Various polls show a majority of Americans support President-elect Donald Trump in his Cabinet picks and transition back to the White House.  One strong choice for the Cabinet is Linda McMahon, nominated by Trump for secretary of the Department of Education.  Although McMahon rose to prominence in the world of pro wrestling as cofounder of World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE, her substantive education credentials deserve more attention in light of her nomination.  First, she’s a self-made billionaire (no easy feat in a competitive capitalist economy) who has created thousands of jobs. She knows well the value of work, including apprenticeship-based education, which she supported in the first Trump administration’s Cabinet as head of the Small Business Administration.  McMahon also served two years on the Connecticut Board of Education, where she was one of 15 members overseeing public education for over half a million K-12 students in the state, including its system of technical high schools.  She also was a trustee at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, for two stints totaling over 16 years. A study last year by the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges reported that Sacred Heart contributes more than $1.6 billion a year to Connecticut’s economy.  The study found direct spending by Sacred Heart employees, students, and visitors exceeds $998 million annually: Students spend more than $112 million and university visitors spend nearly $200,000. Other spending, called “induced spending,” accounts for another $672 million. In addition, the university is responsible for creating or retaining 12,140 jobs. This is notable. McMahon understands the value of the university system and its contributions to the American way of life. She desires not to dismantle it but to reform it to meet its original purpose: teaching critical thinking and the understanding of American history and our nation’s unique position as leader of the free world. Additionally, as board chair at America First Policy Institute for four years, McMahon has been a fierce advocate for parental rights, and she has worked at both AFPI and America First Works to achieve universal school choice in 12 states.  This important effort gives children the opportunity to receive an excellent education, regardless of ZIP code or income. School choice disproportionately benefits vulnerable children, including black, Hispanic, and other non-white students abandoned by the Left as it prioritizes teachers union bullies who care more for adults in school systems than disadvantaged children who need an education. Tommy Schultz, CEO of the American Federation for Children and AFC Victory Fund, the nation’s largest school choice advocacy and elections organizations, notes that McMahon’s selection as education secretary could signal “the beginning of the end of the teachers unions’ 40-year dominance in American politics.”  I personally worked with McMahon at America First Policy Institute, the think tank founded by Trump administration veterans, serving directly under her leadership of the AFPI Center for the American Worker (a dual hat she also wore in addition to chairing the overall organization).  I can speak to her character, vision, temperament, and managerial skills. At age 76, as a highly successful woman, she could spend her golden years flitting about yachts and private islands. Instead, she has a heart for public service. She is a gift to our country and its people.  Trump famously has called for abolishing the Department of Education. Numerous other Republican leaders have echoed this call since the department’s creation in 1979. With McMahon at the helm, this finally could come true.  Some federal education programs could be transferred to other agencies. For example, the Treasury Department and student civil rights cases could be managed by the Justice Department.  But programs that simply layer red tape on public schools around the country could be abolished. Funding and power could be restored to the states, localities, and parents.    Just like politicians promised to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem but never did—until Trump—we’ll see whether Trump can fulfill this promise as well.  Under Linda McMahon’s steady leadership, I’d say America has a fighting chance. Carrie Sheffield is a senior policy analyst at Independent Women’s Voice. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post In Linda McMahon, Trump Makes Strong Pick for Education Secretary appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Scott Jennings Schools CNN By Pointing Out News Reported by CNN

The technology is touted as a crucial solution to the climate crisis but research fears it's overhyped.

One man went almost three weeks without hitting the hay.

Unless you really fancy having food poisoning, that is.

Puck’s Dylan Byers continued his reporting Friday night on the fallout from Wednesday morning’s official announcement that Comcast would be shedding MSNBC and five other cable networks (including CNBC) to become its own company with the revelation that far-left pundit and heroine Rachel Maddow was putting the finishing touches on a new contract for a “new five-year deal” that included a $5 million per year paycut. It’s not all that bad for Maddow as the $5 million subtraction means her salary will still be a gargantuan and guaranteed $25 million a year to “still host just one night a week” and pop up for major events like election coverage. Byers explained Maddow’s agent Mark Shapiro and Comcast executives were working on this at the same time “MSNBC and CNBC employees were anxiously trying to make sense of Comcast boss Brian Roberts’ decision to cast them out into the wilderness as part of a stand-alone cable channel company.” While a paycut, at least Maddow has decided to stick around for the grift given the fact that others such as CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell and NBC’s Today co-host Hoda Kotb have decided to step down from their posts after they were reportedly invited to take pay cuts. Maddow’s deal also puts her on the same plane as the ludicrous $75 million combined for the liberal and superficial co-hosts of ABC’s Good Morning America (Robin Roberts, Michael Strahan, and George Stephanopoulos). Byers explained that, while it’s still “a staggering amount of money to confer upon a marquee talent while cutting costs elsewhere,” Maddow becomes, in the words of a Byers source, “more valuable than ever” in a post-Comcast MSNBC. He also got down to brass tacks about how the public views MSNBC and its current identity that they seem to at least keep (unless, of course, the new publicly traded company sees new shareholders — wink, wink) (click “expand”): Strategically, the MSNBC business essentially comprises just two franchises: Maddow and Morning Joe, both of which have endured a staggering ratings drop since the election...Still, NBC executives have been in this business long enough to know that this is a moment in time, and that Maddow, especially, is integral to the network’s identity (....) Maddow’s once-a-week deal belies her true value to the network: In addition to anchoring election coverage and other big news nights, her aura and imprimatur elevates the network’s primetime hours even when she’s not on the air. “People think she’s on more than she is,” one MSNBC insider said. Indeed, they think that because she is front and center in all of the network’s marketing collateral and creative. By retaining Maddow, the new “SpinCo” is fortifying the revenue stream of the entire bundle[.] Byers also dished on the future of MSNBC, predicting salaries continuing to shrink for talent with “much of the backend production” being “centralized, while fewer anchors will be required to work longer hours for less money, all while being judged according to a minute-by-minute cost-benefit analysis of their performance.” Early on, Byers predicted perhaps the biggest symbolic cut will be MSNBC “likely mov[ing] out of its historic 30 Rock headquarters, probably to Stamford, where NBCUniversal houses NBC Sports and its Olympics center, or to the Tech Center in Englewood Cliffs” in northern New Jersey, “which is already the home of CNBC.” He also doubled down on the prediction that MSNBC will “strike an affiliate-style” deal with NBC to continue using the big network’s correspondents, but expressed doubt it would last. In other words, buckle up, dear readers, because then all bets will be off!

On CNN This Morning, CNN senior political analyst Mark Preston warned that under Trump's proposed tariff increase on China, "when you go to Walmart, you're not going to get something for like $3.99. It's going to be $13.99."  That's a 250% price increase! Trump has proposed increasing existing tariffs on Chinese goods by only 10%. So Mark, where's the additional 240% coming from? CNN correspondent Jeff Zeleny agreed with Preston's absurd scaremongering: "Exactly." Republican strategist Brad Todd pointed out that one of Biden's first actions upon entering office was to renew Trump's tariffs on aluminum. In response, former Biden spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff suggested that Biden had done that because, due to Covid, prices had started going up, and Biden had to stop the "hemorrhage." So Kendra: Biden kept tariffs in place to keep prices down? Todd also noted that Biden drove up energy costs with his first executive orders, imposing a moratorium on offshore drilling. Preston, who is also CNN's Vice President of Political & Special Events Programming, defended Biden: "To be fair, and I'm not defending him, but, but to be fair, they are, they were trying to transition out of a fossil fuel economy into a new fuel economy." Actually, Mark, you were defending Biden! His transition strategy was to raise prices on fossil fuels for all Americans. Nothing "fair" about that! Todd replied: "But the public's not for that if it drives up the prices and their choices with vehicles. I mean, it's the thing that the far-left wanted that Joe Biden acquiesced to." You don't often hear the term "far left" on CNN, even if they often plant themselves there.  Here's the transcript. CNN This Morning 11/26/24 6:06 am ET KASIE HUNT: Well I will say, Mark, and Jeff, you weigh in too because I'm sure that you encountered this on the campaign trail. I mean, there is a belief among, certainly, Americans who live in some of these hollowed-out towns in the rust belt of the U.S. that, you know what, protectionist trade policies would have helped make their lives better? MARK PRESTON: 100%. I mean, look at just, just the mere fact that Donald Trump is making this threat right now, right? He is threatening to do it, and we're starting to see some reaction. Of course, we've seen some reaction from China. We've seen it from from the leaders of Canada in Mexico as well. To Brad [Todd's] point, I don't know if he will actually enact it, but I do think the American people, they'd like that. You know, they'd like that bellicose, you know, we're going to stick it to them, you know, and we're going to push back on China and Mexico and Canada.  That is what's appealing. What's not going to be appealing, though, is when you go to Walmart and you're not going to get something for like $3.99. It's going to be $13.99. JEFF ZELENY: Exactly. I mean, it's one thing to talk about what would have happened under NAFTA. You talked about some of those hollowed-out towns. But now, I mean, that is just a new reality here.  . . .  HUNT: I mean, Brad's point is correct, that the Biden administration did keep some of these tariffs in place, and they're, it's not, it's not a tool that they have entirely rejected, right? I mean, how do Democrats look at this?  KENDRA BARKOFF: Well, I mean I think look, at the end of the day, the thing is that Americans voted for Trump because they wanted their flat-screen TVs lowered, right? They don't want to pay for goods and services at a really high rate.  And I think when Biden came in, we were in a very different place. Covid was still happening. There were prices that were starting to go up because of what was going on with Covid. And so I think they had to do things to stop what was going on around the world with the hemorrhage of, of, of this, of this virus that was going on. So I think you're in a very different place than you were when Biden came in, in, into office. BRAD TODD: I just wish we'd been this, this hawkish on price policies and inflationary policies when Joe Biden was using his first executive orders to drive up the cost of energy and to pause moratorium, have a moratorium on drilling offshore. I mean, Joe Biden's policies from the very first day were inflationary. PRESTON: Yeah. But to be fair, and I'm not defending him, but, but to be fair, they are, they were trying to transition out of a fossil fuel economy into a new fuel economy, right? You know, the idea -- TODD: But the public's not for that if it drives up the prices and their choices with vehicles. I mean, it's the thing that the far-left wanted that Joe Biden acquiesced to.

Some liberals have reacted to Donald Trump’s victory by ensuring that they will not be able to reproduce. While some may find that odd or even humorous, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel had a different take, as he claimed it said something about Trump. Kimmel observed, “Since Donald Trump won the election, this is interesting, the number of vasectomies in the United States has skyrocketed. Vasectomies were up 1,200 percent on November 6th, and that’s the sign of a great incoming president: When people start getting all their healthcare in before it becomes illegal, when people stop wanting to have children in the United States.”     There’s a couple major problems with Kimmel’s proclamations. First, at no point has Donald Trump or any Republican suggested that vasectomies should be illegal. Second, men who get vasectomies based on political events usually do so because they fear the end of consequences-free sex after pro-lifers enjoy electoral, legislative, or legal success. However, Donald Trump ran as a centrist federalist on abortion, his HHS secretary nominee is a lifelong abortion defender, and Republican leadership in Congress has not made pro-life legislation a priority. It’s not just Kimmel. The 1,200 number comes from Planned Parenthood, and a few days earlier on MSNBC, former Planned Parenthood chief Alexis McGill Johnson joined The Weekend to worry about the organization potentially losing its federal funding, “Just the day after the election, we saw at Planned Parenthood health centers, a 1,200 percent increase in vasectomies for men. So, you know, Planned Parenthood sees people in all communities. Rural communities, urban communities, red communities, blue communities. And the idea that an attack on, you know, the work that Planned Parenthood does to fill the gap in this moment, when sexual and reproductive health care has been threatened and we are under attack makes no sense.” What makes no sense is getting a vasectomy based on the outcome of an election. However, if liberals still insist on not reproducing after a GOP victory, not many conservatives are going to object. Here are transcripts for the November 24 and 25-taped shows: MSNBC The Weekend 11/24/2024 9:27 AM ET ALEXIS MCGILL JOHNSON: Just the day after the election, we saw at Planned Parenthood health centers, a 1,200% increase in vasectomies for men. So, you know, Planned Parenthood sees people in all communities. Rural communities, urban communities, red communities, blue communities. And the idea that an attack on, you know, the work that Planned Parenthood does to fill the gap in this moment, when sexual and reproductive health care has been threatened and we are under attack makes no sense. *** ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live 11/26/2024 12:03 AM ET JIMMY KIMMEL: Speaking of Wicked, since Donald Trump won the election, this is interesting, the number of vasectomies in the United States has skyrocketed. Vasectomies were up 1200 percent on November 6th, and that’s the sign of a great incoming president: When people start getting all their healthcare in before it becomes illegal, when people stop wanting to have children in the United States.

Mark Levin recently spoke with Jewish journalist Libby Alon to discuss the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. “Let’s start with the most critical question. What do you think about the ICC decision to issue arrest warrants to Prime Minister Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant?” Alon asked. “The ICC has become an operation of the Marxist Islamists, the Jew-haters,” says Levin. “The idea that the Israeli people, that their representatives in the government, are committing acts of genocide and war crimes against the Palestinians in Gaza is sickening; it's a blood libel.” “The fact of the matter is Hamas is killing its own people; the fact of the matter is Iran is using Palestinians as fodder, and Israel and the Israelis are just trying to live their lives and not be bothered by all these people who apparently want to eviscerate and destroy them,” he adds. “And how do you think the U.S. should act?” was Alon’s next question. “My view is that we ought to pass a law that says, ‘Okay, now we have jurisdiction over the ICC, and we have jurisdiction over all the jurisdictions that the ICC claims.’ If they can do it unilaterally, why can't we?” Levin states. Further, “when it comes to the U.N. and their funding and so forth, we define their sources of funding and do whatever we can to cut it off. 25% of the United Nations budget comes from the United States, and the American people are sick and tired of the U.N. Most Americans want the U.N. to get the hell out of our country,” he adds. “Trump imposed sanctions on the ICC in 2020; the Biden administration removed these sanctions in 2021. Do you think there's any connection between the removal of these sanctions and the warrants that Prime Minister Netanyahu and Gallant are getting?” Alon then asked. “100%,” Levin says. “Biden and Blinken could have put an end to this. They could have said, ‘No, we're going to reinstitute the Trump sanctions against the ICC.'” “How do you think the signatory country to the treaty should act?” Alon posed. “They should speak out against what's taking place,” says Levin, noting that due to the corrupt leftist governments of various European countries, this is highly unlikely. Alon also asked how Netanyahu should react to the ICC’s decision and how the relationship between the U.S. and Israel will look now that Trump is returning to the White House. To hear Levin’s answers, watch the clip above. Want more from Mark Levin?To enjoy more of "the Great One" — Mark Levin as you've never seen him before — subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

President-elect Donald Trump selected former Florida congressman Dr. Dave Weldon (R) on Friday as his nominee for director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a pick celebrated by his proposed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. As with most of Trump's other nominations, Dr. Weldon, 71, has all the makings of a disruptor, prompting establishmentarians to take notice and clutch pearls. After all, Dr. Weldon has long criticized the agency he is poised to run, has raised concerns about vaccine safety, and has been consistently pro-life even when politically inexpedient. "In addition to being a Medical Doctor for 40 years, and an Army Veteran, Dave has been a respected conservative leader on fiscal and social issues, and served on the Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, working for Accountability on HHS and CDC Policy and Budgeting," Trump noted in his announcement. "Dave also served in a leading role in Government Oversight and Reform Committee Hearings, addressing issues within HHS and CDC. Dave has successfully worked with the CDC to enact a ban on patents for human embryos." Dr. Weldon sponsored the Fetus Farming Prohibition Act of 2006, which effectively prohibits the solicitation or acquisition of tissue from human babies gestated for research purposes. Trump stressed that Americans have "lost trust" in the federal health establishment, including the CDC, and indicated that Dr. Weldon will help restore that faith and "ensure Americans have the tools and resources they need to understand the underlying causes of disease, and the solutions to cure these diseases." A survey examining Americans' trust in public health agencies published last year in the journal Health Affairs revealed that 16% of respondents said they don't have "very much" trust in the CDC's recommendations and 10% indicated they do not trust the agency "at all." Of those surveyed, 37% said they had a "great deal" of trust in the CDC's recommendations, and another 37% said they "somewhat" trust the agency. Another survey published earlier this year in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Health Forum indicated that 24% of respondents had little or no trust in the CDC. 'Dave will proudly restore the CDC to its true purpose.' The CDC, home to over 12,000 employees and operating with a discretionary budget of over $9 billion this year, did a great deal during the pandemic to undermine its credibility. For instance, former Biden CDC director Rochelle Walensky pushed novel vaccines on the American public, including resilient children, some of which were later found to be unsafe; discounted warnings from an agency advisory panel about booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine and recommended them anyway; claimed in 2021 that "vaccinated people do not carry the virus, don't get sick"; repeatedly extended the moratorium on rental evictions, citing the need to stop the spread of COVID-19; and colluded with the American Federation of Teachers and its boss Randi Weingarten at the expense of American children. The agency also initially cast doubt on whether the experimental COVID-19 vaccines were causing myocarditis in young Americans; recommended that everyone in K-12 schools wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status, which studies have indicated did far more harm than good; and coordinated with social media companies to censor vaccine criticism online. The CDC's role in the Biden administration's censorship efforts has not only hurt its reputation but made it a target for numerous lawsuits. Several vaccine-injured Americans recently filed a lawsuit against the CDC and other elements of the Biden administration for allegedly working to "coerce, induce, and collude with social media platforms to censor, suppress, and label as 'misinformation' speech expressed by those who have suffered vaccine-related injuries." "As a father of two and a husband of 45 years, Dave understands American Family Values, and views Health as one of utmost importance," continued Trump. "Dave will prioritize Transparency, Competence, and High Standards at CDC. Dave will proudly restore the CDC to its true purpose, and will work to end the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and Make America Healthy Again!" 'We must eliminate all real and perceived conflicts of interest.' Kennedy, who previously highlighted Dr. Weldon's work exposing the CDC's problems, congratulated him over the weekend, stating, "Dave's leadership at CDC will bring the truth and transparency needed to restore the public's confidence in this institution." Weldon, like Kennedy, has refused to blindly trust in federal health agencies, particularly when it comes to their vaccine oversight. In 2007, Dr. Weldon introduced legislation aimed at moving vaccine safety oversight from the CDC — an agency whose dual objectives of high immunization rates and vaccine safety may oftentimes conflict — to an independent agency that would report directly to the HHS secretary. He noted in a statement at the time, "Federal agencies charged with overseeing vaccine safety research have failed. They have failed to provide sufficient resources for vaccine safety research. They have failed to adequately fund extramural research. And, they have failed to free themselves from conflicts of interest that serve to undermine public confidence in the safety of vaccines." "If government-funded vaccine safety research is to be broadly accepted, we must eliminate all real and perceived conflicts of interest," continued Dr. Weldon. "Otherwise, we will fail to achieve the level of acceptance that is necessary to restore, build, and secure public confidence over the long-run. A vaccine safety program housed anywhere within the CDC fails to achieve this independence." 'He is a dangerous pick to lead CDC.' Trump's nominee has not only ruffled feathers by expecting both quality and quantity when it comes to immunizations but by expressing concern about the link between mercury — thimerosal — in vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders. While various Republicans have celebrated the pick, Democratic lawmakers and elements of the American health establishment have concern-mongered about the possibility of Dr. Weldon as CDC director. Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, who has received millions of dollars from Big Pharma and the health industry, said in a statement, "Dr. Dave Weldon is an extremist with zero public health experience who has spent years promoting anti-vaccine conspiracy thinking and junk health plans." "He is a dangerous pick to lead CDC," added Murray. Murray suggested further that Dr. Weldon's pro-life views were especially distressing, stating that "there is no reason to entrust the work of tackling our nation's maternal mortality crisis and collecting data essential to understanding the deadly outcome of abortion bans to the man responsible for the Weldon Amendment that allows health care providers to deny women essential abortion care." Dorit Reiss, a vaccine policy researcher at the University of California Law-San Francisco, told NBC News, "Anti-vaccine people are celebrating this because they firmly see Weldon as an ally." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!