SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER – FROM UPI:   July 6 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump's British visit next week will include a state dinner and a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II, the U.S. ambassador to Britain announced Friday.  Diplomat Robert "Woody" Johnson revealed the itinerary of the trip in a conference call with reporters Friday.  Trump will arrive at London's Stansted Airport Thursday, following a NATO summit in Brussels. After visiting the ambassador's residence in London, he and first lady Melania Trump will be guests at a state dinner. The event will be hosted by Prime Minister Theresa May at Blenheim Palace, a castle and UNESCO World Heritage site built in the early 18th century.  I do hope the president is on his best behavior and doesn't advise the queen to turn the palace into condos.

STARTLING – FROM THE HILL:  Democratic pollster Celinda Lake said on Friday that women are more likely to oppose abortion rights than men.  “Women are much less likely to be pro-choice," Lake, who is the president of Lake Research, told Hill TV's Joe Concha on "What America's Thinking."   "Women are more religious than men, and so women are slightly less pro-choice than men," she continued.  It's only one pollster, but the thought is intriguing.  Maybe some of these "feminist leaders" don't speak for women.

NO TIPPING NEEDED – FROM THE L.A. TIMES:  A growing number of hotels have begun employing robots to deliver towels, toothpaste and other items to guests — an addition viewed primarily as a novelty to appeal to tech-loving travelers.  But less than a year after the mass shooting near a Las Vegas hotel, a Southern California casino resort has added camera-wielding robots to enhance security.  The Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula last month began employing two robots — one that stands motionless in the valet parking area and a mobile rocket-shaped automatron that patrols the lobby area — in addition to the 300-person security staff and thousands of mounted surveillance cameras.  But we still won't harden most schools and colleges.  I wonder why.

July 6,  2018