Federal Judge Halts Georgia’s Charitable Bail Law

Inmates

A federal judge on Friday afternoon halted part of a new state law barring charitable bail from taking effect while a legal challenge proceeds.

U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert issued a temporary restraining order for 14 days following a Friday hearing. The ACLU of Georgia and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center filed the lawsuit asking a judge to declare Section 4 of Georgia Senate Bill 63 unconstitutional.

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Sen. Tim Kaine Defends President Joe Biden After Abysmal Debate as Opponent Hung Cao Promises to ‘Flip Virginia Red’

Virginia Senate Race

Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) at a campaign stop on Monday defended President Joe Biden after his poor debate performance provoked calls for the 81-year-old president to end his reelection campaign and allow a younger candidate to face former President Donald Trump in November.

Kaine confirmed he continues to support the 81-year-old president after Petersburg Vice Mayor Darrin Hill called for Democrats to “turn down the noise” about Biden’s candidacy, reported USA Today.

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Commentary: Beware of Artificial Intelligence’s Influence on the Election

Computer programmer

In recent weeks we’ve seen multiple stories involving the two leading presidential candidates — Joe Biden and Donald Trump — signaling the rising dangers of Artificial Intelligence and related technology during an intense campaign. The examples run from alleged misinformation and video distortion to flat-out false imagery. The warnings are certainly apt.

Sure, AI has the potential for great benefits, whether in the healthcare field or even something like your GPS, but it also holds potential for terrible misuse in politics. Specifically, to get technical, it’s the so-called “generative AI” that can be directed to produce bogus human voices, imagery, text, and video. It can be used to create some of the worst “fake news.”

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Wisconsin Crime Labs Not Meeting New DNA Testing Deadline

DNA Testing

A new audit raises questions as to whether Wisconsin’s attorney general will be able to meet a new state requirement to get sexual assault kits tested within six months.

The Legislative Audit Bureau released its new report on the state’s crime recently, saying there are fewer requests for sexual assault DNA kits at the crime labs, but it is taking the labs longer to process each kit.

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Major Pediatric Medical Organization Plotted Ways to ‘Circumvent’ Child Sex Change Bans, Emails Show

Child at the doctor's office

Members of America’s leading pediatric medical association discussed possible ways to “circumvent” red states’ bans on sex change procedures and drugs for children, according to emails obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The emails are part of a trove of documents that show how the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the country’s largest professional association of pediatricians with a membership of 67,000 doctors, quietly partnered with transgender activist groups, such as the Human Rights Campaign and the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH), to push child sex changes nationwide.

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Judge Who Supported Trump Reprimanded After Denying Felons the Right to Vote

Judge Matthew Quinn

A Minnesota district court judge was publicly reprimanded by the Minnesota Board of Judicial Standards after denying several convicted felons the right to vote when issuing probation orders to those felons.

On June 27, Judge Matthew Quinn of Minnesota’s Seventh Judicial District was reprimanded by the Minnesota Board of Judicial Standards (MBJS). According to the Board’s findings, Judge Quinn began issuing probation sentencing orders to convicted felons in October of 2023 which denied those individuals the right to vote.

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White House Signs Deal with Panama to Crack Down On Major Illegal Immigration Route to U.S.

Panama's president-elect, José Raúl Mulino

The Biden administration on Monday inked a deal with the Panamanian government to help stop illegal migration along the Darien Gap, a sign that the country’s new president is following through on a major campaign promise.

The White House announced a Memorandum of Understanding with Panama, an initiative that will deploy American screening officers to assist their government deport migrants who cross the Darien Gap, a vast jungle region between Panama and Colombia that hundreds of thousands of migrants trek across every year en route to the U.S. The announcement followed a pledge by then-presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino to close Panama off to illegal immigration.

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Commentary: The Federal Government Loses More Money than Could Ever Be Accounted For

Accountant working on spreadsheets

Not long after Jeremy Gober started running a sleep center, he quit treating patients for narcolepsy and sleep apnea and went full-time submitting bogus insurance claims. According to Gober’s 2022 indictment, he committed at least one especially sloppy error: One of his make-believe billings included a Medicare claim for treatment in March 2018 for a patient who’d died in December 2017. Before Gober was caught, Medicare and California’s healthcare system, Medi-Cal, ended up paying him a total of $587,000 for claims that turned out to be fiction.

The payments to Gober were part of $260 million the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spent from 2009 through 2019 to reimburse healthcare providers in 15 states and Puerto Rico for services to patients who were dead, according to the inspector general of the HHS, which administers Medicare and Medicaid — programs with combined expenditures of $1.7 trillion.

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China Expands Its Surveillance Capabilities in America’s Backyard, Report Finds

Xi Jinping

China’s surveillance efforts off the coast of America’s shores are expanding, according to a new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Monday.

China has been closely collaborating with Cuba — located just about 200 miles off the coast of Florida — to expand its military and intelligence presence on the island since at least 2019. Satellite imagery reviewed by CSIS appears to show that Cuba is building on its existing infrastructure in the region and now has multiple signal intelligence (SIGINT) facilities on the island, furthering concerns that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is attempting surveillance efforts inside the U.S., according to The Wall Street Journal.

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Covenant School Killer Audrey Hale Was Diagnosed with Five Mental Disorders, Parents Told Nashville Police

Covenant School Shooter Hale

Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale received medical diagnoses for five mental disorders, her parents Ronald and Norma Hale told Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) investigators on July 12, 2023, according to a transcript of the interview obtained by The Tennessee Star from a source familiar with the investigation.

Ronald and Norma Hale, with the assistance of their attorney, provided the list of mental disorders after MNPD investigators questioned whether Audrey Hale was formally diagnosed with autism.

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Biden Admin Contracts 1 Million Barrels from Emergency Gasoline Stockpile to ‘Lower Prices’ Ahead of July 4th

Gas Station

The Biden administration is selling off a million barrels of gasoline from an emergency reserve in a deliberate effort to cut prices ahead of the upcoming holiday weekend.

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it has awarded contracts to five energy companies to purchase the barrels the administration is releasing from the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve (NGSR), which is part of the federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) system. The NGSR releases are intended to “help lower gas prices ahead of the Fourth of July holiday,” according to DOE.

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Steve Bannon Makes Phone Call from Prison, Urges Everyone ‘to GET TO WORK!’

Steve Bannon

Steve Bannon, former chief strategist to former President Donald Trump and host of the popular show War Room, made contact for the first time from inside the Federal Correctional Institution Danbury in Danbury, Connecticut, where he is currently serving his four-month prison sentence.

Bannon communicated his message through a 5-minute phone call to Grace Chong, who is the CFO and COO of War Room, on Tuesday. Like all federal prisoners incarcerated at FCI Danbury, Bannon is allowed to make 320 minutes of phone calls each month.

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Reporter Tom Pappert Points Out Panic Among Democrats amid President Biden’s Disastrous Debate Performance

Tom Pappert and MPL

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Pennsylvania Daily Star, suggested that there is a sense of panic among Democratic candidates across the country, including Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), as the Democratic Party scrambles to explain President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance last week against former President Trump.

Last Thursday, during a 90-minute televised debate hosted by CNN, Biden appeared absent-minded and confused, stumbling over his words and losing his train of thought multiple times.

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Mother of Covenant Killer Told Police She Slept in Sleeping Bag to Block Killer’s Bedroom After Prozac Caused Suicidal Thoughts

Audrey Hale

The mother of Covenant School shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale told police investigators her daughter first experienced suicidal thoughts when prescribed the antidepressant Prozac as a high school student, according to a transcript of the interview obtained by The Tennessee Star from a source familiar with the investigation.

Last month, The Star reported that police documents confirmed Audrey Hale was a 22-year mental health patient at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). Another portion of the transcript of the police interview with Ronald and Norma Hale revealed their daughter avoided inpatient commitment during three separate mental crises.

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Bombshell: FBI Supervisor Alleges Bureau Improperly Pulling Conservative Agents’ Security Clearances

An FBI supervisor is blowing the whistle on his own organization, alleging to the Justice Department’s chief watchdog and Congress that the bureau has been improperly suspending or revoking the security clearances of agents it believes hold conservative political views.

The new whistleblower’s allegations surfaced Tuesday in correspondence obtained by “Just the News” that was sent to the House and Senate Judiciary committees and DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, dramatically claiming that as a supervisory special agent he witnessed efforts by senior FBI brass to target employees who supported Donald Trump or opposed COVID-19 vaccines.

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Alvin Bragg’s Team Agrees to Delay Sentencing in Trump Trial Following SCOTUS Immunity Ruling

Alvin Bragg

Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office agreed on Tuesday to delay former President Donald Trump’s sentencing, The New York Times reported.

A Manhattan jury convicted Trump May 30 on 34 felony counts of falsification of business records. Bragg’s office agreed to a request to delay the sentencing in light of a recent Supreme Court ruling that found presidents have immunity from prosecution for “official acts” taken in office, but called the motion by Trump’s attorneys meritless, according to the NYT.

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Legal Analyst Christy Kelly Breaks Down SCOTUS Ruling on Presidential Immunity and How It May Affect Lawfare Against Former President Trump

Trump SCOTUS

Christy Kelly, reporter at The Arizona Sun Times, said the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling on Monday in Trump v. United States that former President Donald Trump is immune from federal prosecution for official acts he took while in office is certain to affect current and past litigation surrounding the former president.

However, the nation’s highest court also ruled that there is no immunity for unofficial acts.

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Rudy Giuliani Disbarred for Work on 2020 Election

Rudy Giuliani

Trump ally Rudy Giuliani was disbarred Tuesday in New York for his work during the 2020 election.

The New York Appellate Division, First Judicial Department found that Giuliani, former U.S attorney for the Southern District of New York and New York City mayor, “deliberately violated some of the most fundamental tenets of the legal profession” in doing legal work for former President Donald Trump in 2020. Giuliani was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1969.

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Biden: Supreme Court Ruling on Presidential Immunity ‘Dangerous Precedent’

Joe Biden

President Joe Biden Monday night said the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that the president has “absolute immunity” when acting in his core constitutional duties is “a dangerous precedent” that “undermines the rule of law of this nation.”

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision ruled that the “president’s exercise of his core constitutional powers, this immunity must be absolute. As for his remaining official actions, he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity.”

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Tennessee Sees $4.7 Billion Individual Income Increase From In-Migration

Bill Lee

Tennessee saw the fifth-largest population increase from other states between 2021 and 2022, according to new data released by the Internal Revenue Service.

Tennessee saw a net increase of nearly 60,600 during that calendar year, a population increase of 0.87% during the year, with a net increase of nearly $4.7 billion in adjusted gross income on individual tax returns.

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Virginia A.G. Jason Miyares Teases Run for Governor at Trump Rally Where Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears was Not Invited

Virginia A.G. Jason Miyares

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares hinted he may announce his run for governor following the conclusion of the 2024 presidential election. Miyares made the remarks while attending former President Donald Trump’s rally in Chesapeake, Virginia on Friday.

Miyares made the comments after National Review asked the attorney general whether he was considering a run to succeed Governor Glenn Youngkin, who is unable to seek another term.

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Dave McCormick Named in ‘Carpetbagger’ Article Despite New York Times Confirming His Childhood in Pennsylvania

Dave McCormick

Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick was mentioned by The Washington Post among a list of Republican candidates across the United States who have faced questions about their ties to the state where they seek office, even after the New York Times confirmed the Republican nominee spent his childhood and formative years in the commonwealth.

McCormick was mentioned by the Post due to claims about his residency, which were advanced by the campaign of Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) in an advertisement that declared, “McCormick’s running for Senate in Pennsylvania but he doesn’t live here.”

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Commentary: The Lies We Have Lived Through

Joe Biden

After last Thursday’s debate, Biden himself laid to rest the Democratic lie that he was robust and in control of his faculties. In truth, he demonstrated to the nation that he is a sad, failing octogenarian who could not perform any job in America other than apparently the easy task of President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief in charge of our nuclear codes.

In 2019, Democratic primary candidates often hit rival Joe Biden for his apparent senior moments and incoherence. During the 2020 campaign, Biden often became in bizarre fashion animated and nasty (“you ain’t black”/“fat”/“lying dog-faced pony soldier”/“junkie”).

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Feds Indict Newton County Chairman and Georgia Commissioner-Elect

Marcello Banes and Stephanie Lindsey

A federal grand jury has indicted the Newton County Board of Commissioners chairman and a commissioner-elect on federal charges of conspiring to launder money obtained from wire fraud and honest services wire fraud.

A federal grand jury indicted Marcello Banes, 48, of Covington, the board’s chair, and Stephanie Lindsey, 52, of Covington, a real estate broker and attorney who was elected to the county commission earlier this month, on conspiracy to launder money obtained from wire fraud and honest services wire fraud and money laundering. The grand jury also indicted Lindsey for federal income tax fraud and Banes for making materially false statements to FBI special agents.

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Arizona Senate Primary Heats Up: Lake Leads, Lamb Continues to Fight

Kari Lake and Mark Lamb

As the primary election day in Arizona approaches, the race to replace outgoing Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-Tucson) intensifies. For the Republicans, the contest is between Kari Lake and Sheriff Mark Lamb, with the winner set to face Democrat Reuben Gallego (D-AZ-03). According to the latest poll by Noble Predictive Insights on May 24, Kari Lake leads with 46% support, while Mark Lamb trails at 21%. Additionally, 25% of voters remain unsure, and 9% support other candidates.

Many voters expressed a desire to see the Republicans square off against each other. The sole opportunity to watch the candidates is a virtual debate that was held on May 23, hosted by the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) Action. This forum provided Arizona primary voters with a clear view of their contrasting perspectives. Opting out of the Arizona Clean Elections Commission debate, Lake chose instead to engage directly with voters throughout the day at a series of events.

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Three Dead After Crossing Border in Arizona Despite CBP Warnings of Heat Risk

Arizona Desert

Three people crossing the border from Mexico into the United States died as a result of the high summer temperatures.

United States Customs and Border Protection announced on Friday that three Mexican migrants were found dead after a search and rescue mission near Ajo, Arizona, by federal border authorities on Wednesday morning. The border law enforcement agency explained that human smugglers routinely take advantage of those seeking to come to the U.S.

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Commentary: TikTok and Instagram Turned Me into a Leftist, but X Helped Me Escape

Black Lives Matter Rally

Social media plays a significant role in shaping the opinions of those 35 and under — it’s the primary news source for most in that age group, one survey found.

Some stats report that daily screen time for 16- to 24-year-olds is nearly eight hours among females and seven hours among males. To put that in perspective — that’s equivalent to the average time in a school day.

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Arizona’s 7th District Sees Butierez vs. Grijalva Showdown in Congressional Race

Daniel Butierez endured nine and a half years in jail for a crime he was never charged with or tried for. After a three-decade battle, the courts finally admitted their mistake and cleared his record. Now, driven by a deep passion for justice, Butierez is challenging Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-03), who has held the seat since 2003. As the only Republican candidate stepping up to represent Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, Butierez stands ready to face Grijalva, who announced on April 2 that he is battling cancer. Grijalva’s last confirmed public appearance was in mid-February 2024, when he placed a vote in the House of Representatives.

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Judge Weighing Injunction in Georgia Organized Online Retail Crime Bill

Chris Carr

A federal judge is weighing whether to grant a preliminary injunction to halt a Georgia law targeting organized online retail crimes set to take effect on Monday.

Earlier this month, NetChoice filed a lawsuit over Senate Bill 472, the “Combating Organized Retail Crime Act.” Proponents of the measure, which Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed on May 6, say it protects businesses against organized online retail crimes.

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Analysis: 55 Percent of Democrats Think Biden Should Keep Running, 45 Percent Say to Step Aside After Debate

President Joe Biden

President Joe Biden continues to command the confidence of just 55 percent of Democrats in the most recent CBS News-YouGov poll taken June 28 to June 29 in the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous June 27 debate with former President Donald Trump, where Biden occasionally appeared confused and lost his train of thought and uttered unintelligible phrases.

45 percent of Democrats think Biden should definitely step aside. Catastrophically, so do 70 percent of independents, with only 30 percent saying he should keep running. Unsurprisingly, 75 percent of Republicans say Biden should step aside, with 25 percent saying he should keep running — likely because they think he’ll be easy to beat in his current state.

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One of Oldest Women’s Studies Departments in U.S. on Chopping Block, Citing ‘Low Student Interest’

Wichita State University

Wichita State University is closing its women’s studies department, one of the oldest in the country, due to continuously low student interest.

The Department of Women, Ethnicity, and Intersectional Studies will be dissolved and its degree program will be merged with the English Department, according to an action plan approved earlier this month by the Kansas Board of Regents.

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Trump Moves to Reverse Verdict in New York Case After Historic Supreme Court Ruling

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers moved quickly Monday night to take advantage of the Supreme Court ruling that he enjoyed immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts, sending a letter notifying the judge in his New York hush money case that they intend to ask to set aside the verdict reached by a jury last month, according to multiple sources.

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Covenant School Killer Audrey Hale Avoided Commitment Three Times During Mental Health Crises

Audrey Elizabeth Hale

Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale avoided commitment on three separate occasions, her parents told Metro Nashville Police Department investigators in a June 12, 2023 interview, according to a transcript obtained by The Tennessee Star from a source familiar with the investigation.

The transcript reveals Ronald and Norma Hale told investigators doctors wanted to commit her daughter for inpatient treatment over an eating disorder, and that Audrey Hale was twice considered for inpatient commitment after she expressed suicidal ideation to mental health professionals.

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Covenant School Killer Audrey Hale Diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder Around 2011, Parents Told Police

Audrey Elizabeth Hale

Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder around 2011, her parents told Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) investigators in a June 12, 2023 interview, according to a transcript obtained by The Tennessee Star from a source familiar with the investigation.

The Star previously reported that police documents revealed Audrey Hale to be a 22-year mental health patient at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and The Star reported on Sunday that Hale’s parents, Ronald and Norma Hale, first learned of their daughter’s purported autism diagnosis from a speech pathologist in the summer of 2001.

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