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 Shouts Incoherently When Interrupted by Heckler, Claims He's Cut Deficit by $1T

It was yet another in an ever-lengthening list of speeches where the often befuddled Biden will say just about anything if he thinks it will make his story better, regardless of whether it has any relation to the truth.

The Future of Electric Vehicles Looks Bleaker Than Ever

This crisis is the result of various factors, including high production and maintenance costs, increased competition from China, and skepticism about the environmental benefits so aggressively touted by their advocates.

If FLOTUS Headlines a Fundraiser and Only a Handful of People Attend, Does It Make a Sound?

The event was hosted by veteran Democrat operative Joyce Aboussie at her home in Ladue (a "well-to-do" St. Louis suburb). 

WHAT'S ON TAP?

Today on Capitol Hill...

Okay, now they're really getting down to business. Forty hearings are set for Wednesday. A sampling here: 

• House Transportation and Infrastructure — "From Headquarters Building to Field Offices: Examining the FBI's Real Estate Needs and Strategy"
• House Appropriations — Budget Hearing – Fiscal Year 2025 Request for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to testify)
• House Foreign Affairs — The Chinese Communist Party’s Malign Influence at the United Nations — It’s Getting Worse
• House Armed Services — U.S. Military Posture and National Security Challenges in Europe
• Senate Budget — Hearings to examine offshore tax evasion by the wealthy and corporations
• House Natural Resources — Oversight Hearing Titled: "Biden's Border Crisis: Examining the Impacts of International Cartels Targeting Indian Country"
• Senate Energy and Natural Resources — Hearings to examine the federal and non-federal role of assessing cyber threats to and vulnerabilities of critical water infrastructure in our energy sector

White House What's Up

Wednesday is actually a busy day for President Joe Biden. He will spend much of the day with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Mrs. Kishida Yuko, greeting them at a formal arrival ceremony, holding a bilateral meeting and then a joint press conference with the prime minister, and later, a State Dinner. 

MORNING MUSING

On this day...112 years ago, the RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton, England. I expect there will be a story or two here regarding the tragedy that befell that ship on her maiden voyage to mark the anniversary, but I'm going to take a moment to talk about another shipwreck: the Steamboat Arabia. Thankfully, the sinking of the Arabia on the Missouri River in 1856 did not result in loss of life, but the vessel itself was lost...until 1988. The story of the ship's discovery and the recovery of it and the hundreds (thousands?) of artifacts found on it is told well and in fascinating fashion when you tour the museum in Kansas City. The handsome beau had read about it and persuaded me to check it out with him several years ago — truly, one of the coolest museums/exhibits I've ever seen. If you're ever in/near KC, be sure to check it out. 

LIGHTER FARE 

But he's so cuuuuutte...

I'm not falling for that one again pic.twitter.com/W2K9VVtLNl

— Apex Memes 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇬🇧 (@_apexwolf5) April 9, 2024