BURROWING IN: ANALYSIS: Moves to dismantle DEI programs may actually be ploys to further embed the agenda: Academics and DEI activists think that U of Arkansas is dismantling its DEI division to protect it from a political crackdown.

Possibly related: Is Academia Rotten to the Core?

AUSTIN BAY: American Civil Society Needs a Warfighting Awareness.

FACT-CHECKING SLOW JOE:

Is this another sign that the Democrats are preparing to move on from Joe Biden in 2024? I don’t know, but CNN’s newfound willingness to fact-check Biden seems significant. Here, CNN finds that pretty much everything Biden says about firearms, among other things, is wrong:

He made at least five false claims related to guns, a subject on which he has repeatedly been inaccurate during his presidency. He also made a false claim about the extent of his support from environmental groups. And he used incorrect figures about the population of Africa, his own travel history and how much renewable energy Texas uses.

That’s quite a list.

But astonishingly, CNN is just getting started. Is the sun setting on Sundown Joe?

A SMALL MEASURE OF SUPERVISION: Republicans Cut University of Wisconsin’s Budget By $32M For Promoting DEI Programs.

UH OH: The rebellion in Russia is really happening (Update: Putin calls it treason).

More here: Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin accused of trying to stage coup as he claims to control parts of Russia’s military headquarters.

Plus: Report: “Highly senior” members of Russian military working with coup.

UPDATE: Still more here.

ICYMI: CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: This IRS Email Corroborates Whistleblower’s Claims About Biden DOJ Interference in Hunter Probe.

Related: WATCH: Merrick Garland Calls Criticism of DOJ ‘Attack’ on Democracy.

Once you realize that to these people “democracy” means “rule by Democrats,” it all makes sense.

BODIES OF MISSING TITANIC SUB PASSENGERS MAY NEVER BE RECOVERED, COAST GUARD SAYS:

The bodies of the five passengers aboard the Titanic sub that was lost in a “catastrophic implosion” near the wreck may never be recovered from the Atlantic, says the US Coast Guard.

The pressure chamber of the OceanGate Titan was found among other debris, approximately 1,600ft from the bow of the Titanic on the sea floor by a remote operated vehicle (ROV) on Thursday.

“This is an incredibly unforgiving environment out there on the sea floor. The debris is consistent with the catastrophic implosion of the vessel. We will continue to work and search the area down there but I don’t have an answer on prospects at this time,” said Rear Admiral John Mauger of the US Coast Guard.

And he added: “This is an incredibly complex operating environment on the sea floor over two miles beneath the surface.”

The Coast Guard says that ROVs will remain in place but that it will begin to pull back equipment over the next 48 hours.

And then the lawsuits and probes begin: ‘Ripe For An Investigation:’ OceanGate Could Face Federal Probe Amid Worldwide Attention Of Disaster.

ICYMI: Louis Rossmann Dings Amazon For Canceling Customer’s Account Over False “Racist Doorbell.” Result: Amazon Cancels Rossmann’s Affiliate Account.

Previously: YES. NEXT QUESTION? Should you think twice before trusting Amazon Clinic with you health records?

SEX, MONEY, AND ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS: “Turner et al. found that wives’ report of economic distress was directly related to their rejection of their partner’s sexual advances, but this association was not found for husbands.”

HUNTER BIDEN’S LAWYER RESPONDS TO BOMBSHELL TEXTS: My Client Was Too Doped Up on Crack To Be Trusted.

Hunter Biden was too doped up on crack cocaine when he invoked President Joe Biden’s name in threatening texts to a Chinese businessman to be taken seriously, his attorney said in a statement Friday.

The attorney, Chris Clark, said Hunter Biden’s “verifiable words or actions” took place “in the midst of a horrible addiction” and therefore have “no connection to anyone in his family.” The statement is an apparent reference to a July 30, 2017, text message Hunter Biden sent to an official with the Chinese energy conglomerate CEFC China Energy threatening that he and then-former vice president Joe Biden would come down on him with their full weight if he did not fulfill his “commitment.”

“We would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled.” Hunter Biden said in the message. “I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.”

Clark’s move to discredit his own client appears to be an effort to shield the president from the implications of the message. If Joe Biden was sitting next to his son as he sent the message as it suggests, it would be a blow to his repeated claims that he never discussed overseas business deals with his son. Ten days after Hunter Biden sent the message, a Chinese official associated with CEFC China Energy wired two payments totaling $5.1 million to the first son.

Or to put it another way:

WHERE’S HUNTER, FAT? Photos Place Hunter Biden At Father’s House The Day He Invoked Dad’s Name to Chinese Business Partner. “If Joe Biden was sitting next to his son as he sent the message as it suggests, it would be a fatal blow to the president’s repeated claims that he never discussed overseas business deals with his son, and the photographs of Hunter Biden at what appears to be a family gathering at the Delaware home is the strongest indication that he was in close proximity to his father when he threatened the Chinese businessman. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.”

ROGER SIMON ON VIVEK RAMASWAMY: The First Milennial Candidate. Roger has been traveling with him and likes him. I don’t see him as the 2024 nominee, but he’s worth your attention.

WHATEVER YOU THINK OF MITCH MCCONNELL, HE JUSTIFIED HIS ENTIRE CAREER BY KEEPING THIS CORRUPT TURD OFF THE SUPREME COURT: Merrick Garland Had His Brown Shirt On Today. “Yeah. That’s our guy. It really is depressing on its face – like, is this our country in real time?”

Also, I like “pencil-necked prevaricator.”

AT SUBSTACK, my responses to some comments on the Titan submersible implosion.

RUSSIA: Wagner Group’s Yevgeny Prigozhin accused of trying to stage coup after claiming Russia bombed his camps in Ukraine.

Related: Putin in crisis: Wagner chief Prigozhin declares war on Russian military leadership, says ‘we will destroy everything.’

Also?

Prigozhin's audio message at 01:22 BST:

"The Head of General Staff is not calming down: a mistake of any African dictator is to deal air strikes at civilian areas. Right now in the air are two planes numbered 523 and 546 that are trying now to deal these strikes.

Remember,…

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) June 24, 2023

OPEN THREAD: Ring in the weekend.

BOB MCMANUS: Thousands of migrants keep coming into NYC every month — will Adams finally say stop.

SPACE DIPLOMACY ADVANCES: India and Ecuador sign Artemis Accords for peaceful moon exploration. I mentioned Ecuador earlier, but India is a big get.

I’VE SEEN THE LOCKDOWNS AND THE DAMAGE DONE: American Kids’ Math Ability Has Gone Backward by Decades.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: John Kirby walks out when asked about Hunter Biden’s message to Chinese businessman.

JOHN HINDERAKER: On Merrick Garland: A Smoking Gun. “Merrick Garland, no doubt one of the worst political hacks ever to hold the position of Attorney General, has sworn that U.S. Attorney David Weiss was in charge of the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden and made all the charging decisions. Whistleblowers have denied that claim, and have said that Garland’s Department of Justice interfered with, and essentially deep-sixed, the investigation, so that Hunter got off with a ridiculous slap on the wrist, and was back attending a state dinner at the White House a day or two later. That is America’s two-tier system of justice in action. But it gets worse. Gary Shapley is the IRS employee who is the key whistleblower on the fake Hunter investigation. His boss at the IRS was Darrell Waldon. This email is from Shapley to Michael Batdorf, who is with the IRS’s Criminal Investigation division, with a copy to Waldon. It describes a meeting that apparently included David Weiss.”

Related: Michael Barone: A Tale of Two Indictments: Politics in a Doom Loop.

HABEAS LAW IS A MESS, AND INNOCENCE SHOULD MATTER: A Troubling Supreme Court Habeas Decision. “The Supreme Court was wrong to deny relief to a man imprisoned for activity that Court’s own rulings indicate was not illegal – one who never had an opportunity to challenge his incarceration on that basis.”

I’VE SEEN THE LOCKDOWNS AND THE DAMAGE DONE: Monthly e-cigarette sales rose by nearly 50% during first 2 years of pandemic: CDC.

HMM: U.S. pedestrian deaths hit 40-year high. Missing from this story is any information on whether these pedestrians were impaired by drugs or alcohol.

DISPATCHES FROM THE BLUE ZONES: San Francisco Mayor London Breed floats idea of DEMOLISHING Westfield mall in crime-ridden downtown and replacing it with a sports stadium – as she brushes off city’s retail apocalypse because ‘a lot of people’ shop online. “A Westfield mall could become, you know, something completely different than what it currently is… we could even tear down the whole building and build a whole new soccer stadium.”

Not a massive homeless shelter?