Good Wednesday Morning! How Biden plans to avoid legal hurdles with historic border crackdown; India’s Modi declares victory, but party faces shock setbacks; FDA panel votes NO to MDMA for PTSD — more psychedelics to be evaluated.

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Good morning,

Finally, some C-SPAN coverage that is holding our attention. But it’s not what Rep. John Rose (R-TN) had to say. Rather, it was his 6-year-old son, Guy, whose facial expressions stole the show.

• 😂 As his congressman dad railed against the guilty verdict in former President Trump’s hush money trial, Guy smiled, rolled his eyes, waggled his tongue and performed some sort of secret sign language.

• What his dad has to say: “This is what I get for telling my son Guy to smile at the camera for his little brother.”

• 💻 Mo News throwback: The clip reminds us of Rudy Giuliani’s mayoral inauguration when his son stole the show; SNL even did a bit on it.

Have a good one!

Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren

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📌 BIDEN TRIES TO BLAME GOP FOR BORDER ISSUES

The US-Mexico border closed at midnight following President Biden’s executive action that pauses asylum requests at the border amid a surge in migrants crossing into the US from Mexico.

• When daily encounters hit 2,500 between official ports of entry, migrants will be turned away. Over recent weeks, the average has been over 3,500 per day, which means the order takes effect immediately.

• Biden said, “If the United States doesn’t secure our border, there’s no limit to the number of people who may try to come here.”

Biden has received a lot of criticism for his border policies. Notably, this plan is very similar to one that former President Trump rolled out in 2018 that Biden called “inhumane.”

SIMILARITIES & DIFFERENCES
The president’s order comes under the Immigration and Nationality Act sections 212(f) and 215(a), suspending entry of noncitizens who cross the southern border into the US unlawfully.

• Biden pointed out differences between his and Trump’s plans, promising not to separate kids from their families. There will be exceptions for unaccompanied children, people who face serious medical or safety threats and victims of trafficking, the US Department of Homeland Security said.

  • Migrants who have an appointment at a port of entry via the Customs and Border Protection’s smartphone app will still be processed.

  • Under Trump’s "zero-tolerance" policy at least 3,900 children were separated from their parents.

• Legal objections: Already, the American Civil Liberties Union says it will challenge Biden’s measures in court, asserting, “An asylum ban was illegal under Trump and is just as illegal now.”

WHAT POLITICIANS ARE SAYING
Crossings remain high by historical standards, but down more than 50% from the record levels set in December. Trump responded to the news, saying the order was “all for show” and that Biden has “totally surrendered our Southern Border.” The move is getting a lot of negative reaction from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle:

• Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) slammed Biden for waiting until now and called it a political cover to appeal to voters.

• Democratic Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) accused Biden of “reviving Trump’s asylum ban” and Ed Markey (D-MA) called it “irresponsible.”

• Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CN) who helped negotiate the bipartisan border legislation that failed upon Trump’s request, said, "My belief from the beginning has been that you need legislation in order to shut down the border absent a public health emergency, and I think that's probably what the courts will conclude."

🇮🇳 INDIA’S ECONOMY BOOMS UNDER RE-ELECTED MODI, BUT SO DOES INEQUALITY

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will stay in power for another five years following yesterday’s election count. However, his nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faced an unexpected setback: They did not get enough votes to stand alone and will need to form a coalition government.

It comes as the economic and religious divide in the world’s most populous county has grown under Modi’s decade in power.

THE RESULTS
Modi's party predicted it would win 400 seats of Parliament’s 543. However, the BJP only won about 240 seats, and will need to build a coalition of parties.

• What that means: Voters didn’t show up for Modi as they have in his prior two elections. Under Modi, India has become a larger player on the world’s economic stage. But critics have condemned Modi’s isolation of India’s Muslim minority.

  • The election results will likely make more radical Hindu-first policies, including citizenship registration and changing the country’s secular constitution, harder to achieve.

• Of the nearly billion eligible voters, more than 643 million people cast a ballot.

WEALTH DIVIDE
Another issue opposition leaders campaigned against was Modi’s relationship to the nation's billionaires. It comes as a new study from the World Inequality Lab found that the nation’s economic divide has soured — among the highest in the world and starker than in the US or South Africa. Researchers say that the gap between India's rich and poor is wider now than it was under British colonial rule.

📌 FDA PANEL REJECTS FIRST CASE OF PSYCHEDELIC-ASSISTED THERAPY

A panel of FDA experts sided 10-1 against the overall benefits of MDMA (aka ecstasy or molly) when used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. They cited flawed study data, questionable research conduct, and drug risks — including potential heart problems and abuse.

• “It seems like there are so many problems with the data — each one alone might be OK, but when you pile them on top of each other… there’s just a lot of questions I would have about how effective the treatment is,” said Dr. Melissa Decker Barone, a psychologist with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

It’s the first psychedelic treatment to come before the independent advisory panel, and the rejection could impact investment.

WHAT IT IS
Clinical trials by Lykos Therapeutics gave about 200 people MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy. 71% of participants who received the drug, and not the placebo, improved enough to no longer meet the criteria for a PTSD diagnosis.

• But, there were some shortcomings in the study. Panelists pointed to missing follow-up data on patient outcomes, lack of diversity among participants — there were only five Black patients — and potential for abuse due to the feel-good nature of the schedule 1 drug.

• And more, the studies participants overwhelmingly could guess whether they had been given MDMA.

DEMAND 
Some panelists also noted the need for more PTSD treatments. About 5% of adults in the US experience PTSD in any given year, and current treatments are limited in scope and effectiveness.

• Up next: MDMA is the first in a series of psychedelics — including LSD and psilocybin — that are expected to come before the FDA in the next few years.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Three Trump allies charged in Wisconsin fake elector scheme (CNN)

📌 Man literally dodges bullet thanks to his chain necklace: 'Just incredible' (FOX NEWS)

📌 Nebraska funeral home discovers hospice patient was still alive hours after being declared dead (ABC NEWS)

📌 Lawmakers expensed millions in 2023 under new program that doesn’t require receipts (WASHINGTON POST)

📌 A number of Democrats plan to give Israeli PM frosty reception at congressional speech (POLITICO)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Hundreds of German police raid properties in probe into 'Reichsbuerger' coup plot (REUTERS)

📌 Burkina Faso named most neglected crisis for second year in a row (CNN)

📌 China said its lunar spacecraft unfurled the country’s red and gold flag for the first time on the far side of the moon (ABC NEWS)

📌 Epoch Times CFO Bill Guan is charged in alleged $67 million global money laundering scheme (CNBC)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Instagram is testing ‘unskippable’ ads that you can’t scroll past (VERGE)

📌 Poppi faces lawsuit from consumer who questions its gut health claims (AP)

📌 Stream-flation: Cost of most major streaming services has increased by more than 40% since launch (AXIOS)

📌 More than half of US adults will have cardiovascular disease by 2050, research finds (CNN)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Alec and Hilaria Baldwin announce reality show featuring all 7 of their kids (PEOPLE)

📌 San Diego Padres player Tucupita Marcano banned for life by MLB after betting on games (CNN)

📌 Kanye West sued for sexual harassment by former assistant (NBC NEWS)

📌 Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sells majority stake in Revolt, the media company he founded (CNN)

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🗓 ON THIS DAY: JUNE 5

• 1933: Franklin D. Roosevelt took the US off the gold standard.

• 1967: Six-Day War began between Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.

• 1968: Robert Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles while campaigning; he was pronounced dead the following day.

• 1985: Ferris Bueller took the day off.

  • Some internet sleuths have been trying to figure it out for years, and based on the Cubs footage they used in the movie–it appears it was the June 5th game.

    • Though others dispute it and believe it would have been a September game, we here at Mo News are going with June 5th. After all, Ferris had already been absent from school NINE TIMES.