In The News Today:
FACT CHECK: Biden touts inflation has ‘fallen’
President Joe Biden earlier this week touted a major drop in inflation, saying prices had fallen more than 60%. Those comments come on the heels of more federal data showing prices are on the rise which raises the question: Has inflation really fallen or is something else going on?
Part of the confusion comes from the difference between inflation and overall prices. Prices have soared since Biden took office and have not gone back down.
In fact prices are still rising, and prices overall have risen about 20% since Biden took office.
Some goods have seen even higher rises during that time. Meanwhile, gas prices have spiked recently and are expected to continue getting more expensive through this summer.
Vietnam Tycoon Sentenced to Death in $12 Billion Fraud Case
No less than 85 people were found guilty in Vietnam on Thursday in the country’s largest-ever fraud case, with a 67-year-old woman who was the center of the operation receiving the death penalty.
Real estate tycoon Truong My Lan, the chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, was found guilty of defrauding the Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB)—which she indirectly controlled through proxies—of over 304 trillion Dong (over $12 billion) over the course of 11 years.
Ms. Lan was sentenced to death on Thursday for embezzlement and received 20 years each for the charges of bribery and violations of banking regulations.
According to state media, the 2,500 loans Ms. Lan had approved through her influences between 2012 and 2022—and which made up 93 percent of all the bank’s lending—financially affected 42,000 victims and resulted in $27 billion losses to the bank.
ATF Finalizes Controversial Rule to Expand Background Checks in Firearm Sales
The U.S. Attorney General says the change, required by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act enacted June 25, 2022, will save lives by requiring anyone who “devotes time, attention, and labor to dealing in firearms as a regular course of trade or business or predominately earns a profit through the repetitive purchase and sale of firearms” to obtain a Federal Firearms License.
“Under this regulation, it will not matter if guns are sold on the internet at a gun show or at a brick-and-mortar store: if you sell guns predominately to earn a profit, you must be licensed, and you must conduct background checks,” Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote in a statement on the ATF website.
Critics of the change say the rule will effectively end private transactions, possibly including the inheritance of firearms within families.
Maxine Waters urged radicals to harass lawmakers in public. Turns out, she’s not keen when they come for her.
Waters, presently campaigning to secure an 18th term in Congress, fancied herself the face of the “resistance” during the Trump presidency. She leaned into the role during a June 2018 toy drive,
A video excerpt of an undated interview with Waters recently went viral wherein she intimates that this sort of harassment is unacceptable — if directed her way.
Waters complains of an instance wherein someone confronted in a restaurant. The Democrat apparently construed the criticism as a surefire sign of a “racist attitude.”
“They don’t say racist things, but what they say is they don’t like something I said. They don’t like a position that I took.”
Waters adds, “But you know that, you know, if you were not black you would not be approached that way.”
Multitudes of commentators mocked Waters’ remarks online, many quoting back her apparent incitements to violence, which were not limited to the Democrat’s 2018 remarks.
During former police officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, Waters gave marching orders to prospective rioters just in case Chauvin was not found guilty in the death of George Floyd.
Iowa enacts law allowing police to arrest, deport some illegal immigrants
The law, which goes into effect July 1, will make it an aggravated misdemeanor to be in Iowa if the individual has an outstanding deportation order or was previously removed from the country or prohibited from entering the country. Individuals charged with the offense could face up to two years in prison.
The charges are bumped up to a felony offense if the individual’s former deportation order was related to drug crimes, crimes against people, or if they have any felony convictions. Suspects may not be arrested at places of worship, schools, medical facilities, or facilities for sexual assault survivors, the legislation reads.
The Senate File 2340 states that a judge may choose to allow the immigrant to leave the country instead of facing charges.
Woke Dems have lied about transgender suicide — but there is hope
When nonbinary teen Nex Benedict committed suicide a day after allegedly being beaten up at school, the tragedy was quickly hijacked as a textbook case of anti-LGBT bullying.
The president and the first lady weighed in with a “heartbroken” White House statement.
Hatemongering Nancy Pelosi went further: “The anti-trans fervor fueled by extreme Republicans across the country is having deadly consequences for our children,” posted the former House speaker.
But as usual with news stories that slot too neatly into a favored political narrative, it was a lie.
The truth was equally tragic but had no electoral payoff for Democrats wishing to paint their opponents as cruel bigots and Neanderthal book-banners.
The Oklahoma medical examiner who ruled Benedict’s overdose death a suicide said the 16-year-old “did not die as a result of trauma” from the fight at school, and handwritten notes at the scene did not make reference to difficulties at school.
Her short, sad life had been marred by an evil far more real than the politicized victimhood of cynical activists.
According to court records first reported by Red State, Benedict had been anally raped by her father from the age of 9 to 11, at which point he was discovered and thrown in jail.
Israel develops ‘smart gun’ to aid in urban warfare
Michael Avenatti threw MSNBC for a loop with this admission: Rantz
Seattle radio host Jason Rantz joins ‘The Faulkner Focus’ to discuss concerns about puberty blockers and other LGBT medical treatments and MSNBC’s recent interview with Michael Avenatti.
The REAL Reason DC Politicians NEVER Leave Office
Why is it that there are so many ancient politicians in Congress — Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer? Do they just love power, or is there another reason they take forever to retire?
Glenn speaks with James Poulos, the host of the newest Blaze Originals documentary, “Bought and Paid For: How Politicians Get Filthy Rich.” In the documentary, James reveals what he believes is keeping the geezers in the Swamp: loads of money.
Somehow, these lawmakers have become expert stock traders, and although they claim there’s no insider trading going on, the numbers look just a LITTLE suspicious. James reveals the most shocking thing the documentary exposed and also why he believes almost no one in Congress is interested in stopping these shady practices.
IT’S HAPPENING! Alex Jones EXPOSES Deep State Plot To “Chop His Legs Off”
A CIA and former FBI officer admits to an undercover journalist that FBI agents did attend Jan 6 protests, and explains how intelligence agencies disempower political opponents, such as Alex Jones.
DOJ Unmasks ‘Inconsistencies’ in Fani Willis’s Use of Federal Grant Funds
Willis previously fired the whistleblower who alleged the Fulton County office mishandled $488,000 of federal grant money to pay for “swag,” computers, and travel.
“It’s that same grant that the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs now says is plagued with reporting discrepancies from Willis’s office,” the Washington Free Beacon’s Andrew Kerr reported Wednesday:
In a Friday statement published Wednesday, a DOJ spokeswoman admitted to the Beacon that “inconsistencies” appeared during its review of Willis’ office. “During our review of the award to respond to this inquiry, we have noticed some inconsistencies in what Fulton County has reported to [the Federal Subaward Reporting System] and we are working with them to update their reporting accordingly,” the spokeswoman said.
The review of Willis’ federal funds is the latest scandal to consume her office while she prosecutes former President Donald Trump.
Bidenomics Drives Credit Card Delinquencies to Record High
More from Bloomberg:
Almost 3.5% of card balances were at least 30 days past due as of the end of December, the Philadelphia Fed said. That’s the highest figure in the data series going back to 2012, and up by about 30 basis points from the previous quarter. The share of debts that are 60 and 90 days late also climbed.
“Stress among cardholders was further underscored in payment behavior, as the share of accounts making minimum payments rose 34 basis points to a series high,” according to the report.
“About 10% of credit-card borrowers now have an account balance that exceeds $5,200, according to the Philadelphia Fed,” Bloomberg continues. “One-quarter of active accounts have a balance of over $2,000 for the first time.”
Former Obama Aide: Joe Biden Should Be in Prison
Joe Biden played a role in the family’s foreign influence-peddling “conspiracy” in Ukraine, Townhall’s Rachel Alexander reported based on excerpts of McCormick’s book, The Case to Impeach and Imprison Joe Biden:
McCormick became aware of the criminal nature of the activity after poring over the emails on Hunter Biden’s laptop, which allowed him to put it all together. “When I worked for him, I thought Joe was harmless — egotistical, buffoonish, and unpresidential, but harmless,” he said. “Now I think of him as an evil criminal who should be impeached and imprisoned.” McCormick served as Biden’s stenographer when he was vice president from 2011 to 2017, transcribing every speech and interview.
He said he personally witnessed Biden negotiate the Burisma kickback scheme — U.S. funding to Ukrainian energy, primarily Burisma, in exchange for putting Hunter Biden on Burisma’s board of directors — on a trip to Poland in 2014. He came to a lot of conclusions that other reporters haven’t figured out, due to his unique position and intensive study of this issue.
Biden’s former national security aide, Jake Sullivan, is at the center of the scandal, according to McCormick, as Breitbart News recently reported. Sullivan, McCormick recalled, told reporters on April 21, 2014, on Air Force Two as an anonymous “senior administration official,” that the United States intended to help Ukraine’s natural gas industry.
Townhall’s Alexander reported the book’s excerpts:
Watch: Comedian Norm MacDonald’s Best O.J. Simpson Jokes
Comedian Norm MacDonald’s best O.J. Simpson jokes resurfaced on Thursday after news broke that the former NFL running back died at the age of 76 following a battle with cancer.
“According to retailers, the most popular Halloween mask this year is O.J. Simpson, and the most popular Halloween greeting is, ‘I’ll kill you and that guy who’s bringing over your glasses or treat,” Macdonald said in one of his O.J. Simpson jokes while an anchor on Saturday Night Live (SNL).
“In his book, O.J. Simpson says that he would have taken a bullet or stood in front of a train for Nicole. Man, I’m gonna tell you, that is some bad luck, when the one guy who would have died for you kills you. You don’t get worse luck than that,” the comedian said in another joke.
Journalists Testify on Protecting Sources
Three journalists testify on the importance of the Constitution, a free press, and protecting their sources at a public hearing before a House Judiciary subcommittee.
Mike Johnson Is Fighting to Protect the Government Spy Program Used on Trump
The FISA bill is dead but, like herpes, it’ll be back. It’s important to punish the people who pushed it.
10 doctors on FDA panel reviewing Abbott heart device had financial ties with company
When the FDA recently convened a committee of advisers to assess a cardiac device made by Abbott, the agency didn’t disclose that most of them had received payments from the company or conducted research it had funded — information readily available in a federal database.
One member of the FDA advisory committee was linked to hundreds of payments from Abbott totaling almost $200,000, according to a database maintained by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Another was connected to 100 payments totaling about $100,000 and conducted research supported by about $50,000 from Abbott.
A third member of the committee worked on research supported by more than $180,000 from the company.
54 Convicted Sex Offenders Arrested After Illegally Crossing Into US In Last 6 Months, Officials Confirm
Chief Patrol Agent Robert Danley of U.S. Border Patrol’s Del Rio section took to Twitter to reveal that since Oct. 1, 2023, the Del Rio sector agents have apprehended 54 convicted sex offenders after they crossed the border illegally and attempted to “evade law enforcement.”
The October numbers, which is the beginning of the fiscal year 2024 for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, were part of a record-high month late last year.
Data from federal authorities showed that 240,988 migrant encounters occurred at the southern border within October, which was sustaining a record amount while under the Biden administration.
By December 2023, CBP data showed that the month was one of the highest monthly recordings ever by officials, hitting 302,034 encounters at both ports of entry as well as between ports of the U.S.-Mexico border entry.
‘Squad’ Democrat confronted, refuses to condemn ‘death to America’ chants
FOX Business’ Hillary Vaughn confronted Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Capitol Hill to ask her if she condemns the ‘death to America’ chants in her district.
Arizona rancher: My land is deluged by smugglers as Border Patrol relegated to ‘taxi’ service
Sasabe, Ariz., rancher Jim Chilton tells “The Ingraham Angle” he hasn’t seen Border Patrol in months; catalogued 3,050 images of illegal immigrants on ‘The Ingraham Angle.’
Ingraham: They were lying all along
Fox News host Laura Ingraham gives her take on the Biden administration’s reported plans to address the border crisis on ‘The Ingraham Angle.’
Greg Gutfeld: Rejecting scientific facts makes you a ‘meanie’
Fox News host Greg Gutfeld gives his take on the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports on ‘Gutfeld!’
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