Jim Gingrich Drops Out of Nashville Mayoral Race

WSMV There’s now one less candidate in the mix to become the next mayor of Nashville as Democrat Jim Gingrich announced he’s dropping from the race. Gingrich is Chief Operating Officer at Alliance Bernstein and helped bring the company to Music City. Gingrich released the following statement on Monday: “With deep gratitude to the city of Nashville and a heavy heart, I have made the decision to suspend my campaign for Mayor. After deciding what was best for my family, how to honor my campaign team, respect every single supporter we have gained, and in consultation with the electoral data available, we have decided to put the best interest of the Nashvillians first and allow voters to rally behind another candidate. READ THE FULL STORY    

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Transgender NCAA Swimmer Lia Thomas Embraces Domestic Terror Group Antifa

Breitbart News Controversial NCAA swimming champion Lia Thomas is stirring the pot once again, this time by posting images to social media showing him modeling a militaristic t-shirt in support of the domestic terror group Antifa. Thomas is seen in the photo wearing dark sunglasses and the Antifa shirt, reading “Antifa Super Solder,” along with a bondage-style, military-esque leather gear. He is also holding up his hand in a mock peace sign. Antifa is widely considered a domestic terror group and has been at the forefront of destructive protests that resulted in millions in property damage for over a decade. READ THE FULL STORY    

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Angel Studios’ ‘Sound of Freedom’ Projecting to Cross $100 Million in Box Office Revenue

Crowdfund platform Angel Studios announced Sunday its July cumulative-to-date box office revenue for its true-life child trafficking thriller Sound of Freedom is projected to be over $85 million through Sunday with the anticipation of crossing the $100 million mark this week.

Angel Studios, which has also distributed the blockbuster faith series The Chosen, said Sound of Freedom, driven by its star Jim Caviezel, showed a $27 million box office draw in the second week of the film’s release in America since it opened July 4, and earned the top spot at the box office with the help of its Pay It Forward fans.

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It Could Take ‘Decades’ to Refill America’s Oil Reserves Drained by Biden, Experts Say

It may take decades to refill the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) after President Joe Biden released unprecedented amounts from its supply in 2022, according to Bloomberg News.

Aging infrastructure, higher oil prices and budget constraints have impeded the administration’s efforts to substantially replenish the SPR after Biden tapped its supply to tame spiking energy prices in the lead up to the 2022 midterms, according to Bloomberg. The massive underground salt caverns that hold the SPR oil now sit half-empty with no easy route to replenishment, and experts say it could take decades to refill the reserves, according to Bloomberg.

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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose Jumps Into Race to Unseat Dem Sen. Sherrod Brown in 2024

Frank LaRose

Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced a run for Senate on Monday to unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in 2024, according to a campaign launch video.

LaRose enters a growing GOP primary field where he will face businessman Bernie Moreno and state Sen. Matt Dolan, who both unsuccessfully ran for Senate during the 2022 midterms. The secretary of state touched on issues he feels plague the country, like parental rights in education, the border crisis and inflation, when announcing his run for Senate, according to a Twitter video.

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Arizona State University Faces Crisis as Donor Pulls Money, Lawmakers Probe Free Speech Concerns

Arizona State University is facing a crisis as state lawmakers launch an investigation and at least one donor pulls his money over allegations the school is not supporting free speech. 

Ann Atkinson, executive director of the T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development at ASU’s Barrett Honors College, lost her job last month in what she called a politically motivated move for organizing an event earlier this year titled “Health, Wealth and Happiness,” with conservative commentators Dennis Prager and Charlie Kirk.

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Evacuations Ordered in Pennsylvania After 40-Car Train Derails: Officials

The Epoch Times A Norfolk Southern freight train derailment in Pennsylvania has forced the evacuation of the town of Whitemarsh Township, officials said Monday. The derailment took place at around 5 a.m. ET on Monday in the township, officials told local media. The train was carrying silicone pellets and other materials, police said. “As of now, the only thing that is leaking from any of the rail cars involved, is silicone pellets which pose no risk to the community,” said the department in a Facebook post. “We are still gathering information at this time and ask you to follow us here for any important factual updates. We thank all the community partners and resources that are working with us on scene ensuring the safety of our community.” READ THE FULL STORY      

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University Slaps Trigger Warning on Hemingway’s ‘Old Man and the Sea’ over ‘Graphic Fishing Scenes’

A university in a prominent Scottish fishing sector cautions its students that a classic Ernest Hemingway novel contains “graphic fishing scenes” that may upset some readers.

Students at the University of the Highlands and Islands are informed prior to their reading assignment that “The Old Man and the Sea” includes descriptive fishing passages, reported the Daily Mail, which obtained a copy of the warning through a public records act request.

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Elite NYC All-Boys School to Start Admitting Biological Girls

A historic all-boys school in New York City will begin allowing trans students who identify as male, according to the New York Post.

Browning School is an elite K-12 school on the Upper East Side that costs $62,500 a year per student and was founded to educate Percy and John D. Rockefeller, according to the Post. The school will “consider for admission any child who (i) identifies as a boy or (ii) was assigned male at birth, who wishes to join a boys’ school and is well-served by our mission,” according to their website.

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Obama-Appointed Judge Reinstates Kentucky Ban on Child Sex Change Procedures

A federal judge ruled Friday that Kentucky can enforce its state law which prohibits sex change treatments for minors, according to Reuters.

U.S. District Judge David Hale, an Obama appointee, decided that Kentucky can prohibit the use of puberty blockers and hormone treatments for minors after ruling in June that the state law likely violated the U.S. Constitution, according to Reuters. The decision was made because a federal appeals court reinstated a similar ban in Tennessee ahead of the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing both state’s cases together.

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DeSantis, Trump Lead in Fundraising Gains by the 2024 Republican Presidential Hopefuls

Presidential candidates filed their second quarter totals on Saturday, which provided a glimpse into how much hard cash the 2024 GOP hopefuls have heading into the third fundraising period.

Candidates had until the end of day Saturday to file their Q2 totals with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump reporting the highest receipts among the crowded field of GOP contenders. The cash on hand totals provided a clearer picture as to how many hard dollars the respective campaigns have going into the fall, and indicated South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott sits just behind the former president, according to the FEC filings.

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Cycling Officials Boot Men from Competing in Women’s Division

The International Cycling Union (UCI), the world cycling governing body, announced Friday that it will bar biological males who transition after puberty from competing in the women’s division, the Associated Press reported.

Recent public outcry over transgender athlete Austin Killips, the first openly transgender athlete to win a U.S. race in the female division, prompted the cycling officials to review the transgender athlete policy and ban males from the woman’s division.

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Arizona Lawmakers Launch Committee to Investigate Free Speech at Public Universities

Arizona Republican lawmakers have launched a new committee to investigate the freedom of speech in Arizona’s public universities and to look into the events surrounding a program titled “Health, Wealth and Happiness,” presented by Arizona State University’s T.W. Lewis Center.

This follows officials at Arizona State University allegedly firing University administrator and Director of the T.W. Lewis Center, Ann Atkinson, for bringing conservative speakers Dennis Prager and Charlie Kirk onto campus earlier this year for the “Health, Wealth and Happiness” program which focused on professional development and networking.

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Red Tape, Low Prices to Blame for Pennsylvania’s Natural Gas Production Decline

As natural gas production expands in other states, Pennsylvania’s has flatlined and seen productivity declines. Industry leaders blame permitting issues and other roadblocks, while environmentalists say the economic outlook for gas has weakened and nature benefits.

“Productivity declines and limits on natural gas takeaway capacity resulted in a 0.4 (billion cubic feet per day) decrease in Pennsylvania’s total natural gas production in 2022,” the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. “Until last year, output had increased every year since 2013 on the back of drilling efficiency gains.” 

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Arizona Democrats Attempt to Have No Labels Party Disclose Donors or Lose Ballot Access

Woman voting at booth

The Arizona Democratic Party (AZDP) filed a complaint against the No Labels Party (NLP) last week, seeking to force Arizona’s newest third party to disclose its list of donors or lose its status within the state amid potential Democratic concerns that NLP’s presence on the ballot could help former President Donald Trump win Arizona in 2024.

AZDP’s complaint specifically demands Secretary of State Adrian Fontes suspend NLP until the party discloses its donors. NLP told The Arizona Sun Times that the development amounts to “voter suppression.”

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Florida Man Gets 18 Years After Buying Guns, Plotting Attacks to Aid ISIS

A judge sentenced a 26-year-old Florida resident to 18 years in federal prison for aiding a foreign terrorist organization, according to a Department of Justice press release.

Muhammed Momtaz Al-Azhari of Tampa, Florida, was under FBI investigation beginning in December of 2018 for allegedly providing support to ISIS which is recognized as a foreign terrorist organization under federal law, court documents revealed. Agents arrested Al-Azhari after he engaged with a confidential human source (CHS) who he obtained a gun and silencer from in 2020.

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Legal Battles Leave Natural Gas Pipeline in Virginia Short

With the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act in June, it looked like the Mountain Valley Pipeline would finally be completed in Virginia, but environmental groups are fighting back in a legal battle that could end up at the Supreme Court.

The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is a natural gas pipeline routed to run 303 miles from Wetzel County in northern West Virginia to Pittsylvania County in southern Virginia. Mountain Valley, LLC, began construction in 2018 and, by November 2021, had completed 270 miles of the pipeline. At that time, the company planned to finish the project by the summer of 2022.

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Ohio Lawmakers Introduce Legislation to Stop Meddling in Party Primaries

Two Republican Ohio lawmakers have introduced a bill into the Ohio House of Representatives to reinforce election integrity and stop meddling in party primaries.

House Bill (HB) 210, sponsored by State Representatives Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester) and Gary Click (R-Vickery), aims to require electors who want to change political parties to register as a member of that political party by December 31st.

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Arizona Reps Pitch Bill to Stop Biden Drilling Ban That ‘Ignored Navajo Nation’

Arizona U.S. Representatives Eli Crane (R-AZ-02) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04) introduced a bill recently that would nullify the Biden administration’s block on oil and gas drilling on federal land surrounding New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon National Historical Park near the Navajo Nation. 

Crane and Gosar introduced the bill in response to a new, 20-year ban the Biden administration placed on oil and grass drilling for what PBS reports is “hundreds of square miles” in the area immediately surrounding the Chaco Canyon National Historical Park.

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Commentary: Michelle Obama Could Really Be the Choice of the Democrat Establishment

The Democratic establishment is laying the groundwork to dump Joe Biden. When the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, Axios, and the Atlantic desert a liberal president, you know the knives are out. Which raises two questions: when will they stick the shiv into Biden? And how do they plan to deal with the “Kamala problem”?

To all but her most ardent fans, it is obvious that having Kamala on the 2024 ticket would be a disaster for the Democrats. Her 2020 campaign collapsed before a single vote was cast. Biden made her his running mate, not because she was a good candidate, but solely because he had backed himself into a corner when he promised he would choose a black woman as his running mate.

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Grass Lawns Banned from New Scottsdale Homes

Grass lawns will become a thing of the past for new homes in Scottsdale starting Aug. 15, as the city council unanimously passed an ordinance banning them as a method of saving water.

“The City Council’s decision further establishes Scottsdale’s commitment to sustainable water management,” Brian Biesemeyer, Scottsdale’s Water’s executive director, said in a news release Tuesday. 

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Gallup Poll: Fewer Americans Have Confidence in Higher Education

On Tuesday, a new Gallup poll suggested that Americans across all demographic groups are less confident in the institution of higher education than they were several years ago.

According to Axios, the Gallup survey in question shows that just 36 percent of Americans report having confidence in colleges and universities. In 2018, that number stood at 48 percent, which itself was a drop from 57 percent in 2015.

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Jan. 6 Defendant Appeals to Supreme Court in Case that Could Upend Hundreds of Riot Charges

Jan. 6 defendant Edward Jacob Lang is asking the Supreme Court to hear his challenge against one of the 11 charges he was indicted on – obstruction of an official proceeding – in a case that could upend legal proceedings against hundreds of other defendants indicted on charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot. 

The obstruction charge could be levied against “anyone who attends at a public demonstration gone awry,” attorneys for Lang wrote in an appeal to the Supreme Court last week. The proceeding for which the charge was brought refers to the event where Congress certifies the Electoral College votes to confirm the president.

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Largest U.S. Bank Notches Massive Profits Following Government-Assisted Acquisition

The biggest bank in America announced huge profits Friday after previously striking a deal with federal regulators to buy the failed First Republic Bank.

JPMorgan Chase reported $14.5 billion in net income for the second quarter of 2023, which is up 67% compared to the previous quarter and 40% excluding First Republic, according to JPMorgan’s earnings release. First Republic failed in May after a bank run, requiring federal regulators to seize the bank and have other large banks bid on its sale, leading JPMorgan to acquire the bank and maintain funds for depositors.

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‘Anti-Woke’ Alternative to Amazon to Go Public This Month

A new online marketplace that promotes itself as a conservative and patriotic alternative to Amazon is preparing to ring the bell on the New York Stock Exchange and take the company public.

According to the Daily Mail, the San Diego-based PublicSq, which first launched in August of 2022, has already drawn the support of prominent America First figures such as Donald Trump Jr. and former Arizona Senate nominee Blake Masters. The company plans to attract more investors by highlighting its status within the so-called “parallel economy” of conservative alternatives to larger, left-wing businesses, according to excerpts from an investor call on Tuesday.

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