Midday rundown: University TikTok ban, Microsoft layoffs, ND book ban

KARAH RUCKER: JUST DAYS AFTER TWO PLANES ALMOST COLLIDE…TWO PLANES MAKE CONTACT AT THE JFK AIRPORT. AND THE LATEST SET OF LAYOFFS IN BIG TECH IS ANNOUNCED. BUT FIRST…SECURITY CONCERNS OVER TIK TOK AREN’T GOING AWAY…UNIVERSITIES NOW TAKING A STAND.

THESE ARE YOUR TOP HEADLINES WITH STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS. UNBIASED. STRAIGHT FACTS.

UNIVERSITIES BAN TIKTOK FROM NETWORKS

SECURITY CONCERNS OVER TIK-TOK AREN’T GOING AWAY.

TWENTY STATES HAVE BANNED THE APP ON ALL GOVERNMENT-ISSUED DEVICES. AND NOW UNIVERSITIES ARE TAKING SIMILAR PRECAUTIONS.

SEVERAL UNIVERSITIES IN TEXAS INCLUDING TOP-TIER UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND TEXAS A&M ARE RESTRICTING ACCESS TO TIKTOK ACROSS ALL OF ITS NETWORKS. MEANING IF YOU’RE CONNECTED TO THEIR WIFI, THE APP TIKTOK WON’T WORK ON YOUR DEVICE.

UT, A&M, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS ARE A FEW TEXAS SCHOOLS JOINING THE LIST OF COLLEGES BANNING THE APP OUT OF SECURITY CONCERNS.

THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA, AUBURN, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA ARE AMONG OTHERS WHO HAVE DISABLED TIKTOK FROM ITS DEVICES AND NETWORK.

PLANES BUMP ON RUNWAY AT JFK AIRPORT

JUST DAYS AFTER TWO PLANES ALMOST COLLIDED AT THE JFK AIRPORT IN NEW YORK, THIS MORNING TWO PLANES DID MAKE CONTACT.

AND WHILE IT WAS A LESS SERIOUS SITUATION, IT’S STILL ANOTHER SAFETY CONCERN THE FAA IS HAVING TO ANSWER FOR.

ACCORDING TO THE FAA, TWO JETBLUE AIRPLANES BUMPED INTO ONE ANOTHER WHEN A PLANE WAS PUSHING BACK FROM THE GATE AND STRUCK THE TAIL OF ANOTHER PARKED PLANE.

THERE WERE NO INJURIES REPORTED, AND BOTH PLANES WERE EVACUATED AND ARE BEING INSPECTED FOR DAMAGE.

JETBLUE SAID SAFETY IS THEIR FIRST PRIORITY AND THEY WILL INVESTIGATE THE INCIDENT.

DOJ DECLINED OVERSIGHT OF DOCUMENT SEARCH

A SPECIAL COUNSEL IS HANDLING ALL THINGS RELATED TO CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS IN PRESIDENT BIDEN’S POSSESSION.

BUT BEFORE AN OUTSIDE PROSECUTOR WAS NAMED TO THE CASE, THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CONSIDERED OVERSEEING THE SEARCH FOR CLASSIFIED MATERIALS BUT ULTIMATELY DECIDED AGAINST IT.

AFTER THE INITIAL DISCOVERY OF DOCUMENTS FOUND AT AN OFFICE USED BY BIDEN IN WASHINGTON D.C., THE DOJ HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASSIGN FBI AGENTS IN THE SEARCH FOR FURTHER CLASSIFIED MATERIAL.

THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT DECLINED FURTHER INVOLVEMENT AT THE TIME, LEAVING IT TO BIDEN’S ATTORNEYS TO SEARCH THE PRESIDENT’S PRIVATE RESIDENCE WHERE MORE DOCUMENTS WOULD BE DISCOVERED IN HIS GARAGE AND PERSONAL LIBRARY.

ACCORDING TO THE REPORT, THE DOJ SAID SINCE BIDEN AND HIS ATTORNEYS WERE FULLY COOPERATING, THEY LEFT IT ALONE, UNTIL INTERVENTION OF A SPECIAL COUNSEL WAS WARRANTED.

CAPITOL POLICE REPORT

THREATS AGAINST U.S. LAWMAKERS DECREASED IN 2022 COMPARED TO THE YEAR PRIOR. BUT POLITICAL TENSIONS THAT TURN INTO THESE THREATS…HAS REMAINED HIGH SINCE 2020.

BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS, IN 2022 THERE WERE 75 HUNDRED THREATS MADE AGAINST CONGRESSIONAL MEMBERS. IN 2021 THERE WERE 96 HUNDRED. AND IN 2020, 86 HUNDRED.

SO, WHILE 2022 SAW AN IMPROVEMENT BY THE THOUSANDS, IT’S STILL RELATIVELY HIGH COMPARING YEARS PAST.

LIKE IN 2017, WHEN THERE WERE 39 HUNDRED THREATS MADE AGAINST CONGRESSMEN.

THE RISE IS LARGELY ATTRIBUTED TO PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH A FALSE SENSE OF PROTECTION BEHIND A SCREEN.

LAST YEAR’S THREATS INCLUDE TWO HIGH-PROFILE ATTACKS. ONE ON REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE LEE ZELDIN OF NEW YORK. AND AN ATTACK ON NANCY PELOSI’S HUSBAND.

A MEDIA MISS BY THE RIGHT

AT STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, WE AIM DOWN THE MIDDLE. WHEREAS OTHER MEDIA MISS THE TARGET. THE STORY YOU JUST HEARD HAS ONLY BEEN COVERED BY THE LEFT. AND WAS COMPLETELY UNDER-REPORTED BY THE RIGHT.

IF YOU’D LIKE TO LEARN ABOUT OTHER STORIES THAT ARE BEING UNDER-REPORTED BY ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER, CHECK OUT THE “MEDIA MISS” TOOL ON OUR WEBSITE.

SO YOU CAN SEE THE NEWS YOU’RE MISSING FROM THE MAINSTREAM.

MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES 10,000 LAYOFFS

THE TREND OF TECH-GIANTS LAYING OFF EMPLOYEES CONTINUES WITH MICROSOFT WORKERS THE LATEST TO GET CUT FROM THE JOB.

THE COMPANY ESTIMATES 10 THOUSAND JOBS WILL GET NIXED BY THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER OF THIS YEAR.

IT’S THE LARGEST LAYOFF MICROSOFT HAS HAD IN NEARLY EIGHT YEARS. AND JUST THE LATEST SIGN OF COMPANIES BRACING FOR AN ECONOMIC DOWNTURN.

FACEBOOK’S PARENT COMPANY META ALSO RECENTLY ANNOUNCED 11 THOUSAND JOB CUTS.

AND AMAZON ANNOUNCED PLANS TO LAY OFF 18 THOUSAND OF ITS EMPLOYEES.

PROPOSED BAN OF SEXUALLY EXPLICIT BOOKS

BOOKS THAT CONTAIN “SEXUALLY EXPLICIT” CONTENT COULD SOON BE BANNED IN NORTH DAKOTA PUBLIC LIBRARIES.

BOOKS THAT INCLUDE DEPICTIONS OF SEXUAL OR GENDER IDENTITY WOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE BAN.

PROPONENTS SAY IT’S PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM EXPOSURE TO PORNOGRAPHY.

CRITICS SAY IT’S DISCRIMINATORY AGAINST BOOKS THAT FEATURE L-G-B-T-Q MATERIAL.

THE PROPOSAL ALSO INCLUDES UP TO 30 DAYS OF JAIL TIME FOR LIBRARIANS WHO REFUSE TO REMOVE ANY BANNED TITLES.

STATE LAWMAKERS BEGAN DEBATING THE BILL THIS WEEK.

THESE ARE YOUR TOP HEADLINES ON THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON. THANKS FOR WATCHING THE DAILY RUNDOWN WITH STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS. YOUR PLACE FOR JOURNALISM WITHOUT AGENDA.