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Thursday, February 16, 2023

Don't miss The Daybreak Daily — scroll to the bottom of these top news stories

VP Kamala Harris Does Not See China as Adversary

Daily Wire: In order to solve a problem, the first step is to acknowledge that you have one. For the Biden administration, that means admitting that China is an enemy of the United States. Yet despite the Chinese Communist Party’s affront to American sovereignty via spy balloons — and other intrusions — Vice President Kamala Harris still views the Red Dragon as a respected challenger of the U.S. instead of as the geopolitical threat that it is (Daily Wire). Fox News: Harris made the comments in a Tuesday interview with Politico, arguing the U.S. seeks “competition” with China, not “conflict or confrontation.” “I don’t think so, no,” she said regarding whether relations might be affected. Many lawmakers on Capitol Hill have expressed outrage at China’s willingness to infringe on U.S. sovereignty. Biden himself has yet to address the nation following the shootdown of China’s balloon and three other unidentified “objects” in recent days. The U.S. military shot down such “objects” over Alaska, Canada and Lake Huron this weekend. U.S. and Canadian forces are working to recover debris from all three sites, but have yet to make any major public discoveries (Fox News).

CBO’s 10 Year Projections Foresees Mass Deficits

Just the News: The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday the national debt will reach 118% of GDP by 2033 – the highest level ever recorded – and continue to rise “if current laws generally remained unchanged” (Just the News). Axios: The U.S. budget deficit is on track to surge over the coming decade, the Congressional Budget Office said, with cumulative deficits of $18.8 trillion — nearly 20% higher than the agency projected last May. The CBO also pointed to newly-enacted bipartisan legislation that will add to cumulative deficits in the next 10 years… In a separate release, the CBO said the government will breach the debt ceiling between July and September, the latest official estimate of when extraordinary measures to borrow additional funds will be fully exhausted (Axios).

Rep. Jim Jordan Subpoenas Big Tech Heads for Speech Suppression Investigations

Fox News: Jordan, R-Ohio, subpoenaed Alphabet (Google) CEO Sundar Pichai, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta (Facebook) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to turn over records by March 23. A Microsoft spokesperson said that they “have started producing documents, are engaged with the Committee, and committed to working in good faith.” In December, before Republicans took the majority of the House of Representatives, Jordan requested documents and communications from the executives related to Big Tech censorship. At the time, Jordan and Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee said they had evidence that Big Tech Companies were “colluding with the Biden administration to suppress free speech online” (Fox News). Ed Morrissey: Without any data—and indeed without any attempt at engagement—GDI smeared hundreds of conservative sites and writers and attempted to put them out of business. Included in those blacklists were most of Salem Media’s sites—Townhall was rated “reprehensible/offensive,” while others—such as Hot Air—got tagged as “false/misleading” without any evidence. Microsoft has retreated rapidly from GDI after this exposé, but not before the McCarthyist tactic got exposed for what it is—an attempt to deplatform conservatives and punish dissent (Townhall Review).

Senator Rand Paul Introduces COVID-19 Vaccination Non-Discrimination Act

Just the News: Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Dan Bishop, Republicans, introduced the “COVID-19 Vaccination Non-Discrimination Act” to prohibit federal funds from being given to medical facilities that refuse to treat patients based on their COVID-19 vaccination status. Paul, a Kentucky Republican, said his legislation would “protect the rights of vulnerable patients to make their own health care choices and ensure that federal taxpayer dollars do not support facilities that turn away patients based on their COVID-19 vaccination status” (Just the News). Senate.gov: There is no place in the medical profession for discrimination. The Hippocratic Oath demands that doctors care for their patients without prejudice and abstain from any intentional wrong-doing or harm. This bill will enshrine that basic principle in law (Senate.gov).

New Survey Confirms Massive Mistrust in Media

National Review: A new survey exploring the impact of media on democracy revealed that half of American respondents believe that national news organizations intend to mislead or misinform the public. About half of Americans said they do not trust the news media to be truthful. Republican distrust of national media has also increased, although to a lesser extent than independents. Nearly 80 percent of Republicans surveyed held unfavorable views of American media (National Review). Knight Foundation: While 72% say national news organizations have the resources and opportunity to report the news accurately and fairly to the public, only 35% say most national news organizations can be relied on to deliver the information they need. Fifty percent of Americans feel most national news organizations intend to mislead, misinform or persuade the public (Knight Foundation).

California Loses 700,000 Residents in Last Two Years

Los Angeles Times: The California exodus has shown no sign of slowing down as the state’s population dropped by more than 500,000 people between April 2020 and July 2022, with the number of residents leaving surpassing those moving in by nearly 700,000. The population decrease was second only to New York. California has been seeing a decline in population for years, with the COVID-19 pandemic pushing even more people to move to other parts of the country, experts say. The primary reason for the exodus is the state’s high housing costs, but other reasons include the long commutes and the crowds, crime and pollution in the larger urban centers (Los Angeles Times). Daily Wire: Texas and Florida experienced the highest surge in population between April 2020 and July 2022, with approximately 884,000 and 707,000 people joining the respective states (Daily Wire).

Chicago’s Homeless Population Flock to O’Hare Airport

Daily Mail: Homeless encampments have sprung up inside crime-riddled Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport terminal leaving some concerned for their safety as images of people sleeping in filthy makeshift shelters have emerged. Thousands of people sleeping rough have sought refuge at the popular airline hub, with many setting up shelters inside the terminal buildings (Daily Mail). Washington Times: Two overnight employees at O’Hare told CBS affiliate WBBM-TV this month that they’re worried about their safety. “It’s out of control,” Vonkisha Chatman, one of the employees, told the outlet. “None of us feel safe.” Airport officials tell their workers to call police if they see a homeless person behaving suspiciously in the airport, but the workers told WBBM that police have said they can’t do anything unless someone is physically touched (Washington Times).

15 State AGs Send Letter to President Biden Denouncing His Call for Assault Weapons Ban

Spencer Brown: More than one dozen state attorneys general put President Joe Biden on notice Wednesday with a letter slamming his State of the Union call for an “unconstitutional” ban on “assault weapons,” led by Montana AG Austin Knudsen. The attorneys general put Biden on notice that, “with every tool at our disposal, we will oppose your attempt to trample on Americans’ fundamental right to defend themselves with guns” (Townhall). Dojmt.gov: Semi-automatic pistols are the self-defense weapon of choice for the overwhelming majority of law-abiding gun owners. Under President Biden’s proposed policy, over 100 million Americans will be deprived of their ability to defend themselves, their families, homes, and businesses (Dojmt.gov).

Poll: Republican Voters Care More About Culture Wars Than Other Issues

National Review: A new poll of Republican primary voters found that the vast majority want the party’s presidential candidates to lean into culture war issues, especially when it comes to education and health care. The survey found that 93 percent of the 1,000 Republican primary voters surveyed want presidential candidates to prioritize parental rights and school curriculum transparency (National Review). American Principles: Republican primary voters DO NOT want sexual orientation and gender identity taught in public school (Twitter). Daily Caller: Reforming social security and Medicare would make 64% of GOP primary voters more likely to support a candidate and comprehensive immigration reform would make 59% of voters more likely to support a candidate (Daily Caller).

10.

UK Claims Russia Has Sent 97 Percent of Entire Army into Ukraine

Wall Street Journal: The U.K. said Russia has deployed nearly its entire army in Ukraine, increasing pressure along the front line in the east of the country but falling short of a breakthrough. Ukrainian officials have warned of a renewed Russian onslaught to coincide with the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion next week. But some Western officials say the offensive is unlikely to be one single event. Russian forces have redoubled attacks along the front lines in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, eking out gains after a series of reversals last year. “We now estimate 97% of the whole Russian army is in Ukraine,” U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told the British Broadcasting Corp.’s “Today” show on Wednesday (Wall Street Journal). New York Post: Russia has sought to capture the key eastern city of Bakhmut. Fighting has been aggressive as its forces move to encircle the city, which Ukrainian forces have held. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the difficult battles near Bakhmut were depleting Russia’s ability to launch a stronger offensive (New York Post).

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