It's Been Reported

After Years Of Anti-Fossil Fuel Policies, Colorado’s Boulder Unlikely To Achieve Its Climate Goals (Just the News) — When it comes to anti-fossil fuel policies, few cities have pursued them with as much gusto as Boulder, Colorado. In 2006, Boulder became one of the first local governments in the nation to adopt emission reduction targets. Then in 2019, the city went into a full-blown panic over emissions, declared a “climate emergency,” and exponentially increased its targets. While progressive cities feel good setting targets to eliminate the use of fossil fuels, achieving those targets is another thing entirely. Just the News analyzed Boulder’s progress toward its goal of being at net-zero emissions by 2035. Based on its current rate of emissions reductions, the city would need to nearly double the pace that it is reducing emissions to meet that goal. The town is going to find it much harder to achieve reductions going forward. Much of its progress so far has been from reducing emissions associated with electricity generation. The U.S. as a whole has seen a drop in emissions, largely due to a transition from coal to natural gas. Yet, the grid still needs those coal plants. A new report by Xcel Energy, the utility that supplies Boulder’s electricity, warns that if it shuts down its coal plants as scheduled, there will likely be blackouts in Colorado. See full story	Melania Trump Denies Friendship With Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell (Just the News) — First lady Melania Trump read a statement at the White House Thursday that denied ties to the late-financier Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, but acknowledged they ran in overlapping social circles in New York and Florida. The comment comes amid online reports and accusations that the first lady personally knew of the sex offender's crimes, stating that such “stories are completely false." “The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today," Trump said. "The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation." Trump said she and her attorneys have fought the accusations that she was associated with Epstein and Maxwell, claiming that her response to an email from Maxwell was “casual correspondence," and she was being polite. The first lady also urged Congress to hold a public hearing that centers on Epstein's survivors, so their stories can be logged into the congressional record. See full story
Trump Threatens 50% Tariffs On Those Who Supply Iran Weapons (UPI) — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday morning that any country supplying weapons to Iran will get a 50% tariff on goods sold to the United States. "A Country supplying Military Weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50%, effective immediately. There will be no exclusions or exemptions! President DJT," the president said on Truth Social. In a separate post, Trump said there will be "no enrichment of Uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) Nuclear 'Dust.'" He also said that the United States will work closely with Iran, "which we have determined has gone through what will be a very productive Regime Change!" See full story	Rubio Revokes Green Cards Of Foreign Nationals Linked To ‘Iranian Regime Propagandist’ (Just the News) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked the green cards of foreign nationals linked to Iranian propagandist, according to an announcement from the State Department on Saturday. "Masoumeh Ebtekar – also known as "Screaming Mary" – was the spokeswoman for the Islamic terrorists who stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days – subjecting them to beatings, starvation, and mock executions," Rubio wrote on X. "In 2014, the Obama Administration granted visas to her son and his family to enter the United States. In June 2016, the Obama Administration gave them lawful permanent resident status via the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program," he added. Rubio wrote that he "terminated their lawful permanent resident status." Seyed Eissa Hashemi, Maryam Tahmasebi, and their son are in the "custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pending their removal from our country," he added.
Bloodbath At Disney As Up To 1,000 Jobs Are Set To Be Axed – With New CEO Revealing His Master Plan (NY Post) — Disney is planning mass firings in the coming months as new CEO Josh D’Amaro forms the company to his liking, reports say. Up to 1,000 employees are expected to receive their pink slips from the company with the famous mouse. Most of the cuts will be from the marketing department. Disney is reacting to intense competition from Amazon and YouTube in the tech and streaming spaces, the Wall Street Journal reported. D’Amaro replaced longtime Disney CEO Bob Iger in February. The company’s board voted unanimously then to install D’Amaro as the entertainment giant’s next CEO. The new cuts were planned before D’Amaro took power. Disney laid off more than 8,000 people since Iger returned as the company’s CEO in 2022. The majority of layoffs originated in the entertainment, ESPN or corporate operations divisions. See full story	Justice Department Says It Has Prosecuted $500 Million In Healthcare, COVID Fraud Claims In 3 States (Just the News) — The Justice Department said this week that it has wrapped up health care fraud investigations in three states which had cost Americans over $500 million among the respective parties. The announcement comes the same week that the Justice Department created its National Fraud Enforcement Division, which is a major step in the Trump administration's efforts to crack down on misuse of public funds. The Justice Department said it has finished its healthcare fraud investigations in California, Florida and Nevada and secured either guilty pleas, settlements or sentences. “Thanks to the leadership of President Donald Trump, the department, working closely with the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, is supercharging efforts to take down every fraudster and bring them to justice,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “In one day, the Department prosecuted the theft of a half-billion in taxpayer dollars. All those ripping off the American people are on notice.” See full story
DOJ Civil Rights Division Opens Probe Into House Democrats' J6 Witness Cassidy Hutchinson (Just the News) — The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has opened a probe into former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, according to a news report Tuesday. Hutchinson testified in 2022 before a special House committee on the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot that implicated President Trump. The DOJ is looking into whether Hutchinson committed perjury during her testimony, unnamed sources told the New York Times, which is reporting the story. The department assigning the case to the division appears unusual considering it focuses on potential civil rights violations – not allegations of crime, which would include lying to Congress. See full story	Takeaways From The Gilgo Beach Killings Case As Rex Heuermann Pleads Guilty RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) — A Long Island man who carried out a series of murders known as the Gilgo Beach killings pleaded guilty to murder charges this week, bringing finality to the long-unsolved case more than 30 years after the first killing. Rex Heuermann, an architect who led a secret life as a serial killer, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of first-degree murder and four counts of intentional murder in the killings of seven women between 1993 and 2010. Heuermann, 62, appeared unemotional and did not look back at the packed gallery of victims’ relatives as he entered the pleas and also admitted to killing an eighth woman. He will be sentenced in June to life in prison without the possibility of parole. See full story
Democrat Rep Kelly Morrison Violated Fed Transparency Laws On Reporting Trades, Worth At Least $1M (Just the News) — Democratic Rep. Kelly Morrison has violated a federal transparency law by improperly disclosing seven figures worth of personal investments, according to a review of her congressional financial records. The review was conducted by the news outlet NOTUS, which reported the findings Monday. The records indicate the Minnesota congresswoman was months – and in one instance, more than a year – late in reporting that she had made eight financial trades worth collectively valued at $1.41 million to $2.91 million. Under federal law, members of Congress generally must publicly report certain financial trades no later than 45 days after making them. Morrison’s office acknowledged the congresswoman’s disclosures were late but blamed the delay on an investment manager, whom it said manages her portfolio. The office also Morrison had no prior knowledge of the transactions before they occurred. See full story	Trump’s Pick Clay Fuller Wins House Seat In Georgia (USA Today) — After months of campaigning, a crowded field of candidates competing in an inconclusive election and a runoff, the race to replace former representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has chosen a winner. Trump-endorsed Republican Clay Fuller claimed the seat with 56% of the vote against Democrat Shawn Harris, who took home 44%, in Georgia's historically deeply red 14th congressional district. The special election was called when Greene resigned her seat in January, meaning Fuller will head to Washington, D.C. immediately to be sworn in and become an active member of the U.S. House of Representatives. "As a veteran and district attorney, Clay has ALWAYS put America first and kept Georgians safe," GOP Chairman Joe Gruters said in a post on X following the win. "In Congress, he'll be a key ally of President Trump, a great addition to our House Republican majority, and a trusted fighter for Georgia." See full story