OPEN THREAD: Everybody’s working blogging for the weekend.

MIKE PENCE IS ARGUING THAT HE’S A LEGISLATIVE OFFICIAL, AND HENCE NOT SUBJECT TO THE J6 SPECIAL PROSECUTOR, and over at my Substack I argue that he’s not crazy to do so. As longtime InstaPundit readers may remember, I’ve written before on the Vice President’s character as a legislative official.

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THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: Samsung unveils satcom solution for smartphones.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Kamala’s Humiliating ‘Please Clap’ Moment Shows How Bad Things Are for Dems.

NOW OUT FROM ANDREW WAREHAM: The Middle Sea (The Call of the Sea Book 7).

MEDIA FEARMONGERING: Is Your Cookware Putting You at Risk of Alzheimer’s? An Expert Explains. No, is the answer.

MIRACLES DO HAPPEN: Is AOC coming around on nuclear power?

MY SHOCKED FACE: I, for one, do not doubt for a second that it’s entirely possible Permanent Washington (CIA, FBI, etc) had a hand in the murder of Malcolm X. I’m not defining his character or programmatic either way, but anyone (except modern Democrats) ought to see the very real possibility. And it makes perfect sense that (providing there is an evidentiary basis) the Shabazz family would bring a lawsuit.

I know, many of them cheered them on as “angels doing God’s work” when they were ginning up evidence against Trump, (“How dare you sully the good name of the FBI!” harrumphed The New York Times) but many of us who lived thru LBJ and Nixon always knew that the Deep State is not some tin-foil hat theory.

Ngo Diem could not be reached for comment.

AS WITH THE CORRELATION OF SLEEP AIDS AND DEMENTIA, I WONDER IF THIS ISN’T A MARKER FOR SOMETHING ELSE RATHER THAN A CAUSE: Frequent use of laxatives may increase risk of dementia.

AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD: Ohio-Area Turtles Develop Sudden Interest In Pizza, Martial Arts. “I’m pretty sure he even shouted, ‘Cowabunga!'”

TIPFLATION: Wait, Are We Really Supposed to Tip 25% Everywhere Now? I’m a longtime waiter and I make my living from tips, but tipping culture feels out of control.

GOODER AND HARDER, CALIFORNIA: California bill would eventually ban all tobacco sales. “Some California lawmakers want to eventually ban all tobacco sales in the nation’s most populous state, filing legislation to make it illegal to sell cigarettes and other products to anyone born after Jan. 1, 2007. If signed into law, it would mean by 2073 people wanting to buy cigarettes would have to show ID to prove they are at least 67 years old.”

DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS: Massive University System Pauses ‘Diversity, Equity And Inclusion’ Policies After Republican Pressure.

READER FAVORITE: Alimens & Gentle Men’s Button Down Regular Fit Long Sleeve Plaid Flannel Casual Shirts. #CommissionEarned

YOU WENT FULL OLBERMANN, RICH. NEVER GO FULL OLBERMANN: Rich Eisen Blasts Constitutional Carry by Citing Shooting in State Without Constitutional Carry.

SAFETY DANCE: Japanese Brands Score Big in IIHS Tests.

MARK JUDGE: The establishment’s erasure of JK Rowling and other pulp fiction rebels is just the start.

THEY’VE BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG TIME BUT THEY’RE STILL COOL: The real star of this aerial selfie isn’t the balloon—it’s the U-2 spy plane.

The U-2 has been around longer than I’ve been alive, but it’s still useful. I hope to be the same!

LISTEN, SUG, DON’T FORGET TO SAY YOUR PRAYERS: Is Joe Biden Getting Us Into a Nuclear World War III?

One weapon ready for combat is the RS-28 Sarmat liquid-fueled missile, also known as the “Satan 2,” which is 115 feet long, has a range of 11,000 miles, and, according to Reuters, can carry at least ten independently targetable reentry vehicles, each armed with a nuclear warhead that can be aimed at different targets.

It certainly looks as though Joe Biden escalated the war in Ukraine by providing tanks, and that Putin has further escalated the war by getting out a nuclear arms treaty, and building up his nuclear arsenal.

And it may have all been because Biden was trying to distract from his classified documents scandal.

Earlier: World Health Organization Recommends Stockpiling Meds for Radiological Catastrophe.

Related: The Unexpected Return of Duck and Cover.

Plus: Shhh: Nobody Talk About World War III.

(classical allusion in headline.)

WELL, THEY’RE EVOLUTIONARILY ADAPTED FOR THAT: Surprising Study Finds Infants Outperform AI in “Commonsense Psychology.”

CHANGE? Russia’s Withdrawal From START: Less Than Meets The Eye. “The real reason that Putin withdrew from START is that it allows America to carry out regular inspections of Russian infrastructure, and I’m sure they feared America relaying any actionable intelligence from such inspections to Ukraine.”

NO THANKS, I’M STILL SOCIAL DISTANCING: Meet Maria Araujo Kahn, Biden’s nominee for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, who argued for outlawing offensive speech, suggested ‘microaggressions’ can ‘kill you.’

FRED HOYLE, CALL YOUR OFFICE: First look at Ryugu asteroid sample reveals it is organic-rich.

OLD AND BUSTED: Biden: Inflation Is Coming Down.

The New Hotness? The Fed’s favorite inflation measure skyrockets as markets realize rate hikes are far from over.

BIDENFLATION: Biden Just Got Some Really Bad News.