Virginia, West Virginia Speakers Announce Collaboration on Advanced Nuclear Technology

Virginia Speaker of the House Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) and West Virginia Speaker Roger Hanshaw (R-Clay) are partnering to create a framework to bring advanced nuclear technology to their states. West Virginia has recently repealed a ban on developing nuclear energy sources, and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin recently called for a “moonshot” — constructing a small modular reactor in southwest Virginia. In addition to addressing energy needs, leaders are hoping the push will bring economic and technological development to the economically-challenged areas.

“Virginia has been the beneficiary of nuclear power for many years,” Gilbert said in a Thursday press release. “Nothing works harder, longer, safer, or more reliably than a nuclear power plant. Small nuclear reactors are the next wave of energy technology, and Virginia should be an East Coast hub for its development and deployment. It’s important that rural and economically challenged areas, and the Commonwealth of Virginia as a whole, benefit from the innovation, jobs, and investment small modular nuclear technology will bring to the electric grid.”

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Commentary: The Monopoly Hiding in Plain Sight

With persistent inflation and growing concerns over a recession, pundits, policymakers, and the president have expressed concern about an alleged lack of competition lurking in the dark corners of the U.S. economy. As President Biden himself said, “capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism, it’s exploitation.” From Big Tech to baby food, both sides of the aisle are on the lookout for monopoly power. But sometimes the best place to hide is in plain sight.

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Biden Admin to Expel Illegal Migrants from Venezuela, Provide Thousands of Others a Legal Pathway

The Biden administration will begin expelling some illegal migrants from Venezuela to Mexico, while giving 24,000 others a legal pathway to enter the country, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Wednesday.

U.S. border authorities will return Venezuelan migrants who cross illegally to Mexico; however, if they cross the border at a U.S. port of entry and meet certain requirements, including having a U.S. sponsor, they will be allowed to enter and apply for work authorization, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

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Saudi Arabia Confirms That Biden Pressured OPEC to Delay Oil Production Cuts Until November

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry issued a rare statement Wednesday confirming that the Biden administration pressured OPEC+ to delay oil production cuts until November.

The OPEC+ oil cartel, which includes Russia, slashed production by two million barrels per day (bpd) on Oct. 5 prompting the White House to threaten consequences for Saudi Arabia due to the ensuing jump in gas prices. The Saudi Foreign ministry responded on Oct. 12 with a lengthy defense of the decision, resisting pressure amid discussions with the U.S. to delay a decision until November, when it might be too late for the price hike to affect midterm election prospects, according to The Associated Press.

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Michigan’s Prop 3 Allows Children to Obtain Trans Hormones and Surgeries Without Parental Consent

Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer and her allies at Planned Parenthood have been marketing Michigan’s Proposal (Prop) 3 as an abortion amendment that would codify Roe v. Wade, but the measure would also allow children to obtain “gender affirming” hormones and surgeries without parental consent under the banner of “reproductive care.”

“Michigan is hiding a children’s constitutional right to genital amputation in its abortion amendment,” Margot Cleveland, senior legal correspondent at the Federalist, warned Wednesday.

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Commentary: The Evidence Is Real — Dead People Are Voting

The 2020 election was full of chaos and irregularities. States like Georgia and Pennsylvania took days to finalize election results. Mail ballots were found on floors of apartment floor lobbies. Dead people were even voting in states across the country!

Unfortunately, people have been voting from beyond the grave since well before 2020.

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Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment Gets Biggest Bump in Decades to Keep Up with Inflation

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced the largest increase to the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment in over three decades due to high inflation.

The SSA announced that supplemental income benefits, which are paid to beneficiaries in addition to their regular benefits to offset inflation and other unexpected costs, would increase by 8.7%. This would, on average, increase benefits by $140 per month for most beneficiaries, beginning in January of 2023.

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Biden Admin to Bar Chinese Telecom Giants from U.S. Market

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plans to ban telecommunication devices and video surveillance equipment from five Chinese companies in a recent move to address national security concerns, according to Axios.

The proposed FCC ban blocks Huawei,  ZTE, Hytera Communications Corporation, Hikvision and Dahua Technology Company on national security grounds, marking the first time the FCC has attempted to implement an electronics ban on that basis, Axios reported. The proposed ban follows an Oct. 5 draft order circulated by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel that, if approved through a vote, will effectively block all equipment sales by firms that pose a threat to the U.S., according to Axios.

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Biden FDA Approves COVID Booster Shot for Children 5-11 Years Old Without Testing

Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech announced Wednesday the Biden Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for their “bivalent” mRNA COVID-19 booster shot for children aged 5-11 years without having completed clinical trials.

“As families across the country take part in fall festivities and plan for the upcoming holiday season, we aim to provide school-aged children with additional protection against the Omicron BA.4/BA.5 subvariants, which continue to account for more than 80% of cases in the U.S.,” said Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. “Anticipating this need, we manufactured millions of booster doses, which will be made available, pending CDC recommendation, to help families stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations.”

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Commentary: The Danchenko Trial Is a Window on the Corrupt Ruling Class

The Igor Danchenko trial, which started this week, has already yielded embarrassing revelations about the “Steele dossier” fiasco. The FBI, it turns out, offered Christopher Steele, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s opposition researcher, $1 million to prove his claims about Trump–Russia collusion. He couldn’t do it. But that didn’t stop the FBI from using his tissue of lies to obtain a search warrant against Carter Page, a hapless Trump campaign volunteer.

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CNU Poll: Youngkin Approval at 50 Percent, Democrats Slightly Ahead on Generic Ballot

Governor Glenn Youngkin has a 50 percent job approval rating but Democrats are slightly ahead on the generic ballot in a new poll released by Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center.

“When asked about the direction of the Commonwealth, 42 percent say Virginia is headed in the right direction, while 40 percent say the wrong direction. 50 percent of Virginians approve of the job Governor Youngkin is doing while 40 percent disapprove and nine percent indicate they don’t know,” the center reported Wednesday

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Facebook ‘Whistleblower’ Teams Up with Ex-Feds, Left-Wing Billionaire to Police Social Media

Former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen is heading a new initiative, featuring a slew of former intelligence officials and bankrolled by a left-wing billionaire, that aims to influence how social media companies moderate speech and content.

Haugen will co-chair the Council for Responsible Social Media, according to a Wednesday press release from Issue One, a non-profit sponsoring the initiative. The council’s members includes Leon Panetta, former CIA Director and secretary of Defense under Barack Obama, Chris Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency under Donald Trump, and Bush administration CIA Director Porter Goss; members also include the Biden administration’s former Director for Legislative Affairs at the National Security Council Nicole Tisdale and Obama administration Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

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