SpaceX Shares Surge 18% in Trading Debut as Elon Musk’s Rocket Company Surpasses $2 Trillion Valuation

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SpaceX opened trading Friday at $150 per share under the ticker SPCX following the largest IPO in history, with shares quickly climbing above $160 and pushing the company’s market capitalization beyond $2 trillion.

CNBC reports that SpaceX began public trading on the Nasdaq exchange Friday morning after pricing its initial public offering at $135 per share. The opening price of $150 represented an approximately 11 percent gain over the IPO price, though initial indications to trading desks had suggested a higher opening around $175.

Shortly after the market opened, SpaceX stock climbed above $160 per share, valuing Elon Musk’s aerospace and AI company at more than $two trillion in market capitalization. This milestone came as the company completed the largest IPO in history, raising $75 billion dollars through the sale of 555,555,555 Class A common stock shares. Almost 100 million shares have traded as of this writing.

Elon Musk and SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell participated in the opening bell ceremony, with Musk appearing remotely from the company’s Starbase headquarters in Texas while Shotwell rang the bell at the Nasdaq in New York City. The company also launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on the same morning, sending 29 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit.

Shotwell told CNBC that SpaceX is looking for long-term investors and emphasized that the company’s focus remains on futuristic goals rather than quarterly earnings. “I wasn’t sure we would go public,” Shotwell said. “What folks who invest in SpaceX need to know is that what we’re doing is very futuristic.” (Read more from “SpaceX Shares Surge 18% in Trading Debut as Elon Musk’s Rocket Company Surpasses $2 Trillion Valuation” HERE)

More Democrats Support Mass Deportations, Removal of Criminal Migrants, New Poll Shows

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Americans — including Democrats — have grown more supportive of mass deporting illegal immigrants and booting those who have broken the law out of the country, according to a new poll.

The survey found that some 80% of voters supported “deporting immigrants who are here illegally and have committed crimes” — a five-point jump from April when just 75% of those polled favored giving the “worst of their worst” a one-way ticket out of the US, a new Harvard/Harris a new Harvard University/Harris poll shows.

The uptick since April was seen across party lines, and was most pronounced among Democrats, many of whom have vehemently opposed President Trump’s nationwide illegal immigration crackdown.

According to the poll, 71% of Democrats now support deporting criminal migrants, compared to 63% in April — an 8-point increase in just one month.

Republican support held steady but still inched up from 89% in April to 90% in May, and the proportion of independents in favor jumped from 73% in April to 79% a month later.

As for deporting any immigrant in the country illegally, 56% of polled voters expressed support, a modest 1% increase since the poll was conducted in April. However, the rise in support takes an interesting turn when broken down by party affiliation. (Read more from “More Democrats Support Mass Deportations, Removal of Criminal Migrants, New Poll Shows” HERE)

Karmelo Anthony’s Parents Use First Interviews Since Guilty Verdict To Cast Themselves As The Real Victims

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Karmelo Anthony’s parents used their first interviews after their son’s murder conviction to claim that he had received an unfair trial and that all the witnesses had lied on the stand.

In interviews with CBS News and The Breakfast Club, Kala Hayes and Andrew Anthony, Karmelo’s parents, told the public that they believed the jury had made up their minds before even stepping foot into the courtroom, essentially convicting their son of Austin Metcalf’s murder before any evidence was heard.

“He was convicted when he walked out of the jail,” Anthony told CBS. “It was no innocent ’til proven guilty. He was already guilty.”

They told the story supposedly from their son’s perspective, who said his girlfriend’s cousin had invited him into the tent where Austin Metcalf was. Then they said the same cousin claimed not to know their son when he took the stand.

“He lied and was saying he didn’t even know [him], and they had pictures, pictures with his grandmother,” Anthony told The Breakfast Club. (Read more from “Karmelo Anthony’s Parents Use First Interviews Since Guilty Verdict To Cast Themselves As The Real Victims” HERE)

Police Chief Arrested in Florida after Grand Jury Hands Down 70-Count Child Sex Indictment

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An Ohio police chief is facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars after being slapped with a 70-count indictment for alleged sex crimes involving a child.

Bethel Police Chief Chad Essert, 44, was taken into custody without incident Tuesday night in Seminole, Florida, by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

A Clermont County grand jury indicted the Blanchester, Ohio, resident on 56 counts of sexual battery and 14 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor — all third-degree felonies. . .

The allegations stem from offenses that authorities claim occurred between 2005 and 2010, while Essert was an instructor at the “Young Marines” and a teacher at Scarlet Oaks Career Campus in Sharonville, Ohio.

Officials said the alleged victim was a student of Essert’s and that the crimes took place across multiple locations in Clermont and Hamilton counties. (Read more from “Police Chief Arrested in Florida after Grand Jury Hands Down 70-Count Child Sex Indictment” HERE)

Grizzly Bear Charges Hiker at National Park, Drags Him Around 20 Feet in Brutal Attack

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A hiker who survived a terrifying grizzly bear attack in Glacier National Park is recovering after multiple surgeries — and is now facing mounting medical expenses.

The attack occurred on May 28 on the Grinnell Glacier Trail, one of the park’s most popular hiking routes, according to a fundraising page created after the incident.

The hiker, Daniel Crago, said he and a friend were nearing the end of the trail when he continued ahead to a snow-covered section to take in the views and snap a few photos. . .

As he scanned the area, he spotted a larger grizzly on the mountainside about 15 feet away, the fundraising page noted. . .

“As soon as it saw me, it charged down and attacked me,” he wrote on the GoFundMe page. (Read more from “Grizzly Bear Charges Hiker at National Park, Drags Him Around 20 Feet in Brutal Attack” HERE)

Photo credit: GoFundMe

California Cult ‘Prophet’ Learns Fate for Vile Sex Crimes — and the Loophole that Could Set Him Free Early

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A Northern California cult “prophet” has been sentenced to life behind bars for molesting four young girls and raping two of his female adult followers, but a loophole in state law could set him go free much earlier.

The Oroville cult leader Sansue Bee Vang was sentenced to 225 years to life after being found guilty of eight counts of child molestation and three counts of rape, according to the Butte County District Attorney’s office. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender.

Vang is the founder and leader of the Hmong religious organization called Kev Ntseeg Leej Niam Kee Tiam Vaj Lis Thum, which loosely translated means “Belief in Mother.”

In 2020 he built his temple and community in the town at the base of North Table Mountain, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas.

The cult leader, with connections to Wisconsin and Fresno, recruited families from both locations along with North Carolina and Minnesota to establish his religious community.

The DA shared horrific details at trial about what Vang did to his female followers, young and old. (Read more from “California Cult ‘Prophet’ Learns Fate for Vile Sex Crimes — and the Loophole that Could Set Him Free Early” HERE)

Tragic New Detail Emerges in Death of 5-year-old Swept out to Sea by Massive Wave

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The 5-year-old San Bernardino girl who was swept out to sea by a massive wave in Laguna Beach this week was set to start kindergarten later this summer, school officials said.

Amada Mia Brown, who died after being caught in the powerful surf battering California’s coast Tuesday night, was scheduled to begin kindergarten in the San Bernardino City Unified School District in August, Communications Manager Maria Garcia told The California Post.

“We mourn Amada’s loss and hold her family in our thoughts during this difficult time,” Garcia said.

Amada was also set to attend a new student orientation next month, Garcia added.

The young girl vanished Tuesday evening after powerful waves pulled her, her mother and her brother into the ocean near the shoreline at Treasure Island Beach.

Heroic bystanders who took to the rough water managed to rescue Amada’s mother and brother, but Amada was carried out to sea. (Read more from “Tragic New Detail Emerges in Death of 5-year-old Swept out to Sea by Massive Wave” HERE)

Photo credit: GoFund Me

Communist Country Arrests US Citizen For Alleged Espionage

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China arrested a U.S. citizen and scholar for alleged espionage, a Chinese government spokesman confirmed Friday in a briefing.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said U Min Zin, an Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar (ISP-M) founder, faces “criminal compulsory measures,” according to CBS News. Min Zin is being held on allegations “of engaging in espionage and endangering China’s national security,” Lin added.

Min Zin was reportedly apprehended June 3 in Kunming, a city in Yunnan province near Myanmar, according to The New York Times (NYT). An individual with professional ties to the ISP-M told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that Min Zin was arrested June 3 at the Kunming airport, CBS News reported.

Another individual with a close relationship to the man in custody anonymously told AFP that Min Zin had traveled to participate in a meeting, according to the outlet. “His family and colleagues are following up with the consulate office there. I know his family is worried,” the individual said.

Min Zin was a student activist when a movement pushed for democracy in Myanmar in 1988, according to the BBC. He reportedly went to Thailand to escape arrest and later studied in the U.S. before returning to Myanmar in 2010. Min Zin had most recently resided in Thailand, according to the NYT. He has produced essays on Myanmar politics for the outlet’s opinion section. (Read more from “Communist Country Arrests US Citizen For Alleged Espionage” HERE)

New Declassified Docs Give Tulsi Gabbard Last Laugh On Ukrainian Biolabs

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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified intelligence about a constellation of biological laboratories in Ukraine on Friday, four years after members of Congress and biodefense officials criticized her for expressing concerns about them.

The new documents reveal two dozen biological labs in Ukraine. The map reveals that a lab in Odessa, a city with a population of more than one million people, has a lab with stored biological weapons from the defunct Soviet Union biological weapons program. Viruses in storage include anthrax, tularemia, tuberculosis, Swine Fever, New Castles Disease, MERS, SARS, Marburg, Ebola, Lassa, the Plague, and Rickettsia, the documents show.

“Despite the obvious potential for catastrophic global impact research on dangerous pathogens in biolabs can have, politicians, so-called health professionals like Dr. Fauci, and entities within the Biden administration’s national security team lied to the American people about the existence of U.S.-funded and supported biolabs, and threatened those who attempted to expose the truth,” Gabbard said in a statement. “ODNI will continue to work closely with partners across the government to identify where these labs are, what pathogens they contain to end dangerous Gain-of-Function research that threatens the health and wellbeing of the American people and people around the world.”

Gabbard is pushing to declassify documents in the public interest in her final days in office, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported last week. Gabbard announced on May 22 that she would step down to care for her husband following his cancer diagnosis. Her last day is slated to be June 19. Trump announced on Thursday he had picked New York attorney and former SEC chairman Jay Clayton to replace her.

The Odessa lab and four others in Ukraine are biosafety level three labs (BSL-3), the second highest level of containment, which is usually reserved for virulent pathogens. (Read more from “New Declassified Docs Give Tulsi Gabbard Last Laugh On Ukrainian Biolabs” HERE)

Photo credit: Gaaage Skidmore via Flickr

Taiwan Fires Himars Missiles Towards China

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Taiwan has fired dozens of rockets from an American missile system in China’s direction for the first time.

The US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (Himars) was fired on Wednesday as part of a two-day drill held around Taiwan’s central Taichung city.

The drill took place along a 12-mile front of “red beaches”, coastal areas across the country considered the most likely landing spots for a Chinese invasion.

The Himars is one of the most important systems in Taiwan’s arsenal and would be critical in defending against a Chinese attack. The military also fired its domestically produced Thunderbolt-2000 rocket system, US-made Paladin howitzers and anti-tank guided missiles.

“The live-fire exercise was based on a scenario simulating an enemy amphibious force attempting to invade the central region,” according to a readout from Taiwan’s ministry of national defense. (Read more from “Taiwan Fires Himars Missiles Towards China” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr