News From Around the Web
#10 New Lithium Discoveries Can Secure America’s Clean Energy Future - Joseph Bouchard for The National Interest
This development is a goldmine opportunity to reduce America’s economic and energy dependence on foreign states and to create thousands of clean, good-paying middle-class jobs. On November 28, 2023, the Department of Energy confirmed its discovery of a 3,400-kiloton reserve of lithium in California’s Salton Sea, making it one of the largest exploitable lithium deposits in the world. In August, American volcanologists and geologists found a large lithium deposit in Nevada’s ancient McDermitt Caldera volcano, which could produce between 20,000 and 40,000 kilotons. If fully exploited, both deposits would be sufficient to fulfill the world’s lithium needs many times over...
#9 Gov. DeSantis wants to invest $80M to expand UF Semiconductor Institute - News4Jax
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday announced plans for the state to invest $80 million to expand the University of Florida Semiconductor Institute. The money for the plan would come from the state budget and first have to be approved the the Florida Legislature... America invented the semiconductor, but today produces about 10 percent of the world’s supply and none of the most advanced chips, according to the White House. Instead, the country relies on East Asia for 75% of global production. DeSantis said he also wants to target state grant programs specifically for the semiconductor industry. Florida is now the fifth largest employer of semiconductor manufacturing in the nation, DeSantis said. So far, DeSantis said, the state has invested about $380 million for various components of semiconductor education and infrastructure...
#8 Three US troops killed in Jordan drone strike linked to Iran - Reuters and Citizen Free Press
Three U.S. service members were killed and at least 34 wounded in a drone attack by Iran-backed militants on U.S. troops in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border, President Joe Biden and U.S. officials said on Sunday. It is the first deadly strike against U.S. forces since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October and marks a major escalation in tensions that have engulfed the Middle East. "While we are still gathering the facts of this attack, we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq," Biden said in a statement...
#7 House GOP releases impeachment articles in bid to oust Homeland Security's Mayorkas - NPR Washington Desk
The House Committee on Homeland Security on Sunday released draft articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In its 20-page resolution, the Republican-led committee accuses Mayorkas of high crimes and misdemeanors, including "willfully" disregarding immigration law. The two articles accuse Mayorkas of "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" for failing to manage the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border and "breach of public trust."
#6 Key Shipping Company Files for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Liquidation - Daniel Kline for The Street
America already has a shortage of truck drivers. "More than 80,000 drivers are needed to make up a shortage in America this year. Unfortunately, this problem doesn’t look like it will be solved anytime soon. It is believed that by the year 2030, there will be a shortage of 160,000 truck drivers," the American Journal of Transportation (AJOT) reported. It's a significant problem that makes the loss of every truck and driver significant. J.J. & Sons Logistics, which operates as JJ Transport, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation "four days before a wrongful death civil trial filed by the family of one of its former drivers who drowned in 2016 was slated to start in El Paso County, Texas," FreightWaves reported...
#5 ‘The Boys’ Actress Erin Moriarty Leaves Instagram Because of ‘Verbal Abuse’ After Megyn Kelly’s Comments - Alli Rosenbloom for CNN
“The Boys” star Erin Moriarty has left Instagram after facing “verbal abuse” that she said was directed toward her after television personality Megyn Kelly made comments about Moriarty’s appearance. On a recent episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show,” a SiriusXM show that also streams on YouTube, Kelly showed photos of Moriarty during a conversation about society’s obsession with cosmetic procedures. “Apparently, it’s real. She’s done this to herself,” Kelly said on the January 17 episode of her show. In her statement, Moriarty said Kelly used one photo that was taken “over a decade ago” and that the second photo was taken at an event where she had her makeup applied professionally with “major contouring.”
#4 Ex-White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro Sentenced to Four Months in Prison on Two Counts of Contempt of Congress - US Attorney's Office
Former White House advisor Peter K. Navarro, 74, was sentenced today to four months in prison for refusing to appear before the U.S. Congress to give testimony and produce documents as required by a subpoena he received from the United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves of the District of Columbia and FBI Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Navarro, of Washington D.C., was found guilty by a jury on September 7, 2023, of one contempt count related to his refusal to appear for a deposition and another count related to his refusal to produce documents in response to the Congressional subpoena. The verdict followed a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In addition to the prison sentence, the Honorable Amit P. Mehta, who presided over the trial and sentencing, ordered Navarro to pay a fine of $9,500...
#3 Navy Lowers Bar to Enlist Again Amid Continued Recruiting Woes - Michael Lee for Fox News
The U.S. Navy will start to enlist applicants who have not graduated from high school or obtained a GED as the service continues to struggle with its recruiting goals. "We get thousands of people into our recruiting stations every year that want to join the Navy but do not have an education credential. And we just turn them away," Vice Adm. Rick Cheeseman, the Navy's chief of personnel, said of the change, according to a report in The Associated Press. The new plan will allow recruits who don't have an education credential to enlist as long as they score 50 or above out of 99 on the qualification test, according to the report, marking the first time the Navy has allowed such recruits since the year 2000...
#2 RFK Jr. ‘Looking at’ Running as Libertarian Party Candidate - Christopher Hutton for The Washington Examiner
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is considering the option of running as a Libertarian in the 2024 election, his second party swap in the last year. During an appearance on CNN, RFK Jr. was asked if he was going to be able to get on all 50 states’ ballots due to his running as an independent. Kennedy emphasized that he “won’t have any problem getting on the ballot,” although he is still in the process of getting onto several states’ election listings. He was then asked if he would seek to be the Libertarian Party‘s candidate, a position that would enable him to appear on all 50 states’ ballots without extra effort by Kennedy’s team...
#1 Democratic Bill to Bar Militia Activities Faces Constitutional Questions - Lauren Taylor for Straight Arrow News
During the American Revolution, militias — known as “Minutemen” — formed the backbone of the revolutionary forces. These groups, comprised of men aged 16 to 60, were tasked with serving, keeping arms, and training for the defense of their towns. While historical militias were state-operated and answered to the government, today’s militias operate without government regulation. For Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., militia groups evoke images of far-right extremist organizations like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. Some of these groups’ members were involved in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. If enacted, the bill would criminalize armed militia groups engaging in harmful or deadly paramilitary techniques, interfering with government proceedings, violating constitutional rights, assuming law enforcement functions and training for such behaviors...
