Notorious race hustler and far-left activist Reverend Al Sharpton won't let diversity, equity, and inclusion go down without a fight. The Associated Press reported Thursday that Sharpton and other members of his National Action Network met with Target Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell. Sharton and NAN have urged consumers to...

Acting IRS Commissioner Gary Shapley is out days following his appointment, The New York Times reports. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly took issue with Shapley’s appointment. Shapley gained notoriety for being an IRS whistleblower “who exposed the DOJ’s cover-up of the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden,” the House Oversight Committee noted. BIG NEWS: Gary Shapley, the IRS whistleblower who exposed the DOJ’s cover-up of the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden, is now Acting IRS Commissioner. Congratulations, Gary—your courage and professionalism will transform the IRS. pic.twitter.com/DhotnPsCUU — Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) April 16, 2025 From The New York Times: Mr. Shapley, a longtime I.R.S. agent, gained fame among conservatives after he publicly argued that the Justice Department had slow-walked its investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes. Mr. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency pushed Mr. Shapley’s appointment through White House channels, but Mr. Bessent was not consulted or asked for his blessing, the people with knowledge of the situation said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Mr. Bessent got Mr. Trump’s approval to unwind the decision within days of it being made, the people said. “Trust must be brought back to the I.R.S., and I am fully confident that Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender is the right man for the moment,” Mr. Bessent said in a statement Friday afternoon. Mr. Bessent said that Mr. Shapley remains an important adviser and that he and another I.R.S. critic of the Hunter Biden tax investigation, Joseph Ziegler, will be assigned to senior roles at the Treasury Department or the I.R.S. “Gary Shapley’s passion and thoughtfulness for approaching ways by which to create durable and lasting reforms at the IRS is essential to our work, and he remains among my most important senior advisors at the @USTreasury as we work together to rethink and reform the IRS,” Bessent said. “After Gary and Joseph Ziegler complete their ongoing year-long investigation, I will ensure they are both in senior government roles that will enable the results of their investigation to translate into meaningful policy changes,” he added. Trust must be brought back to the IRS, and I am fully confident that @TreasuryDepSec Michael Faulkender is the right man for the moment. Gary Shapley's passion and thoughtfulness for approaching ways by which to create durable and lasting reforms at the IRS is essential to our… — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) April 18, 2025 IRS Hunter Biden whistleblower Gary Shapley ousted as acting commissioner https://t.co/5rFVGoFDFi pic.twitter.com/12NJTJtqo6 — New York Post (@nypost) April 18, 2025 Per Axios: Trump selected former Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) to lead the agency, but he hasn’t had a Senate confirmation hearing yet. The previous interim head, Melanie Krause, resigned after the Treasury Department agreed to release immigrants’ tax data to Immigrations and Customs enforcement. The IRS has previously kept undocumented taxpayers’ returns private. Sharing this information could help the immigration enforcement agents find undocumented immigrants faster. Shapley, as a career, nonpartisan official in 2023, was one of two IRS whistleblowers in a probe into former President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Shapley alleged that the Justice Department slow-walked its tax investigation into the president’s son and gave him special treatment.

According to new research, paper receipts from major retailers in the United States contain a high level of bisphenol S (BPS). The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) “added bisphenol S (BPS) to the Proposition 65 list as a reproductive toxicant (female reproductive endpoint).” “This chemical was clearly shown to cause female reproductive toxicity,” OEHHA stated. “Some receipts reportedly have such a high level of bisphenol S that holding one for 10 seconds can cause the skin to absorb the toxic chemical and violate California’s safety threshold,” The Hill reports. Been tellin ya'll…. A new paper just came out showing holding a receipt for just 10 seconds passes enough hormone disrupting BPS into bloodstream to break california's safety standards pic.twitter.com/lTVMFLf8aQ — Carnivore Aurelius © (@AlpacaAurelius) April 18, 2025 From The Hill: The new findings are being used in legal action aimed at forcing retailers to stop using receipt paper with bisphenol S, or BPS. The Center for Environmental Health nonprofit has sent violation notices to 50 retailers — including AMC Theaters, Dollar General and Burger King — that have reportedly exceeded California’s Proposition 65 limits. Bisphenol is a class of chemicals used in a variety of consumer products, such as food packaging, fabrics, toys and cookware. The use of bisphenol A, which has also been branded as toxic, is no longer widely used, and food companies now advertise when packaging is BPA-free. BPS is added as a coating to thermal paper to develop ink on receipts. The Center for Environmental Health urges companies to use a safer alternative to BPS, such as vitamin C thermal paper. The violation notices give companies 60 days to respond by switching to paper that does not use BPS — or include a warning that alerts consumers to its toxicity. If there is no response, the nonprofit can sue the companies in a California state court under Proposition 65 and ask a judge to order the changes. High levels of toxic chemicals found in paper receipts used by US retailershttps://t.co/j3Lloqslk9 — Jeff (Gutenberg Parenthesis) Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) April 14, 2025 The Guardian reports: The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) non-profit has sent violation notices to about 50 major retailers alerting them to the exceedance of California’s Proposition 65 limits for BPS. Among the companies to which notices were sent for the allegedly illegal levels of BPS in their receipts are Burger King, Chanel, Dollar General, AMC Theaters, GameStop, Subway, Foot Locker and Ace Hardware. “[The findings were] really eye-opening for us,” Mihir Vohra, science lead at the CEH, said. “They really speak to just how high the concentrations of BPS are in these receipts.” Bisphenol is a class of chemicals used in a wide range of consumer products, such as food packaging, fabrics, toys and cookware. Regulators have largely focused on bisphenol A (BPA), which is banned in Europe for food uses because it is so toxic. Many companies have phased out BPA’s use and food companies often advertise when their packaging is BPA free. But recent research has found BPS, the alternative largely used in place of BPA, to be just as toxic. It’s linked to hormone disruption, cognitive damage, decreased sperm count, breast cancer and other health issues. Previous research has found it can be absorbed by the skin, and CEH’s new study shows how high the risk is just for brief exposures while holding a receipt. The findings are particularly concerning for cashiers and people working in retail who may handle many receipts throughout the day.