Trump Gaining Support of Minorities, both Trump and DeSantis Likely to Beat Biden in 2024: Poll

Former President Donald Trump is gaining support from minorities and both Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – the top two potential Republican candidates for 2024 –  are poised to beat President Joe Biden, spelling trouble for the president as he runs for reelection, according to a poll released Sunday.

Biden is losing support from black and Hispanic Americans as Trump is gaining, according to a Langer Research Associates poll produced for ABC News.

Read the full story

FDIC to Slap Banks with New Fees to Cover Bailout Losses: Report

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) plans to release a proposal to replenish funds spent bailing out depositors of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank in March by charging fees to banks with over $10 billion in assets, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg.

The smallest lenders with under $10 billion in assets would be exempt from these fees, according to the sources who spoke to Bloomberg. There were over 4,000 banks beneath that threshold at the end of 2022; however, there were 145 banks between $10 billion and $250 billion in assets, according to FDIC data.

Read the full story

District 86 Special Election Will Feature Interim State Rep Justin Pearson in Contested Democratic Primary, Independent Challenger

After Thursday’s qualifying deadline, several candidates have made the cut to run in the District 86 special election, including two Democrats and one independent. One Republican picked up a petition on the day of the qualifying deadline but failed to file the 25 signatures needed to be on the ballot. The Memphis-based district has long been a Democratic mainstay.

Late State Representative Barbara Cooper (D-Memphis) held the seat for nearly 26 years before passing away just two weeks before last year’s general election. She was posthumously reelected by a margin of 46 percentage points.

Read the full story

Trump, Tucker Carlson Mull Alternative Republican Primary Debate: Report

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is reportedly in discussions with former President Donald Trump to moderate an alternative Republican candidate forum, as the the pair move on from the cable news network.

Trump has threatened to boycott the first Republican debate, which Fox News will host, amid increasingly frayed relations between him and the network. Carlson, meanwhile, is reportedly looking to build a media presence for himself in the aftermath of his firing and has approached Trump about the independent forum, the Washington Post reported, citing “people familiar with his thinking.”

Read the full story

Biden Administration’s Controversial Rule Raising Fees for Those with Good Credit Goes into Effect

The latest in a series of new Biden administration rule changes that charge higher fees to certain home buyers with good credit and lower fees for buyers with worse credit went into effect this week despite pushback from Republicans and many financial experts.

A group of U.S. House and Senate Republicans as well as state officials were unable to stop the rule, which a Biden administration official confirmed went into effect as planned Monday.

A coalition of Senate Republicans recently sent a letter to Sandra Thompson, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the latest in several policy changes from the group. The agency implemented the rule change this week.

Read the full story

Bipartisan Ohio State Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Prohibit Intimate Exams Without Patient Consent

A bipartisan group of Ohio Lawmakers introduced a bill prohibiting intimate examinations on anesthetized and unconscious patients without their consent.

House Bill (HB) 89, sponsored by state Representatives Brett Hillyer (R-Uhrichsville) and Munira Abdullahi (D-Columbus), aims to require specific consent from patients before doctors, nurses, and medical providers-in-training perform intimate pelvic, prostate, or rectal exams as part of their training while patients are unconscious for an unrelated procedure.

Read the full story

Connecticut Leaders Push Pension Reform Plan

Connecticut cities and towns could save tens of millions of dollars a year in pension costs under a new proposal unveiled this week by state leaders.

The plan, rolled out Wednesday, emerged from a deal between Gov. Ned Lamont and State Comptroller Sean Scanlon to overhaul the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement System, a state-run pension system for municipal employees, including police officers, firefighters, and public works employees.

Read the full story

High Weed Tax in Pennsylvania May Repeat California’s Mistakes

A revenue analysis estimates that Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal for adult-use cannabis could bring in more than $250 million annually — but legalization advocates aren’t so enthusiastic.

The concern is not about legalizing and regulating marijuana. Instead, it’s a worry that Pennsylvania will repeat the mistakes of high-tax states that have failed to move people from the illegal market into a regulated one.

Read the full story

Feds Announce Indictments Against 45 Minneapolis Gang Members

U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Andrew Luger announced on Wednesday the indictment of 45 Minneapolis gang members and associates in what he described as a years-long pattern of violence including murders, numerous shootings, acts of retaliation against rival gang members, drug dealing, and robberies.

A press conference held by Luger and several local and federal authorities described two indictments that were unsealed Wednesday in the District of Minnesota charging 30 members and associates of two Minneapolis-based street gangs — the Highs and the Bloods — with racketeering (RICO) conspiracy.

Read the full story

Wisconsin Legislative Budget Committee Axes Controversial Plan for Office of Election Transparency and Compliance

The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee this week rejected a plan by the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) to create a $2 million Office of Election Transparency and Compliance. 

While the proposed bureaucracy’s name suggests election integrity, it would be built by WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe, the same bureaucrat who has presided over an agency riddled with election integrity complaints and election law violations. 

Read the full story

Maricopa County Supervisors Select Julie Willoughby to Replace Ousted Legislator Liz Harris

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors selected Julie Willoughby, an emergency room trauma nurse, to fill the vacant LD 13 House seat formerly occupied by ousted State Representative Liz Harris (R-Chandler). The vote was 4-1, with the lone Democrat Steve Gallardo dissenting. The law required Republican precinct committeemen in the district to choose three candidates to send to the supervisors. The other two candidates they selected were Harris, who received the most support from the PCs, and Steven Steele, a retired natural-gas worker and motorcycle-operator trainer.

Arizona Corporation Commissioner Jim O’Connor, who led an effort opposing voting machine tabulators last election, praised the choice. “I believe Julie to be a solid conservative voice for her district,” he told The Arizona Sun Times.

Read the full story

U.S. Senator JD Vance Claims Biden Is ‘Playing Russian Roulette with the Country’s Finances’

U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) claims that President Joe Biden is “playing Russian roulette with the country’s finances” for refusing to negotiate on the current state of the debt plan.

This follows House Republicans passing the Limit, Save, Grow Act last week, which aims to address the debt ceiling and implement common sense spending reforms to limit wasteful spending, save taxpayer dollars, and grow the economy in hopes that Biden would negotiate with them.

Read the full story

Arizona Department of Education Requests Changes for Lawsuit Against Arizona’s Law Separating Boys’ and Girls’ Sports

The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) announced Thursday it had filed a motion in court to have the venue of a lawsuit against the enforcement of an Arizona law changed from Tucson to Phoenix.

“Crucially, counsel for the parties are located in Phoenix. Even Plaintiffs are represented by local counsel in Phoenix, as is counsel for Superintendent [Tom] Horne. The result is that all of the Arizona lawyers are located in Phoenix, none are located in Tucson. That makes an overwhelming difference in the expense to the parties in litigating this case,” according to the motion, emailed to reporters.

Read the full story

TikTok’s Parent Company Allegedly Tracks Conversations About COVID-19 Lab Leak Theory: Report

Popular social media app TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company ByteDance might be tracking online conversations about the COVID-19 lab leak theory, according to documents obtained by Forbes.

A ByteDance tool controlled by Chinese personnel monitors the use of “sensitive words” across company platforms, according to a Forbes investigation. Forbes accessed hundreds of ByteDance’s word lists and published them; they contain various categories including “science and medicine,” which is largely about China and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full story

Marine Corps to Deactivate Female-Only Unit amid Pressure from Congress to Speed Up Gender Integration

The Marine Corps announced plans to deactivate a historic female-only training battalion that for decades served as the only point of entry into the force for female Marines, according to a press release issued Wednesday.

The 4th Recruit Training Battalion at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, has trained female Marines since 1986, and since 1949 the base itself was the only location female Marines would receive instruction, according to Military.com. On June 15, the unit will be officially deactivated, the Corps said in a press release, as the service seeks to speed up gender integration in training companies amid pressure from Congress.

Read the full story

Commentary: Christian Popular Culture’s Revival Cast Out the Money Changers

“Jesus Revolution” and “The Chosen” are not just Christian dramas but the avant garde in a revolution in faith entertainment. The former – a feel-good movie about hippies who returned to Christ during the 1970s, starring former “Cheers” and “Frasier” star Kelsey Grammer – has grossed more than $52 million since its debut just a few weeks ago, making it the most successful film released by studio heavyweight Lionsgate since 2019.

Read the full story

Commentary: Three Traditional Skills Young Men Should Learn

It seems that no matter where we turn in modern life we can see how modern conveniences have chipped away at the skills so many used to pride themselves on. Of course, in and of themselves, modern conveniences aren’t bad—I’m grateful for many of them—but when so many of us young people today don’t know the skills of our forefathers, I can’t help but think that we are losing that hardy, independent mindset that early Americans often embodied.

Read the full story

Commentary: The Long Road to Confronting China’s War on Religion Part Two

Falun Gong emerged in China in 1992, a time of a spiritual renewal in a land still under Communist rule, but one recovering from the horrors of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution. Drawing on Buddhist traditions, Falun Gong combined meditation and tai chi-style exercises with a moral philosophy centered on the tenets of “zhen,” “shan,” and “ren” (truth, compassion, tolerance.) The word, in both English and Chinese, to describe this contemplative mind and body approach to life is qigong.

Read the full story