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Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Billions of Dollars of Student Loans Paid Before Interest Rates Resume

Bloomberg: Student loan borrowers paid down billions of dollars in debt as they prepared for the end of a federal freeze on payments and interest. The US Department of Education saw a surge in payments last month as borrowers with savings started wiping out their balances, according to a new report by Goldman Sachs. After a three-year pause, interest began accruing again on federal student loans Friday, and borrowers need to start making payments in October. About $6.4 billion was transferred from the Department of Education to the US Treasury in August, the most in any month since February 2020, according to government data (Bloomberg).

Saudi Arabia, Russai Agree to Keep Cutting Oil Production to Keep Prices High

Bloomberg: Saudi Arabia and Russia prolonged their unilateral oil supply curbs by another three months, a more aggressive move than traders had been expecting as the OPEC+ members seek to support a fragile global market. The leader of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will continue its production cutback of 1 million barrels a day until December, according to a statement published by the state Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday. The move will hold output at about 9 million barrels a day — the lowest level in several years — for six months in total. Russia’s export reduction of 300,000 barrels a day will be extended for the same duration (Bloomberg). CBS: Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed Tuesday to extend their voluntary oil production cuts through the end of this year, trimming 1.3 million barrels of crude out of the global market and boosting energy prices (Twitter). CNN: Brent crude, the global benchmark, gained 1.8% to trade above $90 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US benchmark, rose by a similar margin to $87 a barrel. Saudi Arabia needs Brent crude to trade at around $81 a barrel in order to balance its budget, according to the International Monetary Fund. The kingdom slipped into a budget deficit this year after reporting a surplus in 2022 for the first time in almost a decade (CNN).

Illinois is the Top State Residents are Fleeing Due to Crime, Taxes

Just the News: For the fourth year in a row, Illinois tops the list of states where Americans are fleeing as residents struggle with high taxes, crime and a soft economy, according to a new report from the moving company Allied Van Lines. For the past four years in Illinois, more than 65% of all interstate moves involved residents leaving the state compared to less than 35% of moves that involved people coming to Illinois (Just the News). Allied Van Lines: In 2022, Arizona, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas were the top relocation destination states. Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, and New Jersey were the most exited states in 2022. Twenty percent fewer Americans moved in 2022 than in 2021 and 2020 (Allied Van Lines).

Just Two Years Ago, the Biden Administration Was Trying to Convince the World We Had Influence Over the Taliban

National Review: Biden has never even bothered to nominate an ambassador to Afghanistan, although in October 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Thomas West, who had served on Biden’s team when he was vice president, would be the Department’s special representative for Afghanistan. Two years later, it is fair to ask whether that promised diplomatic push amounted to much. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul suspended operations on August 31, 2021. A little more than two years ago today, then–White House press secretary Jen Psaki insisted, “We have enormous leverage over the Taliban, including access to the global marketplace” (National Review). Two years ago on CSPAN: Press Sec. Jen Psaki: “We have enormous leverage over the Taliban including access to the global marketplace. That’s not a small piece of leverage” (Twitter). New York Times: The country’s extremist rulers, who seized power from an American-backed government of 20 years, have carried out revenge killings, torture and abductions, according to international observers. They have also imposed the world’s most radical gender policies, denying education and employment to millions of Afghan women and girls — even shutting down beauty parlors (New York Times).

Dr. Fauci Lied About Not Funding Gain of Function Research in China

National Review: Despite his claims to the contrary, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, knew by January 2020 that his agency was funding gain-of-function research of novel coronaviruses in Wuhan, China. A newly released email obtained by the investigative public-health non-profit U.S. Right to Know revealed that Fauci knew the extent of the Chinese coronavirus research before the pandemic broke out in the U.S.. In a January 27, 2020, email, Fauci received talking points from an aide regarding Wuhan Institute of Virology research that was being funded by the disease division of the National Institutes of Health. The former chief medical adviser to the president then spoke about Covid-19 at a press conference later that evening. The NIAID funded the gain-of-function research through the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, which contracted the Wuhan lab “for the past 5 years,” according to the email (National Review). Eric Bolling: Months later, a top NIH official admitted in an October 2021 letter that the NIH did fund gain-of-function research on coronaviruses, despite Fauci’s argument to the contrary. Now, the released email proves Fauci’s knowledge goes back to January of 2020, well before the deadly virus made its way through the United States (Eric Bolling).

James Comer Issues Six New Subpoenas; Including Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

Katie Pavlich: House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has issued a subpoena to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and is accusing him of helping to obstruct his investigation into the Biden family’s shady foreign dealings. Additionally, Comer has issued a number of subpoenas to Secret Service agents (Townhall). Oversight Committee: The Department of Justice initiated the Biden family coverup, and now DHS, under the leadership of Secretary Mayorkas, is complicit in it. IRS whistleblowers provided testimony regarding misconduct during the Hunter Biden criminal investigation, including FBI HQ tipping off Secret Service HQ and the Biden transition team about the planned Hunter Biden interview. Following these actions, the interview of Hunter Biden did not occur (Twitter).

Philadelphia’s Police Commissioner Resigns After Years of Extensive Crime in City

Townhall: Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw has decided to get a new job, resigning her post later this month. Outlaw, previously Portland’s police chief, made history by becoming the first female commissioner for the City of Brotherly Love in 2020. It’s been a tumultuous three years, however, with violent crime engulfing the city. For most of her tenure as Philly’s top cop, the headlines portrayed the city as a warzone. Residents wanted more police officers, which makes sense since 2022 was the deadliest year in Philadelphia since 1990, with more than 500 homicides (Townhall). National Review: Outlaw is bound for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Kenney announced First Deputy John Stanford Jr. as interim police commissioner (National Review).

MSNBC Doctor Suggests a Nationwide Covid Booster for Anyone Older Than Six

Daily Wire: Public health commentator Vin Gupta recommended on Tuesday that everyone over six months of age get boosted against COVID. During an appearance on MSNBC, where he is a medical contributor, Dr. Gupta alluded to the emergence of new variants amid a reported uptick in cases across the country when asked who needs to get a booster and when (Daily Wire). Daily Caller: ANA CABRERA: “Who needs to get a booster and when?” DR. GUPTA: “All of us need boosters. At six months of age and up – we’re gonna have boosters by the end of this month, hopefully” (Twitter).

California Settles Lawsuit with Pro-Life Group Demonstrating on Sidewalk Outside of Vaccine Clinic

Life News: To settle a lawsuit brought by Right to Life of Central California, California state officials have agreed to protect the group’s free speech rights and pay $192,706 in attorneys’ fees. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing the pro-life group filed a lawsuit in October 2021 after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that unlawfully restricted Right to Life’s speech based on the group’s viewpoint and content by creating 100-foot censorship zones outside of any facility that provides any type of vaccine (Life News). Washington Times: State Sen. Richard Pan, a pediatrician and Sacramento Democrat who sponsored the bill, said at the time that SB 742 was to apply to protests near COVID-19 vaccination sites. But the law, which carried penalties of up to six months in a county jail, a $1,000 fine or both, outlawed protests within 100 feet of any vaccination site, critics said. ADF senior counsel Denise Harle called the settlement “a significant victory” for the Right to Life organization “and for every other speaker in California” (Washington Times).

10.

President Biden Awards Vietnam Veteran the Medal of Honor Then Meanders Off Before the Final Prayer

CBS: President Biden on Tuesday awarded the Medal of Honor to 81-year-old retired Captain Larry L. Taylor, a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War who flew hundreds of missions and risked his life to save four of his countrymen caught in a firefight (CBS). Townhall: Joe Biden just BOLTED out of the room immediately after awarding the Medal of Honor to Army Captain Larry Taylor. The ceremony continued on for several minutes afterwards. Biden completely missed a concluding prayer (Twitter).