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Thursday, May 2, 2024

Antony Blinken Visits Israel to Pressure Hamas to Accept Ceasefire Deal

Wall Street Journal: Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Israel to press for a temporary cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip that the Biden administration hopes could develop into a more-durable peace, and stressed its concerns about a possible Israeli offensive in the town of Rafah. Blinken said after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he told Israeli officials a temporary truce would “give us something to build on.” And he put the focus on Hamas, saying that the group should take the deal. “Hamas has to decide,” Blinken said. Israel has said it is ready to send a delegation to Cairo, where Arab mediators earlier this week presented Hamas with a fresh plan to pause the fighting in exchange for freeing hostages it holds in the enclave. The proposal is seen as the last chance to delay an Israeli offensive on Rafah, which Netanyahu has said is needed to destroy Hamas’s remaining military units and complete the aims of the war (Wall Street Journal). Associated Press: Throughout months of talks, Hamas has said the freeing of all the hostages it holds must bring a permanent halt to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. The proposed deal now at the center of talks raises that possibility, according to leaked details that were confirmed by an Egyptian official and a Hamas official. But Hamas is seeking to strengthen the language to ensure a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the entire Gaza Strip, the Egyptian official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal negotiations. The group said it is likely to give its response to the proposal on Thursday (Associated Press).

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) Move to Oust Speaker Johnson

Washington Post: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Wednesday morning pledged to trigger her motion to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) as the top leader of the House. Her chances of success, however, are in doubt because House Democratic leadership has pledged to rescue Johnson from the congresswoman’s “motion to vacate.” Republicans hold only a two-vote House majority. Standing alongside Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who also supports removing Johnson, Greene announced during a morning news conference that she is formally bringing up her motion next week. She intends to act under special rules forcing the House to vote on the motion within two full legislative days. Republican leadership will then decide when to bring up the vote once Greene triggers it (Washington Post). ABC: Massie said they were also giving Johnson time to think and suggested, again, that he resign. Johnson flatly rejected Massie’s previous call for him to step down. Johnson has defended himself against the threat by stating that he’s doing his job within the confines of the narrowest House majority in history (ABC).

Portland State University Caves to Demands of Protesters

Post Millennial: On Wednesday, Portland State University caved to the demands of anti-Israel activists who have sieged the school’s library and shut down campus in support of Gaza. Many of those involved are Antifa-linked outside agitators and are not affiliated with the university. President Cudd announced in an email that the university will not pursue criminal charges against those who participated in the destruction and seizure of the Millar Library, nor will students be suspended, expelled, or punished for their role in the occupation. Additionally, Cudd vowed to personally support scholarships and creative works dedicated to Palestine, as well as PSU’s ongoing financial commitment to anti-racist work. The president also insisted she would be giving a personal donation to the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia (MENASA) Student Center at PSU, which was a condition of the agreement (Post Millennial). Andy Ngo: PSU guarantees they won’t pursue criminal charges against the destruction and would not suspend or punish any students involved. PSU will also pour more funding into DEI and CRT programs. Around 50 left the siege, Cudd says, but that many more non-students still remain (X).

UCLA Cancels Classes After Anti-Israel Protesters Clash With Pro-Israel Protesters

Just the News: University of California, Los Angeles, is cancelling classes on Wednesday after violence involving Pro-Palestine protestors broke out on campus. The violence reportedly occurred after the university declared a protest encampment “unlawful” and in violation of university policy. Counter-demonstrators attempted to pull down the barricades around the encampment and the protestors inside fought back (Just the News). National Review: The encampment started on Royce Quad, and footage emerged of the protesters beating a Jewish girl unconscious, resulting in a concussion. Footage of a separate incident appeared to show protesters holding a Jewish student against his will on Tuesday and preventing him from leaving the encampment. UCLA protesters on Monday also seemed to prevent a Jewish student from going to class by lining up and preventing the student from accessing the main entrance to his lecture hall (National Review). Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass: The violence unfolding this evening at UCLA is absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable (X).

White House Defends Biden’s Silence on the Antisemitic Campus Protests

Katie Pavlich: During the daily briefing at the White House Wednesday, Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre was cornered on President Joe Biden’s ongoing efforts to appease Palestinian pro-terrorism movements in the United States, particularly on college campuses. For days Biden has refused to make a direct statement condemning ongoing pro-Hamas riots on college campuses across the country. University buildings have been taken over, Jewish students have been viciously attacked and the American flag has been replaced with the Palestinian flag worn by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip (Townhall). RNC Research: REPORTER: Once again — why hasn’t Biden been more “forceful” in speaking against the pro-Hamas mob on college campuses? KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: “No other president has spoken about antisemitism than this president!” REPORTER: “That’s not the question — it’s the protests” (X).

Former Google Employees Sue Company for Firings After In-Office Protests

Washington Post: The terminated Google workers who staged protests at two company offices earlier this month over the company’s contract with Israel have filed a formal complaint with the national labor board alleging the company violated their labor rights by firing them. The charge was filed with the National Labor Relations Board, an independent federal agency that protects the rights of private sector employees, on Monday evening, according to a spokesperson for No Tech for Apartheid, the group that organized the protests. The workers specifically say that Google violated their rights “by terminating and/or placing them on administrative leave in response to their protected concerted activity, namely, participation (or perceived participation) in a peaceful, non-disruptive protest that was directly and explicitly connected to their terms and conditions of work” (Washington Post). National Review: On April 16, Google workers staged sit-ins at the company’s offices in New York City, Seattle, and Sunnyvale, Calif., calling attention to Google and Amazon’s $1.2 billion contract with Israel. The joint contract, called Project Nimbus, provides cloud-computing and artificial-intelligence services to the Israeli government. Police arrested at least nine protesters across the country after they refused to abandon the ten-hour sit-in. Google fired at least 28 employees a day later, with an additional 20 firings coming the following week (National Review).

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EEOC Updates Guidelines for “Women” in the Workplace

Townhall: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released its updated federal workplace guidance on Monday, which addresses preferred pronouns, bathrooms, and abortion. According to the new guidance, refusal by an employer to use an employee’s preferred pronouns or barring them from using a bathroom that aligns with their gender identity constitutes unlawful workplace harassment. Additionally, discriminating against employees for their abortion or contraception decisions is a type of sex discrimination (Townhall). Director of Independent Women’s Law Center May Mailman: It’s not just schools. The EEOC finalized guidance requiring that men be permitted to shower with women at work—affecting blue-collar, agricultural, and low-wage women particularly. UNREAL. Dissenting statement here (X).

Former Biden Staffer Testifies They “Encouraged” Social Media Companies to Censor Free Speech

Katie Pavlich: Testifying in front of the House Judiciary Committee and its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government Wednesday, former White House official Rob Flaherty was asked to explain the tenets of First Amendment. He couldn’t do it. The testimony came just hours before the Committee released a lengthy report further detailing the Biden administration’s censorship and big tech pressure campaigns to remove information from a number of online platforms (Townhall). Weaponization Committee: Weaponization Committee Exposes the Biden White House Censorship Regime in New 800 Page Report. This interim report details the months-long campaign by the Biden White House to censor Americans on Facebook, Amazon, and YouTube (X). RNC Research: Top Biden staffer Rob Flaherty admits his taxpayer-funded office “encouraged” social media companies to censor speech with which the Biden administration disagreed (X).

Biden Moves to Reclassify Marijuana as Less Dangerous

Associated Press: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country. The proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs (Associated Press). News Nation: New data suggests more people who use marijuana experience psychotic episodes. In some cases, it can lead to permanent psychiatric disorders. Truveta, an analytics firm, reports diagnoses of marijuana-induced psychosis emergency department visits increased by more than 50% between 2019 and 2020. Additionally, the rate of cannabis-induced disorder emergency visits continued to increase through 2023. The average THC content found in cannabis has increased from 4% in 1995 to 15% in 2021, with some products advertising THC concentrations up to 90% (News Nation). Wall Street Journal: Even one psychotic episode following cannabis use was associated with a 47% chance of a person developing schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The risk was highest for people 16-to-25-years-old and higher than for substances including amphetamines, hallucinogens, opioids and alcohol (Wall Street Journal).

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United States Marks National Day of Prayer With Gatherings Across the Nation

CBN: This year’s theme for the 73rd National Day of Prayer is “Lift up the Word – Light Up the World” from the biblical passage in 2 Samuel chapter 22. It reads in part: “O Lord, you are my lamp. The Lord Lights up My Darkness.” It is a message that organizers say is needed now more than ever. The annual National Day of Prayer, which was established by Congress in 1952 and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman, is a call for Americans to humble themselves before Almighty God, to seek His guidance, wisdom and blessing (CBN).