Unpardonable: President Trump told the head of border protection that he should shut down the southern border illegally and Trump would later pardon him if he got into legal trouble, several news outlets report. The President may have been joking, but it alarmed people who heard him say it.

  The conversation was with Kevin McAleenan, who was about to be named head of Homeland Security.

  News of this broke on the day that Trump said he is considering releasing detained illegal immigrants into so-called sanctuary cities where law enforcement refuses to cooperate with immigration authorities. He said, “California certainly is always saying oh we want more people, and they want more people in their sanctuary cities well we can give them an unlimited supply.”

  Some liberal-minded cities say everyone, including illegal immigrants, need to trust the police. Illegal immigrants won’t if the cops are acting as an arm of immigration authorities, they say.

  Trump later tweeted that his threat was “Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws.” 

Post Time:Horse racing is in a crisis as animal rights activists call for the shutdown of California’s Santa Anita track after the deaths of almost two dozen horses there this year. Even California’s Sen. Diane Feinstein has called for the track to be closed until the horsey set can figure out why so many animals are dying.

  Frequently the cause is a broken leg, after which the horse is put down.

  The industry has examined training schedules, the use of performance drugs, even whipping, but racing in the US has a bad record. 

  “As the recent tragedies at Santa Anita have illustrated, thoroughbred horse racing in the United States is at a crossroads,” the Stronach Group, which owns Santa Anita and Pimlico in Baltimore, among other tracks, said in a statement. “The fact that horses running in America are five times more likely to suffer a catastrophic injury than horses running in international venues is unacceptable and must immediately change.”

Pass/Fail: The genius Harvard graduate who was paid to take college entrance exams for kids in the admissions scandal pleaded guilty yesterday. Thirty-seven-year-old  Mark Riddell could guarantee a 10-point increase in the ACT or 400 points on the SAT. He could have made the tests nearly perfect but had to dial it back to make the results look real.

  He worked for the college admissions adviser William Singer, who helped parents and students fake their way into college for large fees. Riddell would fly from his Florida home to testing centers in Vancouver, Canada; Houston and West Hollywood, where he would ensure the results for Singer’s clients.

  Riddell pleaded guilty Friday in Boston federal court to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He agreed to forfeit $240,000 and will be sentenced July 18.

Rock the Baby:Fisher Price recalled all of its 4.7 million Rock ’n Play sleepers on yesterday after it was linked to an alarming number of infant deaths.

  Consumer Reports connected the cloth-covered cradle to 32 infant deaths from 2011 to 2018, including some involving children under 3 months. The babies have been rolling over the sleeper and getting suffocated.

  The Mattel toy company, which owns Fisher Price, said in a statement yesterday that it stood by the safety of its sleeper but agreed to the voluntary recall “due to reported incidents in which the product was used contrary to the safety warnings and instructions.”

Sofa Alert:“Game of Thrones” returns Sunday night for its eighth and final season. Who’s going to tell Jon Snow he’s really Aegon Targaryen?

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