Police in Boulder City, Nevada say they are headed to the Hoover Dam after reports of an explosion Tuesday morning. Videos posted on social media showed what appeared to be a fire or explosion in a building near the base of the dam.
A huge plume of black smoke swirled above the building.
Calls to police at the dam and Bureau of Land Management officials for information were not immediately returned. Source: Washington Times
Retirees on fixed incomes and Social Security could get a double whammy from inflation because benefits, which rise with the cost of living, might push them into a higher tax bracket.
The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan group that researches issues important to older Americans, estimated seniors could see a 10.5% increase in their monthly checks next year as part of a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, due to red-hot inflation, according to a Fox Business report.
That sounds pretty nice but the amount of Social Security benefits exempted from tax hasn’t changed since 1984, so retirees owe tax on benefits if their income and payments total more than $25,000 for a single person or $32,000 for a married couple. Source: Washington Times
The Texas House report into the Uvalde elementary school shooting in May that killed 21 people, including 19 children, said the massacre was unable to be stopped due to “systemic failures and egregious poor decision-making.”
The report obtained by the Texas Tribune attempts to piece together what happened during the 77 minutes after the alleged gunman, 18-year-old Uvalde High School dropout Salvador Ramos, entered Robb Elementary School until the point he was killed by a Border Patrol agent.
While 376 law-enforcement officers responded to the shooting, the report does not place blame solely on Uvalde school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo, as other reports have done. Instead, the Texas House committee focuses mostly on problems with communication during the incident and preparation beforehand. Source: Just the News
A federal judge in Cincinnati has certified a national class action lawsuit against the entire U.S. Air Force worldwide and issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Biden administration from enforcing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate on any servicemembers who requested religious exemptions.
In this local case that has now gone global, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew McFarland’s order Thursday stops the Air Force from discharging or disciplining servicemembers for 14 days.
This impacts 80 to 100 plaintiffs stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, who filed the lawsuit against top military leaders back in February, and now 9,000 to 10,000 service members nationally, according to the attorney for the local plaintiffs, Chris Wiest of northern Kentucky. Source: Fox19 Ohio
President Joe Biden delivered a 20-minute gun speech at the White House on Monday in which he called on Congress to pass “safe storage” gun laws holding gun owners personally liable for locking up their guns, in addition to bans on “assault weapons” and “high capacity” magazines.
While speaking to commemorate the passage of the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act” he signed into law last month, Biden said, “We should have safe storage laws requiring personal liability for not locking up your gun.”
“If you own a weapon, you have the responsibility to secure it and keep it under lock and key,” Biden said. “Responsible gun owners agree: No one else should have access to it, so lock it up.” Source: American Military News
The Church of England refused to offer up a definition of a woman, arguing that recent developments required “additional care” when attempting to define the word.
“There is no official definition, which reflects the fact that until fairly recently definitions of this kind were thought to be self-evident, as reflected in the marriage liturgy,” Senior Bishop Rt Rev Robert Innes said when asked to define the word, according to reporting from GB News.
Innes’ remarks came in response to a question posed by lay member Adam Kendry during the General Synod, who asked: “What is the Church of England’s definition of a woman?” Source: Fox News
Researchers say in a newly released study that prior infection with COVID-19 offers long-lasting and comprehensive immunity against severe and fatal cases of the virus.
The study, published online at medRxiv and not yet subject to peer review, was conducted by a team of researchers largely based out of Qatar. The scientists in the preprint stated “the future of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic hinges on virus evolution and duration of immune protection of natural infection against reinfection.”
They also said that while immunity derived from “natural infection” offers a relatively quickly-waning protection against re-infection, the durability of natural immunity against severe reinfections was robust and long-lasting. Source: Just the News
Just four days before Moscow’s forces attacked Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron had a furious argument over the phone, with the Russian strongman claiming that Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky was lying to the French president, according to a bombshell leak.
Details of the confidential exchange between the two world leaders on Feb. 20 were revealed in a new documentary about Macron’s handling of the ongoing conflict, titled “A President, Europe and War,” which premiered last week on channel France 2.
As Russia was in the process of massing its forces in preparation for the full-scale invasion in late February, Macron called his Russian counterpart to offer his views on the escalating situation and discuss “useful actions” to defuse it. Source: NY Post
President Joe Biden called for Senate Democrats to force abortion legalization into law nationwide by temporarily suspending the filibuster.
“The most important thing to be clear about is … we have to codify Roe v. Wade in the law and the way to do that is to make sure that Congress votes to do that,” Biden told reporters during a Thursday press conference.
“And if the filibuster gets in the way, it’s like voting rights, it should be … we provide an exception … to the filibuster,” Biden said. Source: Western Journal
The Army has launched an inquiry into a 157th Infantry Brigade chaplain who sent an email to troops celebrating the Dobbs V. Jackson Women’s Health Supreme Court decision that allowed states to regulate abortion, Army Times reported Monday.
The Army is investigating whether the email sent by Maj. Brian T. Hargis, a chaplain and coach at First Army Camp Atterbury, Indiana, to his entire unit violated rules about what chaplains can say in a professional capacity, according to Army Times. Hargis’ email contained an explicitly pro-life message, Task and Purpose originally reported.
“This is a monumental victory of the highest spiritual context, as it upholds the sanctity of life of the unborn, honors the US Constitution, makes right the wrong of 1973, and ends the murder of millions of people,” Hargis, a former Green Beret, wrote, according to Task and Purpose. “REJOICE AND CELEBRATE!” Source: Daily Caller
Acting on a proposal of the European Commission, the European Parliament, as expected, voted yesterday to renew the EU Digital Covid Certificate for another year. The vote was 453 for, 119 against and 19 abstentions.
The certificate regulation had been scheduled to expire on June 30. Earlier this month, a delegation from the parliament had already reached a “political agreement” with the Commission on renewing the certificate, thus making yesterday’s vote virtually a foregone conclusion.
The certificate regulation was originally adopted in June of last year, ostensibly to facilitate “safe travel” between EU member states. But the EU digital certificate quickly evolved into the model and sometimes infrastructure for the domestic “health” or Covid passes that would serve to restrict access to many other areas of social life over the following year. Source: Brownstone Institute
The Milwaukee Brewers baseball team is hosting Pride Night Wednesday at their American Family Field, however, the main event is far from family-friendly.
The event will include a pre-game drag show with “DJ Drip Sweat,” along with drag performances by “Dora Diamond,” “Beth Anne Bodyworks,” “Dita Von,” and “Marbella.”
“Celebrate our local LGBTQ community with special appearances, local entertainment & photo ops!” the official Brewers account tweeted last week. Source: CBN News