March 26, 2022 - The Michigan Star

‘Reducing Europe’s Dependency’: Biden Strikes Deal to Boost Gas Exports to Europe

March 26, 2022March 25, 2022 Michigan Star Staff

President Joe Biden and his European counterparts struck a deal Friday to send more U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the European Union amid the ongoing global supply crunch.

The U.S. and European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, will form a joint task force with representation from both sides under the deal announced by Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on Friday. The task force will seek to increase energy security for the EU and Ukraine in the run-up to next winter and the following winter while working to end European dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

Missouri’s Republican State House Likely to Take Action on the State Senate’s Compromised Congressional Map Plan

March 26, 2022March 26, 2022 Aaron Gulbransen

Missouri’s Republican Majority state House is likely to agree to the timid Senate-passed compromise on the state’s congressional redistricting plan on Monday.

The Missouri state House stands adjourned until Monday, March 28. The filing deadline for candidates seeking to run in primaries for one of Missouri’s eight U.S. House seats is the following day, March 29.

Deep Blue Oregon May Cough Up a U.S. House Seat to the GOP

March 26, 2022March 25, 2022 Aaron Gulbransen

The famously blue state of Oregon may be the site of a November Republican victory in the Fifth congressional district. The current borders of OR-5 are not far from Antifa-laden Portland.

Democrat incumbent U.S. House Representative Kurt Schrader finds himself taking fire from both sides of the aisle.

Watchdog Group Helps Uncover Potential Conflicts of Interest in Veterans Affairs Administration

March 26, 2022March 25, 2022 Peter D'Abrosca

After a watchdog group and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) pushed the Veterans Affairs Officer of the Inspector General (VA-OIG) to look into a possible conflict of interest, that OIG this week released a report saying that one VA official may have broken rules regarding conflicts of interest.

The potential conflict of interest centers around executive director of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Charmain Bogue and her husband’s business dealings.

Commentary: Sweden—Once Mocked for Its COVID Strategy—Now Has One of the Lowest COVID Mortality Rates in Europe

March 26, 2022March 25, 2022 Michigan Star Staff

Early in the coronavirus pandemic, I asked a simple question. Could Sweden’s laissez-faire approach to the coronavirus actually work?

Unlike its European neighbors and virtually all US states, the Swedes had opted to not shut down the economy. The country of 10 million people took what was at first described as “a lighter touch.”

Commentary: America’s Domestic Politics Hampers Ability to End Ukraine War

March 26, 2022March 25, 2022 Michigan Star Staff

In my past role as founder and CEO of Varsity Brands, I came across every old business adage in the book. Some were cheesy, some were over simplified, but many had wisdom as their foundation. One such phrase that’s commonly used is, and with which I struggled because of my compassion for my employees, is, “Don’t bring your problems from home into the office with you.”

There is a variation of that phrase that should be introduced to our political leaders in Washington, albeit a bit too late. Their version of the “leave it at the doorstep” rule needs to be, “Leave your domestic political problems at your shores when conducting foreign policy.”

Commentary: Washington Doesn’t Want Peace in Ukraine

March 26, 2022March 25, 2022 Michigan Star Staff

The United States is now overwhelmed with propaganda pushing for Americans to “stand with Ukraine” in its war with Russia. It is not enough to wish the people of Ukraine well. The media, Big Tech, and both political parties have made being a partisan of Ukraine some kind of moral duty. Those refusing to get swept up in anti-Russian hysteria can expect to be condemned as traitors and agents of Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian Refugees Find a Path into the U.S. via the Mexican Border

March 26, 2022March 25, 2022 Michigan Star Staff

Thousands of Ukrainians and Russians who have fled the war and sanctions in their home countries are increasingly entering the United States via the southern border, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Janet Yellen Defends Sustainable Investing Craze That’s Trying to End U.S. Oil and Gas Drilling

March 26, 2022March 25, 2022 Michigan Star Staff

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended sustainable investing practices and climate change policies that have negatively impacted U.S. oil and gas drilling in an interview Friday.

“I don’t think that the ESG movement and the emphasis on climate change is creating the problems that we have,” Yellen told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Friday morning when asked if investors need to rethink their stance on fossil fuels. “If anything, the problem is that we haven’t moved as rapidly as we should have.”

Jobless Claims Fall to Lowest Level in over 50 Years

March 26, 2022March 25, 2022 Michigan Star Staff

The number of Americans who filed new unemployment claims decreased to 187,000 in the week ending March 19, the lowest level in over 50 years, the Department of Labor announced Thursday.

The Labor Department’s figure showed a decrease of 28,000 compared to the week ending March 12, when new claims numbered 215,000, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This week’s claims were well below the predictions of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, who estimated that new claims would total 210,000.

The Biden Administration’s Ties to Ukraine Go Deeper Than Hunter and Burisma

March 26, 2022March 25, 2022 Michigan Star Staff

A senior Biden administration official handling global energy policy recently held a high-level position at a Ukrainian state-run natural gas firm but resigned citing corruption.

Amos Hochstein, who President Joe Biden appointed to be the State Department’s top adviser for energy security over the summer of 2021, was a member of the energy company Naftogaz’s supervisory board. Hochstein took the position in 2017 after he said government officials persuaded him to accept the offer.

Michigan Judge Tosses Zuckerbucks Lawsuit over 2020 Election Funding

March 26, 2022March 25, 2022 The Center Square

A Michigan judge has tossed a lawsuit alleging Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson illegally accepted private money to swing the 2020 presidential election in favor of President Joe Biden.

First filed in October 2020, the litigation claimed that then-Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg swung the 2020 election in favor of President Joe Biden by awarding millions of dollars to local governments in Democrat strongholds via his Chicago-based nonprofit the Center for Technology & Civic Life.