Day: August 26, 2024

Tennessee A.G. Jonathan Skrmetti Joins Federal Antitrust Lawsuit Alleging Algorithmic Fixing of Rental Prices

Tom Pappert
House for Rent

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on Friday joined seven other states and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in an antitrust lawsuit accusing the property management software company RealPage of using its service to algorithmically fix rental prices across the United States, allowing them to form a monopoly that allows rental owners to collaboratively set prices in a bid to avoid market pressures to lower rent.

The DOJ confirmed the legal action on Friday, alleging RealPage is engaged in an “unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords in apartment pricing and to monopolize the market for commercial revenue management software that landlords use to price apartments.”

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‘We Want to Be Heard:’ Angel Moms Describe Brutal Murders of Daughters

The Center Square
Patricia Moran speaking at a Trump press conference in Montezuma Pass, AZ

Family members of those killed by violent foreign nationals released into the U.S. by the Biden-Harris administration have endorsed President Donald Trump for president.

They joined Trump at a news conference in Montezuma Pass at the Arizona-Mexico border in Cochise County on Thursday, where Trump described the types of crimes being committed against Americans by what he described as some of the most dangerous people in the world.

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University of Kentucky to Shut Down DEI Office

American Greatness
University of Kentucky Campus

In the latest blow for the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) movement, the University of Kentucky has announced that it will be shuttering its DEI offices.

As reported by Breitbart, the University of Kentucky follows multiple other schools in Texas, Florida, and Alabama who have already taken the step of shutting down official DEI practices on-campus, where school administrators would facilitate the discrimination of student applicants and faculty hires on the basis of race and gender.

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Media Narratives on Climate Change Driving ‘Climate Anxiety’ and Harming Young People, According to Experts

Just the News
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

In the wake of widespread fears of climate change, an entire new field of psychotherapy has sprung up to treat what is being called “climate anxiety.”

Climate-aware therapists are specialists who treat people whose anxiety about climate change interferes with their enjoyment of life. These specialists are now available in just about every major city across the United States.

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Asian Enrollment Explodes at Elite University Following Race-Based Admissions Ruling

Daily Caller News Foundation
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) freshman class for this year has a significantly larger share of Asian American students than in previous years following a recent Supreme Court ruling, according to a first-year class profile released Wednesday.

The share of Asian-American students enrolled at MIT increased from 41 percent in the 2024-2027 classes to 47 percent for the class of 2028. The enrollment data is the first since the Supreme Court struck down race-based admissions in June 2023 due to lawsuits brought up by Students for Fair Admissions against Harvard and the University of North Carolina.

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Professors Sue to Overturn Florida’s New Post-Tenure Review Law

The College Fix
Law professor Steven Willis

Three Florida professors have filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a 2023 state law subjecting public university faculty to mandatory post-tenure review every five years.

The scholars argue the law “imperils academic freedom” and enables the Florida legislature to “usurp the exclusive powers and duties” of the state university system’s Board of Governors granted to it by Florida’s constitution.

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Commentary: Teacher Fired after Alleged Jan. 6 Involvement Wins Wrongful Termination Lawsuit

The College Fix
Allentown School District

A Pennsylvania teacher who was fired for allegedly attending the U.S. Capitol “insurrection” on January 6, 2021, has won a wrongful termination lawsuit after a two-week trial.

Jason Moorehead, a 17-year veteran social studies instructor in the Allentown School District, had always maintained he was “at all times over a mile away” at the Washington Monument when the riot occurred.

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Court Watchers Look to Previous Term of Justice Appointments for Who Could on Trump’s New SCOTUS Shortlist

Admin
U.S. Supreme Court

While former President Donald Trump has yet to release an updated list of potential Supreme Court nominees, conservatives hope a second term would secure more originalist judges on the bench.

Trump’s appointments to both the Supreme Court and the lower courts have been frequently cited as his greatest accomplishment as president. He’s promised on multiple occasions to release a new list of possible nominees ahead of the election, but the names to be included remain up in the air, though many in the conservative legal world believe his appointees to the federal appeals courts are among the likely choices.

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Commentary: ‘ZuckBucks’ Heads to Rural America in 2024

Daily Caller News Foundation

Money always finds a way. In the years following the 2020 election, dozens of states managed to ban private funding of elections. But even though Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly promised not to pour more of his money into your local election office, this year, the “Zuckbucks” team is recommitted to spreading cash wherever they legally can.

Recall that in late 2020, Zuckerberg directed his charitable arm to pass $350 million through an obscure nonprofit called the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) to fund large and small election offices around the nation. Some politically important counties received millions of dollars while others did not. As of today, 28 states have since banned the practice. Despite the bans, the CTCL’s work continues. In fact, the bans guide cash along new paths of least resistance.

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Julie Kelly Commentary: Kamala Harris Likely to Tap Matthew Graves for Attorney General

Julie Kelly
US Attorney Matthew Graves

Democrats ended their four-day convention on Thursday with a vacuous speech by the party’s installed candidate, Kamala Harris. Her short stint on the main stage made the regime media, which has blessed her with 84 percent positive news coverage since the Pelosi coup according to one analysis, drunk with joy. Harris, like the roster of speakers before her, spent most of the speech demonizing her general election opponent and repeating one of the party’s most consistent campaign themes: Donald Trump will use his authority to vanquish his foes should he return to the White House. “Consider…his explicit intent to jail journalists, his political opponents, and anyone he sees as the enemy,” Harris claimed. Other DNC speakers similarly warned that a Trump presidency would result in the mass arrest and incarceration of Democrats. Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow warned that Trump “would be able to weaponize the Department of Justice to go after his political opponents.” McMorrow, who must have missed the news of the armed nine-hour raid of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022, further insisted Trump would “turn the FBI into his own personal police force.” “That is not how it works in America. That’s how it works in dictatorships!” McMorrow shouted. Now, one…

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Arizona Abortion Activists Sued to Keep ‘Unborn Human Being’ Off Referendum Because Term ‘Tinged with Anti-Abortion Sentiment’

Tom Pappert
Chris Love, Arizona Capitol

An article published by the spokesperson for the group of Arizona activists who successfully gathered signatures for an abortion referendum, Prop. 139, explained the group sued to remove the phrase “unborn human being” from the November ballot because they view it as unscientific and “tinged with anti-abortion sentiment.”

The Louisiana Illuminator reported on Sunday that Arizona for Abortion Access spokesperson Chris Love told the outlet on August 16 they sought to replace the phrase “unborn human being” with “fetus,” describing it as “the scientific, medically-accurate language.”

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Minnesota Special Education Program Hands Out $10 Million in Grants

The Center Square
Young boy in learning environment

Minnesota’s Department of Education awarded $10 million in education grants to support and train special education teachers in more than 35 public school districts, charter schools and co-ops. 

“As a former classroom teacher for over 20 years, I understand the impact a dedicated teacher can have on their students’ lives,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday. “By investing in our special education workforce, we can help ensure every student in Minnesota receives the support they need to thrive in their education.”

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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell Includes ‘Adjustment’ to Face Mask Restrictions in Public Safety Proposal

Tom Pappert
Freddie O'Connell

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell released details of a public safety proposal he plans to put before the Metro Nashville Council, revealing the mayor seeks to impose restrictions on face masks and other face coverings in public spaces.

In a Friday statement from the mayor’s office, O’Connell confirmed four piece of legislation he said would “boost public safety” but recognize “First Amendment rights to peacefully gather and speak.”

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Commentary: Irresponsible School Districts Force Teachers to Create Amazon Wish Lists

Admin
Teacher

For several weeks, social media has been flooded by teachers’ posts with Amazon wish lists, soliciting others to stock their classrooms with basic supplies. Creating these lists has been commonplace in recent years as teachers look outside their schools and districts to fill their supply needs.

Some of the most popular requested items are dry erase markers, Kleenex, Lysol wipes, erasers, tape, pens, colored copy paper, file folders, and pencil sharpeners. Others request educational items such as a microscope, map, or globe, which seem essential for student learning.

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