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Tuesday, September 19, 2023

President Biden Pays $6 Billion Ransom for Detained Americans in Iran

President Biden is incentivizing foreign powers to detain innocent Americans because they know they will get a pay day. National Review: Five American prisoners were released from Iranian custody on Monday after the U.S. agreed to return $6 billion of Iranian oil revenue that was frozen under American sanctions. The Biden administration also released five convicted Iranian nationals as part of the deal. Iran previously owned the oil revenues before they were frozen in a South Korea bank, which recently transferred the funds to accounts in Qatar. U.S. officials say the money will be monitored to ensure Iran uses it for humanitarian needs such as food, agricultural products, and medicine, which are not subject to U.S. sanctions. Last week, Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) accused Biden of paying a ransom, saying the agreement is a “craven act of appeasement” (National Review). Sen. Tom Cotton: Iran’s president said the ayatollahs will spend Joe Biden’s $6 billion ransom payment as they see fit—this means funding terrorist attacks against Americans and our allies. This was a craven act of appeasement and total failure of leadership from the Biden administration (X). David Harsanyi: Hostage-taking is one of Iran’s most lucrative industries (X).

Trump Attacks Pro Life Legislation Signed by Governor DeSantis

Catholic News Agency: Pro-life leaders condemned President Donald Trump for calling a six-week abortion ban a “terrible mistake.” Trump made the comments in reference to Florida’s six-week Heartbeat Protection Act abortion ban signed by his chief opponent in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. During Trump’s more than hourlong interview with Kristen Welker, he said: “DeSantis is willing to sign a five-week and six-week ban” and “I think what he did was a terrible thing and a terrible mistake” (Catholic News Agency). Lila Rose: Governor DeSantis responds to Trump’s attack on Heartbeat Laws: “Donald Trump may think it’s terrible. I think protecting babies with heartbeats is noble and just and I’m proud to have signed the heartbeat bill in Florida…. I don’t know how you can even make the claim that you’re somehow prolife if you’re criticizing states for enacting protections for babies that have heartbeats” (X). Politico: For Biden world, this was a flashing red light. The former president — who has called himself the “most pro-life” president in history and whose appointment of three conservative justices paved the way for Roe v. Wade to be overturned last summer — was attempting, in their minds, to weasel himself into a more moderate position on an issue proven to be a vulnerability for the Republican Party (Politico).

Hunter Biden Sues IRS Whistleblowers That Exposed Him

Wall Street Journal: President Biden’s son Hunter Biden sued the Internal Revenue Service on Monday, alleging that his privacy rights were violated when agents aired concerns to Congress and the media about the handling of the investigation into his taxes and business dealings. In a 27-page lawsuit, Hunter Biden’s lawyers centered on a pair of IRS agents, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who have said Justice Department officials slow-walked and stymied the investigation into the president’s son. The younger Biden’s lawyers argued that, in airing concerns about the handling of the criminal inquiry, the two agents disclosed information that federal law deems should be kept secret. The agents have said they reported their concerns through appropriate internal channels and their disclosures to Congress were made legally (Wall Street Journal). Reuters: Biden is seeking $1,000 for each unauthorized disclosure of his tax return information, a declaration from the IRS, a data security plan from the agency, production of documents related to Biden’s taxes and other relief. “This suit against the IRS is just another frivolous smear by Biden family attorneys trying to turn people’s attention away from Hunter Biden’s own legal problems and intimidate any current and future whistleblowers,” Shapley’s legal team said in a statement. The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee called the lawsuit “intimidation” in a post on social media. Hunter Biden last week also filed a lawsuit against a former White House aide during Donald Trump’s presidency over the aide’s alleged role in the publication of embarrassing images and emails (Reuters). Benny Johnson: Attorney for IRS whistleblowers who exposed Regime coverup of Hunter Biden teasing possibly SUING HUNTER BIDEN back after hunter sues IRS for allowing whistleblowers to come forward (X).

34 Percent of People Believe Biden Would Complete a Second Term in Oval Office

Just the News: Slightly more than one-third of voters say they think President Joe Biden will probably finish his second term in office if he is reelected in 2024, while most likely Biden voters say they are voting for him because of their opposition to former President Donald Trump rather than their support of Biden, according to a new poll. While 34% of voters say they think Biden will “probably finish his second term,” 44% said they think Biden is likely to “leave office before his second term ends” (Just the News). Hill: Meanwhile, 55 percent said they think Trump would finish his second term, 16 percent said they believe he would leave office before his second term is up, and 29 percent said they are not sure. On the topic of physical fitness, voters indicated that Trump is more physically healthy to serve as president, with 43 percent of voters saying only Trump and not Biden is physically healthy for the job. While the two presidential candidates are only three years apart in age, concerns over Biden’s age and physical and mental fitness have become a large criticism of his reelection campaign. At 80, Biden is the oldest U.S. president. If reelected in 2024, he would be 86 at the end of his second term (Hill).

Over 2,200 Migrants Apprehended on the Border

Fox News: More than 2,200 migrants were captured on video heading toward Eagle Pass, Texas, overnight in one of the largest border crossings observed by Fox News in the past two years. Sources provided cellphone video recorded in Piedras Negras, the Mexican city across from Eagle Pass, showing a stampede of migrants rushing to the river’s edge overnight and crossing in a lengthy line in the river from shore to shore. The mass crossing happened right next to the port of entry in Eagle Pass, which is the legal way to cross. Fox News’ drone team shot additional video on the U.S. side early Monday morning, showing the large group of migrants being processed by U.S. Border Patrol (Fox News). Reporter Griff Jenkins: FOX News sources capture a FerroMex train bursting with migrants out of Zacatecas heading to our southern border right now… cheering and clearly not heeding the message: “do not come” (X). Fox Reporter Bill Melugin: We witnessed numerous illegal immigrants dressed in camouflage using ropes to scale the border wall, then run off into the desert without apprehension in Naco, AZ. A smuggler on the wall guided them. There have been over 1.5 million gotaways under Biden admin. There are very few BP agents to patrol this area, and this plays out every day. The evaders typically have pin drops on their cell phones showing where to go for smuggling pickups once in the U.S. We did see one woman get caught by agents (X).

“Pretend Saviors” of UN Woefully Behind 2030 Goals

Associated Press: The commitments were far-reaching and ambitious. Among them: End extreme poverty and hunger. Ensure every child on Earth gets a quality secondary education. Achieve gender equality. Make significant inroads in tackling climate change. Create “universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.” And achieve all of this by 2030. Halfway to that goal, progress is lagging badly — and in some cases going backward. At a two-day summit that began Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tried to kick-start action to achieve the 17 goals adopted by world leaders in 2015, which developing countries in particular consider crucial to closing the widening inequality gap between the world’s rich and poor countries (Associated Press). Spencer Brown: It’s not news that the United Nations is failing to be useful or achieving its goals, but it is notable that — time and again — the pretend saviors of the world think that more “international cooperation” or work to “build a sustainable future” will save humanity, or whatever (Townhall).

Gas Prices Surge Once Again

KTLA5: Southern California drivers are feeling the squeeze of high gas prices yet again. On Monday morning, the price of a regular gallon of gas averaged about $5.92 in the Los Angeles area. That’s a 5-cent increase from the day before and nearly 40 cents more than a week ago (KTLA5). RNC Research: Biden Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen insists “Joe Biden wants to make sure that gas prices remain affordable for Americans.” When Biden took office, a gallon of gas was $2.39. Today, a gallon is $3.88 and the price of gas has been above $3 per gallon for over 850 days (X).

Man Suspected in Ambushing, Murdering Los Angeles County Sheriff Arrested

Julio Rosas: An arrest has been made in the connection to the fatal ambush and shooting of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer. Clinkunbroomer was shot and killed in his patrol vehicle while at an intersection on Saturday. Video of the moment shows a car pull up and then drive away with Clinkunbroomer’s vehicle slowly moving forward before coming to a stop. Law enforcement sources told Fox News that a person of interest was identified Sunday and then taken into custody by the sheriff department’s Special Enforcement Bureau tactical team (Townhall). LA County Sheriffs: Procession for LASD Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer starting soon. We thank you all for your support and prayers (X).

Nashville Elects First Trans Lawmaker

Townhall: Nashville voters elected Tennessee’s first transgender lawmaker on Thursday. Olivia Hill, 57, who is “transgender,” won one of Nashville Metro Council’s seats after securing 12.9 percent of the vote. Hill reportedly served in the U.S. Navy for 10 years as an engineer before working as an engineer for Vanderbilt University. In July, Hill said in a campaign video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter that the city is “under attack from right-wing conservatives who want to strip our rights” (Townhall).

10.

New Mexico Governor Brings Back Gun Ban Legislation with a Twist

New York Times: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico on Friday scaled back a temporary public health order restricting the carrying of firearms in the Albuquerque metro area, limiting a ban to only parks and playgrounds. The initial ban, which was issued Sept. 8 and was to have covered 30 days, had prohibited the carrying of open and concealed firearms in public areas or on state property. The governor’s initial ban was swiftly met with pushback from Republicans and fellow Democrats alike (New York Times). HotAir: People are unfortunately attacked in parks sometimes. Just ask anyone in New York City. That can include children. And in case the Governor hasn’t heard the news, bad people attack schools, including playgrounds. Mass shootings happen. And sometimes, when the police are not there and do not arrive in time, parents or other concerned citizens may need to step in and take action. This ban would once again strip the rights of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves or their children. And for what it’s worth, anyone willing to shoot up a school will be unlikely to be deterred because the Governor issued an order based on a public health emergency. Mass shooters don’t typically seem to be concerned with such things (HotAir).