Dr. Stephanie Seneff sounded off on the Covid jab on Monday during an interview with Rose Unplugged 1320 AM WJAS. Dr. Seneff went into great detail on how toxic the spike protein is and how the vaccine forces the body to make lots of the spike protein: “[The vaccines] are making a spike protein that […]
There are more US deaths related to vaccines in 2021 in less than 5 months than there were the entire past decade. The number of deaths linked to vaccines this year has absolutely skyrocketed. According to the CDC’s own data, in 2021 n the first 3 months, the VAERS website recorded over 1,750 deaths due to vaccines in […]
Catholic Bishops take a stand against politicians of faith who support abortions including President Joe Biden, court documents show unnamed people involved in the January 6th Capitol breach, and the gun-wielding couple in St. Louis, Missouri, plead guilty to misdemeanor charges.
Border officials recorded over 200 migrant deaths and about 7,000 rescues for migrants who attempted to illegally enter the U.S. since October 2020, a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation Thursday.
Migrants continue to try and enter the U.S illegally despite high temperatures and other dangers, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson told the DCNF. Border officials rescued at least 60 migrants and a suspected smuggler this week and have discovered over 203 dead migrants since October 2020.
“CBP’s message for anyone who is thinking of entering the United States illegally along the Southern border is simple: don’t do it,” a CBP spokesperson told the DCNF. “When migrants cross the border illegally, they put their lives in peril. The terrain along the border is extreme, the summer heat is severe, and the miles of desert migrants must hike after crossing the border in many areas are unforgiving.”
“Although CBP does everything it can to locate and rescue individuals who are lost or distressed, the bottom line is this: there are thousands of square miles of mostly desert wilderness that extend immediately north of the border in our area of responsibility,” the spokesperson added. “People who made the decision to make the dangerous journey into this territory have died of dehydration, starvation, and heat stroke despite CBP’s best efforts to locate them.”
Texas border officials recorded the most migrant deaths, including 45 in Del Rio, 37 in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) and 33 in Laredo since October 2020, a CBP spokesperson told the DCNF.
Border officials airlifted an unresponsive migrant woman suffering from a heat-related injury Wednesday morning to a local hospital for treatment. The woman was traveling with a group of 30 illegal migrants in a remote area near Sierra Blanca, Texas.
“If we had not located the injured woman in time, the afternoon heat could have proved fatal for this poor woman,” El Paso Air and Marine Operations Director John Stonehouse said in a statement. “Human smuggling organizations continue to illegally push these vulnerable migrants across the border in the deserts and mountains of West Texas and New Mexico in 100 degree plus weather placing their lives in danger. They often abandon these people in remote areas without food or water.”
Border officials rescued a suspected smuggler who nearly drowned after migrants attempting to illegally enter the U.S. jumped off a raft in an attempt to avoid apprehension in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley Wednesday, according to CBP. Border Patrol agents saved 17 illegal migrants who were abandoned by smugglers in the Rio Grande Valley Monday, including a teenager who was left alone in a bush for nearly two days and multiple others suffering from extreme dehydration requiring hospitalization.
Officials found 33 illegal migrants were trapped in a locked U-Haul box-truck in a suspected smuggling attempt near Van Horn, Texas, Tuesday, according to CBP. The migrants “were close to perishing due to excessive heat and lack of fresh air in temperatures still hovering near 100 degrees” and 12 of them were hospitalized while others were treated at the scene.
Eight illegal migrants were rescued after getting lost in the mountains of the Jacumba Wilderness in California Tuesday night, CBP said. Five other illegal migrants were saved from the same region Monday including a woman suffering from a sprained ankle and a man who was left behind and lost in the mountains.
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LOS ANGELES—California Attorney General Rob Bonta today formally launched new regional Human Trafficking and Sexual Predator Apprehension Teams and is encouraging law enforcement to reach out to the new program.
Progressively stepping up their efforts since last year, the teams—one covering Southern California and another targeting Northern California—are now nearly fully staffed and have already taken action across the state to support law enforcement partners in disrupting and dismantling human trafficking and the criminal exploitation of children.
Bonta also issued a bulletin to local authorities to provide guidance on key techniques meant to help reduce harm in law enforcement interactions with sexually exploited youth. In addition, the attorney general highlighted new funds included in the proposed state budget aimed at fighting the effects of the pandemic on human trafficking and directly supporting survivors across California through $30 million in new grants over the next three years.
The proposed funds are in addition to $10 million per year in grants already included in the budget.
“It has been more than 150 years since slavery was abolished and yet modern-day slavery still exists in our backyard,” said Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles). “It’s our responsibility to do everything in our power to abolish this horrid crime and help survivors recover. A historic state investment of $60 million over the next three years coupled with the Attorney General’s statewide efforts will provide survivors much-needed services such as housing, food, legal representation and emergency response that could prove lifesaving. This is only the start and it will take a village to eradicate one of the biggest human rights challenges of our time.”
The teams, formed within the California Department of Justice, will target a modern-day form of slavery in which perpetrators profit from the control and exploitation of men, women and children for sex or labor through force, fraud or coercion, Bonta said.
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, there were more than 1,500 human trafficking cases reported in California in 2019—more than any other state in the nation. In California, human trafficking has been most prevalent in urban areas and, according to the FBI, three of the top child prostitution regions nationwide are in the Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco metropolitan areas.
Among other industries, victims of human trafficking can also be found among migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, providers of residential care and in California’s garment sector. Despite these ongoing concerns, California has historically lacked a statewide, collaborative approach to human trafficking enforcement.
“Plain and simple, human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery,” Bonta said. “Whether it’s forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation of children, there is no place for these kinds of crimes in California or anywhere. Unfortunately, the pandemic has only served to exacerbate many of the underlying risks that lead to human trafficking in our state. We all have to work together across every level of government and society to help bring human trafficking to an end.”
Today, the Washington Post published another fake news hit piece on the amazing, and highly accomplished reporter, Christina Bobb from One America News (OAN).
They are doing everything in their power to hurt the REAL reporters on the ground in Arizona who are reporting the truth about this historic audit process in the Grand Canyon State.
And, they are even FLAT-OUT lying!
Paul Farhi and Elahe Izadi, two sad excuses for journalists, wrote a hit on Christina and OAN.
The WaPo headline reads “One America News is the face of the Arizona election audit.”
What does that even mean?
“Bobb didn’t mention in her report that she had helped raise money to pay for those lawmakers to visit.”
Money is not used to fly lawmakers in. Money is used for the audit. At the end of each segment, Christina makes it crystal clear that she and OAN’s Chanel Rion have a non profit, VoicesandVotes.org where you can donate to see this audit completed in its entirety.
“While mainstream reporters have been confined to a small area far from the audit tables and threatened with trespassing arrests if they wander outside it, GOP organizers have granted extensive access to One America — a low-rated, intensely partisan cable channel whose personalities have spent half a year trying to delegitimize President Biden’s electoral victory.”
All reporters are confined to a small area including Bobb, who does a daily report from the same spot every day. She has not been given any access other than all the other reporters. “low-rated” must be a joke. OAN is ranked as the No. 4 national news network in ratings.
These “mainstream” hacks wish they had the viewership of the Gateway Pundit and OAN. This is the new mainstream.
“The channel owns and has exclusive control over all live-stream cameras inside the arena.”
The channel does not own the cameras nor access to the cameras. This is not true no matter how many times they repeat it. They refuse to broadcast the livestream.
But then it wouldn’t be fake news so that makes sense.
Bobb has at times been allowed to roam the building and invite guests, whereas local reporters must watch from their pen, if they are allowed inside at all.
Again, Bobb has only been allowed in the press box with the other reporters. All local reporters are allowed in the coliseum every day.
“We were hearing a lot of reports about OAN getting more access than others,” said Chris Kline, president of the Arizona Broadcasters Association.
Wow, did Chris really say that? Then it must be true (snark).
Again, Christina Bobb is not receiving more access than other reporters. She’s just a better reporter.
We’re hearing a lot of reports of mismanaged elections and voter fraud, so we’re looking into that.
“She’s reporting from the audit room floor, as in a May 5 segment“
Again, Christina Bobb is not allowed on the floor. She gave this report from the press box.
“Some of the money was used to fly lawmakers to Arizona from other states Trump lost, so they could consider replicating the audit back home.”
Again, money is used to fund the audit. Legislators, candidates and private citizens have been flying to Arizona on their own dime, in order to witness the historic full forensic audit and bring it back to their constituents.
“One America’s favored status has been a source of contention among local journalists who have sought to cover the audit.”
Christina Bobb’s skill as a reporter and flawless looks are what cause contention among journalists. These people are literally disgusted by people who tell the truth. They will even ask Bobb for tips, because she is here EVERY DAY and knows what’s happening, then start mouthing off to her and being nasty minutes later.
This is another classic case of the leftist victim card. Coming into the extremely liberal field of journalism after serving as a US Marine, Christina fought for these people to have freedom of the press. Now they regularly harass her and ostracize her because they don’t like the truth. So who’s the real victim?
Christina told TGP’s Jordan Conradson:
“We don’t own the cameras and I have not been given any access other than all the other reports.Maybe if WaPo actually had a reporter here, they’d know that.”
Thats right. Where’s WaPo?
They’re not even at the audit. they have no idea what they’re writing.
New York is a crime-ridden 3rd world hell hole under Democrat leadership.
NYPD Crime Stoppers posted a shocking video of a shooter chasing a family down a Bronx sidewalk and opening fire on a father who is inches away from his two children.
The shooting happened Thursday evening just before 7 PM.
The gunman, dressed in all black, is seen chasing a father and his two children down Sheridan Avenue, near East 172nd Street.
The 24-year-old victim was shot in the back and both legs as the children, a 10-year-old girl and a 5 year-old boy, narrowly escaped injury.
The victim is in “stable” condition at a local hospital.
NYPD is asking the public for help identifying the shooter and the man operating the “getaway scooter.”
Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
VIDEO:
🚨Please Share@NYPDDetectives need your help identifying & locating the 2 men seen in this video shooting another man near 1551 Sheridan Ave. in the Bronx.
Yes, those are children with the victim, who were very fortunately not injured.
Stacey Abrams’s non profit group Fair Fight Action is contacting voters all over the country urging them to call their senators and pass S1, which will require states to permit voters to register on the day of a federal election, including during early voting.
An Arizona resident received the following text message and passed it on.
This bill is another measure that Democrats are taking to ensure that cheating is just as easy as voting.
Why is Stacey Abrams sticking her nasty paws in Arizona?
Georgia has so many problems that she is helping to sweep under the rug in order to ensure laws are made that will help her win Georgia’s Gubernatorial race, dishonestly.
With the Arizona audit coming to an end and showing serious discrepancies, and an audit starting in GA, she needs this law to pass before there evidence comes out.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is being urged to veto a provision in the proposed state budget that would ban abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
The measure, which has passed the GOP-controlled Legislature as part of a two year, $13.5 billion spending package, would prohibit doctors from performing abortions after the 24th week — the beginning of the third trimester — including in cases of fetal health, rape or incest. The measure provides exceptions if the mother’s life is at risk.
Health care providers who perform the procedure after 24 weeks would face felony charges, punishable by up to seven years in jail and fines from $10,000 to $100,000.
Critics say the move, if approved, would jeopardize women's reproductive health services and result in an exodus of physicians who would fear being labeled as criminals.
Earlier this week, a group of more than 200 health care professionals wrote to Sununu urging him to veto the budget plan over the abortion ban.
"New Hampshire already struggles to retain medical professionals and we are deeply concerned that these criminal penalties will undermine the state’s efforts to recruit and retain clinicians," they wrote.
Sununu has signaled his support for the measure, recently telling the New Hampshire Today radio show that he "wouldn't necessarily veto" the budget over the abortion ban.
"I’m a pro-choice governor, but like most citizens of the state of New Hampshire, I do not think that we should be doing late-term or, you know, these at-the-very-last-minute type abortions,” Sununu said.
Sununu, who campaigned on a pledge not to make abortions more restrictive in New Hampshire, said he remains pro-choice but argued late-term procedures were different.
"I think fundamentally, again, most people agree that, you know, those types of late-term abortions are not appropriate," he told the radio show's host Chris Ryan.
Last year, Sununu vetoed a bill approved by the then-Democratic-controlled Legislature that would have required all commercial health care plans that cover maternity services to insure abortions. At the time, Sununu said the proposal ran afoul of a federal law banning discrimination against health plans that don’t reimburse for abortion services.
Women's groups argue that the measure would make abortions more restrictive and would rollback years of efforts to expand access to reproductive services.
"If Gov. Sununu signs this budget, he will be rolling back Granite Staters’ reproductive freedom by becoming the first governor in New Hampshire history to ban abortion and criminalize doctors," said Kayla Montgomery, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Hampshire.
Democrats have accused Sununu of waffling on the issue and ripped Republican lawmakers for tacking the controversial issue onto the budget.
"Republicans have turned doctors into criminals for providing abortions, even when it is in the best interest of the health of the mother or even the fetus," Sen. Tom Sherman, D-Rye, said a statement. "This will have a chilling effect not only on women's health in New Hampshire, but also on the already fragile system of healthcare for women."
But Republican lawmakers who supported the measure argue that New Hampshire should join 43 other states in restricting abortions at or before 24 weeks.
“I personally believe 24 weeks is a modest goal for us to reach on a very divisive issue,” Sen. Harold French, R-Franklin, said during a recent committee hearing on the amendment.
A recent poll by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center found 48% of Granite Staters support a ban after 24 weeks and 40% oppose a ban.
As Russia mounted 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border in March, the White House and the Department of Defense readied a $100 million military assistance package that was frozen once President Joe Biden announced a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to reports.
The Russian troop buildup, allegedly for unannounced military exercises, coincided with smaller American exercises in the Black Sea region. A previous buildup in eastern Ukraine led to the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and a protracted war that simmers seven years later. As Putin massed attack helicopters and aircraft on the eastern Ukrainian border, Biden and NATO leaders condemned Russia and called for a drawdown but made no public offers of military assistance. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urgently called for entry into NATO and the military weaponry his country lacks.
“Russia is not the entity that takes words seriously,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the Washington Examiner at a June 3 meeting in Kyiv.
“If they see that the only reaction the West can offer is words, they will understand that their hands are untied to that,” he added when asked if he was disappointed that Biden had not offered military assistance in the face of Putin’s aggression. “They can do fairly aggressive actions against Ukraine and against other countries as well.”
The minister gave no indication at the time that he was aware that a military package from the United States was in the works, but he did outline the types of assistance needed.
“Our navy and air defense are our top priorities,” Kuleba said. “This is big, this is serious, and this is where we can really do a lot together because the United States [is] also particularly strong in these fields.”
The Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry did not respond to requests Friday for comment about reports of the frozen assistance package.
The package was reported to include short-range air defense systems, small arms, and anti-tank weapons, according to a report. The Department of Defense referred questions by the Washington Examiner to the White House's National Security Council, which did not respond to inquiries Friday.
Ukraine is battling Russian-backed separatists in the eastern Donbass region of its country, which provides vital land access to the Sea of Azov and the Crimean Peninsula.
Russia has heavily militarized Crimea but can only reach the strategic point by sea and a bridge hastily built by Putin after the annexation. Security analysts suggest that Putin is vying for a land bridge to Crimea and eventually control of the Ukrainian port at Mariupol.
Ukraine’s only deterrent against Russia is greater military assistance, analysts and government officials say.
“There is a need,” former Ukrainian National Security Council member Alexander Danyliuk recently told the Washington Examiner in Kyiv. “Russia has an advantage in aviation. We don’t have an anti-aircraft defense system.”
In an interview prior to the Biden-Putin summit announcement, Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Laura Cooper told the Washington Examiner that the Pentagon was providing a wide range of military assistance to Ukraine.
“We are working to ensure Ukraine, in particular, has the resilience it needs to defend itself against acts of Russian aggression, and here we have a very comprehensive training and equipment program,” Cooper said.
At the time, the Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia official described assistance including Javelin anti-tank missiles, counter-artillery radars, grenade launchers, and Humvees.
Asked if the Russian troop buildup prompted additional military assistance, Cooper said security assistance conversations were ongoing.
“We always talk about Ukraine's requirements, and we're always evaluating what they need and what the threat environment is,” she said. “It's a very active and dynamic conversation and continues as such.”
South Carolina GOP Rep. Ralph Norman, one of the 14 Republicans who voted against the bill, gave two main reasons to explain his opposition.
Norman was upset with the title, “Juneteenth National Independence Day Act,” because he took exception with the idea that there could be two independence days, he explained in a statement.
“First of all, our Independence Day is July 4th. Period. Independence Day celebrates the anniversary of our declared independence from Great Britain, and it’s been that way for 245 years," Norman said. "If you want to call Juneteenth, for example, Freedom Day or Emancipation Day then fine — that’s certainly worth considering. But calling it Independence Day is WHOLLY INAPPROPRIATE.”
Norman also said there would be unintended consequences that come with the addition of more federal holidays.
“We can’t just add new federal holidays without considering the ramifications” because it "should easily cost the federal government over a billion dollars Every. Single. Year. in federal payroll & holiday premiums with no offsets!" Norman said.
The South Carolina Republican reiterated his stance during a Thursday interview on Fox News Radio with Jimmy Failla.
“How many holidays do we want? What’s the magic number? This would put it to 11,” he said. “Do we want 20? Are we gonna do one for the Native American Indians? I mean, where does it stop? This was such an easy no vote.”
Other GOP lawmakers who voted against the bill provided similar explanations.
“This name needlessly divides our nation on a matter that should instead bring us together by creating a separate Independence Day based on the color of one’s skin," Roy said.
The other lawmakers who voted against the bill include Reps. Mo Brooks of Alabama, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, Doug LaMalfa of California, Mike Rogers of Alabama, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Tom McClintock of California, Matt Rosendale of Montana, and Andrew Clyde of Georgia.
Georgia Republican David Belle Isle, who is seeking to unseat Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in next year’s election, made a far-reaching formal open records request Thursday for several documents related to Georgia’s 2020 election, Breitbart News has learned exclusively.
For two years, Illinois Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker has bypassed the appointee process for the Illinois Prisoner Review Board (PRB) to fill it with his hand-picked appointees.
President Joe Biden on Friday issued a warning regarding the "potentially deadlier" delta coronavirus variant as part of a plea to Americans to receive the coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the economy is seeing more inflation than he and his Federal Reserve colleagues anticipated only a few months ago, and that he now expects to see a central bank rate increase next year.
Speaking Friday on CNBC, Mr. Bullard said that when he submitted forecasts at this week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting, “I put us starting in late 2022” with the first move up from near-zero short-term interest rates currently. Ahead of the FOMC meeting, Mr. Bullard had said he wasn’t ready to call for a shift in monetary policy while the coronavirus pandemic was still a major force for the economy.
At the meeting, Fed officials opened the door to the option of paring some of the massive stimulus they have been providing the economy during the pandemic.
Officials projected a stronger economic outlook with notably more inflation this year. And while they still all agree no rate increase will happen this year, they moved to pencil in increases through 2023, compared with no projected increases in the March forecasts. Officials now believe the Fed will have lifted rates twice by 2023.
Mr. Bullard doesn’t currently have a vote on the FOMC, and he was the first official to weigh in after this week’s meeting. Seven of 18 Fed officials expect one or more increases next year.
Suddenly, capital-gains taxes are all over the news.
In late May, the Biden administration released details of its proposals to boost taxes on Americans’ long-term capital-gains income above $1 million by 82%. Soon after, the investigative site ProPublica published an article, based on IRS data it says it obtained, contending that the richest Americans don’t pay their fair share of taxes, and that involves capital gains as well.
Then in mid-June, a New York Times article reported that the private-equity industry, through clever planning and political muscle, can often treat its managers’ compensation as long-term capital gains. That could reduce their top income-tax rate from 37% (plus payroll taxes) to 20%.
This torrent of attention makes it a good time to review the complex, highly charged topic of income taxes on capital gains, especially as current proposals could affect some filers who aren’t among the wealthiest.
For a century the U.S. tax code has given favorable treatment to investment profits called capital gains, in part to compensate for investment risks. Capital gains are the difference between the original cost (plus adjustments) and the selling price of assets such as stock shares or real estate, if there’s a profit. If you buy stock for $5,000 and sell it for $30,000, you have a $25,000 capital gain.
Over time the income-tax rates and rules for capital gains have varied. Under current law, long-term gains—those on investments held longer than a year—are eligible for rates topping out at 23.8%, while the top rate on wages reaches 40.8% when a 3.8% Medicare tax is included.
Also for a century, the tax code has exempted capital gains at death from income tax, a benefit known as the “step-up in basis.”
For example, say that Robert has stock worth $100,000 that he bought for $10,000. If he sells it before he dies, he’ll owe up to $21,420 of federal tax on his $90,000 gain. But if he dies without selling his income tax will be zero, leaving more for heirs. Although Robert’s estate could owe estate tax on the full $100,000 value of the shares if his assets exceed $11.7 million (in 2021), this levy can often be reduced with planning.
Long-term gains also have other tax advantages, such as the ability to reduce or eliminate income from taxable gains by deducting capital losses on unprofitable investments.
But the most powerful benefit of capital gains, say tax specialists, is that investors can choose when to have taxable income by timing their sales—and that could be never, if they hold assets until death. Wage earners don’t have this ability. To obtain cash while alive, some investors avoid sales that trigger taxes by borrowing against their assets.
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The tax deferral on unsold assets boosts their growth and usually helps more than inflation hurts, according to tax specialists Len Burman of the Tax Policy Center and
Kyle Pomerleau
of the American Enterprise Institute.
“This result is counterintuitive to a lot of people, but it’s true,” says Mr. Pomerleau.
Both Mr. Burman and Mr. Pomerleau advocate taxing capital gains at the same rates as ordinary income such as wages, although Mr. Pomerleau would couple this with a full deduction for savings. A key outcome of the 1986 tax overhaul, when Mr. Burman was a staffer in Ronald Reagan’s Treasury Department, was a top rate of 28% on both types of income, but it lasted just a few years.
Today these advantages make long-term gains highly desirable to those who can have them, and that’s often the very rich. According to estimates by the staff of Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation, filers with $1 million or more of income, about 715,000 taxpayers, will report nearly 70% of total long-term gains this year. That’s about $800 billion of income.
These top earners pay lots of taxes. The Committee staff estimates they’ll pay 53% of total income taxes in 2021, which includes tax on income other than capital gains, and income taxes provide nearly half of U.S. revenue. If payroll taxes like Social Security are included, this percentage drops because most of them are paid by people earning less than $200,000. Overall, filers earning $1 million or more pay 27% of U.S. income, employment and excise taxes.
Some critics, such as the writers at ProPublica, say this isn’t enough because the assets of the wealthiest are growing far faster than their income. A major reason for the disparity is that taxpayers don’t have capital-gains income on assets they don’t sell, prompting politicians like Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders to push for a tax on wealth.
More Tax Report
President Biden’s current proposals don’t include a wealth tax, but they do raise rates on long-term gains. To provide more funding for social programs, the administration wants to boost the top rate from 23.8% to 43.4% on income above $1 million for sales after late April, 2021.
The proposals would also end the tax exemption for capital gains at death. Instead, each individual would get an exemption of $1 million plus $250,000 of gain on a home. Above that amount gains would be taxable, effective for deaths after 2021. This change could increase market efficiency by reducing the “lock-in effect” caused by investors who refrain from selling to get the step-up.
These changes plus some others would raise taxes substantially for the highest earners: The Tax Policy Center estimates that about one million tax filers with income between $817,000 and $3.6 million would owe an average of $43,000 more tax for 2022, and 120,000 households with income above $3.6 million would owe an average of $1.3 million more.
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Should capital gains be taxed at the same rate as wages? Join the conversation below.
But the proposals would also affect taxpayers with income below Mr. Biden’s stated threshold of $400,000 for tax increases, such as those with highly appreciated, long-held assets like a home in a high-cost area, stock or land.
“A 43.4% capital-gains rate is rather terrifying for seniors who bought homes 30, 40, or 50-plus years ago in areas like Boston, where homes are pricey, and would now like to sell,” says Mary Kuhns, a retired systems analyst living in Brookline, Mass., in a house she and her husband bought 42 years ago.
It’s hard to know how many such people there are. Using data from the Federal Reserve, Tax Policy Center specialist Robert McClelland estimates there are roughly 350,000 filers age 70 and older with income below $400,000 but enough capital gains on unsold assets to qualify for the higher rates if they have the same amount of assets at death. If the exemption is doubled to $2 million per individual, about 150,000 filers could be affected.
There’s no telling what changes, if any, will ultimately make it through Congress. Stay tuned.
Corrections & Amplifications Mary Kuhns and her husband bought their house 42 years ago. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said they bought it 47 years ago. (Corrected on June 18.)
Credit Suisse
CS -2.40%
Group AG and
SoftBank
9984 -0.80%
Group Corp. Chief Executive
Masayoshi Son
recently dissolved a longstanding personal lending relationship and the bank clamped down on transactions with his company, according to regulatory filings and people familiar with the matter.
The moves came after the collapse of SoftBank-backed Greensill Capital in March plunged
Credit Suisse
CS -2.40%
into turmoil. It also follows Credit Suisse’s $5.5 billion loss stemming from trading by family office Archegos Capital Management. The bank has since promised to dial down risk.
Mr. Son had long used Credit Suisse and other banks to borrow money against the value of his substantial holdings in SoftBank. As recently as February, Mr. Son had around $3 billion of his shares in the company pledged as collateral with Credit Suisse, one of the biggest amounts of any bank, according to Japanese securities filings. The share pledge loan relationship stretched back almost 20 years. By May, that lending had gone to zero.
Mr. Son still maintains substantial share pledges with a handful of other banks, according to the filings. It couldn’t be learned who initiated the ending of the share pledges with Credit Suisse.
A SoftBank spokesperson declined to comment.
Credit Suisse also moved to curtail its relationship with SoftBank as a corporate customer, according to the people familiar with the matter. Credit Suisse now requires any business involving SoftBank to go through additional layers of risk checks and approvals, amounting to an informal ban on new business, the people said.
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What lingering effects do you see coming from Credit Suisse reducing its business with SoftBank? Join the conversation below.
The Japanese conglomerate invests in dozens of technology companies around the world and is one of the most prolific sources of deals and loans for Wall Street banks. Its holdings span the tech world, from ride hailing, through
Uber Technologies Inc.,
to drug developers and chip designers. It has had major stumbles as well, including office landlord WeWork.
Credit Suisse has worked as financial adviser to SoftBank and companies backed by its $100 billion Vision Fund. It competes with other banks to take those companies public or raise other financing, according to regulatory filings and deal announcements.
In many ways, SoftBank and Mr. Son are the exact type of clients Credit Suisse targets. The bank aims to parlay personal lending to rich entrepreneurs into bigger, more lucrative deals from their corporate holdings.
The relationship has strained in recent months over the Greensill collapse, according to the people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg News reported in May that Credit Suisse wouldn’t do any new business with SoftBank.
Trouble surfaced in the summer of 2020 when Credit Suisse executives reviewed potential conflicts of interest around $10 billion of investment funds the bank ran with Greensill.
An investment by SoftBank in one of the Credit Suisse funds essentially made the Japanese company both a lender and a borrower, since other companies it invested in also received financing. SoftBank redeemed its investment after the review and Credit Suisse said it was committed to protecting investors.
Credit Suisse froze the Greensill funds in March when the financing firm lost a key type of credit insurance backing up the funds. The freeze plunged Greensill into bankruptcy and left Credit Suisse scraping to recover money on behalf of the funds’ investors, including pension funds and corporate treasurers.
Credit Suisse has said it is working to recover the money and so far has gotten back more than half of investors’ $10 billion in capital.
Some of that recovery is focused on companies backed by SoftBank, including construction technology firm Katerra. It owed $440 million to the Credit Suisse funds.
When Katerra ran into financial difficulties last year, Greensill forgave the loan, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. SoftBank, in turn, invested $440 million into Greensill, expecting the money to go to Credit Suisse fund investors.
SoftBank’s longtime strategy of dumping mountains of cash on promising young companies to create big winners failed dramatically at WeWork and is inviting scrutiny into the fund’s other investments. Here’s a look at Vision Fund’s structure, and how its fast paced investment strategy could make it risky. (Video from 12/11/19)
Instead, Greensill put the proceeds of the SoftBank investment in a bank it owned in Bremen, Germany, according to a bankruptcy administrator’s report. The report said Greensill had used money it received from SoftBank, including the $440 million, to boost its bank’s capital position and fund Greensill’s overall operations.
Much of Mr. Son’s vast personal wealth stems from his nearly 30% stake in SoftBank. Forbes currently lists him as neck-and-neck with
Tadashi Yanai,
founder of Asia’s top clothing retailer, Fast Retailing Co., for the title of Japan’s richest man, with a net worth of around $35 billion.
The brash Mr. Son has always been a big risk taker, say people who have known him for years. He invests aggressively in a variety of ventures and often uses his shares to secure loans, one of the people said. Over the years, Mr. Son has bought a number of pricey houses in Tokyo, including one he equipped with an indoor golf range that could simulate weather conditions like rain.
In 2012, he paid $117 million for a mansion near billionaire
Larry Ellison’s
place in Woodside, Calif.—at the time the most ever paid for a house in the U.S. In recent years, he has also personally invested billions of dollars in the Vision Fund.
Mr. Son and related vehicles reduced their total SoftBank shares pledged from 271 million to 197 million between February and May, according to the filings. His other share-based lenders include
Nomura Holdings Inc.,
UBS Group AG and
Mizuho Financial Group Inc.,
according to filings.
In March of last year, the proportion of Mr. Son’s SoftBank holdings pledged as collateral grew as high as 72%, as SoftBank’s share price plummeted and banks called for more collateral.
The Japanese tech conglomerate’s shares have tripled in price since, and Mr. Son is now pledging just below 40% of his total SoftBank holdings as collateral, the filings show, suggesting any squeeze on his assets has been relieved.
Chrissy Teigen is going on the attack against claims that she bullied Project Runway star Michael Costello, as her husband John Legend also leapt to her defense on Friday in a series of fiery tweets.
'No idea what the f**** Michael Costello is doing,' Chrissy, 35, tweeted on Friday, addressing alleged bullying claims made by the designer, who leaked alleged messages between the pair earlier this week.
The model went on to claim that the direct messages he posted were 'fake' and that emails he claims to have as proof of her bullying 'don't exist.'
Husband John, 42, also backed up wife Chrissy in a series of charged tweets on Friday saying the exchange 'was completely made up' and 'fake.'
Chrissy's angry response comes amid a new accusation that she twice pushed Cameroonian singer Dencia at 2016 Grammy Awards, and that she has been forced to quit her cleaning brand Safely with Kris Jenner.
Chrissy Teigen goes on the attack: Model and husband John Legend SLAM Project Runway star's bullying claims - as she's accused of pushing singer at the Grammys (Pictured, 2019)
'Chrissy will be stepping away from Safely to take much needed time to focus on herself and be with her family.,' a rep for the cleaning brand said on their Instagram page Friday.
Chrissy and Kris Jenner launched the brand as founders and spokespeople for the line, before past tweets resurfaced where the model told teen bride Courtney Stodden to commit suicide.
The model has yet to speak about Safely or accusations from singer Dencia, but she did issue a full statement against Costello on Friday saying she is 'completely surprised and disappointed' by the designer's claims.
Meanwhile, husband John also defended Chrissy over the Costello saga, calling the purported direct messages 'made up, completely fake' and questioning why someone would 'insert themselves' in the current bullying backlash that the model is facing.
Chrissy hits back: Teigen used offensive language in her tweet on Friday to hit back at claims made by Michael Costello on Twitter
Sticking up for Chrissy: The 42-year-old EGOT winner took to Twitter to defend Chrissy calling the purported direct messages 'made up, completely fake' and questioning why someone would 'insert themselves' in the current bullying backlash that the model is facing
Out: Cleaning brand Safely - that was launched with Kris Jenner - announced on Friday that Chrissy would be stepping away from the lucrative business venture
In a lengthy statement on Friday, Costello hit back and accused Chrissy of 'victim-blaming' after her team questioned his bullying allegations and the authenticity of those problematic DMs.
'Chrissy apologized for her public tweets, but after her apology, Mr Costello fabricated a DM exchange between them. This exchange was made up, completely fake, never happened,' Legend wrote Friday on Twitter.
He then linked to a Business Insider article that claimed to 'debunk' the messages as fakes writing 'Receipts below.'
Hitting back: Meanwhile, in a lengthy statement on Friday, Michael Costello accused Chrissy of 'victim-blaming' after her team questioned his bullying allegations and the authenticity of those problematic DMs
Going on the attack: Chrissy defended herself in a series of tweets on Friday
Receipts: Chrissy then posted her own screenshots which appeared to show Michael messaging the model on Instagram
John's defense of his wife of eight years penning two subsequent Tweets: 'Honestly I don’t know why anyone would fake DMs to insert themselves in this narrative, but that’s what happened.'
'I encourage everyone who breathlessly spread this lie to keep that same energy when they correct the record.'
That same day Costello released a lengthy statement saying that Teigen 'remains the same bully, despite her public apology' after she 'desperately' tried to disprove the authenticity of damning direct messages purportedly sent by the model.
Reps for Chrissy Teigen on Thursday said that a series of Instagram messages the Project Runway alum posted online were fakes, however, Costello remains firm that they're the real deal.
'The fact that Chrissy Teigen’s team is desperately trying to prove the DM’s are fake and attempts to discredit Michael Costello, a victim of trauma and bullying by Chrissy Teigen both online and offline, confirms that she remains the same bully, despite her public apology,' his team said in a statement.
'When a victim feels like their only recourse is to speak up, and the abuser’s first move is to discredit the victim and shame him publicly, this perpetrates victim-blaming and it costs lives,' it continued.
New claims: Cameroonian singer Dencia at 2016 Grammy Awards, where she claims she was pushed twice by Chrissy Teigen
'Seven years ago, when Michael Costello presented Chrissy Teigen with evidence directly that the alleged racist comment she saw was fake, she refused to believe him,' they said. 'Now, her team is quick to discredit Michael’s character in an attempt to salvage her image and partnerships negatively impacted by her decade-long problematic behavior.'
Costello's camp claims to have unreleased emails and documents they say 'confirm' that Teigen took her bad behavior out into the real world, beyond social media, and actively smeared him 'mentally and financially.'
Teigen, they said, hasn't reached out to Costello or his camp personally.
On Thursday, her rep told Business Insider that the DMs - which the fashion designer said Teigen sent him in 2014 - had aesthetic inconsistencies with the timeframe of the alleged communications.
Costello took to Instagram Monday saying that Teigen - based on a faulty belief that he had posted racist messages online - torpedoed his fashion career and left him with suicidal ideations, after taunting him in DMs.
'Seven years ago, when Michael Costello presented Chrissy Teigen with evidence directly that the alleged racist comment she saw was fake, she refused to believe him,' they said. 'Now, her team is quick to discredit Michael’s character in an attempt to salvage her image and partnerships negatively impacted by her decade-long problematic behavior.'
Another conflicting feature was an icon for video chat, a feature that hadn't been put on the platform until June of 2018, according to Business Insider, next to a profile photo that Teigen had changed at lease two years earlier.
Costello said that Teigen tormented him as tried to explain to her at the time to no avail. He took to social media after Teigen publicly addressed her ongoing bullying scandal, apologizing in a Medium post on Monday morning in which she admitted to being a 'troll' and an 'a**hole' while insisting that she is 'no longer that person.'
Costello wrote on Monday, 'For the past 7 years, I’ve lived with a deep, unhealed trauma.'
Teigen 'apparently formed her own opinion of me based on a Photoshopped comment floating around the internet which has now been proven to be false by Instagram and since taken down,' he wrote.
Costello, who shared texts illustrating the situation, said the model and cookbook author 'told me that my career was over and that all my doors will be shut from there on,' and took action to see to such.
He said that both Teigen and her stylist Monica Rose had went 'out of their way to threaten people and brands that if they were in any shape or form associated with me, they would not work with any of them.'
Costello said that his efforts to plead his case to Teigen and Rose were for naught.
He said that in trying to get them 'to see the whole story before believing a false narrative a former disgruntled employee cast upon me, they didn’t give me the time of day.'
On Thursday, her rep told Business Insider that the DMs - which the fashion designer said Teigen sent him in 2014 - had aesthetic inconsistencies with the timeframe of the alleged communications.
In the wake of the exchange, Costello said that he 'didn’t see the point of living' with his career in disarray.
'There was no way I can ever escape from being the target of the powerful elites in Hollywood.'
Costello said he is 'not okay,' adding, 'I may never be okay, but today, I am choosing to speak my truth.'
Costello captioned the post urging his followers not to respond with vitriol toward Teigen and Rose, stressing that it was his own personal process to move forward.
Backstory: Costello said that Teigen tormented him amid a misunderstanding that he had used a racial slur online, which he denied, and tried to explain to her at the time to no avail
'You do not have to say anything mean or hurtful about them in the comments I am trying every day to love myself and forget this,' he said. 'This is step 1.'
The designer received supportive words from April Love Geary, Olivia Culpo, Audrina Patridge and LeAnn Rimes among others amid his public revelation.
He later told TMZ that he doesn't wish 'ill' on Teigen, saying: 'We are all works in progress and we deserve the opportunity to prove that we can do better.'
'But progress takes time. We must show through actions that we have changed. After all, action speaks much louder than a 10-minute apology written on a notepad.'
Speaking out: Costello added a detailed message about the situation involving the model and her stylist
Costello's post comes as Teigen has come under fire in recent weeks for cruel posts on Twitter aimed at Stodden, Lindsay Lohan, Quvenzhané Wallis, and others.
Amid the backlash, Teigen has been dropped by several companies, including Safely, the cleaning brand she founded with Kris Jenner; Macy's; Target; and Bloomingdale's.
The large retailers have removed her line of Cravings cookware from its shelves. Teigen has also pulled out of Netflix's Never Have I Ever.
Teigen was slated to be one of the guest narrators for the series, co-created by Mindy Kaling, but is exiting the gig amid the fallout following her cyberbullying scandal.
Backlash: Costello's post comes as Teigen has come under fire in recent weeks for cruel posts on Twitter aimed at Stodden, Lindsay Lohan, Quvenzhané Wallis, and others
The fallout from Demi Lovato's April visit to The Bigg Chill Yogurt Shop continues as the pop star addressed the controversy again on Thursday.
The 28-year-old Camp Rock actress made an appearance on Audacity Check In via Facebook Live in which they reflected on how the experience had impacted them.
'I'm a very passionate person and I'm very outspoken about a lot of things that I believe in,' they told host Ryan Mitchell.
The singer visited The Bigg Chill Yogurt Shop in LA this April, and had claimed to be 'triggered' by the sugar-free options on sale.
Drama: The fallout from Demi Lovato's April visit to The Bigg Chill Yogurt Shop continues as the pop star addressed the controversy again on Thursday
Lovato - who is next scheduled to appear in an NBC comedy called 'Hungry' about a group of people with food issues - suggested it had all been a mix up.
The singer explained: 'And I feel like sometimes my message gets lost in translation over text, whether it be on Instagram or Twitter or whatever.'
Lovato went on to specifically reference the notorious froyo shop stop, after which they publicly slammed the Los Angeles-based store for 'promoting 'diet culture' with their sugar-free options.
'I had an experience in like, May or April,' they said. 'It was me talking about something that I was very passionate about pertaining to diet culture.
'And I realized because I was so passionate...I let my emotions get the best of me.'
Speaking out: Lovato went on to specifically reference the notorious froyo shop stop, after which they publicly slammed the LA-based store for 'promoting 'diet culture' with their sugar-free options
New project: Demi explained that the incident inspired them to launch their own podcast, 4D
Demi explained that the incident inspired them to launch their own podcast, 4D With Demi Lovato.
'It didn't allow me to explain where I was coming from as easily as it would have been on a podcast,' Lovato said.
'I just thought going forward, I want to have conversations where people can see my face, they can hear my voice, and they can see that I'm still learning as well as the rest of the world,' the Heart Attack singer said.
'I'm by no means an expert on many, many things. But, I'm willing to learn about it and I'm willing to continue to have conversations that either educate me or others on how to make the world a better place.'
Reflecting: When discussing the incident, Demi said, 'And I realized because I was so passionate...I let my emotions get the best of me'
Demi said that their new platform allows them to talk about the things that they are passionate about while conveying it is 'never coming out of malice, never coming out of hate, it's just coming out of a place of trying to make the world a better place.'
Recently, the Sonny With A Chance star come under fire after photos of them wielding a Dr. Pepper Zero Sugar-branded microphone at the iHeartRadio Music Awards began making the rounds on social media.
'Demi was doing a promotional stop for the awards show as a good partner to iHeart,' a representative for Lovato explained to Page Six of the microphone photos in question.
Backlash: Demi Lovato has come under fire after photos of the star wielding a Dr. Pepper Zero Sugar-branded microphone at the iHeartRadio Music Awards began making the rounds on social media this week; Demi pictured on May 27
'They've apologized for comments made weeks ago and have moved on to focus on their cause work in the area of eating disorder awareness and Pride.'
The photos, taken on the red carpet during last Thursday's iHeartRadio Music Awards, showed Demi speaking into a microphone with the Dr. Pepper Zero Sugar advert on it.
Despite Lovato's statement on the matter, keyboard warriors continued to call out the hypocrisy around Demi's recent red carpet display.
'Weren't you there to promote sugar free dr. Pepper after trying to get a place shut down for serving diet Froyo?' questioned one fan in response to a post Demi made regarding their time at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.
Not aging well: The backlash comes after the singer publicly slammed LA-based frozen yogurt shop The Bigg Chill for 'promoting 'diet culture' with their sugar-free options
Another Twitter user, who opted to use the incorrect pronouns when referring to Lovato, wrote that the actor 'sure is ok with attacking diet culture unless the diet culture lines her pockets.'
They also encouraged the Disney Channel alum's massive fanbase, who have often come to their defense in the past, to 'stop trying to defend an unhinged adult woman.'
In another direct reply to fans of Lovato, a Twitter user wondered how the star could still have legions of supporters when they are 'ok with a DP 0 sugar mic' and not a frozen yogurt shop 'having sugar free cookies.'
They continued: '[Demi] seems like a hypocrite who is only ok with sugar free if that sugar free is giving [them] money.'
Calling out: Despite Lovato's statement on the matter, keyboard warriors continued to call out the hypocrisy around Demi's recent actions, whether they were accidental or not
Yikes: The photos, taken on the red carpet during last Thursday's iHeartRadio Music Awards, showed Demi speaking into a microphone with the Dr. Pepper Zero Sugar advert on it
Motivation? Another Twitter user, who opted to use the incorrect pronouns when referring to Lovato, wrote that the actor 'sure is ok with attacking diet culture unless the diet culture lines her pockets'
The yogurt shop saga began in mid-April, with the singer using their massive Instagram platform to blast The Bigg Chill after they became 'triggered' by the shop's array of sugar-free options.
'Finding it extremely hard to order froyo from [The Bigg Chill] when you have to walk past tons of sugar-free cookies/other diet foods before you get to the counter', wrote Lovato in their original post - published on April 16 - before adding the hashtag 'Do Better'.
After making their post, Demi was subject to mass scrutiny on Twitter for the 'stupid' attack and for slamming sugar-free options, which are, in fact, essential to diabetic customers.
The store, situated on Olympic Blvd, is owned by Diane Dinow and her daughter Cary Russell, who revealed in 2011 that they average 1,000 customers a day in the week and up to 1,300 at the weekends.
Demi accused the the shop of 'harmful messaging from brands or companies that perpetuate a society that not only enables but praises disordered eating.
The establishment responded to the Sorry Not Sorry singer in a direct message, which they subsequently posted online.
'We are not diet vultures. We cater to all of our customers needs for the past 36 years. We are sorry you found this offensive,' they wrote.
Infamous: Lovato's now infamous yogurt shop debacle occurred in mid-April, with the singer using their massive Instagram platform to blast The Bigg Chill after they became 'triggered' by the shop's array of sugar-free options
'Finding it extremely hard to order froyo from [The Bigg Chill] when you have to walk past tons of sugar-free cookies/other diet foods before you get to the counter', wrote Lovato in their original post - published on April 16 - before adding the hashtag 'Do Better'
Lovato responded: 'Not just that. Your service was terrible. So rude. The whole experience was triggering and awful.'
Demi advised the business: 'You can carry things for other people while also carrying for another percentage of your customers who struggle DAILY just to even step foot in your store...
'You can find a way to provide an environment for all people with different needs. Including eating disorders – one of the deadliest mental illness only second to [opioid] overdoses. Don't make excuses, just do better.'
The What Other People Say artist then advised the business on different ways it could improve on the issue.
They penned: 'I was thinking, maybe it would help if you made it more clear that the sugar free options and vegan options are for that. Labeling the snacks for celiac or diabetes or vegans.
Under fire: After making their post, Demi was subject to mass scrutiny on Twitter for the 'stupid' attack and for slamming sugar-free options, which are, in fact, essential to diabetic customers
'When it's not super clear, the messaging gets confusing and being in LA it's really hard to distinguish diet culture vs health needs. I think clear messaging would be more beneficial for everyone. You aren't wrong for catering to many different needs but it's not about excluding one demographic to cater to others.'
Days later, Demi posted a response to the controversy in an eight-and-half minute video, where they explained why they were 'triggered' by sugar-free items sold at the small business, and claimed they would 'work with them' on 'doing better.'
However, leaked direct messages allegedly written by the singer, published by TMZ, paint a different story, as Demi warned The Bigg Chill, 'you don't want to mess with me' and advised them to stop trying to fight back against their arguments.
Lovato allegedly wrote in the messages: 'Don't keep going with this. You don't want to mess with me. You're in the wrong and the customer is always right. You already know this, listen to your customer and do better'.
Demi accused the the shop of 'harmful messaging from brands or companies that perpetuate a society that not only enables but praises disordered eating
Female owned: The store, situated on Olympic Blvd, is owned by Diane Dinow and her daughter Cary Russell, who revealed in 2011 that they average 1,000 customers a day in the week and up to 1,300 at the weekends
Proof is in the pudding? Demi posted this picture as 'evidence' of their argument regarding the store's supply of 'diet culture' enforcing products
The messages were in response to the singer posting pictures of a gluten-free product from The Bigg Chill's page as a way to prove that they promote diet culture.
Following Demi's outburst, the company replied saying the picture Demi had used was from 2016 and was no longer stocked.
But Demi hit back in their DM messages by ranting: 'If it's still in your site GUESS WHAT - YOU'RE STILL SUPPORTING IT.'
The direct messages are in stark contrast to the half-apology video issued on April 19, in which Lovato rambled for nearly 10 minutes at the camera.
They said: 'I will do whatever I can to work with this fro-yo shop, if they want to, to help align the messaging so I can feel safe in there and I can eat the fro-yo that I went in there for.'
Retired NFL quarterback Jay Cutler has revealed that he's battling the neurological effects of repeated blows to the head and he believes he will eventually suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) if he's not battling the degenerative brain disease already.
'I would say memory and stuff like that,' the former Pro Bowler told Pardon My Take, a Barstool Sports podcast. 'CTE is coming at some point... without a doubt.'
He said he thinks CTE is inevitable for most NFL players: 'I think if you play long enough, it's gonna happen to you.'
Retired NFL quarterback Jay Cutler has revealed that he's battling the neurological effects of repeated blows to the head and he believes he will eventually suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) if he's not battling the degenerative brain disease already
Cutler estimates he's endured as many as 15 concussions over his 12-year career with the Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, and Miami Dolphins, although officially, he was diagnosed with only four, according to sportsinjurypredictor.com.
The 38-year-old said he is trying to be proactive about the problem by taking an IV drip of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, which is a new treatment for the condition.
Cutler was sacked 322 times during his 12-year career with the Broncos, Bears and Dolphins, but that represents only a fraction of the hits he absorbed over that time.
Chicago Bears' Jay Cutler sustains a concussion on a sack by New York Giants' Aaron Ross in the second quarter at New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey in 2010
He referenced two concussions while speaking with Pardon My Take.
'The Texans one was bad,' he said, referencing a hit he took from former NFL Defensive Player of the Year JJ Watt in 2012.
WHAT IS CTE?
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain disease that is caused by repeated hits to the head. Over time, these hits result in the accumulation of tau protein around the brain, which can lead to confusion, depression and eventually dementia.
There have been several retired football players who have come forward with brain diseases, many of whom attribute their condition to the game.
More than 1,800 former athletes and military veterans have pledged to donate their brains to the Concussion Legacy Foundation for CTE research.
CTE was usually associated with boxing before former NFL players began revealing their conditions.
Several notable players who committed suicide were posthumously diagnosed with the disease, such as Junior Seau and Aaron Hernandez.
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'I think we were playing Washington and I got — it was a DB, I forgot who it was — and I just got slung around,' Cutler said of another hit. 'He just slung me around and threw me down and the side of my head hit and that's one of the only times I was out out. I was out for a second, then got up and walked off.'
CTE can only be diagnosed posthumously.
Several former NFL players who were diagnosed with CTE died by suicide, including Adams's former Patriots teammate, Aaron Hernandez, who hanged himself in prison following a murder conviction.
'We don't know why people get CTE,' Dr. Erin Manning, a neurologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, told DailyMail.com in 2018. 'I think the most that it's been looked at is in football players, but all that we know is what the brain looks like after they die. We don't know what happens during people's lives. We also don't know how the findings correlate with people's symptoms.'
As Manning explained, there is no established connection between football and CTE, nor is there a proven link between concussions and CTE: 'There's a lot of research that needs to be done to fill in the blanks there.'
To many, the 2017 Boston University CTE Center study that posthumously diagnosed 110 out of 111 former NFL players with the disease seemed rather convincing, if not conclusive.
According to Lee E. Goldstein, a professor at Boston University School of Medicine and College of Engineering, concussions may not be an indicator for CTE, which can lead to lead to behavioral or cognitive issues, and even dementia.
'We have a substantial number of cases in the [brain] bank who have died and meet the neuropathological diagnostic criteria for CTE, and have never had a concussion,' Goldstein told DailyMail.com in 2019.
Cutler is sacked by New York Jets safety Jamal Adams during a 2017 game in New Jersey
The city of “Philadelphia wrongly limited its relationship with the group as a result of the agency’s policy,” as argued by the court.
According to the ruling, it was specific to the facts of the case. The ruling did not, however, address the bigger questions “about how to balance religious freedom and anti-discrimination laws,” according to Yahoo News.
“Instead, the outcome turned on the language in the city’s foster care contract. Three conservative justices would have gone much further, and LGBTQ groups said they were relieved that the decision was limited,” according to the Yahoo News column.
FROM THE REPORT:
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for a majority of the court that Catholic Social Services “seeks only an accommodation that will allow it to continue serving the children of Philadelphia in a manner consistent with its religious beliefs; it does not seek to impose those beliefs on anyone else.”
Roberts concluded that Philadelphia’s refusal to “contract with CSS for the provision of foster care services unless it agrees to certify same-sex couples as foster parents … violates the First Amendment.”
Former White House doctor Ronny Jackson sent a letter Thursday requesting that President Biden undergo a cognitive test “so the American people know the full mental and intellectual health of their President.” Thirteen Republican congressional members signed onto the letter with Jackson, asking Biden to make the results available to the American people.
“The American people should have absolute confidence in their President,” Jackson’s letter reads. “They deserve to know that he or she can perform the duties of Head of State and Commander in Chief. They deserve full transparency on the mental capabilities of their highest elected leader.”
Given the precedent set and President Biden’s CLEAR mental struggles, I believe it’s past time he take a cognitive test.
On Thursday night Jackson told Fox News host Sean Hannity that “after this most recent embarrassing performance overseas, I thought it was time to come out (with the letter).”
“We can’t sit on this any longer,” Jackson told Hannity.
The letter was copied to chief White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci and current White House Physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor.
Jackson said Biden’s “mental decline and forgetfulness have become more apparent over the past eighteen months.”
After President Biden spent roughly four hours in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden gaffed and mixed up his name in a press conference Wednesday. Instead of saying he watched Putin’s press conference he said he “caught the end of Trump’s.”
This is the latest of Biden’s many gaffes during the president’s first international trip to Europe this week. Another moment that gained traction on Twitter was during another press conference, where Biden took a long, awkward pause in the middle of speaking.
Fox News’ The Five discussed President Biden’s recent meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. Fox News host Jesse Watters said the meeting was proof that Biden would rather “be loved more than respected” because Putin got off with “no consequences.”
“The way I saw it, the Russians hack and Biden invite Putin to a summit and gives him a list of things he’s not allowed to hack? You gotta be kidding me!” said Watters. “No consequences, no deal, nothing concrete.” Watters was referring to the recent cyber attack that shut down international meat suppliers only weeks ago.
Instead, Biden would go on to tell reporters: “Putin’s innocent, just some criminals in Russia did it, we will see if he can stop it, calls it a constructive summit.” Meanwhile, Facebook named Russia it’s number one global threat when it comes to influence operations on the platform. The social media giant even named Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Internet Research Agency as a top bad actor. Prigozhin has a reportedly close relationship with Putin.
When a reporter asked the president, what makes him think Putin is going to stop Russia hacks, he responded: “Because Vladimir cares about world opinion and he wouldn’t want to hurt his popularity and the rest of the world.” To Watters, that sounded all too familiar.
“I’m thinking to myself that’s actually Biden, Biden cares about what the Russians think about us, the Chinese think about it and the Europeans think so he is not America first because he doesn’t want to be the bad guy even if being the bad guy is good for America,” Watters said. “He wants to be loved more than respected and that’s the key to the Biden doctrine.”
CNN host Jeff Zeleny commented on President Biden’s address to the press following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Biden was criticized for getting testy after some reporters’ questions, but Zeleny said he was glad to see him answer tough questions like these for once.
“What we’ve not seen [Biden] do is answer questions like that without his aides screaming at him to stop,” Zeleny said. “I’ve never seen a president, covering the last four of them, who is so protected by his aides in terms of often not wanting him to answer some questions.”
Zeleny has worked for CNN since 2015, but covered elections with various news organizations for over 20 years.
You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows appeared on Hannity Wednesday to break down President Biden’s recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meadows accused Biden of “throw[ing] down the white surrender flag when traveling abroad.”
Host Sean Hannity asked Meadows to share his opinion about what Putin thought of the meeting.
“He is thinking it is a new day for him,” Meadows said, “an open door, basically, for him to do what he wants to do.”
Meanwhile, “He didn’t get that kind of response from President Trump, I can tell you,” Meadow said. “It was always firm, it was always America first. And candidly, that is not the message that Putin got tonight, and it is a sad day for the American people when we throw down the white surrender flag when traveling abroad.”
You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism.
House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) appeared on Fox News’ America Reports Wednesday to discuss President Biden’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, Switzerland. Scalise says he hopes Biden stands up to the Russian President, but Biden’s track record so far doesn’t hold up to the President before him.
“Unfortunately, we’ve seen a lot of weakness from President Biden as it relates to Russia,” Scalise said. I mean, you look, [on] day one, President Biden kills the Keystone pipeline, kills thousands of American jobs, undermines our relationship with Canada, and then he [turned] around just a few weeks ago and [gave] financial incentives to Russia so that Russia can build a pipeline to Germany. So, he helps Russia create Russian jobs and Russian energy dominance with Germany, and he undermines America’s energy dominance that we had under President Trump.”
Biden was defensive of his meeting with Putin during a following press conference. A reporter asked him if he thought the meeting was constructive, considering Putin still denies human rights abuses and cyber attacks. The 46th President simply responded: “If you don’t understand that, you’re in the wrong business.”
“If you don’t understand that,” Biden tells a reporter pushing him to explain how it was a constructive meeting with Putin if he still denies human rights abuses and cyber attacks, “you’re in the wrong business.” pic.twitter.com/M4QmK7hKYd
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) June 16, 2021
But, Scalise had the same question: “Is [Biden] going to stand up to President Putin on the hacking that’s been done from Russians?”
“The disinformation — remember President Biden was Vice President when Russia tried to interfere with our 2016 election — I didn’t see President Biden stand up to him then,” Scalise said.
Former President Donald Trump suggested that the next step for the Republican party should be to remove Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) from the Senate after failing to keep the party unified and losing two Senate seats in Georgia, he said in an interview with me on the The Sara Carter Show podcast.
He said the best way to get the Republican Party back on track and possibly unified is to remove the old establishment leadership, like McConnell, who Trump said, is responsible for the loss of two Senate seats in Georgia and failing to unify the party.
“You start it off by getting somebody to replace Mitch McConnell in the Senate,” said Trump, referring to how the GOP could reinvigorate the party. “You get somebody with a voice that that is a modern day voice that understands what the party is all about, because Mitch doesn’t know right now.”
Following Jan. 6th, McConnell pinned the Capitol riots on Trump. “The mob was fed lies,” he said on the senate floor days following. “They were provoked by the president and other powerful people.” After McConnell’s floor speech, Trump reportedly called the then majority leader a “dumb son of a b—” and a “stone cold loser.”
President Trump, however, did not call or incite violence.
He said told me that there are “some leadership in the Republican Party that doesn’t do a good job.” He said it’s partially McConnell’s failure.
“McConnell should have never lost those two seats in Georgia,” he said. “He lost them pure and simple. And there’s sort of never allowed that to happen ever. But they were angry from the presidential you know, fairness to the Republican voters.”
He said during the 2020 election the Republican voters in Georgia were angry at Governor Brian Kemp “because he hasn’t done the job…on the election stuff, what he’s done has been so bad, but they’re angry at Georgia, they were so in all fairness.”
“When you when you go and you take a look at what’s happened in many, many states, it could have been stopped so easily,” said Trump. “And the Republicans just need a philosophy” to back MAGA but he said instead, “they get away from America first.”
“They get away from who we really are and who the Republicans want to be,” he said. “They’ve gotten away from it. And you take a look at some of the as an example.”
Trump told me that he will work to back Republican candidates that he believes will put the nation and the American people first. He added that those he has backed have won, 100 percent of the time.
On Wednesday, the Save America PAC announced that Trump will hold a major rally in Wellington, Ohio on Saturday, June 26, 2021 at 7:00PM EDT. This will mark “Trump’s first of many appearances in support of candidates and causes that further the MAGA agenda and accomplishments of President Trump’s administration. The rally is to support Max Miller, who President Trump has endorsed for election in Ohio’s 16th Congressional District.”
Jenny Goldsberry contributed to this report. You can follow her on her Twitter @jennyjournalism.
North Korean defector Yeonmi Park spoke to Fox News Tuesday about her experience studying at Columbia University. Turns out ivy league schools have a lot in common with North Korea’s brand of communism. Park transferred to Columbia from a South Korean university in 2016.
“I expected that I was paying this fortune, all this time and energy, to learn how to think. But they are forcing you to think the way they want you to think,” Park said. “I realized, wow, this is insane. I thought America was different but I saw so many similarities to what I saw in North Korea that I started worrying.”
Fellow students and staff at the university scolded her for things like not using the correct pronouns and liking Jane Austen books despite their “colonial mindsets.”
“Even North Korea is not this nuts,” Park said. “North Korea was pretty crazy, but not this crazy.”
Former President Donald Trump joined The Sara Carter Show podcast Tuesday, warning that the current policies under the Biden Administration are putting “America last” and will prove “disastrous” for the nation. He spoke in detail about how President Biden reversed the most effective Trump administration policies saying, almost everything is totally opposite from when he was on office.
“We had the greatest economy,” Trump told Carter. “All the opposite of what’s going on right now. We’re gonna have tremendous inflation, the economy is going to be in big trouble, all of the things that we see now, it’s almost the opposite.”
Since Carter recently returned from Guatemala, she asked the former president what he thought about the ongoing border crisis. He called the border “an open sieve.” Meanwhile, while he was president, it was under control. According to him, the border wall he built his campaign on only needed a couple more months of work on it. But, the Biden administration stopped all work on it.
“And so we have little sections of wall we have openings,” Trump said. “And now, you look at what’s going on with the floods of 1000’s and 1000’s of people right now, as we talk, they’re heading up to our country, we have no idea who those people are.”
Biden attended the G-7 Summit this week, making international promises while gaffing all the while. Carter asked Trump for his opinion on Biden’s global diplomacy recently. Trump says G-7 leaders are not to be trusted.
“They’re stealing our country,” Trump said. Meanwhile, “he’s going into deals that are disaster, costing us trillions of dollars. And we have to rebuild our own bridges and our own roads. He wants to rebuild the world.”
The one thing the Democrats are doing right, according to Trump, is loyalty. He says the Republican party should take notes from their opponents. During the applauded the removal of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) from her position as GOP Conference Chair, but said more replacements are in order.
“You start it off by getting somebody to replace Mitch McConnell in the Senate,” Trump told Carter. “You get somebody with a voice that that is a modern day voice that understands what the party is all about, because Mitch doesn’t know right now.”
Meanwhile, the Democrats win policy battles “because they stick together better than the Republicans stick together,” Trump said. “Frankly, they don’t have Romney’s over there. They don’t have guys that that are like little Ben Sasse of Nebraska.”
But Trump remains hopeful, saying that there is a bright future in 2024. “As far as the election, as far as 2024 is concerned, I think everyone’s going to be very happy,” Trump said.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is being urged to veto a provision in the proposed state budget that would ban abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
The measure, which has passed the GOP-controlled Legislature as part of a two year, $13.5 billion spending package, would prohibit doctors from performing abortions after the 24th week — the beginning of the third trimester — including in cases of fetal health, rape or incest. The measure provides exceptions if the mother’s life is at risk.
Health care providers who perform the procedure after 24 weeks would face felony charges, punishable by up to seven years in jail and fines from $10,000 to $100,000.
Critics say the move, if approved, would jeopardize women's reproductive health services and result in an exodus of physicians who would fear being labeled as criminals.
Earlier this week, a group of more than 200 health care professionals wrote to Sununu urging him to veto the budget plan over the abortion ban.
"New Hampshire already struggles to retain medical professionals and we are deeply concerned that these criminal penalties will undermine the state’s efforts to recruit and retain clinicians," they wrote.
Sununu has signaled his support for the measure, recently telling the New Hampshire Today radio show that he "wouldn't necessarily veto" the budget over the abortion ban.
"I’m a pro-choice governor, but like most citizens of the state of New Hampshire, I do not think that we should be doing late-term or, you know, these at-the-very-last-minute type abortions,” Sununu said.
Sununu, who campaigned on a pledge not to make abortions more restrictive in New Hampshire, said he remains pro-choice but argued late-term procedures were different.
"I think fundamentally, again, most people agree that, you know, those types of late-term abortions are not appropriate," he told the radio show's host Chris Ryan.
Last year, Sununu vetoed a bill approved by the then-Democratic-controlled Legislature that would have required all commercial health care plans that cover maternity services to insure abortions. At the time, Sununu said the proposal ran afoul of a federal law banning discrimination against health plans that don’t reimburse for abortion services.
Women's groups argue that the measure would make abortions more restrictive and would rollback years of efforts to expand access to reproductive services.
"If Gov. Sununu signs this budget, he will be rolling back Granite Staters’ reproductive freedom by becoming the first governor in New Hampshire history to ban abortion and criminalize doctors," said Kayla Montgomery, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Hampshire.
Democrats have accused Sununu of waffling on the issue and ripped Republican lawmakers for tacking the controversial issue onto the budget.
"Republicans have turned doctors into criminals for providing abortions, even when it is in the best interest of the health of the mother or even the fetus," Sen. Tom Sherman, D-Rye, said a statement. "This will have a chilling effect not only on women's health in New Hampshire, but also on the already fragile system of healthcare for women."
But Republican lawmakers who supported the measure argue that New Hampshire should join 43 other states in restricting abortions at or before 24 weeks.
“I personally believe 24 weeks is a modest goal for us to reach on a very divisive issue,” Sen. Harold French, R-Franklin, said during a recent committee hearing on the amendment.
A recent poll by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center found 48% of Granite Staters support a ban after 24 weeks and 40% oppose a ban.
As Russia mounted 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border in March, the White House and the Department of Defense readied a $100 million military assistance package that was frozen once President Joe Biden announced a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to reports.
The Russian troop buildup, allegedly for unannounced military exercises, coincided with smaller American exercises in the Black Sea region. A previous buildup in eastern Ukraine led to the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and a protracted war that simmers seven years later. As Putin massed attack helicopters and aircraft on the eastern Ukrainian border, Biden and NATO leaders condemned Russia and called for a drawdown but made no public offers of military assistance. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urgently called for entry into NATO and the military weaponry his country lacks.
“Russia is not the entity that takes words seriously,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the Washington Examiner at a June 3 meeting in Kyiv.
“If they see that the only reaction the West can offer is words, they will understand that their hands are untied to that,” he added when asked if he was disappointed that Biden had not offered military assistance in the face of Putin’s aggression. “They can do fairly aggressive actions against Ukraine and against other countries as well.”
The minister gave no indication at the time that he was aware that a military package from the United States was in the works, but he did outline the types of assistance needed.
“Our navy and air defense are our top priorities,” Kuleba said. “This is big, this is serious, and this is where we can really do a lot together because the United States [is] also particularly strong in these fields.”
The Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry did not respond to requests Friday for comment about reports of the frozen assistance package.
The package was reported to include short-range air defense systems, small arms, and anti-tank weapons, according to a report. The Department of Defense referred questions by the Washington Examiner to the White House's National Security Council, which did not respond to inquiries Friday.
Ukraine is battling Russian-backed separatists in the eastern Donbass region of its country, which provides vital land access to the Sea of Azov and the Crimean Peninsula.
Russia has heavily militarized Crimea but can only reach the strategic point by sea and a bridge hastily built by Putin after the annexation. Security analysts suggest that Putin is vying for a land bridge to Crimea and eventually control of the Ukrainian port at Mariupol.
Ukraine’s only deterrent against Russia is greater military assistance, analysts and government officials say.
“There is a need,” former Ukrainian National Security Council member Alexander Danyliuk recently told the Washington Examiner in Kyiv. “Russia has an advantage in aviation. We don’t have an anti-aircraft defense system.”
In an interview prior to the Biden-Putin summit announcement, Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Laura Cooper told the Washington Examiner that the Pentagon was providing a wide range of military assistance to Ukraine.
“We are working to ensure Ukraine, in particular, has the resilience it needs to defend itself against acts of Russian aggression, and here we have a very comprehensive training and equipment program,” Cooper said.
At the time, the Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia official described assistance including Javelin anti-tank missiles, counter-artillery radars, grenade launchers, and Humvees.
Asked if the Russian troop buildup prompted additional military assistance, Cooper said security assistance conversations were ongoing.
“We always talk about Ukraine's requirements, and we're always evaluating what they need and what the threat environment is,” she said. “It's a very active and dynamic conversation and continues as such.”
South Carolina GOP Rep. Ralph Norman, one of the 14 Republicans who voted against the bill, gave two main reasons to explain his opposition.
Norman was upset with the title, “Juneteenth National Independence Day Act,” because he took exception with the idea that there could be two independence days, he explained in a statement.
“First of all, our Independence Day is July 4th. Period. Independence Day celebrates the anniversary of our declared independence from Great Britain, and it’s been that way for 245 years," Norman said. "If you want to call Juneteenth, for example, Freedom Day or Emancipation Day then fine — that’s certainly worth considering. But calling it Independence Day is WHOLLY INAPPROPRIATE.”
Norman also said there would be unintended consequences that come with the addition of more federal holidays.
“We can’t just add new federal holidays without considering the ramifications” because it "should easily cost the federal government over a billion dollars Every. Single. Year. in federal payroll & holiday premiums with no offsets!" Norman said.
The South Carolina Republican reiterated his stance during a Thursday interview on Fox News Radio with Jimmy Failla.
“How many holidays do we want? What’s the magic number? This would put it to 11,” he said. “Do we want 20? Are we gonna do one for the Native American Indians? I mean, where does it stop? This was such an easy no vote.”
Other GOP lawmakers who voted against the bill provided similar explanations.
“This name needlessly divides our nation on a matter that should instead bring us together by creating a separate Independence Day based on the color of one’s skin," Roy said.
The other lawmakers who voted against the bill include Reps. Mo Brooks of Alabama, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, Doug LaMalfa of California, Mike Rogers of Alabama, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Tom McClintock of California, Matt Rosendale of Montana, and Andrew Clyde of Georgia.
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon expressed his content on Wednesday after a federal judge blocked the Biden administration’s moratorium on new federal oil and gas leases.
A U.S District judge based out of Louisiana granted a preliminary injunction in the case on Tuesday, ultimately restraining the U.S. Department of Interior from continuing to implement the pause on new oil and natural gas leases on public land or offshore waters.
The decision is a major setback for President Joe Biden’s climate change agenda.
Wyoming relies heavily on lease sale revenue to fund its public services, Gordon noted in his statement.
“This preliminary injunction is outstanding news for Wyoming and our energy workers. It confirms the position we have maintained since this 'pause' was implemented,” Gordon said.
“The Biden Administration has in fact put in place an unlawful, de-facto moratorium, causing economic harm to states like ours that rely on lease sale revenue to fund our schools and critical functions of government,” he added.
Biden’s executive order halting new oil and gas leases went into effect just a week after Inauguration Day. The order, called “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” pauses new leases until a comprehensive review of the environmental impacts can be assessed.
Wyoming is the nation’s top producer of onshore gas that takes place on federal lands, and second in the nation for its federal onshore oil production, according to the Bureau of Land Management.
Of the nearly 63 million acres in the state of Wyoming, oil and gas leases managed by the bureau accounted for 8.4 million acres of land from over 13,000 leases in recent years.
With Tuesday’s ruling, Gordon said he hopes a similar ruling will be issued in a case filed in the U.S. District Court of Wyoming.
A federal judge has summoned Sidney Powell and other lawyers accused of peddling false fraud claims in the aftermath of the 2020 election to Detroit for a sanctions hearing.
Judge Linda Parker ordered Powell and Michigan attorneys Greg Rohl, Scott Hagerstrom, and Stefanie Junttila to appear before a judge at 2 p.m. on July 6, according to the Detroit Free Press. The decision follows a request from Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, who argued Powell's effort to overturn Michigan's election victory for President Joe Biden was based on debunked lies.
In December, Powell and others sued the state in a lawsuit, King v. Whitmer, asserting widespread election fraud took place. The petition was denied in February after the defendants failed to present credible evidence that such irregularities occurred.
"The scheme and artifice to defraud illegally and fraudulently manipulate the vote count to manufacture the 'election' of Joe Biden as President of the United States. The fraud was executed by many means, but the most fundamentally troubling, insidious, and egregious ploy was the systemic adaptation of old-fashioned 'ballot-stuffing,'" Powell and her legal team wrote in the petition.
The failed bid to overturn the election results was referred to as a "Kraken" case based on Powell's statements she would "release the Kraken" and prove voter fraud marred the November race.
Nessel announced during an end-of-year phone briefing that penalties may be warranted against members of the Trump legal team and their allies who have made “what we believe to be an intentional misrepresentation” of facts in election-related lawsuits.
“I think we need to go back to a time where you can trust an attorney is making an accurate and truthful representation to the court because if they don’t, then they won’t be able to practice law anymore,” she added.
Biden won the state of Michigan and its 16 electoral votes by more than 154,000 votes. More than 250 countywide audits confirmed the accuracy of the certified results, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced in March.
Powell, former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, and others have been hit with defamation lawsuits from voting machine companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic over claims that they helped rig the 2020 contest. Powell is fighting to drop the litigation, arguing her claims are free speech protected by the First Amendment.
Nessel's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
Plans to build undersea communications cables between Pacific Island nations stalled after the United States reported a China-based company was bidding on the project and could pose national security threats, according to a new report.
The project would have connected the island nations of Nauru, Kiribati, and the Federated States of Micronesia better. The World Bank reportedly backed the $72.6 million plans, but two sources told Reuters no contract was granted after the U.S. raised issues with the involvement of the Chinese communications company.
Sources said one of the three companies that submitted a bid was HMN Technologies, formerly known as Huawei Marine Networks. One source said no contract was awarded because there was not a way to remove HMN as one of the bidders on the project.
"Given there was no tangible way to remove Huawei as one of the bidders, all three bids were deemed non-compliant," Reuters quoted an unnamed source as saying.
The undersea connection project would have also created a link with Guam, a U.S. territory with vital military facilities, raising alarms among officials, who viewed its construction as a security threat.
The World Bank told Reuters it was working with the nations' governments to find another solution.
A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said: "As a matter of principle, I want to emphasize that Chinese companies have always maintained an excellent record in cyber security."
President Joe Biden's administration has attempted to follow a similarly cautious approach regarding network security infrastructure raised by the Trump administration. U.S. and European Union officials are planning to form a council that would allow the transatlantic alliance to create a common market for technology divorced from Chinese espionage tactics and other security threats.
A journalist went viral on Thursday documenting his 15-hour stay at a Waffle House, a commitment served to him after coming in last place in his fantasy football league.
The challenge set before Lee Sanderlin, a reporter for Mississippi'sClarion-Ledger, was one that compelled him to spend up to 24 hours in the Waffle House, but for every waffle he ate, an hour was shaved off his time. His initial tweet, the first in a thread, has been retweeted over 27,000 times and has garnered more than 108,000 likes.
"I got some books, some magazines and some podcasts. And two waffles to start," Sanderlin said on Twitter at 4:08 p.m., marking the beginning of his food journey.
"Four waffles down," he said in a later tweet. "Been here for 1.5 hours, so that means I have 18.5 to go. I am already in immense discomfort. Please, somebody, launch me into the sun."
"Two children, can’t be older than 6, are up at the touch tunes," he tweeted minutes later. "Absolutely jazzed to hear whatever bangers they picked out as soon as Enter Sandman finishes."
I am coming to you live from a Brandon, Mississippi Waffle House. I, a total loser, came in last place in my fantasy football league. As punishment, I spend 24 hours in a Waffle House. Every waffle I eat shaves an hour off the clock. It’s 4:07 Central. pic.twitter.com/oRugzU7rQT
"AND IT’S EYE OF THE TIGER HELL YEAH LETS GET ANOTHER WAFFLE," Sanderlin said.
Two hours later, Sanderlin was just beginning his sixth waffle.
"Waffle number 6 and I’m eagerly staring into the abyss, hoping for it all to end," he said.
"SIX HOURS DOWN: I am still on waffle 6," he posted at 10:06 p.m. "I think a trip to the parking lot for a little puke and rally is in order."
At 1:48 a.m., things were looking grim.
"We’ve entered peak boredom hours," he said. "All the staff went out for their smoke breaks. This Waffle House doesn’t feel like a waffle home with no one here."
By 2:25 a.m., Sanderlin had eaten his seventh waffle, and at 6:09 a.m., the reporter rallied, consuming two more waffles, allowing him to leave the 24-hour breakfast establishment at 7 a.m.
"The sun is rising, it’s a new day and I’m never eating waffles again," he wrote, concluding the challenge. "That’s 9 waffles and 15 hours in this restaurant. S/o to the staff for letting me hang out on a slow night (I tipped them well don’t worry). This was horrible and I recommend no one ever do this."
Waffle House also issued a comment on the challenge, tweeting from its main account: "Sounds like someone WON his fantasy football league, not lost."
Sounds like someone WON his fantasy football league, not lost...
When former President Donald Trump nominated Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court last fall, many Democrats warned she would sink Obamacare.
Barrett blew that prediction out of the water on Thursday when she voted with the court’s 7-2 majority to uphold the Affordable Care Act. For people who had been watching one of the year’s biggest Supreme Court cases closely, her decision came as no surprise.
“There was nothing in Justice Barrett’s career as a judge or a scholar that suggested she would be remotely sympathetic to the arguments presented in this case,” said Jonathan Adler, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University.
Barrett was never likely to be a pivotal vote in a case that was almost certain to fail from the start, Adler told the Washington Examiner. And, he said, given the fact Barrett has voted in a non-ideological manner throughout her career, there was little reason to believe she would change with the Obamacare case.
“In her brief time on the court, Justice Barrett has shown herself to be a thoughtful, independent jurist who carefully considers the merits of the cases before her,” Adler said, adding that anyone who painted her otherwise “owes her an apology.”
Barrett faced fierce opposition during her confirmation hearings for alleged zealotry on the Obamacare case, prompting protesters to gather on Capitol Hill to speak against her nomination. In Congress, many Democrats characterized Barrett as the possible decisive vote against former President Barack Obama’s signature achievement.
Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse was one of the strongest voices against her. He argued Barrett would be “a judicial torpedo” to Obamacare. Then-presidential candidate Joe Biden was also a harsh critic, telling reporters on the campaign trail Barrett was dangerous because “she wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered equally dire predictions.
"If this nominee is confirmed, millions of families’ healthcare will be ripped away in the middle of a pandemic that has infected 7 million Americans and killed over 200,000 people in our country," she said before Barrett's confirmation hearings began.
But when the court actually heard arguments in the case, just days after the presidential election, nearly every justice, including Barrett, showed strong skepticism to the challenge raised by Texas and joined by 17 other states and the Trump administration.
At the time, many of the justices and attorneys involved in the case focused on whether the individual mandate, which Congress eliminated in 2017, was severable from the rest of the law. The challengers argued because the mandate no longer existed, the whole law became unconstitutional. The justices were unconvinced by that argument.
Barrett did not focus so much on severability as she did on the question of standing, which is how the case was eventually decided. Along with several other justices, she argued because the mandate was set at zero, it was hard to conceive how Texas could prove it was harmed by the act.
Justice Stephen Breyer made an argument along these lines in his majority opinion, which Barrett joined.
Upholding Obamacare is not necessarily an outcome many Republicans desire, but the case revealed Barrett has integrity, according to Carrie Severino, president of Judicial Crisis Network. Any suggestion she would strike it down was a smear campaign, she added.
“That was crazy talk, and the Left knew it,” Severino said.
President Joe Biden dismissed concerns a group of U.S. Catholic bishops would succeed in blocking him and other pro-abortion rights officials from receiving Holy Communion.
“That’s a private matter, and I don’t think that’s going to happen," he told reporters Friday at the White House.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted 168-55, with six abstentions, on Friday to draft "a formal statement on the meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the Church" in a way that could deny Biden, the country's second Catholic president, from receiving the bread and wine sacrament. The move, discouraged by the Vatican, could also affect House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The organization's Committee on Doctrine has been tasked with working on the document, which could include guidance on politicians who support abortion rights, as local bishops currently exercise their own discretion.
Other bishops echoed the Vatican by voicing concerns the effort could exacerbate divisions in the church as people start returning to in-person services as the coronavirus pandemic wanes.
Four people were rescued from a tubing incident in North Carolina on Wednesday night that left three people dead and two others missing.
The four people were part of a family group of nine that went tubing over a dam on the Dan River. The group's tubes were reported to be tied together but came apart at one point before crossing a Duke Energy dam near a local power plant.
Duke Energy employees found the four recovered people at the bottom of the dam on late Thursday afternoon. Those rescued included a 14-year-old boy, his uncle, and two of his cousins.
The mother of the boy told WNCT 9 that he is doing "all right," but he is tired. His grandfather added that the teenager was visiting his aunt and uncle from out of state. He was discharged from a local hospital on Thursday night.
"We learned from the four rescued that five more individuals were with them and were still missing," Lt. Kevin Suthard, a spokesman for the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office, told the Washington Examiner. "A search and rescue effort of the river last night located three of those five missing individuals. They were deceased. We are currently still searching for the other two missing."
Authorities are conducting a search for the two missing people from Rockingham County to the Virginia borderline.
Thanks to the radical communist agenda from the left, a lot of people are getting “red-pilled” and waking up to how much the party of “love and tolerance” is actually the party of hate and intolerance.
And as a result, they’re leaving the Dems in droves.
That’s exactly what happened to a Montanna Sheriff, who decided to leave the Dem Party after he realized that the Democrats actually support “terrorists.”
Western Journal reported that Sheriff Jesse Slaughter of Cascade County, Montana, announced Tuesday he is switching his party affiliation from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party for his 2022 re-election bid, saying the GOP has had his back while his own party has not.
Given all the anti-police rhetoric and riots and the whole “defund the police” movement over the past year, it would not be surprising to see many more in law enforcement follow the sheriff’s example.
“From the very beginning, I’ve made it no secret that I’m a Constitutionalist, that I believe in the Constitution and that I believe it’s concrete and not up to a progressive interpretation. Unfortunately, throughout my term so far I have repeatedly come under fire for my pro-Constitution beliefs,” Slaughter said in a video posted on his Facebook page.
“Twice in public meetings, Democrat elected officials have tried to censor my words and opinions because they did not agree with me,” he continued. “I’ve been chastised publicly and privately for standing up for people’s individual rights and your Second Amendment rights. In one instance I was completely ignored by the state’s Democrat leader when I sought help for our jail overcrowding issues.”
Slaughter went on to express his disagreement with Democrats who back what he described as terrorist organizations.
This is why sometimes it’s good to just let the Dems talk and spread their anti-American rhetoric.
It’s not fun to hear it, but this hateful/communist agenda that they’re pushing doesn’t resonate with “normal people,” just radical lunatics who want to completely overthrow our entire way of life.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
No. Nobody wants them to stay, but they’ll never leave because the place that they profess to hate so much and want to “fundamentally change” has given them the privileged, elitist life that they all enjoy today.
Just look at Trump-hating lunatic actor John Cusack…this man has devolved into an unrecognizable madman, thanks to his homicidal hatred for Trump.
He recently took to Twitter to trash America, saying that we were never “great,” and declaring that America is actually “awful” and filled with cowards.
Here’s what he said:
“We aren’t great – we aren’t even mediocre – we’re f*cking awful – full of cowards and corporate whores – Boeing gets to take out tax dollars – parade our soldiers – wrap themselves in the flag – while financially backing fascists ? We have no leaders – no soul – Just greed -”
We aren’t great – we aren’t even mediocre – we’re fucking awful – full of cowards and corporate whores – Boeing gets to take out tax dollars – parade our soldiers – wrap themselves in the flag – while financially backing fascists ? We have no leaders – no soul – Just greed – https://t.co/AxYRvPTNtP
I will agree with him that we have no “leaders.” The jackass in the White House didn’t get there “legally,” that’s for sure…and I do believe that corporations are now political pawns, but the irony here is that the corporations that John is bellyaching about, are all toeing the liberal line…and he’s too stupid and out-of-touch to know it.
Breitbart points out that Cusack, who has amassed an estimated $50 million net worth in his near forty-year Hollywood career.
A man with $50 million dollars is trashing the country that gave him a life that only most of us can dream of.
If that’s not the picture of decadent liberal elitism, I don’t know what is.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
Democrat Law Professor Jonathan Turley agrees with the recent consensus, SCOTUS is making a lot of “right turns” lately, and by that he means, they’re actually adhering to the law and not allowing ideological opinions and beliefs to get in the way.
Thursday’s unanimous Supreme Court decision for traditional American families is being hailed by sharp legal minds everywhere. That definitely includes George Washington University Law School Professor Jonathan Turley.
The Court does not engage in such public campaigns. It speaks through its opinions and the message could not clearer. For a hopelessly divided ideological Court, it seems to be saying a lot in one voice not just about the law but about its own institution.https://t.co/4yemAtZCtS
FNC: “Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley reacted Thursday on ‘America Reports’ to the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision that a Catholic foster agency shouldn’t be banned from participating in Philadelphia’s foster program because it excludes same-sex couples, calling it a ‘major decision for religious rights.’ ”
Turley: “This is a major decision for religious rights, and it’s also the decision that some of us thought was the most important of those pending cases we’ve been waiting for. What is surprising is it’s 9-0. There are concurrences, but the Court is speaking with one voice saying the city of Philadelphia violated the free exercise clause of the Constitution. They’re saying that you need to accommodate the religious values of these organizations, particularly when you obviously can do so. You have exceptions for other groups. It’s a very powerful statement, not just in its ruling but in its unanimity…They saw the ability of the city to make available adoption services without denying religious beliefs and values to these organizations. These Catholic charities play a very significant role in adoption and other services, but there’s a variety of these groups, so the Court is saying we have to find a way to accommodate that. The reason this is so important is that these types of conflicts between anti-discrimination laws and the religious clauses of the Constitution are becoming more common. We just had a resumption of what’s called the Masterpiece cakeshop case. It went before the Supreme Court involving a baker who didn’t want to do cakes that violate his religious beliefs. Activists have been trying to create another case to challenge him and they’ve done so, but they may regret that because he could end up expanding what was a narrow ruling in his favor into something much broader after this decision.”
He also recently discussed the question of the high court’s ideological composition. “As I recently discussed in an op-ed for Fox News Opinion regarding the release of a series of unanimous decisions, the Court could be speaking as an institution to remind the public that they are not nearly as partisan as their critics…The lineup must have been another disappointment for Democratic members and advocates who are demanding raw court-packing…That (unanimous decisions) is not supposed to be the way the Court operates, according to Democratic members and advocates. It is supposed to be hopelessly and blindly divided along ideological lines. President Joe Biden called the Court ‘out of whack’ due to its conservative majority…Justices are meant to speak through their opinions and this decision speaks profoundly and clearly…It again seems to speak, by accident or by design, that the Court remains unpacked and unbowed in carrying out its constitutional duties.”
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
If they thought they could turn their backs on their biggest voting base, and we’d just forget about it and life would go back to normal, they were sadly mistaken.
The majority of the Republican Party believe the 2020 election was a sham. Actually, a new Rasmussen poll shows that a majority of all Americans believe that cheating occurred during the 2020 election. And many Republicans believe that the GOP was in on it.
And much of their ire is targeted at Mike Pence, who had an opportunity to do the right thing and save the United States but refused to do so.
Now, he thinks that he can just saunter back in, and because he has an “R” before his name, all is forgiven and we’ll treat him like a “good guy.”
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Well, Mr. Pence found out the hard way that a happy ending like that isn’t in the cards for him.
He’s the guy responsible for filling President Trump’s White House with a bunch of #NeverTrumpers – the people who leaked, spied, and worked on the inside to sabotage President Trump.
Seems to many, that Mike Pence was a mole for the swamp the entire time…and those people are probably right.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
If the GOP takes back the House in 2022, as many believe they will, there’s a move that Republicans can make that would shake Pelosi, Biden, and all of DC to its core.
Bizpaceview reported that Matt Schlapp claimed that there’s “buzz out there” around the idea of former President Donald Trump being “crowned” speaker of the House if Republicans retake the legislative body in 2022 — and he wasn’t joking.
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Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, offered the surprising claim while speaking with Newsmax host John Bachman.
Starting off the discussion, Bachman said he believes “the road to 2022” starts in Ohio, where the former president intends to hold his first post-presidential rally on June 26th.
“I think the road to 2022 really starts in Columbus, Ohio, because we’re going to see one of the kind of the classic Trump rallies. I imagine there’s going to be a massive crowd there. Trump’s also going to go to Tampa, Florida, and the border,” he said.
He then asked Schlapp, whose wife, Mercedes Schlapp, was a senior Trump administration official, how excited he feels about the return of these rallies.
“His travel is coinciding with these different congressional races. There’s a lot of buzz out there that Donald Trump would even be potentially someone they crown as the speaker of the House if the Republicans get the majority back,” Schlapp said.
He cautioned however that this isn’t a confirmed fact, though he did argue that it inspires “an interesting conversation about Trump inserting himself in the fight for the Republicans to get back the majority.”
This would be the most epic political move in all of history.
That’s why we need to get rid of as many RINOs as possible in 2022.
As I’ve said a million times, those RINOs are the biggest enemies standing in our way of winnng.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
It’s not healthy for a number of reasons, one of them being that you turn your face into a giant humid “swamp,” and it’ll come as no surprise that gum and mouth disease has increased, according to dentists.
But that’s what we’ve all be told (and sometimes ordered) to do by elites like Fauci…it’s one thing when adults do this stuff to their bodies, but it’s quite another to force this monstrosity on children, who aren’t even high-risk for COVID – a virus with a 99.8 percent survival rate, to boot.
And speaking of these poor innocent kids, a group of parents in Florida decided to get their kids’ masks tested at a lab for contamination, and what they found will sicken and shock you.
Rational Ground reported that a group of parents in Gainesville, FL, sent 6 face masks to a lab at the University of Florida, requesting an analysis of contaminants found on the masks after they had been worn. The resulting report found that five masks were contaminated with bacteria, parasites, and fungi, including three with dangerous pathogenic and pneumonia-causing bacteria. Although the test is capable of detecting viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, only one virus was found on one mask (alcelaphine herpesvirus 1).
Half of the masks were contaminated with one or more strains of pneumonia-causing bacteria. One-third were contaminated with one or more strains of meningitis-causing bacteria. One-third were contaminated with dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens. In addition, less dangerous pathogens were identified, including pathogens that can cause fever, ulcers, acne, yeast infections, strep throat, periodontal disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and more.
It’s amazing how nobody found COVID-19 on these masks, right?
The media and Dems make it sound like it’s floating around everywhere, yet the ONE virus they’re wearing the mask to prevent was practically the only thing NOT found on the mask.
Now, I get that these other germs and pathogens are in the air no matter what, but we shouldn’t be breathing them in for hours at a time as they sit clinging to a useless, scuzzy cloth mask.
And we shouldn’t be doing this to our children, for crying out loud.
I’ll tell you what, forcing kids to wear these “face diapers” is child abuse, if you ask me.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
Hunter can illegally purchase a firearm, and nothing happens to him.
It must be nice to be a privileged Biden, right?
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They don’t play by our rules.
But it’s not just “law and order” that they catch a break on – it’s social stuff too.
Hunter can call his white lawyer the N-word and nobody batts an eye. He can tell a “matchmaker” he doesn’t want any “yellow” Asian women, and nobody thinks twice about it.
But Don Jr and Eric Trump are awful racists because….uh….because – I dunno, for some unknown reason – and the media tears them and Trump to shreds.
It takes a lot of bravery for Hollywood celebs to stand up like this for what’s right and we greatly need it and appreciate it.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
And as a result, Republicans have a lot of “chess moves” they can make..and they just made a really big one and it crushed two major “Dem agenda” bills into dust.
The Republicans just outfoxed Pelosi, and she’s got to be spitting mad right now.
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Bizpacrreview reported that Despite holding a minority position, House Republicans managed on Tuesday to temporarily derail two of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s bills.
Passing a bill usually requires going through a tedious process that eventually ends with a floor vote based on the Hastert Rule, which states that 218 House members must vote “yea” for a piece of legislation to make it through the legislative body.
Pelosi tried to sidestep this lengthy process by using a procedure known as “suspension of the rules” to quickly pass two bills with just a two-thirds vote.
The problem is that her two-thirds vote meant that two-thirds of the House had to agree, meaning Democrats had to convince enough Republicans to vote with them. But thanks to the efforts of the House Freedom Caucus, they failed to muster up the votes.
Both the Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act, which would have used taxpayer funds to provide access to abortion, and the LGBTQ Business Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act, which would have reportedly allowed gay-owned business to receive preferential lending, failed with 240-188 and 248-177 votes, respectively.
House Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona was pleased, though stunned.
“That’s stunning. … The significance of taking down the suspension votes is that the Democrats are trying to change all the rules and traditions of the House and force all of their agenda even if it’s not radical — but the radical parts and the non-radical parts — they’re trying to force it down our throats,” he said in a post-vote interview with Breitbart News.
“Our position has always been that that is — it is that we have to fight on every issue. That’s why we ask for roll call votes on the suspension votes because we want transparency for the American public number one, and number two we want everybody to be recorded on how you vote, and number three we want to put the speed stick down. That’s what that’s been all about,” he added.
The good news is that these votes are the very first time that House Republicans have successfully thwarted Dems using this particular strategy – even though they’ve tried it before.
And the Republican’s past failures lulled Dems into a false sense of security, believing that Republicans weren’t “unified enough to take them down and block them.”
Well, that may have been true before,
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
I’m not a parent yet, but when I am, I hope I am as brave, strong and responsible as this guy. His kids are lucky. Damn lucky.
Let me set this up for you – it’s an Illinois school board meeting on “Critical Race Theory” and this father, stands up and rips CRT to shreds, limb-from-limb.
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He shares his own life story, and how he worked his butt off to get where he is right now – two medical degrees, and he wants to know, “how is that oppression?”
This father says if we allow this type of teaching, our kids will grow up hating one another…he said CRT is the exact opposite of what MLK taught and it’s sending us backward.
Trust me, he says it way better than I am – you just need to listen, and share this for others to see.
You can watch the video below:
Watch this parent absolutely obliterate Critical Race Theory at an Illinois school board meeting:
The left is trying to take over our kids’ minds right now.
That’s what this is about. It’s political indoctrination and white hate.
We can’t allow this to happen…we already know the outcome. We’ve seen what this type of teaching has done to college students…it’s turned them into full-blown communists who hate their country.
Now, the left, who saw how successful this type of teaching was in colleges and universities, is trying to capture kids when they’re younger.
They want to create a scenario in this country where blacks are always victimized and whites are always demonized.
This is not “unity,” this type of teaching will tear our nation even further apart and we must end it.
Keep fighting!
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
None of us are perfect, and that type of “bar” can never be met by mere mortals…but these are the rules that the left has made for everyone else, and now, they’re all getting eaten alive by the “Cancel Culture” monster they created, which was clearly not part of their plan.
But that’s life, right?
Who would you vote for in the 2024 Presidential Election?
81.70% (5,840 votes)
Donald Trump
12.35% (883 votes)
Ron DeSantis
3.19% (228 votes)
Candace Owens
1.43% (102 votes)
Nikki Haley
1.33% (95 votes)
Dan Crenshaw
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And the latest insufferable “woke” jerk to get taken down by her own racism and hate is none other than Trump-hating women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe.
Yes, the woman who has been standing on her tiny soapbox telling me and you how to live, speak, think, and feel, and who’s called all of us racists, is now getting a taste of her own toxic medicine as a nasty past tweet rears its ugly head.
I guess Megan thinks it’s funny to mock Asain folks…
Here’s the unearthed tweet:
National Pulse reported that Megan Rapinoe – a “woke” professional soccer player who’s made headlines for her far-left activism and anti-Donald Trump stunts – appeared to mock Asians in old posts on Twitter, writing “u look asian with those closed eyes.”
Rapinoe shared the tweet on May 19th, 2011, prefacing her post by tagging the user “tasha_kai00.” While the account has since been deleted, archives reveal the account belonged to professional soccer player Natasha Kai, who is of Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino and Caucasian heritage.
The unearthed post follows years of ardent left-wing and anti-Donald Trump activism from the soccer player, who notoriously feuded with the former president about her refusal to visit the White House in 2019. “Megan should WIN first before she TALKS,” then-President Trump tweeted in response to Rapinoe insisting “I’m not going to the f*cking White House” in an interview during the World Cup.
Rapinoe has also advocated for transgender participation in female sports and decried events from January 6th as a “white supremacy mob” attacking the U.S. Capitol. “Unleashing a White supremacy mob is nothing new to America as people of color, Black and Brown, know that very well. If we do not punish this and investigate this to the fullest extent it only encourages more of this to happen,” Rapinoe asserted.
Rapinoe, who has also refused to stand for the national anthem, has collaborated with the Biden White House on initiatives combatting alleged gender inequality.
I’m sure Megan will send out a flimsy typical “liberal” apology and claim that she was “misguided” back then, and wasn’t thinking clearly, and ask for “forgiveness,” bla bla bla…
But Megan should receive the same exact intolerant response that she and her ilk would give to someone else on our side…and you may think “that’s not who we are…we’re better than that…” but you’d be wrong.
I’m sorry to say, but this is who we need to be if we have any hope of beating these communists because they’re playing for keeps – and the only way they win, is if we don’t beat them at their own game.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
Senators on Capitol Hill introduced legislation aimed at cracking down cyber criminals. On Thursday, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R.S.C.), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) set in motion the International Cybercrime Prevention Act, which looks to ramp up penalties for hackers targeting critical infrastructure.
Republicans are bashing Democrats for their attempt at influencing future election outcomes with what they are calling the Corrupt Politician's Act. This comes after GOP senators slammed the Democrat sponsored elections and voting Bill S.1
Florida Gov. (R) held a roundtable to discuss how the Sunshine State will deal with the harmful red tide phenomenon on its gulf coast. He met with officials on the Red Tide Task force in Saint Petersburg on Thursday to discuss mitigation efforts and future technology that could help with the dangerous algae bloom along Florida's coastline.
The mayor of Chicago has declared racism a public health emergency while citing the disparity of life expectancy between races in the city. Democrat Lori Lightfoot addressed the issue during a press conference Thursday.
The Supreme Court unanimously voted to protect a Catholic foster agency's First Amendment rights. In a unanimous decision on Thursday, the high court ruled in favor of the group Catholic Social Services (CSS), allowing them to continue participating in Philadelphia's foster care system.
The Missouri couple who garnered nationwide attention for defending their home from protesters during last year's Black Lives Matter protests plead guilty to misdemeanor charges. On Thursday, Mark and Patricia McCloskey plead guilty to fourth-degree assault and misdemeanor harassment respectively.
A reporter asked Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) about her take on an upcoming Supreme Court case regarding a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Law enforcement in Minnesota are investigating the gruesome discovery of human body parts in northeast Minneapolis. A community was left in shock after they were discovered in a local neighborhood.
The House of Representatives has repealed the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq. The decision was made in a 268-to-161 vote on Thursday with 49 Republicans voting "yay" on the matter, along with nearly all Democrats.
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo is under fire after challenging his critics to provide evidence of his political bias. Hundred of people responded to Cuomo's tweet as of Thursday afternoon.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been blasted by conservatives for not answering a question on whether an “unborn baby at 15 weeks is a human being.”
Pelosi, who was asked the question during her weekly press conference, said she is a “big supporter” of Roe v. Wade – the Supreme Court decision making abortion legal. However she did not actually answer the question she was asked, which only required a yes or no answer.
But she said: “Let me just say that I am a big supporter of Roe v. Wade. I am a mother of five children in six years. I think I have some standing on this issue as to respecting a woman’s right to choose“
The question was related to the Supreme Court’s plan to take on a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks.
RT reports: Though she was asked the question a second time, the congresswoman ignored it and quickly moved onto a question on infrastructure.
REPORTER: “Is an unborn baby at 15 weeks a human being?"
PELOSI: "Let me just say that I am a big supporter of Roe v. Wade. I am a mother of five children in six years. I think I have some standing on this issue.”pic.twitter.com/gil3ZeX6pp
Pelosi has given a version of this answer before. In 2015 she was asked whether she believed 20 weeks of gestation is enough for her to consider a fetus a “human being.” Also not answering the question directly then, Pelosi would only say that she has “great standing” on women’s rights issues as a “mother of five.”
The Mississippi abortion law was blocked earlier this year by a lower federal court, but the Supreme Court will hear the case in the fall.
Numerous conservatives were outraged over Pelosi’s latest statement and took to social media to blast the Democrat.
“Barbaric,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tweeted, accusing Democrats of putting “politics” above “science.”
Pelosi's stock answer to abortion—birthing five kids in six years—is more of a testament to a mother's ability to raise five kids AND still become Speaker of the House.
Sad that Pelosi refuses to see that.
— American Life League (@AmerLifeLeague) June 17, 2021
Pelosi has faced scrutiny in the past for her pro-abortion views, with the Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, blasting the House Speaker in January, saying, “no Catholic in good conscience can favor abortion.”
The comment was in reference to Pelosi, who is Catholic, seemingly blaming pro-life voters for Donald Trump’s presidential victory in 2016.
“I think that Donald Trump is president because of the issue of a woman’s right to choose,” Pelosi told Hillary Clinton while the former president was in his final days in the White House.
Pro-life voters, according to Pelosi, “were willing to sell the whole democracy down the river” as long as they got a pro-life president. She added that those pro-life voters of Trump give her “great grief as a Catholic.”
Podcast host Joe Rogan blasted CNN host Brian Stelter on Thursday, calling him out as a “motherf*cker” pretending to be a journalist.
Rogan called out CNN hosts Don Lemon and Stelter for their abysmal ratings.
CNN has been hemorrhaging viewers recently, and lost a whopping 70% of its audience since Trump left office.
“This is because the market has spoken and your show’s fucking terrible,” Rogan said. “Brian Stelter’s show keeps slipping and slipping and slipping in the ratings. Same with Don Lemon’s.”
“It’s the same thing,” he continued. “Everybody knows they’re not real. They’re not real humans.”
Dailycaller.com reports: Rogan also called out Stelter for his much-mocked interview with White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, in which Stelter asked Psaki what the press was getting wrong in their coverage of the Biden administration, among other things.
“How about Brian Stelter talking to the press secretary saying, ‘What are we doing wrong? What are we doing wrong?’ Like, hey motherfucker, you’re supposed to be a journalist,” Rogan said.
The comedian said that cable news hosts are “obviously being told a certain amount of what to do.”
“And I mean, maybe he’d be an interesting guy if he had his own fuckin’ podcast, if he could just rely on his own personality and be himself,” Rogan continued. “I don’t know. I can’t imagine doing that gig.”
The entire Portland police bureau’s Rapid Response Team has quit due to the ongoing Democrat witch-hunt against them.
There is no specialty unit left to respond to riots as a result of this. These positions were voluntary and the officers who had served on the riot squad will continue in their regular beat patrol duties.
On June 16, 2021, Portland Police Bureau employees serving as members of the Rapid Response Team (RRT) left their voluntary positions and no longer comprise a team. Its members were sworn employees of the Portland Police who served on RRT in addition to their daily assignment in the Bureau. Despite no longer serving on RRT, they will continue in their regular assignments. There were approximately 50 employees serving as RRT members.
The Rapid Response Team is an all-hazard incident response team that has received advanced specialized training to respond to incidents requiring higher levels of technical expertise including public order policing, natural or man-made disasters. The primary role has been to provide public safety at crowd events when there was a threat of harm to the community. All Rapid Response Team members are trained in advanced skills related to crowd management and crowd control including crowd psychology and behavior, team formations and movements, the use of enhanced personal protective equipment, use of force, de-escalation and arrests.
FM News 101 learned late Wednesday night that in response to the criminal indictment of Officer Corey Budworth, the bureaus entire Rapid Response Team resigned. Sources with the Police Bureau say the team voted unanimously to disband.
The Rapid Response Team is a group of volunteer officers who respond to civil disobedience, demonstrations, and riots.
Tuesday, a member of the team was charged with assault for actions during an August 18, 2020 riot in Southeast Portland.
Wednesday, Portland Police Association Executive Director, Daryl Turner told the Lars Larson Show that he feared officers would quit in response to what he called a “Witch Hunt” of a prosecution. In its own investigation the Portland Police Bureau determined no wrongdoing by the officer. He did not violate training or department rules. He did his job within the scope of the law.
The resignations came after news this week that one member of the team, Officer Corey Budworth, would face criminal charges for excessive force used during a racial justice protest last year, and that a second Rapid Response Team member, Det. Erik Kammerer, is being investigated by the Oregon Department of Justice on similar allegations.
In a statement Thursday, the police bureau confirmed the resignations but did not give a specific reason why the officers decided to leave the team.
What disbanding the unit means for the future of how the police respond to protests in Portland remains unclear, but the Rapid Response Team’s deployment during more than 100 nights of protests for racial justice in 2020 was costly. According to city budget figures, Portland police racked up nearly $7 million in overtime in June and July of 2020 alone.
The Portland police bureau did not respond to questions asking how the city would manage events, such as protests, where the Rapid Response Team would typically deploy.
The Portland Police Association, the union that represents rank-and-file officers, has lobbed criticisms at Schmidt’s office this week over Budworth’s prosecution, calling it a political move and saying that Budworth was “caught in the crossfire of agenda-driven city leaders and a politicized criminal justice system.”
Budworth is accused of hitting activist photographer Teri Jacobs from behind with a baton. Several videos of the incident posted to social media show Jacobs with her hands over her head moving away as officers clear a street near the Multnomah Building on Southeast Hawthorne Avenue. An officer in the video, identified as Budworth, hits Jacobs once in the head from behind, and then hits her head again after she falls to the ground.
In February, the city of Portland settled a lawsuit with Jacobs, who was wearing press credentials at the time of the alleged assault, for $50,000.
Stay tuned to see how this experiment plays out!
Meanwhile, Portland Police Bureau deputy chief Chris Davis is trying to flee the mess that his policies helped create, as he has been throwing his name out there for various different chief positions in other cities. After Milwaukee and Fresno both turned him away, he has now applied for the open chief job in Akron. According to that Akron Beacon Journal article, the Portland Police Bureau is about 800 officers strong, down from about 1000 available positions, as more and more officers quit the force. You want your city to be the next Portland?
Trump-hating actor John Cusack, who has a net worth of over $50 million, has trashed the United States, calling it a “f**king awful” place “full of cowards and corporate whores.”
“I was at a ballpark last night. And they did their support the troops ad – that conflate Boeing with troops serving – while supporting the gop – that means funding the insurrection – anti democratic forces – the opposite of what they claim to support – ‘US freedom,’” the Hollywood actor said.
“They preach freedom at baseball games – but back insurrectionist coups and the overturning of elections – abc the party that would take away black and brown Americans right to vote. Yet they get to wrap themselves in the flag?”
“Had enough yet?” he continued in response to a Twitter user who described Boeing as supporting “highly inflated lucrative government contracts and corporate welfare.”
Boeing supports highly inflated lucrative government contracts and corporate welfare.
They preach freedom at baseball games – but back insurrectionist coups and the overturning of elections – abc the party that would take away black and brown Americans right to vote . Yet they get to wrap themselves in the flag ? Had enough yet ? https://t.co/oBkXUwfVW2
Breitbart.com reports: “Let’s call the USA what it is – decadent on the fast track to autocracy – living on the atavistic fumes of ww 2 greatest generation Tver [sic] actually took on fascism and beat it down – We can’t even arrest open criminals in gop- nor a mentally ill white supremacist lawless thug,” he continued.
“We aren’t great – we aren’t even mediocre – we’re fucking awful – full of cowards and corporate whores – Boeing gets to take out tax dollars – parade our soldiers – wrap themselves in the flag – while financially backing fascists?” he continued. “We have no leaders – no soul – Just greed.”
Let’s call the USA what it is – decadent on the fast track to autocracy – living on the atavistic fumes of ww 2 greatest generation Tver actually took on fascism and beat it down – We can’t even arrest open criminals in gop- nor a mentally ill white supremacist lawless thug https://t.co/8lkdKOp6wF
We aren’t great – we aren’t even mediocre – we’re fucking awful – full of cowards and corporate whores – Boeing gets to take out tax dollars – parade our soldiers – wrap themselves in the flag – while financially backing fascists ? We have no leaders – no soul – Just greed – https://t.co/AxYRvPTNtP
Cusack claimed, with no specificity, Boeing has been giving money to “anti democratic” forces. Open Secrets reveals the company donated more to then-candidate Joe Biden — $123,186, precisely– than to former President Donald Trump. Additionally, it gave $628,472 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and $280,445 to the Democrats’ Senate Majority PAC.
Cusack has not attempted to hide his political opinions, essentially identifying nearly a third of Americans as Nazis during a Twitter rant last year.
If Republicans enable a nazi – that makes them – what – A fucking deathkkkult
Wnd.com reports: Chan is a postdoctoral associate at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University who specializes in genetic engineering.
On its website, NBC titled its Wednesday story about the interview “The science around the lab leak theory hasn’t changed. But here’s why some scientists have.”
NBC wrote:
Chan said there had been trepidation among some scientists about publicly discussing the lab leak hypothesis for fear that their words could be misconstrued or used to support racist rhetoric about how the coronavirus emerged. Trump fueled accusations that the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a research lab in the city where the first Covid-19 cases were reported, was connected to the outbreak, and on numerous occasions he called the pathogen the “Wuhan virus” or “kung flu.”
“Yes, I have. Yes, I have,” Trump replied. “And I think the World Health Organization [WHO] should be ashamed of themselves because they’re like the public relations agency for China.”
The author, Glenn Kessler, who writes the Post’s “Fact Checker” column, said that in “recent months the idea that [the virus] emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) – once dismissed as a ridiculous conspiracy theory – has gained new credence.”
He said the Trump administration’s “messaging was often accompanied by anti-Chinese rhetoric that made it easier for skeptics to ignore its claims.”
Trump, however, argued he was using the conventional nomenclature regarding pandemics, based on their place of origin, such as the “Hong Kong flu.” His use of the terms China and Wuhan, he repeatedly emphasized, was in reference to the Chinese Communist Party, charging the government was engaged in a deadly and costly cover-up.
The Wall Street Journal reported that when Trump began pushing the lab hypothesis last year, other governments that could have helped press for a lab investigation distanced themselves from the administration, according to Andrew Bremberg, who at the time was the U.S. ambassador to the World Health Organization.
“It was like an overnight shift,” he said. “When the president first touched this, they shut down.”
Big shift
The letter by Chan and others published by the journal Science followed an 11,000-word breakthrough analysis in early May by Cambridge-educated science journalist Nicholas Wade, a former New York Times columnist and editor for the journals Science and Nature.
Wade has concluded that the circumstantial evidence points overwhelmingly to a lab leak.
About 10 days after Wade’s analysis was published, White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci admitted in an interview that the lab-leak theory was plausible.
Fauci insisted in an interview Wednesday that he’s always urged people to be open to the lab-leak theory of the origin of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
But he clearly denounced the theory until shortly after the publication of Wade’s analysis. And Fauci was personally thanked for dismissing the lab-leak theory by Peter Daszak, the virologist whose controversial research on bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology was funded by Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIAID.
“Look, we’ve always said people should keep an open mind about the lab-leak theory,” Fauci told the CBS show “This Morning” on Wednesday.
But an interview in May 2020 with National Geographic magazine typified his postion over the past year, saying the scientific evidence “is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated.”
“Everything about the stepwise evolution over time strongly indicates that [this virus] evolved in nature and then jumped species,” he told the magazine.
In February 2020, Daszak authored a letter published by the prestigious medical journal The Lancet that mocked anyone who suggested the virus came from the Wuhan lab.
Daszak’s letter was widely cited by establishment media and became the last word on the subject.
Two months later, Fauci received an email from Daszak thanking him for backing the natural origin theory.
“I just wanted to say a personal thank you on behalf of our staff and collaborators, for publicly standing up and stating that the scientific evidence supports a natural origin for Covid-19 from a bat-to-human spillover, not a lab release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” Daszak wrote.
Dr. Fauci on COVID lab leak theory: “We’ve always said ‘keep an open mind and continue to look.’ So I think it’s a bit of a distortion to say that we deliberately suppressed that.” pic.twitter.com/20VuUBHt2Y
Victoria’s Secret has announced plans to deliberately destroy its business by hiring obese, transgender models and pivot away from being “sexy” and “fun”.
The decades-old American lingerie business will do this by hiring the humorless Megan Rapinoe as its new spokeswoman.
Breitbart.com reports: Among others, joining Rapinoe will be Valentina Sampaio, a male model who identifies as a woman, and plus-size model Paloma Elsesser.
Former chief executive Cynthia Fedus-Fields added that although it was ‘probably time for the Angels to go’ the brand had to find a way to ‘move forward while maintaining existing customers.’
She continued: ‘If it was a $7billion business pre-Covid [Chinese coronavirus], and much of that $7billion was built on this blatant sexy approach, be careful with what you’re doing’.
Well, obviously, no one’s being careful. So someone in charge must already be planning to short-sell the stock.
What you have here is not a corporate move meant to expand a thriving business, but one meant to smooch the backside of this country’s left-wing elite, to pander to the Woke Gestapo. Newsflash: These are not the people who purchase expensive lingerie. Instead, all their money goes towards narcotics, bail, rubber women, tattoos, video games, strap-ons, and D-batteries.
There is no poll anywhere in the world, not even from the fake media, that backs up the idea the general public is anywhere close to embracing this anti-human nature woke horseshit. Outside of a tiny group of fetishists, no one finds obesity attractive, no one wants to see a guy in a dress, and no one wants to hear from Megan Rapinoe — whose only claim-to-fame is perfecting the art of sounding like your first wife as she Luxury Whines. And allow me to add this…
NO ONE wants to think of any of this when they’re thinking about sex, and that’s what Victoria’s Secret is supposed to be about, SEX.
Sex is supposed to be sexy! Sex is supposed to be fun! Sex is supposed to be carefree!
Is it Opposite Day at Victoria’s Secret? Because cross-dressing, obesity, bitterness, and humorless have as much to do with sexy and fun as CNNLOL does with the news.
This is going to be a blast to watch, especially when the competitors come along to scoop up what will be a wide-open market for women who are not bitter harridans but cool and funny and eager to appear sexy for the men they love.
And there’s simply no way on earth these new executives at Victoria’s Secret don’t know this. The disastrous ratings alone for all the bathing suit-free beauty contests should be warning enough.
Megan Rapinoe might be very much at home in a coffee house screaming out slam poetry about her Vegan dreams about the Prius replacing the penis, but Victoria’s Secret?
Islamic terrorism is set to make a massive comeback following the Biden administration entering the White House, according to reports.
As Biden systematically seeks to unravel the Middle East achievements of President Trump, initiate new wars, end U.S. oil independence, and re-arm Iran, it’s just a matter of time before Islamic terrorists re-emerge as the world’s number one threat.
Magainstitute.com reports: As a prime example, one of his first foreign policy actions was stripping the terrorist designation from the Houthis in Yemen, part of the Zaidi sect of Islam. And, gosh, soon afterward, Biden and company became concerned only when the Houthis began committing terrorist acts. Acts which could have been and should have been prevented but for Biden’s bumbling.
Amidst Biden’s burgeoning number of historic blunders, consider this: A Pew Research Center study reveals the fanatical religious preferences and cultural norms of Muslims–independent of sect–in regions around the globe.
Most compelling, among Muslims who support Sharia, the median percentage who favor executing individuals who leave Islam is as follows, by region:
South Asia 76%
Middle East 56%
Southeast Asia 27%
Central Asia 16%
SE Europe 13%
Defectors Beware
Depending on the region, one out of eight Muslims (as in Southeast Europe) to as many as six out of eight (in Southeast Asia) approve of executing defectors from Islam. Even if the percentages are off by a wide margin, shockingly, hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world agree that anyone who seeks to forsake Islam should be put to death.
Try to imagine a cabal with anywhere from 13% and 76% of its members believing the group has the right to murder you if you if you seek to leave. Whether you were born into the group, married a group member, or voluntarily joined, you are in this group for life.
No Way Out
Given your experiences with the group, or as a result of your travels, suppose that you’re now inclined to leave this group. According to the group’s code, you have no right to leave and if your intentions are discovered, your life is at stake. Would any civilized society tolerate such a group?
A Religion, or a Cult?
In the U.S., we’ve seen cult leaders who, in their erroneous belief that they had God-like powers, would rather kill themselves and their followers than allow people to defect. We have witnessed fanatical leaders, such as the Reverend Jim Jones and the Branch Davidian cult leader David Koresh, who believed it was their right to sacrifice their own people when they deemed fit.
A movement such as Islam, however, represents nearly 1.9 billion people, 24% of the world’s population. The leaders and media voices of this movement believe they have the divine right to execute anyone who deigns to leave the group. Is this not a cult that enslaves its people mentally at the least, if not physically and emotionally, with little or no hope of making free choices?
This is a sinister cancer where the individual is subordinated to the will of who knows what. In civilized societies, should a belief system such as Islam be deemed a religion at all?
Careless and Clueless, or Calculating and Cutthroat?
Is it realistic to presume that no one within the Biden Administration has any idea of the high-risk game they are playing in the Middle East? Even Susan Rice, who famously circulated a phony story for two weeks following the Benghazi attack, knows better.
Many observers contend that Rice is Biden’s chief puppet master, calling the shots for him on a wide variety of fronts. Or, more plausibly, she receives her directives from Barack Obama, who is enjoying his arm’s length third term. Regardless, here we are, a mere five months into the Biden Administration and the security of the region, our relationship with key players, and indeed, the global balance has already been upset.
This would be comical, like Keystone Cops, if the stakes weren’t so high. As with migrants and cartel operators licking their chops at the laughably easy ways to penetrate the U.S. southern border, do you suppose that Al Qaeda members, and ISIS remnant, don’t already have plans in motion to undermine us?
Donald Trump’s policies not only kept wars from sprouting, he forged alliances between Israel and others. He strengthened our relationship with key players in the region. Trump knew exactly what he was doing, unlike Biden and his feckless administration, which appears to be clueless–or worse, intentionally failing–on multiple fronts.
Army Lieutenant Col. Andrew Rhodes is under investigation after telling troops that “white people are the problem,” according to a military spokesperson.
“The command is aware of an event involving one of our battalion commanders, we are conducting a preliminary inquiry to gather more information,” a spokesperson said, adding “It would be inappropriate to provide any further details in order to protect the integrity of the inquiry.”
According to an eyewitness source, after soldiers in the battalion received a quarterly Equal Opportunity (EO) brief by an EO representative, Rhodes made the disturbing declaration.
Breitbart.com reports: Rhodes allegedly told soldiers that EO and SHARP (Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention) were very important to him, that he would take every accusation very seriously, and that he believed there was only a .01% false accusation rate.
He then allegedly said “white people are the problem” and that white people correcting white people is the way to fix the culture in the military, and that soldiers could not depend on minorities to correct the majority.
The source told Breitbart News: “I agree with some of the statements but I believe it sets a dangerous standard for abusing the already broken Army programs,” adding:
I agreed that some of the culture in the Army needs to change, [but I] didn’t agree with how he singled out that white people are the issue and need to fix ourselves. [It] sounds like he’s only going after one group of people. And saying you will believe everyone sets a dangerous standard. For example, if I don’t like Sgt. Joe, I can just go make a report against him. It may come out with no results but that guy is still known for my complaint against him, and the battalion commander will back him/her all the way.
The source clarified the broken Army programs are SHARP and EO programs: “They have their need in the Army of course — just abused sometimes.”
The source also said others thought Rhodes’ statements were “a bit much and a blanket statement for a very broad subject.”
The source said Rhodes spoke to small groups at a time and that he made similar remarks to other groups throughout the day.
Rhodes’s alleged remarks first came to light after Instagram account TerminalCWO highlighted them on June 8, and then Human Events’s Jack Posobiec reported on them.
TerminalCWO posted a private message from someone attempting to explain Rhodes’s remarks. It said:
I know the [battalion commander] today said, ‘if you’re a white male you are part of the problem’. Understand that what he meant is that if you aren’t working to solve the problem of SHARP or EO, you are part of the problem. Complacency is the issue. That’s why he immediately follow [sic] the comment with the example of making a correction in private. If you or your soldiers have any questions about what was said today please have them come talk to me or SFC [redacted]. Make sure this gets down to the lowest level.
Responses can be seen that say, “I mean that’s racist but we’ll just ignore that I guess,” and “To [sic] late he is a racist to white people in my eyes.”
Another person claimed Rhodes rambled about how if soldiers did not like “how woke the army is getting then get the f*ck out of it.”
TerminalCWO posted the messages along with its own caption: “I hope you’re not white or ever accused of anything while you’re in his command. You’re already guilty, and you didn’t even know it!”
Rhodes ran a Twitter account, first reported by Posobiec, where he described himself as: “US Army infantry LTC. Fervent anti-racist & anti-sexist. Trying my best. He/him. Colorado Springs, CO.” The account has since been deleted.
US President Joe Biden has claimed that supporters of former President Donald Trump are a “significant minority” of Americans.
During a Monday press conference in Europe, a day of NATO summit meetings with world leaders, Biden criticized Trump and his supporters. He said: “I think it’s appropriate to say that the Republican party is vastly diminished in numbers, the leadership of the Republican party is fractured and the Trump wing of the party is the bulk of the party, but it makes up a significant minority of the American people.“
Breitbart reports: Biden was asked by a reporter how America’s allies could trust his assertion that “America was back” after Trump’s presidency.
“What I’m saying to them is, ‘Watch me,’” Biden replied, adding he was trusting that world leaders believed, “that I mean what I say and they believe that I keep my commitments when I say it.”
Biden said he believed the United States was at a moment of turning away from the “phony populism” that Trump inflamed with his presidency.
“I think this is passing. I don’t mean easily passing,” he said. “That’s why it’s so important that I succeed in my agenda.”
Biden also expressed his hope that “a lot of Republicans, particularly younger Republicans” would join in a coalition of political leadership.
He cited the Capitol Hill riots on January 6th as a shock to democracies worldwide but said he was reassured about America’s overall character.
“I think it is a shock and surprise that what’s happened in terms of the consequence of President Trump’s phony populism has happened,” he said.
Biden added he was disappointed in his Republican colleagues for refusing to vote in support of an investigation of the Capitol Hill riots and for failing to challenge Trump’s hold on their party.
“It is disappointing that so many of my Republican colleagues in the Senate — who I know, know better — have been reluctant to take on, for example, an investigation because they’re worried about being primaried,” he said.
Is it possible that the NHS could prioritise care for people who’ve been “vaccinated” over those who chose not to have the jab?
During this weeks Parliament discussion on the bill to push back the June 21st ‘re-opening’ of England, MP Liam Fox asked Health Secretary Matt Hancock: of those being hospitalised, how many are in the younger age group who were not yet eligible for the vaccine, and how many were above that age? In other words, who were able to get the vaccine but chose not to?
Hancock’s reply was very interesting.
Off Guardian reports: The first part is just a ramble on official statistics which are likely completely meaningless (although, his totally ignored admission that one fifth of current “Covid” hospitalisations were fully vaccinated before they entered hospital is potentially intriguing).
The second part is far more revealing – that’s where you spot the sharp end of a potentially very nasty agenda:
I think that there is a material difference between the state’s responsibility to offer the vaccine to all adults…and the duty that we have, when somebody has not been offered the vaccine, is greater than the duty we have when we have offered a vaccine but somebody has chosen not to take it up. And there is a material difference between those two situations.
After an interjection from Andrea Leadsom, Hancock added:
…there is a challenge, should there be an overwhelming demand on the NHS that would impact on others. And of course with a communicable disease, there is an impact on others in terms of spreading the disease so we do have to have an eye to that.
Picking through the intentionally murky language of the bureaucrat, it’s not hard to see exactly what is being suggested here.
They’re talking about the idea the NHS could prioritise care for people who’ve been “vaccinated” over those who refuse the “vaccine”.
The unvaxxed, in this situation, would be blamed for “putting the NHS under strain” or putting “healthcare heroes at risk”. They would be called irresponsible, and receive either delayed care, limited care, no care at all, or be expected to pay some kind of extra fee.
Picking through the intentionally murky language of the bureaucrat, it’s not hard to see exactly what is being suggested here.
The Biden administration’s unprecedent assault on immigration law and border security involves allied leftist groups in the private sector, as our Corruption Chronicles blog reports.
The Biden administration has confirmed leftist groups are picking hundreds of illegal immigrants daily to enter the U.S. to request asylum and the comeback of an Obama-era program to woo more Central American minors though there are already tens of thousands in government shelters nationwide. The double whammy was delivered just weeks apart as the migrant crisis reaches a boiling point and the nation sees record high illegal immigration along the nearly 2,000-mile Mexican border. High-ranking administration officials call it a “legal alternative to irregularmigration.”
First, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finally verified to Congress that it conceded to the demands of the leftist national organization American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to admit approximately 250 illegal aliens daily, or 7,750 a month. DHS officials explained that certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are helping it identify potential illegal immigrants for asylum, veteran members of Congress revealed in late May. They include ranking members of the House Oversight, Judiciary and Homeland Security committees. The lawmakers disclose the information in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding the criteria being used by the administration for humanitarian exception for illegal immigrants as well as the NGOs that are determining eligibility of those seeking the exception.
This week a mainstream newspaper reports that nearly 4,000 illegal immigrants chosen by leftist NGOs were granted exceptions and allowed to cross the border in May. Citing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, the article documents a steady rise in exemptions even as the administration claims the border is closed. In April CBP let 1,790 migrants enter legally, up from about 719 in March. “In prior months, the numbers were in the low hundreds,” the story reads. In May alone, CBP encountered 180,034 illegal aliens attempting entry along the southwest border, agency figures show. In Tijuana more than 10,000 have requested to enter the U.S. seeking asylum under the Biden administration’s expanded exemption program. An open borders group called Al Otro Lado (on the other side) that promotes “justice for migrants” is screening the candidates along with the International Rescue Committee, which helps people whose lives are shattered by conflict and disaster, and the ACLU. To facilitate the process Al Otro Lado has an online form in Spanish to screen candidates. Questions include if asylum seekers have ever been deported from the U.S., if they identify as indigenous or LGBTQ, have experienced sexual abuse, kidnapping, homelessness, or hunger. To promote its new process, the group has distributed fliers at the Tijuana encampment and area shelters, the article says, adding that a popular mobile messaging app is also used to spread the word.
Also this week the Biden administration announced it is bringing back a program started under Obama in 2014 to allow more Central Americans under the age of 21 to come to the U.S. legally. Never mind that the administration is already housing tens of thousands of illegal immigrant minors seeking asylum in hundreds of facilities around the country. Data obtained by a national newswire shows the number of migrant youths, known as Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC), in U.S. custody more than doubled in the last two months and the government is currently housing more 21,000. Reinstating the Obama program will make tens of thousands of minors from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador eligible to come to the U.S. A statement issued jointly by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and DHS Secretary Mayorkas describes it as “reinstituting and improving the Central American Minors (CAM) program.” The presidential cabinet officials add that they “are firmly committed to welcoming people to the United States with humanity and respect, as well as providing a legal alternative to irregular migration.” They also claim that they are delivering on their promise to promote safe, orderly, and humane migration from Central America through this expansion of legal pathways to seek humanitarian protection in the United States.
Judicial Watch Warns of Election Integrity Crisis
The Left has a singular focus in changing federal and state election laws in ways that undermine election integrity and, to put it bluntly, make it easier bad actors to steal elections.Judicial Watch has been on the front lines in the courts and the public square to defend the rule of law and clean elections. Micah Morrison, our chief investigative reporter, has the latest:
Judicial Watch has long been at the forefront of the fight for election reform, battling to clean up voter rolls and informing the public about threats to the integrity of the electoral system. Today, clashes over election laws are raging in state legislatures and Congress. The fight is often ugly, with cries from the Left of a new “Jim Crow” regime—the laws that suppressed and segregated Blacks in the aftermath of the Civil War—echoing across the land.
The election integrity crisis is unfolding on many fronts. One of the most serious threats comes from Congressional attempts to move control of elections from the states into the federal government. Judicial Watch Senior Attorney T. Russell Nobile recently testified before a committee of the House of Representatives on legislation that would dramatically increase the role of the Justice Department in overseeing elections.
The first attempt by Democrats to reshape the American electoral system in the Biden era was stymied last week when a moderate member of their own party balked. The action in Washington now shifts to the bill known as H.R. 4—the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
“The truth is that H.R. 4 goes far beyond any civil rights law enacted during the height of the civil rights era,” Nobile told Congress. “Rather, it is part of a grander plan to shift control of American elections away from individual state legislatures and into the hands of a single federal bureaucratic department. It accomplishes this by giving the attorney general a previously unseen level of authority over elections.”
Before joining Judicial Watch, Nobile served as a trial attorney for the Justice Department, enforcing election laws and bringing cases under the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the National Voter Registration Act. He warns that buried deep in H.R. 4 is a provision that gives the attorney general sweeping new constitutional authority to bring civil rights cases—including cases that have nothing to do with voting.
The new provision grants the attorney general authority to intervene in “any act prohibited by the 14th or 15th Amendment” of the Constitution.
Nobile warns that the “little-noticed provision will abolish a long-standing legal principle.” For more than 200 years, Congress and the courts have declined to give the attorney general authority to bring such cases.
Nobile explains: “Under current law, the attorney general is only authorized to bring civil rights claims under specific statutes, typically those statutes prohibiting discrimination, and has no authority to sue directly for certain violations of the Constitution.” H.R. 4 changes that. The “proposed change is a major power shift, allowing the Justice Department to become involved in a whole range of 14th Amendment cases that previously it would have been unable to pursue.” For example, under the new provision, the attorney general could bring a case challenging a state abortion regulation, or intervene as a party in lawsuits to support 2nd Amendment restrictions.
That’s not the only sweeping change envisioned by H.R. 4. The legislation also would reinterpret the keystone Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. As Nobile notes, Section 5, passed into law in 1965, “was a temporary, extraordinary remedy to address an extraordinary problem…intentional state-sponsored and/or state-supported efforts to disenfranchise Blacks” in many Southern states by preventing voter registration and suppressing turnout.
Section Five “presumed that any voting change by a covered jurisdiction was implemented out of discriminatory intent or effect, until the jurisdiction proved otherwise. The Supreme Court ruled this presumption of guilt without a trial was justified in the context of the terrible racial discrimination occurring in 1965,” Nobile notes.
But Section 5 was meant to be a temporary solution and expire after five years. Instead, Congress kept it in effect for sixty-six years, until the Supreme Court intervened in 2013 with the Shelby County decision. Shelby threw out the decades-old “temporary” solution, ruling that it was unconstitutional and outdated.
Nobile notes that permanent provisions of the Voting Rights Act, such as Section 2, still prohibit discrimination “and provide the tools needed for the Justice Department or private litigants to challenge election standards, practices, or procedures that are enacted with discriminatory intent or that result in minorities having less opportunity than others to participate in the electoral process.”
H.R. 4 goes even further, Nobile warns, by granting the Justice Department “new nationwide preclearance” power—that is, preapproval power from the attorney general or the courts—targeting a wide array of “popular voter integrity provisions,” including “voter identification and list maintenance.”
With the country in an uproar over voting and elections, the Democrat-sponsored H.R. 4 looks more like a naked power grab than a reasoned response to the facts on the ground. For example: the Justice Department has brought only a trickle of Section 2 actions since Section 5 was thrown out by Shelby eight years ago. That would not be the case if rampant voter suppression existed.
More telling: detailed data studies show that Black voter registration in the Southern states previously covered by Section 5 has “completely rebounded and, in some instances, exceeds White registration rates,” Nobile notes.
The data show that “eight years after Shelby County, registration disparities in Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Mississippi—all previously covered (in whole or part) by Section 5—are all below the national average. In fact, Black registration in Mississippi is 4.3% higher than White registration.”
The 2020 election saw a higher turnout across all racial groups. Turnout disparities in previously covered Section Five states like “Mississippi, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Texas were all smaller than the national average,” Nobile notes. “In fact, the disparities in turnout in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Oregon, Colorado, New Jersey, and New York were higher than the turnout disparities in these former Section 5 states. Again, turnout for Blacks in Mississippi outperformed that of Whites.”
Facts are stubborn things, after all. “However one views any talking points about ‘rampant voter suppression,’” Nobile notes, “the data cannot be ignored: registration and turnout data in 2020 far exceeds that in 1965. When Blacks now register and turn out at higher rates in places like Mississippi, it is simply not credible to claim that Jim Crow style voter suppression currently exists.”
Read Judicial Watch Senior Attorney T. Russell Nobile’s remarks before the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties here. More on Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act here. And more on the Shelby County decision here.
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced it filed a brief yesterday in support of its request for a preliminary injunction to immediately prevent Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot from denying Daily Caller News Foundation reporter Thomas Catenacci’s interview request on the basis of race. The filing comes in response to an admission filed by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office last week that confirms her office engaged in a two-day “press tour” involving six interviews that was “exclusively” limited to “journalists of color.”
The lawsuit was initially filed on May 27, 2021, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division (Catenacci et al v. Lightfoot(No. 1:21-cv-02852)).
Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit after Catenacci, a white journalist, emailed Mayor Lightfoot’s office requesting a one-on-one interview with the mayor. The office never replied to the request or to two additional follow-up emails from Catenacci. Catenacci’s request came on one of the days that the mayor admittedly was discriminating based on race.
The lawsuit and subsequent preliminary injunction request assert that Lightfoot’s refusal to be interviewed by Catenacci violates the Daily Caller News Foundation’s and his First Amendment rights and Catenacci’s right to equal protection. In its most recent filing, Judicial Watch notes its journalist clients continue to suffer irreparable injury because of Mayor Lightfoot’s admitted racist interview policy:
While other journalists may be relieved that Mayor Lightfoot has asserted that she will not discriminate against them on the basis of race going forward, the mayor’s assertion that she has stopped discriminating on the basis of race does nothing to remedy the irreparable harm Plaintiffs suffered on May 20, 2021 and continue to suffer. And absent an injunction or other order of this Court, nothing compels Mayor Lightfoot from not discriminating on the basis of race in the future. A preliminary injunction is necessary to prevent continuing irreparable harm caused by Mayor Lightfoot’s violation of Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights and Catenacci’s right to equal protection.
“Mayor Lightfoot admits she discriminated based on race on the day I requested an interview,” said Thomas Catenacci. “The Court gave her the chance to say she didn’t discriminate against me because I am white. She did not do so. Every day my interview request is not granted because of my race, my Constitutional rights are violated. This is simply unacceptable,”
“Mayor Lightfoot should just grant our interview request and commit to never again discriminate on the basis of race,” said Daily Caller News Foundation Editor-in-Chief Ethan Barton. “What’s to stop her from using this racist policy to block the freedom of the press in the future?”
“Mayor Lightfoot confessed to a racist interview policy,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The court should refuse to give Mayor Lightfoot a day pass for racial discrimination and issue an injunction immediately protecting our clients and the public this outrageous abuse.”
The Biden administration has confirmed leftist groups are picking hundreds of illegal immigrants daily to enter the U.S. to request asylum and the comeback of an Obama-era program to woo more Central American minors though there are already tens of thousands in government shelters nationwide. The double whammy was delivered just weeks apart as the migrant crisis reaches a boiling point and the nation sees record high illegal immigration along the nearly 2,000-mile Mexican border. High-ranking administration officials call it a “legal alternative to irregular migration.”
First, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finally verified to Congress that it conceded to the demands of the leftist national organization American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to admit approximately 250 illegal aliens daily, or 7,750 a month. DHS officials explained that certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are helping it identify potential illegal immigrants for asylum, veteran members of Congress revealed in late May. They include ranking members of the House Oversight, Judiciary and Homeland Security committees. The lawmakers disclose the information in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding the criteria being used by the administration for humanitarian exception for illegal immigrants as well as the NGOs that are determining eligibility of those seeking the exception.
This week a mainstream newspaper reports that nearly 4,000 illegal immigrants chosen by leftist NGOs were granted exceptions and allowed to cross the border in May. Citing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, the article documents a steady rise in exemptions even as the administration claims the border is closed. In April CBP let 1,790 migrants enter legally, up from about 719 in March. “In prior months, the numbers were in the low hundreds,” the story reads. In May alone, CBP encountered 180,034 illegal aliens attempting entry along the southwest border, agency figures show. In Tijuana more than 10,000 have requested to enter the U.S. seeking asylum under the Biden administration’s expanded exemption program. An open borders group called Al Otro Lado (on the other side) that promotes “justice for migrants” is screening the candidates along with the International Rescue Committee, which helps people whose lives are shattered by conflict and disaster, and the ACLU. To facilitate the process Al Otro Lado has an online form in Spanish to screen candidates. Questions include if asylum seekers have ever been deported from the U.S., if they identify as indigenous or LGBTQ, have experienced sexual abuse, kidnapping, homelessness, or hunger. To promote its new process, the group has distributed fliers at the Tijuana encampment and area shelters, the article says, adding that a popular mobile messaging app is also used to spread the word.
Also this week the Biden administration announced it is bringing back a program started under Obama in 2014 to allow more Central Americans under the age of 21 to come to the U.S. legally. Never mind that the administration is already housing tens of thousands of illegal immigrant minors seeking asylum in hundreds of facilities around the country. Data obtained by a national newswire shows the number of migrant youths, known as Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC), in U.S. custody more than doubled in the last two months and the government is currently housing more 21,000. Reinstating the Obama program will make tens of thousands of minors from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador eligible to come to the U.S. A statement issued jointly by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and DHS Secretary Mayorkas describes it as “reinstituting and improving the Central American Minors (CAM) program.” The presidential cabinet officials add that they “are firmly committed to welcoming people to the United States with humanity and respect, as well as providing a legal alternative to irregular migration.” They also claim that they are delivering on their promise to promote safe, orderly, and humane migration from Central America through this expansion of legal pathways to seek humanitarian protection in the United States.
Lansing — Members of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration encouraged local police agencies in October to more aggressively help the state enforce restrictions on mask-wearing and social distancing — invitations they declined — according to emails released through an open records request.
The messages show Robert Gordon, then-director of the state’s health department, pitched the leaders of the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association and Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police on a plan to ask people who saw violations of COVID-19 orders to “contact local police or sheriffs as appropriate.” The organizations rejected the proposal, contending an educational effort would be more effective to gain compliance.
“With COVID-19 cases surging, there is great urgency to encourage masking and social distancing,” Gordon wrote in one email on Oct. 17. “These are the best tools available to slow the rise in cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
“While some people will act because they believe it is important, for others, a credible threat of sanction is likely to be critical.”
…
The emails were included in more than 1,200 pages of documents recently obtained by the conservative group Judicial Watch, which is based in Washington, D.C. The messages reveal a tougher approach Whitmer’s administration was considering taking on enforcement last fall after the Michigan Supreme Court struck down the governor’s ability to issue unilateral executive orders and as a second COVID-19 spike began to take hold.
Col. Joseph Gasper, director of the Michigan State Police, was involved in the discussions, including sending an email that introduced Gordon to Bob Stevenson, executive director of the police chiefs’ association, and Matthew Saxton, executive director of the sheriffs’ association.
Gordon forwarded some of the messages to Mark Totten, Whitmer’s chief legal counsel, including a final note from Saxton, in which he declined to participate in the plan. The request by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services was for the police chiefs’ association and sheriffs’ association to issue statements of support for helping to enforce COVID-19 epidemic orders and to appear at a press conference where the plan would be detailed.
In an Oct. 19 message, Gordon described the proposal as “people who see local violations regarding masks or social distancing can contact local police or sheriffs as appropriate, and they will handle them (with default pathway as report and referral as civil matter; criminal only for egregious).”
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., threw an apoplectic fit the other day when he learned that what he did to others was done to him. There is some perverse irony in all of this. But, of course, Schiff neglected to mention his own hypocrisy.
Schiff’s tantrum was triggered by the recent disclosure that the Trump Department of Justice obtained his phone records, along with another California Democrat, Eric Swalwell and several journalists. Their data was seized pursuant to grand jury subpoenas served on Apple in 2017 and 2018 when Schiff was the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee and Swalwell was his lackey-in-chief.
At the time, the DOJ was trying to track down government leaks to reporters of classified information involving sensitive national security matters, which constitutes crimes. The Intel Committee was a natural focus, given Schiff’s reputation for politically motivated leaks aimed at harming then-President Trump.
When Schiff learned last Thursday that his phone records had been collected he predictably accused Trump of using the DOJ as a “cudgel against his political opponents and members of the media.” The House Democrat called it “a blatant attack on our democracy.” Cue the feigned outrage and sanctimony.
The insufferably self-righteous Schiff didn’t bother to note that he was guilty of engaging in the exact same tactics. Moreover, he was counting on the mainstream media to conceal it. Naturally, they complied.
Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit after Catenacci, a white journalist, emailed Mayor Lightfoot’s office requesting a one-on-one interview with the mayor. The office never replied to the request or to two additional follow-up emails from Catenacci. Catenacci’s request came on one of the days that the mayor admittedly was discriminating based on race.
In January 2020 New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration was reported to have “confirmed thousands more nursing home residents died of COVID-19 than the state’s official tallies had previously acknowledged,” and according to New York Attorney General Letitia James, “the nursing home death count could be off by about 50%.”
In January 2020 New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration was reported to have “confirmed thousands more nursing home residents died of COVID-19 than the state’s official tallies had previously acknowledged,” and according to New York Attorney General Letitia James, “the nursing home death count could be off by about 50%.”
Judicial Watch has long been at the forefront of the fight for election reform, battling to clean up voter rolls and informing the public about threats to the integrity of the electoral system. Today, clashes over election laws are raging in state legislatures and Congress. The fight is often ugly, with cries from the Left of a new “Jim Crow” regime—the laws that suppressed and segregated Blacks in the aftermath of the Civil War—echoing across the land.
Lightfoot is being sued by the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) and Judicial Watch for not granting an interview to DCNF reporter Thomas Catenacci, who is white. In their most recent court filing, Lightfoot’s attorneys state that her policy of only granting interviews to journalists of color was in place for a specific two-day window, and therefore their request for a preliminary injunction is moot.
Scientists have learned a great deal about the coronavirus, including how it transmits and attacks the body and crucially, how to treat patients and create seemingly effective vaccines. However, scientists are requesting more information that they say is necessary to determine how COVID-19 originated and became a pandemic in order to develop strategies to prevent such a pandemic from ever again visiting such destruction upon humanity. But to this day, Dr. Fauci and NIAID have steadfastly refused to release documents that would help answer this and many other important questions.
Babbitt was shot and killed by an unidentified Capitol police officer as she, reportedly, was climbing through a broken interior window outside the Speaker’s Lobby off of the House Floor. She was unarmed, and a 14-year Air Force Veteran.
“[The cartels] have the northern border of Mexico sealed,” Jay Whetten, a rancher residing in Cochise County, Arizona, told me in an interview. “Nobody comes through that border illegally without their authorization.”
In May 2021, Border Patrol encounters with illegal immigrants from the Mexican border increased 674% as compared to May 2020, demonstrating the magnitude of the increase in business for Mexican cartels. And, according to a veteran Department of Homeland Security law enforcement officer, these are only the crossings of which Border Patrol is aware.
The officer, who wished to remain anonymous, has extensive border experience and estimates the number to be 20% higher. He told me in an interview, “The cartel makes more money on people than they do on dope.”
…
Chris Farrell, director of investigations and research at Judicial Watch, explained to me in an interview how the cartels’ control of the Mexican border is driven by profit and dehumanizes the people they traffic. Farrell, a former Army counterintelligence officer, has over 18 years of experience investigating the U.S.-Mexican border, including a narco terror plot against Chicago launched from Juarez, Mexico.
“When Americans hear about the humanitarian crisis at the border,” said Farrell, “they should remember that it is fueled by a sophisticated criminal enterprise that is subsidized by the Biden administration’s failure to secure our border.”
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, former head of the Sinaloa Cartel, was listed in Forbes magazine as one of “The World’s Most Powerful People” from 2009 to 2014 and in Forbes “World’s Billionaires List” in 2012. “The Mexican cartels have a valuation greater than Walmart,” said Farrell. “They are not a bunch of thugs hanging out in a trailer someplace.”
As Farrell explained, illegal immigrants who pay cartels are considered “contraband units” that must be moved across the border, not valuable human beings.
“Once they cross the border… humans are a commodity that are expendable. If they die in the desert, the ‘coyotes’ won’t be held accountable,” Farrell said. “Let’s say an alien is injured and can’t continue. They will leave them to die in the desert. A coyote would never leave a bundle of drugs out in the desert.”
Five Senate Republicans are urging the leaders of the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health to hand over records related to the origins of COVID-19 and China‘s Wuhan Institute of Virology following recent revelations within heavily-redacted emails from Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Sen. Ron Johnson, ranking member on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, along with Sens. Josh Hawley, James Lankford, Rand Paul, and Rick Scott, sent a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and NIH Director Francis Collins on Monday. In the letter, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee members wrote they wanted answers about NIH’s “handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“The recent release of approximately 4,000 pages of NIH email communications and other documents from early 2020 has raised serious questions about NIH’s handling of COVID-19,” the GOP letter said. “Between June 1 and June 4, 2021, the news media and public interest groups released approximately 4,000 pages of NIH emails and other documents these organizations received through Freedom of Information Act requests. These documents, though heavily redacted, have shed new light on NIH’s awareness of the virus’ origins in the early stages of the COVID19 pandemic.”
Newly released emails from early 2020 sent by Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, show he seemed aware of the looming gain-of-function research and Chinese collaboration controversies. They also indicate Fauci worked behind the scenes to promote the natural origins hypothesis.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was slammed by a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) over her policy that barred White reporters from being granted interviews to mark the midway point of her first term in office.
In a letter sent to Lightfoot that was shared by The Daily Caller’s Thomas Catenacci, USCCR Commissioner Peter Kirsanow invoked the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment which prevents “official conduct discriminating on the basis of race,” something “any elected official in the United States should know.”
“A government official, such as yourself, depriving individuals of opportunities, on the basis of their race is explicitly discriminatory,” Kirsanow wrote. “Government-sanctioned bigotry is the same sort of horrid behavior that Americans of all stripes rejected, fought against, and ultimately conquered decades ago. An objective observer cannot help but wonder why such immoral and un-American attitudes are coming from the Office of the Mayor of Chicago.”
The nation’s federal prison system is in hot water again, this time for security failures that allow inmates to escape undetected. In some cases, the prisoners who slip away place dummies in their bed to deceive correctional officers and in other instances they simply have other inmates pose as them during counts. Details of the breaches are offered in a Management Advisory Memorandum issued this month by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General (IG). The document focuses on the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FOB) minimum security facilities, known as Federal Prison Camp (FPC) and Satellite Prison Camp (SPC) locations. The watchdog’s findings should embarrass FOB officials at every level. “Gaps in security at FPCs and SPCs present risks that inmates will escape and, if they return, smuggle contraband back into facilities undetected, which endangers the community, other BOP inmates, and correctional staff,” the IG writes in its memo to prison officials.
Seven of the FOB’s 122 facilities are minimum security and fall under the category of FPC. They have dormitory housing, a low staff-to-inmate ratio and limited perimeter fencing. SPCs are small camps adjacent to the main facility and provide inmate labor to the main institution, according to the FOB website, as well as off-site work programs. Security weaknesses found by investigators vary by facility and are serious enough to enable inmates to escape undetected. They include unsecured outer building doors within some FPCs and SPCs, even during times when inmates were not permitted to move freely; door locks and sensors that were susceptible to tampering, thus leading to alarms failing to function when locked doors were opened without authorization; limited or no outer perimeter fencing; and limited video surveillance. The lapses allowed four inmates at a Beaumont, Texas facility to slip away undetected for more than 12 hours despite three overnight inmate counts conducted by officers. “The evidence showed that the 4 inmates escaped the facility after the 4:00 p.m. stand up count (for which they were present) and that, despite the Correctional Officers conducting counts at 12:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m., and 5:00 a.m., they were not discovered missing at those times,” the management advisory memo states.
Incredibly, investigators found that correctional officers did not violate policy because they were essentially fooled by the inmates. “The evidence showed that the inmates who escaped may have had other inmates pose as them or placed dummies in their beds to deceive Correctional Officer during nighttime counts,” the DOJ IG memo says, adding that “evidence showed that the Correctional Officers likely complied with BOP and FCC Beaumont policy when conducting the nighttime counts.” This indicates that standards are quite low for trained federal prison officers so easily duped by the convicted criminals they are charged with guarding. The DOJ watchdog seems to defend the officers, instead attributing the lapse on “security concerns that enabled the inmates’ escape.” Furthermore, BOP policy discourages correctional officers from using excessive light when conducting inmate counts allowing inmates to deceive officers into counting them when they are not actually present, the DOJ IG reveals. “We were told that as long as inmates return to their assigned building and bunk before the correctional officers conduct stand-up inmate counts, they can escape the SPC undetected,” according to the advisory memo.
The minimum security report comes on the heels of a more serious lapse involving the FOB’s failure to monitor terrorist inmates amid a huge spike in radicalized convicts in its custody. Part of the nation’s federal prison system is to keep America safe by, among other things, monitoring all social communications of high-risk inmates, especially those with terrorist ties. It is a crucial part of the BOP’s duties considering that in the last decade the number of inmates with known links to terrorism increased by an astounding 250%. Incredibly, the BOP, which has a $7.1 billion annual budget, doesn’t adequately check the communications of terrorist prisoners and hasn’t even bothered identifying all terrorists in its custody, according to a report issued earlier this year by the DOJ IG. Even when the BOP monitors the communications of high-risk inmates, it does not do it consistently and the inspector general found that “thousands of terrorist inmate communications” are only partially checked. Investigators offer the consequences of this negligence, writing that the disbursement of sensitive information—including videos, pictures, and other documents—helps “radicalize other inmates.”
Less than a year earlier the BOP came under fire after its elite riot teams committed embarrassing gaffes during training exercises that made the highly trained officers seem like amateurs. BOP staff members were seriously injured because there was “inappropriate and dangerous” use of force and pepper spray during the mock exercises, according to an audit conducted by the DOJ IG. The units, known as Special Operations Response Teams (SORT), gained national media attention because they were deployed by the attorney general to respond to violence and looting after George Floyd’s death. They are specialized tactical squads trained to respond to emergency situations such as prison riots, hostage taking, assaults on jail staff and inmate escapes. All federal prisons have their own SORT and they usually have 15 members led by a commander or captain.
Just one day after staff at the network announced plans to form a union, MSNBC higher-ups are already pushing back against the organizing efforts.
On Thursday, employees at the left-leaning cable news network went public with a plan to form a union with the Writers Guild of America East that would include over 300 of the network’s producers, fact-checkers, writers, and talent bookers. As TheNew York Times pointed out, some high-profile network stars, including hosts Chris Hayes and Joy Reid, immediately expressed support for the union.
But the unionization effort was met somewhat less favorably by some of the network’s higher-ups.
After the unionization drive was announced on Thursday, MSNBC senior vice president of news programming Dan Arnall spoke with staff on multiple dayside shows virtually during daily editorial meetings to answer questions about the unionization process. But according to network insiders and audio shared with The Daily Beast from one of the meetings, at various points, he used the time to point out the possible negative implications of joining a union.
During multiple meetings, Arnall suggested that contract negotiations could go years, repeatedly citing an example where a contract negotiation went on as long as “17 years” and “nearly 20 years.” He also argued that union dues and fees could discourage low-salaried, entry level employees from joining MSNBC, and also suggested that the fees could discourage nonwhite candidates from taking jobs at MSNBC (the WGAE has a $500 initiation fee, which new hires can pay in installments once a contract is in place).
“It comes with costs and it’s an unknown benefit right now,” he said of the union.
He added: “If our entry-level jobs come with...a requirement to write a check, pay a percentage of your salary—I’m desperately concerned that we might be turning away people who might be exactly the people that we want to be the next generation of MSNBC, NBC News employees,” he said, noting the network’s push to diversify staff.
The MSNBC executive also cited his own experience as a member of a union as reason for staff to pause before voting in favor. He said his own experience in a newsroom union in New York was “generally positive,” and that NBCUniversal has a “fantastic and historic relationships with represented workers and the unions that they've joined.”
But, he argued, ultimately his experience in a union was not worth the cost of dues he paid.
“What I got out of it as a freelance, part-time writer was a subscription to the magazine and an invitation at the end of the year to a boat cruise on the Circle Line for the holiday party. So I don’t know that my $1200 check that I had write before I could start getting paid, and the percentage of my salary that was paid out in dues on a quarterly basis, was necessarily worth it to me at the time.”
WGAE would not elaborate on details of the meeting. But in a brief statement to The Daily Beast on Friday, a union spokesperson said news of the meeting was “disappointing,” adding “any meetings of this nature should halt.”
A network source familiar with the situation said that Arnall was simply sharing his own personal views on the impact of unionization at a news organization.
“Nothing that was said here was out of bounds,” the network source said. “Employees are asking good questions. Managers sharing their personal experiences with union representation and facts about the cost and impact of dues is totally appropriate and important so that employees can make an informed choice.”
MSNBC leadership has already indicated it planned to make the unionized staffers prove they have a broad base of support within the network.
When MSNBC staff announced a unionization drive on Thursday, they shared a memo signed by 200 employees in support of the effort, and argued that the network should voluntarily recognize the legitimacy of the union without holding a formal vote.
But in a note to staff shared with The Daily Beast on Thursday, MSNBC president Rashida Jones said that the network would be holding an election through the National Labor Relations Board, which requires staff to vote on a secret ballot to approve or disapprove the formation of a union (Other unions at NBCUniversal have also been subject to NLRB votes rather than voluntary recognition).
“An election supervised by the government allows all affected employees the chance to express their view on unionizing through a secret ballot,” she said. “It is important to give everyone who would be included the chance to understand what this would mean before making their choice.”
Some union members have also worried that others internally may be organizing against the union efforts. On Friday, the MSNBC union Twitter account followed an anonymous Twitter user called “NoMSNBCUnion” which shared a message saying that they were “concerned WGA representation is the wrong path forward and would jeopardize our careers, pay and benefits.”
While the account itself had almost no followers or engagement, the title echoed a similar social media push by opponents of NBC’s unionization effort several years ago.
As The Daily Beast reported at the time, after NBC staff announced plans to unionize in 2019, some anti-union employees created a “No NBC NewsGuild” Instagram account full of memes discouraging unionization, citing the high cost of dues and impact on other employee perks including gym memberships.
“Uh-oh! Dolla dolla bill... no? 💸 Contrary to popular belief, there is no ability to opt out of dues. Yikes! We’re breaking down everything you need to know about how it’ll impact ~cash flow~ over at the link in our bio. 🙅♀️,” one Instagram caption read. The account was later deleted.
When heat waves hit, people start looking for anything that might lower the temperature. One solution is right beneath our feet: pavement.
Think about how hot the soles of your shoes can get when you’re walking on dark pavement or asphalt. A hot street isn’t just hot to touch—it also raises the surrounding air temperature.
Research shows that building lighter-colored, more reflective roads has the potential to lower air temperatures by more than 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit (1.4 C) and, in the process, reduce the frequency of heat waves by 41 percent across U.S. cities. But reflective surfaces have to be used strategically—the wrong placement can actually heat up nearby buildings instead of cooling things down.
As researchersin MIT’s Concrete Sustainability Hub, we have been modeling these surfaces and determining the right balance for lowering the heat and helping cities reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Here’s how reflective pavement works and what cities need to think about.
All surfaces, depending on the amount of radiation they absorb or reflect, can affect air temperatures in cities.
In urban areas, about 40 percent of the land is paved, and that pavement absorbs solar radiation. The absorbed heat in the pavement mass is released gradually, warming the surrounding environment. This can exacerbate urban heat islands and worsen the effects of heat waves. It’s part of the reason cities are regularly a few degrees warmer in summer than nearby rural areas and leafy suburbs.
Reflective materials on pavement can prevent that heat from building up and help counteract climate change by reflecting solar radiation back to the top of the atmosphere. White roofs can have the same effect.
To estimate a pavement’s reflectivity, we use a measure called albedo. Albedo refers to the proportion of light reflected by a surface. The lower a surface’s albedo, the more light it absorbs and, consequently, the more heat it traps.
Typically, the darker the surface, the lower the albedo. Conventional pavements such as asphalt have a low albedo of around 0.05-0.1, meaning they reflect only 5 percent to 10 percent of the light they receive and absorb as much as 95 percent.
When pavements instead use brighter additives, reflective aggregates, light-reflective surface coatings or lighter paving materials like concrete, they can triple the albedo, sending more radiation back into space.
Though the benefits of reflective pavements can vary across the nation’s 4 million miles of roads, they are, on the whole, immense. An MIT CSHub model estimated that an increase in pavement albedo on all U.S. roads could lower energy use for cooling and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 4 million cars driven for one year. And when materials are locally sourced, such as light-colored binders or aggregates, the crushed stone, gravel or other hard materials in concrete, these roads can also save money.
But not all paved areas are ideal for cool roads. Within cities, and even within urban neighborhoods, the benefits differ.
When brighter pavements reflect radiation onto buildings—called incident radiation—they can warm nearby buildings in the summer, actually increasing the demand for air conditioning. That’s why attention to location matters.
Consider the differences between Boston and Phoenix.
Boston’s dense downtown of narrow streets has tall buildings that block light from directly hitting the pavement most hours of the day. Reflective pavement won’t help or harm much there. But Boston’s unobstructed freeways and its suburbs would see a net benefit from reflecting a large fraction of incoming sunlight to the top of the atmosphere. Using models, we found that doubling the traditional albedo of the city’s roads could cut peak summer temperatures by 1 to 2.7 F (0.3 to 1.7 C).
Phoenix could reduce its summer temperatures even more—by 2.5 to 3.6 F (1.4 to 2.1 C)—but the effects in some parts of its downtown are complicated. In a few low, sparse downtown neighborhoods, we found that reflective pavement could raise the demand for cooling because of increased incident radiation on the buildings.
In Los Angeles, where the city has been experimenting with a cooler coating over asphalt, researchers found another effect to consider. When the coating was used in areas where people walk, the ground itself was as much as 11 F (6.1 C) cooler, but a few feet off the ground, the temperature rose as the sun’s rays were reflected. The results suggest such coatings might be better for roads than for sidewalks or playgrounds.
Cities will need to consider all of these effects.
Reflective pavements are an elegant solution that can transform something we use every day to reduce urban warming. The full lifecycle emissions of roads, including the materials used in them, have to be factored in. But as cities consider ways to combat the effects of climate change, we believe strategically optimizing pavement is a smart option that can make urban cores more livable.
Hessam AzariJafari is a postdoctoral associate in engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Randolph E. Kirchain is co-director of the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The husband of a Colorado Springs woman who has been missing for more than two years was arrested for her murder on Wednesday.
Dane Kallungi, 38, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jepsy Amaga Kallungi, 26, who has been missing since April 2019. Kallungi was found trying to get onto an Air Force base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, according to KKTV.
Court records show Kallungi was wanted for a crime committed on March 20, 2019—the last day Jepsy’s mother, Margie Amaga, heard from her daughter. Amaga, who is based in Hong Kong, has been pleading for the public’s help in finding her child.
Amaga told KKTV in April 2019 that the two often communicated through Facebook Messenger. When her daughter didn't appear online after a few weeks, she got worried.
“I just want to know if she's still alive or dead,” Margie said. “I don't know where she is, why she's gone.”
Colorado Springs police opened a murder investigation that April after completing a wellness call on Jepsy and not finding her.
Her husband has maintained that Jepsy told him she was going to visit friends in either the Philippines, where she emigrated from in 2017, or Chicago. He claims she left without her phone or identification.
The couple met in 2017 through an online dating app, Margie told KOAA, with Jepsy moving to the U.S. from the Philippines to marry him. The two were married in July that year.
Margie has been trying to get a visa to the U.S. to find her daughter.
“It’s really hard for me. It’s really painful for me because I am very far,” she said. “I don’t know where I find her. I don’t know. I’m only alone.”
Health authorities took Gosiame Sithole into custody this week, reportedly for a psychiatric examination, prompting her attorney to threaten legal action to get her released.
Meanwhile, a South African media outlet is reporting an exam showed no signs that Sithole had been pregnant—as a top government minister is promising that the mystery will be solved by next week.
Finally, the newspaper that broke the maybe-true-maybe-not story claims a private investigation it launched has verified Sithole’s story and accuses the government of a “cover-up of mammoth proportions.”
Oh, baby!
The controversy began almost two weeks ago with Pretoria News’ bombshell exclusive that Sithole, 37, had delivered five babies vaginally and five by C-section—which would be the most live births ever.
As the story made headlines across the globe, Sithole’s account was soon called into question, with health authorities saying they had no record of such an event and the various hospitals that were supposedly involved also pleading ignorance.
Then, the reputed father of the brood, Tebogo Tsotetsi, said he does not believe the decuplets exist.
“The current uncertainties and public discourse about the decuplets is of major concern to the family, especially in the absence of any proof of the decuplets existence other than telephonic and whatsapp messages from the mother,” his family said in a statement.
The doubts triggered criticism of Pretoria News, which announced it was reviewing its report. On Wednesday, parent company Independent Media doubled down and defended the original report—declaring that the newspaper was the victim of an “orchestrated campaign to discredit the story.”
It said that the followup investigation “has uncovered that the woman who made international headlines when she gave birth to 10 children was admitted to the government-owned hospital in Pretoria earlier that day and delivered her babies. It’s unclear what happened to the babies and what their state of health is.”
It went on to allege, without providing any evidence, that the hospital where Sithole says she gave birth had botched her care and was unprepared for the arrival of 10 babies. “There is an increasing likelihood that there has been extreme medical negligence,” the paper said, adding that it believes there has been “a cover-up of mammoth proportions.”
“She made it clear that seeing that she is now being held against her will.”
— Attorney Refiloe Mokoena
The next day, Sithole was taken to Tembisa Hospital for evaluation—against her will, according to her attorney, Refiloe Mokoena.
“She declined that she should be taken to the Tembisa Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation because she felt strongly that she is of sound mind,” the lawyer told IOL.
“She then instructed me to accompany her to the Tembisa Hospital. And when we arrived at the hospital, they took her straight to ward 14, the psychiatric ward. They told me that now she was in their custody, they would not be allowing the lawyers and the team of psychologists that she had requested to be present,” Mokoena said.
“When I left Tembisa Hospital, she made it clear that seeing that she is now being held against her will,” the lawyer added, explaining that she has been asked to launch legal proceedings.
According to Eyewitness News, while Sithole was at Tembisa Hospital, a medical team physically examined her. “The medical evaluation has shown that there was no pregnancy. It also shows that there are no physical scars to indicate a recent C-section,” the outlet quoted a source as saying.
Government officials have not confirmed that, but Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said on Friday that the probe is nearing an end.
“We have a few loose ends that needed to be sorted out,” Zulu said.
She would not confirm nor deny whether the decuplets actually exist and only added to the confusion with her response when asked about Independent Media’s claims of a cover-up.
“Yes, the allegations are wild, but there is no smoke without fire,” she said.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]On Capitol Hill at the height of the pandemic, Rep. Jim McGovern could always be spotted wearing a black mask with the words "end hunger now!" in thick, white block letters.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Citing a lack of evidence of malicious intent, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel will not pursue charges against a county commissioner who brandished a firearm during a virtual board meeting in January, her office announced Friday.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Are the Wild West days of intense market volatility back on Wall Street? Stocks were sliding Friday morning after St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard told CNBC he thinks the Fed should raise interest rates as soon as the end of next year.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]A Florida agency is now allowing the city of Sarasota to light up a local bridge for Pride Month, after initially denying the request.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Editor's note: An earlier version of this story and headline misstated the findings of the McKinsey study on wealth. It has been updated and corrected.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]A 2-year-old was killed and three others -- including a 9-year-old -- were wounded in two separate shootings on freeways in Detroit Thursday night, according to Michigan State Police.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]If Juneteenth doesn't make you think about the economy, maybe it should. Racial discrimination has an obvious human cost, but there's an economic cost, too.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]William R. Underwood was a 17-year-old father living in New York City when former President Richard Nixon declared a "war on drugs."
[unable to retrieve full-text content]The House voted Thursday to repeal the 2002 legal authorization for the war in Iraq, marking what the bill's backers hope is a first step to curbing the President's expansive war powers enacted after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
An IRS official denied tax-exempt status to a Texas group that encourages church members to pray for state and national leaders regardless of their party affiliation because it benefits “the private interests of the [Republican] Party.”
“You do not qualify as an organization described in IRS Section 501(c)(3). You engage in prohibited political campaign intervention,” wrote Stephen A. Martin, Director of the IRS Office of Exempt Organizations Rulings and Agreements in a May 18 letter (pdf) to Christians Engaged, the Garland, Texas-based prayer group recognized by Texas officials as tax-exempt.
“You are also not operated exclusively for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of Section 50l (c)(3), because you operate for a substantial non-exempt private purpose and for the private interests of the D party,” Martin said.
The “D party” is a reference to the Republican Party, according to a novel “Legend” Martin provided at the top of his letter to the Texas Group.
Martin’s letter was made public Wednesday by the First Liberty Institute, a Plano, Texas-based public interest law firm that specializes in religious freedom litigation.
Martin also noted that the group’s activities “educate believers on national issues that are central to their belief in the Bible as the inerrant Word of God,” Martin explained.
“Specifically,you educate Christians on what the Bible says in areas where they can be instrumental, including the areas of sanctity of life, the definition of marriage, biblical justice, freedom of speech, defense, and borders and immigration, U.S. and Israel relations,” he said.
“The Bible teachings are typically affiliated with the D party and candidates. This disqualifies you from exemption under lRS Section 50I(c)(3),” he said.
Christians Engaged President Bunni Pounds said in a statement issued by the First Liberty Institute that “we just want to encourage more people to vote and participate in the political process. How can anyone be against that?”
First Liberty Institute is appealing Martin’s decision on behalf of Christians Engaged.
“The IRS states in an official letter that Biblical values are exclusively Republican. That might be news to President Joe Biden, who is often described as basing his political ideology on his religious beliefs,” said First Liberty Institute Counsel Lea Patterson in the statement.
“Only a politicized IRS could see Americans who pray for their nation, vote in every election, and work to engage others in the political process as a threat. The IRS violated its own regulations in denying tax exempt status because Christians Engaged teaches biblical values.”
In the appeal letter, First Liberty said, “By finding that Christians Engaged does not meet the operational test, Director Martin errs in three ways 1) he invents a nonexistent requirement that exempt organizations be neutral on public policy issues; 2) he incorrectly concludes that Christians Engaged primarily serves private, nonexempt purposes rather than public, exempt purposes because he thinks its beliefs overlap with the Republican Party’s policy positions; and 3) he violates the First Amendment’s Free Speech, and Free Exercise, and Establishment clauses by engaging in both viewpoint discrimination and religious discrimination.”
Martin’s letter and decision are certain to ignite a new firestorm of protests among congressional Republicans, conservative and religious freedom advocacy groups, and civil liberties defenders, as happened during President Barack Obama’s Oval Office tenure.
The IRS under Obama singled out hundreds of conservative, Tea Party, and evangelical tax-exemption applicants for special treatment that included long delays and multiple requests for detailed information about the beliefs and activities of officials associated with the groups.
Multiple lawsuits were filed against the IRS by such groups and the Department of Justice (DOJ) agreed in two separate settlements to compensate them for undisclosed amounts.
The DOJ also acknowledged that the IRS had targeted the groups on the basis of their political and religious activities and beliefs for “heightened scrutiny and inordinate delays.”
“The act of praying for our country and our leaders is about the most non-partisan and patriotic thing that Americans can do. Millions of citizens do it every day,” Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) told The Epoch Times Wednesday.
“The IRS was wrong to deny tax exempt status based on the false belief that the Bible somehow only belongs to one political party. The IRS still has a long way to go to ensure religious liberty for all,” Budd added.
During his tenure in office, President Trump faced incessant criticism from the media for hiring family members - including his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner - and placing friends in positions of authority within his administration.
But just as President Joe Biden has ripped off many aspects of Trump's "America First" foreign policy and rhetoric, top officials in his administration have shown little compunction about hiring family members, despite Biden's promise that nepotism wouldn't be a feature of his administration.
Steve Ricchetti
According to a Washington Post report from Friday, during the first few months of Biden’s presidency, at least five children of his top aides have secured coveted jobs in the new administration. They include two sons and a daughter of a White House counselor, the daughter of a deputy White House chief of staff, and the daughter of Biden's director of presidential personnel. The pattern continued this week when the Treasury Department announced that it had hired JJ Ricchetti, son of Biden counselor Steve Ricchetti.
A handful of ethics experts told WaPo that it was "disappointing" to see the Biden Administration embrace cronyism, just like most of his predecessors.
"While it may not be as bad as appointing your son or daughter to a top government post as Trump did with Jared and Ivanka, it is still bad," said Walter Shaub, who served as director of the Office of Government Ethics from 2013-2017. "'Not as bad as Trump' cannot be the new standard."
Other relatives of top Biden aides also have secured high-level administration jobs or nominations, including the wife of White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and the sister of White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Federal law generally prohibits government officials from directly hiring, or encouraging the hiring, of close relatives, however there is no evidence that any of the Biden administration officials named above have directly intervened in the process, according to WaPo. The White House maintains that everyone in the administration has been well-qualified for their positions.
"The president has instituted the highest ethical standards of anyone to ever hold this office," deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates said. "And he’s proud to have staffed the most diverse administration in American history with well-qualified public servants who reflect his values."
But the hiring of senior aides’ children remains alarming to ethics experts, because it suggests that people with ties to high-ranking public servants might be getting an advantage over similarly qualified people.
"In a country that had just come through a pandemic, how can these children of political appointees be the only people who are qualified for employment?" Shaub said.
Elsewhere in the federal bureaucracy, some of the "more experienced" relatives of top officials hold other higher-level jobs.
Steve Ricchetti’s son Daniel Ricchetti is a senior adviser in the office of the undersecretary of state for arms control and international security. He previously worked for seven years on the staff of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, most recently as a policy analyst.
Cathy Russell, the director of presidential personnel in the White House, has a daughter, Sarah Donilon, who graduated college in 2019 and works in the White House National Security Council. Sarah Donilon’s uncle, Mike Donilon, is a senior adviser to Biden in the White House. Russell’s office does not oversee hiring at the White House or NSC, according to a White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
The official said those hired were well-qualified applicants and cited examples of how their experience levels were commensurate with some of their predecessors.
Sarah Donilon, for example, worked as a McCain Institute Fellow with Kurt Campbell, the National Security Council coordinator for the Indo Pacific, with whom she now works in the White House, the White House official said. The official also said the Biden administration places a priority on hiring former campaign volunteers and that J.J. Ricchetti is a former volunteer. Julia Reed earned praise from Biden aides for her work on the advance staff of his presidential campaign.
Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office implementing ethics rules that went further than the Obama administration's policies. But nothing in the regulations bars the administration from hiring people who are related to White House officials. As WaPo adds, for Biden, family has been central to his decades-long political ascent. His sister, Valerie Biden Owens, has been perhaps his most influential aide, managing his campaigns for local, state and national office over the years. Additionally, the tragic deaths of his wife and infant daughter in a 1972 car crash, and his son Beau, who succumbed to brain cancer in 2015, have become core pieces of his political identity.
But just because Hunter Biden doesn't have an office in the West Wing doesn't mean Biden didn't mislead the public about the role family members of senior officials would play in his administration.
The axis of liberal media outlets and their allied activist groups— CNN, NBC News, The Washington Post, Media Matters — are in an angry uproar over a recent report questioning the foreknowledge and involvement of the FBI in the January 6 Capitol riot. As soon as that new report was published on Monday, a consensus instantly emerged in these liberal media precincts that this is an unhinged, ignorant and insane conspiracy theory that deserves no consideration.
The original report, published by Revolver News and then amplified by Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, documented ample evidence of FBI infiltration of the three key groups at the center of the 1/6 investigation — the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys, and the Three Percenters — and noted how many alleged riot leaders from these groups have not yet been indicted. While low-level protesters have been aggressively charged with major felonies and held without bail, many of the alleged plot leaders have thus far been shielded from charges.
The implications of these facts are obvious. It seems extremely likely that the FBI had numerous ways to know of any organized plots regarding the January 6 riot (just as the U.S. intelligence community, by its own admission, had ample advanced clues of the 9/11 attack but, according to their excuse, tragically failed to “connect the dots”). There is no doubt that the FBI has infiltrated at least some if not all of these groups — which it has been warning for years pose a grave national security threat — with informants and/or undercover spies. It is known that Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio has served as an FBI informant in the past, and the disrupted 2020 plot by Three Percenters members to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) was shaped and driven by what The Wall Street Journal reportedwere the FBI’s “undercover agents and confidential informants.”
What would be shocking and strange is not if the FBI had embedded informants and other infiltrators in the groups planning the January 6 Capitol riot. What would be shocking and strange — bizarre and inexplicable — is if the FBI did not have those groupsunder tight control. And yet the suggestion that FBI informants may have played some role in the planning of the January 6 riot was instantly depicted as something akin to, say, 9/11 truth theories or questions about the CIA’s role in JFK’s assassination or, until a few weeks ago, the COVID lab-leak theory: as something that, from the perspective of Respectable Serious Circles, only a barely-sane, tin-foil-hat-wearing lunatic would even entertain.
This reaction is particularly confounding given how often the FBI did exactly this during the first War on Terror, and how commonplace discussions of this tactic were in mainstream liberal circles. Over the last decade, I reported on countless cases for The Guardian and The Intercept where the FBI targeted some young American Muslims they viewed as easily manipulated — due to financial distress, emotional problems, or both — and then deployed informants and undercover agents to dupe them into agreeing to join terrorist plots that had been created, designed and funded by the FBI itself, only to then congratulate themselves for breaking up the plot which they themselves initiated. As I asked in one headline about a particularly egregious entrapment case: “Why Does the FBI Have to Manufacture its Own Plots if Terrorism and ISIS Are Such Grave Threats?”
In 2011, Mother Jones published an outstanding, lengthy investigation by reporter Trevor Aaronson, entitled “The Informations,” which asked: “The FBI has built a massive network of spies to prevent another domestic attack. But are they busting terrorist plots—or leading them?” Aaronson covered numerous similar cases for The Intercept where the FBI designed, directed and even funded the terror plots and other criminal rings they then boasted of disrupting. A widely praised TEDTalk by Aaronson, which, in the words of organizers, “reveals a disturbing FBI practice that breeds terrorist plots by exploiting Muslim-Americans with mental health problems,” featured this central claim: “There's an organization responsible for more terrorism plots in the United States than al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab and ISIS combined: The FBI.”
So far from being some warped conspiracy theory, that the FBI purposely targets vulnerable people and infiltrates groups in order to create attacks and direct targets to engage in them is indisputably true, well established, and a commonly reported fact in mainstream liberal media. Exactly that has been happening for decades.
Yet the DNC-loyal sector of the corporate media reacted to the Revolver News article and Carlson’s segment which raised these questions as though they were positing something that no sentient being could possibly regard as viable. CNN — which spent years leading its viewers to believe that the Kremlin controlled the U.S. Government through sexual and financial blackmail — published what they labeled a “fact-check” that denounced this as a “haywire theory” that “is nothing more than a conspiratorial web of unproven claims, half-truths and inaccurate drivel about perceived bombshells in court filings.”
As it usually does, The Washington Post — which told Americans that Russians had invaded the U.S. electricity grid and that a huge army of Kremlin-loyal American writers was shaping our discourse — echoed the instant CNN/liberal consensus by mocking it as “Tucker Carlson’s wild, baseless theory,” claiming that “it’s the kind of suggestion journalists in other organizations would quite possibly be fired for if they sought to push it nearly as hard.” The standard liberal blob of HuffPost/ DailyBeast/ BusinessInsider all recited from the herd script. “A laughable conspiracy theory,” chortled The Huffington Post, who has done more to help the FBI find citizens allegedly at the Capitol riot than any local law enforcement agency.
What accounts for this furious liberal #Resistance to questioning the FBI’s role in the January 6 riot and asking whether there are vital facts that are being concealed? There was one minor analytical flaw in both the Revolver News article and Carlson segment that they seized on by pretending that it was central to the question rather than what it was: a completely ancillary distraction. It is true that it is highly unlikely, probably close to impossible, that the FBI would refer to someone they were directing or collaborating with as an “unindicted co-conspirator” because, by definition, someone working at the behest of the FBI would not be a “conspirator” in a plot since they would lack the necessary intent to forward that plot (their intent, instead, is to tell the FBI what is being plotted). CNN hauled out some career federal prosecutor and current corporate lawyer, their “Senior Legal Analyst” Elie Honig, to spend five minutes pretending that this single-handedly destroys the case.
But rather than some devastating theory-destroying point, this is ultimately irrelevant to the evidence marshaled by Revolver News. While it is true that “unindicted co-conspirator” almost certainly does not refer to FBI informants or operatives, the numerous references to Person-1, Person-2, etc. very well could [indeed, in the case of the FBI-directed plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer, CHS-1, CHS-2, etc. (confidential human source) is how the FBI informants driving that plot were referenced]. These are common tactics that the FBI uses to reference the acts of their own unindicted informants without revealing their identity. And while some of the unnamed-but-referenced people in the charging documents are known (one is the spouse one of those charged), several are not.
The questions raised by the Revolver News reporting, which none of these smug FBI defenders and guardians of the liberal consensus can answer, remain:
How is it remotely credible that the FBI did not have informants in these three groups that they have been identifying as major threats for years, especially given the reporting that the leader of the Proud Boys — conveniently arrested the day before January 6 — was an FBI informant in the past, along with the confirmed reporting that the FBI had multiple informants in the Michigan Three Percenters case?
Why are low-level protesters being charged with major crimes while the alleged organizers of this riot and the leaders of these groups have not been?
Why are enormous amounts of video surveillance footage from January 6 still being concealed?
Why did the FBI not take more aggressive action given the once-denied but now-confirmed fact that the social media platform Parler sent the FBI advanced warnings of specific plots to use violence at the Capitol?
A big deal:@RepMaloney: "Committee has obtained docs showing that ... Parler sent the FBI evidence of planned violence in DC on January 6. Parlor referred this content to FBI for investigation OVER 50 TIMES" including "specific threats of violence being planned at the Capitol." pic.twitter.com/67ZsMxyPJn
If the FBI had advanced knowledge of what was being plotted yet did nothing to stop the attack, it raises numerous possibilities about why that is. It could be that they just had yet another “intelligence failure” of the kind that they claimed caused them to miss the 9/11 attack and therefore need massive new surveillance authorities, budget increases, and new Patriot-Act-type laws to fix it. It could be that they allowed the riot to happen because they did not take it seriously enough or because some of them supported the cause behind it, or because they realized that there would be benefits to the security state if it happened. Or it could be that they were using those operatives under their control to plot with, direct, and drive the attack -- as they have done so many times in the past — and allowed it to happen out of either negligence or intent.
Nobody is claiming to know the answers to those questions, including Revolver News, Carlson, or anyone else. Instead, they are doing the work of actual journalists — pointing out the gaping holes in the public record about what we do and do not know about an event that is being exploited to launch a new domestic War on Terror, prompt massive new police and security state spending, and empower and justify new domestic surveillance and censorship authorities. Anyone not asking these questions or, worse, trying to delegitmize them, is a propagandist and has no business calling themselves a journalist.
But why does this description apply to so many in the undifferentiated liberal corporate media blob, the employees who work for media corporations and barely pretend any longer to conceal their DNC-supporting posture? One answer is that, as a result of the Trump years, they now revere security state institutions like the FBI and CIA, and are thus reflexively angered by suggestion that these agencies may be less than truthful in their statements and less than honorable in their conduct:
But the primary reason is that their newsrooms are filled with former FBI operatives, CIA agents, and other former employees of the security state. CNN has more FBI agents and federal prosecutors working for it than anyone outside of the J. Edgar Hoover FBI headquarters in Washington. When they go to analyze any matters involving the FBI, they rely on career FBI agents and officials to tell them what to think. And you’ll never guess what these FBI operatives tell them: trust the FBI; only malicious conspiracists wonder if the FBI is lying and has been engaged in treachery; those who malign the FBI are liars. Here is just one of CNN’s countless FBI operatives doing her job:
In virtually every segment that they have done since the Revolver News article was published, CNN, in order to angrily mock questions about the FBI, brings on FBI officials like former FBI Deputy DirectorAndrew McCabe — who got caught lying to the FBI and barely escaped prosecution for it — to insist that the honorable agency would never do any such thing:
CHRIS CUOMO:Let's talk about what is true, and not true, in this scenario. Former FBI Director Andrew McCabe.
"Person one, person two, unindicted co-conspirator, those are you guys. Those are - those are Feds, undercover." What's the reality?
ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR, FBI: The reality, Chris, is that we're going to - we're going to go into, very briefly, a little law lesson here, because I am convinced that your viewers are smarter than Tucker Carlson.
Just think about a purported news outlet saying this: Let's talk about what is true, and not true, in this scenario. Former FBI Director Andrew McCabe.
While MSNBC prefers ex-CIA officials like John Brennan, CNN is practically overrun with former FBI officials, agents and operatives. But NBC News is also the home to FBI caricatures like this:
Look at these FBI cartoons these media corporations employ. Then they haul them out to tell everyone that only malignant conspiracists and insane losers would ponder the possibility that the FBI was engaged in deceit or other forms of manipulation regarding an event that has taken on central importance in their quest for more power and money. And their liberal viewers and the liberal journalists who watch these networks nod in agreement because they think they are hearing from the real, honest experts: the security state agents they have been trained to revere.
But all the mockery in the world does not make these questions disappear. Of course the FBI was infiltrating the groups they claim were behind these attacks. There may be good reasons why that did not enable the FBI to stop this riot or why they have not yet indicted these ringleaders. But those answers are not yet known. And gullible conspiracists are not the ones who want answers to these questions but, instead, are the ones doing everything possible to protect the FBI from having to provide them.
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After announcing last month that Chinese families would now be permitted to have up to three children, Chinese authorities are now planning to scrap all restrictions on birth rates in the coming years, with the new policy expected to be implemented first in China's most economically-troubled regions. According to WSJ, which broke the news in the US, senior CCP officials are discussing the possibility of doing away with these restrictions entirely by 2025, when the CCP's current five-year economic plan is slated to conclude.
In what would be one of Beijing's biggest policy 180s since the days of Deng Xiaoping, Chinese officials are drawing up plans to further loosen birth restrictions and transition toward policies that explicitly encourage childbirth. The move reflects the increased urgency in Beijing as economic growth slows and China suffers its worst population decline since the beginning of Communist rule.
Births plummeted 15% in 2020 alone, leaving China with one of the developed world's most skewed population distributions.
President Xi Xinping reportedly told the party leadership last month that he believes China's aging population is one of the biggest threats to its national security, calling in senior officials to address the change. Policymakers have also hinted that the country's northeast region could be the first to see these changes implemented.
As WSJ explains, China’s three northeastern provinces, regarded as its rust belt, helped kick-start modern China's industrialization in the 1950s, but like their counterparts in the US, they were badly hit by the country’s shift to a market economy in the 1990s and now have some of the lowest birthrates in the nation. The new census figures show the population in the northeastern provinces declined by 1.2% over the past decade.
Some of these provinces have already taken steps to boost fertility rates. Heilongjiang province said back in 2016 that couples in 18 of its cities could have a third child in 2016 - a policy that was only introduced nation wide a few weeks ago. In neighboring Jilin province, government researchers argued in a February report that the province should draft plans to end all birth limits as soon as possible.
"Ending birth restrictions is not enough to reverse the trend of negative population growth in our province," read the report, which was published by Jilin’s development and research center. "It is also necessary to introduce policies to encourage childbirth based on real-world conditions."
China's population is expected to fall from the current 1.4 billion to roughly 730MM by the end of the 21st century, according to projections by an international team of scientists published last year in the Lancet, the UK's premier medical journal. Back in 1980, when China first adopted the policy, party officials believed the country's fast-swelling population could be an obstacle to economic growth.
The big risk now is that the policy could leave China with a massive population of elderly retirees without enough young workers left to support them.
Ultimately, if policy makers fail to arrest this trend, 'Japanification', and the growth-sapping deflation that comes with it - could await.
As a candidate, Joe Biden’s number one promise was to “unite” America. Yet in his first months as president, his number one priority has been to divide our country by race and gender at every turn.
There is no clearer example than the Biden administration’s new effort aimed at indoctrinating America’s schoolchildren with some of the most toxic and anti-American theories ever conceived.
It is vital for Americans to understand what this initiative would do, what drives it and, most importantly, how we can stop it.
For decades, the America-blaming left has been relentlessly pushing a vision of America that casts our history, culture, traditions, and founding documents in the most negative possible light. Yet in recent years, this deeply unnatural effort has progressed from telling children that their history is evil to telling Americans that they are evil.
In classrooms across the nation, students are being subjected to a new curriculum designed to brainwash them with the ridiculous left-wing dogma known as “critical race theory.” The key fact about this twisted doctrine is that it is completely antithetical to everything that normal Americans of any color would wish to teach their children.
Instead of helping young people discover that America is the greatest, most tolerant, and most generous nation in history, it teaches them that America is systemically evil and that the hearts of our people are full of hatred and malice. Far from advancing the beautiful dream of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. -- that our children should “not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character” -- the left’s vile new theory preaches that judging people by the color of their skin is actually a good idea.
Teaching even one child these divisive messages would verge on psychological abuse. Indoctrinating generations of children with these extreme ideas is not just immoral -- it is a program for national suicide. Yet that is exactly what the Biden administration endorsed recently in a rule published in the Federal Register aimed at inflicting a critical race theory-inspired curriculum on American schoolchildren.
The rule explicitly cites the New York Times’ discredited “1619 Project” as a motivation. The Times has described the goal of its endeavor as the “re-education” of the American people, and the project even includes a lesson plan that encourages students to practice “erasing” parts of the Declaration of Independence. The Biden rule also directly cites a left-wing activist and leading proponent of critical race theory whose textbook states, “The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.”
This is what the Biden administration wants to teach America’s children.
The Department of Education rule stems from an executive order Biden signed on his first day in office. Biden’s order abolished the President’s Advisory 1776 Commission I created to honor America’s founding principles, and reversed an executive action I took to stop these depraved theories from being imposed upon federal employees in workforce training sessions.
Thankfully, most Americans oppose this insanity. The left has only gotten away with it until this point because not enough parents have been paying attention and speaking up. But that is quickly changing. From Loudoun County, Va., to Cupertino, Calif., parents are beginning to make their voices heard against the left-wing cultural revolution. What they need now is a plan to actually stop it.
Here are the reforms that every concerned parent in America should be demanding.
First, every state legislature should pass a ban on taxpayer dollars going to any school district or workplace that teaches critical race theory, which inherently violates existing anti-discrimination laws. Inspired by my executive order last year, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Oklahoma and other states have already taken steps to pass such laws. It needs to happen everywhere — and Congress should seek to institute a federal ban through legislation as well.
Second, each state should create its own 1776 Commission to examine the public school curriculum and ensure that students are receiving a patriotic, pro-American education — not being taught that the United States is an evil nation.
Third, parents have a right to know exactly what is being taught to their children. Last year, many parents had the chance to routinely listen in on classes for the first time because of remote learning. As students return to the classroom, states need to pass laws requiring that all lesson plans have to be made available to parents — every handout, article, and reading should be posted on an online portal that allows parents to see what their kids are being taught. Furthermore, in many places, there are rules preventing students from recording what teachers say in class. States and school boards should establish a “Right to Record.”
Fourth, parents need to organize locally — in every school district in America — to eliminate “Action Civics” and other versions of the effort to contort traditional civics education into a vehicle for political indoctrination. The left’s new argument is that our “divisions” stem from a lack of “civics education” — a problem they intend to “fix” with lots of new taxpayer money and a redefinition of “civics” in schools, just as they are trying to redefine the meaning of “infrastructure.” Right now, Congress is working on a $1 billion bill known as the Civics Secures Democracy Act. No Republican should trust the Biden administration with a billion dollars to spend on such programs. Even worse, the legislation threatens to establish a de facto national curriculum for history and civics, effectively bribing states into adopting the left’s anti-American curriculum. It is Common Core all over again -- but much more extreme. And like Common Core, parents must unite to stop this new federal power grab.
Fifth, any parent who objects to the material being taught to their child in public school should get an automatic voucher, empowering them to pick another school of their choice. The government has no right to brainwash students with controversial ideologies against their parents’ will.
Sixth, states need to take back control of their schools of education and credentialing bodies to ensure they are not churning out radicalized teachers. To be clear, the overwhelming majority of our nation’s teachers are some of the most selfless and wonderful people there are — but regrettably, many have graduated from extremely biased education schools and may not even be aware of the degree to which leftist ideology has permeated their curriculum. States should set up alternative credentialing bodies that can certify great teachers who know how to instill a sense of love for America. School districts can then make it a priority to hire teachers with these certifications, especially for English, history, and social studies roles. States could even set up their own versions of Teach for America to get passionate and patriotic young people into the classroom.
Finally, states need to break the tenure monopoly in public K-12 schools. Tenure was originally supposed to protect competent teachers from being subjected to undue political influence; it has turned into a mechanism to protect incompetent teachers who themselves wield undue political influence over our children. Educators who are alienating children from their own country should not be protected with lifelong tenure; they should be liberated to pursue a career as a political activist.
Make no mistake: The motive behind all of this left-wing lunacy is to discredit and eliminate the greatest obstacles to the fundamental transformation of America.
To succeed with their extreme agenda, radicals know they must abolish our attachment to the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and most of all, Americans’ very identity as a free, proud, and self-governing people. The left knows that if they can dissolve our national memory and identity, they can gain the total political control they crave.
A nation is only as strong as its spirit. For our children, we must act before it is too late.
Flouting a warning from the Vatican and Pope Francis, whose liberal leanings have angered many Catholic conservatives, a conclave of American Roman Catholic bishops has voted to advance a new rule that would push priests to deny communion to President Biden and other Democrats over their support for abortion rights.
In a decision made public on Friday afternoon, American bishops voted to draft a statement on the sacrament of the Eucharist, capping three days of contentious debate at a virtual June meeting of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. The vote won with 73% in favor, to 24% opposed.
Observant Catholics typically receive communion weekly at mass. Holy communion is one of the most sacred rituals of the Catholic church, and any Catholic who is permanently denied communion is effectively ex-communicated from the world's largest Christian church. The NYT added that the attempt to strip the country's second Catholic president of the right is a sign of "a uniquely American Catholicism increasingly at odds with Rome."
The paper continued: "Biden, like Pope Francis, embodies a liberal Christianity focused less on sexual politics and more on racial inequality, climate change and poverty."
The text of the statement hasn't yet been written. Once it's completed, it will require a two-thirds vote by the bishops to apply it in the US. In a proposed outline, reported earlier by America Magazine, the statement will call on bishops to "include the theological foundation for the Church’s discipline concerning the reception of Holy Communion and a special call for those Catholics who are cultural, political, or parochial leaders to witness the faith.”
A vote isn't expected until November, right around the midterm elections. The NYT warned that this will equip conservative bishops with "a tool to criticize Democratic politicians throughout the campaign cycle".
Many were shocked by the Fed's hawkish reversal (which was misconstrued on Thursday as dovish so Powell unleashed the Powell to make it abundantly clear just what the Fed's thoughts on inflation are), but not BofA's CIO Michael Hartnett who had long been warning that the Fed risks not only being behind the curve but losing control of inflation altogether if it did or said nothing on Wednesday, and so he was entitled a victory lap of sorts in his latest Flow Show report, in which he writes that just as "BofA FMS investors were bullishly positioned for permanent growth, transitory inflation, peaceful Fed via longs in commodities, cyclicals & financials into June FOMC" when the Fed pulled the rug from under them.
In Hartnett's post-mortem, the BofA strategist writes that the Fed "flipped from dovish to hawkish" conceding what should be obvious to anyone with a somewhat functioning brain, that zero rates and $4BN of asset purchases every day are incompatible with
a. stocks/bonds/housing prices at all-time highs,
b. GDP +15%, retail sales +40%, payrolls artificially low (Chart 3), CPI annualizing 8%, and...
c. the new "social & economic" goal of reducing inequality (see Fed balance sheet & market cap of Big Tech).
The Fed's hawkish capitulation, also means that what until now had been an "easy Fed" = "easy trade" and a “good news = good news” market in H1, as the shift from global QE to QT accelerates in H2, QE from the big 4 (Fed, ECB, BoJ, BOE) is set to fall $8.5tn in ‘20 to $3.4tn in ‘21 to $0.3tn in ’22.
Amid this rapid slowdown in QE, we are also seeing a sharp tightening in financial conditions on the rate side with 19 rate hikes thus far in ’21 vs 5 in ’20 (8 rate cuts vs 195 last year)...
... so in H2 the market will be a nightmare for most traders, as “good news = tighter liquidity = bad news”…low/negative stock/credit H2 returns.
There's more: not only will good news be bad news, but bad news will also be bad news, as Hartnett explains:
“peak profits” means bad news won’t translate into good news; BofA Global EPS model says global EPS peak was ≈ 40% in April (model driven by China FCI, Asia exports, global PMI, US yield curve – Chart 6), projected to decelerate to 20% by August.
China the tell: lead indicator for virus, lockdown, reopening, tech boom, tapering, tightening, and in H1…China economy has slowed (Chart 7), stocks flat, defensives (healthcare/telcos) have outperformed, banks flat, consumer/tech down hard (though have caught recent bid – big reason EM acting so well thus far despite US$ up); we say global defensives outperform H2 (staples, pharma, telco, utilities).
But if global defensives are set to outperform, well then cyclicals are in trouble, or as Hartnett puts it, "a Perfect storm for cyclicals" due to...
excess positioning, China tightening, US fiscal hopes fading, and now hawkish Fed; note cyclical correction now well underway (homebuilders -14%, copper -13%, materials -9%, transportation -7%...even AUD now bid on spectacular strong labor market data) which follows yield curve bear flattening prediction in BofA Investment Clock view...
... vaccine continues to dominate virus (Chart 9) but cyclicals are cyclical, Chart 10, and Q3 correction likely (and perhaps necessary to test that secular inflation trade uptrend is for real).
Finally, is a market correction imminent?
Here Hartnett concludes, a minority “correction crew” say weaker internals always herald weaker index, and yet while it is unlikely to have a correction without IG bonds & tech (majority believe both will be bid), Hartnett says that SPW (equal-weighted S&P) & NYA (NYSE Composite) most important levels to watch coming weeks and lists 4 conditions that would suggest an imminent market breakdown:
SPW breaks below 6000,
NYA below 16000,
CCMP fails to break above 14200 (3rd attempt this year),
weaker internals will signal broader sell-off in credit & stocks in Q3.
The only dynamic that's even faintly "capitalist" about America's Crony-Socialism is the price of political corruption is still a "market."
The supposed "choice" between "capitalism" and "socialism" is a useful fabrication masking the worst of all possible worlds we inhabit: Capitalism for the powerless and Crony-Socialism for the powerful. Capitalism's primary dynamics are reserved solely for the powerless: market price of money, capital's exploitive potential, free-for-all competition and creative destruction.
The powerful, on the other hand, bask in the warm glow of socialism: The Federal Reserve protects them from the market cost of money--financiers and the super-wealthy get their money for virtually nothing from the Fed, in virtually unlimited quantities--and the Treasury, Congress and the Executive branch protect them from any losses: their gains are private, but their losses are transferred to the public. The Supreme Court ensures the super-rich maintain this cozy crony-socialism by ensuring they can buy political power via lobbying and campaign contributions--under the laughable excuse of free speech.
Cronies get the best political system money can buy and you--well, you get to carry a sign on the street corner, just before you're hauled off to jail for disturbing the peace (and you're banned by social media/search Big Tech, i.e. privatized totalitarianism, for good measure).
The Federal Reserve is America's financial Politburo: cronies get a free pass, the powerless get nothing. While the three billionaires who own more wealth than the bottom 165 million Americans can borrow unlimited sums for next to nothing thanks to the Fed (i.e. Crony-Socialist Politburo), the 165 million Americans pay exorbitant interest on payday loans, used car loans, student loans, credit cards and so on.
Capitalism (market sets price of money) for the powerless, Crony-Socialism (nearly free money) for the powerful--thanks to America's Crony-Socialist Politburo, the Fed. Consider the "free market" plight of America's working poor: earning low wages that are rapidly losing their purchasing power makes them a credit risk, i.e. prone to defaulting, so lenders (i.e. capital's exploitive potential) charge high interest rates on loans to the working poor.
Since they pay such high rates of interest and earn so little, they default on their debt at higher rates--just what the lenders expected, and what the lenders created by charging sky-high rates of interest: gee, you're having trouble paying 24% interest? Too bad you're poor. You see the point: low wages, poverty and exorbitant rates of interest are mutually reinforcing: a primary driver of defaults and poverty is paying sky-high rates of interest and all the late fees, bounced check fees, etc. that go with 24% interest rates.
The Crony-Socialists have a much different deal with the Fed and its crony-bankers: the super-wealthy arrange for the corporations they own shares in to borrow billions of dollars to fund stock buybacks (which in a less exploitive era were illegal market manipulation). The super-wealthy Crony-Socialist's personal wealth rises by $100 million thanks to the stock buybacks, and then the super-wealthy Crony-Socialist borrows $10 million for next to nothing against this newly conjured "wealth" (thanks, Fed!) to fund living large.
Crony-Socialist corporations pay no income tax thanks to loopholes and the Crony-Socialists who own the shares report $1 in salary and zero income because they borrowed their living expenses against their Fed-conjured wealth. Do you discern the difference between capitalism for the powerless and crony-socialism for the super-wealthy?
If you can't yet discern the difference, then ask yourself: can you borrow $1 billion from the Fed's cronies to buy back shares of your own company, and then borrow $10 million for near-zero rates of interest against the newly conjured "wealth"? You can't? Well, why not?
If you answer "I don't have enough collateral," you missed the key point here: thanks to America's Crony-Socialist Politburo (the Fed), the super-wealthy have no exposure to the market price of money. The Fed manipulates the cost of money to near-zero, and then funnels unlimited sums of this nearly-free money to corporations, financiers and the super-wealthy.
Collateral is unnecessary in Crony-Socialism; that's just a excuse given to the powerless. Crony-Socialists borrow $1 billion for next to nothing, buy Treasuries with the free money, put the Treasuries up as collateral (but wait, didn't they borrow the money? Never mind, it doesn't matter), originate some financial instruments (CDOs, etc.), post those as collateral, and then leverage up another bet on that fictitious collateral.
If the bets all go bad, the Crony-Socialist claims the whole fraud is now a systemic risk and so the losses are transferred to the public / taxpayers to "save the financial system from collapse." Isn't Crony-Socialism fantastic?
Just as the rich kid caught with smack gets a suspended sentence and probation while the powerless kid gets a tenner in the War on Drugs Gulag, the super-wealthy Crony-Socialists avoid all the consequences of their gambles and frauds. America's Crony-Socialist Politburo (the Fed) takes care of its cronies and the powerless bear the brunt of predatory exploitation that's passed off as "capitalism."
The only dynamic that's even faintly "capitalist" about America's Crony-Socialism is the price of political corruption is still a "market": what's the current price of protecting your monopoly or cartel from competition? It's moving up fast, so better get those bribes (oops, I mean campaign contributions for the 2022 election) in now before the price of corrupting "democracy" goes even higher.
Because St.Louis Fed Chair Jim Bullard uttered some truth bombs...
..."it's natural that [The Fed] has tilted a little bit more hawkish,"
...there "is some upside risk on the inflation forecast,"
"Fed Chair Powell has opened the taper discussion this week."
..."little concerned about housing market froth", noting that The Fed "is leaning toward idea that it may not need to be buying MBS," adding that "we don't wanna to get back in the housing bubble game... that caused us a lot of distress in 2008."
And that left chaos in its wake as reflation bets were derisked en masse. And if The Fed's policy is to ensure 'financial stability', then they failed this week (even if Bullard's goal was to blow the "froth" off the hyped-up-inflationary asset values).
Source: Bloomberg
Did Powell just "meddled with the primary forces of nature" one too many times?
[embedded content]
Small Caps and The Dow were the week's biggest losers. Nasdaq managed to hold gains on the week...
Dow suffered its worst week since Oct 2020.
Some serious gamma swings this week...
Dow, S&P, and Small Caps all broke below their 50DMAs...
The Russell's underperformance took it back to its lowest relative to Nasdaq since mid-April...
Which put a different way leaves Russell 2000 at a critical support point once again...
Source: Bloomberg
FANG stocks surged to a new record highs as the chaos hit...
Source: Bloomberg
The rotation out of Value (into Growth) was dramatic...
Source: Bloomberg
And momentum got hit this week...
Source: Bloomberg
Bullard's extremely hawkish comments sent rate-hike expectations soaring to price in at least one hike before the end of 2022...
Source: Bloomberg
Total chaos reigned over the bond markets with 2Y and 5Y yields biggest weekly rise since Nov 2019...
Source: Bloomberg
30Y Yields biggest weekly drop since Dec 2020 (2Y yields are above Fed Funds rate for the first time since April 2020)...
Source: Bloomberg
Biggest weekly yield curve (5s30s) flattening (-27bps) since Sept 2011...
Source: Bloomberg
The yield curve collapse crushed financials...
Source: Bloomberg
And Citi led the big banks on the week (down 12 straight days - longest losing streak since 2018)...
Source: Bloomberg
Mortgage rates were notably higher this week as the curve flattened and longer-end yields tumbled...
Source: Bloomberg
The Dollar screamed higher after The FOMC statement - its biggest weekly gain since April 2020...
Cryptos had an ugly week (but not on the level of extremes in other assets). ETH underperformed BTC once again...
Source: Bloomberg
Gold was clubbed like a baby seal, suffering its worst week since March 2020...
Dr.Copper crapped out (worst week since March 2020)...
But crude was higher for the 3th straight week (amid lots of vol)..
Soybeans were crushed to their worst week since 2014 (despite the bounce today)...
Notably as commodities crashed around the world, NatGas was up on the week with European natural gas prices (TTF one-month forward) settle at their highest level in more than 12½ years (equivalent to ~$10.2 per mBtu) on low inventories and high CO2 prices (h/t @JavierBlas)
Source: Bloomberg
Finally, there has never before been so many S&P 500 stocks plunging to 1 month lows, while SPX is trading this close to all time highs
Yet another piece of the pandemic puzzle has fallen into place - after being hidden in plain sight until it was wiped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology's (WIV) website.
Unearthed by The National Pulse's Natalie Winters, a Nov. 2017 report titled (no really): "Bats in China carry all the ingredients to make a new SARS virus," describes how researchers at the WIV had identified 'all the genes to make a SARS coronavirus similar to the epidemic strain,' among 11 new strains of viruses collected in horseshoe bats.
“After five years of surveying bats in a cave in southern China’s Yunnan Province, Zhengli Shi and colleagues discovered 11 new strains of SARS-related viruses in horseshoe bats (especially in Rhinolophus sinicus). Within the strains, the researchers found all the genes to make a SARS coronavirus similar to the epidemic strain, says Shi, a virologist at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
These new strains are more similar to the human version of SARS than were previously identified bat viruses, says Matthew Frieman, a virologist at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. -PLOS Pathogens
The article, which was recently wiped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s website, also notes that Shi and her colleagues found that “several of the strains” could grow in human cells.
“By analyzing the new viruses’ complete genetic makeup, Shi and her colleagues retraced the steps that might have given rise to the original SARS virus. A few spots in the viruses’ DNA seem particularly prone to rearrangement, so remixing happens often. The study suggests that recombination between viruses has shaped the evolution of SARS, says Baric.
Several of the strains could already grow in human cells, Shi’s team found. That indicates “there’s a chance that the viruses that exist in these bats could jump to people,” Frieman says. “Whether they will or not is anybody’s guess.”
Also in 2017, a subagency of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) - headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci - resumed funding a controversial grant to genetically modify bat coronaviruses in Wuhan, China without the approval of a government oversight body, according to the Daily Caller. This comes after a temporary suspension of federal funding in 2014 for gain-of-function research by which bat COVID was genetically manipulated to be more transmissible to humans. Four months prior to that decision, the NIH effectively shifted this research to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) via a grant to nonprofit group EcoHealth Alliance, headed by Peter Daszak.
Notably, the WIV "had openly participated in gain-of-function research in partnership with U.S. universities and institutions" for years under the leadership of Dr. Shi 'Batwoman' Zhengli, according to the Washington Post's Josh Rogin.
In 2017, however, the "Potential Pandemic Pathogens Control and Oversight (P3CO) Framework was formed within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)," which was tasked with evaluating the risks involved with enhancing dangerous pathogens, as well as whether proper safeguards are in place, before a grant into 'gain-of-function' or similarly risky research can be issued.
Fauci's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) - the subagency which funded EcoHealth - didn't think the grant needed review, and resumed their relationship with Daszak without flagging it for the P3CO committee, an NIH spokesperson told the Caller.
Or - and just hear us out, a random bat infected a yet-to-be determined intermediary animal species, which nobody has been able to identify after 18 months of searching, which then infected humans in Wuhan - coincidentally home to the bat coronavirus lab, before anywhere else in the world.
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s 2022 primary challenger, Kelly Tshibaka, Friday.
Trump released a statement from the Save America PAC in which the former president slammed Murkowski and said Tshibaka can beat her in the primary, giving her his full endorsement.
“Lisa Murkowski is bad for Alaska. Her vote to confirm Biden’s Interior Secretary was a vote to kill long sought for, and approved, ANWR, and Alaska jobs. Murkowski has got to go! Kelly Tshibaka is the candidate who can beat Murkowski — and she will. Kelly is a fighter who stands for Alaska values and America First,” Trump said in his statement.
“She is MAGA all the way, pro-energy, strong on the Border, tough on Crime and totally supports our Military and our great Vets. Kelly is a powerful supporter of the Second Amendment and JOBS! I look forward to campaigning in Alaska for Kelly Tshibaka. She has my Complete and Total Endorsement!” Trump added.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) speaks during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the Defense Department’s budget request on Capitol Hill on June 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein-Pool/Getty Images)
Trump promised to visit Alaska to personally campaign against Murkowski, saying, “I will not be endorsing, under any circumstances, the failed candidate from the great State of Alaska, Lisa Murkowski,” in a March statement to Politico. “She represents her state badly and her country even worse. I do not know where other people will be next year, but I know where I will be — in Alaska campaigning against a disloyal and very bad Senator.” (RELATED: Trump Promises To Go To Alaska To Campaign Against ‘Disloyal’ Sen. Murkowski)
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott has said the committee will be supporting Republican incumbents, despite Trump’s differences.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted overwhelmingly to draft a formal document on the meaning of the Eucharist after a contentious debate on whether President Biden and other politicians who support abortion policies are worthy of receiving Communion at Mass.
More than 73% of the U.S. bishops casting ballots at a virtual conference this week supported tasking the USCCB's doctrine committee to draft language on maintaining consistency with the Eucharist. A section of the document is expected to include a specific admonition to Catholic politicians and other public figures who disobey church teaching on abortion and other core doctrinal issues.
The vote tally announced Friday was 168 bishops in favor, 55 opposed and six bishops abstaining.
Up next, at least two-thirds of the bishops would have to vote to adopt the new language at their next gathering slated for November. The decision on whether Biden should be allowed to receive Communion would still be left up to individual bishops, as is standard for all churchgoers, but a new document would inform those decisions.
Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, has made clear that Biden is welcome to receive Communion at churches in the archdiocese. During Thursday's debate, Gregory pressed against authoring a new Communion document at this time.
"The choice before us at this moment is either we pursue a path of strengthening unity among ourselves or settle for creating a document that will not bring unity but may very well further damage it," Gregory said.
Then-candidate Joe Biden speaks during a worship event at the Brown Chapel AME Church on March 1, 2020 in Selma, Alabama. Biden's Catholic faith and pro-abortion policies were the subjects of debate among U.S. Catholic bishops this week at their national conference. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The secret vote tally was announced Friday afternoon, but the lengthy debate on the measure took place Thursday during a virtual session of the bishops' national meeting.
Catholics believe that during Mass the bread and wine used for Communion become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The sacrament of the Eucharist is so sacred to the Church that some bishops have expressed concerns about whether Biden is worthy for Communion given his pro-abortion policies that run counter to the Catholic Church's pro-life beliefs.
Biden, who attends Mass regularly, says he personally opposes abortion but doesn't think he should impose that position on Americans who feel otherwise. He's taken several executive actions during his presidency that were hailed by abortion rights advocates.
Asked about the Catholic bishops' move on Friday and whether he would be denied Communion, Biden said: "That's a private matter and I don't think that's going to happen."
Some bishops believe Biden forced their hand on making a decision and the church's credibility was on the line if they didn't move forward with a document reaffirming core Catholic values.
"It’s not the bishops who have brought us to this point — it's some of our public officials," said Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas during Thursday's debate. "This is a Catholic president doing the most aggressive things we’ve ever seen on life at its most innocent."
Still, some bishops said the document itself wouldn't be about one individual and reiterated that it wouldn't bar any one person from receiving Communion, since that is still left up to individual bishops under church law.
Asked directly on Thursday whether Biden should receive Communion, the chairman of the USCCB doctrine committee made clear it's not up for the conference to decide but rather look at "Eucharistic consistency" more broadly.
"That's a decision of his bishop," Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana said at a press conference. "That is not the task of our committee to look at individuals."
The European Union has recommended that each of its members lift the ban on allowing nonessential travelers from the United States.
Representatives from the EU recommended on Friday to add the U.S. to the list of countries for which they should gradually open up travel during a meeting in Brussels of permanent members.
The recommendation is nonbinding, and each country’s government has the authority to make additional requirements, such as a negative COVID-19 test or getting vaccination records.
Some countries have already sought to lessen restrictions and requirements as they hope to capitalize on the boom of summer tourism that has been lacking.
Greece reopened its borders to travelers, including those from the U.S., in early May. Before they did, Croatia and Cyprus also already opened to vaccinated tourists and to those who tested negative.
Earlier this week, Portugal reopened its borders to nonessential travelers from the U.S. as long as they provide proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test.
EU countries have also sought to implement a coronaviruscertificate system intended to help people who live there. The document, referred to as a digital green certificate, shows whether a person is fully vaccinated, has recovered from the virus, or has tested negative in the previous 72 hours.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday said he believes all Republicans will oppose Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) “compromise” on the Democratic party’s election-related bill that has been dubbed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other top Democrats as the “For the People Act.”
McConnell in a statement pushed back against Manchin’s slimmed-down elections compromise, saying that it still retains the partisan bill’s “rotten core.”
The West Virginia senator’s version of S.1, the “For The People Act,” is still “an assault on the fundamental idea that states, not the federal government, should decide how to run their own elections,” McConnell said.
Manchin put forward his own version of the bill after initially saying that he wouldn’t support the Democrat-backed proposal, which was passed by the House along party lines in March.
Republicans and conservative organizations such as the Heritage Foundation oppose the bill, which allows for public subsidies to grassroots campaign, small-dollar donations. Democrats, meanwhile, say the bill will limit gerrymandering, change campaign finance rules, and create new ethics rules for some federal officials.
McConnell described the measure as a “one-sided power grab” by Democrats now that they’re in government when it was first introduced in 2019.
Manchin said the bill as it was introduced was too broad and had no change of receiving bipartisan support.
On Wednesday, he released a list of the voting reforms he does support, including a nationwide voter ID law, and allowing states in participate in “maintenance of voter rolls,” which would allow a purging of names from a state’s registered voters list using state and federal documents.
His pitch would also mandate at least 15 days of early voting for federal elections and ban partisan gerrymandering. Manchin included some proposals from the original bill, such as tighter ethics and campaign rules largely rejected by Republican lawmakers.
“Congressional action on federal voting rights legislation must be the result of both Democrats and Republicans coming together to find a pathway forward, or we risk further dividing and destroying the Republic we swore to protect and defend as elected officials,” Manchin wrote in a memo detailing the provisions.
“Senate Democrats seem to have reached a so-called ‘compromise’ election takeover among themselves,” McConnell said in his statement, responding to Manchin’s version. “In reality, the plan endorsed by Stacey Abrams is no compromise.”
“It still subverts the First Amendment to supercharge cancel culture and the left’s name-and-shame campaign model,” he added. “It takes redistricting away from state legislatures and hands it over to computers.”
Manchin said in a statement to reporters: “McConnell has the right to do whatever he thinks he can do. I would hope there’s enough good Republicans that understand the bedrock of our society is having accessible, open, fair and secure elections.”
“I’ve been working across the aisle with all the Republicans trying to get people to understand that that’s the bedrock of our democracy, and accessible, fair and basically secured voting,” Manchin said.
Meanwhile, Manchin has vowed to oppose legislation that would abolish the filibuster, which allows the minority party in the Senate to block legislation. To overcome any GOP filibuster, Democrats need to get 60 votes.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), however, has said that he is still pushing to bring the bill to the Senate floor at the end of the month, despite poor chances of the legislation passing.
Big Tech companies are outsourcing censorship through dishonest “fact check” firms, according to co-founder of the Federalist, Sean Davis.
In an interview with EpochTV’s “Crossroads” program, Davis said Big Tech is using an “Orwellian system” when it comes to censorship and often turn to third-party fact-checkers who appear to have “materialized from thin air.”
Davis noted that many of the so-called third-party fact-checkers are based overseas and are run by “college kids” who have the power to “shut down information” under the pretense of trying to stop the spread of false information.
As a consequence, the so-called fact-checking campaigns and censoring serve as nothing more than an “attempt to suppress narratives that are inconvenient to Big Tech.”
“So it’s actually a really kind of an Orwellian system and it’s based on the conceit that these big tech social media publishers are not publishers, because under the law, they have to pretend to be neutral third-party platforms, the way the courts have interpreted it, that gives them all kinds of ‘get out of jail free’ cards,” Davis said.
“And so what they do is, instead of censoring on their own, and taking it upon themselves, they’ll hire outside third-party fact-checkers, and they’ll say: ‘hey, you’re independent.’ And we’re just going to have you fact-check these articles that are going viral.
“And if you decide that they’re false, under the terms and guidelines we give you, then what we’re going to do is we’re going make sure people don’t see those articles anymore. So it’s a way of outsourcing censorship, and pretending that Big Tech is not doing the censorship themselves, when functionally, they’re the ones running the entire censorship campaign.”
Davis also said there are a number of news organizations that do fact-checking, which can have disastrous effects by allowing them to effectively de-platform and censor their competitors.
“So you can have a news organization that doesn’t like one of its competitors can go and write a fact check claiming its competitors’ articles are false, even if they’re not. And the result will be that that competitors’ articles are either removed from the site not allowed to be posted, or when people post them they don’t actually show up in news feeds.
“Another type of organization that they use are these companies with no vintage whatsoever. They seem to have materialized from thin air. They don’t have any journalists there or any real reporters. In some instances we found they are based overseas, they have college kids running them.
“And you’re putting in these people’s hands the power to shut down dissent, to shut down information, all under the guise of trying to stop disinformation.”
Davis pointed to the Hunter Biden laptop scandal in the lead up to the 2020 election, in which explosive messages and emails were discovered on the computer regarding his various business dealings that have taken place in countries such as Ukraine and China.
A cybersecurity expert authenticated one email that indicated Vadym Pozharskyi, a top executive from the Ukrainian gas firm Burisma, met with Joe Biden while in Washington in 2015. Joe Biden was vice president at the time and Hunter Biden served on the board of Burisma.
Davis said, “And so this person who owns the shop had this laptop for who knows how long and had the receipt which had Hunter Biden’s signature saying, ‘these are all the terms that I agree to,’ and the media ended up getting a hold of that, specifically the New York Post, and what did Big Tech do?
“They came in at the urging of a lot of left-wing politicians and said: ‘No, that’s disinformation, we’re not gonna let you post that.’ So you had legitimate journalism, where you could see all of the receipts, it was clear the exact chain of custody for this information, you had that being shut down about the president’s son and about his ties to foreign governments in the middle of an election.”
Davis added that the situation is “really scary” and that we are seeing the government outsourcing its censorship, which he called an “abridgement of free speech to these big monopolistic tech oligarchs.”
“It’s a really, really scary time because when you see the melding of government and corporate power used to shut down citizens, nothing good happens once that once you get started down that road,” Davis said.
The former economic policy adviser to Gov. Rick Perry added that Section 230 protections that shield internet platforms from liability serve as a “get out of jail free card” for big tech companies and work in contradiction to the First Amendment allowing for freedom of speech and freedom of press.
David continued, “And that’s the whole point of this totalitarian agenda is you want to eliminate anything, reality or not, that is an obstacle to you getting complete control over people, and that’s what’s happening with Big Tech and their censorship. The way they control search results, the way they fact check deep platform people, they’re trying to make it impossible to support or say anything that’s contrary to whatever the ruling classes particular agenda and narrative is at that time.”
The final report for the 2020 election audit taking place in Arizona’s largest county is not expected to be out until August, an official involved with the work says.
Led by Cyber Ninjas, which was hired by the Arizona Senate, auditors are working on evaluating ballots after finishing their ballot recount, save less than 100 braille ballots.
The ballot evaluation is supposed to wrap up by the end of June—the Senate is slated to vacate the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where the audit is taking place, by July 1—but there will be a few weeks worth of additional work after that, Ken Bennett, a former Arizona Republican secretary of state, told The Epoch Times.
“We’ve got the remainder of June to do what we’re doing here at the coliseum. Then there’s a few weeks probably of work on checking the envelope signatures, and looking at voter registration anomalies, and this work that we want to do on the retabulation, so maybe that takes up some or most of July, and then the auditors are going to need a few to several weeks to put the report together,” said Bennett, the Arizona Senate’s liaison for the audit.
Cyber Ninjas, which has not returned requests for comment, said in documents sent to the Senate that it estimated the audit would take approximately 35 days, followed by a five-day period to produce the final report.
Auditors were set to start their 34th day of work on Friday. The audit started on April 23 but the teams had to leave the coliseum for approximately 9 days in May as high school graduations took place. Auditors resumed work on May 24.
No details about the final report are included in the documents from Cyber Ninjas. Bennett said the report would be “massive.”
“It’s going to very in-depth,” he added.
Maricopa County ballots cast in the 2020 general election are examined and recounted by contractors working for Florida-based company, Cyber Ninjas, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Ariz., on May 6, 2021. (Matt York/AP Photo/Pool)
It’s not clear how much extra funding will be needed due to the audit running over the original projected period of time. Private money is helping fund the audit.
Arizona lawmakers are waiting for the results of the audit to inform future election-related bills.
“It’ll be our duty to act in whatever way is appropriate,” state Sen. Wendy Rogers, a Republican, told The Epoch Times this week.
People involved in the audit are not sure yet where the work in July will take place, according to Bennett. A large building like the coliseum is not needed for the type of work being planned.
Randy Pullen, a former Arizona Republican Party chairman who is acting as a spokesman for the audit, told reporters at the coliseum that data from the election machines will be analyzed in Washington at the offices of CyFIR, a subcontractor working on the audit. Some data will be reviewed at the Cyber Ninjas’ offices in Florida.
One potential expansion of the audit is still being considered.
The Arizona Senate is still mulling whether to hire a California nonprofit called Citizens’ Oversight to run a computer retabulation of ballot images. That count would then be compared with the numbers the audit teams come up with and the original tabulation.
WASHINGTON—Russian oil imports have set a new record in the United States despite the strained relationship between Washington and Moscow. Industry experts believe the Biden administration’s climate policies will make the country more dependent on foreign oil producers.
The United States imported record levels of crude oil from Russia in March and is expected to continue importing at high levels in coming months, according to the Western Energy Alliance, a trade association that represents 200 independent natural gas and oil producers in the United States.
Imports of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia reached 22.9 million barrels in March, the highest level since August of 2010, according to International Energy Agency (IEA). Of the total amount, crude oil imports from Russia stood at 6.1 million barrels. Russia has become the third-largest oil exporter to the United States.
High levels of oil shipment from Russia have continued since March, according to ClipperData, a commodity intelligence company that monitors cargo shipments worldwide.
“Last month we saw a record 5.75 million barrels of Russian crude discharged in the US, and we’re projecting a further record this month of 7.5mn bbls,” ClipperData analysts wrote on Twitter on June 7.
Critics argue that Biden’s climate agenda is hard on the U.S. oil industry but soft on foreign producers.
“It’s disturbing to our industry that the Biden administration goes out of its way to disadvantage the American producer while buttressing the Iranian and Russian industries,” Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, told The Epoch Times.
The recent spike in Russian oil imports has followed the “misguided climate policies” of the administration, including ending the Keystone XL pipeline and pausing new oil and natural gas permitting on public lands and waters, according to Sgamma.
President Joe Biden has “tipped us into oil dependence on Russia just a year after complete independence,” Sgamma said, calling it “a geopolitical gift” to the Kremlin.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude surpassed the $70 mark last week, reaching the highest level in over two years. Top commodity traders now believe oil prices could see $100 per barrel due to supply constraints. Oil hasn’t traded above $100 per barrel since 2014.
“There’s been kind of a dearth of investment in fossil fuels, which is going to leave us undersupplied as we go forward,” Phil Flynn, senior energy analyst at the Price Future Group, told The Epoch Times in a recent interview.
He noted that the Biden administration’s climate policies, which will reduce the supply of oil and gas, have been a major factor in driving the prices.
“U.S. oil production has fallen by 1.715 million barrels [per day] from a year ago, so a large part of that void is being filled by Russia,” Flynn wrote in a recent op-ed on Fox Business.
“During Trump’s term, America was competing with Russia and Saudi Arabia to be the world’s dominant oil and gas producer, yet under Biden, we are retreating from that race in the name of climate change,” he wrote.
An increase in oil and gas prices will help boost Russia’s energy and political dominance, he argued, criticizing Biden’s recent move that will allow Russia to supply natural gas to Germany.
The Biden administration last month waived Trump-era sanctions against the company building the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline that links Russia and Germany.
The pipeline is expected to increase the dependence of the region on Russia for natural gas. Construction on the 764-mile pipeline that began in 2018 was a source of friction between Washington and its European allies.
President Biden, who signed into creation this week the federal holiday of Juneteenth National Independence Day this week, had just last year not known that the holiday had nothing to do with the Tulsa Massacre.
In a video from a press conference a year ago, Joe Biden told reporters "he's going down to Texas on Juneteenth, right? On the first major massacre, literally speaking, of Black Wall Street years ago."
FLASHBACK: Joe Biden didn't even know what Juneteenth was last year, nor that the Tulsa Massacre took place in Oklahoma. pic.twitter.com/rzhXBwYaT6
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 18, 2021
Juneteenth is the "oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States," according to the celebration's website. It commemorates the day that Union Soldiers, in 1865, "landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free." This occurred two and a half years after the emancipation proclamation.
The Tulsa Massacre, on the other hand, occurred in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 1, 1921. The Massacre, which stemmed from rumors spreading from an incident between a black teenager and white female elevator operator, killed as many as 300 people, the vast majority of whom were black. According to the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum, the violence destroyed 35 city blocks, and more than 800 people were treated for injuries.
Despite the conflation on Biden's behalf of the two events, they are not the same thing, happening states and years apart.
Juneteenth is marked with celebrations and remembrance of African-American pride, while the Tulsa Race Massacre is marked with reverence and sadness. When signing the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, Biden said the holiday would be a time to reflect on the "original sin" of slavery.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on President Biden's nomination of Kiran Ahuja to be the director of the Office of Personnel Management, a procedural step that will likely set up a confirmation vote next week for the nominee Republicans accuse of espousing critical race theory.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has led efforts to try to stop Ahuja's nomination to what had essentially been the federal government's human resources department. He led a group of Republican senators who put a hold on her nomination earlier this month, delaying action on her nomination.
"Senator Hawley has a hold on Kiran Ahuja’s nomination because of her history promoting radical critical race theorists," Hawley's office said at the time. "These associations merit real scrutiny, especially in light of Ms. Ahuja’s nomination to a role that would allow her to reinstate race-based training sessions throughout the entire federal government."
Then this week, the Federal Law Enforement Officers Association came out against Ahuja over her critical race theory history, followed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Kiran Arjandas Ahuja appears before a Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs nominations hearing, to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Featuring: Kiran Arjandas Ahuja Where: Washington, District Of Columbia, United States When: 22 Apr 2021 Credit: POOL via CNP/INSTARimages/Cover Images
(Reuters)
Association President Larry Cosme said that given the authority Ahuja will have over more than 100,000 members of federal law enforcement, she "should have a past record that shows fairness, equity and sensitivity to everyone."
But, Cosme said, Ahuja's embrace of "'critical race theory' draws a large question as to this nominee’s ability to neutrality, fairness, and impartiality." Cosme called critical race theory "an extremist theory" that "does nothing to draw Americans together."
McConnell said he agrees with Cosme on Ahuja's past espousing critical race theory and will vote against her.
"This is the position responsible for making hiring, payroll, and training decisions that affect millions of federal employees," the minority leader said this week. "The President’s nominee has made statements expressing sympathy for the discredited, ahistorical claims about our nation’s origins that form the backbone of so-called ‘critical race theory.'"
The White House, however, defended Ahuja, who worked in the Office of Personnel Management during the Obama administration and worked on the Biden transition organization's review team for the agency.
"Kiran Ahuja is a qualified, experienced, and dedicated public servant who we are looking forward to leading the Office of Personnel Management in its work protecting the safety of the workforce, empowering federal employees, and building a federal workforce that looks like America," a White House spokesperson told Fox News.
Schumer, D-N.Y., finally filed cloture on Ahuja's nomination Thursday after delaying the effort because some Democratic senators were unable to be at the Capitol.
Among Ahuja's associations that concern Republicans is the fact her nonprofit Philanthropy Northwest once hosted Ibram X. Kendi, an anti-racism activist and advocate for critical race theory, at a 2018 forum.
She also authored a blog post for the group in June 2020 titled "Building an Anti-Racist Future."
"America was built by design. We are dealing with the cost," Ahuja wrote. "We must do everything in our collective power to right historic and present-day injustices so that we build an anti-racist future in service of the Black and Indigenous visions for a world where we can all truly be free."
Ahuja added that "it is my belief that as an individual you can’t be a true ally to Black communities until you take it upon yourself to understand our racialized history in its most intimate and heinous forms — and learn, as I did, that all forms of discrimination flow from the subjugation of Black and Indigenous people."
In her testimony before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Ahuja said that her focus will be "be to protect our merit system principles, a bedrock of our civil service."
"It would be my mission to serve and support federal employees and to restore, rebuild, and retool the federal workforce. OPM will need to innovate to meet the modern needs of agencies with respect to recruitment, hiring, retention, engagement, and performance management," Ahuja added.
Fox News' Chad Pergram, Thomas Barrabi and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
Thanks to the radical communist agenda from the left, a lot of people are getting “red-pilled” and waking up to how much the party of “love and tolerance” is actually the party of hate and intolerance.
And as a result, they’re leaving the Dems in droves.
That’s exactly what happened to a Montanna Sheriff, who decided to leave the Dem Party after he realized that the Democrats actually support “terrorists.”
Western Journal reported that Sheriff Jesse Slaughter of Cascade County, Montana, announced Tuesday he is switching his party affiliation from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party for his 2022 re-election bid, saying the GOP has had his back while his own party has not.
Given all the anti-police rhetoric and riots and the whole “defund the police” movement over the past year, it would not be surprising to see many more in law enforcement follow the sheriff’s example.
“From the very beginning, I’ve made it no secret that I’m a Constitutionalist, that I believe in the Constitution and that I believe it’s concrete and not up to a progressive interpretation. Unfortunately, throughout my term so far I have repeatedly come under fire for my pro-Constitution beliefs,” Slaughter said in a video posted on his Facebook page.
“Twice in public meetings, Democrat elected officials have tried to censor my words and opinions because they did not agree with me,” he continued. “I’ve been chastised publicly and privately for standing up for people’s individual rights and your Second Amendment rights. In one instance I was completely ignored by the state’s Democrat leader when I sought help for our jail overcrowding issues.”
Slaughter went on to express his disagreement with Democrats who back what he described as terrorist organizations.
This is why sometimes it’s good to just let the Dems talk and spread their anti-American rhetoric.
It’s not fun to hear it, but this hateful/communist agenda that they’re pushing doesn’t resonate with “normal people,” just radical lunatics who want to completely overthrow our entire way of life.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
No. Nobody wants them to stay, but they’ll never leave because the place that they profess to hate so much and want to “fundamentally change” has given them the privileged, elitist life that they all enjoy today.
Just look at Trump-hating lunatic actor John Cusack…this man has devolved into an unrecognizable madman, thanks to his homicidal hatred for Trump.
He recently took to Twitter to trash America, saying that we were never “great,” and declaring that America is actually “awful” and filled with cowards.
Here’s what he said:
“We aren’t great – we aren’t even mediocre – we’re f*cking awful – full of cowards and corporate whores – Boeing gets to take out tax dollars – parade our soldiers – wrap themselves in the flag – while financially backing fascists ? We have no leaders – no soul – Just greed -”
We aren’t great – we aren’t even mediocre – we’re fucking awful – full of cowards and corporate whores – Boeing gets to take out tax dollars – parade our soldiers – wrap themselves in the flag – while financially backing fascists ? We have no leaders – no soul – Just greed – https://t.co/AxYRvPTNtP
I will agree with him that we have no “leaders.” The jackass in the White House didn’t get there “legally,” that’s for sure…and I do believe that corporations are now political pawns, but the irony here is that the corporations that John is bellyaching about, are all toeing the liberal line…and he’s too stupid and out-of-touch to know it.
Breitbart points out that Cusack, who has amassed an estimated $50 million net worth in his near forty-year Hollywood career.
A man with $50 million dollars is trashing the country that gave him a life that only most of us can dream of.
If that’s not the picture of decadent liberal elitism, I don’t know what is.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
Democrat Law Professor Jonathan Turley agrees with the recent consensus, SCOTUS is making a lot of “right turns” lately, and by that he means, they’re actually adhering to the law and not allowing ideological opinions and beliefs to get in the way.
Thursday’s unanimous Supreme Court decision for traditional American families is being hailed by sharp legal minds everywhere. That definitely includes George Washington University Law School Professor Jonathan Turley.
The Court does not engage in such public campaigns. It speaks through its opinions and the message could not clearer. For a hopelessly divided ideological Court, it seems to be saying a lot in one voice not just about the law but about its own institution.https://t.co/4yemAtZCtS
FNC: “Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley reacted Thursday on ‘America Reports’ to the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision that a Catholic foster agency shouldn’t be banned from participating in Philadelphia’s foster program because it excludes same-sex couples, calling it a ‘major decision for religious rights.’ ”
Turley: “This is a major decision for religious rights, and it’s also the decision that some of us thought was the most important of those pending cases we’ve been waiting for. What is surprising is it’s 9-0. There are concurrences, but the Court is speaking with one voice saying the city of Philadelphia violated the free exercise clause of the Constitution. They’re saying that you need to accommodate the religious values of these organizations, particularly when you obviously can do so. You have exceptions for other groups. It’s a very powerful statement, not just in its ruling but in its unanimity…They saw the ability of the city to make available adoption services without denying religious beliefs and values to these organizations. These Catholic charities play a very significant role in adoption and other services, but there’s a variety of these groups, so the Court is saying we have to find a way to accommodate that. The reason this is so important is that these types of conflicts between anti-discrimination laws and the religious clauses of the Constitution are becoming more common. We just had a resumption of what’s called the Masterpiece cakeshop case. It went before the Supreme Court involving a baker who didn’t want to do cakes that violate his religious beliefs. Activists have been trying to create another case to challenge him and they’ve done so, but they may regret that because he could end up expanding what was a narrow ruling in his favor into something much broader after this decision.”
He also recently discussed the question of the high court’s ideological composition. “As I recently discussed in an op-ed for Fox News Opinion regarding the release of a series of unanimous decisions, the Court could be speaking as an institution to remind the public that they are not nearly as partisan as their critics…The lineup must have been another disappointment for Democratic members and advocates who are demanding raw court-packing…That (unanimous decisions) is not supposed to be the way the Court operates, according to Democratic members and advocates. It is supposed to be hopelessly and blindly divided along ideological lines. President Joe Biden called the Court ‘out of whack’ due to its conservative majority…Justices are meant to speak through their opinions and this decision speaks profoundly and clearly…It again seems to speak, by accident or by design, that the Court remains unpacked and unbowed in carrying out its constitutional duties.”
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
If they thought they could turn their backs on their biggest voting base, and we’d just forget about it and life would go back to normal, they were sadly mistaken.
The majority of the Republican Party believe the 2020 election was a sham. Actually, a new Rasmussen poll shows that a majority of all Americans believe that cheating occurred during the 2020 election. And many Republicans believe that the GOP was in on it.
And much of their ire is targeted at Mike Pence, who had an opportunity to do the right thing and save the United States but refused to do so.
Now, he thinks that he can just saunter back in, and because he has an “R” before his name, all is forgiven and we’ll treat him like a “good guy.”
More from Wayne Dupree
Well, Mr. Pence found out the hard way that a happy ending like that isn’t in the cards for him.
He’s the guy responsible for filling President Trump’s White House with a bunch of #NeverTrumpers – the people who leaked, spied, and worked on the inside to sabotage President Trump.
Seems to many, that Mike Pence was a mole for the swamp the entire time…and those people are probably right.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
If the GOP takes back the House in 2022, as many believe they will, there’s a move that Republicans can make that would shake Pelosi, Biden, and all of DC to its core.
Bizpaceview reported that Matt Schlapp claimed that there’s “buzz out there” around the idea of former President Donald Trump being “crowned” speaker of the House if Republicans retake the legislative body in 2022 — and he wasn’t joking.
More from Wayne Dupree
Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, offered the surprising claim while speaking with Newsmax host John Bachman.
Starting off the discussion, Bachman said he believes “the road to 2022” starts in Ohio, where the former president intends to hold his first post-presidential rally on June 26th.
“I think the road to 2022 really starts in Columbus, Ohio, because we’re going to see one of the kind of the classic Trump rallies. I imagine there’s going to be a massive crowd there. Trump’s also going to go to Tampa, Florida, and the border,” he said.
He then asked Schlapp, whose wife, Mercedes Schlapp, was a senior Trump administration official, how excited he feels about the return of these rallies.
“His travel is coinciding with these different congressional races. There’s a lot of buzz out there that Donald Trump would even be potentially someone they crown as the speaker of the House if the Republicans get the majority back,” Schlapp said.
He cautioned however that this isn’t a confirmed fact, though he did argue that it inspires “an interesting conversation about Trump inserting himself in the fight for the Republicans to get back the majority.”
This would be the most epic political move in all of history.
That’s why we need to get rid of as many RINOs as possible in 2022.
As I’ve said a million times, those RINOs are the biggest enemies standing in our way of winnng.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
It’s not healthy for a number of reasons, one of them being that you turn your face into a giant humid “swamp,” and it’ll come as no surprise that gum and mouth disease has increased, according to dentists.
But that’s what we’ve all be told (and sometimes ordered) to do by elites like Fauci…it’s one thing when adults do this stuff to their bodies, but it’s quite another to force this monstrosity on children, who aren’t even high-risk for COVID – a virus with a 99.8 percent survival rate, to boot.
And speaking of these poor innocent kids, a group of parents in Florida decided to get their kids’ masks tested at a lab for contamination, and what they found will sicken and shock you.
Rational Ground reported that a group of parents in Gainesville, FL, sent 6 face masks to a lab at the University of Florida, requesting an analysis of contaminants found on the masks after they had been worn. The resulting report found that five masks were contaminated with bacteria, parasites, and fungi, including three with dangerous pathogenic and pneumonia-causing bacteria. Although the test is capable of detecting viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, only one virus was found on one mask (alcelaphine herpesvirus 1).
Half of the masks were contaminated with one or more strains of pneumonia-causing bacteria. One-third were contaminated with one or more strains of meningitis-causing bacteria. One-third were contaminated with dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens. In addition, less dangerous pathogens were identified, including pathogens that can cause fever, ulcers, acne, yeast infections, strep throat, periodontal disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and more.
It’s amazing how nobody found COVID-19 on these masks, right?
The media and Dems make it sound like it’s floating around everywhere, yet the ONE virus they’re wearing the mask to prevent was practically the only thing NOT found on the mask.
Now, I get that these other germs and pathogens are in the air no matter what, but we shouldn’t be breathing them in for hours at a time as they sit clinging to a useless, scuzzy cloth mask.
And we shouldn’t be doing this to our children, for crying out loud.
I’ll tell you what, forcing kids to wear these “face diapers” is child abuse, if you ask me.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
The city of “Philadelphia wrongly limited its relationship with the group as a result of the agency’s policy,” as argued by the court.
According to the ruling, it was specific to the facts of the case. The ruling did not, however, address the bigger questions “about how to balance religious freedom and anti-discrimination laws,” according to Yahoo News.
“Instead, the outcome turned on the language in the city’s foster care contract. Three conservative justices would have gone much further, and LGBTQ groups said they were relieved that the decision was limited,” according to the Yahoo News column.
FROM THE REPORT:
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for a majority of the court that Catholic Social Services “seeks only an accommodation that will allow it to continue serving the children of Philadelphia in a manner consistent with its religious beliefs; it does not seek to impose those beliefs on anyone else.”
Roberts concluded that Philadelphia’s refusal to “contract with CSS for the provision of foster care services unless it agrees to certify same-sex couples as foster parents … violates the First Amendment.”
Former White House doctor Ronny Jackson sent a letter Thursday requesting that President Biden undergo a cognitive test “so the American people know the full mental and intellectual health of their President.” Thirteen Republican congressional members signed onto the letter with Jackson, asking Biden to make the results available to the American people.
“The American people should have absolute confidence in their President,” Jackson’s letter reads. “They deserve to know that he or she can perform the duties of Head of State and Commander in Chief. They deserve full transparency on the mental capabilities of their highest elected leader.”
Given the precedent set and President Biden’s CLEAR mental struggles, I believe it’s past time he take a cognitive test.
On Thursday night Jackson told Fox News host Sean Hannity that “after this most recent embarrassing performance overseas, I thought it was time to come out (with the letter).”
“We can’t sit on this any longer,” Jackson told Hannity.
The letter was copied to chief White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci and current White House Physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor.
Jackson said Biden’s “mental decline and forgetfulness have become more apparent over the past eighteen months.”
After President Biden spent roughly four hours in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden gaffed and mixed up his name in a press conference Wednesday. Instead of saying he watched Putin’s press conference he said he “caught the end of Trump’s.”
This is the latest of Biden’s many gaffes during the president’s first international trip to Europe this week. Another moment that gained traction on Twitter was during another press conference, where Biden took a long, awkward pause in the middle of speaking.
Fox News’ The Five discussed President Biden’s recent meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. Fox News host Jesse Watters said the meeting was proof that Biden would rather “be loved more than respected” because Putin got off with “no consequences.”
“The way I saw it, the Russians hack and Biden invite Putin to a summit and gives him a list of things he’s not allowed to hack? You gotta be kidding me!” said Watters. “No consequences, no deal, nothing concrete.” Watters was referring to the recent cyber attack that shut down international meat suppliers only weeks ago.
Instead, Biden would go on to tell reporters: “Putin’s innocent, just some criminals in Russia did it, we will see if he can stop it, calls it a constructive summit.” Meanwhile, Facebook named Russia it’s number one global threat when it comes to influence operations on the platform. The social media giant even named Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Internet Research Agency as a top bad actor. Prigozhin has a reportedly close relationship with Putin.
When a reporter asked the president, what makes him think Putin is going to stop Russia hacks, he responded: “Because Vladimir cares about world opinion and he wouldn’t want to hurt his popularity and the rest of the world.” To Watters, that sounded all too familiar.
“I’m thinking to myself that’s actually Biden, Biden cares about what the Russians think about us, the Chinese think about it and the Europeans think so he is not America first because he doesn’t want to be the bad guy even if being the bad guy is good for America,” Watters said. “He wants to be loved more than respected and that’s the key to the Biden doctrine.”
CNN host Jeff Zeleny commented on President Biden’s address to the press following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Biden was criticized for getting testy after some reporters’ questions, but Zeleny said he was glad to see him answer tough questions like these for once.
“What we’ve not seen [Biden] do is answer questions like that without his aides screaming at him to stop,” Zeleny said. “I’ve never seen a president, covering the last four of them, who is so protected by his aides in terms of often not wanting him to answer some questions.”
Zeleny has worked for CNN since 2015, but covered elections with various news organizations for over 20 years.
You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows appeared on Hannity Wednesday to break down President Biden’s recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meadows accused Biden of “throw[ing] down the white surrender flag when traveling abroad.”
Host Sean Hannity asked Meadows to share his opinion about what Putin thought of the meeting.
“He is thinking it is a new day for him,” Meadows said, “an open door, basically, for him to do what he wants to do.”
Meanwhile, “He didn’t get that kind of response from President Trump, I can tell you,” Meadow said. “It was always firm, it was always America first. And candidly, that is not the message that Putin got tonight, and it is a sad day for the American people when we throw down the white surrender flag when traveling abroad.”
You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism.
House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) appeared on Fox News’ America Reports Wednesday to discuss President Biden’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, Switzerland. Scalise says he hopes Biden stands up to the Russian President, but Biden’s track record so far doesn’t hold up to the President before him.
“Unfortunately, we’ve seen a lot of weakness from President Biden as it relates to Russia,” Scalise said. I mean, you look, [on] day one, President Biden kills the Keystone pipeline, kills thousands of American jobs, undermines our relationship with Canada, and then he [turned] around just a few weeks ago and [gave] financial incentives to Russia so that Russia can build a pipeline to Germany. So, he helps Russia create Russian jobs and Russian energy dominance with Germany, and he undermines America’s energy dominance that we had under President Trump.”
Biden was defensive of his meeting with Putin during a following press conference. A reporter asked him if he thought the meeting was constructive, considering Putin still denies human rights abuses and cyber attacks. The 46th President simply responded: “If you don’t understand that, you’re in the wrong business.”
“If you don’t understand that,” Biden tells a reporter pushing him to explain how it was a constructive meeting with Putin if he still denies human rights abuses and cyber attacks, “you’re in the wrong business.” pic.twitter.com/M4QmK7hKYd
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) June 16, 2021
But, Scalise had the same question: “Is [Biden] going to stand up to President Putin on the hacking that’s been done from Russians?”
“The disinformation — remember President Biden was Vice President when Russia tried to interfere with our 2016 election — I didn’t see President Biden stand up to him then,” Scalise said.
Former President Donald Trump suggested that the next step for the Republican party should be to remove Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) from the Senate after failing to keep the party unified and losing two Senate seats in Georgia, he said in an interview with me on the The Sara Carter Show podcast.
He said the best way to get the Republican Party back on track and possibly unified is to remove the old establishment leadership, like McConnell, who Trump said, is responsible for the loss of two Senate seats in Georgia and failing to unify the party.
“You start it off by getting somebody to replace Mitch McConnell in the Senate,” said Trump, referring to how the GOP could reinvigorate the party. “You get somebody with a voice that that is a modern day voice that understands what the party is all about, because Mitch doesn’t know right now.”
Following Jan. 6th, McConnell pinned the Capitol riots on Trump. “The mob was fed lies,” he said on the senate floor days following. “They were provoked by the president and other powerful people.” After McConnell’s floor speech, Trump reportedly called the then majority leader a “dumb son of a b—” and a “stone cold loser.”
President Trump, however, did not call or incite violence.
He said told me that there are “some leadership in the Republican Party that doesn’t do a good job.” He said it’s partially McConnell’s failure.
“McConnell should have never lost those two seats in Georgia,” he said. “He lost them pure and simple. And there’s sort of never allowed that to happen ever. But they were angry from the presidential you know, fairness to the Republican voters.”
He said during the 2020 election the Republican voters in Georgia were angry at Governor Brian Kemp “because he hasn’t done the job…on the election stuff, what he’s done has been so bad, but they’re angry at Georgia, they were so in all fairness.”
“When you when you go and you take a look at what’s happened in many, many states, it could have been stopped so easily,” said Trump. “And the Republicans just need a philosophy” to back MAGA but he said instead, “they get away from America first.”
“They get away from who we really are and who the Republicans want to be,” he said. “They’ve gotten away from it. And you take a look at some of the as an example.”
Trump told me that he will work to back Republican candidates that he believes will put the nation and the American people first. He added that those he has backed have won, 100 percent of the time.
On Wednesday, the Save America PAC announced that Trump will hold a major rally in Wellington, Ohio on Saturday, June 26, 2021 at 7:00PM EDT. This will mark “Trump’s first of many appearances in support of candidates and causes that further the MAGA agenda and accomplishments of President Trump’s administration. The rally is to support Max Miller, who President Trump has endorsed for election in Ohio’s 16th Congressional District.”
Jenny Goldsberry contributed to this report. You can follow her on her Twitter @jennyjournalism.
North Korean defector Yeonmi Park spoke to Fox News Tuesday about her experience studying at Columbia University. Turns out ivy league schools have a lot in common with North Korea’s brand of communism. Park transferred to Columbia from a South Korean university in 2016.
“I expected that I was paying this fortune, all this time and energy, to learn how to think. But they are forcing you to think the way they want you to think,” Park said. “I realized, wow, this is insane. I thought America was different but I saw so many similarities to what I saw in North Korea that I started worrying.”
Fellow students and staff at the university scolded her for things like not using the correct pronouns and liking Jane Austen books despite their “colonial mindsets.”
“Even North Korea is not this nuts,” Park said. “North Korea was pretty crazy, but not this crazy.”
Former President Donald Trump joined The Sara Carter Show podcast Tuesday, warning that the current policies under the Biden Administration are putting “America last” and will prove “disastrous” for the nation. He spoke in detail about how President Biden reversed the most effective Trump administration policies saying, almost everything is totally opposite from when he was on office.
“We had the greatest economy,” Trump told Carter. “All the opposite of what’s going on right now. We’re gonna have tremendous inflation, the economy is going to be in big trouble, all of the things that we see now, it’s almost the opposite.”
Since Carter recently returned from Guatemala, she asked the former president what he thought about the ongoing border crisis. He called the border “an open sieve.” Meanwhile, while he was president, it was under control. According to him, the border wall he built his campaign on only needed a couple more months of work on it. But, the Biden administration stopped all work on it.
“And so we have little sections of wall we have openings,” Trump said. “And now, you look at what’s going on with the floods of 1000’s and 1000’s of people right now, as we talk, they’re heading up to our country, we have no idea who those people are.”
Biden attended the G-7 Summit this week, making international promises while gaffing all the while. Carter asked Trump for his opinion on Biden’s global diplomacy recently. Trump says G-7 leaders are not to be trusted.
“They’re stealing our country,” Trump said. Meanwhile, “he’s going into deals that are disaster, costing us trillions of dollars. And we have to rebuild our own bridges and our own roads. He wants to rebuild the world.”
The one thing the Democrats are doing right, according to Trump, is loyalty. He says the Republican party should take notes from their opponents. During the applauded the removal of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) from her position as GOP Conference Chair, but said more replacements are in order.
“You start it off by getting somebody to replace Mitch McConnell in the Senate,” Trump told Carter. “You get somebody with a voice that that is a modern day voice that understands what the party is all about, because Mitch doesn’t know right now.”
Meanwhile, the Democrats win policy battles “because they stick together better than the Republicans stick together,” Trump said. “Frankly, they don’t have Romney’s over there. They don’t have guys that that are like little Ben Sasse of Nebraska.”
But Trump remains hopeful, saying that there is a bright future in 2024. “As far as the election, as far as 2024 is concerned, I think everyone’s going to be very happy,” Trump said.
Palestinian Authority spokesman Ibrahim Melhem said the initial delivery of about 90,000 doses failed to conform "to the specifications contained in the agreement, and accordingly Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh instructed the minister of health to cancel the agreement".
Leftist national anthem kneeler and U.S. women’s national soccer team star Megan Rapinoe is being called out for anti-Asian racism after a decade-old comment was unearthed on her Twitter page.
In 2011, Rapinoe, who has since become the embodiment of “wokeness” in women’s sports, directed a comment at a Twitter user whose account no longer appears to be active. According to the Sports Room, it belonged to former professional soccer player Natasha Kai.
That comment read: “u look asian with those closed eyes!”
The old message resurfaced just after Rapinoe, 35, was designated as one of the new faces of Victoria’s Secret. The company is bidding farewell to its iconic “Angels” models and is replacing them with left-wing political and LGBT activists, Rapinoe among them, The New York Times first reported.
Victoria’s Secret is getting rid of its Angels and wings. The company has hired new representatives — including soccer star Megan Rapinoe and actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas — as it tries to conduct one of the most extreme brand turnarounds in recent memory. https://t.co/tdP4s3cCNM
Martin Waters, the CEO for the lingerie company, told The Times on Wednesday that the Angels were no longer “culturally relevant.” Waters also accused his own company of being “slow to respond” to a changing world.
— Victoria’s Secret (@VictoriasSecret) June 16, 2021
Apparently, Waters views Rapinoe, whose divisive politics routinely draw headlines, as being the sort of person his company wants to use to market women’s undergarments.
One Twitter user hit Victoria’s Secret for hiring Rapinoe, asking if the company supports anti-Asian bigotry.
Rapinoe, who is known for her disdain for traditions such as standing during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before sporting events, celebrated her new role with Victoria’s Secret on Thursday.
“I am excited and ready to partner with @VictoriasSecret as part of #TheVSCollective – women who I admire and are icons of our time. I’m looking forward to working with them to show ALL women their individual and collective beauty and power. #VSAmbassador,” she tweeted.
If you are a student of American history like me, you have heard President Reagan’s many references to America as a “shining city on a hill.”
As proud patriots, it is easy to relish in the Great Communicator’s bold picture of an America whose destiny is to shine the light of freedom far beyond our own borders. Yet many Americans do not realize that President Reagan did not develop the “city on a hill” concept on his own.
The great Puritan John Winthrop had a vision for the New World to be a city on a hill.
He famously cast this vision in a sermon delivered before he even stepped onto American soil. His inspiration came from the fifth chapter of Matthew’s gospel, which charges that “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.”
As governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Winthrop lived out his vision, and many other colonies followed suit. America grew into her independence and quickly became a beacon of freedom to the rest of the world, just like Matthew wrote, just like Winthrop envisioned and just like Reagan acknowledged.
Our nation’s role as a “city on a hill” has a rich heritage worth being proud of.
However, it is important to note that the challenge of being a city on a hill is not a vague allusion to some watered-down idea of good living. It is a clear and direct call to action.
As Winthrop preached, “We are entered into a covenant with [the Lord] for this work. We have taken out a commission. … If we shall neglect the observation of these articles which are the ends we have propounded … the Lord will surely break out in wrath against us … and make us know the price of the breach of such a covenant.”
Do you think American fathers need to step up?
Yes: 100% (20 Votes)
No: 0% (0 Votes)
Winthrop believed that the settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony would be held accountable for their calling to be a city on a hill.
That burden is still in effect, yet today’s America has a serious lack of accountability. A loving father or mother will hold their children accountable for failing to meet expectations.
Why should our loving Heavenly Father turn a blind eye as America falls short of our calling? The world is still watching us.
Yet accountability does not start on a global level. It starts with you.
The great abolitionist Frederick Douglass is often quoted as having said, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
This Father’s Day, it is my challenge to fathers everywhere to be man enough to accept accountability for the rearing of your children. Invest yourself in a treasure without price, and the dividends will be without end.
If America is to continue to be a shining city on a hill, your home must be a shining beacon in your community.
Accept accountability, set an example worth following, and trust in the power of God Almighty to be your strength in trouble.
God Bless America!
The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process here.
President Joe Biden’s approval rating has dropped as efforts to pass his multitrillion-dollar spending plans have stalled in Congress.
Biden holds a 48 percent approval rating and a 43 percent disapproval rating, according to the latest Monmouth University Poll.
This is down from his 54 percent approval and 41 percent disapproval rating in April.
When separated by political party, the president has an approval rating of 86 percent among Democrats, 36 percent among independents and 19 percent among Republicans.
“Biden’s rating is still in net positive territory, but it seems to have taken a dip with the growing uncertainty that his signature spending plans will be enacted,” Monmouth University Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray said in a statement.
The proposal would dedicate $110 billion to bridges and roads, $65 billion to expand access to broadband and $8.5 billion to public transit, according to the report.
Do you think Biden is doing a good job?
Yes: 0% (0 Votes)
No: 100% (3 Votes)
The package has 68 percent support from Monmouth’s poll respondents.
However, only 46 percent think the proposed plans should be passed without changes even if they do not receive bipartisan support.
“The plans are broadly popular, but the path to getting there is not so clear-cut,” Murray said.
“This is one of those situations where the administration has to weigh short-term blowback in public opinion against what they hope will be long-term gains.”
Critics of the spending plans worry they will lead to spiraling inflation, and nearly 47 percent of poll respondents are very concerned about the possibility.
“Concerns about possible inflation do not appear to undercut overall public support for these spending plans. That might be because many Americans expect the pros will outweigh the cons,” Murray said.
“Right now, Biden is not quite meeting the public’s expectations for helping the middle class,” he said. “His calculation may be that the country is willing to accept some price increases in return for a more robust economy and wider array of support programs.”
The Monmouth University Poll was conducted June 9-14 among 810 adults with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Biden’s Real Clear Politics polling average was 52.3 percent approval and 43.7 percent disapproval on Friday.
Contributor, News
Erin Coates was an editor for The Western Journal for over two years before becoming a news writer. A University of Oregon graduate, Erin has conducted research in data journalism and contributed to various publications as a writer and editor.
Erin Coates was an editor for The Western Journal for over two years before becoming a news writer. She grew up in San Diego, California, proceeding to attend the University of Oregon and graduate with honors holding a degree in journalism. During her time in Oregon, Erin was an associate editor for Ethos Magazine and a freelance writer for Eugene Magazine. She has conducted research in data journalism, which has been published in the book “Data Journalism: Past, Present and Future.” Erin is an avid runner with a heart for encouraging young girls and has served as a coach for the organization Girls on the Run. As a writer and editor, Erin strives to promote social dialogue and tell the story of those around her.
Birthplace
Tucson, Arizona
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated with Honors
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, University of Oregon
Books Written
Contributor for Data Journalism: Past, Present and Future
Family members of President Joe Biden’s aides are securing jobs within his administration despite the president’s own pledge to avoid nepotism, according to a new report from The Washington Post.
Just two weeks into his presidency, Biden appeared to criticize his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, for bringing along members of his family to work as White House advisers.
“We’re going to run this like the Obama-Biden administration. No one in our family and extended family is going to be involved in any government undertaking or foreign policy. And nobody has an office in this place,” Biden told People magazine.
The comment was an apparent jab at Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, who both worked in the Trump administration as unpaid senior advisers.
Biden’s vow to keep family members out of his administration apparently did not extend to his aides.
According to The Post, “at least five children of his top aides have secured coveted jobs in the new administration. They include two sons and a daughter of the White House counselor, the daughter of a deputy White House chief of staff and the daughter of the director of presidential personnel.”
The pattern “continued this week with the Treasury Department’s announcement that it was hiring J.J. Ricchetti, son of Biden counselor Steve Ricchetti,” The Post reported.
J.J. Ricchetti graduated from college just last year. His father is one of the president’s most trusted aides, according to The Post.
But the nepotism in the Richetti family reportedly goes much deeper.
Do you think the federal government has become corrupt?
Yes: 100% (12 Votes)
No: 0% (0 Votes)
According to The Post, Shannon Ricchetti, a daughter of Steve Ricchetti who graduated from college in 2016, is serving as deputy associate director of the office of the White House social secretary.
Steve Ricchetti’s other son, Daniel Ricchetti, is currently working as a senior adviser in the office of the undersecretary of state for arms control and international security.
Meanwhile, Julia Reed, a daughter of deputy White House chief of staff Bruce Reed, works as Biden’s day scheduler. The Post noted that Bruce Reed has long been very close to Biden.
“Beyond children, other relatives of top Biden aides also have secured high-level administration jobs or nominations,” The Post reported. “They include the wife of White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and the sister of White House press secretary Jen Psaki.”
The nepotism reportedly extends to the family of the White House’s director of presidential personnel, Cathy Russell.
Russell’s daughter Sarah Donilon, a 2019 college graduate, currently has a job in the White House National Security Council. Mike Donilon, Sarah Donilin’s uncle, is a senior adviser to the president.
The Post spoke to a so-called “ethics expert,” Walter Shaub, who condemned the nepotism in the Biden administration.
“While it may not be as bad as appointing your son or daughter to a top government post as Trump did with Jared and Ivanka, it is still bad,” Shaub told the outlet. “‘Not as bad as Trump’ cannot be the new standard.”
One White House official defended the nepotism, saying that all the hires were qualified for their jobs.
“The president has instituted the highest ethical standards of anyone to ever hold this office,” deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates said. “And he’s proud to have staffed the most diverse administration in American history with well-qualified public servants who reflect his values.”
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Three men engaged in a brazen scheme to "surreptitiously hijack" and take over dormant shell companies, whose stock they then fraudulently inflated to dump to unwitting investors, according to charges in an indictment that was unsealed Friday.
The men from 2017 through 2019 allegedly used fake resignation letters to seize control of four shell companies and then used the Securities and Exchange Commission's EDGAR public filing system and bogus press releases to fraudulently "pump up" their share prices by claiming new business opportunities, the indictment says.
Millions of shares of those stocks, which the defendants had bought in many cases for less than 1 cent per share, then were sold on the over-the-counter market by the men and others for profits of as much as 900%, according to the court filing.
The defendants — Mark Allen Miller, Christopher James Rajkaran and Saeid Jaberian, also known as Andre Jaberian — are charged with 15 criminal counts of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud.
The indictment says that Minnesota residents Miller and Jaberian, as well as an unidentified person who is a relative of Miller, actually became the nominal CEOs and presidents of companies targeted in the scam.
Prosecutors believe the men made hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit profits just from the conduct detailed in the indictment, according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota.
The indictment, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, was first reported Friday by the Twitter account of Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.
Hughes regularly trawls the PACER online federal court filing system for interesting criminal and civil case documents that have not been previously reported.
The Securities and Exchange Commission did not immediately respond when CNBC asked whether the agency had taken any action against the defendants and whether it has made any changes to the EDGAR filing system to prevent its manipulation by alleged fraudsters.
None of the defendants could be reached for comment.
Rajkaran, a resident of Queens, New York, and Guyana, was ordered detained as a possible flight risk after appearing in court in Brooklyn, New York, on Friday.
The other two defendants, Miller and Jaberian, are due to appear in Minnesota federal court on July 2.
While the companies had purported business operations — online data protection services, computer software, debt collection and aerospace, respectively — all were actually dormant shell companies "without any significant operations or revenue," the indictment says.
The companies all had stopped filing required documents with the SEC and secretary of state offices, but their stocks were traded publicly on the over-the-counter market.
After identifying the quartet of companies, "The conspirators then bought stock in the dormant public shell companies at low prices in the OTC market," the indictment said.
"The conspirators were able to obtain hundreds of thousands or even millions of shares because the stocks traded at only a fraction of a penny per share."
In the case of Digitiliti, the indictment said, Miller in September 2017 drafted a fake resignation letter and board minutes falsely stating that the company's prior CEO had resigned and that Miller had been appointed president and CEO.
Miller then submitted to the SEC paperwork that falsely identified himself as the new boss at the company and asked for "the filing codes allowing him to access the company's SEC EDGAR filing account."
That in turn "allowed Miller to make public filings with the SEC on behalf of the company."
The EDGAR system is used by public companies to disclose material events, including quarterly and annual financial results, changes in executive leadership, and sales and purchases of significant amounts of company stock by insiders and others.
The indictment says Miller in November 2017 bought 50,000 shares of Digitiliti stock.
"After hijacking Digitiliti, defendant Miller used his control over the company to issue a false and misleading press release on behalf of the company," the indictment says.
"On or about JuIy 9, 2018, Miller issued a press release falsely claiming that Digitiliti had 'entered into negotiations' with a private company looking to 'buy-out' Digitiliti."
The release also falsely claimed that the private company "has a proven track record of revenue generation and success in a highly desirable market sector," according to the indictment.
Miller sold his 50,000 shares of Digitiliti three weeks after that.
During the alleged hijacking of Encompass Holdings from June through November 2017, Miller and Rajkaran together purchased more than 40 million shares of the company's stock at low prices, the indictment says.
Miller, as he did with Digitiliti, claimed in a false resignation letter and board minutes that he had become president and CEO, the indictment says.
Rajkaran then began posting about the company on investorshub.com in an effort "to promote and inflate the price of ECMH stock," the indictment says.
"For example, he posted that the new CEO was 'probably worth close to 20 million in real estate holding[s] and construction equipment ... heard he owns several stripmalls in mn,'" the indictment says.
Miller then issued a press release that falsely claimed Encompass "had signed a letter of intent to acquire the assets of DDG Properties that were worth approximately $6.4 million. The press release further claimed that Encompass would be assuming DDG Properties' gross revenues of $534,000," according to the indictment.
"None of this was true."
The stock price rose in reaction to the claims, and Miller shortly after sold 12 million shares of company stock at fraudulently inflated prices, earning a profit of more than 300%, the indictment says.
Rajkaran earned a return of about 150% in profits after dumping more than 34 million shares, according to the indictment.
Amazon driver Shawndu Stackhouse delivers packages in Northeast Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, April 6, 2021.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
It's typically one of the biggest sales of the year. And in 2021, Amazon Prime Day could be even bigger.
The annual two-day shopping event is set to kick off at 3 a.m. ET on June 21 and will include discounts on more than 2 million items for Prime members — about twice as many as last year.
EMarketer is forecasting that total digital sales in the U.S. on Prime Day will jump 17.3% year over year to $12.18 billion. Sales made exclusively on Amazon on Prime Day will grow 18.3% from 2020 levels, to $7.31 billion, it said.
"That is an incredible number," said Dave Kender, editor in chief of Reviewed, but "most of the products are not that interesting."
"There are diamonds in the rough," he added. "You just have to work to find them."
It's a great time to start stocking up on summer travel supplies or back-to-school gear, especially from small businesses. Brooklyn, New York-born bag company State will offer half off a kids backpack, which normally retails for$95, and Rockland has a rolling duffle bag for $50, about 55% less than retail.
This year some of the very best deals will be on small kitchen appliances like electric kettles and coffee makers, according to Nathan Burrow, senior deals editor at Wirecutter.
Burrow predicted air fryers could be one of the most popular items overall, outshining even the Instant Pot, which has remained one of the hottest sellers for years.
Of course, you must be an Amazon Prime member to take advantage of Prime Day deals.
If you haven't already joined, it's free for 30 days. After that, you can cancel or sign up for a month-to-month membership for about $13 or pay $119 for the year. For deal hunters, note that membership also includes free music, movies and e-books, as well as discounts on groceries at Whole Foods.
Then, download the Amazon app, scroll through upcoming deals and mark the items you are interested in as "watching," Julie Ramhold of Dealnews advised. You'll receive a notification when the price drops.
When a deal is live, add the item to your cart immediately. Some offers sell out quickly, Ramhold said. Once it is in your cart, you'll have 15 minutes to decide whether to complete the purchase.
If there is a specific product that you are set on and you don't see it in upcoming sales, you can create a wish list and Amazon will alert you if it does become part of a Prime Day deal.
However, some of the best bargains are not exclusive to Amazon at all.
Walmart, Target and Best Buy are holding competing deals events — as they have in previous years — to coincide with Amazon Prime Day 2021.
Already, Best Buy is selling the Roku Express for just $29.99 and Jabra earbuds for $179.99, a $50 discount. During Office Depot's discount days, which run from June 21 to June 23, an Acer Chromebook will be marked down 25% to $169.99.
But buyer beware. As vaccination rates increase and the economy bounces back from Covid, post-pandemic sprees — or so-called revenge shopping — can quickly lead to overspending, according to a recent report by the American Institute of CPAs.
Already, 2 in 5 Americans said shopping online more has made it harder to stick to a monthly budget.
About 39% of those polled said they often don't know how much they've spent on their credit or debit card until they see their monthly statement.
"Merchants have powerful strategies to encourage you to spend," said Neal Stern, a member of the association's financial literacy commission.
Determine what you plan to purchase and how much you'll spend before you start shopping.
Neal Stern
CPA
"Determine what you plan to purchase and how much you'll spend before you start shopping," he said. "If you have a plan, you'll be less likely to give into overspending."
Also, before checking out, always look to see if there are better deals elsewhere, Kender advised. Open a new tab and search the product's model number to see prices from other websites.
And finally, read user reviews and research price histories so you can determine how good the product — and discount — really is.
"There is no such thing as a good deal on a bad product," Kender said.
President Joe Biden speaks about reaching 300 million COVID-19 vaccination shots, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Friday, June 18, 2021, in Washington.
Evan Vucci | AP
President Joe Biden on Friday doubled down on his administration's plea to Americans to get vaccinated against Covid-19 as quickly as possible, warning the highly transmissible delta variant appears to be "particularly dangerous" for young people.
"The data is clear: If you are unvaccinated, you're at risk of getting seriously ill or dying or spreading it," Biden said during a news conference from the White House.
Delta, the Covid variant first identified in India, "will leave unvaccinated people even more vulnerable than they were a month ago," he added. "It is a variant that is more easily transmissible, potentially deadlier and particularly dangerous for young people."
Biden said the best way young people can protect themselves is to get fully vaccinated.
"Please, please if you have one shot, get the second shot as soon as you can," he said.
CNBC Health & Science
The president's comments come as his administration's latest goal – to get 70% of U.S. adults partially vaccinated by the Fourth of July – is on track to fall short as the pace of inoculations slows.
The World Health Organization's chief scientist said earlier Friday that delta is becoming the dominant strain of the disease worldwide. That's because of its "significantly increased transmissibility," Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO's chief scientist, said during a news conference.
Studies suggest delta is around 60% more transmissible than alpha, the variant first identified in the United Kingdom that was more contagious than the original strain that emerged from Wuhan, China, in late 2019.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky also said Friday that she expects delta to become the dominant variant in the United States and urged people to get vaccinated. The variant now makes up 10% of all new cases in the United States, up from 6% last week, according to the data from CDC.
"As worrisome as this delta strain is with regard to its hyper transmissibility, our vaccines work," Walensky told the ABC program "Good Morning America." If you get vaccinated, "you'll be protected against this delta variant," she added.
Health experts say the delta strain is particularly worrisome for young people, many of whom have yet to get vaccinated. While scientists still don't know whether delta causes more severe symptoms, there are signs that it could provoke different symptoms than other variants.
Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said the delta variant has essentially replaced alpha, the variant that swept across Europe and later the U.S. earlier this year. He said as the virus continues to mutate, the U.S. will need a higher percentage of the population vaccinated.
"How much more information do we need to see that this virus mutates and creates viruses that are more contagious?" said Offit, also a member of the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. "We need to vaccinate now. Get everyone vaccinated now."
As of Friday, more than 176 million Americans, or 53.1% of the population, have had at least one shot, according to data compiled by the CDC. More than 148 million Americans are fully vaccinated, according to the agency.
States have offering incentives ranging from free beer to $1 million lotteries to try to convince Americans to get jabbed.
On Friday, Biden touted some of those incentives, including that most pharmacies are offering 24-hour services on select days for the month of June.
Morgan Stanley analysts said in a Friday note that Facebook remains the top pick among large-cap social media stocks, with its investments and monetization efforts offsetting any near-term engagement drop-offs as the coronavirus pandemic nears an end.
"We remain most positive on FB within the large cap social media names as we see their leading ROI, product innovation, and monetization call options (Reels, Marketplace, Shopping, etc) enabling them to navigate through difficult near-term engagement headwinds," the firm said.
Morgan Stanley also sees Facebook driving ad growth, helping the social media giant with a potential drop-off in engagement.
"We also note that even a slight increase in News Feed ad load could offset any engagement decline. In our view, the extent to which FB can deliver on topline can lead to $16+ of free cash flow per share next year, painting a path toward our $440 bull case (~30% upside)," the analysts said.
As Covid-19 pandemic restrictions lift, people are likely to be spending less time on social media. The firm said lower social media use and engagement leads to the increasing importance of innovation and ad pricing/ROI. That will help drive ad growth and allow the company to beat estimates in the second half of this year and next.
"It will be increasingly important for social platforms to continue to develop products (social shopping, short-form video, maps, etc) that drive engagement and deliver measurable ad ROI directly linking ad dollars to transactions," the analysts said. It isn't a new dynamic but has increasing importance in order to meet or beat forward estimates, they added.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) speaks at the Coronavirus press briefing in Trenton, New Jersey.
Michael Brochstein | Barcroft Media | Getty Images
New Jersey met its goal of fully vaccinating more than 4.7 million people who live, work and study in the state about two weeks before its original target date of June 30, Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday.
The milestone comes after an aggressive vaccination campaign that included door-knocking and incentives for residents of the state, such as free beer and wine, free passes to state parks and even dinner with Murphy and his wife.
The state has also surpassed President Joe Biden's goal of getting 70% of adults vaccinated with at least one dose before the Fourth of July. New Jersey has vaccinated about 77% of its adults with at least one dose, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
CNBC Health & Science
"Because of the millions of you who stepped forward to protect yourselves, your families and our communities today we are proud to announce that we have now exceeded our initial goal, and with 12 days to go before our self-appointed deadline," Murphy said Friday at a press briefing.
The outbreak in New Jersey, which peaked in January at a seven-day average of more than 6,000 new cases a day, has since subsided to a daily average of around 260 cases per day over the past week. New Jersey has recorded more than 1 million Covid cases and 26,000 Covid deaths since the start of data collection.
Covid deaths in the state peaked in April 2020 with a seven-day average of 345 deaths per day. The number has since fallen to an average of 6 deaths per day.
The state previously defied CDC recommendations to allow vaccinated individuals to not wear a mask indoors, but it adopted the CDC guidelines two weeks later.
A joint Government and NHS public information display indicates that a Covid-19 Variant of Concern has been identified locally and provides guidance for residents on 11th June 2021 in Hounslow, United Kingdom.
Mark Kerrison | In Pictures | Getty Images
Delta, the highly contagious Covid-19 variant first identified in India, is becoming the dominant strain of the disease worldwide, the World Health Organization's chief scientist said Friday.
That's because of its "significantly increased transmissibility," Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO's chief scientist, said during a news conference at the agency's Geneva headquarters. Studies suggest delta is around 60% more transmissible than alpha, the variant first identified in the U.K. that was more contagious than the original strain that emerged from Wuhan, China, in late 2019.
The situation globally "is so dynamic because of the variants that are circulating," she added.
The variant has spread to more than 80 countries and it continues to mutate as it spreads across the globe, the WHO said Wednesday. It now makes up 10% of all new cases in the United States, up from 6% last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CNBC Health & Science
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Friday urged Americans to get vaccinated against Covid, saying she expects delta to become the dominant coronavirus variant in the United States.
"As worrisome as this delta strain is with regard to its hyper transmissibility, our vaccines work," Walensky told the ABC program "Good Morning America." If you get vaccinated, "you'll be protected against this delta variant," she added.
The United Kingdom recently saw the delta variant become the dominant strain there, surpassing alpha, which was first detected in the country last fall. The delta variant now makes up more than 60% of new cases in the U.K.
The WHO declared delta a "variant of concern" last month. A variant can be labeled as "of concern" if it has been shown to be more contagious, more deadly or more resistant to current vaccines and treatments, according to the health organization.
WHO officials said Wednesday there were reports that the delta variant also causes more severe symptoms, but that more research is needed to confirm those conclusions. Still, there are signs that the delta strain could provoke different symptoms than other variants.
Swaminathan said Friday that scientists still need more data on the variant, including its impact on the efficacy of Covid vaccines.
German company CureVac earlier this week cited variants as one of the reasons its Covid vaccine proved to be just 47% effective in a 40,000-person clinical trial.
An analysis from Public Health England released Monday found two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines are highly effective against hospitalization from the delta variant.
"How many are getting infected and of those how many are getting hospitalized and seriously ill?" Swaminathan said Friday. "This is something we're watching very carefully."
– CNBC's Holly Ellyatt and Rich Mendez contributed to this report.
When Netflix founder Reed Hastings spun off the streaming video box he was developing to a little-known start-up called Roku in 2008, he thought it would probably fail.
"There was Xbox and PlayStation and Samsung and Apple TV," Hastings said in an interview. "Frankly, we didn't think Roku had much of a chance."
After first meeting at a conference, Roku CEO and founder Anthony Wood pestered Hastings for months to let his company make a streaming video box for Netflix. Hastings at the time wanted to build the box in-house at Netflix. So the two struck a deal -- Wood took a part-time job at Netflix to make the device while remaining CEO of Roku, which had about 15 employees.
That experiment lasted nine months. Hastings wanted Netflix to be available on all sorts of streaming devices, such as Microsoft's Xbox, Sony's PlayStation, and Apple TV. Those companies felt Netflix's hardware posed a threat to their own businesses. Moreover, people surveyed in focus groups said they wanted a box that could stream more than just Netflix.
So Hastings decided to spin out the division to Roku. Wood received an unfinished device, patents, 20 to 30 Netflix employees (more than doubling the size of Roku) and some cash. In return, Netflix received about 15% of Roku's equity.
Netflix would later sell its Roku shares to venture capital firm Menlo Ventures to avoid the perception of being conflicted by favoring one streaming distribution manufacturer over another. When Netflix sold its stock in 2009, it claimed a $1.7 million gain on a $6 million investment.
If Netflix had held, its stake would be worth nearly $7 billion today. Roku has been one of the pandemic's big winners. Shares have have gained more than 480% from March 17, 2020, as the media world shifted to focus on streaming video. Today, Roku's market capitalization is more than $45 billion.
"Obviously in hindsight, we missed a fortune," said Hastings.
To call Roku the offspring of Netflix is literally and figuratively true. While it's not a carbon copy of its parent, Roku took more than just hardware from Netflix -- it took a strand of its corporate DNA.
Wood downplays the comparison. "My relationship to Netflix was obviously very important to Roku," he said in an interview. "But I only worked there nine months."
But Roku and Netflix have become market-leading companies worth tens of billions of dollars by out-competing media and technology giants. Both companies could have been acquired in their early days for a fraction of what they're worth today. Both pivoted their businesses to adapt for streaming video. And both have unusual corporate cultures that can alienate employees who say they live in fear of being fired.
Read more on Roku's culture: High pay, few extras, no performance reviews
Roku CEO Anthony Wood: 'If you don't do a good job, you're going to get fired eventually.'
Roku doesn't tie compensation to performance; salaries are based on external market rate.
In fact, until recently, Roku's headquarters were literally next door to Netflix in Los Gatos, California.
Just as Netflix defied the odds to dominate entertainment, Roku overcame widespread industry confusion and doubt to become the U.S. market leader in streaming video distribution. As the media industry has reorganized en masse for a direct-to-consumer world, Roku has become an indispensable intermediary that can guarantee distribution to more than 50 million households.
For its next act, Roku could misdirect the media and technology world again to build its content business — the same kind of move that propelled Netflix to world-beating success.
Pivot, pivot, pivot
Just as Netflix began as a DVD rental company, Roku's first attempts at business bear little relationship to how it makes money today.
Wood, who graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in electrical engineering, founded Roku in 2002 as a maker of high definition video players. Wood initially funded Roku himself with money he had earned from selling other businesses, including DVR maker ReplayTV, which digital audio device maker SonicBlue bought for $120 million. (SonicBlue has since gone out of business.)
Wood then added streaming audio devices to compete against Apple iPods. Unfortunately, Spotify didn't exist yet.
"I was a little early on that one," Wood acknowledged.
Wood saw a future where Roku would be a centralized distribution platform for digital television. Although Roku seemed like a hardware company, Wood actually envisioned Roku as a services company, making its revenue from channel store fees and a share of advertising from every TV app carried by the platform.
Roku XD/S
Mattnad | Wikipedia
Netflix was Roku's first customer, followed by Amazon Video on Demandand MLB TV. More recently, Roku added HBO Max,NBCUniversal's Peacock, Disney+ and many other subscription streaming services — including Roku's own The Roku Channel. Roku has become the operating system for more than 15 brands of smart TVs, baking its software directly in consumer's TV sets — just as Wood predicted more than a decade ago.
The pandemic has accelerated Roku's foothold in American households. With more than 53 million active accounts, Roku has consistently been the leader among all streaming platforms in the U.S., although Amazon is catching up, based on data from Parks Associates. Roku has taken a 33% to 39% market share every year since 2015. In the first quarter of 2021, Amazon Fire TV tied Roku for No. 1 at 36%. Apple TV was third with 12%, followed by Google Chromecast at 8%.
Wood credits some of Roku's success to Clayton Christensen's famous business concept of "TheInnovator's Dilemma" — where incumbent companies couldn't focus on streaming video because they were too busy protecting their older, linear cable TV models. Christensen's book just happens to be one of Hastings' favorites, too.
Wood also noted that Roku's relatively unchanging user interface and simple remote control have appealed to customers because users want simplicity.
"Many companies just don't really understand the attitude people have when they're watching TV," said Wood. "People want to sit there, drink their beer, and watch TV."
As Wood envisioned, Roku now makes the majority of its money from services — much of which comes from taking a share of every media company's total streaming advertising time and selling it. When Roku agreed to distribute Peacock, NBCUniversal's streaming service, it took about 10% of what would have been Peacock's ad inventory to sell for itself, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the deal are private.
Using its viewership data, Roku is developing its own advertising technology to better target commercials than what's possible on linear television. In March, Roku acquired Nielsen's advanced video advertising business to begin dynamically inserting linear TV advertising, which increases the number of ads that can be showed on a given show or movie and can be used to better target ads to users.
More recently, Roku has invented two content arms of its own. The Roku Channel licenses content from other media companies and has acquired some original programming, including the content that used to be Quibi, the short-lived streaming service founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman. Roku sells advertisements against the programming. Roku is also launching an advertising brand studio to help companies make their own original content.
Last year, Roku made about $510 million from its hardware and branded smart TVs. It made $1.3 billion from platform services.
"We focused on the idea that all TV was going to be streaming," Wood said. "It was obvious. I'm not sure why there were skeptics."
A world of skepticism
For years, Wood struggled to find outside financing. Venture capitalists consistently told Roku it was a hardware maker, and hardware wasn't a good business. Some potential early investors were taken aback by Roku's modest headquarters in Saratoga Office Center, in Saratoga, California — an uncommon starting spot for Silicon Valley darlings.
The only person who seemed to believe was Menlo Ventures partner Shawn Carolan.
"Silicon Valley does not like to invest in hardware companies," Carolan told CNBC. That's because hardware can often be easily replicated and frequently costs nearly as much to manufacture and market as it does to sell. Roku's hardware, even today, is a zero-profit margin business, according to a person familiar with the matter.
But Carolan saw a clear go-forward strategy based around services.
"I remember this PowerPoint deck I presented around 2009, 2010 where I kind of laid it all out," Carolan said in an interview. "We called it our popcorn strategy, because movie theaters don't make money off movies, they make money off the popcorn. How are we going to continue to incrementally add services revenue?"
Wood financed Roku's Series A round himself. Netflix pitched in $6 million for the Series B as part of the 2008 box transaction. Roku's Series C, split in two parts in 2008 and 2009, featured one venture capital firm — Menlo Ventures. Carolan and his partners would reinvest again in 2011's Series D, 2012's Series E and finally 2015's Series H — the last round needed before Roku's IPO.
By 2017, including the Netflix shares it bought, Menlo owned about 35% of all Roku shares. Carolan stayed on Roku's board from 2008 to 2018.
Shawn Carolan, Menlo Ventures partner
Courtesy: Menlo Ventures
As the company gained scale, it proved it could make money from its channel store, through revenue shares with media companies, and advertising. Wood expected to hear from other companies interested in acquiring Roku, but few came calling.
Roku held talks with Intel when it toyed with developing OnCue, an internet-based TV platform, in 2012, according to people familiar with the matter. Intel was eventually willing to pay about $450 million for Roku, but Wood asked for $1.5 billion, according to one of the people. Wood, who several co-workers acknowledged had a quirky personality, told an Intel executive he asked for $1.5 billion because he wanted to open a university in Texas, and that price would cover the expense, according to a person familiar with the talks. The large gap in value doomed the transaction.
About a year later, Amazon approached with an initial offer of about $300 million for the company. Those talks progressed in seriousness, leading Roku to drop its asking price all the way to about $690 million, one of the people said. Still, the gap proved too large to cement a transaction.
After that, the offers basically stopped.
"We've had less acquisition offers than is normal for a company as successful as Roku," said Wood, adding that he didn't remember details about the Amazon and Intel offers. "I think it's because people don't understand the company. For a long time, they didn't."
Waverley Capital managing partner Daniel Leff, who sat on Roku's board from 2011 to 2018, said the lack of takeover interest from big technology and media companies was stunning.
"Lots of CEOs of big media companies came to spend time with Roku to figure out what it is, what's streaming, how is it going to disrupt my business?" Leff said. "And I will say, unequivocally, there wasn't one media executive — and they're all very smart in their own right — there wasn't one who believed Roku would be successful, even when it was generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Even when it went public."
Roku first attempted to go public in 2014, but bankers told Wood there wouldn't be appetite for investment until services revenue was 50% of total sales.
"They told us we couldn't get out, or not at a good price, until we could prove that platform revenue was real," Carolan said.
So Roku got serious about its platform business. When Roku released its S-1 filing — the document all companies must publish before going public — player revenue in the first half of 2017 represented 59% of total revenue and declined 2% year over year, while platform revenue represented 41% of total revenue and grew 91% from a year earlier.
The Roku IPO at the Nasdaq, September 28, 2017.
Source: Nasdaq
When Roku went public on Sept. 28, 2017, Carolan broke down in tears.
"I thought, wow, the world finally sees what my partners and I have seen for the last 10 years," Carolan said. "It was just super emotional. And for the past few years, obviously more and more people are finally getting it."
What's next: Content
Wood said he's spending much of his time now on charting out a strategy for The Roku Channel.
Most of the content on Roku's channel is licensed from other media companies and studios — and it's not necessarily their best stuff. The 40,000 free movies and TV shows are largely back-end library content that media companies have deemed unimportant for own streaming endeavors. When Roku can get its hands on more popular content, it tends to be limited — for instance, it only has one season of "The Bachelorette" (Season 13, starring Rachel Lindsay).
In addition to licensed content, Roku has begun dabbling in original programming. Earlier this year, Roku bought more than 75 shows that Quibi created for its short-lived service. It also acquired "This Old House," which is still making new episodes in its 42nd season. Roku has programming for kids and adults, building offerings for anyone in the family.
There's some evidence the original programming is finding an audience. The 10 most-watched programs on The Roku Channel from May 20 to June 3 were all Roku originals. Since adding the Quibi library last month, according to Roku's own data, more Roku users have seen that programming in two weeks than Quibi users in its six-month lifetime.
The strategy at this point looks a lot look like — surprise — Netflix. In Netflix's early days, it was happy to license whatever content media companies would give it. Former Time Warner Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bewkes famously called it "The Albanian Army," emphasizing its small stature at the time.
Roku plans to spend more than $1 billion on content next year, according to a person familiar with the matter. Wood declined to comment on the exact total, but did admit the budget will grow next year and in years to come.
Wood also said The Roku Channel creates a virtuous cycle. Roku sells advertising against every ad-supported application on its platform. With its own channel, Roku can offer advertisers another way to market brands. That's more money, which can be used for more content, making the channel a bigger draw for consumers — and more appealing to advertisers.
There's real money to be made in free ad-supported video. ViacomCBS's Pluto TV will top $1 billion in ad revenue next year, CEO Bob Bakish said at a recent investor conference.
Roku announced in March it was raising $1 billion — money that ex-board member Leff expects will go largely toward content. With a market capitalization above that of media companies like Discovery, which is merging with WarnerMedia, and ViacomCBS, Roku is a theoretical buyer for Lionsgate and AMC Networks, said MoffettNathanson media analyst Michael Nathanson.
For the time being, Wood is talking like a CEO who wants to stay under the radar. Wood emphasized that Roku was a distribution platform first and a content company second. But if content producers don't watch out, Roku may "eat their lunch" -- just as Netflix did, predicted Nathanson.
"This reminds me so much of Netflix in its early days," Nathanson said. "I used to interview [Netflix Co-CEO] Ted Sarandos at conferences 10 years ago, and he'd say, 'Oh, we're happy with just one or two original shows.' Meanwhile, they'd be laddering up into better content. I'd argue companies giving Roku content are digging their own grave."
Co-founder and director of Netflix Reed Hastings delivers a speech as he inaugurates the new offices of Netflix France, in Paris on January 17, 2020.
Christophe Archambault | AFP | Getty Images
Hastings told CNBC he isn't worried about Roku as a competitor because its goals as an advertising-supported service will be different than Netflix, which is subscription based and has no commercials.
"They're not a big threat for us," Hastings said.
Wood agreed with Hastings that The Roku Channel isn't in competition with Netflix. Roku is looking to capture a person's attention so it can sell advertising — but it doesn't need to spend so much on content to keep a person paying $5, $10 or $15 each month. The Roku Channel is available on Amazon Fire TV, Apple iOS and Google's Android, though the company prefers users watch on Roku's platform, where it can better monetize viewership data.
"We have less expensive content than a subscription service because it's not required for us to be successful," Wood said. "For us, it's about helping users discover content that appeals to them."
Testing its leverage
Still, Roku may be able to increase the quality of licensed content over time. Direct-to-consumer streaming apps need global distribution, and Roku has a roadmap to enter countries around the world. So far, Roku is also in about one-third of all smart TVs in Canada and is the second-largest operating system for smart TVs in Mexico. Europe is its next likely expansion opportunity, where Google's Android TV is dominant, Nathanson said.
As Roku signs new carriage agreements, it could start demanding that each company give it better content for the Roku Channel. Roku asked for quality titles in its negotiations with WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal, according to people familiar with the matter, but it was rebuffed. It settled on paying for a few older, relatively unpopular series, such as NBCUniversal's "Coach" — for now.
The Roku 3 television streaming player menu is shown on a television in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013.
Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg via Getty Images
In recent years, Roku has become more aggressive with its carriage agreement demands, including asking for more advertising inventory, higher app store fees, and better content for The Roku Channel. That's led to delays in reaching agreements with both HBO Max and Peacock. In April, Roku dropped the YouTube TV app from its platform for new customers in a dispute over manipulating search results and hardware requirements. The main YouTube app remains for everyone, but that deal is up later this year — and could test Roku's leverage.
"They have to be careful," said Leff. "Netflix is still one of their biggest partners. They don't want to compete too hard against all of their content partners."
Then again, if media companies don't work with Roku, where can they turn for distribution? Apple, Google and Amazon are still bigger long-term threats, rich with data and cash, with the power to outspend legacy media for content if they desire. Roku has used its "we're just the little guy" approach to its benefit throughout its existence.
For now, Roku's media partners aren't worried.
"I don't think they're challenging to do business with given their market scale," said Steve MacDonald, president of global content licensing for A+E Networks. "They're very collaborative and open about information about how we can better monetize our relationship together. They promote our content. They're good partners."
That's what the media industry used to say about Netflix.
Disclosure: Comcast-owned NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.
Red states that claim to be upholding traditional values are upending some traditional alliances between conservatives and corporate America.
They could also upend the competitiveness of some perennial leaders in the battle between the states for business and jobs. One measure of that landscape — CNBC's annual America's Top States for Business study — is paying special attention to inclusiveness this year as companies become increasingly vocal about diversity, equity and inclusion.
When Texas considered its own restrictive voting bill in May, 50 Texas companies including HP and American Airlines, and more than 180 business leaders, signed letters opposing the bill.
"Voter suppression is a stain on our reputation that could cost our region millions of dollars," the business leaders' letter said.
Voting rights activists gather during a protest against Texas legislators who are advancing new voting restrictions in Austin, Texas, U.S., May 8, 2021.
Mikala Compton/ | Reuters
Transgender targeting
Texas was also among dozens of states to consider bills aimed at transgender people — and particularly transgender youth.
Undeterred by threats from the NCAA to move events from states that bar transgender women and girls from competing in in college and high school sports, Texas Republicans introduced just such a measure.
Lawmakers also considered a bill that would criminalize gender affirming medical treatments like puberty blockers, designating such health care as child abuse. That drew the ire of 49 companies and organizations including Texas-based Southwest Airlines and Dell Technologies, which signed an open letter in protest.
"We are concerned to see a resurgence of efforts to exclude transgender youth from full participation in their communities, to criminalize or ban best-practice medical care that is proven to save lives, or to exclude LGBTQ people in a variety of other settings, including accessing healthcare, filling a prescription, or seeking legal representation," the letter said.
The Texas transgender bills failed in the regular legislative session that ended on May 31, and Democrats managed to derail the voting bill by staging a dramatic, last-minute walkout. But Republicans still say it was the most conservative session in history, passing laws to expand gun rights and restrict abortion. And the other bills could be back in a special session later this year.
The Managing Director of Texas Competes, which claims to represent some 1,500 companies, says that is bad for business.
"What does this say about Texas to the world when we're trying to be competitive for talent and tourism?" Jessica Shortall told CNBC.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he is not worried about companies leaving the state, despite their public rhetoric.
"When I talk to both the CEOs, as well as business leaders who are coming here, they are coming here to escape the laws and the rules and regulations of these other states," Abbott told CNBC in an interview.
Small business perspective
For some business leaders in Texas, the battle over the legislation is intensely personal.
They include Amber Briggle, who owns a successful massage therapy business in Denton, north of Dallas.
She and her husband moved to Texas twelve years ago and consider it home.
"I'm a small business owner," she said. "We're established."
But she said if they knew then what they know today, they would not have moved here.
"I don't feel good living in Texas in general," she said.
Her 13-year-old son Max is transgender. Had the ban on gender-affirming care become law, Briggle and her husband would have faced prosecution.
"It's terrifying to think that all the things that we have done as Max's parents to help him become the young man that he is, could somehow land us in prison," she said.
But Briggle said the potential implications extend far beyond her and her family.
"We're looking at large corporations bringing in people from across the country. Are they going to feel comfortable moving to the state? That also diminishes my ability to hire people too," she said. "If they're not moving to the state, I've got a smaller pool of applicants to choose from. It's just a hole. It just ripples everywhere."
But the president and CEO of the state's largest business organization said the state is having no trouble attracting workers or companies.
"To me, the best measurement of how inclusive and welcoming a state is, is by the population trends," said Glen Hamer of the Texas Association of Business."The Texas economy is continuing to produce new jobs, bringing new businesses and bringing the biggest iconic business icons in the world to the state."
Indeed, according to U.S. Census Bureau data analyzed by CNBC, Texas gained more than 212,000 college-educated adults moving to the state in 2019 — the most recent data available — while only about 128,000 moved out. As a percentage of the state's adult population, that is one of the best migration rates in the nation.
If the conservative push in Texas is supposed to be scaring away companies and workers, that does not seem to have happened yet.
Roku has built a dominant position as the co-leading streaming video distribution platform in U.S. households, in a near dead-heat with Amazon. The two companies own more than 70% market share, according to research firm Parks Associates.
But can Roku maintain its lead over Apple and Google if Americans' future is a house controlled by a voice-enabled smart-home device that can turn on and off a television and change the channel?
That's not what people want, claims Roku CEO and founder Anthony Wood. He spoke with CNBC's Alex Sherman in an exclusive interview.
(This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Wood's thoughts on Roku's culture can be found here.)
Sherman:Let's talk about interactivity. Is it just a matter of time before Roku lets me watch sports and bet from my TV at the same time and do other sorts of cool stuff people have never seen before?
Wood: It's a complicated question. A couple points. One, it's not as bad as it used to be, but even today, many companies just don't really understand the attitude people have when watching TV. They want to sit there, drink their beer, and watch TV. You've seen over the years, there was this whole phase where there were interactive TV companies. They all failed, because people don't want to do that. My philosophy is to keep things very simple. So any time interactive ideas have come up, we would not do that.
That said, there are some exceptions. For example, advertising — we offer interactivity to our ad partners. If you see an ad you're interested in, like a car ad, you can browse, or do something simple like press a button and send me a text with an offer. So, we experiment with that type of interactivity because it doesn't get in the way of the viewing experience. If you want to get a free coupon because you're interested in a commercial, press a button, you can do that.
One of our main goals as a platform is to help you find content that you want to watch. Things like universal search — where you can search across services for an actor or a movie — and get information about if something is free on one service or you have to pay for it on another, that type of interactivity is something that people love, if it's around discovering content. So, we're looking for other ways to help people discover content that's interactive in its nature.
In terms of sports betting — maybe. We'll see.
Is the future of the TV ecosystem one where every device in the home is connected, and I just call out to my TV and it turns on, and I don't need a remote anymore?
We are incredibly focused on being the best TV experience. That's why we're successful. There are a lot capabilities that I think are silly. People generally do not want to talk to their TV to turn it on, for example. Because as soon as you turn it on, you need to pick up your remote control anyway.
Well, you do today, maybe, but theoretically, you don't have to, right? Why can't I control everything by voice? Isn't that easier?
I don't think people want to talk to their TV. In cases where it's faster and easier — search, for example — we make voice remotes. We focus on integrating voice into areas where it can really make a difference, like entering your password or your e-mail address or searching — those are things where it's tedious to tap stuff out on your remote. But other areas, like just scrolling up and down or the power button, it's actually easier to use the remote.
But I always lose my remote.
Well, that's why we let you use your phone as a remote. We also have a cool feature called remote finder, where we help you find your remote for you. We're big believers in remotes. You look at Chromecast, they made a huge bet that people wouldn't use their remotes. That wasn't the case.
One topic that investors are curious about is international expansion. Do you have a broad road map for international? I know you're in Canada, Mexico and Brazil a little bit. But there's a whole world out there. What's the plan? Lay it out for us.
We have a strategy. We have tactics and road maps which we don't disclose. But our strategy is pretty straightforward. If you look at the evolution of our business model, first we focus on scale, and once you have enough scale, then you start focusing on monetization. That's the same strategy we're talking on international. With most countries, we are still at the building scale stage as opposed to the monetization. There are some exceptions. With Canada, as you mentioned, that's the first country we entered. Now we sell ads there and we have The Roku Channel there. So we're doing monetization there.
The other part of our strategy is using the same techniques that have worked for us in the U.S. and applying them internationally. So, focus on growing our smart TV market share — we're No. 1 in smart TV market share in the U.S. We're No. 1 in Canada. We're No. 2 in Mexico. Samsung is No. 1 there, but we're catching up fast. So focusing on smart TVs and selling low-cost players is how we gain scale. For example, when we launch a player now, we launch it in many countries at the same time as opposed to just the U.S.
If you look at all the countries that we've entered, our market share is growing and we're doing well. Android has been the default choice internationally for a long time because it was the only option. So they're our biggest competitor. But as we add new countries and start focusing on them, we have an awesome solution. The same reason we've won in the U.S. is the same reason we expect to win internationally.
I'll get into this in the main feature more in depth, but after you started Roku, you worked for Reed Hastings at Netflix for about nine months. Have you modeled your leadership at Roku after him? And if not, has there been anyone you've tried to emulate?
My relationship with Netflix is obviously very important to Roku, but I only worked there for nine months. It was nine months. It was a great experience. I've got lots of people I respect, but I haven't tried to copy anyone in particular. I used to read a lot of business books when I was younger, but now I've stopped.
Is there a reason you stopped? Did you feel like you just didn't get any use out of them anymore?
I think you go through different phases in your career. When you first start out, just like when you first start out in college, you just have no clue. So, reading books and talking to people is a good way to learn the basics. As you advance, I think, you become much more experienced, and you find that a lot of the books are not helpful. Like, "Oh yeah, if I didn't know anything, that's what I'd do," but that's not actually the right way to do it.
One of the best things I've done to help me build my skills since Roku has grown is to have an adviser — kind of like a coach. He used to be the CEO of a public company. So when I have issues, I talk to him. That's David Krall. He was the CEO of Avid. He works one day a week for us being an adviser. Talking to an experienced CEO is helpful.
Describe yourself as a leader.
What I try to do is hire good people — people I want to work with, so there's a good chemistry and team — and devise a strategy and some high-level goals. I might come up with the strategy or work with the team to develop the strategy, but there will be a strategy. I think I'm pretty strategic. And then, focus on execution, giving people the freedom and whatever they need to do their job. That's what I spend my time on — hiring and strategy.
You're 56 years old, is that right?
Maybe. That sounds right.
Do you expect to be running Roku as an independently traded company ten years from now?
I have no idea. I'm happy running Roku right now. I have no idea what I'm going to do 10 years from now.
Do you know who your successor at Roku will be?
All public companies have to have a succession plan, so we have one. I focus a lot on developing talent on my team. But often there's talent outside the company as well. So, I don't know. I have no plans to leave, but if we were to hire a new CEO, I'd imagine we'd look internally and externally.
Anthony Wood, founder and chief executive officer of Roku Inc.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Roku co-founder and CEO Anthony Wood worked at Netflix in 2007, but he says his company's cultural similarities to the streaming giant are mostly coincidental.
"The culture at Roku was the same before I worked at Netflix," Wood said in an interview. "Just similar philosophies."
"Working at Roku is like being part of a professional sports team," Wood wrote in a 2015 document that every employee receives. "We put extreme care into recruiting the best people; we pay well in a competitive market; encourage excellent teamwork, and expect everyone to perform at a high level."
One former executive said every job at Roku is like being a "field goal kicker," where employees are expected to accomplish specific, detailed goals. Some employees thrive under the pressure. If they can't, they won't be there long.
"We expect you to do a good job," Wood said. "If you don't do a good job, you're going to get fired eventually."
Wood and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings point to their cultures as a reason for their companies' success. But both cultures can also lead to an environment of fear and confusion — though for different reasons.
At Netflix, as The Wall Street Journal explained in a 2018 story, employees formally review each other, giving blunt feedback to bosses and underlings alike. Workers "sunshine" errors, offering up public apologies and acknowledgments of failures.
"We expect you to do a good job. If you don't do a good job, you're going to get fired eventually."
Anthony Wood
CEO, Roku
In contrast, Roku doesn't give any performance reviews at all. Wood has also made the unusual decision of paying employees based on a market rate rather than giving raises tied to internal performance. That's irritated some younger employees who have expected a perfunctory raise every year at performance review time, said Wood.
"We have a lot of younger employees now, and they are very focused on getting raises," Wood said. "You know, I've been here a year, I should get a raise. And, you might not get a raise. Or you might. It just depends on what we think the rate is for you. Sometimes they understand and adapt, sometimes they don't understand, and they quit and then they post on Glassdoor. So, it's a bit of a cultural mismatch."
Anthony Wood
David Orrell | CNBC
It can be difficult to figure out market rate, Wood acknowledged, especially because California and New York state laws prohibit asking employees how much they're getting paid. But Roku can glean competitive salaries because it knows what it needs to pay to poach employees from other companies, Wood said.
Read the published culture documents from Roku and Netflix
Click here for more on how Roku has defied skepticism to build a $45 billion company
Click here for an extended Q&A with Roku CEO Anthony Wood.
Excelling in ambiguity
Annual reviews aren't necessary because employees should be getting real-time feedback, Wood said.
"The work is hard, but it is also rewarding, and I am given a lot of autonomy," said Taylor Yanez, a Roku engineer."We don't do annual reviews, which are a huge time suck."
But while Yanez said he was given instant feedback by peers, seven former Roku employees who left in the last 18 months said they felt confused by Roku's culture. They spoke with CNBC on condition of anonymity, either because they feared potential backlash or because contractual language in their severance packages forbids speaking about their firings.
"I literally don't know why I was fired," said one recently departed manager. "It's the strangest place I've ever worked."
Former employees said while they were assigned specific tasks, bosses evaluated them on different metrics because goals frequently changed as Roku grew. In addition to no performance reviews, Roku has very little hierarchy— almost all Roku engineers are called "senior software engineers," regardless of tenure or role. Mix in a recent surge of new employees — Roku has increased headcount almost threefold, to more than 1,900 employees, since its 2017 IPO — and the result can be confusing.
Several ex-Roku employees said their bosses told them that working in ambiguous settings was part of the job. That runs counter to the Roku culture document, which claims, "Roku teams communicate clearly, in real time with each other and with other teams across the company. Plans, milestones, and strategic context are broadly known."
"There's no formal training," said one mid-level executive, "At Roku, finding information is on you."
Roku is trying to improve some of its organizational infrastructure as it grows, including formalizing an internship orientation for the first time this year, two of the people said.
"We compete to attract and retain the best talent anywhere and treat people like adults," a Roku spokesperson said. "We provide onboarding and training for new and existing employees and seek those who are particularly resourceful, innovative, and self-sufficient. And we have a culture of real-time feedback, which has been remarkably successful."
Netflix with a twist
Netflix and Roku offer unlimited vacation time, giving employees the right to dictate their own schedules as long as they can get their work done. Both have purposefully flat organizational structures, deemphasizing titles and hierarchy.
But unlike Netflix and other large technology companies, Roku offers few external employee perks, such as on-site day care, daily free catered lunches, inexpensive health plans or extensive personal wellness benefits. Roku doesn't even match 401(k) contributions.
Instead, Wood has chosen to funnel that money into workers' salaries, believing employees should be in charge of how they spend their money. Every past and present Roku employee who spoke with CNBC said the company compensated at or beyond their expectations. It pays a base salary and grants restricted stock units, though it doesn't give bonuses.
Given the stock's performance, it's easy to see why employees have been eager to stick with the company. Roku shares have gained about 2,000% since the company's IPO.
Roku's senior leadership website page also illustrates a lack of diversity — including no women. That will change soon. Wood said Roku just announced a new head of human resources, Kamilah Mitchell-Thomas,previously Dow Jones' chief people officer, who will replace current HR leader Troy Fenner. Roku's board does have three women of nine members.
But Wood said diversity for diversity's sake won't dictate whom he hires.
"My focus is hiring the best people I can find," Wood said.
Wood said he meets weekly with an executive coach, Dave Krall, who was Roku's president and chief operating officer in 2010 and, before that, CEO of Avid Technology. He defines his leadership as hiring the right people and allowing them the freedom to do their job.
"The leadership a company needs changes as it grows," Wood said. "When you're 15 or 20 people, I'm the product leader at that point. As it gets bigger and you hire more senior people, you don't have to do that anymore and they don't want you to do that, because that's their job. I used to do our product road map. I don't do that anymore. These days, we have new initiatives. Pushing us into new business areas and expanding our businesses are where I'm hands-on today."
Fauci faces heavy criticism as 3,000 more emails are released
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'Tucker Carlson Tonight' reacts to apparent coordinated effort to keep COVID origins a secret. #FoxNews #Tucker
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'Tucker Carlson Tonight' host reacts to Dr. Fauci's emails exposed. #FoxNews #Tucker
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Vincent speaks with Peter Daszak, President of EcoHealth Alliance, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting wildlife and public health from the emergence of disease.
Video of Navy radar from 2019 shows as many as 14 objects swarming the USS Omaha off the coast of San Diego, California; reaction on ‘Outnumbered.’ #FoxNews
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FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service delivering breaking news as well as political and business news. The number one network in cable, FNC has been the most-watched television news channel for 18 consecutive years. According to a 2020 Brand Keys Consumer Loyalty Engagement Index report, FOX News is the top brand in the country for morning and evening news coverage. A 2019 Suffolk University poll named FOX News as the most trusted source for television news or commentary, while a 2019 Brand Keys Emotion Engagement Analysis survey found that FOX News was the most trusted cable news brand. A 2017 Gallup/Knight Foundation survey also found that among Americans who could name an objective news source, FOX News was the top-cited outlet. Owned by FOX Corporation, FNC is available in nearly 90 million homes and dominates the cable news landscape, routinely notching the top ten programs in the genre.
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Mission Statement
Investigate & expose corruption, dishonesty, self-dealing, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions in order to achieve a more ethical & transparent society.
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COLLABORATION - Best not to work in silos. No one individual is as smart as all of us.
RESILIENCE - Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. Never, ever, ever give up. We don't let mistakes or setbacks discourage us. Pursue perfection, knowing full well you will never attain it.
MISSION DRIVEN - The best people are motivated by purpose. We are passionate and truly believe in our cause. We must be externally focused, not internally focused.
MAKE THE STATUS QUO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE - We move mountains. Failure is not an option. We do whatever it takes.
THE TIP OF THE SPEAR - We are a loss leader. We do not shy away from conflict or litigation.
Ethical Values
Rule #1 – Truth is paramount. Our reporting is fact based with clear and irrefutable video and audio content. Truth is paramount. We never deceive our audience. We do not distort the facts or the context. We do not “selectively edit.”
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Rule #3 – We adhere to the 1st Amendment rights of others. During our investigations we do not disrupt the peace. We do not infringe on the 1st Amendment rights of others.
Rule #4 – The Zekman Test. The undercover investigations we pursue are judged by us to be of “vital public interest” and “profound importance.” The Zekman Test is our baseline. Undercover investigative reporting is necessary because, “...there’s no other way to get the story...” Whereas the Society of Professional Journalists allows for undercover techniques, if undercover techniques are necessary to expose issues of vital public importance; we believe they are not only allowed but required.
Rule #5 – We Protect the Innocent When Possible - Embarrassing private details are not to be investigated. We stay away from irrelevant embarrassingly intimate details about private citizens personal lives. We look for individual wrong-doing and judge its public importance. The irrelevant religious or sexual dispositions of our targets are not to be investigated.
Rule #6 – Transparency. Our methods & tactics must be reasonable and defensible. We use the “Twelve Jurors on Our Shoulder” rule. The work has to be done with such a degree of integrity that it can withstand scrutiny in both law & ethics. We are comfortable with transparency. We must be willing to be ready to disclose our methods upon publication.
Rule #7 – Verifying and Corroborate Stories – Evaluate impact on third parties and Newsworthiness of Statements Alone.We consistently consider the probable truth or falsity of statements, examine any reasons to doubt the veracity of underlying assertions and whether the assertions are newsworthy. When possible, we will confirm with our subjects that their statements captured on video are accurate & truthful. At the very least, we will give our subjects an opportunity to elaborate and/or respond. In all matters, we rely on the 1st Amendment to protect our ability to publish newsworthy items after our internal deliberations. On whether there is an obligation to ensure the veracity of statements made on video, 1.) consider whether the remarks may potentially impact an innocent third party. (Factors in support of releasing the content) and 2.)The Newsworthiness of the statement alone by itself. (Factors against releasing the content).
Rule #8 – Raw Video. In certain circumstances we may release the “raw” video to the press and or the public. But as a rule, we do not.
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Rule #10 – Being Accountable. Admit mistakes & correct them promptly.
Rule #11 – We do not manufacture content. We do not put words in our investigative subjects' mouths. We do not lead the horse to water. Our purpose is to elicit truth.
Rule #12 – With Great Power comes Great Responsibility.
John Brennan at The Council of Foreign Relations - 29th June 2016
Transcript:
“Another example is the array of technologies often referred to collectively as Geo-Engineering, that potentially could help reverse the warming effects of global climate change. One that has gained my personal attention is stratospheric aerosol injection or SAI, a method of seeding the stratosphere with particles that can help reflect the sun's heat in much the same way that volcanic eruptions do. An SAI program could limit global temperature increases, reducing some risks associated with high air temperatures and providing the world economy additional time to transition from fossil fuels. This process is also relatively inexpensive, the National ..Research.. Council estimates that a fully deployed SAI program would cost about $10billion yearly. As promising as it may be, moving forward on SAI would also raise a number of challenges for our government and for the international community. On the technical side, greenhouse gas emission reductions would still have to accompany SAI, to address other climate change effects, such as ocean acidification because SAI alone would not remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. On the geopolitical side the technology's potential to alter weather patterns and benefit certain regions of the world at the expense of ..other.. regions, could trigger sharp opposition from some nations, others might seize on SAI's benefits and back away from their commitment to CO2 reductions and as with other breakthrough technologies, global norms and standards are lacking, to guide a deployment and implementation of SAI and other Geo-Engineering initiatives. Now I could go on and on and on and on about the things that fascinate me, but rather than talk about them I thought I'd stop here and start the conversation with Judy and then I can take some of your questions.”
History and Prospect of Geo-Engineering by David Keith
http://keith.seas.harvard.edu/files/tkg/files/26.keith_.2000.geoengineeringhistoryandprospect.e.pdf
Global warming or Natural Climate Change:
http://www.petitionproject.org/index.php
http://www.globalresearch.ca/demystifying-the-climate-change-debate/5566164
Weather Control Records:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B08vy7X28kjlR1VyNXM1eEdQOXM/view
They wouldn't do that:
https://priceonomics.com/how-the-us-government-tested-biological-warfare-on/
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/aug/30/sillyseason.physicalsciences
http://www.apfn.net/Messageboard/09-05-05/discussion.cgi.26.html
http://beforeitsnews.com/eu/2016/09/nasa-confesses-to-dosing-americans-with-air-borne-lithium-other-chemicals-2611894.html
Kucinich Bill to Congress H.R.2977:
https://chemtrailsplanet.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/kucinich-hr-2977-space-preservation-act.pdf
Original link and full conference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIQDqxl9FtM&t=851s&index=13&list=PLvR_BEe_mjURnf2DiNPN-tttximXN5_A6
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Investigate & expose corruption, dishonesty, self-dealing, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions in order to achieve a more ethical & transparent society.
Core Values
MORAL COURAGE - Courage is the virtue that sustains all others. We choose to overcome our fears.
WE ARE ALL LEADERS - Turning people into leaders. Completed staff work. Ownership.
COLLABORATION - Best not to work in silos. No one individual is as smart as all of us.
RESILIENCE - Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. Never, ever, ever give up. We don't let mistakes or setbacks discourage us. Pursue perfection, knowing full well you will never attain it.
MISSION DRIVEN - The best people are motivated by purpose. We are passionate and truly believe in our cause. We must be externally focused, not internally focused.
MAKE THE STATUS QUO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE - We move mountains. Failure is not an option. We do whatever it takes.
THE TIP OF THE SPEAR - We are a loss leader. We do not shy away from conflict or litigation.
Ethical Values
Rule #1 – Truth is paramount. Our reporting is fact based with clear and irrefutable video and audio content. Truth is paramount. We never deceive our audience. We do not distort the facts or the context. We do not “selectively edit.”
Rule #2 – We do not break the law. We maintain one-party consent when recording someone is inherently moral and ethical. We never record when there is zero-party consent. In areas where we are required to have consent from all parties, we seek legal guidance regarding the expectation of privacy’s impact on our right to record.
Rule #3 – We adhere to the 1st Amendment rights of others. During our investigations we do not disrupt the peace. We do not infringe on the 1st Amendment rights of others.
Rule #4 – The Zekman Test. The undercover investigations we pursue are judged by us to be of “vital public interest” and “profound importance.” The Zekman Test is our baseline. Undercover investigative reporting is necessary because, “...there’s no other way to get the story...” Whereas the Society of Professional Journalists allows for undercover techniques, if undercover techniques are necessary to expose issues of vital public importance; we believe they are not only allowed but required.
Rule #5 – We Protect the Innocent When Possible - Embarrassing private details are not to be investigated. We stay away from irrelevant embarrassingly intimate details about private citizens personal lives. We look for individual wrong-doing and judge its public importance. The irrelevant religious or sexual dispositions of our targets are not to be investigated.
Rule #6 – Transparency. Our methods & tactics must be reasonable and defensible. We use the “Twelve Jurors on Our Shoulder” rule. The work has to be done with such a degree of integrity that it can withstand scrutiny in both law & ethics. We are comfortable with transparency. We must be willing to be ready to disclose our methods upon publication.
Rule #7 – Verifying and Corroborate Stories – Evaluate impact on third parties and Newsworthiness of Statements Alone.We consistently consider the probable truth or falsity of statements, examine any reasons to doubt the veracity of underlying assertions and whether the assertions are newsworthy. When possible, we will confirm with our subjects that their statements captured on video are accurate & truthful. At the very least, we will give our subjects an opportunity to elaborate and/or respond. In all matters, we rely on the 1st Amendment to protect our ability to publish newsworthy items after our internal deliberations. On whether there is an obligation to ensure the veracity of statements made on video, 1.) consider whether the remarks may potentially impact an innocent third party. (Factors in support of releasing the content) and 2.)The Newsworthiness of the statement alone by itself. (Factors against releasing the content).
Rule #8 – Raw Video. In certain circumstances we may release the “raw” video to the press and or the public. But as a rule, we do not.
Rule #9 – Subject Anonymity. We investigate & question sources before promising anonymity. Once we confirm, we will do everything in our power to protect the identity of our confidential sources.
Rule #10 – Being Accountable. Admit mistakes & correct them promptly.
Rule #11 – We do not manufacture content. We do not put words in our investigative subjects' mouths. We do not lead the horse to water. Our purpose is to elicit truth.
Rule #12 – With Great Power comes Great Responsibility.
'Fox News @ Night' host Shannon Bream reports the latest on the case. #FoxNews #Breaking
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At a school board meeting, this little girl went off on the school board over mask mandates.
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Rep. Jordan presses questions and demands an investigation into the origins of COVID-19. The congressman unloaded on Fauci here!
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Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., reacts to the administration cancelling US pipelines while allowing Russia's. #FoxBusiness #FoxBusinessTonight
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Fox News' Jennifer Griffin reports these people may have been the target of a directed energy microwave weapon on 'Special Report.' #FoxNews #Breaking
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California health officials on Friday introduced a system for residents to obtain a digital copy of their COVID-19 vaccine record, which can be used at businesses or events that require individuals to provide proof of vaccination.
To access their information, residents can enter into a state website their name, date of birth and cell phone number or email address in order to receive a QR code and digital copy of their vaccine record. Officials said the digital pass includes the same information as the paper cards issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), The Associated Press (AP) reported.
Erica Pan, the state’s epidemiologist, told reporters during a press conference Friday afternoon that proof of vaccination may already be required in some circumstances such as travel. Pan added that state health officials believe there will be a demand for the digital pass and it will provide an easier way for residents to prove their vaccination status.
2/ This is entirely voluntary – anyone who’s been vaccinated in California who wants a digital copy of their CDC card, this is for you. Don’t want a digital copy? Totally cool! You still got vaccinated, which helped California re-open this week. Thank you. ????????
“The odds are someone is going to misplace their paper CDC card and a digital COVID-19 vaccine record provides a convenient backup,” she told reporters.
California lifted most of its COVID-19 restrictions Tuesday, one of the last states to do so, according to The New York Times. Vaccinated people are no longer required to wear masks at most indoor locations though everyone must continue to wear masks in places such as mass transit and health facilities.
Businesses can choose whether to make mask-wearing optional, require everyone to wear them, or use a vaccine verification system, AP reported.
New York announced in March the state would offer an electronic vaccine verification through an app called the Excelsior Pass. The app, which is also free and voluntary, allows users to provide proof of vaccination using their phones.
Lucy Dunn, president of the Orange County Business Council, told AP that many businesses in California want an option for vaccine verification so they can take measures to keep workers and customers safe. She noted that paper records have been easily falsified in the past.
“It helps keep us informed as to who is vaccinated and not,” Dunn said. “It’s voluntary, personal, protected and as easy as adding it to your smart phone’s digital wallet like an airline boarding pass.”
A woman in New York received hundreds of unordered Amazon packages, NBC News reported Friday.
Jillian Cannan began receiving Amazon packages June 5 at her home in Buffalo, New York, but had never ordered them. “When I first started receiving the packages, I called Amazon to try and give them back, but they explained to me that they were officially mine to keep since they had been delivered to my home,” Cannan said according to NBC.
Hundreds of packages began showing up at her house from Amazon warehouse trucks, the U.S. Postal Service and UPS. The packages contained thousands of silicone support frames to use inside face masks, according to the outlet.
Hundreds of Amazon packages arrive at woman’s doorstep, but she never ordered them. https://t.co/d1c00yfENx
“At first, I was convinced that it was a scam, or maybe someone trying to clear out their warehouse,” Cannan said. “But because all of the items were the same, I don’t think that’s the case here.”
Cannan reached out to Amazon attempting to find the person responsible, but the company was slow to investigate the case. Finally, Amazon closed the case after Cannan garnered the support of her local community and social media, saying they had tracked down the original order and would remove her address.
“We were just like ‘How can we get something positive out of this whole hilarious story?'” she said. “So, my business partner and I reached out to the children’s hospitals, and we decided we want to do a decorate-your-own-face mask and include the bracket in the little kit with a blank face mask and some crayons and stickers that kids can work on while they’re in the hospital.”
Cannan posted Friday on Facebook that she hopes Amazon will help with the project.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Read the stories here: Is Biden’s Presidency Turning Out To Be Obama’s Third Term? McConnell Blasts Manchin’s Voting Compromise, Alleging It Has The Same ‘Rotten Core’ As Democrats’ Bill Trump Endorses Lisa Murkowski’s GOP Challenger Kelly Tshibaka For 2022
Democratic California Rep. Ted Lieu publicly challenged Catholic bishops Friday to deny him Communion for supporting contraception, abortion, same sex marriage and more.
“Dear USCCB,” Lieu tweeted. “I’m Catholic and I support: -Contraception -A woman’s right to choose -Treatments for infertility -The right for people to get a divorce -The right of same sex marriage.”
“Next time I go to Church, I dare you to deny me Communion,” the congressman said. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Lieu represents California’s 33rd district which covers Los Angeles County, an archdiocese that Archbishop José Horacio Gómez oversees. Gómez did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF about Lieu’s challenge.
Sixty Catholic Democrats also issued a “Statement of Principles” Friday warning U.S. bishops against “the weaponization of the Eucharist.” Signers included Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro and New York Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez.
Lieu’s name does not appear on the letter.
Biden has spoken about his Catholicism through his entire political career, referring to his faith as a source of solace during turbulent times in his life. Biden exhibits many outward signs of his Catholicism: he frequently goes to mass, has met with Pope Francis, mentions praying the rosary and visits the cemetery where his family members are buried.
Yet as soon as he became president, Biden immediately took action to fund and promote abortion — which the Catholic Church condemns as a “crime against human life.”
The Catholic Church teaches that Catholics may not receive Holy Communion if they are “conscious of a grave sin.” Catholics who have committed any grave sins must make a good confession before they can receive, according to the Church.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].
A play in China went viral early last week as real wolves chased actors as part of the performance, CNN reported Thursday.
The live show in the northwestern city of Xi’an depicted several wolves running on stage chasing performers around the theater. The show titled “Tuoling Legend” or “The Legend of Camel Bell” explores the “traditional culture of the Tang Dynasty, follow[s] the traces of the camel team on the Silk Road, and spread[s] the cultural legends of Xi’an’s most glorious historical period,” according to the Huaxia Cultural Tourism website.
A representative of the Xi’an branch of Huaxia Cultural Tourism told CNN, “these wolves are safe and won’t hurt people.” “The wolves have been domesticated for three to four generations. They are legally raised and trained by professional trainers with certifications since 2018, and no accident happened in the past three years.”
The representative added that the performers wore protective clothing, and a net protected those audience members so the wolves wouldn’t reach them. Thirty gray wolves and 20 camels were used in the performance to show the danger travelers faced on the Silk Road.
The video has garnered more than 433 million views.
The New York City Police Department released a video Friday showing a masked gunman opening fire on a man over the heads of two children trying to take cover on a Bronx sidewalk.
Video of the Thursday evening incident shows an unidentified shooter running after the victim, who runs into two children and falls. The unidentified man shot at the victim at least three times in the back and both legs, according to the New York Post.
????Please Share@NYPDDetectives need your help identifying & locating the 2 men seen in this video shooting another man near 1551 Sheridan Ave. in the Bronx.
Yes, those are children with the victim, who were very fortunately not injured.
The NYPD said the 24-year-old victim is in stable condition after being taken to the hospital, and the 5-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl weren’t wounded during the shooting.
The spokesperson told the DCNF that the NYPD is looking for the unidentified shooter, who was described as a male with sunglasses wearing all black clothing, and the second individual was a light-skinned male who wore a white baseball cap, a red long-sleeved shirt, and dark-colored shorts.
The most recent statistics show crime in New York City rose by 22% in June compared with May, according to a press release. The NYPD has increased the presence of its unarmed volunteer force at subway stations in May to combat this rise.
The NYPD released in May CCTV footage of a fatal shooting at a crowded underground bar in the Bronx.
This crime surge comes as the NYPD saw a nearly 90% rise in retirements in 2020.
“NYPD cops have shown us time and again they are willing to go in harm’s way on behalf of all New Yorkers,” said Police Commissioner Dermot Shea in a June press release. “It is this commitment to our collective public safety – in tandem with the communities we serve – that will allow our great city to prevail in the challenges we face together.”
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Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley doubled down on his decision not to get the coronavirus vaccine in a Twitter statement Friday.
“Hi, I’m Cole Beasley and I’m not vaccinated!” Beasley began his statement on Twitter. “I will be outside doing what I do. I’ll be out in the public. If your [sic] scared of me then steer clear, or get vaccinated. Point. Blank. Period.” “I may die of covid, but I’d rather die actually living.”
“I just want to win the Super Bowl and enjoy these relationships that will be created along the way.”
Beasley went on to say that other NFL players hold the same position as him.
“A lot of other NFL players hold my position as well but aren’t in the right place in their careers to be so outspoken,” he wrote. “I feel for you and I’m hoping I’m doing my part to represent you guys well.”
Beasley criticized the NFL and NFLPA’s latest coronavirus policy in a string of tweets Thursday. The new NFL policy includes capacity restrictions, not being allowed to eat with teammates, restrictions on promotional activity and more.
A spokesperson for the Dallas Police Department told the Daily Caller News Foundation Thursday the Texas city has seen an increase in gang-related offenses.
The Dallas Police Department recorded more than twice as many assaults so far in 2021 compared to the first five months of last year, including 425 gang-related assault offenses, nearly 350 reports of aggravated assault and 16 instances of intimidation in 2021, according to data provided to the DCNF. Two sexual offenses, including rape and assault with an object, were recorded along with one incident involving manslaughter.
“We have seen an increase in gang-related offenses overall,” a Dallas Police Department spokesperson told the DCNF. “The Gang Unit is looking to increase personnel in the unit soon so that we may be able to slow the increase.”
“We are currently focusing on shootings and analyzing the relationship to gangs, and we are working to get the shooters and the guns off the streets,” the spokesperson added.
Police take cover run near the Dallas police department’s headquarters after a man was spotted standing on the ledge of a building. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The Dallas Police Department recorded 13 more robberies in 2021 than all of 2020, according to data provided to the DCNF. Officials also reported 18 narcotics violations and six weapons law violations affiliated with gang activity this year, up from zero recorded in 2020.
Over 400 law enforcement officials with the Dallas Police Department, FBI and DEA participated in a joint operation targeting gangs, drugs and violent crime that resulted in multiple arrests on June 10, a CBS affiliate reported.
Law enforcement officials reported a 14% increase in violent crimes from 2018 to 2019 and an additional 5% increase from 2019 to 2020, according to the Dallas Police Department’s 2021 Violent Crime Reduction Plan. Officials found instances of violent crime were concentrated in multiple small areas of the city.
The Dallas Police Department decided to implement “hot spot policing” focused on specific, small locations where violent crimes frequently occurred, according to the report. Officers increased street-level deterrence and focused on arresting repeat offenders.
Aggravated assaults increased 7%, incidents of domestic violence were up around 13% and gang-related crimes increased every month compared to the same timeframe in 2020, NBC DFW reported. Homicides in April increased nearly 30% from the same time last year totaling 68 incidents by the end of the month.
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Catholic congressional Democrats are accusing U.S. Catholic bishops of weaponizing the Eucharist against President Joe Biden.
Sixty Catholic Democrats issued a “Statement of Principles” Friday warning U.S. bishops against “the weaponization of the Eucharist.” Signers included Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro and New York Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez.
Most of the Democrats who signed the statement appear to publicly support abortion in direct conflict with Catholic Church teaching.
NEW: 60 Catholic Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives issued a “Statement of Principles” with a message to U.S. bishops that “the weaponization of the Eucharist to Democratic lawmakers for their support of a woman’s safe and legal access to abortion is contradictory”. pic.twitter.com/IeR3gSbzDJ
“We solemnly urge you to not move forward and deny this most holy of all sacraments, the source and the summit of the whole work of the gospel over one issue,” the lawmakers added.
The letter comes after the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) overwhelmingly approved a measure Friday to draft a statement discussing whether high profile pro-abortion politicians may be denied communion. Biden took questions from reporters following remarks Friday afternoon, where a reporter asked him how he felt about the news.
As Catholic Democrats, we are committed to making real the basic principles that are at the heart of Catholic social teaching: helping the oppressed, protecting the least among us & ensuring that all are given opportunities to share in the blessings of this great country. pic.twitter.com/nZHeUVfP2j
The president has spoken about his Catholicism through his entire political career, referring to his faith as a source of solace during turbulent times in his life. Biden exhibits many outward signs of his Catholicism: he frequently goes to mass, has met with Pope Francis, mentions praying the rosary and visits the cemetery where his family members are buried.
Yet as soon as he became president, Biden immediately took action to fund and promote abortion — which the Catholic Church condemns as a “crime against human life.”
The Catholic Church teaches that Catholics may not receive Holy Communion if they are “conscious of a grave sin.” Catholics who have committed any grave sins must make a good confession before they can receive, according to the church.
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A Swedish journalist living in Taiwan was told by LinkedIn to edit his profile Thursday due to the presence of prohibited content.
Jojje Olsson, a journalist who writes prolifically on China, posted a tweet Thursday with an email from LinkedIn informing him that his profile and activity was not viewable in China as it contained “prohibited content” in the education section. The email told Olsson that LinkedIn would review his profile’s accessibility if he was willing to “update” the education section of his profile.
This is absolutely unbelievable – under “Education” on my LinkedIn profile, I mention in one line that my degree easy in modern Chinese history was written about the Tiananmen square massacre.
“The censorship of my profile is not because of any posts or comments that I made, but because the topic of my degree essay over a decade ago,” Olsson said in a statement to The Guardian. “I believe LinkedIn is really reckless with its own credibility, when as a professional networking site it is censoring the academic background of its users.”
Olsson told Business Insider that he does not plan to remove the mention of Tiananmen Square from his profile.
LinkedIn defended its policy Friday in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“We’re a global platform with an obligation to respect the laws that apply to us, including adhering to Chinese government regulations for our localized version of LinkedIn in China,” the company said. “We will continue to use multiple avenues to notify impacted members within China about our practice.”
The social networking site had previously addressed the question of Chinese censorship in 2014, following its censoring of mentions of the Tiananmen Square massacre’s 25th anniversary.
“It is difficult,” LinkedIn’s Director of Communications Hani Durzy told Marketplace. “We are strongly in support of freedom of expression. But it was clear to us that to create value for our members in China and around the world, we would need to implement the Chinese government’s restrictions on content.”
Paramilitary police march on Tiananmen Square, 04 June 2006. (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Chinese regulators had cracked down on the social networking platform in March, chastising LinkedIn executives for not adequately censoring political content, according to The New York Times. LinkedIn halted some of its operations while it worked to comply with the new regulations.
“While we remain focused on our goal of creating economic opportunity for our members in China, we’re temporarily pausing new member sign-ups for LinkedIn China as we work to ensure we remain in compliance with local law,” the company said in a statement in March.
LinkedIn, a subsidiary of Microsoft, asked for the removal of the content only weeks after Microsoft search engine Bing censored certain image results of the Tiananmen Square protests, most notably the iconic “tank man” photograph.
Microsoft has previously denied that it censors material on behalf of the Chinese government, attributing users’ inability to access photos of Tiananmen Square to an “error.”
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Senator Ted Cruz on Friday blasted critical race theory as a "lie" and said the school of thought is as racist as "the Klansman in white sheets."
The Texas Republican took the stage at the Faith and Freedom Foundation's Road to the Majority conference where he took critical race theory head-on, recalling a reporter who he said tried to "gotcha" the senator about "what is critical race theory."
"I explained to him and I said, ‘Well, it’s a theory that derives from Marxism. Carl Marx viewed the entire world as a conflict between classes, between the owners of capital and the working men and women, the proletariat," Cruz said. "A fundamental battle in society."
"Critical race theory takes that same Marxist concept except it replaces ‘class’ with ‘race,’" he continued. "And it says all of America and all of the world is a battle between the races."
Cruz said that critical race theory "seeks to turn us against each other" and looks to stoke hatred among people if they have "different-colored skin."
"And let me tell you right now: critical race theory is bigoted. It is a lie," the Texas Republican continued, sparking cheers from the crowd. "And it is every bit as racist as the Klansman in white sheets."
The senator said that, "as a Christian and an American," he loves his neighbor regardless of the color of their skin, sex, faith, creed or ethnicity, adding that "we are commanded to love."
"Period. The end," Cruz said. "And those who would divide us, those who would spread lies. It is evil."
The debate over critical race theory has largely focused on critical race theory's role in schools, leading some Republican states to take steps to ban it from public schools.
The Boy Scouts of America are nearing a settlement with lawyers for sex-abuse victims that marks a major step for the youth group’s efforts to end the largest bankruptcy case ever filed over childhood abuse, people familiar with the matter said.
The Boy Scouts are close to agreeing on a victim-compensation framework with a coalition of victims’ law firms that represent the bulk of the 84,000 men who stepped forward to file claims over sexual abuse in scouting programs, the people familiar with the matter said. Details are still being hammered out, and there is no guarantee a final settlement will materialize, they said.
A deal with the law-firm coalition would mark a breakthrough for the Boy Scouts after 16 costly months under court protection. Any settlement proposal will still be subject to a vote by survivors and requires bankruptcy-court approval to take effect.
A spokesman for the Boy Scouts declined to comment ahead of an anticipated filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.
The Boy Scouts filed for chapter 11 in February 2020, hoping to resolve a wave of civil litigation by victims after several states suspended statutes of limitation on sexual abuse, allowing survivors to sue regardless of how long ago the misconduct took place.
Royal Caribbean reportedly announced Thursday that passengers who are not vaccinated against the coronavirus will not be allowed to participate in all the onboard activities and will have additional mask and testing requirements, the travel website, The Points Guy, reported.
According to an email sent to passengers and obtained by Fox News, passengers sailing on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas ship out of Miami starting in July will be asked to either provide documentation proving they have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, or they will be considered unvaccinated.
Unvaccinated passengers will have to undergo COVID-19 testing before boarding and before disembarking the cruise ship -- and they will be responsible to pay for those tests, which total $136 total, according to the email.
However, Royal Caribbean will cover the cost of testing for unvaccinated children who are not yet eligible for vaccines.
Unvaccinated passengers sailing on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas ship out of Miami starting in July will have additional testing requirements and some restrictions onboard the cruise ship. (iStock)
Royal Caribbean is also requiring unvaccinated passengers to undergo a polymerase chain reaction or PCR test within three days of the cruise’s start, for which guests will also be responsible for the cost.
During the actual cruise, unvaccinated passengers will not be able to attend all events or go to all venues. Some events and venues will be restricted to vaccinated passengers only, where masks will not be required.
Masks will be required for all passengers in all other indoor areas. Masks will not be required in outdoor areas.
Vaccinated passengers will be given a wristband that shows they are vaccinated, while unvaccinated passengers will have a hole punched in their key cards, The Points Guy reported.
All passengers have to show their key cards to get into all venues, lounges and events.
Another restriction imposed on unvaccinated passengers will happen during meal times.
According to The Points Guy, unvaccinated passengers will be given designated times and seating areas, while vaccinated passengers will be able to make their own dining reservations for times that they want to eat.
In a statement provided to The Points Guy, Royal Caribbean said: "Since the majority of our guests will be vaccinated, there will be venues and events restricted to vaccinated guests only. We’ll do our best to create opportunities for all guests to enjoy their time with us."
The Oscar-winning actress, 48, shares two children with ex-husband Chris Martin – Apple, 17, and Moses, 15 – and while Paltrow is one of Hollywood's biggest names, the kiddos aren't terribly interested in seeing her on-screen.
During Thursday's episode of "Shop TODAY with Jill Martin," Paltrow revealed that Apple has never seen one of her movies while Moses has only seen her in the massively popular Marvel franchise.
"My kids have never seen me in a movie," she revealed. "I mean, I think my son has seen me in the ‘Iron Man’ things, but I don't think my daughter has ever seen me in a movie."
Outside of playing Pepper Pots in seven different Marvel films, Paltrow is known for various other films, including "Contagion," "Hush" and "Shakespeare in Love," which earned her an Oscar, a Golden Globe and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Gwyneth Paltrow said that her daughter Apple has never seen her in a movie while her son has only seen her in the ‘Iron Man’ franchise.
(Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for goop)
On the television side, Paltrow won an Emmy for guest starring in "Glee" and most recently appeared in the first two seasons of Netflix's "The Politician."
"[Apple] says she like me here, like how she knows [me]," the actress explained. "And it's weird if I'm on screen."
The star also revealed her own favorite movie of hers.
"I love ‘The Royal Tenenbaums,'" she gushed. "I think that's my current favorite.
Apple and Moses may not have many more opportunities to see their mother act, as she said early last year that she's slowly stepping away from acting.
Gwyneth Paltrow is an Oscar- and Emmy-winning actress but has chosen to largely step away from acting. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
"I'm sort of semi-retired a bit from acting because I have a company that I do," the Goop founder told Ryan Seacrest at the 2020 Golden Globes. "But, I'm married to the ['The Politician'] writer [Ian Brennan] and he asked me to do the show. He said he was writing it for me."
Furthermore, she said during an episode of "No Filter With Naomi" that in order to get back in front of the camera, she'd "have to be f--king the writer."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom was reportedly approached in an aggressive manner by a man in Oakland on Friday, with authorities arresting the individual and charging him with assault.
The California Highway Patrol confirmed in a statement to Fox News that Newsom was approached by an "aggressive individual," and his security team removed him from the situation. The agency is investigating the incident.
The East Bay Times reported that the 54-year-old man allegedly threw a water bottle at the governor. He was booked on suspicion of resisting an executive officer and assaulting a public official.
The individual, from Berkeley, California, was arrested by CHP officers and booked at Santa Rita jail, a spokesperson for CHP said.
A spokesperson for Newsom’s office did not immediately return Fox News’ request for comment.
The East Bay Times reported that the governor appeared to be okay after the incident, even joking with reporters that "people have different ways of saying hello."
The publication noted that Newsom was in Oakland to promote small businesses in the area.
"Chrissy will be stepping away from Safely to take much needed time to focus on herself and be with her family," said a statement shared on Safely's Instagram Story on Friday. "We fully support her decision and are so thankful for her contributions."
The statement continued: "The brand will continue to move forward and focus on our important mission of bringing high quality, hard-working cleaning products to all American households."
Teigen launched the brand with Jenner and Good American co-founder/CEO Emma Grede in March. Jenner declined to comment while Grede did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Chrissy Teigen is ‘stepping away’ from cleaning brand Safely amid her bullying scandal. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Safely produces self-care and plant-powered home cleaning products including hand sanitizer, glass cleaner, laundry detergent, hand soap and more.
Teigen is in the midst of a bullying scandal after being accused of attacking various people, including several high-profile public figures – on social media.
The star publicly apologized on Monday with a lengthy post on Medium in which she acknowledged having been a "troll" in the past.
"Not a day, not a single moment has passed where I haven’t felt the crushing weight of regret for the things I’ve said in the past," she said in the post.
Teigen launched the line with Kris Jenner (left) and Emma Grede (right).
(Getty Images)
However, the scandal was compounded not long after the apology when designer Michael Costello spoke out and accused the former model of trying to kill his career following a social media misunderstanding that seemingly was faked to make Costello appear racist but was later proven to be nothing more than a set of photoshopped images from a disgruntled employee.
The designer said Teigen sent him disparaging messages about barring his business from success. He added that he was left with "unhealed trauma" and even suicidal thoughts following the ordeal.
Teigen has since claimed that the messages she allegedly sent were faked, though Costello's team told Fox News that the star's denial of the ordeal "confirms that she remains the same bully, despite her public apology."
Fox News' Jessica Napoli and Julius Young contributed to this report
A panel of warfare experts, including two retired generals and a prominent cybersecurity expert and analyst, joined "The Story" to discuss how global warfare is essentially moving away from rifles and bombs, and being carried out through more clandestine avenues like cyberattacks and bioweapons.
Gen. Keith Kellogg, former national security adviser to ex-Vice President Mike Pence, reacted to President Joe Biden's remarks announcing an agreement at the G-7 to "launch a bilateral strategic stability dialogue to work on a mechanism that can lead to control of new and dangerous and sophisticated weapons."
Kellogg said it will be difficult for the U.S. to truly work in concert with other countries because of the fact American defenses and capabilities are "unique" and at a higher level than other allies.
"It's like a 51-49 split. cyber- and bio-warfare. They're attacks from the unknown," he said.
Former President Donald Trump, recalled Kellogg, described the joint threat as a "silent enemy" that has to be duly and dually addressed.
"We've come a long way from crossbows and bows & arrows to gunpowder to nuclear," added Kellogg. "This is a new level of warfare that we have not seen before. We have to think hard about it."
Kellogg said the coronavirus pandemic is a warning that, if a microbe is in the future distinctively used as a bioweapon, it can kill millions and stymie the global economy.
That, linked with the Russian-based hack of the Colonial Pipeline that ground fuel supply chains to a halt up and down the Appalachians, could be a one-two punch that could "break the back" of any nation – including the U.S.
Later in the special three-part report, Wright – who has advised the U.S. State Department on such matters – told MacCallum that cyber warfare often goes unnoticed by the public because the "ones and zeros" aren't as gripping in daily discourse as the use of more standard weaponry.
"Because it's not sexy and we don't see the ones and zeros, we don't take it seriously. We saw the Colonial pipeline. The recent executive order gets there when they talk about applying new technology called inpoint detection and response," he said.
"I had a meeting with folks that came out of the classified community; the national nuclear stockpile folks. What I'm concerned with is that we take our eye off the ball. We're getting our rear ends handed to us in quantum computing. Why is that so important? If they get a significant presence, they'll break any of our encryption ‘that’ fast. Our secrets will no longer be protected," Wright warned.
"The things that we thought would be safe for years will not be safe anymore. So because you can't see it, that to me is the greatest danger. You can't see a 1 and 0. When you see an attack on the pipeline – and you saw the gas-lines -- and people are overreacting, what will they do if it's a real shortage? If a pipeline is taken out and there's nothing there anything? That's my concern. We start down this path but we take our eye off the ball."
A 700-pound bronze statue of George Floyd was unveiled Wednesday outside of Newark, New Jersey's city hall.
"Hopefully when people walk by and they see it, and they participate, hopefully it inspires them to become active in the struggles that are happening right here in Newark and right here in New Jersey," Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka said.
George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was killed in May 2020 when former Minneapolis police officer Dereck Chauvin kneeled on his neck for several minutes. His death ignited worldwide protests and a racial reckoning in the United States.
Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in April. He is scheduled for sentencing in late June.
The George Floyd statue was unveiled outside Newark's city hall Wednesday by Mayor Ras J. Baraka, fillmmaker Leon Pickney, sculptor Stanley Watts, and other city officials.
(City of Newark)
Actor and filmmaker Leon Pickney commissioned the statue as a donation, while artist Stanley Watts sculpted it.
"By honoring his humanity, we honor every single other person's humanity," Pickney said at a ceremony on Wednesday. "The statue was to cause them to remember why they marched during such a horrific pandemic and I didn’t want them to go back to a status quo."
(City of Newark)
Watts, who has been sculpting for 40 years, said he created the statue "because after death, George will be remembered."
"I chose to do this knowing that the nation is at a pivotal point," Watts said. "We all know that this was a horrific display of inhumanity."
The statue's unveiling also came just days before Juneteenth, commemorating the end of slavery on June 19, 1865, when news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached Galveston, Texas.
President Joe Biden signed a bill Thursday that establishes June 19th as a national holiday, Juneteenth National Independence Day.
George Mason University Patriots pitcher Sang Ho Baek died over the weekend after suffering from complications from Tommy John surgery, the university confirmed Friday. He was 20.
The George Mason Athletics Department in Fairfax, Virginia issued a statement mourning the loss of the right-handed pitcher who died Saturday after just completing his freshman year.
"We are devastated by the passing of Sang," George Mason baseball head coach Bill Brown said. "Sang was an incredible teammate who was loved by everyone associated with Mason baseball. He will be missed and forever cherished in our hearts. Right now, our thoughts are with Sang's family at this unbearably difficult time."
Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Brad Edwards said in a separate statement that the school was informed by Sang’s family.
"Sang embodied everything you would want from a student-athlete. He was an excellent student, dedicated teammate and friend to so many. We are committed to providing support and resources to Sang's teammates and all those in the Mason family who loved him."
A GoFundMe page set up for Sang’s family pointed to complications following a recent Tommy John Surgery, a common reconstructive surgery among pitchers.
"After battling through injuries throughout the season, Sang required Tommy John surgery. He suddenly passed away due to complications with his surgery. As a team, we are all mourning his passing."
According to TMZ Sports, Sang suffered a blood clot while in recovery.
Sang was originally from Salisbury, Maryland where he attended James M. Bennett High School before playing for the Patriots. He appeared in seven games, according to the team’s website.
A brown bear went on an eight-hour rampage that included injuring four people, entering a military camp and halting flights in northern Japan on Friday before it was fatally shot.
The animal was seen wandering through the streets of Sapporo, which is slated to host some Olympic events this summer, in the early morning hours, triggering multiple calls to police. Hokkaido police said the bear injured a woman in her 80s, a man in his 70s, a man in his 40s and a soldier.
Their conditions were not immediately known.
"If you find a bear, be careful to evacuate immediately," the police department tweeted.
This picture shows a brown bear that is on the loose in Sapporo, Hokkaido on Friday. A brown bear was on the loose in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo, with the government warning residents to stay home after the animal injured four people including a soldier. (Photo by STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
Video footage of the bear shows it wandering in the street. At one point, it was chased by a car on a busy road and forced its way into the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Camp Okadama where it knocked down a soldier on duty at the gate.
The soldier sustained cuts to the chest and stomach, the Defense Ministry said. The injuries were not life-threatening, officials said.
Flights were halted at a local airport and some elementary and junior high schools were closed, Japan Broadcasting Corporation, NHK, reported.
The animal was fatally shot by local hunters after it ran into a forest.
Toshihiro Hamada, an official at the Sapporo city environmental department, said authorities were investigating how the animal ended up in the city.
A bear shot dead is carried in Sapporo, northern Japan on Friday. The wild brown bear on the loose all night in the city wounded four people, entered a military camp and disrupted flights at the airport Friday before being shot and killed by authorities. (Yohei Fukai/Kyodo News via AP)
"We are sorry that four people were injured," Hamada said.
Brown bears roam mainly in Hokkaido forests, but experts say they have been increasingly spotted in inhabited areas looking for food, especially during the summer.
More than six decades after Marion Hood was rejected by Emory University’s School of Medicine, he received another letter from the school. This time, it was an apology for refusing to admit him into its medical program because he was Black.
Justice Alito was aghast. “Today’s decision is the third installment in our epic Affordable Care Act trilogy, and it follows the same pattern as installments one and two,” he wrote, joined by Justice Gorsuch. “In all three episodes, with the Affordable Care Act facing a serious threat, the court has pulled off an improbable rescue.”
The Colorado baker who won a partial victory at the Supreme Court in 2018 after refusing to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple violated the state’s anti-discrimination law by refusing to make a birthday cake for a transgender woman, a state judge ruled on Tuesday.
The third phase is after Labor Day, which Paige recommends. Vaccination rates will be high, most businesses and attractions will have opened and “the weather is usually lovely, and the crowds are quiet.”
“I am a woman and a lesbian, a minority of minorities,” Madeline Davis told the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach. “Now we are coming out of our closets and onto the convention floor.”
Former President Donald J. Trump endorsed Kelly Tshibaka on Friday in her race against Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, giving his support to an outsider candidate who promoted false claims of election fraud last year and has written articles in support of gay conversion therapy.
Missouri has become the latest state to throw down a broad challenge to the enforcement of federal firearms laws, as Republican-controlled state legislatures intensify their fierce political counterattack against President Biden’s gun control proposals.
As dense plumes of wildfire smoke thickened the air in Salem, Ore., last September, residents could barely see down the street, the morning sky glowed an ominous shade of orange and the Air Quality Index soared to almost 500, the worst reading in the United States for the entire year.
BILLINGS, Mont. — From the moment Silver Little Eagle decided to run for Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council, people dismissed her as too young, too green. But she was determined. Wooing voters with coffee, doughnuts and vows of bringing new energy to tribal issues, she won as a write-in candidate, becoming her tribe’s youngest councilwoman at…
There is much to celebrate about America’s vaccine rollout. The government bet big on vaccines, committing to buying millions of doses even before a vaccine was approved. Now, about 44 percent of the United States population has been fully vaccinated, far more than many other countries. While other nations struggle to obtain vaccines needed to…
Pro- and anti-abortion legislation has become stronger over the past two decades, an indication of what the country would look like without the 1973 precedent.
Coronavirus cases and restrictions are receding, but the nation risks falling short of Biden’s goal of administering at least one vaccination shot to 70 percent of adults by July 4.
Although Biden has vowed not to hire his own family, some ethics experts are disappointed that he hasn’t done more to shift away from the nepotism and cronyism practiced under Trump.
For years, Senate Democrats supported efforts to preserve the legislative filibuster. Now some of those same Senate Democrats are considering eliminating it.
For years, Senate Democrats supported efforts to preserve the legislative filibuster. Now some of those same Senate Democrats are considering eliminating it.
Follow the president-elect’s progress filling nearly 800 positions, among the 1,200 that require Senate confirmation, in this tracker from The Washington Post and the Partnership for Public Service.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, former Sanitation Department commissioner Kathryn Garcia, former City Hall lawyer Maya Wiley and entrepreneur Andrew Yang are in contention in the primary on Tuesday.
The president is facing a raft of domestic challenges after returning from his first overseas trip, including ongoing negotiations on infrastructure legislation.
The high court’s third ruling to keep the law alive prompted some Republicans to admit their hopes of ending the law outright are probably dead. Democrats hoped the ruling would pave the way for more expansions of health coverage.
Democrats worry about which polls to worry about, Michigan Republicans rally for an audit, and Hillary Clinton's endorsement raises big bucks for the candidate she didn't endorse.
The key issue was whether a 2017 decision by Congress to remove the penalty for not buying health insurance — known as the individual mandate — meant the law was unconstitutional.
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Christina Bobb and Jordan Conradson
!['Finding it extremely hard to order froyo from [The Bigg Chill] when you have to walk past tons of sugar-free cookies/other diet foods before you get to the counter', wrote Lovato in their original post - published on April 16 - before adding the hashtag 'Do Better'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/04/19/01/41923958-0-image-a-7_1618793550424.jpg)
Senators on Capitol Hill introduced legislation aimed at cracking down cyber criminals. On Thursday, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R.S.C.), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) set in motion the International Cybercrime Prevention Act, which looks to ramp up penalties for hackers targeting critical infrastructure.
Republicans are bashing Democrats for their attempt at influencing future election outcomes with what they are calling the Corrupt Politician's Act. This comes after GOP senators slammed the Democrat sponsored elections and voting Bill S.1
Florida Gov. (R) held a roundtable to discuss how the Sunshine State will deal with the harmful red tide phenomenon on its gulf coast. He met with officials on the Red Tide Task force in Saint Petersburg on Thursday to discuss mitigation efforts and future technology that could help with the dangerous algae bloom along Florida's coastline.
The mayor of Chicago has declared racism a public health emergency while citing the disparity of life expectancy between races in the city. Democrat Lori Lightfoot addressed the issue during a press conference Thursday.
The Supreme Court unanimously voted to protect a Catholic foster agency's First Amendment rights. In a unanimous decision on Thursday, the high court ruled in favor of the group Catholic Social Services (CSS), allowing them to continue participating in Philadelphia's foster care system.
The Missouri couple who garnered nationwide attention for defending their home from protesters during last year's Black Lives Matter protests plead guilty to misdemeanor charges. On Thursday, Mark and Patricia McCloskey plead guilty to fourth-degree assault and misdemeanor harassment respectively.
A reporter asked Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) about her take on an upcoming Supreme Court case regarding a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Law enforcement in Minnesota are investigating the gruesome discovery of human body parts in northeast Minneapolis. A community was left in shock after they were discovered in a local neighborhood.
The House of Representatives has repealed the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq. The decision was made in a 268-to-161 vote on Thursday with 49 Republicans voting "yay" on the matter, along with nearly all Democrats.
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo is under fire after challenging his critics to provide evidence of his political bias. Hundred of people responded to Cuomo's tweet as of Thursday afternoon.
