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Friday, May 19, 2023

Congress Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Protect AM Radio on the Dashboard

Called the “AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act”: The Act would require the Secretary of Transportation to issue a rule requiring every new vehicle sold in the U.S. to include a device that can receive AM radio. It would have to come as standard equipment and be easily identifiable on the dash board. Vehicles sold without an AM device before the rule takes effect would have to include an informational sticker to alert buyers. Some manufacturers of electric vehicles have planned to drop AM radio rather than clear-up interference with the vehicles’ electronics (KGMI). Associated Press: Supporters of preserving AM radio in cars cite public safety concerns. The sponsors of the bill put forth Wednesday note AM radio’s historic role in transmitting vital information during emergencies, such as communication during natural disasters, especially to people in rural areas. According to the National Association of Broadcasters and Nielsen data, more than 80 million people in the U.S. listen to AM radio every month (Associated Press).

Speaker McCarthy's Approval Rating at All-Time High

Townhall: The speaker’s approval ratings seem to be doing pretty well. He even has a net positive. McCarthy has a favorability rating of 40 percent, while 36 percent have an unfavorable view, among total respondents. Those numbers are even higher among voters, at 42 percent and 39 percent, respectively. The poll similarly asked respondents whether they approved of how McCarthy was doing his job as speaker. Forty-two percent of all respondents and 46 percent of voters approve of the job he’s doing, while 34 percent of all respondents and 36 percent of voters disapprove (Townhall). Interactive Polls: YouGov Poll: Kevin McCarthy’s job approval rating hits all-time high. Approve/Disapprove. January 24: 32/37 (net -5). MAY 10: 46/36 (NET +10). McCarthy’s net approval has increased by 15 points since January 24 (Twitter).

Adidas Uses Men to Model Female Swimsuits

Washington Times: First Nike teamed up with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney to promote its sports bras, and now Adidas is using an intact male model to hawk its women’s swimwear. The German-based sportswear giant was accused of seeking to mock, belittle and “erase” women by using an obviously male model to display its women’s one-piece Pride Swimsuit, part of its newly unveiled Pride 2023 collection. Former NCAA All-American swimmer Riley Gaines said that companies like Adidas “want you to know that they think men make the best women” (Washington Times). Libs of TikTok: Biological male models women’s swimsuit in adidas new pride collection ad (Twitter). Graham Allen: Male models wearing bras and women’s swimsuits for “Pride Month”?!?! I AM DONE WITH ADIDAS (Twitter)!

As McCarthy, Biden Come Close to Debt Ceiling Agreement, Democrats Urge the White House Not to Deal

CNBC: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Thursday he is optimistic that congressional negotiators could reach a deal to raise or suspend the debt ceiling in time to hold a House vote on it next week. White House negotiators huddled with McCarthy’s team in the Capitol complex Thursday, continuing their efforts to hammer out a deal that needs to pass the Republican majority House and the Democratic-controlled Senate ahead of a potential June 1 deadline, the soonest date the Treasury could run out of cash to pay debts already incurred (CNBC). Not surprising. Hill: Senate Democrats are warning the president not to agree to anything that would hurt low-income Americans or undermine the battle against climate change. Democratic senators are increasingly concerned that any deal that Biden strikes with McCarthy will include major concessions to House conservatives that they would find hard to support (Hill).

FBI Agents Show Up to Mother’s Home of a Pro-Life Activist

Federalist: Two female Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents descended upon the doorstep of Tracy Ketch, the mother of progressive pro-life activist Elise Ketch, last month. In a conversation the agents, Ashley Roberts and Kathleen Brown, asked Tracy if they could talk to Elise. “We just need to speak with [Elise] regarding some information that was sent to us,” Roberts told Tracy. The agents asked for Elise’s address or phone number after learning she no longer lives at her mother’s house. “She’s not in any trouble,” Roberts said, adding that she couldn’t tell Tracy what their visit was about but that she shouldn’t worry because “it’s nothing” (Federalist). Mary Margaret Olohan: FBI agents Ashley Roberts and Kathleen Brown showed up at the childhood home of pro-life activist Elise Ketch. The agents asked to speak with Ketch, who is a member of PAAUNOW. Here’s the Ring security camera footage (Twitter). Daily Signal: “While they reassured my mother that I was not in trouble, it’s also possible that they see me as a threat due to my pro-life activism and intended to investigate me,” Ketch speculated. “Yet, to my knowledge, they never attempted to follow up with me or my attorney, so I believe the FBI’s true motive behind their visit to my parents’ home was to intimidate me and my team” (Daily Signal).

FBI Whistleblower Testifies Agency Had Possible Undercover Agents in Capitol on Jan. 6th, Accuses FBI of Retaliating Against Whistleblowers

National Review: A whistleblower from the FBI’s Boston field office testified that agents in Washington refused to share hours of video footage from the January 6 Capitol riot between the offices because there “may be” undercover officers or confidential human sources in the videos whose identities would need to be protected. The revelation came in a prerecorded video testimony from whistleblower George Hill, which was played during a hearing of the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on Thursday (National Review). DC Draino: FBI whistleblower testifies under oath that FBI won’t allow 11,000+ hours of J6 footage to be released b/c it would expose undercover agents committing crimes inside Capitol. Not only was J6 a Fed setup, but now it’s confirmed that FBI is also covering its tracks (Twitter). House Judiciary GOP: Marcus Allen bravely served our country overseas in the armed services and has been suspended without pay for OVER a year by the FBI for “disloyalty” (Twitter).

Dianne Feinstein Suffering Additional Complications Stemming from Shingles Hospitalization

She needs to resign. NBC: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., experienced more complications than were publicly disclosed from a recent case of shingles that left her absent from Washington for nearly three months. Feinstein, 89, had also suffered from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which occurred when shingles spread to her head and neck, and a case of encephalitis, which is swelling of the brain, a person familiar with her situation confirmed to NBC News on Thursday. Feinstein, when she made brief appearances in the Capitol this week, appeared to have facial paralysis on the left side of her face, a side effect of Ramsay Hunt syndrome (NBC). RNC Research: “How have they felt about you returning?” FEINSTEIN: “No, I haven’t been gone. You should follow the— I haven’t been gone. I’ve been working.” “Working from home is what you’re saying?” FEINSTEIN: “No, I’ve been here. I’ve been voting” (Twitter). Of course, republicans are blamed for this. New York Times: Some current and former colleagues said the situation was alarming to watch and blamed Senate Republicans who blocked Ms. Feinstein’s request for a temporary replacement on the Judiciary Committee. “Republicans are responsible for this nightmare scenario that’s unfolding,” said former Senator Barbara Boxer, who made history with Ms. Feinstein in 1992 as the first female senators elected from California. “I am sick at heart at that. I blame them for being mean to her and spinning it to blame the Democrats” (New York Times).

Cincinnati Public Schools Tell Teachers to Consider Calling CPS on Parents Who Deny Child’s Gender Identity

Fox News: Cincinnati public schools have been advised to “consider” reporting child abuse to child protective services if a student’s parents are unsupportive of his or her gender identity. A student’s transgender status is confidential and such information “should not be shared with parents if disclosing the information to parents could put the student at risk of harm at home,” according to a 2021 memo by the Cincinnati Board of Education’s Policy and Equity Committee (Fox News). Townhall: Erika Sanzi, PDE’s director of outreach, added that the policies are “a betrayal of trust.” “Treating a parent who protects their child from gender ideology as dangerous and deserving of a call to child protective services is a terrifying abuse of power,” Sanzi said (Townhall).

Biden Admin Sent a Hellfire Missile After Father of 10 in Syria

Daily Wire: Biden administration officials are reportedly walking back claims that they made earlier this month when they claimed that they had killed a major figure in the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda. The move by U.S. officials comes after the slain man’s family and others who knew him claimed that the father of 10, a former bricklayer, had no ties to terrorism and was tending to his sheep when he was hit by a Hellfire missile in Syria. U.S. officials claimed shortly after the strike that the Predator drone had taken out a “senior Al Qaeda leader” — even though they did not provide proof or name the suspect (Daily Wire). Washington Post: In the weeks since the attack, U.S. military officials have refused to identify publicly who their target was, how the apparent error occurred, whether a legitimate terrorist leader escaped and why some in the Pentagon maintain Lotfi Hassan Misto was a member of al-Qaeda despite his family’s denials (Washington Post).

10.

Former “Nonbinary” White House Official Sam Brinton Arrested as a “Fugitive from Justice”

Daily Wire: Sam Brinton, the “nonbinary” activist tapped by Joe Biden for a key nuclear role before he was fired for stealing women’s clothes, was arrested again Wednesday night as a “fugitive from justice” for allegedly stealing luggage. Montgomery County, Maryland, police arrested him at his home on Wednesday, police logs show. He is currently in jail and being held without bond. A judge denied Brinton’s request to turn himself in and ordered him extradited to Virginia on grand larceny charges (Daily Wire). National Review: Brinton was charged last year with stealing a woman’s luggage from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, in July 2022. The disgraced former Biden administration official faced grand larceny charges for stealing property worth between $1,200 and $5,000 (National Review).