News From Around the Web
#10 Certain Snacks, Drinks Could Be Banned in Some States Due to Cancer-Causing Ingredients - Daniella Genovese for Fox Business and FX Hedge on X
Last fall, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law that prohibits the manufacture, sale and distribution of food products that contain brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, or red dye 3, all of which have been linked to things like hyperactivity and neurobehavioral effects in children, digestive tract problems and an increased cancer risk, according to Consumer Reports. The law will go into effect in January 2027. Any violations of the California Food Safety Act will result in a civil penalty... The House passed legislation Saturday that would ban TikTok in the United States if the popular social media platform’s China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake within a year, but don’t expect the app to go away anytime soon.The decision by House Republicans to include TikTok as part of a larger foreign aid package, a priority for President Joe Biden with broad congressional support for Ukraine and Israel, fast-tracked the ban after an earlier version had stalled in the Senate. A standalone bill with a shorter, six-month selling deadline passed the House in March by an overwhelming bipartisan vote as both Democrats and Republicans voiced national security concerns about the app’s owner, the Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd... Columbia University switched to remote learning Monday, as protests over the Israel-Hamas war are expected to enter their sixth day on the school's campus in New York City. Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced classes would be held virtually "to deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps." The university initially said it would offer a remote learning option, but then made it mandatory. Barricades remain in place outside the school gates, and CBS New York has learned additional security guards will be on patrol, along with enhanced ID-checks at entrances. "Faculty and staff who can work remotely should do so; essential personnel should report to work according to university policy," the president's statement continued. "Our preference is that students who do not live on campus will not come to campus." A group of 15 financial officials from 13 states sent a notice to Bank of America, raising concerns about the institution’s “de-banking” of Christians. “We write to express our concerns over Bank of America’s troubling track record of politicized de-banking. Bank of America’s de-banking policies and practices threaten the company’s financial health, its reputation with customers, our nation’s economy, and the civil liberties of everyday Americans,” the officials wrote in an April 18 letter to Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. “We are especially troubled by Bank of America’s track record of discriminating against religious ministries. Notable examples include Memphis-based charity Indigenous Advance Ministries, the Timothy Two Project, and Christian author and speaker Lance Wallnau.” The Debrief recently reported that scientists from the European Space Agency's Gaia mission have located a black hole with a mass of 33 solar masses, which makes it the largest black hole of stellar origin ever discovered in the Milky Way galaxy. The discovery, which was found after Gaia's fourth data release, could shed new light on the formation and prevalence of black holes throughout the known universe. The black hole, which has been named Gaia BH3, is part of a binary system located around 590 parsecs from Earth. The discovery is significant because of the black hole's mass and because it challenges current models of stellar evolution and the formation of black holes, according to the report... Rahamim 'Rami' Shy, 46, who co-ordinated the US government's strategy to combat terrorists from Al Qaeda and the Taliban, is accused of arranging the commission of a child sex offense, court documents reveal. He is also charged with possession of two category C indecent images of children and possessing a prohibited image of a child. Shy, a US citizen, who lives in New Jersey, worked for the White House under president Barack Obama and secretary of state Hillary Clinton, was arrested in late February by Bedfordshire Police. He was charged the following day and appeared at Luton Crown Court via video-link from HMP Bedford on Friday wearing a grey prison-issue tracksuit. He was not asked to enter a plea to any of the charges and was remanded in custody ahead of a hearing in June... The House approved a $95 billion foreign aid package Saturday, in a pivotal moment for House Speaker Mike Johnson as he tries to stave off a right-wing rebellion. The package consists of four bills that were voted on separately and will be combined into one before being sent to the Senate. The first three bills include $60.8 billion to help Ukraine in its war with Russia; $26.4 billion to support Israel, which is fighting Hamas and Iran; and $8.1 billion to counter China in the Indo-Pacific. Humanitarian aid for Gaza, which Democrats said was necessary for their support, is also included. The fourth bill would allow the sale of frozen assets of Russian oligarchs to help fund future aid to Ukraine, potentially force the sale of TikTok and authorize stricter sanctions on Russia, China and Iran. The House approved the fourth bill Saturday in a 360 to 58 vote... Santa Monica city officials last week approved a multimillion-dollar apartment unit for the homeless just days after the release of an audit which found California could not account for the $24 billion it spent on the state’s burgeoning homeless crisis. The 122-unit building for the homeless will include a mix of studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments, along with ground floor retail and residential and commercial parking spaces. A design concept available on the city's website shows that the multi-apartment unit will cost more than $123 million, for a cost of just over $1 million each for the 122 apartments. A second design concept would have cost even more, north of $200 million for 196 units. The intel committee interviewed more than 20 CIA whistleblowers and found major shortfalls at Langley in preventing assaults and punishing perpetrators. The House Intelligence Committee has found that the CIA failed to properly deal with sexual assault among employees in its ranks, according to a copy of the investigation’s final report obtained by POLITICO. In its hardest-hitting finding, the bipartisan report said there was “little to no accountability or punishment for confirmed perpetrators” and that there was “confusion and disorder” in the process of reporting such assaults. The committee started its inquiry in January 2023 after a female CIA employee alleged that she had been physically attacked and sexually assaulted by a fellow officer at CIA headquarters. POLITICO, which revealed the investigation last April, reported that the agency had not punished a male colleague who had tried to forcibly kiss her repeatedly and that the agency did nothing when she reported the incident...
#9 The House Votes for Possible TikTok Ban in the US, but Don’t Expect the App to Go Away Anytime Soon - Mary Clare Jalonick AND Haleuva Hadero for AP and Elina Shirazi and Brett Pike on X
#8 Columbia University Switches to Remote Learning, as Protests Enter 6th Day -- Read the President’s Statement - CBS News New York and Ali Bauman TV on X
#7 15 State Officials Warn Bank Of America About 'De-Banking' Of Christians - Tyler Durden Zero Hedge and AG Andrew Bailey and Reagan Reese and AF Post on X
#6 Our Galaxy’s Largest Black Hole Has Been Discovered Close to Earth: Report - Collin Jones for Blaze Media
#5 Military Could Hit Troops With Court-Martials For Refusing To Use Preferred Pronouns, Experts Say - Micaela Burrow
The military could seek to formally punish service members for refusing to use another service member’s preferred pronouns under existing policy, according to military experts. A 2020 Equal Opportunity law opened the door for commanders to subject someone who refuses to affirm a transgender servicemember’s so-called gender identity to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for charges related to harassment, Capt. Thomas Wheatley, an assistant professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Such a move would likely infringe on a servicemember’s constitutional rights to uphold their conscience, but it might not prevent leaders from employing more subtle ways of disciplining service members...
The Sheetz convenience store chain has been hit with a lawsuit by federal officials who allege the company discriminated against minority job applicants. Sheetz Inc., which operates more than 700 stores in six states, discriminated against Black, Native American, and multiracial job seekers by automatically weeding out applicants whom the company deemed to have failed a criminal background check, according to U.S. officials. President Joe Biden stopped by a Sheetz for snacks this week while campaigning in Pennsylvania. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit in Baltimore against Altoona, Pennsylvania-based Sheetz and two subsidary companies, alleging the chain’s longstanding hiring practices have a disproportionate impact on minority applicants and thus run afoul of federal civil rights law. Sheetz said Thursday that it “does not tolerate discrimination of any kind.”
#4 Biden V Sheetz: Convenience Store Chain With Hundreds of Outlets in 6 States Hit with Discrimination Lawsuit - Michael Rubinkam for AP and Monica Crowley on X
#4 Former Senior Policy Advisor to Obama White House Charged With Child Sex Offences in British Court - The Daily Mail and Collin Rugg on X
#3 House Approves Aid Bills for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan - Caitlin Yilek and Kaia Hubbard for CBS News and Rep Thomas Massie on X
#2 California City OK’s $1M per Unit Homeless Housing Project After Audit Found State Wasted Billions on Crisis - Bradford Betz for Fox News and James Woods and Project Tabs on X
#1 House Committee Finds CIA at Fault in Investigation on Sexual Assaults - DanielL Lippman for Politico and Karli Bonne and Prodigal on X
And Now for Something Special
Teen Who Thought Neighbors Hated Him Playing Basketball Gets Amazing Surprise - Happily on YouTube
