Category: News

April 19, 2024 Just the News

President Joe Biden promised on Wednesday to block the acquisition of U.S. Steel by a Japanese competitor in remarks to a crowd in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, made up of unionized steelworkers.

The Japanese Nippon Steel Corporation, the fourth-largest steel producer, first announced that it would be acquiring U.S. Steel in December for around $14.9 billion after turning down other offers, including from American steel company Cleveland Cliffs. The president, in his remarks, emphasized the importance of the American steel industry and called out China for subsidizing their own steel producers.

Former D.C. National Guard Officials Criticize Pentagon Leadership in Assessment of J6 Response

Four former D.C. National Guard officials turned whistleblowers excoriated military leadership for their response to the January 6 riot at a hearing held by the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight Wednesday.

Based their firsthand accounts, they said that senior leadership failed to act decisively to authorize the deployment of the D.C. National Guard to the Capitol and subsequently crafted a misleading narrative about their actions that day to paper over the delays.

U.S. Potentially Facing New Era of High Interest Rates

April 19, 2024April 18, 2024 Kaitlin Housler

The United States could be facing an era of prolonged high interest rates unlike anything seen in recent memory.

According to Axios, a number of major factors indicate that high interest rates could be the new norm in the U.S., including the movement of rates, the rate of inflation, and the recent outlook for the Federal Reserve’s policy in addressing these issues.

Ohio BLM Activist Convicted for Stealing Donated Money to Facebook Page

A Toledo man was found guilty of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering by a jury after a six-day trial this week for stealing donated money to his Black Lives Matter (BLM) organization and using it for personal gain, according to the Northern District of Ohio U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Commentary: Uncomfortable Facts About Why Fatal Police Shootings Aren’t Declining

April 19, 2024 RealClearWire

When Dexter Reed died in a shootout with Chicago police on March 21, the incident was quickly grafted onto a narrative that began in 2014 after a policeman killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. – namely, that the U.S. faces an epidemic of violence by unbridled cops who do not believe black lives matter. “Killing of Dexter Reed raises questions about Chicago police reform. ‘The message is, go in guns blazing,'” blared a headline in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Reed’s death joins a long list of police shootings that have received wide media coverage and political scrutiny – especially those involving African Americans. Over the years, many police departments embraced reforms, including the use of bodycams, to document incidents – an effort bolstered by a public eager to use smartphones to record the behavior of cops. In 2015, the Washington Post created a database logging every person shot dead by police in the U.S.

Electric Vehicle Maker Launches Another Round of Layoffs as Demand Slows

April 19, 2024 Bethany Bowman

Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Rivian announced its second round of layoffs just this year on Wednesday as consumer demand for EVs stalls.

The layoffs at Rivian will affect around 1 percent of the company’s staff as they continue to look for ways to cut costs to bolster struggling profits due to less-than-expected EV sales, the company confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation. Rivian announced in February that it was laying off 10 percent of its workforce after it released its 2024 production forecast, which was well below analyst expectations, according to Reuters.

Music Spotlight: Presley Tennant

One thing I have learned about TV singing shows is that the finalists are nearly always as good (if not better) as the actual winner. So, I try to interview as many country singers from these shows as possible.

Presley Tennant is a powerhouse singer from Norco, California, a horse town that is 35 miles east of Los Angeles. She was a finalist on Season 16 of NBC’s The Voice in 2019 when she was just 16. She has often been compared to Whitney Houston and Carrie Underwood.

Kennedy Family to Endorse Biden for 2024 in Blow to RFK Jr.

Members of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s family are set to support President Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign on Thursday rather than endorsing the independent candidate, according to multiple outlets.

The endorsements follow Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) ramping up efforts to combat what they view as the threat Kennedy and other third-party candidates could have on the president’s reelection bid. Kennedy’s siblings — Kerry, Rory, Joseph, Kathleen, Christopher and Maxwell — will throw their support behind Biden at a campaign event in Philadelphia alongside nine of their other family members, multiple outlets reported.

Commentary: The Trans Reckoning Is Not Yet Here — But It’s Coming Soon

Over at Compact magazine on Tuesday, Nina Power wrote “The Trans Reckoning Is Here,” and, as evidence, she cited a report by a British pediatrician named Hilary Cass written for the National Health Service that upturned the faux-scientific basis on which that country has embarked on normalizing “gender-affirming care.”

Scottish Gender Clinic Stops Prescribing Puberty Blockers for Minors

A Scottish gender clinic for minors announced Thursday that they would no longer be prescribing puberty blockers for patients under the age of 18.

The Sandyford Sexual Health Services to Paediatric Endocrinology, which is the only clinic in Scotland that prescribes puberty blockers for minors, said that it would not be accepting new 16 and 17-year-old patients for hormone therapy until they turn 18, according to the announcement. The clinic cited the National Health Service (NHS) of England’s decision in March to ban puberty blockers for minors and the publication of the Cass Review on April 10, which found “weak evidence” for giving puberty blockers to children.

China Lobbying Congress amid TikTok Ban Efforts

April 18, 2024April 17, 2024 Ohio Star Staff

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been secretly attempting to lobby members of Congress over recent proposals to ban the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok.

As reported by Breitbart, employees of the Chinese Embassy have been meeting with congressional staffers to try to persuade members to vote against the bill that would force the Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok, or else face an indefinite ban on the app’s use in the United States. The bill passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in March with bipartisan support, and is now being reviewed by the Senate.

Biden EPA Giving Millions to ‘Immigrant Justice’ Groups Registering, ‘Mobilizing’ Dem-Leaning Voting Bloc

New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice public assembly

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is handing out millions of taxpayer dollars to a coalition featuring two immigration-focused activist organizations, one which pushes voter registration for traditionally Democrat-leaning demographics.

As part of a $600 million round of grant funding issued in December 2023 to advance “environmental justice,” the EPA gave out $50 million to a Fordham University-led coalition including the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) and the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ). The NYIC explicitly engages in “nationally recognized” voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts and pushed for a New York City law that allows non-citizens to vote, while the NJAIJ has advocated for same-day voter registration and maintains a voter registration portal on its website.

U.S. Wheat Farmers Stare Down Huge Losses as Foreign Goods Flood Market

April 18, 2024April 17, 2024 The Center Square

Many American wheat farmers may face losses in 2024 due to a glut of foreign supply coupled with soaring equipment and labor costs amid high inflation, Reuters reported Wednesday.

Wheat prices are near their lowest point in nearly four years as supply from the Black Sea and Europe has unexpectedly flooded the market after three years of droughts draining reserves, hitting winter wheat farmers in the Great Plains particularly hard, according to Reuters. Costs for transporting and producing American wheat have soared compared to foreign wheat suppliers, with high inflation increasing costs for farm equipment, repairs and labor for farmers.

Ohio Taxpayers Losing Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars to Scams

At least 23 government offices throughout Ohio have been affected by scams associated with redirecting payments from public accounts in the past year.

Ohio Auditor Keith Faber said the scams have hit at least 23 government offices in cities, villages, townships and school districts, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses of public funds.

Commentary: The Teachers’ Unions Are More Political than Ever

In the past, teachers’ unions concentrated on fighting to keep all teachers employed—competent or otherwise—laying off teachers by seniority when necessary and soaking taxpayers every chance they could. While those activities are still part of their mission, they have, over time, increasingly delved into the political/social realm, promoting Black Lives Matter, Critical Race Theory, DEI, class warfare, gender-bending, etc. And their current level of engagement is staggering.

Americans for Fair Treatment, a national nonprofit organization that educates public employees about their rights in a unionized workplace, recently released a report detailing the National Education Association’s (NEA) financial filings from Sept. 1, 2022, through Aug. 31, 2023.

Commentary: The Coup d’Etat Against Candidate Trump

April 18, 2024 RealClearWire

In 1967, I had the privilege of studying criminal law at Yale University. The teacher was a superpower in the field named Joe Goldstein.

After a short time, we got to a series of cases where a prosecutor had empaneled a grand jury and gotten an indictment against some poor soul — almost always poverty-stricken and often black — who had either no evidence against him (and he was almost always male). That poor soul usually was convicted. He went to prison and that was that.

Commentary: Impeachment ‘Whistleblower’ Was in the Loop of Biden-Ukraine Affairs That Trump Wanted Probed

The ‘whistleblower’ who sparked Donald Trump’s first impeachment was deeply involved in the political maneuverings behind Biden-family business schemes in Ukraine that Trump wanted probed, newly obtained emails from former Vice President Joe Biden’s office reveal.

In 2019, then-National Intelligence Council analyst Eric Ciaramella touched off a political firestorm when he anonymously accused Trump of linking military aid for Ukraine to a demand for an investigation into alleged Biden corruption in that country.

Denver Mayor Cuts Police Budget by $8 Million to Fund Illegal Aliens

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D-Colo.) has announced a new spending package that will fund the hordes of illegal aliens flooding into the state, including cutting the city police department’s budget by $8 million in order to support illegals.

As Fox News reports, Johnston’s $45.9 million proposition will go towards funding “newcomers” in the year 2024, on top of the $44 million that has already been spent on illegals in recent years. The city of Denver used to spend a mere $2 million every month on illegals as far back as August; as of December, that amount soared to $15 million a month. The number of illegals living in shelters peaked at 5,000 in January but has since fallen to about 1,000.

Soros PAC Bets Big on White Women to Deliver 2024 Victory for Democrats

April 18, 2024 Just the News

A PAC funded by George Soros is bankrolling a political committee that is trying to convince moderate white women to vote for Democrats.

Democracy PAC donated $1 million to the One For All Committee, which produces and runs advertisements aimed at persuading “moderate white women” to vote for Democrats in “key battleground states,” according to a campaign finance disclosure. One For All has, in its past campaigns, supported President Joe Biden, Democratic Senate candidates and Janet Protasiewicz, a Democrat-endorsed Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate.

House Committee Finds Chinese Government Pushes Fentanyl Materials, Fueling Drug Crisis

A new report Tuesday detailing the Chinese Communist Party’s role in the fentanyl crisis plaguing the country details the findings of a House investigation that concluded the Chinese government subsidizes the manufacturing and export of fentanyl materials and refuses to crack down on the illicit market.

The report, released by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, coincided with a public hearing with former Attorney General Bill Barr, former DEA Chief of Operations Ray Donovan, and an expert from the RAND research organization.

Ohio Lawmakers Act on DeWine’s Call to Ban Cell Phones in Classroom

April 17, 2024April 17, 2024 The Center Square

Gov. Mike DeWine’s push to ban cell phones in Ohio classrooms is meeting resistance from Republicans and Democrats.

In last week’s State of the State address, DeWine called cell phones a major distraction in state schools and asked lawmakers to develop legislation that would eliminate the usage in most classroom settings.

NO TRIAL: Senate Democrats Quickly Dismiss Impeachment Articles Against Mayorkas

April 17, 2024April 17, 2024 The Center Square

Within 20 minutes of convening to hold an impeachment trial of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Democrats in the Senate steamrolled through motions and voted to dismiss the first article of impeachment brought against him.

Shortly thereafter, they dismissed the second article as well, without ever hearing evidence or conducting a trial.

Majority of Voters Polled Believe U.S. is Being Invaded at Southern Border

April 17, 2024 The Center Square

CBP Officer chasing illegal border crossers

The majority of American voters polled believe the U.S. is being invaded at the southern border.

The findings come after Texas counties have led the national conversation on invasion, introducing the term and making the case for Texas’ constitutional right to self-defense.

Illegals Instructed to Vote Biden for Border NGO to ‘Stay Open’

Group photo of Resource Center Matamoros staff

An advocacy group based in Northeastern Mexico that lobbies U.S. lawmakers has distributed and posted flyers encouraging illegal immigrants to vote for President Joe Biden in the 2024 election, according to The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project.

Translated from Spanish, the Oversight Project notes, the flyers posted by the organization Resource Center Matamoros say: “Reminder to vote for President Biden when you are in the United States. We need another four years of his term to stay open.” (The Daily Signal is Heritage’s news and commentary outlet.)

Johnson Vows Not to Resign, as Second GOP Lawmaker Announces Support for Ouster

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., announced on social media Tuesday that he’s co-sponsoring a motion to vacate the chair against House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

In doing so, Massie joined the motion to vacate push against Johnson launched by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., in March. Massie is the first other Republican to back Greene in the effort.

Most Americans Don’t Think Trump Acted Illegally in Alvin Bragg Case: Poll

April 17, 2024April 16, 2024 Kaitlin Housler

Only 35 perdent of Americans believe former President Donald Trump acted illegally in regard to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against him, which began on Monday, a Tuesday poll found.

Jury selection is underway in the first of Trump’s four criminal cases, where he faces 34 felony counts over allegations related to falsifying business records when reimbursing a hush money payment to former porn star actress Stormy Daniels leading up to the 2016 election. As Trump sits in the courtroom this week, 31 percent believe Trump’s alleged actions were “unethical, but not illegal,” 14 percent argue he did “nothing wrong” and 19 percent said they “don’t know enough to say,” according to an AP/NORC poll.

Ohio Court Blocks House Bill 68 from Taking Effect Next Week

The Franklin County Court of Common Pleas issued a temporary restraining order on Tuesday to prevent House Bill 68 from taking immediate effect.

House Bill 68, which includes the SAFE Act and the Save Women’s Sports Act, was set to take effect next week on April 24.

Commentary: Lawfare Didn’t Begin with Trump

The newest buzzword in politics is “Lawfare,” the effort to cripple political opponents through legal initiatives, preferably by bringing criminal cases. Today’s favorite target is former President Trump, who has been indicted in various state and federal jurisdictions for some ninety-one felonies.

Amazingly, Wikipedia’s current “Lawfare” entry goes into great detail concerning the term’s origins and current application – defining Lawfare as “the use of legal systems and institutions to damage or delegitimize an opponent, or to deter an individual’s usage of their legal rights” without any mention whatsoever of its current use against Trump.

Soros-Funded DA Faces Recall Vote After Crime Ravages Blue County

An effort to recall a George Soros-funded California district attorney has received enough signatures to advance, according to a county document.

Organizers seeking to oust Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price have collected 74,757 verified signatures in support of their effort to hold a recall election, over 1,000 more than needed, the Alameda County Registrar of Voters announced Monday. Save Alameda for Everyone, one of the primary committees campaigning for Price’s removal, argues that Price has been prioritizing offenders over victims, contributing to an uptick in crime in their community.

Julie Kelly Commentary: The Supreme Court Can Right an Egregious Wrong in Jan 6 Cases, But Will It?

April 17, 2024 Julie Kelly

In July 2023, Joshua Youngerman was arrested in California on five misdemeanors for his participation in the events of January 6. According to charging documents, Youngerman entered the Capitol at 2:37 p.m. — 20 minutes after the House went into recess amid the escalating chaos — through an open door as Capitol…

Commentary: Inflation Will Stick Around as Long as The Big Spenders Do

April 17, 2024 Bethany Bowman

August came early to the nation’s capital with last week’s round of March inflation data. The late summer weather in Washington, D.C., is notoriously hot and sticky, two accurate descriptors of the latest price increases facing families and businesses alike. Inflation is stubbornly high, and the Biden administration’s spendthrift public policies are to blame.

In the past 12 months, consumer prices rose 3.5 percent, the second month of accelerating annual inflation. In March alone, prices rose 0.4 percent. That may not sound like much, but it’s actually terrible. If that monthly inflation rate holds steady, prices will double in less than 16 years.

Music Spotlight: Lindy Boone

Lindy Boone, daughter of Pat Boone and sister to Debby Boone, Cherry Boone, and Laurey Boone, has been singing all her life.

They attended a church that didn’t use musical instruments, so everyone learned to sing instead. Their mama, singer Shirley Lee Foley, taught her daughters to sing harmony.

Federal Appeals Court Overturns West Virginia Transgender Sports Ban

April 17, 2024 Just the News

In a 2-1 ruling, the court ruled that the law violated Title IX, which prohibits gender discrimination in schools.

A federal appeals court on Tuesday overturned a West Virginia law that banned transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams.

Trump’s Truth Social Formally Launching Video Streaming Platform

April 16, 2024April 16, 2024 Just the News

The Trump Media & Technology Group Corporation, which runs the social media platform Truth Social, announced on Tuesday that it is formally launching a “new live TV streaming platform and will begin scaling up its own content delivery network,” according to a news release.

Left-Wing Outlet Hurtles Toward Bankruptcy Following Megadonor’s Retreat: Report

April 16, 2024April 15, 2024 Ohio Star Staff

The Intercept is losing money amid left-wing megadonor Pierre Omidyar’s choice to stop providing funds to the outlet, Semafor reported on Sunday.

The Intercept is hemorrhaging around $300,000 monthly and is on pace to possess less than 1 million dollars in reserves by November, according to internal data distributed inside the outlet in March, Semafor reported. The outlet could potentially deplete its cash reserves entirely by May 2025 after Omidyar’s First Look Media decided to terminate its funding in late 2022.

Compensation Rate Increase for Veterans with Disabilities, Survivors Proposed

April 16, 2024 The Center Square

Federal legislation has been proposed, led in part by a North Carolina congressman, to increase the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and military survivors under the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act, known by the acronym COLA Act, could go into effect as soon as Dec. 1, with adjustment parallel to the annual COLA adjustment to Social Security benefits, as determined by the Social Security Administration.

Nikki Haley Announces New Gig After Failed Presidential Campaign

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley will serve as the next Walter P. Stern Chair of the conservative Hudson Institute following her suspended 2024 presidential run, according to a Monday press release.

Haley was the last remaining challenger to former President Donald Trump in the Republican primary until she dropped out of the race following a slew of Super Tuesday losses. The former ambassador and South Carolina governor, who received a Global Leadership Award from the foreign policy think tank in 2018, said she will seek to “defend the principles that make America the greatest country in the world,” according to the press release.

Media Picks Up Novel Legal Theory Suggesting Big Oil Is Homicidal

A new narrative is making its way through major media outlets about major oil corporations: climate change that they purportedly caused is taking lives, and they could be held liable for homicide.

In recent weeks, numerous outlets have run stories or opinion pieces promoting or otherwise examining the novel legal theory, which is the subject of a new paper published by the Harvard Environmental Law Review, according to a Tuesday E&E News report detailing the architects’ efforts to market their idea to prosecutors. The Boston Globe, The Guardian, Newsweek, Inside Climate News and other outlets have all recently published pieces promoting the idea that leading oil companies could or should be charged with murder for their role in climate change, which the theory’s architects claim has caused thousands of deaths in the U.S.

Commentary: Speaker Mike Johnson’s ‘Personal Conservatism’ Betrays the Conservative Movement

April 16, 2024April 15, 2024 Kaitlin Housler

The election of Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana to Speaker of the House has thrown into stark relief the difference between what one might call “personal conservatives” and those of us who consider ourselves to be part of the conservative movement, or movement conservatives.

There’s no doubt that Speaker Johnson lives his life according to a set of conservative principles: He’s a church-going man known for his personal rectitude; he married his wife in a “covenant marriage;” as a lawyer he advocated a constitutional “textualist” approach to his cases; he spent many years actively involved in advancing the Right-to-Life; he opposes same sex marriages, and in 2015 he took one of his daughters to a purity ball.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose Applauds House Speaker Mike Johnson and Former President Trump’s Election Integrity Proposal

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose applauded former President Donald Trump and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson’s (R-LA-04) election integrity proposal to ensure that only U.S. citizens are allowed to register and vote in American elections.

Gen Z Returning to Trade and Vocational Schools

Just when it appeared that skilled trades and vocational schools appeared to be on a permanent decline in the United States, members of Generation Z are beginning to embrace such professions in what may mark the beginning of a comeback.

According to Axios, the amount of enrollments in vocational programs has been gradually increasing as members of Gen Z, also known as “Zoomers,” are turning to trade schools as a cheaper alternative to the more expensive four-year universities.

Analysis: New Poll Finds Trump Leads Biden Among Voters Above 30 Years Old Who Say It’s Time for a Change

Former President Donald Trump led among voters above the age of 30 years old in the latest Emerson national poll taken April 2-3 over incumbent President Joe Biden, who only led among younger voters 18 to 29, 50.2 percent to 39.6 percent.

New ‘Athenai Institute’ Pushes Universities to Divest from China