Millions of Taxpayer Dollars Wrongly Went to Union Pension Plans for Deceased Americans

Virginia Foxx and Bob Good

Lawmakers say tens of millions of taxpayer dollars were wrongly set aside for union pension plans, and now lawmakers want those funds back.

Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Chair Bob Good, R-Va., sent a letter to the Biden administration Wednesday following up to see what action the administration has taken to recover funds wrongly allotted to multiemployer pension plans.

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Former Trump DOJ Official Jeffrey Clark Appeals D.C. Disciplinary Panel’s Recommendation to Suspend His Law License for Two Years

Jeffery Clark

Donald Trump’s former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark is appealing the recommendation of a disciplinary panel to suspend his law license for two years over his role assisting Trump in dealing with 2020 election irregularities. A three-member committee of the District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility found on August 1 that he breached broad and vague attorneys ethics rules by drafting a letter that was never sent to Georgia officials advising them of their options for handling the 2020 election problems. 

In response, Clark filed a Petition for Review with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on August 7, requesting consideration of his interlocutory appeals. Interlocutory appeals are appeals conducted while other proceedings are still ongoing. 

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Majority Says First Amendment ‘Goes Too Far,’ According to Poll

Peaceful Protest

Free speech suppression on college campuses and social media censorship often spur debates over how far the First Amendment should go to protect Americans’ rights to express their opinions – and who should be entrusted with those decisions. 

About 53% of Americans believe the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it protects, according to a new poll by the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE.

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Christian and Conservative Professors Divided over Louisiana’s New Ten Commandments Law

Jeff Landry

Political science professors at conservative and Christian colleges are split over the constitutionality of a new Louisiana law that requires all public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.

The law already faces a legal challenge from several families as well as left-leaning and atheist activist groups while Christian and conservative Louisiana lawmakers applaud the law.

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Newsom Strengthens Chinese Relations as Scrutiny Grows over Walz’ China Ties

Gavin Newsom and Xi Jinping

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared “California Panda Day” to highlight Sino-Californian cooperation as scrutiny grows over Minnesota governor and now Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz’s close relationship with China.

“Building on our strong foundation of partnership and deep cultural and economic ties, I traveled to China last year to advance priority issues including climate action and economic development,” said Newsom in his proclamation making August 8 “California Panda Day.”

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Illegal Migrant Released into U.S. by Biden Admin Allegedly Committed 22 Crimes in Just Six Months

David Hernandez-Martinez

An illegal migrant from Venezuela allegedly committed at least 22 criminal offenses in the span of just six months and still may not be deported, a report from the House Judiciary Committee revealed Wednesday.

Daniel Hernandez-Martinez was released into the U.S. by the Biden-Harris administration in early 2023 before allegedly committing a slew of crimes, the report found. Despite the array of charges, the Venezuelan migrant — who is a suspected member of the “Tren de Aragua” gang — wasn’t detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) until his seventh run-in with the New York Police Department.

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Piedmont Lithium Abandons Nearly $600 Million Investment Planned for Southeast Tennessee

Piedmont Lithium

Piedmont Lithium announced Thursday that the company abandoned its plan to invest $582 million to establish a lithium hydroxide processing, refining, and manufacturing facility in Etowah and instead build the proposed plant in North Carolina.

The company currently operates a plant in Gaston County, North Carolina, called Carolina Lithium, which will be expanded with the addition of the facility originally expected to be built in Etowah.

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Failed Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Paid $60,000 to Teach University of Michigan Public Policy Class

Lori lightfoot

The University of Michigan is spending $60,000 to have ousted Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot co-teach a course on public policy this fall, according to her contract obtained by The College Fix.

Lightfoot is a Democrat whose onerous actions on COVID-19, her refusal to give exclusive interviews to white journalists, and rampant crime during her tenure, among other issues, prompted massive criticism and led to her losing her re-election bid last year to Mayor Brandon Johnson. She has since become a darling of higher education institutions, teaching at Harvard, University of Chicago, and now Michigan.

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Yale to Hold Event Series Showing How ‘Anti-Racism’ Efforts Can Be Racist

Yale Students

Yale University will hold a three-session event series discussing how anti-racism efforts are allegedly plagued by racism.

The series, “Unmasking Racism in Anti-Racism Education,” will run from Sept. 18-Oct. 2. The event description alleges that “[d]espite ongoing anti-racism efforts in our nation racism continues to flourish” and asks: “If most Americans align with a faith or tradition that upholds values of justice and equity why are we still ‘here’ in this static space?”

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Arizona Minimum Wage Ballot Initiative Effort Scrapped

Minimum Wage Protest

A ballot initiative to have tipped service workers get paid the same minimum wage and bump the minimum wage to $18 an hour has been scrapped.

The group, known as “Raise the Wage AZ,” is pulling the signatures they submitted to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office, as the petition was challenged by the Arizona Restaurant Association over the number of signatures obtained.

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Georgia Tries Navigating 2024 Election While Investigating Unresolved Disputes of 2020 Election

Chris Carr

As Georgia prepares for the 2024 presidential election with implementing new rules and procedures, some unresolved 2020 election disputes remain, with the State Election Board opening an investigation into an issue it previously closed.

Heading into this year’s presidential election cycle, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is implementing election security measures as the Georgia State Election Board is enacting new rules that could impact the November election and investigating 2020 presidential election issues.

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Ohio Spending Another $63 Million to Knock Down Buildings

Home Destruction

Nearly 1,300 more buildings across the state will be torn down as Ohio continues to spend taxpayer money on grants it says will spur economic development.

The new projects in nine counties will cost $67.3 million and cover 1,277 vacant, dilapidated buildings – all part of the Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program that has spent more than $200 million on nearly 5,000 projects in all 88 counties since it began in 2021.

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Arizona Board of Regents Appoints New Executive Director

Chad Sampson

Chad Sampson will be the new Executive Director for the Arizona Board of Regents.

Sampson has been serving in the position in an interim capacity since March, when John Arnold stepped aside in order to focus on the University of Arizona’s $177 million budget shortfall as their chief financial officer. However, Sampson, an attorney, has served on the board in different roles since 2010. The deficit has since been projected to be down to $52 million after major spending slashes, according to Higher Ed Dive. 

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Commentary: Social-Emotional Learning Is Hurting Students

Sad Student

Social-emotional learning (SEL) has been in vogue in education circles for decades. Following its precepts, teachers, counselors, and administrators encourage students to look inward and focus on their feelings. The result?

A generation of young people who can’t stop thinking about their emotions, leaving them incredibly fragile. But that’s not what many of the experts will tell you.

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Kamala Harris Promises Amnesty for Millions of Illegal Aliens, Nationwide Mail-In Voting

Breitbart Vice President Kamala Harris is vowing to sign legislation as president that would have millions of illegal aliens eventually securing naturalized American citizenship and imposing nationwide no-excuse mail-in voting. During a rally in Glendale, Arizona, Harris said she would back amnesty for the nation’s 11 to 22 million illegal aliens through so-called “comprehensive reform.” “We know our immigration system is broken and we know what it takes to fix it: comprehensive reform. That includes strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship,” Harris said. READ THE FULL STORY                   

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Biden Administration Lifts Ban on Offensive Weapons Sales to Saudi Arabia

Washington Examiner The Biden administration has lifted a weapons sale ban on Saudi Arabia, which had been in place since 2021. The ban was originally put in place in response to Saudi Arabia’s war with the Houthis in Yemen. The administration was displaying their disapproval of Saudi Arabia targeting civilians in their attacks. Since then, officials said they are satisfied with the country’s conduct changes — and there have been no airstrikes in Yemen since 2022. “So the Saudis have met their end of the deal, and we are prepared to meet ours, returning these cases to regular order through appropriate congressional notification and consultation,” one official told the Washington Post. READ THE FULL STORY           

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Susan Wojcicki, Former YouTube CEO, Dies at 56 After Cancer Battle

CBS News Susan Wojcicki, who served as CEO of YouTube for nine years and was one of Google’s first hires, died on Friday at age 56 after a battle with cancer, her family announced. Wojcicki’s husband, Dennis Troper, announced her death in a post on Friday evening on Facebook. “It is with profound sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki passing. My beloved wife of 26 years and mother to our five children left us today after 2 years of living with non-small cell lung cancer,” Troper wrote in the post. “Susan was not just my best friend and partner in life, but a brilliant mind, a loving mother, and a dear friend to many. Her impact on our family and the world was immeasurable.” “We are heartbroken, but grateful for the time we had with her. Please keep our family in your thoughts as we navigate this difficult time,” he added. READ THE FULL STORY                   

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New Platform Aims to Halt CCP Influence on States

Ryan Walker

There’s a new tool available for lawmakers and American citizens to combat the threat of the Chinese Communist Party. Today, Heritage Action for America launched the website CounterTheCCP.com, exposing the ways in which China stands to harm America’s sovereignty and offering model legislation and resources to deal with that threat.

“To win the new cold war with China, the United States needs a comprehensive strategy,” Ryan Walker, Heritage Action executive vice president, said in a statement.

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Abortion Numbers Up Since Overturning of Roe v. Wade, According to Report

Abortion Protest

Abortion occurred more often across the United States in the first three months of this year than prior to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, a new report from the Society of Family Planning released on Wednesday showed.

The organization, which supports abortion rights, attributed the increase in abortions to laws in Democratic-controlled states that protect abortion doctors who use telemedicine to see patients from states with limits on abortion.

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Majority of Americans Would Not Advise Family Members to Join Military, Poll Finds

Boot Camp

The majority of Americans would not advise their family members to join the military, according to a Defense Priorities/YouGov poll released on Thursday.

Only 37% of respondents would encourage their family to serve in the military, while 63% would not, according to the poll. Several branches of the military have been plagued with recruiting and retention problems in recent years as the Pentagon continues to look for solutions.

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Harris Campaign Misrepresents Walz’s Congressional Accomplishments amid Scrutiny of Military Record

Tim Walz

The Harris campaign misstated Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s congressional accomplishments in a statement widely reported by the corporate media.

Harris campaign spokesman James Singer falsely said that Walz served as chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee during his tenure as a federal lawmaker in a statement addressing the “stolen valor” scandal swirling around Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. Walz was only ever the committee’s ranking member, and the statement was reported by outlets including The Associated Press, Axios, Politico, PBS and NBC News.

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Defendant in Arizona Fake Electors Case Pleads Guilty

Loraine Pellegrino

Just one day after Donald Trump’s former campaign attorney, Jenna Ellis, agreed to cooperate in the Arizona fake electors case, another defendant in the case, Loraine Pellegrino, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of filing a false instrument, according to Richie Taylor, public information officer for the Attorney General’s Office.

However, at this time no further information can be confirmed as the court records are sealed, according to Taylor. If the other nine felony charges including fraud, forgery have been dropped has yet to be seen.

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Virginia Revitalization Commission to Pilot Workforce Housing Development

Building Home

The Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission recently approved a pilot workforce housing program to make the region more attractive to new businesses and job seekers.

The commission was founded to foster economic growth and opportunity in 34 counties and six independent cities comprising Southwest and Southern Virginia –  a region where tobacco farming was once integral to the economy. It’s funded entirely by proceeds from a major 1990s tobacco lawsuit settlement.

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Legal Challenge Claims RFK Jr. Misled Pennsylvania Voters with New York Address to Distract from California Residency

Robert F Kennedy Jr Ballots

A legal challenge which seeks to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from the ballot in November ballot in Pennsylvania claims the former Democrat misled voters when requesting signatures by claiming to live in New York, despite actually living in California.

The challenge claims the Kennedy campaign displayed “a fundamental disregard” for Pennsylvania’s election system because the candidate “provided the wrong address” on his affidavit and nomination papers, allegedly “with the intent to deceive Pennsylvania voters.”

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Fani Willis Says Resignation of Nathan Wade Was ‘Boon’ to Trump’s Defense, Urges Court to Toss Disqualification Appeal

Nathan Wade Fani Willis

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in a court filing published Friday argued the forced resignation of former Special Counsel Nathan Wade was a “boon” to former President Donald Trump and the other defendants in her Georgia racketeering case against the former president and his allies over their contest of the 2020 election results.

In a filing submitted on August 5, the district attorney’s office argued the victory for the defendants, though ultimately unnecessary, provides the necessary appearance of impropriety to dismiss their appeal.

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DeSantis Grants $8 Million for Infrastructure at Miami Soccer Complex

Miami Freedom Park

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says that he is against using state money to fund the construction of sports stadiums.

DeSantis, however, announced Thursday that he and the state will grant $8 million from the Governors’ Job Growth Grant Fund toward road infrastructure around the new construction of Miami Freedom Park by the Inter Miami soccer club’s ownership.

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Cartel-Linked Minnesotan and 14 Others Are Indicted in Mexico-Based Drug Trafficking Operation

Clinton Ward

A Minnesota man and over a dozen co-conspirators have been charged with trafficking over 1,600 pounds of methamphetamine and other drugs from Mexico to Minnesota in what U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger described as a “sprawling” Mexican-based drug trafficking organization.

Luger’s comments came during a press conference on Tuesday during which he named Clinton James Ward, 45, as the leader of the organization who has been operating for years.

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National Kroger Settlement Brings Funding to Michigan Communities Damaged by Opioid Addiction

Kroger Store

Michigan’s local governments have until Aug. 12 to request funds from the $1.2 billion National Kroger Settlement on opioid abuse.

The Great Lakes state is expected to receive $42 million over the course of 11 years. Eligible communities, at the city or county level, can apply for the funding to be used toward drug abuse treatment. Agreements are expected to be effective by early fall.

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Lawmakers Press University of Wisconsin President over Spending and Return on Investment

Jay Rothman

Republican lawmakers on the study committee looking at the future of the University of Wisconsin want to know what Wisconsin families are getting for the $1.3 billion the state currently spends on the university, and what they should expect if the state spends more.

Lawmakers questioned UW President Jay Rothman at his appearance at Thursday’s hearing in front of the Legislative Council Study Committee on the Future of the University of Wisconsin System.

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Commentary: DEI Litmus Tests Must End

Ideological litmus tests have no place in higher education. They weaponize loyalty and contradict the university’s purpose of fostering academic inquiry and informed debates. Scholars cannot pursue truth or progress if they are denied academic jobs based on their devotion to a specific political ideology or philosophy. 

I applaud states like Florida, Alabama, Wyoming, Tennessee, and Texas that have banned varied Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) requirements that mandate loyalty to its agenda. But we need to go further. Congress can deny federal funding to universities that impose DEI on faculty, administrators, and staff. Conservative lawmakers are already trying to “dismantle” DEI in the federal government and others are currently weighing defunding universities over Title VI violations. They should extend defunding to universities that require DEI. 

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Rhonda Vincent Releases ‘Destinations and Fun Places’

Rhonda Vincent

Rhonda Vincent is one of my favorite Opry performers, whom I had the privilege to interview back in 2021. Not only is our “Queen of Bluegrass” full of energy and light, but she is exceptionally talented and can play any stringed instrument, especially her beloved mandolin, like nobody’s business. And when she is surrounded by her amazingly gifted band, The Rage, you have one of the best performances at the Opry if you are lucky enough to attend on the evening they are playing.

Right before the pandemic in February 2020, Vincent was asked to join the Opry by long-time mentor and friend Jeannie Seely. She knew that 20 years ago, Seely had written a song about her called “I Miss Missouri,” which is where Vincent and her talented family are from. The only problem was when the great Nashville flood of 2010 hit, the song and lyrics were lost because Seely’s house was on the Cumberland River.

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Report Shows Harris and Emhoff Donated to Defund Police and Pro-Sanctuary City Group

Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff

Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff donated to a liberal legal group in favor of defunding the police and permanently designating Washington, D.C as a “sanctuary city” that does not report illegal immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to their joint tax returns.

Harris and Emhoff donated $1,000 in 2021 and 2023 to Legal Aid DC, noted a Washington Examiner report.

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Kari Lake Holds Press Conference with Trump Campaign in Advance of Kamala Harris’s Visit to Arizona, Tangles with Mainstream Media

Kari Lake

Kari Lake and the Trump campaign held a press conference on Thursday in anticipation of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s visit to the state on Friday. Lake, who is running for U.S. Senate and emceed the event, got into it with several members of the mainstream media who asked her questions, and criticized their lack of coverage of important events. Several officials joined Lake speaking, along with a Democratic couple who lost their teenage son to fentanyl.

https://x.com/KariLake/status/1821639199101194544

Lake addressed Harris’s event Friday evening at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, her vice presidential pick. “We know that Kamala Harris is coming to Arizona again tomorrow, and again, she won’t visit the border. The border czar won’t be visiting the border. Apparently the only wall that she supports is her VP pick by the name of Walz, I guess.” The attendees, who were mostly standing behind her holding campaign signs, laughed loudly.

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Butler Township Police Decline to Name Officer Who Claimed to Warn Secret Service of Would-Be Trump Assassin’s Perch, Cite ‘Numerous Investigations’

Butler Township Police Video

The Butler Township Police Department (BTPD) on Friday declined to provide The Pennsylvania Daily Star with the name of the police officer who claimed to warn the U.S. Secret Service about the possibility of an assassination attempt in a June 13 bodycam video released by the department Thursday.

The spokesman similarly declined to comment to The Star regarding the videos released by the department, citing ongoing federal investigations into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

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Jack Smith Requests Delay in Trump Case to Assess Impact of Supreme Court’s Presidential Immunity Ruling

Special counsel Jack Smith requested a delay Thursday night in former president Donald Trump’s election interference case.

Prosecutors wrote in a filing that the government is still assessing the impact of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling and asked for the timeline to be pushed back several weeks. Judge Tanya Chutkan previously scheduled a hearing for Aug. 16, but Smith requested permission to instead file a proposed schedule for pretrial proceedings by the end of the month, effectively delaying any action until September.

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Venezuelan Dictator Suspends X After Sparring with Elon Musk

Nicolas Maduro

Venezuela’s dictator Nicolas Maduro temporarily banned X from the country on Thursday after accusing the platform’s owner, Elon Musk, of using it to stoke opposition against him.

Maduro declared himself the victor in the country’s July 28 elections, despite credible concerns that the race was rigged against his political opposition. Musk has been publicly critical of Maduro’s refusal to step down from power, and Maduro has now suspended X from Venezuela in retaliation.

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