April 27, 2023 - The Michigan Star

Fighters Seize Bio Lab in Sudan, Sparking Fears of Potential ‘Germ Bomb’

April 27, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

A potential “germ bomb” of polio, measles and cholera pathogens is now in the hands of Sudanese fighters after they seized the National Public Health Laboratory in the nation’s capital Khartoum, according to reports. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization warned that the situation posed a “huge biological risk.”

“This is the main concern: no accessibility to the lab technicians to go to the lab and safely contain the biological material and substances available,” said Nima Saeed Abidhe, the WHO’s representative in Sudan.

DOJ Inspector General Has No Answer to How Many in Government Can Spy on Americans Through ‘Backdoor’ Searches

April 27, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz could not answer how many people in the federal government can use the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) on Americans through backdoor searches when Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz asked him at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Thursday.

FISA Section 702 enables intelligence agencies to carry out targeted surveillance of foreigners outside the U.S., but they have improperly used it on Americans. There were 3.4 million backdoor searches in 2021, according to an Office of the Director of National Intelligence 2022 Transparency report.

Whistleblower: U.S. Government Is ‘Middleman’ in Massive Migrant Child Trafficking Ring

April 27, 2023April 26, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

On Wednesday, a whistleblower is set to testify before Congress with bombshell claims that the federal government has essentially become a “middleman” in a child trafficking ring along the southern border, an operation that is allegedly worth billions.

According to Fox News, the hearing before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement will be titled “The Biden Border Crisis: Exploitation of Unaccompanied Alien Children.” The focus of the hearing will be the spike in the number of “unaccompanied children” (UACs) during the border crisis under Biden’s watch.

Woke Washington State School District Board Member Draws Fire for Cutting Music Program With Claim It Fosters ‘White Supremacy’ and ‘Institutional Violence’

April 27, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

An Olympia School District board member in Washington state is the recipient of intense criticism for attempting to justify budget cuts by eliminating the district’s music classes with the claims the classes promote “white supremacy culture” and “significant institutional violence.”

According to Jason Rantz, host of The Jason Rantz Show on 770KTTH, with an expected district budget shortfall of $11.5 million, School Board Director Scott Clifthorne told parents the music program for fourth and fifth-grade students would be eliminated to make the budget cuts.

Granite State Union Says No to Biden Re-Election Bid ‘At This Time’

April 27, 2023 M.D. Kittle

In breaking with the Big Labor mothership, one of New Hampshire’s largest employee unions has announced it will not endorse President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign — at least not now.

Instead State Employees Association/Service Employees International Union (SEA/SEIU) 1984 says it wants to see competition for the Democratic Party’s nomination.

Pope Francis Will Allow Women to Vote in Bishop Meeting for the First Time

April 27, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

The Vatican announced Wednesday during a press conference that women would be allowed to vote during the upcoming Synod of Bishops in October, according to The Associated Press.

Cardinal Mario Grech, the secretary general of the synod, and Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the relator general of the synod, announced that Pope Francis had approved the proposed changes by the council overseeing the synod, according to American Magazine. Under the new rules, both women and laymen will be allowed to vote for the first time in the history of the practice, and five religious sisters will be appointed as representatives for different orders, according to the AP.

Schools Axe Homework, Deadlines in the Name of Equity: Report

April 27, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

Several schools throughout the country are moving to axe homework and deadlines in an effort to increase equity, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Under the philosophy of “equitable grading,” students are given more chances to show they have mastered a subject, a practice that downplays the importance of homework and eschews deadlines in an attempt to give kids who struggle with hardships at home more opportunities to learn the material, according to the WSJ. Schools in California, Nevada and Connecticut are moving to implement “equitable grading,” though opponents of the system, many teachers and students say it disincentives students and leads to a lack of accountability.

Before Biden Laptop Letter, Ex-CIA Boss Intervened on Russia Collusion in 2016, Benghazi in 2012

April 27, 2023 Just the News

Just a week after then-CIA Director John Brennan warned President Barack Obama that Hillary Clinton’s campaign was “stirring up” a Russia scandal to harm Donald Trump, the agency’s former acting chief became one of the first high-profile intelligence community figures to claim that the 2016 Republican nominee was a possible agent of Vladimir Putin.

Michigan Strategic Fund OKs $615 Million for District Detroit

April 27, 2023April 26, 2023 The Center Square

The state signed off on $615 million of taxpayer incentives in the transformational Brownfield Plan for District Detroit.

The Michigan Strategic Fund approved funds for the $1.5 billion development from the Related Companies and Olympia Development of Michigan, which aim to renovate the area near Little Caesars Arena, Comerica Park, Ford Field, the Fox Theatre, Cass Park, and the Masonic Temple.

Disney Sues DeSantis over Florida GOP Governor’s Attempt to Limit Its Control of Theme Park

April 27, 2023 Just the News

Disney filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis alleging he and other state Republican lawmakers having a “targeted campaign of government retaliation,” over the so-called 2020 “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Disney World had self-governing privileges that DeSantis threatened to revoke after the company snubbed him last year when he signed a law in 2022 that his opponents labeled the “Don’t Say Gay Bill.”

Commentary: It’s Time to Separate School and State

April 27, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

The state-run school system as it stands is a one-size-fits-all monstrosity which crowds out private alternatives and spreads socialistic and anti-Christian propaganda. It’s time to think bigger than Friedman’s school vouchers, it’s time to separate school from state.

Commentary: Fox News’ Lean into ESG

April 27, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

After Tucker Carlson’s firing by Fox News, do high ratings even matter anymore?

That might be a good question one might ask from Fox News’ termination of Carlson, the station’s most highly rated host, who was easily winning cable news’ battle for the 8pm slot for years, with an average 3.25 million viewers a night for the past four months.

Red State Passes Bill Allowing Religious Institutions Access to State Funding

April 27, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

The Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday protecting religious institutions from being denied access to state funding.

The Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act was introduced by Republican state Sen. Shane Jett and Republican state Sen. Julie Daniels to further reinforce the First Amendment by preventing the state from denying faith-based groups access to taxpayer dollars, according to the bill. The legislature passed the act Tuesday by a 64 to 27 vote, officially sending the act to Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt’s desk to be signed into law.