Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
March 8, 2021
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
US Set to Power Global Economic Recovery From Covid-19 pandemic . . . The US could help drive a powerful global economic recovery this year, as it plays a more central role in the comeback than after the financial crisis, reflecting the unusual nature of the Covid-19 shock and the flexibility of the American economy. The world economy is likely to grow by around 6% this year, according to Oxford Economics, the fastest rate in
almost half a century, as vaccine campaigns allow pandemic restrictions to be lifted and businesses to snap back. For the first time since 2005, the U.S. is expected this year to make a bigger contribution to global growth than China, said the research firm. After the 2008 financial crisis, the global economic recovery was powered by China, as the U.S. experienced the weakest revival since the Great Depression. Wall Street Journal
Americans start millions of new businesses under Covid-19 pandemic . . . More than 4.4m new businesses have been created in the US since last March, according to the Census Bureau. The number far exceeds the expected uptick that occurs during a recession, when older businesses shut and more people find themselves unemployed. “One thing we tend to see is a countercyclical self-employment pattern during deep recessions,” said John
Haltiwanger, economics professor at the University of Maryland. “[People] can’t get a job so they employ themself. What’s unusual about this pandemic is the magnitude, not the direction.”
The upsurge that began during the tumult of the early pandemic has continued since the start of 2021. In January, alone there were nearly half a million new business starts in the US. “I think the economic community has underestimated the resilience of working-class individuals,” said Swati Bhatt, economics professor at Princeton University Financial Times
Capitalism and the unbeatable "can-do" attitude that is engrained in the American culture are responsible for this miracle. Socialism with its confiscation of the peoples' fruits of labor would have produced the opposite effect. There's no question which system is superior and humane, at least for those of us with first-hand experience living under socialism.
COVID tests on migrants dropped in Texas town find 25% infected . . . A quarter of the illegal immigrants dropped off in one Texas town tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the man who runs the homeless shelter where Border Patrol agents are bringing the migrants they’re catching and releasing. Bill Reagan, director of Loaves and Fishes, the food bank and shelter in Harlingen, Texas, said more cases are likely but are
not being detecting because, given the conditions, testing is “almost useless.” “We can’t quarantine them,” Mr. Reagan told commissioners. “Even though they test positive, they’re going to leave the next day. The first group that came through had 25% positivity test rate, he said. Washington
Times
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Biden to formally establish new Gender Policy Council . . . President Biden will sign an executive order on Monday establishing the Gender Policy Council within the White House to focus on uplifting the rights of women and address gender-based discrimination and violence. He will also sign an executive order directing the Department of Education to review the Title IX regulation issued by the Trump administration to determine whether it
is consistent with the policy of the Biden administration that students be “guaranteed education free from sexual violence,” administration officials said.
The orders come on International Women's Day and he will sign them alongside Vice President Harris, the nation's first female vice president. Biden and Harris had announced plans before their inauguration in January to establish the Gender Policy Council. The Hil
Biden administration releasing families from Texas migrant centers in 72 hours . . . The Biden administration will transform two Texas facilities where detained migrant families are held into Ellis Island-style rapid processing centers, meaning adults and children who cross the border will be housed for a maximum of 72 hours before being released into the U.S. In a court filing Friday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said
families will continue to be detained at a 2,400-bed detention center in Karnes City and an 839-bed detention center in Dilley in Texas, but the U.S. government intends to hold adults and children at those sites for three days or less. New York Post
Biden Admin First to Invite Rejected Asylum-Seekers to Reapply: Texas Sheriff . . . A sheriff in Texas is voicing concern that Americans will have to “pay a price” for the total chaos unfolding at the southern border. “This is the first time in U.S. history where the federal government has gone back on rejected asylee applicants, in the last year or so, and they’re reaching out to them to bring them back into the United States,”
Sheriff A.J. Louderback told The Epoch Times of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. He said Biden’s reforms have seen U.S. government employees contact asylum-seekers rejected during the Trump administration and encourage them to reapply for asylee status under the Biden administration. Epoch Times
Former ICE Chief Says Biden Admin Has Turned Border Detention Centers Into ‘Welcoming Centers’ . . . Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan said Saturday that border detention centers have been turned into “welcoming centers” through President Joe Biden’s open border polices accepting illegal immigrants. “They are changing these detention centers to what they call ‘reception centers,'” Homan said on “Fox &
Friends” Saturday. Daily Caller
GOP stumbles give Democrats new hope in Texas . . . Texas Republicans have endured a rocky start to the year, raising hopes among Lone Star Democrats that they can regain momentum after a disappointing 2020 cycle. The power grid failure during a rare polar vortex that led to a humanitarian crisis last month drew attention to the GOP’s leadership in a state that has not elected a Democrat to statewide office in nearly a quarter
century. Sen. Ted Cruz’s brief trip to Cancun during the crisis ignited anger and severe blowback, potentially doing further damage to a political career that had been hobbled by his involvement in challenging the Electoral College vote count on the day of the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill. The Hill
Iranian Dissidents Slam Nominee for Top Defense Post . . . President Joe Biden’s nominee for a top Pentagon post, Colin Kahl, is coming under fire from Iranian dissidents for his close ties with advocates for the Iranian regime. Kahl, nominated to be the undersecretary of defense for policy, is a White House and State Department veteran who spoke at multiple events for the National Iranian American Council, an organization that helped
arrange meetings between U.S. and Iranian government officials. In 2012, NIAC lost a defamation suit against Iranian-American activist Hassan Dai, who had called the organization a lobbying group for the Iranian regime. During the case, a federal judge ruled that NIAC leader Trita Parsi’s work was "not inconsistent with the idea that he was first and foremost an advocate for the regime." Washington Free Beacon
Eric Swallwell, compromised by a Chinese spy, sues Trump for “emotional distress” over Capitol riot . . . In this new age of sensitivity over every little slight and negative comment, some of our leaders feel they have license to become wimps. And the world must be laughing, or in the case of China and Russia, watching. News of former presidential candidate Swalwell’s suit against Trump for emotional distress comes a day after
the House fled Washington and stayed out of session Thursday over fears that there might be some protests, which never materialized. And of course there was the cry-in on the House floor among House lawmakers traumatized by the Jan. 6 events. White House Dossier
Biden, lawmakers take step to limit president’s authority to go to war . . . President Biden and a bipartisan caucus on Capitol Hill may have just taken the first step toward a deal that has eluded Washington for more than a decade: the establishment of clear, narrow limits on a commander in chief’s authority to take the country into war. Mr. Biden on Friday committed to working with Congress to replace war-making authorities that
have underpinned US military action in the Middle East and beyond for the nearly two decades since the shock of the September 11 attacks in 2001. Despite the readiness for change, laying down new rules will likely prove a tough task on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. Washington Times
Trump Presses GOP Entities to Stop Using His Name, Likeness . . . Former President Donald Trump sent cease-and-desist letters demanding that Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) stop using his name and likeness to raise funds, a Trump adviser told The Epoch Times. In a speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference
in Orlando on Feb. 28, Trump instructed supporters to donate to his campaign website and the Save America political action committee (PAC). The move suggested Trump aims to build financial leverage over the RNC, a theory that seems to gain credence because of the cease-and-desist letters. Epoch
Times
Graham: Trump can make GOP bigger, stronger, or he 'could destroy it' . . . Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in an interview that aired Sunday that he thinks former President Trump can make the GOP “bigger” and “stronger,” or he “could destroy it.”
Graham, who has been considered an ally and defender of Trump since his election, told “Axios on HBO” that Trump encompasses a “bigger-than-life deal,” describing the former president as “sort of a cross between Jesse Helms, Ronald Reagan and P.T. Barnum.”
“He could make the Republican Party something that nobody else I know could make it,” the Republican senator said. “He could make it bigger. He could make it stronger. He could make it more diverse. And he also could destroy it.” The Hill
Trump Promises To Go To Alaska To Campaign Against ‘Disloyal’ Sen. Murkowski . . . Former President Donald Trump promised to visit Alaska to personally campaign against Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is up for reelection in 2022. “I will not be endorsing, under any circumstances, the failed candidate from the great State of Alaska, Lisa Murkowski,” Trump said in a Saturday statement to Politico. “She represents her state badly
and her country even worse. I do not know where other people will be next year, but I know where I will be — in Alaska campaigning against a disloyal and very bad Senator.” Murkowski, a frequent Trump critic, was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict the former president on impeachment charges in February. Daily
Caller
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Russia deploys covert cyber ops to undermine confidence Western Covid vaccines . . . Russian intelligence agencies have mounted a campaign to undermine confidence in Pfizer Inc.’s and other Western vaccines, using online publications that in recent months have questioned the vaccines’ development and safety, U.S. officials said. An official with the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, which monitors
foreign disinformation efforts, identified four publications that he said have served as fronts for Russian intelligence. The websites played up the vaccines’ risk of side effects, questioned their efficacy, and said the U.S. had rushed the Pfizer vaccine through the approval process, among other false or misleading claims. Wall Street Journal
US deploys B-52 bombers to Middle East, for the fourth time this year, in warning to Iran . . . The U.S. military on Sunday delivered a pair of clear warnings to Iran, with the Air Force dispatching two B-52H “Stratofortress” bombers to the Middle East while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed to “hold people accountable for their acts” if Americans are targeted. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American military
operations in the region, said that aircraft from Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar joined the B-52 bombers during their flights. It’s the fourth time this year the Pentagon has sent B-52s to the Middle East, and it comes as the Biden administration weighs how best to respond to yet another recent rocket attack on U.S. troops believed to have been launched by Iran-backed militias. Washington Times
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Russia’s Covid-19 Vaccine Is Embraced Abroad, Snubbed at Home . . . Last summer, Russia was the first nation to announce its approval of a Covid-19 vaccine. Dozens of countries from Mexico to Iran have since ordered millions of doses of the shot, known as Sputnik V. But at home, Russia’s vaccination campaign has sputtered in the midst of one of the world’s highest levels of vaccine hesitancy. While the vaccine is free and
widely available, only 3.5% of Russians have received at least one shot, compared with 17.1% in the U.S. and 32.1% in the U.K. Recent surveys show that less than a third of Russians are willing to get the Sputnik V vaccine. Behind the skepticism are lingering doubts about Sputnik V’s rapid development and an ingrained distrust of authorities stemming from the country’s Soviet past. Wall Street Journal
When you lie to your citizens for over seventy years, they don't believe you, even when told the truth. Something that USG should also be aware of.
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Goldman Sachs reportedly set to make $200M off Texas winter storm . . . Traders at Goldman Sachs may reap huge profits from the winter storm last month that left many across Texas and other Southern states without electricity, clean water and heat. The Wall Street bank could make up to $200 million from the physical sale of power and natural gas and from financial hedges after spot prices jumped, the report said, citing people familiar
with the matter. New York Post
Foreclosure in your future? Here are four ways to save your home . . . In 2020 the number of homeowners who have fallen at least three months behind on their mortgage payments has increased 250 percent, a level not seen since the height of the Great Recession in 2010. As federal and state moratoriums blanket the country, more Americans have fallen behind on their mortgage payments at levels not seen since the Great Recession.
However, if you fall into one of these groups, there are ways to save your home and avoid being foreclosed on if you act now. Here are my four top suggestions: 1. Call Your Lender: Lenders Are Making Record Deals; 2. Sell Your Property and Price It Right; 3. Read All of Your Mail Every Day; 4. Save Your Money. The second greatest enemy against paying the mortgage besides unemployment is blowing a paycheck on other bills and expenses. Fox Business
These Social Security changes affect your retirement age, taxable benefits and eligibility . . . Here's how the program has changed over time. Since President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act in 1935, the program has been one of the most important sources of income for retirees. Still, many people don't really understand the nuances of it or how it's changed over time.
Specifically, there have been three big shifts you may not be aware happened but that could have a profound impact on the money you receive from this nearly 86-year-old entitlement program. 1. Full retirement age was moved higher for younger people; 2. A portion of benefits became taxable for some recipients; 3. Eligibility for benefits was expanded. USA Today
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Fox Nation to premiere new series on Rush Limbaugh, narrated by Mike Pence . . . Fox Nation is set to premiere “The Age of Rush,” a four-part series showcasing the life and times of Rush Limbaugh, narrated by former vice president Mike Pence — who once was a talk radio host himself. “The program will document Limbaugh’s childhood beginnings in the hometown of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to his eventual place as the most powerful radio talk
show host of all time,” Fox Nation said in advance production notes. Fox News hosts and anchors Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, and Newt Gingrich are included in the cast, as are radio hosts Mark Steyn and Larry Elder. Washington Times
eBay purges Dr. Seuss books while still allowing Nazi manifestos . . . Ebay this week is working to purge from its servers the listing of six disputed Dr. Seuss books, even as it continues to allow the listing and sale of works such as Hitler's antisemitic Nazi manifesto "Mein Kampf" and pro-slavery books. Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced this week that it would cease production of half a dozen Seuss books it claimed
contain "hurtful" and "wrong" portrayals." Ebay shortly thereafter announced that it would be scrubbing listings of those books from its online marketplace. Copies of the discontinued children's stories were being listed and sold for significantly inflated prices following the books' cancellations. Just
the News
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Turkey crashes through window into California dentist's office . . . An employee at a dentist's office in California received a scare when a large turkey came crashing through a window and into the patient consultant area. Donna McDonald, office manager at Gregory Hailey DDS in Fair Oaks, said she was the only person in the building when she heard the crashing sound that she initially thought might be an
earthquake. The turkey crashed through the window and clawed up multiple walls. The wildlife rescue dispatched to evict the animal, said the turkey did not appear to be seriously injured and will be released back into the wild. The rescue personnel said the turkey may have saw its own reflection in the window and attacked it, confusing it for a romantic rival amid the mating season for the birds. UPI
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Rebekah
Rebekah Koffler
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