) day!

In Today’s Brief

Baltimore: Boat lost power day before crash
France: Latest on manhunt
Menendez: Opening statements begin
Inflation: Positive new number
Golf: PGA Championship begins

... and more

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Top Tips

1) It's on

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have formally agreed to debate.

What happened: Biden, the incumbent and presumptive Democratic nominee, issued a challenge to Trump, the likely Republican nominee, yesterday. Biden proposed two debates -- one in June, one in September -- on live television without audiences. Trump, who has repeatedly said he will debate Biden anywhere at any time, accepted.
The logistics: The candidates will debate on June 27 in Georgia with CNN hosting the debate. ABC will host a second debate on Sept. 10. Trump has also challenged Biden to debates in July and October, saying Fox News would host the latter. A vice presidential debate is also expected. But both candidates have said they will not participate in the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates’ previously set schedule.
Big picture: Biden and Trump have agreed to ensure this will not be the first presidential race without at least one debate in decades. But they have left the future of the CPD in doubt. And independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be locked out no matter how well he polls.

2) Assassination attempt

Slovakia's prime minister is in grave condition after being shot.

What happened: Robert Fico was wounded when a gunman opened fire in Handlova. He was in stable but serious condition after a lengthy surgery; Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak said Fico’s injuries are "complicated” while another official said the procedure went well and doctors are optimistic Fico will live.
Need to know: Fico is the leader of a populist-nationalist coalition; he returned to power last year after 10 years as PM over two previous stints. He is controversial for his pro-Russia leanings. He pledged an immediate end to military support for Ukraine and said he would block the Ukrainians' ascension into NATO. A 71-year-old former mall security guard was apprehended as the shooting suspect; Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok claimed the attempt was "politically motivated."
Big picture: Slovakia is a member of the European Union and NATO, so the incident will reverberate worldwide and most certainly in an Eastern European country torn between the West and the Kremlin. President Biden and other leaders condemned the attack.

3) Caught green-handed

A former employee of America's most famous golf course is in the rough.

The news: Richard Brendan Globensky pleaded guilty to stealing over $5M in memorabilia from Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia. The club hosts The Masters Tournament annually.
The loot: Globensky, a former AGNC warehouse assistant, pilfered the green jackets awarded to golf legends Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Gene Sarazen, who all won Masters titles, as well as other goods. His crimes occurred over a 13-year period from 2009-22; he would steal the items and move them to another location before selling them in online auctions with the help of a broker.
Next steps: Globensky's sentence carries up to 10 years in prison, but he is expected to get 2-2.5 years due to his plea deal and cooperation with prosecutors. He also must pay over $1.5M in restitution to AGNC within a week and $3.5M in total, plus forfeit his ill-gotten profits.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

The ship that crashed into and collapsed Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge had a pair of electrical failures the day before. A power failure caused the ship's crew to lose control prior to impact; the disaster is under criminal investigation (More)
Jimmy Carter is "coming to the end of his life," according to grandson Jason Carter. The former president has been in hospice care for over a year; he will turn 100 on Oct. 1 (More)
Ten people face charges of stealing federal funds from Tuskegee University. It was not made clear how much the suspects are believed to have taken from the HBCU in Alabama; four university employees were charged (More)

World News

Interpol has issued an international arrest warrant for the French inmate who escaped in a fatal prison convoy ambush. Mohamed "The Fly" Amra remained at large as of late Wednesday night (More)
Ukraine has withdrawn forces near Kharkiv, its second-largest city, as Russia continues to make gains with a new offensive. President Volodymyr Zelensky has canceled all upcoming foreign trips (More)
A bipartisan delegation of former U.S. government officials will attend new Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's inauguration. The visit will likely anger China; U.S. delegations have attended past Taiwanese swearing-in ceremonies (More)

Campaign News

Opening statements began in New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez's federal corruption trial. Menendez said he will seek re-election as an independent candidate if convicted, potentially complicating fellow Democrat Rep. Andy Kim's general election path (More)
Utah Sen. Mitt Romney said President Biden should have pardoned former President Trump on his federal criminal charges. Romney also criticized Republicans for attacking the justice system on Trump's behalf (More)
The Supreme Court ruled Louisiana can use a congressional map with two Black-majority districts for the 2024 elections. A federal appeals panel previously rejected the map (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes closed higher yesterday after April's CPI was up just 0.3% MoM, beating inflation projections. The S&P 500 closed over 5.3K points for the first time (Dow +0.88%, Nasdaq +1.40%, S&P 500 +1.17%).
The latest meme stock rally appears to have subsided for now. GameStop's stock price was down nearly 20% yesterday while AMC's stock price fell over 20% (More)
Former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt said he is putting together a "people's bid" to buy TikTok. Chinese parent company ByteDance has said it has no plans to divest from the popular social media app as it battles federal legislation requiring a sale (More)

Entertainment & Sports

The PGA Championship begins today at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville. Brooks Koepka won the major professional golf tournament last year and is a three-time champion (More)
The fourth season of Hulu's Only Murders in the Building will premiere in August. The popular comedy series stars Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez (More)
FIFA will study playing competitive domestic league matches in other countries. The process could clear the way for the Premier League and other top European soccer leagues to play regular season games in the U.S. (More)

Quick Hitters

Be Safe: You probably learned the so-called "five-second rule" when you were a kid. But is that actually a wise rule to adhere to when it comes to food accidentally falling on the floor? Probably not.
Go Deep: Many cities and states are lowering the speed limit to 20 MPH. Why? That is the speed where most pedestrians hit by cars still have a good chance of survival.
New Idea: Traveling at "warp speed" may no longer be just science fiction. Thanks to Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, researchers may have found a way.
Book Weary: Children tend to stop reading for entertainment by age 9. Educators and publishers want to identify the reasons and address them.
Life Hack: If you are having a hard time sleeping, just pull up a YouTube video featuring potentially the most boring man in the world. Or listen to a fake baseball game.
OPTIMIZE ME: Researchers “found convincing evidence that higher intake of ultra-processed foods was associated with 50% increased risk of cardiovascular disease-related death, a 48% to 53% higher risk of anxiety and common mental disorders, and a 12% greater risk of type 2 diabetes”

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