The Patriot Post® · Tuesday Executive News Summary
Robinson’s preliminary hearing
Erika Kirk and Charlie’s parents, Robert and Kathryn, appeared in court Monday as a five-day preliminary hearing in the Tyler Robinson case began. The prosecution needs only to prove that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe the accused, Tyler Robinson, murdered Charlie Kirk. This is not a full trial where evidence must be established “beyond a reasonable doubt.” The prosecution showed videos of the assassination of Charlie, and when the fatal gunshot rang out, Judge Tony Graf flinched, but Robinson reportedly failed to react. Investigators shared evidence, including a note Robinson left for his romantic partner confessing to the assassination and the sniper’s nest that was discovered on a nearby rooftop. The autopsy report was shared, confirming that Charlie’s death was homicide by gunshot. If the prosecution is successful, they can proceed to a full court case against Robinson for aggravated murder.
NATO summit
President Donald Trump arrived in Ankara today for the NATO summit hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. European allies hope for a quiet summit without the U.S. president blowing up at their apparent disinterest in their own defense. Trump has pushed hard for increased defense spending across NATO, and last year every ally finally met the minimum standard of spending 2% of GDP on defense, although the U.S. and many Baltic nations spend more. The alliance has set an ambitious goal of 5% of GDP spent on defense by 2035. Trump has criticized the raw amount of spending as well, arguing the U.S. spends far more, which is true; the U.S. spends nearly $1 trillion annually while European and Canadian partners combined spend around $500 billion. Trump will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa before his departure on Wednesday.
Woke leftists root against America in World Cup
The red card against U.S. Men’s National Team striker Folarin Balogun was controversial before President Trump made it even more so. He called the FIFA president and asked that the FIFA committee review the red card, which they did, and they allowed Balogun to play in the U.S. round-of-16 game against Belgium last night. Of course, leftists melted down and took to social media to vent hate for Trump and America and declare that they’re rooting for Belgium. The U.S. was the last of the three host countries still in the running until it lost to Belgium 4-1 last night, giving the America-haters something to celebrate. There was a time when rooting for our American team brought most of the country together. Apparently, that’s no longer the case.
Ketanji Brown Jackson, superstar
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the featured cover image on the recent issue of the magazine Essence, which describes itself as the “premiere lifestyle, fashion and beauty magazine for African-American women.” The caption below Jackson reads, “The People’s Champion.” This is the latest instance of Jackson engaged in celebrity-type actions, which has raised deserved criticism from conservatives and legal scholars. As libertarian reporter Billy Binion observes, “Ketanji Brown Jackson isn’t supposed to be ‘the people’s champion.’ She’s not a politician. She’s supposed to interpret the law, not make it.” A civil liberties lawyer, Laura Powell, argued, “Supreme Court justices shouldn’t be celebrities. … They should simply do their job of interpreting the law according to constitutional principles.” Indeed, if Jackson wants to be known as a champion of anything, it should be for the Constitution.
DEI Odyssey: Another female actress torpedoes her own movie
Lupita Nyong'o is a fine actress with many remarkable performances on her résumé, but when you’ve already been miscast as Helen of Troy — a fair-skinned blond in one of the oldest Greek epics — it’s probably time to keep your head down. Showing no understanding of the eggshells she walks on, Nyong'o answered a question in a recent interview in the worst possible way. “What’s one question you would ask Homer if you could?” is an opportunity many would love. Nyong'o wouldn’t want to know about the rumored other epic poems that accompany the Iliad and the Odyssey, or what color “wine-dark sea” refers to; she’d rather ask an ancient Greek poet about feminism: “How do you feel about the screen time given to these women?” Perhaps Nyong'o is unaware that the goddess Athena is a main character in the Odyssey.
Fraud author guilty of fraud
“Some entities and individuals will try to use you as a way to make them millions!” warned Jean Wilson, author of Avoiding Health Care Pitfalls. Evidently, she wrote that from personal knowledge, as she has just been sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in a medical billing scam. Wilson and her husband, Reinaldo, along with other accomplices, submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare totaling over $136 million, with over $66 million of those claims paid out. The scam relied on Wilson’s telehealth companies placing bulk orders for orthotic devices — braces — and prescription drugs for patients who did not require those interventions. Jean Wilson personally signed many of the fraudulent prescriptions, according to prosecutors. She will likely need to part with her ill-gotten Rolls-Royces to pay the required $66 million in restitution and $7.8 million in forfeiture.
Hunter Biden lacks self-awareness
A man who would be likely sitting in prison today if he had not received a presidential pardon from his father for his criminal activity has once again demonstrated his lack of personal discernment and apparent drug-addled ignorance. On the 4th of July, Hunter Biden posted on X, “250 years ago we declared independence from a king who ran the colonies as a family business. In just 18 months the Trumps have made King George look like an amateur.” This was followed by a list of supposedly corrupt and nefarious Trump family business deals. Hunter ended his screed by claiming he was the victim of a lawfare campaign because he earned $200k annually from selling his paintings. Wow. The man who made his money by literally trading on his father’s political position thinks he’s being persecuted over the dubious selling of his “art.”
Khamenei’s funeral
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have filled the streets of Tehran for the days-long funeral for the late dictator Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in the joint U.S.-Israel operation against Iran. Regime officials claim the total number of mourners will range from 12 to 20 million, calling it the “funeral of the century.” In what has become a standard affair for Iran since the Islamic regime took over, the crowds chanted “Death to America.” Countering the regime’s narrative, Iran’s exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, stated, “To the foreign representatives in Tehran to mourn Iran’s deceased dictator, Ali Khamenei: Iran is not mourning him.” He added, “What you see today is not a nation in grief for its ruler. It is a nation filled with righteous anger, and that anger and heroic bravery will bring down what remains of this criminal regime.”
ObamaCare rolls shrink across several states
In January, the COVID-justified temporary enhanced subsidies for ObamaCare ended. A recent 50-state report from the Department of Health and Human Services showed that since January, the number of ObamaCare enrollees has dropped significantly, with roughly 2.6 million fewer Americans enrolled than at the same time last year. Healthcare research nonprofit KFF Vice President Cynthia Cox said, “This is the first time we’ve seen state-level data that shows how much ACA marketplace enrollment truly fell. It’s in line with our expectations, but it does show a very steep drop in the number of people with ACA coverage.” States that saw the biggest drop in ACA enrollees were Ohio and Oklahoma, with declines of 32%. The data does not track whether those enrollees who dropped ACA insurance plans obtained coverage elsewhere.
Headlines
Raleigh mayor considers youth curfew following teen takeover, violent July 4th weekend (Fox News)
YMCA rescinds its DEI statement, but critics are skeptical (Just the News)
Cartels reverse smuggling routes to net billions sneaking gasoline from Texas into Mexico (Washington Times)
Trump admin accuses China of nuclear proliferation after submarine missile test (Washington Times)
The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.