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Monday, July 17, 2023

John Kirby Says Secret Service “Did the best they could” to Find Source of Cocaine in White House

Daily Wire: The investigation into the origin of the cocaine found in the White House was “the best” the Secret Service could do, despite not identifying a suspect, a top Biden administration official says. John Kirby, the coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council, told Fox News host Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday” that at the end of the probe, there wasn’t enough “forensic evidence” to pinpoint the perpetrator. On July 2, a bag of cocaine was discovered in a lobby of the West Wing (Daily Wire). RNC Research: Top Biden spokesman John Kirby shrugs off the cocaine scandal inside the Biden White House: “I can’t really speak to the investigation that was done by the Secret Service … they just were not able to come up with any forensic evidence that proves it” (Twitter). Townhall: Conservatives called it unacceptable that the FBI claimed lab results could not identify fingerprints nor DNA on the bag of .007 grams of cocaine found in a heavily- trafficked part of the White House’s West Wing— especially since President Joe Biden’s drug-addict son, Hunter Biden, visited the White House just days before the white powdery substance was found. Former President Trump suggested the end of cocainegate proves there is a “two Tier Level of Justice,” pointing out the political witch hunt the FBI has on him. “Despite all of the cameras pointing directly at the ‘scene of the crime,’ and the greatest forensics anywhere in the World, they just can’t figure it out? They know the answer, and so does everyone else!” Trump posted on Truth Social (Townhall).

California Democrats Revive Child trafficking Bill Amid Mass Bipartisan Pushback

Fox News: Democratic lawmakers in California revived a stalled child trafficking bill Thursday following public pressure after they initially chose not to advance the legislation. The bill, Senate Bill 14, would increase penalties for child traffickers and would add the crime to the list of serious felonies in California. Anyone convicted of at least three serious felonies would face a prison sentence of between 25 years to life. Earlier this week, Democrats on the state Assembly Public Safety Committee chose not to advance the bill, because they opposed longer prison sentences, arguing it isn’t a deterrent to crime. Gov. Gavin Newsom publicly supported the bill, introduced by Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove, prompting Democrats to change course after he went against the party. On Thursday, the committee advanced the bill with no amendments. In a brief meeting, four Democrats — including chair Reggie Jones-Sawyer — joined Republicans to advance the bill out of the committee ahead of a legislative deadline. Assemblymember Liz Ortega on Thursday said she “made a bad decision” to vote against the bill earlier in the week (Fox News). Denise Aguilar: In case you missed the hot topic today. Here’s a run down of SB14 (Twitter).

California Judge Allows School District to Hide Children’s Gender Identity from Parents

Sacramento Bee: A federal judge this week dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Chico Unified School District’s policy of protecting the gender identities of students from their parents. U.S. District Court Judge John Mendez said in a ruling that the authority of the district to safeguard the information overrode parental rights. In doing so, Mendez also kept intact guidance by California school officials to shield the privacy rights of transgender students. The ruling was prompted by a lawsuit filed in January on behalf of Aurora Regino, the mother a child who was in elementary school last year. Regino’s child, then 11, began identifying as a different gender than was assigned at birth and told a school counselor. The child later returned to being identified by the gender assigned at birth. “Parents, not schools, have the right and responsibility to make major life decisions on behalf of their minor children,” the lawsuit argued (Sacramento Bee). Just the News: Within “minutes” of the girl telling Robertson she “felt like a boy,” the counselor was asking for her new name and pronouns rather than discussing her psychological issues. The girl “felt pressured” to go along, and Robertson took her back to class and instructed her teacher – and subsequently all personnel – how to address her, Regino claims. No one in the district purportedly suggested the girl see a mental health professional, give her permission to “socially transition back” or tell her the “risks associated with graduated affirmative care,” which often follows social transition. Regino says her daughter’s now in counseling for the issues the district ignored (Just the News).

Biden Administration Forgives $39 Billion Worth of Student Loans

Wall Stret Journal: More than 800,000 older borrowers will see their federal student debt disappear. Student loan borrowers on income-driven repayment plans who have made 20 or 25 years of payments will get their remaining balances wiped out in coming weeks, the Education Department said. Eligible borrowers will be notified starting Friday. A total of $39 billion will be forgiven as part of a one-time adjustment to loan repayment plans the Biden administration announced last year. Separate from the higher-profile $430 billion program the Supreme Court struck down in late June, this one-time adjustment will give borrowers credit retroactively for months that previously hadn’t been counted (Wall Street Journal). Washington Post: Biden and Vice President Harris said Friday they remain committed to delivering relief for student loan borrowers (Washington Post).

NYC Pay Out $2 Billion to Black, Hispanic People Who Failed Teaching Exam Saying the Test was Racist

Daily Wire: New York City will pay nearly $2 billion to black and Hispanic people who wanted to become teachers but failed the exam, settling a lawsuit that alleged that the disparate passage rates showed that the test was racist. Some individuals who never worked as teachers will get more than $1 million each, and could even get pensions which will inflate the cost well beyond $1.8 billion, the New York Post reported. The Post interviewed 64-year-old Herman Grim, who will be paid $2,055,383 after failing the test “a lot.” He could not provide any examples of how the questions were racist (Daily Wire). New York Post: The judgments are based on what the teachers and teacher candidates would have earned had they passed the test and kept working in the city’s public school system. Typically, the further back they failed the test, the more money plaintiffs are entitled to. Under an agreement ironed out in November 2021 during then-Mayor Bill de Blasio’s final weeks in office, the city agreed to set aside more than $1.8 billion in funds to pay off the plaintiffs through 2028 (New York Post).

EPA Estimates 70 Percent of Vehicles Would be EV by 2032 Dramatically Increasing Electrical Grid Consumption

Daily Signal: Since the 2020 election, President Joe Biden has made clear his intention to drive America’s gasoline- and diesel-powered cars and trucks right off our roads. In May, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new rule that would impose such strict emissions limits that carmakers would only be able to comply with them by switching the vast majority of their production to electric vehicles by 2027. The EPA estimates that under its new rule, nearly 70% of all new cars and trucks produced in America would be fully electric by 2032. But the proposed rule is based on a flawed interpretation of the Clean Air Act. The act gives the EPA the authority to regulate air pollutants from vehicles, but not to dictate what types of vehicles consumers can own. It requires the EPA to set emissions standards that allow manufacturers enough time “to permit the development and application of the requisite technology, giving appropriate consideration to the cost of compliance within such period” (Daily Signal).

FBI Director Chris Wray is Unaware of Why the FBI’s Reputation Tanked

Wall Street Journal: FBI Director Christopher Wray began his hearing before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday by praising the bureau’s 38,000 rank-and-file personnel who protect the country “each and every day.” In doing so, he inadvertently highlighted the FBI’s real problem: the politicized few at the top. In his testimony, Mr. Wray rightly noted that FBI agents battle child predators, fentanyl cartels, Chinese espionage, cyberattackers, gangs, foreign terrorists and human traffickers. He griped that this work is overshadowed by “the one or two investigations that seem to capture all the headlines.” And whose fault is that? Those “one or two” (or five or 10) probes are hardly tiny affairs, but some of the biggest scandals in FBI history, in part because of bureau actions that violated bedrock American principles. And as the hearing illuminated, those headline cases have something in common: The bad judgment and poor behavior mostly comes from the upper echelons—FBI headquarters, senior agents, task force leaders and Justice Department honchos. They are the ones damaging the bureau’s reputation and undermining the good work of everyone else (Wall Street Journal).

Illinois State Law Prohibits Landlords from Asking about Immigration Status

Fox News: An Illinois law set to go into effect at the beginning of 2024 will ban landlords from discriminating against potential tenants on the basis of their immigration status. Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed SB 1817 into law late last month, which will add “protections in the Illinois Human Rights Act for housing regarding immigration status protection and discriminatory advertising.” The law was part of several pieces of legislation Pritzker signed last month, including another law aimed at giving undocumented immigrants access to state drivers licenses. The bill replaces the current Temporary Visitor Driver’s License with a standard license that will last four years, a move that will impact over 300,000 people who currently hold the temporary licenses (Fox News). Townhall: “This law sets clear boundaries, protecting the rights of immigrants and ensuring that financial institutions and service providers cannot engage in discriminatory practices,” state Sen. Ann Gillespie, a Democrat, said in a statement. “Putting these protections in place will promote fairness to ensure people are not unjustly denied housing.” Gillespie’s press release noted that third party loan modification service providers cannot refuse to engage in loan services or alter the terms of the service based on someone’s immigration status (Townhall).

America’s Oldest Craft Brewer Closes Due to Destructive Economy

New York Times: It survived San Francisco’s devastating 1906 earthquake, Prohibition and both world wars. But recent economic pressures proved too much for the company said to be the oldest craft brewer in the country: After 127 years, Anchor Brewing Company is shutting down. In a statement released Wednesday, the company, founded in 1896, said that the impacts of the pandemic, inflation and a highly competitive market left it “with no option but to make this sad decision to cease operations.” Employees were given 60 days’ notice and promised severance packages, the company said. Anchor added that although it had stopped brewing, it would continue packing and distributing beer while available. It will be sold on draft while inventory remains, it said. The brewer’s sales had been declining since 2016, and in 2017, the company was acquired for around $85 million by the Japanese beer giant Sapporo (New York Times).

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Carlos Alcaraz Edges Out Reigning Champion Novak Djokovic to Become the Third-Youngest Wimbledon Champion

CNN: World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz overcame reigning champion Novak Djokovic in a thrilling five-set men’s final on Sunday to win his first Wimbledon title. The Spaniard prevailed after nearly five hours on Centre Court, eventually winning 6-4. The 20-year-old becomes the third-youngest Wimbledon champion in the Open Era and adds a second major title to his record after winning the US Open last year (CNN).