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Monday, March 21, 2022

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Russia Fired a Nuclear-Capable Missile That Has Never Been Used Before in Combat

From the story: Russia on Saturday said it used a hypersonic Kinzhal missile to strike a Ukrainian munitions warehouse in the western region of Ivano-Frankivsk. The Kinzhal, which translates to “dagger,” is a nuclear-capable missile that has never been used before in combat, and also has the ability to travel at 10 times the speed of sound and a range of roughly 1,250 miles (Fox News). From New York Post: Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the high-tech Kinzhal missiles, carried by MiG-31 fighter jets, destroyed a large underground ammunition warehouse Friday in the village of Delyatyn, near the western Ivano-Frankivs region of Ukraine. US officials confirmed Saturday that hypersonic missiles were used, telling CNN they were tracked in real time as they headed toward the former Soviet nuclear base, which is about 380 miles from Kyiv and extends 150 feet below ground (New York Post).

Putin Declines Meeting with Zelensky

From the story: President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine called publicly on Saturday for direct negotiations with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, but a senior Turkish official said that Mr. Putin was not ready for such talks. “Zelensky is ready to meet, but Putin thinks that the positions to have this meeting at the leaders’ level are not close enough yet,” Ibrahim Kalin, a chief adviser and spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said (New York Times). From the Times of Israel: In an overnight video address Saturday, Zelensky said Russia is trying to starve his country’s cities into submission but warned that continuing the invasion would exact a toll on Russia for “generations.” The Ukrainian leader accused the Kremlin in an overnight video address of deliberately creating “a humanitarian catastrophe,” and appealed again for Putin to meet with him to prevent more bloodshed (The Times of Israel).

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Confirmation Hearing Begins

From the story: Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden’s nominee to the Supreme Court, will face the bright lights and the cameras at her four-day confirmation hearing beginning on Monday (The Washington Post). From The Heritage Foundation: Jackson has been through this confirmation process three times before—when she was nominated to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, to the district court, and to the D.C. Circuit (The Heritage Foundation).

Virginia Tech Swimmer Blasts NCAA after Losing Finals Spot to Lia Thomas

From the story: A former Olympian and Virginia Tech female swimmer blasted the NCAA in a letter Sunday alleging that the organization’s policy of allowing University of Pennsylvania transgender-identifying male swimmer Lia Thomas to compete against biological women cost her a finals spot at the women’s championship in Atlanta this past weekend (National Review). From Mary Marg Olohan: Virginia Tech swimmer Reka Gyorgy says her finals spot was stolen from her by Lia Thomas because of “the @NCAA’s decision to let someone who is not a biological female to compete” (Twitter). From Reka: My finals spot was stolen by Lia Thomas, who is a biological male. Until we all refuse to compete nothing will change. Thanks for all the support retweets and follows I won’t stop fighting (Twitter).

AOC Tells Her Live Stream “Most People Don't Know What Capitalism Is”

From the story: In a Thursday Instagram story, the progressive congresswoman whispered a “secret” to her followers. “Let me tell you a secret,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a whisper. “Most people don’t really know what capitalism is. Most people don’t even know what socialism is. But most people are not capitalists, because they don’t have capitalist money. They’re not billionaires.” “The label doesn’t matter as much as talking about policies,” she continued, still whispering. “That’s easier to understand. Do you think people should die because they can’t afford insulin? Do you think that fossil fuel CEOs should decide whether the planet gets set on fire? Me neither” (Townhall). From Lavern Spicer: Pssst. I’ll tell you a secret: AOC is an embarrassment to Congress and to women everywhere (Twitter).

Senator Ted Cruz Shuts Down Dr. Fauci Suggesting Restrictions Could Return

From the story: On Sunday, after Dr. Anthony Fauci cited the Centers for Disease Control saying that if the United States saw a significant surge from a COVID-19 variant, particularly one that might result in an increase in hospitalizations, restrictions on the public might be reinstituted (The Daily Wire). From RNC Research: FAUCI: If we see a surge in cases, “we have to be prepared to pivot and perhaps reinstitute some of those restrictions” (RNC Research). Senator Ted Cruz: Hell no. For petty tyrants like Fauci, they only have one tool in their toolbox: authoritarian restrictions. Enough is enough (Twitter).

LAUSD Required Staff to Participate in Woke Training

From the story: The Los Angeles Unified School District required its staff to participate in “socioemotional learning” training that involved educators agreeing to use students’ preferred names and pronouns. According to nonprofit parents group Parents Defending Education, a district staff member said the training consisted of “critical social justice gender ideology.” The staff member also said staff were led by a “restorative justice teacher” and that they were given handouts to “address” instances in which students or staff make an “unacceptable error in words or actions that are against gender ideology.” The staff member called this training a “cult-retreat-like experience” (Townhall). From Parents Defending Education: He said that “the trainers called for us to raise our hands if we could commit to using preferred pronouns and STAND UP if we commit to using trans students’ preferred names.” If staff didn’t stand up, he explained that “it was an obvious sign that you’re problematic and bigoted and in the wrong.” (Parents Defending Education).

Disney Movie Restored Gay Kiss in Response to Florida’s Bill Restricting Sexual Education before 3rd Grade

From the story: According to a source close to the production, Pixar’s next feature film, “Lightyear” does feature a significant female character, Hawthorne, who is in a meaningful relationship with another woman. While the fact of that relationship was never in question at the studio, a kiss between the characters had been cut from the film. Following the uproar surrounding the Pixar employees’ statement and Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s handling of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, however, the kiss was reinstated into the movie last week (Variety). From Breitbart: Disney also fell under attack after reports that the company has given money to sponsors of the bill, which queer activists and their allies have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Last week, after the Walt Disney Co. faced the wrath of left-wing activists, Disney CEO Bob Chapek caved to the woke mob and announced that the company is pledging $5 million toward LGBTQ groups in response to the Florida bill (Breitbart). From Carol Liebau: The trust of parents has been the fuel that built the Disney empire. That trust is fast eroding (Townhall Review).

CNN’s Brian Stelter Does Not Admit He Lied Despite Video Evidence

From the story: CNN anchor Brian Stelter on Friday refused to walk back inaccurate claims he promoted on his program when he claimed Hunter Biden’s “laptop from hell” emails were “Russian disinformation.” Stelter was also provided with this video which clearly shows him using the phrase “Russian disinformation” to refer to the emails and suggesting they may have been “made up (Breitbart).” From Media Research Center: Media pundits lied to you, falsely claiming that the Hunter Biden laptop story was “Russian disinformation (Twitter).”

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Twitter Suspends Babylon Bee’s Account for 12 Hours

From the story: Satirical site The Babylon Bee’s official Twitter account was suspended from the Big Tech platform on Sunday for “hateful content” after posting a joke making fun of US Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine, a biological male who identifies as transgender. The joke called Levine the satire website’s “Man of the Year” (The Post Millennial). From Babylon Bee CEO, Seth Dillon: I just received this notice that we’ve been locked out of our account for “hateful conduct” (Twitter).