Good News and Fourth of July Facts

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Today is Thursday, july second, and we're talking about a new Second Amendment case on the Supreme Court's docket A judge blocking USPS from moving forward with a new controversial mail ballot rule, the possible return of the press three option of the nine hundred eighty eight crisis hotline, the new DOJ memo regarding disabilities, and much more Now because Monday's episode was solely focused on Supreme Court decisions, or I guess it was Tuesday's episode, we are going to be playing catch upp a bit in this episode because there are a few things from the end of last week and the beginning of this week that we need to talk about that we weren't able to cover on Tuesday First, let's start with some more Supreme Court news. Just when you thought we were finished talking about the Supreme Court, I do have another story for you. The Supreme Court has decided to take up a big secondecond Amendment case. And this one involves the constitutionality of bans on AR fifteen style rifles and semi automatic rifles. Now before we get into the exact issue presented by these cases, I do just want to note that we did kind of see this one coming Last year, the Supreme Court turned down a request to consider the constitutionality of laws that ban semiiautomatic rifles like the AR fifteen. And three justices, justustices Thomas Alito and Gorsuch all kind of indicated that they would have granted that petition for review. And Justice Kavanaugh wrote that the Supreme Court, quote should and presumably will address the AR fifteen issue soon in the next term or two. endnd quote. And of course, here we are. So on Tuesday, the justices agreed take up these two cases. Both cases involve laws that restrict AR fifteen style rifles and similar semi automatic firearms One is a Connecticut law, the other is a county law in Cook County, Illinois. And these challenges are arguing, these challengers are arguing that These laws violate the Second Amendment because AR fifteens and similar rifles are commonly owned for lawful purposes. Now the government's defending the laws, they argue that these restrictions are constitutional and that these types of firearms can be limited because of the public safety concerns that come with them, especially given their use in some mass shootings Now, the most important case in the background of these two cases is of course, Brwin In twenty twenty two, the Supreme Court said that the government has to show that a gun restriction is consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation And ever since Brwin, lower courts have been applying that test to different gun laws, including these AR fifteen style rifle bands. So in the Connecticut case, the lower courts declined to block the law. And the secondecond Circuit Court of Aeals agreed and said that Connecticut's restrictions were consistent with the country's historical tradition of firearms regulation And a similar thing happened in the Cook County case. So now the Supreme Court is stepping in. and the question for the justices will be, does the Second Amendment protect the right to possess AR fifteen style rifles and similar semi automatic rifles? So the court will hear arguments during its next term, which starts in October ber and then we'll get a decision at some point thereafter had to guess, I would guess that that'll probably be a june twenty twenty seven decision. Wh knows? In the meantime, these laws in Connecticut and Cook County remain in place. And just in case I wasn't clear on this, these two cases will be heard together. So whenever oral arguments do happen, these two cases will be heard at the same time The next story, a federal judge has blocked the US Postal Service from moving forward with proposed new rules for mail and ballots. Now, I briefly covered this story in the Quick Hitters segment last week, but I know a lot of people had questions about this proposed rule. So I do want to use this as an opportunity just to talk about it a bit more Earlier This year, President Trump signed an executive order dealing with election integrity and maail voting As part of that, the Postal Service proposed a new rule for federal elections. And that proposed rule would create new USPS standards for mail in and absentee ballots in federal, general, special and runoff elections So for example, states or authorized election officials would have to use a new USPS federal ballot mail portal to tell USPS which voters are being sent mail in or absentee ballots For each voter, the state would have to provide the voter's name address, the unique barcode on the outbound ballot envelope being sent to the voter, the unique barcode on the return ballot envelope the voter would use to send the ballot back and the originating election office state. The rule would also require both the outbound ballot envelope and the return ballot envelope to meet certain USPS design standards. So they would need to include the official election mail logo, be compatible with USPS automation equipment, include a unique intelligent mail barcode. They would have to undergo USPS review for envelope design and barcode placement Timing wise, election officials would generally have to submit the voter barcode information at least thirty days before the federal election to the extent practicable or by the date when ballots are allowed to start being mailed under state law They could keep adding or modifying voters on the list until the last day ballots may be mailed out under state law Then USPS would review outbound ballot mail before accepting it. So USPS says it would check. whether the ballot mailing meets the envelope standards and whether the ballots are being sent to people enrolled on that state's USBS participation list, mail and and absentee participation list USPS says it wouldn't decide whether someone is actually eligible to vote. It would only check whether the person is on that state submitted list. Furthermore, if a state did not certify the required information or if the ballot mail didn't comply with the new standards, USPS wouldn't accept and transmit that outbound ballot mail Now These last two points we just went over are what made this rule controversial because under the rule, if a voter wasn't included on the state's USPS mail in and an absentee participation list, USPS would not mail out a ballot for that voter If a state didn't submit the required certification, USPS wouldn't accept outbound federal ballot mail from authorized ballot mailers in that state. And if a ballot mailing didn't comply with the new standards, USPS wouldn't accept it and would return it to the ballot mailer to fix the errors. Now, the postal Service has said the goal was to create more uniform ballot mail procedures, improve tracking, and help enforce federal election law But the NAACP sued, and they argued that the postal serervice was violating a previous twenty twenty one settlement agreement from litigation filed during the twenty twenty election cycle. Back in august twenty twenty, the NAACP sued USPS. This was during COVID. Obviously the election cycle was happening during the pandemic. This was during that time because there were concerns about mail delays and whether mail and ballots would be delivered in time That lawsuit was ultimately settled in twenty twenty one and under that settlement USPS agreed to keep certain election mail safeguards in place through the twenty twenty eight election cycle. And this included prioritizing the monitoring and timely delivery of election mail. So in this case, the NAACP is saying, hold on This new proposed rule doesn't prioritize the timely delivery of election mail in the way that USPS agreed to. And the judge agreed with the NAACP. The judge said that the postal serervice could not claim that it was prioritizing the timely delivery of election mail while also adopting a policy that would allow the agency to refuse to accept and deliver certain ballots or potentially not mail ballots to any voters in a state that fail to certify the required list So for now, the proposed rule is blocked from moving forward, but the administration can appeal. And it's also important to note that this was still a proposed rule. It was not a final rule. So this wasn't taking effect immediately. It was a proposal from USPS that would have had to move through the the standard rule making process before being finalized. But because of this ruling, USPS cannot continue moving forward with that rule making process unless the ruling is changed or lifted Okay, next story, the Trump administration is moving to restart the specialized LGBTQ plus option for the youth and young adults who contact the nine hundred eighty eight crisis hotline. This time though, it'll likely be without the Trevor project. So a little bit of background on the nine hundredy eight hotline first, the nine hundred eighty eight suuicide and Crisis lifeline is something that launched in twenty twenty two It's a federally funded resource for people experiencing either mental health, substance abuse or suicidal crises President Trump signed the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act into law in october twenty twenty. and that is the law that designated nine hundred eighty eight as the three digit dialing code to be used for a nationwide suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline So when the nine hundred eighty eight line was ultimately launched in twenty twenty two under the Biden administration, it included multiple call in options. So veterans would press one, Spanish speakers would press two. and then option three would specifically direct callers to counselors who were trained to work with LGBTQ people who were under twentyenty five years old The Trevor Project, which is a nonprofit that focuses on suicide prevention and crisis intervention for LGBTQ youth was the main contact center that partnered with the nine hundred eighty eight lifeline to provide this option three support. So if someone called nine hundred eighty eight hit the three option, some of the time, they would be directed to someone from the Trevor project And to give you numbers as to how this broke down The between twenty twenty two and twenty twenty four, agency data showed that of the more than fourteen and a half million people who called, texted or sent chats to the nine hundred eighty eight hotline and were transferred to a crisis contact center Roughly one point three million of those people were routed to the LGBTQ specialized service by pressing option three and the Trevor project handled about half of that, you know, option three traffic But in June of last year, the sububstance abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, SAMSA announced that it would no longer quote, silo LGB plus youth services to focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served through the press three option And the administration's reasoning at the time was that the Press three option was specifically established as a pilot program in fiscal year twenty twenty two under a government agreement with the Trevor proroject, But the funds that were appropriated to that program had been exhausted and therefore the option was being terminated So with that announcement, Press three was no longer offered as a specific call in option, but all callers could still call nine eighty eight and get help from counselors. And then separately, the Trevor Project announced that it would still be running its own crisis hotline to help those specifically looking for LGBTQ counselors Now though, the administration says it's working to bring this Press three option back by the end of this year. It appears to be because Congress directed funding for it. So a letter written last month by SAamMSA, It was written to a member of Congress says fiscal year twenty twenty six appropriations include restoring thirty three point one million dollars for specialized LGBTQ plus youth services including the nine hundred eighty eight Press three option. It also requires LGBTQ plus youth cultural competency training and a system to route LGBTQ plus youth to a specialty organization The SamsL letter said it's still figuring out how to implement that while complying with Trump's executive order on gender ideology Now as for why the Trevor Project might not be involved this time around, the issue has to do with which organizations are currently allowed to apply to help operate this possibly restored service. According to reporting, those applications are limited to crisis centers that are currently active in the nine hundredy eight network, and because the Trevor Project is no longer active in that network after you know the press three option was shut down, it might not be eligible to apply Let's take our first break here. When we come back, we will talk about this new DOJ memo regarding institutionalization for people with disabilities and much more Welcome back The top three things you need in the summer in my opinion, sunscreen, a portable fan, and temperature regulating bed sheets. Now the portable fan, that might just be a me thing, okay, I run hot. Not only do I run hot, but I live in Florida. so you can do the math there. Not enjoyable. The temperature regulating sheets though, are something I think everyone can benefit from. Mine are obviously from Czy Earth, that's the only place I get my bedding And they're just amazing. Now, if you've never had temperature regulating sheets, I want you to imagine laying on a pillowy soft bed with a silky, smooth and incredibly cozy material wrapped around you, but you're not hot. You're cool. 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This is the office that gives legal advice inside the executive branch Now this opinion in particular is a slip opinion, which just means that this is the released version of the opinion before it's formally published in OLC's official opinion volumes OLC opinions are written to answer questions from the council to the presresident about how certain laws should be read This opinion is titled Application of the Rehabilitation Act and Americans with Disabilities Act to state institutionalization of patients with severe mental illness or disabilities And it deals with two federal laws, seection five hundred four of the Rehabilitation Act and Title two of the Americans withith Disabilities Act, or ADA Section five hundred four bans disability discrimination in programs that receive federal financial assistance Title two of the ADA applies disability discrimination protections to public entities, so state and local government services The specific question in this memo is whether those laws require states to provide care to people with serious mental illnesses or disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. And that phrase most integrated setting is really important here The most integrated setting means the setting that allows a person with a disability to live and interact with non disabled people as much as possible. So in this context, we're typically talking about the difference between someone receiving care in an institution versus receiving care in a community based setting, a group home, supported housing, some other less restrictive environments Now, the memo says DOJ and HHS regulations have long required covered entities to administer programs in the most integrated setting appropriate. and that the DOJ previously defined that as a setting that lets disabled individuals interact with non disabled individuals to the fullest extent possible And that idea is often called the integration mandate. So for years, the federal government has used that integration mandate along with a Supreme Court case called Ulmstead to push states away from unnecessary institutionalization and toward community based care Quickly, let's talk about what Ulmsted stands for. UlmstD was a nineteen ninety nine Supreme Court case that involved two women in Georgia who had mental disabilities and had been put into a state psychiatric facility. Both women alleged that Georgia officials violated the ADA by keeping them in the institution even after professionals who had treated them determined that community based placement was more appropriate for them And the Supreme Court ultimately held that unjustified institutional isolation of people with disabilities can be a form of discrimination under Title I of the ADA that holding became a major disability rights precedent for disability advocates OlmSEed stands for the idea that people with disabilities shouldn't be unnecessarily segregated in institutions when they can otherwise safely and appropriately receive care in the community But this is where the new DOJ memo comes in. The memo says that Omstad has been read too broadly accccording to OLC Olmsteed did not hold that the ADA or Rehabilitation Act requires states to treat people in the most integrated setting appropriate for their needs. Instead, OLC says that the actual holding was narrower than that that Unjustified institutional isolation can be discrimination, but that doesn't automatically mean states must always provide care in the most integrated setting possible. So the memo is essentially drawing a distinction between two ideas, right? On one hand, you have the idea that you can't institutionalize someone without a legitimate reason. And the memo agrees with that. But on the other hand, you have the idea that If a more integrated community setting is appropriate and available, the state has to provide that setting. And the memo rejects that idea as a general legal mandate. So the DOJ is basically now saying that Neither the ADA nor the Rehabilitation Act imposeed this integration mandate that DOJ and HHS have relied on since Omstead The memo says that over the past two decades, DOJ's civil rightights Division relied on this integration mandate and Olm said to pressures states into discharging people from mental health institutions So based on this memo, the executive branch appears to be moving away from the theory that the DOJ has used to pressure states into de inststitutionalization and community based treatment agreements Now what might this look like in real life? Okay? So let's kind of play it out Imagines a there's an adult that has a developmental disability who lives in a state run institution Under the broader Olmeed integration mandate approach If Professionals determined that this person could appropriately live in a community based setting a group home, a supported apartment, some other supervised living arrangement The state might be more vulnerable to legal action by the government if it keeps that person institutionalized anyway. That could mean a lawsuit. it could mean a DOJ enforcement action. It could mean something else that's essentially requiring the state to move that person toward a more integrated setting However, under this new DOJ memoos view The state might actually have more room to argue that continued institutional care is not discrimination if it can point to a non discriminatory reason for that placement. So maybe the state says that the person requires a higher level of supervision Maybe the state cites safety concerns. Maybe the state says community placements aren't currently available. Things like that Under the memo's reasoning, those are the kinds of factors that could support institutional care without automatically making it disability discrimination. So under the older, broader approach, the DOJ could use the ADA to push states to create more community placements to reduce unnecessary institutionalization to enter agreements requiring discharge planning for certain individuals. But under this new memas approach, the DOJ seems to be saying that the ADA and Rehabilitation Act don't automatically require that kind of maximal integration Now, states cannot institutionalize someone for no reason, okay, but the federal government may now be less likely to challenge states on that basis OLC's argument here is that the ADA and Rehabilitation Act prohibit disability discrimination But discrimination means treating similarly situated people differently because of a disability without enough justification OLC says institutional care can be discriminatory if it's unjustified, but it's not automatically discriminatory just because a more integrated setting exists disability advocates, though are saying, okay, but if the federal goverment moves away from the integrration mandate, states might have more room to keep people in institutions instead of investing in community based care And the fear there is that the federal government is starting to back away from an interpretation of the ADA that has helped support community based care and limit unnecessary institutionalization for more than twenty years Now as for the real world effects, Does this mean the DOJ and HHS are going to stop enforcing disability discrimination laws altogether? No, because that that would just simply go too far. However, it is fair to say that this memo could change what kind of enforcement they pursue, right? Because for years, the DOJ and HHS relied on the integration mandate to push states toward community based care. But this memo says the DOJ now believes that that mandate wasn't actually imposed by the ADA or rehabilitation Act and that the DOJ and HHS didn't have authority to create it through regulation practical effect, like I talked about, it might be that the DOJ and HDSs are just less likely to bring enforcement actions based solely on the idea that a state failed to provide the most integrated setting possible Instead, the focus might shift to whether the institutionalization is unjustified or discriminatory. And under the memo's reasoning, states might now have more room to defend institutional care by pointing to those nondiscriminatory reasons that we talked about But again, just to be clear, this does not mean that states can now institutionalize people for no reason. It doesn't mean people no longer have the ability to bring claims of discrimination in court. It means the DOJ and HHS are most likely less likely to bring enforcement actions solely on the idea that a state failed to provide the most integrated setting possible Some of you ask whether this opinion is something that can be challenged in court The answer is not really because an OLC opinion is an internal executive branch legal opinion. It tells You know, agencies within the executive branch how to act, how to enforce. However, if the DOJ or HHS takes action based on this memo, so rescinds regulations, withdraws guidance, changes enforcement practices in some definitive way, denies a claim based on this new interpretation, that agency action be challeng in court. And the memo itself says that any final agency action adopting OLC's view in this memo could face litigation under federal law. In fact, the memo acknowledges that its view here is not aligned with how federal courts have understood the Olm said case. The memo says the vast majority of federal appeals courts have treated OlmMSed as requiring community based treatment when three things are true. When professionals say community placement is appropriate, when the person doesn't oppose community placement, and when the state can reasonably make community placement work So hopefully that gives you a better understanding of what this memo actually is. It's always my goal to answer all of your questions, and I can only hope that I did that Now let's move on to quick headters. We do have quite a few today, starting with President Trump's new Air Force O plane. So President Trump took his first flight aboard the new Boeing seven hundred forty seven thousand eight I that will serve as Air Force O when he's on board. That was a plane that was donated by Qatar, refurbished for presidential use and is expected to temporarily fill the role, while the long delayed replacement Air Force One planes are still being completed. Trump flew to North Dakota for the opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Pidential Library And speaking of President Trump, he announced that Republicans will hold their first ever national midterm convention in Dallas this September The event is scheduled for september ninth and tenth at the American Airlines Center, and it's meant to help energize Republican voters ahead of the twenty twenty six midterm elections. California just became the first state to ban consumer facing sell by labels on most packaged foods. Starting july first, foods sold in the state generally has to use clearearr labels like Best if used By or U byy, and food manufacturers can choose to use either label or both The goal is to reduce confusion because sell by dates are usually meant for stores, not consumers, and it can lead people to throw away food that might still be safe to eat. There are exceptions under this law for things like eggs, beer and baby formula, which is regulated separately under federal law Chinese tech and e commerce company, Alibaba Group, has agreed to pay six hundred million dollars to resolve DOJ allegations that it failed to prevent the illegal sales of pharmaceuticals, controlled substances, listed chemicals, and pill presses into the United States through alibaba dot com and Ali expxpress DOJ Szaliibaba admitted that from twenty sixteen to twenty twenty four, merchants used its platform platforms for about eighty thousand sales involving illegal imports with a combined value of more than two hundred million dollars of this non prosecution agreement, Alibaba and its payment processor accepted responsibility, agreed to pay penalties and forfeitures and promised to strengthen their compliance programs And former Trump national security addviser John Bolton agreed to plead guilty to illegally retaining classified national defense information. Bolton was originally charged with eighteen counts related to classified materials, including diary style notes that he shared with relatives while writing a memoir But he pleaded guilty to one count as part of a deal with the DOJ. The agreement includes a two point two five million dollars fine, forfeitting his federal retirement pay, a debriefing with intelligence officials, and up to one hundred hours of community service. Bolton is scheduled to be sentenced on october twenty eighth, and while this plea deal could help him avoid prison time, the judge will ultimately decide his sentence Former CIA director John Brennan is suing the DOJ and several Trump administration officials asking a federal judge to order the government to preserve records tied to reported criminal investigations involving him Brennan has not yet been charged with a crime, but his lawyers say that if charges are eventually brought, those records could be important to arguing the case was politically motivated, vindictive, or selective. The DOJ is not confirming whether an investigation exists, as is normal practice, but a DOJ spokesperson pushed back on Brennan's claims saying it's quote unquote, certainly rich that Brennan is accusing anyone of a retribution campaign. Open AI is reportedly in early talks about giving the US government a five percent ownership stake in the company, which would be worth about forty two point six billion dollars based on a funding round in March that valued the company at eight hundred fifty two billion dollars According to a reporting from the Financial Times, the idea is part of a broader proposal that could also involve other major USAI companies giving the government similar stakes Op AI CEO Sam Altman has argued that the arrangement would allow the public to share in the financial upside of AI. And last month, President Trump did tell reporters that he was planning to meet with top AI executives to discuss giving the public a stake in their companies. And hiring slowed in June with the US economy adding fifty seven thousand jobs down from one hundred seventy two thousand jobs in May. That came in below economists expectations, though the unemployment rate still ticked down slightly from four point three percent to four point two percent The biggest job gains came from professional and business services, which added thirty six thousand jobs and healthcare, though healthcare hiring also slowed Let's take our second and final break here. When we come back, we will finish quQuick Hitters because believe it or not, we still have more quQick Hitters to do. And then we'll do Rumor has it, good news, critical thinking. And at the very end, I will leave you with some fun fourth of July facts Summer always makes me rethink what I'm wearing every day. It is just so hot outside. You have to be smart. And this is especially difficult for me because as I've talked about before, I have psoriasis. It makes me want to cover up every affected area of my body, which right now is pretty much all over. But what I love about Qints is that they offer lighter fabrics and better materials and pieces that actually feel good when you put them on, but still look really effortless. For me, I always feel insecure about wearing long sleeves in the summer Quince makes me feel better about it because at least I feel chic and the material is breathable. Now for you who can most likely wear short sleeves, tanks tops, shorts, et cetera without even thinking about it, this is even better. Quin has so many good everyday pieces, linen pants, dresses, tops, starting at do thirty two dollars. They have really soft denim, they have organic cotton sweaters that are perfect when the temperature gets bit cooler at night. Now right now, I'm loving the linen pants. The one hundred percent European linen pants are phenomenal and they're only forty two dollars. The prices are amazing. Everything is fifty percent to eighty percent less than similar brands because Quince actually works directly with factories and cuts out the middlemen, so you're paying for the quality, not the label They also have way more than clothes, home, kitchen, bedding, all of it. It's kind of one of those places where you can find really nice basics for almost every part of your life. So make your summer wardrobe feel easier. Go to quince dot com slash unbiased for free shipping on your order and three hundred sixty five day returns now available in Canada too Qui ncE. com slash unbiased for free shipping and three hundred and sixty five day returns. Quince d. com slash unbiased You know how sometimes you have those days where the first time you sit down, it's like seven thirty at night. That was me the other day. I was out running errands for most of the day. Then I had to come home, immediately had to get on some calls, Then I had to work a little bit. beforefore I knew it, it was time to put my baby down. That was like a whole hour hour and a half thing. So I finally sat down on the couch at like seven thirty. and I realized I hadn't eaten all day And the last thing I'm gonna do is get up from the couch and cook. Okaykay? So I was sitting there like, what do I do? What do I do? I just need to eat something. And that's when I remembered I had four factor meals left in the fridge. day or my night turned around in an instant, I was so happy, so excited because factactor meals, not only are they convenient, they're genuinely good. Now if you've never heard of Factor, these are fully prepared meals designed by dietiticians and crafted by chefs, delivered right to your door. Factor has meals built around your goals, whether that's weight loss, overall nutrition Pote GLP one support. 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Subject to approval. pay mononthly consonsumer loans made by WebBank. Available through PayPaling N ML nine one zero four fivety seven. Learn more at payPal d. com slash pay mononthly Welcome back Continuing on with some quick hitters, the Trump administration will not extend the US. Mexico Canada aggreement in its current form The trade deal, which Trump negotiated during his first term to replace NAFTA will remain in effect for now, but the decision starts a longer review process and creates some uncertainty over its future. US. officials say they want changes aimed at reducing trade deficits and bringing more manufacturing back to the United States. Canada and Mexico have both signaled they are open to continue negotiations businesses and industry groups are warning that a prolonged fight over the deal free problems for North American supply chains climbers who scaled the Empire State Building yesterday are expected to appear in court today The pair were taken into custody Wednesday after spending several minutes at the top of the spire. where the man actually appeared to propose to the woman, both are facing multiple charges, including burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal trespass, and disorderly conduct Trump accounts will officially launch on the fourth of July, which means eligible Americans can start contributing this weekend. As we've talked about in past episodes, Trump accounts are tax deferred investment accounts for kids under eighteen, children born between january first, twenty twenty five and december thirty first, twenty twenty eight who open an account are eligible for a one thousand dollars treasury Department contribution. Filies and other contributors can generally put in up to five thousand dollars per child per year, though the money usually can't be withdrawn until the child turns eighteen. And you can apply for an account if you're interested at trrumpacccounts. gov dot Okay, it's time for Rumor hasas it, my weekly segment where I do my best to either confirm dis speill or add contexts to recent rumors submitted by all of you. First one, President Trump made over one billion dollars in crypto last year. This is true as it pertains to his crypto related income reported through his businesses. So here is what we know. According to President Trump's twenty twenty five financial disclosure, which was released by the U. S. Office of Government Ethhics recorted more than one billion dollars in income or proceeds tied to crypto related ventures. The filing itself lists roughly six hundred thirty five million dollars in royalties through CIC Digital's license fees for NFTs and meme coins. It lists roughly one hundred ninety seven million doars in net proceeds tied to Stablecoin holdco It also lists multiple World Liberty financial related entries, including roughly sixty five million dollars from an equity sale and roughly two hundred thirty six million dollars from token sales and roughly two hundred ninety million doars in other token sale proceeds addding these numbers together, you get more than one billion dollars A big chunk of this money obviously came from two places, the roughly six hundred thirty five million dollars in royalties through CIC Digital LLC, which the disclosure describes as involving license fees for NFTs and meme coins. And then second, the roughly two hundred thirty six million dollars from token sales related to World Liberty Financial, which is a crypto venture linked to Trump and his sons It as a co founder emeritus, basically an honorary founder title. and then it lists his sons as co foundounders Now a few of you have asked what kind of conflict of interest this presents and whether this is legal, The answer is it's complicated as with anything in the law. So the biggest conflict of interest concern here is that Trump is obviously in a position to influence federal crypto policy while he and his family have major financial interests in crypto related ventures his administration, obviously overseas agencies like the SEC, CFTC, Treasury, the Justice Department, all of which can affect the crypto industry through regulation, enforcement, banking decisions, stable coin rules, sanctions, investigations, etceter. There's an obvious conflict of interest concern if a crypto related policy also benefits the businesses connected to the president or his family As far as the legality of it though, it's not automatically legal. Presidents are generally exempt from the main federal criminal conflict of interest statute that applies to most executive branch officials. So the fact that a president has a financial interest affected by federal policy doesn't by itself violate that specific conflict of interest law At the same time, that doesn't mean there are no legal limits at all, right? Bribery laws still apply, financial disclosure rules still apply, securities and fraud laws could apply depending on the facts. If money or benefits are coming from foreign governments or foreign government linked entities, that can raise questions under the Constitution's emoluments clause those questions also be pretty legally complicated. So yes, these crypto ventures do raise conflict of interest concerns, but whether any part of it is actually illegal would depend on much more specific evidence, a quid pro quo, a disclosure violation, fraud, a constitutionally prohibited foreign benefit, something like that But to answer the initialumor,es, Trump's twenty five financial disclosure shows more than one billion dollars in crypto related income and proceeds connected to his businesses Next one birthright citizenship could be overturned with legislation. This is false. Now after the Supreme Court struck down Trump's birthright citizenship order, Trump posted on trruth social quotes upld birthright citizenship, which is too bad for our country, but we can easily make it up in Congress through legislation with the support of the president that has now been determined during this process. No long an unwieldy constitutional amendment is necessary, Congress should start today to work on ending expensive and unfair to our country birthright citizenship. They will have my complete and total support and quote Thing is though, this would need a constitutional amendment. Congress could not do this alone Congress cannot overturn a constitutional right with only a bill Now that the Supreme Court has weighed in on what the Constitution says regarding who's entitled to birthright citizenship to actually change a constitutional rule, there would either need to be a constitutional amendment or a future Supreme Court decision interpreting the fourourteenth Amendment differently. Now Congress could try to pass a bill limiting birthright citizenship to certain babies born in the United States, but that would almost certainly ninety nine point nine nine and nineine nine percent certainly trigger another court fight. It would most likely be struck down in light of Trump v. Barbara. The other avenue Congress could take is passing laws dealing with related issues. So visa fraud bir or birth tourism as they call it. And even then, those would also trigger another court fight. But no, Congress can't overturn birthright citizenship with a bill Last one, the Trump administration is considering two hundred and fifty pardons for the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary This one needs context. The Atlantic reported that the White House is reportedly discussing a plan for Trump to issue up to two hundred and fifty pardons to mark America's two hundred fiftieth anniversary, But the report also said this is a push from aides and interns within the White House, not the president himself, and that this proposal hadn't been presented to the president yet. So it's unclear if the president even knows about this potential proposal In some good news, the US men's soccer team is moving on in the World Cup after beating Bosnia and Herzegovina. The US won two to zero. It was the team's first World Cup knockout stage win since two thousand two. But what makes this win even more impressive? I guess this is kind of bad news, but it's that the United States had to play a pretty big chunk of the second half down one player after its leading goal scorer was shown a red card. I don't know. I watched the game. I really didn't agree with that call. Who am I to say? So the United States will play Belgium in the next round on Monday. I have no doubt that the men's team will show up and show out. In some more good news, a dad who gave up his dream car decades ago to support his growing family just got the best surprise from his youngest son. So after returning home from Vietnam, Daniel Ellen bought his dream car. It was a white nineteen sixty nine Mustang Mck one Allan told the story of how he he used to drive it on dates with his future wife. He even proposed to her in the car. But after they had six sons, the two door Mustang didn't make much sense anymore, so he sold it to make room for a family car Well, his youngest son, Shane, never forgot all of the stories that his dad told him. And this year, he secretly tracked down a nearly identical mustustang. He traded in one of his own classic cars just to get it. He restored it to look just like his dad's original, and then he surprised his dad with it for Father's Day