It's Been Reported

DeSantis: ‘There Are More Communists On Harvard Faculty Than In All Of Eastern Europe’ (Amer Wire News) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis targeted the teaching of communist history in public schools, signing a new bill on education while taking a jab at Ivy League faculty. The former Republican presidential candidate spoke at a press conference Wednesday ahead of signing a bill requiring Florida public schools to teach students about the “evil accuracies” of communism. DeSantis was on hand at the Hialeah Gardens Museum in Miami where he asserted, “We’re going to tell the truth about communism in the state of Florida.” “One hundred million were killed at the hands of communist regimes,” he told the crowd gathered on the 63rd anniversary of the “Bay of Pigs” invasion in Cuba. “Those are the facts, and those are what we need to be very clear-eyed about.” The governor and others who spoke reiterated the importance of teaching the next generations accurate history. At one point, DeSantis quipped that Harvard University sported more communists in its faculty than all of Eastern Europe. See full story	Expert Warns Chinese EVs Could Secretly Monitor, Collect Data On American Drivers (Amer Wire News) — Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) could potentially spy on Americans, handing over drivers’ data to the communist government. “Automotive expert Mike Caudill says American drivers ought to ‘absolutely be concerned’ about whether the new digital technology used in electric vehicles and some gas-powered cars is collecting their data and giving it to questionable actors like the Chinese communist government,” Fox Business reported. “The transportation expert and entrepreneur spoke to Fox News Digital recently about the rise of EVs and how technology utilized in their onboard instruments could be used to spy on Americans, and whether corporations or foreign governments have more access to Americans’ vehicles than they’re aware of,” the media outlet noted. As Chinese EV companies take the lead in the global market, concern is growing that unknown data breaches in electric cars could become prevalent giving our biggest enemy, China, even more leverage on Americans and our country. See full story
'Rust' Armorer Given Maximum Sentence After Calling Jurors 'Idiots' (Western Journal) — The armorer on the film “Rust” will serve 18 months in prison on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The sentence is the maximum Hannah Gutierrez-Reed could receive, according to the New York Times. Hutchins was killed when actor Alec Baldwin fired a gun containing a live round on the set of the movie. In March, Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of putting the live round in the gun. During her trial last month, she was painted as reckless on the set. An armorer is responsible for managing weapons and ammunition on a movie set. The sentencing came after prosecutors released bits and pieces of calls Gutierrez-Reed made after her conviction while she was in jail. Gutierrez-Reed called the jurors “idiots,” said the judge in the case was on a “power trip” and claimed the judge was “getting paid off.” See full story	Blue State Dem In Hot Water For Racial Slur Sets New Record In Senate Primary (Fox News) — Rep. David Trone, D-Md., who was recently blasted for using a disparaging term for Black people during a House hearing, is officially the largest self-funded candidate of a Senate primary race in U.S. history. Trone contributed $18.5 million of his own money to his Maryland Senate campaign, Fox News confirmed. And he brought in a total of over $40 million, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). No candidate running in a Senate primary has contributed this amount in recorded Senate primary history. "David Trone has been crystal clear that he’s prepared to do whatever it takes to beat Larry Hogan in November and protect the Democratic Senate majority," the Trone campaign said in a statement. "With national Republicans and right-wing donors flooding Maryland with contributions to Hogan, there has never been a more important time to take the fight directly to Mitch McConnell, Larry Hogan and Donald Trump. David Trone is the best candidate to do that." See full story
American Marten 'Not Yet' Coming Back To Pennsylvania (The Center Square) — After years of research, a proposed plan, and a vote to table it, returning the American marten to the woods of Pennsylvania has been postponed – indefinitely. The Pennsylvania Game Commission shelved plans for the marten, a small weasel about the size of two cans of beans, in a split vote during the April board meeting. The $2 million project would have released 300 martens into the wild in the Northern Tier to create a stable population. A 6-3 vote to postpone the plan was driven by commissioners’ concerns that more work needs to be done to educate hunters and non-hunters about the marten and its potential impacts on other wildlife. “Commissioners said they’ve heard from lots of people about the issue and want to address their concerns before moving forward,” a PGC press release noted. See full story
Tesla Recalls The Cybertruck For Faulty Accelerator Pedals That Can Get Stuck (Tech Crunch) -- Tesla is recalling all 3,878 Cybertrucks that it has shipped to date, due to a problem where the accelerator pedal can get stuck, putting drivers at risk of a crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall caps a tumultuous week for Tesla. The company laid off more than 10% of its workforce on Monday, and lost two of its highest-ranking executives. A few days later, Tesla asked shareholders to re-vote on CEO Elon Musk’s massive compensation package that was struck down by a judge earlier this year. Reports of problems with the Cybertruck’s accelerator pedal started popping up in the last few weeks. Tesla even reportedly paused deliveries of the truck while it sorted out the issue. Musk said in a post on X that Tesla was “being very cautious” and the company reported to NHTSA that it was not aware of any crashes or injuries related to the problem. See full story	Mandisa, 'American Idol' Singer And Grammy Winner, Dies At 47 (NBC News) — Grammy-winning singer Mandisa, who rose to fame on season five of “American Idol,” has died, her representative said Friday. She was 47. “We can confirm that yesterday Mandisa was found in her home deceased," her representative said in a statement to NBC News. “At this time we do not know the cause of death or any further details.” “We ask for your prayers for her family and close knit circle of friends during this incredibly difficult time,” the statement concluded. She was found dead in her Nashville home, according to The Tennessean. A post on the artist's Facebook page said early Friday: “Mandisa was a voice of encouragement and truth to people facing life’s challenges all around the world. She wrote this song for a dear friend who had passed in 2017.” See full story
Tiny Michelangelo Sketch Of A Marble Block Sells For 33 Times Its Estimate (Art Net) -- A drawing by the famed Renaissance master Michelangelo has sold for $201,600 at Christie’s. The auction house expected the drawing, which went under the hammer on April 17, to sell for between $6,000 and $8,000. Instead, a surprisingly competitive bidding war resulted in an anonymous buyer purchasing the item for more than 33 times its low estimate. The drawing isn’t so much a drawing as it is a scribble: a quick diagram of a block of marble Michelangelo sketched in preparation for one of his many ambitious projects, possibly the Sistine Chapel. The drawing is accompanied by the word “simile,” meaning “similar” in English, leading Old Masters specialist Giada Damen, who helped Christie’s verify the document, to speculate it was likely produced as part of a communication with a marble quarry or shipping firm from where Michelangelo got his materials. Although the Renaissance artist did not sign the 1.8 by 2.6 inch drawing, experts consulted by Christie’s feel confident that it was made by his hand. See full story	Log Book From Wwii Ship That Sank Off Florida Mysteriously Ends Up In Piece Of Furniture In Massachusetts (CBS News) -- A notebook discovered inside a piece of furniture in Massachusetts turned out to be a written log of one U.S. Navy destroyer's trips to Europe and back during World War II, officials said. The book appears in good physical condition in images shared online, despite being linked to the USS Amesbury, which eventually sunk off the coast of Florida. The found artifact contains a hardcover jacket binding pages of lined paper. A single page, photographed and shared by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, shows a travel record for the warship between June 13, 1944 and May 31, 1945. Within that timeframe, the destroyer apparently voyaged over the Atlantic Ocean several times, stopping in New York, Key West, Philadelphia and Annapolis in the U.S., as well as Panama and the United Kingdom. "A small, military-green notebook containing information about the USS Amesbury was discovered by Brenda O'Keefe of Massachusetts in a piece of furniture," the marine sanctuary said in a Facebook post that included images of the log and cover. See full story