Your First Look at Today's Top Stories

Having trouble viewing this email? View the web version.

Sponsored By

DaybreakInsider.com

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Democrat-Controlled Senate Votes Down Articles of Impeachment Against Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

National Review: The Democratic-controlled Senate dismissed both articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday, quashing the Republican push to remove the Cabinet secretary from office. The Senate voted 51–49 along partisan lines to kill the second impeachment charge and 51–48–1 for the first impeachment charge. The upper chamber also voted 51–49 to end the short-lived trial, which began earlier Wednesday (National Review). CBS: A number of other Senate Republicans took turns offering different motions Wednesday afternoon to delay an end to the trial. But each fell short in the Democratic-controlled chamber. Mia Ehrenberg, a DHS spokesperson, said in a statement that the Senate’s decision to reject the impeachment articles “proves definitively that there was no evidence or Constitutional grounds to justify impeachment” (CBS).

Iran Threatens Israel With a “Harsh” Response if They Counter-Strike Iran

Associated Press: Iran’s president has warned that the “tiniest invasion” by Israel would bring a “massive and harsh” response, as the region braces for potential Israeli retaliation after Iran’s attack over the weekend. President Ebrahim Raisi spoke Wednesday at an annual army parade that was moved to a barracks north of the capital, Tehran, from its usual venue on a highway in the city’s southern outskirts. Iranian authorities gave no explanation for its relocation, and state television didn’t broadcast it live, as it has in previous years. Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel over the weekend in response to an apparent Israeli strike on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria on April 1 that killed 12 people, including two Iranian generals (Associated Press). HotAir: That’s not the only problem that the Iranian regime is facing. Raisi is dealing with increasing dissent from his own people. In the wake of the attack on Israel, several Iranian media outlets were openly mocking his leadership, leading to a media crackdown that has cut off much of the country from news sources (HotAir).

Israel Strikes Back at Hezbollah for Launching Drone Strike, Wounding 18 Israelis

Times of Israel: Fourteen soldiers and four civilians were wounded as an explosive drone fired from Lebanon struck a community center in the northern border town of Arab al-Aramshe on Wednesday, medics and the military said. According to the Israel Defense Forces, 14 of the victims were soldiers, including five listed in critical and serious condition. The four civilian victims were all lightly hurt. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted a building being used by the Israeli military with guided missiles and explosive-laden drones (Times of Israel). CNN: Israeli fighter jets have struck alleged Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon after 18 Israelis were injured when the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group attacked a village in northern Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they struck Hezbollah military compounds and terror infrastructure in the areas of Naqoura and Yarine in southern Lebanon in response hours after Wednesday’s attack (CNN).

House Panel Reveals CCP Subsidizing U.S. Fentanyl Crisis

NBC: The Chinese Communist Party uses tax rebates to subsidize the manufacturing and export of fentanyl materials, a House panel said in a report released Tuesday. The House Select Committee on China pointed to findings indicating that China plays a key role in the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., and lawmakers made several recommendations to curb the crisis. “Through subsidies, grants, and other incentives, the PRC harms Americans while enriching PRC companies,” the report says, referring to the People’s Republic of China. The committee said in its report it has “found no evidence of new criminal enforcement actions” to curb the flow of fentanyl chemicals into the US (NBC). Daily Wire: Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr blamed America’s fentanyl crisis solely on communist China. Barr said that the death toll in the U.S. every year from drug overdoses was higher than the number of Americans killed during the bloodiest year of World War II (Daily Wire).

NPR’s New CEO States First Amendment is the “Number One Challenge” to Fight Disinformation

Daily Mail: NPR’s new chief executive Katherine Maher called the First Amendment the ‘number one challenge’ in American journalism during a panel discussion. Maher, 40, noted the First Amendment provides a ‘fairly robust protection of rights,’ making it ‘a little tricky to address some of the real challenges of where bad information comes from.’ These comments were made during an online panel discussion at the 360/Open Summit held by the Atlantic Council in 2021 (Daily Mail). Christopher Rufo: Katherine Maher says the “the number one challenge” in her fight against disinformation is “the First Amendment in the United States,” which makes it “a little bit tricky” to censor “bad information” and “the influence peddlers” who spread it. NPR’s censor-in-chief (X). Elon Musk: This keeps getting crazier! The head of NPR hates the Constitution of the USA (X).

Only One Third of Americans Approve of Biden’s Handling of the Israel, Hamas War

Townhall: Americans are increasingly souring on President Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, a new CBS News/YouGov poll found. The survey, conducted April 9-12 (prior to Iran’s attack against Israel), shows 51 percent of 18-29 year-olds giving the president positive marks on the conflict in February, but now, that has declined to 40 percent. His overall approval rating of his handling of the Israel-Hamas war also dropped, from 44 percent in late October to 33 percent now (Townhall). Matt Whitlock: Reminds me of polling showing groups of Ds disapprove of Biden on climate change – even though he’s tried to give them everything. When you cater policy to appeal to narrow segments who will never be satisfied (at the expense and of everyone else) you’ll always be underwater (X). CBS News: An increasing number of Americans want President Biden to encourage Israel to stop military actions in Gaza. Compared to last October, there are fewer Democrats today who say the U.S. should send weapons and supplies to Israel (X).

Google Employees Arrested for Staging Protest in CEO’s Office Demanding They Cut Ties with Israel

Daily Wire: Google employees who occupied the California office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian for more than eight hours to demand the company stop doing business with Israel were arrested late Tuesday. The employees broadcast their protest on a “notech4apartheid’ Twitch livestream. The video showed they given the opportunity to leave voluntarily, and then arrested by police after refusing to do so. In the stream, a man is seen approaching the protesters to notify them that they were put on administrative leave and asking them to leave (Daily Wire). Kassy Akiva: Google employees were arrested after occupying their boss’s office for more than 8 hours to demand that the company sever ties with Israel (X).

Ohio Judge Grants Temporary Block on Bill Protecting Minors From Gender Surgery

Hill: An Ohio judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the state’s ban on gender-affirming health care from taking effect, handing a preliminary victory to transgender minors seeking care in the state. A “grandfather clause” allows transgender children and teens receiving care prior to the law’s effective date to continue treatment. Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed the bill in December, telling reporters at a press conference that the consequences of such a law for transgender children and their families “could not be more profound.” GOP lawmakers voted to override DeWine’s veto the following month (Hill). Washington Post: National medical groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, have said gender-affirming care for trans children is medically necessary and appropriate. The American Civil Liberties Union and others challenged the law in March, suing on behalf of two unnamed families “whose children are at risk of losing critical, medically necessary health care.” The lawsuit asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order and to ultimately declare the statute unconstitutional (Washington Post).

Biden Looks to Triple Tariffs on Chinese Steel, Aluminum After Criticizing Trump’s Tariffs

Wall Street Journal: President Biden called for raising tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from China, beginning what is expected to be a broadside of protectionist steps against Beijing during a presidential election in which trade is a flashpoint. Biden, who will discuss the steps Wednesday during a visit in swing-state Pennsylvania, is asking his trade officials to more than triple a key tariff rate on Chinese steel and aluminum products to 25% from 7.5% (Wall Street Journal). RNC Research: Biden is announcing higher tariffs on Chinese steel today — something he OPPOSED when President Trump did it. Here’s Biden criticizing President Trump’s tariffs in 2019: “It’s really easy to be tough when someone else absorbs the pain” (X).

10.

Biden to Reimpose Sanctions on Venezuelan Oil

Reuters: The Biden administration said it would not renew a license set to expire early on Thursday that had broadly eased Venezuela oil sanctions, moving to reimpose punitive measures in response to President Nicolas Maduro’s failure to meet his election commitments. Just hours before the deadline, the U.S. Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that it had issued a replacement license giving companies 45 days to “wind down” their business and transactions in the OPEC country’s oil and gas sector (Reuters). Washington Post: The Biden administration’s temporary license allowed buyers from around the world to purchase Venezuelan crude and pay for it in U.S. dollars for the first time since former president Donald Trump’s maximum-pressure policy — with increased sanctions repeatedly upped during his administration — effectively removed it from the international market. China, which ignored the U.S. sanctions, became Venezuela’s main buyer and Iran its main supplier of chemicals needed to dilute and produce the country’s heavy crude oil (Washington Examiner).