US Energy Information Administration, September 17, 2021

Our Petroleum Supply Monthly trade data show that the United States exported more crude oil and petroleum products than it imported during the first half of 2021 by 120,000 barrels per day (b/d), or less than 1% of combined crude oil and petroleum product exports and imports.

The United States was a net importer of crude oil and petroleum products (imported more than it exported) in the first of half of each year until the first half of 2020, when the United States became a net exporter (exported more than it imported) by 432,000 b/d of crude oil and petroleum products. This year marks only the second time the United States has been a net total petroleum exporter in the first half of the year. The United States has been a net exporter of petroleum products alone since 2011. Continue reading “The U.S. exported slightly more petroleum than it imported in the first half of 2021”

NBC News

Producer and actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun Thursday that killed one crew member and injured another on the set of the movie “Rust” in New Mexico, Santa Fe County sheriff’s office said.

The film’s director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, 42, was killed, and director Joel Souza, 48, was injured when Baldwin, 63, discharged the stage firearm, the sheriff’s office said in a statement Thursday evening. Continue reading “Alec Baldwin shoots prop gun, killing 1, injuring another on set of ‘Rust,’ officials say”

UPI

Oct. 19 (UPI) — Social media giant Facebook on Tuesday reached a $14 million settlement with the U.S. government over accusations it discriminated against American workers in its hiring practices.

Under separate agreements reached with the departments of justice and labor, Facebook will pay a civil penalty of $4.75 million to the government and up to $9.5 million to eligible victims of the alleged discrimination.  Continue reading “Facebook, U.S. reach $14M settlement on hiring discrimination claims”

Washington Examiner – by Joel Gehrke

U.S. military forces “don’t know how to defend” against China and Russia’s most advanced missile systems, a senior U.S. diplomat has acknowledged.

This comes after a shocking report that China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile earlier this year. The Chinese government has disputed the report, claiming they were testing a spacecraft instead.  Continue reading “US admits Pentagon doesn’t know how to defend against China’s hypersonic missiles”

Yahoo News

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — On the same day last week that a southern Oregon county declared a state of emergency amid a sharp increase in illegal cannabis farms, police raided a site that had about 2 tons of processed marijuana and 17,500 pot plants.

The raid illustrates that the proliferation of industrial-scale marijuana farms has gotten so bad and so brazen that Jackson County Commissioners asked Gov. Kate Brown to send in the Oregon National Guard “to assist, as able, in the enforcement of laws related to the production of cannabis.” They also directly appealed to Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek for help getting additional funding to tackle the problem.  Continue reading “Oregon illegal pot grows: More calls to send National Guard”

Yahoo News

(Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday signaled that it is not retreating from its inclination to grant a legal protection called “qualified immunity” to police accused in lawsuits of using excessive force, ruling in favor of officers on Monday in separate cases from California and Oklahoma.

The justices overturned a lower court’s decision allowing a trial in a lawsuit against officers Josh Girdner and Brandon Vick over the 2016 fatal shooting of a hammer-wielding man in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.  Continue reading “U.S. Supreme Court again protects police accused of excessive force”

Fox News

Texas National Guard soldiers on the southern border were fired on Thursday by suspected cartel gunmen from Mexico, authorities said Friday.

The soldiers were in Roma, Texas when two shots were fired from across the border, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. No injuries were reported, and the Texas Rangers are investigating the incident.  Continue reading “Texas National Guard soldiers fired upon across border by suspected cartel gunmen, authorities say”

ABC News

A Texas constable deputy was fatally shot and two other deputies were wounded in what police are calling an “ambush” early Saturday morning outside a Houston nightclub.

The incident unfolded around 2:15 a.m. at the 45 North Bar and Lounge in the 4400 block of the North Freeway near Crosstimbers, Houston Police said.  Continue reading “Deputy fatally shot, 2 injured in ‘ambush’ at Houston nightclub: Police”

Yahoo News

WASHINGTON — After having lost a legal battle, the Biden administration tentatively plans a mid-November restart of a Trump-era policy that forces migrants seeking asylum to wait in Mexico for their U.S. immigration court hearings, according to a court filing late Thursday.

President Joe Biden had ended the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy when he took office this year, saying it was inhumane because of the violence migrants faced waiting in Mexico for their court hearings. Continue reading “Biden admin plans to restart Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy in mid-November”

New York Post – by Callie Patteson

White House chief of staff Ronald Klain is once again facing criticism over a retweet this week when he shared a post that categorized recent nationwide economic malaise caused by a supply-chain crunch as “high class problems.”

Late Wednesday, Klain shared a post from Harvard professor Jason Furman and wrote “This” with two emoji hands pointing a finger down at the original tweet.  Continue reading “WH chief of staff slammed over post calling supply chain crisis ‘high class problems’”

Breitbart – by John Binder

President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has provided nearly 32,000 border crossers with work permits, allowing them to be released into the United States interior and take U.S. jobs, over the last two months.

DHS documents reviewed by Fox News’s Adam Shaw and Bill Melugin reveal the extent to which DHS is using the process known as “parole” to mass release border crossers into the U.S. with the benefit of giving them work permits. Continue reading “Biden Gives Work Permits to Nearly 32K Border Crossers in 2 Months”

Epoch Times – by Isabel van Brugen

The head of the Chicago police officers union on Tuesday called on its members to refuse to comply with the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which is set to take effect on Friday.

“Do not fill out the portal information,” Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara said in a video to officers posted on YouTube. “I’ve made my status very clear as far as the vaccine, but I do not believe the city has the authority to mandate that to anybody—let alone that information about your medical history.” Continue reading “Chicago Police Union Head Calls on Members to Defy Vaccine Mandate”

Yahoo News

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A county in southern Oregon says it is so overwhelmed by an increase in the number and size of illegal marijuana farms that it declared a state of emergency Wednesday, appealing to the governor and the Legislature’s leaders for help.

The Jackson County Board of Commissioners said law enforcement officers and county and state regulators and code enforcers are overwhelmed and warned of an “imminent threat to the public health and safety of our citizens from the illegal production of cannabis in our county.” Continue reading “Overwhelmed by illegal pot, Oregon county declares emergency”

CNBC

Workers left their jobs at a record pace in August, with bar and restaurant employees as well as retail staff quitting in droves, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

Quits hit a new series high going back to December 2000, as 4.3 million workers left their jobs. The quits rate rose to 2.9%, an increase of 242,000 from the previous month, which saw a rate of 2.7%, according to the department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The rate, which is measured against total employment, is the highest in a data series that goes back to December 2000.  Continue reading “A record 4.3 million workers quit their jobs in August, led by food and retail industries”

New York  Post – by Callie Patteson

Vice President Kamala Harris is being roundly mocked on social media for her bizarre space exploration video, after it was revealed the children featured as “students” in the clip — produced by a company called Sinking Ship Entertainment — were actually child actors.

The video is the first in a YouTube Original series called “Get Curious with Vice President Harris,” and features the vice president speaking with several young “students” about the wonders of space exploration and science.  Continue reading “Kamala Harris slammed for using child actors in bizarre space video”

Epoch Times – by Tammy Hung

Oregon state Sens. Kim Thatcher and Dennis Linthicum, both Republicans, have petitioned Acting U.S. Attorney Scott E. Asphaug to launch a grand jury investigation into the measurement of COVID-19 statistics by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Thatcher and Linthicum submitted the petition in a letter (pdf) on Aug. 16 after gathering signatures from 1,718 Oregonians and 53,032 Americans. Continue reading “Oregon Senators Call for Investigation Into Alleged COVID-19 Statistical Manipulation”

Yahoo News

A manhunt is underway in central Georgia after an officer was gunned down outside his police department early Saturday, authorities said.

Dylan Harrison, 26, of Dudley, Georgia, was working his first shift as a part-time officer with the Alamo Police Department in Wheeler County when he was fatally shot around 1 a.m. Saturday, police said. Continue reading “Suspect at-large in fatal shooting of officer outside police department in Georgia”

Fox News

Texas police are responding to a high school shooting in Arlington that injured four people, including three students, Wednesday morning, and are now searching for the suspect who they say is on the loose.

Arlington Police confirmed it was on the scene of a shooting at Timberview High School, and its officers were carrying out a “methodical search” and working closely with ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives), the Mansfield Independent School District, which has its own police department, the Mansfield Police Department, Grand Prairie Police Department and other agencies.  Continue reading “Texas high school shooting injures 4, suspect on the loose, police say”

Yahoo News – NBC News

The FBI raided the Manhattan offices of a New York City police union Tuesday, and hours later, the union’s outspoken leader resigned.

Bearing a warrant, agents searched the headquarters of the fifth-biggest police union in the country, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, or SBA, which represents 13,000 active and retired New York City police sergeants. Continue reading “New York City police union leader resigns after FBI raid on headquarters”

CBS News

Mail delivery for many Americans will slow starting on Friday, part of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s blueprint for overhauling the U.S. Postal Service in order to slash costs. But critics say the slower delivery standards could cause problems such as late bill delivery while more broadly undermining the public’s faith in the USPS.

Almost 4 of 10 pieces of first-class mail will see slower delivery, according to Paul Steidler, senior fellow at the Lexington Institute and an expert on the postal service. That “means mail delivery will be slower than in the 1970s,” he said, calling DeJoy’s plan “disastrous.”  Continue reading “Mail delivery slowdown: USPS to slow delivery starting October 1”