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Author: Mary Chastain

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Mary Chastain

Mary is the resident libertarian. She covers stories in every vertical, but her favorite thing to do is take on the media. She saw its bias against the right when she was a socialist.

Mary loves the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Blackhawks, tennis, cats, Oxford comma, Diet Coke, and needlework.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 12, 2017 15 Comments
More retailers have decided to close stores while Gymboree has filed for bankruptcy. Ascena Retail Group has decided to close "between 250 and 650 locations over the next two years." This group owns Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant, and Justice stores among others. CEO David Jaffe did not specify which brands the closures will affect. But he guaranteed that 250 stores will close. 400 others will definitely close "unless the company can negotiate lower rents at these locations."

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 12, 2017 7 Comments
Cook County in Illinois, home to Chicago, has decided that its soda tax will not apply to food stamps. Purchases made with food stamps cannot have state and local taxes tacked onto them, according to federal law. Cook county tried to bypass that law, but none of the options officials used took off. So this means that the 827,000 people in Cook County who have food stamps will not have to pay the tax. This is the second reversal of the tax, which has caused massive confusion as the bankrupt county and state have tried everything to raise revenue.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 11, 2017 47 Comments
Puerto Ricans went to the polls today to vote on possible statehood with America. The majority of people voted yes, but only 23% of the people voted, which could call into question the validity "of the nonbinding referendum." From The Wall Street Journal:
According to early results on a government website, statehood drew 97% of support with more than 90% of votes counted Sunday afternoon, but a turnout of about 23% reflected the success of a boycott effort led by opponents.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 11, 2017 9 Comments
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-NC) and other members have showcased their ambitions:   the caucus wants to add welfare, health care, and tax reform all into one bill and pass it all by the end of the summer. The biggest stars of reform, health care and taxes, have caused the White House and members of Congress to butt heads. The White House wants to accomplish health care reform in the summer and take tax reform into the fall.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 11, 2017 40 Comments
In May, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asked Congress to raise the debt ceiling before members take their summer recess in order for America to pay its debts. The ability to borrow money expired on March 16. Now Mnuchin has said that he and the department have started to formulate plans to fund the government until September if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling. From The Wall Street Journal:

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 10, 2017 9 Comments
Batman star Adam West passed away at the age of 89 after he battled leukemia. From Vanity Fair:
“Our dad always saw himself as The Bright Knight and aspired to make a positive impact on his fans’ lives. He was and always will be our hero,” his family said in a statement. West died peacefully in his home Friday night after a battle with leukemia, and is survived by his wife Marcelle, six children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 09, 2017 10 Comments
They did it! The House passed the Financial CHOICE Act, which would roll back regulations established in Dodd-Frank, one of former President Barack Obama's biggest pieces of legislation. From The Hill:
Sponsored by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), the CHOICE Act is the most ambitious Republican effort to roll back the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, passed in 2010. Republicans have long targeted Dodd-Frank, saying it has created a crushing regulatory burden that suffocates small businesses and banks while empowering unaccountable bureaucrats.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 08, 2017 3 Comments
The Department of Justice has announced the arrest of two Hezbollah men, one in New York and another in Michigan, for allegedly plotting attacks in New York and the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Panama. DOJ officials released these statements:
Acting U.S. Attorney [Joon H.] Kim said: “Today, we announce serious terrorism charges against two men who allegedly trained with and supported the Islamic Jihad Organization, a component of the foreign terrorist organization Hizballah. Recruited as Hizballah operatives, Samer El Debek and Ali Kourani allegedly received military-style training, including in the use of weapons like rocket-propelled grenade launchers and machine guns for use in support of the group’s terrorist mission. At the direction of his Hizballah handlers, El Debek allegedly conducted missions in Panama to locate the U.S. and Israeli Embassies and to assess the vulnerabilities of the Panama Canal and ships in the Canal. Kourani allegedly conducted surveillance of potential targets in America, including military and law enforcement facilities in New York City. Thanks to the outstanding work of the FBI and NYPD, the allegedly destructive designs of these two Hizballah operatives have been thwarted, and they will now face justice in a Manhattan federal court.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 08, 2017 6 Comments
The British have officially closed. It might be a few more hours before we have an official result. The population will elect 650 Members of Parliament (MP), but the Conservatives need 326 seats in order to form a government. They currently hold 330, but some polls have shown the party losing enough seats to sit below the threshold. Exit polls have shown that the Conservatives have lost seats, but still maintain the majority. I will update this post as information rolls in.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 08, 2017 24 Comments
The House Oversight Committee lashed out at former President  Obama and former Attorney General Eric Holder for obstruction over the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. A cartel member used a gun from the ATF and DOJ's Operation Fast and Furious to kill Terry in December 2010. From Fox News:
The House Oversight Committee also Wednesday released a scathing, nearly 300-page report that found Holder’s Justice Department tried to hide the facts from the loved ones of slain Border Patrol Brian Terry – seeing his family as more of a “nuisance” than one deserving straight answers – and slamming Obama's assertion of executive privilege to deny Congress access to records pertaining to Fast and Furious.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 07, 2017 4 Comments
After three years of constant problems at Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals, the Senate passed a bill that will make it easier to fire offending VA employees currently protected by layers of bureaucracy. Fox News reported:
The bill would lower the burden of proof needed to fire employees -- from a "preponderance" to "substantial evidence," allowing a dismissal even if most evidence is in a worker's favor.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 07, 2017 11 Comments
President Donald Trump announced on Twitter this morning that he will nominate former assistant attorney general Christopher Wray for FBI director. The announcement comes one day before former FBI director James Comey testifies in front of a Senate committee.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 07, 2017 12 Comments
Gunmen launched two attacks in Iran, one at the parliament building and at the tomb of the country's revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollak Khomeini. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack. From Reuters:
The raids took place at a particularly charged time, after Iran's main regional rival Saudi Arabia and other Sunni powers cut ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of backing Tehran and militant groups. Attackers dressed as women burst through parliament's main entrance in central Tehran, deputy interior minister Mohammad Hossein Zolfaghari said, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
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