Good morning, and welcome to RedState's "Morning Minute" — a brief glimpse at which stories are trending at the moment and a look ahead at what the day may bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to kickstart your day. 

TOP O' THE MORNIN'

Biden's Brain Breaks at APAICS Gala, Makes Creepy Comment About Woman, Adds New 'Origin Story'

Then he made some weird comment about a lady in the audience whose gown he liked. "Where is she? Stand up, kid! I like that dress. Let 'em see your gown!"

Tuesday at Trump's Trial - Cohen Cross-Examined (Trump Trial - Day 17)

Cohen denied that he is motivated by fame, but he did acknowledge these were his words (from his book, "Disloyal"):

"I wanted it all: power, the good life, public acclaim, fame, big deals, fast cars, private planes, the excess and glamor and zest for life."

Dan Goldman's Comments About Prepping Michael Cohen Cause a Stir

Cohen is "an admitted perjurer, he is an admitted liar, he has testified inconsistently on the stand, so he is either lying one time or the other, and he will be really skewered on cross-examination for that," Goldman said. 

WHAT'S ON TAP?

Today on Capitol Hill...

Hearings and such are back in full swing on the Hill Wednesday. Here's a sampling of what's on the docket: 

• House Transportation and Infrastructure — "Reviewing and Examining the Francis Scott Key Bridge Federal Response"
• House Homeland Security — “Standing Strong on the Thin Blue Line: How Congress Can Support State and Local Law Enforcement"
• House Judiciary — Hearing on the Weaponization of the Federal Government
• Senate Foreign Relations — Hearings to examine the future of arms control and deterrence
• House Judiciary — Antisemitism on College Campuses
• Senate Intelligence — Hearings to examine an update on foreign threats to the 2024 elections
• House Oversight and Accountability — “Red Alert: Countering the Cyberthreat from China”

White House What's Up

Fresh off his weirdo performance at the AIPACS Gala, President Joe Biden (and First Lady Jill) are set to host a dinner for "Combatant Commanders." (What are the odds Joe busts out some old war stories to regale them with?) 

Full Court Press...

No Trump Trial on Wednesday, though this officially marks one month since the proceedings began in Manhattan. However, Sen. Bob Menendez's trial is poking along a few blocks away in the Southern District of New York. Opening statements [not "arguments," for the love of all that's holy] are set to be presented today. 

MORNING MUSING

An interesting thing happened while I was writing this up, so I decided to incorporate it into my musing: Starting at roughly 10:20 pm, my upstairs neighbor(s) began vacuuming. Okay, a little odd and inconsiderate, but I was still up and awake, so what did I really care? I assumed maybe they'd had an incident — like the time I came home to find my dog and her cousin/nephew dog had destroyed a plant, and there was dirt and shredded plant everywhere. Which might explain it. Except for that the vacuuming continued on...for 40 minutes. And included the entire apartment by the sounds of it. So, I can only assume something inspired them to do a super duper thorough clean late at night. Again, I wasn't yet trying to sleep, so really, not the end of the world. Just...weird. 

LIGHTER FARE 

You go, girl! 

love the reaction 👏 pic.twitter.com/pb7cfv0cL7

— no context memes (@weirddalle) May 14, 2024