Southwest
Bird flu could spread to cows outside US, head of WHO flu program says
A World Health Organization official said on Tuesday there was a risk of H5N1 bird flu virus spreading to cows in other countries beyond the United States through migratory birds.
U.S. officials are seeking to verify the safety of milk and meat after confirming the H5N1 virus in 34 dairy cattle herds in nine states since late March, and in one person in Texas.
“With the virus carried around the world by migratory birds, certainly there is a risk for cows in other countries to be getting infected,” said Wenqing Zhang, head of WHO’s Global Influenza Programme at a news briefing in Geneva.
AMID BIRD FLU SPREAD, EXPERTS REVEAL IF IT’S SAFE TO DRINK MILK: ‘INDIRECT CONCERN’
She reiterated that the U.N. agency deems the overall public health risk posed by the virus to be low but urged vigilance.
Asked to evaluate U.S. transparency on the outbreak so far, Zhang said the global body had received regular updates and praised a decision to share the virus genetic sequence early.
“I do think the collaboration with U.S. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the information we’ve received so far enables us to monitor the situation and to update the preparedness measures,” she said.
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Southwest
Texas judge blocks Biden administration rule requiring more gun sellers to run background checks
A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked a new rule from the Biden administration that would force gun dealers to carry out background checks and secure licenses when selling firearms at shows and other venues outside traditional gun stores.
The order from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo will remain in effect until June 2 and covers Texas and members of gun rights groups, including the Gun Owners of America. The states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Utah, he said, “will not be afforded relief at this stage of litigation.”
Kacsmaryk wrote that the new rule contradicted the language of the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which expanded the category of gun sellers required to obtain licenses, according to Reuters. He also blamed the rule for not letting people who buy or sell guns for personal protection from being eligible for a licensing requirement exemption given to those who buy or sell firearms for a “personal collection.”
The judge noted that this means that “the statute’s safe harbor provision provides no safe harbor at all for the majority of gun owners.”
GROUPS SLAM BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OVER NEW ATF RULE: ‘WEAPONIZING EVERY TOOL’
“I am relieved that we were able to secure a restraining order that will prevent this illegal rule from taking effect,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “The Biden Administration cannot unilaterally overturn Americans’ constitutional rights and nullify the Second Amendment.”
“Despite Congress having recognized the legality of private firearms sales by non-dealers, the Biden Administration issued a new regulation that would subject hundreds of thousands of law-abiding gun owners to presumptions of criminal guilt for engaging in constitutionally protected activities,” Paxton’s office said.
BIDEN MOVES TO REQUIRE MORE GUN SELLERS TO RUN BACKGROUND CHECKS
President Biden has previously said the rule will “keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and felons” and that his administration “is going to continue to do everything we possibly can to save lives.”
The administration predicted that the rule will force some 20,000 firearms dealers to start conducting background checks, on top of the 80,000 federally-registered dealers that were already doing so.
“This final rule does not infringe on anyone’s Second Amendment rights, and it will not negatively impact the many law-abiding licensed firearms dealers in our nation,” Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Director Steve Dettelbach previously said. “They are already playing by the rules.”
Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
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Los Angeles, Ca
Red Lobster's management issues led to bankruptcy
Red Lobster noted, in its recent bankrupty filings, that it faced mismanagement issues over the past decade as the company looks to rebound over the coming weeks, according to the latest reports by Eater.
The revelation comes after the seafood chaint announced it will be closing dozens of locations across the U.S., including five in California in cities like Torrance, San Diego, and Sacramento.
In the last decade, the company has seen five different CEOs and has been sold twice in the last decade, according to the report.
Golden Gate Capital purchased Red Lobster for $2.1 billion in 2014 from Darden Restaurants, a spin off founded by Bill Darden. Darden founded Red Lobster in Lakeland, Florida in 1968, forming Darden Restaurants, Inc.
Golden Gate Capital is a prominent private equity firm, founded in 2000 by David Dominik and Jesse Rogers, with over $17 billion in assets under management like California Pizza Kitchen, Express and Michaels stores.
During Golden Gate Captial’s near five-year ownership, they sold off the land in a tenuous real estate deal, increasing the restaurant’s overhead by adding lease payments and dredged the popular chain into slogging debt.
In 2020, Red Lobster was sold to Thai Union, one of the world’s largest seafood producers, known for brands such as Chicken of the Sea and forced Red Lobster to focus on selling shrimp products, the report said.
Under its latest owner, the chain introduced promotions like the $19.99 all-you-can-eat shrimp scampi deal to attract customers and cut costs by using lesser ingredients.
Meanwhile, Golden Gate Capital likely made a significant return on its initial $2.1 billion investment from 2014, considering the partial stake sold and the remaining ownership they retained.
Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy on May 20, a move that could save the failing chain from shuttering its doors completely. Prior to the filing, the company began selling off assets like kitchen equipment, conducting most of it online.
In the aftermath of it all, thousands of employees lost jobs with many more set to lose their jobs during the bankruptcy proceedings.
Red Lobster is now seeking bankruptcy protection and aims to rebound over the next several months.
Southwest
Biden's DOJ threatens another GOP state with lawsuit over anti-illegal immigration efforts
The Biden administration is threatening to sue yet another Republican-led state over its efforts to crack down on illegal immigration — after suing two other states over their respective anti-illegal immigration bills.
The Department of Justice has written to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and Attorney General Gentner Drummond about HB 4156 — legislation that makes it a state crime to be in the state illegally and gives local law enforcement the ability to arrest illegal immigrants, and require them to leave the state within 72 hours following conviction or release from custody.
The law was signed by Stitt this month and is due to go into force on July 1. It is similar to laws passed and signed into law in Iowa and Texas — and those laws have subsequently both been hit by lawsuits from the DOJ, which argues that it infringes on federal authority over immigration law and enforcement. The Texas law is currently on hold amid the ongoing lawsuit there.
ANOTHER RED STATE MOVES A STEP CLOSER TO ENACTING TEXAS-STYLE ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION BILL
“HB 4156 is preempted by federal law and violates the United States Constitution,” Principal Deputy Assistant AG Brian Boynton said in the letter to Oklahoma officials. “Indeed, the Oklahoma law is similar to Texas’s Senate Bill 4, which has been preliminarily enjoined.”
He argued that Congress has implemented a “comprehensive scheme governing noncitizens’ entry and reentry into the United States, including penalties for unlawful entry and reentry.”
“HB 4156, however, seeks to create a separate state immigration scheme by imposing state criminal penalties for violating the federal prohibitions on unlawful entry and reentry. HB 4156 therefore intrudes into a field that is occupied by the federal government and is preempted,” he said.
“The United States intends to file suit to enjoin the enforcement of HB 4156 unless Oklahoma agrees to refrain from enforcing the law. The United States is committed to the processing of noncitizens consistent with the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). HB 4156 is contrary to that goal,” he said.
Texas passed its own law making illegal immigration a crime last year, and other states including Iowa and Oklahoma have since followed this year. A measure in Arizona was vetoed by the governor, and there are now efforts to get the measure on the ballot in November.
FORMER TOP ICE OFFICIAL SIDES WITH TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT OVER BIDEN IN ONGOING BORDER BATTLE
Oklahoma responded to the DOJ threat days later, with AG Drummond promising to “vigorously defend” the law if the administration sues, while blaming the Biden administration for the crisis at the southern border.
“Your misguided demands ignore that Oklahoma has not only the sovereign right, but also the solemn legal obligation, to protect its own borders and its own citizens,” Drummond said.
“Acquiescence to this intolerable situation is not in my state’s DNA; neither is surrender,” he said. “As such, HB 4156 represents a meaningful, common-sense, and legally permissible step toward addressing and correcting that which the Biden Administration has willfully refused to enforce the last 3.5 years.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
Meanwhile, other states may soon have their own versions of the law. In addition to the Arizona ballot measure, lawmakers in Louisiana are moving forward with legislation similar to the Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma bills.
There, the state’s attorney general has also pledged to protect the state if any lawsuit would follow.
“We’re following the bill as it moves through the Legislature,” Lester Duhe, press secretary of Attorney General Liz Murrill told Fox News Digital. “The Attorney General is committed to protecting the people of Louisiana from the dangers of illegal immigration, caused by Joe Biden’s open border policies.”
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