NOON NEWS BRIEFING: Former Obama fundraiser flips to Trump, Biden leading in crucial group, Putin and Kim’s deal, Phone ban, DEI, Loneliness, more…

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Below are excerpts from some of the top news headlines you need to see today:

1 – Semi driver in deadly crash is illegal immigrant who was deported 16 times: ICE

From Fox News: The man accused of wrecking a semi along a highway in Colorado last week, killing one person and injuring another, is an illegal immigrant who has a long history of removal from the United States, authorities said.

Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza, 47, of Mexico, is facing reckless driving and homicide-related charges in connection with the June 11 crash. Mendoza was hauling a load of steep pipe on Hwy 285 near Conifer when he lost control of the semi, sending it rolling onto its side as it veered off the road, Colorado State Patrol (CSP) said. A load of pipe and angle iron spilled out of the semi and onto five other vehicles. One person was killed and another was seriously injured, CSP said. Mendoza was not injured. A spokesperson for ICE confirmed that Cruz-Mendoza has a long history of removal to Mexico, stretching back more than two decades.

2 – Chinese nationals attempting to illegally travel to the United States just got some bad news

The Associated Press reports: QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador on Tuesday announced the suspension of an agreement with China that had waived visas for Chinese citizens traveling to the South American country, citing a “worrying” increase in irregular migration.

Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the suspension of the bilateral agreement is temporary and would start on July 1. It added that the measure was taken after authorities saw that around 50% of Chinese nationals entering Ecuador didn’t leave the country “through regular routes” nor within the permitted 90 days they were allowed to stay under the waiver agreement.

Since 2023, people from China are among the top nationalities of migrants reaching the United States. Ecuador, one of the only two mainland countries in the Americas that offer visa-free entry to Chinese nationals, has become a popular starting point for Chinese migrants who would then trek northward through Central America before entering the United States. The other country is the Republic of Suriname.

3 – Former Obama fundraiser who raked in millions for Democrats flips to Trump

From Fox News: An ex-Obama fundraiser who once raked in millions of dollars for the Democratic Party is none too happy with the direction of the country these days, telling Fox News she is so dismayed, she’s switching her vote to Trump.

“Biden has been asleep at the wheel,” Allison Huynh said Tuesday on “Fox & Friends First.”

“He’s allowed Big Tech as well as the looters to take over Silicon Valley. San Francisco has been the science experiment that’s gone awry. I wake up in the morning, there’s no grocery stores to go to, there’s no malls to take my teenage girls shopping to. The streets are not safe, there are more fentanyl users and dealers than high school students in our once great city,” she continued.

Huynh, along with her then-husband Google programmer Scott Hassan, helped raise millions of dollars for the Obama campaign in 2008, according to The New York Post.

4 – To the rescue: Clintons help Biden rake in MILLIONS at Virginia fundraiser

From The Hill: President Biden, joined by former President Bill Clinton and former first lady Hillary Clinton, raised over $8 million at a fundraiser in Virginia Tuesday evening. The fundraiser was held at the home of former Virginia Gov. Terry McCauliffe (D) and included 450 attendees. In three events since Friday, the campaign has pulled in more than $40 million, including the $8 million haul, according to the campaign.

The fundraiser in the Old Dominion State with the Clintons follows a star-studded Hollywood fundraiser with former President Obama last weekend, which brought in $30 million for the Biden’s reelection bid.

5 – Biden makes major gains with crucial voting group ahead of debate with Trump, poll shows

From Fox News: President Biden has significantly improved his standing with independent voters, a group crucial to winning in key battleground states this November, a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll has found less than 10 days from the first presidential debate. Biden overcame a 12-percentage point deficit among independents and now leads Trump 50%-48% with the group compared to a previous NPR/PBS News/ Marist poll taken in May.

Trump, however, maintains a slight one percentage point lead (50%-49%) in a head-to-head matchup among voters who say they definitely plan to vote in the November general election, but the two are tied 49%-49% among overall registered voters, including those who say they are undecided but are leaning toward a candidate.

6 – Russia’s Putin and North Korea’s Kim sign mutual defense pact

From Reuters: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a deal with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un on Wednesday that included a mutual defence pledge, one of Russia’s most significant moves in Asia for years that Kim said amounted to an “alliance”.

Putin’s pledge overhauls Russia’s entire post-Soviet policy on North Korea just as the United States and its Asian allies try to gauge how far Russia could deepen support for the only country to have tested a nuclear weapon this century.

“The comprehensive partnership agreement signed today provides, among other things, for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties to this agreement,” Putin said.

7 – AOC shreds America’s top ally in scathing late night message

From Fox News: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., fiercely criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming address to Congress next month, calling him a “war criminal,” and accusing him of having no regard for U.S. law.

House and Senate leaders from both sides of the aisle have invited Netanyahu to address Congress on July 24, delivering the most recent show of wartime support for the longtime ally despite mounting political divisions over Israel’s military assault on Hamas in Gaza.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, along with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, signed the letter extending the invitation to Netanyahu. They said the offer was intended to “highlight America’s solidarity with Israel.”

8 – School District Bans Cellphones, Social Media

From Breitbart: The Los Angeles Unified School District’s board voted 5-2 in favor of banning cellphones and social media use during the day amid outcry from educators.

The ban in Los Angeles public schools will go into effect come spring 2025 and goes beyond the previous district policy of only banning cellphones during class instruction while limiting social media to “educational purposes.” The ban comes following a Pew Research Center showing that 72 percent of high school teachers in the United States believe cellphone use has become “a major problem in the classroom.” As noted by CNN, the previous policy took effect in 2011 and became relatively toothless in the face of smartphone use exploding over the past decade.

9 – Group says terms like ‘cockpit’ and ‘father’ are too offensive to keep around in today’s culture

From Fox News: The world’s largest airline pilot union suggested airmen and women stop using terms purportedly offensive to women and LGBTQ individuals, calling out terms like “cockpit” as non-inclusive.

Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l, represents over 70,000 pilots worldwide and states that it collaborates with a United Nations agency on its policies. According to a diversity, equity and inclusion language guide released in 2021, the ALPA lists numerous terms and phrases to avoid — especially “masculine generalizations” — that it deemed to be non-inclusive.

ALPA, for example, suggested replacing the word “cockpit” with “flight deck.” The purportedly offensive term “has been and may be used in a derogatory way to exclude women in the piloting profession,” the guide states.

Similarly, ALPA’s guide called for the words “man” and “men” to be avoided. It offered suggestions for the word “manpower,” including “people/human power.”

10 – Loneliness among workers is on the rise globally

From CNBC: Globally, one out of five employees experience loneliness everyday, and younger staff are even more prone to the feeling. According to the Gallup State of the Global Workplace Report released on June 12, as many as 20% of employees globally experience daily loneliness. For those who always work from home and workers under the age of 35, loneliness is even more common at 22% and 25%, respectively.

Globally, employee wellbeing declined in 2023, particularly among younger employees (under age 35), according to the study. Not only is the global workforce experiencing loneliness, but stress, sadness, and anger are also on the rise, according to the Gallup poll.

 

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