Jerry Seinfeld Commencement Speech Spurs Walkout at Duke University
The comedian's steadfast support of Israel resulted in calls to cancel his graduation day appearance.
BY EVE BATEY

MAY 12, 2024
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/jerry-seinfeld-duke-students-walkout

Jerry Seinfeld has steered clear of controversy for decades, saving his strongest opinions for the arguably mundane. But it appears his recent comments on what’s acceptable fodder for comedy, as well as his ongoing support of Israel, have prompted a new wave of frustration with the comedian. That aggravation boiled over today, in the form of a student walkout at Duke University’s graduation, just as the Seinfeld star took the stage to deliver the school’s commencement speech.

According to a video posted to social media, Seinfeld’s introduction by school president Vincent Price was “drowned out” by chants of “free free Palestine.” The rallying cries appeared to come from both the soon-to-be-graduates seated on Brooks Field as well as folks in the surrounding rows at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Another video shows be-gowned students standing, unfurling Palestinian flags, and leaving the stadium as Seinfeld prepared to speak. According to The Daily Beast, the livestream of the graduation ceremony cut away from the protest as it occurred.

Seinfeld, who also received an honorary doctorate from the school, didn’t allude to the protest in his speech, which focused on general life advice for the graduates. WRAL reports that the still-working standup announced three keys to life: Work hard, pay attention, and fall in love. (All activities, one should note, that seemed to eternally elude his namesake character.)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-cfpb-funding/

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the funding structure for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, rescuing the consumer finance agency from another effort by its critics to weaken it.

The court said in a 7-2 decision that the agency's funding structure complies with the Constitution's Appropriations Clause. Justice Clarence Thomas authored the majority opinion. Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented.

"Under the Appropriations Clause, an appropriation is simply a law that authorizes expenditures from a specified source of public money for designated purposes," Thomas wrote. "The statute that provides the bureau's funding meets these requirements. We therefore conclude that the bureau's funding mechanism does not violate the Appropriations Clause."

The decision reverses a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that concluded the mechanism for funding the consumer agency was unconstitutional.

Thomas wrote that the statute laying out how the CFPB gets its funding — from the Federal Reserve — fits with the appropriations practices dating back to the First Congress and is similar to schemes used to fund the Post Office and Customs Service, which were established in the late 1700s.

In a dissenting opinion, Alito said the ruling in favor of the CFPB "turns the Appropriations Clause into a minor vestige." He said that under the funding scheme upheld by the court, the consumer watchdog can "bankroll its own agenda without any congressional control or oversight."

"There is apparently nothing wrong with a law that empowers the executive to draw as much money as it wants from any identified source for any permissible purpose until the end of time," Alito wrote. "That is not what the Appropriations Clause was understood to mean when it was adopted."

The Framers, he said, "would be shocked, even horrified," by the way the CFPB receives its funding.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/turks-and-caicos-ammo-governors-urge-release-americans-sharitta-shinise-grier/

"Make my day, Pal"

Biden proposes June and September debates with Trump, who accepts dates
The president said he will not participate in the traditional televised showdowns organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

By Michael Scherer and Josh Dawsey
Updated May 15, 2024 at 9:52 a.m. EDT|Published May 15, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. EDT

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/15/biden-trump-presidential-debates/

President Biden said Wednesday that he will not participate in the decades-old tradition of three fall meetings organized by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, instead calling on his Republican rival Donald Trump to join him for two televised presidential debates in June and September.

Trump responded minutes later saying he accepted Biden’s offer. “I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September,” he wrote on Truth Social. “I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds.”

“Just tell me when, I’ll be there,” he continued, before referencing a tag line from professional boxing. “'Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!”

The public announcement follows private back-channel discussions about possible meetings. The officials with the Biden and Trump campaigns have privately had informal conversations on debates in recent weeks, focused on meetings that would not involve the commission, according to two people familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private events.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4667534-texas-poll-conservative-agenda/

About 77 percent of Texans surveyed — and 62 percent of Republicans — said Republicans in the state Legislature “were working for their wealthy campaign donors.”

VCU students walk out of commencement during Youngkin address
VCU students who walked out said they were demonstrating support for Palestinians and protesting some of the Republican governor’s crusade against efforts to promote racial equity in education.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/05/11/vcu-youngkin-commencement-walkout/

By Karina Elwood and Laura Vozzella
Updated May 11, 2024 at 3:58 p.m. EDT|Published May 11, 2024 at 12:05 p.m. EDT

RICHMOND — Dozens of Virginia Commonwealth University students walked out of their graduation ceremony Saturday morning as Gov. Glenn Youngkin delivered the commencement address, demonstrating support for Palestinians and protesting some of the Republican’s crusade against efforts to promote racial equity in education.

The selection of Youngkin as speaker drew criticism from some ahead of the ceremony. The university’s chapter of the NAACP this week urged VCU officials to rescind the invitation, and some students in recent days said they would hold a walkout during the ceremony.

On Saturday, attendees at the commencement were given cards congratulating the graduating class but warning that anyone who disrupted the ceremony was subject to removal.

As Youngkin began his speech, dozens of the graduates in attendance filed out of the Greater Richmond Convention Center, mostly in silence, some holding kaffiyeh scarves and signs aloft. “Teach Black history,” one read. “Book bans [do not equal] respect for learning,” read another.

New Yahoo News/YouGov poll: With Trump's trial underway, most Americans now believe he falsified records to hide hush money payment
If the jury agrees, Trump could become the first former U.S. president convicted of a felony.
Andrew Romano
Andrew Romano
Tue, May 14, 2024 at 3:45 PM EDT
https://www.yahoo.com/news/new-yahoo-newsyougov-poll-with-trumps-trial-underway-most-americans-now-believe-he-falsified-records-to-hide-hush-money-payment-194508677.html

For the first time, a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows that a majority of Americans (52%) believe former President Donald Trump “falsif[ied] business records to conceal a hush money payment to a porn star” — the charge at the center of his ongoing criminal trial in Manhattan.

This represents a new high — and a significant increase from previous Yahoo News/YouGov polls conducted before courtroom testimony began last month, suggesting that coverage of the trial may be shifting perceptions of Trump’s conduct.

If the jury agrees, Trump could become the first former U.S. president convicted of a felony.

In contrast, just 22% of Americans say Trump did not falsify business records to hide a hush money payment to a porn star.

The new survey of 1,794 U.S. adults, which was conducted from May 10 to 13, also shows a dip in the former president’s favorable rating — from 45% in March to 41% today.

It won't let me post the video https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aAyVyXL_460svav1.mp4