Day: November 5, 2021

Russian Analyst, Primary Source for Steele Dossier Charged with Repeatedly Lying to FBI

Minnesota Sun Staff

Special Counsel John Durham on Thursday unsealed a federal grand jury indictment charging the primary source for the now-discredited Steele dossier with repeatedly lying to the FBI during the Russia collusion investigation that falsely tarred Donald Trump’s presidency.

The 39-page indictment alleges Russian analyst Igor Danchenko misled the FBI about his contacts with Russian government officials and a Democrat-connected public relations executive, falsehoods that materially affected the FBI’s investigation and its representations to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to get warrants targeting Trump’s campaign and one of its advisers.

Read More

Texas Education Agency Opens Backdoor to ChiCom Surveillance of Students Through Virtual Tutorial Firm

Neil W. McCabe

  The Texas Education Agency contracted with a virtual-tutorial marketing company through the end of the 2022-2023 school year that relies on tutorial services from VIPKids, the Beijing-based company backed by the Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent tied to surveillance and censorship. “We believe all students deserve equal access to rigorous…

Read More

Job Creators Network Suing Biden Administration over Vaccine Mandate

Peter D'Abrosca

The Job Creators Network (JCN) Thursday announced a lawsuit against the Biden Administration just hours after the announcement that a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all companies with 100 employees or more will take effect on January 4. 

That mandate is expected to affect 84 million Americans.

Read More

U.S. Trade Deficit Hits New Record as Inflation Grows and Supply Chain Issues Worsen

Minnesota Sun Staff

The U.S. trade deficit hit a record high of $80.9 billion in September as exports fell sharply while imports increased amid supply chain problems and growing inflation.

The trade deficit of goods and services grew 11.2%, driven by demand for items like computers, electrical equipment and industrial supplies, the Commerce Department announced Thursday.

Read More

Jobless Claims Drop to 269,000, a Post COVID-19 Low

Minnesota Sun Staff

The number of Americans who filed for new unemployment claims decreased to 269,000 in the week ending Oct. 30 as the labor market continues to improve and the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics figure released Thursday shows a 14,000 claim decrease compared to the week ending Oct. 23, when jobless claims dropped to 283,000. Thursday’s release marks the lowest number of initial claims since March 14, 2020, when the number of new jobless claims was 256,000.

Read More

Immigration Advocates in Biden Administration Were Totally Unprepared for Border Crisis, AP Says

Minnesota Sun Staff

Immigration advocates working as advisers for the Biden administration were completely unprepared for the border crisis rolling back former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies would create, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday.

Supporters of immigration on the Biden administration’s transition team dismissed estimates predicting increased migration to the U.S. if Trump’s policies were repealed and instead tried to see how fast they could get rid of the practices, according to obtained internal documents and interviews conducted by the AP.

Read More

Federal Reserve Scales Back Bond Purchases as Inflation Rises

Minnesota Sun Staff

The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it would begin scaling back its monthly bond purchases in November, marking the first step towards ending its pandemic stimulus as inflation surges.

The scaling of bond purchases, more commonly known as tapering, will start “later this month,” the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said in a statement. The Federal Reserve will reduce its purchases by $15 billion each month — $10 billion less in Treasury bonds and $5 billion less in mortgage-backed securities — from the current $120 billion figure.

Read More

Judge in Rittenhouse Trial Slams Media for ‘Totally Bizarre’ Statements About Case

Minnesota Sun Staff

The judge presiding over the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse criticized the media’s “totally bizarre” coverage of the case on Wednesday.

Judge Bruce Schroeder made the comments as prosecutors attempted to play video footage from the night Rittenhouse allegedly shot three people, killing two of them, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a Black Lives Matter riot.

Read More

Commentary: The Migrant Surge at the Southern Border Fuels Massive American Fentanyl Overdoses

RealClearWire

On a September afternoon, Allyssia Solorio wondered why her energetic young brother hadn’t emerged from his bedroom in their Sacramento, Calif., home. When she opened his door, she saw 23-year-old Mikael leaning back on his bed with his legs dangling over the side. She rushed to her brother and shook him, but to no avail. He was dead. A counterfeit pharmaceutical pill laced with illicit fentanyl had killed him.

Mikael Tirado was one of an estimated 93,331 overdose fatalities in the United States last year – an all-time high. Nearly five times the murder rate, the deadly overdose toll was primarily caused by fentanyl, a highly lethal synthetic opioid. It’s manufactured mostly by Mexican cartels with ingredients imported from China, and then smuggled over the southwestern U.S. border. Fentanyl has been arriving in larger quantities each year since at least 2016.

Read More

Republican Truck Driver Who Spent $153 on Campaign Unseats Top Democrat in Stunning Upset

Minnesota Sun Staff

Edward Durr, a Republican truck driver and political newcomer, officially unseated New Jersey Senate president Steve Sweeney.

Durr, who spent just $153 on his New Jersey State Senate campaign, was declared the winner Thursday morning, the Associated Press reported. Almost half of Durr’s campaign funds were reportedly spent at restaurant chain Dunkin’ Donuts, according to The Washington Free Beacon.

Read More

Fulton County Elections Director Is Resigning Following Criticism of Chronic Election Failures

Minnesota Sun Staff

Fulton County, Ga. Registration and Elections Director Richard Barron is stepping down on Dec. 31, according to County Board of Commissioners Chair Robb Pitts.

The Fulton County Election Board had voted in February to fire Barron following scathing criticism of his handling of the 2020 elections, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. However, the county’s commissioners overruled the electoral board’s decision, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Read More

Anti-Critical Race Theory Candidates Elected to School Boards Across the Minnesota

Minnesota Sun Staff

Candidates opposed to Critical Race Theory and COVID-19 mandates won school board seats across Minnesota Tuesday night, often in areas controlled by Democrats.

In one of the most stunning upsets of the night, Matt Audette defeated opponent Dave Dirkswager by well over 30 points in Anoka-Hennepin. Audette’s campaign was centered on his opposition to Critical Race Theory, mask mandates, and “forced COVID vaccinations.”

Read More

Minnesota Rep. Stauber Demands Biden Admin Halt Vaccine Mandate for Border Patrol

Hayley Feland

Minnesota Rep. Pete Stauber has demanded that the Biden Administration halt the COVID vaccine mandate for those serving as Border Patrol agents. Stauber said in a tweet, “Border Patrol agents are heroes [and] shouldn’t be fired over their vaccination status. We need every one of them to address the Biden Border Crisis.”

Read More