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Thursday, April 4, 2024

Biden Considers Removing Houthis From Terror List if They Stop Attacking Ships in Red Sea

Townhall: In its latest “you have to be kidding me” proposal by the Biden Administration, officials are considering stripping the Houthi “terrorist” label if they stop attacking ships. The Houthis— an Iranian-backed and Yemini-based terrorist organization— may soon no longer be labeled as terrorists despite warning of further “escalation” in response to the United States launching additional strikes in Yemen last month. In recent months, out of support for the Hamas terrorist group, Houthi terrorists launched a series of missile and drone strikes on commercial shipping liners and U.S. and coalition forces in the Red Sea (Townhall). Bloomberg: The Yemeni militants say they’re determined to continue their attacks. Last month, they killed three crew members on a commodities carrier and sunk another vessel (Bloomberg).

Joe Biden Publicly Chastises Israel for Missile Strike That Killed Civilians

Townhall: On Monday, seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen were tragically killed as the result of an “unintentional killing” by Israel, with Israel admitting fault and for which the IDF apologized. President Joe Biden still issued a blistering statement on Tuesday night, expressing profound passion and outrage. Biden’s statement early on mentioned how one of the killed workers was an American. It goes unmentioned in the statement that there are also American citizens who have been taken hostage by Hamas. The hostages collectively are only mentioned once, towards the end of the statement and in the context of “pushing hard for an immediate ceasefire as part of a hostage deal,” with Biden’s statement also mentioning “I have a team in Cairo working on this right now” (Townhall). John Hasson: Shot: Biden attacks Israel for accidentally killing 7 civilians in a drone strike. Chaser: Biden’s final act in Afghanistan was an airstrike killing 10 civilians, including 7 children (X). Guy Benson: When news broke that the US had accidentally droned an innocent family to death in Kabul, amid the deadly chaos of Biden’s Afghanistan abandonment, the president went to the beach for the weekend — leaving military officials to make the announcement & deal with the fallout (X).

Iowa Governor Repeals Gender Parity Law to Fill Government Positions

ABC: An explicit requirement that Iowa’s state, county and local decision-making bodies be balanced by gender was repealed Wednesday, a move that Gov. Kim Reynolds said was common sense but which critics warn may lead to fewer opportunities for women. Before signing the repeal bill into law, Reynolds said the focus for boards and commissions “should always be on appointing the most qualified people.” The repeal reflects a growing trend across the U.S. as conservative lawmakers target many efforts to promote diversity as well as protections for historically marginalized groups as fundamentally discriminatory, emphasizing merit instead (ABC). Des Moines Register: According to the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, about 50% of Iowa county boards and commissions had achieved gender balance between 2013 and 2014. Between 2021 and 2022, it was about 61%. Women make up about 48% of the membership of Iowa’s state boards and commissions. Iowa’s law already allowed the gender balance requirement to be waived if the state could not find a qualified person to serve within 90 days (Des Moines Register).

New York Judge States FDNY Chanting “Trump” While AG Letitia James Spoke is Racist

Townhall: Last month, New York Attorney General Letitia James was met with boos and shouts of “Trump” from members of the FDNY at a promotion event held at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn. Initially, it looked as if those firefighters might be investigated and subject to “re-education,” though the FDNY reversed the decision. However, the issue of the boos and jeers is coming up yet again and looks to be an issue for months to come. Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis, a Bill Clinton appointee, is insisting the booing “doesn’t have to do with politics, this has to do with race.” The incident almost certainly does have to do with politics, and because James herself is a political figure (Townhall).

Seattle Shuts Down Program for Gifted Students Because It Had Too Many White Students

They are punishing children who did nothing wrong. Daily Wire: Seattle Public Schools is shutting down its program for gifted and talented students, where the majority are white or Asian, citing “equity” concerns. The school board voted to scrap its Highly Capable Cohort program in 2020 after a 2018 survey found that only 3.7% of participating students were Hispanic and 1.6% were black. Meanwhile, 11.8% were Asian, and the majority were white. “Numbers would suggest that within our city … predominantly white children are more gifted than other cultures and races, and we know that is absolutely not true,” Kari Hanson, the district’s director of student support services, told Parent Map in 2018. “Clearly we’re not identifying our children of color and we need to get down to why,” Hanson said. The district began phasing out the gifted program in the 2021-22 school year, and it will be gone entirely by the 2027-28 school year (Daily Wire). Fox News: Its replacement, called the Highly Capable Neighborhood School Model, will be available in every school by the 2024-25 school year, SPS said. Instead of separate classrooms and schools for gifted students, all students will remain together in the same classroom and the teacher will individualize learning plans for each student. The district announced the changes will “address historical inequity” and include “three tiers of service for students depending on individual needs, delivered in a way that honors individual cultures and backgrounds” (Fox News).

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken Hires New Chief DEI Overlord

National Review: Secretary of State Anthony Blinken appointed Zakiya Carr Johnson as the State Department’s Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer on Tuesday. The position has remained vacant since Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley resigned in June 2023. Carr Johnson has been on staff at the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs since March 2021. Carr Johnson is the founder of Odara Solutions, an Atlanta-based consulting firm, and was previously a director and senior advisor for the State Department’s race, ethnicity, and social inclusion unit under president Barack Obama. The diversity expert has a “fresh perspective on how we build a workforce that reflects America,” Blinken said, with a “commitment to inclusive leadership” (National Review). Fox News: In announcing the position, Blinken said in February 2021 that the individual in the role will “hold senior leadership accountable” for implementing new diversity and inclusion programs and report directly to him. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts have been at the forefront of priorities for the administration ever since President Biden took power in January 2021. Earlier this year, Blinken sent a memo to State Department employees, warning them against using certain gender-specific language (Fox News).

Largest Earthquake in 25 Years Hits Taiwan, Injures Hundreds

Washington Post: A 7.4-magnitude earthquake, followed by several strong aftershocks, struck off the east coast of Taiwan on Wednesday morning, killing nine people and injuring at least 963, according to Taiwan’s fire department. The earthquake, which damaged buildings and caused landslides, was the largest to hit Taiwan in 25 years and was also felt in parts of China (Washington Post). BBC: Some 127 people are trapped in collapsed tunnels and on mountainous roads along the rugged coastline (BBC).

Biden Administration Cancels Latest Attempt to Refill Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Bloomberg: The Biden administration won’t move forward with its latest plans to buy oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve amid rising prices. The Energy Department said it was “keeping the taxpayer’s interest at the forefront” in its decision not to purchase as many as 3 million barrels of oil for a Strategic Petroleum Reserve site in Louisiana. The move follows a rally in crude prices, with US benchmark West Texas Intermediate on Tuesday breaking above $85 a barrel for the first time since October. The Biden administration has a target to buy oil at $79 or lower to refill the reserve (Bloomberg). Washington Examiner: Like other SPR caverns along the U.S. Gulf Coast, its levels remain depleted to historic lows following President Joe Biden‘s 180 million-barrel drawdown of SPR oil in March 2022, aimed at stabilizing energy costs for consumers in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It was the largest one-time drawdown in the history of the stockpile. And while the sales did help alleviate prices for consumers, they also sent levels plummeting to a 40-year low and prompted concerns that a lengthy depletion period could leave the U.S. vulnerable and resource-strapped in the event of an emergency (Washington Examiner).

Hundreds of Men Have Taken Awards, Recognition Away from Female Athletes

Lifesite News: Gender-confused men have won nearly 300 titles in female sports. But a leading Democratic congressman denies not just biological reality, but this reality as well. “Men do not compete in women’s sports,” far-left New York Democratic congressman Jerry Nadler claimed during a congressional hearing several weeks ago. “Transgender women may compete in women’s sports,” he said. However, it is a biological fact and moral truth that no one can change his or her gender. He said he objected to entering “mistruths” into the congressional record (Lifesite News). Check out the full list of athletes here (She Won).

10.

Donald Trump Leads Biden in Most Swing States

Wall Street Journal: Donald Trump is leading President Biden in six of the seven most competitive states in the 2024 election, propelled by broad voter dissatisfaction with the national economy and deep doubts about Biden’s capabilities and job performance, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds. The poll of the election’s main battlegrounds shows Trump holding leads of between 2 and 8 percentage points in six states—Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina—on a test ballot that includes third-party and independent candidates. The one outlier is Wisconsin, where Biden leads by 3 points on the multiple-candidate ballot, and where the two candidates are tied in a head-to-head matchup (Wall Street Journal). Daily Wire: Inside the White House, Biden and his aides are also reportedly concerned about the president’s low approval among voters. Biden allegedly lashes out at aides and allies during strategy sessions and believes that the primary problem is poor messaging about his successes, not his agenda (Daily Wire).