Justice Kennedy Calls It Quits

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement Wednesday, giving President Donald Trump the chance to cement conservative control of the high court. 

The 81-year-old Kennedy said in a statement he is stepping down after more than 30 years on the court. A Republican appointee, Kennedy has held the key vote on such high-profile issues as abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, guns, campaign finance and voting rights. 

Kennedy said he has informed his colleagues and Trump of his plans, and that his retirement will take effect at the end of July. 

Trump already has a list of 25 candidates which includes 24 judges and Utah Sen. Mike Lee. Trump said he would choose a nominee from that list. Prominent on that list are Judges Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania and William Pryor of Alabama, seriously considered for the seat eventually filled by Justice Neil Gorsuch, and Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who serves on the federal appeals court in Washington, DC.

Peter Strzok testifies in closed-door interview with House lawmakers

Disgraced FBI official Peter Strzok arrived on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning for a closed-door testimony that follows the revelation of numerous anti-Trump messages that he exchanged with Lisa Page during the 2016 campaign. 

Those messages, between Strzok and former FBI attorney Lisa Page, included one revealed in the new Justice Department inspector general's report in which Strzok vowed to "stop" Donald Trump from becoming president.  

Strzok appeared voluntarily for his closed-door hearing before the House Judiciary and House Oversight Committees, despite being issued a subpoena last week. Strzok said over the weekend that he was willing to testify before Congress without an immunity deal and that he would not invoke his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. 

Strzok, who was escorted from his FBI office last week, has been under scrutiny for months over a series of politically-charged text messages exchanged with Page, who left the bureau in May.

Poll: Americans Think Russia Investigation Is Serious and Should Continue

Most Americans continue to believe that the Russian effort to influence the 2016 presidential election is a serious matter that should be investigated, but the criticism by President Donald Trump of special counsel Robert Mueller is taking its toll, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS released Friday. 

The number of Americans who approve of how Mueller is handling the investigation has dropped from 48% in March to 44% in May to just 41% now, the lowest it has been in CNN's polling. Mueller has a lot of company; no one connected with this matter is coming out of it in a positive light. 

Mueller's favorable rating is just 32%; former FBI director James Comey's favorability is just 28%; Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump's lawyers in the Russia investigation, is viewed favorably by only 31% of Americans.

Bolton Confirms Upcoming U.S.-Russia Summit

Moscow and Washington have reached an agreement on a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin met with President Trump's national security adviser John Bolton on Wednesday for talks intended to set the stage for a U.S.-Russian summit. 

Putin greeted Bolton in the Kremlin on Wednesday, noting that U.S.-Russian relations are at a low point, which he said was mostly due to the U.S. political infighting, and voiced hope that Bolton's visit would make the first steps toward improving ties.

Kremlin Foreign Policy aide Yuri Ushakov said talks between Kremlin officials and John Bolton yielded the agreement on the time and venue of the summit. The Kremlin and the White House are to formally announce the date and location on Thursday. Ushakov says the summit will take place in a third country.

Federal Judge orders reunification of parents and children:

On Tuesday, Judge Dana M. Sabraw of the of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California barred the separation of migrant children from their parents and required immigration officials to reunify families within 30 days and children under the age of 5 would be returned to their parents within 14 days. The judge also ordered that parents be allowed to speak by phone with their children within 10 days. 

Judge Sabraw granted a preliminary injunction sought by the American Civil Liberties Union. In his 24-page order, Judge Sabraw rules that children could be separated at the border only if adults with them were found to pose a danger to the children. He also said that adults could not be deported from the country without their children. 

The Trump administration could appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Border Patrol Rescues 57 Immigrants in Arizona

The U.S. Border Patrol rescued 57 undocumented immigrants who were stranded in the Arizona desert on Friday. The group of immigrants consisted of 21 adults and 36 minors, including a 1-year-old baby and 17 unaccompanied minors. They came from at least four countries: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

On Friday afternoon, the group was stranded near Lukeville, Arizona. Agents were alerted to the group’s location after receiving a call from the Sonora, Mexico’s 9-1-1 center relaying information from persons within the group. The callers, stated they had crossed the border illegally, and requested assistance.  

Several appeared to be dehydrated, medically trained agents immediately assessed all the aliens for health concerns and found only one person required further medical attention. An underage pregnant female, was provided intravenous fluids by Border Patrol EMT’s for dehydration and is being transported to a local area hospital for further treatment. 

A Statement from the Border Patrol said, “Regardless of the unscrupulous and ill regard for human life attitude by smugglers, Border Patrol Agents work tirelessly to ensure not only the safety and security of our nation but also the safety of those who they come in contact with.”

GOP’s New ‘Unhinged’ Ad

The GOP released a new ad that uses the rhetoric of “unhinged” which President Trump has been using throughout his tweets to describe the Democratic party. The ad uses various examples of members of the left speaking or inciting violence against the President and/or his cabinet members. 

It displays Maxine Waters comments demanding for continued push back after Sarah Sanders was asked to leave a restaurant. It shows various members of Hollywood making comments of “burning down the White House” and “killing the President”, as well as, showing the photos of Kathy Griffin holding President Trump’s bloody head and Snoop Dog’s music video displaying him shooting the President. The point of the ad is to use the left’s own words and actions against them. 

The Republican National Committee created the ad. It was released to highlight the left’s hateful and un-American actions over the course of this year. The RNC is targeting voters prior to the midterm elections in November. 

92% of Republicans think media intentionally reports fake news

Nearly all Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (92%) say that traditional news outlets knowingly report false or misleading stories at least sometimes, according to a new Axios/SurveyMonkey poll. 

The data shows that trust in the media is heavily influenced by partisan politics, with Republicans more skeptical of mainstream media than their Democratic and Independent counterparts.  

Across the board, trust in traditional news outlets continues to sink, with the overwhelming majority of Americans (70%) saying that "traditional major news sources report news they know to be fake, false, or purposely misleading."

Rasmussen: 31% Think U.S. Civil War Likely Soon

According to a Rasmussen poll, most voters fear that political violence is coming from opponents of the president’s policies, just as they did in the second year of Barack Obama’s presidency, and nearly one-in-three think a civil war is next. 

The poll asked, “How likely is that the United States will experience a second civil war sometime in the next five years?” 31% of Likely U.S. Voters say it’s likely that the United States will experience a second civil war sometime in the next five years, 11% say it’s Very Likely. 59% consider a second civil war unlikely and 29% say it’s Not at All Likely. 

Democrats (37%) are more fearful than Republicans (32%) and voters not affiliated with either major party (26%) that a second civil war is at hand.

Marijuana Addiction is Real and on the Rise

The National Institute on Drug Abuse says that studies suggest 9% of people who use marijuana will become dependent on it, rising to about 17% in those who start using in their teens. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health said that in 2015, about 4 million people in the United States met the diagnostic criteria for a marijuana use disorder. 

People who begin using marijuana before the age of 18 are four to seven times more likely to develop a marijuana use disorder than adults.In 2015, 138,000 people voluntarily sought treatment for their marijuana use. 

Marijuana use disorders are often associated with dependence. People who use marijuana frequently often report irritability, mood and sleep difficulties, decreased appetite, cravings, restlessness, and/or various forms of physical discomfort that peak within the first week after quitting and last up to 2 weeks. 

Marijuana potency, as detected in confiscated samples, has steadily increased over the past few decades. In the early 1990s, the average THC content in confiscated marijuana samples was roughly 3.8%, compared to 2014 when it was 12.2%. The average marijuana extract contains more than 50% THC, with some samples exceeding 80%.

The consequences of marijuana use could be worse than in the past, particularly among those who are new to marijuana use or in young people, whose brains are still developing.

Mail Time!

• Mr. O'Reilly, I just recently renewed my Premium Membership because you have become the foundation for my views of today's news. Really enjoyed the program tonight especially your comments to your guest about NAFTA and Mexico. I believe that our border problem is a direct link to a weak unprotected southern Mexican border. If Mexico would enforce their border, most of our illegal immigrant problems would vanish. I hope that President Trump uses NAFTA to impress upon the Mexican government to finally work WITH US on this vital issue. Keep up the good work. 
• Your response to President Trump's continuous tweets and degrading words is spot on. Please continue to remind the President - we voted for him - we are with him - but let the Democrats destroy themselves with their hate. Thank you for continuing to be our voice Mr. O'Reilly.
• Hi Bill,
Is it possible to remove a Supreme Court Justice because Justice Sotomayor's statement seemed to be emotional and bias instead of being impartial and judicial?


Word of the Day: Poltroon