News From Around the Web
#10 SEC Levies Over $88 Million in Combined Fines to 11 Firms for Recordkeeping Failures - The DI Wire, KKep, and Reuters Legal on X
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it has charged 12 firms comprising broker-dealers, investment advisers, and one dually registered broker-dealer and investment adviser for “widespread and longstanding failures” to maintain and preserve electronic communications. The charges stem from the firms’ inability to retain business-related messages sent on personal devices, a practice the SEC refers to as “off-channel communications.”Eleven of the financial firms were fined for a combined total of more than $88 million. Penalties ranged from $325,000 to $35 million. One firm, Qatalyst Partners LP, received a “no-penalty resolution” due to its proactive approach. According to the SEC, Qatalyst self-reported its violations, cooperated with the SEC’s investigation, and demonstrated substantial efforts to improve its compliance practices. The firms charged included...
#9 Biden Administration Has Imposed $1.7 Trillion in Regulatory Costs, House Republicans Find - Zach Halaschak for Washington Examiner, Rep James Comer, and The Heritage Foundation on X
The Biden administration has imposed an estimated $1.7 trillion in new regulatory costs since entering office, according to a new report from Republican staff on the House Oversight Committee. The 26-page report, obtained first by the Washington Examiner, outlines the growth of new federal regulations since President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn into office. It accuses the administration of imposing new and costly bureaucratic hurdles on businesses and the economy to implement a “radical, left-wing agenda.”
#8 Tennessee, Arizona, And Texas Lawmakers Seek To Pull Funds From CCP-Linked School Bus Manufacturers - Danielle Shockey for Tampa Free Press, CPT35E, and Just Passing Through on X
U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) introduced the Secure School Buses Act to prevent school bus manufacturers with ties to foreign adversaries, including the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), from accessing federal funding. “Currently, federal funding for public transit is restricted from going to companies linked to adversaries like the CCP, but this restriction does not extend to school buses,” said Senator Blackburn. “Our Secure School Buses Act closes this dangerous loophole, protecting national security and our students.”
#7 It Turns Out The Biden-Harris EV Push Comes At A Massive Cost — Thousands Of Blue Collar Jobs - Owen Klinsky for The Daily Caller, Rick Santorum, Lawyer for Laws, Daniel Turner, and Steve Guest on X
The Biden-Harris administration’s electric vehicle (EV) push is spurring auto manufacturers to rethink their production processes and cut thousands of jobs in the process, with experts warning the most recent round of layoffs are just the tip of the iceberg. GM announced it will temporarily cut nearly 1,700 factory workers on Saturday as it retrofits its Fairfax, Kansas, factory to manufacture the electric Chevrolet Bolt instead of the gasoline-powered Chevrolet Malibu, joining fellow automaker Stellantis, which revealed plans to lay off 2,450 employees in August as it discontinues the classic version of its Ram-1500 truck in favor of an electrified pickup, according to Bloomberg and a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice...
#6 Eric Adams Becomes First Sitting NYC Mayor Indicted in Historic Federal Probe — Claims Feds Persecuting Him Over Migrant Crisis - The New York Post, Alexandra Datig, and harparr IFBAP on X
Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted by a grand jury on charges connected to a federal probe, sources told The Post — as the defiant chief executive claimed he was being persecuted by the federal government for speaking out about the city’s migrant crisis. The historic indictment — the first for a sitting New York City mayor — is expected to be unsealed Thursday by US Attorney Damian Williams, according to the sources. The news was first reported by the New York Times. Adams will surrender to authorities early next week, sources said. Details about the exact accusations remained unclear, but they are believed to be connected to allegations of the Turkish government illegally funneling money into his mayoral campaign in exchange for approval of the Turkish Consulate in Manhattan, according to sources. Sources said the mayor is facing a charge of acting as an unregistered foreign agent after accepting donations from foreign entities...
#5 Facebook Portal Helps Biden's CDC Censor COVID Information and Evade Accountability - Wendi Strauch Mahoney for UncoverDC, America First Legal, Jim Aaron, and Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH/Scott Jensen on X
It has been known for some time now that Facebook and other social media platforms worked with the government to censor and suppress American discourse. However, it bears repeating that the Biden-Harris Administration has been particularly committed to censoring information that departs from the government's narrative. America First Legal's (AFL) lawsuit against the CDC further substantiates that the Biden-Harris administration made it easy to efficiently mass report and censor social media content using a Facebook portal dedicated to the CDC...#4 CNN Hires New Lawyers as Defamation Lawsuit by Navy Veteran Goes Forward - Joseph A. Wulfsohn, and Brian Flood for Fox News and on X
CNN has hired new lawyers as the network has failed to reach a settlement in a defamation lawsuit launched by a Navy veteran. The plaintiff, Zachary Young, alleges CNN smeared his security consulting company, Nemex Enterprises Inc., by implying it illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan during the Biden administration's military withdrawal from the country in 2021. According to court filings obtained by Fox News Digital, CNN has retained Dave Axelrod and Joe Bailey of law firm Ballard Spahr LLP. This came just days after settlement negotiations between Young and the network fell apart...
#3 Rep. Tom Tiffany Reveals Duplicate Absentee Ballots Have ‘No Barcode’ - Elizabeth Weibel for Breitbart, Rep. Tom Tiffany, and Rick Smith on X
Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) revealed that thousands of duplicate absentee ballots contained “no barcode” on them after officials in Madison City said the duplicate ballots had the barcode. In a post on X, Tiffany wrote that officials in the Madison Clerk’s Office had stated that because the duplicate ballots had identical barcodes, they would not be allowed to be submitted. Tiffany’s post came a day after he called for an “investigation” after Madison officials revealed that 2,215 duplicate ballots had been sent out to roughly 10 wards.
#2 Federal Court Rules That Water Fluoridation Poses an “Unreasonable Risk” to Children - Stuart Cooper for Flouride Action Network, Mindy MF Robinson, Larry Elder, Carla Gericke, and Dr. Simone Gold on X
After a seven-year precedent-setting legal battle in federal court, a historic ruling by the United States District Court of the Northern District of California has ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take regulatory action to eliminate the “unreasonable risk” to the health of children posed by the practice of water fluoridation. The verdict is a significant loss for the EPA and the promoters of fluoridation like the American Dental Association and the US Centers For Disease Control because the court found that their claims of safety–made for over 75 years–were in fact not supported by evidence. Senior Judge Edward Chen wrote, “The Court finds that fluoridation of water at 0.7 milligrams per liter (“mg/L”) – the level presently considered “optimal” in the United States – poses an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children…the Court finds there is an unreasonable risk of such injury, a risk sufficient to require the EPA to engage with a regulatory response.”
#1 Biden, Harris to Roll out New Executive Action on Guns - Myah Ward for Politico, Joshua Reid/Joe Biden, The FJC, Slow Pyro, and The Washington Times on X
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris announced new executive actions on Thursday to address gun violence, an election-year move that builds the president’s legacy on the issue and provides Harris with a fresh opportunity to highlight her leadership as vice president. During a White House event Thursday, Biden is expected to sign an executive order designed to address the trauma inflicted on children by active shooter drills in schools as well as tackle the threat of machine gun conversion devices, which are small devices that can be made with a 3D printer and turn a handgun into a fully automatic weapon. The actions are timed to this week’s one-year anniversary of Biden’s creation of the first-ever office of gun violence prevention — which he launched, in part, to identify additional ways to tackle gun violence from the executive branch without Congress...
And Now for Something Special 
Safe House Pet Marley Wins Cat of the Year Award - Victoria Cook Aisling Grace for BBC News, Guardian World, Caritas Westminster on X, and Cats Protection on YouTube
A seven-year-old cat who lives at a safe house for women has been recognized nationally for his "incredible gift of empathy." Black and white Marley beat thousands of other entries to be named Cats Protection's National Cat of the Year 2024. Caritas Bakhita House in central London, which adopted the pet four years ago, offers a safe place for those who have been enslaved, exploited, and trafficked. "I'm so proud Marley has won National Cat of the Year - he's a wonderful example of the power of love," said Karen Anstiss, head of Caritas Bakhita House...
