*Trump: Congress Needs Shutdown to Fix ‘Mess’

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said a shutdown of the U.S. government would be necessary in order to fix the “mess” in Congress. “The reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there!” Trump tweeted. “We either elect more Republican Senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51%. Our country needs a good ‘shutdown’ in September to fix miss!” he added. Trump is likely referring to the funding agreement reached between Democratic and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill in which he did not get his desired funding immediately for items such as a border wall with Mexico.

*Report: Hollywood Writers, Studios Reach Deal

Hollywood writers and major entertainment studios reached a tentative deal late Monday night, halting a strike that would’ve begun Tuesday. The 9,000-member Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture Television Producers evidently found common ground at the last minute after a long week of tense negotiating. The agreement specifically dealt with an increase in television residuals, the Guild’s health-insurance plan, and provisions for shorter television seasons—the last of which has led to a drop in earnings for writers. Over the past few years, the Guild said its members have suffered an average decrease of 23 percent in earnings, as streaming services cut the typical number of episodes in a season down from 22 to around 10. “Did we get everything we wanted? No. Everything we deserve? Certainly not. But because we had the near-unanimous backing of you and your fellow writers, we were able to achieve a deal that will net this Guild’s members $130 million more, over the life of the contract, than the pattern we were expected to accept,” the Guild said in a memo to members early Tuesday morning.

*Putin Echoes Trump on Election Hacking ‘Rumors’

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that allegations of Moscow’s meddling in U.S. elections are “rumors used in an American domestic political battle,” almost parroting a line President Donald Trump has used in the past. “You referred to the example of the United States, which has not been confirmed by anyone or anything,” Putin said at a press conference. “It’s just rumors used in an American domestic political battle.” Trump last month tweeted: “The Democrats made up and pushed the Russian story as an excuse for running a terrible campaign.” On Saturday, Trump continued to cast doubt on Russia’s actions, telling Face the Nation, “It’s very hard” to know who may have been involved. “With that being said, I’ll go along with Russia. Could’ve been China, could’ve been a lot of different groups,” he said.

*MY REVIEW: “LBN helps me keep it real! You know what I’m sayin’?” —– Aretha J., an LBN reader from Newark, New Jersey.

*Michael Slager to Plead Guilty to Feds

Michael Slager, the former South Carolina policeman who shot and killed a fleeing black motorist, will plead guilty in a federal civil-rights case, sources told The Post and Courier on Tuesday. The newspaper notes it is unclear to what charges Slager will plead regarding his fatal shooting of Walter Scottlast year in North Charleston. Scott was recorded by a bystander running away from Slager, who then opened fire, shooting him in the back. Slager is charged by the Justice Department of lying to investigators, using a firearm in a violent crime, and violating rights under the color of the law. Slager will be retried by the state for murder after his first trial ended in a hung jury.

*LBN-INTEL FOR INFLUENCERS:

*LBN-SPOTLIGHT: Tinker, Dabble, Doodle, Try: Unlock the Power of the Unfocused Mind (Ballantine Books, 2017) by Dr. Srini Pillay, offers us the latest research and practical tips for tapping into your brain for greater productivity and creativity, unexpectedly great insights, and deeper authenticity.

Walking us through the mindsets of his patients, Nobel laureates, TV personality Ryan Seacrest, tennis star Serena Williams, politician Aung Sang Sui Kii and chef Jonathan Waxman, Pillay explains what is common to the unique success of high achieving individuals: the brain’s unfocuscircuit. Pillay describes practical techniques that you can incorporate in your day to activate this circuit too.

He points out, “These people made it to “center stage” with unforgettable and influential “performances” because they are plugged into their sense of purpose and drive.” “Original success”, he says. “comes from powerfully activating your mental sixpack with unfocus techniques.”

From methods such as constructive daydreaming, possibility thinking, doodling, and a personality simulation called “psychological halloweenism”, Pillay explains how we can become our most powerful selves by changing the way we build our minds, lives and lifestyles. Focus, he says, is indispensable, but without the unfocus circuits, our brains will be forever running on empty toward fatigue. When you get the book, you will also get a desktop App that syncs with your calendar to automatically protect your time.

Get the book and time-limited special bonuses at: http://drsrinipillay.com/tinker/

*Orioles’ Adam Jones Berated by Racist Taunts

Adam Jones, an All-Star center fielder for the Baltimore Orioles, said he was taunted with racial slurs and had peanuts thrown at him Monday night at Boston’s Fenway Park. Jones, who is one of only about 60 black players on Major League Baseball rosters this year, said Red Sox fans in the crowd yelled obscenities at him and threw food. “A disrespectful fan threw a bag of peanuts at me,’’ Jones said, “I was called the N-word a handful of times.’’ Jones added that the night was among the worst experiences on the field in his career, despite having dealt with racist and heckling fans before. “It is what it is, right,’’ he continued. “I just go out and play baseball. It’s unfortunate that people need to resort to those type of epithets to degrade another human being. I’m trying to make a living for myself and for my family.” In a statement, the Red Sox organization apologized to Jones. “No player should have an object thrown at him on the playing field, nor be subjected to any kind of racism at Fenway Park,” team president Sam Kennedy said, adding that an investigation into exactly what happened is “ongoing.” Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said fans’ behavior was “unacceptable & shameful. This is not what Massachusetts & Boston are about.”

*WHO READS LBN? Realtor Mike Gruning

*LBN-INVESTIGATES: Women in the United States increasingly began smoking publicly in the 1920s when the cigarette was adopted by advertisers as a symbol of equality, rebellion, and women’s independence.

*DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that LBN is read daily by 3 Nobel Prize winners?

*LBN-MEDIA INSIDER:   ***Megyn Kelly is getting off to a great start at NBC. It is confirmed that she will travel to Russia next month to moderate a session with President Vladimir Putin at a key international conference. Sources say, Kelly, who officially started at NBC on Monday, will moderate the session interviewing Putin as part of the Russian premier’s annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that takes place June 1-3.

*LBN-BUSINESS INSIDER:   ***Airbnb agreed on Monday to settle a lawsuit against the city of San Francisco, putting to rest litigation that could have hampered the company’s efforts to expand and go public. In the settlement, Airbnb essentially agreed to San Francisco’s demand to be more transparent about its hosts and to help enforce existing registration laws. It followed the company’s dropping of a lawsuit in December over a New York law that fines people who illegally list their homes on short-term rental platforms. Taken together, the actions mean Airbnb has cleared up outstanding litigation in two of its biggest markets in the United States.   ***For the cool price of $85 million, David Geffen has sold his oceanfront residence along Malibu’s Carbon Beach neighborhood. A source close to the deal tells The Hollywood Reporter the sale was recently finalized. While it is significantly below the $100 million the mogul was hoping to get for the gated property, which includes a main two-story residence and two guesthouses, it is still a record for Malibu.

*LBN-VIDEO LINK: “Without Notes” with M. Zuhdi Jasser M.D. – Episode 2: The American Dream —- 

*LBN-COMMENTARY by John Mellencamp (Rock musician): Well, I was in New York, and I went on a date with a girl. We went to a movie called – you should go to this movie – Get Out. We walked out and we went, “How come black people hate us? They fuckin’ hate our guts.” And then we both agreed that, you know, they’ve got good reason! But it’s really fun to go to the movies and be me. I sat down and the guy next to me goes, “Hey, John, you want some popcorn?” “Sure.”

*LBN-SPOTLIGHT: FRONTIERS || A SERIALIZED GRAPHIC NOVEL FOR ADULTS

Get it at: 

*LBN-COMMENTARY by Charles Krauthammer: Yesterday’s conventional wisdom: A wave of insurgent populism is sweeping the West, threatening its foundational institutions — the European Union, the Western alliance, even liberal democracy itself.  Today’s conventional wisdom (post-first-round French presidential election): The populist wave has crested, soon to abate. Chances are that both verdicts are wrong. The anti-establishment sentiment that gave us Brexit, then Donald Trump, then seemed poised to give us Marine Le Pen, has indeed plateaued. But although she will likely be defeated in the second round, victory by the leading centrist,Emmanuel Macron, would hardly constitute an establishment triumph.

*LBN-COMMENTARY by Dennis Prager: In a recent column, I made the case that Americans are fighting the Second Civil War. The deep chasm that has opened up between the left — not liberals, the left — and the rest of the country is so wide and so unbridgeable that there is no other way to describe what is happening. But I noted that at least thus far, unlike the First Civil War, this war is not violent. Unfortunately, there is now reason to believe that violence is coming. In fact, it’s already here. But as of now, it’s only coming from one direction. Left-wing thugs engage in violence and threats of violence with utter impunity. They shut down speakers at colleges; block highways, bridges and airport terminals; take over college buildings and offices; occupy state capitals; and terrorize individuals at their homes. In order to understand why more violence may be coming, it is essential to understand that left-wing mobs are almost never stopped, arrested or punished. Colleges do nothing to stop them, and civil authorities do nothing to stop them on campuses or anywhere else. Police are reduced to spectators as they watch left-wing gangs loot stores, smash business and car windows, and even take over state capitals (as in Madison, Wisconsin).

*LBN-A DIFFERENT VIEW:….

*LBN-OVERHEARD:   ***Janet Jackson has confirmed a rumored split with her husband and says she plans to resume the world tour she called off more than a year ago during her pregnancy with her son. Jackson says in a video posted on Twitter that she has separated from husband Wissam Al Mana. She says, “We are in court and the rest is in God’s hands.” The couple’s son was born in January.   ***Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s divorce has now seen removal men show up at their shared home to haul their belongings to a new address. Actor Affleck — who has been married to Garner for 12 years — is thought to have moved out of the family home, after she filed for divorce in mid April, citing irreconcilable differences. Affleck was on site supervising the move and it looks to have been his stuff that was being taken to another location.