I'll start with what you by now already knew.  The  debt ceiling crisis is over , President Joe Biden will at 7PM EDT give a speech and sign the legislation.  The U.S. economy is now even better than thought, and Republicans will have problems on 5 November 2024. What makes it especially difficult for the Grand Old Party is Donald Trump.  Democrats are doing everything possible to keep him out jail before the middle of next summer, but sum of all his criminal acts is making this difficult: Trump is the only president who has been shown to be guilty of a crime.  Lost $5 million to E. Jean Carroll, and is being re-sued for a lot more. His defense of those Mar-a-Lago classified documents is weakening as investigators uncover more evidence.  But when will he be formally charged? Georgia's Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis, is anticipating multiple indictments by the special grand jury in September.  Court?  Has to do with trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election

  First of all, good news.    There has been sufficient agreement on increasing the national debt ceiling . The next new ceiling will again become a crisis point in early 2025 after the next presidential election. Appears that there will be some Democrat concessions regarding work requirements and standards on recipients of food stamps.  Medicaid will remain untouched. As Janet Yellen has more recently indicated an absolute deadline of Thursday, June 8, there will be some discussions in the House on Tuesday, where there will be grudging approval, followed by action in the Senate, probably on Wednesday.  Then the President signs on Thursday and the world will be saved from a Great Recession.  Might take a day later than Yellen's warning, but everything seems at this point  to be okay. I guess there will not be a fatal Act Two by Republicans.  What's that?   Read my posting of 26May2023 . So my take: Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that he has 95% of the his members happy, and while

The highlight of Iam Tongi's crowning as the 2023 American Idol last night was his performance with James Blunt, singing Blunt's  Monsters  together.  Blunt wrote the song when his father Charles was battling stage four chronic kidney disease and awaiting a donor.  Tragic, but Iam's father Rodney passed away with stage four kidney disease less than two years ago.   James' father, though, did find a donor in 2020, and lives on . Also yesterday, Michael Block, a club pro, and only one of 20 to make the cut to play the weekend, stole the show with his hole in one on the 15th hole.   Watch his shot here .  He had to finish within the top 15 to enable him to play in the 2024 Valhalla PGA Championship, and one swing qualified him to finish tied for 15.  Bruce Koepka is the first "deserter" to win a major.  These are those who joined the  LIV Invitational Series  funded by Saudi Arabia, and the ones you don't see on TV anymore. There is something eerily symbolic

 Beginning at 8AM EDT ( or 2PM in Hawaii ), Iam Tongi of Hawaii is heavily favored to be the 2023 American Idol.   Can you bet on this event? Is this legal? Yes, it is, as long as you place your bet at a legitimate sportsbook. Because most US states don’t have any laws that ban gambling online with offshore operators, there are no laws to break. US laws do not affect   betting sites with TV and music odds   and sportsbooks operating outside of the United States, and the US gambling laws in play provide regulations and restrictions directed at gambling business owners and money processors rather than individual bettors. If you can vote on American Idol, you can bet on it, too. Wagering on American Idol can be done at one of the top online sportsbooks listed on this page. The first item of business is to select the sports betting site that you want to join. Once there, click or tap on the “Join” button, and you’ll be prompted to select a username and password. This page will also ask for