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Thursday, May 18, 2023

Biden Says He is Confident a Debt Ceiling Deal Will be Reached, Democrats Send Petition Around to Invoke 14th Amendment

Katie Pavlich: Speaking to reporters at the White House Wednesday morning President Joe Biden gave an update on debt limit negotiations with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and senior staff members. During his remarks, Biden vowed the United States will not default and again argued negotiations are about the budget, not whether the debt limit will be increased. “I’m confident that we’ll get the agreement on the budget and America will not default,” Biden said (Townhall). Kevin McCarthy: After months of delay and wasted time from President Biden, negotiations are finally underway for a responsible debt limit increase. He has 16 days to avoid being the first president to default on the national debt (Twitter). Washington Post: A group of Senate Democrats is circulating a letter urging President Biden to prepare to invoke the 14th Amendment to unilaterally resolve the debt ceiling standoff without involving Congress. The letter, signed by five senators so far, reflects building unease among White House allies over the direction of negotiations between the president and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Liberal lawmakers have balked as Biden entertains spending cuts and new work requirements on federal aid programs — fueling interest in a solution to the standoff that does not require a deal with McCarthy (Washington Post).

Mayor Eric Adams Halts Public Hearings Over Where to House Migrants

This executive order comes as residents protest, complain about the city’s handling of migrants. Fox News: New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued an executive order this week exempting emergency shelters intended for the increased surge of illegal immigrants arriving to the Big Apple since the end of Title 42 from the city’s lengthy land-use process, knocking down bureaucratic blocks to finding temporary housing. Laws and rules related to the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, and other procedures applicable to the city planning and land use review processes, are suspended for the extent of the state of emergency. That includes those that apply to siting, leasing, construction and operations of facilities including homeless shelters created or expanded in response to the asylum emergency. These generally require the holding of public hearings, the certification of applications, the submission of recommendations, any required or necessary voting, the taking of final actions, and the issuance of determinations, the order says (Fox News).

Karine Jen-Pierre Claims Children Belong to Everyone Else, Not Parents

Townhall: Democrats could hardly be more tone deaf on the issue of parents rights, as they repeatedly try to claim that parents’ children are not actually their own. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is chief among them, as she’s now making headlines for her remarks at the GLAAD Media Awards over the weekend in claiming other people’s children are “our kids” and “they belong to all us” (Townhall). RNC Research: Karine Jean-Pierre laments states that limit “gender-affirming care”/”gender transition treatments” for minors: “These are our kids. They belong to all of us” (Twitter).

Riley Gaines Testifies Before Congress About Being Held Hostage by Trans Activists

National Review: Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines testified before Congress on Tuesday about her frightening experience at San Francisco State University last month, when transgender-rights activists held her against her will for three hours and demanded a ransom for her release. Gaines, who is an advocate for fairness in women’s sports, testified during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on left-wing organized violence. The incident occurred when Gaines visited SFSU on April 6 at the invitation of Turning Point USA and the Leadership Institute to speak about the right of women to compete on a level playing field. At the conclusion of the speech, protesters filled the room with raised fists and flickered the lights. Eventually the room went dark and a woman grabbed Gaines, claimed she was with the campus police and pulled Gaines toward the door. She was then escorted to a stairwell that was blocked by protesters. She ultimately ended up barricaded in an office with members of campus police. The protesters demanded ransom and said they would not release her without payment, she testified. (National Review). Amuse: Transgender activists holding Riley Gaines hostage demanded money in exchange for her safe passage off of the San Francisco State University (Twitter).

Illinois Teacher Resigns After Parents Complain About LGBTQ Reading Materials Given Out

Parental authority is not completely gone. Townhall: Parents of middle school students filed a police report against a teacher who provided students with a book teaching them about sexual orientation and gender identity. The teacher resigned shortly after. The teacher, Sarah Bonner, 42, has been a middle school teacher in Illinois for 20 years. In March, Bonner held a “book tasting” event for her students to “read and celebrate books.” Bonner said that her students often “had a tough time acclimating to bigger, more diverse spaces” and she “wanted to do something to support them.” As a result, she created a “diverse library of texts” at school, including books centering around black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ characters (Townhall). Expose Them: Illinois middle school teacher Sarah Bonner has resigned after parents found out she was showing students LGBTQ themed books and had curated a “diverse library of texts” as part of a “structured curriculum.” Keep up the pressure parents (Twitter).

North Carolina Legislature Protects the Unborn by Overriding Governor’s Veto on 12-Week Abortion Ban

Daily Wire: North Carolina Republicans voted to override Democratic Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of a 12-week abortion ban, using their supermajority to put the pro-life measure into law. The law, called the “Care for Women, Children, and Families Act,” bans abortions after 12 weeks, with exceptions for rape or incest until 20 weeks and fetal abnormalities until 24 weeks (Daily Wire). Travis The democrats only needed one Republican to vote with them to continue abortions after week 12, but couldn’t find it. This wouldn’t have been possible without State rep Tricia Cotham. Last month she switched parties and became a Republican, giving them just enough votes to become veto proof. Her decision to become a member of the GOP will save countless babies from late term abortions (Twitter).

Soros-Backed AG Resigns in Disgrace Amid Ethics Violations

Wall Street Journal: The top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts is set to resign after watchdog reports released on Wednesday found she violated longstanding Justice Department rules and possibly the law by trying to sway a local election, attending a Democratic fundraiser featuring first lady Jill Biden, and taking other politically motivated actions. The ethical imbroglio surrounding Rachael Rollins, the U.S. attorney in Boston, is a blow to the White House, which fought to secure her confirmation over concerns from Republicans about what they described as Rollins’s lenient, soft-on-crime policies as a local district attorney (Wall Street Journal). Daily Wire: The investigations from the Office of Special Counsel and the DOJ inspector general said Rachael Rollins leaked sensitive, non-public information in the primary election for Suffolk district attorney. She favored Ricardo Arroyo over Kevin Hayden. DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz wrote in his report, “We found Rollins’s conduct described throughout this report violated federal regulations, numerous DOJ policies, her Ethics Agreement, and applicable law, and fell far short of the standards of professionalism and judgment that the Department should expect of any employee, much less a U.S. Attorney” (Daily Wire).

Fraudulent CEO Elizabeth Holmes’ Appeal Rejected, Must Report to Prison by End of Month

CNBC: Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced CEO of Theranos, must report to prison May 30, according to a ruling issued Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Edward Davila. An appeals court rejected Holmes’ bid to stay out of prison while she appeals her conviction. In another ruling Tuesday, Davila ordered that Holmes and former Theranos executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani pay $452 million in restitution to victims. Last year, a federal jury in San Jose, California, convicted Holmes on four counts of defrauding investors in Theranos, her blood-testing company, and in November, Davila sentenced her to 11 years and three months in prison. Balwani was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison in July, after being convicted of 12 counts of fraud, and began his sentence in April. Holmes, 39, has two children, the first of whom was born before her fraud trial in 2021. The second was born after her sentencing (CNBC).

Montana First State to Ban Chinese-Owned Social Media App TikTok

NBC: Montana officially became the first state to ban TikTok on Wednesday, after Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill restricting downloads of the immensely popular social media app into law. The legislation, which was passed in April, makes it illegal for app stores to give users the option to download TikTok and also illegal for the company to operate within the state. The law is likely to face challenges in court arguing it restricts free speech, but Gianforte praised the bill’s privacy protections (NBC). Governor Greg Gianforte: To protect Montanans’ personal and private data from the Chinese Communist Party, I have banned TikTok in Montana (Twitter).

10.

Republicans Threaten CIA if They Do Not Hand Over Hunter Biden Records

Washington Examiner: House Republican leaders are prepared to subpoena CIA Director William Burns over records on the agency’s potential role with the Hunter Biden laptop letter which aimed to discredit Joe Biden’s son’s emails as a Russian plot. One of the signers of the Hunter Biden laptop letter says he and his wife only signed on to the baseless October 2020 claims of Russian involvement after a CIA employee who was active within the agency asked him to sign the document that played a pivotal role in the 2020 presidential race between Joe Biden and then-President Donald Trump. Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Mike Turner (R-OH), chairmen of the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees, respectively, asked Burns on Wednesday to turn over documents, saying they “have received evidence that the CIA, or at least an employee of the CIA, may have helped to solicit signatories for the statement about Hunter Biden.” The Republicans told the Biden CIA chief that “if accurate, this information raises fundamental concerns about the role of the CIA in helping to falsely discredit allegations about the Biden family in the weeks before the 2020 presidential election” (Washington Examiner). Just the News: The pair again acknowledged that the CIA had provided documentation to them already, but warned Burns that they “fully expect the CIA to produce all responsive documents to the Committees’ March 21, 2023, request in unredacted form no later than May 30, 2023.” “If the CIA does not produce all responsive documents, the Committees may resort to compulsory process,” they concluded (Just the News).