Boston-based RR Auction told Secrets today that the highest bid came for doodles the 35th president made on the night before his assassination in Dallas, Nov. 22, 1963.

The drawings and random thoughts, written clearly in pencil on Rice Hotel stationery, sold for $34,504.

“Kennedy’s handwriting remains highly coveted by presidential collectors, with examples deriving from his last night alive being part of an elusive and ever-shrinking group,” said Bobby Livingston, RR Auction executive vice president.

Kennedy was staying at the hotel in Fort Worth while in Texas for events.

RR Auction described the document this way: “The document, written in pencil on an off-white sheet, contains various notations likely made during a telephone conversation. It includes references to the year ‘1963,’ numerical notes like ‘10 thousand tons’ and ‘50 or 60 %,’ a noted time of ‘11:45,’ and the surname ‘Smith’ mentioned twice — possibly referring to Stephen E. Smith, Kennedy’s brother-in-law and campaign strategist. The page also showcases Kennedy’s familiar doodles, including underlines, boxes, and an arrow.”

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Other items sold at this week’s auction included Kennedy’s inaugural address book presented to the chief of White House police. It went for $26,575. Also, a presidential seal flag that Kennedy signed and presented to the commander of the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. sold for $16,643.

One other top seller was former President George Washington’s signed and handwritten ledger. It went for $46,279.

In a legal filing, the advocates predicted that they would eventually beat the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and called on the agency to give up the fight over reclassifying the firearms to regulated and taxed guns.

“Our earlier victory in the case should have signaled to the government to back away from its rule,” said Second Amendment Foundation Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb.

“Instead, the government has appealed in hopes of saving this arbitrary restriction, and we’re simply asking the court to affirm its earlier ruling,” he added.

Gottlieb’s group has teamed with two others to fight ATF’s move to reverse a decadelong policy of not regulating AR-style pistols fitted with arm braces that aid handicapped and unsteady shooters.

When President Joe Biden came to office, the agency moved to rip up its old policy to claim the pistols should be in a category of highly regulated and taxed rifles, potentially turning some 7-10 million owners of the guns into overnight criminals.

Recent legal cases have found that guns in “common” use are generally free from regulation, and SAF argued that having up to 10 million AR-pistols in use demonstrates that they are “common.”

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans recently ruled 2-1 for SAF. ATF appealed, prompting SAF to seek a new ruling endorsing the original one to set aside the ATF policy.

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The challenge, also being made in other cases around the country, is one of several that is likely headed to the U.S. Supreme Court and could impact the upcoming presidential election.

Former President Donald Trump has indicated he will not OK the ATF rule. He is planning to address the National Rifle Association convention, which is also challenging ATF on its new regulation, and is likely to win the group’s endorsement again.

As both the first and second pick, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is the choice, and it’s not close.

“DeSantis, the energetic and successful Florida governor, takes in 29% of all the votes,” said the latest I&I/TIPP poll.

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, whom Trump has ruled out of the running, is the next favorite but far off in the survey.

Trump has promised to announce his choice soon, and he said that his supporters won’t find it surprising, a big hint that DeSantis is at or near the top of Trump’s list too.

Others at the top of the poll include South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and former Health Secretary Ben Carson.

Long shots include media’s Tucker Carlson and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).

The survey came up with its results by asking Republican voters who their first choice would be, then asking who their second choice would be, and then averaging them together.

DeSantis won both questions, making him the easy pick.

The polling analysis explained why that process works to come up with how voters feel.

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“Why do this exercise? By adding the two totals, we get a more-focused reading on whom Republican voters like best and want most as their next vice president. It’s a hidden preference.

“And it isn’t really close, given the number of contestants. DeSantis, the energetic and successful Florida governor, takes in 29% of all the votes. Only Haley (12%), Abbott (12%), Ramaswamy (11%), Carson and Scott (both at 10%) reach double digits, though, at 9% [Tulsi] Gabbard gets close,” said the analysis.

In the new survey from Cygnal, conducted in 20 states, Democrats are struggling to maintain their edge with black and women voters, “two traditionally reliable Democrat voting blocs.”

Vice President of Polling Brock McCleary told Secrets on Wednesday morning, “Democrats are in trouble with black voters, as the number of those saying the Democrat Party is more extreme than the Republican Party has increased by 20% since March. Biden is similarly in trouble, with over a third having an unfavorable view of the president, and it’s largely because they’re most concerned with the cost of living and not ideological issues like climate change and election integrity that his administration has chosen to prioritize.”

For some black and women voters upset with Biden, the choice is former President Donald Trump.

“Among key voter groups like college-educated women, married women, and black voters, Trump’s approval has also jumped 5%,” McCleary’s analysis said.

The survey shared with Secrets is the latest to show trouble spots for Biden as he tries to find topics he can seize on to beat Trump. He has been in trouble over inflation and flip-flopping moves in the Israel-Hamas war.

The new survey showed voters are focused on both, and they also want something done about the open border between Mexico and the United States.

Cygnal’s survey of 1,500 likely general election voters revealed one possible reason why voters continue to give Trump a slight edge in general election matchups four years after Biden beat the Republican.

In a word, it’s “nostalgia,” pollster McCleary said.

“Nostalgia for Trump’s first term continues to gain steam. Battleground voters now give Trump positive job approval for his four years in the White House while disapproval of Biden remains high,” he said.

For example, while he found the head-to-head in the 2024 rematch was Trump over Biden, 47% to 45%, Trump’s approval in the eyes of likely voters has increased to 48% to Biden’s 37%, a huge gap that would likely signal Biden’s defeat in a typical election. Trump’s approval has increased by 3 points since January despite his legal troubles.

The extremism voters see in Biden’s anti-Israel policies and push to change Title IX rules to let men compete in women’s sports is also hurting him among traditional Democratic groups.

For example, the survey found little support for the most extreme pro-Palestinian protesters who are spouting antisemitism. And 61% reject Title IX changes.

McCleary told us the matters are affecting support for the Democrats.

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“It’s troubling that a third of Democrats used the word ‘justified’ to describe their view of the pro-Palestinian protests while less than half that amount would describe them as offensive. But it’s clear those Democrats are ideological outliers when over 80% oppose the protests outright and support the police clearing out their encampments,” he said.

And on Title IX, McCleary added, “Biden continues to needlessly alienate voters, especially with key groups like parents. His push for new Title IX rules is the latest example. Over 60% of parents oppose requiring universities to give biological males who identify as female the same rights and protections as biological females.”

Making good on new legislation granting illegal immigrants voting rights, even for those who have lived in the district for just 30 days, the city joined a handful of others in opening the vote to undocumented migrants.

The training PowerPoint, provided to legal watchdog Judicial Watch under a Freedom of Information Act request, said that some form of government identification was required to register.

The migrants will not be allowed to vote in federal elections, just city contests, according to the newly approved law.

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The district’s move was opposed by congressional Republicans, but they failed to overturn the measure.

“Illegal aliens and noncitizens should not vote in any elections,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. “That Congress allows the votes of citizens to be legally stolen by illegal aliens in our nation’s capital is inexcusable.”

Considered a straight-shooting and well-connected journalist with CNN, Feist was chosen after a two-month search to replace C-SPAN’s co-CEOs, Rob Kennedy and Susan Swain, who are stepping down this year.

Feist, CNN’s Washington bureau chief and senior vice president, will oversee the public affairs outfit’s continued digital transition and coverage of the 2024 elections.

Feist sounds eager to get to work. “Our democracy needs C-SPAN now more than ever,” he said. “C-SPAN is an American treasure, and I could not be more excited to lead this essential institution.”

Kennedy and Swain indicated that Feist’s selection was an easy one. “Out of a small group of excellent finalists, Sam Feist stood out for his deep respect for C-SPAN, his leadership skills, his knowledge of Washington, and his digital transformation bona fides,” the duo said. “We are confident that we are leaving C-SPAN in good hands.”

Feist trades a network that has been in a bit of turmoil for one of the steadiest media operations in Washington. For example, founder Brian Lamb is still on the C-SPAN board, and many top executives have worked at the outlet for decades.

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At CNN, Mark Thompson, named CEO late last year, praised Feist. “In my short time at CNN, I have come to know and appreciate Sam’s passion for CNN, for our people, and for political journalism and will miss his good counsel,” Thompson said. He called Feist “an institution.”

At a time when Washington has become more partisan and politicians and media have taken sides, Feist has always moved easily among all sides and is welcomed by Democrats and Republicans, even the most conservative groups.

The hammer dropped at about $980,986, making former Cato Institute intern Christian Langalis pretty wealthy.

He said on the Scarce City auction site, “It’s good to finally liberate this number from my sock drawer and offer it back to the Bitcoin public. The message was subversive then, but now merely obvious: Bitcoin is flowing. Control is dead.”

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— Not that Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) cares, but he came under fire last week when he misread the Second Amendment during a House hearing. The gun control advocate erased “the people” from the amendment when he read it: “A well regulated Militia being necessary for the security of a free State, the right to bear Arms shall not be infringed.” It actually reads, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The group Gun Owners of America said, “Was it a Freudian slip? Or a simple mistake?”

— It’s been nearly 20 years since former President Ronald Reagan died. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute is planning to honor him on the anniversary, June 5, with an event that will feature the children of his two best foreign friends, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

“Historians would say, ‘Why is it OK for Reagan to do it and not President Biden?'” NBC’s Kristen Welker said in a key example of the effort.

At issue was Biden’s flip-flop to hold back weaponry Israel needs to push its effort to rid Hamas from Gaza after the terrorists shocked the world with brutal attacks on Israeli women, children, and troops last October. Biden’s move came in response to campus protests by pro-Hamas protesters.

The network talk shows noted that Reagan also played hardball with Israel but typically for more diplomatic reasons than domestic politics. What’s more, as Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) noted, nobody ever questioned whether Reagan had Israel’s back in facing down Arab enemies.

From the May 12 ABC, NBC, and CBS Sunday morning interview shows:

— ABC’s This Week host Martha Raddatz to Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX): You regularly invoke former President Ronald Reagan. You heard Sen. Coons bring up the fact he paused weapons to Israel as well. You constantly ask yourself, ‘What would Ronald Reagan do?’ That’s what Ronald Reagan did.

— NBC’s Meet the Press host Kristen Welker to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): President Biden is not the first president to use arms shipments to try to influence Israeli policy. As you know, former President Ronald Reagan, on multiple occasions, withheld weapons to impact Israel’s military actions. Did President Reagan show that using U.S. military aid as leverage can actually be an effective way to rein in and impact Israel’s policy?…

GRAHAM: The Republican Party is with Israel, without apology.

WELKER: Well, historians would say, ‘Why is it OK for Reagan to do it and not President Biden?‘

— CBS’s Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR): You know that past presidents have withheld military aid to Israel to force changes in behavior. President Reagan did that. President Bush did that. Why do you have a problem with President Biden doing it?

COTTON: Ronald Reagan’s decision to pause the delivery of fighter jets in the 1980s was totally different from what’s happened here. Israel is fighting a war of survival against a terrorist group that committed the worst atrocity against Jews since World War II. In the 1980s, an Israeli ambassador had been targeted for assassination. Ronald Reagan knew the pause of fighter jets would not interfere with Israel’s fighting because they had plenty of fighters. He did not pause munitions. Joe Biden is not sending munitions in the middle of a shooting war that’s a war of survival. And look at the broader context. Israel knew that Ronald Reagan had its back in the region. He sank half of Iran’s navy. Joe Biden has consistently given Iran hundreds of billions of dollars of sanctions relief that exactly funded groups like Hamas.

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Brent Baker, vice president of research and publications for the Media Research Center, explains our weekly pick: “The sudden respect for the policies of Ronald Reagan from members of the Washington press corps, who are normally disdainful toward him, is remarkable. It makes one think they all got a talking points memo from Biden campaign allies and are repeating them to challenge their Republican guests.”

Rating: THREE out of FIVE SCREAMS.

According to the Census Bureau, 15.6% of the U.S. population is now foreign-born.

A Center for Immigration Studies analysis of the new census numbers said Biden’s open border policies have fed the increase.

“In March 2024, the foreign-born population reached 51.6 million, 5.1 million more than in March 2022 — the largest two-year increase ever recorded in American history,” the report said.

It added that nearly 60% of the increase is from illegal immigration.

And significantly, less than half of those who crossed the border over the past two years have jobs, greatly raising the likelihood that taxpayers are footing the bill for them to be in the country.

“The current scale of immigration (legal and illegal) into the United States is without any precedent in the nation’s history,” the new CIS report said.

“Since President Biden took office in January 2021, the foreign-born population has increased by 6.6 million. We have previously estimated that 58% of the increase under President Biden is due to illegal immigration. If the trends since President Biden took office continue, the foreign-born population would reach 62.5 million in 2030 and 82.2 million by 2040 — larger than the current combined populations of 30 states plus the District of Columbia. Perhaps the most fundamental question these numbers raise is whether America can successfully incorporate and assimilate all the immigrants already here, let alone millions more in the future,” CIS said.

Among the highlights in the report shared with Secrets:

— “Since President Biden took office in January 2021, the foreign-born population has increased by 6.6 million in just 39 months.”

— “Nearly 58% of the increase under President Biden is due to illegal immigration.”

— “Only 46% of the foreign-born who arrived in 2022 or later were employed in the first part of 2024.”

— “Many newly arrived immigrants are children, elderly, disabled, caregivers, or others with no ability to work or interest in doing so.”

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— “Only about 8% of the 2.5 million new arrivals who are not working say they are actively looking for work.”

— “The dramatic recent increases in the size of the foreign-born population represent net growth. The number of new arrivals was much higher but was offset by outmigration and natural mortality among the foreign-born already here.”

At a hearing this month, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) came loaded for bear, telling Interior Secretary Deb Haaland that the population is higher than the target of 1,300. He added that they are doing a lot of destruction and need to be controlled.

As Haaland expressed no knowledge of the success, Daines dished numbers. “The 2022 numbers, the most current data. It’s 965 in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It’s 1,138 in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. So, make a chart. Five hundred is the target, actual is 965, that’s Yellowstone, and now the Northern Continental Divide, the target is 800, actual, according to FWS, is 1,138,” he said.

But the math didn’t help the secretary. “If the populations are greater than the recovery target, would you conclude the grizzly bears have now recovered?” Daines asked.

“Senator,” she said, “unfortunately, I am not a scientist.”

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He roared back, “You are the secretary of Interior, with complete respect. You’re in line of succession for the presidency of the United States.”

She added, “Senator, I’m happy to ask the scientists when I get back to the Department of the Interior. I am not a scientist. I don’t want to speculate what the science would say to your question.”