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Monday, July 3, 2023

Rep. Ro Khanna Asserts Biden Has the Authority to Forgive Student Loans

ABC: California Rep. Ro Khanna on Sunday praised President Joe Biden’s continued efforts to cancel federal student loan debt after the Supreme Court struck down his initial plan to forgive up to $20,000 for some borrowers. Biden said Friday that he will now rely on the 1965 Higher Education Act to try to enact debt forgiveness, rather than the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students (HEROES) Act of 2003, on which his initial plan was based. “I am pleased that the White House is invoking the Higher Education Act,” Khanna, a progressive Democrat, told ABC’s Jonathan Karl. “I do hope that the White House will make sure that the interest doesn’t accrue starting in September. I know the president has said he isn’t going to refer students to the credit agency. I also believe under the Higher Education Act he can stop the interest accrual.” While Khanna said he was supportive of Biden’s new path forward — and would like there to be a broader payment pause while the administration pursues more ways to legalize loan forgiveness — he sharply criticized the Supreme Court (ABC). This Week: “Unelected justices” are “basically reinterpreting congressional statute to fit their ideological preconceptions,” Rep. Ro Khanna tells Jon Karl after Supreme Court strikes down Pres. Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. “It’s very dangerous” (Twitter). RNC Research: Pennsylvania iron workers blast Biden’s student loan bailout: “Why should I pay for somebody else’s college” (Twitter).

AOC Rails Against the Supreme Court: “The Supreme Court is far overreaching their authority"

Fox News: Democratic “Squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., slammed the U.S. Supreme Court for what she called an “abuse of power” Sunday, following landmark decisions this past week rejecting affirmative action and Biden’s student loan debt plan. She proposed impeachment and subpoenas be put into play in order to limit the justices’ power. “The Supreme Court is far overreaching their authority,” Ocasio-Cortez said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And I believe, frankly, that we really need to be having conversations about judicial review as a check on the courts as well,” she added (Fox News). Acyn: AOC: If Chief Justice Roberts will not come before Congress for an investigation voluntarily, I believe that we should be considering subpoenas (Twitter). Daily Wire: Ocasio-Cortez also discussed reining in the power held by the nine justices — including the prospect of expanding the Supreme Court — following a series of conservative victories over the past year in rulings focused on abortion access, religious freedom, affirmative action, and President Joe Biden’s student debt plan (Daily Wire).

Evil Baltimore Shooting Leaves Two Dead, 28 Injured

Associated Press: Gunfire erupted at a block party in Baltimore on Sunday — killing two people, wounding 28 and leaving an extensive crime scene that marred the U.S. holiday weekend, police said. Three of the wounded were in critical condition. Baltimore Police Department Acting Commissioner Richard Worley told reporters there were a total of 30 victims during a press conference at the scene. The shooting took place just after 12:30 a.m. at a block party in the Brooklyn Homes area in the southern part of the city. Nine victims were transported by ambulance and 20 victims walked into area hospitals with injuries from the shooting. Nineteen of those victims were treated in the emergency department at MedStar Harbor Hospital. Nine of the critically injured patients were stabilized and transferred to Baltimore trauma centers. All but one of the 19 victims sent to MedStar have been released (Associated Press). CBS: No one had been arrested in connection with the shooting, but investigators said they are reviewing video surveillance footage to identify a suspect or suspects (CBS).

Harvard University Looks to Still Use Race in Admissions

Insider: Harvard University says it may still consider race in its admissions process despite the Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action in higher education, maintaining in a statement that the decision allows schools to consider an applicant’s racial background, among other factors, provided that the prospective student explains how it has impacted their life. Harvard, a private university in Massachusetts, said it intends to follow the court’s ruling. But it noted that the decision still allows it to consider race, among other factors (Insider).

President Biden Under Scrutiny for Refusing to Acknowledge His Seventh Grandchild

Fox News: President Biden is facing backlash from conservatives following a report that his aides have been told to say publicly that he only has six grandchildren, omitting Hunter Biden’s 4-year-old estranged daughter. The president’s son, Hunter Biden, settled his child support case in Arkansas last week, ending a years-long paternity dispute over his 4-year-old daughter, whom both the president and the first lady refuse to acknowledge as their seventh grandchild. Announced in a court filing on Thursday, Hunter agreed to give his daughter some of his paintings, and the mother of the child, Lunden Alexis Roberts, agreed to withdraw her counterclaim to change their child’s last name to “Biden” (Fox News). Jonathan Turley: NY Times: “Aides have been told that the Bidens have six, not seven, grandchildren.” It is breathtakingly cruel to this little girl. However, the first couple continues to cultivate their image as loving, doting grandparents as they shun this little girl (Twitter). New York Times: The girl is aware that her father is Hunter Biden and that her paternal grandfather is the president of the United States. She speaks about both of them often, but she has not met them. Her maternal grandfather, Rob Roberts, described her as whip-smart and funny (New York Times).

New Florida Immigration Law Begins Where State No Longer Recognizes IDs Given to Illegal Immigrants

CBS: A controversial Florida law which took effect Saturday no longer recognizes driver’s licenses issued to undocumented immigrants from other states, among other restrictions. The law also includes harsh penalties for those who try and hire or transport undocumented migrants, which critics say can include family members. It also requires hospitals that receive Medicaid funds to ask for a patient’s immigration status. DeSantis claims the legislation is needed due to what he considers the Biden’s administration’s failure to secure the border. “At the end of the day, you wouldn’t have the illegal immigration problem if you didn’t have a lot of people who were facilitating this in our country,” DeSantis recently said during a campaign rally (CBS). Just the News: The measure will “lead to acts of discrimination and racial profiling,” Mexico warned Saturday. The law “will affect the human rights of thousands of Mexicans, including children, and will exacerbate hostile environments, which may lead to hate crimes and acts against the migrant community,” the government also said. “Criminalization is not the way to solve the issue of undocumented immigration.” Illegal migration has risen over the past several years as migrants make makeshift vessels and use the Florida Keys as a landing point to access the rest of the United States. DeSantis has cracked down on illegal immigration in his state by enhancing penalties for human smuggling and restricting employment eligibility, among other things (Just the News).

Moms for Liberty Summit Brings Trump, DeSantis, Haley Together

Reuters: Top rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination on Friday addressed the national conference of Moms for Liberty, appealing to the conservative parents-rights advocacy group with vows to bolster education and keep discussion of gender identity out of the classroom. “Don’t mess with America’s moms,” former President Donald Trump told the crowd in Philadelphia, calling the group a “grassroots juggernaut.” The appearance of Trump and rivals Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley at the summit served as a testament to the weight their campaigns are placing on race- and gender-based cultural issues related to education heading into next year’s nominating contests. The Republican rivals are hoping to appeal to parents of school-age children, particularly suburban women, an important voting bloc in U.S. presidential elections (Reuters). ABC: Nearly all attendees jumped to their feet in raucous cheer as DeSantis decried puberty blockers while touting the various policies he’s enacted to empower Sunshine State parents. Moms for Liberty remains untethered to a particular candidate, and the group is unsure about its plans to endorse in 2024 (ABC).

Grandmother of French Teenager Killed Sends Rioters a Message: "I'm telling them to stop"

Daily Wire: France faced riots for the fifth night in a row on Saturday as more than 45,000 police officers were deployed throughout the country, including 7,000 in Paris, to stop the civil unrest. Thousands of people have been arrested so far after hundreds of cars and buildings have been set on fire and countless stores have been looted following the death of a teenager of African descent. The country’s top two police unions — the Alliance Police Nationale and UNSA Police — said in a statement: “Today police officers are at the front line because we are at war” (Daily Wire). Charlie Kirk: France is being ripped apart by its worst riots in years. The situation is almost identical to our own George Floyd riots in 2020. Violent maniacs are burning down whole buildings and driving through the streets spraying gunfire. France’s police unions are warning that civil war is imminent. So naturally, French police have arrested the coach of their top national soccer team, and his son, for possible racism (Twitter). Reuters: The grandmother of the teenager shot dead by police during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb said on Sunday she wanted the nationwide rioting triggered by his killing to end, after a fifth night of unrest. She said the rioters were using 17-year-old Nahel’s death last Tuesday as an excuse to cause havoc and that the family wanted calm. “I’m telling them (the rioters) to stop,” the grandmother, identified as Nadia by French media (Reuters).

Kamala Harris Hosts Pride Event at Her Home: “Pride is Patriotism”

Townhall: Vice President Kamala Harris celebrated the end of Pride Month by hosting the rainbow flag at her home to celebrate the Left’s progressive LGBTQ agenda– emceed by none only than a drag queen. This week, Harris partied with a score of alphabet people and several drag queens at an event in collaboration with GLAAD— formerly known as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation— at her Washington, D.C. home (Townhall). Kamala Harris: Pride is patriotism (Twitter). Breitbart: While Harris hosts an LGBTQ-themed event in her backyard, she enters the record books as the most unpopular vice president in history, according to a recent NBC News poll. The poll, published Monday, revealed that 49 percent of registered voters have a negative view of Harris compared to 32 percent who hold a positive view (Breitbart).

10.

Bud Light Giving Free Beer Away for the Fourth of July

Daily Mail: Bud Light has resorted to giving away free beer over the Fourth of July in a desperate bid to reclaim its dwindling market share after the Dylan Mulvaney fiasco. Although the promotion won’t make a 15-pack of Bud Light completely free, customers can submit a rebate offer for $15 to make a big saving on a pack of cold refreshments this holiday weekend. The beers have to be purchased between June 15 and July 8 to be eligible and consumers will be reimbursed through a prepaid card. The rebate has to be submitted by July 22 and the card is valid for six months. A similar promotion was offered over Memorial Day weekend following the disastrous partnership with trans influencer Mulvaney in early April. The boycott by Bud Light’s traditional customer base has seen sales plummet by more than 20 percent consecutively for at least six weeks. At the peak of the crisis more than $27bn was wiped off its value (Daily Mail). Outkick: The beer brand and Anheuser-Busch seem to do everything possible to rebuild other than the one thing that would likely resolve this situation: Apologize (Outkick).