Republicans Seek Answers About Biden’s “Nuclear Understanding” With Iran

Spencer Brown: Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill are demanding answers from President Biden about an apparent “nuclear understanding” with Iran in what sure appears to be a violation of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015. The letter, sent by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), and House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY), expresses the “significant concern” the House lawmakers have with recent reports about Iran’s activities and the Biden administration’s talks with the regime. Specifically, as outlined in the letter, Iran has reportedly “diluted a small amount of 60% enriched uranium in recent weeks and slowed the rate at which it is accumulating new material” which coincided with a “deal for Iran to release five American hostages in exchange for several Iranian prisoners and access to at least $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets held in South Korea and potentially billions more held in Iraq” (Townhall). Hill: The deal, which was publicly confirmed by the administration earlier this month, unfreezes $6 billion of funds held in South Korea from Iran’s oil sales for the release of the five Americans who were recently transferred to house arrest in Tehran. The U.S. also plans to release some Iranian prisoners in the agreement (Hill).

International Powerlifting Federation Makes Stricter Rules Around Men Competing Against Women After Trans Athlete Shatters Women’s Record

Washington Times: The International Powerlifting Federation has tightened its transgender policy after a 40-year-old male-born lifter broke multiple women’s records at a meet this month in Canada. The Luxembourg-based federation, the world governing body for powerlifting, released an updated transgender policy that requires male-born athletes to keep their testosterone in serum below 2.4 nmol/L for at least a year before competing in the women’s category. Athletes also must “declare before competing” that they are transgender, show a valid passport that identifies them as female, and keep their gender identity for a minimum of four years (Washington Times). Newsweek: Last month, a cycling race organizer changed its rules to state that individuals who were born female are only allowed to compete in the female category, while transgender women will be allowed to compete in an “open” category (Newsweek).

House GOP Inquire About Inspector General’s Ability to Properly Investigate Hunter Biden

National Review: House Republicans sent a letter to DOJ inspector general Michael Horowitz on Tuesday asking whether the inspector general’s office is being limited in its ability to investigate IRS whistleblower testimony about the DOJ’s Hunter Biden probe. House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan, and Ways and Means Committee chairman Jason Smith sent a letter to Horowitz, obtained by National Review, that expresses concern that the DOJ is limiting the inspector general’s office from “fully investigating the disclosures” provided to the IG (National Review). Oversight Committee: Our committee, along with House Judiciary Committee & Ways and Means Committee, is seeking info from the DOJ OIG to understand whether the Biden DOJ is hindering the IG’s efforts to investigate the serious allegations made by IRS whistleblowers (Twitter). Townhall: Attorneys for the IRS whistleblowers who exposed Hunter Biden’s sweetheart deal — brokered by now Special Counsel David Weiss — are crying foul as the legal team of President Joe Biden’s son attempts to have their clients prosecuted. Jason Foster, who represents IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley, is highlighting reporting in the New York Times about the latest “chilling” move by Hunter’s team, who want congressionally protected whistleblowers prosecuted for speaking out and telling the truth (Townhall).

Overwhelming Majority of New Jersey Parents Would Like to be Notified of Their Children’s Gender Identity

Hill: A majority of New Jersey residents said they think middle and high schools should notify parents if their children ask to be identified by a different gender from the one on their school registration, according to a new poll. The Monmouth University poll found that 77 percent of adults in New Jersey think the parental notification should be required, while 55 percent said parents should be notified even if it is not required (Hill). Daily Wire: The new poll comes one week after a New Jersey state judge blocked three school districts from enforcing a policy requiring schools to notify parents if their child changes their gender identity. All three New Jersey school districts approved the new gender transition policy on June 20 after being pushed by local parents (Daily Wire).

American Medical Association Suggests American Taxpayers Foot the Bill for Trans Surgeries

Daily Mail: The American Medical Association (AMA) has suggested that taxpayers should subsidize uterus transplants worth up to $300,000 to help transgender women get pregnant. Arguments were made to reduce the cost of the surgery in its Journal of Ethics issue in June titled Patient-Centered Transgender Surgical Care. But the AMA has been criticized for floating the idea and has been accused of holding an ‘activist position’. It argued that trans women’s inability to bear children may cause them to experience ‘psychological dissonance’ which undermines their health and well-being (Daily Mail). Townhall: Reportedly, the journal emphasized that some “trans women” want a uterus to have their own children, while some want the surgery to “consolidate their identities but not gestate children” (Townhall).

Appeals Court Allows Alabama Laws Protecting Minors from “Gender Affirming Care”

NBC: A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Alabama can enforce a ban outlawing the use of puberty blockers and hormones to treat transgender children, the second such appellate victory for gender-affirming care restrictions that have been adopted by a growing number of Republican-led states. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a judge’s temporary injunction against enforcing the law. The judge has scheduled trial for April 2 on whether to permanently block the law. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall called the ruling a “significant victory for our country, for children, and for common sense” (NBC). Just the News: The court determined that the state had “a compelling interest in protecting children from drugs, particularly those for which there is uncertainty regarding benefits, recent surges in use, and irreversible effects.” At least 22 states have enacted some restrictions on transgender treatments for minors, which may include surgeries, hormonal, or chemical treatments (Just the News).

We are in the Midst of a Drug Addiction Massacre

Seth Leibsohn: The use and abuse of illegal and dangerous drugs is at a crisis moment in America. It is made doubly worse by our apathy toward and coddling of it. To give a sense of the extent of this crisis, consider that over 110,000 Americans died from such drug use last year. The bulk of those deaths were of people under age 50. More Americans under 50 died from drug poisonings last year than all Americans under 50 died from COVID-19 in three years; more adolescents died from drug poisoning last year than all children from COVID-19 in three years. If we need a visual, consider two commercial airliners crashing into each other every single day in America. The largest football stadium in North America, at the University of Michigan, still seats fewer Americans than died from illegal and dangerous drugs last year. This is not just a crisis or an epidemic. It’s slaughter (Washington Times). News4Jax: During a Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day speech, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said children ages 5 to 14 are the fastest-growing population in Florida to be affected by counterfeit pills that are actually pure fentanyl. “I call these murder pills,” Moody said. In 2021, DEA agents seized more than 58 million pills containing fentanyl. They also seized more than six and a half tons of fentanyl powder. Combining the numbers equates to nearly 387 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl that never hit the streets (News4Jax).

Hollywood Studio, University Reinstitute Mask Mandates

Outkick: It’s now been nearly three and a half years since “experts” flip flopped based on nothing and decided to recommend the general public wear masks. And for a subset of people committed to an ideology that demands unblinking compliance with politically-aligned authority, it fundamentally and permanently changed their lives. Masks instantly became an opportunity. Not to prevent the spread of infection, but to signal allegiance to the “correct” set of views and maintain an unearned, inflated sense of self importance. Deadline Hollywood reported Monday that Lionsgate, a major motion picture studio based in Los Angeles, is requiring many employees in their offices to wear masks again. Somehow. In August 2023 (Outkick). Fox News: A college in Atlanta is reinstating its mask mandates for all its students and employees on campus for the next two weeks. Morris Brown College (MBC), a private historically black liberal arts school, announced Sunday on Instagram the mask mandate would be implemented as a precautionary measure, even though the school’s administration had not reported any positive cases among its students. But the mask mandate comes with a series of other protocols all on campus must adhere by. Some of those rules include  for COVID-19, college-initiated contact tracing and temperature checks upon arrival to campus (Fox News).

Journalist Andy Ngo Wins Case Against ANTIFA Attackers, Awarded $300,000

National Review: An Oregon circuit judge has ordered three left-wing Portland activists who violently attacked and beat guerilla reporter Andy Ngo during a 2019 protest to pay $300,000 to Ngo, who was hospitalized after the attack and claims to have lasting brain injuries. The three defendants — Katherine Belyea, Madison Allen, and Joseph Evans, whose name has been legally changed to Sammich Overkill Schott-Deputy — each owe Ngo $100,000, according to a ruling by Multnomah County Circuit Judge Chanpone Sinlapasai after a brief hearing on Monday. A ruling in Ngo’s favor was never really in doubt, as the three defendants did not respond to a court summons and did not show up in court. A judge ruled last month they had lost by default (National Review). Andy Ngo: At a hearing today regarding three defaulted Antifa defendants in my Ngo v. Rose City Antifa, et al. lawsuit, the court heard evidence about the brutal June 29, 2019 beating I suffered at a Rose City Antifa event where I was seriously injured. The court found that I was indeed battered and assaulted (Andy Ngo).

UPS Strikes Deal with Union to Avoid Strike

CNN: Rank-and-file members of the Teamsters union have overwhelmingly ratified a five-year deal with UPS, putting an end to the threat of a crippling strike. The union said 86% of members had voted for the five-year contract, which will now be in effect retroactive to August 1. It was the largest margin in favor of a contract ever at the company, the Teamsters said. The deal was reached on July 25, a week before the union had been set to go on strike. The ratification process has taken the four weeks since then. The union achieved many of its key negotiating goals, including across-the-board pay raises of $2.75 an hour that are retroactive to August 1 and total raises of at least $7.50 an hour, or more than $15,000 a year for full-time workers, during the life of the contract (CNN). Reuters: Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien has made no secret of his plan to use the UPS deal as a recruiting tool – especially for warehouse workers at Amazon.com (AMZN.O), the biggest customer at UPS. Unions representing “essential” transportation workers including pilots, port workers and delivery drivers are enjoying enhanced bargaining power due to the tight labor market and stronger public support for unions (Reuters).