The Biden campaign is betting Donald Trump’s unfiltered rhetoric will win them supporters in the upcoming debate. Apple debuts an AI makeover for the iPhone. And a Missouri death row inmate set to be executed today says he feels his legal team hasn’t ”been representing” him.
Here’s what to know today.
Biden campaign zeroes in on a debate strategy: Let ‘Trump be Trump’
When President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump take the debate stage at the end of the month, Biden’s campaign has one prevailing strategy in mind: Let “Trump be Trump.”
In recent months, Trump’s criminal trial has taken the spotlight, and Biden has struggled in most battleground polls. But come June 27, Team Biden is betting the unfiltered former president will reveal extreme leanings and prove to be a less stable candidate than four years ago.
Democrats have been looking to the first debate between the two candidates in 2020 for examples of how Biden could benefit from Trump’s actions. Like when Trump went after Biden’s son Hunter (which Biden flipped to his advantage), or instead of denouncing white supremacist groups, Trump told one to “stand back and stand by.”
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Biden is likely to cast Trump as obsessed with revenge and retribution and remind Americans of the political violence on Jan. 6, 2021, a campaign official said. Trump’s team has cast Biden as an inept politician whose leadership entangled the U.S. in two foreign wars.
While Biden is trying to hold on to the presidency, Democrats maintain that, in the end, it’s Trump who has the most to lose.
Hunter Biden firearms case now in the hands of the jury
Jury deliberations will resume today in the federal criminal trial of Hunter Biden after the defense rested its case, the prosecution called back a witness and both sides gave their closing arguments in the firearms case.
Until yesterday, whether Hunter Biden would testify in his own defense was still in question, but his attorney, Abbe Lowell, rested the defense case without calling Biden to the stand. Prosecutors then called back their first witness, FBI special agent Erika Jensen, to discuss new evidence: messages between Hunter Biden and Hallie Biden, his former sister-in-law and romantic partner. Prosecutors claim that testimony given last week by Naomi Biden was inconsistent with new data they uncovered from Hunter Biden’s phone.
In closing arguments, assistant special counsel Leo Wise reiterated the prosecution’s claim that Hunter Biden knew he was addicted to drugs and bought a gun anyway, lying on a federal form to pass a background check. Lowell countered with a reminder to the jury that they could not convict Biden based on insinuations and conjecture he said were the basis for the government’s case. Read more takeaways from Day 6 of the trial.
Missouri set to execute death row inmate
Missouri is set to carry out its second execution of the year today after Gov. Mike Parson rejected a clemency petition for David Hosier, who was convicted in the 2009 deaths of a married couple. Hosier has long maintained his innocence as prosecutors painted him as a scorned ex-lover who was out for revenge. And in what could be his final days, Hosier has criticized his lawyers, saying in a recent interview, “I don’t feel like they’ve been representing me at all.”
Hosier took issue with his clemency petition, which he wanted to be focused on the lack of DNA evidence at the scene of the crime. Instead, his lawyers mentioned childhood trauma, like the death of his father when he was a teen. Read more about the case.
Takeaways from Apple’s big AI announcement
Artificial intelligence — or, as Apple is calling it, “Apple Intelligence” — is coming to iPhones, iPads and Macs later this summer, the company announced yesterday at its Worldwide Developers Conference. The move follows similar ones from companies like Google, Microsoft and Meta, which have recently integrated AI into their products with mixed results. Apple, however, might be the first to succeed in making AI part of a everyday life.
One big edge Apple has over its competitors is the amount of information iPhones have about their users, from who’s in your photos to who you’re texting and emailing. So a simple question like, “When is my mom’s flight landing?” will elicit a personalized response that other powerful chatbots wouldn’t able to give. The idea is that using AI on the iPhone will seem normal — so normal that sometimes you might not even notice it’s there.
NBC News tech reporter David Ingram shares more takeaways from Apple’s big plans for its top-to-bottom makeover of the iPhone.
California socialite sentenced to 15 years to life for killing 2 kids in crosswalk
A wealthy California philanthropist was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison yesterday for the hit-and-run killings of two children while they were in a crosswalk more than three years ago. Rebecca Grossman was speeding when she struck and killed Mark Iskander, 11, and his brother Jacob, 8, while they were in a crosswalk in the Los Angeles-area city of Westlake Village on Sept. 29, 2020.
“The loss of these two innocent lives has devastated their family and our community. Ms. Grossman’s blatant disregard for human life is a stark reminder of the grave consequences of irresponsible behavior behind the wheel,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement. Grossman was speeding behind a car driven by her then-lover, former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson, when she fatally hit the boys, prosecutors have said. Erickson was not charged.
Politics in Brief
Today’s primaries: The power of Trump’s influence will be put to the test in Senate, House and gubernatorial primaries in Maine, Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina. Here are the biggest races to watch.
Trump in D.C.: Donald Trump will meet with a group of Republican senators this week, four sources with knowledge of the meeting said.
Immigration: The Biden administration is considering a plan to protect undocumented immigrants who are the spouses of U.S. citizens from deportation and give them access to work permits, two sources said.
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Staff Pick: The BNPL-ification of everything
“Buy Now, Pay Later” services are already slowing down since surging in popularity during the pandemic. But retailers and credit card issuers are just getting started adding features of those installment loans into their existing tools. As business and economy reporter J.J. McCorvey writes, that push is underscoring socioeconomic divides amid an era of stubborn inflation, with people of different means embracing these programs for various reasons — from a higher-income Amex user paying off airline tickets in chunks, to a cash-strapped parent splitting up his Instacart grocery bill. — Rich Bellis, senior business editor
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
Charcoal toothpaste for whitening is all over social media, but dentists say it could damage your teeth. So use these toothpastes instead. And what’s the deal with whole-body deodorant? NBC Select editors were skeptical — then they tried it.
Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.
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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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