Biden Condemns Violent Protests; GOP Sees Winning Issue
Mexican troops help bring down migrant crossings; Mo News reactions to C-section story
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Good morning,
This chiropractor says he was thrilled to adjust the animal with the largest neck in the world: The giraffe!
Gerry, an Oklahoma giraffe owned by a private rancher, had a chewing issue. After Dr. Joren Whitley gave him a neck adjustment, Gerry rubbed with gratitude. His owner says it helped too!
Check out his TikTok with other animal adjustments.
Have a great weekend!
Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren
📌 BIDEN BREAKS SILENCE ON CAMPUS PROTESTS AS REPUBLICANS ATTACK
After about two weeks of relative silence on the issue, President Biden condemned the unrest on campuses across the country yesterday, saying that Americans have “the right to protest, but not a right to cause chaos.”
It comes as fellow Democrats have been urging him to speak out amid the chaos and unrest breaking out at dozens of campuses. Lawmakers across the ideological spectrum are also weighing in. On Wednesday, 187 Republicans and 133 Democrats voted to pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act.
The bill would mandate the Department of Education adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism when enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws.
Supporters of the legislation say it will help combat antisemitism on college campuses, while opponents argued it could restrict free speech.
Police and university officials across the country continue their efforts to tame pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests across dozens of campuses.
MORE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE
Until now, Biden seemed reluctant to speak out about the protests—trying not to offend progressives to his left and moderates to his right. He didn’t please either side. Finally, yesterday, he said, “vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations — none of this is a peaceful protest. And that’s what we are seeing.” Biden told reporters that the campus protests have not impacted any of his views on the war.
Columbia University moved all classes and final exams online due to concerns over "an evolving campus environment."
Over on UCLA’s campus, police arrested about 200 people and classes are remote again today.
Protesters occupied a library on Portland State University’s campus. Police cleared the building and arrested students.
🚨 Inside, police “found caches of tools, what appears to be improvised weapons, ball bearings, paint balloons, spray bottles of ink, and DIY armor.”
In a success story: Rutgers University student protesters agreed to peacefully end their protest yesterday after school leadership met with students.
IT’S POLITICS
Republicans are looking to capitalize on the issue by painting Democrats as accepting chaos, anti-Americanism and pro-terrorist slogans. While he is still speaking out, Biden also rejected Republican calls to call up the National Guard.
The Senate GOP’s campaign arm is out with a new ad tying Democrats to the chaotic scenes on college campuses and accusing them of not doing enough to protect Jewish students.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) launched investigations into the tense university clashes. And as his party has been in-fighting for months, he sees campus protests as a unifying issue. Reminder: Johnson could face a vote next week from members in his party to oust him from office.
On the other side, some Democrats are seeing the issue as a potential problem for Biden’s reelection. Moderates are worried he is kowtowing to the left. And then there are the progressives. Here’s Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) concerned Biden is alienating left-wing Americans with his support for Israel.
🇲🇽 MEXICO SENDS TROOPS TO US BORDER; MIGRANT CROSSINGS DROP
US-Mexico border crossings have dropped in 2024. Via: Washington Post.
Mexican authorities sent 600 troops to areas that border Texas due to an uptick in violence, including an attack on a military base and mass kidnappings.
It comes as the numbers of migrants crossing the US-Mexico border has declined from the historic peak in December.
MEXICO SENDS TROOPS
The Mexican states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon used to be dominated by the Zetas drug cartel. Now, smaller groups are battling for the “hotly contested” area.
Lucrative markets: Michael Ballard, vice president of intelligence for Global Guardian, said cartels control less of the area than they have in the past, “but those two states are still among the primary routes for heroin and cocaine to make its way to the border and the US.”
The increase in military officials is a contrast to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s "hugs, not bullets" policy for dealing with cartels.
Instead of confronting the powerful cartels, he has focused on social and economic policy to get people out of poverty.
MIGRATION NUMBERS
After December’s record-breaking 250,000 crossings, the US pushed for more enforcement inside Mexico.
So far, it appears to be helping. Crossings to the US from Mexico usually increase sharply during early spring. However, crossings are actually down more than 40% since December.
US officials attribute the decline to Mexican initiatives.
Mexico has been using military patrols and highway checkpoints to intercept about 8,000 US-bound migrants a day.
Last month, US border agents encountered about 130,000 migrants who entered illegally from Mexico — about the same as the prior three months.
But, border experts warn there could still be a rush. Mexico has not deported most of the migrants stopped, which could mean hundreds of thousands of people are waiting for the crackdown to end.
🤰 MO NEWS COMMUNITY REACTS: 1 IN 3 US BIRTHS ARE C-SECTIONS
We reported this week how the rate of cesarean births in the US rose to 32.4% of births in 2023 (up from 32.1% in 2022), according to CDC data — much higher than the World Health Organization’s “ideal” national rate of 10-15%.
MO NEWS REACTS
Many parents in the Mo News community reacted to the story on our Instagram account that we wanted to share.
Good experiences: @justjesgordon shared that her “three children wouldn’t be here were it not for my c-sections. They were all medically necessary and I’m grateful everyday for the ability to safely have them enter this world.”
While @letempsdelamour elected “a C-section from the very beginning of my pregnancy for my only child. Best decision I ever made.”
Bad experiences: @madimat shared that her first child was born via C-section. She thought the procedure had “saved me and my baby’s lives,” until she dug deeper, reporting it was actually because “my doctor and her impatience, pushing every intervention under the sun onto me.”
She chose to have her other children at home with a midwife when her provider did not allow VBACs — vaginal birth after a C-section.
Talking with your medical provider: @jkrugs22 suggests asking your OB what their C-section rate is. Her physician’s “was 15%, which is on the lower end.”
Around the world: @terarcher had “two babies in New Zealand (midwife-led care)” and then one in California. She was “shocked” at the differences: “I almost never heard of friends getting induced back there and here almost every woman I know has been told by her dr to induce. It’s wild to me.”
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 Arizona Democratic governor signs bill repealing 1864 abortion ban (CNN)
📌 Sex tapes and Lindsey Lohan rehab records: Trump trial detours into tabloid scandals (NBC NEWS)
📌 Second Boeing-related whistleblower Joshua Dean dies (NPR)
📌 President Biden calls Japan and India ‘xenophobic’ nations that do not welcome immigrants (AP)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 How Russia, China and Iran are exploiting campus protests and using them to divide America (NY TIMES)
📌 US accuses Russia of using chemical weapons in Ukraine (AXIOS)
📌 Paris inaugurates giant water storage basin to clean up the River Seine for Olympic swimming (AP)
📌 Top ministers huddle as Israel expects Hamas to decline latest hostage deal offer (TIMES OF ISRAEL)
📌 Summer heat hits Asia early, killing dozens as one expert calls it the "most extreme event" in climate history (CBS NEWS)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 IRS aims to more than double its audit rate for wealthiest taxpayers in strategic plan update (CNBC)
📌 Insurer readies $350 million payout tied to Baltimore bridge collapse (REUTERS) Fifth body recovered more than a month after Baltimore bridge collapse (NBC NEWS)
📌 Orangutan seen treating wound with medicinal herb in first for wild animals (GUARDIAN)
📌 At least 25,000 people in the US are starting weight-loss drug Wegovy each week, drugmaker says (CNN)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Former Nickelodeon producer and writer Dan Schneider sued the creators of “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” (MO NEWS)
📌 Italy has right to seize Greek 2,000-year-old statue from Getty Museum in California, European court affirms (FOX NEWS)
📌 Wally, the emotional support alligator once denied entry to a baseball game, is missing (CNN)
📌 "Big Nude Boat" offers a trip to "bare-adise" on a naked cruise from Florida (CBS NEWS)
🎉 CHEERS TO THE FREAKIN WEEKEND
WHAT WE’RE READING: Mosheh: Coming Home ~ Brittney Griner;
Jill: How a Connecticut middle school won the battle against cellphones ~ The Washington Post’s Joanna Slater
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING: Mosheh: Hacks Season 3 ~ Max & Kentucky Derby ~ NBC
Jill: ‘The Idea of You’ ~ Amazon Prime
WHAT WE’RE EATING: Mosheh: Cheesecake babka ~ Breads Bakery; Jill: Ice Cream Truck Soft Serve