Former Senator Jim Inhofe, the Oklahoma Republican who once threw a snowball onto the Senate floor to make a point about climate change, has died.
Inhofe passed away on Tuesday, July 9, after suffering a stroke. He was 89.
Inhofe&#8217;s death was confirmed by former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, a former Inhofe staffer.
“Former Sen Jim Inhofe passed away this morning. He was a devout Christian and family man. He was also devoted to his former staff who he considered his extended family,” Wheeler <a href="https://x.com/AndrewRWheeler/status/1810690613215478096">wrote on X</a>.
Inhofe called climate change a “hoax” and frequently sounded off against the global warming narrative, at one point even <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E0a_60PMR8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bringing</a> a snowball onto the Senate floor to argue that human activity does not cause global warming.
&#8220;In case we have forgotten, because we keep hearing that 2014 has been the warmest year on record, I ask the chair, you know what this is?&#8221; Inhofe said during a floor speech in February 2015 as he produced a snowball from a bag beside his podium.
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Senator James Inhofe famously throws a snowball in the Senate to discredit &quot;climate change&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JamesInhofe?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JamesInhofe</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Inhofe?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Inhofe</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JimInhofe?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JimInhofe</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Snowball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Snowball</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimageChange?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ClimageChange</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimageChangeHoax?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ClimageChangeHoax</a> <a href="https://t.co/sta5G4gFgi">pic.twitter.com/sta5G4gFgi</a>
&mdash; Mister Montgomery (@MAGA_Montgomery) <a href="https://twitter.com/MAGA_Montgomery/status/1810692591370834171?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;It&#8217;s a snowball,&#8221; he said. &#8220;From outside here. So it&#8217;s very, very cold out.&#8221;
&#8220;So here, Mr. President, catch this,&#8221; Inhofe added as he tossed the snowball.
As chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Inhofe was a vocal critic of over-the-top environmental regulation. Some of his staffers went on to be influential in environmental policy in the Trump administration&#8217;s EPA.
Inhofe was friendly with former California Sen. Barbara Boxer, a staunch liberal Democrat, despite their differences. The two worked together on several major highway and water infrastructure bills.
Inhofe was the longest-serving senator from Oklahoma and was in office from 1994 to 2023.
He retired last year after 29 years in the Senate. Prior to his Senate career, he was a congressman from Oklahoma from 1987 to 1994. Before being elected to the federal government, he was mayor of Tulsa for six years and a member of the state House and then the state Senate.
In his 20s, Inhofe was drafted into the Army and served about a year.

Senate Republicans Hold Weekly Policy Luncheons

Former Senator Jim Inhofe, An Oklahoma Republican, Dead At 89

Former Senator Jim Inhofe Dead At 89

Climate Change

Congress

Environment

Environmentalism

James Inhofe

Oklahoma

Politics

Senate

Eight states — California, Rhode Island, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington — and the District of Columbia are now on board with plans to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles within the next decade.
The plans to phase out the vehicles and switch to electric and hybrid vehicles come as the Biden administration continues to pursue its <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/20/climate/biden-phase-out-gas-cars.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lofty</a> climate goals in a struggling economy. The administration, for example, wants half of all new cars and trucks sold in 2030 to be zero-emission, despite <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ford-cuts-production-of-electric-truck-they-touted-as-the-future-hiring-hundreds-to-build-more-gas-vehicles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sputtering</a> EV sales.
All 8 of the states and D.C. have <a href="https://www.kbb.com/car-news/maryland-becomes-7th-state-banning-new-gas-car-sales-after-2035/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adopted</a> the Advanced Clean Cars II rule, and will have an outright ban on the sale of new gas-powered vehicles after 2035.
California was the first to adopt the rule, aiming to have 35% of new vehicle sales emit zero emissions by 2026, and boosting that goal to 68% by 2030.
<a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/advanced-clean-cars-program/advanced-clean-cars-ii#:~:text=The%20Advanced%20Clean%20Cars%20II%20regulations%20take%20the%20state's%20already,100%25%20zero%2Demission%20vehicles." target="_blank" rel="noopener">According</a> to the California Air Resources Board, the regulation overhauls the state&#8217;s &#8220;growing <span class="c5aZPb" role="button" data-enable-toggle-animation="true" data-extra-container-classes="ZLo7Eb" data-hover-hide-delay="1000" data-hover-open-delay="500" data-send-open-event="true" data-theme="0" data-width="250" data-ved="2ahUKEwjepqqP4ZSFAxVu_8kDHST9DdAQmpgGegQIKBAD">zero-emission vehicle market and robust motor vehicle emission control rules and augments them to meet more aggressive tailpipe emissions standards and ramp up to 100% zero-emission vehicles.&#8221;
As <a href="https://money.com/states-banning-gas-powered-cars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> by Money, the states&#8217; plans to ban gas-powered vehicles have generally not required votes from lawmakers, but have been advanced with support from governors and environmental regulators.
The EV market has struggled in recent months, as highlighted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ford-cuts-production-of-electric-truck-they-touted-as-the-future-hiring-hundreds-to-build-more-gas-vehicles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a>. Ford, for example, had to cut 1,400 employees from its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, rolled back the planned production number of the electric F-150 Lightnings in half, and slashed $12 billion in EV investments.
President Biden, however, is not slowing down when it comes to targeting the gas-powered vehicle industry. Earlier this month, Biden&#8217;s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set new eye-popping regulations in an effort to increase the number of electric vehicles on the road.
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The new EPA rules set emission standards for vehicles made between 2027 and 2032 and would eliminate more than 7 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions, setting off concerns across the nation.
For example, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) railed against the EPA&#8217;s move, calling it both &#8220;reckless&#8221; and &#8220;ill-informed.&#8221;
“The federal government has no authority and no right to mandate what type of car or truck Americans can purchase for their everyday lives,” the senator said. “This reckless and ill-informed rule will impose what is effectively an EV mandate without ensuring the security of our supply chains from nations like China and without a realistic transition plan that addresses our domestic infrastructure needs.”
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Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ford-cuts-production-of-electric-truck-they-touted-as-the-future-hiring-hundreds-to-build-more-gas-vehicles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ford Cuts Production Of Electric Truck They Touted As The Future; Hiring Hundreds To Build More Gas Vehicles</a>
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TOPSHOT-US-politics-government-pandemic-Covid-19

These 8 States Plan On Banning Sale Of Gas-Powered Vehicles As Biden EPA Tackles ‘Climate Crisis’

California

Electric cars

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/environmental-protection-agency-epa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)</a> failed to suitably report billions of dollars in fiscal 2022 spending, the agency&#8217;s inspector general determined, prompting condemnation from GOP lawmakers.
A report <a href="https://www.epaoig.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2024-01/epaoig_20240109-24-p-0014_cert.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> last week by the independent watchdog said the agency&#8217;s initial reporting to USAspending.gov — the federal government’s &#8220;official public source&#8221; of spending information — was &#8220;not complete or accurate&#8221; because the EPA’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) &#8220;did not follow its information technology configuration management procedures.&#8221;
&#8220;Consequently, necessary changes to the OCFO’s DATA Act Evaluation and Approval Repository, the system that facilitates the Agency’s USAspending.gov reporting, were either unimplemented or incorrectly implemented, and these issues were not identified via configuration audits,&#8221; the report said. &#8220;Additionally, the OCFO lacked procedures to detect errors and to confirm the completeness and accuracy of the data that it reported to USAspending.gov.&#8221;
The inspector general&#8217;s team found award-level obligations — or <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44027" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spending commitments</a> — were underreported by $1.2 billion and award-level outlays — or <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44027" target="_blank" rel="noopener">money actually paid</a> — were underreported by $5.8 billion, meaning that 12.9% of the EPA’s total award-level obligations and 99.9% of the EPA’s total award-level outlays were not reported in fiscal 2022.
Also noted by the watchdog was that the EPA also did not report &#8220;any&#8221; of its Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act outlays and underreported its COVID pandemic-related outlays.
&#8220;The lack of complete and accurate reporting also led to taxpayers being initially misinformed about the EPA’s spending, and policy-makers who relied on the data may not have been able to effectively track federal spending,&#8221; the report said.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), who is chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, criticized the EPA <a href="https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/chair-rodgers-epa-s-failure-to-report-7-billion-in-spending-is-another-failure-of-leadership" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in response</a> to the inspector general&#8217;s findings.
“It’s outrageous and unacceptable that the EPA cannot keep track of its spending or inform Congress — and the American people — of how it is using taxpayer dollars. This eye-opening report only further highlights the need for more transparency at the EPA,&#8221; McMorris Rodgers said.
&#8220;It also raises questions about whether the agency is incapable of managing its record-high budget or if the agency is attempting to hide the amount of taxpayer dollars it is spending to advance the administration’s radical rush-to-green agenda,&#8221; she added. &#8220;The Energy and Commerce Committee will continue holding this administration accountable for its actions that are driving up costs across the board and hurting Americans.”
Among the other GOP lawmakers who chided the EPA were Rep. John Joyce (R-PA), who <a href="https://twitter.com/RepJohnJoyce/status/1745581015270068578" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said on X</a>, &#8220;This jarring report is the clearest sign yet that the EPA is unable and unwilling to adequately serve the American people,&#8221; and Rep. Lauren Boehbert (R-CO), <a href="https://twitter.com/RepBoebert/status/1745900056425734622" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who said</a>, &#8220;This is completely unacceptable.&#8221;
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As a result of the audit, the inspector general&#8217;s team made a number of recommendations to the EPA for improving its USAspending.gov reporting process. The watchdog said the EPA &#8220;agreed with&#8221; all the suggestions and provided &#8220;acceptable corrective actions&#8221; along with estimated dates for completing those tasks.
&#8220;EPA welcomes and appreciates the Office of the Inspector General’s oversight and recommendations,&#8221; an EPA spokesperson <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bidens-epa-lost-track-billions-dollars-taxpayer-funds-inspector-general?intcmp=tw_pols" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Fox News</a>. &#8220;EPA properly accounted for FY 2022 funding, which is validated by [the inspector general&#8217;s fiscal] 2022 clean unmodified audit opinion of EPA’s financial statements. This was an issue transmitting data to USASpending.gov, which has been corrected.&#8221;

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) logo on flag

Inspector General Finds EPA Failed To Properly Report Billions Of Dollars

Biden Administration

Budget

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Executive

Inspector general

U.S.

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/environment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Endangered Species Act</a> (ESA), which turned 50 years old on Thursday, has largely failed to restore populations of endangered species, according to government data analyzed by researchers at the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC).
The ESA, overseen and enforced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), is the backbone of the federal government’s efforts to conserve endangered or threatened species. The act has two primary goals: save species from extinction, then help them recover.
But USFWS data show a massive gap between the ESA’s impact on the rate of extinction versus its ability to help species recover, according to USFWS data <a href="https://www.perc.org/2023/07/26/missing-the-mark/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analyzed</a> by PERC vice president of research Shawn Regan and PERC research fellow Katherine Wright.
Over the ESA’s lifetime, just 3% of species listed under the act as protected species have ever recovered. In a social media post marking the ESA’s 50th anniversary, Regan noted that the act has a 99% rate at keeping species from extinction. But the act has failed in its “ultimate goal,” he said.
“The act’s ultimate goal, however, is not to prevent extinction; it&#8217;s to recover species to the point that the act’s protections are no longer needed,” Regan wrote. “But of the 1,732 domestic species listed under the act, just 57 (3%) have recovered. This is not good news!”
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The act&#39;s ultimate goal, however, is not to prevent extinction; it&#39;s to recover species to the point that the act&#39;s protections are no longer needed.
But of the 1,732 domestic species listed under the act, just 57 (3%) have recovered. This is not good news! <a href="https://t.co/RL7SdnGHqs">pic.twitter.com/RL7SdnGHqs</a>
&mdash; Shawn Regan (@Shawn_Regan) <a href="https://twitter.com/Shawn_Regan/status/1740449479441224065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2023</a></blockquote>
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In addition to low rate of recovery, the USFWS has missed a large majority of its projections for recovery as well.
Regan and Wright “compared the number of recovered species to the number the agency projected should be recovered by [2023]. The results weren’t great,” Regan said. “We find that most of the species projected to recover by now have not. The [USFWS] projected to recover 300 species by 2023, but only 13 of those species have recovered. (The other 44 recovered species did not have projected recovery dates.)”
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We find that most of the species projected to recover by now have not. The <a href="https://twitter.com/USFWS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USFWS</a> projected to recover 300 species by 2023, but only 13 of those species have recovered. (The other 44 recovered species did not have projected recovery dates.) <a href="https://t.co/AHZqodASLd">pic.twitter.com/AHZqodASLd</a>
&mdash; Shawn Regan (@Shawn_Regan) <a href="https://twitter.com/Shawn_Regan/status/1740450272403657010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The USFWS has also struggled to make meaningful progress on recovery objectives for threatened or endangered species.
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“According to the [USFWS’s] own assessment of its progress implementing recovery plans, 85% of species have completed or partially completed less than a quarter of their recovery actions,” Regan noted. “At the current rate of recovery, it would take the [USFWS] another 70 years to recover the just the remaining 287 species it projected to recover by now.”
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Many species remain listed decades longer than anticipated. At the current rate of recovery, it would take the <a href="https://twitter.com/USFWS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USFWS</a> another 70 years to recover the just the remaining 287 species it projected to recover by now. <a href="https://t.co/3cQA6tFqKE">pic.twitter.com/3cQA6tFqKE</a>
&mdash; Shawn Regan (@Shawn_Regan) <a href="https://twitter.com/Shawn_Regan/status/1740451578753286312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Desert bighorn rams

After 50 Years Of Endangered Species Act Conservation, The Results ‘Weren’t Great,’ Expert Says

Animals

Department of the Interior

General

An ironic plot twist caused a planned vote to limit sales on gas-powered cars in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/maine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maine</a>, forcing a transition to electric vehicles, to come to a screeching halt: a widespread power outage following recent storms that brought heavy rains and high winds.
The Maine Board of Environmental Protection <a href="https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/12/21/politics/maine-delays-electric-vehicle-vote/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was scheduled</a> to take a final vote on the proposal — which would have called for electric and plug-in hybrids to total 43% of new vehicle sales by 2027 and over 80% by 2032 — but after Governor Janet Mills (D-ME) declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, the vote was <a href="https://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=DEP+PublicMeeting&amp;id=12077607&amp;v=govdel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">postponed</a> until early February.
In addition to the vote being postponed, the effective date of the potential policy has been pushed to 2028 for the first threshold. The board would reevaluate the situation in 2028 to determine the next steps in whether a full transition to electric vehicles would be feasible.
A non-binding vote in October showed that the majority of the board supported the move, but there has been a fair amount of pushback from car dealers and Republican lawmakers. U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) has also <a href="https://golden.house.gov/media/press-releases/golden-statement-on-maine-board-of-environmental-protection-electric-vehicle-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued a statement</a> opposing it.
&#8220;The Maine Board of Environmental Protection will vote on proposed rules that would establish a California-style set of mandates forcing Maine auto dealers – and ultimately their customers – to purchase zero emission vehicles,&#8221; Golden said. &#8220;Earlier this year, I submitted testimony in opposition to such a mandate and have taken every opportunity in Congress to vote against policy that amounts to de facto electric vehicle mandates. Forcing Mainers to purchase cars and trucks powered by electricity when our grid is insufficient, charging stations are few and far between, and a storm like yesterday’s would render 80% of cars useless is, to say the least, ill-advised. As I wrote in my testimony, keeping Maine’s environment healthy is a goal we all share, but it’s one that demands thoughtful, place-based policy-making – not the broad-stroke application of a California law that would place an undue burden on hard-working Mainers.&#8221;
Several types of vehicles would be exempt from the policy even if it passes, according to a <a href="https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/12/21/politics/maine-delays-electric-vehicle-vote/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Bangor Daily News. Among them: &#8220;emergency, off-road, rural postal carrier and military vehicles, along with rental vehicles with a final destination outside Maine.&#8221;
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Electric vehicles made up just 6% of new vehicle sales in Maine this year.

Electric Vehicles Charging

Ironic Plot Twist Slams The Brakes On Maine Vote To Ban Gas Cars

Energy

Oil and Gas

Power

The Alaska Democratic Party is exploring amending its platform to call for an end to all oil drilling and fracking in the state, according to documents obtained by The Daily Wire.
In a document where members of the Alaska State Democratic Party&#8217;s Climate Caucus can suggest changes to the party&#8217;s platform, some are calling for a complete end to oil development in one of America&#8217;s premier oil-producing states.
One member of the caucus, Tim Hinterberger, condemned oil development in its entirety. Hinterberger, a professor at the University of Alaska at Anchorage, proposed that the party delete a statement from its current platform that pledges support for &#8220;responsible oil development performed in a manner that protects our fish, game, and wildlife resources.”
&#8220;At this advanced stage of climate disruption, no oil development is responsible,&#8221; Hinterberger wrote.
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-667453 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/Alaska-Dems-12-300x145.jpg" alt="" width="862" height="417" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/Alaska-Dems-12-300x145.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/Alaska-Dems-12-1024x496.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/Alaska-Dems-12-768x372.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/Alaska-Dems-12-1536x743.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/Alaska-Dems-12-2048x991.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 862px) 100vw, 862px" /></div>
While some in the Alaska Democratic Party call for a complete end to oil production, the state’s economy remains largely dependent on the industry. Alaska produced <a href="https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/where-our-oil-comes-from.php">159,611,000 barrels</a> of crude oil in 2022, making it the fifth-highest producer of any American state. The oil industry was also estimated to have been <a href="https://www.akrdc.org/oil-and-gas#:~:text=In%202018%2C%20the%20industry%20accounted,%244.8%20billion%20in%20Alaska%20wages.">responsible</a> for $4.8 billion in wages and 77,600 direct and indirect jobs in 2018. The oil industry even accounts for about one-half of the state’s total economy when taking into account state spending of revenues from the industry.
The statement in support of “responsible oil development” was just one such line that those involved in editing the platform are calling on the party to remove. Must Read Alaska <a href="https://mustreadalaska.com/climate-cult-what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-democrat-in-alaska-new-platform-may-oppose-all-oil-and-gas/">reported</a> that those involved in the modification of the platform also urged the party to ax a separate portion of the platform that advocated for oil and gas to be procured under certain circumstances.
The report found that those editing the document also urged the party to remove a portion that read “the monetizing of Alaska’s North Slope natural gas resources in a safe and environmentally responsible manner as soon as it is economically feasible to do so” and also advocated for offshore drilling and fracking under certain circumstances.
The calls for an end to oil development come as the oil industry in Alaska has experienced decline, retreating significantly from 1998 the state accounted for a quarter of the United State’s oil production.
Rick Whitbeck, the Alaska State Director of <a href="https://powerthefuture.com/about-us/">Power the Future</a>, a nonprofit organization that advocates for those who work in the energy space, warned that curtailing the state’s petroleum industry would have devastating consequences and charged that the proposed change to the Democratic Party’s platform is “both irresponsible and radical.”
“Alaska would quickly be bankrupt if our petroleum industry was shuttered.  Nearly 20% of our private-sector workforce is paid – directly or indirectly – by oil and gas development revenues, so you’d see a mass exodus of people as well,” Whitbeck told The Daily Wire. “Philanthropy would dry up, our vibrant arts and culture programs would go unfunded and our infrastructure would crumble without revenues to keep them maintained.”
He went on to contend that the Biden administration currently has a “choke-hold” on new energy developments, which means that the U.S. “needs all of the existing projects operating full-throttle, so we don’t become even more dependent on foreign countries for our domestic oil demand.”
Alaska’s only statewide elected official from the Democratic Party, Representative Mary Peltola (D-AK), declined to comment directly on the potential changes in the state party’s platform, but did assert that losing the oil and gas industry would significantly damage the state’s economy.
“Oil and gas supports thousands of jobs in-state, directly and indirectly, and provides crucial revenue for the state and local communities. Losing these industries without effectively transitioning to other energy sources would be significantly harmful to Alaska,” Rep. Peltola’s office told The Daily Wire before pointing to her support of the Willow Project, which she <a href="https://alaskapublic.org/2023/09/06/peltola-nearing-one-year-in-office-touts-her-support-for-willow-and-other-energy-projects/">called</a> “the largest North Slope oilfield investment in decades.”
Tim Hinterberger did not respond to a request for comment.

Alaska Oil Pipeline

Alaska Democratic Party Considers A Call To End All Oil Production

Alaska

An American professor and lawyer who holds dual American and Panamanian citizenship is <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/11/08/news/gunman-seen-shooting-dead-eco-protesters-in-panama/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suspected</a> of murdering two environmental protesters who were part of a group blockading a highway in Panama.
Video showed an elderly man with gray hair and glasses approaching the demonstrators  on the Pan-American highway before an argument ensued and the man opened fire. More video showed the bodies of the victims; one died at the scene and the other at the San Carlos hospital. The video also showed the shooter handcuffed and taken to a police car.
Police released a photo of the suspect: Kenneth Darlington, 77. The victims were <a href="https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/american-kills-two-mining-protestors-in-chame-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">identified</a> as Abdiel Díaz and Iván Mendoza; one an educator and the other the husband of an educator.
The demonstrators, who were in their third week of protests, have cost roughly $80 million in losses for local businesses with their roadblocks, the New York Post reported. “Demonstrators now have shut down streets and vandalized businesses,” The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/07/panama-city-protests-copper-mine-deaths/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>.
The demonstrators were protesting against a mining contract permitting Minera Panamá, a subsidiary of the Canadian company First Quantum Minerals, to keep mining the huge Cobre Panama mine for at least 20 more years.
The deal with First Quantum Minerals is estimated to bring thousands of jobs to Panama and give the government roughly $375 million per year; the country’s per capita GDP is less than $19,000, the Post noted. Roberto Cuevas, president of the Mining Chamber of Panama, told the Post, “It’s a resource that can bring a lot of good to the country if it’s well exploited. It’s a resource that Panama needs.”
Bonita To, director of investor relations for First Quantum Minerals, stated that the Cobre Panama mine is responsible for roughly 5% of Panama’s GDP and has created at least 40,000 jobs.
Darlington was arrested in 2005 by the National Police and investigated for alleged possession of weapons of war and ammunition; he was later released.
“I express my condolences to the families of the two citizens who lost their lives in an incident that occurred this Tuesday in a sector of Panama Oeste,” Panama President Laurentino Cortizo tweeted. “This is a fact that has no place in a society called to be supportive like ours.”
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Expreso mis condolencias a las familias de los dos ciudadanos que perdieron la vida en un incidente registrado este martes en un sector de Panamá Oeste. Se trata de un hecho que no tiene cabida en una sociedad llamada a ser solidaria como la nuestra.
&mdash; Nito Cortizo (@NitoCortizo) <a href="https://twitter.com/NitoCortizo/status/1722065090411679771?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The Pan-American Highway, running 19,000 miles, is the world’s longest highway. It travels from Alaska all the way south to Argentina, with one break: a 66-mile gap called the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia.

PANAMA-POLITICS-MINING-PROTEST-BLOCKADE

Two Environmental Protesters Shot To Death In Panama As Group Blocks Major Highway

Crime

World

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/milwaukee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Milwaukee</a> County passed a resolution granting nature equal rights to mankind — the first move of its kind in the state.
The “Rights of Nature” <a href="https://milwaukeecounty.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&amp;ID=12288004&amp;GUID=D5D6F125-A5D1-4D55-92C7-DFB182990505" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a> passed on Friday, issuing specific protections for bodies of water in the county. The resolution originated from a greater indigenous-led movement to ensure that nature has the same legal protections as humans. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said that the resolution was a means to both honor indigenous beliefs about nature and to more effectively execute conservation efforts.
“This effort recognizes the legal rights of natural areas &amp; waterways to exist &amp; thrive without interference from human activity,” said Crowley. “It’s important for us to appreciate the outdoor environment that Milwaukee County resides on and acknowledge the Indigenous people whose deep relationships with these lands pre-date our own.”
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I joined tribal leaders &amp; local advocates at <a href="https://twitter.com/urbanecology?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@urbanecology</a> to sign the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RightsOfNature?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RightsOfNature</a> resolution, making <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MKE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MKE</a> County the first in Wisconsin to do so.
This effort recognizes the legal rights of natural areas &amp; waterways to exist &amp; thrive without interference from human activity. <a href="https://t.co/2HDagqMAWa">pic.twitter.com/2HDagqMAWa</a>
&mdash; David C. Crowley (@DavidCrowleyWI) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidCrowleyWI/status/1718025110404129258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The county struck draft language from the resolution acknowledging the indigenous “rights of nature” perspective as “symbolic in nature,” thereby rendering it to be factual.
“Milwaukee County recognizes the ‘rights of nature,’ which was initially enacted by the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin, as a sacred idea and policy to protect Southeastern Wisconsin’s waterways and bodies of water from human harm,” stated the resolution.
The greater “rights of nature” movement believes that all of nature have the same rights as humans. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) — established in 2012 at the behest of the United Nations — <a href="https://www.ipbes.net/policy-support/tools-instruments/rights-nature-ron%23:~:text=Rights%2520of%2520Nature%2520(RoN)%2520is,to%2520exist,%2520thrive%2520and%2520regenerate." target="_blank" rel="noopener">describes</a> the rights of nature as a means to achieve environmental protections by affording ecosystems the same legal protections as people and corporations. IPBES considers the rights of nature, or “RoN,” to be one of their public policy instruments.
The Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin originally <a href="http://files.harmonywithnatureun.org/uploads/upload981.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">enacted</a> the “rights of nature” in a January 2020 resolution, which Milwaukee County cited as a model for this latest resolution. The tribe declared that its resolution was enacted to thwart a proposed open-pit metallic sulfide mine, the Back Forty Mine.
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“[T]he tribe recognizes that environmental laws which regulate the use and exploitation of nature are incapable of protecting the Menominee River and Mother Earth,” states the resolution. “[T]he tribe recognizes to protect the Menominee River, it must secure the highest protections for the river through the recognition of the river’s inherent and legal rights.”
The tribe declared that the river had a right to naturally exist, flourish, regenerate, evolve; the rights of restoration, recovery, and preservation; the right to abundant, pure, clean, and unpolluted water; the right to natural groundwater recharge and surface water recharge; the right to a healthy natural environment and natural biodiversity; the right to natural water flow; the right to carry out natural ecosystem functions; the right to be free of activities or practices, as well as obstructions, that interfere with or infringe upon these rights.
Additionally, the tribal resolution declared the Menominee River as the literal “origin of life” for the Menominee people. The tribe <a href="https://www.menominee-nsn.gov/GovernmentPages/Initiatives/Back40Mine/SixtyIslands.aspx%23:~:text=The%2520river,%2520at%2520its%2520mouth,the%25201st%2520Menominee%2520human%2520being." target="_blank" rel="noopener">believes</a> that the first Menominee human was originally a bear, a creature which the tribe believes to be supernatural in its nature.
“It is there that the Creator transformed the bear, a supernatural being who came from below the ground, into the [first] Menominee human being,” states the tribal government’s website.

Nature

Milwaukee County Passes Resolution Granting Nature Equal Rights To Mankind

Milwaukee

Wisconsin

Former President Donald Trump spoke to autoworkers in Clinton Township, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/michigan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michigan</a>, Wednesday night, calling on striking union members to back his campaign while slamming President Joe Biden’s economic and environmental policies. 
In his speech, Trump focused on Biden’s push for more electric vehicle sales, saying the green energy agenda of the Biden administration is harming the auto industry and the livelihoods of blue-collar workers. He also slammed the president for traveling to Michigan on Tuesday “to pose for photos at the picket line” only after Trump had announced he would speak to striking auto workers. 
“The workers of America are getting, to put it very nicely, screwed. … Yesterday Joe Biden came to Michigan to pose for photos at the picket line, but it’s his policies that send Michigan auto workers to the unemployment line,” Trump said. “He only came after I announced that I would be here.”
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“Yesterday Joe Biden came to Michigan to pose for photos at the picket line, but it’s his policies that send Michigan auto workers to the unemployment line.”
President Trump is on FIRE tonight in Michigan! 🔥🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/knOjoBz3w9">pic.twitter.com/knOjoBz3w9</a>
&mdash; Kimberly Guilfoyle (@kimguilfoyle) <a href="https://twitter.com/kimguilfoyle/status/1707190147341558107?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Trump skipped the second Republican presidential debate to deliver the address to Michigan voters. His speech, which he called his “vision for a revival of economic nationalism and our automobile manufacturing lifeline,” took place at Drake Enterprises Inc., a non-union auto parts manufacturer. During his roughly one-hour-long address, the leading Republican candidate took aim at the Biden administration’s acceptance of policies pushed by leftist environmentalists.
&#8220;You can be loyal to American labor or you can be loyal to the environmental lunatics,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2023/09/27/donald-trump-returns-auto-industry-strike-uaw-ev-taking-center-stage-presidential-election-joe-biden/70960155007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;But you can’t really be loyal to both. It’s one or the other.&#8221;
&#8220;The auto industry is being assassinated,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;If you want to buy an electric car, that&#8217;s absolutely fine. I&#8217;m all for it. But we should not be forcing consumers to buy electric vehicles they don&#8217;t want to buy.&#8221;
Doug King, a 55-year-old auto worker who attended the speech, <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2023/09/27/donald-trump-returns-auto-industry-strike-uaw-ev-taking-center-stage-presidential-election-joe-biden/70960155007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Detroit News that he was happy with Trump’s time in office, saying it benefited the auto industry. He added that consumers, not the government, should control which vehicles are produced and purchased. 
“The four years under Trump were the best years that we had in the auto industry,&#8221; said King, who works for Stellantis, one of the three auto giants facing strikes from workers.
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The former president warned those in the audience that a second Biden term in the White House “means that the future of the auto industry will be made in China.” Trump promised the auto workers that, if elected, he would ensure the auto industry stays in America. 
“My pledge to everyone is that a vote for President Trump means the future of the automobile will be made in America,” the former president said. “It will be fueled by American energy, sourced by American suppliers, it will be sculpted from American aluminum and steel, and it will be built by highly skilled American hands and high-wage, American labor.”
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Trump: &quot;A vote for crooked Joe means that the future of the auto industry will be made in China.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/tU06sDyTwY">pic.twitter.com/tU06sDyTwY</a>
&mdash; NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) <a href="https://twitter.com/NEWSMAX/status/1707191322195431931?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Donald Trump

Trump Blasts Biden’s Economic Policies In Appeal To Michigan Voters: ‘Sending Auto Workers To The Unemployment Line’

2024 Election

2024 Primaries

Auto Companies

Elections

Joe Biden

Michigan

CNN anchor Jake Tapper grilled Ford CEO Jim Farley during an interview this week about the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike that is impacting America&#8217;s big three automakers.
Around 13,000 auto workers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/workers-walk-out-at-three-major-auto-factories-after-biden-predicted-strike-wouldnt-happen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stopped</a> working as picketing began outside a Ford factory in Wayne, Michigan; a GM assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri; and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio. The strike comes after weeks of negotiations between the union and leadership at the automakers.
A CNN reporter was interviewing Farley when Tapper interrupted her and to point out what the head of the UAW was saying.
&#8220;I just wanted to pass on a question based on something he told me the other day which is that over the last four years, each of the Big Three car manufacturers&#8217; CEOs, in addition to their multimillion dollar salaries, they received on average of 40 percent pay increase,&#8221; Tapper said. &#8220;So why are the auto workers wanting a raise beyond what&#8217;s been asked, why is that so offensive compared to the 40 percent raises they have given themselves?&#8221;
Farley said that the company was &#8220;really open to huge increases&#8221; in the &#8220;double digit&#8221; range, &#8220;increases we have never seen before, 20-plus percent.&#8221;
Farley said that going to 40 percent would put the company out of business and that he refused to cut the company&#8217;s push for electric vehicles, despite <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/ford-set-lose-billion-electric-vehicles-year-despite-increased-revenue" target="_blank" rel="noopener">losing</a> $4.5 billion in the endeavor.
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&#8220;There&#8217;s a fine line here that we won&#8217;t go past, which is we want everyone to participate in our success. But if it prevents us from investing in this transition to EVs and in future products like the ones we have now, like new F-150, bestselling vehicle in the world — in the U.S., then everyone&#8217;s job is at risk if we don&#8217;t invest,&#8221; he said.
Tapper pushed back, &#8220;It&#8217;s just there have been record auto profits, bailouts by the U.S. government. These huge raises that these CEOs are giving themselves, and I just wonder, why there isn&#8217;t more of a desire of the CEOs to have the workers share in the profits that are coming in to these automakers who just need we remind him were bailed outside by the U.S. taxpayer a few years ago?&#8221;
WATCH:
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CNN’s Jake Tapper grills Ford CEO Jim Farley why he isn’t giving more to workers when he is making tens of millions of dollars per year. <a href="https://t.co/ikgCtTf03O">pic.twitter.com/ikgCtTf03O</a>
&mdash; Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonrantz/status/1702904654051541073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
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2023 North American International Auto Show Held In Detroit, Michigan

Ford CEO Jim Farley On Auto Strike: ‘Transition To EVs’ Is Top Priority Despite Losing $4.5 Billion

Economy

electric vehicles

Ford Motor Co.

A top scientist revealed he intentionally left out key information disputing the climate change narrative pushed by the Left so that his paper would get published.
Patrick T. Brown, a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University and doctor of earth and climate sciences, published an article titled, “<a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/i-overhyped-climate-change-to-get-published" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I Left Out the Full Truth to Get My Climate Change Paper Published</a>.”
“I just got published in Nature because I stuck to a narrative I knew the editors would like,” he commenced the article. “That’s not the way science should work.”
Brown pointed out that news articles about wildfires across the world this summer declared they were the result of climate change. He surmised that the media parrots that narrative because “it fits a simple storyline that rewards the person telling it.”
Citing his paper “<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06444-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate warming increases extreme daily wildfire growth risk in California</a>,” he added, “I knew not to try to quantify key aspects other than climate change in my research because it would dilute the story that prestigious journals like Nature and its rival, Science, want to tell.”
“The biases of the editors (and the reviewers they call upon to evaluate submissions) exert a major influence on the collective output of entire fields,” Brown attested. “They select what gets published from a large pool of entries, and in doing so, they also shape how research is conducted more broadly. Savvy researchers tailor their studies to maximize the likelihood that their work is accepted.”
Brown listed ways in which a researcher should tailor their piece in order to get published: ignore practical adaptation measures, ignore other factors that could cause wildfires, such as poor forest management; ignore statistics that might run counter to the climate change narrative, such as the fact that over 80 percent of wildfires in the US are started by people.
Brown also explained how using metrics that “will generate the most eye-popping numbers” was also advantageous in getting a paper published.
“Another way to get the kind of big numbers that will justify the importance of your research—and impress editors, reviewers, and the media—is to always assess the magnitude of climate change over centuries, even if that timescale is irrelevant to the impact you are studying,” he noted.
“When I began the research for this paper in 2020, I was a new assistant professor needing to maximize my prospects for a successful career,” Brown recalled. “When I had previously attempted to deviate from the formula, my papers were rejected out of hand by the editors of distinguished journals, and I had to settle for <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0239520" target="_blank" rel="noopener">less prestigious outlets</a>. To put it another way, I sacrificed contributing the most valuable knowledge for society in order for the research to be compatible with the confirmation bias of the editors and reviewers of the journals I was targeting.”
After revealing he left academia over a year ago, he stated, “Climate scientists shouldn’t have to exile themselves from academia to publish the most useful versions of their research. We need a culture change across academia and elite media that allows for a much broader conversation on societal resilience to climate.”
He turned to the media: “The media, for instance, should stop accepting these papers at face value and do some digging on what’s been left out. The editors of the prominent journals need to expand beyond a narrow focus that pushes the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. And the researchers themselves need to start standing up to editors, or find other places to publish.”

US-FIRE-HAWAII

‘That’s Not The Way Science Should Work’: Scientist Bashes Academia For Suppressing Anti-Climate Change Narrative

Academia

Science

1. FBI Searching For Illegal Aliens Smuggled In By Individual With ISIS Ties
The FBI is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-searching-for-illegal-aliens-smuggled-in-by-individual-with-isis-ties-cnn-report">reportedly searching</a> for more than a dozen Uzbek illegal immigrants who are believed to have been smuggled into the U.S. by an ISIS-linked individual.
On Tuesday, CNN reported that earlier this year, Uzbekistan nationals were smuggled into the U.S. and then applied for asylum. The individuals were reportedly screened for any “red flags.” It wasn’t until after their release that the FBI discovered an Uzbekistan smuggling ring operating in cooperation with a Turkish smuggler who reportedly is connected to ISIS. After the discovery, top national security and administration officials held emergency meetings. National Security Council spokesman Adrienne Watson told CNN that there is no indication the individuals are terrorists. However, other government sources told CNN that more than 15 illegal aliens are still under criminal scrutiny. It’s unclear where these individuals are in the U.S. and how quickly they might be found.
Rapid  Reaction: As discussed earlier, some Biden officials told CNN that this fiasco represents the administration’s efforts to secure the border and is “an example of the system working as it should.” Apparently, under leftist logic, Americans should take comfort in the fact the U.S. responded to a potential threat — after the illegal aliens were allowed into the country in the first place.
One would imagine that “an example of the system working as it should” would be as follows: Illegal aliens arrive at the border. U.S. officials deport them back to their home country. A wall is built. The message is understood around the world: Do not come.
Yet the Biden administration has no interest in doing any of that. And so, the U.S. government has now welcomed dozens of improperly-vetted foreign nationals who were aided and abetted by an individual with ties to ISIS. And the president and his ilk see that as a win.
2. Illegal Alien Allegedly Crashes Into School Bus, Killing Small Child. Biden’s ‘Catch And Release’ Under Scrutiny.
Meanwhile, in Ohio, an illegal alien is accused of crashing his minivan into a school bus in Clark County last week, causing the bus to flip, resulting in dozens injured and the death of an 11-year-old boy.
35-year-old Hermanio Joseph, a Haitian who was in the country illegally, has officially been charged with aggravated vehicular manslaughter. Joseph entered the U.S. in 2022 and was released by the Biden administration with a “notice to appear” at an immigration hearing. He is currently in Clark County Jail on $100,000 bond. ICE has placed a detainer on him.
Rapid Reaction: Yet again, like the story about Uzbek nationals, &#8220;catch and release&#8221; is to blame for this man being in the country in the first place.
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According to recent data, at least <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/immigration/two-million-immigrants-border-here-indefinitely">two million illegal aliens have</a> been allowed into the country under that policy. Such individuals are typically given an official notice to appear for a court date, often at a to-be-determined future date. Experts say that there is currently a years-long backlog, meaning that these individuals are free to roam about the country, often untracked. That data also does not include the hundreds of thousands who cross the border undetected each year under Biden.
Some <a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-courts-wait-54bb5f7c18c4c37c6ca7f28231ff0edf">illegal aliens</a> aren’t even given court dates. Others <a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-courts-wait-54bb5f7c18c4c37c6ca7f28231ff0edf">have to wait 10 years</a> for a hearing. The whole thing is a disaster.
This is just the latest heartbreaking tragedy wrought by illegal immigration. 
3. Sayonara Suarez
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/francis-suarez-becomes-first-republican-to-drop-out-of-primary-race">suspending</a> his bid for the presidency and dropping out of the 2024 race. The announcement came today, nearly one week after the first GOP primary debate, which Suarez failed to qualify for. The two-term mayor tweeted the following: “While I have decided to suspend my campaign for President, my commitment to making this a better nation for every American remains.”
Rapid Reaction: Did anybody even remember that he was running?
4. Vivek Vs. Eminem
The Real Slim Shady has stood up and is demanding that GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy stop using his music. Rapper Eminem and music licenser BMI sent a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/eminem-tells-ramaswamy-to-stop-using-his-music">cease and desist letter</a> to Ramaswamy’s campaign demanding the campaign stop using the rapper’s song “Lose Yourself.” Earlier this month, the entrepreneur-turned-presidential candidate rapped the song at the Iowa State Fair.
On August 23, a BMI rep told Ramaswamy’s lawyer that Eminem objected to “the campaign’s use of Eminem’s musical compositions,” and that he wanted his songs removed from the agreement. The Ramaswamy campaign issued the following response: &#8220;To the American people’s chagrin, we will have to leave the rapping to the real slim shady.&#8221;
Rapid Reaction: In politics, it&#8217;s better to be talked about than to not be talked about at all. And right now, it seems the entire media landscape is talking about Vivek. Per the <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2024/president/us/2024_republican_presidential_nomination-7548.html">RealClearPolitics average of polling</a>, his stock is currently rising in the 2024 election.
5. Paper Straws: Bad For You, Bad For The Planet
Do you hate paper straws? Well, good news — you might have a medical and environmental excuse to never use them again. A <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/08/28/paper-straws-worse-than-plastic-pfas-study/70702090007/">new study out of Belgium published in the journal Food Additives and Contaminants</a>, suggests that “forever chemicals” or “PFAS” were found in the majority of both paper and bamboo straws tested. Such chemicals may have the potential to cause cancer and other ailments, and also negatively affect the environment. Per the paper, eighteen different PFAS were detected in total — and the most common one was banned globally in 2020. According to the study, plastic straws are actually better for you and the planet.
Rapid Reaction: If anything, this story serves as another reminder — if it seems like mass hysteria is gripping the nation and that corporations or politicians are getting caught up in it, you’re probably being sold a false bill of goods in one way or another. More on that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/turns-out-paper-straws-are-bad-for-you-and-the-planet">here</a>.
To listen to the audio version of Afternoon Update, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/morning-wire/id1576594336">click here</a>. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Rapid Reaction: Two Stories Proving ‘Catch And Release’ Endangers All Americans

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