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Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Donald Trump, Joe Biden Win Primaries in Michigan

Reuters: U.S. President Joe Biden easily won the Democratic presidential primary in Michigan on Tuesday, but a protest vote by Democrats angry over his support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza was showing signs of strength as initial returns were counted. Donald Trump won the Republican presidential primary in the state by a large margin further strengthening his grip on the party’s White House nomination as Nikki Haley, his last remaining rival, came in a distant second (Reuters). For the full results, check the polls here (New York Times).

Denver Looks To Cut Hours of City Employees to Fund Illegal Immigrant Services

National Review: The city of Denver is considering reducing some public employees’ hours to zero due to impending budget cuts driven by the spiraling migrant crisis. Denver is not explicitly using the term “layoffs” to describe the cost-cutting measure but is considering eliminating working hours entirely for some lifeguards and desk workers, the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation said Monday. The department is planning on cutting $4.3 million from its budget to help Denver handle the significant financial strain caused by the migrant crisis. More than 36,000 migrants are estimated to have arrived in Denver since 2022 and roughly half of the new arrivals have put down roots in the city (National Review). 9News: Employees who have their hours reduced to the point where they aren’t earning enough money are still allowed to apply for unemployment benefits in the same way as if they were laid off. Information posted on the state’s website indicates they would be eligible to receive benefits (9News).

About 264,000 Criminal Cases Suspended by Houston PD Due to “Lack of Personnel”

Daily Wire: Around 264,000 criminal cases, including more than 4,000 sex assault cases, have been suspended by the Houston Police Department (HPD) since 2016, citing a “lack of personnel” code, according to Houston Police Chief Troy Finner. Finner announced on Monday that an in-depth review of the department’s use of the “lack of personnel” code over the past eight years revealed it had suspended around 10% of the 2.8 million incident reports that were filed. The Houston Police Department first revealed last week that just over 4,000 cases of alleged sexual assault had been suspended over “lack of personnel,” which sparked a closer look at how the code was used throughout all divisions of the police department. The police chief voiced his frustration at his department suspending sex assault cases last week, saying that the code should have never existed, but was developed around ten years ago. Finner said he first became aware of the code being used in 2021, and he ordered his department to stop using it to suspend cases. Finner added that an investigation is underway to look into why his order was disobeyed (Daily Wire).

Majority of Americans Recognize Border as Problematic, Support Building a Wall

Gallup: Significantly more Americans name immigration as the most important problem facing the U.S. (28%) than did a month ago (20%). Immigration has now passed the government as the most often cited problem (Gallup). Townhall: According to a new Monmouth University poll, a majority of Americans, 53 percent, support the construction of a border wall separating the United States from Mexico. On the other hand, 46 percent of respondents said they oppose it. This is up from previous years, including during the Trump administration (Townhall). Monmouth Poll: More than 8 in 10 Americans see illegal immigration as either a very serious (61%) or somewhat serious (23%) problem (Monmouth Poll).

U.S. Army To Cut 24,000 Roles in Massive

Fox News: As the U.S. Army struggles with recruitment, the service is cutting its force by about 24,000 in a restructuring that it says will help the service fight in future wars. The almost 5% of jobs cut will mostly affect posts that have remained empty and not actual soldiers. “The Army is not asking current soldiers to leave. As the Army builds back end strength over the next few years, most installations will likely see an increase in the number of soldiers actually stationed there,” the Army said. There also will be about 10,000 posts cut from cavalry squadrons, Stryker brigade combat teams, infantry brigade combat teams and security force assistance brigades, which are used to train foreign forces (Fox News). ABC: At the same time, however, the plan will add about 7,500 troops in other critical missions, including air-defense and counter-drone units and five new task forces around the world with enhanced cyber, intelligence and long-range strike capabilities (ABC).

Republicans Pressure Alejandro Mayorkas to Hand Over Any Documents Related to the Illegal Immigrant Who Murdered Laken Riley

National Review: Republican representatives Jim Jordan of Ohio and Tom McClintock of California on Tuesday demanded that Department of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas hand over any information the agency has on the illegal immigrant suspected of murdering a Georgia nursing student last week. In a two-page letter, Jordan and McClintock asked that Mayorkas comply with the House Judiciary Committee’s request on details and records pertaining to the immigration status of Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26. In September 2022, the Venezuelan national illegally crossed into El Paso, Texas, and was released on parole by Customs and Border Protection shortly thereafter. The inquiry requests information on Ibarra, including his immigration case history, entries into the U.S., CBP processing encounters, and whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement has an immigration detainer on him (National Review). National Review: The letter comes as Mayorkas soon faces the prospect of a Senate impeachment trial after the House impeached him two weeks ago (National Review).

Catholic Churches Vandalized Over 400 Times in Recent Years

Daily Signal: Catholic churches in the United States have been attacked at least 400 times over the past four years, according to data compiled by the Catholic advocacy organization CatholicVote. The hundreds of attacks across the nation began in connection with widespread civil unrest in May 2020, CatholicVote said. Examples include church burnings, beheadings of statues of Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary, swastikas painted on grave stones, satanic and blasphemous statements graffitied on walls, windows smashed, Masses disrupted, and even the murder of a Catholic priest. CatholicVote has only found evidence of an arrest in about 25% of the cases it tracked and estimates that the attacks have caused around $25 million in physical damages to churches (Daily Signal). CatholicVote: The Biden administration has thus far refused to act to protect Catholic churches and stop these acts of domestic terrorism. In December 2021, CatholicVote sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice (DOJ) calling on them to act, pointing to a federal statute which requires the Attorney General to investigate and prosecute such crimes (CatholicVote).

Hamala Harris’ Husband Releases $1.7 Billion Plan to End Hunger in U.S. by 2030

Hill: Second gentleman Doug Emhoff unveiled nearly $1.7 billion in new commitments to the Biden administration’s efforts to end hunger by the end of the decade. The list includes more than 140 commitments from nonprofits, insurers, health systems, local officials and academia. Sixteen cities across the country have pledged to create task forces and action plans to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases by 2030. The $1.7 billion in new initiatives adds to the $8 billion announced in September 2022, when President Biden set a goal of ending hunger and reducing diet-related diseases by 2030 (Hill). ABC: About 12.8% of U.S. households, or about 17 million, did not have enough money or other resources to get sufficient food in 2022, according to the Economic Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That was up from 10.2% in 2021 (ABC).

Macy’s to Close 150 Stores in Next Three Years

Wall Street Journal: The retailer said Tuesday that it would close about 150 underperforming Macy’s stores, or about 30% of its fleet, over the next three years. It will focus on upgrading its remaining 350 Macy’s locations, while also opening smaller versions of its namesake chain and adding Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury locations (Wall Street Journal). CNN: The strategy is designed to fend off activist investors and boost the company’s moribund stock price and sales. Macy’s and the entire department store sector have been hit on all sides in recent years. Department stores have been pressured by the rise of Amazon, the growing strength of discount chains such as TJ Maxx, and online brands. Macy’s stock price has dropped 75% from a peak of $73 a share in 2015. Since then, it has closed nearly 300 stores — almost one third of its locations — but still operates about 700 across its brands (CNN).

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U.K. Gives “Mary Poppins” Movie From 1964 a “PG” Rating

USA Today: Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke’s magical 1964 movie “Mary Poppins” has been given an increased age rating in the U.K. as a result of “discriminatory language.” The British Board of Film Classification increased the Disney movie’s rating from U, meaning universal, to PG, meaning it requires parental guidance. “Mary Poppins” contains “two uses of the discriminatory term ‘hottentots,'” a BBFC spokesperson told USA TODAY. Colonizers of South Africa used the term to refer to the indigenous Khoekhoe people and it is now considered derogatory (USA Today). Daily Wire: The change comes as the movie is about to be re-released in the U.K. for its 60th anniversary, the outlet noted. “We understand from our racism and discrimination research, and recent classification guidelines research, that a key concern for people, parents in particular, is the potential to expose children to discriminatory language or behavior which they may find distressing or repeat without realizing the potential offense,” the BBFC spokesperson added. So far, this change only affects “Mary Poppins” in the U.K. The film still has a G rating in the United States (Daily Wire).