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A far-left international group that encourages groups of people to deflate tires on parked sports utility vehicles (SUV) in an effort to combat global warming has expanded its operations to 18 countries. The group, named the Tyre Extinguishers and based in the U.K., has claimed credit for tire-deflating operations in American cities including New York City, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco, and cities in England, Canada, France, Spain, Germany and Italy among others. And most recently, on Thursday, members affiliated with the Tyre Extinguishers conducted an action in Lisbon, Portugal. “Reports coming in of very angry #CarShaggers who are upset they can’t drive their massive tanks around Lisbon. Oh no!” the group said. “Welcome to the fun, Portugal! Now that we’ve had our first action in Lisbon, where’s next?” The announcement included an image of a Portuguese-language pamphlet the activists left on one of the targeted SUVs. CLIMATE ACTIVISTS EXPAND TIRE-SLASHING OPERATION BEYOND NYC. HERE ARE THE CITIES THEY’VE HIT On the group’s website, it provides instructions for quickly deflating tires on parked cars and a template for pamphlets that activists can use during operations. After deflating an SUV’s tires, individuals affiliated with the group generally leave the document, with a headline stating “ATTENTION – your gas guzzler kills,” on the vehicle’s windshield explaining to its owner why the action was taken. CLIMATE PROTESTERS DEFLATE BOSTON SUV TIRES IN WEALTHY NEIGHBORHOOD, ANGERING RESIDENTS “You’ll be angry, but don’t take it personally. It’s not you, it’s your car,” the pamphlet says. “We did this because driving around in urban areas in your massive vehicle has huge consequences for others.”  “We are people from all walks of life with one aim: To make it impossible to own a huge polluting 4×4 in the world’s urban areas,” the group’s website adds. “We are defending ourselves against climate change, air pollution and unsafe drivers. We do this with a simple tactic: Deflating the tyres of these massive, unnecessary vehicles, causing inconvenience for their owners.” According to the Tyre Extinguishers, it doesn’t have a leadership structure, but is instead a “leaderless, autonomous movement of groups that act independently.” It says its movement has led to the creation of organizations focused on deflating tires worldwide like The DundeeFlators in Scotland, Les Degonfleurs in France and SUVVersive in Italy. Overall, activists associated with the Tyre Extinguishers are responsible for deflating tires on more than 10,000 SUVs. On a single night in November last year, the group boasted that its members “disarmed” more than 900 SUVs in a coordinated action across multiple cities in the U.S. and Europe. “This is the biggest coordinated global action against high-carbon vehicles in history, with many more to come,” it said at the time.
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California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Saturday an investigation into the arrival of migrants at a church in Sacramento to determine if kidnapping or other crimes were committed. In a statement, Newsom said more than a dozen migrants were transported from Texas to New Mexico before being flown to Sacramento and left on the doorstep of a local church “without any advance warning.” “We are working closely with the Mayor’s office, along with local and nonprofit partners to ensure the people who have arrived are treated with respect and dignity, and get to their intended destination as they pursue their immigration cases,” Newsom said. The governor said the migrant arrivals would be investigated to find out who is responsible for their transportation and to determine any criminal wrongdoing. ARMED SUSPECTED MEXICAN CARTEL MEMBERS ARRESTED ON TEXAS SIDE OF BORDER “My Administration is also working with the California Department of Justice to investigate the circumstances around who paid for the group’s travel and whether the individuals orchestrating this trip misled anyone with false promises or have violated any criminal laws, including kidnapping,” he said. Bonta issued a separate statement in which he said the migrants possessed documentation allegedly showing they are from Florida. “We are investigating the circumstances by which these individuals were brought to California,” he said. “We are also evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these vulnerable immigrants. While this is still under investigation, we can confirm these individuals were in possession of documentation purporting to be from the government of the State of Florida.” FLORIDA AG MOODY MOVES TO BLOCK DHS FROM RELEASING MIGRANTS INTO INTERIOR WITH COURT DATES “While we continue to collect evidence, I want to say this very clearly: State-sanctioned kidnapping is not a public policy choice, it is immoral and disgusting,” Bonta said. “We are a nation built by immigrants and we must condemn the cruelty and hateful rhetoric of those, whether they are state leaders or private parties, who refuse to recognize humanity and who turn their backs on extending dignity and care to fellow human beings.” It is unclear at this time who is responsible for the migrants’ move to California, but multiple states have relocated migrants to sanctuary cities like New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C., amid an influx of migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border.  Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has said he will not stop sending buses of migrants to these cities until the federal government fixes the problem at the border. The migrant relocations from Texas began last summer. The immigration crisis at the southern border has also spilled into states that do not border Mexico. Florida Republican Gov. and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis flew migrants from the Sunshine State to Martha’s Vineyard last fall and Colorado Democrat Gov. Jared Polis sent migrants to sanctuary cities earlier this year. “California and the Sacramento community will welcome these individuals with open arms and provide them with the respect, compassion, and care they will need after such a harrowing experience,” Bonta said in his statement.
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People who use the word ‘woke’ ought to say what they mean by it. Here is one man’s answer.

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The perfect short story to kick off your summer.

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Notes on Ukraine and Russia, cont.

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The current top two contenders for the Republican presidential nomination are trading verbal fire over the term “woke.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters on Saturday that “woke is an existential threat to our society.” DeSantis, greeting Republican activists at a major GOP 2024 presidential cattle call in Iowa, the state whose caucuses lead off the Republican White House nominating calendar, was asked about comments former President Donald Trump made two days earlier. DESANTIS, PENCE, HALEY, SLAM TRUMP OVER KIM JONG UN COMMENT “I don’t like the term ‘woke’ because I hear ‘woke, woke, woke.’ It’s just a term they use, half the people can’t even define it, they don’t know what it is,” the former president said on Thursday during remarks at the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale, Iowa. Asked about Trump’s comments, the Florida governor said Saturday that “to say it’s not a big deal, that just shows you don’t understand what a lot of these issues are right now.” WILL EXPANDING GOP PRESIDENTIAL FIELD HELP OR HURT TRUMP’S QUEST TO WIN NOMINATION? Trump, who launched his third straight White House campaign last November, is the current commanding front-runner in the polls.  DeSantis, who’s seen his stature with conservatives across the country soar in recent years in part due to his culture wars battles against some major corporations, school unions, and the media. He often touts that Florida “is where woke goes to die.” The governor is solidly in second place in the GOP nomination polls, far behind Trump but well ahead of the rest of the field of actual and potential contenders.  DeSantis at the Iowa State Fairgrounds at Sen. Joni Ernst’s Roast and Ride. The annual motorcycle ride, which benefits veterans, this year attracted all of the declared Republican presidential candidates except Trump.
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Two top members in former President Donald Trump’s administration who are now rivals to Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential nomination race are heavily criticizing Trump for celebrating North Korea’s appointment to the World Health Organization. Former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration are taking aim at the former president in interviews in Iowa on Saturday with Fox News. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also took a swipe at Trump over his comments about the North Korean dictator. “Congratulations to Kim Jung [sic] Un!” Trump wrote in the message on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday afternoon. “I was surprised to see that,” DeSantis told Fox News Digital Saturday. “I mean I think one, I think Kim Jong Un is a murderous dictator.”  TRUMP CONGRATULATES NORTH KOREA’S LEADER Trump linked his message to an article from American Greatness about the North Korean official recently elected to the executive board of the World Health Organization (WHO). The North Korean Ministry of Public Health’s Dr. Jong Min Pak has been seated on the WHO’s executive board with a term set to last until 2026. The communist state’s new position on the board allows them say in determining the organization’s agenda and policy prescriptions. The decision sparked immediate criticism from the government of neighboring South Korea, which pointed to North Korea’s history of ignoring policies put forward by the WHO and its parent organization, the United Nations.  Pence, who’s expected to launch a 2024 presidential campaign next week in Iowa, told Fox News The World Health Organization let America and the world down during the COVID pandemic. They were literally complicitous in covering up what was happening in China and we held them to account during our administration..”  NORTH KOREA ELECTED TO WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION EXECUTIVE BOARD “Whether its my former running mate or anyone else, nobody should be praising the dictator in North Korea or praising the leader in Russia, who has launched an unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine,” Pence said. “This is a time when we ought to make it clear to the world that we stand for freedom and we stand with those who stand for freedom.” Haley, who declared her candidacy for the White House in February, told Fox News that “you don’t congratulate a thug. I mean, let’s keep in mind this. This thug has threatened America. It’s threatened our allies over and over again. This is not something to play with.” “He’s a terrible individual. He’s terrible to his people. He’s terrible to our allies in the world. And I don’t think he deserves congratulations,” Haley emphasized.  Trump became the first sitting American President to meet with a dictator of North Korea when he shook hands with Kim Jong Un in 2019. “It started off rough, remember that? I was saying ‘little rocket man’ and he was saying ‘I’ve got a red button on my desk, and I’m willing to use it,'” Trump recalled in an April 2023 interview. “And then all of a sudden we get a call — they want to meet,” he added. “We would have had that whole situation straightened out shortly after the beginning of my second term.” Pence and Haley spoke with Fox News on Saturday as they attended Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa’s annual roast and ride, a motorcycle ride that benefits veterans. All of the declared presidential candidates — other than Trump — spoke at the gathering. Asked for a response, the Trump campaign took aim at DeSantis, which they view as the former president’s top rival for the 2024 GOP nomination. “President Trump achieved peace through strength and, as a result, no new wars were started under his presidency. On the other hand, Ron DeSantis is a puppet of the establishment war mongers and doesn’t have the strength, fortitude, or will to stand up against America’s adversaries,” Trump campaign spokesman Steve Cheung told Fox News.
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A federal judge ruled late Friday that a Tennessee law that put strict limits on drag shows is “unconstitutionally vague.”  U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker in his ruling said the first-in-the-nation law that banned cabaret performances in a public place or anywhere that children could be present was “overly broad,” encouraged “discriminatory enforcement,” and violated the First Amendment rights of performers.  “There is no question that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment. But there is a difference between material that is ‘obscene’ in the vernacular, and material that is ‘obscene’ under the law,” Parker said in his ruling.  He added, “Simply put, no majority of the Supreme Court has held that sexually explicit — but not obscene — speech receives less protection than political, artistic, or scientific speech.” FORMER AMERICAN IDOL STAR BLASTS GOP STATE BANS ON DRAG SHOWS FOR MINORS: ‘USING CHILDREN AS AN EXCUSE’  LGBTQ theater company Friends of George’s had sued over the law, which it said would hurt their business because they focus on “drag-centric performances, comedy sketches, and plays” with no age restrictions. The group on Saturday called the ruling a “triumph over hate.” “Similar to the countless battles the LGBTQ+ community has faced over the last several decades, our collective success relies upon everyone speaking out and taking a stand against bigotry,” Friends of George’s added in their statement. One of the bill’s sponsors, Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, called the ruling “perplexing” and said he hopes the attorney general would appeal it.  “Sadly, this ruling is a victory for those who support exposing children to sexual entertainment,” Johnson said.  NORTH CAROLINA BILL WOULD CRIMINALIZE DRAG SHOWS AFTER VIRAL LAP DANCE VIDEO Parker, who is a Trump-appointed judge, used the example of a woman dressing as Elvis for a performance, saying she could be in violation of the law because she could be considered a “male impersonator.” While the word “drag” doesn’t actually appear in the law, Republican lawmakers cited drag performances in their hometowns as impetus for it.  Lawmakers changed the state’s definition of adult cabaret to mean “adult-oriented performances that are harmful to minors,” classifying “male or female impersonators” as adult cabaret performers similar to strippers.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Gov. Bill Lee signed the law, which went into effect on April 1 but has not yet been enforced because Parker temporarily blocked it in March after the lawsuit.  The Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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Twitter owner Elon Musk on Saturday voiced support for a Vermont family that was punished by a local school for expressing concerns about a biological male using the daughter’s locker room. Musk, the outspoken and eccentric billionaire, called the Orange Southwest School District Board’s decision to punish Travis Allen and Blake Allen “incredibly unjust.” He was responding to a tweet from Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer and political activist who’s publicly opposed allowing biological males to compete against girls and women in sports. “So happy for volleyball player and friend, Blake Allen,” wrote Gaines, who also posted a screenshot of a Daily Signal story on the Allens. “For feeling uneasy undressing next to a boy in her locker room, she was suspended from school and her dad lost his job. They told her she would only be let back in if she publicly apologized for her feelings of discomfort.” Blake Allen was suspended from school for two days in October following an incident where a transgender student who was born male but identifies as female allegedly watched Blake and her teammates change in a locker room, causing them to feel uncomfortable. Several of Blake’s fellow female students told the Daily Signal that they asked the student to leave, but the student didn’t immediately do so. Blake’s father, Travis Allen, was suspended from his middle school soccer coaching job without pay for publicly defending his daughter and calling the trans student a male, according to the Daily Signal. After the punishments, the Allens filed a lawsuit against the school district that was recently settled. The settlement reportedly requires the Vermont School Boards Insurance Trust to pay $125,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees to the Allen family. Under the arrangement, the district will also reinstate Travis Allen as middle school soccer coach and scrub any records of discipline against either him or his daughter from school records. The settlement additionally requires the Orange Southwest School District Board and school officials named in the Allens’ lawsuit to remove any content posted online by the school related to the locker room incident as well as from bulletin boards at Randolph Union Middle/High School displaying “love and support” messages to the trans student. RILEY GAINES RIPS NV BILL PUNISHING SCHOOLS FOR TRANS ATHLETE POLICIES, SAYS DEMS WANT GIRLS ‘HUMILIATED’ “The Vermont School Boards Insurance Trust made the decision concerning the payment in order to cap defense expenses in what would otherwise be years of litigation,” Layne Millington, superintendent of the Orange Southwest Supervisory District, told the White River Valley Herald. “The district has made no admission of wrongdoing. Our policies are unchanged and we will continue to comply with our policies and the law.” The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represented the Allen family, described the outcome as a major win. “The settlement of Blake and Travis Allen’s case is a resounding victory for freedom of speech,” Phil Sechler, senior counsel at the ADF, told the Daily Signal. “Calling a male a male shouldn’t have cost Travis his job and gotten Blake kicked out of school,” he added. “We are very glad that the school agreed to do the right thing by giving Travis his coaching job back and dropping the discipline against Blake. Everyone has the right to speak freely, and we are grateful that this settlement further protects that right.” According to the lawsuit filed in October, the Allens were punished “for expressing their view on a matter of profound public concern: whether a teenage male who ‘identifies’ as female should be permitted to change in a girls’ locker room, regardless of the discomfort experienced by the girls in that room.” OKLAHOMA SCHOOL ACCUSED OF VIOLATING LAW AFTER TEEN GIRL ‘SEVERELY BEATEN’ BY TRANS STUDENT IN BATHROOM Blake Allen allegedly said that the transgender student who watched the female volleyball players change was “literally a dude” when discussing the incident with fellow students. Her father referred to the same student as a biological male in an online discussion with the student’s mother, who reportedly said the incident was made up. According to the ADF, Blake had to write a “reflective essay” about the locker room incident and participate in a “restorative circle” as part of her initial punishment, with the school determining whether she had been sincere and done enough. “We are grateful that the school recognized it was wrong to suspend Blake from school and Travis from his coaching position simply for exercising their freedom of speech,” Sechler told the White River Valley Herald. “No one should lose their job or get suspended from school for voicing their opinion or calling a male a male and we are glad to see this case resolved favorably, not only for Blake and Travis, but for all students and coaches to be able to speak freely and without fear of retaliation.” Saturday wasn’t the first time this week that Musk waded into a transgender debate. The Daily Wire on Thursday accused Twitter of canceling the company’s popular and controversial documentary “What Is a Woman?” from premiering on the social media platform due to two instances of “misgendering,” or calling a person by their biological sex instead of their preferred gender identity. Musk responded that Twitter made a mistake and encouraged people to watch the film. “This was a mistake by many people at Twitter. It is definitely allowed,” Musk tweeted. “Whether or not you agree with using someone’s preferred pronouns, not doing so is at most rude and certainly breaks no laws.” Musk later wrote that “every parent should watch this,” referring to the Daily Wire film.
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Texas GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson, a former White House physician, is continuing to raise flags over President Biden’s health, concluding that he is “not fit mentally or physically” after the president fell on stage Thursday during a commencement ceremony at the U.S. Air Force Academy. “I don’t wanna sound like a broken record, but I’m just going to say it again: This man’s not fit mentally or physically to be our president, and it’s a bad situation for us,” Jackson said during a Friday evening appearance on Fox News Channel’s ‘Hannity.’ “Part of the job of the President of the United States is to inspire confidence and project power, and he’s not doing that. He can’t do that, he’s too old to do that, and I think it’s a shame.” The many gaffes and the recent fall he endured show that Biden, according to Jackson, is offering a “package that doesn’t sell around the world.” “I think his lack of physical ability and his physical decline is now starting to highlight the cognitive decline that we’ve been watching for so long now,” Jackson said. “It’s a package that just doesn’t sell around the world, and it’s becoming a national security issue for us. We have to do something about.” EX-WHITE HOUSE DOCTOR REP RONNY JACKSON DEMANDS BIDEN TAKE COGNITIVE TEST OR DROP OUT OF 2024 RACE “To think that this man thinks he can be president at the age of 86 when he’s 80 right now [and] could be in office for another six years is just malpractice on part of the White House in the West Wing to allow this to be happening, for him to even be talking about running for another term,” he continued. “Somebody needs to be held accountable. People like Jill Biden and people that surround him and are supposed to love him and care about him, they should be doing something about this, and they should be stopping this because it’s a shame.” Jackson said it has reached a “point where our commander in chief needs a walker” in order to maneuver around at events. “Could you imagine? It would be a better image than what we’re seeing right now — seeing him creep around in a walker,” he said. “At least he wouldn’t be falling flat on his face in front of the entire world.… It’s embarrassing for him, and it’s embarrassing for our country.” Jackson, who said he prays that Biden does not get re-elected next year, said he does not “honestly think he can finish the time he’s got left, built should he finish that time, there’s no way this man can be our president for another four years.” Jackson previously served as the White House physician to former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, and has repeatedly questioned whether Biden is cognitively fit for office. In April, Jackson circulated a letter among House Republicans demanding that Biden take a cognitive test or drop out of the 2024 race. The latest letter, first obtained by Fox News, came shortly after Biden announced that he will seek re-election next year. BIDEN’S FALL AT AIR FORCE COMMENCEMENT DRAWS CONCERN, MOCKERY: ‘THIS ISN’T FAIR TO ANYONE’ “We call on you to either resign immediately and renounce your bid for reelection or submit to a clinically validated cognitive screening assessment and make those results available to the public,” read Jackson’s letter, which was addressed to Biden. The letter cited Biden’s age, public gaffes and polls showing many Americans doubt the president’s mental fitness. “When you first announced your bid to run in the 2020 presidential election, questions and concerns were raised surrounding your cognitive abilities. Those concerns have only increased because your mental decline and forgetfulness have become more apparent since you were elected,” Jackson wrote in the letter. Jackson led previous calls for Biden to take a cognitive test, including one in July 2022 that was signed by more than 50 House Republicans. In February, Jackson called for an end to the “cover-up” of Biden’s health after the president’s physical claimed that he is healthy and fit to serve as commander in chief. “The majority of Americans can see that Biden’s mental health is in total decline, yet there is no transparency from the White House on what’s going on, if anything, to address this issue and his inability to do his job,” Jackson told Fox News Digital at the time. “Yesterday’s written physical exam report released by Biden’s physician, Kevin O’Connor, further confirms that this administration is still adamant about concealing the truth.” The Biden administration has repeatedly brushed aside concerns about Biden’s acuity. Earlier this year when GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley proposed that politicians over 75 take mental competency tests, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said attacks on Biden over his fitness for office failed in the past. “You know, we’ve heard these types of attacks or remarks before. And, you know, if you go back to 2020, they said that the president couldn’t do it in 2020 and attacked him there, and he beat them,” Jean-Pierre said. “Maybe they’re forgetting the wins that this president has had over the last couple of years. But I’m happy to remind them anytime.”
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