May 2023 - Page 5 of 8 - The Michigan Star

Commentary: Take GOP Debates Away from the Mainstream Media

May 15, 2023 Admin

Tucker Carlson reportedly wants to host his own GOP presidential debate. The idea struck a chord with many people. It would be must-see TV for the most popular commentator on the Right to grill presidential hopefuls before a national audience. Republican voters would also prefer if those asking the candidates questions were not liberal reporters.

With Carlson now visible primarily on Twitter, it looks like he will have the opportunity to host the debate on the social media giant. According to the Washington Post, “Carlson wants to moderate his own GOP candidate forum, outside of the usual strictures of the Republican National Committee debate system.”

Commentary: Elites Have Come Up with Their Greatest Excuse Yet to Suppress the Rest of Us

May 15, 2023 Admin

The recent torrent of regulations unleashed by the Biden administration — targeting everything from power plant and automobile tailpipe emissions to gas stoves and other household appliances — confirms that the White House was deadly serious when — in office for less than a week — it pledged a “whole of government” approach to combatting what it told the public was a “climate crisis.”

Group Re-Introduces Bill to Help Teachers, First Responders Buy Homes

May 15, 2023 The Center Square

A bipartisan group will try again to pass a bill to help teachers and first-responders buy homes in the communities they serve.

U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.; Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., reintroduced the Homes for Every Local Protector Educator and Responder (HELPER) Act. The bill would create a first-time homebuyer loan program under the Federal Housing Administration for teachers and first responders who have served at least four years.

Supreme Court Upholds California Law, Rejects Challenge Brought by Pork Industry

May 15, 2023 The Center Square

“Products may be marketed as free range, wild caught, or graded by quality (prime, choice, select, and beyond). The pork products at issue here, too, sometimes come with “antibiotic-free” and “crate-free” labels…Much of this product differentiation reflects consumer demand, informed by individual taste, health, or moral considerations. Informed by similar concerns, States (and their predecessors) have long enacted laws aimed at protecting animal welfare.”

This is the opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States in Thursday’s ruling which upheld a California law banning the sale of pork products in California that didn’t meet the state’s requirements.

U.S. Officials Admit Losing ‘Operational Control’ of Border, Drug Cartels Poised to Seize it

May 14, 2023 Just the News

With just two words, the top uniformed officer in the Customs and Border Protection agency sent shockwaves across official Washington two months ago when asked whether his agency has operational control of the southern U.S. border.

“No, sir,” Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz told Congress in a shocking admission that exposed just how badly border security has deteriorated under President Joe Biden.

Judge Blisters Biden DOJ, Rejects Emergency Order to Allow Release of Illegal Migrants into U.S.

May 14, 2023 Just the News

In a blistering critique, a federal judge late Saturday denied the Biden Justice Department’s request to stay a temporary restraining order blocking the release of illegal immigrants into the United States without court dates.

Republicans to Hold Hearing on DOJ Targeting Pro-Lifers

May 14, 2023May 13, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

Republican lawmakers will hold a hearing next week focusing on the Department of Justice’s targeting of pro-life activists like Mark Houck through the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, The Daily Signal has learned.

On Tuesday morning, the House Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution and limited government will revisit the “Implications of the FACE Act,” examining the shockingly high numbers of attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers around the nation as well as President Joe Biden’s administration’s use of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.

CCP-Controlled, State-Owned Firm Behind Chinese Cash Allegedly Funneled to Hunter Biden, Documents Show

May 14, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

The Hong Kong corporation that allegedly wired funds to Hunter Biden’s business in 2017 was controlled by a Shanghai firm run by members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), some of whom had previously served in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), according to business documents and congressional reports reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

On June 30, 2017, Shanghai Huaxin Group (Hong Kong) Ltd. wired $10 million to the Delaware-based company CEFC Infrastructure, which then wired $100,000 to Hunter Biden’s “professional corporation,” Owasco P.C., on August 4, 2017, a House Oversight Committee memo revealed Wednesday, alleging the transfers were part of a scheme to conceal the Chinese origin of the funds.

Michigan Teachers’ Effectiveness Ratings Flourish While Student Performance Stumbles

May 14, 2023May 13, 2023 The Center Square

In Michigan, local school district evaluations stated that there were only 165 teachers out of the 115,910 evaluated in 2021-22 that were found to be “inefficient.”

Statistically, that translated to 0%. In fact, 99% of all Michigan public school teachers last year were rated either as “highly efficient” or “efficient,” the highest two of four evaluation categories.

Commentary: Time Is the Best Mother’s Day Gift

May 14, 2023 RealClearWire

What do you want for Mother’s Day? Perhaps you’ve asked your mother, spouse, or co-parent this question within the past couple of weeks. You might expect her to say flowers, shoes, a purse, or jewelry — tangible gifts you can order with a few clicks and have delivered to her doorstep in two business days. Yet, the gift that most mothers want is both free and expensive. It’s time, time to herself. The question is how can we give mothers more of their time?

Republican Governors Ask Biden Administration to Rescind Title IX Guidance

May 14, 2023 The Center Square

Twenty-five of the nation’s 26 Republican governors have asked the Biden administration to shelve its intent to expand Title IX protections to transgender athletes.

The letter, led by the signature of Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, says the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed regulation should be withdrawn pending litigation that could be addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Commentary: Transgenderism and the Contemporary Church

May 14, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

“The church’s response to those who identify as transgender,” Andrew T. Walker writes, “must be, immediately and with integrity, ‘You are welcome here. You are loved here.’”

This position reflects the broad inclinations of contemporary evangelicals, who generally seek to intentionally love and welcome those in the transgender movement. Though scripturally grounded churches may disagree with much of transgender ideology, they still strive to love those within the movement.

Migrant Child from Honduras Dies in HHS Custody

May 14, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

A migrant child died suddenly while in the care of the Department of Health and Human Service (HHS), the agency said in a statement Friday.

The Honduran government identified the child as 17-year-old Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza of Honduras, saying he died in a Florida shelter. Between October 2022 and March, Border Patrol agents stationed along the southern border recorded more than 67,000 encounters of unaccompanied migrant children, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Commentary: Confronting China’s War on Religion Part Four

May 14, 2023 RealClearWire

On Thanksgiving Day, 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen, a Hong Kong priest, was convicted, along with five others, of failing to register a defunct charitable organization that tried to help pro-democracy demonstrators targeted by the regime.

Ostensibly, the charges stemmed from the group’s failure to submit paperwork to authorities. But Chinese people of faith and governments around the world understood the real message Beijing was sending when it arrested Fr. Zen, known as “the conscience of Hong Kong,” last May. The purpose of the prosecution, said U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price, was to show that China’s government “will pursue all means necessary to stifle dissent and undercut protective rights and freedoms.”

Music Spotlight: Jay Allen

May 14, 2023 Bethany Bowman

When rising artist Jay Allen debuted the song “No Prayer Like Mama’s,” I knew this was the artist I wanted to feature for Mother’s Day Weekend. To be honest, the lyrics just wreck me, and I suppose that is what a good country song does.

Allen grew up in a little Midwest town in Iowa where his dad owned a restaurant called Joe’s Country Grill. That’s where his dad met his mother when she was a waitress. Because they both worked at the restaurant, Allen spent much of his younger years there.

White House Aiming for Two-Year Deal on Debt Ceiling as Talks Stall: Report

May 13, 2023May 12, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

White House staff are reportedly pushing a deal on the debt ceiling as talks between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden on a potential raise of the debt limit have been delayed.

The White House is seeking a debt-ceiling increase that would push back the borrowing limit by two years, according to Politico. In exchange, they are reportedly agreeing to caps on “discretionary” spending, which refers to all congressional appropriations excluding Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security and some minor programs, according to Politico.

ACLU Sues to Block Biden Asylum Ban

May 13, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit late Thursday against the Biden administration’s new asylum ban, which is intended to mitigate a surge in immigration following the end of Title 42, a public health policy that allowed the U.S. to expel migrants entering illegally.

The lawsuit alleges that the policy, which makes migrants who illegally enter the U.S. after failing to seeking protection in another safe country they have passed through ineligible for asylum, “attempts to resuscitate and combine the illegal features of the two previous asylum bans” the Ninth Circuit previously struck down.

DOJ’s Shadowy ‘Community Relations Service’ May Be Behind Covenant Killer Manifesto Coverup, Sources Say

May 13, 2023 M.D. Kittle

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Metropolitan Nashville Police Department have refused to release the manifesto and related documents of the Covenant School killer, citing spurious reasons for their denials.

But is a shadowy Department of Justice unit billing itself as “America’s peacemaker” behind the information freeze? Some say the disclosure dance has all the markings of the Community Relations Service.

Nickelodeon’s ‘Transformers’ Cartoon Pushes Trans Agenda on Children

May 13, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Nickelodeon’s Transformers: Earthspark cartoon has recently fallen prey to woke transgender ideology as the franchise that, for years, has caught children’s attention with creative and action-packed battles of good guys vs. bad guys, now includes discussions about “pronouns,” and “non-binary” beings.

In one clip from November, Morgan Malto, the lead nine-year-old character, instructs Optimus Prime, an old-timer robot, on why robot Nightshade uses different pronouns.

Parents of Student Urging Pro-Catholic Teachings Suspended from Their Teaching Positions, Under Investigation

May 13, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

The parents of internationally known Ontario high school student Josh Alexander have been suspended from their teaching posts in another board and placed under investigation over what appears to be their son’s outspoken views against his Catholic school board’s cave to the LGBTQ agenda.

“From the beginning, I understood the consequences my actions may have and I was willing to take that stand and face the consequences,” Alexander told The Epoch Times, according to a report Thursday.

Michigan Republicans Express Concern About State’s New Budget

May 13, 2023May 12, 2023 The Center Square

The Democrat-dominated Michigan House passed multiple budget bills for the fiscal 2023-24 year, sparking outcry from Republicans who say the roughly $80 billion budget – the most expensive in state history- is full of wasteful spending.

“This budget sets the priorities Michiganders asked for,” Rep. Angela Witwer, D-Delta Township and chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement. “We’ve invested in health-care worker recruitment and retention to strengthen our economy and shorten wait times to see providers. We’ve prioritized public safety by allocating funding to graduate a new class of officers to help keep us safe. We’re supporting the small local businesses that are the heart of our local economies.”

Florida AG Sues Biden over Plan to Release Foreign Nationals En Masse into U.S.

May 13, 2023 The Center Square

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody sued the Biden administration Thursday over its plan to release foreign nationals en masse into U.S. border communities.

“Before Title 42 expires at midnight, the Biden administration must explain to a federal judge why a new immigration policy does not violate a court order,” Moody said after the lawsuit was filed.

Commentary: The Voter Registration Machine Flipping the States Blue

May 13, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

In modern elections, the candidate who can turn out the bigger base is usually the winner. Put differently, the campaign with better voter data holds the trump card.

For more than a decade now, Democrats unquestionably have owned that trump card and used it to carve deep inroads into once solidly red states such as Arizona, North Carolina, and Georgia, while Republicans have looked on in bafflement. It’s no secret why the Left is winning elections despite shrinking in the polls: They register new voters in droves, and conservatives do not.

Commentary: Importing Problems

May 13, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

In Texas, two terrible mass killings recently took place. Both involved perpetrators who were immigrants or the children of immigrants. In many cases, so were their victims. With the latest surge of humanity on the border, it’s worth considering the connection between these high-profile crimes and an uncontrolled border.

In the Houston suburb of Cleveland, a drunk man shooting guns in his backyard massacred his neighbors when they dared to ask him to keep it down. The victims were all illegal alien immigrants from Honduras, save for the youngest who was born here in the United States. Governor Greg Abbott got into some hot water when he described the victims as illegal. While this was a fact, even I think it was a bit insensitive to highlight that when announcing they were victimized by a violent maniac.

Border Patrol Migrant Processing Centers Filled After Trump-Era Policy’s End

May 13, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

Border Patrol migrant processing centers are filled with more than 25,000 migrants hours after the expiration of Title 42, the Trump-era expulsion policy, according to internal agency data obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Title 42, which was responsible for the expulsion of more than 2 million migrants, ended at 11:59 p.m. Thursday. The early Friday morning data show that several sectors of the southern border, including Arizona’s Yuma and Tucson sectors, are 219% and 269% over capacity, respectively.

NYC Mayor Adams Considers Abandoned Prison, Asks Property Owners to House Influx of Migrants

May 13, 2023 Just the News

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is reportedly considering housing migrants in a shuttered Hudson Valley prison.

He considered the idea in call with county officials Thursday, as New York City struggles to find accommodations for thousands more asylum-seekers expected to arrive following the expiration of the federal border policy Title 42, according to an audio tape obtained by Politico.

Commentary: It’s Time to Treat Communist Symbols Like the Swastika

May 13, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

If someone were to ask you to think of either extreme of the political spectrum, odds are you would immediately picture a swastika at one end, and a hammer and sickle at the other. Regardless of your views of the left-right paradigm, or whether you subscribe to horseshoe theory or not, we (rightfully) tend to perceive fascism and communism as the standard ideologies of the extreme.

As such, many of us would also feel rather uneasy seeing those two symbols. Upon seeing a swastika, we are immediately reminded of the evils of the Nazi regime, and are accordingly repulsed. To publicly display the logo is even a crime in many European countries. We understand how abhorrent the ideology is, and treat it accordingly with disrespect and disgust.

Federal Judge Strikes Down Age Minimum of 21 on Handgun Purchases

May 13, 2023 Just the News

A federal judge Virginia has struck down a law barring the sale of handguns to adults under the age of 21 as unconstitutional.

John Corey Fraser, 20, and other plaintiffs, had challenged the 1968 Gun Control Act and various regulations from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after they tried to purchase handguns and were refused, ABC News reported.

New Bill Would Ban U.S. Department of Defense from Funding Adult Cabaret, Drag Shows

May 12, 2023May 11, 2023 The Center Square

A Republican lawmaker wants to prohibit the U.S. Department of Defense from using taxpayer funds for drag queen shows and other adult cabaret performances.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., introduced legislation to stop the department from using taxpayer funds or taxpayer-funded facilities to host such performances. The bill comes after the U.S. Navy said it had one of its sailors, a drag performer and social media influencer, serve as a Digital Ambassador for military recruitment.

Top Biden Nominee Ordered Staff Not to Cooperate with ICE, Memo Shows

May 12, 2023 Just the News

President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Department of Labor previously ordered staff at her former post to not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a memo that Republican lawmakers obtained.

Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, whom Biden has tapped to lead the department permanently, previously headed the California Labor Commission. During her tenure in that posting, Su authored a memo directing staff not to voluntarily cooperate with federal immigration agents and to ask that they leave the premises, Fox News reported.

Biden Admin to Shell Out Billions Putting Solar Panels on Low-Income Housing

May 12, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

The Biden administration will announce nearly $5 billion in grants and loans to support landowners’ ability to retrofit low-income housing with green technology like solar panels, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The funding will be broken into $837.5 million in grants and $4 billion in loans to implement the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, a provision of President Joe Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), according to the Post. While the IRA already offers tax breaks for making the switch from fossil-fuel-powered appliances to green tech — for example, offering $2,000 to install an electric heat pump — the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program seeks to address the lack of time and resources that low-income Americans may have to take advantage of them.

New Bank Fees to Cover Bailouts Could Be Passed on to Customers, Experts Say

May 12, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced a proposal on Thursday to charge new fees to replenish funds spent bailing out Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank depositors in March that will cost Americans, according to experts who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Under the proposal announced at the FDIC Board of Directors Meeting, the regulator would charge special assessment fees to an estimated 113 banks, mostly those with over $50 billion in assets and none under $5 billion in assets. The banks will pass the costs on to their customers, according to economists who spoke to the DCNF.

‘Faith and Wellness’ Report Finds 99 Percent of Evangelicals Believe Prayer and Active Faith Contribute to Positive Mental Health

May 12, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Nearly 100 percent of evangelical Protestants believe that prayer, reading the Bible, and living out a strong Christian faith impact mental health in a positive way, says a report released Thursday by Infinity Concepts and Grey Matter Research.

Noting that rarely is any group of people, including evangelical Protestants, in nearly entire agreement, Infinity Concepts, a self-described “integrated marketing-communications agency inspiring people of faith to action,” and Grey Matter Research, a consulting firm that specializes in serving Christian organization, say results of the current study is unique.

Business Leaders: Michigan Needs ‘Holistic’ Approach to Attract Residents

May 12, 2023May 11, 2023 The Center Square

A new report from Business Leaders for Michigan calls for a “holistic” strategy to attract and retain residents.

The 2023 Economic Development Framework identifies challenges that have historically prevented Michigan from creating and sustaining long-term solutions.

Commentary: Weaponizing Death

May 12, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

Almost immediately, three media narratives emerged.

One, semiautomatic weapons, not the killer Audrey Hale, were mostly responsible for the massacre.

Report: U.S. Economic Development Departments Pay Big Money for Few Gains

May 12, 2023 The Center Square

While billion-dollar economic development incentives are heavily expanding across the country, the agencies in charge of handing out those incentives claim to create or retain 625,000 jobs in their most recent fiscal years, according to a new report.

The Center for Economic Accountability tallied up the jobs claimed as part of incentive packages in the 50 states and Washington, D.C. and found job total would be less than 5% of the 15 million to 17 million jobs naturally created in the United States economy each year.

Commentary: The Long Road to Confronting China’s War on Religion Part Three

May 12, 2023 RealClearWire

It’s morning in Istanbul, but Joseph is reliving his morning routine in the camp, before the 16-hour shift starts. After the prisoners had sung Communist songs for their breakfast, the Chinese guards played a video for them shot in cinema verité style. It began with Chinese plainclothes agents tackling Uyghurs, cramming them into unmarked cars, and pulling bags over their heads.

Then, the camera would pan away, revealing, not China, but a foreign street with signs in German, Arabic, or English. Joseph says the film was a tease: Run away. Please try it. We’re everywhere. Even Washington, D.C.

Maine Elementary School Skips Math, Literacy Classes to Organize Children in Black Lives Matter March

May 11, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Videos and other documents obtained by Parents Defending Education (PDE) have revealed an elementary school in Portland, Maine, canceled its math and literacy classes to enable teachers to organize students in a social justice march that included children chanting “Black Lives Matter (BLM)” and waving signs.

Border Patrol to Release Foreign Nationals En Masse into Communities as Title 42 Ends

May 11, 2023May 10, 2023 The Center Square

Instead of U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehending, detaining and deporting people who’ve illegally entered the U.S., they will be implementing a plan decided on last year to release them en masse into local border communities.

The public health authority Title 42, which has given Border Patrol agents an additional tool to deport certain individuals, was slated to end last May. On May 20, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana enjoined the repeal of Title 42 in a case filed by 24 states, issuing a nationwide injunction.

Key Takeaways from Trump’s CNN Town Hall in New Hampshire

May 11, 2023May 10, 2023 Just the News

Former President and 2024 White House candidate Donald Trump came out swinging during a CNN townhall Wednesday night, immediately saying the 2020 election was rigged and stolen through fraud and that he had an obligation to shine a spotlight on it.

“We did fantastically we got 12 million more votes than we had in, as you know, in 2016 actually we did far better in that election,” he began. “Got the most that anybody’s ever gotten as the President of the United States. I think that when you look at that result, and when you look at what happened during that election, unless you’re a very stupid person, you see what happens a lot of the people, out of thee people in this audience and maybe a couple that don’t — but most people understand what happened. That was a rigged election. And it’s a shame that we had to go through it.”

Commentary: Congress Must End the Exploitation of Unaccompanied Alien Children

May 11, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

One of the Left’s emotional weapons it uses to continue its open border agenda is unaccompanied alien children. A historic number of these children have crossed the southern border during the Biden administration—their parents were enticed by promises of entry into the U.S. and other immigration benefits for their children.

But they are often brutally mistreated on the journey, and many do not face happy endings once here. Sadly, unknown numbers are sex-trafficked, subjected to child labor, and face other abuses. But Congress has an opportunity to end this inhumanity beginning this week when it considers the Secure the Border Act in the House.

Study: Michigan’s Prevailing Wage Law Could Drive Up Road Construction Costs by 14.3 Percent

May 11, 2023May 10, 2023 The Center Square

States without prevailing wage laws pay far less for road construction and repairs than states with them, according to a study written by Dr. Michael Hicks, a professor of economics at Ball State University.

Hicks concludes prevailing wage laws increase costs by 8.5% to 14.3% per mile of quality-road construction. Using 2018 costs in Michigan – the year the Great Lakes State repealed its prevailing wage law – those percentages translate as $5,900 to $9,200 per mile of road.

Commentary: U.S. Government Will Not Default on Loans If Congress Doesn’t Raise the Debt Ceiling

May 11, 2023 RealClearWire

Contrary to widespread claims that the U.S. government will default on its debt if Congress doesn’t raise the debt limit, federal law and the Constitution require the Treasury to pay the debt, and it has ample tax revenues to do this.

Nor would Social Security benefits be affected by a debt limit stalemate unless President Biden illegally diverts Social Security revenues to other programs.

Commentary: It’s Time to Take the Unnecessary Politics Out of ESG and Retirement Savings

May 11, 2023 RealClearWire

Increased politicization of “environmental, social and governance” (ESG) factors in investment has resulted in one side claiming it only promotes social and political objectives, and the other side claiming that ESG is always relevant to making sound investment decisions.

President Biden’s veto of a Congressional resolution, regarding recently finalized amendments to a 2020 Department of Labor (DOL) administrative rule on retirement security, has brought ESG to the forefront again. The DOL’s amendments address how fiduciaries of a person’s 401(k)s and private pension funds make decisions about their retirement savings and the role of ESG in making those investment decisions. The DOL, under ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974), regulates private retirement plans. ERISA covers roughly $12 trillion in retirement savings for 150 million Americans.

MTV News Shuts Down amid Paramount Layoffs

May 11, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

MTV News is set to shut down all operations this week, amid a series of mass layoffs at its parent company Paramount Global.

As Fox News reports, the decision was announced in a company memo on Tuesday, thus bringing an end to the pop culture and news outlet 36 years after it was first created. MTV News had been founded in 1987 in an effort to create content that would blend music and pop culture with news and politics, ostensibly to appeal to members of Generation X as well as the then-upcoming Millennial generation.

The War on Plastic Waste Could Massively Increase CO2 Emissions: Report

May 11, 2023 Michigan Star Staff

Efforts to increase the recycling of plastic waste could lead to a huge boost in greenhouse gas emissions, thanks to energy-hungry chemical processes, according to The Wall Street Journal Wednesday.

Chemical recycling, an emissions-heavy process where plastics are heated and pressurized to be broken down into oils and other components, is a growing method of plastics recycling in the U.S., the WSJ reported. Data from Chemical Market Analytics — an analytics firm owned by WSJ-parent Dow Jones that studies the plastics industry — indicates that efforts to boost recycling will invariably lead to a significant increase in the use of chemical recycling techniques, with a greater emissions surge accompanying higher rates of recycling.

The Star News Network Sues the FBI Over Agency’s Refusal to Release Covenant Killer Manifesto

May 10, 2023 M.D. Kittle

The Star News Network is suing the Federal Bureau of Investigation alleging the law enforcement agency has broken a critical First Amendment guard in repeatedly denying Freedom of Information Act requests seeking the Covenant School killer’s manifesto. Filed Wednesday, the federal lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee to order the FBI to release Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s manifesto and related documents and to issue a declaration that the agency violated FOIA in denying the request for the information.

Top Republicans Excoriate FBI for Noncompliance with Subpoena for Alleged Biden Bribery Doc

May 10, 2023 Just the News

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley on Wednesday fumed as the FBI failed to meet a subpoena deadline to provide congressional investigators with a form that allegedly details a bribery scheme between then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national. The Republicans revealed in early May that the FBI had an FD-1023 in its possession detailing the allegations and confirmed they had issued a subpoena to obtain the document. Comer and Grassley learned of the form’s existence from a whistleblower. The form allegedly includes a “precise description” of the scheme and its purpose.

Maine Governor’s Expert Witness for Bill to Legalize Abortion Until Birth Authorized Abortion on New Mexico Woman Who Died from Complications of Procedure

May 10, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

The OB/GYN tapped by Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) to champion her bill that would allow abortions up until birth has been found to have authorized the 24-week abortion of a woman who later died in Albuquerque from complications due to the procedure.