BREAKING: SCOTUS Rules on COVID-Era Social Media Censorship.

THIS SEEMS LIKE A BAD IDEA: All across America, kids go to bed with a story, a kiss, and a potent dose of melatonin. Is there anything wrong with that?

The negative impact of melatonin on kids’ health remains more of an amorphous possibility than a concrete inevitability, which partly explains why so many well-informed parents and caregivers continue to ignore or downplay negative headlines. The American Academy of Pediatrics notes somewhat opaquely that “there are concerns about how it might affect a child’s growth and development” when used at length. “We just don’t know for sure what the impact is, and that’s the problem,” says Lauren Hartstein, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Colorado Boulder Sleep and Development Lab, who adds that there’s a shortage of research on the long-term effects of regular melatonin use by children and that the research that does exist has been fairly inconclusive. Participants in a 2018 study reported delayed puberty after taking the hormone for an average of seven years as children. In animal studies, melatonin has been shown to suppress the secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone, which stimulates the production of other hormones that help the ovaries and testicles mature and function. The body’s nocturnal secretion of melatonin tends to drop throughout childhood, paralleling the progression of sexual maturity. Raise the former, and you may be slowing the latter. And a 2022 study concluded that “whether or not melatonin could play an important role in the pubertal onset in humans is still an open question.”

The contents inside the gummy bottles are also a question mark, though the packaging tells a straightforward and cheerful story. Olly, which makes kids’ sleep gummies, as well as gummies made for kids to “chillax” and lollipops for a “calm mood,” packages its sleep gummies in square jars — the word sleep is in all caps, many font sizes bigger than the list of actual ingredients. Nature’s Bounty, meanwhile, calls its Kids Sleep Jelly Beans “a fun and delicious way to promote peaceful sleep in children.”

My kids have been lucky — so have I, for that matter — because they’re both good sleepers. But I’ve found the best way to ensure a good night’s sleep is to wear them out, not melatonin them down.

KEVIN DOWNEY JR: Feds Allow Crime, Fudge Numbers, Then Declare Guns a ‘Public Health Crisis.’ “In what I assure you will result in yet another assault on the 2nd Amendment, the freedom-despising, gun-grabbing pinkos in the federal government have declared so-called ‘gun violence’ a public health crisis.”

AND SO IT GOES… AND GOES…: Colorado Republican turmoil undermines the party.

On Thursday, party vice chairwoman Hope Scheppelman shared a video attacking Republican Jeff Hurd, the favorite to replace Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) in the 3rd Congressional District. (Boebert has moved to the 4th.) The original ad included the disclaimer “Paid for by Adam Frisch,” the Democratic nominee. But Scheppelman removed it and reposted the ad dozens of times on social media.

Hurd’s opponent, Ron Hanks, once blew up a photocopier in a campaign stunt. The GOP endorsed Hanks, whose fame has been propelled by Democratic dark money claiming he’s “too conservative.”

Removing the “paid-for” disclaimer and distributing the ad could constitute an in-kind contribution to Frisch and a Federal Election Commission violation.

Meanwhile, if Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams and company have their way, the GOP risks losing a Republican seat and, with it, the balance of power in the House. In turn, Trump could lose a shot at Colorado’s blue-leaning 8th District, where Williams endorsed Janak Joshi as the supposed “America First” MAGA candidate — contra Trump, who backs Gabe Evans.

The amazing thing about the Colorado GOP is that after nearly two decades of being in Circular Firing Squad Mode, they never run out of ammo or targets.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: My Guns Are Here for the Public Health and Not Causing a Crisis. “They’re plucky, the gun-grabbing Dems. No matter how many times their commie confiscation schemes get smacked down by judges who have actually read the Constitution of the United States of America, they regroup with lightning speed and assault freedom from a different angle.”

BLUE CITY BLUES: Kevin O’Leary slams ‘wasteland’ San Francisco over store closures, bad policies: ‘It is not America anymore.’

The T.V. personality said that you must “blame the top manager” as well as city administrators and mayors for the current standard of living—or lack thereof.

O’Leary, a vocal critic of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “lack of executional skills,” didn’t mince words when discussing the poor policies put in place by the state’s chief.

Recently, California’s $20 minimum wage hike has become the latest thorn in many businesses’ owners’ sides.

“It’s a mistake, it’s a Gavin Newsom mistake,” O’Leary said when discussing the newly enacted law.

“It’s not just fast food and convenient dining that’s shutting down because they’re unprofitable at $20 a minimum wage. Lots of other businesses are leaving that state,” he continued.

O’Leary admitted that he doesn’t invest in startups in California anymore.

That last item is a big tell. Sacramento’s Bay Area cash cows like Google, Facebook, and Apple aren’t about to pull up stakes and leave California. But the companies that will someday displace cash cows like Google, Facebook, and Apple will be founded in other states.

SANCTUARY STATE, YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG: Massachusetts Tells Migrants at the Border Not to Come Because State Shelters Are Full

REMEMBER WHEN BIDENFLATION WAS A TRANSITORY PROBLEM? Fed Governor Bowman says she’s still open to raising rates if inflation doesn’t improve.

Recent readings have shown moderating inflation, with the Fed’s preferred indicator running just under 3%. However, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee noted after its last meeting that there has been only “modest further progress.”

Bowman noted that there are “a number of upside risks” prevailing that could accelerate her outlook, which is among the most hawkish of all policymakers.

“I remain willing to raise the target range for the federal funds rate at a future meeting should progress on inflation stall or even reverse,” she said. “Given the risks and uncertainties regarding my economic outlook, I will remain cautious in my approach to considering future changes in the stance of policy.”

The Commerce Department on Friday will release its reading on the May personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect a 12-month inflation rate of 2.6% on both the all-items and core, which excludes food and energy prices.

Does anyone outside Washington still trust Washington’s numbers?

TRUE THE VOTE: Two Statutes Can Help States Purge Illegal Voters.

#FIGHTFOR15, #UNEMPLOYEDFOR20: San Francisco McDonald’s Closes. Guess Why. “In San Francisco’s Stonestown Galleria mall, a McDonald’s franchise has been serving up the usual assortment of burgers and fries to shoppers for more than thirty years. The restaurant also created countless entry-level jobs for teens and young people. But that all came crashing to a halt this weekend when the shop abruptly closed its doors and ceased operations. You might be tempted to suspect that this was caused by the soaring crime rates and migrant issues plaguing the city, and there have certainly been plenty of those issues to contend with. But Scott Rodrick, the franchise owner, told reporters that the final nail in the coffin was the state’s move to jack up the minimum wage to 20 dollars per hour for fast food workers this year. Combined with other rising costs, he said that finally pushed them over the edge. He called the decision ‘gut-wrenching.'”

PLEASE DON’T GET COCKY: CNN Is STILL Too Afraid to Update Its Election Projection Map.

THE LARGE PRINT GIVETH AND THE SMALL PRINT TAKETH AWAY: San Francisco home crashes more than 60% in value after listing says buyers must wait decades to move in. “Tenant’s current lease appears to grant tenants strong long-term rent rate amount restrictions, unconventional method of rental payment, and possible occupancy rights until 2053.”

THAT’S REAL MONEY: Jake Tapper Could Cost CNN $1 Billion in Defamation Suit.

LIES, DAMNED LIES, AND GOVERNMENT STATISTICS: All California’s 2023 Job Gains Were Fake. “The data since January 2024 has not yet been rebenched, which means that the figure includes the Early Benchmark Revision for these recent months are growing at the same rate as the official CES estimates. But one can be absolutely certain that once the next set of revisions come in, California will not have generated any actual job growth for the second year in a row. In fact, make that all of America.”

PRESSURIZATION ISSUES ARE KIND OF A BIG DEAL: 17 Injured in Another Boeing 737 MAX 8 Midair Mishap.

PERSONNEL IS POLICY: Antisemitism group calls on Biden to fire official who posted, deleted anti-Israel tweets: ‘Just horrifying.’

An antisemitism watchdog group is calling for the Biden administration to fire a recently promoted White House official whose anti-Israel social media posts resurfaced this week.

StopAntisemitism said Tyler Cherry, who was promoted earlier this month as an associate communications director at the White House, called for the elimination of Israel and promoted anti-Israel viewpoints on social media going back years, as well as anti-police commentary.

“We’re hoping this is the quickest hire and fire scenario in President Biden’s administration to date,” Stop Antisemitism founder Liora Rez told Fox News Digital. “For the Biden administration to either A, not vet properly, or B, to vet and then approve an inner circle appointee like this… is just horrifying.”

It also isn’t exactly a shock.

ANALYSIS: TRUE. We Can’t Protect Kids Without Fathers. “The difficulties facing children today can be traced to many factors, from the advent of smartphones and social media to the failure of state-run education and malicious influences in pop culture. But the most important, and perhaps least acknowledged, cause has been the disappearance of fathers from the lives of their kids.”

THE FIX IS IN:

All I’m sayin is, something don’t feel right about Thursday. pic.twitter.com/xU8CmowgKx

— Gabrielle Cuccia (@its_gabbygabs) June 25, 2024

On the one hand, maybe Trump was foolish to accept all the Team Biden/CNN (but I repeat myself) demands.

On the other: Maybe Trump Was Right to Accept Biden’s Sundowner Debate Rules. “What if Trump goes up against Biden with this one message underpinning his performance: ‘I’ve come to this debate the same way I’ll go back to Washington, with literally everything stacked against me. And I’ll still win.'”

MORE SUICIDE OF THE WEST: While Putin Wages War on Ukraine, Islam Goes to War Against Russia.

DEFUND THE UN:

BREAKING:

The Taliban have demanded that Afghan woman are not allowed to attend to upcoming UN conference on Afghanistan in Qatar on June 20th.

The Taliban also demanded that all discussions about women’s’ right are removed from the agenda.

The UN has agreed to the demands pic.twitter.com/jBHry3TdGu

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) June 24, 2024

Typo: the meeting is June 30, not June 20, but of course the UN caved.

SERIOUSLY, DON’T GET COCKY: Trump’s Chances in New York May Be Better Than You Think.

COLD WAR II HAS BROADER PARAMETERS AND A LOT MORE ACTION, EVEN IF IT IS MOSTLY LOWER-KEY: Mexican Cartels, Underground Chinese Bankers Team Up. “We’ve been wondering what all these Chinese nationals were doing pouring into America, and ‘Cartel Thug’ seems to be among the possibilities.”

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Joe Biden’s Debate Tune-Up Is Alternately Pathetic and Hilarious. “I guess the litmus test will be that if he makes it through the entire debate and doesn’t collapse, huzzahs will echo all around the MSM and we will be repeatedly assured that the old boy is ready to go.”

AN EYE FOR AN EYE, MORE OR LESS: Louisiana Governor Signs Bill Authorizing Surgical Castration for Child Sex Offenders. “If an offender ‘fails to appear’ as required by court order for surgical castration, the offender may be charged and sentenced to three to five years in prison without the ‘benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence,’ according to the new law.”

SORRY, LADIES, BUT YOU’RE AT LEAST TWO PLACES DOWN ON THE LEFT’S REVISED VICTIMHOOD SCALE: Bully Cyberstalks Lesbian Couple After They Questioned a Man in Women’s Room.