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 Team's Childish Response to Trump Golf/Debate Offer Gets Mocked Into Next Week

If Biden thinks this is deranged and "weird," then why did he propose it twice? 

Cook Political Report's Latest Moves on Electoral College Map Are Five-Alarm Fire for Joe Biden

That's looking extremely good now for Trump, as the Democrats continue to dissolve into chaos. 

To Avoid 'Kids in Cages' Headlines, the Biden Administration Has Done Something Far Worse

All of this was largely preventable with an orderly, secure border. Instead, we've ended up with the worst border crisis in history, and the consequences have been and will continue to be dire.

WHAT'S ON TAP?

Today on Capitol Hill...

It will be another busy day on the Hill today, between the ongoing Dem infighting over what to do about Joe Biden and a number of hearings and meetings, such as:

• House Transportation and Infrastructure, Aviation Subcommittee — "Eliminating Bottlenecks: Examining Opportunities to Recruit, Retain, and Engage Aviation Talent"
• House Small Business — “Main Street Realities: Examining the Current Economic Landscape in America”
• House Financial Services — The Federal Reserve’s Semi-Annual Monetary Policy Report
• House Judiciary — Collusion in the Global Alliance for Responsible Media
• Senate Environment and Public Works — Hearings to examine the state and federal response to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse on March 26, 2024
• Joint Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission)  — Hearings to examine war crimes and complicity from Syria to Ukraine
• Senate Intelligence (Select) — Hearings to examine personnel vetting, security clearance reform, and Trusted Workforce 2.0

White House What's Up

It's a busier day for President Joe Biden. Following his Daily Briefing, he'll "drop by" AFL-CIO Headquarters before heading to the NATO Summit for the afternoon. In the late afternoon, he'll hold a bilateral meeting with the UK's new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. In the evening, he and First Lady Jill will host a dinner with NATO allies and partners. 

Full Court Press...

We're in the middle of the defendants' closing arguments in the corruption trial of Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ). Those are expected to wrap Wednesday, followed by rebuttal from the prosecution, with the jury getting the case for deliberations on Thursday. 

Meanwhile in Montana, the state's Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Wednesday in the "youth climate change" case, in which 16 young Montanans sued the state alleging that provisions of its energy and environmental laws violate their rights by perpetuating fossil fuel use. 

MORNING MUSING

Tuesday, I learned that McDonald's is bringing back "everyone's favorite sandwich" — the Smoky BLT Quarter Pounder With Cheese (which features "a 100% fresh beef Quarter Pounder patty, two slices of melty American cheese three half strips of thick cut Applewood Smoked bacon, three fresh Roma tomatoes, shredded lettuce and a special, smoky BLT sauce - all on a toasted sesame seedbun"). Okay, sure, sounds tasty. My only quibble is that the "return" announcement made it seem like this thing was as popular and well-known as the much-beloved McRib. I'll confess — I am a frequent flyer at the Golden Arches, yet have no memory of this Smoky BLT sammich being a thing. Nor did my co-hosts on Tuesday afternoon's show on NewsTalkSTL. I did, however, come up with a theory as to why that is...

LIGHTER FARE 

Once more with feeling...

Bleu is a golden retriever who has loved singing to wind chimes since she was a puppy
(jukin media) pic.twitter.com/yT4AH4sYUd

— theworldofdog (@theworldofdog) July 8, 2024