US News

Electronic Arts to Lay Off 6 Percent of Workforce

California-based video game company Electronic Arts (EA) has announced that it will lay off approximately 6 percent of its workforce in the coming months as part of its restructuring efforts, which equates to nearly 800 people.
The decision was made after a review of the company’s portfolio, with a focus on prioritizing projects that contribute to EA’s strategic goals.
In a memo to employees, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said that the company is moving away from projects that do not align with its priorities and is reviewing its real estate footprint.
“Now, more than ever, we must be focused on our strategic priorities: building games and experiences that entertain massive online communities; creating blockbuster interactive storytelling; and amplifying the power of community in and around our games with social and creator tools,” Wilson wrote. “These priorities align our investments with opportunities to make the biggest impact.”…

Texas Senators Hear Witness Testimonies on Organ Harvesting in China

The Texas Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday heard from witnesses who favor proposed legislation that would prohibit health benefit plans from paying for vital organs originating in China, where forced organ harvesting occurs.
“Senate Bill 1040 is intended to combat the horrific practice of forced organ harvesting,” said Republican state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, who authored the bill (pdf). “In the United States, the organ donation system has high ethical standards.”
“In Texas, we celebrate those who voluntarily give the gift of life through organ donation. Unfortunately, some countries do not respect life in a similar manner.”
An identical House version of the bill, authored by Republican State Rep. Tom Olliverson (pdf), has been referred to the Public Health Committee….

Fed Was in Talks With Silicon Valley Bank to Use Discount Window Before Collapse

Federal Reserve officials were reportedly in discussions with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) to use its discount window, right before its collapse earlier this month.
The Fed’s top enforcer testified in front of Congress on March 29, as the elected representatives demanded answers for the California-based lender’s collapse.
House lawmakers questioned the regulators’ competency and accused their enforcers of being asleep at the switch.
The blame for sudden collapse of SVB can be spread around to the bank’s executives, Fed supervisors, and other government regulators, Michael Barr, the Fed’s vice chair for supervision, told the House Financial Services Committee, for the second round of hearings regarding the crisis, after an appearance in front of the Senate Banking Committee the previous day….

29 Dems Join GOP in House Vote to Block Biden Admin From Limiting Access to Gas Stoves

U.S. House lawmakers voted in support of an energy bill amendment that would prevent the Department of Energy from introducing energy efficiency standards that could outlaw most gas stoves on the market today.
More than a dozen Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the measure, part of a Republican-led pro-fossil-fuel legislative package H.R. 1, also referred to as the Lower Energy Costs Act, which the Biden administration has vowed to veto.
“Glad the House passed my amendment to H.R. 1 preventing @ENERGY from banning 50% of gas stoves on the market,” Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), who proposed the amendment, wrote on Twitter late Wednesday….

Mental Health Bill Is ‘State-Sanctioned Kidnapping,’ Parental Rights Advocates Say

A California bill that would allow school mental health counselors to send children as young as 12-years-old to residential mental health facilities without parental consent has outraged parental rights advocates.
Erin Friday, an attorney and western U.S. regional co-leader for Our Duty, a parental rights group that opposes transgender ideology, told the Assembly judiciary committee on March 28 that the proposed legislation, Assembly Bill (AB) 665, would violate parental rights under federal and state constitutional law.
“This bill is state-sanctioned kidnapping,” she told legislators at the Assembly Judiciary Committee on March 28.
The legislation, authored by Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D-L.A.), would remove guardrails in current law that state a minor must be deemed in “danger of serious physical or mental harm to themselves or to others” or “an alleged victim of incest child abuse,” before they are allowed to consent to mental health treatment or counseling on an outpatient basis or at a residential shelter without the permission of their parents….

Woman Holding Trump Sign Arrested for Allegedly Attacking Family Outside Lower Manhattan Courthouse

A woman holding a pro-Trump sign allegedly pulled a knife on a family with two small children after an argument broke out outside a Lower Manhattan courthouse.
The lone woman was seen on March 28 protesting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s attempt to charge former president Donald Trump, outside of Manhattan Criminal Court, reported Politico.
A courthouse official said a couple with two small children in strollers accidentally bumped into the individual while crossing the intersection of Hogan Place and Centre Street shortly after 4 p.m.
The female suspect, who held a sign reading “I support Trump, do you?” was allegedly arguing with two women, as described in some reports, and a man and woman in other reports, before pulling out a 6-inch blade and waving it at the family, eyewitnesses reportedly said….

Journalist Says DOJ Targeting Him for His Aggressive Post-Jan. 6 Commentary

Independent journalist Steve Baker says he was recently warned that his aggressive reporting and commentary about Jan. 6 have created growing ire at the U.S. Department of Justice that could lead to his prosecution for being at the Capitol on that fateful Wednesday in 2021.
Since Jan. 6, Baker, 62, of Raleigh, North Carolina, went through two hours of FBI questioning and faced the looming specter of being added to the list of now more than 1,000 Jan. 6 criminal-case defendants.
He said his recent coverage of Jan. 6 cases and pointed criticisms of the DOJ have once again painted a target on him.
“I got a call from another journalist who has a friendly source inside the Department of Justice there in D.C.,” Baker told The Epoch Times….

Chinese Ambassador Accuses the US of Being a Failing Democracy

The Chinese ambassador to New Zealand, Wang Xiaolong, has sent a letter full of criticism of the U.S.-led democratic world to New Zealand MPs while claiming that China had a different system of democracy.
Wang accused the United States of having a sense of superiority and spreading “false” narratives of democracy versus authoritarianism.
He claimed that countries with flaws had “little credibility” to lecture others and alleged that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) pursued the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights.
He said the CCP would be “more than happy” to share its values and perspectives with anyone interested but hated to be preached to and have “others,” referring mainly to the United States, “impose” its values on the CCP….