Policy Archives - Page 10 of 49

Commentary: The Biden Titanic

July 16, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

Joe Biden’s escalating dementia and the long media-political conspiracy to hide his senility from the public are the least of the Democrats’ current problems.

Biden’s track record as president may be more concerning than his cognitive decline. He has literally destroyed the U.S. border, deliberately allowing the entry of more than 10 million illegal aliens. His callous handlers’ agenda was to import abjectly poor constituencies in need of vast government services without regard for the current struggles of a battered American middle class and poor.

Youngkin Orders U.S. and Virginia Flags ‘Flown at Half-Staff’ in Remembrance of Corey Comperatore

July 15, 2024July 15, 2024 Just the News

Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R-Va., ordered the U.S. and state flags to be “flown at half-staff'” on Monday in remembrance of Corey Comperatore, a volunteer fireman, was killed at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pa. where Trump survived an assassination attempt.

Secret Service Director: Agency Will ‘Participate Fully’ in Independent Review of Trump Shooting

July 15, 2024 Just the News

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said in a statement released on Monday that her agency will fully participate in the “independent review” President Biden ordered of security surrounding former President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pa. where he was shot.

Navy’s Suicide Rate Soars to Record High in First Three Months of 2024

July 15, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

The Navy reported a record-high number of suicides in the first three months of 2024 amid previous reports of poor quality of life and high stress for members of the branch, according to new data from the Pentagon.

There have been 24 reported suicides among sailors in the first quarter of 2024, the highest quarterly sum the service has seen since 2018, which was the first year such data was made available, according to the Pentagon. A service wellness survey conducted in February by the Navy found that more than a third of sailors were suffering from “severe or extreme levels of stress” in 2023, up from roughly a quarter who reported so in 2019.

New Federal Rule Implemented to Protect Military Bases from Foreign Land Purchases

July 15, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

The United States Treasury Department is enacting a new federal rule that aims to combat the rise in foreign entities strategically purchasing American land in close proximity to military bases.

According to Fox News, the new regulation will utilize a law passed in 2018 to expand the ability of the Treasury’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to analyze the consequences of foreign purchases of real estate, in order to possibly exert control over such transactions or asset transfers.

Report: Increase in Virginia Traffic Fatalities Reflective of National Trends

July 15, 2024 The Center Square

Virginia’s traffic fatalities decreased last year for the first time since the pandemic and after a significant increase from 2020-2021 — but they’re still up by 24 percent since 2013.

These trends generally mirror national traffic trends, with traffic fatalities up 25 percent nationally during that same period, according to TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit. The U.S. saw a dramatic rise in traffic fatalities in 2021 and a “modest decrease” in 2022 and 2023.

Commentary: Project 2025 and the Continued Democrat Meltdown

July 15, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

Tying Donald Trump to Project 2025 is the latest desperation tactic from Democrats. But it’s likely to backfire. It might actually create a new generation of Conservatives in the process.

Last year, the Heritage Foundation published the Mandate for Leadership as assembled by a consortium of people and think tanks called Project 2025. It is a compilation of long-standing recommended Conservative policies for the next Republican administration. The Project 2025 group claims the document is “the Conservative movement’s unified effort to be ready for the next Conservative administration to govern at noon, January 20, 2025.”

FDA Blesses Departing COVID Vaccine Reviewers to Influence Agency ‘Behind the Scenes’ at Moderna

July 13, 2024July 13, 2024 Just the News

David Morens, a senior adviser to then-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, once told an ally “our FOIA lady” showed him “how to make emails disappear after I am FOIA’d but before the search starts.” He’s now on administrative leave.

Fauci’s former chief of staff, Greg Folkers, appeared to intentionally misspell proper nouns and names likely to be sought in Freedom of Information Act requests related to COVID-19 origins.

Trans Activist Group Pressuring Corporations to Cover Child Sex Change Drugs in Insurance Plans

July 13, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

A transgender activist group is pressuring corporations to provide insurance coverage for child sex change drugs and genital surgeries.

The Humans Rights Campaign (HRC) is an LGBTQ+ activist group that champions pediatric sex change interventions such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and sex change surgeries. Since 2002, the HRC has issued their Corporate Equality Index (CEI) survey, which scores corporations based on their commitment to LGBTQ+ activism and adherence to LGBTQ+ ideology; corporations can score up to 100 points if they fulfill all criteria outlined by the HRC.

Biden Admin Cuts Another Huge Check for Automakers to Go Electric as Electric Vehicle Market Struggles

July 12, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

The Biden administration announced Thursday that it is spending billions of dollars more to help automakers mass-produce electric vehicles (EVs).

The Department of Energy (DOE) is spending $1.7 billion to help manufacturers convert closed or struggling manufacturing facilities to produce EVs or EV components in eight states, including swing states like Pennsylvania and Georgia, as the American EV market struggles. The funding complements $12 billion the DOE unveiled in August 2023 to help major manufacturers retrofit plants for EV production, and the agency projects that the cash announced Thursday will allow for the retention of 15,000 union workers while creating nearly 3,000 jobs.

Warning Signs Flash for Biden as Trump Gains Ground in Empire State

July 12, 2024 Just the News

Donald Trump and Joe Biden in front of New York skyline (composite image)

Amid the intense scrutiny over whether Democrat President Joe Biden is mentally and physically fit for a second term, he appears to be losing ground in the Democratic stronghold New York – which hasn’t voted in favor of a GOP presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Polls over the past four months show presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has cut Biden’s lead to just 8 points across New York, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-to-1.

Commentary: Republicans Must Stop Retreating on Abortion

July 12, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

While President Joe Biden’s halting performance in the first 2024 presidential debate generated the most significant commentary, it was some of former President Donald Trump’s remarks that raised concerns for pro-life voters. Those remarks ended up foreshadowing the recently proposed Republican platform’s surrender on the abortion issue.

Trump’s first misstep was his contention that “everybody” wanted abortion regulated at the state level. “Fifty-one years ago you had Roe v. Wade,” Trump argued, “and everybody wanted to get it back to the states, everybody, without exception, Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives. Everybody wanted it back… Ronald Reagan wanted it brought back” (emphasis added).

Senate Committee Votes Against Biden-Nominated Judge Who Allowed Male Rapist in Female Prison

July 12, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Thursday against a judicial nominee who had allowed a male serial rapist, who identifies as a woman, to be housed in a female prison.

President Joe Biden nominated Sarah Netburn to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, but the nomination was blocked by the Senate Judiciary Committee in a 10-11 vote. In August 2022, Netburn recommended the transfer of male inmate William McClain, who goes by July Justine Shelby, into a female prison despite his record of sex crimes, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

House Passes Bill Aiming to Keep Illegal Immigrants from Voting

July 11, 2024 Admin

The House passed a bill on Wednesday that requires proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration.

Conservative Organization Investigating Biden Admin’s ‘Partisan’ Voter Registration Push in Key Swing State

July 11, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) launched an investigation Wednesday into a Biden administration program aimed at registering voters in a key swing state, the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.

AFPI is demanding documents from the Biden administration regarding the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) voter registration efforts in Michigan, an operation it suspects could disproportionately benefit Democrats in November’s election, the organization exclusively told the DCNF. The SBA’s voter registration operations in Michigan are part of Executive Order 14019, which compels federal agencies to develop a plan to promote voter engagement and participation, sparking concerns from some conservatives that public funds may be used to help Democrats in the looming general election.

Ignoring Parents’ Objections, Virginia County’s School Board Unanimously OKs Gender Ideology Lessons

July 11, 2024July 10, 2024 Admin

A Northern Virginia school district will teach kindergartners about gay parents and middle schoolers about transgenderism in the wake of a unanimous vote late last month—despite significant parental opposition.

Whistleblowers Detail Harrowing Failure to Protect Migrant Children Pouring into U.S. Under Biden

July 10, 2024July 10, 2024 Just the News

Whistleblower Deborah White was a perfect candidate when the government in 2021 made an emergency appeal for federal agencies to provide temporary help to process thousands of migrant children who began crossing the southern border without parents at the beginning of the Biden administration’s border crisis.

Department of Interior Shuts Down Millions of Acres of Alaska to All Oil, Gas and Mining Activity

July 10, 2024 Just the News

Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland

The Interior Department last Friday blocked 28 million acres of federal land in the state of Alaska from any mining or oil and gas development.

Rick Whitbeck, Alaska state director for Power The Future, said the decision on D-1 lands removes an area the size of the state of Pennsylvania from resource development, which will have severe energy impact to the nation and the state of Alaska.

Democrats Draw Backlash, Suspicion over Opposition to Hill Republicans’ Citizen-Only Voting Bill

July 10, 2024 Just the News

Democrats’ opposition to the passage of GOP-led congressional legislation that would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections is drawing backlash and suspicion.

“Why are Democrats so adamantly against ensuring only American citizens vote in our elections?” GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson asked Monday on X above a repost of a Fox News story on such opposition.

RNC’s Embrace of Trump Platform Signals Shift in GOP as Old Guard Fades in Influence

July 10, 2024 Just the News

Whereas Donald Trump as the 2016 Republican presidential nominee battled the GOP establishment over changing the party’s direction and in 2020 faced substantive internal resistance during his reelection bid, he now appears as the 2024 nominee to have won control of a party apparatus willing to embrace his policy platform and earnestly support his efforts.

The Republican National Committee on Monday formally adopted Trump’s 2024 party platform, which focused heavily on economy and border security issues. While both issues have been topline issues for Trump throughout his political career, the platform’s inclusion of other provisions highlighted the extent to which his own agenda had inserted itself into the party.

Biden Admin ‘Strongly’ Opposed to Bill Cracking Down on Illegal Immigrants Voting

July 10, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

The Biden administration came out swinging against a bill that seeks to strengthen current law allowing only American citizens to participate in federal elections.

The White House said it “strongly opposes” the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act in a formal statement released Monday. The White House statement ripped the GOP-led bill for allegedly being based on “easily disproven falsehoods” and claimed that laws are already in place to prevent noncitizens from voting in federal elections.

Commentary: The Nationwide 500,000 Electric Vehicle Charger Charade

July 10, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

The word charade has several meanings, and including an act or event that is clearly false (Cambridge Dictionary), something done just for show (Vocabulary.com), or a situation in which people pretend that something is true when it clearly is not (Oxford Leaner’s Dictionary).

The charade I refers to is President Biden’s $7.5 billion dollar investment to install 500,000 electric charging stations along America’s highways by 2030. A reliable and convenient public EV charging infrastructure is critical to achieve the President’s goal of meeting the recent EPA CO2 emission regulation that require nearly 72 percent of U.S. new light vehicle sales to be fully electric or plug-in hybrid by 2032. Without diving deeper into the announcement, one would likely assume that $7.5 billion is sufficient to construct the 500,000 charging stations, one every 50 miles along the nation’s highways.

Bill Introduced to Enhance Northern Border Security Measures

July 9, 2024 The Center Square

A congressman whose district lies along the northern border in upstate New York has filed a bill to strengthen northern border security measures.

Democratic Activists Form ‘Pass the Torch’ Campaign to Push Biden to Drop Out of Race

July 9, 2024 Just the News

Democratic activists launched a “Pass the Torch” campaign on Monday to push President Biden to drop out of race after his performance in the first presidential debate.

The “Pass the Torch” website includes a petition that its organizers want DNC delegates and the general public to sign calling on Biden to “pass the torch and pledge to support the new nominee.”

Comer Takes Aim at White House Physician, Seeks Answers over Alleged Help to Biden Family Businesses

July 9, 2024 Just the News

In a blockbuster investigative letter, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer demanded Sunday that White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor submit to an interview about any efforts on his part to assist the Biden family businesses.

Comer also questioned the doctor’s judgment in his medical treatment of President Joe Biden.

Commentary: Trump Has Been Leading National Polls Since September 2023

July 9, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

Don’t look now, but former President Donald Trump has been leading a majority of national polls, nearly 53 percent, according to RealClearPolling.com, since the polling for the 2024 election cycle began back in 2021, 182 out of 346 polls taken.

President Joe Biden has led just 114 of those polls, or almost 33 percent.

Check’s Not In Mail: Postal Service Re-Organization Failed to Stem Billions in Losses

July 8, 2024 Just the News

The U.S. Postal Service has now accumulated a whopping $98 billion in losses since it went into the red in 2007 and its much-ballyhooed reorganization has failed to reverse the trend as expected, according to a sobering new report from the iconic mail agency’s watchdog.

The Postal Service inspector general reports that the mail service recorded losses of $950 million in 2022 and $6.5 billion in 2023, in the first two years after implementing its decade-long Delivering for America (DFA) reorganization plan.

Biden’s White House Spending Dwarfs Trump, Obama

July 8, 2024 The Center Square

President Joe Biden’s White House staff has grown to historic highs, costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, according to a new report.

An analysis from OpenTheBooks of the recently released White House payroll found the Biden White House staff spending has hit new highs.

Oklahoma Becomes Latest State in Court over Illegal Immigration, Arguing It’s a State Issue

July 8, 2024 Just the News

Oklahoma is the most recent state facing a legal battle with the Biden administration on the issue of illegal immigration, with a federal judge blocking legislation that would make entering the country illegally a state crime.

Oklahoma’s House Bill 4156 makes it a crime to be in Oklahoma without legal status. The legislation was signed into law on April 30, but was blocked by a federal judge in June after the Biden administration filed a lawsuit against the state.

Four Years Later, CDC Documents on COVID-19’s Origin in China Emerge as Oversight Wanes

July 8, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

Newly released documents from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal early evidence and analysis four years ago in which U.S. government officials indicated that COVID-19 originated in Wuhan, China.

These findings in the CDC documents obtained by The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, dating from about six months after the disease’s initial outbreak, are coming to light only now because of the government’s repeated delays in releasing relevant documents through the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The List of Elected Democrats, Donors, and News Outlets Calling for Biden to Step Aside Grows

July 7, 2024 Just the News

As of now there are five House Democrats out of 287 Democrat elected members of Congress and governors asking Biden to end his campaign. The list of Democrats and major news organizations calling for President Joe Biden to step down as the Democratic candidate in the presidential election is growing.

Report: Warner Hopes to Enlist Senate Democrats to Encourage Biden to Leave Race

July 7, 2024 The Center Square

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., is trying to gather a cohort of his Democratic Senate colleagues to convince President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, the Washington Post reported Friday.

Peer-Reviewed Study Shows All Cause Death Risks Higher for Vaccinated vs. Unvaccinated

July 7, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

A new peer-reviewed study concludes that all cause deaths were higher for those vaccinated with one and two doses compared to the unvaccinated.

“Subjects vaccinated with two doses lost 37 percent of life expectancy compared to the unvaccinated population,” Italian researchers found. The booster doses were determined to be ineffective.

Panama Closes Three Darien Crossings on the Border with Colombia

July 7, 2024 ADN America

Panama has closed at least three of the crossing points used by migrants to cross the Darien River, which marks the border with Colombia, with a “perimeter barrier” in order to “channel” the flow of migrants and exercise greater control over this irregular route used by hundreds of people every day on their way to North America, Panamanian authorities reported on Wednesday.

Panama’s National Border Service (Senafront) said in a statement to which EFE had access that “measures were taken to control the massive irregular migration that the Panamanian State faces” in order to “channel irregular migration” to Bajo Chiquito, the first town that migrants reach after crossing the Darien jungle on foot for days.

Arkansas Files Lawsuit Alleging Chinese E-Commerce App Temu Is Illegally Gathering Personal Data

July 7, 2024 Just the News

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has filed a lawsuit alleging the Chinese e-commerce app Temu is “malware” that is illegally obtaining personal data from consumers.

Griffin referred to Temu as a “data theft” business in a press release put out recently.

Virginia House and Senate Reach Deal on Military Education Program

July 6, 2024July 5, 2024 The Center Square

Monday ended with another disappointment for those unhappy with recent changes to a state education assistance program for military families, but by Tuesday night, things had turned around.

Tuesday evening, the Senate of Virginia issued a press release stating that the House of Delegates and Senate finance chairs had finally reached an agreement on the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program after a month and a half of upheaval surrounding changes made to the program in the latest state budget.

Federal Judge Pauses Biden’s Partial Liquefied Natural Gas Export Ban

July 6, 2024 The Center Square

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s ban on new exports of liquified natural gas exports to non-free trade agreement countries.

Judge James Cain Jr. of the Western District of Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Department of Energy’s partial LNG export ban after more than a dozen states sued, arguing the ban was illegal.

Federal Court Halts Biden’s Title IX Regulations in Four New States

July 5, 2024 Just the News

Federal judge John Broomes ruled on the side of attorneys general in Kansas, Alaska, Utah, and Wyoming, claiming that Title IX was meant to protect biological women from discrimination in education.

A federal court in Kansas on Tuesday blocked the Biden administration’s Title IX regulations from taking effect in four states, becoming the latest court to stop the new controversial rules from taking effect in August.

Biden Admin Tells ER Doctors They Must Perform Emergency Abortions After SCOTUS Ruling

July 5, 2024 Just the News

The letter comes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 6-3 opinion permitting emergency abortions to continue in Idaho.

The Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday informed hospital and doctor associations that they must perform emergency abortions to save a woman’s health.

Commentary: Energy Innovation Is Key to Prosperity

July 5, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

In a recent report, “Powering Human Advancement,” The Heritage Foundation laid bare the truth that the driving force behind wealth creation and raising human development standards is the innovative harnessing of energy.

As historian Vaclav Smil sees it, “Energy is the only universal currency.”

Kamala Harris Is Floated as a Biden Replacement, but Her Past May Weigh Down Her Candidacy

July 5, 2024 Just the News

President Joe Biden’s debate performance raised so many concerns about his cognitive state and advanced age that more and more Democrats are mulling replacing him as their 2024 presidential nominee. But, the president’s most likely replacement—Kamala Harris—has a political past that may give voters pause.

As the current vice president and favorite to replace Biden because of her many institutional advantages, Harris is a known entity and likely the most vetted of the potential replacement nominees. But her rapid rise through the notorious San Francisco political machine was bound to leave some marks on her record, especially on issues that are important to Democratic voters.

Commentary: Don’t Let the Department of Education Silence Our Kids

July 5, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

The Founding Fathers recognized that an educated citizenry was vital to the survival of our republic. Thomas Jefferson, for example, saw education as essential to giving every citizen the opportunity to participate meaningfully in a free society.

Writing in 1818, our third president described public education as “the means to give every citizen the information he needs for the transaction of his own business … to express and preserve his own ideas … to improve his morals and faculties … to understand his duties, and to exercise his rights.”

Another Complaint Adds to Mounting Evidence of FBI’s Political Bias and Whistleblower Retaliation

July 4, 2024July 3, 2024 Just the News

Evidence is mounting that the FBI—the country’s premier law enforcement agency—has resorted to basing decisions to suspend or revoke security clearances on FBI employees’ political views.

The evidence, which suggests political motivations in how the bureau has treated several of its own workers, has surfaced through whistleblower complaints recently filed internally and with the Justice Department’s watchdog.

‘There Is Always a Way’: Black Market Network Evading Biden Admin Sanctions to Deliver High-Tech Chips to China

July 4, 2024July 3, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

A black market network is evading Biden administration sanctions and delivering high-tech chips to China, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation released Wednesday.

Advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chip systems are highly prized by China in the country’s ongoing race to rival the American technology industry, and the Biden administration has imposed sanctions and export controls to prevent Beijing from getting its hands on them. Chinese companies and organizations are still obtaining these chips — specifically Nvidia AI chips — through a black market network made up of buyers and sellers spanning multiple countries, according to a WSJ investigation of records of the distributors involved.

ICE Nabs Illegal Migrant Wanted on Child Rape Charges After He Was Released into U.S. Years Earlier

July 4, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

ICE law enforcement officers arresting an illegal migrant

Federal immigration authorities arrested an illegal migrant wanted in his home country on child rape charges and hiding out in the United States.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents apprehended a Ecuadorian national, who remains unidentified, in western Massachusetts last month, the agency announced on Tuesday. The individual entered the U.S. unlawfully in 2021 and is wanted in his home country for allegedly raping a child.

Lawsuits over Mail-In Ballot Laws Abound in Battleground States That Matter in November Election

July 3, 2024July 2, 2024 Just the News

Person putting mail-in ballot in ballot return box

Lawsuits across six battleground states will significantly impact the November election as laws regarding mail-in balloting are challenged.

In the states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, lawsuits that have either concluded or remain ongoing over laws about mail-in and absentee ballots are shaping how votes will be counted in the general election.

Supreme Court Agrees to Take Up Challenge to Texas’ Porn Age Verification Law

July 3, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to take up a challenge to Texas’ law intended to prevent minors from accessing porn websites.

Texas’ law, which it enacted in June 2023, requires websites that publish “sexual material harmful to minors” to confirm its users are over 18 years old. A district court initially blocked Texas from enforcing the law, but the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals later allowed it to take effect.

Moderna to Receive $176 Million from U.S. Government to Develop mRNA Bird Flu Vaccine

July 3, 2024 Just the News

The award money will come through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Moderna is set to receive $176 million from the U.S. government to develop a mRNA vaccine for bird flu in humans.

Biden Administration Deliberately Flying Previously-Deported Illegal Aliens Back into the U.S.

July 3, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

A new report claims that the Biden Administration has deliberately been flying illegal aliens into the United States after they had already been deported during the Trump Administration.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, internal memos and interviews with staff at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) suggest that the Biden Administration has been running a secret program to fly previously-deported Cameroonians back into the country, after their asylum claims were previously denied.

Commentary: Beware of Artificial Intelligence’s Influence on the Election

July 3, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

In recent weeks we’ve seen multiple stories involving the two leading presidential candidates — Joe Biden and Donald Trump — signaling the rising dangers of Artificial Intelligence and related technology during an intense campaign. The examples run from alleged misinformation and video distortion to flat-out false imagery. The warnings are certainly apt.

Sure, AI has the potential for great benefits, whether in the healthcare field or even something like your GPS, but it also holds potential for terrible misuse in politics. Specifically, to get technical, it’s the so-called “generative AI” that can be directed to produce bogus human voices, imagery, text, and video. It can be used to create some of the worst “fake news.”