Month: August 2023

Feds Urged Biden to Give Aid to Ukraine Before He Held Back to Force Burisma Prosecutor’s Firing

Just the News

Just weeks before then-Vice President Joe Biden took the opposite action in late 2015, a task force of State, Treasury, and Justice Department officials declared that Ukraine had made adequate progress on anti-corruption reforms and deserved a new $1 billion U.S. loan guarantee, according to government memos that conflict with the narrative Democrats have sustained since the 2019 impeachment scandal.

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Researchers Flay Medical Journals for COVID ‘Misinformation’ Claims

Just the News

Three and a half years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, American medical journals are still calling out what they consider commonly shared misinformation on vaccines, masks, transmission and viral origins, sometimes promoted by health professionals.

Yet voluminous research and real-world experiences over that span suggest the journals themselves are promoting outdated, unsupported or exaggerated COVID claims, if not outright misinformation.

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Biden’s CBP Phone App a ‘Boon for Alien Smugglers’ as Migrant Encounters Surge

Just the News

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection smartphone app known as “CBP One” is “facilitating illegal immigration” and has become a “boon for alien smugglers” as migrant encounters surge at the border, according to an immigration policy expert.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, noted that the app was initially being developed during the Trump administration as a way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among workers who were linked to companies doing business at the border. CBP rolled out the app in January 2023 for migrant asylum appointments and expanded it in May.

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Ivy League University Offers Seminar on ‘Fatness, Queerness and Family’

Admin

A freshman seminar this fall at Cornell University is focused on how queer, trans, black, indigenous and people of color experience care through food, according to their website.

The seminar titled “Have You Eaten Yet? QTBIPOC Care” aims to use written texts and popular media such as “Lizzo’s music videos” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” to analyze how queer, trans, black, indigenous and people of color give, receive and experience care through food, according to the course listing. The seminar is offered through the Cornell Department of Performing and Media Arts by Ariel Dela Cruz, who is a Ph.D. student whose expertise is in “queer studies, trans studies, Filipinx diasporic studies, performance, and care work,” according to her bio. 

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Authorities Seize Nearly 100,000 Fentanyl Pills, Enough Powder to Kill More than 5 Million People in Two Arizona Busts

Tom Pappert

Federal and local authorities in the Phoenix area have seized nearly 100,000 fentanyl pills and more than 20 pounds of fentanyl powder in just two law enforcement actions. This quantity of the Schedule II drug could potentially cause more than 5 million fatal overdoses.

On August 10, agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), working with local Arizona police, reportedly apprehended three men attempting to sell 50,000 fentanyl pills in the Phoenix area, according to Border Report. Only days later, on August 17, Gila County law enforcement reported seizing 49,500 fentanyl pills and 22.88 pounds of fentanyl powder during a traffic stop in Payson on the previous day. Payson is about 90 minutes away of Phoenix.

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Florida’s New College Enrolls More Students, Looks to Cut Gender Studies

Admin

A small public Florida college has rapidly transformed under Governor Ron DeSantis-appointed trustee board, as liberal faculty have resigned in large numbers, a gender studies major is slated for demolition and admissions numbers rise.

Conservative activist and journalist Christopher Rufo, who serves as a trustee of the New College of Florida, motioned at the latest board meeting to begin to dissolve the gender studies program.

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Commentary: Uniparty’s Plan to ‘Save Our Democracy’ Unfolds

Admin

The fish are plentiful today. There’s Hunter Biden and his various lies: about the sources of his prodigious income, his payment (that is, non-payment) of taxes, drugs, guns, child support, laptops and prostitutes. There’s Joe Biden and his lies, the sources of his prodigious income, and—the latest—his use of pseudonymous email accounts when writing to Hunter and Hunter’s business partners to discuss the weather—or was it the whether and how to siphon 20 million of the crispest into virtually untraceable bank accounts?

There’s the seemingly endless series of indictments directed at Donald Trump. The latest new there, if I am up to date, is that he told people to watch election returns on One America News Network. Clearly part of a RICO conspiracy. Someone whose math is sharper than mine calculated that President Trump is potentially on the hook for 450 years in the slammer for . . . well, his torts are mostly in the eye of the beholder.

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The Field Is Set for November School Board Races in Minnesota

Admin

The field of candidates is now set for the 28 school districts across Minnesota that will hold “off-year” elections this November, where there are no legislative seats or congressional or statewide offices on the ballot.

While most of the nearly 300 other school districts across the state hold their elections during more visible campaign cycles (such as 2024), the school district communities with races this fall represent about 1.7 million residents across the state. Combined, those districts with seats up for election steward well over $4 billion in tax dollars.

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Ohio Republican Bill Aims to Allow Schools to Administer Expulsions for Dangerous Students as They See Fit

Hannah Poling

Two Republican Ohio state representatives have introduced legislation to allow school superintendents to administer expulsions for dangerous students in their districts as they see fit.

House Bill (HB) 206, sponsored by State Representatives Monica Robb Blasdel (R-Columbiana County) and Gary Click (R-Vickery), looks to allow schools greater flexibility for expulsions under Ohio law and to create re-entry plans to protect both students and staff.

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Ohio Coalition Forms in Opposition to November Adult-Use Marijuana Ballot Initiative

Hannah Poling

A broad coalition of Ohio leaders has joined together in order to defeat an attempt by marijuana legalization activists to put an initiative to legalize the purchase and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older on the ballot in November.

The initial coalition represents respected leaders across children’s health care, business, veterans, and law enforcement institutions including Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, Ohio Adolescent Health Association, Buckeye Sheriffs Association, Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, Ohio Veterans First, Veterans Court Watch, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, State Senator Mark Romanchuk (R-Ontario), Former Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken, Phillips Tube Group CEO Angela Phillips, and Smart Approaches to Marijuana CEO Kevin A. Sabet Ph.D.

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Arizona State University Course Using Taylor Swift to Teach Social Psychology

The Center Square

A new Arizona State University course is using Taylor Swift to show social psychology phenomena starting this fall semester. 

The class is called “Psychology of Taylor Swift – Advanced Topics of Social Psychology” but it won’t be a fan-club meeting for Swift, according to Alexandra Wormley, a PhD student in the psychology department who is teaching the class.

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The Center Square Parent Acquires Government Streaming Service

The Center Square

Franklin News Foundation, the nonprofit, nonpartisan news-media organization that publishes The Center Square newswire service, announced Friday it has acquired Advanced Digital Media, operators of BlueRoomStream.com.

ADM live streams unedited coverage of countless government proceedings across the state of Illinois, such as legislative hearings and other taxpayer-funded government activities, news conferences involving elected officials and other newsmakers, and more. Through Blue Room Stream, it makes the live streams available to subscribers including both in-state and national broadcast media partners.

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Commentary: Country Music Speaks for Everyday Americans

Admin

Taylor Swift may be the hottest ticket this summer, but her listeners don’t share her country roots. That space has been captured by a series of anthems singing the blue-collar blues, songs that are a lot closer to—and a lot more correct—about what is bugging everyday Americans.

American music has always been an echo chamber for popular culture. The Jazz Age was a rebellious response to the high-brow Victorian Gilded Age. Rock ’n’ roll was the rallying cry of baby boomers.

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Lab-Grown Meat Industry Increases Lobbying Efforts Ahead of Farm Bill

Admin

A new farm bill is facing opposition from a growing industry of artificial meat, which is employing many lobbyists to try to persuade lawmakers to give more government funding to this new industry.

As Politico reports, the market for “meat” grown in a lab is limited, with such food only being available at niche restaurants in San Francisco, California and Washington, D.C. But these companies are now employing a coalition of lobbyists and trade groups, as well as a new spending campaign, as Congress begins negotiations for the 2023 farm appropriations bill.

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Federal Judge Rules AI-Generated Art Cannot Be Copyrighted: ‘Approaching New Frontiers’

Admin

A federal judge ruled Friday that art produced by artificial intelligence without human involvement cannot be copyrighted.

District Court Judge for the District Of Columbia Beryl A. Howell agreed with the United States Copyright Office’s decision not to grant copyright protection to the owner of a computer system for art generated by the system. Stephen Thaler, who owns a program called the “Creativity Machine,” was denied a copyright by the office for a piece of visual art his system created because it “lacked human authorship,” which Howell notes is “a bedrock requirement of copyright.”

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CNN’s Van Jones Is Forced Out of his Own Woke Criminal Justice Non-Profit

Admin

Daily Mail UK CNN commentator Van Jones has been pushed out of his own non-profit after a bust up in the senior ranks. Jones was praised as an extraordinary leader and handed $100 million by Jeff Bezos for his philanthropic endeavors in 2021, but now faces the humiliation of being turned out of his own organization. The liberal left the board of Dream.org after a blowout with senior leadership, the Daily Beast reported. READ THE FULL STORY

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It’s Official: Trump Says He Will Skip GOP Primary Debates amid Massive Polling Lead

Just the News

Former President Donald Trump on Sunday said he is not going to participate in the 2024 Republican presidential primary debates after a new poll showed that he is far ahead of all other GOP candidates.

With the first GOP debate scheduled for Wednesday in Wisconsin, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “New CBS POLL, just out, has me leading the field by ‘legendary’ numbers. TRUMP 62 percent, 46 Points above DeSanctimonious (who is crashing like an ailing bird!).”

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Supreme Court Will Take on Red Flag Law

Admin

The Supreme Court will hear a case this coming term challenging a federal “Red Flag” law that prohibits individuals subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms, which is expected to shape the future of Second Amendment law.

Zackey Rahimi, the individual at the center of the case, was involved in five shootings between December 2020 and January 2021, in one instance firing shots into the air after his friend’s credit card was declined at a Whataburger, according to court documents. When police obtained a warrant to search his home, they found him in possession of a firearm, a violation of a civil protective order entered against him in February 2020 for allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend.

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Biden Admin Quietly ‘Disposing’ of Trump Border Wall Materials to Be Auctioned Off

Admin

For months, the Biden administration has been “disposing” of portions of the Trump border wall to be auctioned off, a local official at the southern border and the Department of Defense (DOD) told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The auction house GovPlanet has been selling off the “thick wall tubes” and other wall materials since April, according to listings on its website, and has already sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of wall materials. The Pentagon confirmed that the Biden administration is “disposing” of portions of the border wall construction materials in a statement to the DCNF.

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Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales: Trump ‘Should Serve Time’ if Found Guilty in Jan. 6 Case

Admin

Fox News Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Friday that former President Donald Trump “should serve time” if he is convicted on federal charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 probe.  Gonzales, who served under former President George W. Bush, made that comment during an interview on MSNBC.  “If in fact he’s convicted of the crimes charged by Jack Smith and the Department of Justice,  yeah, I think he should serve time, quite frankly,” he told host Jen Psaki, a former Biden White House press secretary.  READ THE FULL STORY

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Top Montana State Republican Lawmakers Break from National GOP, Reveal Their Senate Pick

Admin

Republican leaders in both chambers of Montana’s state legislature along with 37 other lawmakers are backing U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale for Senate in 2024, who has yet to launch a bid and is not the favorite of the GOP in Washington, D.C.

Former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy was recruited to run by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Steve Daines of Montana and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and has received endorsements from GOP Gov. Greg Gianforte along with numerous other national Republicans. Montana’s Senate President Jason Ellsworth, Speaker of the House Matt Regier and other legislators argued Rosendale is the best candidate to beat Democratic Sen. Jon Tester and challenge the “establishment” in Washington, D.C., according to the letter.

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Federal Authorities See Massive 33 Percent Spike in Illegal Immigration at Southern Border

Admin

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered a surge in migrants at the southern border in July after the Biden administration claimed success in the implementation of new policies and programs, according to federal data released Friday.

CBP recorded 183,503 migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border in July, according to the data. The Biden administration has touted the creation of new legal pathways for migrants to get to the U.S. following the expiration of the Title 42 expulsion order in May as the reason CBP migrant encounters dropped from 206,701 in May to 144,566 in June.

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Florida Becomes First State to Sanction Medicaid Providers for Covering Minor Transitions

Admin

Florida has become the first state to sanction Medicaid providers for covering the attempted gender transitions of minors.

The state is fining five Medicaid health care insurers for violating Florida’s new rule banning taxpayer funds from going to transgender treatments, such as performing a double mastectomy or administering puberty blockers, Jason Weida, secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration, told The Daily Signal in a phone interview.

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Latest Round of Legal Filings in Abe Hamadeh’s Election Challenge Pick Apart Arizona AG Kris Mayes’ 280-Vote Lead

Rachel Alexander

Abe Hamadeh is forging ahead, challenging his 280-vote loss to Democrat Kris Mayes in the attorney general’s race, the closest statewide race in Arizona’s history. He is in the midst of challenging the trial court’s refusal to grant him a new trial after discovering that then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs withheld evidence from him prior to his trial regarding undervotes, votes that were not counted that resulted in narrowing Mayes’ lead. On Wednesday, he filed a reply to Mayes’ objections simultaneously with two amicus curiae briefs in support; one from Arizona legislative leadership and one from the America First Legal Foundation.

Hamadeh’s reply brief, primarily authored by Jennifer Wright, who previously served as the Attorney General’s Election Integrity Unit civil attorney, pointed out various contradictions in Mayes’ response. Mayes claimed that Hamadeh was “both too fast and too slow in attempting to obtain relief in this Court,” the brief stated. On the one hand, Mayes claimed that Hamadeh was causing “unreasonable delay,” yet she still asked for a regular appeals process, not a speedy one. 

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Commentary: Drug and Crime Issues at Border Could Make Immigration a Central Issue in 2024

Admin

Despite voters being focused on economic issues like lowering inflation and raising wages, the public’s concern over immigration could make border security as big of an issue in 2024 as it was just before Former President Trump was first elected.     

New Gallup polling from July shows the share of Americans who say immigration is a “good thing” is at its lowest point since 2014. The last time enthusiasm for immigration was this low, the public elected a staunchly law and order president who spent much of his campaign illuminating the drug and crime crisis in the United States due to unchecked immigration.

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Georgia Unemployment Remains Below National Average as Initial Claims Rise

The Center Square

Georgia’s July unemployment rate was 3.2%, unchanged from June’s revised rate, even as more Georgians filed initial unemployment claims.

The state’s unemployment rate is also lower than the national unemployment rate of 3.5%. In July, Georgians filed 31,410 initial claims for unemployment benefits, up 34%, or 7,933, from a month earlier and 2,865 from last year.

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Ohio Republican Bill Aims to Stop Colleges from Reducing Financial Aid Awards

Hannah Poling

A Republican Ohio House Representative introduced legislation to stop a college or university from reducing financial aid if a person receives a private scholarship.

House Bill (HB) 98, sponsored by State Representative Monica Robb Blasdel (R-Columbiana County), aims to stop scholarship displacement and ensure Ohio college students effectively receive the assistance they have earned through private scholarships.

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Republican State Senator Hopes for Skepticism in Possible Wisconsin Utility Rate Hikes

The Center Square

One Wisconsin Republican state senator wants the state’s Public Service Commission to “do their job,” and question a half-billion-dollar utility rate increase.

Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg, said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday that Wisconsin’s utility regulators are weighing rate hike requests for 2024 that range from 1.6% to 8.4%.

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Fairfax County Becomes Third Virginia Locality to Pilot Guaranteed Income Program

The Center Square

Beginning in 2024, Fairfax County will be the third locality in Virginia to offer a pilot guaranteed income program after Richmond and Alexandria.

Pilot guaranteed income programs are — in this case, localities — attempt to provide a guaranteed, consistent direct cash benefit every month to a limited number of families in their city or county who meet specific qualifications. As they are experimental, they have a prescribed end date.

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Natural Gas Well Setbacks Questioned After Health Impact Study in Pennsylvania

The Center Square

Regulations that dictate appropriate setbacks for natural gas wells from drinking water sources and buildings may not be generous enough, according to the state’s agency tasked with overseeing the industry.

The Department of Environmental Protection said it would support efforts to reconsider whether 1,000 feet constitutes a safe distance after a study from the University of Pittsburgh suggested links between unconventional wells and incidences of asthma and childhood cancer.

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Arizona Secretary of State Fontes Will Publish Public Comments on 2023 Elections Procedures Manual

Hannah Poling

A spokesperson for Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes told The Arizona Sun Times that the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office will publish all public comments on the 2023 Election Procedure Manual on the website after a review of comments has been completed.

“The comments will be made public after staff has a chance to review. Once that review is complete, it will be posted on the Secretary of State’s website,” the spokesperson told The Sun Times.

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Cuyahoga County GOP Applauds Governor DeWine for Taking Action to Curb Cleveland’s Crime Surge

Hannah Poling

The Cuyahoga County Republican Party applauded Governor Mike DeWine for taking decisive action to curb Cleveland’s crime surge as Democratic Mayor Justin Bibb “fails to protect the city.”

According to Cuyahoga County GOP Chairman Lisa Stickan, DeWine understands the importance of law and order in Cleveland and applauds him for sending state resources to assist the police department.

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Trump Up 39 Points in New Hampshire: Poll

Just the News

Former President Donald Trump holds a commanding lead in the battle for a pivotal primary state that could help him stave off the multitude of Republicans seeking to claim the party nomination.

Trump took 49.7% support among New Hampshire likely GOP primary voters in the latest Trafalgar poll. Florida  Gov. Ron DeSantis claimed second place with 10.7% while tech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy came in a close third with 10.4%. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took 9.1%, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott took 7.8%, while former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley took 3.1%.

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Department of Defense Missed Half of Watchdog Deadlines So Far This Year

The Center Square
aerial view of The Pentagon

The Pentagon has missed half of its deadlines to respond to requests from a Congressional watchdog in the last six months. 

A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, found that the U.S. Department of Defense submitted about half of its agency comments and sensitivity or security reviews after deadlines set by the watchdog.

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