National

Biden Administration made $236B in ‘Improper Payments’ last year: GAO report

29Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

National, The Epoch Times

Biden Administration made $236B in ‘Improper Payments’ last year: GAO report

By Naveen Athrappully | The Epoch Times An estimated $236 billion in improper or incorrect payments was made under the Biden administration last year, with Medicare and Medicaid accounting for $100 billion of that total, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). “For fiscal year 2023, 14 agencies reported a total estimated $236 billion in improper payments across 71 programs,” said a March 26 GAO report. Improper payments refer to payments “that should not have been made or were made in the incorrect amount.” The $236 billion calculation does not include certain government programs that agencies determined were “susceptible to significant improper payments.” As such, GAO believes the $236 billion estimate “potentially does not represent the full extent of impro...

FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Fraud

28Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

National, The Epoch Times

FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Fraud

By Michael Washburn | The Epoch Times NEW YORK—A federal judge on March 28 sentenced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison for defrauding investors of $8 billion in the fallen cryptocurrency exchange. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan handed down the sentence at a Manhattan court hearing after rejecting Mr. Bankman-Fried’s claim that FTX customers did not actually lose money and accusing him of lying during his trial testimony. In November, jurors convicted Mr. Bankman-Fried of all seven counts of conspiracy and fraud with which government lawyers charged him. “He knew it was wrong,” Judge Kaplan said of Mr. Bankman-Fried before handing down the sentence. “He knew it was criminal. He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught. But he is...

He’s just Ken: Ex-Rep. Buck talks Boebert and his Freedom Caucus firing

27Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

National, Politico

He’s just Ken: Ex-Rep. Buck talks Boebert and his Freedom Caucus firing

By Olivia Beavers | Politico Ken Buck faced fire from two unlikely corners as he left Congress last week — ejected from the Trump-aligned House Freedom Caucus and taking blows from Rep. Lauren Boebert, who is running to replace him. But the Colorado Republican isn't retaliating. In an interview with POLITICO Friday, the last day he was a congressman, Buck continued to insist he was leaving due to the House’s dysfunctional and toxic environment, describing it as the worst he’s seen over the course of his five terms in office. That hasn’t stopped Boebert from publicly speculating that he had another motivation for an early exit: She has indicated on the online video platform Rumble that he wanted to screw up her chances of winning his seat in November. The timing of his retirement u...

Walcher: Crying Crocodile Tears Over ‘Sue-and-Settle’

27Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

Commentary, Greg Walcher, National

Walcher: Crying Crocodile Tears Over ‘Sue-and-Settle’

By GREG WALCHER House Republicans were so upset that they held two committee hearings during 2023, and in November the Committee on Oversight and Accountability announced that it will investigate EPA’s “use of secretive ‘sue-and-settle’ practices.” The Chairman says EPA uses the tactic “to avoid congressional oversight” and implement policies that special interests want. Letting outside groups sue the government to compel enforcement actions dates from the Nixon years, and during the Reagan era became a favorite tactic of the environmental industry. During the Clinton Administration several agencies discovered they could make secret back-room deals, using outside groups to file “friendly lawsuits” demanding they do what they wanted to do anyway, thereby short-circuiting all ...

Auto industry braces for ‘weeks of disruption’ after bridge collapse

27Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

National, Politico

Auto industry braces for ‘weeks of disruption’ after bridge collapse

By JAMES BIKALES | Politico The auto industry is bracing for supply chain disruptions as a result of the bridge collapse in Baltimore on Tuesday that shut down the busiest port for automobile shipments in the United States. The Port of Baltimore indefinitely suspended shipping traffic after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Experts and industry officials said the impacts on the auto sector could be significant, leading to shipping delays and constrained availability — though not on the scale of those seen during the pandemic. Ford and General Motors both said Tuesday they would need to divert shipments to other ports during the closure. John Bozzella, president and CEO of Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents most major automakers, said in a statement th...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces Nicole Shanahan as his vice presidential pick

26Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

National, New York Post

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces Nicole Shanahan as his vice presidential pick

By Diana Glebova | The New York Post Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his running mate Tuesday after months of speculation, picking entrepreneur and attorney Nicole Shanahan as his No. 2. Introducing Shanahan, 38, at an event in her hometown of Oakland, the 70-year-old Kennedy said he was “looking for a partner who is a young person.” “I wanted that because I wanted Nicole to be a champion of the growing number of millennial and Gen Z Americans who have lost faith in their future,” he added. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE NEW YORK POST

Recovery efforts to resume Wednesday for six Key Bridge construction workers believed to be dead

26Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

Baltimore Sun, National

Recovery efforts to resume Wednesday for six Key Bridge construction workers believed to be dead

By LIA RUSSELL and DILLON MULLAN | The Baltimore Sun Authorities will resume searching Wednesday for six missing construction workers who fell into the Patapsco River after a cargo vessel struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday morning. Gov. Wes Moore and representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland State Police said Tuesday evening during a news conference in Dundalk that they would transition to a recovery operation to find the six men, who have not been officially identified, and are presumed to be dead after they fell into the river following the bridge’s collapse at 1:27 a.m. Tuesday. Two others were rescued early Tuesday from the water, one of whom was treated and released from the hospital, according to officials. READ THE FULL STORY...

Trump Media stock jumps as much as 50 percent before brief halt for volatility

26Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

National, The Epoch Times

Trump Media stock jumps as much as 50 percent before brief halt for volatility

By Jack Phillips | The Epoch Times Shares of former President Donald Trump’s social media and technology company jumped about 50 percent on Tuesday in its first day of trading on the Nasdaq before it was briefly halted for volatility. After making its debut, shares for the Trump Media & Technology Group stock, called “DJT,” spiked 50 percent. But it was briefly halted because of the sharp rise before it had resumed trading at around 9:40 a.m. ET. It’s not uncommon for the trading of highly-watched stocks to be suspended when the price increases or plunges too quickly. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE EPOCH TIMES

Congress tells BLM: Fewer roundups, more humane fertility control

26Mar

By nadiaNo Comments

National, thefencepost.com

Congress tells BLM: Fewer roundups, more humane fertility control

By The Fence Post (Via American Wild Horse Conservation) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, Congress took decisive action to prioritize humane wild horse and burro management practices over controversial helicopter roundups. President Joe Biden signed into law a $460 billion package of fiscal year 24 spending bills on Saturday, March 9, narrowly averting a government shutdown. Among the provisions was a significant spending cut for the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse and Burro Program budget, emphasizing the need for a shift toward humane and sustainable in-the-wild conservation strategies. The bill allocates $141.9 million for the BLM program, marking a $5.9 million reduction from last year’s budget. Notably, the legislation preserves $11 million in funding specifically designa...

Jensen: Why conservative climate leadership is needed

26Mar

By Sarah JensenNo Comments

Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice

Jensen: Why conservative climate leadership is needed

By Sarah Jensen | Guest Columnist New findings from the University of Colorado Boulder’s Center for Environmental Futures suggest that by embracing a conservative approach to climate change, one that is pro-American and pro-innovation, the Republican Party can win over voters and ensure a cleaner, healthier future for all Americans. Specifically, the report found that the number of American voters concerned about climate change is becoming an increasing majority and that views on climate change were one of the strongest predictors of pro-Democratic voters in the 2020 general election, especially among Independents and younger generations. The authors discovered that voters who stated climate change was somewhat or very important represented 67% of voters in the 2020 election, 77%...