Biden Proposal to Surrender U.S. Health Sovereignty to World Health Organization Dealt Stunning Defeat

The Biden administration was dealt a stunning blow at the World Health Assembly (WHA) last week in its attempt to push through 13 amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) that would hand over U.S. decision-making power over healthcare policies to the World Health Organization (WHO).

At the WHA in Geneva, Switzerland, Biden’s proposed amendments – which it quietly sent to the WHO in January – received hearty support from nations such as the United Kingdom and Australia, as well as from the European Union (EU) – all of which urged nation member-states of the WHO to surrender their healthcare sovereignty to the global health agency of the United Nations.

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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre: Greater School Security Not Something Biden ‘Believes In’ Since ‘The Problem Is with Guns’

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday Joe Biden has no interest in Republican proposals that focus on “hardening schools,” i.e., installing greater security and safety measures, because “the problem is with guns.”

Asked if she could elaborate on Biden’s promise to meet with members of Congress on new gun laws, Jean-Pierre said  gun violence is an “epidemic” across the country.

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Nashville Police Say Guns Mostly Being Stolen from Vehicles, But Recoveries Have Increased

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) is once again seeing an increase of stolen weapons this year. 

“[To] date, 823 guns have been reported stolen this year compared to 578 at this time last year,” MNPD spokeswoman Kristin Mumford told The Tennessee Star. “I will add that through PRISM efforts (Precision Recovery Initiative Securing Munitions/Motor Vehicles), recovered firearms are up 27% or 217 more guns recovered than last year at this same time. Regarding PRISM, this is an effort to combat violent crime by working to recover guns and stolen vehicles which are often used in the commission of these crimes.”

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Commentary: Clinton’s Plot Came Closer to Succeeding than January 6 Ever Did

Kevin Clinesmith must feel like an idiot for pleading guilty without a trial after a D.C.-area jury acquitted Clinton co-conspirator Michael Sussman for his role in the plot to frame Donald Trump for colluding with the Russians, supposedly to steal the 2016 election. Sussman’s D.C.-based jury which featured partisan Democrat donors rendered a quick “not-guilty” verdict. While the Left undoubtedly sees the acquittal as another “lawfare” victory against the bad orange man, that victory did not come without cost to its enabling allies. 

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Nelson Proposes Pennsylvania College Voucher Program

State Rep. Eric Nelson (R-Greensburg) on Wednesday announced a proposal to redirect $580 million previously allotted to three major Pennsylvania universities to a college voucher program.

Under the representative’s measure, students from households with up to $100,000 in annual earnings would receive yearly grants of as much as $8,000 per year for higher education. Those from households earning between $100,000 and $250,000 would get vouchers of $4,000. These payments would be managed via an expansion of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), an agency Nelson said has demonstrated an ability to efficiently oversee Pennsylvania students’ financial assistance.

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True the Vote Testifies to Arizona Legislators Regarding ‘2,000 Mules’ Documentary on Ballot Harvesting, Urges Passage of HB 2289

Two representatives from True the Vote, the election integrity organization whose work using GPS smartphone data to investigate ballot harvesting in Arizona and other states was featured in the recent 2,000 Mules documentary by Dinesh D’Souza, testified during an Arizona Legislative hearing on Tuesday providing further details. Catherine Engelbrecht, the founder and president, and Gregg Phillips, a data expert, drew frequent gasps and clapping, despite a request for no clapping at the beginning. When asked by legislators what Engelbrecht recommended for action, she said pass HB 2289. Sponsored by State Rep. John Fillmore (R-Apache Junction), it bans drop boxes and has passed the House, but has been held up in the Senate. 

Democrats in the legislature tried to interfere with the hearing by forcing a vote on a gun control bill, stalling it for well over an hour. Right Side Broadcasting filmed the hearing live on YouTube, but it was yanked by YouTube by the time it was finished. 

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Virginia House Democrats Pick Don Scott Jr. for New Minority Leader

RICHMOND, Virginia — Delegate Don Scott, Jr. (D-Portsmouth) is the new Democratic Leader/Minority Leader in the Virginia House of Delegates, elected on Wednesday morning. Scott had pushed to oust then-Minority Leader Eileen Filler-Corn who was voted out at the end of April, but at that time the caucus opted to delay a vote on a new leader to give time for other candidates to campaign.

“I’ve come through some adversity in life and I’ve been able to overcome it and I’ve done very well for myself,” Scott told reporters after the results were announced.

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Gay Nightclub Hosts Drag Show for Children in Minnesota

A Duluth nightclub hosted a drag show for children that featured performers dancing provocatively while kids handed them tips.

The event was called “Mama’s Toybox” and occurred in early May at a venue called The Flame Nightclub Duluth. “Come join local kings and queens for an all ages drag show!” read the posting that advertised the event. “Introduce the next generation to a kid-friendly world of Drag!”

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Florida Supreme Court to Hear Arguments Related to Local Government Gun Regulations

The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments next week in a dispute over a 2011 state law that allows for penalties if city and county officials pass gun regulations. The hearing comes amid a ramped up debate over gun laws due to recent mass shootings in Texas and New York.

The case made it to the Supreme Court when a coalition of local governments and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried filed notices back in June 2021. The notices were the initial steps in asking the Supreme Court to hear the case and came a month after the 1st District Court of Appeal denied a request to send the case to the Supreme Court.

The efforts to get a Supreme Court hearing came after a Tallahassee-based appeals court upheld the constitutionality of the 2011 law in April, 2021

Since 1987, Florida has barred cities and counties from passing regulations that are stricter than state firearms laws, and the penalties in the 2011 law were designed to strengthen that “preemption.”

The law was challenged by local governments and officials who were urged to take action after the February 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that killed 17 people. However, attorneys for the local governments indicated in  a 2019 court document that the requested actions were not taken up by elected officials due to the potential penalties outlined in the 2011 state law.

The requested actions included such things as requiring procedures or documentation to ensure compliance with background checks and waiting periods for gun purchases and requiring reporting of failed background checks.

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Virginia House, Senate Pass Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Compromise

RICHMOND, Virginia — The Republican-controlled House of Delegates and the Democrat-controlled Senate finally sent a budget compromise for Fiscal Year 2023 beginning July 1 to Governor Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday, but while leaders from both parties praised the budget, individual Democrats and Republicans criticized the compromise for problems ranging from no gas tax holiday to cuts on mental health resources.

House Appropriations Chair Barry Knight (R-Virginia Beach) told delegates, “It’s been a long haul, but I believe the result is a fiscally sound, bipartisan budget we can all be proud of.”

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U.S. Attorney in Georgia Joins Fulton County District Attorney in Summer Mentorship Program for At-Risk Youth

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia Tuesday announced that it will work in conjunction with the Fulton County District Attorney’s office to help prevent youth violence during the summer. 

The agencies “launched the second annual Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Credible Messenger Youth Summer Violence Intervention (the ‘Summer Mentorship Program’) at the Atlanta Police Foundation’s At-Promise Center,” according to a press release. 

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Florida Sen. Rick Scott Defends 2018 Gun Control Law

Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) defended his signing of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act back in 2018 in the wake of the school shooting tragedy in Uvalde, Tex. The then-bill raised the firearm purchasing age and established a Red Flag law. Scott defended his actions on the Hugh Hewitt Show, reminding listeners he was governor during the Parkland school shooting tragedy.

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Biden Admin Gives Big Handout to Solar, Wind Projects as Gas Prices Soar

The Biden administration unveiled a policy Tuesday evening making it cheaper for green energy developers to build and maintain projects on federal lands.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced the federal government would reduce rents and fees charged for wind and solar projects on public lands during a roundtable Tuesday with U.S. and state officials in Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) expects the policy to reduce rents and fees by more than 50% when implemented.

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Top-Ranking Senate Republicans Demand Answers on Royalty Payments to NIH Employees

Five Republican senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee are demanding answers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) about royalty payments made by third parties to NIH employees.

In a letter Wednesday to NIH Director Lawrence Tabak, the senators noted that “the agency has taken no action to disclose such payments to the public at large.”

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Georgia School Refuses to Let Kids Opt-Out of Lessons ‘Steeped in’ Critical Gender, Race Theories, Parents Group Says

A Georgia charter school told parents they will not be able to opt children out of a social-emotional learning (SEL) program, according to a parents group.

Liberty Tech Charter School announced that SEL would be mandatory for all students in the 2022-2023 school year in a May 16 email from a guidance counselor after allowing them the previous year, according to a Tuesday release by Parents Defending Education (PDE), a national grassroots organization dedicated to “promoting the restoration of a healthy, non-political education.” The school sent emails about the implementation of SEL over the course of the 2021-2022 school year and said it would be selecting one of three SEL courses.

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Connecticut to Hire ‘Misinformation’ Specialist to Police the Internet

Connecticut is hiring a “misinformation” specialist to police the internet ahead of the midterm elections, according to the state’s budget statement.

The position of a misinformation “security analyst” was proposed by Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill to combat alleged election misinformation that has “undermined public confidence in the fairness and capability of election results,” according to the budget statement.

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Arizona Gained 80,033 People, $4.8 Billion in Gross Income in 2020, Per IRS

Arizona Capitol

IRS migration data show Arizona gained 80,033 more people from tax-filing families than it lost – mostly from California – gaining billions of dollars in income in the process. 

The Internal Revenue Service tracks interstate migration using tax filings that had moved from one state to another and how many dependents they brought along. After subtracting the number of outgoing residents, the state gained 80,033 taxpayers and their dependents that filed in 2019 in another state but filed as an Arizona resident in 2020.

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Commentary: Expand Telehealth Permanently

by Diana Girnita   When the fear of getting COVID-19 was high and lock-down orders were in place, telehealth was an important resource, allowing patients to connect with doctors by live video, telephone, and remote patient monitoring without overcrowding hospitals and doctors’ offices. During this time of isolation and drastic increases in mental health challenges, telehealth services provided a lifeline of critical psychiatric and behavioral healthcare to people in need. Early in the pandemic, nearly half of all states and the federal government passed laws expanding access to telehealth. These changes allowed more providers to adopt this technology and, as a result, the United States went from having 43% of community health centers using telehealth before the pandemic to 98% just months into the pandemic. With innovation and quickly evolving technology, healthcare providers can deliver more high-quality services remotely, and our laws should make it easy to do so. Yet, as of last year, only eight states have made telehealth changes permanent. Congress passed the 2022 omnibus spending bill in March that extended federal telehealth provisions through September, the end of the 2022 fiscal year. The law covers telehealth visits, including video and audio-only visits, for Medicare patients. It also reinstated the CARES Act provision allowing high-deductible health plans (which…

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Newt Gingrich Commentary: Punishing Pennsylvania, Liberating Virginia

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolfe and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin are moving their states in opposite directions.

Gov. Youngkin is focused on lowering the cost of living and improving Virginia’s appeal as a place to do business. Boeing’s recent announcement that it is moving from Illinois to Virginia is an example of his efforts. Youngkin’s aggressive pro-jobs push led CNBC to call Virginia the No. 1 state in the country for business.

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