House Passes Funding Bill, Clearing the Way to Keep Government Open

A short-term funding bill is set to land on President Joe Biden’s desk after it was overwhelmingly approved in the House Thursday afternoon.

The continuing resolution, which funds the federal government through Dec. 3, passed the House on a 254-175 bipartisan vote less than two hours after it cleared the Senate. Biden plans to sign the bill later Thursday, avoiding a devastating government shutdown.

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Florida’s Office of Safe Schools Facing Personnel Shortages, Extended Safety Needs

In 2018, the State of Florida launched the Office of Safe Schools within the Department of Education to determine the best practices to ensure Florida’s schools remain safe in the years following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

The office is scheduled to sunset in July 2023, and the chairman of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission in concerned about the office going forward regarding personnel and safe plans not being executed.

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Commentary: Defund Police Movement to Blame for Record 30 Percent Surge in Murders Across America

Police advocates say the Defund the Police movement is responsible for the nearly 30 percent increase in murders in 2020, the largest single-year jump since the FBI began recording crime statistics six decades ago.

The change in murder was widespread — a national phenomenon and not a regional one. Murder rose over 35 percent in cities with populations over 250,000 that reported full data.

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Kamala Harris Praises Anti-Semitic College Student Who Accused Israel of Genocide

On Tuesday, while addressing students at George Mason University, Vice President Kamala Harris praised a female student who made false and anti-Semitic claims about the state of Israel, accusing the U.S. ally of “ethnic genocide,” as reported by the New York Post.

Harris’s remarks to the gathering of students were in commemoration of National Voter Registration Day; after her brief speech, the masked Vice President called on the students for a question-and-answer session.

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Unions and Businesses Nationwide Split on Biden’s Vaccine Mandate

President Joe Biden’s wide-ranging vaccine mandate will affect tens of millions of U.S. workers, but experts, labor unions and business groups are divided on what impact the rule will have.

While experts disagree on whether the federal mandate, which applies to the majority of the U.S. workforce, may lead to mass resignations, the rule will at the very least disrupt workplaces nationwide, Erik Eisenmann, a partner at the national law firm Husch Blackwell, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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Marine Officer Who Demanded Accountability for Afghanistan Debacle Jailed Awaiting Military Trial

The Marine officer who received viral attention in August for posting a video on social media blasting military leadership over the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, has been thrown in the brig, the United States Marine Corps has confirmed.

Lt. Col Stuart Scheller was taken to a military brig on Monday for violating a gag order, his father told the military blog Task & Purpose.

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Judge Blocks Key Part of Arizona Law Banning Doctors from Aborting Babies Based Solely on Genetic Abnormality

An Arizona judge blocked part of an abortion law Tuesday that banned doctors from knowingly aborting a baby if the abortion is based solely on a genetic abnormality like Down Syndrome.

Former President Barack Obama appointee, U.S. District Judge Douglas Rayes, wrote that the provision “essentially requires providers to mislead their patients into believing that their constitutionally protected choice is unlawful,” according to the Associated Press.

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Orlando Magic Player Rips Mainstream Press After Being Dubbed ‘Anti-Vax’

Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac this week responded to criticism he received in Rolling Stone for his personal decision not to take the COVID-19 vaccine. 

The article, called “The NBA’s Anti-Vaxxers Are Trying to Push Around the League — And It’s Working,” chastised the 23-year-old basketball pro, who has had COVID-19, and recovered from the virus.

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North Korea Tests New, Nuclear-Capable ‘Hypersonic Missile,’ State-Run Media Says

North Korea launched a “newly-developed hypersonic missile” on Tuesday morning, the state-run outlet KCNA reported.

The missile’s firing confirmed the “navigational control and stability of the missile,” and enhanced the “independent and advanced defence science and technological capability of the country,” KCNA reported Wednesday.

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Report: Facebook Researched How to Market to ‘Tweens,’ Studied Kids’ Playdates

Facebook researched how to market its products and services to preteen users, studying kids’ playdates and developing strategies to address parents’ concerns, according to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal.

The tech giant established a three-year project beginning in 2018 to study and develop marketing strategies geared towards preteen users, company documents seen by The Wall Street Journal revealed. Facebook conducted over a dozen studies to figure out which services most appeal to children under the age of 13, and what are parents’ chief concerns.

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Commentary: Thinking Critically About China’s Responsibility for COVID-19

When the Chinese authorities last year arrested the late Dr. Li Wenliang, along with seven others, for warning his fellow citizens about a deadly new coronavirus, those authorities, as usual, were engaged in a cover-up.

What were they seeking to hide? A naturally occurring zoonotic disease that had leapt to humanity in a Wuhan wet market? Or a virus that had escaped from a supposedly secure facility where it was being studied and modified?

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Florida Democrats File All-Green Energy by 2040 Bill

Two progressive Florida Democrats filed legislation to require all of Florida’s energy to be generated by renewable energy by 2040. State Sen. Lori Berman (D-FL-32) and State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-FL-47) filed SB 366 and HB 81, respectively.

Each bill contains language including “prohibiting the drilling or exploration for, or production of, oil, gas, or other petroleum products” and that the state has to put together a plan to “generate 100 percent renewable energy.”

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Critics Pan Biden’s Claim $3.5 Trillion Spending Bill Costs ‘Zero’

President Joe Biden is taking fire for comments he made about his $3.5 trillion legislation just as the bill faces a deeply split Congress.

Biden made headlines for claiming the bill would cost “zero dollars,” despite media reports and members of both parties commonly naming the bill’s cost at $3.5 trillion for the last several months.

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Commentary: McAuliffe Says the Quiet Part Out Loud: ‘I Don’t Think Parents Should be Telling Schools What They Should Teach’

Terry McAuliffe

Remember the old adage — the goal isn’t to win the debate, but to make sure you don’t lose the debate.

Former Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe was pressed on graphic textbooks — and I mean graphic — of a sexual nature being included in government school libraries, and McAuliffe exploded with rage.

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Florida Governor DeSantis Announces Actions to Address the ‘Biden Border Crisis’

Governor DeSantis, along with Florida Attorney General, Ashley Moody, joined together on Tuesday to announce three actions Florida is taking to address what they call the “Biden Border Crisis.”

The three actions include the Biden Border Crisis Executive Order 21-223 (EO 21-223), the appointment of Larry Keefe, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, as Public Safety Czar to carry out the order, and lastly, a lawsuit that was filed against the Biden Administration challenging its “catch and release” policy.

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Chaplains Ordered to Interrogate Guardsmen Seeking COVID Vaccine Exemption

Religious, athletic and medical professionals in North America are facing increasing pressure to not only get vaccinated against COVID-19, but also censor their concerns to keep getting paid.

The U.S. Coast Guard developed an accusatory script for chaplains to use when quizzing service members on their requests for religious exemptions from vaccines.

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‘You Broke the Military’: Milley, Austin Set for Second Congressional Grilling on Afghanistan

Top American military leaders are set for another round of intense congressional grilling on Wednesday, following a day-long Tuesday session that at times featured blistering criticism of their part in the U.S. exit from Afghanistan.

The Tuesday hearing placed on the griddle Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin; U.S. Central Command Chief Gen. Frank McKenzie; and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.

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YouTube Says Will Ban Posts from Prominent Anti-Vaccine Activists in Effort to Purge Misinformation

YouTube said Wednesday the platform is banning several prominent anti-vaccine activists from its platform as part of an effort to remove all content that falsely claims that approved vaccines are dangerous.

Amon the accounts being banned are those of Joseph Mercola and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to The New York Times.

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Jacob Moskowitz Reflects on Time Working in Republican Administration

Jared Moskowitz

Former lawmaker and director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, Jared Moskowitz, spoke to the Tallahassee Capital Tiger Bay club and reflected on his time working with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

Moskowitz, who is currently in professional “purgatory,” said he feels the politics of today consist of people living in “bubbles.”

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Steward Health Enters Florida Market After Billion-Dollar Deal

Steward Health has now become one of the largest health care providers in South Florida after buying five hospitals in a $1.1 billion deal. The health care entity is the largest physician-owned hospital network in the country.

Steward Health is expanding its presence in cooperation with North Shore Medical Center, Hialeah Hospital, Palmetto General, Coral Gables Hospital, and Florida Medical Center.

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Commentary: Democrats Repeat the Mistakes of 2016

Donald Trump waving

As we get to the midpoint between the last presidential election and next year’s midterms, all political sides are expending extraordinary effort to ignore the 900-pound gorilla in the formerly smoke-filled room of American politics. This, of course, is Donald Trump.

The Democrats are still outwardly pretending Trump has gone and that his support has evaporated. They also pretend they can hobble him with vexatious litigation and, if necessary, destroy him again by raising the Trump-hate media smear campaign back to ear-splitting levels.

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School District Reportedly Hired a Consultant to Teach the ‘Privilege Pie’ Chart and a ‘Pyramid of White Supremacy’

A Washington state school allegedly required teachers to complete a training where teachers discussed their privilege based on particular attributes, according to an anonymous teacher.

One exercise in the Tumwater, Washington, school district’s “privilege” training included “The Privilege Pie,” where participants were told to color in sections prevalent to them, the teacher told advocacy group Parents Defending Education. The privileged identities included being white, a cisgender male, having an upper/middle class social status, Christian beliefs and a heterosexual sexual orientation.

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Teacher Reportedly Forced to Remove a Pro-Police Flag Because the School Deemed It a ‘Political Symbol.’ BLM and Pride Flags Still Allowed

Blue line flag

A middle school teacher in Washington state reportedly was told to remove a pro-police flag she had hanging in her classroom, while Black Lives Matter messages and pride flags are still permitted at the school, according to documents obtained by the Jason Rantz Show and 770 KTTH.

A Marysville Middle School teacher had a Thin Blue Line flag hanging in her classroom to show her support for police, but the school district’s human resources department said the flag could cause “disruption in the classroom,” because it is a “political symbol,” according to documents obtained by the Jason Rantz Show.

The teacher’s brother, Chris Sutherland, was formerly a police officer with the Marysville Police Department and a school resource officer when the fatal Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting happened on Oct. 24, 2014, which resulted in five deaths, the Jason Rantz Show reported.

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Poll: Americans’ Trust in Biden to Provide Accurate COVID Info at All-Time Low

Joe Biden waving on a stage

Americans’ trust in President Joe Biden to offer accurate information on COVID-19 is at its lowest point ever, according to a new poll.

Just 45% of Americans say they trust Biden to give them correct information on the coronavirus, while 53% say they don’t trust him very much or not at all, according to the results of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index, conducted between Sept. 24-27. Trust in Biden has dropped substantially since the president took office, with 58% saying they trusted Biden in an Axios/Ipsos poll conducted between Jan. 22-25.

Similarly, only 49% of Americans say they trust the federal government to provide accurate COVID-19 information, down from 54% two weeks ago.

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Commentary: Biden’s Desperate Race to the Lying Bottom

On Monday, Joe Biden uncorked the largest lie of a 50-year political career overstuffed with them.

“My Build Back Better Agenda costs zero dollars,” he tweeted. “Instead of wasting money on tax breaks, loopholes, and tax evasion for big corporations and the wealthy, we can make a once-in-a-generation investment in working America. And it adds zero dollars to the national debt.”

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Drug Enforcement Administration Issues First Public Safety Alert in over Half a Decade After Surges in Illicit Fentanyl

Fentanyl

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a Public Safety Alert Monday warning of the surge in illegal fake painkillers combined with illicit fentanyl or methamphetamine.

The Public Safety Alert, the first warning in six years, highlighted the surge in fentanyl and methamphetamine-laced pills mass produced by criminal drug groups, which are killing Americans at a historic rate, according to a DEA press release.

“The United States is facing an unprecedented crisis of overdose deaths fueled by illegally manufactured fentanyl and methamphetamine,” Anne Milgram, administrator of the DEA, said in the press release.

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Project Veritas Catches Johnson & Johnson Employees Arguing Against Children Getting Vaccinated

Two Johnson & Johnson employees have admitted on hidden camera that children should not be forced to get injected with a COVID vaccine because of the potential of long-term side effects.

In Part 3 of Project Veritas’ COVID vaccine investigative series, a J&J scientist also voiced support for making unvaccinated Americans feel like second class citizens to coerce them into getting the jab, while at the same time recommending against getting the J&J COVID vaccine. “Don’t get the Johnson & Johnson,” Justin Durrant told a Project Veritas undercover journalist. “I didn’t tell you though,” he added.

Brandon Schadt, J&J’s Regional Business Lead, told the undercover journalist, “J&J is like stepping in the best smelling pile of sh-t you could step in.”

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Department of Homeland Security Secretary Claims at Least 20 Percent of Migrants Have Illnesses

Alejandro Mayorkas

Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), announced on Monday that the rate of illegal aliens carrying diseases with them into the country is “approximately 20 percent,” even though many such illegals have not been properly tested, as reported by the New York Post.

“When one is speaking of 7,000 or 7,500 people encountered at the border every day,” Mayorkas said at a press conference, “if one takes a look at that system, it is not built for that in a COVID environment where isolation is required.”

Mayorkas did not expand on what he meant by “illness,” and whether he was referring to the Chinese coronavirus or other diseases. However, he did mention that he does not expect to see a “tragic rise in the Delta variant” (also known as the India variant) following the latest surge at the border, which saw over 10,000 illegals, mostly from Haiti, enter the country illegally.

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Commentary: John Durham’s Vast Conspiracy

John Durham

Special Counsel John Durham’s 27-page false-statement indictment of lawyer Michael Sussmann avers a thus-far uncharged conspiracy by Democrat operatives, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, and others to fabricate, leak, and purvey the most successful and destructive political smear in American history.

Judging from the detailed contents of the indictment, Durham appears to be well on his way to exposing the lies and corrupt schemes that were used to kneecap Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign for president and hamstring his administration for the next four years.

This article is the second in a series regarding the Sussmann indictment which, given its detailed content, strongly indicates that Durham has in hand documentary and supporting evidence to prove how Sussmann and others conspired to impair, obstruct, and defeat the lawful functions of the United States government by dishonest means in order to, among other goals, subvert our political and electoral processes, including the 2016 presidential election.

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Gavin Newsom Signs Bill Making California a Permanent ‘Vote-by-Mail’ State

On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) signed a bill into law that permanently enacts “vote-by-mail” procedures in every state election, including automatically mailing out ballots to every single registered voter in the state, the Daily Caller reports.

The drastic mail-in voting measures, which are highly susceptible to fraud and manipulation, were originally enacted as an emergency response to the coronavirus pandemic, and ostensibly aimed to make it safer to carry out elections. However, State Assembly Bill 37 sought to permanently extend this procedure for all California elections, after the original coronavirus-based procedures were set to expire on June 1st, 2022.

In addition to automatically mailing out ballots to all voters in every election from now on, the new law extends the post-election day window in which late ballots can still be received. Prior to the pandemic, voters had up to three days after election day to submit their ballots and still have their votes counted; now, voters have up to seven days to do so.

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Brnovich Demands Maricopa County Freeze All Materials Related to 2020 Election

In response to the report released last week about the Maricopa County ballot audit, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s Election Integrity Unit sent a letter to Maricopa County instructing the recorder and supervisors to preserve all records related to the 2020 election in preparation for litigation. He also sent a letter to the Arizona Senate requesting more information related to the audit. 

“The Arizona Senate’s report that was released on Friday raises some serious questions regarding the 2020 election,” Brnovich said in a statement about the letters. “Arizonans can be assured our office will conduct a thorough review of the information we receive.”

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Gov. Abbott Says Texas Will Hire Border Patrol Agents If Biden Administration Fires Any

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he would hire any Border Patrol agent fired by the Biden administration after White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said agents would no longer be permitted to use horses to guard the border in Del Rio, Texas.

Criticism of mounted agents was widespread after a photograph showing agents using horse reins was misconstrued by members of the media and some politicians suggesting the agent was using the reins as a “whip.”

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Governor DeSantis Announces $300 Million Investment by Terran Orbital in Florida

Merritt Island, Florida, will be home to a $300 million investment by the company Terran Orbital for construction of its “state-of-the-art” commercial spacecraft and constellation facility, according to an announcement made by Governor DeSantis on Monday.

A press release by the Governor’s Office says that the funds for the facility will bring valuable spacecraft manufacturing opportunities and capabilities to the State of Florida by investing in new construction and equipment.

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Afghan Refugees Coming to Florida, Backed by Terrorist-Tied Groups

Since the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban and the military blunder by the President Joe Biden administration, Afghan refugees coming to the Untied States could be as high as 125,000. South Florida is likely one of the new landing spots for a chunk of the refugees.

Approximately 300 families will be brought to South Florida and provided with training to learn about American customs like banking, health care, and the legal system. The training will come from the Refugee Assistance Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated in supporting refugees.

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Representative David Smith Files Bill to Expand Expungement Rights for Juveniles

David Smith

Florida House Representative, David Smith (R-FL-28), filed a bill (HB 195) Friday for the 2022 legislative session that aims to expand expungement rights for juveniles in the criminal justice system.

Rather than only allowing an expungement of criminal records for juveniles who have misdemeanor charges and a completed diversion program – which is how the law currently stands – HB 195 would broaden the law to allow juveniles who commit “specified felony offenses” defined in the bill.

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Analysis: COVID-19 Is Not a ‘Pandemic of the Unvaccinated’

On Friday, September 17, the CDC published a study that refutes the common claim that COVID-19 is a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” Coauthored by more than 50 MD’s and Ph.D.’s, the study contains data on the vaccine status of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 (C-19) at 21 U.S. hospitals across 18 states during March to August of 2021.

Contrary to assertions from the Associated Press and Anthony Fauci that fully vaccinated people comprise only 1% of those being hospitalized or killed by C-19, the study found that 13% of patients hospitalized with C-19 had been fully vaccinated. Moreover, that 13% figure is just the tip of the iceberg because the authors excluded from their study a large group of hospitalized C-19 patients, the bulk of whom were likely vaccinated.

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All Bets Are Off on Mobile Sports Wagering Being Legal in Florida on October 15

Under the Florida-Seminole Tribe gaming compact signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and approved by lawmakers in May, mobile online sports wagering becomes officially legal in the Sunshine State on Oct. 15.

But after two Florida pari-mutuels filed a motion in federal court late Tuesday to block the sports wagering component of the 30-year gaming deal from being implemented, don’t bet on it.

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Commentary: Two Unique, Powerful Forces Will Influence the Midterms

If the 2022 midterm elections had an official soundtrack, it would be the ominous music from the 1975 movie “Jaws.”

Although the election is 13 months away, mounting intensity feels like great white sharks are circling our national boat with a convergence of two powerful, never-before-seen political forces. Both forces are hangovers from the 2020 election with the potential to make the 2022 midterms the most tumultuous in modern American history.

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Senate Republicans Filibuster Government Funding Bill Over Debt Ceiling Provision With Three Days Until Shutdown

Senate Republicans Monday filibustered Democrats’ bill to fund the government and suspend the debt ceiling, days before a potential federal shutdown and possible debt default.

Republicans vowed for weeks to oppose a debt ceiling increase and urged Democrats to put the provision in their filibuster-proof $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill. But Democrats have thus far refused to do so, and with their bill’s failure Monday, Congress now has just three days to pass a new funding bill to avoid a government shutdown set to begin Friday at midnight.

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FBI Reports Most Murders in Decades, Police Point to George Floyd Fallout

The Federal Bureau of Investigation released crime data Monday showing a sharp spike in homicides in 2020.

While some crimes diminished in the unusual, COVID-shutdown year, homicides rose nearly 30% and aggravated assaults rose more than 12% in one year, the first time in four years that violent crime increased from the previous year.

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Facebook Suspends ‘Instagram Kids’ Following Investigation Into Platform’s Effect on Teens

Facebook has paused development of a version of its image-sharing platform Instagram specifically geared towards children, the company announced Monday.

The tech giant decided to suspend work on the project in order to “work with parents, experts, policymakers and regulators,” and “demonstrate the value and importance of this project for younger teens online today,” Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, wrote in a statement Monday.

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Investigation: Biden Security Adviser Jake Sullivan Tied to Alleged 2016 Clinton Scheme to Co-Opt the CIA and FBI to Tar Trump

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan figures prominently in a grand jury investigation run by Special Counsel John Durham into an alleged 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign scheme to use both the FBI and CIA to tar Donald Trump as a colluder with Russia, according to people familiar with the criminal probe, which they say has broadened into a conspiracy case.

Sullivan is facing scrutiny, sources say, over potentially false statements he made about his involvement in the effort, which continued after the election and into 2017. As a senior foreign policy adviser to Clinton, Sullivan spearheaded what was known inside her campaign as a “confidential project” to link Trump to the Kremlin through dubious email-server records provided to the agencies, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

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Taiwan is Trying to Replace China’s Closed Confucius Institutes with Focus on ‘Freedom and Democracy’

Tea Making Cultural Activity for the Taiwan Mandarin Institute

As dozens of Confucius Institutes close on college campuses, some may be replaced with Taiwan Centers for Mandarin Learning (TCML).

The initiative, known as the TCML Establishment Program, is a part of the U.S.-Taiwan Education Initiative, a memorandum of understanding signed by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in December of 2020.

Campus Reform previously reported on the threats posed by Confucius Institutes, including ties to the Chinese Community Party (CCP) and intellectual theft.

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Google Begins Appeal of $5 Billion Fine, Disputes Allegations it’s a Monopoly

Google began its appeal Monday of a $5 billion fine levied by a European regulator over alleged market abuses.

The European Commission slapped the tech giant with the fine in 2018 for a number of alleged anticompetitive practices, including forcing smartphone makers to pre-install the Google Chrome browser to be able to install the Google Play Store, and imposing restrictions discouraging smartphone makers from manufacturing devices that run unofficial versions of the Android operating system. The commission alleged Google used these requirements to keep out competitors and maintain its monopoly position in Android distribution.

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Commentary: The New York Times Reveals FBI Role in January 6

The New York Times often acts as the spin cycle for the Democrats’ dirty laundry. For years, Times reporters have helped get ahead of damning news, especially when it’s related to the Russian collusion hoax, in an attempt to establish the narrative early.

A recent example is the Times article downplaying the pending indictment against Michael Sussman, the Clinton campaign lawyer who acted in cahoots with the FBI to seed the collusion tale before the 2016 election. The article was published the day before Sussman pleaded not guilty of lying to the FBI.

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Point Park University Students Petition to Remove Classmate from Pennsylvania Campus After Fox News Interview

Students at Point Park University are petitioning administrators to remove Logan Dubil, their conservative classmate from the school, after the undergraduate student appeared in media criticizing the university’s “Misgendering, Pronoun Misuse, and Deadnaming Policy.”

The Change.org petition, created by “Max,” currently has 396 signatures.

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Newt Gingrich Commentary: General Lee and the Importance of Preserving American History

Earlier this month, a 21-foot-tall bronze statue of Robert E. Lee — perhaps the most famous monument to the Confederate general — was removed from Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va. Supporters of the statue’s removal, including Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D), hailed the event as a triumph for racial justice.

The left has decided that Lee, the most recognized and celebrated figure of the Confederacy, is intolerable, a man who should be erased from American history. This maelstrom surrounding Lee has reached a fever pitch in recent years, as the woke movement has grown.

In short, anyone who dares mention Lee at all better demonize him as pure evil or else face the wrath of the progressive mob. This is retroactively imposing cancel culture on the past, while silencing free speech today.
In this context, Allen Guelzo’s newly released biography on the Confederate general, Robert E. Lee: A Life, is especially welcome and important.

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Commentary: The Proposed Methane Fee Is an All-Downside Proposal

Person filling up red car with petrol/gasoline

The Methane Emissions Reduction Act of 2021 has been proposed as a “pay-for” – a source of revenue – in the reconciliation infrastructure package. It would impose a “fee” on methane emissions from natural gas and petroleum production systems and related processes, but not on such emissions from agricultural and other operations. Accordingly, it is worse than a mere money grab: it’s a blatant exercise in punitive politics directed at the fossil-fuel energy sector, a tax on conventional energy.

Not so, says Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO), as summarized by the Washington Examiner:

“This is not a tax. It’s a fee on natural gas waste,” adding oil and gas operators have the technologies to combat methane leaks at low cost. “The smart players want to prevent waste because they can capitalize it to make money. Customers won’t be paying a fee on gas delivered. The only fee will be paid [by an operator] on what doesn’t make it to the consumer.”

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