Commentary: Daylight Saving Time’s Mixed Results

This weekend, public service announcements will remind us daylight saving time is over. This means you have to set your clocks forward an hour at 2 a.m. on March 10.

This semiannual ritual shifts our rhythms and temporarily makes us groggy at times when we normally feel alert. Moreover, many Americans are confused about why we spring forward in March and fall back in November, and whether it is worth the trouble.

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GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale Ends Reelection Bid, After Dropping Out of Montana Senate Race Last Month

Matt Rosendale

Montana GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale said Friday that he will not continue his run for reelection, citing a death threat and “false and defamatory rumors” about him and his family. The congressman dropped out of the U.S. Senate race for his home state last month. 

“The current attacks have made it impossible for me to focus on my work to serve you,” Rosendale wrote in a statement posted on X. “So, in the best interest of my family and the community, I am withdrawing from the House race and will not be seeking office.” 

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Exclusive: Liz Cheney, January 6 Committee Suppressed Exonerating Evidence of Trump’s Push for National Guard

The Federalist Former Rep. Liz Cheney’s January 6 Committee suppressed evidence that President Donald Trump pushed for 10,000 National Guard troops to protect the nation’s capital, a previously hidden transcript obtained by The Federalist shows. Cheney and her committee falsely claimed they had “no evidence” to support Trump officials’ claims the White House had communicated its desire for 10,000 National Guard troops. In fact, an early transcribed interview conducted by the committee included precisely that evidence from a key source. The interview, which Cheney attended and personally participated in, was suppressed from public release until now. Deputy Chief of Staff Anthony Ornato’s first transcribed interview with the committee was conducted on January 28, 2022. In it, he told Cheney and her investigators that he overheard White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows push Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to request as many National Guard troops as she needed to protect the city. READ THE FULL STORY         

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‘Censorship Industry Heavyweights’ Carrying Out ‘Very Nasty Tricks’ to Interfere in 2024 Election, Mike Benz Says

Mike Benz

Mike Benz, former Trump State Department official and current executive director of the Foundation for Freedom Online, said all of the “major censorship industry heavyweights” are currently carrying out “very nasty tricks” to interfere in the 2024 presidential election.

“The main two tools that they’re using for 2024 censorship are the states because the federal censorship mechanism has been weakened after the Missouri v. Biden trial court ruling, which is now before oral arguments in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is likely to deal them a very heavy blow. So they’re moving into the states to help coordinate that rather than the federal government,” Benz explained on Tuesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.

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Senate Democrats Block Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty’s Amendment Barring Illegal Aliens from Being Counted on the Census

The U.S. Senate failed to pass an amendment introduced by U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) that would bar illegal immigrants from being factored into the count for congressional districts and the Electoral College map that determines presidential elections on Friday.

A total of 47 Democrats, three Independents, and one Republican senator voted against the amendment, which failed to pass by a 45-51 vote.

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CNN Refuses to Air Ad Blaming Joe Biden’s Border Policies for Laken Riley’s Murder

Breitbart News CNN refused to air an ad that blames President Joe Biden’s policies at the United States-Mexico border for the murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley, according to the group Building America’s Future, which produced the ad. The six-figure ad buy was run across the U.S., and importantly critical swing states, during Thursday evening’s State of the Union (SOTU) address. Fox News, MSNBC, and Newsmax all accepted the ad. Executives with Building America’s Future said CNN refused to air the ad. READ THE FULL STORY  

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Former Tipton County Teacher Charged with More Sex Crimes After Further Victims Identified

Alissa McCommon

A former Tipton County teacher who was first charged with sex crimes in September has been hit with more criminal charges, according to Friday reports. 

“A Tipton County grand jury returned a twenty-three (23) count indictment on March 5, 2024, charging former teacher, Alissa McCommon, 38 of Covington, with multiple sexual misconduct offenses against minors,” the Covington Police Department (CPD) said on Facebook Friday. “The Covington Police Department Criminal Investigations Division detectives and intelligence analysts worked in tandem with the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office detectives and the District Attorney’s Office to present evidence collected during the seven-month joint investigation.”

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Trump Ramps Up Black Male Voter Outreach in Swing States amid Biden’s Declining Support: Report

Trump Meeting

Former President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is ramping up its efforts to target black male voters in crucial swing states, The Washington Post reported.

The former president has been making gains with black voters as President Joe Biden has been hemorrhaging support, polls have shown. Trump’s campaign will likely focus on black men who own guns and frequently attend church in order to grow his base, advisers told the Post, who were granted anonymity to characterize private conversations.

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Job Gains Surge for Another Month as Unemployment Ticks Up

Office Work

The U.S. added 275,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in February as the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released Friday.

Economists anticipated that the country would add 200,000 jobs in February compared to the 353,000 that were added in January, and that the unemployment rate would remain at 3.7%, according to Reuters. The job gains were announced two days after Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, told the House Financial Services Committee in its semi-annual monetary policy report that he does not believe that there is evidence for a recession, meaning rate cuts could be on the horizon.

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Memphis Police Officer in Stable Condition After Being Shot in Line of Duty

A Memphis Police officer is in stable condition after he was shot in the line of duty early Friday morning, according to the Memphis Police Department (MPD).

“At 4:19 am, officers conducted a traffic stop at 240 southbound near South Parkway. During the stop, an officer notified dispatch he had been shot,” said MPD on X. “The unknown motorist fled the scene. The officer was transported to Regional One critical. This is an ongoing investigation.”

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Florida Sheriff Blasts Border Policies After 21 Charged in Sex Trafficking Ring

Grady Judd

An undercover human trafficking operation in Florida found that 21 illegal foreign nationals were using papers given to them by the Department of Homeland Security to fly to major cities in the United States for free to engage in sex trafficking, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

“Federal policy drives illegal immigrant crime and victimization,” Judd said when announcing the results of a multi-agency undercover operation that led to the arrest of 228 people. Among them, 21 people arrested were in the country illegally, citizens of Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.

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Gov. Evers OKs Millions for University of Wisconsin Construction, Tuition Distribution Changes

UW Campus

There’s going to be a building boom on some University of Wisconsin campuses across the state.

Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday signed a new law that clears the way for a new engineering building at UW-Madison, as well as classroom renovations in both Madison and Whitewater. The new law also includes nearly $200 million for central plant renovations and demolition projects.

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Georgia Parental Rights Bill Runs Out of Time to Stop School Teachers and Counselors from Discussing Gender Issues

Georgia school teachers and counselors will continue to have free reign to talk to students about gender and gender identity issues without having to notify parents.

In a setback to supporters of parental rights, SB 88, also known as the Parents and Children Protection Act of 2023, missed the opportunity to advance legislation meant to restrict the ability of teachers and counselors to discuss gender issues without parental oversight.

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Pennsylvania’s Health Care Access ‘Still in the Dark Ages’

Doctor Patient

For an aging state that’s seen depopulation in the majority of its counties, Pennsylvania’s health care system struggles to meet the needs of its residents.

“Access to care is a crisis here in the commonwealth,” said Rep. Bridget Kosierowski, D-Scranton during a joint meeting of the Health and Professional Licensure Committees on Thursday. “We have lots of need and not enough providers.”

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Saudi Company Officially Stops Using Arizona Water

Farming

The Saudi Arabian-backed company Fondomonte Arizona is officially no longer using the state’s water resources. 

According to the governor’s office, the State Land Department inspected the company’s land leases in western Arizona’s Butler Valley on Feb. 15, which determined that it was no longer irrigating. The company was estimated to have pumped over 5.3 billion gallons of groundwater in 2022, according to Arizona’s Family. 

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South Carolina Governor Signs ‘Constitutional Carry’ Measure

Gun Bill SC

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has signed a Constitutional Carry measure, making the Palmetto State the 29th state in the nation with a law allowing residents to carry a concealed firearm without a government-issued license.

House Bill 3594, the South Carolina Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act, also bars anyone convicted of a “crime punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of more than one year to possess a firearm or ammunition within” South Carolina. However, there are some exceptions, including anyone convicted of a misdemeanor carrying a sentence of up to five years or expunged convictions.

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Lawmaker: E-Verify Could Help Stop Human Trafficking in Ohio

Scott Wiggam

An Ohio lawmaker calls an employer hiring someone living in or having entered the country illegally human trafficking and wants it to stop.

Rep. Scott Wiggam, R-Wayne County, recently testified on behalf of House Bill 327, which would require certain employees to verify the legal status of employees by using the federal I-9 form and getting confirmation of employment eligibility.

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House Panel Unanimously Passes Bill to Ban TikTok in U.S., Final Vote as Early as Next Week

TikTok China

A GOP-led House committee has unanimously passed a bill that attempts to ban TikTok nationwide on all electronic devices.

The bill passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday and could get a final vote as early as next week, amid concerns about the China-based owner of the popular, short-form video platform giving user data to the Chinese Communist Party.

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Montana Law Enforcement Seized Record Amounts of Fentanyl Last Year

Fentanyl

The amount of fentanyl seized in Montana last year was over double the amount in 2022, according to Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office.

In 2023, the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task forces seized a total of 398,552 dosage units of fentanyl, up from 188,823 dosage units compared in 2022 and 60,557 in 2021. Since 2019, fentanyl seizures by state anti-drug forces are up over 20,000%, the office said in a statement.

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