Dead to US: The Taliban have killed the Islamic State leader who believed to be responsible for the suicide bombing in August 2021 that killed 13 American soldiers and as many as 170 civilians, the White House announced.

  The bombing occurred at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan during the chaotic American exit from that country. American officials did not name the ISIS leader.

  The Taliban didn’t do it as a favor to the US. They’ve got their own fight with the Islamic State. The US was unable to say whether the ISIS insurgent was specifically targeted or was killed in fighting between the two factions.

  The Biden administration has made phone calls to the families of Americans lost in the bombing to tell them that the man behind it is dead.

  The bombing and the messy departure from Afghanistan have been a dark mark on the Biden presidency and it’s sure to keep coming up as the election cycle gains momentum.

It’s Political: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is set to bring to the floor his plan to lift the nationaldebt ceiling for a year in exchange for spending cuts and policy changes. It’s the first major test of his leadership and with the slim Republican majority, he can’t lose any more than four votes. 

  And while it’s uncertain whether McCarthy has the votes, the whole thing is performance art because his bill would die in the Democratic Senate.

  President Biden has dismissed McCarthy’s agenda as “spending cuts for working  and middle-class folks.” New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said it should be the “Default On America Act.” 

Running Man:  President Biden’s three-minute  announcement of his run for a second term is a study in political video propaganda and manipulation.

  It opens with shots of the January 6^th insurrection then abortion rights protests. Biden’s first word is “freedom,” then he says “personal freedom is fundamental to who we are as Americans,” the implication being that his Republican opponents will steal your personal freedom.

  Biden quickly runs through threats to Social Security, voting rights, book banning, and “telling people who they can love.”

  The video shows Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris — meaning that he’s keeping her — as well as speaking to enthusiastic crowds, rows of workers in hard hats, and walking with civil rights leaders. It sneaks in shots of his engaging wife, Jill. With questions about the president’s age, there’s a brief clip of him sprinting in a suit, even though day to day he has a stiff and elderly gait.

  The video was eloquent, but masterfully manipulative.

  On the other hand, Donald Trump responded with a stiff performance directly to camera in which he said, “You could take the five worst presidents in American history and put them together and they would not have done the damage to our nation that Joe Biden has done to our nation in just a few short years. Not even close.” 

In Transition: Riot police yesterday had to clear the Montana legislature of protesters supporting Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr, a 34-year-old transgender member of the body who has been silenced after delivering an impassioned speech about medical care for transgender children.

  The Republicans took offense last week when Zephyr criticized a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors, citing studies that have shown alarming rates of suicides among transgender teenagers. She said, “I hope the next time there’s an invocation, when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands.”

  Since then, Zephyr has been blocked from speaking on the floor. The Republicans are threatening to censure or even eject her. 

Action!: Actor Alex Baldwin and his crew have resumed shooting the western “Rust” 18 months after the on-set shooting that killed photography director Halyna Hutchins and wounded to flic’s director,Joel Souza.

 They’ve moved the production from New Mexico, where Baldwin was charged with negligent homicide then dismissed. And this time around the production is using fake guns and dummy rounds made of rubber and wood.

The Obit Page: The great singer, actor, and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte has died at age 96 in Manhattan.

  At a time when racial segregation was still entrenched in much of the US, Belafonte broke through with an album of Caribbean music in 1956 and by 1959 was the most highly paid Black performer in history, with contracts to play in Las Vegas, the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, and at the Palace in New York.

  Born in Harlem to West Indian immigrants, he had America singing along with “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” and “Jamaica Farewell.” 

  He was incredibly handsome and charismatic. For a time he was Hollywood’s #1 Black leading man, but he was nudged aside by Sidney Poitier.

  Civil rights were the passion of his life. He was a dedicated supporter of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and appeared with Robert Kennedy, both of whom were assassinated. Belafonte put up much of the seed money for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and was a principal fundraiser for King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

  It seems that Belafonte was not enamored with being a major figure in the civil rights movement. He once told The Washington Post, “I hate marching, and getting called at 3 a.m. to bail some cats out of jail.” 

The Spin Rack: The sheriff’s department in rural Carroll County, Kentucky has hired dormer Louisville detective Myles Cosgrove who was one of two cops who shot and killed Breonna Taylor in her bed three years ago during a botched raid. The Louisville PD fired Cosgrove. —  As stories break about the business and personal dealing of a couple of justices, Chief Justice John Roberts has declined to testify about Supreme Court ethics before the Senate Judiciary Committee. He cited “separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence.”

Below the Fold: No News today about the Kardashians. 

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