Seven Arrested in Protest That Disrupted Montana House Hearing on Youth Transgender Bill

man in handcuffs

Seven people in Montana have been arrested in connection with a protest Monday at the state capital over the censure of a state Democrat lawmaker opposed to a GOP-led bill limiting youth transgender medical procedures. 

The incident took place in the capital’s House chambers. Those arrested faces charges of criminal trespass after refusing to leave the gallery, which overlooks the House floor, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton told local NBC affiliate KTVH-TV.

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Business as Usual for the Metro Community Oversight Board as Bill to Disband Awaits Lee’s Signature

The Metro Nashville Community Oversight Board (COB) held what could be its final meeting Monday night as a bill to disband the authority awaits Governor Bill Lee’s signature. The measure comes after months of criticism of the Board’s makeup and activity.

State Executive Director of the Tennessee Faith & Freedom Coalition, Aaron Gulbransen told The Tennessee Star, “Nashville’s Community Oversight Board and those like it in other localities have been lambasted by individuals on both the Right and the Left. I think the Tennessee General Assembly made the right call regarding the legislation they passed.” Previously, Gulbransen was a senior reporter at The Star. 

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Survey: Faith Surged Among Young People amid COVID Pandemic

A survey first reported Monday by the Wall Street Journal found that 30 percent of young people say their faith grew stronger during the COVID pandemic, and that the percentage of those who say they know a “higher power” exists surged to 28 percent in December 2022 from the 22 percent reported in the 2021 survey.

Conducted by nonprofit Springtide Research Institute, the survey cites the context of the COVID pandemic lockdowns, when young people were largely isolated from others, and the subsequent mental health crisis among them had already begun to reach “epidemic proportions.”

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POS Poll Shows DeSantis Faring Better Than Trump Against Biden in the Badger State Despite Many Polls to the Contrary

Public Opinion Strategies is out with yet another poll showing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis faring better against former President Donald Trump, this time in battleground Wisconsin. 

But just who is paying for the polling that paints a picture of DeSantis’ presidential strength despite Trump’s significant lead in primary polls remains unclear. 

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Lizzo Welcomes Drag Queens on Stage at Knoxville Show to Protest Tennessee Drag Show Laws

Pop star Lizzo invited drag queens onto the stage in her weekend performance in Knoxville, apparently in protest of a Tennessee law that bans drag shows near children.

“In light of recent and tragic events and current events, I was told by people on the internet, ‘Cancel your shows in Tennessee,’ ‘Don’t go to Tennessee,'” Lizzo said during her show. “Their reason was valid, but why would I not come to the people who need to hear this message the most? “The people who need to feel this release the most?”

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‘Gender Queer’ Tops List of Most Challenged Books for a Second Year

The graphic novel Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe was the most challenged book of 2022, according to an annual list of the most controversial books as assessed by the American Library Association.

The list was published Monday during the start of National Library Week. The American Library Association said 2022 was a record year for books “targeted for censorship.” There were 2,571 unique titles challenged, of which 58 percent were in school libraries, classroom libraries or school curricula.

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Advocates Warn of ‘Desperate’ Movement to Undermine the Electoral College

An organization’s efforts to circumvent states’ rights are “getting desperate” as they try new ways to push their interstate compact through state legislatures, two pro-Electoral College advocacy groups told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The National Popular Vote (NPV) is a group initiative to reform the U.S.’ two-step, Electoral College system by ensuring that the candidate with the most popular votes nationwide becomes the president. Now that NPV has enacted its interstate compact in all of the “easy,” bluer states as a standalone bill, it is getting creative to force the law through in swing states like Minnesota, Nevada, Michigan and Maine, Trent England of Save Our States and Jasper Hendricks of Democrats for the Electoral College told the DCNF.

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Supreme Court Declines to Hear Energy Companies’ Appeals to Climate Damage Lawsuits

The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear local governments’ climate damage lawsuits against energy companies on Monday.

The companies, who localities want to hold financially accountable for burning fossil fuels they allege damaged the climate, appealed their cases to the Supreme Court, asking it to weigh in on whether the claims should be heard in state or federal courts. The Court’s decision benefits the environmental activists behind the lawsuits, who prefer the matter to play out in state courts, where judges may be more inclined to rule in their favor, experts previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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Hundreds Protest Chinese-Owned Electric Vehicle Battery Plant in Michigan

Hundreds of people protested against a Chinese-owned electric vehicle battery plant being constructed in northern Michigan due to concerns about national security.

“How many abuses have we seen over the years from China? And to think that they will set up a battery factory in our state and they will just play by the rules? That makes no sense whatsoever,” Michigan Republican Chair Kristina Karamo said at the protest Saturday, NewsNation reported.

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Thousands Stage Protest March Across Mexico, Head for U.S. Border

On Sunday, a group of over 3,000 illegal aliens began a protest march that started in southern Mexico and will march to the north to end at the border between Mexico and the United States.

According to Politico, the march is in protest against the use of illegal alien detention centers, one of which caught fire last month in an incident that led to the deaths of approximately 40 illegals. The mob of illegals, which started its march in Tapachula along the Guatemalan border, will head for Mexico City, to demand that the government put an end to the use of such facilities.

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Metro Nashville Council Followed Titans Lobbyist Letter on $2.1 Billion Stadium Deal Votes

Lobbyists for a new $2.1 billion Titans stadium sent an email to Metro Nashville council members on the morning of the second reading of a bill about the project detailing the Titans’ position on 28 amendments to the deal that were heard at that night’s meeting.

The email and documents were acquired and posted by Nashville residents opposed to the deal Monday.

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Pennsylvania Lawmaker Rebukes Ben Franklin’s Defense of Liberty in Call for Hate-Crimes Bill

Rallying for hate-crimes legislation on the steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg on Monday, state Representative Napoleon Nelson (D-Glenside) rebuked founding father Benjamin Franklin.

The representative observed that a Franklin quote etched into a wall 40 feet from him read, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” 

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Commentary: Biden’s Open Borders Are Bringing Diseases to Your Neighborhood

by Betsy McCaughey   Ready for another pandemic? New York City’s health commissioner announced last week that the influx of migrants from the southern border — more than 50,000 to New York City alone in the past year — is delivering contagious diseases, including tuberculosis and polio, to our neighborhoods. The same disease threats are also endangering other migrant destinations, including California, Texas and Florida. In a letter to physicians and health care administrators citywide, Commissioner Ashwan Vasan explained that “many people who recently arrived in NYC have lived in or traveled through countries with high rates of TB.” TB, short for tuberculosis, is a bacterial infection. It is treatable with antibiotics, but it generally takes six to nine months of medication to recover. Not a walk in the park. TB spreads through the air, like flu or a cold. Stand next to someone with TB for a long subway ride or sit next to them every day at school and you can catch it. New York City’s TB rate, at 6.1 cases per 100,000, is more than double the national rate. Close to 9 out of 10 (88 percent) of these TB cases are people born outside the United…

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Atlanta PD Investigating Antisemitic, ‘Transphobic’ Flyers Strewn Around Town

The Atlanta Police Department (APD) announced Sunday that they were working with the department’s Homeland Security Unit (HSU) to investigate antisemitic flyers that were distributed around the city, according to a press release.

The flyers were distributed over the weekend in East Atlanta and reportedly had a “large rainbow-colored Star of David” as well as antisemitic and “transphobic” messages, according to 11Alive, an Atlanta-based news outlet. APD announced in a press release Sunday that they were “made aware of antisemitic and transphobic flyers” and were investigating the incident alongside the HSU.

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Assisted Suicide Defeated Again in Connecticut

A Connecticut bill that would have permitted physicians to assist patients to commit suicide and, its critics say, eliminated penalties for any person who may have pressured another individual to commit suicide using the legislation’s provisions, has died in committee.

The highly controversial legislation failed to pass the Judiciary Committee Wednesday, ending hopes for a floor vote, reported the Hartford Courant.

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Amendment to ‘Trans Refuge’ Bill Fails amid GOP Absences

Does a “trans refuge” bill that passed in the Minnesota Senate on Friday contain language that could unintentionally drag Minnesota families into child protection services proceedings if someone reports a parent has refused to seek puberty blockers or hormone replacement therapy for their child who claims to want it?

State Sen. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, offered an amendment during debate over the legislation, HF146, he hoped would eliminate legal confusion over that possibility. But that amendment narrowly failed after four of his fellow Republicans failed to cast a vote on it.

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Cosponsor Admits Bill Forces Pennsylvania Doctors to Practice ‘Gender-Affirming’ Medicine

On Monday, a legislative committee passed a bill a cosponsor admits would force Pennsylvania physicians to provide treatments meant to mask a gender-dysphoric person’s biological sex.

A measure supporters call the “Fairness Act” and tout as an anti-discrimination bill passed the Democrat-controlled Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee on a 12-9 party-line vote. In a speech defending the bill, cosponsoring Representative Emily Kinkead (D-Bellevue) confirmed assertions by the legislation’s opponents that it would compel doctors to deliver “gender-affirming” medicine. 

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Proposal Uses Pennsylvania Rainy Day Fund To Pay Down Unfunded Pension Liability

A Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to use the state’s Rainy Day Fund to pay down the state’s unfunded pension liabilities that total more than $60 billion.

State Representative Joe Ciresi (D-Royersford) is asking colleagues to cosponsor a bill to move $670 million from the fund to the Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) and $330 million to the State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS). A memorandum describing his legislation avers it could save local real-estate taxpayers $2.1 billion over the next 20 years. 

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National Right to Work Foundation Files Amicus Brief in Michigan Union Lawsuit

The National Right to Work Foundation filed an amicus brief at the Michigan Supreme Court opposing a strategy used by a Michigan union.

The brief, filed Friday, says the union officials of the Technical, Professional, and Officeworkers Association of Michigan “weaponizes” the grievance process to force nonmember public employees to pay fees to the union.

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Youngkin Signs Executive Order Establishing Virginia Trade Office in Taiwan

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin took historic steps by signing an executive order establishing a foreign trade office while meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan in Taipei earlier today, kicking off his Asian tour. 

This will be the commonwealth’s fourth international office; others are in Japan, South Korea and Germany. Youngkin is scheduled to visit Japan and South Korea during his Asian trip.

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Wisconsin Congressman Scott Fitzgerald Says Judiciary Committee Will Push for Answers in Manhattan DA’s ‘Bizarre’ Prosecution of Trump

The House Judiciary Committee will continue to seek answers from Democrat Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on his “bizarre” prosecution of former President Donald Trump, U.S. Representative Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI-05) says. 

Fitzgerald, a member of the powerful committee, said Bragg’s decision to drop his lawsuit against the Republican-led Judiciary Committee is a victory for the committee and its chairman, U.S. Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH-04). 

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State Senate Republicans Urge Democrats to Cooperate in Creating a Bipartisan State Budget for Arizonans

With the Legislative session winding down, one of the major tasks left for lawmakers to accomplish is creating a state budget, which needs to be in place before July, or a government shutdown could occur. However, Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) said State Democrats are inhibiting the process by not cooperating with budgeting requests.

“We are just weeks away from some government agencies running out of funding because legislative Democrats are stalling,” said Petersen. “I’m confident we would have already passed a budget had the Democrats spent the last seven weeks negotiating the budget with us, in good faith.”

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Arizona Homemade Food Bill Receives National Support While Senate Democrats Appear to Backtrack

Support for HB 2509, sponsored by Travis Grantham (R-Gilbert), to receive a veto override has reached nationwide, as the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL) sent Arizona Legislative leaders a message Sunday sharing their support for this bill.

“By signing this bill, the Governor [Katie Hobbs (D)] had an opportunity to support the Hispanic community and personal freedom that should be accessible to everyone. Our community should not fear legal repercussions for selling their homemade foods and we urge Arizona Legislators to do what is right and override her veto,” wrote the NHCSL President, New Jersey Senator Nellie Pou (D-Paterson).

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Georgia Democrat is Critical of New School Safety Law

A Georgia state lawmaker has expressed reservations about a measure Gov. Brian Kemp recently signed that proponents say will help keep teachers and students safe in the classroom.

In a news release, the governor’s office described House Bill 147, the Safe Schools Act, as a “key part of the governor’s legislative agenda this year” that “builds on his commitment to keeping Georgia’s students, teachers, and school personnel safe.”

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Lt. Governor Husted Pushes Ohio Lawmakers to Pass Proposal Requiring Verified Parental Consent Before Kids Use Social Media

According to Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted, if lawmakers do not pass a separate bill that includes the requirement for verified parental consent prior to children’s use of social media by June 30th, lawmakers should add it back into the state budget due for Governor Mike DeWine’s signature by that date.

“The Lt. Governor’s support for the Social Media Parental Notification Act remains very strong and he will continue to advocate for its passage this spring. The budget, along with the social media provision, is currently under consideration in the Senate and we are urging members’ support there as well,” Husted spokesperson Haley Carducci told The Star. 

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Pennsylvania Previews Master Aging Plan

State officials previewed a 10-year master aging plan to lawmakers this week as Pennsylvania nears a looming demographics cliff.

Estimates suggest that 25% of residents will be over the age of 64 by 2030, making Pennsylvania one of the oldest states in the country. Declining birth rates, college unaffordability, and sluggish economic development – all reinforced by pandemic interruptions – strengthen the trend, The Center Square previously reported.

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Violent Criminal Who Shot at Police and Injured Pregnant Woman Now Behind Bars

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) announced Friday that Christopher John Garcia, 34, has been placed behind bars after being convicted of violent crimes against police officers and a pregnant woman.

“Victims of violent crime carry with them a lifetime of trauma that in many cases is difficult to overcome. This defendant is where he needs to be; away from society so he will not hurt again,” said County Attorney Rachel Mitchell (R). “To the victims of this crime and all victims in our community, you are the forefront of why we do the work that we do.”

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Ohio Pro-Life Group Responds to Rep. Sykes’ Legislation Penalizing Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers

An Ohio Pro-Life group, Ohio Right to Life, responded on Friday to a piece of legislation introduced by U.S. Congresswoman Emilia Sykes (D-OH-13) that aims to penalize pro-life pregnancy resource centers while encouraging more violence and vandalism towards them.

On Thursday, Sykes introduced the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation (SAD) Act which directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to “prohibit unfair or deceptive advertising related to the provision of abortion services and authorizes the FTC to enforce these rules and collect penalties from organizations in violation.”

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Biden Administration Inserts Racial, Gender Equity into Everything from Energy to Food

When the Biden Energy Department recently unveiled $72 million in funding to help train the next generation of green energy workers it did more than just tout its latest solution for climate change. It argued a racially and gender diverse workforce was “crucial” to the project’s mission.

The Cabinet department tasked to “ensure America’s security and prosperity” through energy didn’t explain how a “diverse workforce” can mitigate or reverse Biden-era energy trends such as some of the highest gas prices in American history, some of the lowest oil reserve levels in nearly 40 years and “unprecedented” growth in utility bill debt.

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Commentary: Insane Deficit Spending Is Immoral

In Armageddon, Bruce Willis blows himself up on an asteroid to save his daughter and all of humanity. (Sorry for the spoiler, but the movie is 25 years old.) That theme—parents providing for, and sacrificing for, their children—is the deeply moral and moving story that Americans used to love. 

I say “used to,” because something troubling has happened. We now accept that young people should be worse off for a lifetime in order to benefit those who have already lived full, comfortable lives. We saw this during COVID-19, when an elderly leadership class locked children out of classrooms, playgrounds, friendships, and sports, and wiped out jobs, training, and mentorship for young workers.

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Commentary: The ‘Limit, Save, Grow’ Plan’s Discretionary Spending Caps that Save More than $3 Trillion Might Not Be Enough

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and the House Republican majority have unveiled their spending plan for the next decade, the Limit, Save, Grow Act, that will be tied to a $1.5 trillion increase in the $31.4 trillion national debt ceiling, the centerpiece of which imposes discretionary budget caps beginning in 2024, but which will be set at 2022 levels, which could save more than $3.2 trillion over the next decade, according to an estimate by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

While an official score still has not come in from the Congressional Budget Office, the proposal stands out as a promise kept on McCarthy’s part to use the must-pass debt ceiling to restore some semblance of fiscal sanity to the out-of-control federal budget and national debt, the latter of which the White House Office of Management and Budget projects will rise to a gargantuan $50.7 trillion by 2033.

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Former Intel Officials Who Signed the Infamous ‘Hunter Biden Laptop Letter’ Landed Jobs in the Biden Administration

After Biden campaign officials coordinated a letter signed by 51 former intelligence officers casting doubt about the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop before the 2020 presidential election, several signatories ended up with roles in the president’s administration.

Former Deputy Director of the CIA Michael Morrell testified to the House Judiciary Committee that then-Biden senior adviser and current Secretary of State Tony Blinken contacted him and “triggered” the creation of the letter. Former CIA chief of staff Jeremy Bash, who signed the letter, put Morrell in touch with Biden campaign Chairman Steve Richetti, who thanked him for orchestrating it; Biden later appointed Bash to the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board in 2022.

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