THE WAR ROOM: Israel continued to hit targets in Lebanon today for a second day of intense bombing, levelling homes and buildings. Overnight the roads were clogged with carloads of people retreating to Beirut.

  Israeli air and artillery strikes hit as many as 1,600 targets in Lebanon yesterday killing at least 560 people while targeting Hezbollah militants and their weapon stocks. Israel is on the brink of second all-out war … and the potential for regional war.

  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israelis that they were headed into “complicated days.”

  Hezbollah is part of a network of anti-Israel in the Middle East groups backed by Iran. The group has been attacking Israel with rockets in support of Hamas in Gaza.

  The attacks in just one day surpassed the intensity of the 2006 war in which more than 1,000 Lebanese were killed over an entire month. Israel claimed that Hezbollah weapons are being stored in homes and warned residents through text and radio messages to get out quickly. 

  In an address aimed at Lebanese citizens, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Hezbollah uses you as human shields” and that “The IDF has warned you to get out of harm’s way.” 

  Hezbollah responded to yesterday’s attacks with about 165 rockets fired into Israel, most of which were intercepted but some causing serious damage. Schools were closed in northern Israel and one hospital moved all its patients into an underground bunker.

  Diplomats arriving in New York for the annual meeting of the UN Assembly expressed concern not only for the Lebanese, but for foreigners in Lebanon. Answering questions from reporters, President Biden said, “We’re working to de-escalate in a way that allows people to return to their home safely.”

THE JUSTCE FILES: As the man accused of lying in wait to kill Donald Trump appeared in federal court, the former president in a statement called for the case to be handled by Florida courts because “OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM IS CORRUPT AND DISCREDITED, especially as it pertains to the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.”

  Prosecutors said they plan to charge Ryan Routh with attempted assassination but so far he is charged only with possession of a weapon by felon and having a gun with the serial number obliterated. Because Routh never fired a shot, the government has to carefully build a case for more serious charges.

  Yesterday they released a letter given to them by a man who said Routh left it with him before the Trump incident. The handwritten letter said, “Dear World, This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you.” Prosecutors will use that to establish intent for a more serious crime.

  Trump denounced the initial gun charges as “a slap on the wrist” and accused the Justice Department of “downplaying” the threat to his life because they “have been coming after me nonstop with Weaponized Lawfare,” a term meant to say the law has been unfairly used against him.

DENIAL AIN’T A RIVER: When you post things on the internet, it can follow you for life.

  A day after nearly his entire campaign staff resigned because of an embarrassing story about him released by CNN, North Carolina’s Republican candidate for governor said he’ll hire new staff and keep going. 

  CNN reported that years before Robinson became Lt. Governor of the state he wrote on the porn site “Nude Africa” that he was a “black NAZI,” that he enjoyed watching transgender pornography, and that “slavery is not bad.” 

  Not only his staff, but Donald Trump also appears to have abandoned Robinson in a state the former president has a chance to win. Robinson has suggested that the old web postings are the product of artificial intelligence and yesterday he promised to “take CNN to task for what they have done to us.”

RECYCLED: In the first lawsuit of its kind, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil on Monday accusing the company of carrying out a “decades-long campaign of deception” in which the oil and gas giant misled the public about the recycling of plastic waste.

  Exxon claims it can recycle any kind of plastic.

  Only about five percent of plastic waste gets recycled and the lawsuit accuses the oil and gas giant of perpetuating the “myth” of recycling. “For decades, ExxonMobil has been deceiving the public to convince us that plastic recycling could solve the plastic waste and pollution crisis when they clearly knew this wasn’t possible,” Bonta said. “ExxonMobil lied to further its record-breaking profits at the expense of our planet and possibly jeopardizing our health.” 

THE SPIN RACK: Police in Birmingham, Alabama have offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the shooters who killed four people and wounded 17 Saturday night in the streets of the city’s entertainment district. — In a second attempt for the state, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law banning plastic grocery bags, starting in 2026.  Customers without re-usable bags will have to pay for paper bags. A loophole in California’s first plastic bag ban in 2014 actually resulted in more bags going to the dump and the roadside. Newsom also signed a law that requires schools to limit or ban the use of smartphones by students during the day. — Phoenix, Arizona this year has endured a record 113 straight days of temperatures over 100 degrees. — Attention K-Mart shoppers! K-Mart, the formerly giant discount retailer classed up by Martha Stewart, is closing its last full-size store in Bridgehampton, NY.

BELOW THE FOLD: Melania Trump, wife of the self-proclaimed billionaire Donald Trump, was paid $237,500 to speak at a political fundraiser in April. Maybe she needs getaway money.

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