Day: June 9, 2023

Jack Smith Touts Severity of Trump Charges, but Highlights Presumption of Innocence

Just the News

Special counsel Jack Smith on Friday addressed his case against former President Donald Trump, whom he has charged with 37 counts, including mishandling classified documents, making false statements, conspiracy to obstruct, and falsification of records. Smith, whom Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed, has pursued the DOJ’s case against Trump since November. The case first became a matter of public knowledge in August of last year when the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate seeking classified materials he may have removed from the White House.

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Attorney General Skrmetti’s Office Denounces Healthcare Fraud After Allegations that Tennessee Companies are Giving Bogus Diagnoses for Sex Change Surgeries

Peter D'Abrosca

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office responded Thursday to a report from conservative Daily Wire commentator and filmmaker Matt Walsh, saying that companies operating in Tennessee are allegedly writing bogus diagnoses of gender dysphoria in order to help people obtain sex change surgeries via insurance.

Walsh noted that these alleged scammers are operating in Tennessee, prompting The Tennessee Star to ask the Attorney General’s office for a comment.

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Catholic League Urges Hundreds of Hispanic Leaders to Promote Boycott of Los Angeles Dodgers ‘Pride’ Game Honoring Anti-Catholic ‘Nuns’

Susan Berry, PhD

The Catholic League plans to reach out to 236 of “the most prominent Hispanic leaders in the Los Angeles area” to urge them to promote the campaign to boycott the Dodgers’ ‘pride night’ game during which the club will honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of drag queen “nuns” that promotes anti-Catholic bigotry.

“Our appeal is being made to the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders, the LA Latino Chamber of Commerce, the National Hispanic Media Coalition and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals Los Angeles,” said Catholic League President Bill Donohue in his column Thursday. “All 236 leaders will receive a letter that details our request, and a copy of the report that I wrote about the history of anti-Catholic acts committed by the “Sisters.”

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America’s Largest Teachers Unions Unveil LGBTQ Toolkit Detailing ‘Ze/Zim’ Pronouns, How to Address ‘Bias’

Admin

The country’s largest teachers union released an LGBTQ toolkit Wednesday for educators, explaining “ze/zim” pronouns and how to address bias around sexual orientation and gender identity within the classroom.

The National Education Association’s (NEA) newest guidance aims to provide resources to educators to help them support LGBTQ students within the classroom by “using inclusive language [and] addressing harmful comments.” The toolkit includes a guide that encourages teachers to introduce themselves with their pronouns and use “gender neutral” pronouns such as “they, them, or their” when they are unsure of someone’s gender.

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FIRE: Street Preacher’s Arrest at Pennsylvania Pride Event and Subsequent Dismissal Is a Free-Speech Lesson

Bradley Vasoli

Charges were dropped this week regarding Christian street preacher Damon Atkins who was arrested for speaking negatively about an LGBTQ pride-flag-raising he attended at Reading, Pennsylvania City Hall on Saturday. 

“After review of the video of the incident, including body-worn cameras, and a review of the case law, we did not believe we could prove a criminal case of disorderly conduct,” Berks County’s District Attorney’s office said in a statement.

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Connecticut Gov. Lamont Signs Gun Control Legislation

The Center Square

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has signed a sweeping gun control law that bans open carry of firearms and further tightens the state’s existing restrictions on military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.

The Democratic-led measure, signed by Lamont on Tuesday, limits handgun purchases to three per month, raises the minimum age to purchase a semiautomatic rifle from 18 to 21 and regulates the sale of body armor to civilians, among other provisions.

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Mexican National Residing in Georgia Pleads Guilty in Federal Court to Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Migrants

Kaitlin Housler

A 39-year-old Mexican National residing in Tifton, Georgia pleaded guilty in federal court to the offense of Conspiracy to Transport Unauthorized Aliens, the District of North Dakota U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

Rodolfo Arzola-Carrillo pled guilty on June 7 in a North Dakota court before Chief Judge Peter D. Welte, who imposed the sentence of 18 months in Federal Prison, one-year supervised release, and $100.00 Special Assessment.

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Undeclared Candidate Frank LaRose Leads in Ohio Senate Primary Poll

Hannah Poling

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who is an undeclared candidate for the U.S. Senate, is currently leading the race to unseat Ohio Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in 2024 in a new poll conducted by Louisiana-based Causeway Solutions for Leadership for Ohio Fund.

The poll obtained by the Washington Examiner details that among Republican primary voters surveyed, undeclared LaRose has secured a strong lead obtaining 24 percent of the vote over the already declared candidates.

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Poll: Trump Maintains Double-Digit Lead over DeSantis in Iowa

Admin

Former President Donald Trump has maintained a double-digit lead (39 percent to 24 percent) over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis among likely Iowa GOP Caucus voters, according to a new National Research Inc. poll commissioned by American Greatness.

Trump’s current 15-point lead over DeSantis is within the survey’s 4.38 percent margin of error of his previous 18-point lead conducted last month.

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Michigan Gov. Whitmer Signs Distracted Driving Bills

The Center Square

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday signed into law three distracted driving bills requiring hands-free cellphone use.

The bills provide exceptions such as hands-free use, emergency use, using a device’s navigation feature as long as the information isn’t entered by hand, or using a single button press, tap, or swipe to activate or deactivate a device or to select a name or phone number.

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Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association Releases Videos Highlighting Health Care Professionals’ Personal Stories Regarding Workplace Violence

Kaitlin Housler

The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) released a series of videos featuring the stories of hospital nurses across the state who have firsthand experience with workplace violence in clinical settings.

The videos have been released in recognition of the annual Hospitals Against Violence initiative, which focuses on “identifying strategies to combat workplace and community violence,” according to VHHA.

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Dr. Scott Jensen Sues Minnesota Medical Board, AG Ellison

Admin

Former gubernatorial candidate Dr. Scott Jensen is suing the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice and Attorney General Keith Ellison in connection with multiple instances over the last three years where the board conducted investigations of his medical license.

The Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC) is representing Jensen in both claims, which were filed Tuesday in two separate actions. One is a First Amendment constitutional claim filed in federal court, and the other a Data Practices Act-related claim filed in Carver County state district court.

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Judge Imposes Maximum Prison Sentence on Teacher Who Sent Death Threats to Arizona GOP Lawmaker

Rachel Alexander

A judge sentenced a former Tucson school teacher to two and half years in prison for making a death threat against State Senator Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff) and two store owners.

Navajo County Superior Court Judge Joseph Clark issued the maximum sentence against Donald Glenn Brown during a hearing in Holbrook on Tuesday. Brown pleaded guilty to attempting to make a terroristic threat in April, a class 4 felony.

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Commentary: Credit Card ‘Processing Fee’ Legislation Only Benefits the Woke Corporations

Admin

Woke retailers like Target are lining up in support of what last year I called ‘smash and grab’ legislation worth billions of dollars by mandating changes to how credit cards are processed. Senator Dick Durbin succeeded in getting language put into the 2010 Dodd-Frank bill that imposed massive new regulations on the banking industry which changed the processing of debit card transactions.  Guess who got and kept the windfall in lower processing fees?  If you answered the big box retailers, you are right.

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Arizona Gov. Hobbs Vetoes Homeless Crackdown Bill, Six Others in One Day

The Center Square

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed Senate Bill 1413, a bill that would have made homeless encampments on private property trespassing.

The bill would have also allowed cities to remove homeless encampments’ property if after a warning they are not claimed within 24 hours. If not claimed within 14 days, the property would be destroyed. Counties and municipalities would be required to clean the area.

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Ohio Attorney General Yost Recovers Donations from Sham Charity that Stole Thousands Intended for East Palestine Residents

Hannah Poling

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost reached a settlement with the sham charity, the Ohio Clean Water Fund, which stole thousands of dollars after pretending to raise money for East Palestine residents in the wake of the disastrous February 3rd train derailment.

Under the settlement, the sham charity must return over the $131,000 in pocketed donations so the money truly does benefit East Palestine residents.

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In Pittsburgh, Massive School Spending Hasn’t Bought Massive Achievement

Bradley Vasoli

A Pittsburgh-based think tank’s analysis published this week shows the city’s public schools spend far more per student than the average public school even as achievement severely lags.

Examining student testing statistics and finance data, the brief by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (AI) determined that Pittsburgh Public Schools spend almost $30,000 per pupil — among the highest spending figures in the state — while their institutions score woefully low. 

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Ohio Senate Unanimously Passes Legislation to Prohibit Installing Tracking Devices Without Consent

Hannah Poling

The Ohio Senate unanimously passed bipartisan legislation that generally prohibits the installation of an electronic tracking device on someone else’s property without the other person’s consent.

Senate Bill (SB) 100, sponsored by State Senators Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) and Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood), aims to establish the use of tracking devices for menacing or stalking purposes as its own offense under Ohio law – a move that the bill’s sponsors say closes a loophole in current state statutes.

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More Religious Groups Attending Pride Events This Year

Admin

Despite growing backlash against the “pride” movement in 2023, there has been a noticeable increase in allegedly religious groups showing public support for homosexuality, transgenderism, and other aspects of the LGBTQ agenda.

According to NPR, the rise in ostensibly religious groups’ support for pride is due to a nationwide initiative called Faith for Pride, run by the far-left group Interfaith Alliance. The group consists of multiple religions and denominations, including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and others.

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Commentary: Education Bureaucrats Are Trying to Bully Schools into Going Woke

Admin

On February 12, the president of the Harvard Graduate School of Education urged higher education bureaucrats to blacklist Florida’s public universities for refusing to establish offices of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA). The institutions “have no right to be accredited,” wrote Professor Brian Rosenberg.

If you think this argument is all bark and no bite, think again. Wokeness has penetrated virtually every institution in America. School accrediting agencies are no exception. Increasingly, they are demanding that schools incorporate DEIA into their policies and curricula—or else. If current trends continue, it won’t be long until non-woke colleges lose their accreditation, jeopardizing their reputation and very existence.

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Iowa GOP Reps Lobbied for Green Tax Credits That Benefit a ‘Megadonor’ Supporting Their Campaigns

Admin

All four Iowa House Republicans lobbied to protect tax credits for carbon dioxide storage in House Republicans’ debt ceiling bill after raking in thousands in donations from a donor involved in CO2 pipeline development, according to campaign finance records.

The Iowa coalition — Reps. Randy Feenstra, Ashley Hinson, Marianette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn — refused to back Republicans’ Limit, Save, Grow Act until their colleagues removed language that would have rolled back tax credits supporting carbon pipelines, according to multiple reports. The act narrowly passed the House in a near party-line vote in late April with the Iowans’ support, and the tax credits are not touched in President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s final debt ceiling deal.

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White House Quietly Prepares Back Up Plan If SCOTUS Strikes Down Student Loan Giveaway: Report

Admin

The Biden administration is quietly preparing for the possibility that the Supreme Court will strike down its controversial student loan forgiveness plan later in June, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The White House’s public position is that it expects the court to uphold the debt cancellation package, but several administration officials have conveyed private doubts about its prospects of survival upon review, according to the report. Behind the scenes, administration officials are exploring various legal and communications strategies to pursue in the event that the Supreme Court eventually overturns the signature Biden policy, according to the report.

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