Day: July 5, 2023

Secret Service Confirms Cocaine Found in White House

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The U.S. Secret Service has confirmed that cocaine was found at the White House on the eve of Fourth of July, the discovery of which prompted a West Wing evacuation, according to ABC News.

Secret Service agents discovered the substance in the West Wing on Sunday, two days after President Joe Biden’s son Hunter was seen leaving the building, as part of a routine security sweep of the building, and initially suspected it was anthrax, prompting an evacuation of the building. The agency confirmed that the substance was cocaine Wednesday after conducting a drug test, according to ABC News.

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Middle Tennessee Animal Shelter Warns of Pet Scammers

Peter D'Abrosca

A middle Tennessee animal shelter is urging pet owners to take caution as it says scammers are assuming its identity. 

According to reports, scammers pretending to be employees of the Montgomery County Animal Shelter are attempting to bilk the owners of lost pets out of money. The scam involves calling those owners of lost pets and claiming that their pet has been found. The scammers then ask for payment in exchange for return of the pet. 

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Tennessee Department of Education Funds 32 School Districts with Perkins Reserve Grants

Kaitlin Housler

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) recently announced that 32 school districts across the state have been awarded funds from the Perkins Reserve Grant (PRG) to support career and technical education (CTE) for the 2023-24 school year.

Tennessee’s CTE consists of “16 nationally recognized career clusters with the ultimate goal of preparing students for success at the postsecondary level and in their chosen careers.”

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Pro-Life Groups Demand Congress Halt Pentagon’s Abortion Travel Funding Policy

Just the News

A group of pro-life groups have called on House Republicans to stop the Department of Defense policy allowing military servicemembers time off and reimbursement for travel to obtain abortions.

The Pentagon adopted the plan in the wake of the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion and led to numerous states banning the procedure entirely or at least imposing restrictions.

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Watchdog Group: Biden Administration Pushing to Make A.I. Inherently Left-Wing

Admin

As artificial intelligence (A.I.) technology takes off, the Biden Administration is allegedly pursuing efforts to make sure that such new technology adopts a left-wing worldview by default.

According to Fox News, the report comes from the watchdog group American Accountability Foundation (AAF), which said in a new memo that top officials in the Biden White House are attempting to program “dangerous ideologies” into new A.I. systems.

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Harvard Facing New Civil Rights Complaints After Affirmative Action Ruling

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Following a landmark ruling from the Supreme Court effectively ending the practice of race-based preferences in college admissions, Harvard University is facing new civil rights challenges over its practice of legacy admissions.

As reported by The Hill, the Ivy League university is now facing complaints from the Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR), a left-wing group representing black and Hispanic groups based in the New England area. LCR’s complaint claims that “each year, Harvard College grants special preference in its admissions process to hundreds of mostly White students — not because of anything they have accomplished, but rather solely because of who their relatives are.”

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Drag Queen ‘Peaches Christ’ Blames ‘Bigoted Christians’ at Google for Tech Company’s Removal of Performance from ‘Pride’ Events

Susan Berry, PhD

A drag queen who uses the name “Peaches Christ” lashed out against ‘bigoted Christians” in a social media post after Google removed its affiliation from his previously scheduled performance during the company’s “pride” events.

As CNBC reported, Google appeared to distance itself from its original plans to sponsor drag queen Joshua Grannell’s performance at a San Francisco LGBTQ bar as part of its “pride” month events after a petition circulating among the tech giant’s employees expressed opposition to its anti-Christian theme.

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Minnesota Abortions Increased Significantly in 2022, Report Says

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Abortions in Minnesota experienced a significant increase of 20% in 2022, as revealed in a report released by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).

This sharp rise comes on the heels of new abortion laws passed by lawmakers during the 2023 session, removing restrictions on abortion throughout pregnancy and repealing long-standing abortion laws, including portions of the reporting law that governs the release of the MDH data.

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Commentary: Social Conservatism Is Rebounding

Admin

It was just a matter of time. Decent Americans have had radical race and LGBTQ+ agendas shoved in their face for too long, and now they are fighting back. Too bad not all conservatives are on board.

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan recently said that he was not a “cultural war guy,” contending that he is more concerned about the debt crisis. This is what we would expect from someone who is at home sitting on the board of directors of Fox News’ parent company, Fox Corporation. 

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Arizona Attorney Rachel Mitchell Calls on Governor to Rescind Executive Order on Abortion-Related Crimes

Hannah Poling

Republican Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell is calling on Democratic Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs to rescind her executive order that strips county attorneys of their authority to prosecute abortion-related crimes.

Last month Hobbs signed a sweeping executive order to protect anyone involved with a “legally obtained” abortion from prosecution.

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National Labor Union Data Contradicts Pennsylvania Teacher Exodus Claims

The Center Square

Teacher compensation across Pennsylvania grew over the past decade, despite claims from officials that low salaries and high stress scare educators from the state in droves.

The data, gleaned from a recent report from the National Education Association – one of the country’s largest labor unions – found that teachers in Pennsylvania earned an average of $73,072 during the 2021-22 school year – the 11th highest rate in the nation.

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Florida Issues 2,265 New Recruit Police Bonuses So Far, 668 from Out of State

The Center Square

More than 2,200 new recruits to Florida law enforcement agencies have been awarded bonuses through a new program launched last year, with those moving to Florida from 48 states and two U.S. territories.

Florida was the first state to launch such a recruitment program last year and has since issued over 2,265 bonuses. Florida’s Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Program awarded more than $15 million bonuses officers in fiscal 2022. The $5,000 bonus includes a $1,694 payment to cover federal income taxes so the net each receives remains $5,000. Florida does not assess an individual income tax. Each new recruit receives a gross bonus of $6,694.

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Wisconsin Is Outlier Among Great Lakes States for Medicaid Expansion

The Center Square

Wisconsin is the only Great Lakes state that hasn’t adopted Medicaid expansion, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

KFF has tracked states’ expansion of Medicaid. It found that Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota have adopted and implemented Medicaid expansion. Iowa and Michigan implemented expansion in 2014, while Minnesota expanded it at the beginning of 2015, the report found. Iowa and Michigan are among seven states that have approved Section 1115 waivers from federal laws to operate their expanded Medicaid expansion programs. The other states are Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Montana and Utah.

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Six Regions in Virginia to Receive Economic Development Funding

The Center Square

Economic development organizations throughout the commonwealth are receiving $2.9 million in eight grant awards through Growth and Opportunity for Virginia, an organization that focuses on fostering sustainable regional economic growth in the commonwealth.

“These GO Virginia projects exemplify our commitment to fostering economic growth and creating opportunities across various regions,” said Gov. Glenn Youngkin. “By removing barriers to entrepreneurship, improving industrial sites and increasing the number of Virginia’s shovel-ready sites, we are propelling the growth of targeted industries and clearing pathways for sustainable employment.”

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Ohio Governor DeWine Requests Presidential Disaster Declaration for East Palestine

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine requested on Monday that President Joe Biden issue a Major Presidential Disaster Declaration for damage resulting from the catastrophic East Palestine train derailment that occurred earlier this year.

This follows two groups of protestors, Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment and River Valley Organizing, pressuring the Ohio Governor to submit a disaster declaration before the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Monday deadline.

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More than a Dozen States Pursuing Rail Safety Measures

The Center Square

Representatives from more than a dozen states are pursuing local measures to help ensure railroad safety.

The actions in Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia are mostly in response to the train derailment along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border on Feb. 3.

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