Month: July 2022

China’s Economy Craters as Severe Lockdowns Continue

Virginia Star Staff

China’s economy grew by just 0.4% year-over-year for the second quarter of 2022, according to data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Friday.

The figure underperformed analysts’ predictions of 1.0% growth, according to CNBC, and was the worst since the first quarter of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading in China, The Wall Street Journal reported. The lackluster growth was a result of strict COVID-19 lockdowns designed to constrain a resurgent strain of the virus, particularly in the major financial hub of Shanghai, the WSJ added.

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Bombshells Undercut the ‘Big Lie:’ 21 Confirmed Illegalities, Irregularities from 2020 Election

Virginia Star Staff

Democrats and their allies in the traditional news media have coined the term the “Big Lie” to dismiss anyone who questions the conduct of the 2020 election.

But with each passing day, new irregularities, security vulnerabilities and illegalities are being unmasked by bombshell revelations from courts, legislators and other investigative bodies like the FBI and Homeland Security Department.

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Joe Manchin Drives a Stake Through Democrats’ Economic Package

Virginia Star Staff

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said that he will not back a bill that includes climate provisions and tax hikes, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Manchin informed Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that he would only back legislation that includes provisions to reduce the costs of prescription pharmaceuticals and a two-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies on Thursday, the WSJ reported. The Democrats are rushing to reach a consensus on the bill before the August recess when legislators from both parties will begin to concentrate completely on bids for re-election.

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Biden Pursues More Foreign Oil Despite Invite from U.S. Producers

The Center Square

Prior to heading to Saudi Arabia, the U.S. energy industry invited President Joe Biden to visit American energy sites.

The Texas Oil and Gas Association, Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association, and over 25 U.S. energy associations invited Biden and his cabinet members to visit U.S. energy facilities throughout the U.S.

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Commentary: Trump’s Endorsement Record Shows the Pieces Line Up Ahead of 2024

RealClearWire

Despite the best efforts of the mainstream media and establishment RINOs, President Donald Trump’s primary endorsement record in 2022 is stronger than ever before. With his support, many effective “America First” candidates line up for a solid and consequential Republican majority of patriotic populists that could make all the difference looking toward 2024.

Although there have been a small handful of setbacks in certain primary races, President Trump’s record is still much stronger than any other political figure in America today, with a 94% win rate among his endorsements in primary contests. With over 140 successful primary endorsements this year alone, some of the most important races have been decided entirely on Trump’s selection.

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Virginia Department of Health Eliminates Guidance for COVID-19 Exposed Individuals to Quarantine from School

Eric Burk

The Virginia Department of Health has eliminated a recommendation for asymptomatic COVID-19-exposed individuals in schools to quarantine. The updated COVID-19 guidance applies to K-12 education, child care, and camps, although individuals who test positive still need to isolate at home for at least five days.

“This revised guidance outlines that quarantine is no longer routinely recommended for asymptomatic individuals after exposure to COVID-19 infected individuals. In general masks are not routinely recommended in these settings, indoors or outdoors, except during isolation as specified below,” states the guidance, which applies to teachers, staff, and children.

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Saint Bridget Catholic School’s ‘Bus Box’ Invention Gets Youngkin’s Approval

Eric Burk

Governor Glenn Youngkin ceremonially signed State Senator Siobhan Dunnavant’s (R-Henrico) SB 774 to allow the use of “bus boxes” underneath school buses to deliver packages – an invention of Clueless Robotics, a team of middle school students from Saint Bridget Catholic School. Two boxes per bus yield a 22-square foot…

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Commentary: The Feds Pile Up Vaccine ‘Adverse Event’ Reports as They Decry Scaremongering Elsewhere

Virginia Star Staff

Since the Food and Drug Administration authorized the first vaccines for COVID-19 in late 2020, the government and much of the media have insisted that the medicines developed in record time are safe and effective. Those who raised questions about them have been routinely dismissed as conspiracy theorists.

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Illegal Alien Living in Columbus, Ohio Charged with Raping and Impregnating 10-Year-Old Girl

Susan Berry, PhD

An illegal alien from Guatemala who has lived in Columbus, Ohio, for the past seven years has been arrested and charged with raping and impregnating a 10-year-old girl.

The Columbus Dispatch reported Wednesday Gerson Fuentes, 27, who has been working in a café, confessed to raping the child on at least two occasions and has been charged with rape, a first degree felony in Ohio.

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John Durham Asks Federal Court to Issue 30 Subpoenas for Steele Dossier Source Igor Danchenko’s Trial

Virginia Star Staff

Special counsel John Durham on Tuesday asked a federal court to issue 30 subpoenas for testimony in the trial against Igor Danchenko, the primary source of the discredited Steele dossier.

The court filing asked the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to issue the subpoenas for an “appearance before said Court at Alexandria, Virginia,” starting on Oct. 11 “to testify on behalf of the United States.”

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‘There’s No Money’: ICE Is Set to Run Out of Funding Amid Record Migrant Surge

Virginia Star Staff
U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the McAllen station encounter large group after large group of family units in Los Ebanos, Texas, on Friday June 15. This group well in excess of 100 family units turned themselves into the U.S. Border Patrol, after crossing the border illegally and walking through the town of Los Ebanos.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is set to run out of funding as the southern border continues to be overwhelmed by migrants making illegal crossings, according to Axios.

If the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) doesn’t step in, the agency could run out of money before October, Axios reported, citing three sources familiar with the situation. To solve the issue, DHS would have to pull funding from other organizations and allocate it to ICE.

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Commentary: Gavin Newsom’s Weird Idea of ‘Freedom’

Virginia Star Staff

In a run-up to what is likely to be a 2024 presidential bid, California Governor Gavin Newsom hit upon the bizarre idea of boasting in commercials that California is America’s true “free” state. 

Part of his ad campaign is to attack Florida—currently run by Newsom’s possible rival, Governor Ron DeSantis. 

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Federal Court Strikes Down Law Against Openly Encouraging People to Come into the U.S. Illegally

Virginia Star Staff
Temporary processing facilities in Donna, Texas, safely processes family units and unaccompanied alien children (UACs) encountered and in the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol March 17, 2021. The facility will bolster processing capacity in the RGV while the permanent Centralized Processing Center in McAllen is renovated. CBP Photo by Jaime Rodriguez Sr.

A U.S. federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that a federal law banning the encouragement of non-U.S. citizens to enter or reside in the country illegally is unconstitutional because it penalizes freedom of speech.

In a 2-1 decision, The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law criminalizes “vast amounts of protected speech” like informing non-citizens about social programs or telling family members to stay in the country even if their visa expires. Although the law is part of a broader statute barring human smuggling, Circuit Judge Nancy Moritz wrote that the law likely bans commonplace statements that are repeated across the nation countless times each day.

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Study: Natural Immunity Is 97 Percent Effective Against Severe COVID After 14 Months

Susan Berry, PhD

A study has found that natural immunity following COVID infection provides protection against severe illness that is superior to that imparted by the COVID vaccines.

In a preprint article published at MedRxiv, Qatar researchers revealed they found people who survived COVID-19 infection, and were not vaccinated, had outstanding protection against severe COVID disease or death from COVID.

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Producer Price Index Rises 11.3 Percent, Another Worrying Inflation Marker

The Center Square

Producer prices soared by 11.3% in June over a year ago as consumers continue to struggle with skyrocketing prices for just about everything.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Producer Price Index data Thursday, which showed a 1.1% increase last month, contributing to a 11.3% increase in the past 12 months, “the largest increase since a record 11.6% jump in March 2022.”

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Rep. Beyer, Sen. Kaine Move to Rename Arlington House Lee Memorial; GOP Opponent Lipsman Says Beyer Is Focusing on the Wrong Issues

Eric Burk

Representative Don Beyer (D-VA-08) and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) have introduced legislation to rename the “Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial” to “the Arlington House National Historic Site.”

“As our country and our Commonwealth grapple with the history of racism and slavery and engage in a long-overdue reexamination of public symbols, we have an opportunity to make it clear that we do not revere Confederate leaders or condone the enslavement of human beings,” Beyer said in a press release.

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Virginia ‘Meets Requirements’ for Compliance with Federal Special Education Requirements

Eric Burk

Virginia earned the top rating — “Meets Requirements”–  for the 11th consecutive year on a federal report card looking at outcomes for students with disabilities.

“Results-driven accountability looks beyond compliance with the provisions of IDEA [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] to see whether the efforts of special educators at the state and local levels are actually improving outcomes for students with disabilities. This latest federal rating shows that Virginia’s special educators continue to do just that,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow said in a Virginia Department of Education [VDOE] press release. “I think every school in the Commonwealth can take a page from the special education playbook by providing individualized instruction plans and tailored interventions for all students.”

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Commentary: Companies Pandering to the Pro-Abortion Crowd Do Not Support Women in Corporate America

Virginia Star Staff

The cynicism of so-called “woke” corporate executives is breathtaking. Their latest pet project – financing and facilitating abortions for their employees – should leave no doubt about their true motivations. 

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning Roe v Wade and returning abortion policy back to the states, dozens of companies have publicly committed to help their employees procure abortions out of state if the state in which they reside bans or restricts the procedure. 

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ICE to Provide Free Transportation for Pregnant Illegal Aliens to Pro-Abortion States

Virginia Star Staff

New guidance issued to agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ordered them to transport pregnant illegal aliens across state lines so they can get abortions in states where the practice is not banned.

The Daily Caller reports that the guidance will be announced formally in a memo later this week, after the instructions were initially leaked to the Wall Street Journal.

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Poll: Democrats Are Quickly Becoming the Party of White Elites

Virginia Star Staff

More college-educated white voters than minorities are backing the Democratic Party, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll released Tuesday,

The poll found that 57% of white voters with a bachelor’s degree would prefer Democrats to control Congress after the 2022 elections, compared to just 36% who would want Republicans to do so. Meanwhile, Republicans are having increasing success with minority voters, with Hispanics essentially split in their responses on which party they prefer to control Congress, and non-Hispanic, non-black minorities actually preferring Republican control by a margin of 39% to 34%, the poll found.

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Wisconsin School Policy Hiding Students’ Gender Identity from Parents Can Continue, Court Finds

Virginia Star Staff

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Friday that a school policy allowing students to secretly change their pronouns at school could remain in place.

In a 4-3 ruling, the state’s supreme court denied an injunction against the policy on procedural grounds because the plaintiffs were anonymous, allowing the gender identity policy to continue, the court’s opinion said. The final decision on the policy will be sent back to a circuit court.

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Commentary: Buttigieg Missing in Action on Supply Chain Disasters

Virginia Star Staff

Pete Buttigieg is the United States Transportation Secretary elevated from his role as a failed presidential candidate and a marginally competent mayor of South Bend, Indiana. During his tenure, our nation has suffered from unprecedented supply chain disruptions ranging from on-going back-ups at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, where forty percent of our nation’s imports arrive, to airline pilot shortages which are causing thousands of flights to be cancelled during high volume travel days. 

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Youngkin Announces Two Board of Historic Resources Appointees Including Historian Outspoken Against Destroying Monuments, Dr. Ann McLean

Eric Burk

Governor Glenn Youngkin announced his first two appointments to the Board of Historic Resources (BHR), including Richmond-area art historian Dr. Ann McLean,  who has appeared both on Richmond’s Morning News with John Reid and Bacon’s Rebellion critical of efforts to rename the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library and destroy monuments. The other appointee is Hon. Aimee Jorjani, nominated by Trump to be the first full-time chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The BHR is a seven-member group of governor-appointed Virginia citizens responsible for approving nominations to the Virginia Landmarks Register, to create new or revised state historic markers, and to hold historic preservation easements, according to its website.

“I think we should try to preserve the wonderful heritage that we have in Virginia and that our heritage has come under a vicious attack,” McLean told The Virginia Star.

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Amtrak Adds Second Daily Washington-Roanoke Round Trip

Eric Burk

Amtrak announced a new Washington, D.C.-to-Roanoke daily round trip Monday, adding to the already-existing round trip. The new trip leaves Washington at 8:05 a.m., arriving in Roanoke at 1:00 p.m., and the return leaves at 4:30 p.m., arriving back at 9:28 p.m, with stops in Alexandria, Manassas, Culpeper, Charlottesville, and Lynchburg. The existing train departs Roanoke for Washington at 6:32 a.m. and arriving in Washington at 11:34 a.m., while a return departs Washington at 5:00 p.m. and arrives in Roanoke at 10:06 p.m.

Fares for the 8:05 a.m. Roanoke-bound train and the 4:30 p.m. Washington-bound train currently start at $20 one-way.

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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost: No Evidence of Raped and Pregnant 10-Year-Old Girl Traveling to Indiana for Abortion

Susan Berry, PhD

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told Fox News Monday night there is no evidence of a 10-year-old girl in his state who was raped, became pregnant, and traveled to Indiana for an abortion, as Joe Biden claimed during his remarks justifying his executive order that attempts to undermine the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

“Not a whisper,” Yost told Fox News’ Jesse Watters on Primetime. “We have a decentralized law enforcement system in Ohio, but we have regular contact with prosecutors and local police and sheriffs. Not a whisper anywhere.”

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Hispanic Groups Blast Jill Biden for Taco ‘Caricature’

The Center Square

First Lady Jill Biden is taking fire from Hispanic groups after her comments comparing them to different kinds of breakfast tacos.

“The First Lady’s comments yesterday comparing Hispanic people to tacos shows yet again Democrats’ low regard for our people,” said Elizabeth Castro Gray, state chair for the Republican National Hispanic Assembly. “She reduced us to a caricature, a stereotype. Mrs. Biden demonstrated yet again why Hispanics are leaving the Democratic Party in huge numbers. We have little patience for a party that treats us as helpless victims. Who looks to us as little more than a reliable voting bloc.”

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Biden’s HHS Pressures Healthcare Providers to Perform ‘Emergency’ Abortions

Virginia Star Staff

The Biden administration is claiming that, under existing law, doctors are required to perform abortions in emergency situations even if state laws ban the procedure, according to new guidance issued to healthcare workers.

Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released guidance Monday explaining that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act applies to abortions in life- or health-saving emergencies. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra clarified that this preempts state laws in a Monday letter to healthcare providers.

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Poll: More Americans Want Trump to Run in 2024 than Biden

Virginia Star Staff

More Americans would like to see former President Donald Trump run in 2024 than President Joe Biden, but neither candidate enjoys broad support for a potential campaign, a new Politico poll found.

Of all registered voters, 35% reported that Trump should “definitely” or “probably” run, whereas just 29% reported the same answers for Biden, the poll showed. However, the poll is not all positive for Trump, as both men have staunch opposition to their prospective candidacies in 2024 and almost half of the population strongly opposes either of them running.

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Poll: Majorities of Democrats and Young Voters Want to Abolish the Supreme Court

Virginia Star Staff

A new poll reveals that over half of Democratic voters, and an even larger majority of younger voters, believe that the Supreme Court must be abolished after a series of rulings that greatly increased personal freedoms.

As reported by the New York Post, the poll from the Heartland Institute saw 53 percent of Democrats voice their support for eliminating the Supreme Court altogether, in favor of replacing it with a “new, democratically elected…court with justices chosen by the American people directly.” Of these respondents, 33 percent said they were “strongly” in favor of such an idea. In the same poll, a slightly larger majority of voters between the ages of 19 and 39 want to abolish the high court, at 54 percent. By contrast, only 21 percent of Republicans and 38 percent of independents supported abolition.

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Liberal Group Offers Cash Payouts to Workers Who Identify Locations of Conservative SCOTUS Justices

Virginia Star Staff

As the political fallout over the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade continues, a hard-left activist group is offering cash payouts to D.C.-area workers who inform on the locations of conservative Supreme Court justices.

ShutDownDC issued the lucrative offer in a tweet last week, offering big payouts to “DC Service Industry Workers” who inform the group on the whereabouts of the justices.

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Commentary: Biden’s Bonkers Idea to Welcome Terrorist-Tied Foreigners into America

Virginia Star Staff

Just when we thought it was impossible for Joe Biden to make his immigration policies any more ridiculous, he finds another low. Against the backdrop of America’s current border crisis and with adversaries increasingly viewing the United States as a paper tiger, the Biden Administration will now make it easier for foreign nationals with terrorist ties to enter the United States and take advantage of immigration benefits.

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Rep. Wittman Again Calls to Cancel House August Recess

Eric Burk

Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA-01) wrote a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi encouraging her to cancel the House August recess, citing legislative priorities to fund the government.

“One of Congress’ most basic duties is to fully fund the government, yet with few legislative days remaining, lawmakers have found themselves unable to get the job done. Despite Congress’ failure to even consider the twelve annual appropriation bills on the house floor, Congress is set to adjourn for 6 weeks beginning in August. With so much work left to be done, it astounds me that Members of Congress feel justified in taking a month off,” Wittman wrote in the July 6 letter.

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Whistleblower Army Doctor: Punished for Granting COVID-19 Vax Medical Exemptions, All Later Rescinded

Neil W. McCabe

Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, interviewed Army doctor Maj. Samuel Sigoloff, who was dismissed from his position as the medical director at the Bliss Army Health Center after he gave soldier-patients medical exemptions from the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

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‘We’ve Lost Several Hundred Jobs a Day’: Economist Finds Red Flags in Biden’s Positive Jobs Report

Admin

Although Friday’s jobs report seemed like good news for a beleaguered economy and President Joe Biden, the report’s potential methodological issue as well as the economy’s negative growth indicate a recession is still on the horizon, according to an economist at The Heritage Foundation.

The U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics’ job report for June, released on Friday, soothed some fears that the U.S. economy might be approaching a recession. However, negative GDP growth, rampant inflation and methodological issues within the report indicate that a recession is looming, according to E.J. Antoni, a research fellow for regional economics at The Heritage Foundation.

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Commentary: This Is No Time for Bipartisanship

Admin

“The Left, in revolutionary fashion, has waged a sustained and unapologetic attack on constitutional norms and long-held institutions—whenever it senses they no longer prove conducive to its own radical agendas.” So begins a trenchant commentary by Victor Davis Hanson on the repeated efforts of Democratic Party leadership to overthrow America’s constitutional republic. Hanson’s remarks stand in stark contrast to a famous interview given to Salon by Dana Perino in 2018, in which the former presidential press secretary was hailed as the “voice of reason.” Perino expressed disappointment that neither party “was talking civility” and considered her own party as much to blame for this incivility as the other one. 

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Trump Refuses to Endorse GOP Senate Candidate in Crowded Race, Praises Greitens

Admin

Former President Donald Trump is ruling out the idea of endorsing Republican Missouri Rep. Vicky Hartzler in her Senate bid and praised one of her “controversial” primary opponents.

Trump made the Hartzler comments Friday evening on Truth Social, his social media platform. He later joined One America News on Friday and called Eric Greitens, the former governor, “a little controversial” but “tough” and “smart.”

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Bannon Discusses Testifying for Jan. 6 Panel After Trump Agrees to Waive Executive Privilege

Admin

Former White House strategist Steve Bannon, who was held in criminal contempt for not testifying to the Jan. 6 Capitol committee, is now in talks with the Democrat-led panel about testifying after former President Donald Trump sent a letter agreeing to waive his executive privilege.

Trump wrote in a letter obtained Sunday by The Guardian to Bannon and his attorney, Robert Costello, explaining why he changed his mind regarding privilege.

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POLL: Most Democrats Do Not Want Biden to Run in 2024

Admin

A majority of registered Democrats would like someone other than President Joe Biden to be their party’s nominee in 2024, according to a poll released Monday.

Nearly two-thirds of Democrats responded that they would rather somebody else at the top of the ticket, with respondents citing the economy, inflation and President Biden’s age as major determinants for their opposition to his leading the party in 2024, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll. Biden fared particularly poorly with younger voters; 94% of Democrats under the age of 30 said they would prefer a different presidential nominee.

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Commentary: Conservative Americans Can No Longer Conduct Business – and Commerce – as Usual

RealClearWire

The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was a long-awaited victory for life. While Dobbs did not make abortion illegal, it did empower the residents of all 50 states to democratically determine abortion’s legal status through their elected representatives. Currently, 22 states provide or will soon provide protection for unborn children. The other 28 states place few or no limits on abortion. The abortion battle will now move to the ballot box in each state.

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Chinese Officials Will Soon Strap Electronic Monitoring Bracelets to COVID Patients

Admin

Hong Kong’s Ministry of Health announced it will soon require COVID-19 patients to wear electronic monitors as the pandemic continues to spread throughout China, Chinese media reported Monday.

Beginning on Friday, Hong Kong will require COVID-19 patients in quarantine to wear electronic bracelets in order to prohibit them from visiting “high-risk” places, Lo Chung-mau, Hong Kong’s health minister told reporters, according to China’s i-Cable News. Lo is a cabinet member within the administration of Hong Kong’s new chief executive, John Lee, who allegedly won 99% of votes after enforcing Beijing’s National Security Law.

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Seven Whoppers Peddled by House Democrats’ Jan. 6 Committee

Admin

House Democrats’ Jan. 6 committee has showcased numerous false allegations over the course of its hearings and investigations that have since been debunked and, in some cases, withdrawn.

The committee, which is made up of Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans handpicked by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has promoted inaccuracies and falsehoods regarding people and events in weaving its narrative about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, even refusing to back down from some of its allegations despite contradictory evidence.

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Judge Dismisses Loudoun School Board Effort to Block Grand Jury Investigation

Eric Burk

A Loudoun County Circuit Court judge dismissed a lawsuit to block Attorney General Jason Miyares’ grand jury investigation into the Loudoun County School Board.

“We are pleased with the court’s ruling dismissing the School Board’s complaint and affirming Governor Youngkin’s Executive Order Number Four. This is a win for parents and students across the Commonwealth. I will never stop fighting for justice and to protect the families of Loudoun County, and the Commonwealth,” Miyares said in a press release.

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Sole Source of Biden Claim of 10-Year-Old Raped Girl Forced to Travel for Abortion Is Activist Abortionist

Susan Berry, PhD

Joe Biden’s claim that a 10-year-old girl had allegedly been raped and had to travel from Ohio to Indiana to obtain an abortion has failed to be substantiated by multiple news outlets.

In remarks justifying his executive order seeking to undermine the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Biden said Friday:

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