Connecticut Elections Chief Calls for Reforms After Ballot Stuffing Scandal

Stephanie Thomas

Connecticut’s top election official is calling for reforms in the wake of a ballot stuffing scandal in Bridgeport’s mayoral race, where some people were allegedly paid cash to fill out mail ballots.

Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas said her office had referred allegations about election “malfeasance” in the February redo of the mayoral race to the State Elections Enforcement Commission to investigate, including reports from voters who received absentee ballots despite not requesting them.  

Read the full story

Analysis: South Carolina Teachers Earn Less than Two Decades Ago

Teacher with Students

A new report shows that schools nationwide, including in South Carolina, are having trouble filling teacher positions, with salaries being a primary cause.

An analysis from MyElearningWorld.com found that new teachers nationwide earn nearly 20% less than they did about two decades ago, taking inflation into account. South Carolina’s findings align with the national findings, with Palmetto State teachers earning 22% less.

Read the full story

Youngkin Reportedly Considers Veto for Skill Game Bill amid Potomac Yards Arena Feud

Youngkin Skill Games

A Monday report suggests Governor Glenn Youngkin could veto legislation legalizing skill games throughout the commonwealth as a casualty of his fight to build the Potomac Yards arena and bring the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards to Virginia.

Noting the governor’s comments last week declaring Democrats’ vision for Virginia is “let’s tax everybody as high as we possibly can, let’s put a pot shop on every corner, and let’s put a slot machine in every 7/11,” the Washington Post reported the controversial skill games bill could be vetoed due to its association with State Senator L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth).

Read the full story

Georgia Latino Coalition Demands UGA ‘Denounce’ ‘Hateful Rhetoric’ After Murder of Laken Riley

Laken Riley

A number of Latino and Hispanic organizations in Georgia signed a Monday letter to the University of Georgia (UGA) president to demand action against alleged “hateful rhetoric and fear mongering” they claim started following the murder of nursing student Laken Riley on the university’s campus. Police say Riley was slain by Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela.

Sent by the GALEO Impact Fund and signed by over 100 organizations and individuals, the letter claims “the community in Athens has been plagued by hateful rhetoric and fear mongering,” with “some Latino students” allegedly “afraid to walk to class alone” following Riley’s death.

Read the full story

‘Clean Energy’ Candidates Reportedly Seek ‘Takeover’ of Arizona Energy Board, Want State Electricity to Reflect ‘Justice, Equity and Inclusion’

Salt River Project

A slate of self-described “clean energy” candidates who are reportedly engineering a “takeover” of the Salt River Project (SRP) Board say they want to increase Arizona’s reliance on renewable energy with a focus on “justice, equity and inclusion.”

The SRP Clean Energy Team of candidates for the SRP Board and Council elections, for which voting has commenced will conclude April 2, admits online that its “vision for SRP” involves “a diverse board” that intends to “address voting rights to give all customers a vote” and govern to “ensure justice, equity and inclusion, while prioritizing climate issues and sustainable clean energy” in Arizona’s energy generation.

Read the full story

Intel Issues First Ohio Progress Report on $1.5 Billion Facilities

Intel’s first required progress report shows a $1.5 billion expenditure and another $3 billion committed to what Ohio officials call the largest single private-sector investment in state history.

The report, submitted to the Ohio Department of Development, is part of $2 billion in incentives for the two planned microchip manufacturing facilities in Licking County, including taxpayer-funded grants and tax incentives.

Read the full story

Florida Lottery Transferred $2.45 Billion to K-12 Education in 2023

Teacher in Class

The Florida Lottery has become a crucial part of funding for education in the Sunshine State, and according to a recent report from the Florida Auditor General, it continues to grow each year.

In late January, the AG released the financial audit of the Florida Lottery, whose mission is to maximize financial revenue for the benefit of education “in a manner consistent with the dignity of the State of Florida and the welfare of its citizens.”

Read the full story

Arizona Voters to Decide Life in Prison for Child Sex Traffickers in November as Ballot Referral Advances

Arizona SCR 1021

SCR 1021, the proposed legislation that aims to give Arizona voters a chance to decide whether criminals who commit child sex trafficking should qualify for life in prison without being eligible for any chance of parole or release, passed in a House vote (31-27) on Monday.

SCR 1021 focuses on traffickers convicted of a class 2 felony and recently passed out of the Senate with the complete support of Republicans.

Read the full story

Analysis: New Georgia Teachers Earn Less than Two Decades Ago

Student with Teacher

A new report shows schools nationwide, including in Georgia, have trouble filling teacher positions, with low salaries being a primary cause.

An analysis from MyElearningWorld.com found that — even accounting for inflation — new teachers nationwide earn nearly 20% less than they did about two decades ago. Georgia’s findings align with the national findings, with Peach State teachers earning 20% less.

Read the full story

Commentary: It’s Time for GOP to Unite Behind Trump

Donald Trump Rally

For the first time in my 94 years on earth, I fear for the future of our democracy. I see the federal government using its enormous powers with contempt for the governed instead of with the consent of the governed as our founders envisioned.

Fundamental change in America is occurring by executive order or the force of the government’s police powers instead of through the legislative process required by the Constitution. From this, I fear that free market capitalism may be replaced by big government socialism. I also fear the erosion of our rights and freedoms, including parental rights, freedom of speech and religion, and due process. 

Read the full story

White House Pressure to Censor Social Media No Worse than Yelling at Journalists, SCOTUS Suggests

Federal officials privately scold reporters and attempt to shape or even stop their coverage on a regular basis, without getting sued for First Amendment violations.

How close is that to White House aides privately and repeatedly badgering their counterparts at social media companies and President Biden publicly accusing Facebook of “killing people,” for insufficient censorship of disfavored narratives on COVID-19?

Read the full story

Bentley Pushes Back Ambitious All-Electric Goals

Driver getting into his Bently

British luxury carmaker Bentley Motors is pushing back its plans to have an all-electric vehicle (EV) offering by 2030, following other top vehicle manufacturers, according to CNBC.

Bentley had originally planned to transition all of its vehicle sales to EVs by 2030 but announced that it would be looking to delay that change by a couple of years, continuing to offer hybrids through that time, CEO Adrian Hallmark said in a media briefing following the company’s fourth quarter results, according to CNBC. General Motors, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Honda have all backed off of previously made EV goals in the past year as low demand and high costs have stifled the commodity’s profitability compared to traditional vehicles.

Read the full story

Olympian Caitlyn Jenner Supports Ban on Trans Athletes on Teams not Matching Biological Sex

Caitlyn Jenner

Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner expressed support for a New York county official’s order that bans women’s sports teams that include biological male athletes and men’s sports teams that include biological female athletes from using county-owned facilities.

Jenner, who came out as a transgender woman in 2015, focused on transgender women competing in women’s sports during an event Monday alongside Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.

Read the full story

Layoffs Continue Nationwide as Economic Concerns Rise

Fired by email

As the economy worsens, multiple industries continue to shed jobs.

U.S.-based companies laid off 82,307 employees in January, a 136 percent increase from the previous month, according to a report by the business and coaching firm, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. The Wall Street Journal reported companies are still cutting white-collar jobs in an attempt “to do more with less.”

Read the full story

Commentary: Why the ‘Language Watch?’

"Gun Violence" Language Watch video

Who is in charge of the language? Not us conservatives, that’s for sure. We are flotsam flowing with the waters formulated by the liberal establishment and culture. We are using their language constructs. No longer.

We are creating a series of short videos, about one minute each, plucking a phrase from those polluted waters and explaining why it is polluted, propagandistic, and not worthy of use in a society that more than ever needs a common language not loaded with political narratives. We are calling the series “Language Watch.”

Read the full story

Music Spotlight: Amy Sheppard

When Amy Sheppard who is part of the wildly popular Australian band, Sheppard, decided to put out country music, I was intrigued. I wanted to find out more about this family and their musical roots.

Amy Sheppard is an Australian singer-songwriter. Along with her siblings George Sheppard and Emma Sheppard, she is a founding and current member of the indie pop band Sheppard. The group is 34X platinum, and their massive hit “Geronimo” has had more than 750 million streams.

Read the full story

Vinnie Vernuccio Says New Attempt to Unionize the Chattanooga Volkswagen Plant Seems to be ‘Failing’

Vinnie Vernuccio, president of the Institute for the American Worker, said workers’ latest attempts to unionize the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga appear to be “failing.”

On Monday, the United Auto Workers (UAW) announced that a group of Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for a vote to join the labor union.

Read the full story

Peter Navarro to Serve Sentence at Wing of Minimum Security Prison Camp for Inmates over 60

Peter Navarro

Federal prison consultant Sam Mangel confirmed to The Tennessee Star on Tuesday that former Trump administration trade adviser Peter Navarro will serve just 90 days of his four-month sentence, and will complete the prison term at part of the minimum security satellite camp of the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Miami reserved for older inmates.

In a Tuesday phone conversation, Mangel contradicted previous reporting by The New York Times that claimed Mangel “said he was working to get Mr. Navarro into a unit devised for inmates over age 60 in a minimum-security satellite camp in the prison.”

Read the full story

Nashville Metro Councilman Jeff Eslick Says There’s ‘Room for Improvement’ for Keeping Nashville ‘Safe’ and ‘Clean’ amid Missing College Student Case

Jeff Eslick Nashville

Metro Nashville Council Member Jeff Eslick said the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) has “room for improvement” in regards to keeping the streets of Music City “safe” and “clean.”

Eslick made the comments during a recent episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show as he and host Michael Patrick Leahy were discussing the disappearance of college student Riley Strain, who has been missing since March 8 after being asked to leave Luke Bryan’s bar in downtown Nashville.

Read the full story

Wife of Unjustly Imprisoned J6 Defendant and Former Williamson County Deputy Sheriff Ronald McAbee Incarcerated Since 2021 Says Tennessee Congressional Delegation Is Ignoring His Case

Ronald McAbee

Sarah McAbee, the wife of J6 defendant Ronald Colton McAbee, said her husband has undergone unfair treatment both while incarcerated awaiting trial and during his jury trial for being present at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

D.C. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras sentenced Ronald McAbee last month to almost six years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $32,165 in restitution after being convicted and pleading guilty to six felony charges and one misdemeanor charge.

Read the full story

Commentary: We Must Protect Our Farmers

Farmer Working

Tennessee’s farmers and growers generate $89 billion annually in economic activity. Simply put, we rely on our farmers. And today, we honor them. Few Americans make more of a difference in the lives of others than farmers. From growing the food we cook to the cotton we use to make clothes, our farmers truly are the backbone of our economy.

My greatest privilege in Congress is to serve the hardworking people of Tennessee, especially farmers. Those who work hard to feed our families, those who tirelessly labor sun-up to sun-down, those who make possible the American dream; it is their selfless sacrifice to the soil that keeps our state growing.

Read the full story

Bryan Quigley: Ohio U.S. Senate GOP Primary Is a ‘Flip the Coin Election’ Where ‘Every Vote is Going to Count’

Political pundit Bryan Quigley said Tuesday’s GOP U.S. Senate primary in Ohio will be a toss-up race where “every vote is going to count.”

Three Republican candidates – businessman Bernie Moreno, Ohio State Senator Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls), and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose – are competing for the GOP nomination on Tuesday to face off with incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown in the November general election.

Read the full story

Biden Border Policy Critics Lament ‘Migrant Crime Wave’

Congressman Mark Green at U.S. border

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark E. Green blasted President Joe Biden for the wave of illegal immigrants entering the U.S., saying a “migrant crime wave” is sweeping the country.

Green’s office said “President Biden and now-impeached Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ refusal to secure the border has helped unleash a new wave of crime across the nation.”

Read the full story

Trump Media Stock Jumps More Than 50 Percent After DJT Ticker Debut

CNBC The share price of Donad Trump’s social media company jumped by more than 50% minutes after it began public trading under the ticker DJT on Tuesday morning. Trading in Trump Media & Technology Group was briefly halted amid the rise due to volatility before it resumed around 9:40 a.m. ET More than 6.5 million shares in Trump Media had changed hands by 9:50 a.m.. The ticker debuted on the NASDAQ stock market nearly three decades after the former president used it to launch his publicly traded hotel and casino company to great fanfare in 1995. READ THE FULL STORY      

Read the full story

Firm Tied to China’s Military Industrial Complex Plans to Roll Out Massive Battery Chemical Plants in U.S.

Shenzhen Capchem Technology plant floor

The Chinese manufacturer of chemicals for electric vehicle batteries planning to build two U.S. factories has long-standing ties to China’s military industrial complex, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation found.

Capchem Technology USA, the wholly-owned subsidiary of China-based Shenzhen Capchem Technology (Capchem), plans to build factories in both Ohio and Louisiana that would produce components for electric vehicle batteries. Chinese government documents reveal the Chinese chemical giant was selected over a decade ago to conduct aerospace research for China’s military industrial complex as part of a program overseen by a blacklisted Chinese government agency.

Read the full story

Sanctuary Cities Ramp Up Migrant Evictions Ahead of 2024 Election

Democratic metropolises are evicting migrants in the lead-up to the 2024 election despite their status as sanctuary cities, citing resource strains resulting from the ongoing border crisis.

Chicago, Denver and New York City are all increasing shelter evictions as the cities are overwhelmed with migrant influxes. President Joe Biden has declined to take executive action to secure the border, passing the buck to Congress despite revoking former President Donald Trump’s executive orders on the matter early into his term.

Read the full story

Biden Admin Hands Out $500 Million for Oil Drilling in the Middle East

Oil Drilling

The Biden administration is providing financing for oil development in the Middle East after taking numerous steps to restrict domestic production, according to Bloomberg News.

The U.S. Export-Import Bank — a nominally independent government entity that aims to boost the American economy “by facilitating the export of U.S. goods and services” —  approved a $500 million loan guarantee for oil and gas development in Bahrain on Thursday, according to Bloomberg News. The funding follows the Biden administration’s decisions to release the most restrictive offshore oil and gas leasing schedule in American history and cancel seven previously-issued oil and gas leases in Alaska, among other actions intended to rein in domestic oil production.

Read the full story

Lawmakers React to Arrests of Illegal Aliens in ‘Multinational’ Human Trafficking Ring

Senator Marsha Blackburn, State Rep. Gino Bulso

Tennessee lawmakers are reacting to Monday’s Tennessee Star report that two illegal aliens living in Tennessee have been arrested in what the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) calls an ongoing criminal investigation into a multinational human sex trafficking ring. 

“Two illegal aliens caught & arrested in Tennessee have been linked to a multinational human trafficking ring,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on X. “Under Joe Biden, every town is a border town. We must close the border.”

Read the full story

Arizona’s SB 1511 Seeks Insurance and Healthcare Coverage Equality for Children and Adults Who Detransition Back to Their Birth Gender

Arizona State Senator Janae Shamp

SB 1511 would hold insurance companies and healthcare providers who offer gender transition coverage and procedures accountable for providing equal treatment for individuals who choose to detransition back to their birth gender after having had their gender medically altered.

SB 1511 states that those insurers who provided coverage for gender transition “may not deny coverage for gender detransition procedures.” The bill also requires physicians and healthcare institutions performing gender transition services to provide gender detransition procedures.

Read the full story

Georgia Attorney General Leads Coalition Challenging ‘Unlawful’ Rule Demanding Companies Issue Annual Climate Change Reports

Georgia Atty Gen Chris Carr

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr on Thursday announced he is leading a coalition of 10 attorneys general in opposition to a new rule requiring publicly traded companies to create annual climate change reports.

Carr leads a coalition that includes attorneys general serving Georgia, West Virginia, Alabama, Alaska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Wyoming and Virginia in a petition for the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review whether the newly-enacted rule should remain.

Read the full story

Commentary: The Vast and Rapid Expansion of Mail-In Balloting Facilitates Election Skulduggery

US Postal Service in winter

In the absence of an extremely unlikely recovery of public confidence in the President and the Democrats, the voters will attempt to return the White House and the Senate to the Republicans in November. As to the presidency, Trump is the beneficiary of an accelerating collapse in the traditional Democratic coalition that rested on a foundation of white working class and minority voters.

Read the full story

Arizona Democrat Claims Police Refused to Hear His Side of Sexual Abuse Allegation in 2015

Arizona State Rep. Jevin Hodge, George Washington University

State Representative Jevin Hodge (D-District 8) acknowledged on Monday that he was accused of sexual misconduct as a college student in 2015, but claimed police would not hear his side of events.

Hodge acknowledged a Monday article which revealed he was banned from the George Washington University campus after he allegedly tried forcing a woman to have sex with him in 2015, but claimed the encounter ended without any aggressive act.

Read the full story

Virginia Drops Requirements for Churches to Hire Non-Christians, Fund ‘Sex Reassignment’ and ‘Gender Affirming’ Surgeries

Calvary Road Church

A lawsuit brought by religious and faith-based organizations against Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares was settled on Monday, with the parties forming a settlement that drops a requirement for the groups to hire non-Christians.

The conclusion of Cavalry Road Baptist Church v. Miyares was announced by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), whose attorneys represented two Virginia churches, three Christian schools and a pregnancy center network.

Read the full story

Commentary: If H.R. 7521 Was Only About TikTok, the Bill Would Only Apply to TikTok

TikTok Social Media

“The TikTok bill gives Biden the power to ban websites & apps run by ‘a person subject to the direction or control of a foreign person or entity.’ Given that Biden routinely smears political opponents as being under the control of Putin, the danger should be obvious.”

That was entrepreneur David Sacks on X (formerly Twitter) on March 13 noting the fact that H.R. 7521, which has easily passed the House and is now on a fast track in the U.S Senate will give the President, right now it’s Joe Biden but also future presidents, can force divestiture of any website or application or else have it removed from hosting services if the President determines it is run by “a person subject to the direction or control of a foreign person or entity” including Russia, China, North Korea or Iran.

Read the full story

Commentary: Biden Administration Abuses U.S. Intelligence Community to Undermine Netanyahu’s Leadership

President Joe Biden and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Something reprehensible happened this week during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the U.S. Intelligence Community’s annual worldwide threats report. In addition to discussing threats to our country from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and terrorist groups, the report questioned the leadership of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said large protests in Israel demanding his resignation could drive him from power.

Read the full story

Cassidy Hutchinson’s Ex-Lawyer Cleared by Disciplinary Panels After January 6 Committee Allegations

Attorney Stefan Passantino

Stefan Passantino, the lawyer who represented Democrats’ Jan. 6 star witness Cassidy Hutchinson in her early interactions with Congress, has been cleared by legal ethics investigators in both Washington, D.C. and Georgia regarding complaints that he engaged in improper conduct in his representation of Hutchinson.

In Washington, D.C., allegations of attorney misconduct are reviewed by the Board of Professional Responsibility of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. In Georgia, the practice of law is regulated by a State Disciplinary Board, made up of volunteers who are appointed by the Supreme Court and the State Bar president for three-year terms. The state Supreme Court has final approval of any decision made by the board.

Read the full story