The longshoreman turned homespun philosopher Eric Hoffer is semi-forgotten today. But his book The True Believer (1951) is full of pertinent aperçus. One that has recurred to me often of late is the observation that “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.”
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A security expert who worked with the Secret Service for over 20 years says he’s “surprised” the agency is closing the investigation into how cocaine was found at “one of the most secure buildings in the world” without identifying any suspects.
In briefing Congress earlier this month about the July Fourth weekend discovery at the White House, the agency said it did not conduct interviews as part of its internal investigation, citing the roughly 500 potential suspects, and that it planned to close the probe in the coming weeks.
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U.S. wildfires have burned nearly 75% less land so far this year compared to the same date in recent years, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), despite White House rhetoric alleging that wildfires have intensified.
Just 777,732 acres of land have been burned as of Friday, roughly 2.3 million acres less than the average of around 3.1 million acres burned by the same date between 2013-2022, according to the NIFC, which helps coordinate the U.S. government’s response to wildfires. The White House has repeatedly referenced the “growing wildfire threat” driven by climate change in various press releases and other statements issued in the past several months.
Read the full storyThe Hill Former Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday he is confident he will meet the 40,000 donor threshold in time for the first GOP presidential debate next month. “I’m very humbled by the support around the country, which is one of the criteria,” Pence said when questioned about the threshold by CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of The Union.” “But yes, having 40,000 individual donors, we’re literally working around the clock. Got about a month to go, I’m confident we will be there.” To qualify for the upcoming debate, GOP presidential candidates must meet certain polling and financial requirements that includes having a minimum of 40,000 unique donors and at least 200 unique donors each from 20 or more states or territories. Once those requirements have been met, candidates must also pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee. READ THE FULL STORY
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Breitbart News An illegal alien from Cuba, released into the U.S. in 2012 from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, and convicted of murder earlier this year after the public beheading of his girlfriend has now been found not guilty due to his mental illness. As Breitbart News reported, Alexi Saborit-Viltres was originally arrested and charged with second-degree murder in 2021 after being accused of beheading 55-year-old America Mafalda Thayer, his girlfriend, and dumping her body on the street. Several people witnessed the gruesome broad-daylight attack in Shakopee, Minnesota. READ THE FULL STORY Previously
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CNN Ahead of a looming UPS nationwide strike, Teamsters union President Sean O’Brien said during a rally speech in Atlanta Saturday, “We’ve organized, strategized, now it’s time to pulverize.” Speaking with CNN’s Isabel Rosales, O’Brien said 95% of the contract has been negotiated, and “now we’re down to economics, and UPS knows they need to pay our members, especially the part-timers.” A UPS spokesperson has said part-timers receive the same benefits as full-time workers. However, they do make less than full-time employees who make, on average, $95,000 a year, as CNN previously reported. Part-timers start by earning $16.20 an hour and are eligible for a higher hourly rate after 30 days. On average, part-time workers make $20 an hour, according to the spokesperson. READ THE FULL STORY
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Fox News The Biden administration unveiled a regulatory proposal late Friday targeting water heaters, the latest in a string of energy efficiency actions cracking down on home appliances. The Department of Energy (DOE) said its proposal would ultimately “accelerate deployment” of electric heat pump water heaters, save Americans billions of dollars and vastly reduce carbon emissions. If finalized, the proposed standards would force less energy efficient, but cheaper, water heaters off the market. “Today’s actions — together with our industry partners and stakeholders — improve outdated efficiency standards for common household appliances, which is essential to slashing utility bills for American families and cutting harmful carbon emissions,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. READ THE FULL STORY
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This week, the Tennessee Department of Education(TDOE) released final data on third-grade retention appeals.
In 2021, Tennessee lawmakers passed the Tennessee Learning Loss Remediation and Student Acceleration Act. It set forth key academic supports for third-grade students who did not score proficient on the English language arts (ELA) portion of their TCAP assessment. It further updated requirements for students to move to the next grade via multiple pathways for fourth-grade promotion.
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GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign announced Saturday that he has officially met the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) fundraising and polling criteria to participate in debates.
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A Catholic sidewalk counselor petitioned the Supreme Court Friday to reverse a prior ruling that permits states to enforce laws targeting pro-life counseling outside abortion clinics.
In response to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in June 2020, Westchester County, New York passed a law creating a 100-foot “buffer zone” outside abortion clinics where it is illegal to approach another person to engage in “oral protest, education, or counseling” without consent. The law is similar to one the Supreme Court upheld in its 2000 Hill v. Colorado decision, which sidewalk counselor Debra Vitagliano, backed by Becket Law, now asks the justices to overrule.
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced a $5.1 million investment initiative for endangered species recovery implementation efforts for four focal species groups.
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The Miss Italia beauty pageant will not allow male contestants, the contest’s curator told Italian outlet Radio Cusano.
The pageant’s curator, Patrizia Mirigliani, told Radio Cusano that only biological women are allowed to participate in the beauty competition. Weeks earlier, a man who identifies as transgender drew international headlines after winning the Miss Netherlands beauty pageant.
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Texas has a right to defend its own border, Gov. Greg Abbott said on Friday in response to the U.S. Department of Justice demanding the state remove marine barriers placed in the Rio Grande River in the Eagle Pass area of Texas.
“The State of Texas’s actions violate federal law, raise humanitarian concerns, present serious risks to public safety and the environment, and may interfere with the federal government’s ability to carry out its official duties,” the DOJ wrote to Abbott in a letter on Thursday. The DOJ gave Abbott until Monday to agree to remove the barriers. If he didn’t agree or reply, the DOJ said it would sue.
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Two Republican Ohio Lawmakers have introduced a bill into the Ohio House of Representatives that aims to prohibit adult cabaret performances in front of children.
House Bill (HB) 245 sponsored by State Representatives Angela King (R-Celina) and Josh Williams (R-Sylvania) looks to ban “adult cabaret performances” outside of venues specifically for adult cabarets.
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Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review his case after the Minnesota Supreme Court declined to do so Tuesday, his attorney told Alpha News.
Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter in April 2021 in connection to the death of George Floyd. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
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Recent voter registration numbers from the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office show an increasing number of voters in Maricopa County registering as Republican rather than Democrat. Between last fall’s election and April, Republican voter registration in the county increased by 9,905 to 851,047. Democratic voter registration increased by only 2,791, less than a third as much. Republicans maintained their registration advantage at 34.39 percent, while Democrats dipped below 30 percent to 29.69 percent.
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Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking the state’s investment manager to consider legal action against Bud Light parent company AB InBev over recent controversial marketing tactics.
CNN obtained a letter Thursday that states DeSantis suggests that AB InBev “breached legal duties owed to its shareholders” when it decided to associate with “radical social ideologies.”
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Virginia entered the fiscal year on July 1 without a revised budget for the first time in over 20 years due to a lack of consensus in the General Assembly – to the tune of roughly $1 billion.
Virginia operates on a two-year budget that is passed in even years, but revisions are made in odd years to keep up with state programs, priorities and changes in legislation.
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Georgia’s unemployment rate continues to remain lower than the national rate.
On Thursday, officials said the Peach State’s June rate was 3.2%, the same as May’s revised rate and lower than the national average of 3.6%.
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The latest data dump from the Nation’s Report Card reveals declining academic performance among US students. As with previous releases showing the same trend, especially over the past three years, the solution proposed by many education reformers and advocates is to double-down on the amount of schooling and school-like activities students get.
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Gov. Tony Evers has signed a new law that will change how kids in the state are taught how to read.
The governor on Wednesday signed the plan that will return Wisconsin schools to teaching phonics, and place a huge emphasis on making sure kids can read at grade level before the fourth grade.
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The formation of Flint’s American Rescue Plan Act Advisory Committee by the City of Flint and Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley has prompted a lawsuit from two members of the City Council and a small number of city residents.
At issue is how $15.6 million of ARPA money will be spent on community grants in the city.
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Families from Nashville’s Covenant School have begun a pair of nonprofits and are pushing Tennessee for gun prevention laws such as expanded background checks, secure storage and red flag laws heading into August’s expected special session of the Tennessee Legislature.
A shooter killed three students and three employees at Covenant School earlier this year. Family members from the school started Covenant Families for a Brighter Tomorrow and the legislative advocacy nonprofit Covenant Families Action Fund.
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Following on the heels of an expected 6% increase in funding from the General Assembly, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education voted to freeze tuition for the fifth year in a row.
The 6% represents a $33 million increase over last year, though it’s a 2% overall increase because the General Assembly only provides about 30% of the system’s total revenues, Chancellor Dan Greenstein said.
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Arizona State Senator Justine Wadsack (R-Tuscon) is preparing for the next legislative session by outlining her priorities and beginning to craft legislation for introduction in the State Senate.
Arizona’s regular legislative sessions begin on the second Monday in January and typically conclude after 100 days. However, the House and Senate can mutually vote to extend the regular session beyond 100 days. This happens regularly. It will run as long as lawmakers need it to.
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This weekend, thousands of Americans will go to movie theaters across the country to watch Christopher Nolan’s newest film, “Oppenheimer.” A star-studded cast of talented actors, including Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, and Emily Blunt, will bring to the big screen the life of Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant theoretical physicist often called “the father of the atomic bomb.”
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Riding the train from London to Liverpool, I’m filled with anticipation. Tomorrow is the first round of golf’s British Open – or, as they make a point of calling it here – just “The Open Championship.” It’s the final so-called “major” tournament of the year, the last chance for the 156 players teeing off to etch their name in golf history. With the exception of Tiger Woods, every player who has dominated the game of golf since I started paying attention will be teeing off.
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On Wednesday, over two dozen Republicans in the House of Representatives introduced a bill that would cut all funding for John Kerry’s newly-established “climate envoy” office at the State Department.
As Fox News reports, the No Taxpayer Funding for Climate Zealots Advancing Radical Schemes Act would forbid the use of any federal funds from being appropriated for the purpose of funding Kerry’s office, including for such purposes as travel, administrative, and salary expenses. Biden first created the office specific
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After receiving a $1 million prize from a left-wing foundation, the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg vowed to donate the money to numerous different charities; to this day, it is unknown where the money went.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, Ginsburg was awarded the prize money by the Berggruen Institute, founded by left-wing billionaire Nicolas Berggruen, at its annual Philosophy & Culture Award dinner in December 2019. Ethics experts at the time pointed out that the amount was far greater than the $2,000 maximum that Judicial Conference regulations placed on honoraria, thus raising the likelihood of conflicts of interest for Ginsburg.
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