Day: February 8, 2021

Two Senators Flip-Flop on Keystone XL Pipeline, Thwarting GOP Bid to Save It

Michigan Star Staff

Two Democratic senators—Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana—who initially voted in favor of a Republican amendment reversing President Joe Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline later reversed themselves and voted with other Democrats to kill the amendment. 

Both Tester and Manchin voted late Thursday night for the amendment from Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., that would have reversed Biden’s Jan. 20 executive order ending further construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, but changed their votes before dawn on Friday morning. 

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Commentary: Does Anyone Really Think Impeachment Take Two is About Upholding the Constitution?

Michigan Star Staff

How precious it is to witness the same party that rejects the United States Constitution on a daily basis, now genuflects to and contorts the Constitution when it is convenient for their Democrat agenda.  The truth is the second impeachment trial of President Donald Trump has nothing to do with upholding the Constitution.

President Trump’s attorneys have clearly responded to the absurd Article of Impeachment.  Their answer on Trump’s behalf is clear and straightforward.

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Biden Ends Trump-Era Deals with Central American Countries to Reduce Asylum Claims at US Border

Michigan Star Staff

Arrangements made between the U.S. and three Central American countries to curb the number of asylum claims at the U.S. border were suspended Saturday, the Biden administration announced.

The Asylum Cooperative Agreements that limited some asylum seekers from making claims in the U.S. and required them to instead seek asylum in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras were suspended and scheduled to be terminated with an executive order signed Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced.

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Portland Riots Caused at Least $2.3M in Damage to Federal Buildings

Michigan Star Staff

Left-wing protests in Portland have caused roughly $2.3 million in damage to federal buildings since they broke out over the summer.

Portland was the epicenter of summer protests which included frequent riots, vandalism and clashes with law enforcement.  The two months of near-nightly unrest centered on a federal courthouse downtown.

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Unity: Professor Who Made Barron Trump Joke at 2019 Impeachment Hearing Is Joining the Biden DOJ

Michigan Star Staff

President Joe Biden, who called for unity with Republicans during his inaugural address, has appointed Pamela Karlan, a Trump impeachment witness, to serve in a top position at the Justice Department.

Karlan, a law professor at Stanford University, came under fire during her December 2019 impeachment testimony for invoking Barron Trump, the teenage son of President Donald Trump.

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Eleven Iranian Migrants Caught Illegally Crossing the Border

Michigan Star Staff

Eleven Iranian migrants were arrested on Monday after crossing the border illegally from Mexico into Arizona, as reported by Breitbart.

The group of illegals, confirmed to consist of six men and five women, was stopped in Yuma County, Arizona by the Yuma Sector Border Patrol. After being confirmed as Iranian citizens, they were taken to the Yuma Station for processing and questioning. The group included five adult women, two young boys, and four adult men.

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Commentary: When Senate Tries Trump, Senate Republicans Are Also on Trial

Neil W. McCabe

When the Senate opens the second impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump Tuesday there will be two defendants: Trump and the Senate Republicans.

Trump is charged with one count of inciting an insurrection against the United States, in connection with the Jan. 6 mob that surged the Capitol, while Congress was in a joint session to certify the results of the Electoral College: “Incited by President Trump, a mob unlawfully breached the Capitol, injured law enforcement personnel, menaced Members of Congress and the Vice President, interfered with the Joint Session’s solemn constitutional duty to certify the election results, and engaged in violent, deadly, destructive, and seditious acts.”

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Gavin Newsom Less Than 100k Signatures Away from Facing Recall Election

Michigan Star Staff

Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom is less than 100,000 signatures away as of Thursday from being forced into a recall special election.

California state law stipulates that a sitting governor must face a recall special election if 12% of voters from the previous gubernatorial election, in this case 1.5 million California residents, sign a petition to recall the governor. At the time of publication, 1.4 million Californians have signed a petition to recall Newsom.

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Border Patrol Seized 470,000 Pounds of Drugs in 2020 Using New Screening Tech

Michigan Star Staff

Customs and Border Protection seized nearly half a million pounds of illegal narcotics at the border in 2020 using new screening technology, agency officials announced Thursday.

Over half of the narcotics found last year, or around 470,000 pounds, were discovered through so-called non-intrusive inspection technology, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The agency seized a total of 808,522 pounds of illegal narcotics in 2020.

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Nebraska County GOP Votes to Censure Ben Sasse; State Party to Hold Meeting on His Anti-Trump Votes and Comments

Michigan Star Staff

The Republican Party in one Nebraska county has chosen to censure GOP Senator Ben Sasse for supporting the impeachment trial of former President Trump in the Senate, and a number of other committee delegates throughout the state are reportedly thinking about doing the same. The Nebraska Republican Party will be holding a meeting later this month to discuss “possible action” related to Sasse’ votes in the Senate and his continual anti-Trump remarks.

The Scotts Bluff County Republican Party chair told the local Star-Herald newspaper regretfully that state law prevents them from recalling the senator.

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White House Waffles on CDC Guidance for School Reopenings

Michigan Star Staff

The White House walked back comments from CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, suggesting that schools might be able to reopen before all teachers have received a vaccine to prevent Covid-19.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday claimed that Walensky was speaking in her “personal capacity.” Psaki explained, “obviously she’s the head of the CDC, but we’re going to wait for final guidance to come out.”

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Forgivable PPP Loans May Have State Tax Implications for Michigan Businesses

The Center Square

Michigan businesses can accept their forgiven pandemic loans without worrying about paying federal taxes, but it’s not yet clear if they’ll owe state taxes.

More than 121,000 Michigan businesses took federal forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans valued at approximately $15.7 billion.

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