January 26, 2022 - The Virginia Star

Justice Breyer to Retire From Supreme Court: Report

January 26, 2022 Admin

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will step down from his post at the end of the court’s current term, according to a report from NBC News.

Breyer is one of the three remaining Democrat-appointed justices on the high court. Should he retire, it will present President Biden with an opportunity to appoint a liberal-leaning justice who could sit on the court for many years to come, and for the moment, preserve the 6-3 split between conservative-leaning and liberal-leaning justices.

Breyer, who is 83, is the oldest member of the court. He had faced consistent pressure from liberal groups to retire, especially following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose passing allowed then-President Donald Trump to appoint Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

Miyares Fires University of Virginia Counsel Who Is Working for January 6 Select Committee

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 Eric Burk

Attorney General Jason Miyares fired University of Virginia counsel Tim Heaphy, who was on leave to work as chief investigative counsel for the congressional Select Committee on the Jan. 6 Attack on the United States Capitol.

Senator Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) told The New York Times, “This is purely payback for Jan. 6 — there is no other reason that makes any sense.”

Virginia Scraps Critical Race Theory Program Critics Said Would Have Destroyed Math Education

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 Admin

Students in class, listening to the teacher at the front of the room

A state plan to abolish teaching advanced math in public schools that was seen as a means of implementing Critical Race Theory (CRT) was canceled Monday, according to a parents group.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDoE) has shut down the Virginia Math Pathways Initiative (VMPI), according to a message that flashed briefly on the website before taking people to the main mathematics instruction page on the VDoE site, Parents Defending Education said.

“The Virginia Department of Education has ended the Virginia Math Pathways Initiative (VMPI) project. Please see the Mathematics Instruction page, if your browser does not refresh,” the message on the site reads.

Commentary: Biden’s Ukraine Scramble

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

President Joe Biden talks on the phone with Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio, following the Senate vote to pass the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, Tuesday, August 10, 2021, in the Oval Office Dining Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

As usual, the media coverage on the Ukraine crisis is largely inadequate. Perversely, most of the aggressive left-wing media want to escalate the feud with Russian President Vladimir Putin to the point of driving Russia into the arms of China. This is the only way Russia (whose GDP is smaller than Canada’s) could seriously damage the West.

At the same time, some conservative commentators, including some of the stars at Fox News, are unreasonably accusing those who favor resisting Russian aggression in Ukraine of being warmongers and trying to propel America into endless, useless war. Again.

There is a legitimate American and Western interest in not allowing Russia to trample an independent nation of 40 million underfoot in the middle of Europe to the embarrassment of the Western alliance, and it is not a difficult scenario to avoid.

Commentary: America’s Phony Debts Problem

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 RealClearWire

The email from “Norton Protection” said I owed $999.99, which was “charged successfully and it will appear on your bank statement in 24 to 48 hours.” Although I have an account with a leading cybersecurity company, I’ve never paid that much for its products. To “cancel” the charge, I was instructed to call a number, conveniently highlighted in yellow.

All it took to bird-dog my fake debt email was a simple search-engine query of the invoice’s telephone number. It was based in Hawaii. Unfortunately, perhaps, for the real employees of Norton’s help desk, they are likely not stationed in the Aloha State.

In a nation swimming in real debt – with the average American owing an estimated $90,000 – it’s not surprising that “phantom debts” are one of the hottest scams.

Despite November Referendum Defeat, Richmond City Council Votes to Try Again to Bring Casino to Richmond

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 Eric Burk

The Richmond City Council voted eight to one to again pursue bringing an Urban One casino to the city, despite voters rejecting the casino in a November referendum. Pro-casino spending hit about $2 million, but local grassroots activism and $200,000 defeated the proposal. Shortly afterwards a survey about the casino proposal began circulating, and Councilmember Reva Trammell began collecting signatures for a petition to hold another referendum, according to The Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Trammell’s district includes the proposed site of the casino. Before the Monday evening vote, she said that misinformation and difficulty voting were part of the reason the referendum failed.

Capitol Police Is Surveilling Americans’ Social Media Feeds: Report

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

The U.S. Capitol Police is running background checks and examining the social media histories of people meeting with lawmakers, Politico reported Monday.

Following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, the Capitol Police adopted a new policy to dig into the social media feeds of individuals meeting members of Congress, Politico reported, citing three people familiar with the matter as well as internal Capitol Police documents and communications. Targets of the surveillance included congressional staffers as well as lawmakers’ constituents, donors and associates.

Julie Farnam, acting director of intelligence for the Capitol Police and former Department of Homeland Security official, directed analysts to run “background checks” on donors and associates of lawmakers, including instructions to “list and search all political opponents to see if they or their followers intend to attend or disrupt the event,” according to documents reviewed by Politico.

Lawyer Thomas Renz: Miscarriages and Cancers Up 300 Percent, Neurological Problems Up 1000 Percent in Past Year

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

During a panel discussion in the United States Senate Monday, attorney Thomas Renz, a member of America’s Frontline Doctors’ legal team, revealed several alarming vaccine safety signals that the U.S. government has ignored. The information was provided by three military doctors who have access to vaccination data that has been withheld from the general public.

Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) convened a panel of world renowned doctors and experts to provide their perspectives on the global pandemic response, including their perspectives on “early and hospital treatment, vaccine efficacy and safety, what went right, what went wrong, what should be done now, and what needs to be addressed long term.”

The panel discussion was titled, “COVID 19: A Second Opinion.”

Politically Incorrect Professor Faces Firing After Lawmakers Show Up on Law School’s Doorstep

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

University of Pennsylvania professor Amy Wax

University of Toronto psychologist Jordan Peterson, who famously opposed Canadian gender pronoun mandates, disclosed Wednesday that he had resigned as a tenured professor years earlier than planned.

In a lengthy and impassioned account of his decision for the National Post, the bestselling author argued that the “radical leftist Trinity” of diversity, inclusion and equity (DIE) is reducing his students to their race and ignoring their merit. He faulted colleagues for “going along with the DIE activists.”

Meanwhile, an Ivy League law professor who is even more politically incorrect than Peterson may not have a choice in whether she keeps her job of two decades.

FDA Pulls Authorization for Antibody Treatment, Refuses to Answer Questions

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 Peter D'Abrosca

SAN DIEGO (Jan 26, 2020) Lt. Cmdr. Raben Talvo, Naval Medical Center San Diego's (NMCSD) Office of Clinical Quality department head, administers the hospital’s first monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatment to a COVID-19-positive patient Jan. 26. Bamlanivimab, the mAb treatment, is administered under emergency use authorization (EUA) guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms in some adult and pediatric patients who are at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 symptoms. NMCSD's mission is to prepare service members to deploy in support of operational forces, deliver high quality healthcare services, and shape the future of military medicine through education, training, and research. NMCSD employs more than 6,000 active duty military personnel, civilians, and contractors in Southern California to provide patients withworld-class care anytime, anywhere. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Harley K. Sarmiento)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Monday unexpectedly pulled its Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19, dealing a blow to states like Florida which have been using the treatment effectively for months.

“Without a shred of clinical data to support this action, Biden has forced trained medical professionals to choose between treating their patients or breaking the law,” Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said in response to the FDA’s decree. “This indefensible edict takes treatment out of the hands of medical professionals and will cost some Americans their lives. There are real-world implications to Biden’s medical authoritarianism – Americans’ access to treatments is now subject to the whims of a failing president.”

Border Agents Encountered More Than 2 Million Migrants in 2021

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ended 2021 with more than 2 million migrant encounters.

December 2021 numbers released Monday showed that border patrol encountered 178,840 migrants at the southern border, a 2% increase from the previous month. The number of encounters in December 2021 was greater than the total number of encounters at the border in the previous three Decembers combined.

Of the migrants encountered in December, 23% of them were previously encountered by border agents in the last year. Single adults made up 64% of the encounters, a 4% increase from November.

The Online SAT Will Be Shorter and Easier

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

A common college admissions test, the SAT, will roll out its online version in the U.S. starting in March 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported. The new test is reportedly expected to be easier, shorter and simpler.

The test will be reduced from three hours to two with shorter reading passages followed by single questions, while math problems will be less wordy with calculators permitted for every question, according to Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of college readiness assessments at the College Board, the test’s operator and regulator, the WSJ reported.

“The digital SAT will be easier to take, easier to give and more relevant,” Rodriguez told the WSJ.

Majority of Democrats Say the Unvaccinated Should Be Confined to Home: Poll

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 The Center Square

One-third of Americans say they haven’t gotten the COVID-19 shots, majority of Democrats say they should be confined at all times, and or fined.

A majority of Democrats say they’d support the unvaxxed being confined to their homes at all times, with 45% saying they should be confined to designated facilities and 55% support for fines.

Roughly one-third of Americans surveyed in a recent poll say they haven’t received the COVID-19 shots and the majority of them said they don’t plan on getting them. The unvaccinated would be targeted by a majority of Democrats in another poll who say they favor a government policy that would require them to “remain confined to their homes at all times, except for emergencies.”

Missouri Attorney General Sues Nine More School Districts over Mask Requirements

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 The Center Square

young girl getting face mask put on her face

Missouri Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt on Monday filed lawsuits against nine public school districts with mask requirements.

Schmitt, a candidate for the seat of retiring U.S. Republican Senator Roy Blunt, filed suit against 36 school districts on Friday. Today’s districts being sued include the Kirkwood School District and the Special School District of St. Louis, both serving where Schmitt resides in Glendale, Mo.

“As we’ve made clear from the beginning, the power to make health decisions for their children should be in the hands of parents, not bureaucrats,” Schmitt said in a statement. “Today I’m filing nine more lawsuits against school districts that are illegally enforcing mask mandates on schoolchildren. Masking children all day in school is ineffective and these endless pandemic restrictions lead to lasting, negative psychological impacts on children and teens. This is a fight worth fighting, and I’m not going to back down.”

Iowa Senators Consider Increasing Governor’s Role on District Court Judge Selection

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 The Center Square

Iowa senators advanced a bill Monday that would change the makeup and leadership of district judicial nominating commissions.

Iowa’s 14 judicial election subdistricts each has a nominating commission that screens applicants and selects two nominees for district court judicial vacancies. The governor chooses one of the two to appoint for a district court vacancy.

Currently, the judge of the longest service in the district is the chair of the nominating commission, according to Iowa state statute. If there are two longest-serving judges, the elder is the chair. The commissions have 11 members: five elected by lawyers; five nonlawyers appointed by the governor; and the chair. Each commissioner, apart from the chair, serves a six-year term.

Governor Ron DeSantis Shreds Biden over Decision to Revoke Emergency Use Authorization for Monoclonal Antibody Treatments

January 26, 2022January 26, 2022 Cooper Moran

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis shredded President Joe Biden’s administration over the decision to revoke the emergency use authorization for Regeneron and Eli Lilly monoclonal antibody treatments.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, the treatments are not effective against the Omicron variant. Because the variant accounts for most cases of the coronavirus across the country, leaders of the agency limited its use.

House of Delegates Subcommittee Advances Three Republican Elections Reforms

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 Eric Burk

The General Assembly started out Tuesday with a 7 a.m. House of Delegates subcommittee meeting where Republicans passed some election reforms bills, and ended the day in a lengthy Senate committee meeting where Democrats killed seven of Senator Amanda Chase’s (R-Chesterfield) election reform bills. The House Privileges and Elections Subcommittee One heard three bills focused on absentee voting, voter photo identification and voter registration.