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Rep. Mills Draws Up Impeachment Articles Over Biden's Aid Threat

Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., on Thursday submitted to House counsel impeachment articles against President Joe Biden alleging he is compromising the national security of the United States with his withholding of military aid to Israel.

Mills wrote up the impeachment against the president, referring to him as "Quid Pro Joe," and using as a template impeachment articles written by Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., accusing then-President Donald Trump of abuse of power in 2019 for withholding aid to Ukraine.

"I have submitted to House counsel and will pursue action tomorrow morning using the Dems's own language, but Biden's actual abuse of power," Mills said in a post to X.

Mills' post comes hours after Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., called for the House to impeach Biden.

"The House has no choice but to impeach Biden based on the Trump-Ukraine precedent of withholding foreign aid to help with reelection. Only with Biden, it's true," Cotton posted to X.

At issue is Biden's proclamation in an interview Wednesday night that he is withholding heavy munitions from Israel that it could use in its offensive against Hamas terrorists in Rafah. Biden dangled the aid, approved by Congress and signed by him, as a warning against going into Rafah.

The administration paused a shipment of 1,800 1-ton bombs and 1,700 500-pound explosives headed to Israel.

"Using the powers of the high office, President Biden solicited a 'quid pro quo' with the foreign government of Israel by withholding precision guided weapons shipments in order to try and extract military policy changes," read Mills' resolution. "President Biden sought to pressure the government of Israel to take steps by conditioning official United States Government acts of significant value to Israel.

"In doing so, President Biden used the powers of the presidency in a manner that compromised the national security of the United States and its ally Israel."

Cotton also said Thursday that Israel is "fighting a just and necessary war."

"Israel, you don't have a problem with America. You have a problem with Joe Biden and [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Party," he said.

Mark Swanson ✉

Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.

© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

 

WATCH OUT: NOAA Issues First 'Severe Geomagnetic Storm Watch' in 20 Years, Could Hit Mid-Day Friday

After days of observing "large sunspot groups" and "several strong flares, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center issued a G4 Severe Geomagnetic Storm Watch for Friday, May 10, through Sunday, May 12.

A graphic circulating with information about the watch said, in part:

At least five earth-directed coronal mass ejections were observed and expected to arrive as early as midday Friday, May 10, 2024, and persist through Sunday, May 12, 2024. This is an unusual event.

Several strong flares have been observed over the past few days and were associated with a large and magnetically complex sunspot cluster (NOAA region 3664), which is 16 times the diameter of Earth.

In a media advisory, the agency explained what coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are, and how they can disrupt our technology-dependent lives.

CMEs are explosions of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun’s corona. They cause geomagnetic storms when they are directed at Earth.

Geomagnetic storms can impact infrastructure in near-Earth orbit and on Earth’s surface, potentially disrupting communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations. SWPC has notified the operators of these systems so they can take protective action.

Geomagnetic storms can also trigger spectacular displays of aurora on Earth. A severe geomagnetic storm includes the potential for aurora to be seen as far south as Alabama and Northern California. 

While geomagnetic storms have the potential to severely disrupt life on earth, particularly by damaging or knocking out portions of the electric grid, NOAA says that the vast majority of G5 storms (the highest level) "will not cause catastrophic damage to the electric grid" and noted that "On average, the Earth is impacted by such storms about four times during every 11-year solar cycle, so many large storms have impacted the planet since the Carrington Storm with much less signification impact."

Still, if one wants to be prepared, the steps are much the same as those families can/should take to prepare for natural disasters.

 

DOL’s Contractor Rule is a Threat to Truckers' Livelihoods

In 1938, Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) with the noble aim of eradicating labor conditions detrimental to the well-being of workers. This landmark legislation mandates that employers pay nonexempt employees at least the Federal minimum wage for all hours worked and compensate them at a rate of one and one-half times their regular pay for overtime. 

Additionally, the act necessitates covered employers to maintain specific employee records and prohibits retaliation against those who raise concerns about their pay.

However, the FLSA's protections do not extend to independent contractors, and the act does not offer a clear definition of "independent contractor." Instead, it provides definitions for "employer," "employee," and "employ," leaving the interpretation of contractor status to regulatory agencies and courts.

Since the 1940s, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the judiciary have employed an economic reality test to distinguish between employees and independent contractors under the FLSA. This test scrutinizes whether a worker is economically reliant on the employer for employment (indicative of employee status) or operates autonomously (indicative of independent contractor status). 

Factors considered in this assessment include the opportunity for profit or loss, investment, permanency, control, the integral nature of the work to the employer's business, and the level of skill and initiative required.

On January 10, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its long-awaited final rule revising guidelines for classifying workers under the FLSA. This rule, effective from March 11, marks a significant departure from its predecessor, rescinding the previous independent contractor rule established in January 2021. 

Unlike its predecessor, which focused primarily on a worker's control over their work and potential for profit or loss, the new rule adopts a more comprehensive approach, evaluating multiple factors to determine worker classification.

The final rule outlines six key factors employers should consider when classifying workers:

1. The worker’s potential for profit or loss based on managerial skills.

2. Investments made by both the worker and the potential employer.

3. The permanence of the working relationship and the worker’s ability to work for multiple entities.

4. The degree of control exerted by the potential employer.

5. The significance of the work performed to the potential employer's business.

6. The level of skill and initiative required for the work.

Importantly, the rule underscores that no single factor is determinative, and each case should be assessed individually, with the option to consider additional relevant factors.

While the final rule provides clarity on the DOL's stance regarding worker classification, its implications for various industries, particularly transportation, are profoundly negative. 

Many truck drivers, traditionally classified as independent contractors, may find it challenging to maintain this status under the new rule, given factors such as investment in equipment and the use of specialized skills. It puts fleet health and safety at risk, and may well put truckers out of their jobs.

In an interview with Jill Snyder, Compliance and Safety Director at Zonar Systems, Snyder said, “Without altering the current USDOL IC Rule, America is going to see a greater truck driver shortage, as these hard-working Americans lose their jobs; reduced capacity to transport goods; and higher inflation due to higher transportation costs and shortage of goods.”

The Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) has raised concerns about the rule's potential impact on the classification of intermodal drayage drivers, noting that over 80 percent of them currently operate as independent contractors. According to IANA President and CEO Joni Casey, these drivers deliberately choose the freedom and flexibility of independent contractor status, rejecting employee positions readily available to them. IANA and other transportation organizations support legislation to halt the rule’s implementation.

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has expressed staunch opposition to the new rules, asserting that they infringe upon individuals' freedom to choose work arrangements that align with their needs and aspirations. ATA President and CEO Chris Spear contends that independent contractor status offers economic opportunity and flexibility to over 350,000 truckers, and the rule's complexity undermines their livelihoods and weakens the supply chain.

Todd Spencer, President of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), highlights the uncertainty created by changing regulations, which makes it challenging for truckers to operate their businesses effectively. “As we said when the Biden administration first issued this proposal, we have concerns that some details contained in the rule may disregard specifics of the trucking industry and could lead to the reclassification of independent contractors as employees.”

While OOIDA acknowledges the DOL's intent to follow established practices for classification under the FLSA, it remains concerned that certain aspects of the rule may overlook the unique dynamics of the trucking industry and lead to widespread reclassification of independent contractors as employees.

Once again, government proves that its alleged attempts to help the little guy only serve one purpose: to make things worse.  The independent contractors themselves aren’t complaining. With an ongoing driver shortage, contractors have multiple companies to choose from if they wanted to be classified as employees. They obviously prefer the independent approach.

The more cynical among us might read this as part of a two-step process by Democrats to enhance union membership. First, independent contractors must be eliminated and forced into becoming employees. Once they are employees, then the unions can attempt to organize them.

The irony, of course, is that the entire 20,000-employee base of Yellow Corporation belonged to the Teamsters. It was labor issues and demands of the union that forced Yellow into bankruptcy.

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RELATED:

Kevin Kiley Asks Acting Labor Secy Julie Su to Suspend the Effective Date of the Indep. Contractor Rule

Federal Judge Slaps Down NLRB Rule on Employers, Contractors That Was Sneaky Workaround of Failed PRO Act

KILEY: The American Dream Is in Danger

A Lawsuit Seeks to Stop the National Destruction of Trucking Through the DOL Indep. Contractor Rule

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Appeals Court Considering Removing Fani Willis

Donald Trump keeps racking up legal victories as his haters keep getting more desperate. 

Desperate enough to put Stormy Daniels on the stand in New York, committing what will be a reversible error if Trump is found guilty. After Daniels' performance in court yesterday no appeals court would uphold a conviction. 

Legal scholars like Alan Dershowitz expected the judge's decision to bounce Nathan Wade and not Willis, but they also believed that Willis should have been disqualified along with Wade. The decision was legally questionable and nothing more than a scheme to punt the decision-making to a higher court. 

That decision appears to have been a smart move on McAfee's part, preserving his chances of getting reelected. His decision surely wasn't based on the applicable law, given that Willis' credibility was utterly destroyed. 

JUST IN: The Court of Appeals for the State of Georgia on Wednesday agreed to consider former President Donald Trump‘s appeal of a judge’s decision not to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting his sweeping racketeering case. https://t.co/szh6TFzuEp

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 8, 2024

The Washington Post's story laid out the arguments for the decision:

“It is neither prudent nor efficient to require the courts, the parties, or taxpayers to run the significant and avoidable risk of having to go through this painful, divisive, and expensive process more than once when an existing structural error can be remedied by this Court now,” the filing stated.

Trump and the others also argued that McAfee erred in not disqualifying Willis over remarks she made in a Jan. 14 speech at a historic Black church in Atlanta where she suggested that the criticism of her and Wade was racially motivated. McAfee called Willis’s speech “legally improper” but also said it was unclear if her remarks had met a legal standard for forensic misconduct by a prosecutor.

In an April 8 response, Willis asked the appellate court to block the appeal and defended McAfee’s ruling, arguing the judge “found the evidence insufficient to establish any actual conflict of interest.”

The Appeals Court won't hear the arguments until August according to the trial docket (via the Washington Post), almost guaranteeing that Willis' witchhunt will be delayed until well after the election. 

This is, needless to say, huge. The whole point of the exercise was to tie Donald Trump up in court for months during the height of the presidential campaign. 

Willis has likely poured gasoline on her career and lit a match. She likely committed perjury, clearly violated legal ethics, and is looking like a fool. Were she not a female minority her career would be over. 

Willis' defense of her and Wade's actions were largely predicated on playing the race card, as you recall. 

JUST IN: Fani Willis accuses cross-examination of racism, says she's not going to emasculate a black man. WATCHpic.twitter.com/hsPvS6SViv

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) February 15, 2024

The Stormy Daniels antics in court yesterday signify a modest shift in lawfare strategy: since there is no legal basis to convict Trump successfully without reversal, the goal is now to humiliate him. 

I doubt that will work. 

 

Jonah Goldberg Highlighted Some Anecdotal News That's Not Good for Biden

We’re nowhere near slam-dunk territory on this, but it’s something to watch. For Democrats, it could be an area that could produce another episode of politically induced heartburn. Jonah Goldberg

 

 is a notable anti-Trump commentator. He has been a vocal critic of the former president, though he’s returned to his classic roots amid the chaos on our college campuses. Still, while Biden has been disappointing for some Republicans who might have crossed party lines in 2020, Goldberg’s tweet about the rumblings he’s heard from within the Never Trump wing is interesting: 

This development comes off the news of Biden cutting off arms shipments to Israel over their operation in Rafah, the last Hamas bastion in Gaza. The president, who has been vocal about his opposition to this operation, has already halted one shipment of bombs. He also reportedly tried to hide this information from Congress. Biden warns that more arms could be cut off should Israel continue with this offensive. It's pure lunacy.

Yet, it’s anecdotal evidence akin to tracking lawn signs during an election year. It could mean something, or it’s nothing. If he took the time to tweet it, maybe something is brewing. Biden’s already immensely unpopular, so it wouldn’t shock me. Just keep this in your back pocket. Even with hard data, like polls, nothing is certain, but some things are clear: Biden has serious issues among voter groups that are at the core of the Democratic Party, and he’s gunning for defeat if these patterns hold.

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House GOP Introduces Bill Targeting Hamas Sympathizers on Student Visas

Representative Andy Ogles, a Republican from Tennessee, filed legislation on Wednesday that would force holders of student visas that sympathize with Hamas to return home, advising them to “go study abroad in Gaza.”

A copy of the legislation, known as the “Study Abroad Act,” was obtained by The Daily Caller outlet.

The measure states that any student visa holder who has been “arrested for rioting or unlawful protest” or those who have been “arrested while establishing, participating in, or promoting an encampment” at a U.S. institution of higher education will have their F, J, or M visas immediately revoked.

“The ability to receive higher education in the United States is truly a privilege. Previously known for their prestige and unparalleled academics, many elite American universities have damaged their hard-earned reputations by opening their doors to impressionable terrorist sympathizers. In the last several weeks, our nation has seen these institutions overrun and terrorized by young people calling for a third intifada,” Ogles (R-Tenn.) told the outlet prior to introducing the bill.

“These anti-Semitic, anti-America riots have wreaked havoc and chaos on campuses, leading to the cancellation of commencements and in-person classes. It is unacceptable that we would allow non-Americans to terrorize our institutions of higher learning. It’s time to send a clear message to foreign, Hamas-sympathizing students rioting: if you bring chaos to our universities, you can study abroad somewhere else. Might I recommend Iran, Qatar, or Gaza? They seem more your speed,” he continued.

Representatives Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) and Randy Weber (R-Texas) joined Ogles in sponsoring the bill.

“If you hate America so much, you should get the first ticket back to your country and attend college there. The unruly anti-Semites that are spewing hate and discontent on college campuses will not be tolerated in the United States,” Weber told the outlet.

All throughout the country, college campuses continue to face ongoing protests that are becoming more chaotic, disrupting classes and campus activity.

“If you come to America on a student visa and support a terrorist organization like Hamas, then you are in violation of your visa,” Duncan stated. “We do not need Hamas sympathizers on American soil breaking our laws and influencing our youth to hate America and freedom. You riot on behalf of a terrorist organization, then say goodbye to your visa.”

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 Where do most immigrant students come from?More than half of the students who come to study in the US are from Asia, totaling 367,654 people in 2022. Out of all students immigrating to the US in 2022, 18% were from India, 10% were from China, and 25% were from other Asian countries.Europe was the next most common region, representing about 23% of immigrant students.

RFK Jr. Says Women Should Be Able To Get Abortions 'Even If It’s Full Term,' Running Mate Cites 'Miscommunication'

The latest response regarding abortion policy from Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) reportedly astonished his female running partner.

RFK Jr. stated in an interview that was made public on Wednesday that he would permit women to have abortions at full term if that was their personal decision.

At 39 weeks, you are in month nine of a pregnancy, with only a week or two left to go,” according to whattoexpect.com. This is referred to as a “full term.”

Meanwhile, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund declared that the term “late-term abortion” is “made-up” anti-abortion propaganda.

Planned Parenthood stated: “Opponents of abortion use language to shame people who have abortions—to make them feel as if their decision is wrong or immoral. Take, for example, the made-up phrase ‘late-term abortion.’ There is no such thing as a late-term abortion. It has no basis in medicine and is pure anti-abortion propaganda, crafted to confuse people about when abortion happens.”

In an interview, podcaster Sage Steele, a former ESPN host, questioned Kennedy about what the appropriate limit should be for women to have an abortion.

“Should there be a limit, or are you saying all the way up to full term, a woman has a right to have an abortion?” Steele asked.

RFK Jr. responded by saying that although he does not believe “anyone would want to have an abortion” at that lengthy point, women should still have the right to choose.

RFK Jr. reaffirmed that the “woman should always make the decision” rather than the states, as Steele persisted in pressuring him to say if he agreed with the Roe v. Wade standard.

“Even if it’s full-term,” RFK Jr. boldly said in response to a follow-up question.

“I think we have to leave it to the women rather than the state.”

However, RFK Jr.’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, seemed taken aback by the remarks. Shanahan was a guest on Steele’s podcast one week before RFK Jr.’s interview with her was made public. Shanahan acted surprise when Steele questioned if she agreed with Kennedy’s viewpoint that a woman should be able to choose to have an abortion up until full term.

“My understanding with Bobby’s position is that, you know, every abortion is a tragedy, is a loss of life,” Shanahan said. “My understanding is that he absolutely believes in limits on abortion, and we’ve talked about this. I do not think… I don’t know where that came from.”

“That is not my understanding of his position, and I think maybe there was a miscommunication there,” Shanahan continued.

She later posted on X (Twitter) in order to explain her own personal viewpoint on the topic.

People are asking about my views on abortion.

I will speak personally. As a mom, and a person with a womb, I don't like the feeling of anyone having control over my body. It is coercive. It is wrong. But, I am also a woman that would not feel right terminating a viable life… pic.twitter.com/QqmkkzZJkO

— Nicole Shanahan (@NicoleShanahan) April 9, 2024

Throughout his presidential campaign, RFK Jr. has occasionally taken contrasting positions on abortion. RFK Jr. previously stated that, if elected, he would favor enacting a national ban on abortions after the first three months of pregnancy in an August interview last year with NBC News.

However, his team quickly recanted the statement.

“I believe a decision to abort a child should be up to the women during the first three months of life,” RFK Jr. said previously to NBC News.

RFK Jr.’s team then quickly released a statement claiming that the candidate “misunderstood” inquiries concerning the subject.

“Mr. Kennedy misunderstood a question posed to him by an NBC reporter in a crowded, noisy exhibit hall at the Iowa State Fair,” a spokesperson said.

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