Source: The Hill

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) is calling on Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) to resign in the face of corruption charges, becoming the first Democrat lawmaker to do so.

Phillips, a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, said that while everyone is innocent until proven guilty, a member of Congress that has appeared to have broken the law should resign.

“Yes, I am a Democrat and so is Sen. Menendez, but based on what I have seen, I am disappointed and yes, I think he should resign,” Phillips said in an interview with CNN.

Phillips said that Democratic leaders in Congress should lean on him and push him out.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/4218635-rep-dean-phillips-bob-menendez-resign/

Source: The Hill

President Biden on Thursday withdrew his nominee to lead the government’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) pulled his support over the administration’s decision to move forward with new stove regulations.

Manchin, who chairs the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee canceled a vote to advance the nomination of Jeffrey Marootian to lead the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in May.

The senator particularly cited the administration’s decision to move forward with energy efficiency regulations that apply to gas and electric stoves.

Manchin said in May he would no longer support Marootian’s nomination after the energy efficiency office proposed the efficiency rule, which is expected to apply to about half of the gas stoves on the market.

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4194000-biden-withdraws-energy-nominee-amid-manchin-opposition-over-stove-rule/

Source: CNN

CNN
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The principal of a Flagler County, Florida, elementary school has resigned from her post weeks after an assembly was held for Black fourth- and fifth-grade students, who were collectively told to improve their school performance, according to the school district.

“Donelle Evensen, principal at Bunnell Elementary School, has informed Superintendent LaShakia Moore that she is resigning,” the district said Thursday in a news release.

Evensen and a teacher were placed on administrative leave days after the August 18 assembly that singled out African American students from the two grades, CNN previously reported.

During the assembly, a 2023-2024 school year goals and objectives PowerPoint presentation was used that read, in part, “AA have underperform (sic) on standardized assessment for the last past 3 years,” Cheryl Massaro, Flagler County School Board chair, told CNN in an email last month.



Read more: https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/09/07/us/florida-principal-resigns-flagler-county-reaj

Source: New York Times

The American Academy of Pediatrics backed gender-related treatments for children on Thursday, reaffirming its position from 2018 on a medical approach that has since been banned in 19 states.

But the influential group of doctors also took an extra step of commissioning a systematic review of medical research on the treatments, following similar efforts in Europe that found uncertain evidence for their effectiveness in adolescents.

Critics across the political spectrum — including a small but vocal group of pediatricians — have been calling for a closer look at the evidence in recent years, particularly as the number of adolescents who identify as transgender has rapidly increased.

The treatments are relatively new, and few studies have tracked their long-term effects. Health bodies in England and Sweden have limited access to the treatments after carrying out systematic reviews, the gold standard for evaluating medical research.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/03/health/aap-gender-affirming-care-evidence-review.html

Source: CNN

Bud Light
New York
CNN
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Beer maker Anheuser-Busch said Wednesday that it will lay off positions across its US corporate staff.

In a statement, an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson said the restructuring “will simplify and reduce layers within its organization.” The layoffs will not include frontline staff such as “brewery and warehouse staff, drivers, and field sales, among others.”

The job eliminations represent “less than 2%” of the Anheuser-Bush US employee population, the statement said. The company’s website says that it employs “more than 19,000 employees nationwide.” Two percent of that figure would number about 380 positions.

In this photo illustration, bottles of Modelo Especial beer sit on a table on June 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. The Mexican lager which is brewed by Constellation Brands became the top-selling beer in the United States in the month of May, overtaking Bud Light, which is brewed by Anheuser-Busch. A post by transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney about a personalized can of Bud Light stirred conservative boycotts of the American beer. A recent trend of drinkers choosing more Mexican beers and spirits has also uplifted the Modelo brand.

Read more: https://amp-cnn-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/07/26/business/anheuser-busch-layoffs-bud-light/index.html?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQGsAEggAID#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16904138116578&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2023%2F07%2F26%2Fbusiness%2Fanheuser-busch-layoffs-bud-light%2Findex.html

Source: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsnews.com/amp/n

American Kevin Spacey was found not guilty Wednesday of all the sexual assault charges he was facing in a U.K. trial. The actor had faced nine sexual offense charges related to incidents reported by four men that allegedly took place between 2001 and 2013.

The Academy Award-winning actor had pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

All four of the alleged victims — who can't be named under U.K. law — testified during the trial, as did Spacey himself, who said he was crushed by the allegations.

In their testimony, the four men described Spacey a "sexual bully" and a predator.

Read more: CBS News

Source: Reuters

GENEVA (Reuters) - A 28-year-old man has tested positive for the potentially fatal Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in a city in Abu Dhabi on the border with Oman, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

The man in the city of Al Ain was admitted to hospital last month, the WHO said in a statement. Health officials had checked 108 people that he was in contact with, but no secondary infections had turned up so far, it added.

The WHO said there were no signs the man had come into contact with dromedary camels, which spread the disease that is separate from COVID-19. It gave no more details on his current condition.

The United Arab Emirates' health ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the case.

Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/man-tests-positive-mers-abu-170902818.html

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MERS has a 34% mortality rate, which makes COVID-19 look like restless leg syndrome.

TAMPA, Fla – Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez has been hospitalized in the Tampa area after shooting himself along Interstate 75, multiple sources have confirmed to Local 10 News.

Sources say Ramirez’s wife, Jody, was in the car with him just before it happened.


Ramirez was in the Tampa area attending the Sheriff’s Summer Conference, which was being held at the JW Marriott in downtown Tampa. Sunday evening was the first night of the four-day event.

Multiple sources tell Local 10 News that Ramirez and his wife, who he has been married to since 1995, had stepped outside the hotel at about 6:30 p.m. and had begun fighting, at which time a witness saw Ramirez putting a gun to his mouth, prompting them to call 911.

More: https://www.local10.com/news/local/2023/07/24/miami-dade-police-dept-director-freddy-ramirez-hospitalized/

He is also a candidate for Maimi-Dade Sheriff but it looks like that's over.

Source: Haaretz

Antiquities belonging to Israel have been kept for the past several months at former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, and senior Israeli figures have unsuccessfully tried to have them returned to Israel.

Among the antiquities are ancient ceramic candles which are part of Israel's national treasures collection. They were sent to the U.S. in 2019 with the approval of then-Director of the Israeli Antiquities Authority, Israel Hasson, on the condition that they be returned within weeks, yet almost four years later, they have yet to be returned.

The archeological items were shipped from Israel to the United States for a Hanukkah event attended by Trump, then in office, and major Jewish-American donor to the Antiquities Authority Saul Fox. Over the years, Fox has donated to the establishment of a national center for antique coins, as well as to the creation of an archeological garden at the Knesset.

According to sources in Israel and abroad, Fox was invited in 2019 to a Hanukkah candle-lighting event at the White House. Ancient candles were sent from Israel for the event, intended to be displayed briefly in Washington, and then returned to Israel.

Read more: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-07-18/ty-article/.premium/israeli-antiquities-remain-stranded-at-trumps-estate-as-authorities-fail-to-retrieve/00000189-6448-dc6b-a3f9-ee593e850000?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Source: NPR

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, walked back comments over the weekend which sparked backlash among members of her own party, in which she referred to Israel as "a racist state."

Her controversial comments came as she addressed pro-Palestinian protesters who interrupted a Netroots Nation panel discussion in Chicago on Saturday.

"Can I say something as somebody who's been in the streets and participated in a lot of demonstrations?" Jayapal told the crowd. "I want you to know that we have been fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state, that the Palestinian people deserve self-determination and autonomy, that the dream of a two-state solution is slipping away from us — that it doesn't even feel possible."

The Washington Democrat sought to clarify her comments on Sunday, writing in a statement that she apologizes to "those who I have hurt with my words."

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2023/07/17/1188096678/jayapal-israel-racist-state-jeffries

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Maybe she'll be a delegate for RFK Jr.