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Friday, September 1, 2023

Biden Administration Cancels Another $72 Million of Student Debt

Insider: Another batch of student-loan forgiveness just came for thousands of borrowers in California. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden’s Education Department, along with Attorney General Rob Bonta of California, announced it was canceling $72 million in student debt for 2,300 borrowers who it said were “cheated” by Ashford University, an online for-profit school based in San Diego. This relief is a result of approvals for borrower defense claims, which are forms borrowers can submit if they believe they were defrauded by the school they attended, and if approved, their loans for that school would be forgiven (Insider). Daily Wire: A judge ruled at the time that Ashford University made 1.2 million misrepresentations to students between 2009 and 2020 and imposed a civil penalty of $22.3 million. The school is currently appealing the ruling. Since the Supreme Court’s decision forcing Biden to scrap his $430 billion student loan forgiveness plan, the president has looked for other ways to get borrowers relief. After the court’s decision, Biden said he would “stop at nothing to find other ways to deliver relief to hard-working middle-class families” (Daily Wire).

Former Teammate of Lia Thomas Writes Op-Ed Describing How the MeToo Movement Has Abandoned Women

Townhall: This week, a former teammate of Will “Lia” Thomas published an op-ed detailing the hypocrisy she’s faced from those who are so-called “woke” for pushing back against the idea that men should not be allowed to play in women’s sports or use their locker rooms, just years after the “Me Too” movement. The swimmer, Paula Scanlan, published her thoughts in the British paper The Telegraph. Scanlan pointed out that that the MeToo movement that began in 2017 came in response to “horrific revelations of sexual abuse in Hollywood.” But, since then, the left is allowing women to be erased altogether (Townhall). Paula Scanlan: I wrote an opinion piece for Telegraph about the truth of the MeToo movement and why they have abandoned protecting women like myself when we ask for access to our own sports and spaces. Please give it a read (Twitter).

Trump Pleads Not Guilty to Charges from Fulton County DA

CNBC: Former President Donald Trump on Thursday pleaded not guilty to criminal charges related to his efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory in Georgia and waived his right to appear at his arraignment next week, according to a court filing. Trump’s arraignment on 13 felony charges is scheduled on Sept. 6 at 9:30 a.m. ET in Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta. Trump is far and away the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. He is facing a litany of charges in three other criminal cases with trial dates that overlap with the election campaign (CNBC).

Nebraska Governor Passes Executive Order Defining Male and Female, Assigns Gender Identity at Birth

Hill: Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) signed an executive order Wednesday narrowly defining a person’s sex, a move that LGBTQ rights advocates have said will write transgender and gender-nonconforming people out of state law. The executive order signed Wednesday by Pillen legally defines females as individuals “whose biological reproductive system is designed to produce ova” and males as individuals “whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female.” It charges state agencies to define a person’s sex as that with which they were assigned at birth (Hill). National Review: In May, Pillen signed a bill that barred healthcare providers in the state from performing gender-reassignment and hormone-replacement treatments on minors and youth under 19 years old. It is “the most significant win for social conservative agenda in over a generation of Nebraska,” proclaimed Pilled at a signing ceremony in Lincoln, the state capital (National Review).

Massachusetts Calls in Reinforcements from the National Guard to Help Deal with the Immigration Crisis

Washington Examiner: Gov. Maura Healey (D-MA) on Thursday ordered 250 members of the state’s National Guard to help manage its immigrant crisis by providing basic services at emergency shelter hotels. Healey instructed the units to help facilitate the coordination of transportation, food, basic needs, and medical care for the 6,000 families and 20,000 people in total who are being housed in emergency shelters. The majority of asylum seekers in Massachusetts are in families that include pregnant women and children. The activation comes after Healey declared a state of emergency over the crisis, becoming the latest sanctuary state to make such a declaration. Healey called on Washington, D.C., to help Massachusetts because the state cannot financially or logistically respond to the 20,000 people living in state-funded shelters, hotels, dormitories, and other emergency facilities statewide — an 80% increase from a year ago (Washington Examiner). CBS: Healey said her office is working to secure more federal funding to help the families and streamline the process to make it easier for migrants to legally look for work (CBS).

16 Percent of Churchgoers Admit to Engaging in Abortion in Some Capacity

Christian Post: One out of every six regular churchgoers in the United States has had, paid for or encouraged an abortion, while one-fifth doesn’t believe the Bible identifies when life begins, a new study suggests. The survey examined respondents’ views on abortion and found that 16% of respondents “admitted to having ever paid for, encouraged, or chosen to have an abortion.” While nearly two-thirds (65%) of those surveyed stated that the Bible identifies when human life begins, 21% disagreed, while 14% did not know (Christian Post). Christian Headlines: Some 35 percent of respondents said the Bible teaches that abortion is unacceptable under any circumstances. In comparison, 19 percent said they believed the Bible teaches that abortion is only OK when the mother’s life is in danger. Seven percent said the Bible allows abortions if the baby is believed to have a physical or mental disability, and six percent said abortion is allowed under all circumstances. Ten percent said the Bible leaves the decision about abortion up to the mother and father (Christian Headlines).

Popular Streaming Service to Start Providing Viewers with CNN News Pop-Ups While Watching Content

Outkick: HBO Max, also known as “Max,” is reportedly going to start having live news pop-ups during your program. That’s right, whether it’s Succession or South Park, viewers will now be shown breaking news’ pop-ups at the bottom of their screen as if they are watching the news. Ya know, because that’s exactly what people want as they purposely watch movies to get away from the reality of this shattered Earth (Outkick). Spencer Brown: CNN’s streaming offering “CNN+” may have be unceremoniously killed off in its infancy by parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, but executives are apparently not done with the idea of having CNN personalities and programming available in a streaming format — even if they have to force CNN’s presence on customers. Personalities set to be featured in the launch (or relaunch, depending on how you look at it) include Jim Acosta, Frederika Whitfield, Jim Sciutto and Amara Walker. After CNN+ crashed and burned, the distance between CNN and other cable or network news outlets only increased (Townhall).

Mitch McConnell Medically Cleared to Continue Work

BBC: Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell is “medically clear” to work, says a doctor, a day after the lawmaker suddenly appeared unable to speak for the second time this summer. Brian Monahan, the attending physician of the US Congress, said he had consulted with Mr. McConnell and his neurology team about the matter. On Wednesday, Mr. McConnell, 81, froze up for more than 30 seconds when asked if he would run for re-election. Dr. Monahan said in a statement on Thursday: “Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration” (BBC).

FDA Makes it More Difficult for Baby Formula Companies to Produce Their Product

HotAir: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent warning letters to three infant formula manufacturers Wednesday. This was a part of its regulatory oversight to monitor that the industry is producing infant formula under the safest conditions possible. The FDA sent letters to ByHeart, Mead Johnson Nutrition (Reckitt), and Perrigo Wisconsin, LLC. They were warned of violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and the FDA’s Infant Formula regulations. These reflect findings from the facilities over the last several months. During the inspections, the FDA issued observations and exercised oversight of each manufacturer as they initiated recalls. The recalls happened in December 2022, February 2023, and March 2023. The infant formula products were potentially contaminated with Cronobacter sakazakii (HotAir). Townhall: Going forward, the firms must conduct root-cause investigations, carry out extensive cleaning, and evaluate their sanitation practices. They will have 15 days to explain what “corrective actions” they have taken since receiving the warning letters (HotAir).

10.

Iranian Weightlifter Receives Lifetime Ban from Country After Shaking Hands with Israeli Competitor

CNN: An Iranian professional weightlifter received a lifetime ban from competing after shaking the hand of an Israeli athlete during an international competition, according to an Iranian state news agency. Weightlifting champion Mostafa Rajaee, 36, was filmed shaking hands and posing for a picture with Israel’s Maksim Svirsky at the World Master Weightlifting Championships in Poland this week, according to a video published by Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA Wednesday. Rajaee, who won the silver medal at the competition, was banned for life from all sports for actions described by the head of Iran’s weightlifting federation as “unacceptable and unforgivable” (CNN). Fox News: In 2021, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei asked competitors “not to shake hands with a representative of the (Israeli) criminal regime to obtain a medal.” Iranian athletes were even disqualified and provided medical certificates to avoid Israeli athletes in recent years. Rajaei is a former member of the Iranian national team (Fox News).