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Thursday, September 14, 2023

White House Goes Silent on McCarthy’s Impeachment Inquiry, Lashes Out at GOP in Memo to Press

Katie Pavlich: On Tuesday House Speaker Kevin McCarthy officially announced the launch of an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden’s shady “Biden brand” business partnership with his son, Hunter Biden. The White House is on the defensive and lashing out in a lengthy memo published Wednesday. In it, Biden administration officials attack the media and demand reporters turn away from inquiring about President Joe Biden to instead focus on Republicans (Townhall). RNC Research: Biden sits and blankly stares at the press as he refuses to answer questions about impeachment and his involvement in his son’s corruption (X). Townhall: “Can you explain why the president interacted with so many of his son’s foreign business associates?!” JEAN-PIERRE: “Have a great day!” “More than half of voters told CNN that the president was involved and he lied! You can’t have a response to that, Karine” (X).

Federal Judge Blocks New Mexico Governor’s Executive Order Banning the Carrying of Guns

Reuters: A federal judge in New Mexico on Wednesday issued a temporary restraining order against state Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s ban on carrying guns in Albuquerque and its surrounding county, on grounds it violated the U.S. constitution. U.S. District Court Judge David Urias said the governor’s 30-day suspension of concealed and open firearm carry rights went against recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings and violated the rights of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves (Reuters). Reporter Nick Sortor: A federal judge in Albuquerque has BLOCKED New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s effective suspension of the 2nd Amendment in the state. This comes after both the NM Attorney General AND other democrat constitutional officers announced they’d be refusing to enforce Grisham’s order (X).

California Lawmakers Pass Additional Concealed-Carry Constraints

National Review: California lawmakers passed new concealed-carry restrictions this week that appear to run up against a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that struck down limits on who can carry a handgun. Approved with a 28-8 state Senate vote on Tuesday, Senate Bill 2 limits who can obtain a concealed-carry permit in California with an updated licensing process, new age restrictions, strict storage rules, and a list dozens of “sensitive places” where guns are not allowed. All Republicans and one Democrat voted against it on the Senate floor. The bill’s provisions require concealed-carry applicants to be at least 21 years old and to undergo at least 16 hours of firearms training. Licensing authorities, primarily county sheriff’s offices, would be tasked with conducting in-person interviews with applicants, obtaining character references, and reviewing their social media accounts to identify safety concerns. The legislation now heads to Governor Gavin Newsom, who has until October 14 to sign the bill (National Review).

Ukraine Strikes Two Russian Ships in the Black Sea

HotAir: Ukraine demonstrated that it is capable of striking the Black Sea Fleet. The attack reportedly did serious damage two naval vessels which were in dry dock for repairs including a Russian sub. If the ships were destroyed this will be an expensive strike for Russia. The kilo-class sub was launched in 2014 and reportedly cost around $300 million dollars. But just as significant may have been the loss of the dry dock itself (HotAir). Reporter Dmitri: A major incident occurred at the Sevmorzavod shipyard in temporarily occupied Sevastopol last night. Witnesses observed a number of violent explosions that continued for some time, followed by a major fire. Russian sources said that a large landing ship Minsk and a submarine had been struck. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian GUR thanked Ukrainian pilots for their great work. Russian sources claim that the shipyard was attacked with 10 cruise missiles, 7 of which have been intercepted (X).

Inflation Spiked as Gas Prices Rose

Associated Press: Inflation jumped last month largely because of a spike in gas prices but other costs rose more slowly, suggesting price pressures are easing at a gradual pace. In a set of conflicting data released Wednesday, the Labor Department said the consumer price index rose 3.7% in August from a year ago, up from a 3.2% annual pace in July. Yet excluding the volatile food and energy categories, so-called core prices rose 4.3%, a step back from 4.7% in July and the smallest increase in nearly two years. That is still far from the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The big rise in gas prices accounted for more than half of the monthly inflation increase, the government said (Associated Press). Wall Street Journal: Several factors could put upward pressure on prices in the coming months. Saudi Arabia’s decision to extend cuts to its crude-oil output until the end of the year could keep gasoline prices elevated, according to the International Energy Agency. A potential strike by the United Auto Workers union could upend production at one or more auto manufacturers and push up prices on dealership lots. Recently reached labor contracts in the airline and healthcare industries will boost pay for some workers at a time when the Fed is seeking a slowdown in wage growth to help cool inflationary pressures (Wall Street Journal).

Biden Administration to Invest $100 Million in Fixing EV Charging Stations

Washington Examiner: The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a new $100 million federal funding effort to bolster the availability and reliability of public electric vehicle charging stations across the United States in an attempt to help solve what drivers cite as a major hurdle preventing them from switching out their gas-powered vehicles. The funds are made available under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will be funneled to the thousands of chargers nationwide that are currently listed as “temporarily unavailable.” Buttigieg himself has had trouble finding working charging stations for his hybrid minivan. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm also recently ran into a dust-up in which a Georgia family called the police on her staff for blocking off a charger for her use (Washington Examiner). Verge: According to the Energy Department’s database of public EV chargers, around 6,261 of the 151,506 public charging ports were reported “temporarily unavailable” — or 4.1 percent of the total number (Verge).

Apple to Host Entrepreneur Training Camps but Exclude Men, White People

Did they not learn from when NASCAR posted their racist internship requirements? Daily Wire: Apple is set to host specialized entrepreneur training camps that bars applicants based on their race and sex. To participate, organizations must have “black, Hispanic/Latinx, or Indigenous” members in both leadership and on staff. The program will include two cohorts in October and November, the “underrepresented founders” and “female founders” groups. The camps, which offer valuable resources such as “one-on-one code-level guidance from Apple engineers,” list eligibility requirements that exclude would-be participants on the basis of their race and sex (Daily Wire). Apple: Your organization must have: A female founder, cofounder, or CEO. A female developer proficient in Swift or Objective-C (Apple).

Citigroup Bank Announces a Mass Restructure Leading to Layoffs

CNBC: Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser announced a corporate reorganization Wednesday, saying the move would cut down management layers and accelerate decisions. Fraser said in a release that Citigroup would be divided into five main business lines that report directly to her. Previously, the firm had two main divisions catering to consumers and large institutional clients. The changes will include job cuts, though the New York-based company hasn’t decided on a number yet. Fraser, closing in on her third full year atop Citigroup, is seeking to revitalize a firm mired in a persistent stock slump. While Citigroup is the third-biggest U.S. bank by assets after JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, it has a far smaller domestic retail banking presence than its competitors (CNBC). Insider: Citigroup stock rose 2% to $42.35 a share shortly after the reorganization was announced. But the company has already been weathered heavily by higher interest rates and tighter financial conditions over the past year. Over the second quarter, its net income fell 36% to $2.9 billion. Shares of the stock are down 46% from their peak in late 2021 (Insider).

United States to Redirect Funds from Egypt to Taiwan, Lebanon

Wall Street Journal: The U.S. plans to redirect some of its foreign military financing allocated for Egypt to Taiwan over what it says is Egypt’s failure to make progress on human rights and other issues. The Biden administration has notified Congress that it would withhold $85 million in aid conditioned on the release of political prisoners and some lawmakers are pushing to withhold another $235 million in conditional assistance that goes to Egypt. The conditional aid tied to Egypt’s human-rights record represents a fraction of the overall $1.3 billion in U.S. military aid each year, but the move comes at a time of strained relations between Washington and Cairo over human rights and support for Ukraine. The administration is planning to redirect $55 million of the funding to Taiwan—where the U.S. has been looking to reinforce its military partnership in the face of rising tensions with China—and $30 million to Lebanon. Lebanon has been in a state of political and economic crisis since a deadly explosion at the Beirut port in 2020 (Wall Street Journal).

10.

Rat-Hunting Dogs on the Prowl in Washington D.C.

Washington D.C. has such a massive rat problem, residents are starting to use their own dogs to hunt, eliminate them (Washington Post).