AGE AND WISDOM: President Joe Biden held a one-hour live press conference last night under a world microscope and carried it off in command of the facts and his thoughts in what was at times an impressive delivery of knowledge about issues in the US and the world. While a poor performance may have ended his bid for re-election, his success last night still might not have slayed doubts instilled by his debate disaster two weeks ago.

  The press conference followed Biden’s hosting of the 75^th NATO conference in Washington.

  Biden was fluent and sometimes even too detailed about issues involving Russia, China, Israel and the Ukraine war. He demonstrated a substantive knowledge and understanding of everything from economics to the politics of weapon sales you never hear from Donald Trump. But his problem is that even at his best he’s not a compelling speaker.

  Biden parried several questions about his health and ability to win the election. Toward the end he said, “The only thing age does is creates a little wisdom, if you pay attention.”

  Still, he committed a couple of gaffes yesterday. Early in the presser he referred to Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump,” and during the day introduced Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky as “Putin” before quickly correcting himself.

  The President continued to take a political battering yesterday as more congressional Democrats called for him to get out of the presidential race. Arizona’s Rep. Greg Stanton said, “The stakes in this election could not be higher. For our country’s sake, it is time for the president to pass the torch to a new generation of leaders.”

  Hawaii’s Ed Case said in a statement, “This is solely about the future, about the president’s ability to continue in the most difficult job in the world for another four-year term.”

  From Iowa, Rep. Christina Bohannan said, “He is not up to the task of a strong, vibrant campaign that will provide a compelling vision for our future.”

  Even before the day’s events, The NY Times reported that “longtime aides and advisers to President Biden have become increasingly convinced that he will have to step aside from the campaign,” but that there’s no indication the message has been taken to the President. The Times says The White House denied the story is true.

DARKNESS IN THE DAY: CenterPoint Energy in Texas says it will restore power to about 400,000 customers today, leaving about 350,000 without power until Sunday. Customers have been sweltering in the heat and unable to keep food in refrigerators following tropical storm Beryl In the Houston area.

ORANGE ALERT: Lawyers for Donald Trump filed a 55-page motion arguing that his New York criminal conviction should be dismissed following the Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. They say the conviction relied on evidence involving Trump’s official acts as president, which would now be protected by the Supreme Court ruling.

  The lawyers wrote that, “In order to vindicate the Presidential immunity doctrine, and protect the interests implicated by its underpinnings, the jury’s verdicts must be vacated and the Indictment dismissed.” 

PISTOL WHIPPED: Jurors in the Alex Baldwin manslaughter trial heard testimony yesterday that while investigators found live bullet rounds on the set, they didn’t get a warrant for a week to search the van in which the supplier of weapons for the movie kept them locked up.

  Investigators found no live rounds in the van and testified that they focused no suspicion on Seth Kenney, the weapons supplier.

THE OBIT PAGE: Actress Shelley Duvall, the lanky bug-eyed actress with a toothy grin who played in a string of Robert Altman movies including “The Shining” opposite Jack Nicholson, died yesterday at home in Texas of complications from diabetes. She was one of the biggest film stars of the 1970s. 

  Duvall had not planned to be an actress until an off-chance meeting with Altman who drafted her into the cast of “Brewster McCloud” in 1970. She went on to appear in the Altman movies “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” (1971), “Thieves Like Us” (1974), “Nashville” (1975), “Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson” (1976) and “Three Women” (1977). She was also Olive Oyl opposite Robin Williams in “Popeye” (1980).

  She told The NY Times just this spring, “I thought: boy, if it’s this easy, why doesn’t everybody act?”

THE WAR ROOM: The Pentagon announced that it is dismantling the temporary pier built to bring aid into Gaza. The pier was crippled twice by stormy seas and has not been able to deliver supplies as easily as planned.

THE SPIN RACK: The jury is expected to start deliberating today in the corruption trial of New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez. He’s accused of selling influence for cash and gold bars. — The US says it uncovered a Russian plot to assassinate the chief executive of a German weapons manufacturer that supplies Ukraine. The company Rheinmetall makes artillery shells and tanks. — The Chief Executive of Nassau County, New York, a part of Long Island, is recruiting a force of “special deputies” with gun licenses to deploy in cases of emergency. Bruce Blakeman, a Republican allied with Donald Trump, said the force would assist in the “protection of human life and property during an emergency” and perhaps even in “a riot.” It sounds like a militia. Nassau is a wealthy county that already has a large police force. — Despite Joe Biden’s shaky poll numbers, the right wing heritage Foundation appears ready to lose the election. Mike Howell, executive director of Heritage’s Oversight Project, said yesterday, “As things stand right now, there’s a zero percent chance of a free and fair election.” 

BELOW THE FOLD: Right next to the water jugs, a company called American Rounds is installing bullet-dispensing machines in grocery stores in Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas. “Honey, while you’re there would you pick up some Bud Lite and 200 rounds of 7.62 NATO standard?”

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