February 23, 2023 - The Virginia Star

Pennsylvania Residents Speak to State Senate About Ill Effects of Train Burn

February 23, 2023 TC Weber

Western Pennsylvanians who live near the site of the February 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment and subsequent burn went before a State Senate Committee Thursday to state that the event is causing deleterious health consequences. The 53-car train derailed in the village of East Palestine, Ohio, less than a mile from where the Buckeye State abuts Beaver County in Pennsylvania. In the crash’s aftermath, the train company proceeded to burn five rail cars containing vinyl chloride, a course of action company officials said would avert a potentially disastrous explosion. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) initially supported what has been called the “controlled burn” but has subsequently blasted Norfolk Southern for its handling of the incident, particularly its decision to burn five cars; Shapiro asserted he was only told one car would be incinerated.

Biden to Implement an Asylum Policy Similar to Trump-Era Policies

February 23, 2023February 22, 2023 Virginia Star Staff

Despite Joe Biden’s campaign rhetoric frequently attacking President Donald Trump for his strict immigration policies, the Biden Administration is set to implement asylum rules that echo Trump-era policies.

As reported by Politico, Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a proposal that would forbid illegal aliens from applying for asylum if they crossed the border illegally, or if they failed to apply for safe harbor in the first safe country in which they arrived. The rule is set to be implemented on May 11th after a 30-day period for public comment, and would remain in place for at least two years.

Gaetz Introduces Resolution Forcing House Vote on Removing U.S. Troops from Syria

February 23, 2023 Just the News

Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced a resolution to force the House to vote on directing President Joe Biden to remove the U.S. military from Syria, where they have been involved since 2014, the Florida Republican congressman’s office announced Wednesday.

Gaetz, a House Armed Services Committee member, filed the one-page War Powers Resolution on Tuesday after four U.S. servicemembers and a working dog were wounded in a raid that resulted in the death of a senior Islamic State leader.

Biden Still Hasn’t Made a Decision About a 2024 Run: Report

February 23, 2023 Virginia Star Staff

President Joe Biden has yet to make a decision about running for a second term in 2024, and potential Democratic hopefuls and party donors are bracing for an open primary, according to Politico.

Biden aides noted that the president’s decision will likely come in April, despite being previously slated for February, Politico reported. Those close to the president still believe he will run, and that his decision has been prolonged due to current events, but others in the party aren’t so sure.

New York Democrat Steers Legislative Effort to Remove ‘Cuomo’ Name From Tappan Zee Bridge

February 23, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

New York Democrat State Senator James Skoufis (D-Woodbury) became the lead sponsor of a bill that would restore the name of the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge back to its original Tappan Zee Bridge.

“Everyone in the Hudson Valley still calls the bridge the Tappan Zee for a reason,” Skoufis told The New York Post Monday of the span that was newly completed in 2018 and renamed by disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for his father, Mario, who also served as governor.

Dem Reps Seek to Restrict Ammunition Sales to Americans

February 23, 2023 Virginia Star Staff

Democratic lawmakers are seeking further restrictions on ammunition sales after submitting the “Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act of 2023” in late January, which would block online sales of ammunition and issue new guidance for brick-and-mortar stores.

The bill, H.R. 584, would require ammunition dealers to receive updated licenses and confirm the identity of any customer who attempts to purchase ammunition, further saying that online sales will be blocked and bulk purchases must be reported. Democratic New Jersey Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a lawmaker backed by Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group Everytown for Gun Safety, introduced the bill alongside 23 House Democrats who co-signed the legislation.

Anti-Life Groups Propose Amendment to Enshrine Abortion in Ohio Constitution

February 23, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Two anti-life organizations submitted language for a new ballot initiative Tuesday that would enshrine abortion in the Ohio Constitution despite existing pro-life laws.

Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights (OPRR) filed the language for their ballot initiative titled The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety amendment with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R), according to a press release.

Virginia General Assembly Passes ‘Affordable Energy Act’

February 23, 2023February 22, 2023 The Center Square

The Virginia General Assembly advanced two bills Tuesday lawmakers say could help lower electric costs for commonwealth residents and restore the ability of the state’s utility regulation agency to adjust rates when utilities bring in revenues above their authorized profit.

Two identical measures dubbed the “Affordable Energy Act” – Senate Bill 1321 and House Bill 1604 – gives the State Corporation Commission the ability to order reductions of base rates when it determines utilities are earning above their authorized rate of return. The bill also specifies the SCC can increase base rates if they produce revenues below the utility’s authorized rate of return, ensuring the resulting base rates are “just and responsible,” and give the utility the ability to recover costs and earn a “fair rate of return.”

Commentary: The Right Cannot Afford to Abandon Public Education

February 23, 2023February 23, 2023 Virginia Star Staff

In his latest offensive to rid Florida’s educational system of revolutionary Marxism, Governor Ron DeSantis announced what amounts to a new direction for one of the most liberal educational institutions in the state: the New College of Florida. DeSantis appointed a slew of new trustees to the college, including the anti-Marxist journalist Christopher Rufo, Claremont Review of Books Editor and political scientist Charles R. Kesler, and Matthew Spalding of Hillsdale College. The president of the New College, Patricia Okker, appeared before the board and said that she could not cooperate with the board or with DeSantis’ plan for the institution, and she was promptly terminated.

‘So Creepy’: Pete Buttigieg Taking Photo of DCNF Reporter Sparks Backlash

February 23, 2023 Virginia Star Staff

Twitter users reacted to a Tuesday evening confrontation between a Daily Caller News Foundation reporter and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, with some calling Buttigieg out for taking a photo of the reporter.

DCNF investigative reporter Jennie Taer posted a 45-second video on social media of her asking Buttigieg if he had a message for residents of East Palestine, Ohio, the location of a train derailment that resulted in the spilling of toxic chemicals. Buttigieg referred her to comments he made in press interviews, said he was taking “some personal time” and took a photo of Taer at the end of the interaction.

Commentary: Oversight Committee Demands Account of All Economic, Military Aid to Ukraine

February 23, 2023February 23, 2023 RealClearWire

As President Biden boarded a European train destined for Kyiv, back in Washington, Rep. James Comer and his team drafted a long-expected letter.

Standing next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden pledged Monday that the lifeline of economic and military aid to that nation, support already well in excess of $100 billion, would not slack, and that the United States would stand with Ukraine “as long as it takes.”

Key Dominion Exec Admitted Company Products ‘Riddled with Bugs’ Days Before 2020 Vote: Fox Lawyers

February 23, 2023 Just the News

Dominion Voting Systems employees have acknowledged serious problems with the company’s technology, saying, for example, that a bug led to “INCORRECT results,” according to discovery cited in the defense brief in Dominion’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News.

Dominion is suing Fox News for $1.6 billion for defamation after becoming a target of alleged conspiracy theories regarding its voting machines being hacked and flipping election results.

FDA Panel OKs Making Narcan Available for Over-the-Counter Use

February 23, 2023 The Center Square

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel unanimously voted to recommend the agency approve Narcan, a life-saving drug for opioid overdoses, be made available to purchase over the counter without a prescription.

Narcan is accessible for free and low cost online, through a range of community organizations, and through pharmacies with and without a prescription and with or without insurance.