U.S. Trade Deficit Reached Record High in 2021 as Imports Surged

Several cargo boxes on a ship in the ocean

The U.S. trade deficit continued to grow in December as the import-export gap widened to record highs in 2021, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

The trade deficit grew by 1.8% in December 2021 to $80.7 billion, the Census Bureau announced Tuesday, $1.4 billion above the revised figure from November 2021.

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Commentary: GoFundMe and How the Left Came to Despise the Working Class

Blue Collar Worker

What irony!

Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger must be turning over in their graves.

Bernie Sanders must be having sleepless nights.

The left-wing anthem “Which Side Are You On?” is no longer about whether you’re a “union man” or a “thug for J.H. Blair.” It’s about the size of your stock portfolio or when to go public with your start-up.

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Biden Bulletin Connects ‘False or Misleading Narratives’ About COVID-19 and Election Fraud Online to Terrorism

President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s Homeland Security Department warned Americans of the dangers of other Americans pushing false and misleading narratives that could fuel terrorist attacks in its “Summary of Terrorism to the U.S. Homeland” released Monday and in effect until June 7.

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GOP Representative Says Capitol Police ‘Illegally’ Investigated His Office, Staffer ‘Caught Them in the Act’

Texas Republican Rep. Troy Nehls said Tuesday that the United States Capitol Police “illegally” entered his office as part of an alleged investigation and that one of his staffers caught them in the act.

Nehls accused Capitol Police officers of illegally entering his office twice during Thanksgiving week last year, during which they allegedly photographed sensitive legislative items.

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Scientists, Paralyzed Man Take Big Step Toward Curing Paralysis

A paralyzed man became the first person to walk again after having his spinal cord completely severed.

Michel Roccati, who was paralyzed for five years after a motorcycle accident, took his first steps thanks to an electrical device implanted in his spine, BBC News reported. His experience marks the first time a patient has been able to walk after their spinal cord was completely cut.

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IRS Reverses Plans for Facial Recognition Software on Its Website

man in purple sweater sitting in front of a computer

On Monday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced in a statement that it would no longer be moving forward with previous plans to implement a controversial facial recognition software on its website in order for users to access certain tax records.

According to CNN, the IRS’s reversal came after widespread backlash by elected officials, privacy groups, and others who pointed out that such technology would constitute a massive overreach and violation of individual privacy. The IRS said in its statement that it would “transition away from using a third-party verification service involving facial recognition,” and would instead add an “additional authentication process.” The agency also vowed to “protect taxpayer data and ensure broad access to online tools.”

“The IRS takes taxpayer privacy and security seriously,” IRS commissioner Chuck Rettig said, “and we understand the concerns that have been raised. Everyone should feel comfortable with how their personal information is secured, and we are quickly pursuing short-term options that do not involve facial recognition.”

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Insecure Border Spreads Lethal Crime to America’s Heartland, Creating Powerful Election Issue

A 5-year-old riding in her mother’s car. A Texas sheriff’s deputy on routine patrol. A Florida father who thought he was foster parenting a minor. A Mississippi woman pistol whipped as she talked on cell phone. Three people found burned to death in a car in Alabama.

All have one thing in common: they were victimized since President Joe Biden took office by immigrants who illegally crossed the border.

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Commentary: No Shot at a Fair Trial for January 6 Defendants in the Swamp

Large group of people storming Washington D.C. in protest on January 6.

The first set of trials for the hundreds of protesters charged in the Justice Department’s sweeping criminal investigation into January 6 begins later this month. Since the Capitol building is considered the scene of the crime, every trial will be held in the District of Columbia—which means the jury pool will be composed solely of residents living in the nation’s capital.

To say this is a problem for Trump supporters facing even minor charges is a huge understatement.

January 6 defendants already have suffered the wrath of D.C.-based federal judges who’ve imposed unusually harsh prison sentences for low level misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies while routinely berating defendants from the bench.

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Authorities Charge Chinese Telecom Company with Stealing Trade Secrets

Federal authorities charged China-based telecommunications firm Hytera Communications with conspiring to steal trade secrets from a U.S. company, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday.

Hytera allegedly recruited employees from U.S. telecommunications company Motorola to steal digital mobile radio (DMR) technology, according to an indictment unsealed Monday. The Chinese company then allegedly used Motorola’s technology to accelerate the development of its own DMR products, the DOJ announced.

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Commentary: The Left’s Anti-Intellectual Problem

Last week in the Atlantic, David Graham took aim at smart conservative politicians who play dumb. He declares at the beginning of his piece, “This is the age of smart politicians pretending to be stupid.” As evidence, he mainly cites Gov. Ron DeSantis, senatorial candidates J.D. Vance and Eric Greitens, and Sen. Josh Hawley.

Graham argues that these men belie their impressive degrees from Ivy League universities by aligning themselves with the populist conservative movement in some capacity. DeSantis does not brag about COVID booster shots, Vance is critical of China and globalism, and Greitens and Hawley have doubts about the 2020 election. Surely, according to Graham, these must be poses to win over Trump supporters, not sincere positions stemming from valid objections. There’s just no way such educated people would actually believe what they’re pushing.

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Florida Officials Meet with ‘Pedro Pan’ Refugees to Discuss Border Crisis

The Biden administration is advancing immigration policies that are harming children, Gov. Ron DeSantis, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, and Attorney General Ashley Moody say.

The statewide elected officials met Monday with Cuban Americans who came to Miami as children as part of the 1960-62 era humanitarian operation Peter Pan (“Pedro Pan”). Over a two-year period, more than 14,000 Cuban youths arrived alone in the U.S. in what was at the time the largest recorded exodus of unaccompanied minors in the Western Hemisphere fleeing from the communist dictatorship of Fidel Castro.

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