Month: April 2023

Biden HHS Transgender Official Rachel Levine Applauds Rise in Trans-Affirming Training in Medical Schools

Susan Berry, PhD

An LGBTQ activist group’s video series features Biden’s top Health and Human Services (HHS) official Rachel [Richard] Levine, M.D. celebrating an influx of LGBTQ individuals into the medical field and the idea that gender ideology is now expanding in medical school training.

In a video from the series called “Authentic Voices of Pride,” produced by LGBTQ Nation, Levine, the assistant secretary for health at HHS, says it is important for healthcare providers to offer “culturally competent care,” a narrative of the Biden administration that uses the Marxist strategy of labeling a campaign that intends to be divisive with a seemingly innocuous name to make it easy to condemn those who disagree with it.

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Virginia Lawmakers Approve Gov. Youngkin’s Amendments to Hemp Bills

The Center Square

Virginia lawmakers approved amendments proposed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin to a pair of bills establishing regulations on hemp-derived products in the commonwealth, which includes a provision allowing some products containing both THC and CBD that are used therapeutically to remain on store shelves. 

The politically-divided General Assembly flocked to Richmond Wednesday to reconvene for a one-day session to consider the governor’s proposed amendments to 78 bills and three vetoes. Some of the governor’s amendments proposed technical changes to measures, while others proposed entire substitute bills. 

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Inflation Rises Again in March, but at Slower Pace

The Center Square

Inflation rose again in March, but at a slower pace than previous months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics latest consumer pricing data shows.

The Consumer Price Index rose 0.1% in March, contributing to a 5% rise over the last 12 months, about double what economists say is a healthy inflation rate. Price changes varied by the respective good and service.

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Commentary: Importing Poverty Is Making America Poor

Virginia Star Staff

For much of the post-World War II era, America has been expected by many of its citizens to be a benevolent King Midas to the rest of the world. We have attained unprecedented levels of prosperity, and we are expected to share that with anyone seeking to improve their conditions.

While such philanthropy may cause hearts to swell with good feelings, it often comes at a steep price. At a time when America is showing all the characteristics of an empire in decline, that price has now become a crippling burden.

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Pentagon Document Leaker a 21-Year-Old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, Report

Just the News

The person responsible for leaking sensitive Pentagon documents is reportedly a 21-year-old intelligence member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard named Jack Teixeira. 

Two U.S. officials confirmed to the New York Times on Thursday that investigators want to speak with Teixeira about the leak of documents that started appearing last year on a Discord online chat group called Thug Shaker Central.

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Federal Appeals Court Allows Abortion Pill Approval to Stand, with Restrictions

Virginia Star Staff

A federal appeals court has allowed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion pill to temporarily stand with some limitations.

The Biden administration appealed and filed an emergency motion with the Fifth Circuit shortly after Northern District of Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued a preliminary injunction against the FDA’s approval of the drug on Friday, a decision the administration called “extraordinary and unprecedented.” In a 2-1 ruling issued late Wednesday night, the Fifth Circuit granted in part the motion for a stay pending appeal, narrowing the judge’s ruling to apply only to rules issued by the FDA prior to 2016.

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LGBTQ Group Offering Free ‘Chest Binders’ Without Parental Consent Claims Requests from Teens Overwhelming

Susan Berry, PhD

A “transgender-affirming” group that provides free chest binders to children as young as 13 without parental consent says it is overwhelmed with requests for the breast flatteners from teen girls who claim they identify as boys.

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EPA Proposes New Standards to Require Two-Thirds of New Car Sales by 2032 Be EVs

Just the News

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced what is being considered its strongest-ever proposed pollution standards for gas-powered vehicles – which if enacted would effectively mandate that 67 percent of new passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2032 must be zero-emission ones.

The rule has been expected for weeks and is a dramatic, proposed increase from President Biden’s stated goal of 50 percent zero-emission passenger car sales – including battery-powered electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles – by 2030. It would also likely and dramatically increase EV sales, which accounted for just 5.6 percent of new car sales in the U.S. last year, according to Road & Track.com.

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Report: Biden DOJ Offers No Jail Time for Transgender Perpetrator Who Admitted to Desecrating Church and Assaulting Worker

Susan Berry, PhD

The Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) is recommending no jail time and three years of probation for a transgender activist who admitted to vandalizing a Catholic church with profane graffiti, desecrating a statue of the Virgin Mary, and assaulting a church worker, according to a Fox News Digital report.

A plea agreement that was reportedly viewed by Fox News Digital shows the Biden DOJ says a man who uses the name Maeve Nota, 31, should receive zero jail time, despite admitting to vandalizing St. Louise Catholic Church in Bellevue, Washington.

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Virginia Saw Exports Soar to $5.1 Billion in 2022

The Center Square

Virginia’s agricultural and forestry exports soared to a  value of more than $5.1 billion in 2022, according to new data released this week by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. 

China is the state’s top export destination by far, purchasing $1.45 billion in agricultural and forestry products in 2022. Egypt, Taiwan, Venezuela and Canada are also in the top five destinations for Virginia’s agricultural exports. Soybeans and soybean meal are the state’s top exports, followed by pork, poultry and tobacco, according to data from VDACS. 

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Florida Attorney General Calls on Congress to Impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas

The Center Square

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is urging Congress to “begin impeachment proceedings immediately” of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. She cites several reasons to justify her request, including claiming he’s violated federal law, lied multiple times under oath before Congress, and is endangering American lives.

In a letter addressed to five Republican congressional leaders Tuesday, she urged them “to act to protect the American people and impeach Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Secretary Mayorkas is directly responsible, and his actions have caused our unprecedented border crisis.”

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‘A Devious and Dangerous Game:’ Vivek Ramaswamy Spars with NYC Comptroller over Green Investing

Virginia Star Staff

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy sparred with New York City Comptroller Brad Lander on Tuesday over considering green investments for pension plans.

“I am frankly worried about the pension plan participants in the funds because fossil fuel companies dramatically outperform the S&P by almost 80 percent and they outperformed the very ESG funds that divested from fossil fuel companies by nearly 100 percent,” Ramaswamy said during an appearance on CNBC’s “Last Call.”

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17 State Attorneys General Declare Support for Florida Trans Guidance

Virginia Star Staff

by Eric Lendrum   On April 7th, an amicus brief was filed in favor of Florida’s current ban on using state funds to support “transgender” treatments, with 17 state attorneys general voicing their support for the law. According to the Daily Caller, the brief’s filing was part of an ongoing legal…

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Sen. Ted Cruz Commentary: The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Self-Serving Double Standard

RealClearWire

Two lawyers with the notorious Southern Poverty Law Center have been in the news in recent weeks. One is facing domestic terrorism charges; the other is votes away from a lifetime appointment to the federal bench.

The SPLC fully supports both lawyers: Thomas Webb Jurgens, a suspected Antifa terrorist arrested and charged for his involvement in a violent riot against the police in Atlanta, Georgia, and Nancy Abudu, the SPLC’s director for strategic litigation, whose job involves overseeing all of the SPLC’s legal work – including its special litigation related to “hate groups.” Abudu is currently a nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit awaiting a confirmation vote by the U.S. Senate.

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Commentary: Let the Blue Cities and States Fail

Virginia Star Staff

A Wall Street Journal article on Sunday predicted the obvious: the Biden administration is on the verge of demanding yet another bailout of the failed, rotting Democrat machines that have destroyed every jurisdiction they run:

The Federal Reserve’s latest interest-rate hike paired with the continuing bank panic is causing credit conditions to tighten. State and local governments could be the next sinking ships that Washington gets called on to rescue.

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Bank Records Show Millions in Transaction Between Hunter Biden, China Firms: Sen. Johnson

Just the News

Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson says the Chinese-American financial institution Cathay Bank has given Senate Republicans records showing millions of dollars going from Chinese companies to President Biden’s son Hunter Biden.

Republicans and others started raising concerns during President Biden’s successful 2020 White House campaign, if not earlier, that Hunter Biden used the family name and influence while his father was vice president to make millions in overseas business deals, which also could have compromised U.S. national security.

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Sarah Sanders Signs Bill to Ban Parole for Rapists and Human Traffickers

Virginia Star Staff

Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders signed a bill Tuesday to stop criminals in prison for rape, first-degree murder, human trafficking and some other felony offenses committed after 2024 from being released early.

The Protect Arkansas Act will make those who commit any of 24 felonies including rape, aggravated robbery and child pornography possession ineligible for parole and require people incarcerated for a variety of other felony crimes like manslaughter and fentanyl delivery committed in 2025 or later to serve at least 85 percent of their court-assigned sentences. Sanders signed the act surrounded by law enforcement personnel, and tweeted, “The failed public safety status quo ends today in Arkansas.”

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Walter Reed Military Hospital Reviewing Contract for Chaplain Services After Ordering Off Catholic Priests

Virginia Star Staff

The Pentagon’s health agency said Tuesday it is reviewing a contract for chaplaincy services at Walter Reed Military Medical Center after facing backlash for sending a “cease and desist” letter to the Franciscan Friars at Holy Name College Friary in Silver Spring, Maryland, according to the Washington Times.

The Defense Health Agency (DHA) terminated a 20-year relationship with the Friars on March 31, just before Easter Sunday, instead awarding a contract to a private firm that Catholic authorities say cannot provide chaplain services according to their religious tradition, because chaplains must work for a bishop, not a private company.  Congressional Republicans sent a letter Tuesday to DHA calling the decision “unconscionable,” prompting a promise from Walter Reed to reevaluate the contract, the Washington Times reported.

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Catholic Advocacy Group Prepared to Sue FBI for Failure to Comply With FOIA on Targeting of ‘Radical Traditional Catholics’

Susan Berry, PhD

A leading national Catholic advocacy organization says it is prepared to file a lawsuit against the FBI for failing to comply with its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that seeks communications information related to a leaked document that revealed the bureau was targeting so-called “radical traditional Catholics.”

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Hunter Biden’s Business Associates Visited White House over 80 Times When Father Was Vice President

Just the News

Seven of Hunter Biden’s business associates from his now-defunct investment firm visited the White House over 80 times while Biden’s father, Joe Biden, served as vice president, according to visitor logs.

The visitors from Biden’s now-defunct firm Rosemont Seneca Advisors include four business partners, the company’s vice president and two assistants, according to logs reviewed Tuesday by Fox News Digital.

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California Mom Furious After School Kept 11-Year-Old’s Gender Transition Hidden Due to ‘Parental Secrecy Policy’

Susan Berry, PhD

A California mother whose 11-year-old daughter had allegedly been helped to transition from female to male by school personnel accused the school district of keeping information about her child’s gender transition from her.

Aurora Regino, whose daughter attends an elementary school in the Chico Unified School District, told the school board last Wednesday that, during a meeting with her daughter and a school guidance counselor last school year, the child told the counselor she wanted her mother to know about her new identity.

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National Pro-Life Group Praises Ruling Suspending FDA’s ‘Rubber Stamp’ of Abortion Drug as Democrat-Led States Stockpile Pills

Susan Berry, PhD

One of the nation’s leading pro-life organizations is praising the ruling out of a U.S. district court in Texas Friday that has stayed the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the abortion drug mifepristone nationwide.

However, within hours of the ruling by Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Donald Trump appointee, a Washington State federal judge then issued a decision in State of Washington v. United States Food and Drug Administration, which blocked “altering the status quo and rights as it relates to the availability of Mifepristone.”

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Biden Admin Announces Strategy to Combat Fentanyl Supply Chain

Virginia Star Staff

The Biden administration announced Tuesday its strategy for combating the supply chain allowing illicit fentanyl to enter the U.S. to kill Americans.

The plan includes partnering with other countries, increasing law enforcement information sharing, leveraging the private sector, increasing financial sanctions and urging congressional action, the White House said in a statement. Roughly 70,000 people in the U.S. died of synthetic opioid overdoses in 2021, up from roughly 57,000 in 2020, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Biden Administration to Investigate Loudoun County Public Schools over Sexual Assault Cases

Admin

The Biden Administration’s Education Department (ED) announced its intention to investigate the controversial Loudoun County Public School (LCPS) district over its mishandling of two sexual assault cases by the same culprit at two different schools.

According to the Daily Caller, the investigation will be led by the ED’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR). The case revolves around a male student who used the school’s extremely loose “transgender” policy to identify as a girl by wearing a skirt, and thus was allowed to use the women’s restrooms without hindrance. He then went into a restroom at the Stone Bridge High School in May of 2021 and raped a female freshman.

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Commentary: Biden’s 10-Year Plan for Fiscal Disaster

Virginia Star Staff

Last month, President Joe Biden unveiled his proposed 10-year budget plan. The dollar figures are eye-popping: $17 trillion dollars in additional debt.

The previous 10-year period, 2013 through 2022, saw the national debt rise by an unprecedented $14 trillion, an amount that was turbo-boosted by the over-the-top COVID spending blowout. Yet, instead of a return to the bad-enough normalcy of an annual debt increase measured in the hundreds of billions rather than trillions, Biden wants to set a new record for debt accumulated in a decade, with an average annual deficit of $1.7 trillion being his “new normal.”

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Commentary: Trump Should Fight Fire with Fire

Virginia Star Staff

John Adams may have summed up the American experiment best: “We are a government of laws, not men.” This was the origin of all talk of a “rule of law.”

Alas, we are currently a nation in manifest decline. Accordingly, “rule of law,” the cornerstone of our judicial system, must be radically reassessed. The concept, much like the justice system as a whole, has been contaminated, perhaps irrevocably, by bad-faith actors, for which the Constitution, understood in its proper, historical context, is totally foreign. Our historic Constitution ought to be understood as hopelessly forgotten by those now tasked to defend its sacred tenets. And so accounts for the present chaos.

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Small Businesses Are Less Optimistic About the Future, Survey Finds

The Center Square

Small businesses are less optimistic about the future, a newly released survey shows.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses released survey results showing their small business optimism index decreased in March, “marking the 15th consecutive month below the 49-year average of 98.”

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Commentary: ‘Splintered’ Court Ruling Throws January 6 Prosecution into Chaos

Virginia Star Staff

A Massachusetts man on Friday was charged with a felony related to his participation in the protest at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Mark Sahady already faced misdemeanors for his nonviolent and brief jaunt through the building that afternoon, but the Justice Department decided to add the common “obstruction of an official proceeding” charge to Sahady’s case on April 7.

That same day, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia threw Sahady—and more than 300 January 6 defendants charged with the same obstruction felony—a potential lifeline. In what one judge described as a “splintered decision,” a three-judge panel narrowly reversed a lower court ruling that tossed the obstruction count against three Capitol protesters. D.C. District Court Judge Carl Nichols dismissed the charge last year largely based on the argument that the statute “requires that the defendant have taken some action with respect to a document, record, or other object in order to corruptly obstruct, impede or influence an official proceeding.”

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Commentary: China Builds the New World Order with Biden Asleep at the Wheel

Virginia Star Staff

China is rapidly growing economically, militarily, and influentially, and none of this is good for the United States. Since diplomatic ties with China were officially established in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, each president has done a fair job (some better than others) of keeping China in check on the international stage, despite China’s growth. All with the exception of President Joe Biden, who has allowed China to lead a global coalition and a new world order against the United States of America, which has fulfilled our worst fears.

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Manhattan DA Bragg Sues Jordan, House GOP in Attempt to Stop Their ‘Brazen and Unconstitutional Attack’ in Trump Case

Just the News

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Tuesday reportedly sued Rep. Jim Jordan to keep him and other congressional Republicans from interfering in his office’s criminal case against former GOP President Donald Trump. The 50-page suit was filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York and accuses Jordan, chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee, of a “brazen and unconstitutional attack” on the prosecution Trump and a “transparent campaign to intimidate and attack” on Bragg, according to The New York Times.

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Lawsuit: Oregon State Officials Deny Woman’s Adoption Application Because of Her Christian Religious Beliefs

Susan Berry, PhD

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a federal lawsuit last week against the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) on behalf of a woman whose application to adopt siblings from foster care was denied because her Christian faith beliefs do not allow her to agree to support the “sexual orientation, gender identity, [and] gender expression” of children placed in her home. “Oregon’s policy amounts to an ideological litmus test: people who hold secular or ‘progressive’ views on sexual orientation and gender identity are eligible to participate in child welfare programs, while people of faith with religiously informed views are disqualified because they don’t agree with the state’s orthodoxy,” said ADF Senior Counsel Jonathan Scruggs, who runs the ADF Center for Conscience Initiatives.

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Judge Threatens Parents with Massive Penalties for Challenging School Antiracism Dogma: Lawyers

Just the News

Two teachers challenging the constitutionality of compelled antiracism training have been ordered to pay nearly $313,000 in their Missouri school district’s legal fees, under a ruling their lawyers called “overtly hostile” and “meant to scare off future lawsuits by parents and teachers.”

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Hundreds of Former Federal Surveillance Officials Have Moved to Jobs in Big Tech

Admin

Over 200 former employees of federal surveillance agencies have since joined the corporate ranks of Big Tech companies in recent years, thus increasing the likelihood of systematic censorship of conservative accounts by such platforms.

According to the Daily Caller, the four social media companies Google, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok have recruited 248 former employees from the FBI, CIA, Department of Justice (DOJ), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as proven by searches of the professional job listing and networking platform LinkedIn. The bulk of these hires were made between 2017 and 2022, with some of the former federal employees moving on to top executive positions within the social media companies.

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Call to Ban TikTok on Personal Phones Gaining Momentum

The Center Square

About 30 states have placed restrictions on the social media app TikTok mostly related to government devices, but there is momentum for a larger ban on personal devices.

A growing number of lawmakers in the U.S. have raised national security concerns about the short-form video app because of TikTok’s ties to China through its parent company ByteDance.

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Internal Memos Call into Question National Archives Narrative to Congress on Trump Documents

Just the News

For months, the National Archives and Records Administration has insisted it had nothing to do with the federal criminal investigation into memos containing classified markings that were found at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate since it referred the matter to the FBI in February 2022.

“When NARA identified items marked as classified national security information within the 15 boxes, NARA referred this issue to the DOJ,” acting Archivist Debra Wall wrote Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), now the House Intelligence Committee chairman, on August 16. “Since that time, the DOJ has been exclusively responsible for all aspects of this investigation, and NARA has not been involved in the DOJ investigation or any searches that it has conducted.”

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Turnover in Virginia General Assembly Continues Ahead of Election

The Center Square

An expanding list of lawmakers in the politically-divided Virginia General Assembly have announced they will not seek re-election or will seek another office under new district lines this election cycle. 

Come this November, all 140 seats in the General Assembly will be on the ballot. The upcoming election cycle will be the first one under new maps drawn via the independent redistricting process in 2021. 

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Commentary: The Interest Alone on the National Debt Will Hit $1 Trillion in 2024 as Reserve Currency Status Is Questioned

Admin

Gross interest owed on the $31.4 trillion national debt — that is, interest owed on both the $24.9 trillion publicly traded debt and the $6.7 trillion debt in the Social Security, Medicare and other trust funds — will reach a gargantuan $1 trillion in 2024 for the first time in American history, according to the latest data gathered by the White House Office of Management and budget.

To put that into perspective, that is more than is spent on national defense related spending, currently $814 billion.

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Commentary: In Biden’s America, There Are No More Gas Stoves

RealClearWire

On February 1, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposed an “energy efficiency standard” for gas cooking products. For those who are unaware, this is a blatant backdoor attempt to ban gas appliances—at least half of gas stove models sold in the United States today would not comply with this regulation according to DOE. The American people deserve answers to stop this draconian measure that would be detrimental for families, small businesses, and rural communities across our nation.

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Switzerland Not Recommending COVID-19 Vaccine, Including for High-Risk Individuals

Admin

Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health said no COVID-19 vaccination is recommended this spring/summer season, including for people at high risk of becoming seriously sick from the virus. 

“Nearly everyone in Switzerland has been vaccinated and/or contracted and recovered from COVID-19. Their immune system has therefore been exposed to the coronavirus,” the Swiss health agency said.

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FBI Sought Sources Within Catholic Church to Look for ‘Radicalization’ in Local Parishes: House GOP

Just the News

House Republicans said Monday they have new information showing the FBI has been trying to develop undercover sources inside Catholic Church parishes throughout the U.S. in search of radical elements within the religious faith.

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Commentary: For High Healthcare Costs, S.127 Is Bad Medicine

Admin

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is reportedly considering bringing a Big Pharma-backed bill to the Senate floor for a vote that would result in higher healthcare costs for everyday Americans. The so-called Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act (S.127) was written and pushed by special interests. If it passes, it will hurt all of us both in our wallets and in terms of the quality of our healthcare.

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IRS to Hire 30,000 More Employees over the Next Two Years

Admin

In a statement on Thursday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) declared that it will hire almost 30,000 new employees over the next two years, as part of an $80 billion investment plan.

As reported by the Washington Free Beacon, the moves are part of the agency’s broader Strategic Operating Plan, aimed at increasing its workforce and implementing new technologies for the alleged purpose of increased efficiency, stricter tax enforcement, and improved customer service.

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Legal Watchdog: Biden Regime ‘Plans to Prioritize Organ Transplants Based on Skin Color’

Admin

A legal watchdog group has launched an investigation into an alleged effort by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to “prioritize organ transplants based on skin color.” The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of HHS, is currently overhauling the nation’s organ transplant system with a plan to strengthen “equity,” among other things.

“HHS is unlawfully injecting race and national origin into the HRSA Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN),” America First Legal (AFL) said in a press release. “No American should be denied a lifesaving transplant because of the color of their skin.”

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Biden Vetoes Bipartisan Attempt to Repeal EPA’s ‘Waters of the United States’ Rule

Admin

President Joe Biden vetoed a bipartisan bill Thursday that would limit his administration’s broad interpretation of the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule that grants the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) significant new authority.

The president rejected the bill, arguing that his administration’s new rule provides “clear rules of the road” to protect both economic efforts and water quality under the Clean Water Act, according to the veto. The rule dramatically expands the traditional limits of WOTUS — which allow the EPA to regulate navigable waters — to include all territorial seas, interstate waters, adjacent wetlands, traditional waters’ tributaries and some artificial reservoirs.

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Virginia Senator Introduces Legislation Aiming to Bolster Drone Research

The Center Square

Legislation recently introduced in Congress aims to bolster further research and development of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), including drone integration research taking place at Virginia Tech. 

The legislation, introduced last month by U.S. Sens. Mark Warner, D-VA, and John Hoeven, R-ND, seek to extend the authorization for the Federal Aviation Administration’s UAS test sites for an additional five years. There are currently seven FAA UAS test sites across the nation involved in drone research, one of which is located at Virginia Tech. 

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Commentary: Understanding ‘Woke’ Supremacy

Admin

In a recent interview, Bethany Mandel, author of Stolen Youth, a book discussing how woke ideology is erasing childhood, was asked to define the term woke and froze. The media has predictably had a field day with this. We can be sympathetic to Mandel’s explanation of the stress she was feeling in the moment. At the same time, this situation can remind us that when engaging in such conversations, having clear definitions and logical arguments is foundational. So what do we mean by woke?

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