News From Around the Web
#10 Hours After DeSantis Signs Bill, Judge Says Release Of Epstein Records Will Have To Wait - Jim O’Rear for Newsbreak
Hours after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill to allow the release of grand jury testimony about the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a Palm Beach County circuit judge Thursday, denied a public records request for the documents — but laid out a blueprint for how the information could be available after the new law takes effect July 1. Circuit Judge Luis Delgado cited legislation that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Thursday at the Palm Beach police department in his decision to deny the outlet’s motion to unseal records from a 2006 case that saw Epstein secure a “sweetheart deal” in which he served just 13 months in jail...
#9 France Enshrines 'Freedom' to Abortion in Constitution, in World First - Le Monde with AP and AFP
France's Parliament approved a bill to enshrine a woman's right to an abortion in the Constitution in a historic vote on Monday, March 4, as lawmakers gathered for a joint session of Parliament at the Palace of Versailles. The bill was approved in an overwhelming 780-72 vote, and nearly the entire joint session stood in a long-standing ovation. The constitutional reform amends Article 34 of the French Constitution to specify that "the law determines the conditions by which is exercised the freedom of women to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy, which is guaranteed."
#8 Giant Spiders And Their 6-Foot Webs Are Invading American Cities - Tim Newcomb for Popular Mechanics
There’s something alarming about a spider that can grow 3 inches across, builds orbed webs that can stretch more than 6 feet, and doesn’t seem bothered at all by an urban environment. In fact, they seem to thrive under very human-developed conditions. That’s why the Jorō spider, native to East Asia, is grabbing attention as it makes its way west. A new study from the University of Georgia, published in Arthropoda, shows that the spider is expanding its habitat. Originally spotted in the United States in 2013, the spider will likely expand northward and seems to be able to do so while thriving in an urban landscape that most spiders can’t handle...
#7 U. of Florida Axes DEI Office Under GOP-led Law Aimed at Ridding Similar Programs - AP and NPR
The University of Florida is eliminating its chief diversity officer position, scrapping the program's staff jobs, and halting any contracts involving the subject because of a new law passed last year that was pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The university in Gainesville, Florida, said in a memo released Friday that staff whose jobs were eliminated will get 12 weeks of pay and are encouraged to apply for other positions by April 19. The move axes 13 staff jobs and also removes administrative appointments to the diversity office for 15 faculty members, officials said...
#6 CBS Sued by ‘SEAL Team’ Scribe Over Alleged Racial Quotas for Hiring Writers - The Hollywood Reporter
CBS Studios and its parent Paramount have been sued for allegedly carrying diversity quotas that discriminate against straight white men in what may be the opening legal salvo against efforts to boost diversity and inclusion in Hollywood in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision knocking down affirmative action. Brian Beneker, a script coordinator for SEAL Team, alleges in a lawsuit filed in California federal court Wednesday that he was repeatedly denied a staff writer job after the implementation of an “illegal policy of race and sex balancing” that promoted the hiring of “less qualified applicants who were members of more preferred groups,” namely those who identify as minorities, LGBTQ or women. He seeks at least $500,000, as well as a court order making him a full-time producer on the series and barring the further use of discriminatory hiring practices... Undersea cables in the Red Sea have been damaged, causing “significant” disruption to global telecommunications networks, according to reports. Though it wasn’t immediately clear how the cables were marred, Yemeni government officials warned that Houthi rebels may target the submarine cables, according to CNN, which has forced internet providers to divert as much as 25% of internet traffic between Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. The Iran-backed terrorist group has already been attacking commercial vessels traveling the Red Sea ever since Israel’s ground assault on the Gaza Strip in November — forcing ships to reroute and spiking shipping costs by more than 600%. Yemeni rebel leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi denied the allegations. “We have no intention of targeting sea cables providing internet to countries in the region,” he said, according to CNN. A former BBC journalist was subjected to a disciplinary process for tweeting that there was no scientific support for the idea that “males can be women”. Cath Walton revealed that she was called before an internal BBC hearing after she also said that the issue of gender identity was “contested.” Reflecting on her treatment by the BBC, she said that in discussing issues around people who change gender, “truth has become an emblem of defiance rather than clarity.” She spoke out after Justin Webb, the Radio 4 Today program presenter, was found to have breached the BBC’s impartiality rules by saying “trans women, in other words, males.” A Christian monk, who was arrested at the behest of a former U.S. attorney is speaking about how the charges, which have since been dropped, ruined his life and reputation. "There does not seem to be time for Christianity in President Biden's administration," Father Brian Andrew Bushell said in an interview with Fox News Digital. Father Andrew and his business partner were charged by former Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins, a Biden political appointee, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and unlawful monetary transactions in Oct. 2022. Congress ultraconservative group is weighing in on a new spending deal announced Sunday that would likely split funding for 12 government agencies in two votes up or down. The more than 1,000-page spending plan for the first six government agencies, which have a funding deadline of Friday, was released Sunday, and members of the House Freedom Caucus and like-minded senators denounced “earmarks” in the bill. After negotiations by House and Senate leaders of both parties, it will be voted on in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, wrote.’ Rep. Ralph Norman checked off a number of earmarks requested by Democrats that were included in the deal ‘Destinations corrupt government. Earmarks turn Republicans into Democrats. No Republican should support them. No Republican should vote for this bill,” said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. Speaker Johnson said Republicans “achieved important conservative policy victories” with the more than $460 billion measure despite a “divided government” and rejected “left-wing proposals” in the deal with Democrats announced Sunday. The vaccination was recommended by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) panel. “The recommendation acknowledges the increased risk of severe disease from COVID-19 in older adults, along with the currently available data on vaccine effectiveness,” the agency said in a Feb. 28 press release. “Adults 65 years and older are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, with more than half of COVID-19 hospitalizations during October 2023 to December 2023 occurring in this age group.” “Data continues to show the importance of vaccination to protect those most at risk for severe outcomes of COVID-19. An additional dose of the updated COVID-19 vaccine may restore protection that has waned since a fall vaccine dose, providing increased protection to adults ages 65 years and older,” it said. As of Feb. 23, more than 22 percent of U.S. adults have received the updated COVID-19 vaccine, including 41.8 percent of adults over 65... A 5-year-old girl was reported missing recently near Tampa after the autistic child wandered off and got lost in a swamp. The haunt of snapping turtles, alligators, water moccasins, and other beasties, Florida swamps are no place for an unattended child, but fortunately, a coordinated rescue operation by the sheriff’s office located her before disaster struck. Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deployed their aviation unit with thermal imaging to a heavily wooded area after receiving a call about the missing child.
#5 Red Sea Cables Damaged, Causing ‘Significant’ Disruption to Global Internet Traffic - Shannon Thaler for The New York Post
#4 BBC Tried to Discipline Journalist for Saying Men Cannot Scientifically be Women - Gordon Rayner for Yahoo News
#3 Christian Monk Says Disgraced Biden Prosecutor Ruined His Life For 'Political Gain' - Hannah Grossman and Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi for Fox News
#2 Ultra-Conservatives Decry Inclusion Of ‘Evil Earmarks’ Allotting Millions For LGBTQ Centers, EV Infrastructure And More In Must-Pass $460B Deal Negotiated By Speaker Johnson To Avoid Next Government Shutdown In Just 5 DAYS by James for NY Breaking
#1 CDC Tells People 65 And Older To Take More COVID-19 Booster Shots - Tyler Durden for Zero Hedge Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times
And Now for Something Special 
Deputies Rescue 5-yo Girl With Autism Wandering in a Florida Swamp: “We Were Looking for You, Sweetie - Andy Corbly for Good News Network and Fox News
