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Thursday, May 25, 2023

Ron DeSantis Officially Enters the 2024 Presidential Race

Spencer Brown: After months of speculation, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis filed paperwork to officially run for President of the United States on Wednesday afternoon ahead of formally announcing he was jumping into a crowded GOP primary field that’s likely to see even more hopefuls declare candidacy in the weeks and months ahead. DeSantis’ initial pitch came in his first campaign ad targeting President Joe Biden’s crisis-plagued administration and contrasting Biden’s failures with Florida’s successes (Townhall). Ron DeSantis: I’m running for president to lead our Great American Comeback (Twitter). Daily Wire: DeSantis also joined a special event on Twitter with the platform’s owner, Elon Musk, which received such intense interest that it crashed the event due to the servers being overloaded. “The servers are straining somewhat,” Musk said at one point as 700,000+ people logged into the event (Daily Wire). Florida’s Voice: Ron DeSantis announces his run for president: “I am running for president of the United States to lead our great American comeback. American decline is not inevitable, it is a choice and we should choose a new direction, a path that will lead to American revitalization” (Twitter).

House Votes to Overturn Biden’s Student Loan Cancelation Plan, Resume Payments

Washington Post: As the Supreme Court deliberates the future of President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, the House voted Wednesday to overturn the controversial plan to cancel more than $400 billion in debt, as well as restart loan payments for tens of millions of borrowers. The 218-to-203 vote fell largely along party lines, with two Democrats — Reps. Jared Golden (Maine) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.) — joining Republicans in endorsing a resolution to scrap the president’s plan to cancel up to $20,000 of federal student debt per eligible borrower. The measure now heads to the Senate, but Biden has already threatened a veto if it passes (Washington Post). Fox News: During floor debate, Democrats argued that voting to end Biden’s plan would hurt the roughly 13% of Americans who are likely to qualify for loan forgiveness. “At a time when students need relief the most, Republicans are working to upend student loan forgiveness that started under Trump and now continues under President Biden for more than 40 million borrowers,” said Rep. Mark Takano, D-CA (Fox News).

FBI's Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Has Not Read the Durham Report 11 Days After the Release

Daily Wire: A senior FBI official stunned GOP members of Congress on Tuesday upon testifying that she has not read or even been briefed on special counsel John Durham‘s report. Jill Murphy, the FBI’s deputy assistant director of counterintelligence, said during a hearing that she has not “had time” to read the report that was released early last week, though she intends to get to it. The report, which came at the conclusion of a years-long inquiry, heavily criticized the FBI probe into alleged links between Donald Trump‘s 2016 campaign and Russia (Daily Wire). Rep. August Pfluger: The FBI’s Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence tells Homeland GOP: “I have not read the Durham report” (Twitter).

Montana Republicans Protect Minors from Sexualization in Public

Townhall: Montana became the first state to specifically ban people dressed in drag from reading stories to children at public schools and libraries, known as “Drag Queen Story Hour.” Similar bills in Florida and Tennessee have been introduced to curb drag queen story hours. But, these bills require the performances to be sexual in nature and are facing legal challenges. Montana’s new law does not require a “sexual element” for it to be illegal (Townhall). Daily Wire: In signing the bill, Gianforte commented that he believed it was “wildly inappropriate for little kids, especially preschoolers and kids in elementary school, to be exposed to sexualized content” (Daily Wire).

Gavin Newsom Upset with Target for Hiding Some LGBT Merchandise from Customers

Hill: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Tuesday slammed Target’s chief executive for pulling LGBTQ and Pride Month merchandise from store shelves after facing backlash and threats of violence from some customers. Target announced it was making “adjustments to our plans” to promote and sell Pride Month merchandise, which has been on sale since the beginning of May, ahead of Pride Month, which is June. Target attributed the decision to “volatile circumstances” that were impacting staff’s “sense of safety and well-being while at work” (Hill). Gavin Newsom: CEO of Target Brian Cornell selling out the LGBTQ+ community to extremists is a real profile in courage. This isn’t just a couple stores in the South. There is a systematic attack on the gay community happening across the country. Wake up America. This doesn’t stop here. You’re black? You’re Asian? You’re Jewish? You’re a woman? You’re next (Twitter). National Review: When Target approached the brand Abprallen to design clothing for its 2023 “PRIDE” collection, the retail giant was fully aware of the brand’s Satanist-inspired merchandise (National Review).

France Bans Short-Distance Domestic Flights

So the French government dictates how and where people can travel. New York Times: When the French government officially enacted a ban on short domestic flights this week, it hailed the measure as proof that France was at the vanguard of ambitious climate change policies. But critics say it’s much ado about almost nothing. At first glance, the promise would seem to have been kept: Any flight between two cities that can be replaced by a train ride of less than 2.5 hours is banned. In a country smaller than Texas and with an extensive high-speed rail network, that would appear to rule out a large number of domestic flights (New York Times).

New York Jets Try Out Punter Matt Arazia After He Beats False Rape Allegations

Fox News: The New York Jets will work out free-agent punter Matt Araiza on Wednesday, who was released by the Buffalo Bills last August two days after a lawsuit was filed accusing him of being involved in an alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl. ESPN first reported the Jets were hosting the punter. Araiza, the 2021 Ray Guy Award winner as the best punter in the country, did not play during the 2022 NFL season after being drafted by the Bills in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office announced in December that Araiza would not face criminal charges (Fox News). ESPN: Araiza might not have a clear path to a roster spot with the Jets, who signed veteran punter Thomas Morstead last month and gave him a $1.1 million guarantee on a $1.3 million contract. Araiza, who was 21 at the time of the alleged incident, has maintained his innocence. The civil case remains ongoing in the matter (ESPN).

Cori Bush Criticizes Republicans for Bringing Up the Topic of Gas Stoves

The democrats impose radical, restricting legislation and get upset when we notice and call them on it. Washington Free Beacon: Squad member Rep. Cori Bush (D., Mo.) said the Biden administration is not working to ban gas stoves, even as it pushes measures that would ban half of all gas stoves on the U.S. market. Bush also suggested her constituents need to be saved by the Biden administration from the dangers of cooking with gas stoves. “I can only imagine the number of my constituents who are unknowingly being poisoned by their gas stove,” Bush said, “without this proposed rule being in effect” (Washington Free Beacon). Washington Examiner: The debate in Congress regarding gas stoves started after the Department of Energy unveiled its “Energy Policy and Conservation Program” in February, with the program allowing the DOE to set new efficiency and conservation standards for consumer conventional cooking products, including gas stoves. The DOE said in a memo that the proposed rules would make at least half of U.S. stove models ineligible for repurchase in stores if they were to come into force today (Washington Examiner).

FTC Investigating Baby Formula Makers on Grounds of Collusion

Wall Street Journal: The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether baby-formula makers colluded on bids for lucrative state contracts. The agency, in documents posted to its website, said it is looking into whether Abbott Laboratories and other formula manufacturers have “engaged in collusion or coordination with any other market participant regarding the bidding” for state contracts. The FTC is also investigating whether company coordination affected sales more broadly, outside of the Women, Infants and Children formula-supply program, FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya wrote (Wall Street Journal). Fox Business: The FTC said the highly concentrated baby formula market is dominated by three major players including Abbott, which the FTC says controls nearly half of the market. State agencies that administer the program bid out multi-year contracts to formula suppliers, according to the FTC. The manufacturer offering the lowest average net price becomes the sole infant formula supplier for that contract period. More than half of infant formula sales in the U.S. are made through the WIC program, the FTC said. However, it’s been argued that these contracts can be lucrative because they can also lead to a boost in commercial sales and significantly increase the winning company’s market share in a given state (Fox Business).

10.

Music Icon Tina Turner Passes Away at 83

Associated Press: Tina Turner, the unstoppable singer and stage performer who teamed with husband Ike Turner for a dynamic run of hit records and live shows in the 1960s and ’70s and survived her horrifying marriage to triumph in middle age with the chart-topping “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” has died at 83. Turner died Tuesday, after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland (Associated Press). Mick Jagger: I’m so saddened by the passing of my wonderful friend Tina Turner. She was truly an enormously talented performer and singer. She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me so much when I was young and I will never forget her (Twitter).