White House Dossier's

Gun group tells residents to consider moving from blue state after lawmaker proposes gun control bill . . . Firearm owners should avoid travel to Massachusetts and consider moving if they already live there, according to a gun rights organization concerned about a gun control bill making its way through the state legislature. "If Massachusetts makes House Docket 4420 law, Massachusetts will become the most anti-gun state in the country," Austin Hein, the director of political operations for the National Association for Gun Rights, told Fox News. "What Massachusetts is clearly trying to do here is basically repeal the Second Amendment as we know it," he added. The 140-page omnibus bill, An Act of Modernizing Firearm Laws, makes sweeping changes to Massachusetts gun laws. This includes mandating that all firearms and feeding devices be registered, banning people under 21 from buying or carrying a semi-automatic shotgun or rifle, banning concealed carry of firearms on private property unless expressly permitted and much more. Fox News

Biden Escalates US Military Response To Ukraine War By Authorizing Activation Of 3,000 Reserve Troops . . . President Joe Biden on Thursday granted the U.S. military permission to activate upwards of 3,000 reserve troops to augment its response to the war in Ukraine. Biden authorized the secretary of defense and the secretary of homeland security to activate “any units, and any individual members not assigned to a unit organized to serve as a unit of the Selected Reserve, or any member in the Individual Ready Reserve mobilization category.” The unit groups are “not to exceed 3,000 total members at any one time, of whom not more than 450 may be members of the Individual Ready Reserve,” the statement added. It remains unclear whether or not Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin intends to activate the reserve troops. Daily Caller

In my book, I described how Putin envisions the war between Russia and the US/NATO unfolding, and the strategy Moscow has developed to achieve victory. It doesn't mean that World War III will happen exactly this way. But it shows that Russia has been preparing for this for more than a decade. Putin has a plan. We do not. Heck, the Pentagon hasn't even planned for the Ukraine war, let alone the upcoming war with China. 

The White House has all but acknowledged that we are basically out of munitions now.

White House: Decision to Send Cluster Munitions to Ukraine Was Due to Shortages . . .  On Tuesday’s broadcast of “CNN This Morning,” White House National Security Council  oordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby stated that the decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine is primarily motivated by inventory issues and a shortage of regular shells, not whether the cluster munitions are a helpful capability for Ukraine. Breitbart

Get your own copy of Putin's Playbook: Russia's Secret Plan to Defeat America, today. If you want your copy signed, please drop me a email.

Trump’s 2024 media play: Less cable, more Barstool . . .  The ex-president is hitting the podcast circuit and showing up at contact and combat sporting events. It’s part of a larger plan. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign over the past several months has been quietly engaged in behind-the-scenes talks for a sit-down interview with an influential media figure.

It’s not a network personality or a “60 Minutes” anchor or even Elon Musk for a stab at Twitter Spaces. Tyson — an old Trump pal who recently dined with the former president at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate — is, in his post-fighting days, the host of the “Hotboxin’” podcast. It’s a show that draws a range of celebs, like the rapper Tyga, retired skateboarder Tony Hawk and comedian Cedric the Entertainer. 

The Trump campaign’s interest in Tyson’s podcast is part of a broader strategic outreach to non-traditional media outlets, specifically those affiliated with male audiences with an interest in contact and combat sports. This week, days after making an appearance at an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight in Las Vegas, the ex-president is expected to be featured on the popular podcast “UFC Unfiltered.” The outreach underscores the degree to which Trump remains a cultural figure as much as a political one. It also highlights a centerpiece of his election strategy — in both the Republican primary and, should he be the party’s nominee, the general election. He and his team are placing a major bet on appealing to less politically active voters. Politico

DeSantis faces potential make-or-break moment with first GOP debate . . . Ron DeSantis faces a crucial moment with next month’s first GOP primary debate amid signs he’s failing to gain traction against former President Trump. The Florida governor has signaled he will participate in the debate, which will be held in Milwaukee on Aug. 23, even as Trump threatens to skip it.

\ Whether the former president attends or not, however, the debate stands to be a critical test for DeSantis, who has faced criticism for his sometimes-stilted style, as well as his failure to connect with voters and reluctance to directly attack his opponents. “The debate is more important for Ron DeSantis than any of the other candidates,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who served as communications on Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) 2016 presidential bid. The Hill

Eighteen states, DC accept ballots after Election Day, with North Dakota’s deadline facing lawsuit . . . Only Illinois and Utah have later deadlines for accepting ballots than North Dakota, which are both 14 days after Election Day. North Dakota is facing a lawsuit over its acceptance of mail-in ballots 13 days after Election Day and is among 18 states and Washington, D.C., that accept and tabulate ballots post-election. The lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday against North Dakota State Election Director Erika White, alleges that the state's law to accept ballots up to 13 days after Election Day violates federal law.

For absentee ballots to be accepted by mail in North Dakota, they must be postmarked the day before Election Day and received before the county’s canvassing board meets, which is the 13th day after the election. The state's law was changed in 2021 to extend a 6-day deadline for accepting ballots after the election to 13 days, according to PILF. According to federal law, the lawsuit contends, Election Day is one day. Just the News

FBI whistleblower: Deputy director told subordinates to hide Jan. 6 informants . . . Rioters loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Law enforcement officials say, Taylor Taranto, a man wanted for crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has been arrested in the Washington neighborhood where former President Barack Obama lives. Taranto was seen a few blocks from the former president's home, and he fled even though he was chased by U.S. Secret Service agents.  Rioters loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Law enforcement officials say, Taylor Taranto, a man wanted for crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. An FBI agent told the House Judiciary Committee that Deputy Director Paul Abbate suggested that at least 25 FBI confidential human sources, or informants, involved in reporting to the bureau from the Jan. 6, 2021, protest should not be publicly acknowledged. Many FBI whistleblowers have come forward with their concerns about the bureau as Director Christopher B. Wray is testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. They are making allegations of politically motivated investigations, politically biased leadership and misconduct by senior officials at America’s premier law enforcement agency. Washington Times

Locked and loaded? $41.3B in U.S. military aid to Ukraine diminishes America’s weapons stockpiles . . . America’s guns are rapidly running out of ammunition, and there are serious questions about how quickly they can be reloaded. From President Biden on down, officials have publicly warned that key segments of the nation’s arsenal are nearly “depleted,” sparking fear in national security circles that Washington could find itself vulnerable if another unexpected conflict erupts. A sudden Chinese attack on Taiwan, for example, could pull America and its Pacific allies into battle, but there is mounting evidence that the U.S. could lack necessary firepower. Washington Times

Microsoft Email Hack Shows Greater Sophistication, Skill of China’s Cyberspies . . . Hackers adapt to U.S.’s growing cyber defenses, learn to tread lightly and avoid detection The hack of email accounts of senior U.S. officials including the commerce secretary is the latest feat from a network of Chinese state-backed hackers whose leap in sophistication has alarmed U.S. cybersecurity officials. The espionage was aimed at a limited number of high-value U.S. government and corporate targets. Though the number of victims appeared to be small, the attack—and others unearthed in the last few months linked to China—demonstrated a new level of skill from Beijing’s large hacker army, and prompted concerns that the extent of its infiltration into U.S. government and corporate networks. Even just a few years ago, Chinese hackers were known among cybersecurity investigators for loud smash-and-grab heists of intellectual property, military technology and even a database of U.S. government employees’ personal information. The sometimes crude tactics, while effective, were often geared toward collecting huge troves of data rather than spying persistently on valuable targets, and typically left traces that made the hackers easy to identify and guard against in the future. Wall Street Journal

Why Are Foreign Autocracies Buying Washington Sports Properties? . . . Ted Leonsis, the ebullient owner of Washington’s hockey and basketball teams, is almost certainly the capital’s most popular sports honcho. As CEO, he’s celebrated diversity, staging Japanese and Caribbean heritage nights, launching a Hebrew-langauge Twitter handle and festooning the scoreboards with Pride-night rainbows. As owner of the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, he’s been a champion of women’s sports. Beyond the arena, he’s a philanthropic titan who has invested in independent documentaries about things like juvenile incarceration and human rights atrocities. But as of Monday, fans who buy tickets — and the corporations that entertain Beltway VIPs in private boxes at the arena — may in some small way be underwriting human rights abuses against LGBT people, women and independent media. 

That’s because Leonsis has just closed on a reported $200 million investment from the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, the fantastically rich Persian Gulf state where women’s freedoms are restricted, LGBT rights are nonexistent and media inquiry is curtailed. In exchange, the Qatar Investment Authority gets a roughly 5 percent stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Capitals and a number of other ventures. Politico

Iran’s Drone Industry Is Harder to Sanction Amid Sales to Russia . . .  Tehran is relying more on domestic companies for drones it is sending to Russia. Iran is now replicating parts for deadly drones being used by Russia in Ukraine, helping its military evade international sanctions with domestically made components that it once sourced from overseas, according to a new analysis. An Iranian company appears to have developed the ability to copy two parts used in suicide drones that used to come from Japanese electronics manufacturers, according to new findings from Conflict Armament Research, a U.K.-based investigative group that has been examining the drones in Ukraine. Iran gets most of its drone parts from U.S., European and Japanese companies that sell commercially available components. Conflict Armament Research’s findings illustrate how Iran is relying more on domestic companies to produce parts for its unmanned aerial vehicles, making it harder for the U.S. and its allies to disrupt it with sanctions. Wall Street Journal

Opinion What Ukraine can learn from the ‘Israel model’ . . . Israel has played a peculiar role in American debates on the Russia-Ukraine war. After Russia’s invasion started, Jerusalem faced criticism in Washington for its reluctance to send military support to Ukraine — a reluctance influenced by Russia’s military presence on Israel’s border with Syria. Make sense of the news fast with our daily newsletter. Now, as NATO punts on the question of Ukrainian membership, the “Israel model” is gaining currency in Washington as a way to think about Ukraine’s long-term defense. Before leaving for this week’s NATO summit, President Biden told CNN that while he wasn’t ready to risk direct war with Russia by extending NATO’s mutual-defense guarantee to Kyiv, Ukraine would receive “the security we provide for Israel.” Washington Post

Does Ukraine Joining a ‘North Atlantic’ Treaty Organization Make Any Sense? . . . The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), much like Pac-12, no longer lives up to its name. Several of its member states evoke neither “North” nor “Atlantic.” Like Arts & Entertainment becoming the murder/hoarders/history of wrestling channel or MTV morphing into reality television, NATO ain’t what it used to be. Albania — call it the Utah Utes of NATO — joined in 2020. But Turkey (Colorado Buffaloes), Bulgaria (Arizona Sun Devils), and other nations beyond the geographic range of the intent of the original treaty joined before them, so one cannot blame them for hitching onto a trend. Ukraine, quite a distance from the North Atlantic, wishes to join NATO too. The benefits to Ukraine seem rather obvious. Article 5 stipulates that “an armed attack against one or more of [the member states] in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all” and that member states “will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.” The American Spectator

Money

Tumbling US dollar a boon to risk assets across the globe . . . Cooling U.S. inflation is accelerating a decline in the dollar, and risk assets around the world stand to benefit. The dollar is down nearly 13% against a basket of currencies from last year’s two-decade high and stands at its lowest level in 15 months. Its decline quickened after the U.S. reported softer-than-expected inflation data on Wednesday, supporting views that the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its interest rate-hiking cycle. Because the dollar is a linchpin of the global financial system, a wide range of assets stand to benefit if it continues falling.

Weakness in the dollar can be a boon to some U.S. companies, as a weaker currency makes exports more competitive abroad and makes it cheaper for multinationals to convert foreign profits back into dollars. Reuters

EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden Worked To Secure US Visa For Ukrainian Oligarch Allegedly Involved In Suspected Bribery Scheme . . . Hunter Biden and his business associates attempted to get Burisma founder Mykola Zlochevsky a U.S. visa shortly after the president’s son became a board member of the Ukrainian energy firm, according to emails reviewed by the Daily Caller. The emails in Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop archive show a coordinated attempt to obtain a visa for Zlochevsky while he was being investigated by Ukrainian authorities for corruption.

Biden and some of his associates were potentially “engaging in registrable lobbying activity,” and one email indicates that Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) violations could have been occurring outside of the exchanges, a FARA expert who reviewed the emails told the Caller. From 2014-16, Hunter Biden worked with former Burisma board member Devon Archer, Rosemont Seneca adviser Eric Schwerin, former Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP Partner Heather King and other business associates to assist Mykola Zlochevsky with his visa reapplication process after the State Department revoked his visa in 2014. Daily Caller

I think we need a separate section called something like Big State Corruption. What do you think?

Biden administration forgives $39 billion in student loan debt to more than 800,000 borrowers . . . The U.S. Department of Education announced Friday it "will begin notifying more than 804,000 borrowers that they have a total of $39 billion in Federal student loans that will be automatically discharged in the coming weeks." "For far too long, borrowers fell through the cracks of a broken system that failed to keep accurate track of their progress towards forgiveness," U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement. "Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is taking another historic step to right these wrongs and announcing $39 billion in debt relief for another 804,000 borrowers. Fox Business

Russia’s crude price exceeds G7 price cap as market braces for supply crunch . . . Spot prices of Russia’s crude oil this week surpassed the $60-per-barrel threshold of the Group of Seven’s oil price cap scheme, as Moscow and Riyadh tighten supplies.

The G7 introduced its oil price cap mechanism on Dec. 5 to retain Russian flows in the market while also limiting revenue for the Kremlin’s war coffers. EU imports of Moscow’s crude were banned that same month. Under the G7 scheme, Western shipping and insurance providers can offer services to non-G7 buyers of Russian crude if the crude oil is acquired at a price below $60 per barrel. CNBC

UPS strike could be the most expensive in 100 years . . . Hundreds of thousands of UPS drivers could go on strike by the end of the month, and the walkout could be the most expensive one in the U.S. in at least a century. That is according to a new analysis from the Anderson Economic Group, a Michigan-based think tank that specializes in the economic impact of labor strikes. The report estimates that economic losses from a 10-day work stoppage could cost more than $7 billion. "The consequences here of this strike would reach every town in America in a matter of days," Patrick Anderson, president of Anderson Economic Group, told FOX Business. The $7 billion figure includes UPS customer losses of at least $4 billion and lost direct wages of more than $1 billion. It does not take into consideration strike pay, unemployment benefits, unemployment taxes, income taxes, government spending or settlement bonuses. Negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters union stalled last week as the two sides remain at odds over the terms of a new contract, raising the odds of a strike at the beginning of August. Fox Business

Culture

Trans Athlete Valentina Petrillo Takes 400M Medal Away From Woman, Ninth Overall In Female Events . . . Let’s just hope another Riley Gaines gets created out of this. Valentina Petrillo, a transgender runner who is a biological male, reportedly won the bronze medal in the women’s World Para Athletics Championships 400m race in Paris, France. In other words, Petrillo’s “victory” steals a medal away from a woman — a real woman. To make this situation even worse, Petrillo (who was born Fabrizio Petrillo) competed in a category that was meant for participants who are visually impaired. Just … despicable.

Here was how things played out in terms of the top four:

Omara Durand – 52.82s
Alejandra Perez Lopez – 57.88s
Valentina Petrillo – 58.24s
Fatima Ezzahra El Idrissi – 59.95s
Fatima Ezzahra El Idrissi … the new Riley Gaines? Because she got robbed. Daily Caller

Angel Studios' 'Sound of Freedom' passes $50 million at the US box office . . . "Sound of Freedom" crossed the $50 million mark at the U.S. box office on Wednesday, according to Deadline. The independent action thriller, produced by Angel Studios and starring Jim Caviezel, has become a surprise summer hit, raking in $53.4 million against a $14.5 million budget since its premiere on July 4. The film placed second behind Paramount's "Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning — Part One," which opened on Wednesday with a box office take of $16 million. Fox Business

Must watch movier. Drop everything and watch today. You'll be glad you did.

Video | Biden shatters protocol by relentlessly touching King Charles

Joe Biden is a hard-left culture warrior . . . What do you think of when you read about these two moments in the political life of Joe Biden? “President Biden memorably jumped the gun on Barack Obama in endorsing same-sex marriage more than a decade ago, but at a June fund-raiser near San Francisco, he couldn’t recall the letters L.G.B.T.Q.” You might think something like this: Joe Biden has never had good control over what comes out of his mouth, and these days his intellect is fading. Plus, LGBTIA+2S-whatever is a ridiculous wokesoup of letters that is always shifting in the way that jargon always shifts, so as to make it hard to stay current. That’s what I get out of it. Reid Epstein of the New York Times sees these facts as proof that in the current culture wars, Biden “is staying out of the fray.” Washington Examiner

Kayleigh McEnany Lays Out Exactly Who She Thinks Cocaine Belongs To … And It’s Not Hunter . . .  Former White House press sec. and Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany laid out Thursday who she thinks the cocaine found at the White House belongs to, seemingly ruling out Hunter Biden. Former White House press secretary and Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany laid out Thursday who she thinks the cocaine found at the White House belongs to, seemingly ruling out Hunter Biden. The Secret Service concluded its investigation into the cocaine found at the White House, unable to find a suspect. The bag of cocaine was reportedly discovered on July 2 in the West Wing cubby near the Situation Room. Speculation has swirled as to who the bag could belong to, with some pointing fingers at Hunter, who has had a long, public battle with addiction.  Daily Caller

Tucker Carlson Is Creating a New Media Company . . . Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former White House adviser Neil Patel are seeking to raise funds to start a new media company that would potentially use Twitter as its backbone, according to people familiar with the matter. The new company would be anchored by longer versions of the free videos that Carlson has been posting regularly on Twitter since shortly after his departure from Fox News, but would ultimately be driven by subscriptions, some of the people said. Carlson and Patel are looking to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to fund the company, the people said.

Users of Twitter and other platforms would still be able to watch free, shorter versions of his show, interviews and documentaries, but would need to subscribe to watch them in their entirety, the people said. The company would eventually add shows from additional hosts, they said. Carlson and Patel were roommates at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., from which they graduated in 1991, and in 2010 teamed up to found the conservative Daily Caller news site, which Patel still controls. They have lined up financiers, lawyers and media strategists to work on the new company, according to people familiar with the effort. Wall Street Journal

'It Was Extraordinary': Government Officials Were Stunned by 'Startling' Spike in Chinese Donations to UPenn After Biden Think Tank Opened . . . The former chief investigator for the Department of Education said the agency noticed a "startling" spike in Chinese donations to the University of Pennsylvania after President Joe Biden opened his think tank at the school in 2017.

"It was extraordinary," said Paul Moore, who served as the agency's chief investigative counsel during the Trump administration, in congressional testimony on Thursday. UPenn raked in over $100 million from China-based contributors between 2017 and 2022, the Washington Free Beacon reported earlier this year. This was a substantial increase from the four years prior to 2017, when the school received a total of $19 million. Free Beacon

FBI Retaliated Against Two Nunes Staffers in 2017 . . . The FBI spied on two of then-GOP Rep. Devin Nunes’s staffers while they were investigating the Bureau for Russia Collusion Hoax, seizing their Google emails, according to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan who sent FBI Director Christopher Wray a letter indicating the Bureau's retaliation. Nunes investigated the FBI’s role in Russiagate/Spygate and released a memo revealing Hillary Clinton’s fake dossier formed an essential part in obtaining FISA warrants to spy on Trump. Gateway Pundit

Trucking officials say a call for zero-emission trucks by environmental groups is unrealistic . . . Environmental groups on Thursday called on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to enact clean truck rules, but trucking groups say there is a heavy dose of reality involved. A group of advocates gathered in Chicago and called on Pritzker to adopt the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) and Omnibus Low Nitrogen Oxides (LowNOx) rules. They said the safeguards will protect workers and communities from air pollution and improve public health after Illinoisans suffered a series of historically unhealthy air days in June. Don Schaefer, executive vice president of the Mid-West Truckers Association, said modern trucks run much cleaner than in the past. Today’s long-haul battery electric trucks have a range of about 150-330 miles and can take up to 10 hours to charge. Just the News

A.I. Czar Harris Announces She Has Figured Out What A.I. Stands For . . . In a speech given this week, Vice President and Artificial Intelligence Czar Kamala Harris proudly announced that after months of dedicated research and extensive study, she has determined what the initials A.I. stand for. "This discovery is the result of intense research," Harris said to the media. "It is with great pride that I am here to let the world know that the letters ‘A.I.' actually stand for ‘Artificial Intelligence.' At no point in the history of A.I. has this secret been known. I have gained this knowledge and now know this knowledge. Because after you gain knowledge, you then know it. This is how knowledge works. HA HA HA HA HA HA HE HE HE HE HA HA!" Babylon Bee