Wednesday, March 12, 2024

March 12, 2024

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Education Department cuts nearly 50% of workforce . . . The Education Department said Tuesday it will slim down to fewer than 2,200 employees, a nearly 50% reduction from what it looked like when President Trump took office. The department said nearly 600 employees took buyouts and nearly 1,400 others will be notified they are on administrative leave. "Today's reduction in force reflects the Department of Education's commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers," said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. Washington Times

Politics

House Passes 6-Month Funding Patch In Win For Trump And Speaker Johnson . . . On Tuesday, the GOP-led House narrowly passed another stopgap bill to prevent a partial government shutdown by the end of this week, marking a victory for President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). The 99-page continuing resolution, which provides funds to various federal agencies and programs through September 30, prevailed in a 217-213 vote. All but one Republican and a single Democrat — Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) — supported the measure. The rest of the Democrats and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) opposed the bill. Daily Wire

Trump: Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie Should Face Primary Challenge . . . President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would "lead the charge" in a primary effort against Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and asked if there were takers to challenge the congressman. Trump took to Truth Social to call out Massie after he came out against the continuing resolution being pushed by Republicans. Breitbart

Tariffs stoke division among Trump's economic advisers . . . Trump's aggressive approach to tariffs has unnerved some Trump administration economic officials, including staff on the National Economic Council, who are concerned that tariffs and uncertainty over trade policy are tanking the stock market and fueling price increases on everything from energy to construction materials, people familiar with the matter said. The president's economic advisers have warned him that tariffs could hurt the market and economic growth, but he has largely been undeterred, the people said. Wall Street Journal

Trump allies are blaming Lutnick for Trump's tariff turmoil . . . President Trump is struggling to message a scattered economic agenda, but his Commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, is taking the blame. White House and administration officials, as well as Trump's outside allies, are growing increasingly frustrated with Lutnick, privately complaining about the close proximity he has to the president and the counsel he is giving him on economic issues. It's an exasperation compounded by recent television appearances, they say, that suggest a lack of understanding of even the basics about how tariffs and the economy work. Politico

Florida Judge Rejects Pulitzer Prize Board's Attempt To Delay Trump Russiagate Lawsuit . . . A Florida judge sided with President Donald Trump this week in his defamation lawsuit against members of the Pulitzer Prize Board, who sought to delay the lawsuit until Trump leaves office. The lawsuit centers on the board's awards to the New York Times and Washington Post for their Russiagate coverage. Washington Free Beacon

Culture

Trump halts funding education funding to Maine after showdown with Gov. Janet Mills over trans athletes . . . President Donald Trump has suspended funding for research and programs at the University of Maine System (UMS) after he clashed with Democrat Governor Janet Mills over the state's refusal to ban transgender athletes from girls' sports. In an email received by UMS, the chief financial officer at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) ordered all payments to be paused while the department 'evaluates if it should take any follow-on actions' related to possible violations at the school. Daily Mail

How a Brown University Professor Helped Drive Anti-Israel Materials Into K-12 Schools . . . n 2011, Brown University's Choices Program, which develops curriculum on history and current issues for K-12 schools in all 50 states, taught high school students "of the historic Jewish ties to the land that is now Israel." In 2015, anti-Israel academic Beshara Doumani, then a founding director of Brown's Center for Middle East Studies, began advising the program—and the materials shifted in tone. The unit, which included an acknowledgment of Doumani's "invaluable" contributions, provided students with new definitions of "colonialism" and "imperialism." Washington Free Beacon

House hearing unravels after Keith Self calls transgender Sarah McBride 'mister' . . . A House hearing devolved into chaos after Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) referred to Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE), a transgender woman, as "mister." McBride then fired back, calling Self "Madam Chair" in the House Foreign Affairs Europe Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday. Ranking member Bill Keating (D-MA) grew angry with Self, asking him to repeat his introduction of McBride. "Mr. Chairman, you are out of order," Keating said. Washington Examiner

That should be a lesson. If a transgender "woman" asks to be called "madam," you should just say "Yessir!" and move on.

Love Is Blind … and Intolerant Too, Apparently . . . While the rest of the country experiences a vibe shift toward diversity of thought, two women on "Love Is Blind: Minneapolis" are stuck in the past, letting their scruples get in the way of marriage. On Friday's episode of the Netflix reality dating show, two brides left their grooms at the altar. Their reasons? The grooms held neutral to slightly-traditional views on social issues—from views on Black Lives Matter to the COVID-19 vaccine and beyond. Daily Signal

National Security

Pro-Hamas Columbia Student's Arrest First of 'Continuous and Ongoing Effort,' White House Official Says . . . The arrest of terrorist-sympathizing former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil is part of a larger effort to root out antisemitism from American universities, The Daily Signal has learned. Federal immigration officials arrested Khalil, a green card holder, for allegedly circulating "pro-Hamas propaganda flyers." President Donald Trump said his arrest would be the "first of many," and a White House official confirmed Khalil's case is only the beginning of a crackdown on terrorist sympathizers. Daily Signal

ICE Arrests Nearly 550 Criminal Migrants in Massive City Sweep . . . Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 646 illegal migrants, 543 of which were foreign nationals charged or convicted of a criminal offense and living unlawfully in the United States, according to a press release from the agency. The extensive operation—which was conducted in the Houston, Texas, area from Feb. 23 to March 2—was the latest in the Trump administration's mission to arrest and deport criminal illegal migrants from the country. Daily Caller

International

Putin launches drone strikes on Kyiv hours after Trump challenged him to 'tango' and agree Ukraine ceasefire . . . Russia staged blistering strikes across Ukraine last night just hours after Kyiv signalled it was ready for a ceasefire following talks with the United States. The massive missile and drone attacks cast doubt on Vladimir Putin's willingness to accept Donald Trump's demands for peace in the three year war. Last night the US President said he would talk directly to Putin, telling reporters: 'It takes two to tango. I hope he will agree.' Daily Mail

Amazon forest felled to build road for climate summit . . . A new four-lane highway cutting through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest is being built for the COP30 climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belém. It aims to ease traffic to the city, which will host more than 50,000 people - including world leaders - at the conference in November. The state government touts the highway's "sustainable" credentials, but some locals and conservationists are outraged at the environmental impact. BBC

How about a landing strip for all of their carbon-spouting private planes as well?

Money

EU wields 'sledgehammer' against Trump tariffs . . . he European Union hit back hard as U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 25 percent global steel and aluminum tariffs on Wednesday, announcing a two-stage retaliation covering €26 billion in EU exports that far exceeded a trade fight that blew up in his first term. The European Commission said it would, from April 1, reimpose tariffs in response to €8 billion in U.S. tariffs — including on iconic American products such as Harley-Davidson motorcycles, bourbon and jeans. Politico

Egg prices plunge nearly $2, now lower than when Trump took office

You should also know

WHCA President Eugene Daniels Refuses to Step Down Amid Accusations of Incompetence . . . Eugene Daniels, the "Kamala Harris expert" and "Beyoncé encyclopedia" who recently quit his job at Politico to join MSNBC as a weekend cohost and on-air personality, is under fire from fellow journalists who are increasingly aggrieved by his floundering leadership as president of the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA), a role he intends to keep despite his new role at the virulently partisan network. Daniels got an earful from WHCA members during a virtual meeting on Monday. Washington Free Beacon

Rosie O'Donnell moves to Ireland . . . Rosie O'Donnell finally confirmed rumors that she moved out of the United States following President Donald Trump's victory as she called out legacy media for not doing their job. In a nearly ten-minute long video posted on Tuesday on TikTok, the 62-year-old TV personality/comedian and vocal supporter of the Democratic Party said on January 15, before Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, she and her 12-year-old daughter Dakota — who now goes by Clay — moved to Ireland. Daily Wire

In other news, Ireland moved St. Patrick's Day to March 12 so Irish citizens could immediately start drinking heavily.

Guilty Pleasures

Trump Admin Claws Back $600K Grant for Menstrual Study of Transgender Men . . . President Donald Trump's secretary of agriculture, Brooke Rollins, has canceled a $600,000 grant to study menstrual cycles in biological females who identify as men."CANCELLED: $600,000 grant to study 'menstrual cycles in transgender men,'" Rollins posted Friday on X. "Keep sending us tips. THANK YOU, @approject! The insanity is ending, and the restoration of America is underway," she added. Daily Signal

How are we going to go on without crucial science this study would have provided?

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