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Thursday, October 6, 2022

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Biden Denounces OPEC Reduction in Oil Output

Daily Wire: Saudi Arabia helped Russia push for higher worldwide oil prices on Wednesday alongside other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The alliance announced that member states would cut oil output by 2 million barrels per day beginning in November, constituting 2% of global oil demand. Russian fuel is currently trading worldwide at a discount as European consumers refrain from purchasing the nation’s fuel. New output restrictions could provoke the United States to release more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, which are presently at their lowest levels in four decades (Daily Wire). Financial Times: The Biden administration criticized the move on cuts, saying it was a “shortsighted decision” at a time when “maintaining a global supply of energy is of paramount importance”. A White House spokesperson told reporters on Air Force One it was “clear” Opec+ was “aligning with Russia” (Financial Times). CNN: But with just a month to go before the critical midterm elections, US gasoline prices have begun to creep up again, posing a political risk the White House is desperately trying to avoid. As US officials have moved to gauge potential domestic options to head off gradual increases over the last several weeks, the news of major OPEC+ action presents a particularly acute challenge (CNN).

US Debt Surpasses $31 Trillion

National Review: In the not-too-distant past, the national debt surpassing $31 trillion would have raised more than a few eyebrows. Now, it seems like everyone’s gone blind to America’s fiscal woes. Democrats and Republicans alike have been hard at work enacting fiscally irresponsible policies for years. These politicians continue to look away, refusing to see the problem for what it is (National Review). Washington Examiner: A growing national debt can place strains on the government. Rising federal debt means greater interest costs for the government, making it harder to spend on other needs, such as the social safety net and the military. Greater spending on interest payments, in turn, raises the debt and borrowing costs, raising the threat of a debt spiral (Washington Examiner).

Biden, DeSantis Put Aside Politics Assess Damage in Florida

USA Today: One week after Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida, President Joe Biden is visiting the area Wednesday to assess recovery efforts and talk to affected families. Ian, one of the strongest hurricanes ever to hit the U.S., also is expected to be one of the costliest. Biden has said his political disagreements with DeSantis are irrelevant to his administration’s response and has offered the governor “the fullest federal support.” DeSantis has put aside his challenges to Biden on immigration and other issues to work closely with Washington (USA Today). Fox News: Biden, with first lady Jill Biden, is visiting hard-hit Fort Myers to “reaffirm his commitment to supporting the people of Florida as they recover and rebuild from the devastating storm,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday… People continue to face power outages, lingering flood levels and continued rescue missions as people look to return to their communities (Fox News).

Rising Interest Rates Hit Housing Market Hard

Fox News: In the past week, overall application activity dropped to its slowest pace since 1997. Demand for mortgage applications plunged 14.2%, according to the weekly mortgage application survey from the Mortgage Banker’s Association. “The 30-year fixed rate hit 6.75% last week – the highest rate since 2006,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting. “The current rate has more than doubled over the past year and has increased 130 basis points in the past seven weeks alone.” Home prices in the U.S. are sinking at the fastest monthly pace since the Great Recession, evidence that rising mortgage rates are rapidly slowing activity in the housing market (Fox News).

Supreme Court to Look at Section 230, Which Could Have Significant Effect on How Social Media Platforms Operate

ABC: The Supreme Court agreed this week to hear a challenge to a fundamental legal protection enjoyed by social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and TikTok. The ruling could dramatically change how those platforms operate, even affecting search engines like Google. The case concerns Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which protects social media platforms and other sites from legal liability that could result from content posted by users. The law has drawn criticism from elected officials across the political spectrum (ABC). Hugh Hewitt: Twitter and Google have been sued by victims of ISIS for their propagation of the terrorist groups’ propaganda over the many years that they existed till Donald Trump crushed them in the early year of his presidency. However, Section 230 is a shield. One thing that will interest me is, does that shield make them government actors? I think that will also be a debate (Daybreak Daily).

NYU Professor Fired Because His Classes Were Too Challenging for Students

Fox News: Maitland Jones Jr., a chemistry professor at New York University who also taught for four decades at Princeton, was fired in August after undergraduate students circulated a petition complaining that his course was too difficult. Dozens of the college students, many of them aspiring doctors, signed on to the petition in the spring… Jones, 84, told the New York Times that he started seeing a loss of focus among students about a decade ago, but the problem was exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. “They weren’t coming to class, that’s for sure, because I can count the house,” Jones told the newspaper. “They weren’t watching the videos, and they weren’t able to answer the questions” (Fox News). New York Post: In their petition, students said that “a class with such a high percentage of withdrawals and low grades has failed to make students’ learning and well-being a priority.” One of Jones’ teaching assistants, Zacharia Benslimane, defended his former boss: “I think this petition was written more out of unhappiness with exam scores than an actual feeling of being treated unfairly” (New York Post). New York Times: Instead of weeding out the students who failed to make the grade, N.Y.U. invoked the increasingly popular American response: If the goal is too hard to reach, move the goal posts. The article said those who fail organic chemistry might not be admitted to medical school. That’s good news. If I were hospitalized with a possibly fatal illness, would my doctor decide that finding a correct diagnosis was just too hard (New York Times)?

Taiwan Warns China: If Airspace Is Breached Again, It Will Be Seen as a “First Strike”

Bloomberg: Taiwan warned it would treat any Chinese incursion into the island’s airspace as a “first strike,” as Taipei seeks to deter Beijing from ratcheting up military pressure around the island. Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told lawmakers in Taipei that the ministry was taking such incursions more seriously after a recent spate of closer flights by Chinese warplanes and drones. Pressed on whether any warplane’s violation of Taiwan’s airspace would be viewed as a first strike, Chiu said, “Yes,” without elaborating what the response would be (Bloomberg). Associated Press: China stepped up its military exercises, fired missiles into waters near Taiwan and sent warplanes across the dividing line in the Taiwan Strait in response to an August visit to the island by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking American official to visit Taiwan in 25 years (Associated Press). Reuters: China never officially recognized the line that a U.S. general devised in 1954 at the height of Cold War hostility between Communist China and U.S.-backed Taiwan although the People’s Liberation Army had largely respected it (Reuters).

Gun Dealers Required to Provide FBI Addresses of Individuals Denied or Delayed Purchases

Just the News: As part of a sweeping change that has gun rights groups alarmed, federally licensed firearms dealers (FFLs) are now required to provide the FBI with the personal addresses of individuals whose attempted purchases were denied. In turn, the FBI must now provide details of the failed transactions — not only those denied but also those just delayed — and the personal information of the rejected individuals to local law enforcement, raising fears of greater government infringement on the Second Amendment. The changes were quietly implemented last week by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to comply with new federal law (Just the News). Gun Owners: This is a significant change to the system, as, before the passage of the NICS denial notification act, dealers were only required to provide the state of residence of a customer. Delays in background checks are extremely common. Sometimes it’s as simple as having a common name or having a security clearance with the federal government (Gun Owners).

Ron DeSantis About Illegal Aliens Caught Looting: “They Should Not Be Here at All

Daily Mail: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis revealed Tuesday that three of the four looting suspects arrested in Lee County were in the United States illegally. DeSantis focused on ‘law and order’ in southwest Florida and drew a connection between that at his opposition to President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. ‘These are people that are foreigners, they’re illegally in our country, but not only that, they try to loot and ransack in the aftermath of a natural disaster,’ DeSantis explained (Daily Mail). New York Post: Meanwhile, DeSantis again warned would-be looters of potentially deadly consequences, saying that “Floridians’ right to defend themselves and their homes will be honored.” He said on Monday he had interrupted his hurricane duties to attend a memorial service for Pinellas County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Hartwick, “who got killed by a twice-deported illegal alien from Central America” (New York Post).

10.

Focus on the Family Would Like to Remind Students to Bring Their Bibles to School Today

Daily Citizen: Approximately 500,000 students across the country will exercise their constitutional right to bring their Bibles to school and share their beliefs with fellow students as part of Focus on the Family’s Bring Your Bible to School Day event. Since the event’s inception in 2014, participation has grown exponentially and students have been encouraged to boldly live out their faith, express their religious liberty, and have a positive influence on their peers (Daily Citizen). Elizabethton: “Bring Your Bible to School Day is an excellent opportunity for our nation’s students to boldly and freely stand for their faith,” said Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family (Elizabethton). Focus on the Family: This event empowers Christian students of all ages to speak God’s grace and truth into the culture around them, starting with two simple steps — bringing their Bibles to school and sharing what God’s Word means to them (Focus on the Family).

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