The big crowds of MAGA fans Trump has summoned to downtown NYC to protest his trial haven't shown up. But he has been able to draw a collection VP wanabees and high ranking GOP officials to the courthouse steps. On Tuesday, that list included Speaker Mike Johnson who went full Trump. AP: "U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson assailed the U.S. judicial system on Tuesday as he became the highest-ranking Republican to attend court with Donald Trump, echoing unsubstantiated or disproven arguments made by the former president and his allies ... Johnson, a lawyer who is second in line for the presidency, called the court system 'corrupt' and the case against Trump a 'sham,' while alleging without proof that the special counsel who's charged Trump in two separate cases has doctored evidence." Ironically, these politicians are coming to bend the knee at a trial over an issue that, when it first arose, had them looking for a candidate to replace Trump. "What a difference seven and a half years makes ... The warm embrace was a sign of just how far Mr. Trump’s legal troubles are from making him a party pariah. Instead, the trial over hush-money payments to the porn star Stormy Daniels is a staging ground for aspiring politicians to prove their fealty, the latest litmus test in a party increasingly defined by loyalty to Mr. Trump." NYT (Gift Article): How Has Trump Changed the G.O.P.? His Criminal-Trial Guest List Tells the Tale. At this point, this level of corrupt, subservient, sycophancy (that exceeds even the blind loyalty shown by today's witness, Michael Cohen, during his heyday as Trump's mafia-esque fixer) doesn't surprise us much. But it is a sign of just how bad things have gotten and that, for lack of a better phrase, it can happen here. You really can't overstate the impact of the litany of GOP enablers who, with full knowledge of exactly who they're supporting (and of his obvious guilt in the most important of the cases), have thrown America and its constitution under the Trump bus. When you ask yourself how any voter could possibly still support this guy, you have to consider the role of the enablers. I explained why in a piece I wrote a year after the Jan 6 insurrection, when an ABC/Ipsos poll found that 52% of Republicans say those involved in the riot were 'protecting democracy.' Before you get angry at voters who believe the entirely unbelievable, consider the incredible influence of Trump's great, big, beautiful wall of enablers. Imagine every politician you trust and every news source you consume hammering the constant message that Trump is some sort of victim of the system. Any chance you'd believe it? Blinded By The Lie. When it comes to the Big Lie and all the little lies that go along with it, it’s worth remembering that the first victims are those who believe them.

+ "I regret doing things for him that I should not have. Lying, bullying people to effectuate the goal. I don’t regret working for the Trump Organization; as I expressed before, some very interesting and great times. But to keep a loyalty and to do the things he asked me to do, I violated my moral compass and I suffered the penalty, as has my family." So said Michael Cohen as he prepared for cross examination. Here's the latest from NBC and CNN.

2

I Know Why You Hid Last Summer

"Based on an analysis of ancient tree rings that date back to the year 1, last summer was the hottest in the past 2,000 years, a new study released Tuesday suggests. Study authors described the warmth during the summer of 2023 across much of the Northern Hemisphere as 'unparalleled.'" Summer 2023 was hottest in 2,000 years.

+ If nothing else, you'd think these weather conditions would provide a decent incentive to get the most effective sunscreens to market as quickly as possible. And it has. Just not in the US. When Will America Get Better Sunscreens? "FDA approval is hamstrung by a law that requires animal testing. Meanwhile, newer chemical filters are in use worldwide."

3

Outside Chance

"In the U.S., 42% of people are now myopic – up from 25% back in the 1970s. In some East Asian countries, as many as 90% of people are myopic by the time they're young adults." It's an especially big crisis among children. Are there any solutions? Well it turns out it can help quite a bit if you can get your kids to play outside. (I mean, OK, but they can bring their phones, right?)

4

Bug a Boon

"Over the next six weeks or so, a trillion cicadas will emerge across the Midwest and Southeast for a brief, raucous, once-in-a-lifetime bender. 'What an incredible time,' said Joseph Yoon, a particularly exuberant bug enthusiast who will hit the road and forage for the insects as they tunnel up in a mass emergence of two regional broods not seen since 1803. 'The romance! The kismet! The synchronicity that this is all occurring in my lifetime!'" And, for many, it's not just the scientific intrigue. It's lunch. NYT (Gift Article): For Edible Bug Fans, Cicadas Are Noisy Lobsters of the Trees.

5

Extra, Extra

Tariff Not Now, When? Tariffs on Chinese goods are all the rage these days. "One day after news broke that President Biden was planning to raise tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to roughly 100%, Donald Trump moved to one-up his rival for the White House ... 'I will put a 200% tax on every car that comes in from those plants.'" Biden Levies Sweeping Tariffs on China, Intensifying Trade Fight With Trump. I hate to interrupt a trade fight, but global competition for cheaper EVs could help that little climate problem we're having.

+ I Come Bearing Arms: "US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Ukraine on a surprise visit Tuesday to offer reassurances of support as long-delayed American weaponry arrived in the country." Meanwhile, on the other side of the geopolitical struggle... Blinken makes surprise trip to Kyiv as Putin readies to meet Xi.

+ Rape Convictions: "All seven Republicans on the committee voted against creating the exception for child rape victims. One legislator who voted against creating the exception, Representative Lauren Ventrella (R), said she believed 'teenagers who had consensual sex might feign rape or incest in order to get access to abortion service.' Another legislator in opposition, Representative Dodie Horton (R), said rape should be punished, but she 'cannot condone killing the innocent.'" As bad as you think post-Roe politics are, they're worse. Louisiana lawmakers insist child rape victims must carry their pregnancy to term.

+ Adjust Your Rabbit Ears: There are a lot of good things about TV streaming. But a lot of those things don't pencil out for the studios or the streamers. So, slowly but surely, new TV is starting to look like old TV. Streamers Dust Off Some of the Old Broadcast Playbook for a New Era.

+ The Q Flu: A lede that defines our era as well as any could: "Sales of raw milk appear to be on the rise, despite years of warnings about the health risks of drinking the unpasteurized products — and an outbreak of bird flu in dairy cows."

+ Do Your Own Research: "Prof Scolyer's subtype of glioblastoma is so aggressive most patients survive less than a year. But on Tuesday the 57-year-old announced his latest MRI scan had again showed no recurrence of the tumour." And here's a bonus: The treatment is based on some of his own research.

+ Yacht Rocked: "The passengers reported feeling sudden blows to the hull and rudder before water started seeping into the ship. After alerting the rescue services, a nearby oil tanker took them onboard and transported them to Gibraltar. The yacht was left adrift and eventually sank." Update: Orcas still pissed.

6

Bottom of the News

"In a viewpoint published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, the researchers point out that many common—nearly unquestioned—practices in dentistry aren't backed up by solid data. That includes the typical recommendation that everyone should get a dental check-up every six months. The researchers note that two large clinical trials failed to find a benefit of six-month check-ups compared with longer intervals that were up to two years." Do you need a dentist visit every 6 months? That filling? The data is weak. Chill, baby, chill.

+ A man "who aspired to become a police officer, admitted to sexually abusing his cousin during a police department job interview and now faces life in prison." Anyone care to guess the state?