Rose began as his son grinned with all of his teeth

Before Bukele came into power, El Salvador had been plagued by rampant gang violence, extortion and organized crime.

Miller's office refused to comment and Reschenthaler's office did not directly answer

‘we’re thrilled to have Miles make is PGA Tour debut here’

'We have discovered the earliest evidence of fresh water'

A jury was selected Monday afternoon in the trial of presidential son Hunter Biden, after prosecutors and defense attorney agreed on a dozen jurors from a pool that reportedly exceeded 200 potential members. The Delaware trial of President Joe Biden’s son is based on three charges related to lying on a form regarding a gun purchase while addicted to cocaine.  Special counsel David Weiss secured the grand jury indictment of the president’s son on drug-related gun charges. Weiss separately secured a grand jury indictment against the younger Biden on federal tax charges in California.  In an odd twist of the 2024 election cycle, the first of two trials of the first son of a sitting president to be criminally indicted comes just days after Biden’s once and future electoral opponent, Donald Trump, became the first former president to be convicted in a criminal trial. A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of all 34 felony counts of falsifying documents to cover up alleged affairs before he ran for president in 2016. The younger Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, filed several motions to dismiss the charges, including a Second Amendment defense, which U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika has rejected as the judge in the case. The president’s son, 54, has stirred controversy by making overseas business deals in Russia, China, Ukraine, and Romania, and by leveraging his father’s previous elected office as vice president to advance his financial interests.  First lady Jill Biden, on her 73rd birthday, attended the first day of the trial in Wilmington, Delaware.  The three-count indictment accuses Hunter Biden of lying on a form to purchase a Colt Cobra revolver by not revealing his addiction to crack cocaine. Conviction on the three gun-related charges could bring Biden up to 25 years in prison.  The indictments says that “the defendant, Robert Hunter Biden, provided a written statement on Form 4473 certifying he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance, when in fact, as he knew, that statement was false and fictitious.”  The president has said repeatedly that his son did nothing wrong and that he is proud of him for overcoming a drug addiction. The trial begins almost a year after it appeared that the younger Biden’s legal troubles had reached an end with a favorable plea agreement with federal prosecutors on tax and gun charges, an agreement widely viewed as a sweetheart deal. Noreika rejected the plea deal as judge in the case, however.  After that, Attorney General Merrick Garland (who was appointed by the president) named Weiss, U.S. attorney for Delaware in the Trump administration, as special counsel. In September, Weiss’ team secured the grand jury indictment on three counts. Two charges are related to allegations that the president’s son lied on the gun-purchase form by claiming to be drug-free. The third charge alleges that Biden possessed the revolver while using narcotics.  In December, prosecutors secured another indictment of the younger Biden in Los Angeles on tax crimes related to his business dealings. However, the statute of limitations has elapsed for many of the most questionable activities—which are under review in the House’s impeachment inquiry into the elder Biden. The younger Biden’s second federal trial is set to begin in September. Weiss team prosecutors Derek Hines and Leo Wise said their case would include Biden’s memoir, which details his drug use in October 2018. Prosecutors also suggested they would call women from the younger Biden’s past to be witnesses, including ex-wife Kathleen Buhle; Hallie Biden, widow of his late brother Beau Biden, who had an affair with Hunter; and a third woman identified as Zoe Kasten.  Prosecutors on the Weiss team have said they confirmed the authenticity of Biden’s laptop and its contents, first revealed by the New York Post in late 2020. They assert in a May 22 court filing that “the defendant’s laptop is real … and it contains significant evidence of the defendant’s guilt.” The post Jury Selected in Hunter Biden’s Drug-Related Gun Trial appeared first on The Daily Signal.

As global governments push for a rapid transition to electric vehicles and to wind and solar power, they are creating a demand for copper that threatens to undermine the very goals they seek to achieve. According to a recent International Energy Forum report, electrifying the global vehicle fleet would require the opening of 55% more new copper mines than are already needed, and twice the total amount of copper that has ever been mined throughout human history over the next three decades. Global demand for copper is expected to double by 2035. That gives the advantage to China, because it controls 44% of the world’s refined copper supply, more than six times the next biggest supplier. But even with all China’s copper, the world is still falling short. The recent attempted merger between mining giants BHP and Anglo American highlights the growing demand for copper. BHP, one of the world’s largest mining companies, wanted Anglo American’s $35 billion in copper assets, but failed in two merger attempts, the latest for $50 billion. Professor Adam C. Simon of the University of Michigan, one of the authors of the International Energy Forum report, argues that “mining should be recognized as essential, and exploration and responsible copper mine development strongly encouraged.” Since copper is a core component in electronics, raising the cost of copper makes it far more difficult for developing areas of the world to access energy. Copper is a crucial component in electric vehicles. A typical EV requires nearly 200 pounds of copper, or about four times the amount needed for a combustion-engine vehicle. The energy industry is facing government mandates for wind and solar. A typical 3-megawatt wind turbine requires nine tons of copper, more than the weight of a school bus. Wind power requires more than seven times the amount of copper to produce the same amount of energy that natural gas or coal does, and five times the copper as nuclear power. The United States, the world’s second-largest copper producer just 20 years ago, now accounts for about 6% of global copper production. Despite an estimated 890 million tons of reserves (about 400 times our annual consumption), America now faces significant hurdles in expanding its copper production due to regulatory obstacles and social opposition. While U.S. copper production has declined 8% since 2001, China has increased production threefold and produces 55% more copper than America. The International Energy Forum report states, “[M]ine permit applications have been canceled in Alaska, Minnesota, and Panama, delayed in Arizona, and substantial acreage has been removed from exploration in Minnesota.” In April, the Department of the Interior failed to approve the 211-mile Ambler Road project in Alaska. It would have opened new areas to copper mining and other resource development. In 2022, President Joe Biden canceled the lease renewal for a new copper mine in Minnesota.   The Resolution Copper project in Arizona, which would be the largest copper mine in North America, producing 500,000 tons per year, is stalled, even though Congress approved it in 2014. Policymakers pushing for a rapid shift to EVs and renewables are also responsible for the red tape in mining for critical minerals. Without more mining, the planned EVs won’t be built. Even Chinese critical materials won’t get America all the way to its EV targets. Allowing the U.S. copper mining industry to respond to market demand would increase copper supplies. Failure to address mandates for vehicles and constraints on mining will worsen the looming copper shortage, causing higher energy prices and related burdens for Americans. The post EV Mandates and Copper Mining Bans Are Mutually Exclusive appeared first on The Daily Signal.

THIS Is the Headline They Chose?

Bad News for BART Feels a Bit Doom Loopy

On Sunday's Meet the Press, after a typically contentious, extremely interrupt-ious interview with a Republican -- in this case, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) -- substitute host Peter Alexander interviewed House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) about the Trump trial, and then there was a single question on the Hunter Biden trial. Jeffries claimed that it was okay for President Biden to proclaim "my son has done nothing wrong," which is laughably false.  It was the usual "loving father" defense, as if that excuses the lying, just as Joe Biden claims he never discussed business with Hunter, which is also preposterous and a proven Pants on Fire lie. At least Alexander puts a little spin on the ball with a quote from The Wall Street Journal editorial page:  PETER ALEXANDER: Sir, let me ask you about another question that we'll be watching and will make headlines this week. Hunter Biden, the president's son, goes on trial for gun charges beginning tomorrow. President Biden said last year, quote, "My son has done nothing wrong." The Wall Street Journal, as you see here, the Editorial Board said at the time, quote, "That's a highly inappropriate message from a president. He's essentially telling prosecutors that they are wrong to bring an indictment because Hunter is innocent of any criminal behavior." Why was it appropriate for President Biden to publicly comment on his son's case? REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES: President Biden commented as a loving father, as I would hope any loving father would do. Hunter Biden of course is entitled, as was Donald Trump, to the presumption of innocence and to a trial by a jury of his peers. And this Justice Department is going to proceed in that fashion, present the facts and the law. And then we'll all have to wait for a determination that is made by a jury as to Hunter Biden's guilt or innocence. That was it! Alexander quickly moved on to Israel and Hamas. "Fact-based" reporters don't point out that Hunter Biden has done many things wrong, starting with the crack cocaine and hookers.  A few questions earlier, there was an amusing demonstration of how robotic Hakeem Jeffries can be with his "extreme MAGA Republican" talking point. Four times in one answer, and five times overall! Alexander asked if Democrats should be concerned that Trump will use the Guilty verdicts to become stronger. JEFFRIES: Extreme MAGA Republicans are going to continue to lie for Donald Trump. President Biden and Democrats are going to continue to solve problems for hard-working American taxpayers. Extreme MAGA Republicans will continue to lie for Donald Trump. PETER ALEXANDER: Sir, those – REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES: President Biden and Democrats are going to work on delivering real results as has been the case for the last three and a half months. And we're going to see that extreme MAGA Republicans will continue to lie for Donald Trump and present no real vision for dealing with the issues of importance to the American people. That's a contrast. And I'd rather be on President Biden's side of that contrast than on the extreme MAGA Republican side. On the fifth one, Jeffries asked: "Can the extreme MAGA Republicans point to a single issue where they've actually made progress for the American people? A single issue? They cannot."