“Rudy Guiliani has hired two attorneys who defended disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein to represent him in court, according to new court filings, after federal investigators raided his apartment in April as part of an ongoing probe into the longtime Trump attorney’s ties to Ukraine. Attorneys Arthur Aidala and Barry Kamins said they were appearing on behalf of Giuliani as his attorneys in federal court filings Wednesday in the Southern District of New York related to the search warrant executed on Giuliani’s apartment. The attorneys were two of the lawyers to defend Weinstein in the ex-film producer’s legal proceedings in New York, which resulted in Weinstein being found guilty in February 2020 of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison. Weinstein’s case is still ongoing, as attorneys appealed his case in April. Aidala, a criminal defense attorney, often served as the face of Weinstein’s defense team and defended his client to the media, telling NPR after the verdict that ‘nobody on [Weinstein’s] defense team is happy that Harvey Weinstein is not sleeping in his own bed'” – Forbes.

The Guardian: “US retail giant Target will stop selling Pokémon playing cards out of an ‘abundance of caution’ for its staff and other shoppers. The re-sale value of the cards has increased dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic, prompting chaos and threats to staff. Target will also stop selling MLB, NFL and NBA sports playing cards. The decision comes after man pulled a gun during a fight over trading cards in a Target parking lot in Brookfield, Wisconsin on 7 May.”

“Police said the 35-year-old man produced the gun when he was assaulted by four men aged 23-35 as he left the store, ABC reported. A shopper who was at the Target during the parking lot incident told Fox news at the time: ‘It’s just kind of sad for the kids. It just sounds kind of ridiculous that adults got into a fight in the parking lot about trading cards.’ Target confirmed the decision in a statement to comic book and games website Bleeding Cool. ‘The safety of our guests and our team is our top priority,’ it said. ‘Out of an abundance of caution, we’ve decided to temporarily suspend the sale of MLB, NFL, NBA and Pokémon trading cards within our stores, effective May 14. Guests can continue to shop these cards online at Target.com.'”

https://youtu.be/MgGilHXooTQ

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Fox News that he intended to grant pardons to any Floridan who was penalized for mask and social distancing violations during the pandemic, caving to an anti-science effort that defied the public health regulations he put in place, as well as those individuals and businesses cited by local and county governments, undermining the authority of local governments.

Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine announced a unique plan to incentivize the state’s residents to get vaccinations against the coronavirus:  weekly drawings for $1 million and full tuition to the state’s university system, according to CNN.

Beginning May 26th, the state will draw the name of someone who has received at least one dose of one of the available vaccines, and they will receive a $1 million cash payment.  The drawings will continue for five weeks.

Along with the cash prize, a second drawing for residents under the age of 18 will be held weekly which will provide full tuition, room, board and the cost of books at one of the state’s universities. 

Ongoing air attacks by Israeli air forces and rocket attacks by Hamas have left at least 74 people, including 17 children, dead as violence continues and diplomats around the world attempt to avert added escalations, CNN reports.

Israeli air attacks have killed 67 people and injured nearly 400 in Gaza; all but one of the children killed were in Gaza.  Seven people in Israel have been killed in the various rocket attacks launched by Hamas in the last three days.

“Stop the fire immediately. We’re escalating towards a full-scale war,” UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland tweeted. “The cost of war in Gaza is devastating & is being paid by ordinary people. UN is working w/ all sides to restore calm. Stop the violence now.”

“Guatemala’s Pacaya volcano has been erupting since February, keeping local communities and authorities on high alert. But for David Garcia, the streams of molten lava oozing down the mountainside have become his kitchen. Garcia, a 34-year-old accountant, serves up ‘Pacaya Pizza’ cooked on the smoldering volcanic rock to awed tourists and locals. ‘Many people today come to enjoy the experience of eating pizza made on volcanic heat,’ Garcia told AFP from a rocky area that leads to the Pacaya crater, and which he’s converted into his workplace. In his makeshift kitchen, Garcia spreads the dough on a metal platter that can resist temperatures up to 1,800 degrees, slathers it with tomato sauce, a generous helping of cheese and pieces of meat. Wearing protective clothing from head to his military style boots, Garcia places the pizza on the lava.”

“‘It’s done, just let the cheese melt some more,’ he announces 10 minutes later. ‘That pizza looks so good!’ exclaims one of the tourists as the cheese bubbles. Garcia’s kitchen has become a magnet for tourists that work up a appetite climbing the massive volcano – one of three active ones in Guatemala – located just 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of the capital. He first started baking pizzas on the mountain side in 2013 in small caverns he found amongst the rocks. ‘I didn’t sell much the first few days,’ said Garcia, whose fame has now spread throughout social media. In recent weeks, with Pacaya regularly spitting out molten rock, he started cooking the pizzas directly on the moving lava, some of which has come close to population centers. It’s a potentially risky undertaking given the plumes of volcanic ash blasted into the sky by the angry beast, to which some local villagers pray, pleading with it to desist” – AFP.

KPNX’s Brahm Reznik reports “Arizona Senate Republicans extend contract for audit at Veterans Memorial Coliseum through June 30. The Wesley Bolin Building will warehouse ballots and other equipment/materials for one week.”

A man in Texas was angered after two deputies tried to catch stray dogs on his property, telling them to leave his land before opening fire and killing both of them, the San Angelo Standard-Times reports.

Jeffrey Nicholas, 28-years-old, shot and killed Concho County deputies Stephen Jones and Samuel Leonard and wounded city animal control employee Ronnie Winans.  He was taken into custody by Texas Rangers and is being held in neighboring Tom Green County.

The deputies were helping city employees catch the dogs, which reportedly bit people earlier in the day.  They had captured one dog and were chasing the other when it ran onto Nicholas’s property.

We never had a gas or Chick-fil-A sauce shortage under Trump.

Just saying.

— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) May 12, 2021

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in children as young as 12 on Wednesday, expanding access to adolescents after an advisory panel vote.  CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is expected to sign off on the official guideline late Wednesday afternoon, after clearing 12- to 15-year-olds to receive the vaccine, marking an important step in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Experts have said vaccinating children may be necessary for the United States to reach herd immunity.

“The Food and Drug Administration cleared the vaccine for emergency use in that age group Monday, saying it was safe and effective.  President Biden hailed the decision as “one more giant step” in the fight against the pandemic and called on parents to get their children inoculated.” –Washington Post

After five days of a shutdown, the Colonial Pipeline restarted its distribution of refined petroleum products, easing a fuel crisis that caused people to hoard gasoline and form lines at gas stations in the Southeast.

ABC News reports that the Colonial Pipeline restarted operations around 5 p.m. ET.  When fully operational, the pipeline distributes 45% of the refined petroleum products distributed along the eastern seaboard.

“Following this restart, it will take several days for the product delivery supply chain to return to normal,” the company said in a statement. “Some markets served by Colonial Pipeline may experience, or continue to experience, intermittent service interruptions during the start-up period. Colonial will move as much gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel as is safely possible and will continue to do so until markets return to normal.”

Having read quite a few of the tweets from the Pro-Israel (but they still kind of hate Jews) right wingers, it’s obvious they believe that this wouldn’t be happening if Trump has been re-elected. What isn’t clear however, is how Trump would do it. None of them seem to have any specifics about how Trump would accomplish a ceasefire and that raises some serious questions.

Would Trump use his laser vision to incinerate all the Hamas terrorists? Or would it be more of a defensive action, like Trump simply zipping through the air and punching each of the rockets fired from Gaza? That would be the more peaceful solution, since he’s faster than a speeding bullet and can defy gravity at will, the Hamas bastards would just realize the futility of the situation and give up. A little bit of Trump’s ice breath would lower temperatures too, maybe even causing a snowstorm that would make Israelis and Palestinians join together for playful snowball fights and ice skating. Wouldn’t that be a fun, happy ending to all this ruckus?

The biggest question however is why Trump needs to be president still to put on his cape and costume and fly over to the Middle East in under two seconds. It’s not like he didn’t perform super-heroic feats of strength and valor before he was elected, so why stop now? Can any MAGA hatters explain to us why Trump won’t just go save Israel without the presidency?

Tony Perkins’ FRCAction email via JoeMyGod: “President Biden has introduced a massive and far-reaching proposal that will usher in a government takeover of childcare and education – giving radical Leftists an even earlier grip on our children. We are left to wonder: is it the American Families Plan or the plan to take over American families?”

“Deuteronomy 6 says our most sacred responsibility is to raise children who love and embrace biblical truth. Today, that mandate is under attack. We need to pray more fervently than ever for a new era of boldness and intentionality to raise up our children as spiritual champions. The next generation can save or sink a nation. Which one it will be is up to us. Join me tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET as I am joined by an incredible lineup of guests for this important time of prayer.”

RNC Chairwoman Ronna Not-Romney McDaniel was being interviewed by Fox News’s John Roberts and Martha MacCallum on Wednesday when Roberts said “This cyber security attack against Colonial, this is something that didn’t just happen overnight. Clearly the groundwork was laid during the waning days of the Trump Administration,” to which McDaniel simply filled up airtime with a shit ton of energy policy nonsense that has nothing to do with critical infrastructure cybersecurity.

Daily Beast: “A years-old relic of the Trump-Ukraine scandal – a dossier that was aggressively promoted by Rudy Giuliani – is coming back to haunt him, just as federal law enforcement has ramped up its investigation into the former New York City mayor. The dossier, a collection of documents centered with wild corruption accusations against Joe Biden, Marie Yovanovitch, and other officials, was widely and almost instantly dismissed as irrelevant ramblings, conspiracy theories, and political smears when it emerged in 2019. But Giuliani pushed it anyway to the highest echelons of the Trump White House and to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Now, his efforts have been scrutinized by federal investigators, according to two people familiar with the matter. In a probe that began during former President Donald Trump’s time in power, the feds have been investigating whether some of Giuliani’s activities during the Trump-Ukraine saga amounted to unregistered and illegal lobbying on behalf of foreign figures.”

“Giuliani’s legal team did not respond to requests for comment on this story. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York declined to comment. But Giuliani’s pushing of the dossier is one of a number of activities under investigation by federal law enforcement. The document reportedly prompted intrigue followed by disappointment when the State Department turned it over to House impeachment investigators. In late 2019 during the Trump-Ukraine scandal, The New Yorker, which obtained a copy of the dossier, described one of its allegations as a byzantine conspiracy theory in which the U.S.-backed creation of NABU – Ukraine’s anti-corruption prosecutors – in 2014 was somehow a scheme concocted by Ambassador Yovanovitch and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent to prevent Ukraine from investigating the Bidens. In another allegation described by the magazine, the dossier casts right wing boogeyman and liberal philanthropist George Soros as the orchestrator of Yovanovitch’s appointment as U.S. ambassador in Kyiv.”

https://youtu.be/nZI28WoZ1sU

Completely oblivious to the faux “reality” put forth by his Republican caucus in the House, Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy claimed, “I don’t think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election.  I think that is all over with.  We’re sitting with the president today.”

And yet, McCarthy cannot come to state definitively that the Republicans’ ongoing objections to the certification of votes were wrong and misguided and that the posturing of Republicans was all for show.

Not in the video but reported separately by Bloomberg’s Steve Dennis: “Andrew Clyde of Georgia says there was no insurrection on January 6th, and likens the people entering the Capitol on TV footage to tourists. Says the only insurrection he’s ever witnessed was the Russia investigation.”

A dangerous infection called “black fungus” is spreading among coronavirus patients in India, jumping from a handful of cases seen in the past decade to tens of thousands in the past month, USA Today reports.

The spread of the black fungus, known as mucormycosis, complicates an already dangerous situation in India, where medical systems are stretched past their limits to treat coronavirus patients, with 350,000 new COVID cases reported daily.

Mucormycosis enters the body through the sinuses and can attack the respiratory system, skin, bones in the face and the brain.  It also attacks the eyes, destroying sight by infecting eyes from the sinuses and in severe cases, requiring surgical removal of the eyes.  The infection creates black lesions on the face as necrosis eats away the patients’ flesh.