Month: January 2021

Biden Reportedly Prepared to Issue Moratorium on Fossil Fuel Leases for Federal Lands

Michigan Star Staff

President Joe Biden is reportedly set to temporarily halt new federal oil and gas leasing, people familiar with his plans told The Washington Post.

The move would pause pending fossil fuel auctions on federal land and water, but will not affect existing leases in the Gulf Coast and the western part of the country, according to the Post. While the moratorium will help Biden deliver on one of his signature campaign promises, it will likely be met with sharp resistance from fossil fuel industries and lawmakers who have voiced concern that Biden’s climate policies will cost thousands of jobs.

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Commentary: Democrats’ Impeachment Fever Will Make the 2022 Midterms Tee-Ball for Republicans

Michigan Star Staff

The Senate trial of former President Donald Trump will begin on Feb. 8, according to a joint agreement between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

The announcement came as 29 Senate Republicans and counting are already opposing the trial, which they say is unconstitutional since Trump is no longer in office, and comes as almost 9 out of 10 Republicans say they oppose convicting former President Trump in polls.

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House Democrats Push Comprehensive Bill on Alleged ‘Voter Suppression,’ ‘Dark Money,’ and ‘Gerrymandering’

Michigan Star Staff

Leading Democrats in the House of Representatives are bringing back a previously-introduced bill that aims to fight such as issues as “dark money” and alleged “voter suppression” and “gerrymandering,” as reported by Fox News.

The bill, labeled the “For The People Act,” is sponsored by Representative John Sarbanes (D-Md.), and is cosponsored by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

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‘Stop the Steal’ Organizer Charged in Capitol Protest

Michigan Star Staff

A self-described ex-liberal activist from New York was arrested Monday in connection with the US Capitol riot.

Brandon Straka, 44, was taken into custody on Monday on a felony charge of interfering with police during civil disorder, and illegal entry and disorderly conduct on restricted Capitol grounds, The Washington Post reported.

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U.S. Sees Largest Rise in Poverty Rate in 50 Years Amid Pandemic

Michigan Star Staff

The U.S. poverty rate saw its sharpest increase since the 1960s as the coronavirus pandemic devastated the economy in 2020, according to a recent study.

The poverty rate increased 2.5 percentage points from 9.3% in June to 11.8% in December, according to the study released Monday by economists Bruce Meyer, of the University of Chicago, and James Sullivan, of the University of Notre Dame, Bloomberg reported. In total, 8.1 million Americans were added to ranks of the poor, according to the researchers.

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Nearly 20 Percent of American Renters Are Behind on Payments, Analysis Shows

Michigan Star Staff

About 18% of renters, or roughly 10 million people, in the U.S. are behind on their monthly payments as of early January, according to an Urban Institute analysis.

Researchers Jim Parrott, a fellow at the Urban Institute, and Mark Zandi, the chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, calculated that 18% of U.S. renters were behind on payments and warned that if lawmakers didn’t act fast, there could be a major eviction crisis. The average delinquent renter is four months behind on payments and owes $5,600, the researchers estimated using Bureau of Labor Statistics figures.

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Michigan Governor Whitmer Mostly Mum on MDHHS Director’s Abrupt Exit

The Center Square

In a news briefing Monday afternoon, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer introduced newly appointed Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Elizabeth Hertel.

However, she declined to answer questions from reporters regarding the abrupt departure of former MDHHS Director Robert Gordon late last week.

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Parents, Educators and Activists Fight Back Against Radical School Curriculums: Trend

Michigan Star Staff

Parents, educators and activists are taking on left-leaning school curriculums in a variety of ways, from speaking out and filing lawsuits to crowdsourcing solutions and creating alternative educational resources.

In California, for example, a group called “Educators for Excellence in Ethnic Studies” has banded together to lobby for the removal of critical race theory from the state’s ethnic studies model curriculum.

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Commentary: The Coming ‘Reset’ of Memory and Truth Is Not Just Politics, But a Effort to Redefine America

Michigan Star Staff

Riotous rogue Trump supporters who broke into the Capitol on January 6 were properly and widely condemned by conservatives. They were somewhat reminiscent of the mobs of fanatic leftists and union members that a decade ago stormed the Wisconsin state capitol at Madison, or the unpunished hundreds of rioters who created havoc on Washington, D.C. streets during the Trump 2016 inauguration. We expect the Capitol stormers will be punished, and not in the lax fashion of the latter two groups that were not. 

Within a few days, the talking points were finalized that all of Donald Trump’s supporters deserved blame for the violence. That riot, the Trump defeat, and the loss of the Senate have greenlighted left-wing talk of “deprogramming,” “de-Baathification,” “re-educating,” and “reprogramming” half the country to ensure they think correctly and act properly from now on—the exact methodology of such brain rinsing apparently to be announced later. 

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Sarah Huckabee Sanders Announces Run for Governor in Arkansas

Michigan Star Staff

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the former press secretary to President Donald Trump, announced Monday that she will run for governor of Arkansas.

Sanders, an Arkansas native and daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, announced her decision in a recorded message, discussing her time in the Trump administration and criticizing the “radical left.”

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Mexico President Says He’s Tested Positive for the Coronavirus

Michigan Star Staff

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Sunday that he tested positive for coronavirus, according to The Hill.

“I regret to inform you that I am infected with COVID-19,” López Obrador tweeted, according to The Hill. “The symptoms are mild but I am already under medical treatment. As always, I am optimistic. We will all move forward.”

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New Evidence Implicates FBI Higher-Ups in Dishonesty of Anti-Trump Lawyer

Michigan Star Staff

For the past year, defenders of the FBI have consistently downplayed the significance of an FBI staff lawyer falsifying evidence in the government’s investigation into Donald Trump’s relationship with Russia. They argue Kevin Clinesmith’s crime of altering a CIA document to obscure the fact that former Trump campaign aide Carter Page worked for U.S., not Russian, intelligence was a rare lapse in judgment by an overworked bureaucrat. It was not, his apologists say, part of any broader conspiracy to conceal exculpatory information from surveillance court judges, who never learned of Page’s history with the CIA before approving FBI warrants to wiretap him as a suspected Russian agent.

But such explanations are challenged by new revelations from court papers filed in the case, which some civil libertarians call the most egregious violation and abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) since it was enacted more than 40 years ago.

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Biden Plans to Reverse Abortion Policies of Previous Administration

The Center Square

Just days after former President Donald Trump declared Jan. 22 as National Sanctity of Human Life Day, newly sworn-in President Joe Biden disregarded the designation and pledged to codify Roe v. Wade into federal law to prevent any changes that might occur if the U.S. Supreme Court were to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.

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Commentary: The Coalition Forming to Topple California’s Newsom Offers Hope to the Nation

Michigan Star Staff

Gavin Newsom may not be the worst governor in the history of the United States, but he is a figurehead for what is definitely the worst ruling class this nation has ever seen. The elites who prop up hapless tyrants like Gavin Newsom are utterly self-serving, filthy rich, and concerned only with appearances and power.

California is a political and financial stronghold for the progressive oligarchy that controls America. But California also has some unique characteristics that could result in it becoming a center of opposition to this progressive oligarchy.

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Christian University Takes Apart Claims that Christianity Is a ‘Platform for White Supremacy’ in Scathing Rebuke

Michigan Star Staff

Grand Canyon University stood up against a “racial reconciliation workshop” on campus that portrayed Christianity as a “platform for white supremacy.”

On January 4, the university released a statement declaring that “Christianity is absolutely NOT a platform for White supremacy or White privilege,” stating that “the teachings of Jesus Christ are clearly the exact opposite.”

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Michigan Dems Make List of Demands, Including Convicting Trump

Peter D'Abrosca

The Democratic Party of Michigan started off its week with a list of demands, which it posted to its Twitter account Monday morning. 

“Today, the Senate will receive the Articles of Impeachment. They must swiftly move to convict Trump and hold him fully accountable for the violent attack our democracy,” the group said. “This comes in addition to passing more COVID relief and confirming President [Joe Biden’s] cabinet nominees.”

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Commentary: The Complete Guide to President Trump’s Twitter Insults

Michigan Star Staff

The New York Times recently posted what it claims is a complete list of President Trump’s Twitter insults. Conservatives should archive this article from the New York Times before the typists the Democrat National Committee assigned the Grey Lady recognize the irony inherent in the article and take it down.

Some items on the list hardly qualify as “insults,” unless stating in truth is an insult.

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President Biden Reinstates Race-Based ‘Diversity Training’ in the Federal Government

Michigan Star Staff

Just hours after being sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden signed a slew of executive orders, reversing many Trump-era policies, including a ban on Critical Race Theory training for employees of federal agencies and federal contractors, which include colleges and universities.

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Biden Family Violates Mask Mandate for Lincoln Memorial Photo Op

Michigan Star Staff

On the night of Inauguration Day, hours after President Joe Biden signed the mask mandate order, he, along with first lady Jill Biden, and members of their family visited the Lincoln Memorial where they took a photo as a group with masks, and one without, Breitbart reports.

Inside the Lincoln Memorial, the 46th President of the United States and the first lady posed for a maskless photo alongside some of their family members, Ashley Biden, her husband Howard Krein, and Biden’s grandchildren Naomi, 27, Finnegan, 20, Maisy, 19, and Natalie, 16, and Robert ‘Hunter’ Biden II, 14. Hunter Biden was not included.

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Biden Administration Signals Open Borders Policy

Michigan Star Staff

President Joe Biden’s proposed immigration policies that would grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants, placed a hold on certain deportations and a temporary hold on Migrant Protection Protocols without increasing border security, according to a draft of the proposal.

Critics of Biden’s proposed legislation say the policies will lead to open borders and ultimately harm Americans while supporters say that the administration is unlikely to implement drastic policies as it works toward broader immigration reforms.

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Rioters Vandalize Original Starbucks in Seattle

Michigan Star Staff

Demonstrators who marched through Downtown Seattle Wednesday night, vandalized the storefront of the original Starbucks store as they made their way through Pike Place Market, the police department said.

Video showed several people clad in black, some carrying umbrellas, running up and smashing windows around 7:15 p.m. as part of an hours-long demonstration against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, President Joe Biden and law enforcement.

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Chinese Media: COVID Originated in U.S. Military Lab

Michigan Star Staff

A Chinese state broadcaster revived a conspiracy theory that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a US military lab, and told its millions of viewers  there is “something fishy” happening at Fort Detrick in Maryland.

A female anchor on China’s Central Television Station ​Thursday asked viewers: ​​”Exactly what fishy businesses were going on?​,” the Daily Mail reported.

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Utah Tribe Calls Biden’s Order on New Oil Drilling a ‘Direct Attack’ on Its Economy

Michigan Star Staff

A Native American tribe in Utah said a Biden administration order blocking new permits to drill for oil and gas on federal lands is a “direct attack” on its economy and sovereignty.

The Ute Indian Tribe is seeking a waiver from Order 3395, which Scott de la Vega, the acting secretary of the interior, implemented on Jan. 21.

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Commentary: Education Professors Blast 1776 Report as ‘Better Fit for a Dictatorship’

Michigan Star Staff

It really says something when an effort as intellectually vacuous as the 1619 Project is venerated by educators, but the 1776 Report is viewed contemptuously.

As former President Trump said back in September, the 1776 Commission’s task was to teach students about “the miracle of American history and make plans to honor the 250th anniversary of our founding.”

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Pro-Life Leaders Condemn ‘Devout Catholic’ Biden over His Vow to ‘Codify’ Roe V. Wade

Michigan Star Staff

Pro-life leaders heavily criticized President Joe Biden on Friday, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, after the Catholic president vowed to make Roe v. Wade the law of the land.

“Joe Biden repeatedly insists he is a devout Catholic,” tweeted Live Action founder and President Lila Rose. “He used this claim frequently during his campaign. He just released a statement praising Roe v Wade, but wouldn’t even use the word ‘abortion.’ His deception is disgusting. The violence of what he proudly supports is horrific.”

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Michigan University Promotes Call to ‘Speak with your Legislators’ About Transgender Policies

Michigan Star Staff

A Michigan State University professor psychology professor urged the university community to lobby legislators for transgender policies in order to be an “ally” to the transgender community.

The university published an interview with Jae Puckett, an assistant professor in Michigan State University’s department of psychology clinical sciences program, that discussed “recognizing and respecting trans identities.” 

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Democratic Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes Tweets ‘No, Thank You’ to Senator Rand Paul’s Call for Election Integrity

Jason M. Reynolds

In response to a call for election integrity by U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes (D-OH-Akron) tweeted, “No thank you.”

Sykes’ statement came after Paul tweeted, “That’s why I’ll spend the next two years going to every state legislature trying to fix the laws, protect our vote and stop election fraud.”

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Several Pro-Lockdown Politicians Suddenly Support Reopening

Michigan Star Staff

Several governors and other elected officials across the country who previously implemented strict lockdown measures have flip-flopped once again, and some now support reopening their various states, as reported by the Daily Caller.

One of the most glaring examples is New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.), whose lockdown measures caused a crash in the state’s economy, and forced many residents – especially in New York City – to flee the state altogether. After months of justifying such measures, Cuomo tweeted on January 11th that “we simply cannot stay closed until the vaccine hits critical mass,” saying that “the cost is too high” and “we will have nothing left to open.”

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Pelosi Says She’s ‘Not Worried’ Impeachment Will Alienate Trump Supporters

Michigan Star Staff

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she’s “not worried” that impeachment will alienate former President Donald Trump’s supporters.

“No, I’m not worried about that. The fact is the president committed an act of incitement of insurrection. I don’t think it’s very unifying to say oh let’s just forget it and move on. That’s not how you unify,” Pelosi said.

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China Fails to Purchase Amount of U.S. Goods Promised in Phase One Trade Deal, Report Finds

Michigan Star Staff

China came $73.1 billion short of the total amount of U.S. goods it promised to purchase in the phase one trade deal between the two nations, according to a Peterson Institute for International Economics report.

While it agreed to purchase $173.1 billion in U.S. goods by the end of 2020, China purchased just $100 billion worth of goods, according to import data analyzed by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). In January 2020, former President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed the phase one trade deal, which was aimed at resolving long-running China-U.S. trade disputes, and in February the deal went into effect.

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McCarthy Says He Wants Cheney to Remain in House GOP Leadership Following Impeachment Vote

Michigan Star Staff

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said that he wants Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney to remain in GOP leadership following her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump.

Though he backed Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, he added there were still “questions that needed to be answered” regarding the “style in which things were delivered,” and that the topic would be discussed when the GOP conference meets next week.

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Music Spotlight: Daniel Borge

Bethany Bowman

Daniel Borge is an up-and-coming country music star. When I heard his single, “There I Was” I could tell this song offered the classical country story with a more modern sound. What I didn’t realize was that Borge is from Norway and English is not his first language.

In many ways, Borge’s journey to country music is one of the most unique stories I have heard. However, his path follows one of the most common themes. He learned to sing in church. His dad is a preacher and even though they live in Norway, they played/sang American gospel music.

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Produce Shortages Possible as Workers Strike for Higher Wages over Pandemic Risks

Michigan Star Staff

Produce distributed by Hunts Point Produce Market, the largest U.S. wholesale produce market, faces possible shortages as the company’s workers protest in favor of a wage increase, The New York Times reported.

Unionized workers at Hunts Point Produce Market, which plays a central role in New York City’s food supply chain supplying produce to supermarkets and restaurants, entered their sixth straight day of the strike Friday, The New York Times reported. The workers, members of the Teamsters, had asked for an additional $1 per hour wage increase, but the market countered with a $0.32 per hour wage increase.

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Commentary: The Keystone Cancellation and Biden’s Climate Cronyism

Michigan Star Staff

Among many executive actions signed on Inauguration Day to sweep Trump policies out the door along with the man himself, President Biden rescinded approval for the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Keystone XL, according to Biden’s top climate policy adviser Gina McCarthy, “was not consistent with addressing the climate crisis to the depth and scope that we are planning to address it.”

Keystone XL has now played the role of political football for a full decade, and Americans can be forgiven for having forgotten the project’s details.

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Michigan Health Director Resigns as Restaurants Set to Reopen

Peter D'Abrosca

The top health official in Michigan has abruptly resigned as the state plans to reopen restaurants in the coming weeks, after months of strict lockdown orders.

“Today, I am resigning from the Whitmer Administration. It’s been an honor to serve alongside wonderful colleagues. I look forward to the next chapter,” Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon said Friday on Twitter. 

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Georgia Rep. Taylor Greene Files Articles of Impeachment Against Biden

Peter D'Abrosca

A freshman U.S. House member from Georgia Thursday filed articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden, on Biden’s first full day in office. 

“I’m filing articles of impeachment against Joe Biden for abuse of power, and he used the office of the Vice Presidency – he abused the power by threatening to withhold money – withhold foreign aid to Ukraine in order help his son, Hunter Biden in his business scams in a Ukrainian energy company,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14) told Real America’s News. 

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Commentary: Nobody Should be Surprised by Biden’s Executive Actions—That’s the System Congress and the Courts Created

Michigan Star Staff

President Joe Biden’s first day in office began with a flurry of executive orders and other actions, taking out former President Donald Trump’s travel restrictions from countries with known Islamist terrorist activity, stopping further construction of the border wall on an emergency basis, rejoining the World Health Organization, reentering the Paris Climate Accords, and halting the Remain in Mexico policy that had asylum seekers wait out their cases in Mexico before being allowed to enter in the U.S.

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Guard Troops Forced to Leave Capitol Building, Rest in Parking Garage Sparks Bipartisan Outrage

Michigan Star Staff

Thousands of National Guard troops protecting the Capitol Hill complex during inauguration week were temporarily forced Thursday night to leave the buildings, sparking outrage among the troops and Congress.

“Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer – why are American troops who are tasked with keeping security at the Capitol being forced to sleep in a parking lot? They deserve to be treated with respect, and we deserve answers,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, in a tweet, asked the two leaders of the Democrat-controlled Congress.

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Commentary: America Needs to Break the Chinese Slave Labor Supply Chain

Michigan Star Staff

The Biden administration has begun ramping up another “Buy American” campaign. Promoters of international commerce will respond that privileging the purchase of domestic products is inefficient and thus immoral: If manufacturing is cheaper in China, Chinese laborers and American consumers both benefit. Others find American economic self-sufficiency, producing the things that we need at home, to be politically appealing — especially for strategic goods and essential defense articles. But will Biden’s “Buy American” campaign be effective more broadly, especially when it comes to concerns like fighting the use of slave labor in autocratic countries?

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Texas Governor, Attorney General to Sue Biden over Immigration

The Center Square

Texas plans to sue the Biden administration over several executive orders recently issued, and immigration policy is front and center.

“A new crop of Texas-led lawsuits awaits Joe Biden’s White House,” Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted. “Texas will take action whenever the federal government encroaches on state’s rights, or interferes with constitutional rights, or private property rights or the right to earn a living.”

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Some Deportations Will Be Put on Hold for Biden’s First 100 Days, New Acting DHS Secretary Says

Michigan Star Staff

A pause in deporting certain noncitizens from the U.S. will be in effect for 100 days starting Friday, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday.

The pause will be in effect while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reviews immigration enforcement policies and practices, according to Acting DHS Secretary David Pekoske. The pause will allow officials to “review and reset” policies to focus on public safety, border and national security.

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Steve Bannon Presents ‘War Room: Pandemic’

Michigan Star Staff

An all new LIVE STREAM of War Room: Pandemic starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday.

Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon began the daily War Room: Pandemic radio show and podcast on January 25, when news of the virus was just beginning to leak out of China around the Lunar New Year. Bannon and co-hosts bring listeners exclusive analysis and breaking updates from top medical, public health, economic, national security, supply chain and geopolitical experts weekdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon ET.

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Senate Confirms Lloyd Austin as Secretary of Defense

Michigan Star Staff

The Senate voted to confirm retired Gen. Lloyd Austin as Secretary of Defense, making him President Joe Biden’s second Cabinet nominee to be confirmed.

Austin was confirmed by a bipartisan 93-2 vote and will be the first black person to serve in the role. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and Utah Sen. Mike Lee were the only senators to vote against his confirmation.

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Online Gaming, Sports Betting Is Now Live in Michigan

The Center Square

For years, Michiganders have gambled online illegally. But when sports betting and online gambling are legalized for the first time on Friday, the state will reap its tax revenue. 

“The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) and the state’s commercial and tribal casinos will begin a new era Jan. 22 with the launch of regulated online gaming and sports betting,” Richard Kalm, MGCB executive director, said in a statement.

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Entertainment Venues File Federal Takings Lawsuit Against Michigan Over 212-Day Shutdown

The Center Square

(The Center Square) – For the past 83 years, Peter Tomassoni’s family has run Recreation Lanes and the Antoin Room Banquet and Convention Center in Iron Mountain.

Less than one year under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19, however, it could die, through no fault of the family.

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New Jobless Claims Decrease to 900,000, Economists Expected 925,000

Michigan Star Staff

The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims decreased to 900,000 last week as the economy continued to suffer the effects of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Labor.

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) figure released Thursday represented a decrease in the number of new jobless claims compared to the week ending Jan. 16, in which there were 965,000 new jobless claims reported. Roughly 16 million Americans continue to collect unemployment benefits, according to the BLS report Thursday.

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Top House Democrat Calls on FBI to Investigate Parler’s Financing, Possible Ties to Russia

Michigan Star Staff

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the Democratic chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, on Thursday called on FBI Director Christopher Wray to investigate financing for Parler, including whether the social media site has any ties to Russia.

Part of Maloney’s rationale for investigating Parler’s links to Russia is that the social media site’s CEO, John Matze, founded the company shortly after traveling to Russia with his wife, who is Russian.

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Commentary: Conservatives Need to Stand Up for Their Own Civil Rights

Michigan Star Staff

For those making their arguments about whether Section 230 should be repealed or reformed to protect conservatives on social media, it’s time to declare that this ship sailed long ago. Most of the world has now come to accept that these monolithic platforms can remove people or their content at will. The banning of President Trump and a host of other conservatives from all major platforms has proven this point beyond dispute. 

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