About 442,196 unemployment claimants saw their pandemic unemployment assistance benefits end on Sept. 4, but it’s unclear if that will ease Michigan’s labor shortage.
The federal Pandemic Unemployment plus regular unemployment benefits let recipients receive up to $662 weekly.
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Voting in Virginia begins in less than two weeks, and abortion law is taking center stage in Virginia’s statewide races. Democratic candidates are highlighting a controversial Texas law as an example of what Republicans would push for, while Republicans point to a late-term abortion bill that Virginia Democrats pushed for in 2019. On Friday, GOP lieutenant governor candidate Winsome Sears said on Newsmax that she would support a heartbeat bill in Virginia.
Sears said, “Here’s the thing: when did it become the wrong thing for us to support the babies in the womb?”
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The Center for Union Facts on Tuesday launched a new campaign to question the actions of teachers’ unions, specifically during the coronavirus pandemic.
The organization highlights how many of the large teacher unions fought to keep schools closed and remain in an online learning environment, a move that seemingly hurt students’ learning.
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The nation’s largest LGBTQ rights advocacy group has fired its president for advising Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on the #METOO allegations against the governor.
The two Human Rights Campaign (HRC) boards terminated Alphonso David “for cause” Monday evening, The New York Times reported. David called his termination unjust in a Monday evening statement and accused the HRC board of lying to him about its investigation.
“As a black, gay man who has spent his whole life fighting for civil and human rights, they cannot shut me up,” he said. “Expect a legal challenge.”
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Just three weeks after Gov. Doug Ducey announced that school districts issuing mask mandates or requiring vaccinated students to quarantine would be penalized by diverting money to students to use as school vouchers to attend elsewhere, demand has exceeded the $20 million he allotted by twice the amount. Ducey announced on August 17 that money the state received from the federal government through the pandemic-generated American Rescue Plan to boost per-pupil spending would not go to any of those schools.
Ducey made the announcement immediately following a demand on August 11 from Republican state legislators to take action regarding those school districts. They suggested that Ducey could withhold federal funds and offer vouchers, which he did, but he did not go so far as following their recommendation of suing the school districts.
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A complaint has been filed against Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-23) by the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT). The complaint is calling on the Office of Congressional Ethics to launch an investigation into Wasserman Schultz “for violating federal law and House ethics rules.”
The complaint alleges Wasserman Schultz failed to disclose financial transactions on time, along with a dependent child’s financial transactions.
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Sept. 10 meeting of the Ohio Republican Party’s State Central Committee offers the first opportunity for reform-minded members to press their agenda for changes in the governance and policies of the GOP ahead of the 2022 election for five statewide officeholders and the congressional mid-terms.
Whether the voices for reform first heard in a series of stories The Ohio Star published in late July and early August carry the day at the meeting depends upon the willingness of central committee members on the sideline to consider whether to follow the bylaws of the organization representing nearly 2 million Ohio voters registered as Republicans or falling in line behind GOP Chairman Bob Paduchik.
A Clarke County School Board member said Georgians exaggerate the influence of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and that no one in her school district teaches it as the subject is too complex for K-12 public schools. That board member, Patricia Yager, talked to The Georgia Star News on Tuesday.
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Some parents are protesting the Fairfax County Public Schools COVID-19 vaccine mandate for student athletes. On Tuesday afternoon, a group of a little more than 20 parents protested outside the FCPS Gatehouse Administration Center. FCPS parent Missy Pratt began organizing the protest after Braband’s announcement. Pratt said she’s focused on the vaccine mandate, but she’s also opposed to mask mandates.
“‘No vax, no mask, we push back,’ that was our chant all day long at the rally,” Pratt told The Virginia Star
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Former President Trump on Tuesday endorsed GOP candidate Kristina Karamo in her campaign for Michigan Secretary of State.
Karamo, an educator, is running for the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for the state’s top election post.
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After a legal challenge, a ballot question on Minneapolis’ November election ballot has be struck down in court.
“Tuesday morning, a Hennepin County judge tossed the initially approved language by the Minneapolis City Council to be on the November ballot regarding the public safety charter amendment,” KTSP said.
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Funding for military projects out of Eglin Air Force Base in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, may get a boost after a bill by the U.S. House Armed Services Committee (USASC) was approved on Friday and sent to the House floor.
After applauding the passage of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a press release by Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01) – member of the USASC – says that the proposal includes a $600 million in defense spending, with $359 million being construction projects.
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Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday endorsed Michigan State Representative Steve Carra (R-Three Rivers) in his campaign to represent Michigan’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Carra has launched a GOP primary challenge against Representative Fred Upton (R-MI-06), one of the ten lawmakers in the House to vote to impeach Trump.
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Wisconsin Representative Mike Gallagher (R-08-WI) wrote a letter to Vice Admiral John Nowell opposing the use of photographs when making decisions about promotions in the Navy. Gallagher and five other members of Congress wrote the letter because he believes that basing a decision about giving a naval officer a promotion on their headshot is not a good criteria.
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Bishop Sycamore is not a real high school.
That has now been confirmed by the “school’s” football coach, Tyren Jackson, after a wild saga that has played out over a number of weeks.
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The Daily Caller News Foundation interviewed Iranian-Christian Dimis Christophy, a Loudoun County, Virginia parent who unleashed on his child’s woke public school board during a meeting on August 10th. TRANSCRIPT: Christophy: Just to clear up, I know, King and Queen are not pronouns. I get it. Okay. There’s a lot of people that go, they’re not pronouns. I know that. But you have to realize if because it’s not just pronouns. People are coming out telling me, hey I’m a Mermaid. I’m a cat. I’m a dog. I’m this, I’m that. Who says there’s a limitation on the pronouns at this point or what to be called? So I was like, hey, if that’s what you’re going to do, this is how you’re going to address my kids. And this is how you’re going to address me if you’re hearing my speech. And I said these are not your children. These are my children. My kids don’t go to school to sit in a classroom and the teacher be their parents. That’s not their job. And now this was a month ago, almost a month ago. And now we’re seeing stuff coming out on video. You have an Antifa…
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Test scores of Michigan students fell dramatically after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) responded to the coronavirus pandemic by banning in-person learning for much of last school year.
Whitmer sided with union bosses in keeping schools closed for much of 2020, but then recommending reopening in 2021, only to suggest they go virtual again after spring break, according to ABC 13. Test results show the reversals and upheaval affected student performance:
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A trial over whether teachers will be required to use their students’ preferred gender pronouns will have to wait for now.
“A Virginia judge postponed Tuesday a trial in a lawsuit brought by three teachers challenging Loudoun County Public Schools’ policy requiring staff to use transgender students’ chosen pronouns,” The Washington Times reported. “Loudoun County Circuit Judge James E. Plowman Jr. decided to delay the trial after he granted a motion last week to let two of the teachers join the lawsuit and allow their amended complaint. He has not yet set a new date for the trial.”
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Governor Tim Walz (D) was driven from a Democrat fundraising event in Alexandria, Minnesota by Line 3 protesters just minutes into his speech. Several protesters marched into the outdoor area where the event was taking place and began shouting at Walz while he made some introductory remarks.
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Twitter on Tuesday suspended the official press account of Ohio GOP Senate candidate J.D. Vance.
Vance, using his primary account, alleged that Twitter provided no warning or explanation as to why the account was disabled.
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The former Minnesota GOP chair, Jennifer Carnahan, hinted at the possibility of a gubernatorial bid in a Facebook post. Carnahan resigned about a month ago after allegations surfaced about harassment, abuse, and ties to a child sex trafficker.
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A Wisconsin candidate for U.S. Senate was charged with theft and fraud after violating campaign finance laws. Chantia Lewis, a current Milwaukee city council member, allegedly used over $21,000 improperly. As was reported by the Houston Chronicle, Lewis used over $21,000 of campaign finances on “car payments, family trips, a worship conference and other personal expenses.” The Milwaukee county attorney’s office filed a total of four felonies and one misdemeanor against her.
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The letters, spearheaded by Second Amendment advocate and Chair of the House Criminal Justice Committee Representative Clay Doggett (R-Pulaski), state that the ATF rule changes would “violate state and federal Second Amendment rights and arbitrarily transform thousands of law-abiding Tennesseans into felons.”
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A male Afghan refugee who was departing the Ramstein Air Base in Germany for the United States was detained Monday after it was discovered during pre-flight screening that he had blasting caps and other explosives materials in his carry-on luggage, three U.S. officials told Just the News.
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The statue Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, will be taken down Wednesday, amid calls that escalated during last summer’s social justice protests that monuments and other memorials to the South’s Confederate leaders honor the country’s racist history.
The towering Lee statue was erected over 130 years ago.
Numerous other Confederate symbols across the South have already been removed, but largely without public notice, to avoid problems.
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While the state of California and multiple counties continue to settle with churches after imposing unconstitutional restrictions against them, one county is expanding its efforts to pursue damages against a church, claiming their worship services are a public nuisance.
In its latest request, filed Aug. 31, Calvary Chapel has asked the court to dismiss the public nuisance claim along with the $2.8 million in fines levied against it, arguing the county has not provided any evidence to support the accusation that the church has caused any harm to the public.
The battle between the county and the church began in late spring 2020 after the state and county encouraged residents to protest the death of George Floyd without numerical limitations or public health restrictions, even as the same authorities imposed severe constraints on houses of worship.
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The 911 Event Nashville announced Saturday that Eric Trump will join the already star-studded commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the deadliest terror attack in the history of the United States which took the lives of 2,977 men, women and children in New York City, Arlington, Virginia and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The announcement about Trump joining the event lineup was made to attendees of the annual fundraiser for the Tennessee Firearms Association held Saturday at the Wilson County Fairgrounds in Lebanon and on the 911 event’s website.
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Comedians like Lenny Bruce once risked jail time to slam the status quo. Rockers routinely mock authority, like Green Day’s Grammy-winning screed against President George W. Bush, “American Idiot.”
Now, as vaccine mandates spring up across the country those rebellious groups are mostly silent about rules insisting citizens get the jab before resuming normal life.
A few, like Dee Snider, are cheering on the regulations.
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Impeach Biden, court martial the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Only one man lost his job over Afghanistan. Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller challenged Biden’s incompetent and spineless Joint Chiefs of Staff to take responsibility for their dereliction of duty that led directly to the catastrophe in Afghanistan. Taking responsibility meant resigning. Biden’s military men immediately smeared him as mentally ill and forced him out of the Marines.
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It’s unclear how many Afghan refugees arrived in the U.S. recently, though they will mostly stay at military bases as they undergo immigration proceedings, a senior Biden administration official said during a press call last week.
Around 20,000 Afghan refugees now stay at eight military bases across the continental U.S., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said on Wednesday. The Biden administration warned nine nonprofit organizations contracted with the State Department that work with refugees to prepare for up to 50,000 Afghans to arrive in the U.S. without visas and in need of resettlement, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
“After getting tested (for COVID-19) at the airport, American citizens and LPRs (legal permanent residents) can head to their onward destination — home — while others — everyone else heads to those military bases I mentioned before,” the senior official said during a press call on Aug. 24. “There, they receive a full medical screening, and they receive a variety of healthcare services and assistance in applying for things like work authorizations, before moving on to their next destination.”
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Several major tech companies spoke out against the Texas Heartbeat Act, taking down pro-life websites and funding out-of-state abortions.
The “Texas Heartbeat Act” enacted May 19, prohibits abortions after the unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable, with exceptions for medical emergencies. The law includes a provision providing a civil cause of action to sue a person who “knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion,” and may result in a plaintiff receiving $10,000 or more for each abortion found to be in violation of the law.
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San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone emphasized Sunday that Catholics have a duty to challenge pro-abortion politicians like President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Late Wednesday night, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to deny abortion providers’ requests to block Texas’ new law banning abortion after 6 weeks. Both Biden and Pelosi issued statements condemning the Supreme Court ruling and the Texas law and promising to take action to reverse the pro-life legislation.
“This summer, we provoked an uproar by discussing whether public officials who support abortion should receive the sacrament of the Eucharist,” Cordileone wrote in a Washington Post op-ed. “We were accused of inappropriately injecting religion into politics, of butting in where we didn’t belong.”
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U.S. officials are reportedly looking into allegations that older men who recently evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, are sexually abusing young girls whom they claim are their “brides.”
The State Department is reportedly seeking “urgent guidance” from other agencies on how to deal with the troubling issue, after it emerged at intake centers in the United States and abroad.
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Faculty and graduate students at Colorado University – Boulder were recently encouraged to reject “neoliberal” concepts of time, as well as to avoid “cultural norms of white supremacy” like “sense of urgency” and “individualism” in their classrooms.
The university’s Equitable Teaching Conference, hosted by the University’s Center for Teaching and Learning, convened instructors and graduate students for virtual sessions on how to use “equity-minded practices” in the classroom. Attendance at the conference was entirely voluntary; faculty and instructors were not required to participate.
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Military officers allegedly arrested the president of Guinea and threw out the country’s constitution on Sunday, CNN reported.
“We will no longer entrust politics to a man. We will entrust it to the people. We come only for that; it is the duty of a soldier, to save the country,” Guinean army officer Mamady Doumbouya said in a statement broadcasted Sunday, CNN reported.
The West African government, constitution and all other institutions are now dissolved, and every Guinean land and air border is closed to travel, Doumbouya said.
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The University of Pittsburgh has posted a job listing for an assistant professor of “Structural Racism, Oppression, and Black Political Experiences” as part of a larger initiative to hire academics who work on issues of equity and inclusion.
The job listing states that “desirable research and teaching interests include, but are not limited to: race and ethnic politics, identity, democratic behavior, activism and collective action, representation, urban or local governance, health and healthcare policy, technology policy or algorithmic bias, environmental justice, ethnic or international conflict, migration, post-colonialism/post-imperialism.”
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by Cole Lauterbach Afghan refugees looking to resettle in the U.S. are being discouraged from picking California as a destination, despite the state having significant Afghan population centers. In the days after the U.S. announced it would resettle refugees fleeing a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, governors across the country made statements welcoming refugees. “We’re a state of refuge,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Aug. 16 during a news conference. “I’m proud of the fact that, over the last decade, California’s taken in more refugees than any other state in America, and I’m proud of the fact a disproportionate number of Afghani refugees are here in Northern California, not just here in the south, but also up in Sacramento County.” Newsom said the state already was working with nonprofit organizations to “make sure that they feel welcome and celebrated as members of our community.” As much as the state’s welcome mat is rolled out, refugees working with the U.S. Department of State won’t generally get a federal blessing to make the Golden State their new home. The department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs listed the cities it said are best suited for refugees to thrive. Despite significant Afghan population centers in Sacramento and…
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After former President Donald J. Trump attempted to ban TikTok, a popular video streaming social network, the Chinese-owned company has overtaken Google-owned YouTube in popularity in the United States.
“App users in the UK and US are spending more time on TikTok than on YouTube, a new report suggests,” BBC reported. “Data from app monitoring firm App Annie indicates that average time per user spent on the apps is higher for TikTok, indicating high levels of engagement.”
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While the unemployment rate for Americans dropped in August, there is a political time bomb buried in the statistics for President Joe Biden and a Democratic Party increasingly focused on equity: black joblessness shot up significantly.
In other words, the president who fondly boasts of a domestic policy promising to leave nobody behind has an economic recovery that is leaving a key Democratic constituency in worse shape.
“The rise in black unemployment in August is certainly troubling, considering their unemployment rates were already much higher than any other group,” Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said on Twitter.
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The two leading European health agencies determined Thursday that COVID-19 booster shots are not necessary for fully vaccinated individuals who do not have compromised immune systems.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Medicines Agency issued a statement saying the current priority should be vaccinating all eligible individuals. Booster shots should be considered only for those with compromised immune systems.
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Are you vaccinated against COVID-19? The answer to that question may determine how the American legal system treats you, whether an inmate, party or even lawyer.
From custody fights and bail conditions to courthouse access and grooming privileges, vaccination status is playing an outsized role in courts and jails nationwide.
An Illinois judge provoked outrage a month ago by revoking a divorced mother’s visitation rights to her 11-year-old son after Rebecca Firlit told him she couldn’t get vaccinated because of adverse reactions.
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This week’s Golden Horseshoe goes to the USDA for $50 million in “climate smart agriculture” grants the department will award preferentially in the name of “racial equity and justice” to “socially disadvantaged” racial and ethnic classes of farmers and ranchers, as well as to “historically underserved producers.”
Despite a recent court ruling against the department for a race-based loan forgiveness program, the USDA posted notice on Aug. 25 of a funding opportunity for a new program involving such preferences, Conservation Outreach: Racial Equity and Justice Conservation Cooperative Agreements.”
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Jacob Chansley, arguably the most iconic figure of the January 6 protest at the U.S. Capitol, today pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding.
Chansley, 33, turned himself in to law enforcement and was arrested on January 9. A grand jury indicted Chansley two days later on six nonviolent counts including obstruction, civil disorder, and “parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.” The remaining counts will be dropped.
Judge Royce Lamberth accepted Chansely’s plea agreement with Joe Biden’s Justice Department, which continues to arrest and charge Americans for even minor involvement in the Capitol protest. Nearly 200 defendants face the obstruction charge, a felony added to mostly misdemeanor cases. (I explained the charge here in March.)
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President Joe Biden said Friday that though he respects Americans who believe life begins at conception, he does not agree with them.
The president discussed Texas’ Heartbeat Act, which the Supreme Court declined to block earlier this week, Friday morning with reporters. The law bans abortion after six weeks and allows “any person” to sue doctors, abortion clinics, or anyone who “knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion.”
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Professors at Southwest Minnesota State University received sample syllabus statement from the dean of the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences saying that unvaccinated students who miss class due to a required quarantine “may not be considered” for an excused absence.
Furthermore, the statement allows professors to create different standards for vaccinated and unvaccinated students.
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Georgia Governor Brian Kemp will spend $5.8 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds — taxpayer money — on the state’s tourism industry. This, according to an emailed press release late last week.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said last week he could see himself supporting Texas-style abortion legislation. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a “heartbeat bill” banning abortions as early as six weeks, which is considered the time when a fetus develops a heartbeat and can be heard through an ultrasound.
The Texas bill, SB 8, officially came into effect on September 1 after the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) denied an appeal from abortion providers.
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On Friday, September 3rd, the Legislative Budget Commission accepted a report that indicated Florida’s general revenue collections are projected to be above the pre-pandemic forecasted levels for Fiscal Year 2021-22 and Fiscal Year 2022-23.
Also, revenue collections are expected to increase approximately four percent per year throughout the forecast period.
Speaking Friday at the Joint Legislative Budget Commission, House budget leader Jay Trumbull credited Florida’s swift reopening and a history of prudent budgeting for getting the state’s finances back on track — and even above pre-pandemic estimates. Trumbull, a Panama City Republican who is co-chair of the Joint Legislative Budget Commission, said the report indicates “the state’s budget is in great shape.”
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Ohio Senate GOP contender J.D. Vance on Saturday described that he is worried about a possible terrorist attack, after President Joe Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Speaking with Matthew Boyle on Breitbart News Saturday, Vance detailed that the Afghan crisis, paired with the surge of migrants at the U.S. Southern border, could create an “opportunity for terrorists.”
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Left-wing news website editor Susan Demas harshly criticized Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), accusing her of going weak after her refusal to issue a new school mask mandate.
Whitmer has repeatedly claimed she is “following the science” during the coronavirus pandemic, but several of her advisers have recently said their recommendations were to require universal masking in schools and the governor rejected that advice.
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