State Representative Matt Gress (R-Scottsdale) is joining the new School Safety Task Force recently established by the Arizona Department of Education.
This follows Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne inviting Gress to join the task force which evaluates funding gaps and statutory limitations as well as makes recommendations to build upon the integrity of the Arizona Department of Education’s school safety program.
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Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced on Tuesday that he named Aaron Crooks, former director of Legislative Affairs for Governor Mike DeWine, to serve as his new chief of staff.
Crooks, of Upper Arlington, has served as DeWine’s director of legislative affairs since 2021. As director of legislative affairs, he oversaw the development and promotion of the administration’s legislative agenda with the General Assembly and other stakeholders in that capacity. He worked for CareSource, OhioHealth, and the Office of Health Transformation before joining the DeWine-Husted administration. In 2002, he took a position with the Ohio Senate.
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On Tuesday, the Biden Administration deliberately chose to not refill the strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) after depleting it to combat a surge in gas prices last year.
According to the Daily Caller, the report from Bloomberg said that the administration considered it to be “too expensive” to refill the vital reserve supply, as the current price of a barrel of oil is roughly $80. The SPR is still at a record low level after Biden released at least 180 million barrels in 2022, in an effort to reduce historically high gas prices prior to the 2022 midterm elections.
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The Republican National Committee’s (RNC) new criteria for the second presidential primary debate in September will likely decrease the 2024 longshot candidates’ chances at making the stage.
For the first GOP presidential debate on Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the RNC is requiring that contenders surpass a 40,000 unique donor threshold, meet polling criteria and sign a loyalty pledge to support the eventual nominee. The RNC is increasing the donor and polling criteria for the Sept. 27 debate in Simi Valley, California, which could significantly narrow the field as many have already struggled to meet the first debate requirements, the Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed with a person familiar with the plans.
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There has been a lot of talk recently about rural groundwater bills not getting a hearing at the Arizona State Legislature.
Over the years, proposed legislation has gone by many names, including “Groundwater Conservation Areas,” “Special Management Areas,” “Rural Management Areas,” and “Local Groundwater Stewardship Areas.” It also includes “Sustainable Groundwater Management Plans.”
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Hate and fear might as well be the GOP’s motto. And while there was a time when a liberal like me saying that would be accurately labeled hyperbolic, that time has passed. Show me what, aside from hate and fear, the modern Republican Party is all about.
Columnist Rex Huppke, writing for USA Today, July 16, 2023
Huppke’s comment is something we hear all the time. The campaign to dehumanize MAGA Republicans as hatemongers and fearmongers is a staple of the liberal media, is the playbook for Democrat politicians all the way up to President Biden, and is supported by almost the entire academic community. This dehumanization campaign isn’t restricted to Democrats. Establishment Republicans either equivocate, or explicitly join Democrats in demonizing MAGA Republicans.
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The Arizona Legislature resumed session this week to redraft a bill to extend Prop. 400 sales tax for public transportation. Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed an earlier version of SB 1102 that conservative legislators supported. The new version satisfied some of the conservatives in the legislature but not all of them and was sent to Hobbs.
The Arizona Freedom Caucus (AFC) issued a lengthy statement denouncing the bill and the Republicans who supported it. AFC said the earlier version would have sent the tax increase to the voters as a referendum broke down into two questions: whether to extend the tax to pay for roads and whether to extend the tax to pay for public transportation. SB 1102 combines both into one question for voters.
Read the full storyNew York Post Vice President Joe Biden told his son Hunter’s former business associate Devon Archer in early 2011 that he was “happy” the two were partners — in a postscript to a note thanking Archer for attending a lunch with visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao. “I apologize for not getting a chance to talk to you at the luncheon yesterday. I was having trouble getting away from hosting President Hu,” Biden told Archer in the letter dated Jan. 20, 2011. “I hope I get a chance to see you again soon with Hunter. I hope you enjoyed lunch. Thanks for coming,” the missive concluded. READ THE FULL STORY Read more; watch Archer introduce the letter on “Tucker of Twitter”
Read the full storyNew York Post Vice President Joe Biden told his son Hunter’s former business associate Devon Archer in early 2011 that he was “happy” the two were partners — in a postscript to a note thanking Archer for attending a lunch with visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao. “I apologize for not getting a chance to talk to you at the luncheon yesterday. I was having trouble getting away from hosting President Hu,” Biden told Archer in the letter dated Jan. 20, 2011. “I hope I get a chance to see you again soon with Hunter. I hope you enjoyed lunch. Thanks for coming,” the missive concluded. READ THE FULL STORY Read more; watch Archer introduce the letter on “Tucker of Twitter”
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In the 12th episode of his newest production, “Tucker on Twitter,” former Fox News primetime host Tucker Carlson sat down with Hunter Biden’s ex-business partner Devon Archer.
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The federal judge overseeing special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of former President Donald Trump over the 2020 election donated thousands of dollars to elect Barack Obama as president.
D.C. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, a 2014 Obama appointee, is presiding over Trump’s case after he was indicted Tuesday on four charges related to his alleged involvement in challenging the 2020 election and the subsequent Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
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Special counsel Jack Smith’s team admitted to incorrectly claiming to have turned over evidence as required by law in the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump.
While preparing last week to indict Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira for allegedly conspiring with Trump to delete surveillance footage from the estate, prosecutors learned that footage included as evidence “had not been processed and uploaded to the platform established for the defense to view,” Smith’s team wrote in a filing Monday.
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Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) signed an executive order Tuesday that clearly defines male-female sex based on the biological reproductive system.
A press statement from Stitt’s office said he is the “first governor to issue an executive order to boldly stand with women.”
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Breitbart Breitbart News’ senior editor-at-large Joel B. Pollak said Wednesday that Donald Trump could be elected president from jail, take the oath of office, pardon himself, and leave. Pollak discussed that bizarre, but theoretically possible, scenario with Breitbart News Daily host Mike Slater on SiriusXM Patriot 125 on Wednesday morning (available via podcast, below). Slater asked Pollak whether he thought the “fever dream” of the left, which hopes to see Trump detained before his trial, could come true. Pollak, citing journalist Julie Kelly, said that it could, like other January 6 defendants. But he added that it might not prevent Trump from winning the 2024 election. READ THE FULL STORY
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Tennessee U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) filed legislation on Tuesday that would reverse the Biden Administration’s decision to defund school archery and hunting programs
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Red State correspondent and national political analyst Neil W. McCabe calls in to join Crom Carmichael, Dr. Carol M. Swain, and host Michael Patrick Leahy on Wednesday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report to discuss Jack Smith’s indictment of former President Donald Trump over remarks he made on January 6.
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New York Post US Capitol Police evacuated the Senate office building in Washington, DC, Wednesday after receiving reports of a possible active shooter. “Our officers are searching in and around the Senate Office Buildings in response to a concerning 911 call,” the department tweeted at 2:45 p.m. Police asked everyone inside to shelter in place, although reports of gunshots were not confirmed. READ THE FULL STORY
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The Federalist published a scathing analysis of the latest indictment against former President Trump in a Wednesday op-ed. John Daniel Davidson, the senior editor for the outlet wrote, in part: On Tuesday, President Joe Biden’s Justice Department took the unprecedented step of indicting former President Donald Trump — Biden’s chief rival in the upcoming 2024 election — for repeatedly expressing his opinion that the last election was stolen, rigged, and unfair. It’s an opinion millions of Americans share, and to which they are unquestionably entitled thanks to the First Amendment. That includes Trump, who has said repeatedly (and recently) that the 2020 election was stolen. He’ll probably keep saying it until his dying day, and he has every right to do so. The idea that our Justice Department can indict someone, especially the sitting president’s main political rival, over speech that’s protected by the First Amendment is simply insane. It puts us firmly into banana republic territory, where tinpot dictators jail their political opponents ahead of election day to ensure their “reelection.” READ THE FULL ARTICLE Read the Full Indictment: DEVELOPING…
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WSMV The autopsy results for the three adults killed in the Covenant School mass shooting – a headmaster, substitute teacher and custodian – show they were shot multiple times when a former student shot their way into the school on March 27, killing six in total, including three children. WSMV4 obtained the autopsy results for Katherine Koonce, Cynthia Peak and Mike Hill Katherine Koonce, 59, was the head of The Covenant School. Her autopsy report shows she was shot at least 10 times after being confronted by the shooter in one of the school’s hallways. READ THE FULL STORY
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GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) after the department failed to respond to his previously-filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to uncover the communication between the White House, DOJ, and Special Counsel Jack Smith about the indictment in the classified documents case of former President Donald Trump.
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A man who was shot Monday by Memphis Police after discharging a firearm into the Margolin Hebrew Academy/Feinstone Yeshiva of the South (MHA-FYOS) has been identified as a former student, according to a U.S. Congressman.
“We have recently learned that the shooter at the Margolin Hebrew Academy was himself Jewish and a former student at the school,” said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) in a statement. “I am pleased the academy had effective security and that the police acted quickly to protect students.”
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The Grand Ole Opry will host a benefit concert featuring performances by renowned artists to help raise funds for the Covenant School Community Fund.
The Covenant School Community Fund was formed after Audrey Hale, who identified as transgender, opened fire at The Covenant Presbyterian School in the Green Hills neighborhood in Nashville on March 27, killing six victims – three children.
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A Tennessee National Guard medical flight crew recently evacuated an injured hiker from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, according to the Tennessee Department of Military.
On Thursday, July 27, the Tennessee National Guard and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) were notified that a hiker in a remote area of the park near Inspiration Point along Alum Cave Trail was suffering head trauma and needed immediate medical aid and evacuation to a nearby hospital.
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According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), gas prices across the Volunteer State have risen sharply over the past month.
As of Tuesday, the average price for a gallon of gasoline statewide is $3.43, AAA’s website says.
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GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy announced Tuesday that he has received an apology letter from the World Economic Forum (WEF) and agreement that the organization will pay an undisclosed settlement as a result of listing him without permission on its list of Young Global Leaders in 2021.
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Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) adjusted its discipline policies for the upcoming school to all first-time violent offenders to avoid expulsion by enrolling in a five-hour anger management course.
The new program was first introduced to MNPS principals two weeks ago as the First Time Violent Offender Program. The district has since changed the name and now refers to the initiative as the First Time Behavior Support Program.
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The U.S. military is quietly making accommodations for military families with children or dependents seeking gender transition help through a little-known program initially meant to assist families with special needs members.
Through the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP), the military has allowed special assignments for servicemembers so their dependents can access gender transition services, and could take additional steps to facilitate transition, according to media reports, Department of Defense (DOD) statements and the policies themselves. Current DOD guidance leaves open the possibility servicemembers with gender dysphoric dependents could be eligible for exceptions to policy under the EFMP, but there is a provision in the House’s draft defense bill that could make it illegal.
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A report at the German-owned Politico Monday stated Democrats are now claiming Republicans have failed to provide evidence that the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), led by Randi Weingarten, exerted extraordinary influence over government school reopening policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Democratic staff said in a memo obtained by Politico,” the news outlet stated, that “[d]espite a lengthy investigation, Republicans still can’t prove one of the nation’s largest teachers unions had undue influence over the Biden administration’s school reopening guidance.”
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New polling conducted on behalf of Tennesseans for Student Success by VictoryPhones reported that Metro Councilmember Freddie O’Connell leads the Nashville mayoral race with 25.4 percent of the vote.
Trailing O’Connell in the poll is Alice Rolli (18.8 percent), Matt Wiltshire (14.6 percent), Jeff Yarbro (13.1 percent), Heidi Campbell (5.9 percent), Sharon Hurt (3.6 percent), Vivian Wilhoite (3.4 percent), and Fran Bush (0.8 percent).
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled his economic plan to revamp the U.S. economy at a presidential campaign event in Rochester, New Hampshire, on Monday.
He launched his “Declaration of Economic Independence” platform at a manufacturing facility with local business owners and workers suffering from 40-year high inflation, higher costs and regulatory burdens resulting from what he says are Biden administration policies.
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Newly declared candidate for the U.S. Senate, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, called on Monday to his GOP Senate challengers to help support Ohio State Issue 1 in the final days before the August 8th special election to vote on it.
Issue 1, if approved by voters, would mandate a 60 percent approval percentage for any future constitutional amendments, call for signatures from all 88 counties, and do away with the opportunity to “cure” petitions by collecting additional signatures if necessary.
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Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum held a press conference on Tuesday announcing an increase to the cash reward in the search for a “very small group of extremists” responsible for a series of arson attacks across the city.
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Plymouth Township trustees have yet to say if Michigan taxpayers will shell out $25 million to move a horse racetrack 4.5 miles.
When the Northville Downs horse racetrack closes at this year’s end, it might move to Plymouth Township. Established in 1944, Northville Downs is Michigan’s oldest and only nighttime harness racing track.
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Tracking how Pennsylvania legislators spend money in office can be a hassle, requiring a public records request — and patience.
That process, however, could soon change if lawmakers post expense reports online in one place.
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A St. Paul native is taking on the NBA to prove his rights were stolen when COVID-19 vaccines were mandated in 2021.
Kenny Mauer was a referee for the NBA for over 35 years; he never missed a game. Mauer grew up in St. Paul and was an athlete his whole life. He played baseball for the University of Minnesota and began refereeing high school sports in college.
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A headline-grabbing congressional committee will take its investigative work on Communist China to the Heartland this week.
On Thursday afternoon, U.S. Representatives Mike Gallagher (R-WI-08) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), chair and Ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, respectively, will lead a roundtable discussion in the eastern Iowa farm community of Dysart.
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The media frequently invokes Trump’s appointment of officials to dismiss the possibility of bias. The media have invoked this defense for FBI Director Christopher Wray, who is responsible for the FBI’s raid of Trump’s home to obtain classified documents, and for David Weiss, the Delaware U.S. Attorney, who gave kid-glove treatment to the first son, Hunter Biden.
Invoking the provenance of Trump’s persecutors is meant to deflect and confuse. Regardless of who appointed these people to their current positions, these are career government workers, i.e., the managerial class. They have shown themselves to be particularly hostile to Trump and other Republicans, who might dare to interfere with business as usual.
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Election security will likely remain a hot-button issue in Georgia when lawmakers return to the Gold Dome in January and heading into the 2024 election.
Last week, Lt. Governor Burt Jones met with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both Republicans, to discuss a 2021 report by Alex Halderman, a University of Michigan computer science and engineering professor. The Georgia Republican Party has raised concerns about the report, which it said uncovered vulnerabilities.
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Visitor spending in Virginia is up, exceeding prepandemic levels in 2019.
Even still, jobs in the tourism sector haven’t fully recovered, according to statistics from the Tourism Economics in a release from Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office.
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Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) said that the Prop. 400 plan passed by the legislature on Monday is the most conservative one passed in Arizona History.
The Arizona Legislature periodically extends the Prop. 400 public transportation tax every few years. The half-cent tax, which was first implemented in 1985 to finance roads is now also used to fund Maricopa County’s public transportation and light rail.
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U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agents at the Tucson Sector in Arizona apprehended 10,000 individuals attempting to illegally enter the United States in just one week, according to Chief Patrol Agent John Modlin.
In an update issued Monday, Modlin said there were 10,000 apprehensions of illegal border crossers, 430 rescues, 21 human smuggling events, and 11 narcotics seizures recorded at the Tucson sector between July 20 and July 28. In a tweet, Modlin added that USBP agents also seized 6 pounds of fentanyl, six pounds of methamphetamine, and three firearms.
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U.S. Senators Marin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernández, D-New Mexico, and Clovis Mayor Mike Morris are not happy that the Air Force decided to relocate seven MC-130J aircraft and around 300 to 350 service members, known as the 6th Special Operations Squadron. The Air Force will relocate Squadron from Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico, to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, in the upcoming fiscal year despite millions the lawmakers have secured for the base to support its operations.
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A bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers is urging the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to eliminate the federal program known as E-Check in northeast Ohio.
The group of 11 state lawmakers sent a letter to Ohio EPA director Anne Vogel urging her to eliminate the federal program within the state which requires northeast Ohioans living within Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, and Summit counties to get their vehicles tested every two years to pass regulatory emissions requirements.
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Gilbert Cisneros, a Navy veteran and former Democratic California representative, announced Monday plans to retire as the Department of Defense (DOD) head for personnel policy, leaving a legacy of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies.
The Pentagon touted Cisneros’ record in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation on Monday, fueling the implementation of new policies developed under his watch to address sexual assault and suicide. Cisneros also presided over numerous social policies that became the subject of conservative ire, such as the DOD pandemic response, ensuringacceptance of the once-mandated COVID-19 vaccine and policies making it easier for female servicemembers to accesscontraceptives and abortion.
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Several leading American asset managers have decreased their support for environmental, social and governance (ESG) resolutions since 2021, according to a new report by InfluenceMap, a nonprofit that tracks climate policies in Western corporations.
InfluenceMap’s report assigned BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street and Fidelity environmental stewardship grades of C+ or lower, which indicates that each firm exhibits “a lack of effective climate stewardship processes and use of shareholder authority to engage companies to transition” to a green energy, net-zero carbon emissions future. The report also noted that 2022 saw a “considerable” drop in corporate support for ambitious green shareholder resolutions, a development that coincides with increased Republican scrutiny of corporate ESG policies and mandates.
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Following the recent Supreme Court decision overturning race-conscious admissions, certain sections of the media have adopted an alarmist tone, fueling doomsday predictions. Others are keen to celebrate the end of discriminatory practices that educational institutions have adopted for nearly 60 years.
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Lewis Brice is a singer/songwriter from Sumter, South Carolina who has been on my short list of artists that I wanted to interview for several years. He and his talented brother Lee Brice have an innate gift for putting words to music in a manner that relates to so many.
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The Biden Administration’s Department of Education (ED) confirmed that it is deliberately withholding federal funds from elementary and middle schools that have courses in hunting or archery.
As Fox News reports, the ED issued a statement claiming that the decision was due to an interpretation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) passed last year in response to several shootings. The agency claims that its interpretation determined that funding for any shooting-related activities will be blocked across the country, under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965.
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ABC News Former President Donald Trump now faces a third set of charges after a grand jury handed up another indictment against him on Tuesday in the special counsel’s 2020 election ongoing investigation. The indictment alleges that Trump undertook a “criminal scheme” to undermine the results of the 2020 election and charges him with four felony counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. Chutkan is an appointee of former President Barack Obama. She was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in June 2014. A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Chutkan received a bachelor’s degree in economics from George Washington University and a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, according to her D.C. District Court biography. READ THE FULL STORY
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President Joe Biden’s favorability rating remains low while half of Democratic primary voters say their party should nominate someone else as the 2024 presidential candidate, according to a poll released Tuesday.
Even though nearly two-thirds of Democratic primary voters, 64%, say they plan on voting for Biden, 50% said the party should nominate a different person for the 2024 presidential election, according to a New York Times/Siena College Poll.
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