Race-Based Bailouts In COVID Stimulus Bill Face Legal Setbacks . . . Conservative legal groups are challenging the racially driven repayment programs Democrats included in their $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief act. The American Rescue Plan Act includes billions of dollars in direct payments and loan forgiveness earmarked for minority farm owners and entrepreneurs. Framed as a milestone for racial justice, conservative legal groups say the policies are unconstitutional because they discriminate on the basis of race, violating equal protection principles. The legal challenges are an early setback for the Biden administration's racial equity agenda. A program that tried to buoy minority restaurant owners has already been blocked by a federal appeals court. A second program that targets farmers and ranchers of color appears to be in serious jeopardy. Stephen Miller, a former Trump White House aide, is challenging the American Rescue Plan's race-conscious policies through his new group, America First Legal. Washington Free Beacon

 

 

 

Biden Admin Prepared to Lift Sanctions on Iran’s Top Terrorism Financers, Senator Says . . . The Biden administration is prepared to lift sanctions on the Iranian regime's primary vehicles for terrorism financing, according to the ranking Republican on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, which is investigating Treasury Department efforts to waive these crippling measures. Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.), whose committee has jurisdiction over the Treasury Department, is demanding the Biden administration turn over internal documents related to its impending decision to dismantle the toughest sanctions campaign in U.S. history. Washington Free Beacon

 

Threats Rise, U.S. Defense Falls . . . President Biden is telling the world in Europe this week that “America is back” as the leader of global democracies. Sounds good. But China, Iran and Vladimir Putin would be more impressed if Mr. Biden wasn’t cutting America’s defense even as he rightly stresses the challenge from the world’s authoritarians. Unremarked in the White House spending deluge is that its trillions for “infrastructure” include little new for defense. Mr. Biden’s $715 billion Pentagon budget for fiscal 2022 is a 1.6% increase over last year. Adjusted for inflation, this is a cut. The bipartisan National Defense Strategy Commission and other experts say the Pentagon needs steady 3% to 5% real increases annually to address threats from “near peers” such as China and Russia. President Trump increased defense spending modestly, but that fillip has passed and spending is still at its modern norm of about 3% of GDP. America is rapidly piling up debt past 100% of GDP while shrinking its defenses. Wall Street Journal

 

Illegal Immigrants Intentionally Damaging Property, Says Texas Sheriff . . . This year’s illegal immigrants are unlike those from previous years, according to Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe, who was also a Border Patrol agent for 31 years. “We’re starting to see more intentional damage,” Coe told The Epoch Times. “I’ve never seen it quite like this. Somebody’s making a statement.” He said in the past six months, illegal aliens that get past Border Patrol in the Del Rio, Texas, area are walking through ranches, destroying fences and water pipes, leaving water faucets on, and breaking into homes. Epoch Times

 

Israeli aircraft strike Hamas Gaza compounds after 20 balloon-sparked fires . . . In the first airstrikes ordered by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Israeli warplanes bombed Hamas military compounds early Wednesday, June 16. The IDF said they were in response to the launching of incendiary balloons into Israeli territory for which Hamas was responsible. The attacks targeted compounds that were sites of “terrorist activity.” said the statement and stressed: “Israel is prepared for any scenario including the resumption of warfare in the face of terrorist activities emanating from the Gaza Strip.” DEBKAfile

 

Regeneron’s Antibody Drug Cuts Risk of Death in Some Covid-19 Patients . . . An antibody treatment developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has been shown to significantly cut the risk of death among certain hospitalized Covid-19 patients, raising hopes for a valuable new tool for tackling severe cases. A large U.K. trial involving nearly 10,000 patients showed that administering REGEN-COV on top of usual care reduced the risk of dying by a fifth among hospitalized coronavirus patients who hadn’t produced antibodies to the virus. The drug had no effect among patients who had already produced antibodies. Wall Street Journal

 

Judge stops Biden administration from blocking new oil and gas leases . . . A federal judge in Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Biden administration from pausing new oil and gas leases on federal land. Judge Terry A. Doughty of the U.S. District Court in Monroe, appointed by former President Donald Trump, said that states suing the federal government—largely southern and coastal states—will be harmed immediately as the pause prevents them from collecting lease bids and bonuses from oil-and-gas prospectors. The suit was filed by the states of Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. President Biden, during his first week in office, directed the Interior Department to suspend the program, among several new initiatives aimed at addressing climate change. Fox Business

 

Why American Women Everywhere Are Delaying Motherhood . . .The birthrate is falling for American women in their 20s, especially in places where the local economy is booming. For decades, delaying parenthood was the domain of upper-middle-class Americans, especially in big, coastal cities. Highly educated women put off having a baby until their careers were on track, often until their early 30s. But over the past decade delaying childbearing has become a broad pattern among American women almost everywhere. The result has been the slowest growth of the American population since the 1930s, and a profound change in American motherhood. New York Times

 

White House denies report Vatican nixed papal Mass with Biden . . . The White House denied Tuesday a report saying that the Vatican scuttled an early plan for President Biden to attend Mass and receive communion from Pope Francis as part of the president’s current European trip. A White House official flatly contradicted a Monday report from the Catholic News Agency that said “President Joe Biden‘s attendance at early morning Mass with Pope Francis was nixed from an early plan for the first meeting of both leaders,” citing “a reliable Vatican source.” “That is untrue,” said the administration official in an email. Washington Times

 

Meet Every Black Life Matters, an Alternative to BLM . . . Kevin McGary is the president of Every Black Life Matters, with emphasis on the “Every.” McGary discusses the contrasts between the Black Lives Matter organization and his own group, how fatherlessness has adversely affected the black community, critical race theory, the racist origins of Margaret Sanger and Planned Parenthood, and more. “When we encounter people who are diehard BLMers, they usually say, ‘Hey, … black lives matter,'” McGary said. “And I go up to them, and I get in their face, and I say, ‘You know what, to me, bro, every single black life matters.’ And then I ask them, ‘Now, does every single black life matter to you?’ And then they’re stuck. They’re like, ‘Oh, this brother, he’s coming with something.'” Daily Signal

 

Babylon Bee CEO Says NYT Engaged In A ‘Deliberate Strategy’ To Shut Them Down . . . Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon appeared on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” and slammed the New York Times for claiming that the site is a source of far-right misinformation. In a recent article, the New York Times claimed that the Babylon Bee “trafficks in misinformation under the guise of satire,” Carlson said. After the Babylon Bee threatened a lawsuit, however, the Times issued a correction stating: “We’ve removed the reference to the Babylon Bee from the article and appended a correction.” Dillon joked by thanking Carlson for giving him “a platform from which to misinform your millions of viewers, harmfully and maliciously.” He then said that it’s important for the Babylon Bee to stand up to attacks because if not, they could lose their business. Daily Caller