Month: March 2023

Lawmakers Furious at Governor Katie Hobbs for Cutting Border Strike Force with Crime Surging on the Border

Rachel Alexander

Democratic Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs announced shortly after entering office in January that she would eliminate the Border Strike Force (BSF) that former Governor Doug Ducey created in 2015, sparking outrage from Republican lawmakers concerned about rising crime and violence related to Arizona’s porous border with Mexico. Hobbs said as part of her budget, she would reroute the funding for the BSF elsewhere.

“In the same manner that Joe Biden has destroyed our country with his welcomed support for the prolonged lawlessness and drug crisis along our southern border, Katie Hobbs is destroying Arizona in three short months since taking office by her reckless dismantling of the Border Strike Task Force,” Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ-09) told Fox News. “Countless more people will die from Hobbs’ open border policies.”

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Senator JD Vance Says ‘Extreme Left’ Needs to do a Lot of ‘Soul Searching’ After Nashville School Shooting

Hannah Poling

In the wake of the murder of six people at a Christian School in Nashville, Tennessee by an individual who reportedly “identified as transgender” on Monday, U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) said that the extreme left needs to do a lot of “soul searching.”

According to Vance, this terrible incident should prompt the extreme left to deeply consider the correctness of their ideals.

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Arizona Court Declares Phoenix Needs to Clean Up Large Homeless Encampment

Neil Jones

The Maricopa County Superior Court made a preliminary order Monday regarding the lawsuit against Phoenix by city residents alleging that it was creating a public nuisance by not cleaning up “the Zone,” a massive homeless encampment near downtown. Judge Scott Blaney ruled in the resident’s favor, ordering the city to clean up.

“Today’s ruling offers hope not just for the homeless themselves—who, after all, don’t deserve to be left in a ghettoized section of the city’s roads—but to the ignored small-business owners in the area, who are forced to try to earn a living in the midst of such chaos,” wrote Timothy Sandefur, Vice President of Legal Affairs at the Goldwater Institute (GI), who previously filed an amicus brief in this case.

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GOP State Legislators Disappointed by Arizona Gov. Hobbs’s Decision to Veto Grocery Tax Cut Legislation

Neil Jones

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) announced several legislative actions on Tuesday, including the veto of Senate Bill (SB) 1063, sponsored by State Sen. Sonny Borrelli (R-Lake Havasu), which would have prevented Arizona municipalities from enforcing a tax on groceries.

“This veto is a disgraceful windfall for cities and an absolute gouge for families,” said Majority Leader Borrelli. “We’re not only paying inflated prices to feed our families, but we’re also paying more in taxes as the cost of food rises. Food is not a luxury; it is a necessity. A tax on our groceries is regressive and hurts everyone.”

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Attorney General Yost Files Lawsuit Against Swiss-Based Drug Pricing Racket Affecting Ohio

Hannah Poling

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a lawsuit against several pharmacy benefit management firms on the grounds that they have erroneously raised the cost of medications like insulin.

Yost claims that the companies, one of which is based in Switzerland, have maintained dominance over most of the pharmaceutical market due to industry consolidation. Yost named Ascent Health Services LLC, Express Scripts Inc., Cigna Group, Evernorth Health Inc., Prime Therapeutics LLC, Humana Pharmacy Solutions Inc., and Humana Inc. as defendants in the lawsuit. Yost filed the lawsuit on Monday in the Delaware County Common Pleas Court.

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Pennsylvania Lawmaker Presses Officials to Withdraw from Multi-State Voting Data-Sharing System

Bradley Vasoli

During discussions with Pennsylvania’s top election officials this week, state Senator Cris Dush (R-Bellefonte) urged the commonwealth to leave the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), an election data-sharing system. 

Over the last 14 months, five states have nixed their participation in ERIC. This month, both Iowa and Ohio indicated they will also do so. Some Republican-led states in the partnership wanted greater autonomy regarding use of the data collected by the organization; these participants also desired an end to a stipulation in ERIC’s bylaws instructing states to contact unregistered voters to remind them to vote. In a recent meeting, the nonprofit’s board rejected the suggested changes. 

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Early Voting Begins in Battleground Wisconsin’s State Supreme Court Election

Admin

Early voting has begun in Wisconsin for the state’s High Court, and this election becomes the most important decision of 2023, with ramifications far beyond the Badger state, and into 2024.

Tested constitutionalist Daniel Kelly seeks to rejoin the state Supreme Court in Madison. Kelly is an unabashed conservative, but also a careful, balanced, and restrained jurist who does not legislate from the bench or engage in partisan power grabs.

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Pennsylvania County Election Officials to Sit Out House Hearing on Midterm Ballot Paper Shortage

Just the News

The House Administration Committee is holding a hearing on Tuesday to investigate a ballot paper shortage that marred the midterm election in Luzerne County, Pa., but three key county election officials have declined invitations to testify.

On the morning of Election Day 2022, multiple precincts in Luzerne County experienced ballot paper shortages, which resulted in long lines, the distribution of provisional ballots to some voters, a judge’s order to extend voting hours until 10 p.m. and the delayed certification of the election by the county elections board.

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Long-Serving Wisconsin Secretary of State La Follette About to Cash in on Lucrative Taxpayer-Subsidized Pension

M.D. Kittle

Secretary of State Doug La Follette’s sudden retirement from the post he’s held for nearly half a century raised questions, particularly when Governor Tony Evers swiftly appointed former state treasurer and Democratic Party political climber Sarah Godlewski to take La Follette’s place. 

But it’s the millions of dollars La Follette — and his survivors — could take home in retirement benefits that may really raise eyebrows. 

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Commentary: It’s Time to End Mexican Cartels’ Reign of Terror

RealClearWire

Walking down long, ornate hallways, across a grand central courtyard adorned with a Pegasus-topped fountain, and through yet more corridors, our bipartisan delegation was guided to the offices of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for what we hoped would be a timely and useful meeting for our nations. Since the enactment of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), ongoing trade issues continue to flare up, and since the beginning of the Biden Administration our southern border with Mexico has deteriorated into a chaotic, dangerous, and lawless morass.

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Trump Says GOP Has ‘No Choice’ But to Embrace Ballot Harvesting

Just the News

Former President Donald Trump on Monday asserted that Republicans must embrace ballot harvesting in the states that permit the practice in order to win the next election.

“So for 2024, should Republicans embrace early voting, voting by mail, and embrace the tactics of the Democrats and follow the ballot harvesting laws of their respective states?” Fox News’ Sean Hannity asked in an interview that premiered Monday.

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New Kentucky Law Expands Definitions Related to the Use of School Resource Officers

The Center Square

Kentucky lawmakers hope they have already have taken steps that can help avoid a tragedy such as took place in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday.

On Friday of last week, legislation was signed into law allowing parochial and other private schools to develop pacts with local law enforcement agencies or the Kentucky State Police to have school resource officers on their campuses. House Bill 540, sponsored by state Rep. Killian Timoney, R-Nicholasville, was signed by Gov. Andy Beshear.

In Tennessee on Monday, a shooting at Christian elementary school left three children, three adults and the shooter dead.

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Nashville Police Refuse to Release Trans School Shooter’s Manifesto

Admin

Nashville police will not be releasing the manifesto of the deceased Covenant School shooting suspect, a police spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Tuesday.

Nashville Metro Police Department (NMPD) announced that they had found “writings” from 28-year-old transgender suspect Audrey Hale’s home Monday that indicated a “calculated and planned” attack, according to an NMPD press release. An NMPD spokesperson told the DCNF Tuesday that the department had no intentions of releasing the documents to the public anytime soon, citing the ongoing investigation into Hale.

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Six Minutes of Heroism: Watch Nashville Police Officers Race Through School to Neutralize Shooter

Just the News

Metropolitan Nashville Police on Tuesday released six-minutes of intense body camera footage showing how its officers rushed through The Covenant School a day earlier to track down the shooter and neutralize her.

The video features footage from the body cameras of Officers Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo conducting a room-by-room search of the first floor of The Covenant School before confronting the attacker, identified as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, on the second floor.

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Metro Nashville Police Confirm: School Shooter Was Audrey Elizabeth Hale, Who ‘Identified as Transgender’

Peter D'Abrosca

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) Monday evening confirmed that the person who shot and killed six people on Monday morning at The Covenant Presbyterian School in Nashville is 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who “identified as transgender.” Hale was killed on scene by police that morning.

“Our investigations tell us she was a former student, at the school,” said MNPD Chief John Drake in a press conference, adding that he did not know how long Hale attended the school.

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Gov. Ron DeSantis Signs Legislation He Calls ‘Largest Expansion of School Choice in History of These United States’

Susan Berry, PhD

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday in Miami that establishes an Education Savings Accounts (ESA) program under which every family in the state can receive up to $8,000 to cover education expenses outside of the public school system.

“The state of Florida is number one when it comes to education freedom and education choice,” DeSantis said at a press conference Monday.

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Methodology and Motive Questions Surround Poll Showing DeSantis Ahead of Trump in Iowa

M.D. Kittle

Two polls showing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis “running more competitively” against former President Donald Trump in first-in-the-nation nominating states Iowa and New Hampshire are missing some key data, raising questions about the validity of the surveys. 

The polls, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies (POS) from March 21-23, were provided exclusively to Axios.

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Tennessee House to Consider Increasing Voucher Eligibility

TC Weber

An amendment being brought forth this week by House Education Chair Mark White (R-Memphis) if made law, would make more families eligible to participate in the state’s Education Savings Account (ESA) program. Often referred to as “vouchers”, ESAs provide funding to eligible families to enroll their children in private schools.

Currently, only students in Davidson and Shelby counties are eligible to participate, but earlier this session SB0012 was passed by the State Senate, expanding eligibility to Hamilton County students. The proposed amendment increases the potential for participation by students in even more districts. 

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As Pentagon Struggles to Fill Military Requests, Funding Goes to Diversity, Critical Race Theory

The Center Square

The Pentagon is increasingly struggling to fill the weapons and equipment requests for the war in Ukraine. At the same time, taxpayer funds are going to pay for ongoing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts in the military, most recently one controversial Pentagon official pushing anti-police and pro-critical race theory books at schools for the children of military families.

The New York Times recently highlighted the Pentagon’s manufacturing problem with a story headlined: “From Rockets to Ball Bearings: Pentagon Struggles to Feed War Machine.”

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TikTok Not the Only China-Controlled App Thriving in America: Report

Admin

The top four downloaded applications in the past 30 days in the U.S. Apple App Store and Google Play Store are owned by Chinese-tied companies, according to data from Apptopia analyzed by Axios.

While these Chinese-tied apps are thriving in the U.S., American apps are typically not permitted to operate in China due to the country’s strict censorship, according to Axios. China has over one billion internet users according to Statista, so the U.S. is missing out on a massive market while China has exclusive access to it.

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Nearly 40 Percent of Veterans Reported Concerns About Being Able to Pay Medical Bills

The Center Square

A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics found that nearly 40% of veterans reported concerns about being able to pay their medical bills. 

Overall, the report found that 12.8% of veterans aged 25-64 had problems paying medical bills, 8.4% had forgone medical care and 38.4% were somewhat or very worried about being able to pay their medical bills if they got sick or had an accident. 

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Pennsylvania State House Members Support State Police Funding Increase; Off-Budget Account Questioned

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania’s House Appropriations Committee members signaled general agreement with  Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro’s budget-increase goals for Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) on Monday, though some related issues remain contentious.

Representatives questioned PSP Commissioner Christopher Paris, Acting Deputy Commissioner of Operations George Bivens and other lead staffers at the agency in preparation for the budget process which lawmakers aim to wrap up by June 30. 

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New Laws Mean Greater ‘Buying Power’ for People with Disabilities

The Center Square

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed into law a pair of bills Monday aimed at providing greater financial flexibility for individuals with developmental disabilities who receive waiver services – a move supporters say will translate to greater “buying power” for people with disabilities to invest in technology that allows them to live independently. 

Virginia currently offers several kinds of Disability Waivers – including Community Living, Family and Individual Supports, and Building Independence waivers – for individuals diagnosed with a developmental disability. The waivers offer long-term support for people with developmental disabilities and include access to services, including assistive technology and electronic home-based services. 

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One Week Before Wisconsin’s Pivotal Supreme Court Election, Candidates Make Closing Arguments

M.D. Kittle

With just one week before Wisconsin’s spring election, it’s all hands on deck in the bruising battle for control of the Badger State’s high court. 

Conservative former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly and liberal Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz are making their closing arguments before Tuesday’s pivotal election — the brunt of the statements being made through expensive and negative ads blanketing Wisconsin’s TV markets. 

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Commentary: Congress Is Central in the Authorization to Impose a Central Bank Digital Currency

Admin
In God We Trust

“[W]e would not proceed with this without support from Congress, and I think that would ideally come in the form of an authorizing law, rather than us trying to interpret our law to enable this.”

That was Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in March 2021, noting the fact that when it comes a central bank digital currency – a more distinct possibility after several bank failures have swept across the global financial system – that Congress simply has not authorized such an undertaking.

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Ferris State University Responds to Gotion Controversy

The Center Square

In a video posted on YouTube, Ferris State University President Bill Pink says the university hasn’t discussed housing Chinese nationalists to work at the nearby electric vehicle battery plant.

Pink posted the video on March 23 to dispel rumors surrounding the planned Gotion electric vehicle battery plant. Last week, The Center Square reported that the company – with $1.14 billion of state and local backing – must adhere to communist rules.

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DeSantis Signs Universal School Choice Program into Florida Law

Admin

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a piece of legislation into law on Monday creating a universal school choice program.

House Bill 1, sponsored by the Education Quality Subcommittee, establishes an Education Savings Accounts (ESA) program under which every family is eligible to receive up to $8,000 to cover education expenses outside of the public school system. The vouchers will be distributed on a “priority” basis, with families of four making less than $51,000 annually receiving the funds first.

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Georgia Sets Trend by Allowing Property Tax Relief for Natural Disasters

The Center Square

Georgia will be the only state among its neighbors to allow local governments to give residential property owners a temporary break on their taxes for storm damage.

Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law last week House Bill 311, which was authored by State Rep. Lynn Smith, R-Newnan. It allows local governments to provide tax relief on property taxes, either through a millage rate reduction (one mill equals $1,000 worth of property value) or a credit once a disaster is declared by the federal government.

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Illegal Immigrants Turn to Hang Gliders Unlawful Entry to the U.S.

Admin

As more foreign nationals are caught attempting to illegally enter Florida and are repatriated to their country or port of origin, a new method to bypass law enforcement efforts by sea is underway by air: hang gliders.

On Saturday, two Cuban nationals landed at the Key West International Airport using a powered hang glider. They were taken into custody by Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who then turned them over to U.S. Border Patrol. No injuries were reported, the sheriff’s office said.

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States Continue Attempting to Block the Transport of East Palestine Waste

Hannah Poling

States throughout the nation that have facilities for storing hazardous waste are still working to stop the transport of contaminated debris from an Ohio train disaster that culminated in a fire to their states.

On Saturday, the City and County of Baltimore, Maryland announced in a joint statement that they are “seeking a legal opinion from the Attorney General’s Office regarding the City’s requirement to treat and discharge the waste from the Norfolk Southern Railroad derailment.”

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Culture of Corruption Exposed in Trial Centering on Ex-Illinois House Speaker

Admin

by Madeleine Hubbard   While the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is still a year away, the depth of his alleged scheme is already starting to be unveiled, as the Chicago Democrat remains a central figure in the corruption trial of four former ComEd officials. Federal prosecutors allege that officials at the ComEd utility company gave benefits to Madigan’s associates in exchange for favorable legislation for nearly a decade. Some of Madigan’s allegedly crooked connections have slowly been revealed over the past two weeks in the trial of former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty and Madigan confidante and former lobbyist Michael McClain. In a December 2018 wiretapped call played for the court this week, Madigan can be heard talking with McClain about appointing specific committee chairs who could stall unfavorable legislation. “I understand we have a lot of people walking around trying to find things to complain about, but every once in a while, the speaker gets to do what he wants to do,” Madigan said on the call. “Every once in a while.” Democrat State Rep. Robert Rita testified at another point in the trial that Madigan had unchecked power over…

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Ohio Attorney General Yost Fights Back Against Biden’s Attempt to Revoke Protection for Student Religious Groups

Hannah Poling

On Friday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education urging the department to maintain a regulation that mandates public universities to uphold the First Amendment or risk losing grant funding.

In accordance with the current rule, which was put in place in 2020 to carry out Supreme Court precedent, public universities are not allowed to deny religious student organizations “any right, benefit or privilege that is otherwise afforded to other student organizations at the public institution” because of the group’s “beliefs, practices, policies, speech, membership standards or leadership standards, which are informed by sincerely held religious beliefs.”

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Ohio Narcotic Intelligence Center Releases Public Safety Notice Connecting Emojis to Potential Drug Activity

Hannah Poling

The Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center (ONIC) has released a public safety notice in order to warn parents that children are using emojis to advertise, sell, and acquire illegal substances on social media and in electronic communication.

According to ONIC Executive Director Cynthia Peterman, this kind of emoji usage is becoming more popular around the country, and the analysis of electronic devices seized in current drug investigations has shown activity in Ohio related to the use of emojis in this way.

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State Senator Chris Kapenga Commentary: We Need Voters to Weigh in on Bail Reform Amendment

Admin

I first ran for office because I saw problems in our state and wanted to be part of the solution for positive change. One such issue is the growing epidemic of crime in our communities.

My biggest frustration lately is seeing issues in our community, but having a Governor with whom the Legislature fundamentally disagrees on the solutions. It often feels like the wheels are spinning but we are going nowhere.

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Victor Davis Hanson Commentary: The Megalomaniacs Running Radical Universities Are Blind to the Generations of Taxpayers That Built Them

Admin

The most recent shout-down debacle at Stanford’s law school, one of many such recent sordid episodes, prompts the question: “Who owns our universities?” 

The law students who are in residence for three years apparently assume they embody the university. And so, they believe they represent and speak for a score of diverse Stanford interests when they shout down federal Judge Kyle Duncan, as if he were an intruder into their own woke private domain. 

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Commentary: Why Not ‘America First?’

Admin

It’s challenging to say something original about the Ukraine war. It’s been debated now for more than a year, and it’s not over yet. But that’s bad news for those supporting the war. Most Americans’ interest in foreign policy matters is limited, and many expect quicker favorable results than are probably ever possible in war. A year of war in a far-off land – another war in another far-off land – is not something Americans are likely to support for long, especially if it’s led by a stumble-bum president who picks incompetents for cabinet secretaries, campaigned for a mentally challenged stroke victim, and may be compromised by his son’s business dealings. 

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Six Army Bases to be Renamed from Original Confederate Names

Admin

The dates have been revealed for when six United States Army bases will officially have their names changed due to a far-left campaign to rename any installations bearing Confederate names.

According to Axios, the six bases in question are: Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Pickett, Virginia; Fort Rucker, Alabama; Fort Lee, Virginia; Fort Benning, Georgia; and Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The name changes come after Joe Biden created a federal Naming Commission, for the sole purpose of changing names of federal facilities, monuments, parks, and other territories that were originally named for Confederate figures; the campaign has been widely criticized as an effort to erase American history in the name of political correctness and “woke” racial justice politics.

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Future Meals Could Come from a 3D Printer, Researchers Say

Admin

Researchers are increasingly investigating 3D-printed food to boost global food production in a bid to combat climate-related food insecurity, Axios reported Friday.

Although the technology is still new, with research necessary for the technique to be scaled up for both industrial or home use, some researchers see 3D-printed food as a way to make nutritious food available and affordable for those who would otherwise lack access to healthy options, according to Axios. Printed food is already being used to make imitation meat cuts from soy protein and chickpeas at several restaurants and butchers in Europe, Reuters reported in October.

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Activist Hijacks School Shooting Press Conference, Demands Gun Control

Admin

An unidentified activist took to microphones shortly after a Monday briefing by Nashville authorities to rant about gun control, asking the media if they were tired of covering shootings.

“Aren’t you guys tired of covering this? Aren’t you tired of being here and having to cover all of these mass shootings?” the activist asked members of the press. “I’m from Highland Park… on a family vacation with my son, visiting my sister-in-law. I have been lobbying in D.C. since we survived a mass shooting in July.”

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