DML News Morning Briefing, May 5th

Today is May 5. Below are some of the stories grabbing headlines this morning. I hope you share this briefing as doing so will make you the smartest person in the room.

1. Migrant Shelters Overflow in Cities as Biden Ends Title 42

Breitbart – Housing shelters in major cities are filling up as foreign migrants flood into the United States.

“Chicago has long pledged to welcome migrants. But a tenfold increase in recent days has taxed resources. Migrants awaiting beds in city-run shelters are sleeping on floors in police stations and in airports surrounded by suitcases. They’re depending on donors for food, medicine and clothing,” reported ABC News.

“More than 8,000 migrants have come into Chicago since August,” continued ABC News. “Some came on busses mobilized by border states; others bought their own flights or got one subsidized by aid groups. The number of new arrivals slowed this winter to about 10 people per day.”

By April, the number of migrants pouring into a city like Chicago increased from 75 to 150 people.

“Our system is over capacity,” Brandie Knazze, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services told city officials Friday. “Make no mistake, we are in a surge and things have yet to peak.”

Denny’s Insight: Tick tock tick tock… May 11 fast approaches. Our country is not prepared for the wave that is incoming.

2. Bud Light still facing outrage after one of ‘most polarizing’ social media gaffes ever:

Fox News – Bud Light continues to face backlash more than a month after its polarizing pact with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney prompted outrage from conservatives that an industry guru believes was one of the biggest social media misfires of all time.

The saga began when Mulvaney publicized that the beer company sent packs of Bud Light featuring the influencer’s face as a way to celebrate a full year of “girlhood.” Mulvaney said the cans were her “most prized possession” on Instagram with a post that featured “#budlightpartner.” The backlash was swift and parent company Anheuser-Busch has been faced with plummeting sales as a result, losing some $5 billion in market value.

“In my career, and from what I’ve seen, this is by far been one of the most polarizing instances within the social media space,” Viral Nation marketing strategist Emma Ferrara told Fox News Digital.

Denny’s Insight: The fallout continues. Not much of a beer drinker, but when I do it certainly isn’t Bud Light or any other AB products. Keep up the boycott, and hurt them in the wallets.

3. Christmas Tree Shops may soon file for bankruptcy protection:

Fox Business – A bankruptcy filing may reportedly soon come from Christmas Tree Shops. The earliest that lawyers for the home-goods retailer, which now goes by CTS, might do so is before the start of next week, according to the Wall Street Journal. The outlet cited anonymous sources on Thursday.

Bed Bath & Beyond sold Christmas Tree Shops, which offers seasonal decorations, furniture and other items, to Handil Holdings in November 2020. The transaction went through roughly a month after it was announced.

The privately held CTS is led by Pam and Marc Salkovitz via Handil Holdings, per the retailer’s website. FOX Business reached out for comment.

The home-goods retailer’s footprint spans 80 stores located in 20 states. It opened a new location in Sarasota, Florida, in early December, according to a press release from the time.

Denny’s Insight: Joe Biden’s economy is killing the holiday spirit, and it’s only May.

4. Navy turns to drag to attract new recruits:

The Hill – The U.S. Navy has received harsh criticism after appointing an active-duty drag queen to be a “digital ambassador” in a new effort to attract recruits as it is not expected to meet recruiting goals this year.

The military branch designated Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley as the first of five Navy Digital Ambassadors in a pilot program that ran from October to March, according to the New York Post. Kelley, whose stage name is Harpy Daniels and who identifies as non-binary, joined the Navy in 2016 and said their experience as a sailor has “been a blessing.”

“This experience has brought me so much strength, courage and ambition to continue being an advocate and representation of queer sailors,” Kelley said in an Instagram post.

However, this move by the Navy has received major backlash, some even comparing it to Bud Light’s advertisement partnership with TikTok creator Dylan Mulvaney.

Former Navy SEAL Robert J. O’Neill, who was part of the team that killed Osama bin Laden, tweeted: “Alright, the U.S. Navy is now using an enlisted sailor Drag Queen as a recruiter. Im done. China is going to destroy us. YOU GOT THIS NAVY. I cant believe I fought for this bullshit.”

Denny’s Insight: I still think Bud Light wins worst marketing ploy of 2023 thus far, but my gosh the Navy is coming dangerously close as a runner up. Instead of “to the brig!” it’ll be “to the drag!”

5. Northwestern College Republicans blocked from funding after hosting conservative speaker:

The student government at Northwestern University has blocked the campus College Republicans from using university funds for their programs because of a set of flyers distributed on campus that advertised a campus lecture by a conservative commentator.

Agustin Bayer, the president of the Northwestern College Republicans, told the Washington Examiner in an interview that his club and the Young America’s Foundation had successfully hosted conservative commentator and author James Lindsey on Tuesday night for a campus lecture on the dangers of identity politics. Despite the presence of a few protesters, the event went off without a hitch or extended controversy.

That was until he learned on Wednesday night, the day after the event, that the Northwestern Associated Student Government held an emergency meeting and voted to freeze all funding to the Northwestern College Republicans due to a flyer that had advertised the event and depicted the gay pride flag as poisonous.

“At no point did ASG reach out to us,” Bayer said. “At no point has ASG communicated with us, but nonetheless they froze our funding. And the justification given was that some of the promotional materials, some of the flyers were in violation of Northwestern standards.”

Denny’s Insight: More and more each day we realize free speech is no longer a sacred belief; the chance to ever speak freely is dead, otherwise you get your funding pulled and your group’s name tarnished.