Trump knew mob was armed: Donald Trump knew in advance that members of the mob he sent to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6th were armed with guns and other weapons and he told aides they would seek to harm others and not himself. Trump tried to get the Secret Service to stop using metal detectors to screen people so even more armed people could join the mob. That stunning testimony came during yesterday”™s televised hearing by the House Jan. 6 committee from Cassidy Hutchinson, a trusted Trump administration insider who was an aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and whose office was just steps away from the Oval Office in the West Wing. She testified that Meadows also knew in advance about the weapons. Some suggest the totality of her testimony puts Trump at the center of an armed coup attempt to overthrow the government so he could seize power. She described episodes of Trump becoming unhinged and throwing his lunch plate at a wall, getting into an altercation with Secret Service agents whose job it was to protect him when they insisted he stay away from the Capitol and being abusive to his most loyal enablers.
Hochul, Zeldin win primaries: New York Governor Kathy Hochul won the Democratic primary to run for a full term as governor with 68% of the vote. She defeated Jumaane Williams, who got 19% and Tom Suozzi, who received 13% of the vote. In the Republican primary to run for governor, Lee Zeldin won with 44% of the vote, while Andrew Giuliani got 23%, former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino had 18% and businessman Harry Wilson had 15%.
Maxwell sentenced: Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Maxwell was convicted of helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. Epstein committed suicide three years ago while he was in jail awaiting trial.
NATO declares Russia greatest threat: The 30 members of NATO, in a joint statement issued in Madrid this morning, declared Russia to be the most significant and direct threat to the security of NATO nations. NATO also pledged to increase support for Ukraine in the war started by the Russians.
Truck death toll rises: The death toll has risen to 51 in the discovery of a tractor trailer truck that had been parked in San Antonio and had immigrants inside who had been smuggled into the U.S.
iPhone”™s birthday: It was 15 years ago today that Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco.
