New York State Board of Regents’ Regulation Requires Private Schools to Provide Education ‘Substantially Equivalent’ to Government Schools

A new regulation announced by the New York State Board of Regents requires all of the state’s 1,800 private and religious schools to provide an education that is “substantially equivalent” to that offered by public, government-run schools.

The Board of Regents passed the new regulation last week unanimously and without debate, reported WABC.

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Representative Cohen Says Trump ‘Threatening Another Insurrection’

A U.S. Congressman from Tennessee said over the weekend that former President Donald Trump is still a threat, even though he no longer holds office.

“If indicted, Trump said there will be problems in this country ‘the likes of which we’ve never seen,'” said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) on MSNBC. “He’s threatening another insurrection and encouraging his people to be prepared to do it. He is a present and imminent danger to our democracy.”

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Commentary: Justice Department Desperate to Conceal ‘Classified’ Records

With one sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon spoke for the majority of Americans who no longer have faith in the nation’s top law enforcement agency. “It is also true, of course, that even-handed procedure does not demand unquestioning trust in the determinations of the Department of Justice,” she wrote in her September 15 order denying the government’s request to prevent a third-party review of allegedly “classified” documents seized by the FBI during the raid of Mar-a-Lago last month.

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Ohio State Board of Education Considers Resolution Against Gender Ideology

Ohio’s State Board of Education on Tuesday heard public comment on a proposed resolution treating biological sex as an “objective, scientific fact” and opposing school policies that seek to blur the lines on this subject.

Board member Brendan Shea (District 5) introduced the measure, which balks at regulations recently proposed by President Joe Biden. If finalized, the federal Department of Education rules would effectively force schools to call gender-dysphoric K-12 students by their preferred names and pronouns rather than their given names and biological pronouns. They would also require school athletic programs to assign children to teams based on avowed gender identity rather than physiological sex. 

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Arizona Officials React to August Southern Border Encounter Statistics

New southern border encounter statistics from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) revealed that officials encountered over 200,000 migrants at the border for the sixth month in a row, which Gov. Doug Ducey said is especially harsh on Arizona border towns.

“Border towns bear the weight of this record illegal immigration. Government services, hospitals and food banks are strapped. The Yuma sector had more than 24,000 migrant encounters in August – almost a quarter of the town’s population,” tweeted Ducey.

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Michigan’s Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Department Issues Order Against Flint Chemical Company

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy with backup authority from the attorney general’s office and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, issued an order Monday against Flint-based Lockhart Chemical Company.

The company must immediately cease use of its wastewater and storm water conveyance systems. Instead, Lockhart must pump the contaminated liquids and ship offsite for disposal.

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Schools Across Virginia Targeted by Fake Reports of Active Shooters on Monday and Tuesday

Over a dozen school districts across Virginia were targeted by hoax reports of active shootings or other violence on Monday and Tuesday. That’s part of a broader wave of similar hoax calls targeting schools across the U.S.

“On Monday, Virginia State Police personnel responded to assist numerous local police and sheriff’s offices with reports of active shooters on school campuses,” Virginia State Police Public Relations Director Corinne Geller told The Virginia Star. “None of the threats were deemed valid, and the state police, through collaboration with the Virginia Fusion Center, is now working with those same local law enforcement agencies to investigate the source of the threats and to determine if there is any evidence to connect them.”

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Second Wisconsin Deputy Backs Away from Barnes Endorsement

For the second time in two days an active duty deputy in Wisconsin has cleared their name of endorsement for Mandela Barnes in his race for U.S. Senate.

The first was La Crosse Sheriff’s Capt. John Siegel on Monday. He said he never endorsed Barnes and doesn’t know how he ended up on Barnes endorsement list. On Tuesday, Racine County Deputy Malik Frazier, the only other active duty deputy on the list, backed out.

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Vanderbilt’s Gender Clinic Doctor: Trans Surgeries ‘Make Money for the Hospital’

The transgender clinic at Tennessee’s Vanderbilt University in Nashville, which administers body-altering drugs and performs mutilating surgeries such as double mastectomies, is a big money maker for the hospital.

“Vanderbilt opened its trans clinic in 2018,” reported author Matt Walsh in a social media thread. “During a lecture the same year, Dr. Shayne Taylor explained how she convinced Nashville to get into the gender transition game. She emphasized that it’s a ‘big money maker,’ especially because the surgeries require a lot of ‘follow ups.’”

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Pro-Lifers Pleased with Enthusiasm at Second Annual Pennsylvania March for Life

Pennsylvanians who support legal protections for innocent life including the unborn resoundingly celebrated the enthused showing at Monday’s Pennsylvania March for Life in Harrisburg, the Keystone State’s second such annual event.

Thousands of residents marched to the Capitol Building in support of legislation to prevent abortion, an issue that has seen a resurgence of interest since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide was nullified earlier this year. Pro-abortion activists held their own rally for Democratic state Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s gubernatorial candidacy the day afterward, drawing few attendees.

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DeSantis Responds to Critics of Martha’s Vineyard Migrant Flights

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida took on critics attacking him over flying illegal immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, during a Monday night Fox News appearance.

“Sean, it’s really frustrating. You have been covering this,” DeSantis told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “Millions of people since Biden has been president illegally coming across the southern border. Did they freak out about that? No. You had migrants die in the Rio Grande, you had 50 die in Texas in a trailer because they were neglected. Was there a freak out? No, there wasn’t.”

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Youngkin Announces 2022 GO Virginia Grants

Four projects focused on business development and jobs growth won the 2022 Growth and Opportunity for Virginia (GO Virginia) grant awards totaling $1.2 million.

“GO Virginia allows us to invest in key projects that will enhance our economic growth by fostering workforce development and stimulating new business opportunities,” Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a Tuesday announcement. “These projects exemplify the innovative partnerships that GO Virginia grants were designed to promote, driving regional advancement and strengthening our Commonwealth.”

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Nancy Barto Unveils New ‘Drain the Marsh’ Campaign Against State Senate Opponent

Arizona State Sen. Nancy Barto (R-Phoenix), who is running for reelection in Legislative District (LD) 4, unveiled a new campaign against her opponent Sen. Christine Marsh (D-Phoenix), Tuesday, called ‘Drain the Marsh.’

“Whenever we’ve tried to solve an important problem, Christine Marsh is there to block it with progressive ideology,” said Barto in a press release. “We’re facing rising crime, but Christine Marsh voted against giving our police effective tools to crack down on drug dealers.”

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Kari Lake Still Waiting for Katie Hobbs to Denounce Organizations Which Oppose the Police

Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and the Arizona Police Association (APA) have received radio silence from Democrat Katie Hobbs since sending her a letter six days ago demanding she denounce her allies who support defunding the police.

“Arizona voters are finally seeing who Katie Hobbs really is – a radical BLM activist who signs pledges denouncing law enforcement and fraternizes with dangerous ‘defund the police’ activists on the Left. Maybe that’s why she’s so afraid to share a debate stage with me, because she’ll be forced to defend her extreme anti-public safety positions,” Lake said in a press release.

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Kari Lake Launches ‘Ask Me Anything’ Tour After Hobbs’ Refusal to Debate

Arizona’s Republican gubernatorial nominee says she will conduct a wide-ranging tour to answer voters’ questions while her Democrat opponent remains noticeably absent from the campaign trail. 

Kari Lake said in a video posted to her Twitter account that she is announcing an “Ask Me Anything” tour in response to Secretary of State Katie Hobbs’s refusal to share a stage with her, escalating what has been a one-sided war in that arena. 

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New Super PAC-Funded Ads Arrive to Revive Blake Masters’ Campaign Against Senator Mark Kelly

As Blake Masters pulls to within striking distance of incumbent U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), according to new polling by Trafalgar Group, the Frontiers of Freedom Action (FFA) Super PAC has jumped in to the Arizona media market to buy ads focused on opponent Kelly’s voting record.

The Arizona Sun Times asked Frontiers of Freedom President George Landrith, who also heads the FFA, why he thought the race was still winnable after Masters lost significant financial support. Landrith pointed to the gubernatorial race in New Jersey last year, where the Republican candidate, Jack Ciattarelli, was also a little-known newcomer like Masters, and written off by some in the Republican Party. Ciattarelli surprised everyone, losing by only 3.1 points in a very blue state.

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Commentary: Ohio Issue 1 ‘Strikes a Balance Between the Competing Interests Behind the Granting of Bail’

On November 8, 2022, Ohio voters will have the opportunity to amend the Ohio Constitution in a way that supports and promotes public safety. Issue 1, the “Ohio Determining Bail Amount Based on Public Safety Amendment” will add the following language to the Constitution: “When determining the amount of bail, the court shall consider public safety, including the seriousness of the offense, and a person’s criminal record, the likelihood a person will return to court, and any other factor the general assembly may prescribe.” The proposed amendment strikes a balance between the competing interests behind the granting of bail: preserving the accused’s presumption of innocence against the community’s need for public safety.

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Seven Midwest States Enter Hydrogen Coalition

Seven Midwest states entered a coalition to pursue clean hydrogen development as an alternative to gas and diesel fuel.

The governors of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin signed onto the Midwest Hydrogen Coalition. The coalition will accelerate clean hydrogen development, from production and supply chain to distribution in agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and other industries.

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Migrants Whom DeSantis Flew to Martha’s Vineyard File Class Action Suit Against Him

Some of the migrants whom Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis flew to Martha’s Vineyard have filed a lawsuit against him and state officials.

These migrants allege that the group boarded the planes under false pretenses. The governor sent two planes of illegal migrants to upper crust liberal enclave Martha’s Vineyard late last week, prompting horror from the area’s residents and outrage from Democratic politicians. Authorities promptly relocated the migrants from the wealthy area to a military base near Cape Cod.

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Music Spotlight: AmericanaFest

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – To be honest, I am overwhelmed by the number of talented artists who perform daily in Nashville. I find I must carefully schedule who I see and what I write about.

A genre of music that often gets overlooked by mainstream media is Americana. Each September the best of the best gather in Nashville with free or mostly free shows all over the city, with the highlight being the Americana Music Awards.

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Federal Appeals Court Reverses Ruling on January 6 Subpoena to RNC, Dismisses Case

A federal appeals court has reversed a lower court ruling ordering the Republican National Committee to comply with a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee, poking the Democrat-led investigation for vacillating on key issues and acknowledging there were “important and unsettled constitutional questions” about whether the panel is lawfully constituted.

The U.S. Circuit Court for Appeals or the District of Columbia said it was dismissing the case because the Jan. 6 committee withdrew the subpoena to the RNC seeking records of its dealings with a digital fund-raising vendor Salesforce.

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TikTok Lawyer Says Left-Wing Nonprofit Offered Him $400 to Post Propaganda About Trump and January 6

An attorney with a popular TikTok account has exposed a corrupt left-wing influence operation that pays social media personalities to post disinformation about former president Donald Trump and January 6.

Atlanta-based attorney Preston Moore claimed on Saturday that he was offered $400 by the nonprofit “Good Information Foundation” to post manipulative “propaganda” ahead of the 2022 mid term elections.

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Fetterman Campaign Says Nominee’s Calls to ‘Free’ Second-Degree Murderers ‘Taken Out of Context’

The campaign for Pennsylvania Democrat Senate nominee John Fetterman on Tuesday walked back the candidate’s apparent call to release all second-degree murderers with life sentences. 

A spokesperson for Fetterman’s campaign told Fox News that the lieutenant governor’s comments “are being taken out of context,” and the nominee does not support freeing all convicts serving life without parole for second-degree murder.

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Harvard Orders Students to Use Correct Pronouns, Says Wrong Pronouns Constitute ‘Abuse’

One of the nation’s most prestigious universities is ordering students to attend mandatory training on using “correct” pronouns for their fellow students, warning that using their real pronouns may constitute “abuse” and could lead to disciplinary action.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, the Ivy League school Harvard University now requires all students to attend mandatory Title IX training sessions. At these sessions, they are told, among other things, that “using the wrong pronouns” for students who believe they are a different gender constitutes “abuse,” and that “any words used to lower a person’s self-worth” are “verbal abuse.”

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Tennessee Adjusts Online Sportsbook Accounting Requirements, Leading to Increase in Taxes Collected on Earnings

After Executive Director Mary Beth Thomas and the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council took over the management of online sports betting in the state to start 2022, Thomas vowed to review how sportsbooks were reporting their earnings and therefore paying taxes.

That accounting review led to changes, starting July 1, in how those earnings are reported and how the taxes are calculated. And, while the changes are subtle, they already are making a difference in Tennessee’s bottom line.

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Clinton, Obama Economist Says U.S. ‘Has a Serious Inflation Problem’

Two top economists from Democratic presidential administrations are raising the alarm about inflation this week even as the Biden administration touts its progress on the issue.

Lawrence Summers, who served as Secretary of the Treasury for President Bill Clinton and Director of National Economic Council for President Obama, pointed to the latest consumer price inflation data, saying the U.S. “has a serious inflation problem.”

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New Survey: Biden’s Approval Rating Sits at 45 Percent

President Biden’s job approval rating has increased to 45%, compared to its low of 36% in July, but concerns about his handling of the economy persist, according to a new survey.

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey released Thursday shows Biden’s increase appears due in large part to a rebound in support from fellow Democrats – less than two months before the November midterm elections.

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Planned Parenthood 2021 Annual Report: 383,460 Abortions – Highest Number Yet Reported

Planned Parenthood released its 2020-2021 annual report that showed, despite the COVID pandemic, the organization performed 383,460 abortions – the highest number of abortions it has yet reported – and received an increase of $15.3 million in taxpayer funding from the previous year.

“Planned Parenthood health centers are proud to provide abortion,” the organization declared in its latest annual report

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Commentary: (Not) Sorry Democrats, Abortion Won’t Save You

The desperate attempts by the White House, congressional Democrats, and the corporate media to refocus voter attention on abortion rather than inflation are failing. Most reputable polls show that the electorate is far more concerned about mismanagement of the economy by President Biden and his collaborators in Congress than about threats to reproductive rights posed by “MAGA Republicans.” Contrary to Democratic hopes, November won’t be about abortion vs. inflation. The midterms will be a referendum on Biden’s performance, particularly as it affects inflation.

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Rubio Decries California’s Ban on Fossil-Fueled Car Sales

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio excoriated California’s recent move to ban the sale of fossil-fueled cars by 2035.

The state’s Air Resources Board approved in late August rules that would require the state to transition to selling only electric vehicles by the deadline and set interim targets for EV sales quotas ahead of the final ban. At present, just 1% of cars on the state’s roads are emissions-free vehicles. The ban does not apply to any pre-existing fossil-fueled vehicles.

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Wisconsin Law Enforcement Opposes Proposed Madison Tear Gas Ban

Nearly every single sheriff in the state of Wisconsin, along with the state’s police officers’ association, and the chiefs of police in Dane County are united in their opposition to a plan that would all but ban tear gas and pepper spray in the city of Madison.

Madison’s city council is set to vote on a proposed ordinance that would limit the use of tear gas, pepper spray, or other crowd control to only “circumstances in which urgent and imminent physical harm to the public or law enforcement officers is threatened or when significant property damage exists and escalation of property damage is threatened.”

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Hagerty, Blackburn Introduce ‘Restoring Law and Order Act’

Tennessee’s two U.S. Senators have introduced legislation that would speed up the process of analyzing sexual assault kits after Memphis teacher Eliza Fletcher was abducted and killed by a habitual offender two weeks ago. 

“United States Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced the Restoring Law and Order Act in response to the violence plaguing communities across America,” according to a joint press release. “Compared to mid-2019, America’s largest cities have seen a 50% increase in homicides and a 36% increase in aggravated assaults. In Tennessee, Memphis has experienced a series of shockingly violent crimes.”

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Legal Group Looks to Pressure Schools into Enforcing Trans Agenda

A pro-LGBT legal group based in St. Paul has released a “public education toolkit” to pressure schools into promoting transgender ideology.

In a September 12 news release, Gender Justice announced its “Cool 4 School” initiative to “inform students, their families, and their schools about legal protections for transgender, non-binary, two-spirit and other gender non-conforming students returning to Minnesota classrooms.”

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Some Michigan Schools Keep Mum on COVID Relief Spending

Theoretically, taxpayers should be able to see how Michigan schools are spending $5.7 billion of taxpayer money to recover from COVID-19-related learning loss.

But an investigation by The Center Square through more than 80 records requests to schools statewide shows how difficult it can be to obtain itemized COVID spending records. Many schools never responded to an initial Freedom of Information Act request.

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Left Compares Republicans to Nazis in Wake of Trump Ohio Appearance

In the two days following former President Donald Trump’s appearance in Youngstown, Ohio on Saturday in support of Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance, numerous high-profile leftist commentators suggested attendees gave Trump the Nazi salute when they pointed their index fingers outward in solidarity during his speech.

The gesture doesn’t very closely resemble the Sieg Heil gesture that German fascists made to signal adherence to Adolph Hitler in the 1930s and 40s, in which saluters held all their right-hand fingers side-by-side. Progressive pundits nonetheless exclaimed, with varied degrees of self-assurance, that Trump supporters were adverting to either Naziism or the conspiracy-trafficking QAnon movement or both.

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