South Carolina Lawmakers Start Debate on $40 Billion State Budget

South Carolina Capitol

South Carolina lawmakers are debating a roughly $40 billion fiscal 2024-25 state budget that anticipates more than $12 billion in state general funds and billions more in federal money.

Last month, the South Carolina Board of Economic Advisors voted to keep the fiscal 2023-24 revenue forecast estimate at nearly $12.9 billion and the fiscal 2024-25 revenue forecast estimate at more than $13.2 billion.

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Records Showing Nathan Wade Paid with Fulton County Confiscated Property Fund Are ‘Data Entry Error,’ Officials Claim

Nathan Wade Money

Fulton County officials on Monday claimed records that reportedly show special prosecutor Nathan Wade was paid using funds from confiscated property are a “clerical error” on behalf of the county government.

Multiple Fulton County spokesmen, including a member of Willis’ office, offered explanations to Newsweek when the publication asked about records it obtained that showed Wade was paid using the county’s confiscated property funds.

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Chilean Nationals Allegedly Behind String of Arizona Burglaries Came to America Using Tourist Visa Waiver

Scottsdale Police Department

Three Chilean nationals arrested by the Scottsdale Police Department (SPD) over a string of burglaries in Arizona and California were originally allowed to enter the United States as tourists.

Scottsdale Police Chief Jeff Walther confirmed in a Tuesday press conference that three Chileans the department arrested Sunday entered the country using the U.S. State Department’s visa waiver program, which allows citizens of other countries to remain in the United States for 90 days if the purpose for their travel is business or tourism.

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Republicans Introduce Bill to Ban Sanctuary Cities in Minnesota

Rasmusson Minnesota

Over two dozen Republicans in the Minnesota Legislature are supporting legislation that would prohibit Minnesota cities from becoming so-called “sanctuary cities.” Known as SF 4328, the proposed law would also increase penalties for human trafficking and fine employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

SF 4328 is authored by Minnesota Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, R-Fergus Falls.

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Florida Parental Rights Law Upheld in Court

Ron DeSantis

On Monday, the state of Florida finally settled a lawsuit that had lasted for several years regarding the fate of a parental rights law that had come to be derogatorily known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

According to The Hill, the settlement agreement determined that the law, the 2022 Parental Rights in Education Act, will be kept in place but will tone down certain portions that were determined to be too close to violations of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

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Gov. Youngkin Calls Virginia Budget ‘Completely Backward,’ Hints at Showdown with Democrats in General Assembly

Glenn Youngkin

Governor Glenn Youngkin twice referred to the budget proposed by the Virginia General Assembly as “backward” in remarks made Monday, setting the stage for a showdown with Democratic lawmakers in April.

Youngkin first said the commonwealth’s lawmakers created a “backward budget” in a post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

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Commentary: Trump Says No More ‘Free Milk’ for NATO Free Loaders

Trump NATO

The mainstream media and political establishment are outraged over Donald Trump’s latest comments about NATO. Instead of all the dramatic pearl-clutching, they should be embracing his position.

Trump recently issued a stern warning to America’s NATO allies, specifically those who are still failing to uphold their commitment to spending at least 2 percent of GDP on defense. Recounting a conversation he had with the leader of a delinquent NATO member who sought reassurance that America would defend their country from Russian attack, Trump declared that he would let Russia do “whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries that refuse to make minimum expenditures toward their own defense.

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Commentary: Colleges Embrace ‘Deficit Framing’ to Justify Students’ Unpreparedness

College students in the library

It is an open secret among college professors and university administrators that college students aren’t what they used to be.

They struggle with lengthy reading assignments and basic vocabulary. They don’t know rudimentary algebra. They can’t add or subtract fractions. They complain that deadlines, hard exams, and required attendance are impediments to their success.

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Music Spotlight: Darci Lynne

Darci Lynne

It’s hard to believe that I interviewed 13-year-old Darci Lynne six years ago. In 2018, she was the reigning winner of season 12 of America’s Got Talent proving her skills as an exceptional ventriloquist, puppeteer, and entertainer. Lynne was in town to perform at the Ryman and the Opry.

I remember thinking, “If she can sing that well with her mouth closed, how great she would be singing with her mouth open.”  The answer is, “Very well.”

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FBI Director: Smuggling Organizations Connected to ISIS Coming Through U.S. Border

FBI Director Christopher Wray

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Monday confirmed that a smuggling organization working with the terrorist organization ISIS is funneling criminals through the U.S. border. He also said the FBI is currently investigating its operations that ‘we’re very concerned about.’

In a U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing held on Monday on worldwide threats to the United States, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, asked Wray about threats coming through the U.S. border.

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‘Clearheaded Most of the Time’: Corporate Media Defends Biden’s Lucidity as Interview Transcript Reveals Memory Lapses

Joe Biden and Jill Biden

Corporate media on Tuesday defended President Joe Biden’s lucidity after a transcript of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur was released, showing memory lapses.

Hur issued his report in February on Biden’s handling of classified documents, deciding not to pursue charges against the president and noting several memory lapses. The transcript released on Tuesday backed up the existence of these lapses, but several corporate media outlets attempted to make them seem less significant, reporting on the vast detail Biden went into on certain topics.

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Rumble Makes Offer to Buy and Operate TikTok in the U.S.

The Post Millennial The free speech video platform Rumble has offered to buy TikTok, as legislation moves through Congress that would see the popular social media platform banned in the US if parent company ByteDance does not divest from TikTok. “In the event that ByteDance divests its ownership in TikTok, Rumble is ready to join a consortium with other parties seeking to acquire and operate TikTok inside the United States. Specifically, we are ready to serve as a cloud technology partner,” a letter from Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew states. “Yesterday, Rumble announced the public launch of Rumble Cloud, a new infrastructure as a service offering that champions the free and open internet,” Pavlovski wrote. “All data on the Rumble Cloud is stored safely and securely at sites inside of the United States on Rumble’s own neutral and independent infrastructure.” READ THE FULL STORY      

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State Senator Mark Pody Discusses ‘Real,’ ‘Genuine’ Concerns Homeschool Families Have with School Choice Voucher Program

Home School

Tennessee State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) addressed two concerns he has heard from families that choose to homeschool their children regarding Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice program, which would give $7,000 education savings account scholarships to 20,000 qualifying students in the first year of its inception.

“[Homeschoolers] have real concerns and they’re genuine,” Pody said on Monday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show. “These objections are real because there’s something that is an underlying statement: If government funds it, government runs it. So if you take government money, no matter where you are or what you are, if you don’t think there’s a string attached somewhere, you’re not looking close enough.”

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Mitch Albom Among 10 Americans Rescued from Haiti by GOP Congressman Cory Mills

Boston Herald A group from Michigan that had been trapped in Haiti was rescued overnight Tuesday in an operation coordinated by Florida U.S. Rep. Cory Mills, according to Michigan U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain. The group of Michigan residents included Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom, who was in Port-au-Prince at an orphanage affiliated with his charity, McClain told The Detroit News. McClain, a Republican from Bruce Township, disclosed the rescue mission Tuesday during a House Armed Services Committee hearing, saying that she had asked Mills to get involved because there was “no plan” from the U.S. government to get out those who were stranded. READ THE FULL STORY            

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Brent Hamachek Hopes His New Book, Dissidently Speaking, Will Change the Way Americans Think

Brent Hamachek

Brent Hamachek, author of Dissidently Speaking: Change the Words. Change the War. and vice president and associate publisher for Human Events Media Group, said he hopes his new book will challenge the way Americans think and motivate individuals to stop saying “it is” and instead start asking, “is it?”

Hamachek said his book challenges the “things that people have generally accepted about structures in the world around them.”

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Mark Pulliam Says Nullification Movement ‘Not Constitutional,’ Argues Best Way to Challenge Federal Law Is Through the Courts

Mark Pulliam

Mark Pulliam, a retired attorney and Misrule of Law blogger, said a series of nullification bills introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly are not constitutional despite seemingly being an “easy fix” to federal overreach.

“A lot of people these days come up with these theories and solutions of problems that sound good, that seem like it’s an easy fix, but they’re just not, at the end of the day, serious, and in some cases not workable, and in some cases not constitutional, and this whole nullification movement…is an example of one of those, I think, shamiracle solutions,” Pulliam explained on Monday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.

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Special Counsel Hur Squares Off with White House, Says Biden ‘Willfully Retained’ Classified Memos

Robert Hur

Special Counsel Robert Hur on Tuesday directly disputed the White House narrative on President Biden’s retention of classified documents after his vice presidency, confirming Biden “willfully” retained classified documents, indicated Biden lied to reporters when he said he did not share such information, and testified his report “did not exonerate” Biden of wrongdoing. 

He insisted in nationally televised testimony to Congress that Biden did “willfully” keep nationally secrets but that prosecutors did not believe they could prove it to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Tennessee Considers Bill Legalizing Non-Lethal Weapons on College Campuses Following Murder of Laken Riley

State Rep Gino Bulso and Laken Riley

The Tennessee General Assembly is considering legislation that would enshrine the legal right of members of the public to carry a variety of non lethal weapons on college campuses.

Already passed in the Tennessee House of Representatives on last Monday, HB 1909 by Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) would specify “that it is not a criminal offense for an adult person to carry or possess pepper spray, a taser, or another similar device for purposes of self-defense” when on any college or university.

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Virginia Police Academy Signs Graduation Documents in Chinese Despite Law Designating English as Official Language

Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard and Major Wilson Lee

Police in Fairfax County are reportedly refusing a request by Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard to reissue ceremonial police academy graduation documents after they were signed in Chinese. English was declared the “official language of the Commonwealth” in 1996.

The graduation certificates were signed by Major Wilson Lee of the Fairfax County Police Criminal Justice Academy, who according to NBC 4 Washington is Chinese-American. Lee has reportedly held the position for more than a year, but the outlet explained the Herndon Police Department only recently received its first batch of new graduates from the academy since Lee began his tenure.

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Audit of Grand Canyon University Fails to Find Wrongdoing amid the Institution’s Legal Battle with the Biden Administration

Grand Canyon University campus

A recent risk-based audit of Grand Canyon University conducted by the Arizona State Approving Agency (SAA) for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs did not “show any findings” related to the institution’s doctoral disclosures, which have been targeted by the Biden administration’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) through a $37.7 million fine.

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Georgia Tax Collections Decrease 4 Percent amid Calls for Income Tax Cut Acceleration

Gov Brian Kemp

Tax collections in Georgia decreased by about 4 percent in February. The change was driven by sharp decreases in the state’s income tax revenues following Republican-led tax cuts, though Georgia simultaneously saw increased revenue from sales taxes and taxes on corporations.

A press release from the office of Governor Brian Kemp notes the state’s tax revenues fell 4.3 percent in February while the year’s tax collections are down 3.1 percent to date.

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Commentary: The Anti-Democratic Democratic Left

BLM protesters

Joe Biden has claimed that his opponents are assaulting democracy on the basis of the January 6, 2020, buffoonish riot.

Aside from the fact that storming the Capitol Rotunda sometimes is apparently deemed permissible—as in the recent pro-Hamas takeover of it—or aside from the fact that disrupting a federal government proceeding is deemed exempt—as in the recent pro-Hamas throng that blocked the route of the presidential motorcade and thus delayed the State of the Union address to the nation by 26 minutes—who really is attacking democracy?

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Arizona U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs Sat Out State of the Union Address: ‘I Do Not Respect Joe Biden’

Rep Andy Biggs

U.S. Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) confirmed in a Monday appearance on C-SPAN that he was not in attendance for the joint session of Congress to hear the State of the Union address delivered by President Joe Biden last week, citing his lack of respect for the 81-year-old president.

Asked about the State of the Union address Monday on The Washington Journal, Biggs characterized Biden’s remarks as “a campaign speech” before revealing he watched from his office and did not attend in person.

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Key Democrats Endorse Gallego After Sinema Retirement

Rep. Ruben Gallego

U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., now has the backing on Gov. Katie Hobbs and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly in his bid for U.S. Senate.

The endorsements come after Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced last week she’s retiring at the end of the year and not seeking re-election. If she decided to run, it would have set up an unusual three-way race between two major parties and an incumbent. Sinema left the Democratic Party in December 2022.

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‘Cannabis Studies’ Program Launched at Roanoke College

Worker examining cannabis plant

Students at Roanoke College will soon be able to major in “cannabis studies.”

The private Virginia college will begin offering a major and minor this upcoming semester.

Program Director DorothyBelle Poli told The College Fix via email that majors can “go directly into the industry as growing/analysis scientists” or “as business owners with more knowledge (most likely double majoring in business at this time).”

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Feds Give $4 Million in Grants to University of Arizona for LGBTQ+ Mental Health

University of Arizona - Old Main Building

Nearly $4 million in grants to the University of Arizona for LGBTQ+ mental health services is raising concerns among some students.

The UA Southwest Institute for Research on Women recently received $3.7 million in federal grants, according to a university news release late last month. The two grants came from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

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Top Doctors Complain Detransitioners Posed ‘Harm’ to Trans Members at Medical Conference

Chloe Cole

Several gender doctors complained that detransitioners and “anti-trans” activists were allowed to attend an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) conference and claimed they made attendees feel unsafe, according to a series of emails exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The AAP holds its National Conference and Exhibition (NCE) each year, and in October 2023, the organization allowed the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR) in Medicine, which opposes the medical transition of minors, to have a booth in the exhibit hall, prompting outrage from attendees, according to emails obtained through a public records request. Dr. Gina Sequeira, the co-director of the Gender Clinic at Seattle Children’s Hospital, sent an email to colleagues on Oct. 25 claiming that having detransitioners like Chloe Cole and Prisha Mosley and gender industry whistleblowers such as Jamie Reed at the conference had made doctors and “LGBTQ-identified” attendees question whether NCE could be a “safe space for them.”

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Prosecutors Call Hunter Biden a Conspiracy Theorist who Cheated on Taxes After Sobriety

Hunter Biden courtroom

Federal prosecutors who charged Hunter Biden with tax evasion are mounting their strongest counterattack yet on the president’s son and his criticism of the case, suggesting that he has engaged in conspiracy theories in court and clearly cheated on taxes even after achieving sobriety.

The federal court filing that Special Counsel David Weiss and his deputy Leo Wise filed late Friday made clear they don’t intend to yield to Hunter Biden or his lawyers on the narrative in the court of public opinion or their version of facts in a case that threatens to send the first son to prison for as many as 17 years, if convicted.

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Alan Dershowitz Commentary: Who Will Prosecute the Prosecutors?

Fani Willis

If Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis were prosecuting citizen Fani Willis and her former boyfriend Nathan Wade for perjury, conspiracy and obstruction of justice, she would have an extremely strong case. The evidence of perjury is overwhelming; many individuals have been convicted on far less evidence.

Recall that Willis and Wade testified under oath to the material fact that Willis did not hire Wade as special prosecutor while they were having a romantic relationship. They both testified that the romantic relationship began after the hiring decision was made. If that was a deliberate lie, it satisfies all the elements of perjury.

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Study Finds California’s Semi Truck Electrification Comes with Enormous Costs That Hit Consumers

Tesla electric semi truck

In 2022, California adopted regulations that required all new cars, trucks and SUVs sold in the state to be zero emissions by 2035. Immediately, 17 states eyed the electric vehicle mandates and started considering their own. That was on top of the Biden administration’s own tailpipe standards, which many say function as a federal EV mandate.

The vision of a forced electric vehicle transition hasn’t quite gone as California and the Biden administration have hoped. But in April 2023, California was still riding high on a wave of EV fever and set its ambitions on electrifying semi truck fleets.

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Trump Takes Victory Lap After Secret Service Driver Disputes Democrats’ J6 Narrative: ‘Fabricated!’

President Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump claimed vindication Monday after new evidence released by Congress undercut two sensational claims Democrats made about him during the Jan. 6 investigation, including that he tried to commandeer his Secret Service vehicle that day to go to the Capitol and never offered National Guard troops for extra protection ahead of the fateful event.

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