Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
May 28, 2021
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Senator Johnson delays exit for the Memorial Day recess as votes pushed to Friday . . . Senate hopes of votes on a China competitiveness bill and legislation to form a commission to probe the Jan. 6 Capitol riots were dashed Thursday night after Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and other conservatives raised objections to the China bill, delaying the Senate's planned exit. The Senate will now be back in session at 9 a.m. after adjourning at 3
a.m. to try to move forward again. Johnson, backed by a group of fellow conservative senators, threw the China bill back limbo as he refused to let it move forward over frustration that he didn’t get some of his amendments in the package. “Everybody else seems to have gotten something in this manager's package,” he said, adding that reporters should expect to be in the Capitol for a “long time.” He also told reporters that senators needed “time” to “read and consider” what’s been
added to the bill. The Hill
DHS eyes deleting gang questions from green card application . . . Homeland Security is moving to cut questions about gang affiliation from the application migrants file to get green cards, in a change that one former employee says could mean dangerous criminals will have an easier time getting through the process.
Rob Law, a former chief of policy and strategy at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, revealed the planned changes Thursday, saying it appears to be part of the Biden team’s attempt at erasing the get-tough approach of the previous administration. “The biggest beneficiaries of that ‘compassion’ are apparently the most violent and dangerous aliens in the country,” said Mr. Law, who is now at the Center for Immigration Studies. Wash. Times
Biden uses intelligence community to shield China from accountability . . . When President Donald Trump told the world that COVID-19 might have emerged from a lab in Wuhan, China, last year, one common reaction was that of mocking disdain. Experts, many in the media, and Democrats rebuked Trump as having offered a conspiracy theory. It appears the experts were wrong, and Trump was right. President Joe Biden’s 90-day intelligence
review of COVID-19's origins, and worse, his reliance on China and the WHO, amount to a sham. This pandemic has cost more than 3.5 million lives and destroyed many hundreds of millions of livelihoods across the globe. The Biden administration must not pretend their 90-day review will produce results. It will not. The proposal is meaningless, toothless, and a politically face-saving farce. The administration must immediately hold China accountable for its actions and conduct a
full, transparent investigation on the decisions Beijing and the WHO made in 2019 and 2020. Commentary. Wash. Examiner
Biden warns Republicans not to 'get in the way' of more spending . . . President Biden on Thursday warned Republicans touting parts of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package they universally opposed not to “get in the way” of the $4 trillion-plus economic agenda Mr. Biden says is needed to sustain a longer-term economic recovery.
Mr. Biden whipped out a list of GOP lawmakers he said are praising parts of the relief package while they’re back home in their districts, like a special fund for hard-hit restaurants and money for community health care centers. Wash Times
McAuliffe Takes Thousands from Teachers’ Union as Leader Defends 1619 Project . . . Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe took $25,000 from the American Federation of Teachers in April as the union's leader defended teaching the controversial 1619 Project in classrooms. McAuliffe accepted the contribution just days before AFT president Randi Weingarten praised the New York Times feature as a "factual version of
oppression in America" targeted by "people who have no idea what [critical race theory] means." McAuliffe's deep ties to the union—he's received $175,000 from the AFT since 2013—could prove to be a vulnerability as growing numbers of Virginia parents bristle at the union's embrace of controversial critical race theory programs while resisting in-person schooling. Free Beacon
Bill introduced to strengthen federal cyber workforce following major hacks . . Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) on Friday introduced legislation to strengthen the federal workforce in the wake of a year of escalating cyber threats and attacks. The Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program Act aims to build up the federal government’s cybersecurity program by establishing a program to allow cybersecurity professionals
to rotate through multiple federal agencies and enhance their cybersecurity expertise. The bill would encourage agency leaders to identify cybersecurity positions that can be rotated through government, and give the Office of Personnel Management Jurisdiction over the Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program. The Hill
Trey Gowdy: High-level Trump administration officials 'don't have a clue' about John Durham's progress . . . High-level members of the Trump administration have no idea what is happening in special counsel John Durham's investigation, according to former Rep. Trey Gowdy. The South Carolina Republican told listeners of his podcast last week he recently met with some former officials and reportedly discussed the prosecutor's inquiry into
the origins and conduct of the FBI's Russia investigation. "The reality is no one knows," Gowdy said. "I mean I — there are people that were really, really high up in government. Like really high up in government in the last administration that I talked to in the last week, and they don't have a clue." Wash Examiner
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Biden Admin Can’t Guarantee Taxpayer Aid Won’t Enrich Hamas . . . As the Biden administration allocates more than $100 million in U.S. taxpayer aid to the Palestinian government and aid groups, critics are raising concerns that the State Department cannot ensure this aid won't reach the Iranian-backed terror group Hamas. State Department officials have thus far declined to outline what mechanisms, if any, it has put in
place to stop a tranche of aid money from reaching Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and is responsible for initiating a deadly conflict with Israel this month. The State Department admitted this week that it could not guarantee the tranche of money will be kept from Hamas.
Free Beacon
Dumb.
Russia seized State Department's e-mail system, carries out cyber attack . . . Hackers linked to Russia’s main intelligence agency surreptitiously seized an email system used by the State Department’s international aid agency to burrow into the computer networks of human rights groups and other organizations of the sort that have been critical of President Vladimir V. Putin, Microsoft Corporation disclosed on Thursday. Discovery
of the breach comes only three weeks before President Biden is scheduled to meet Mr. Putin in Geneva. The newly disclosed attack was also particularly bold: By breaching the systems of a supplier used by the federal government, the hackers sent out genuine-looking emails to more than 3,000 accounts across more than 150 organizations that regularly receive communications from the United States Agency for International Development. Those emails went out as recently as this week, and Microsoft
said it believes the attacks are ongoing. NYT
Screenshot of the spearfishing e-mail from the GRU -- featuring USAID logo and all -- looks very authentic. We've got to be super vigilant opening emails from unknown senders, and more so clicking on anything in them.
After Colonial attack, energy companies rush to secure cyber insurance . . . U.S. energy companies are scrambling to buy more cyber insurance after this month's attack on Colonial Pipeline disrupted the U.S. fuel supply, but they can expect to pay more as cyber insurers plan to hike rates following a slew of ransomware attacks. The Colonial ransomware attack on May 7 shut the largest fuel pipeline network in the United States for several
days, crippling fuel delivery to most of the U.S. East Coast. Pipeline companies rely on electronic networks, putting them at risk of additional attacks that could hamper delivery of crude oil or other fuels. Insurers are preparing to increase cyber insurance premiums by 25% to 40% across many industries because of the number of claims, insurance companies and brokers have said. But energy companies should expect rate increases at the higher end of the spectrum as the Colonial attack
exposed their vulnerabilities and exposed insurers to losses. Fox Business
More money for cyber criminals to extort.
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Scientists claim to have solved Covid vaccine blood-clot puzzle . . . Scientists in Germany claim to have cracked the cause of the rare blood clots linked to the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccines and believe the jabs could be tweaked to stop the reaction happening altogether. Rolf Marschalek, a professor at Goethe university in Frankfurt who has been leading studies into the rare condition since March, said
his research showed the problem sat with the adenovirus vectors that both vaccines use to deliver the genetic instructions for the spike protein of the Sars-Cov-2 virus into the body. The delivery mechanism means the vaccines send the DNA gene sequences of the spike protein into the cell nucleus rather than the cytosol fluid found inside the cell where the virus normally produces proteins, Marschalek and other scientists said in a preprint paper released on Wednesday. Financial Times
Intel officials told White House they have unexamined evidence on coronavirus origins: report . . . Intelligence officials told the White House that they have a large amount of unexamined evidence related to the origins of COVID-19, which is part of what prompted President Biden to announce publicly he asked them "redouble their efforts" to find the source of the pandemic. The New York Times reported Thursday that officials planned to use
computer analysis to figure out if the virus accidently leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China, to track the movements of lab workers and examine patterns of the outbreak. Officials would not offer any details on the new evidence to the Times or the type of computer analysis that would be conducted. The Hill
Anything they might find that would reflect negatively on Biden or the IC will remain "classified." On the other hand, anything that could be spun as Trump's fault -- that type of intel would be promptly declassified.
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Israel Defense Forces Prepare for Another Hamas Offensive . . . IDF are preparing for renewed attacks from Hamas one week after a ceasefire was reached. While Israel's political leaders have praised the ceasefire as a successful deterrence of Hamas, IDF officers have privately expressed worries that the terrorist group may reinitiate the conflict, according to Haaretz. Israel's attacks damaged only 10 percent of
Hamas’s rocket launching network, and the Iran-backed terrorist group has thousands of missiles left. Without a long-term political agreement between the two, Israeli defense officials say, the fighting will resume. Washington Free Beacon
Assad “wins” another 7 years as Syria’s president . . . Bashar Assad pocketed 95.1pc (!) of the votes in Syria’s president election which his opponents and the West branded as marred by fraud. More than 14 million Syrians took part although more than half of the population were driven out of their homes by the brutal 11-year civil war. Assad. 55, has won seven more years in power. He took office in 2000 when his father Hafez al-Assad died after 30
years as ruler. DEBKAfile
Milley says U.S. working on plans to evacuate Afghan interpreters, others who aided America . . . As the U.S. plans to withdraw all of its troops from Afghanistan by later this year, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said Thursday that the American government is working on plans to evacuate Afghan interpreters and others who have assisted the U.S. Milley noted that those people's "safety could be at risk" and
that there is recognition of the importance "that we do what's necessary to ensure their protection, and if necessary, get them out of the country, if that's what they want to do." Just the News
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Trump laments 7-year-high gas prices as Americans prep for Memorial Day . . . Former President Donald Trump expressed concern Thursday for Americans forced to pay sky-high gas prices as millions hit the road for the Memorial Day holiday. “I’m sorry to say the gasoline prices that you will be confronted with are far higher than they were just a short number of months ago where we had gasoline under $2 a gallon,” Trump said.
According to AAA, travelers will face the highest prices at the pump this weekend since 2014, when the agency’s national average gas price sat at $3.65 cents per gallon. As of Thursday, the national average was $3.04 per gallon. New York Post
Biden proposing endless, unlimited spending and taxing . . . This is the beginning of true socialism in this country. And with Democrats in control of Congress, it is likely to pass. And once programs are in place, it is tough to undo them. You can decide whether to give your child something. But just try taking it away once they have it. Mixed into the argument for the spending is that needs are not just something people want, but
are racial or other kinds of “injustices” that must addressed. That argument makes it even tougher to resist. Even the New York Times seems a little shocked by what’s going on: “President Biden will propose a $6 trillion budget on Friday that would take the United States to its highest sustained levels of federal spending since World War II, while running deficits above $1.3 trillion throughout the next decade. White House Dossier
Yellen pitches $13B budget increase for IRS . . . Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday asked Congress to approve an additional $13.2 billion in funding for the IRS, which has seen its budget gutted over the past decade. While testifying before a House panel that plays a vital role in spending, Yellen said that government funding – not accounting for inflation – has been unchanged since 2010. She said that boosting funding for
the IRS is a top priority for the Biden administration, which is looking to enhance tax enforcement in order to fund a nearly $4 trillion spending proposal that would rebuild the nation's infrastructure and dramatically expand the government-funded safety net. Fox Business
Steve Forbes isn’t having any of it.
Apple’s First Chinese Data Center Gives Government Access To Chinese Users’ iCloud Data . . . Apple this week opened its first data center in China, which privacy advocates say will allow the Chinese surveillance state to access users' text messages, photos, and emails. The facility, which Apple built in partnership with state-owned firm Guizhou-Cloud Big Data (GCBD), will house Apple servers in an arrangement that allows the Chinese
government easier access to Chinese users' iCloud data. The relationship highlights a troubling pattern of American tech and media companies conceding to Chinese government demands in order to continue doing business in the country. Apple has made a series of compromises with the Chinese government in order to continue doing business there. Free Beacon
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BLM Co-Founder To Step Down Following Reports Of Self-Dealing . . . Patrisse Cullors, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, will depart from her role as the organization’s executive director, the charity announced Thursday. Cullors’ abrupt departure from the charity, which serves as the national arm of the BLM movement, came three weeks after the Daily Caller News Foundation reported that she had used her
position as the charity’s leader to funnel business to an art company led by the father of her only child. Charity experts said BLM’s arrangement with the art company, Trap Heals, amounts to self-dealing and raises ethical and legal questions. Daily Caller
Biden putting former US Marine in danger of assassination by Kim Jong Un . . . Christopher Ahn is worried about Kim Jong Un putting a target on his back. “The court has recognized that there is a danger to my life and to those around me if I leave this country," Ahn told Fox News. Ann was told by th eJustics Department that the danger exponentially increases if he leaves the United States. The Biden administration is trying
to extradite the 39-year-old former U.S. Marine officer to Spain, to what his supporters say is certain assassination by Kim Jong Un’s regime for his anti-regime activities. Ahn was arrested in 2019 as a member of the group Free Joseon. The group, whose name means “Free North Korea,” opposes the Kim regime and has helped several high-level North Koreans defect. Fox News
Lockheed Martin and the Woke Industrial Complex . . . Our nation’s largest defense contractor has thrown in with the woke supremacists. A company called “White Men as Full Diversity Partners” is not some satirical sendup by the Babylon Bee but rather an actual American business with dozens of employees — headquartered, just as antifa is, in the scenic cesspool of Portland, Oregon. It’s an even sadder sign of the times that Lockheed
Martin, our nation’s largest defense contractor, was suckered into spending good money with them. Lockheed Martin sent its white male executives to what was labeled as a “white men’s caucus” — “a three-day diversity-training program aimed at deconstructing their ‘white male culture’ and encouraging them to atone for their ‘white male privilege.’” Patriot Post
How do we stop this insanity?
Kellogg's releases 'Together With Pride' cereal celebrating preferred gender pronouns . . . Kellogg Company released a limited-edition breakfast cereal designed to support the LBGTQ community and to promote a message that people do not need to fit in a single box when selecting pronouns. The "boxes are for cereal, not for people" concept celebrates people "no matter who you are, who you love, or what pronouns you use," Kellogg said in a
statement. The product is called Together With Pride cereal. On each box, consumers will be able to obtain a tear-out "Together Band" to share and wear their pronouns, which includes representation for non-binary and transgender individuals. The concept is a collaboration with GLAAD. Fox
Business
Child abuse.
High School Prohibits Valedictorian From Speaking About Christianity In Speech . . . The valedictorian of a Michigan high school had her speech censored by her principal for openly talking about her Christian faith, and was told it was “not appropriate” to discuss at the school event. Elizabeth Turner, the Valedictorian of Hillsdale High School had her speech censored in portions of the text where she mentions her Christianity and talks
about Jesus, being told by her principal, Amy Goldsmith, that it was “not appropriate” because she would be “representing the school,” Fox News reported. “For me, my future hope is found in my relationship with Christ. By trusting in him and choosing to live a life dedicated to bringing his kingdom glory, I can be confident that I am living a life with purpose and meaning,” a draft of Turner’s speech read. Daily Caller
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American 2-year-old becomes youngest Mensa member . . . A 2-year-old Los Angeles girl with an IQ score of 146 has become the youngest member of Mensa in the United States. Parents Sukhjit Athwal and Devon Quest said their daughter, Kashe, 2, was accepted into Mensa, the world's
oldest high IQ society, after scoring 146 on an IQ test -- nearly 50 points higher than the 98-point average in the United States. Kashe can read full sentences, count to 100 and identify all 50 states. She is now working on identifying periodic table elements by their symbols and learning Spanish. "She'll wake up on a Saturday and say, 'I wanna do elements,' or, 'I wanna do states,' so whenever she's leaning into it, we're just there to support her," the parents said. UPI
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Rebekah Koffler
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