Mask Mandate Ban Signed into Law

When President Joe Biden signed a package of bills over the weekend to avoid a government shutdown, he also made law Sen. J.D. Vance’s legislation to stop federal mask mandates from the Department of Transportation.

The law stops the Transportation Department from using federal funds to enforce mask mandates on passenger airlines, commuter rail, rapid transit buses and any other transportation program funded through fiscal year 2024.

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Titans Seat License Bill Would Cap Increase at 20 Percent for 10-Year License Holders

Proposed New Titans Stadium

A bill intending to cap increases on the cost of personal seat licenses at the new Nissan Stadium in Nashville would now put a 20% cap on those price increases for 10-year seat license holders at the Tennessee Titans’ current stadium.

The bill initially was written to block any increase in those prices but Rep. Larry Miller, D-Memphis, said he was planning to amend the bill to be more reasonable to the Titans.

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Towing Company Behind Racism Lawsuit Against Memphis Now Accused of Racketeering

A towing company that sued the City of Memphis last year over racism allegations is now a defendant in a lawsuit which asserts it is engaged in a racketeering scheme to squeeze owners 18-wheelers with excessive, duplicative and illegal fees for parking. The plaintiffs also claim the company engages in illegal towing, booting or impounding of vehicles.

The lawsuit claims the owner of A1’s Towing and Hauling of Memphis, Colton Ahmad Cathey, is the co-creator of an illegal network of towing and booting companies that lure unsuspecting drivers to their lots then charge excessive fees to remediate illegal booting and towing of their vehicles.

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Team Biden Rolls Out Massive $30 Million Ad Campaign to Capture Crucial Voting Blocs

Joe Biden

President Joe Biden’s campaign is rolling out a new $30 million six-week ad buy in several swing states in a bid to capture crucial voting blocs ahead of November.

The ad campaign will air in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, according to Politico, and aims to tout several Biden initiatives on “climate change” and abortion, as well as address concerns surrounding the president’s mental fitness. The ad campaign parallels a wider administration effort to gain support among African Americans and young people as the president continues to lag behind former President Donald Trump in the polls.

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Government Report Could Lead to an Infestation of Federal Regulation into Youth Sports, Experts Say

Youth Sports

A key report recently released by a federal government commission could result in a slew of new regulations being pushed onto youth sports, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Commission on the State of U.S. Olympics & Paralympics, which was established by Congress in 2020 to address concerns about the U.S. Olympic Commission, including the handling of sexual abuse cases, outlines several key policy changes that it believes the government should pursue, including expanding the reach of government in youth sports at the grassroots level, according to the report. The injection of federal oversight and government into an already functioning youth sports system could create undue regulations on leagues and possibly force diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in local areas, hurting young athletes while also forcing Americans to pay into a sports league that they may not be interested in, experts warned.

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State Court Postpones Trial of Police Officers Charged with Killing Tyre Nichols Until Federal Trial Concludes: Report

A Memphis judge on Friday postponed the state court trial of four former Memphis police officers charged in the killing of Tyre Nichols until a federal trial against them concludes, the Associated Press reported.

The delay comes after the former officers’ attorneys requested the judge postpone the state trial so as not to “hinder the officers’ rights to defend themselves in both cases,” the outlet continued. The federal trial is set for September 9, 2024.

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Commentary: Unemployment Up Another 760,000 Since December 2022 as Unemployment Rate Jumps to 3.9 Percent

Don’t look now, but U.S. labor markets appear to be churning in the wrong direction, as the unemployment rate jumped to 3.9 percent in February, and the unemployment level hit a new high for this cycle at almost 6.5 million, up 760,000 from its low this cycle of 5.7 million in Dec. 2022, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Youngkin Signs 64 Bills, Vetoes Eight as Path for Potomac Yards Arena Approval Narrows

Gov. Glenn Youngkin

Governor Glenn Youngkin on Friday acted on more than 80 bills approved by the Virginia General Assembly. In total, the governor signed 64 new bills into law, amended 12 and vetoed eight.

Youngkin called the 64 bills he signed into law “bipartisan” and “a clear demonstration of what can be achieved when we set politics aside and work together for Virginians” in a statement.

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Leader of Human Smuggling Organization that Held Illegal Immigrants in Phoenix Sentenced to Four Years Prison

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday the sentencing of a Phoenix man who led a human smuggling ring which moved illegal immigrants from Central America and held them in Arizona before driving them to destinations across the United States.

Tony Cardenas, a 36-year-old man from Phoenix, was sentenced to four years in prison and three years of supervised release earlier this month for his role as “the leader of a Phoenix-based human-smuggling operation” involving a total of at least 19 criminals, the DOJ announced. Cardenas is of no known relation to U.S. Representative Tony Cardenas (D-CA-29).

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Maricopa Community Colleges District Library Provides Critical Race Theory Resources for Students

People on Computers

The Maricopa Community Colleges District (MCCCD) library houses an online collection of Critical Race Theory articles, videos, and guiding questions about white privilege, social justice, and racism that are made available for community college students.

The materials are not labeled as Critical Race Theory (CRT) curriculum but as “Cultural Diversity Resources.” In a statement on the Arizona Department of Education’s website explaining Critical Race Theory, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said, “Critical Race Theory is real, no matter what it’s called.”

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Former Arizona Department of Public Safety Director Frank Milstead Enters Race for Maricopa County Sheriff

Frank Milstead

The Republican primary for Maricopa County Sheriff just became a lot more interesting, with a second heavy-hitter entering the race, former Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Frank Milstead. Jerry Sheridan, who served as chief deputy under former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, is already in the race, along with several lesser known candidates. Current Democratic Sheriff Paul Penzone is not running for reelection. 

Milstead told The Arizona Sun Times that the reason he is running is because as a police officer, he saw how bad the crime is in Maricopa County and felt he needed to do something about it. “I live by the rule that if I’m going to complain about something, I’d better step up and do something about it,” he said.

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Pompeo Blames Biden ‘Appeasement’ for Iran’s Expanding Aggression in Speech to Tehran Opposition

Mike Pompeo

Rising levels of global violence are helping to highlight the rogue and destabilizing role that Iran plays on the world stage, supporters of the main Iranian opposition movement declared Saturday.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, retired Generals Wesley Clark and Jim Jones, and Robert Joseph, under-secretary of state for arms control and international security, spoke Saturday at a Washington hotel at an event hosted by the Organization of Iranian American Communities.

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Taxpayers to Pay $3 Million for Mayorkas Impeachment Defense

Alejandro Mayorkas

The Department of Homeland Security so far has spent $3 million of taxpayer money to defend embattled Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas against impeachment by the House of Representatives, according to documents obtained by The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project.

The DHS contract with a law firm was to cover the cost of a failed attempt to stave off a House impeachment, as well as to defend President Joe Biden’s homeland security secretary in a possible Senate trial.

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Another Elite University Will Reinstate Standardized Testing for Admission

Brown University

Brown University will reinstate a policy requiring standardized testing as part of the admissions process, according to a Tuesday news release.

First year applicants for next year’s admissions cycle will be required to submit standardized test scores, like the SAT or ACT, in their applications, according to the university news release. Brown suspended its testing policy in the summer of 2020 citing “unprecedented obstacles to testing” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Report: Post-Pandemic Remote, Hybrid Work Will Impact Businesses near Offices

Empty Office

Remote and hybrid workers will impact more than office vacancy rates, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

The report, “Hybrid Work May Pose Challenge To Bars and Restaurants in Parts of the Tenth Federal Reserve District,” stated hybrid work arrangements and a preference for remote work are here to stay. It quoted research suggesting approximately 30% of working days in 2023 took place at home and office occupancy is down at least 40% compared to pre-pandemic levels.

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Judge Allows Biden Admin Program That Lets in 30,000 Asylum-Seekers a Month

A federal judge on Friday dismissed a challenge from 21 states against a Biden administration program that allows 30,000 asylum-seekers into the U.S. from four countries each month. 

U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton ruled that Texas and 20 other Republican-led states didn’t have legal standing in the lawsuit because they didn’t demonstrate suffered financial harm from the federal program, the Associated Press reported. The program lets a total of up to 30,000 asylum-seekers enter the U.S. each month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. 

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Snickers Outright Rejects Biden SOTU Claim About Reducing Size of Candy Bar

Biz Pac Review An angry President Joe Biden ranted at length during his State of the Union address, lashing out at his 2024 opponent Donald J. Trump, and calling out the maker of one of America’s most popular candy bars. In sticking with the “shrinkflation” theme laid out by his handlers to gaslight Americans into blaming food corporations for the “Bidenomics” disaster, the 81-year-old career politician singled out Snickers bars as an example of how people have been getting less for their money during the period of prolonged inflation that has marked his tenure. “In fact, the snack companies think you won’t notice if they change the size of the bag and put a hell of a lot fewer — — same — same size bag — put fewer chips in it. No, I’m not joking. It’s called shrinkflation,” Biden said, urging the passage of a bill by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) to assert more government control over private companies. READ THE FULL STORY

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Rachel Alexander: ‘Zero Percent Chance’ Any Legal Challenge Would Change Law Permitting Noncitizens to Vote in Federal Elections by November

Vote Here

Rachel Alexander, lead reporter at The Arizona Sun Times, said there is a “zero percent chance” anything could happen legally between now and November to change federal law allowing no proof of citizenship to be submitted in order for an individual to be eligible to vote in a federal election.

“These 10 million invaders that have come here into the United States under the Biden administration, they’re going to try to get them to vote,” host Michael Leahy said to Alexander on Tuesday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show. “Are there other things that we can do to prevent illegal aliens from voting in the federal election in November 2024?”

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Trump Pays Tribute to Laken Riley, Blasts Biden Border Policies as ‘Crime Against Humanity’

Donald Trump met with Laken Riley’s family and unleashed a blistering attack Saturday on President Joe Biden’s border policies as a “crime against humanity” as the two likely general candidates staged dueling events in the battleground state of Georgia. “Joe Biden has no remorse, no regret, no empathy, no compassion, and worst of all, he has no intention of stopping the deadly invasion that stole precious Laken’s beautiful American life,” Trump told a rally in Rome, Ga., the home district of close ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

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Mitch McConnell’s Billionaire Sister-in-Law Angela Chao Made Panicked Last Call Before Dying in ‘Completely Submerged’ Tesla on Texas Ranch: Report

New York Post Angela Chao, Sen. Mitch McConnell’s billionaire sister-in-law, spent her last minutes alive frantically calling her friends for help as her Tesla slowly sank in a pond on a remote Texas ranch, according to a report. Chao, the billionaire former CEO of dry bulk shipping giant Foremost Group, tragically died at the age of 50 on Feb. 10 after accidentally backing her car into the pond while making a three-point turn. The driving mishap was detailed in a report by The Wall Street Journal that shed light on the chaotic rescue efforts that ultimately came up short, turning what was supposed to be a celebratory weekend with friends into a nightmare. READ THE FULL STORY    

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Pro-Life Pregnancy Group Appeals to SCOTUS in Clash with New Jersey AG over ‘Unlawful’ Subpoena

First Choice Building

by Noah Slayter   An organization that operates pro-life pregnancy centers in New Jersey asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case involving what the centers’ petition calls an “improper” and “unlawful” subpoena by state Attorney General Matthew Platkin. Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal firm known as ADF, filed a petition with the high court Feb. 26 on behalf of First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, asking it to force a lower court to hear the case. A federal district court judge dismissed the pregnancy resource organization’s case Feb. 15, citing “lack of jurisdiction.” In December, Platkin, a Democrat, subpoenaed First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, which operates five pregnancy centers by that name in the state, over what he called potential violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. “With zero justification, the attorney general is unlawfully targeting and harassing First Choice, simply because the resources it provides help women in need continue their pregnancies rather than abort their unborn children,” ADF legal counsel Tim Garrison said Friday in a written statement to The Daily Signal. The District Court incorrectly denied First Choice’s right “to address their claims in federal court,” Garrison said, “and should not affirm AG Platkin’s abuse of power after he initiated an illegitimate and harassing…

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Attacks on Christian Churches on the Rise in the United States

Church mass

Over the last five years, the United States has suffered a dramatic increase in the number of attacks on Christian churches, often the result of far-left political movements.

As reported by Breitbart, the data from the Family Research Council (FRC) revealed a record-high number of church attacks in the year 2023 alone, with 436 incidents; these attacks range from arson and gun-related attacks, to vandalism and bomb threats.

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Teachers Unions Spending Millions on GOP Primaries in 32 States

Randi Weingarten

A new report claims that teachers unions, which are overwhelmingly left-wing, have been spending millions on Republican primaries in recent years, with the campaign stretching across 32 different states.

As Fox News reports, the report from the Daily Signal suggests that various local affiliates of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) have been increasingly donating more money to Republican primary candidates for state legislatures over the last six years.

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Jeffrey Clark’s Attorney Tells Georgia Judge Six Reasons Why Fani Willis Should be Disqualified, Calls Her Office a ‘Global Laughingstock’

Harry MacDougald

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee heard arguments last week from defense attorneys about why Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from her RICO case against former President Donald Trump and his associates.  

Willis had an affair with Nathan Wade, the prosecutor she appointed to lead the case. This caused attorneys, including Harry MacDougald, who represents Jeffrey Clark, to list six conflicts of interest she faces in a presentation to the court.

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Two Ohio Women Arrested for Using Dead Man’s Corpse to Withdraw Money from Bank

Feralo Casbohm

Two women in Ashtabula, Ohio, have been arrested and charged for their alleged transport of an elderly man’s corpse to a bank for the illegal withdrawal of cash.

On Thursday, the Ashtabula Police Department (APD) announced that it received a call from the Ashtabula County Medical Center (ACMC) on Monday concerning a deceased elderly man who was dropped off at their facility by two unidentified females.

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Kari Lake’s Attorney Bryan Blehm Encounters Hostility Dealing with the State Bar of Arizona’s Disciplinary Proceedings

Kari Lake’s attorney Bryan Blehm is encountering pushback defending himself against the State Bar of Arizona’s disciplinary proceedings. The Arizona bar is trying to disbar Blehm and two of Lake’s other attorneys for asserting in a brief that it was an undisputed fact that 35,000 ballots were inserted into the 2022 election at Runbeck Election Systems, Maricopa County’s third-party mail-in ballot processing company. The Arizona bar also brought charges against Blehm for a post on X criticizing the Arizona Supreme Court for setting up a disinformation task force that appeared to be directed in part to squelch election challenges from attorneys representing Republicans.

Blehm, who is representing himself, is in the discovery phase of the disciplinary proceedings, where parties provide disclosures to each other and serve interrogatories or subpoenas for information. 

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Ohio Commits $120 Million for Transportation Projects

Road Construction

Ohio plans to spread more than $120 million of taxpayer money over 13 counties for road projects, with $15 million spent to expand bus rapid transit in Columbus.

The new construction funding list from the Transportation Review Advisory Council includes $21 million for new construction, $35.5 million in additional construction, $33.4 million in new money for preliminary engineering, and another $28.4 million for more funding for development projects.

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Connecticut Lawmakers Urged to Shine Sunlight on Local Campaign Finances

CT Capitol Money

Political contributions to municipal elected officials in Connecticut would be more accessible to the public under a proposal being considered by state lawmakers.

The legislation, which is pending before the Legislature’s Committee on Government Administration and Elections, would require candidates running for local elected office to file their required campaign disclosures with the state’s Electronic Campaign Reporting Information System, known as eCRIS, which supporters say will increase transparency in local elections.

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Laken Riley’s Mom Blasts Biden for Fumbling Daughter’s Name During Speech: ‘Pathetic’

Biden Laken Riley

The mother of Laken Riley, the college student slain by an illegal immigrant, is blasting President Joe Biden for fumbling her late daughter’s name during his nationally televised State of the Union address.

”Biden does not even KNOW my child’s name – it’s pathetic!”  Allyson Phillips wrote Friday on Facebook after Biden mistakenly called her daughter “Lincoln” when challenged to say her name.

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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin Signs Bill Banning Legacy Admissions

College Students

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a bill Friday banning legacy admissions at public colleges in the state.

Several states have moved to eliminate legacy admissions, which are admissions based on prior familial attendance to a school, after the fall of race-based admissions at the Supreme Court in June 2023. The bill passed the Virginia Senate with bipartisan support, 39-0, and passed the state’s House of Delegates 99-0, and has now been signed by Youngkin.

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Georgia Representative Mike Cameron Supports New Legislation to Combat Illegal Immigration

Mike Cameron

House Bill 1105, called “The Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act of 2024,” is proposed legislation that aims to bolster public safety and security for Georgia communities through increased communication and information sharing by state and local officials and federal immigration agencies.

State Representative Mike Cameron (R-Rossville) expressed his support for HB 1105 in a press release on Friday, stating he “was proud to cast a ‘yes’ vote to support this important legislation to address illegal immigration” and that it was the responsibility of state legislatures “to protect the citizens we serve and enforce the rule of law in communities across the state so that senseless tragedies, like the murder of Laken Riley, won’t happen again under our watch.”

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Commentary: Rapidly Declining Mainline Church Seeks to Require Ministers to Support Transgenderism, Gay Marriage

Woman Pastor

The Presbyterian Church (USA) has permitted, but not required, its ministers to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies since 2014. But that allowance is no longer sufficient for the progressive denomination; it now aims to mandate that future ministers affirm transgenderism and same-sex marriage as prerequisites for ordination. At its General Assembly this June, the denomination will take up legislation that would implement that requirement.

The Presbyterian Church (USA)’s proposed requirement stands out for its inclusion of affirmation for transgenderism alongside same-sex marriage. Specifically, it does so by adding “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” to its list of groups protected from discrimination, included in “worship, governance, and emerging life.” The proposal would also change the denomination’s “[s]tandards for ordained service” to make it obligatory for ministry candidates to pledge adherence to this principle of “non-discrimination.”

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Music Spotlight: Flat River Band

Flat River Band

Flat River Band consists of three brothers Andy Sitze, Chad Sitze, and Dennijo Sitze, who grew up in a multi-generational family band. Performing alongside their parents and grandparents, they held residencies at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, and at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

No strangers to success, the Missouri natives have charted #1 hits on the bluegrass gospel charts and have opened for Natalie Maines, Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent, TG Sheppard, and more.

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Government Jobs Continue to Swell Under Biden as Unemployment Ticks Up

Team Work at Office

The U.S. set another new record for the total number of government jobs in February, even as overall unemployment ticks up, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The government added 52,000 positions in February, around the average gain per month seen in the last year, totaling 23,180,000, according to the BLS. The U.S. economy added 275,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in February, far higher than expectations of 200,000, but unemployment shot up from 3.7% to 3.9%.

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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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