DeSantis Backs Harmeet Dhillon in RNC Race

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis endorsed former Trump campaign attorney Harmeet Dhillon in her challenge to Ronna McDaniel for Republican National Committee chair. “I think we need a change. I think we need to get some new blood in the RNC,” DeSantis told Charlie Kirk on Real America’s Voice in an interview aired Thursday, one day before the vote for RNC speaker.

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Abortion Pill Maker Sues Red States over Bans: ‘Impacts the Company’s Bottom Line’

A company behind the manufacturing of a pill used in chemical abortions filed a lawsuit on Wednesday morning challenging state bans on the abortions, The New York Times reported.

GenBioPro, which makes the abortion pill mifepristone, filed the lawsuit in a West Virginia federal court to argue that Federal Food and Drug regulations (FDA) take priority over state laws regulating abortion, according to the NYT. The lawsuit argues that the FDA’s approval of the abortion pill trumps state laws and that abortion bans violate the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, which protects interstate commerce.

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Pope Francis Says Homosexuality Is ‘A Sin’ but Should Not Be Criminalized

Pope Francis I said in an interview with the Associated Press that “homosexuality is not a crime” and encouraged bishops to stop practicing forms of conversion therapy.

Francis has come under scrutiny in the past for his statements regarding the LGBTQ community, including his perceived endorsement of same-sex civil unions in 2020. The pope stated during the interview that while homosexuality is considered a sin, it should not be a “crime.” 

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Conservative Senators Demand Spending Cuts, Fiscal Reform in Debt Ceiling Deal

Fiscal hawks in the Senate reiterated their demands for fiscal reforms and spending cuts Tuesday as they voiced their support for House Republicans to lead the heavy-lifting on addressing the nation’s debt ceiling crisis. 

“We have an opportunity to stop the madness, and it’s incumbent on the Republican majority in the House and Republicans in the Senate to use every lever point we have,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at a press conference on the debt ceiling and runaway spending. 

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Tennessee Firearms Association Looking for Plaintiffs for Possible Lawsuit Against the State over Gun-Free Zones

The Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) is looking for plaintiffs to take part in a possible lawsuit against the state of Tennessee pertaining to the state’s gun-free zones.

A lawsuit is being prepared for filing in state court against the State of Tennessee that will address gun-free zones and whether those zones violate the constitution, according to the TFA.

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County Residents in Minnesota Take Issue with Vulgar, Sexually Graphic Books in School Libraries

Residents in a Twin Cities suburb are voicing concerns about the vulgar language and sexually explicit content in pro-LGBT and “anti-racist” school library books.

During the open forum portion of the Eastern Carver County School Board meeting in Chaska Monday evening, community members requested more transparency and input about the books that children and teenagers in the district can get their hands on.

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College Board Announces Revision of AP African American Studies Course After DeSantis Rejects Pilot for Florida

The College Board announced Tuesday that it will be updating its framework for its Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies (APAAS) course following its rejection by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) and his state’s Department of Education (FDOE).

The College Board said in a statement its final framework for the course will be released on Feb. 1, reported WESH.

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Study: Students in Wisconsin Choice Schools Outperforming Public School Peers

On this National School Choice Week, a new study by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty shows parental choice programs continuing to outperform public schools, particularly in the state’s largest city. 

“Apples to Apples: Accessing Wisconsin State of Education”, accesses Badger State educational performance across public, charter, and private voucher schools.

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Penn Biden Center Hosted ‘Bootcamp’ for Congressional Staffers Promoting Closer China Ties

President Joe Biden’s D.C.-based think tank operated by the University of Pennsylvania reportedly held a two-day “bootcamp” last year during which congressional staffers were urged to support greater cooperation between the United States and China. 

The Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement has become the subject of heightened public attention in light of revelations earlier this month that Biden, who used the establishment as his main D.C. office, kept classified federal documents there. 

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Commentary: Frustrated by Police Inaction, the Pro-Life Movement Takes Up the Work of Law Enforcement

Last June a firebomb ripped through the CompassCare crisis pregnancy center in Buffalo, causing extensive damage but no deaths. Amid the rubble and soot, the words “Jane was here” were written on the wall, suggesting that the militant abortion rights group Jane’s Revenge was responsible. Almost immediately, authorities all the way up to the FBI assured the pro-life enterprise they would bring the perpetrators to justice. 

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Georgia Gov. Kemp: ‘State of Our State Has Never Been Stronger’

In his State of the State Address, Governor Brian Kemp touted progress in his first term, and laid out next steps that include increased education, incentives for law enforcement and healthcare professionals, and targeted Medicaid expansion through the Georgia Pathways to Coverage program. “Over the last four years our greatest achievements were accomplished when both chambers worked hand-in-hand with my office to put the people of our state ahead of the status quo,” Kemp told legislators Wednesday. He said, “I’m proud to report that because of the foundation that we have built together over these past four years, because of the resilience shown by the people of our great state, because of the resolve they continue to show, the state of our state has never been stronger.” Kemp laid out many of the same priorities and proposals that he highlighted in his inaugural speech and his budget proposal earlier in January, including $1.9 billion for education across the Fiscal Year 2023 and 2024 budget proposals, tougher penalties for certain crimes, and $4.5 million in loan repayment programs for healthcare professionals. He also highlighted the Georgia Pathways to Coverage program, which comes as Republicans resist a larger Medicaid expansion to cover…

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Georgia Police Officer Resigns After Being Put on Leave for Facebook Post on Traditional Marriage

A Georgia police officer has resigned after he was told by superiors that he could not share his personal religious views on social media.  

“If someone somewhere considers an opinion I have—that isn’t a direct quotation from Scripture—to be offensive, then that would be a fireable offense,” Jacob Kersey, the former officer, told The Daily Signal.

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Report: Connecticut Home Visit Program Curbs Absenteeism

A federally funded Connecticut program that pays for “home visits” to check on chronically absent students has reduced truancy, according to a new report. 

The report by the Center for Connecticut Education Research Collaboration said the state’s Learner Engagement and Attendance Program found student attendance rates increased by approximately 4% in the month following an initial visit. 

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DOJ Indicts Radical Activists for Attacking Florida Pro-Life Facilities

Following attacks on over 78 pro-life groups across the nation, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has finally indicted two pro-abortion activists for attacking pro-life facilities in Florida.

Twenty-seven-year-old Caleb Freestone and 23-year-old Amber Smith-Stewart “targeted pregnancy resource facilities and vandalized those facilities with spray-painted threats,” according to the DOJ. The threatening language that the two used to vandalize the pro-life facilities mirrors that of the terrorist group Jane’s Revenge.

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Ohio School District Requests Court to Dismiss Lawsuit over Indoctrination and LGBTQ ‘I’m Here’ Badges

Less than a week after parents sued Hilliard City School in federal court because teachers are engaging in “intimate sexual conversations” with pupils as young as 6 years old, school officials are requesting the court to dismiss the lawsuit.

In a motion submitted by Columbus attorney Jessica Philemon in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Ohio on Monday, the district claims that the parents lack standing to launch a lawsuit because they ” have not alleged an actual case or controversy that would invoke the jurisdiction of the federal courts.”

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Ohio Residents Demand Dismissal of Assistant Principal for Critical Race Theory Indoctrination in Classrooms

Mason, Ohio residents are speaking out and demanding the dismissal of Mason City Schools Assistant Principal Vivian Alvarez following Accuracy in Media’s undercover investigation that revealed school administrators in Cincinnati, Ohio have admitted to covertly indoctrinating students with Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the classrooms.

According to Alvarez, she wouldn’t be concerned if the legislation prohibiting CRT in schools were to pass as the local government allegedly supports CRT indoctrination.

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State Representative Derek Merrin Elected to Lead Ohio House Republican Caucus

On Tuesday, state Representative Derek Merrin (R-Monclova) was chosen by the majority of GOP members to serve as the formal chairman of the House Republican Caucus and Vice-Chair of its campaign arm, giving him authority over the group’s spending.

Usually, the majority caucus chair would be the same person chosen to lead the 99-member House, but state Representative Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) was controversially elected as Speaker to succeed state Representative Bob Cupp (R-Lima). The choice came despite the Republican Caucus‘ previous selection in November of Merrin as the new Speaker. Although the GOP caucus voted for Merrin as Speaker of the House in December, Stephen fought in collaboration with the Democrats to collect votes and garner a win.

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Bill to Establish Permanent Daylight Saving Time Defeated in Virginia Senate

After discussing the measure at length, lawmakers in the state Senate voted to kill a bill seeking to establish permanent Daylight Saving Time in Virginia. 

Following debate and discussion that at times prompted laughter in the chamber, lawmakers ultimately voted down Senate Bill 1017, which proposed ending the practice of changing the clocks twice a year, and would keep Virginia on daylight saving time. 

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State Representative Announces Hearing to Discuss Arizona Public School Spending Limitation

Newly Elected State Rep. Matt Gress (R-Maricopa), Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Budgetary Funding Formulas, announced a hearing for Thursday to review the public school spending cap created by the aggregate expenditure limit (AEL).

“The purpose of this committee hearing is to ensure the record investments we’ve made in K-12 education over the last eight years are effectively and responsibly spent so that we can properly invest in our state’s future leaders,” said Gress.

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Russian Oligarch Keeps Showing Up in the Most Inconvenient Places for FBI, Washington Elites

The bombshell indictments this week alleging that a former senior FBI counterintelligence agent had an inappropriate financial relationship with Oleg Deripaska focused fresh light on an uncomfortable truth: Washington elites have simultaneously demonized and cozied up to the controversial Russian oligarch over the last two decades.

Deripaska, a protégé of Russian president Vladimir Putin and once owner of the country’s largest aluminum company Rusal, has been courted over the years by a prominent Democrat senator seeking help from his lawyer and FBI agents seeking dirt on Donald Trump, enlisted by the bureau to spend his own money to find a missing FBI agent in Iran and lured into hiring Christopher Steele for a legal project before the former MI-6 agent penned his famous dossier.

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Commentary: The Environmentalist Assault on Civilization

No reasonable person would deny the importance of protecting the environment. The accomplishments of the environmental movement over the past 50 years are undeniable: cleaner air and water, protected wildernesses, and more efficient use of resources. The list is endless and illustrious. Environmentalist values are an integral part of any responsible public policy agenda. But the pendulum has swung too far.

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DOJ Official Overseeing Prosecution of Pregnancy Center Attacks Has a History of Disparaging Them

A top Department of Justice (DOJ) official who has criticized pregnancy resource centers, which she called “fake clinics,” is responsible for overseeing the prosecution of two individuals indicted for attacking pregnancy resource centers, according to the DOJ.

The DOJ indicted Caleb Freestone and Amber Smith-Stewart this week for various FACE Act violations after they allegedly spray-painted threats on pregnancy resource centers such as “If abortions aren’t safe than niether [sic] are you” and “WE’RE COMING for U,” according to the DOJ. Kristen Clarke, the Assistant Attorney General heading the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, which will be prosecuting this case, condemned the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision to strike down a California law requiring pregnancy resource centers to offer information about state-funded abortions, as previously reported by The Washington Free Beacon.

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Hawley’s ‘PELOSI Act’ Would Outlaw Insider Trading for Congress

Lawmakers and their spouses would be prohibited from using privileged information to trade stocks, under legislation introduced Tuesday by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. 

Hawley’s bill follows news last year that then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, traded between $1 million and $5 million worth of semiconductor stocks shortly before Congress allocated $52 million to the industry. 

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