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Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Anheuser-Busch Offers to Buy Back Cases of Expired Beer from Wholesalers

National Review: Anheuser-Busch is offering to buy back unsold cases of Bud Light from wholesalers stuck with expired inventory as the fallout over its partnership with transgender social-media influencer Dylan Mulvaney has sent sales plummeting since April. In early May, Bud Light offered free beer to every employee of the company’s distributors in an attempt to reassure them amid millions of dollars in lost sales. For the entire month of April, sales were reportedly down 21.4 percent as Budweiser sales similarly slagged 11.5 percent. Since the original controversy in early April, Anheuser-Busch has sought to pivot away from contentious cultural issues towards a more patriotic tone (National Review). Daily Wire: By mid-May, Bud Light sales were down 28% in comparison with 2022 sales numbers for the same time period — according to a Bump Williams analysis of Nielsen data — and several high-profile celebrities had thrown their weight behind a total boycott of the brand (Daily Wire).

A Merchandise Designer for Target Revealed to be Satanist

Washington Examiner: The designer behind one of Target’s brand partnerships for Pride month was revealed to have an affinity for Satanism. Abprallen, a brand out of the United Kingdom and headed by a self-proclaimed gay, transgender man known as Erik, per the website, has had a collaboration in the works with the retailer for roughly a year. The collection includes a sweatshirt that reads “cure transphobia not trans people,” a tote bag that reads “too queer for here,” and a messenger pack that reads “we belong everywhere.” Among Abprallen’s other apparel are images of pentagrams, horned skulls, and references to devils. “Satan respects pronouns,” reads one previous design, featured on T-shirts and pins (Washington Examiner). Lara Logan: Go ahead Target – you “hang with Satan”. We’ll “hang with God” instead. And those of you thinking you can sit this one out…. Good luck. ‘We’ll Hang W Satan Instead: Target Receives MASSIVE Backlash After Woke Merch Designer Exposed To Be A Satanist (Twitter).

Tim Scott Throws His Hat into the 2024 Ring by Declaring "We live in the land of opportunity”

Daily Wire: South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott announced his entry into the 2024 presidential election on Monday, smacking President Joe Biden while touting his own up-from-poverty story. The 57-year-old opened his campaign in a morning speech from his alma mater, Charleston Southern University, in his hometown of North Charleston. In his announcement address, Scott hit on themes common to his recent public remarks as he explored making a run at the White House. He focused his attacks on Biden while casting America as a land of opportunity for those willing to take chances (Daily Wire). Benny Johnson: Sen. Tim Scott: “We live in the land of opportunity. We live in the land where it is absolutely possible for a kid raised in poverty— in a single-parent household, in a small apartment— to one day serve in the People’s House. And maybe even the White House” (Twitter). Tim Scott: President Biden is on track to become the first President in American history to default on the debt limit. We need a leader who is able to step up to the plate and negotiate a responsible budget (Twitter).

Biden, McCarthy Meet to Negotiate Debt Ceiling

Wall Street Journal: President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) opened a high-stakes meeting on Monday evening, as negotiators worked to get back on track on reaching a debt-ceiling deal that could pass both the Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate by the end of the month. Central to the talks is setting a top line spending level for the next year and deciding how long to lift the debt ceiling until having to raise it again. The two sides are aiming to reach a deal by June 1, when the Treasury Department estimates the U.S. could run out of money to pay all of its bills, leading to a first-ever default. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen repeated that estimate Monday (Wall Street Journal). RNC Research: Deranged Tennessee Democrat Rep. Steve Cohen says Republicans are “terrorists” for demanding fiscal responsibility in debt ceiling negotiations (Twitter). Bloomberg: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said it’s now “highly likely” that her department will run out of sufficient cash in early June, and repeated her warning that the moment could come as soon as June 1 (Bloomberg).

FBI Director Chris Wray to Testify Before House Judiciary Committee Mid-July to Answer for Agency Follies

Washington Examiner: FBI Director Christopher Wray is expected to appear before the House Judiciary Committee in mid-July for the first time since a series of embarrassing revelations emerged about the bureau, a person familiar with the plans said. While Wray and committee members are still finalizing a date, the hearing is expected to come just weeks after special counsel John Durham released his findings of unethical conduct in the Russia collusion investigation, House Republicans unveiled evidence that the FBI retaliated against whistleblowers, and a court document exposed the bureau’s abuse of a surveillance tool while targeting Americans suspected of attending the Jan. 6, 2021 riot (Washington Examiner).

Trans High School Runner Gets Second Place, 4th Place Runner Does Not Get to Advance to State Finals

Daily Mail: A transgender athlete has been slammed after placing second across a field of high school girls – and even prevented one from securing a state championship place. Athena Ryan, who transitioned from male to female, had been running in the boy’s team for Sonoma Academy until 2021, when she switched to the girl’s team. The junior stormed to the runner-up position in the varsity girls’ 1,600-meter finals of the CIF-North Coast Section Meet of Champions that took place on Saturday. In the aftermath of the race, Ryan boasted about her rapid progress, shaving vast amounts of time off her best performances. She vaulted from sixth place in her last 1,600-meter race to second ahead of a field of senior high school females (Daily Mail). ICONS: Trans-identifying male, Athena Ryan (Jr) took 2nd today in the “Girls 1600m” at a CA State Championship qualifier meet in Dublin, CA. Ryan beamed while 4th place senior, Adeline Johnson gave a thumb down after losing the chance to advance to the State Championships by 1 spot (Twitter).

Biden Looks to End DNA Testing at Southern Border, Which Helps Track Down Human Traffickers

Just the News: The Biden administration is set to end familial DNA testing at the US-Mexico border, which has been key to preventing the fraudulent entry of many illegal immigrants and mitigating child trafficking. The DNA testing was originally implemented in the Trump-era and utilized by Customs Border Protection – following a court order related to the separation of migrant children from their families and evidence drug cartels were using children to create fake family units to sneak illegal immigrants across the border. But over the weekend, a CBP memo sent to frontline border agents announced the testing will cease when its vendor contract expires this month (Just the News). In 2019, DNA testing showed 30 percent of migrant groups were unrelated (Washington Examiner).

Meta Fined $1.3 Billion by the EU for Violating Personal Data

CNBC: Meta has been fined a record 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) by European privacy regulators over the transfer of EU user data to the U.S. The decision links back to a case brought by Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems who argued that the framework for transferring EU citizen data to America did not protect Europeans from U.S. surveillance (CNBC). ABC: The Irish Data Protection Commission announced the fine on Monday, saying Meta had violated the terms of General Data Protection Regulations, a set of rules for protecting customer privacy in the European Union. The fine amounts to the largest ever imposed under GDPR, which has been enforced since May 2018. Regulators said data transfers made by Meta between the United States and European Union had failed to comply with “standard contractual clauses” in place since July 2020 (ABC).

NAACP Vice Chair Lives in Florida as Organization Issued Travel Advisory for Black Americans to Not Go to Florida

The hypocrisy is clear. Julio Rosas: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) issued a formal travel advisory for the state of Florida for what the group claims are Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) “aggressive attempts to erase Black history” and take down Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs in state colleges. DeSantis Press Secretary Jeremy Redfern noted how the National Board of Directors Vice Chair Karen Boykin-Towns had taken a Florida vacation in 2021, during the time when Democrats were accusing DeSantis of still not doing enough to clamp down on COVID-19. On top of that, Redfern also pointed out that Leon Russell, the chairman of the board of directors, currently lives in Tampa (Townhall). Jeremy Redfern: Here is your Vice Chair chillin’ in Clearwater, FL (Twitter).

10.

Russia Issues Warning to US to Not Supply Ukraine with F-16s

Hill: Russia is warning the West of a “colossal risk” should nations supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, suggesting that it could raise the question of NATO’s role in the war. President Biden on Friday told Group of Seven (G-7) leaders that the United States will support a joint effort to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s, an effort expected to start soon outside Ukraine at sites in Europe. Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov, meanwhile, claimed there was no infrastructure for Ukrainians to operate F-16s in the country, suggesting NATO pilots would step in to use the aircraft instead (Hill). Reuters: Antonov also said that any Ukrainian strike on the Crimea region would be considered a strike on Russia. Ukraine has intensified its strikes on Russian-held targets especially on the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 (Reuters).