(FREE) PAINE IN THE MORNING: 9 things you need to know this Wednesday – May 11, 2022

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Diesel Prices Smash Record Highs, Gas Prices Approach Record Highs, Despite Biden’s Strategic Petroleum Release –  Prices at the pump are continuing to soar near record levels, despite President Joe Biden’s attempts to ease price pressures by releasing millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of gas sits at $4.328 per gallon, less that one cent below the previous record of $4.331 set in March. That price is also more than a dollar more per gallon than it was in May of 2021, when gas was just $2.96 per gallon. California’s statewide average is currently the highest in the nation and nearing $6 per gallon, currently at $5.829 per gallon. The lowest statewide average belongs to Georgia, which averages $3.844 per gallon. – READ MORE

Silicon Valley Underwater: Tech Giants Lose $1 Trillion in Value in 3 Days – The largest tech firms in the world have reportedly lost over $1 trillion in value over just three trading days. Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, and Google all lost more than $100 billion in a few days, while Facebook lost $70 billion.

CNBC reports that the largest tech firms in the world including Google, Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, and Amazon have lost over $1 trillion in combined value in just three trading sessions. Stocks have had a large sell-off overall since the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday, but tech firms seem to be hit the hardest by the change. – READ MORE

Democrats Aim to Spend $60B More Taxpayer Dollars During 40-Year-High Inflation – Democrats on Tuesday are aiming to spend $60 billion more taxpayer dollars during 40-year-high inflation.

The Democrats’ plan to spend a massive amount of money after spending wildly in 2021. Last year’s spending included a $1.9 trillion coronavirus package and a $1 trillion infrastructure package, which many economists say fueled 40-year-high inflation in the same year. – READ MORE

White House Predicts 100 Million COVID-19 Cases In Fall And Winter Unless The Feds Get Billions In Funding – The White House is currently predicting that 100 million cases of COVID-19 will hit America in the fall and winter unless the federal government receives billions in taxpayer funding to combat the virus. The report calls to mind Biden’s failed promise to “shut down” the virus.

On Friday, CNN reported that the “Biden administration is issuing a new warning that the US could potentially see 100 million Covid-19 infections this fall and winter, as officials publicly stress the need for more funding from Congress to prepare the nation.” – READ MORE

CDC Official Indicates Planting More Trees is a Way to Fight Gun Violence – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Debra Houry, director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, suggests that planting more trees can reduce gun violence.

The Hill reports that Houry indicates “initiatives like restoring vacant lots by planting trees and grass have been shown to reduce firearm violence.” – READ MORE

NYC building fire caused by e-bike batteries, devices responsible for several fires in recent weeks – An e-bike battery was determined to be the cause of a building fire in New York City, officials said Monday, making it the latest blaze caused by lithium-ion batteries used to power electric bicycles and scooters.

The New York Fire Department said the battery was charging inside a bicycle store when the blaze started in Queens just before 2 p.m. at a three-story mixed occupancy building. – READ MORE

Electric Vehicle Charging Sparks Multiple House Fires, Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars in Damage Caused – About three weeks ago in Ashburn, Virginia, there was an electric vehicle charging malfunction that started a fire in a garage and caused more than $15,000 in damages.

That was not the only fire sparked by an electric vehicle, WTOP News reported. – READ MORE

Nonprofit Watchdog Uncovers $350 Million In Secret Payments To Fauci, Collins, Others At NIH – An estimated $350 million in undisclosed royalties were paid to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and hundreds of its scientists, including the agency’s recently departed director, Dr. Francis Collins, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, according to a nonprofit government watchdog.

“We estimate that up to $350 million in royalties from third parties were paid to NIH scientists during the fiscal years between 2010 and 2020,” Open the Books CEO Adam Andrzejewski told reporters in a telephone news conference on May 9. – READ MORE

11 Insanely Corrupt Speed-Trap Towns – The Birmingham News recently investigated the tiny town of Brookside, Alabama, a place “with no traffic lights and one retail store [that] collected $487 in fines and forfeitures for every man, woman and child.” Income from fines and forfeitures comprised a whopping 49 percent of the town’s budget. Lawsuits allege that Brookside police officers made up charges to soak vehicle owners for thousands of dollars in fines.

Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth is asking for an official state audit of the town and its police force. That doesn’t bode well for Brookside officials, in light of some recent history and similar stories across the country from decades past. – READ MORE