Day Two of Kari Lake Election Challenge Trial Sees More Witnesses, Closing Arguments from Both Sides

The court battle challenging the validity of the certified outcome of Arizona’s 2022 gubernatorial election entered its second day Thursday under Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson, with attorneys for Republican Kari Lake, Democrat Katie Hobbs, and Maricopa County presenting their final arguments in the trial. Lake seeks to either be declared the winner by the court in the gubernatorial race, in which she currently trails by roughly 17,000 votes, or require a new election. To do this, Lake’s team has to clear the high burden of demonstrating that intentional wrongdoing changed election outcomes. On the final day of the trial, Lake’s team brought in one witness, while the defendants presented four. Richard Baris The plaintiff’s first and final witness called to the stand was Richard Baris, director of Big Data Poll. He stated that Lake did not hire him before the election. “In over six years since we began releasing public polling on a steady basis in 2016, we have not inaccurately predicted the winner, outside of a sampling error, in a single poll. Not one,” said Baris. He conducted an exit poll in the Arizona 2022 General Election. Yet, on the morning of November 8th, he received…

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Wisconsin Congressman Gallagher Calls Marine Corps Report on Gender ‘Insane’

U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8) this week responded scathingly to news that the Marine Corps is considering a report recommending the branch ditch gendered identifiers for drill instructors.

The Corps commissioned a study per a $2 million contract with the University of Pittsburgh. The report broadly recommends “direct, sustained training from drill instructors of both genders” to emphasize that “men and women are equally respected and authoritative leaders of their Service.” A section of the study addresses allegedly discriminatory language and suggests that the Corp may want to consider instructing personnel to call their superior officers  by their ranks and last names rather than “Sir” or “Ma’am.” 

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Georgia Joins Walmart Opioid Settlement

The state of Georgia has signed on to a $3.1 billion national agreement with Walmart amid allegations that the retailer didn’t properly monitor opioids dispensing at its pharmacies; Georgia is expected to get $28 million in the deal, according to an announcement from Attorney General Chris Carr.

“The opioid epidemic has destroyed lives, families, and communities all across our state and nation,” Carr said in the release.

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Democrats in Virginia Attempt to Abolish Single-Gender Restrooms in Public Schools

In Virginia, Democrats in the state legislature are attempting to eliminate gender-based restrooms in the state’s public schools.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, Democratic members of the legislature’s Rules Commission voted by a margin of 5-4 to reject Governor Glenn Youngkin’s (R-Va.) plan to implement protections for gender-based spaces, including locker rooms, bathrooms, and sports teams. Youngkin’s framework would also require school administrators and teachers to get parents’ approval before referring to children by different names or different pronouns than what they were born with.

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Prosecutor Requests Clarification from Ohio Attorney General People Can Use Their Preferred Public Restrooms Regardless of Biological Sex

A Greene County prosecutor requested an opinion from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on whether Ohio civil rights law requires local governments to permit individuals to use public restrooms according to their stated gender identity rather than their biological sex.

The formal request filed by Greene County Prosecutor David Hayes was filed last week as people who prefer to use their stated gender identity over their biological sex is an area of the law that is receiving increasing attention throughout the United States and in the state of Ohio. Both public and private institutions are up against questions and lawsuits over policies relating to biological males being permitted to use biological females’ public restrooms and changing facilities.

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Philadelphia District Attorney Krasner Issues Answer to Impeachment Summons

As the holiday weekend nears, Pennsylvania state senators are viewing initial written arguments from Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner (D) contesting his impeachment. 

The then-GOP-controlled state House of Representatives voted last month 107-85 to try the radical prosecutor in the Senate to consider his removal from office. Senate leaders then issued a writ of summons to Krasner outlining seven counts against him. Articles of impeachment concern alleged “dereliction of duty and refusal to enforce the law,” obstruction of a legislative investigation against him, improper conduct in two criminal trials, failure to admit conflict of interest, failure to heed victims’ rights and refusal to prosecute certain crimes. 

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Ducey to Remove Arizona Border Wall Shortly Before Federal Replacement Is to Begin

The federal government will likely start filling in gaps of the border wall in the Yuma sector shortly after Arizona takes down its storage container barriers. 

In agreeing to remove the state-erected barrier as part of a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, federal government officials again confirmed to Gov. Doug Ducey’s office that they are moving forward with a plan to replace it.

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Ohio Senate Passes Legislation to Transport Injured Police Dogs by Ambulance

A Republican-backed bill that will authorize emergency medical personnel to transport injured police dogs by ambulance heads to Governor Mike DeWine’s desk for signature.

House Bill (HB) 392 sponsored by state Representatives Ron Ferguson (R-Wintersville) and Kevin Miller (R-Newark) expands the ability of a medical professional to allow for life-saving transportation of a K-9 to a veterinarian center for treatment. 

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Commentary: Inflation Takes a Bite Out of Christmas Cheer

Americans may want to light the fireplace more often this winter and cut back on the holiday festivities, according to new data from the Energy Information Administration and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Energy costs have remained consistently high for over a year, having risen over 13% since November 2021. So, American families can expect to pay significantly more for their heating oil as the colder months approach. As of the week of Dec. 12, the average cost for residential heating oil hit $4.56 per gallon, which is about 95% higher than it was the week of Dec. 14, 2020, shortly before President Joe Biden took office.

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Netanyahu Announces Coalition Deal to Return to Power

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday announced that he had negotiated a coalition framework with supportive parties to allow him to return to power.

Israel’s longest serving prime minister will soon lead a coalition of six parties on a right-wing platform, the New York Times reported. Many establishment media outlets, including the Times, have bemoaned his return to power and warned that his victory could signal a drift away from democracy for the Jewish nation.

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Oklahoma Bill Proposes Forcing Drunk Drivers Who Kill Parents to Pay Child Support

Oklahoma could become the latest state to saddle a drunk driver who kills a child’s parents with the financial responsibility for the orphaned youth.

Rep Jim Olsen, R-Roland, says that House Bill 1003 could create a harsher reality for those who chose to get behind the wheel while intoxicated and cause the death of a parent in a DUI-related crash in the Sooner State.

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GOP Prepping Steve Scalise to Become Speaker Should McCarthy Fail: Report

House Republican lawmakers have reportedly approached Louisiana GOP Rep. Steve Scalise about a potential bid for leadership of the lower chamber should House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy fail to secure enough support to step into the role of Speaker of the House.

McCarthy has struggled to win the support of a majority of lower chamber lawmakers and many House conservatives have withheld their support in a bid to secure concessions from the California Republican. A disappointing midterm showing has left the party with an incoming majority of just 222 seats, leaving McCarthy with little room to maneuver. To become speaker, McCarthy will need 218 votes. 

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Leahy to Bannon: If Maricopa Fails to Document Chain of Custody, Lake Lawyers Must Prove It Altered Outcome of Election to Win Trial

Host Stephen K. Bannon welcomed The Star News Network’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Arizona Sun-Times, Michael Patrick Leahy, on Thursday’s WarRoom: Battleground to highlight aspects of the ongoing election integrity lawsuit put forth by gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and the alleged Maricopa County ballot harvesting.

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Expert in Kari Lake Election Suit: ‘No Doubt’ She Would Have Won Without Maricopa Election Day Chaos

Election modeling expert Richard Baris said Thursday in the Kari Lake election lawsuit that his projections showed as many as 40,000 voters were disenfranchised over Election Day chaos in Arizona’s Maricopa County, causing him to “have no doubt” that she would’ve won the gubernatorial election had there no problems at polling centers.

Baris is the final witness for Lake in the scheduled two-day trial for her election lawsuit.

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Sen. Ron Johnson Argues to Eliminate $9.8 Billion in Earmarks From $1.7 Trillion Omnibus Bill

Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson (R) joined with his colleagues Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), Mike Lee (R-UT), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Rand Paul (R-KY) to oppose the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill and argue for an amendment that would eliminate all earmarks.

“Thousands of individual projects here, both Democrat and Republican,” Johnson said Tuesday during a press conference

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Day One of Kari Lake Election Contest Trial Sees Testimony from Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer and Election Integrity Expert Heather Honey

The first of two days of oral arguments from Arizona’s Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake’s challenge of the 2022 general election outcome began Wednesday morning, overseen by Judge Peter Thompson in the Maricopa County Superior Court. Testimonies were heard from several officials and experts.

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Nearly 30 Pro-Abortion Attacks Against Churches Have Occurred Since SCOTUS Overturned Roe v. Wade, Report Shows

Dozens of U.S. churches have been targets of pro-abortion “hostility” since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a Family Research Council (FRC) report found.

On June 24, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling, causing an uproar among pro-abortion supporters. Nearly 30 attacks on churches were reported after the Dobbs decision that had explicit pro-abortion rhetoric, according to the report.

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U.S. Media Outlet Has Extensive Partnerships, Financial Dealings with Orgs Tied to Chinese Communist Party Influence Operations

The China Project (TCP), a New York-based media outlet renowned for its China reporting, has had professional and financial ties with organizations that may have been headed by members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or members of alleged Chinese influence operations, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation found.

Over 20 organizations that may have been led by such individuals have apparently partnered with or financially sponsored TCP, including the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF) and the Confucius Institute, the DCNF found. Both groups apparently began professional relationships with TCP after the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) identified them as CCP influence operations in 2018. Furthermore, the DCNF found that TCP’s “board director,” Clarence Kwan, may have been simultaneously serving as a director of an alleged CCP front group at the time he joined TCP’s board and provided initial equity in the company.

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Biden’s Trans-Identifying Top Health Official: ‘I Have No Regrets’ About Lengthy Transition Because ‘I Can’t Imagine a Life Without My Children’

A Biden administration top health official who identifies as transgender and has encouraged parents and doctors to use puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to immediately “affirm” a child’s preferred “gender identity,” said during a public event he has “no regrets” that his “transition” took over ten years because he “can’t imagine a life without my children.”

As a headline at The Washington Stand noted, Dr. Rachel (born Richard) Levine appears to have admitted that “gender transition procedures can cause sterility.”

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Stanford University Releases Guide Against ‘Harmful Language’ That Includes the Word ‘American’

Stanford University published a language guide Monday that announced the exclusion of the word “American” from the school’s websites and other online properties, a word which, the guide says, is “harmful” because it suggests an insult to those people from the other Americas.

The language guide, which was published Monday, is the culmination of a project launched in May and titled, “Introducing the Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative Website” (EHLI).

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Republicans Poised to Approve Massive FBI Funding Boost in Wake of Twitter Files Revelations

Republicans are set to approve a massive spending bill which includes billions of dollars in funding for the FBI despite recently leaked information which found the federal agency colluded with Twitter to censor users.

The bill designated $11.33 billion for the FBI “to investigate extremist violence and domestic terrorism,” according to a summary of the bill by the House Appropriations Committee. The total is reportedly $569.6 million more than the enacted levels for the 2022 fiscal year and $524 million more than the president requested.

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Election Transparency Initiative Denounces Marc Elias’ Requested Change to Electoral Count Act Reform

Marc Elias

A right-leaning election reform outfit on Wednesday denounced the current version of legislation to reform the Electoral Count Act, particularly a provision urged by Democratic election attorney Marc Elias. 

The original act was enacted in 1887 to prevent presidential election crises such as that of 1876, during which three states submitted competing groups of electors, forcing Congress to determine how to resolve the count. Ultimately Republican Rutherford B. Hayes emerged victorious over Democrat Samuel Tilden. 

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Blackburn Releases New Video on the Economy, Discusses What Has Kept Tennessee Growing as Nation Struggles

Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn is preparing to release a video via social media discussing the state’s economy and spoke with The Tennessee Star this week to discuss both the pressures it endures as well as its bright spots compared with other regions.

In the one-minute spot, which shows the senator touring a Clarksville-area manufacturing plant, she discusses the challenge ongoing inflation poses to producers as they attempt to provide affordable goods to Tennesseans. 

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Connecticut Police Union OKs Contract with Pay Raises, Other Perks

Connecticut state troopers will be the highest paid law enforcement officials in the state under a newly approved contract, which includes pay raises and other perks.

The Connecticut State Police Union, which represents about 840 rank and file troopers and sergeants, said it has ratified a four-year contract negotiated with Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration that includes a 2.5% pay raise, a double-digit increase in starting pay, and annual lump sum payments of 2% for senior troopers. 

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Toledo Catholic Diocese Speaks Out Against City Council Proposal to Use Federal Relief Money to Transport Women Out of State to Have Abortions

The Toledo Diocese took a stand against a proposed Toledo city ordinance that would provide funds to transport women seeking abortions out of state.

The resolution, sponsored by Councilmembers Nick Komives, Theresa Gadus, and Michele Grim, calls for the appropriation of $100,000 from the COVID relief money provided to the city through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) taxpayer dollars intended to address the public health and negative economic impacts of COVID-19.

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Black Militia Members Claim Minneapolis Police Unlawfully Arrested Them at Protest

Several members of an armed black militia known for their ad hoc security at Minneapolis protests are accusing city police officers of violating their constitutional rights by arresting them without probable cause.

According to a complaint filed two months ago in U.S. District Court, eight members of the Minnesota Freedom Fighters are suing 10 officers from the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), claiming they engaged in “unreasonable seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment” to the U.S. Constitution at a protest last year.

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Ohio Elections Officials Say That Photo ID Requirements for Voters Are Unnecessary

As Governor Mike DeWine considers whether to sign a Republican-sponsored bill that aims to require a photo ID for nearly all Ohio voters, elections officials are questioning the necessity of the major voting reform.

House Bill (HB) 294 sponsored by state Representatives Bill Seitz (R- Green Township) and Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth) would require voters to show a photo ID in order to vote and would issue a free photo ID to any Ohioan who wants one who does not have a drivers license.

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Georgia Gov. Kemp Issues State of Emergency Ahead of ‘Arctic Blast’

Governor Brian Kemp has issued a state of emergency ahead of an “Arctic blast” expected to hit Georgia beginning Thursday. Although snow is possible in parts of the state, in a press conference Wednesday Kemp and administration officials focused on black ice, downed power lines, and unusual cold.

“We also need to warn everyone that windchills will be near zero or in the negative digits by midday on Friday. Temperatures as we know it likely won’t reach 40 degrees across Georgia until Monday afternoon,” Kemp said. “Communities across the state are about to experience temperatures they haven’t experienced in a decade or more.”

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Commentary: CDC Funding Decisions Based Largely on Politics, Not Science

For the second year in a row, the Centers for Disease Control has been caught ignoring science and letting liberal interest groups set its policies.

In 2021, the American Pediatric Academy and the Children’s Hospital Association tracked COVID-19 statistics in children and the data show no relationship between mask mandates and the rate at which children caught the disease. In the face of this evidence – and other data showing that masks harm children’s development, the CDC supported masking students after being pressured by the National Education Association (the nation’s largest teachers’ union).

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Florida Finishing 2022 with Record $22 Billion Surplus

The state of Florida is reporting a $21.8 billion surplus in 2022, the highest in state history. The state also decreased its debt by $1.3 billion this year, according to a newly published State Debt Report from the State of Florida Division of Bond Finance.

According to the report, Florida decreased its debt by $1.3 billion, increased its revenues by 17% ($8.5 billion), and maintained its AAA bond rating primarily because of its strong growing economy.

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Youngkin Releases New Regulation Review Manual, Emphasizes Transparency

Governor Glenn Youngkin has released a list of more than 300 regulatory changes his administration plans to implement by July 2023, and also a manual for agencies on how to comply with the governor’s June Executive Order 19, focused on improving Virginia’s regulatory process and ordering a 25 percent reduction in total regulations.

“Our new Office of Regulatory Management is transforming how Virginians can access regulatory materials,” Youngkin said in a Tuesday announcement.

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Wisconsin Republican Congressmen Denounce Omnibus Spending Bill

While a $1.66 trillion omnibus spending bill passed the Democrat-run Senate 75-20 this week with the support of many Republicans, House GOP members, including those representing Wisconsin, are voicing their disappointment. 

Republicans point to exorbitant spending as the major driver of inflation which reached a 40-year high this year and now stands at 7.11 percent, well above the long-term average of 3.27 percent. The party likely cannot prevent the new spending legislation’s passage insofar as the GOP will not take control of the House of Representatives until January. 

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Arizona Could Soon Look to the Mexican Coast for Answers on Water Problems

Arizona officials have taken some of the first steps to bring seawater from the Mexican coast to the faucets of Phoenix, even if lawmakers want a more deliberative process.

Arizona’s Joint Legislative Water Committee held a public meeting on Tuesday to discuss the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority’s push to create a desalination plant amid the state’s water crisis.

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Ohio Bill to Codify Solicitor General’s Office Proceeds to Governor

A Republican-supported bill to codify the Tenth Amendment Center in the Ohio Solicitor General’s Office heads to Governor Mike DeWine’s office for signature.

House Bill (HB) 506 sponsored by state Representatives Jeff LaRe (R-Violet Township) and Adam Bird (R-New Richmond) creates a Tenth Amendment center to “actively monitor federal executive orders, federal statutes, and federal regulations for potential abuse or overreach, including assertion of power inconsistent with the United States Constitution.”

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Blue State School Districts Are Mandating Masks for Christmas

Girl with mask on and braids

Ahead of the holiday break, several schools in blue states are implementing mask mandates in light of the “tripledemic.”

Schools in states such as Pennsylvania, Washington and New Jersey are fearing a “tripledemic” of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza (flu) and coronavirus. To combat the “tripledemic” some schools are considering mask mandates while other states have already asked their students to mask up.

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House GOP Locates Emails, Texts Showing Pelosi Office Directly Involved in Failed January 6 Security

House Republicans gathered a trove of text and email messages showing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office was directly involved in the creation and editing of the Capitol security plan that failed during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot and that security officials later declared they had been “denied again and again” the resources needed to protect one of the nation’s most important homes of democracy.

The internal communications were made public Wednesday in a report compiled by Republican Reps. Rodney Davis, Jim Banks, Troy Nehls, Jim Jordan and Kelly Armstrong that encompasses the results of months of investigation they did of evidence that had been ignored by the Democrat-led Jan. 6 committee. The lawmakers were authorized by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to do their own probe.

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Congressman John Rose Calls on DHS Secretary Mayorkas to Resign or Be Impeached over Reports of Illegal Immigrants being Transported to Tennessee

Tennessee Congressman John Rose (R-TN-06) called for U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to be removed from office via resignation or impeachment on Tuesday.

Congressman Rose’s demand follows reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are planning to bus illegal immigrants to Tennessee this week.

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Nashville Council Approves Term Sheet for New $2.1B Tennessee Titans Stadium

Metro Nashville’s Council approved a non-binding term sheet related to building a new $2.1 billion Tennessee Titans stadium on Tuesday night.

The term sheet outlined a deal that includes $1.26 billion in taxpayer funds toward building the stadium along with a tax fund that is projected to collect $2.9 billion during the 30-year lease to pay off $760 million in revenue bonds from Metro Nashville’s Sports Authority. This tax fund will also pay for future maintenance and upgrades at the stadium.

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Appeals Court Blocks Biden Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors

On Monday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the Biden Administration’s rule mandating that all federal contractors receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

As reported by the Washington Free Beacon, the 5th Circuit’s three-judge panel voted by a 2-1 margin to uphold a prior decision by a lower court that blocked the rule, first implemented by the Biden White House in September of 2021. That ruling came as a result of a lawsuit by the states of Indiana, Louisiana, and Mississippi seeking the overturning of the mandate.

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