Biden to make his first state visit to France after D-Day commemorations next week

French President Emmanuel Macron’s office says U.S. President Joe Biden will make his first state visit to France next week after attending D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations in Normandy
ByThe Associated Press
May 30, 2024, 8:16 AM
PARIS -- French President Emmanuel Macron's office said Thursday that U.S. President Joe Biden will make his first state visit to France next week after attending D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations in Normandy.

Macron will be hosting Biden and his wife Jill on June 8, the statement said.

Both presidents will discuss “the need for unwavering, long-term support for Ukraine” at a time when war has returned to Europe, 80 years after the landings that led to the liberation of France and the continent from Nazi Germany’s occupation, Macron’s office said.

In Normandy next week, major commemorations will draw 25 heads of state and government, along with dozens of World War II veterans, to honor the nearly 160,000 troops from Britain, the United States, Canada and other nations that landed on June 6, 1944.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is among those expected to attend.

Biden's state visit will allow “close coordination” between France and the U.S. on world crises ahead of international events including the summit of the Group of Seven major economies next month in Italy and the NATO summit in Washington in July.

more
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/biden-make-state-visit-france-after-attending-day-110675767

Stormy Daniels was ’emotional’ after Trump’s guilty verdict: Lawyer
By
Keely Bastow
May 30, 2024 10:33 pm
.

Stormy Daniels, the star witness in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial, was “emotional” about the guilty verdict reached by a Manhattan jury Thursday night, according to her lawyer.

Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records on Thursday, marking the first time a former president has been convicted of a felony.

Clark Brewster, the porn star and director’s lawyer, spoke to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about the verdict. He said Daniels had a strong and emotional reaction when the news broke.

“I texted her and then she called and we spoke and she was really emotional. She was quite taken I think with the finality as much as anything. But she was really, really emotional,” he said.

He said she experienced a combination of many emotions, including empathy and the “realization” that it is now over.

more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/3023826/stormy-daniels-emotional-trump-guilty-verdict/

Trump guilty verdict to test voter appetite for second Biden term
By
David Sivak
May 31, 2024 7:00 am
.

President Joe Biden has a fresh chance to make inroads with independent voters following former President Donald Trump’s conviction in his hush money case.

But if the president fails to do so, in polling and on Election Day, the verdict could end up validating fears about the strength of his reelection campaign.

Republicans are adamant that Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of business fraud on Thursday will not damage his run for president. His perceived shortcomings are already baked into the electoral cake, they say, while kitchen table issues like the economy will take precedence.

The messaging runs counter to months of polling showing at least some swing voters will be turned off by the felony conviction, centered on his efforts to conceal an alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Another open question is whether Republicans fuming over what they call a “weaponized” system of justice turn out in greater numbers on Nov. 5.

But what can be said in the hours after the bombshell verdict is that questions about Biden’s electability will be put in starker relief if he continues to trail Trump, now a convicted felon.

more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/presidential/3023821/trump-guilty-conviction-tests-voter-appetite-biden/

Inflation held steady at 2.7% in April in Fed’s preferred gauge
By
Zachary Halaschak
and
Joseph Lawler
May 31, 2024 8:32 am
.

Inflation held steady at a 2.7% annual rate in April, as measured by the gauge favored by the Federal Reserve.

The new personal consumption expenditures price index numbers reported Friday morning by the Bureau of Economic Analysis were in line with forecasts.

The lack of downward progress in headline inflation is unwelcome news for President Joe Biden and the Federal Reserve, which has been seeking more evidence that its campaign to lower inflation by raising interest rates is working. The Fed’s target is 2% inflation in the PCE index.

From March to April, inflation rose 0.3%, in line with forecast expectations.

Core PCE inflation, a measure of inflation that strips out volatile energy and food prices, also held steady at a 2.8% year-over-year rate.

more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/finance-and-economy/3022520/inflation-held-steady-at-2-7-in-april-in-feds-preferred-gauge/

The man stabbed a group of campaigners for the anti-Islamist BPE political party. As they moved to restrain the knifeman, he lunged at them, stabbing multiple people.

https://twitter.com/OliLondonTV/status/1796513277133939087