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Wednesday, June 22, 2022

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Supreme Court Rules Maine State Tuition Funding Cannot Exclude Religious Schools

Axios: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that Maine cannot exclude religious schools from a state tuition aid program, saying that doing so violates the First Amendment. In a 6-3 opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that Maine’s program “operates to identify and exclude otherwise eligible schools on the basis of their religious exercise.” The program allows parents who live in areas without public high schools to receive state assistance to cover tuition costs at public or private schools in other communities, as long as they are considered “nonsectarian” (Axios). Wall Street Journal: Maine has 180,000 secondary-school students. Fewer than 5,000, largely in the state’s sparsely populated north, live in localities without public schools and therefore qualify for the tuition program. Parents there can obtain tuition payments for any accredited “nonsectarian school” nationwide that provides instruction “roughly equivalent to the education they would receive in public schools” (Wall Street Journal). Shannon Bream: We got the school “voucher” decision. Maine had barred parents without a public school option from using state money toward religious schools. 6-3 #SCOTUS finds that violates the Constitution (Twitter).

Biden Unremorseful About High Gas Prices, Pushes Clean Energy

Fox News: President Biden faced backlash after appearing to suggest that high gas prices will be a “good” opportunity to make a fundamental turn” to clean energy on Monday. Some conservatives called the president out on Twitter for the comments, as gas prices average $4.98 a gallon nationwide, according to AAA and inflation rose to a 40-year-high last month, sparking fears of an impending recession. Biden’s comments sparked backlash from many conservatives, with some critiquing Biden as being tone-deaf to the problems average Americans are facing (Fox News). Greg Price: Biden: “My mother had an expression: out of everything lousy, something good will happen. We have a chance to make a fundamental turn toward renewable energy, electric vehicles, and across the board” (Twitter).

Chevron CEO Mike Worth Pens Letter to Biden Asking for Honest, Consistent Dialogue

Washington Times: Energy giant Chevron told President Biden Tuesday his administration should offer “clarity and consistency” on energy policies and record gas-pump prices, and engage in “honest dialogue” about the importance of domestic oil production instead of trying to “vilify” the companies who produce it. Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth was responding to an accusation made by Mr. Biden last week that corporate greed is in part to blame for sky-high prices at the pump and a threat from the president to invoke emergency wartime powers to force more gasoline production (Washington Times). Chevron: American oil and gas supplies are among the most efficient, responsibly produced, and lowest carbon intensity supplies in the world. At roughly 15 kg of CO2-equivalent per barrel, Chevron’s Permian Basin carbon intensity is some two-thirds lower than the global industry average. U.S. Gulf of Mexico production has carbon intensity just a fraction of the global industry average. Increasing American production will offset barrels produced in other parts of the world that may not support America’s energy security, economic competitiveness, or environmental goals. I want to be clear that Chevron shares your concerns over the higher prices that Americans are experiencing. And I assure you that Chevron is doing its part to help address these challenges by increasing capital expenditures to $18 billion in 2022, more than 50% higher than last year. Chevron and its 37,000 employees work every day to help provide the world with the energy it demands and to lift up the lives of billions of people who rely on these supplies. Notwithstanding these efforts, your Administration has largely sought to criticize, and at times vilify, our industry. These actions are not beneficial to meeting the challenges we face and are not what the American people deserve (Chevron).

Three Obstacles Slowing Elon Musk From Buying Twitter

Wall Street Journal: Elon Musk said on Tuesday that his $44 billion bid to buy Twitter Inc. was stalled by three unresolved matters: earning shareholder approval, obtaining debt financing and getting answers to his questions about spam and fake accounts on the platform (Wall Street Journal). CNBC: But the fate of the deal has become more uncertain in recent weeks after Musk threatened to walk away, citing concerns over the number of fake accounts on the platform. The billionaire could face a $1 billion breakup fee and possibly even lawsuits if he were to abandon the deal. Speaking at an event hosted by Bloomberg on Tuesday, Musk said there were a number of “unresolved matters” that will need settling before he can move forward with the takeover (CNBC). Fox News: Twitter’s board “unanimously recommended” that its shareholders vote to approve Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of the social media giant… The deal, which is currently expected to close in 2022, would take Twitter private at $54.20 per share. The filing comes as Musk said in an interview Tuesday at the Qatar Economic Forum that shareholder approval was one of three “unresolved matters” that stands in the way of the deal (Fox News).

EU Official Calls Russia’s Blockade of Ukrainian Exports a “War Crime”

Financial Times: Russia’s military assault on Ukraine may have stalled in the Donbas, but its ability to prevent millions of tonnes of grain from leaving Black Sea ports is proving far more successful, with ominous consequences for Kyiv and the global food crisis. A de facto naval blockade means that Ukraine, traditionally one of the world’s top crop producers, has for months been unable to export most of the 20mn tonnes of grain stored in its silos. This has helped push prices to record highs and left 100mn more people unable to meet their food needs (Financial Times). New York Times: “You cannot use the hunger of people as a weapon of war,” Mr. Borrell said after arriving in Luxembourg for a meeting of E.U. foreign ministers. “Millions of tons of wheat remain blocked in Ukraine while in the rest of the world, people are suffering hunger. This is a real war crime, so I cannot imagine that this will last much longer.” President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine made the same point in a remote address to the African Union on Monday. Moscow has deep ties to many African countries, which have been reluctant to criticize the invasion (New York Times). Daily Wire: Nearly half of African wheat imports come from Russia and Ukraine, with some nations importing “more than one third of their wheat from the two countries,” according to a United Nations report released in March. Some countries — such as Egypt, Somalia, and Benin — import more than 80% of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine (Daily Wire).

AG Garland Visits Ukraine to Assist With War Crime Trials

Fox News: Attorney General Merrick Garland is making a surprise visit to Ukraine to throw America’s weight behind ongoing war crimes trials against the Russian military, the Justice Department revealed Tuesday. Ukraine has reportedly opened roughly 16,000 investigations into alleged war crimes by Russian troops since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February. Multiple nations and international organizations have also launched investigations into alleged Russian crimes. “Attorney General Merrick Garland is making an unannounced visit to Ukraine today, where he will meet with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova to discuss U.S. and international efforts to help Ukraine identify, apprehend, and prosecute those individuals involved in war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine,” the official said (Fox News). Ed Morrissey: Here in the US, we have ongoing violations of federal law in a coordinated campaign of intimidation targeting Supreme Court justices. A domestic terrorist group has already conducted attacks on pro-life centers and promises even more of them. The Department of Justice and the Attorney General have remained on the sidelines as those crimes have unfolded. Instead of dealing with federal matters within his jurisdiction, Merrick Garland has decided to spend some time in Ukraine to mull over US action on war crimes instead. Maybe Garland should have visited the neighborhoods of the justices first, eh (HotAir)?

Russian Journalist, Dmitry Muratov, Auctions Nobel Peace Prize for $103.5 Million, and Donates Proceeds to UNICEF

Daily Wire: Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov auctioned his Nobel Peace Prize on Monday for a record $103.5 million with the proceeds donated to help Ukrainian children. The auction-record amount will support United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) child refugee fund, according to Heritage Auctions. The donation will support Ukrainian child refugees impacted due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “This award is unlike any other auction offering to present,” Heritage Auctions said in a statement ahead of the sale. “Mr. Muratov, with the full support of his staff at Novaya Gazeta, is allowing us to auction his medal not as a collectible but as an event that he hopes will positively impact the lives of millions of Ukrainian refugees,” it added (Daily Wire). Heritage Auctions: EIC of Russian news outlet #NovayaGazeta, with HA, auctioned his 2021 #NobelPeacePrize to benefit UNICEF’s child refugee fund. It sold for $103,500,000. HA worked to ensure the winning bid is already in #UNICEF’s possession (Twitter). Associated Press: “I was hoping that there was going to be an enormous amount of solidarity, but I was not expecting this to be such a huge amount,” Muratov said in an interview after bidding in the nearly 3-week auction ended on World Refugee Day (Associated Press).

Megan Rapinoe Catches Flack for Dismissive Comments About “Trans Inclusion”

Daily Wire: Leading women’s soccer player Megan Rapinoe caught the wrath of social media users on Tuesday for arguing that female athletes and their parents need to get over the advantages biologically male transgender athletes have over girls. Rapinoe told Time magazine in an interview published Sunday that she is “100% supportive” of “trans inclusion” in female sports, dismissing concerns about fairness. “I would also encourage everyone out there who is afraid someone’s going to have an unfair advantage over their kid to really take a step back and think what we are actually talking about here,” she said. “We’re talking about people’s lives. I’m sorry, your kid’s high school volleyball team just isn’t that important” (Daily Wire). Ben Shapiro: Just a note: if biological males were allowed to play against the US Women’s National Soccer Team, Megan Rapinoe and crew would get their asses kicked by a bunch of junior high boys (Twitter). Taylor White: Wasn’t it Megan Rapinoe whose team got defeated by a bunch of High School boys (Twitter)? Vanessa Santos: Megan Rapinoe can safely say these things because she is near retirement and she isn’t in danger of being replaced by a transgender athlete. She’s doing nothing to preserve the future of female sports. Megan Rapinoe is selfish (Twitter).

CNN’s Weekend Ratings Lowest Since 2000

Fox News: Americans largely avoided CNN during Father’s Day weekend as the network continued to hemorrhage support from the demographic most coveted by advertisers. CNN managed only 67,000 average viewers between ages 25-54 from June 18-19 for its smallest weekend audience since 2000 in the category that pays the bills. It was the network’s third-worst performance in the critical demo during a weekend since 1993. It was also the network’s smallest audience on a Saturday among the demo since October 1993 when only 58,000 tuned in, and only the second time that CNN delivered under 60,000 demo viewers on a Saturday in 29 years. In total-day viewership, CNN had its smallest Saturday audience since 1997 and its smallest primetime audience on a Saturday since 2000 (Fox News).

10.

Bipartisan Agreement on Gun Legislation Hindered by Hyde Amendment

Politico: Senate negotiators and their staff spent the long weekend putting the finishing touches on bipartisan gun safety legislation but haven’t yet released text. The Senate is back in session today and aides are expecting that text will be made public soon. What’s the holdup? A GOP source familiar with the long weekend’s talks tells us that the Hyde Amendment, which bars the use of federal funds to pay for abortion, has come into play in the discussions over the bill’s health care provisions. That means that two of the most divisive and visceral political issues in the country – guns and abortion – could be paired together (Politico). ABC: Negotiators had recently been focusing on the Hyde Amendment, which forbids federal funding from being used to pay for abortions. That provision got caught up in the portion of the possible gun law dealing with mental health funding, with Republicans pushing for language barring any money in an ultimate agreement from being used pay for abortions, according to a source familiar with the matter (ABC). Townhall: Hyde has passed with bipartisan support since 1976, though the Democratic Party has become much more aggressive in seeking to get rid of it, despite having historically supported it previously. This includes President Joe Biden, though he has vigorously sought to get rid of it with his budget proposals (Townhall).

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