The Daily Signal - TOP NEWS | GOP Lawmakers Demand COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Change, Gas Station Will Sell Marijuana, Stacey Abrams Says Abortion is an Economic Issue| Oct. 19

Episode Date: October 19, 2022

On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: GOP Lawmakers call to reverse the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the U.S. Coast Guard The Florida Board of Education approved a rule with a goal of protecting students’ safety, and the fundamental rights of parents Former Vice President Mike Pence called on conservative lawmakers to “flood the zone” with strong policy proposals during a speech today A Vermont school district under fire for allowing a biologically male student to use the girls’ locker room has suspended a father from his position as a soccer coach.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm Samantha O'Sheris. I'm Virginia Allen. And this is the Daily Signal top news for Wednesday, October 19th. Here are today's headlines. Colorado Republican Lauren Bobert and 16 other lawmakers sent a letter to President Biden, Homeland Security Secretary of Marjorcas, and U.S. Coast Guard commandant Linda Fagan on Monday regarding the administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for U.S. Coast Guard members. The letter highlighted Biden's phone call with aviation survival technician second class, Zach Lash, last month, and commended Lash's efforts during Hurricane Ian. Lieutenant Commander Christopher Hooper was also on the call. Lash, who reportedly saved a 94-year-old wheelchair-bound woman and her husband by kicking through a wall and then hoisting them into a helicopter, is set to be discharged from the U.S. Coast Guard because he did not get the COVID-19 vaccine. He had sought and was denied a religious exemption.

Bobert said in a comment to the Daily Signal, Petty Officer's second-class Zach Lash is an American hero, and he deserves to be treated as such. Due to the vaccine mandate, his rescue mission responding to Hurricane Ian may be his last, as he is set to be involuntarily discharged in 30 to 60 days. A Vermont school district under fire

for allowing a biological male student to use the girls' locker room has suspended a father from his position as a soccer coach. Why? Because the father used male pronouns to refer to the trans-identifying student in a Facebook comment. That's according to reporting by the Daily Signals, Mary Margaret Olahan.

Travis Allen has been suspended without pay from his job as the Randolph Union Middle School Girls Soccer Coach, Orange Southwest School District Superintendent, Lainey Millington said in a letter on Tuesday. His suspension follows a Daily Signal report highlighting his daughter's discomfort with a biological male using her locker room while she was changing. The superintendent said that Allen was being punished. because he misgendered a transgender student in our district. The superintendent did not immediately respond to the Daily Signals request for comment. Alan offered to avoid using gender pronouns while communicating with trans-identifying students and to take down his social media post, but the school district demanded a public apology from Alan,

which he refused, resulting in his suspension. Travis's daughter Blake is one of several young ladies who said they were in the Randolph Union High School Locker Room, changing when the trans-identifying student, a biological male, entered the locker room. Former Vice President Mike Pence called on conservative lawmakers to flood the zone with strong policy proposals during a speech at the Heritage Foundation today, our colleague Fred Lucas reports. The Daily Signal is the news outlet of the Heritage Foundation. Specifically, the former vice president said, let's get this economy back on its feet. Let's reverse some of this reckless, irresponsible spending by the Biden administration that has been driving inflation, and let's use

the power of the purse to demand that they secure the border of the United States of America. Pence also said Americans will be looking for results from conservatives in Congress, not posturing, not going on television shows, saying what's wrong with the other side, but saying, here's what we are for, here's what we are passing, put it on the president's desk, make him veto it, and two years from now will have a national debate. The former vice president also discussed school choice and education freedom. He said, let's empower parents and let's make sure we advance patriotic education. Georgia Democrat candidate for governor Stacey Abrams says abortion is an economic issue.

Abrams joined MSNBC's Morning Joe on Wednesday to talk about inflation rates. But Abrams said the abortion issue can't be separated from concerns over rising costs. But let's be clear. Having children is why you're worried about your price for gas. It's why you're concerned about how much food cost. For women, this is not a reductive issue. You can't divorce being forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy from the economic realities of having a child. Abrams is running against incumbent Republican Governor Brian Kemp. After Abrams TV appearance Wednesday morning, Kemp's communications director tweeted, Brian Kemp's plan to, fight inflation, suspend gas tax, another $1 billion tax refund, property tax rebate, and more. Stacey Abrams plan to fight inflation? Abortion without limits. Circle K gas stations are planning to sell licensed cannabis in Florida starting next year. The Washington Examiner reported that the gas station and convenience store chain partnered with

Green Thumb Industries, which is a multi-state cannabis operator. Bloomberg also reported that the deal is the first of its kind because marijuana has historically only been sold in standalone dispensaries in the U.S. and in pharmacies in Uruguay and Germany. Green Thumb will set up Rise Express dispensaries in 10 locations adjacent to Circle case stores, CNN reported. The Florida Board of Education approved a rule earlier today aimed at protecting student safety and the fundamental rights of parents. According to a press release, the rule ensures full transparency to enhance the health, safety, and welfare of students when utilizing bathrooms and locker rooms and to protect parental rights. Specifically, the new rule requires that if a school board or charter school governing board has a policy or procedure that allows for separation of bathrooms or locker rooms, according to some criteria other than biological sex at birth, the policy or procedure, must be posted on the district's website or charter school's website and must be sent by mail to students' residents to fully inform parents. According to the Hill, parents will be told which bathrooms

or locker rooms in their kids' schools are not separated by biological sex at birth. Exceptions to the new transparency rule include faculty restrooms that aren't accessible to children and single occupancy restrooms. And that'll do it for today's episode. Thank you for listening to The Daily Signals, news. If you haven't had the chance already, be sure to check out our morning show right here in your podcast feed, where we interview lawmakers, experts, and leading conservative voices. Join us tomorrow morning for the Daily Signals interview edition. I'll be sitting down with Dakota Wood to discuss the Heritage Foundation's new 2023 index of U.S. military strength and what it means for our military.

That's a conversation that you do not want to miss. Also, be sure to subscribe to the Daily Signal wherever you get your podcast. and help us reach even more listeners by leaving us a five-star review and rating. We read all of your feedback. Thanks again for listening. Have a great night, and we'll be back with you all tomorrow morning. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation. The executive producers are Rob Blewey and Kate Trinko.

Producers are Virginia Allen and Samantha Rank. Sound design by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop. To learn more, please visit DailySignal. com.