AND THE WORLD CONTINUES TO TURN

By now, you must be supersaturated on travel.  Today, I return to my usual reportage, special focus depending on the day of the week, and a wide range of topics, with in-depth looks at energy, the environment, space, humanity, politics and such.  

The world hotspot these days is the Middle East.

• 63-year old Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and seven others, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, were killed in a helicopter crash.  There was fog and the weather was bad.
• The knee-jerk reaction of somehow blaming Israel did not occur.

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  Instead, former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the United states was one of the main culprits.
• Why?  The U.S. has placed sanctions on helicopter parts..
• Most of the operating helicopters date back before the 1979 Islamic Revolution 45 years ago.
• The helicopter that crashed was a Bell 212, one of their newer ones, purchased in the early 2000s.  There are 15 of them of average age 35 years in Iran.
• Raisi was being groomed to replace the 85-year old Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei (right), who has been at the top since 1989, or 35 years.  He is the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East.
• Named caretake for now is First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber.  There will be an election for the next president.

Donald Trump's hush money trial saw a conclusion of Michael Cohen's stand on the stand, and is now into witnesses for the defense.  

• First, Daniel Sitko, a paralegal detailing times of phone calls between Cohen and Robert Costello.
• Then Robert Costello (right), a former informal counsel to Michael Cohen, and long-time ally of Rudy Giuliani.  Costello is a Cohen antagonist and critic, who tried to keep Cohen from flipping.  Cohen has previously stated that he did not trust Costello, and lied to him.
• Judge Merchan has already scolded Costello.

The trial recessed with Costello on  the stand, and will return tomorrow.  It now looks like the trial will conclude with final testimony next week.

There is still a chance that Donald Trump himself could testify.  Most think not.  But whoops, his sycophants will need to change to yellow ties.  The only major name today of a bunch, was lawyer Alan Dershowitz.  And he is the only one to get the memo for today with a blue tie.

I've been saying for weeks that I think there will be a hung jury.  

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  If with all his louthsomeness and danger to the future of the USA, Donald Trump can today show a lead over Joe Biden for our next president, I can't image all l2 jurors unanimously voting guilty.

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  One of them, for example, gets half his information from Trump's Truth Social.
• But even if Trump is judged guilty, he will appeal, and that will take years to sort out.
• Then, too, the jury could decide to acquit Trump.  It will mostly hinge on Michael Cohen.  While he almost always lied when it came to protecting Trump, is he also lying now as revenge.

So what?    Well, for one, there is always Mike Lukovich.

• A decision will be reached by the end of this month.  
• Whatever happens, Donald Trump will still in mid-July get confirmed by the Republican Convention to be their candidate for president.
• There will debates between Trump and Biden on June 27, hosted by CNN, and September 10, hosted by ABC.
• There will be an election for president of the USA on 5November2024.

Did you watch Saturday Night Live this weekend?

• Cold Open about Mother's Day.
• Weekend Update....Trump, condom, Biden, Cohen....

What about American Idol last night?  It went on for 3 hours.

• And the winner is....
• Abi Carter sings her original new single, This Isn't Over.

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