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Monday, July 18, 2022

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President Biden Returns from Middle East Trip

NBC: President Joe Biden wrapped up his first presidential trip to the Middle East on Saturday with few clear domestic benefits from a trip that brought widespread criticism back home. Biden received no concrete commitments from Saudi Arabia to increase oil production, the main deliverable that could have helped address his biggest domestic challenge of inflation, and made no significant progress toward a resolution between the Israelis and Palestinians. While the conversations and face-to-face meetings Biden held in the region may prove to pay dividends over time, he will return to Washington with little to show a domestic audience for whom the number one issue is the economy, with competing concerns over social issues like abortion rights and gun violence. Biden’s approval rating has hit the lowest level of his presidency in several surveys less than four months before the midterm elections. Even before Biden set off for the trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, Democrats had accused him of backing down on his campaign vow to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” after the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Human rights groups that have pushed for reforms in Saudi Arabia said they felt betrayed by the trip (NBC).

UPenn Trans Swimmer Nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year

National Review: Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer who dominated the 2021-2022 NCAA women’s swimming and diving season, has been nominated by the University of Pennsylvania to receive the NCAA’s Woman of the Year award. Up to two female athletes can be nominated by eligible schools and this year, there is a total of 577 nominees. The award is designed to recognize “female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers.” Prior to this past season, Thomas had competed on the UPenn men’s team with middling results, before breaking out as a member of the women’s team, setting numerous records over the course of the season and dominating at both the Ivy League and NCAA championships (National Review). Abigail Shrier: It isn’t ‘inclusion’ that leads the Ivy League to pull stunts like this. It’s misogyny – and utter contempt for the truth (Twitter). Tom Fitton: In a direct attack on its female athletes, UPenn suggests transgendered person as NCAA Woman of the Year Award (Twitter).

First Time Since Civil War, Majority of Registered Voters in Kentucky Lean Republican

Courier Journal: The Democratic Party has dominated Kentucky politics for most of the state’s history since the Civil War, but another milestone in its fall — and the rise of the Republican Party ― over recent decades has been reached: Republicans now surpass Democrats in registered voters for the first time. The Kentucky State Board of Elections released its new monthly voter registration numbers Friday, showing 1,612,060 voters registered as Republicans and 1,609,569 registered as Democrats. Just 40 years ago, Democrats made up 68% of registered voters in Kentucky, more than doubling the 28% registered Republican (Courier Journal). Lexington Herald Leader: Republicans currently hold Kentucky’s two U.S. Senate seats, five of six congressional seats, supermajorities in the state legislature and most of the statewide constitutional offices. It reflects the GOP’s dominance across rural Kentucky. “We are living a historic moment in the commonwealth,” said Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who is seeking a third term from Kentucky in this year’s election. “The majority of people in Kentucky realize that their beliefs are best represented by the Republican Party” (Lexington Herald Leader)

CNN Anchor Asks Public to Give Democrats Grace

Fox News: On Friday, CNN Inside Politics host John King urged critics to give Democrats “some grace” because their jobs are “hard.” King’s urging for easier treatment of Democratic lawmakers came specifically in response to a Republican attack ad criticizing Senator Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., for his reckless spending and accusing him of contributing to the current inflation woes impacting the U.S (Fox News). Newsbusters Analyst Alex Christy: CNN’s John King complains, “It is much easier to be the opposition party…give Democrats some grace. Governing is hard, especially when you have tiny margins” (Twitter).

Federal Judge in Tennessee Blocks Biden Admin Directives on Transgender Athletes, Bathroom

Reuters: A federal judge in Tennessee has temporarily blocked Biden administration directives allowing transgender workers and students to use bathrooms and locker rooms and join sports teams that correspond with their gender identity (Reuters). New York Post: Judge Charles Atchley Jr., of the Eastern District of Tennessee, ruled in favor of 20 Republican state attorney generals who sued last August, arguing that the federal directives would make it impossible for states to enforce their own rules about transgender athletes participating in girls’ sports or accessing bathrooms. Atchley issued the temporary injunction until the matter can be resolved in the courts. “As demonstrated above, the harm alleged by Plaintiff States is already occurring — their sovereign power to enforce their own legal code is hampered by the issuance of Defendants’ guidance and they face substantial pressure to change their state laws as a result,” Atchley, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, wrote in the decision released Friday. Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor called Atchley’s ruling a “major victory for women’s sports and for the privacy and safety of girls and women in their school bathrooms and locker rooms” (New York Post). The Epoch Times: The coalition of states argued in the suit that the Education Department’s guidance improperly expanded on a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June 2020, in a case called Bostock v. Clayton County (The Epoch Times). Townhall: The Department of Education concluded that because Title IX, which bars sex bias in federally funded educational programs, borrowed language from Title VII, Bostock also applied to schools. Therefore, the department suggested the court’s decision should be applied to sex-segregated bathrooms, however Judge Atchley disagreed (Townhall).

Sen. Ted Cruz Says Supreme Court Was ‘Clearly Wrong’ on Decision to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

CNBC: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Saturday that the Supreme Court was “clearly wrong” and “overreaching” when it legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges 2015 ruling. “Obergefell, like Roe v. Wade, ignored two centuries of our nation’s history,” Cruz said on his podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz. “Marriage was always an issue that was left to the states. We saw states before Obergefell — some states were moving to allow gay marriage, other states were moving to allow civil partnerships. There were different standards that the states were adopting.” The remarks from Cruz, who has been open about his interest in another presidential run, came just weeks after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. Cruz, a longtime opponent to same-sex marriage who believes both issues should be left to the states, echoed conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who argued in his concurring Roe opinion that the court “should reconsider” past rulings, including Obergefell as well as opinions that protected the right to same-sex intimacy and contraception (CNBC). New York Post: Thomas was referring to a 1965 ruling, Griswold v. Connecticut, that allowed married couples to access birth control and a 2003 ruling, Lawrence v. Texas, that banned states from outlawing consensual gay sex… Cruz said he doesn’t think the court has “any appetite” for overturning the decisions that Thomas referenced. Still, Cruz said the decision to legalize gay marriage was “overreaching and “was clearly wrong when it was decided” (New York Post).

South Dakota Congressman Proposes Bill Blocking China From Buying American Agriculture Companies

South Dakota Public Broadcasting: South Dakota’s U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson wants to block some foreign interests from buying U.S. agriculture companies. He is co-sponsoring a bill that blacklists China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. Foreign investments in American agricultural land have increased an average of 2.2 million acres per year since 2015. That’s according to a report from the National Agriculture Law Center. Congressman Johnson’s bipartisan legislation seeks to limit foreign influence in the American food system by blocking sales of companies. Johnson says these efforts would work in conjunction with his support of federal restrictions on land sales (South Dakota Public Broadcasting). Daily Wire: Johnson said that it was important to “decouple” critical industries, like healthcare, energy, and agriculture, from countries like China who are seeking to displace America on the world’s stage. His comments come after a report earlier this month that a Chinese flavor and sugar substitute company, the Fufeng Group, purchased 300 acres of land in North Dakota just 20 minutes from an Air Force base. The base, Grand Forks Air Force Base, is thought to be home to sensitive military drone technology, according to the New York Post (Daily Wire).

Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant Awarded $5 Million After Airline Fires Her for Her Pro-Life Views in 2017

Fox News: A federal jury in Texas has awarded a former Southwest flight attendant more than $5 million after the airline fired her over her stance on abortion in a lawsuit dating back to 2017. The reward in combined compensatory and punitive damages comes after the Transportation Workers Union of America (TWU) Local 556 union and Southwest fired Charlene Carter for her religious stance on abortion, which she publicized on social media (Fox News). Daily Wire: Southwest plans to appeal the verdict, claiming in a statement on Friday that the company “has a demonstrated history of supporting our employees’ rights to express their opinions when done in a respectful manner.” Carter could collect $4.15 million from Southwest and $950,000 from the union, mostly in punitive damages, if the verdict stands” (Daily Wire).

Russia Remains Aggressive With Missile Strikes Across Ukraine

Reuters: Russia is preparing for the next stage of its offensive in Ukraine, a Ukrainian military official said, after Moscow said its forces would step up military operations in “all operational areas.” As Western deliveries of long-range arms begin to help Ukraine on the battlefield, Russian rockets and missiles have pounded cities in strikes that Kyiv says have killed dozens in recent days… The Ukrainian military said Russia appeared to be regrouping units for an offensive toward Sloviansk, a symbolically important city held by Ukraine in the eastern region of Donetsk (Reuters). Associated Press: On Sunday, more Russian missiles struck industrial facilities in the strategic southern city of Mykolaiv, a key shipbuilding center in the estuary of the Southern Bug river. There was no immediate information about casualties. Mykolaiv has faced regular Russian missile strikes in recent weeks as the Russians have sought to soften Ukrainian defenses (Associated Press). Wall Street Journal: In recent days, Russia has attacked civilian centers and buildings across the country, in what analysts say is an attempt to demoralize Ukraine and sour its appetite for war. In a video released late Saturday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky underscored Ukraine’s will to fight and cited the 32nd anniversary of the adoption of the country’s declaration of independence. “We will stand,” Mr. Zelensky said. “We will win. We will win back, rebuild our lives. We will do it together. That’s the only way it can be done. This can be done only without mutual competition” (Wall Street Journal).

10.

Candy Company, Mars Inc. Sued For Leaving Toxic Ingredient in Trademark Candy They Promised to Remove in 2016

Daily Wire: Candy company Mars Inc. was sued Thursday for allegedly selling toxic goodies to customers that include titanium dioxide, a colorant, in its ingredients. The company allegedly pledged years ago to remove the food additive TiO2, which is being banned in the European Union. The colorant, though, still remains as an ingredient. In the proposed class action suit, filed in Oakland, California, Jenile Thames claims Mars is endangering unsuspecting Skittles consumers. TiO2 is currently not banned in the United States, and the ingredient is listed on packs of the treat. But the suit claims that’s not sufficient, since the packaging is red and the ingredients listed in black are hard to read. “A reasonable consumer would expect that [Skittles] can be safely purchased and consumed as marketed and sold,” the complaint said, according to Reuters. “However, the products are not safe” (Daily Wire). Insider: A Mars spokesperson told Insider the company does not comment on pending litigation. Titanium dioxide is commonly used in industrial applications such as paints, plastics, inks, adhesives, and roofing materials. It is also a popular component of mineral sunscreens. The use of TiO2 in food is more controversial, and safety regulators have noted that the nanoparticles that make it so effective as a sunblock are indigestible by humans. Researchers have found its presence in the body has led to a host of health ailments, including alterations to DNA, chromosomal damage, inflammation, and cell neurosis (Insider).

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