Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
May 5, 2021
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Births in US Drop to Levels Not Seen Since 1979 . . . Because the Covid-19 pandemic emerged in March, the figures capture just a short period at year’s end when the unfolding health and economic crisis could be reflected in women’s decisions about getting pregnant. Women typically have fewer babies when the economy weakens. Fears of getting sick, making medical appointments and delivering a baby as a deadly virus spread also dissuaded
some women from pregnancy. Demographers say the data suggests that more fundamental social and economic shifts are driving down fertility. Births peaked in 2007 before plunging during the recession that began that year. Although fertility usually rebounds alongside an improving economy, U.S. births fell in all but one year as the economy grew from 2009 until early 2020. Millennials fuel continued downward trend in fertility rates. Wall Street Journal
Hmm. Might shoving puberty blockers down the kids' throats and confusing them about their gender have anything to do with the millennials' low fertility rates? Just wondering.
Trump makes strongest suggestion yet that he will run in 2024 . . . Donald Trump hinted strongly Tuesday night that he will be a candidate for president in 2024. “I think people are going to be very, very happy when I make a certain announcement,” Trump said during an appearance by phone on Candace Owen’s Daily Wire show “Candace.” Trump said it is very early in the cycle to reveal his intentions, and that campaign finance laws were
causing a delay. “Otherwise I’d give you an answer that I think you’d be very happy with,” Trump told Owens. “All I say is, ‘Stay tuned.’” White House Dossier
Trump circumvents Twitter, Facebook bans by launching own blog . . . Donald Trump has started what appears to be a new blog called “From the Desk of Donald Trump.” It’s unclear if this is the beginning of the long-rumored social media platform. At this point, it’s just a new page on his website. But it allows Trump to post, and allows followers to share the former president’s posts to Twitter and Facebook. However, the new
platform does not have a feature to allow users to "reply" or engage with Trump’s posts. “President Trump’s website is a great resource to find his latest statements and highlights from his first term in office, but this is not a new social media platform,” senior advisor Jason Miller told Fox News. “We’ll have additional information coming on that front in the very near future.” Facebooks is expected to announce today whether it will permanently ban Trump from Facebook and Instagram.
White House Dossier
How Apportionment Defrauds American Citizens . . . The inclusion of non-citizens, including illegal aliens, in the population used to determine apportionment means that many Americans—and states—are being defrauded of their fair share of representation in Congress. The new census data show that Texas, because of the addition of 4 million new residents, will get two more members of the House. Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Oregon, and
Montana will each have one new representative. This will be Oregon’s first new representative in 40 years, and Montana will go from having just one member of the House to two. The big losers are California, Illinois, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, each of which will be losing a seat. When one state gains representation, another state loses it. This mobility is being driven, in addition to other issues, by a growing alien population that is unfairly and
unjustly altering political representation in the House, cheating citizens and devaluing their votes. Daily Signal
Dems fret over Biden spending . . . A number of Democrats are beginning to fret over President Biden’s big spending proposals, worrying the steep price tag could cost the party in the 2022 midterm elections. While liberal Democrats are cheering Biden on, moderates say the $4.1 trillion in infrastructure and social spending, coming after the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief measure, could hurt their efforts to hold the House next
year. “I can see the ads now. ‘Joe Biden the $6 trillion dollar man,’ ” said one Democratic strategist. “Democrats are like kids being given the keys to the candy store right now,” said another Democratic strategist. “We have all this candy, and we’ll worry about the stomach ache later.” The Hill
Move over Marine Corps, AOC's pushing for 1.5M-strong 'Climate Corps' . . . Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive lawmakers are calling for the creation of a 1.5 million-strong group of civilians to work on federally funded projects addressing climate change as part of their sweeping Green New Deal legislation. Members of the Civilian Climate Corps would receive on-the-job training and work with community groups on
initiatives to "reduce carbon emissions, enable a transition to renewable energy, build healthier and more resilient communities, implement conservation projects with proven climate benefits, and help communities recover from climate disasters." Fox News
Progressive Caucus chair hails Biden agenda . . . It’s “full of progressive priorities,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington state, of President Biden’s program. She’s beaming with pride. The leftist agenda has taken full control of the Democratic Party. And how come such people are never referred to as “extreme left wing,” in the way that conservatives are often call right-wing extremists? White House Dossier
Elise Stefanik moves to quickly consolidate GOP support as Liz Cheney replacement . . . New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, a staunch defender of former President Donald Trump, is working behind the scenes to lock down enough support to replace Rep. Liz Cheney as the No. 3 in GOP leadership, multiple Republican sources said, moving swiftly to clear the field to ascend to the powerful position. No GOP challenger to Stefanik has emerged. Members of
the House GOP leadership are quietly backing Stefanik's ascent to the post, a rapid turn of events amid Cheney's bitter feud with Trump, which has left her increasingly isolated in the House GOP conference. Stefanik has been working the phones throughout the day on Tuesday. A vote on Cheney's future and replacement is expected as soon as May 12. "The field is clear for her at the moment," said another House GOP source who asked to talk anonymously to discuss sensitive internal
politics. CNN
Republicans move to sink Biden ATF nominee: “Enemy of the 2nd amendment” . . . David Chipman favors banning the AR-15, the most popular in a America. Dozens of House Republicans are urging the Senate to oppose President Biden’s nomination of David Chipman as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), calling him an “enemy of the 2nd Amendment” and saying his confirmation would “jeopardize” the constitutional rights of
gun owners. Biden last month nominated Chipman, a former federal agent and adviser at the gun control group Giffords, to be director of ATF. White House Dossier
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New Bill to Crack Down on Chinese Business Operating Near Air Force Base . . . Texas lawmakers are attempting to root out a China-backed business creeping into territory near a U.S. Air Force base. Legislation that passed unanimously through the state senate in April would ban businesses backed by hostile countries such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea from acquiring critical infrastructure contracts or companies
within the state. The bill's sponsors hope to make a stand against the incursion of Chinese business into the Texas power grid."The federal government is not stepping up to the plate to make sure that our country is secure," State senator Donna Campbell (R., Texas), a cosponsor of the act told the Washington Free Beacon. "This was happening right under our nose." Washington Free Beacon
This is Russia's MO as well. "Hold your friends close and enemies even closer" mentality. Why does it take the feds decades to wise up? Or never, in some cases.
Plans for a new Space National Guard close to liftoff, top general says . . . Pentagon officials are finalizing recommendations to establish a separate Space National Guard, the nation's top National Guard officer told lawmakers, potentially setting up a new cadre of part-time space professionals for the military. Gen. Daniel Hokanson on Tuesday called establishing a Space National Guard "among my most pressing
concerns." Hokanson told members that the Space Force's top officer, Gen. Jay Raymond, and acting Air Force Secretary John Roth support "a two component construct" of an active-duty and Reserve Space Force along with a Space National Guard. The trio, he testified, have met with Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and are set to speak again Wednesday ahead of a briefing with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on the plan. Politico
Our highly sophisticated space assets give US military strategic advantage by providing intelligence, missile warning, command and control, and other critical functions. By standing up this new Space entity, the feds seek to mitigate the shortages of qualified space cadre in this national security area that is targeted by Russia and China who view it as a vulnerability. Space warfare, along with cyber warfare, are the new doctrinal developments in both
Russia's and China's warfigthing strategies. The question is: will another layer of US government bureaucracy solve the problem?
China on campus: How the DOJ has battled 'nontraditional espionage' . . . U.S. national security officials are increasingly sounding the alarm about the economic challenge and national security threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party, especially as the Chinese government’s Thousand Talents Program exploits the openness of academia in the United States to steal advanced research to increase China’s wealth and enhance its power. The
Justice Department’s China Initiative is shining the spotlight on the Chinese Communist Party’s coordinated and multifaceted efforts to steal research and technology from academic institutions across the country, with prosecutors mounting aggressive efforts over the past few years to crack down on Chinese malign influence at U.S. universities. Washington Examiner
‘Alarming rate’: Demoralized cops flee police departments in record numbers . . .Police officers nationwide are turning in their badges at record rates amid budget cuts, policy changes and anti-brutality protests. An estimated 5,300 officers quit or retired from the New York Police Department last year, 200 or more cops have left the Seattle force, and in the nation’s capital, the union reports that the 3,700-strong Metropolitan Police
Department is down 300 badges since the D.C. Council enacted sweeping police reforms last summer. “Officers are leaving at an alarming rate, and crime is spiking in a lot of different areas,” police union chairman Gregg Pemberton told The Washington Times on Tuesday.
Gunman ambushed and shot police officer, then killed himself . . . A Nashville, Tenn., police officer was shot Tuesday evening in an ambush-style attack while responding to a home where a gunman had lured officers before opening fire and eventually killing himself, police said. Officer Brian Sherman was shot in the upper left arm as he and other officers responded to a "setup call" amid reports of a woman shot inside a home just
after 6:10 p.m. A man called 911 saying his brother shot his mother and was firing inside, police spokesman Don Aaron said. When officers arrived at the home and knocked on the door, they were met with gunfire, Aaron said. Fox News
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Pfizer to ask for FDA authorization of vaccine for children age 2-11 . . . Pfizer will seek federal authorization to use its coronavirus vaccine in children age 2 to 11 in September, the company announced Tuesday. Safety and efficacy trials in children as young as six months are continuing. While young children have shown to be less likely to experience severe cases of COVID-19, inoculating them is thought to be key to stamping out
transmission of the coronavirus. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a Tuesday earnings call that the company plans to submit a request for expanded use authorization from the FDA to use the two-dose vaccine in children six months to 2 years old before the end of the year. Washington Examiner
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Washington shies away from open declaration to defend Taiwan . . . The top White House Asia official has warned that any declaration that the US would defend Taiwan from a Chinese attack would carry “significant downsides”. Washington has for decades maintained a policy of “strategic ambiguity” regarding Taiwan, designed to discourage Taipei from declaring independence and China from taking military action to seize the country. Beijing
claims democratic Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory. Some experts have called for a shift to “strategic clarity” to make clear to Beijing that the US would defend Taiwan. China’s aggressive military activity and growing defense capabilities warrant a stronger message from Washington, some analysts have argued. But others have contended that the response could trigger an undesired outcome. China has warned the US about crossing a “red line” over Taiwan. Financial Times
US military in Europe begins major exercises in Russia's backyard . . . U.S. military forces in Europe started an exercise Tuesday that will put 28,000 troops from 26 countries near Russian territory for over six weeks, with a focus on the Balkans and Black Sea region. European Command's largest multinational exercise comes on the heels of a Russian military exercise involving some 100,000 troops massed on the eastern border of
Ukraine and in occupied Crimea. The long-planned American exercise will test infrastructure and interoperability in NATO’s southeastern flank. The Pentagon said a major difference between Russia’s exercises and the U.S. exercises is that “it's a defensive exercise." Washington
Examiner
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Yellen clarifies inflation comments after roiling Wall Street . . .Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday she wasn’t expecting an inflation problem as the U.S. economy rebounds, walking back comments that unsettled markets hours earlier. Yellen had said earlier in the day that interest rates may need to be hiked in order to stave off inflation. “So let me be clear: That’s not something I’m predicting or recommending,” Yellen said
during a Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit. The Federal Reserve would make the decision on rate hikes. “It may be that interest rates will have to rise somewhat to make sure that our economy doesn’t overheat,” Yellen said. New York Post
Unemployment benefits undercut businesses as Demts' 'automatic stabilizers' keep people at home . . . President Biden’s push to extend supercharged unemployment benefits based on the jobless rate or other economic indicators is frustrating small-business owners who are struggling to lure employees back to the workforce. In Mr. Biden $1.8 trillion “American Families Plan,” the White House says the president wants to work with Congress “to
automatically adjust the length and amount of [jobless] benefits unemployed workers receive depending on economic conditions.”
Mr. Biden has expressed support for the long democrats' pushed idea of “automatic stabilizers” for the jobless benefits. Small-business owners, though, say indefinite federal assistance would give people further reason to stay out of the labor market. Washington Times
Biden Wants Higher Taxes Than China’s . . . The concept driving President Biden’s tax proposals for individuals is that the long-term capital gains and dividends of wealthy investors should be taxed as ordinary income. If the concept becomes law, the US will have hamstrung itself economically by impairing a key engine of growth—the individual risk-taking needed to start companies and create jobs. The current top rate on long-term
capital gains is 23.8%. Mr. Biden proposes to push the top rate to 43.4%. The most critical comparison is between the U.S. and China, which has adopted key Western investment policies and made no secret of its desire to become the world’s leading economy. Mr. Biden has acknowledged this, calling Beijing’s intentions to displace U.S. global leadership “deadly earnest.” The top capital-gains tax rate for Chinese investors is 20%. The Chinese model, a political dictatorship, a
market economy, and low taxes for investors, continues to generate rapid economic gains. Wall Street Journal
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Private school parents pressured to become BLM activists, NYC dad says . . . A New York City father who went viral after pulling his daughter out of The Brearley School after seven years shared new details about the elite school's left-wing culture in a new video interview with Fox News. Andrew Gutmann said that Left-wing activism was the norm at the the school and that families were pressured to "advocate for
Black Lives Matter."Gutmann described the pressure to conform as so intense that "if you just stay silent, you’re racist. You have to be an activist for that. If you’re not an activist for an antiracism initiative, for Black Lives Matter, for example, you are racist, you are a bad person, you are an oppressor, you are not doing the right thing." Fox News
BLM is Marxist/Communist organization whose leadership misuses your donations to enrich themselves. Messrs. and Mmes. Suburbanites, don't be duped or afraid - please tear down these BLM yard signs on your lawns.
PragerU Sets Out to ‘Inoculate’ Children Against Critical Theory . . . Online education nonprofit PragerU has started to produce content specifically for children. Named PREP (PragerU Resources for Educators and Parents), the materials are designed to be not only entertaining, but also teach traditional American values in counter to what they see as damaging political indoctrination in schools. “There are shows and resources . . . that
celebrate our American values, what American was built on: equality of opportunity, honesty, respect, hard work. Those are all values that are quite frankly pro-American values, which a lot of our kids are not getting at school now because of the injection of far-left directives—such as DEI [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion], Critical Race Theory—we’re seeing all of these directives being injected in our public or private schools,” said Jill Simonian, former television host and current PREP outreach
director. Epoch Times
No Praying or Parking in the Capital . . . Biden administration is wrecking DC traditions with its security theater. “Deeply troubling.” That was the Reverend Patrick Mahoney’s response when he was denied a permit to hold a prayer service at the U.S. Capitol on the National Day of Prayer tomorrow. “For 70 years, there has been a public witness on the National Day of Prayer at the U.S. Capitol Building. Until today! Our request to have
prayer service was denied,” read a statement by Mahoney. He further observed, “The ‘People’s House,’ as the U.S. Capitol Building is so rightly called, must be a place where all Americans are afforded the right to come and peacefully celebrate and express their First Amendment rights. Tragically, those rights and freedoms are being denied and prohibited.” Patriot Post
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Nature at its craziest: Trillions of cicadas about to emerge . . . Within days, a couple weeks at most, the cicadas of Brood X (ten) will emerge after 17 years underground. This brood is one of the largest and most noticeable. They’ll be in 15 states from Indiana to Georgia to New York; they’re coming out now in mass numbers in Tennessee and North Carolina. When the entire brood emerges, backyards can look like undulating
waves, and the bug chorus is lawnmower loud.
The cicadas will mostly come out at dusk to try to avoid everything that wants to eat them, squiggling out of holes in the ground. They’ll try to climb up trees or anything vertical, including Raupp and Shrewsbury. Once off the ground, they shed their skins and try to survive that vulnerable stage before they become dinner to a host of critters including ants, birds, dogs, cats and Raupp.
It’s one of nature’s weirdest events, featuring sex, a race against death, evolution and what can sound like a bad science fiction movie soundtrack. Some people may be repulsed. Psychiatrists are calling entomologists worrying about their patients, Shrewsbury said. But scientists say the arrival of Brood X is a sign that despite pollution, climate change and dramatic biodiversity loss, something is still right with nature. And it’s quite a show. Associated Press
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Rebekah Koffler
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