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Monday, August 21, 2023

Tropical Storm Hilary Hits Southern California

Fox News: Tropical Storm Hilary made landfall over Mexico’s Baja California peninsula late Sunday morning before setting its sights on Southern California and prompting flash flood warnings in the areas surrounding Los Angeles. Hilary had weakened from a Category 1 hurricane to tropical storm status early Sunday. The National Weather Service had predicted the storm was likely to bring “catastrophic and life-threatening” flooding to the region and cross into the southwestern U.S. as a tropical storm (Fox News). Weather Channel: A 5.0 Magnitude earthquake has hit Ojai, California. The state is currently in the midst of Tropical Storm Hilary, which brought heavy rain and winds to California and the Southwestern US (Twitter).

Hunter Biden’s Legal Team Threatened to Put President Biden on the Witness Stand if Charges Were Brought Against Hunter

National Review: A letter from Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Chris Clark, in October 2022 revealed that if the Department of Justice (DOJ) brought charges against his client for possession of a firearm while a drug user, President Biden would have to testify in the case. “President Biden now unquestionably would be a fact witness for the defense in any criminal trial,” the legal representative wrote in a 32-page letter obtained by Politico. Clark’s comments were in response to a leak from the Washington Post, which reported that federal investigators believed there was “sufficient evidence to charge him (Hunter) with tax crimes and a false statement related to a gun purchase” (National Review). Hunter Biden’s lawyers, Democrats believe the case is politically motivated. Politico: The case has long been defined by politics, including for Biden’s own lawyers. And they said a trial of the president’s son would create political and constitutional chaos by pitting the president himself against his own Justice Department (Politico).

Chicago Leader Urges Criminals Not to Be Violent During Daytime

Outkick: If we can’t stop violent criminals in Chicago, maybe we can at least put them on a schedule? Democratic alderwoman Maria Hadden shared a proposal last week by the community group Native Sons urging Chicagoans not to shoot their firearms between the hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The proposal — called “The People’s Ordinance” — encourages gangs to conduct their shootouts during the hours when children and innocent bystanders are less likely to be caught in the crossfire (Outkick). Daily Mail: It comes weeks after Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson, who took over from previous Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot in May, continues to try and get a hold on crime in the Windy City. The total number of crimes in Chicago so far this year has risen by 34 percent compared to 2022 and 82 percent against 2021 (Daily Mail). Townhall: Democrat mayor Brandon Johnson issued a campaign, claiming “health professionals, not police” need to “respond to crisis calls.” Chicago went from one far-Left mayor to another, with no improvement in the city’s safety (Townhall).

NYC Mayor Adams Complains About Migrant Issue

He is getting a healthy dose of reality. Julio Rosas: New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) continued to bemoan this week about how unfair it is for his sanctuary city to shoulder the burden of the ongoing border crisis as resources and space are being pushed to their limit (Townhall). RNC Research: Democrat Mayor Eric Adams complains illegal immigrants have been “unjustly dropped into the laps of New York City residents” — despite his city being a “sanctuary city” (Twitter). Journalist Rebecca Brannon: Hundreds of New Yorkers are currently protesting against Mayor Eric Adams for migrants to be housed in a Staten Island assisted living center instead of Senior citizens (Twitter).

Border Crossings Surge in July

CBS: U.S. officials along the border with Mexico processed migrants 183,503 times in July, as illegal crossings jumped by 33% after dropping to a two-year low in June despite record high heat levels. Border Patrol agents recorded 132,652 apprehensions of migrants who entered the U.S. unlawfully in between ports of entry in July, compared to nearly 100,000 such apprehensions in June. Moreover, U.S. immigration authorities processed 50,851 migrants at legal ports of entry, a record high, mostly under a system that allows asylum-seekers in Mexico to use a phone app to request appointments to enter the U.S. The sharpest increase in unlawful crossings occurred in Border Patrol’s Tucson sector. Border Patrol recorded nearly 40,000 apprehensions there in July, a record for the sector (CBS). Townhall: The southern border saw a massive surge after Title 42 expired — a Trump-era policy allowing the federal government to limit asylum seekers to halt the spread of infectious disease (Townhall).

Biden Administration Has Been Selling Unused Pieces of Trump’s Border Wall

New York Post: The Biden administration is quietly auctioning off millions of dollars’ worth of unused parts from former President Trump’s border wall for peanuts – in an apparent end-run around pending legislation in Congress. Since April, GovPlanet, an online auction house specializing in military surplus, has sold 81 lots of steel “square structural tubes” — intended for use as vertical bollards in the border barrier’s 30-foot-tall panels — hauling in about $2 million. On Tuesday, GovPlanet netted $154,200 for 729 of the 28-foot-tall hollow beams, sold in five separate lots for an average $212 apiece. But just last month, as part of its annual defense appropriations package, the Democrat-led Senate passed a Republican-sponsored bill aimed at forcing Biden to stem the worsening migrant crisis at the US-Mexico border by extending the wall (New York Post). Daily Wire: Since President Joe Biden took office, illegal immigrants have crossed into the U.S. in record numbers with estimates exceeding five million. According to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, there have been 1,973,092 southwest land border encounters so far in the fiscal year 2023, which began in October (Daily Wire).

Los Angeles Announces Task Force to Address Retail Crime

ABC: Los Angeles is launching a new task force to address organized retail crime in the region, officials announced Thursday. The task force will include multiple Southern California law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, as well as the U.S. Marshals Apprehension Task Force and Federal Bureau of Investigation Apprehension Task Force, the LA Mayor’s Office said. Among recent incidents of organized retail crime cited by police, more than 30 masked individuals stole more than $300,000 worth of merchandise from a Nordstrom in Canoga Park on Aug. 12, in a “flash rob”-style theft, LAPD said. One suspect sprayed bear spray on the face and body of a security guard, police said (ABC). Daily Wire: Police said Thursday that they had arrested the first suspect in the robbery. A 23-year-old man was charged with organized retail theft, burglary, grand theft, and conspiracy (Daily Wire).

Georgia Teacher Dismissed After Reading Gender Ideology Book to Class

Washington Post: A decision to fire an elementary school teacher from Georgia has been upheld, after she read a children’s book on gender identity to her fifth-grade class earlier this year. The Cobb County School Board of Education voted 4-3 along party lines to uphold Katie Rinderle’s termination, overruling a tribunal that had said she should not be fired. Rinderle worked at Due West Elementary School, in Marietta, Ga., and read the storybook “My Shadow Is Purple” by Australian author Scott Stuart to her class in March (Washington Post). Daily Wire: Inappropriate curriculum content has become a hot-button issue for parents over the last few years. Parents across the country have spoken out against their children being introduced to the concept of gender identity, as well as what they consider inappropriate sexual content at school (Daily Wire).

CCP is Teaching School in Africa Benefits Authoritarianism

Axios: The Chinese Communist Party is teaching African leaders its authoritarian alternative to democracy at its first overseas training school — the strongest evidence yet that Beijing is exporting its model of governing in its push to challenge the Western-led world order. The Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Leadership School in Tanzania is Beijing’s counter to efforts by the U.S. and other Western countries to shape African politics in a fight for influence on a continent rich in raw materials and energy. At the school, the CCP teaches how it fuses the ruling political party and the state, marking a clear departure from Beijing’s previous, more subtle attempts to peddle influence on the international stage. Cultivating an authoritarian-friendly political bloc could help China reshape global institutions and guarantee markets as Western sanctions seek to isolate certain Chinese industries (Axios).

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Viral Song from Oliver Anthony Reaches the Number One Spot in the US

Post Millennial: The new, viral song from Virginia factory worker and up-and-coming country singer Oliver Anthony has climbed to No. 1 on Apple Music’s global charts. ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ which was released earlier this month is sitting alongside top names in the industry including Taylor Swift, Doja Cat, and fellow country singer Morgan Wallen. The song has also taken the top spot in the US (Post Millennial). Daily Mail: The tune has been adopted as the ‘working class anthem’ by many conservatives while some progressives have remained skeptical due to its lyrics. The song touches on human trafficking of children, even alluding to late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein and his illicit activities involving minors. The singer also touches on out-of-touch politicians, high taxes, and those who take advantage of the system by ‘milking welfare’ (Daily Mail).