Federal Judge Blocks Biden’s ‘Unconstitutional’ Student Loan Forgiveness Plan

A Texas federal judge blocked President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program on Thursday, calling it an “unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s legislative power.”

U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman ruled that the Department of Education’s student loan forgiveness program is illegal following a lawsuit by the Job Creators Network Foundation, which argued the program violated federal procedures because borrowers were not able to comment on the program. The student debt relief program unveiled in August would cancel $10,000 worth of student debt to those making under $125,000 per year.

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Musk Tells Twitter Staff ‘Bankruptcy Isn’t Out of the Question’ as Executives Leave over Privacy Concerns: Report

At an all hands meeting with Twitter employees following the departure of several top executives over user privacy concerns, CEO Elon Musk told employees that he was not sure of the company’s financial prospects, saying that “bankruptcy isn’t out of the question,” according to multiple reports.

At the same meeting, Musk also told employees that if they can “physically make it to an office and you don’t show up, resignation accepted,” Zoë Schiffer, the managing editor of tech newsletter Platformer, alleged in a thread on Twitter Thursday afternoon. The news comes after reports that a variety of high-level executives, including Chief Privacy Officer Damien Kieran, Chief Information Security Officer Lea Kissner — who also confirmed her departure in a Thursday tweet — and Chief Compliance Officer Marianne Fogarty all resigned Thursday in response to concerns that Musk was sacrificing user’s data security for profits, according to The Verge, citing anonymous sources and the company’s internal messages.

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Woman Sues Hospital That Allegedly Gave Her Mastectomy, Testosterone as a Child

A young woman is suing Kaiser Permanente over cross-sex medical interventions allegedly she received there as a minor, including a double mastectomy and cross-sex hormones, according to her attorneys.

Chloe Cole went on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones and received a double mastectomy to remove her breasts between ages 13 to 17 before she stopped identifying as transgender, according to her attorneys. Cole’s lawsuit alleges that Kaiser Permanente falsely told her and her parents she was at high risk for suicide if she didn’t socially and medically transition to the opposite sex; she is seeking damages for oppression, malice and fraud.

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Calls Emerge for Maricopa County Officials to Resign or Be Recalled After Election Problems

Activists are calling for resignations and recalls as Arizonans – along with the nation – await Maricopa County election officials’ announcements of the definitive results from Tuesday’s 2022 general election.

The state’s most populous county said that 30 percent of voting machine tabulation problems, causing lines of up to two hours in places. Maricopa County Member-at-Large Brian Ference says wants Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer and Bill Gates, chair of the Maricopa County Supervisors, to resign. Robert Canterbury, who unsuccessfully ran against Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman in 2020, is considering starting a recall against Gates, prompting State Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward to respond, “Let me know how I can help.”

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Commentary: A Post-Election Reflection

I am an American, but I haven’t set foot in the states for years. Yes, my daily Internet access provides me with the illusion that I’m in touch with life back home and that I know how people are thinking and feeling. But I can’t really be sure at all that I’m getting the right bead on things. 

So when a great many of the American political commentators and podcasters whom I most respect predicted a “red wave” or even a “red tsunami” on Election Day, I thought: Well, I hope so. How could I demur? After all, they’re at the center of the action. I’m not. 

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Governor Pledges Fiscal Responsibility in Connecticut Democrats’ Trifecta

Reelected Connecticut Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont on Wednesday pledged fiscal responsibility for the coming four years in Hartford.

“With a lot of edging and hedging about what we do in terms of fiscal guardrails that help get this state back on track when it comes to getting our fiscal house in order, I call them the Fonfara Rules coming out in 2017,” Lamont said. “Basically, it says you are not going to spend more than what you can count on in terms of revenues.

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After Virginia Lieutenant Governor’s Remarks, Trump Takes Dig at Youngkin: ‘Couldn’t Have Won without Me’

Former President Donald Trump on Friday took a sly but pointed dig at Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, one day after Youngkin’s running mate suggested the Republican party should move on from Trump himself. 

The former president took to Truth Social on Friday morning and claimed in his usual freewheeling style that Youngkin’s historic upset in the Virginia gubernatorial race last year was thanks to Trump’s support.

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New Legislative Majorities Likely Put Target on Back of Right-to-Work

With control of the state legislature and Governor’s office for the first time since 1983, the Democrats will likely try to repeal the state’s right-to-work law, the signature accomplishment of Michigan’s Republican party.

In January 2019, the Michigan House Dems introduced two bills to repeal the right-to-work law. If a current effort is successful, it would only impact union members in the private sector. That’s because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2018 in the Janus decision that public sector unions can’t require non-members to pay agency fees. The Supreme Court ruled the Constitution prohibits it.

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Georgia Awards $39.4 Million in Grants to Courts to Clear Up COVID-Related Case Backlogs

The state has awarded $39.4 million in grants aimed at helping more than three dozen judicial circuits to clear case backlogs.

The Judicial Council of Georgia Ad Hoc Committee announced the grants, funded by federal American Rescue Plan money, to circuits that applied. These awards for the 2023 calendar year are part of the Judicial Council’s ARPA grant program’s second year.

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Analysis: Herschel Walker’s Pro-Life Stance Points to His Victory in the Georgia Runoff

Candidates at the state level embracing the pro-life cause were re-elected in the midterms this week, an outcome that points to the anticipated success of Georgia GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker in his runoff election against anti-life Democrat Senator Raphael Warnock.

The Walker-Warnock December 6 runoff could determine whether Republicans, most of whom are pro-life, take control of the Senate from Democrats, almost all of whom support Senator Richard Blumenthal’s (D-CT) legislation that would embed abortion on demand, at any time during pregnancy, into federal law, and make invalid most individual state pro-life laws.

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Mainstream Media Outlets Project Democrat Wins in Two Arizona Races as 390,000 Ballots Remain Uncounted

Maricopa County continues to drop nightly ballot dumps, with Friday’s results adding another 74,000 votes to the total, allegedly including ballots dropped off on Election Day. Despite predictions that tonight’s dump would swing in Republicans’ favor, Democrats cling to a lead across the significant races.

“They want you to be demoralized. There’s no reason to be. Our path to victory lies in the overwhelmingly red votes that Maricopa County either hasn’t counted or has deliberately chosen not to release. Hold the line,” said the campaign of Republican Gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake.

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Virginia Department of Education Announces $12 Million in School Security Equipment Grants

Virginia’s schools will get $12 million from the commonwealth’s School Security Equipment Grant program; the money will go to schools in 90 divisions to help purchase security systems including surveillance cameras, two-way radios, visitor ID badges, security card access systems, and radios for buses.

“The systems and equipment purchased through these grants will help school divisions control access to school buildings, respond quickly to emergencies and maintain orderly learning environments for students,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow said in a Thursday Virginia Department of Education announcement. “Every student and every teacher should feel safe in their classrooms, during school activities and when traveling to and from school. In many cases, the equipment purchased addresses vulnerabilities identified in annual school security audits.”

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New Arizona Senate Republicans Appointed to Serve as Majority Caucus Leaders

The Arizona State Senate Republicans have announced new leaders who will serve the majority caucus in the next legislative session, with Senator Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) taking the reigns as Senate President.

“Senator Petersen is a third-generation Arizonan and has worked in the real estate industry for more than two decades. His duties as Senate President will include being the primary leader of the Senate, presiding over legislative sessions and ensuring senators abide by procedural rules,” as stated in a press release from the Senate Republicans.

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Democrats Flip Several State Legislatures

Adding to the list of disappointments for the GOP in the 2022 midterm elections, Democrats appear to have mostly made gains in state legislative chambers across the country, as well as fending off Republican challengers to several key swing state governors.

According to Axios, Democrats are currently fighting to hold both state houses in Nevada; if they manage to do so, it will mark the first time that the presidential party has not lost any state legislative chambers in a midterm election since 1934.

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Kevin McCarthy May Not Have the Votes to Become Speaker

In the aftermath of the disappointing 2022 midterm election results, conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives have signaled that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) may not have the support he needs to become the next Speaker of the House.

As reported by The Hill, some Republicans have asked that the party’s closed-door leadership election be delayed while the results of the outstanding races come in.

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CIA Director’s Former Think Tank Hired Experts from Nonprofits Controlled by Chinese Spy Agencies

An elite Washington, D.C., think tank has employed individuals who’ve worked for front groups controlled by Chinese spy agencies, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation found.

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has employed over a dozen individuals who’ve worked in a range of capacities at China-based nonprofits set up or co-opted by Chinese intelligence agencies, including the Ministry of State Security (MSS) and the intel arm of the People’s Liberation Army.

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Jamie O’Neal Releases Debut Holiday Album ‘Spirit & Joy’

NASHVILLE, Tennessee- Those who follow Jamie O’Neal know she is from a musical family and has grown up in the business. Her first studio album, Shiver, went gold in 2000-2001 and she has been a household name in the country music industry ever since. That’s why I was surprised when I learned that she is just now releasing her debut Christmas album, Spirit & Joy, in 2022. The record is a compilation of new and familiar with several original songs co-written by some of the best in the business along with O’Neal herself.

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