The slickest element of a brief and chaotic Congolese coup attempt at the weekend was its social media strategy. Christian Malanga, 41, announced his mission to remove the president of the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo on a livestream video, dressed in camouflage and flanked by armed men. “Felix, you’re out,” he said to the camera. “We are coming for you.”

Minutes later Malanga, a used car dealer in Utah, the United States, who returned to Congo to plot the ousting of President Tshisekedi, was shot dead by the presidential guard.

His motley crew of 50 gun-toting rebels, which included his son, a drug dealer convicted in America and a Congolese migrant to Britain, were soon pleading for mercy.

Nigel Farage has said he will not stand in the UK general election, instead focusing his efforts on getting Donald Trump re-elected in the US.

The Reform party is expected to launch its campaign on Thursday morning with candidates in all constituencies, but the former Brexit party leader said he would not be among them.

There are a lot of unique and untested variables in this upcoming presidential election. It is the first race in more than 100 years between an incumbent and former incumbent president (both of whom would be the oldest ever to be inaugurated). It is the first to feature a major party nominee under multiple indictments. And, the first presidential contest since the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.

At this point, however, the defining issue for this contest is a more traditional one: the economy. “Right now, this election is about President Biden’s economic record and America’s economic future,” said GS Strategies President Greg Strimple. “When it comes to who voters trust to move the economy forward, Trump is in the driver’s seat.”

While abortion remains a strong issue for Democrats, President Biden’s advantage on the issue isn’t strong enough to offset Trump’s overall strength on bringing down the cost of living.

“Voters clearly recognize the huge steps backward a Trump presidency might bring - they are pessimistic about what he could do to abortion rights, progress on climate change, and even failing to protect Medicare and Social Security. And yet, their economic frustrations are enough to override all that,” said Lindsay Vermeyen, Partner at BSG.

https://www.cookpolitical.com/survey-research/2024-swing-state-project/unique-election-driven-traditional-issue

This morning, the New York Fed’s Center for Microeconomic Data released the Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for the first quarter of 2024. Household debt balances grew by $184 billion over the previous quarter, slightly less than the moderate growth seen in the fourth quarter of 2023. Housing debt balances grew by $206 billion. Auto loans saw a $9 billion increase, continuing their steady growth since the second quarter of 2020, while balances on other non-housing debts fell. Credit card balances fell by $14 billion, which is typical for the first quarter. However, an increasing number of borrowers are behind on credit card payments. In this post, we explore the relationship between credit card delinquency and changes in credit card “utilization rates.”

The nationwide aggregate credit card utilization rate—that is, what share of the aggregate credit limit is being used—was about 23 percent last quarter, on par with previous quarters. However, the utilization rates of individuals differ widely: 52 percent of borrowers were using less than 20 percent of their available credit in the first quarter, while 18 percent of borrowers were using at least 90 percent of their available credit (19 percent were between 20 and 60 percent utilization, and 11 percent were between 60 and 90 percent). Here, we focus on the share of borrowers using 90 percent or more of their credit limit, whom we refer to as “maxed-out borrowers,” and how likely they are to miss credit card payments.

For all debt outside of student loans, delinquency has been steadily rising since the fourth quarter of 2021 after historic lows during the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit card delinquencies, in particular, have risen past pre-pandemic levels. Will this trend continue, or are we likely to see a leveling off or even a reduction in credit card delinquencies?

Missed credit card payments are caused by many factors, ranging from forgetfulness to cash flow constraints and income loss. Most of these are difficult to predict or observe in individual-level credit data; however, one observable factor that is strongly correlated with future delinquencies is a high credit card utilization rate. While borrowers who were current on all their cards in the first quarter of 2024 had a median utilization rate of 13 percent in the previous quarter, those who became newly delinquent had a median rate of 90 percent. This makes sense, since using practically all of your available credit could indicate a tight cash-flow situation. Indeed, credit utilization is a key input in credit scores, which are intended to measure the probability of future default.

https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2024/05/delinquency-is-increasingly-in-the-cards-for-maxed-out-borrowers/

Dear Friends,
I hope you are doing well. As a supporter of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, I want to thank you for your unwavering dedication and support for President Biden and Vice President Harris's Re-election.


That's why I am thrilled to invite you to the 4 special events as listed below:

EVENT 1 in San Francisco, CA

Manny Yekutiel, Shannon Hunt-Scott, Stacy Mason,
and Mary & Steven Swig

cordially invite you to

A Reception with
Vice President Kamala Harris

Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Time to be announced
San Francisco, CA
Address upon RSVP


Please register using the link below

https://secure.joebiden.com/a/wxrbamxzhtuzhtmxqlls?attr=112964231


EVENT 2 in OAKLAND, CA

Smita Trivedi & Akash Jain, Shilen Patel & Kiran Jain,
Luke & Urvi Parekh Dunnington,
Anh-Thu Le & Yusef Alexandrine, Sasha Rao, and Navneet Chugh
Host committee in formation
cordially invite you to

A Reception with
Vice President Kamala Harris

Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Time to be announced
Oakland, CA
Address upon RSVP

Please register using the link below
https://secure.joebiden.com/a/6-5-reception-aapi?attr=112964231


EVENT 3 in SEATTLE,

Biden Victory Fund

cordially invites you to

An Evening with
Vice President Kamala Harris

Saturday, June 1, 2024
Time to be announced
Seattle, WA
Address upon RSVP

Please register using the link below
https://secure.joebiden.com/a/6-1-reception-2?attr=112964231



EVENT 4 in Rancho Santa Fe,CA



A Reception with Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday, May 31, 2024, in Rancho Santa Fe, CA.

Jamie Carr
cordially invites you to
A Reception with
Vice President Kamala Harris

Friday, May 31, 2024
Time to be announced
Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Address upon RSVP

https://secure.joebiden.com/a/5-31-reception?attr=112964231

If, for any reason, you are unable to attend, you can still contribute to our cause by donating using the link below. Please contribute any amount.

https://secure.joebiden.com/a/BVF?attr=112964231

U.S. far-right political commentator and conspiracy theorist Tucker Carlson launched a new television show in collaboration with the Russian state television network Rossiya 24, with the first episode being available online on May 21.

Carlson, a former host on Fox News, has been criticized for making controversial comments on air and social media, characterized by some as being nativist, racist, and pushing talking points that echo Russian propaganda.

Rossiya 24's website has Carlson's first episode about the dangers of ticks and Lyme disease available to watch online. It also has previous episodes from Carlson's own online media platform, such as interviews with far-right Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, accessible with Russian dubbing.

Carlson traveled to Moscow in February to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin, becoming the first Western media figure to do so since the beginning of the full-scale war.