AstraZeneca Admits in Court Documents That COVID-19 Vaccine Could Cause Serious Rare Side Effect

COVID-19 Vaccine

British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca admitted in court documents for the first time that its COVID-19 vaccine could cause a rare blood-clotting side effect. 

The company is facing accusations that its vaccine contributed to the deaths or impairments of more than 50 people in the United Kingdom whose family are suing the pharmaceutical company. One claimant named Jamie Scott alleged the vaccine caused a permanent brain injury after a blood clot traveled to his brain. Scott claims he can no longer work because of the injury. 

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Lawsuit Accuses Pro-Palestine Groups of Being ‘Collaborators and Propagandists’ for Hamas

Pro-Palestine Protest

In a landmark lawsuit filed Wednesday, the law firm representing several victims of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel laid out compelling evidence that National Students for Justice in Palestine and its affiliates were acting as “collaborators and propagandists” for Hamas in the United States.

Earlier in the week, Just the News reported on the formation of National SJP—an umbrella organization purportedly organized by American Muslims for Palestine to coordinate the efforts of the hundreds of Students for Justice in Palestine groups at universities across the country.

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Hiring of Police Officers Increased in 2023 After Years of Decline

New Police Officers

The year 2023 saw an increase in the number of police officers hired for the first time in several years, after widespread anti-police sentiment as a result of the race riots in the summer of 2020.

According to ABC News, more sworn officers were hired in 2023 than in any of the preceding four years. At the same time, fewer officers resigned or retired than in recent previous years. The information comes from 214 different law enforcement agencies responding to a study conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).

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Commentary: Five Ways Campus Turmoil Hurts Democrats and America

Campus protesters

Higher education is sinking lower and lower. That’s bad news for our country, which has benefited enormously from having the world’s best system of higher education. And it’s bad news for Democrats, who face a tight election. Their party is closely tied to education at all levels, especially at elite universities. It is the party of experts, after all, and the party of the left. Universities are both. Moreover, since the Democrats control the Executive Branch, the public holds them primarily accountable for ensuring social order. Their failures are obvious to the average voter. That’s bound to hurt Democratic Party candidates in November.

Parents with children in college or expected to matriculate soon have every right to expect their kids can learn in peace, hear diverse viewpoints, and speak freely without threats, intimidation, or indoctrination. That’s true whether the parents are Jewish or not. Decent Americans won’t tolerate threats against Jewish students any more than they would tolerate them against blacks, Muslims, Christians, or Asian Americans. Yet they now see those threats against Jewish students every day, and, at many universities, they don’t see administrators standing up for their rights.

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Biden Administration Finalizes Rule That will Open Up ObamaCare to Illegal Immigrants

DACA Supporters

The Biden administration published a new rule Friday that will allow tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to receive health care through ObamaCare.

The new rule, according to a White House statement, removes a prohibition on illegal immigrants protected from deportation under the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program from accessing healthcare through the Affordable Care Act.

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Gains in Government Jobs Couldn’t Save Biden’s Economy in April

Business Meeting

Growth in government jobs slowed in April, bucking the pattern that has contributed to above-trend job growth over the past several months, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Employment in government grew just 8,000 in April, lower than the average over the past year of 55,000 per month, according to data from the BLS. A slowdown in government hiring led total job growth in April to be largely anemic compared to recent months, with the U.S. adding only 175,000 nonfarm payroll positions in the month, lower than the average over the past year of 242,000.

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Leaders at College in Tennessee Cave to Demands of Pro-Palestine Protestors

Dr. Robert Pearigen

Leaders at the University of the South reportedly caved to the demands of pro-Palestinian protestors who were occupying the All Saints’ Chapel on the school’s campus. 

Among other things, the protestors demanded full disclosure of how the school spends its $400,000 endowment, and that the school cut ties with any organizations that makes weapons used against Palestinians. 

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Florida Legislature Passes Bill Removing ‘Climate Change’ from State Laws, Awaits DeSantis Signing

Climate Change

Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature has passed a measure to replace mentions of “climate change” in many state laws and has sent it to GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis for him to sign into law 

The bill, which focuses on energy security, removes all explicit mentions of climate change, according to Scripps News, and directs the state only to “promote the cost-effective development and use of a diverse supply of domestic energy resources.”

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Pennsylvania State Sen. Mastriano Introduces Bill to Defund Colleges Providing ‘Safe Harbor’ for Antisemitism

Pro-Palestine Protest

State Senator Doug Mastriano on Thursday introduced legislation that would strip state funding from Pennsylvania colleges and universities that become a “safe harbor” for antisemitism in the months since the October 7 attack by Hamas against Israel.

Mastriano introduced SB 1185 in response to the “pro-Hamas and anti-Israel protests and encampments” his office noted “recently took root at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh and other Pennsylvania colleges and universities that benefit from tax dollars.”

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Youngkin Meets with President of Finland During International Trade Mission

Glenn Youngkin Finland

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin met with Finland President Alexander Stubb, discussing opportunities the commonwealth and the northern European country can strengthen their business relationship.

The two leaders met in the nation’s capital, Helsinki as part of the governor’s economic tour of Europe. Youngkin used the visit to cement an established relationship between Virginia and Finland.

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Georgia Governor Signs Workforce Development Bills

Brian Kemp

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a series of bills aimed at growing the state’s workforce, including measures aimed at making it easier for Georgians to get occupational licenses and job training.

“As our state continues to grow, measures like this will help us stay ahead of the curve and cut red tape,” Kemp said during a bill signing at the Jordan Vocational High School in Columbus.

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Commentary: Jobs Report Shows the Specter of Stagflation Has Returned

Meeting

The specter of stagflation has returned. The monthly jobs report released Friday showed only 175,000 jobs were created last month, well below the recent average and expectations.

More than half of new jobs were created in the unproductive government and quasi-government healthcare and social services sectors that don’t generate growth. Average wages grew at a slower rate than inflation, meaning Americans’ real wages and living standards are declining.

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Arizona Supreme Court Unanimously Reverses Sanctions Against AZGOP for Its Lawsuit Challenging Maricopa County’s Hand Count

The Arizona Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling on Thursday reversing an award of sanctions against the Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) and its attorneys for bringing an election integrity lawsuit. The AZGOP sued Maricopa County election officials over how they conducted the mandatory hand count audit after the 2020 election. The state’s highest court said there is some merit to election lawsuits, even if a “long shot,” and ruling against them for questioning an “election’s legitimacy” would have a “chilling effect.”

The AZGOP issued a statement after the state Supreme Court’s decision.

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Connecticut Wrangles over Spending Controls amid $1 Billion Surplus

Connecticut Capitol

Connecticut will end the fiscal year with a record surplus, according to a new report, which is fueling calls by progressive Democrats to roll back the state’s spending controls.

The consensus revenue forecast, released by the Office of Policy and Management and Office of Fiscal Analysis on Monday, shows the state is likely to close out the fiscal year more than $645 million above initial budget projections. That’s a roughly $1 billion surplus through 2026, according to the report.

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Recruit More Queer, Trans Scholars to Help Environment: University of Minnesota Report

University of Minnesota

A new University of Minnesota report advocates for more “2SLGBTQIA+” individuals in environmental work, arguing their communities are disproportionately harmed by pollution and natural disasters.

Published in the university’s Gender Policy Report, the article “Environmental Justice for Queer and Transgender Communities” says queer and transgender communities tend to be left out of environmental health policies and planning even though they “experience discrimination leading to social, economic, and health disparities that place them at an increased risk for environmental injustices.”

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Maricopa County School Superintendent Faces Primary Challengers After Numerous Allegations of Financial Misconduct

Maricopa County

The Festival Ranch Republican Club recently hosted an educational forum, inviting the three Republican candidates in the primary running for Maricopa County School Superintendent to speak. This race holds significant importance amidst allegations of financial mismanagement and an intense focus on education in Arizona. The incumbent, Steve Watson, and challenger Nickie Kelley attended the forum. The second challenger, Shelli Boggs couldn’t attend due to a conflict, but The Arizona Sun Times interviewed each candidate for this article.

Nickie Kelley previously told the Sun Times, that the stakes were high for  Republicans to maintain control of this office. Kelley tracked the data and  in 2016 Watson beat the incumbent Democrat by about 36,000 votes. In 2020, he defeated the Democratic candidate by only 11,000 votes. But this year, Democrats have a formidable candidate running and Watson has battled negative allegations for years regarding mismanagement of funds.

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Commentary: Finding Authentic Male Friendship in a Loneliness Epidemic

Male Friendship

In an increasing online world, people are lonelier than ever, especially men. In a 2021 study, 15 percent of men reported having no close friends, up from only three percent in the early 1990s. Perhaps more alarmingly, 28 percent of young men (under 30 years old) reported not having any close social connections.

As a man, I can speak to this deficit of male friendship. Many of us can say hello in passing, talk about the weather, and maybe discuss the latest sports news, but how many of our connections truly care about us and would be there when we need them?

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Carol Swain Raising Funds Towards Lawsuit Against Harvard University amid Plagiarism Battle

Carol Swain

Dr. Carol M. Swain is actively raising money to file a federal lawsuit against Harvard University to hold the institution “accountable” for its former President Claudine Gay’s alleged plagiarism of multiple academic scholars’ work, including that of Swain’s.

In December 2023, writer and political activist Christopher Rufo accused Gay of plagiarizing “multiple sections” of her Ph.D. thesis from 1997.

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Tennessee U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett Requests ‘Full Investigation’ into the CIA Based on Claims Made in Undercover Video

Tim Burchett CIA

Tennessee U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) sent letters to the chairmans of the House Judiciary Committee and House Oversight Committee on Thursday requesting that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) be investigated after an employee of the CIA’s Cyber Operations Division made bombshell accusations about the intel agency when it comes to its covert relationship with former President Donald Trump – both during and after his presidency.

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Congressman Andy Ogles Among House Republicans Seeking to Prevent the Resettling of Palestinians into the U.S.

Andy Ogles

Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) is among a group of House Republicans requesting that a provision be included in the Fiscal Year 2025 spending bill to prohibit Palestinian refugees from being imported and resettled into U.S. communities.

Ogles, along with U.S. Representatives Tom Tiffany (R-WI-07) and Scott Perry (R-PA-10), are specifically seeking a provision in the funding bill that “prohibits expenditures of any funds to issue a visa or grant parole to any alien holding a passport issued by the Palestinian Authority.”

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Americans for Prosperity – Tennessee Urges Nashville Mayor to Cut City Budget, Protect Residents from Property Tax Hikes Amid $3.1 Billion Transit Plan

Freddie O'Connell

Americans for Prosperity – Tennessee (AFP-TN) released a statement Thursday in response to Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s proposed $3.1 billion transit referendum that will be presented to Davidson County voters on the November ballot.

AFP-TN State Director Tori Venable, noting how Nashville voters rejected then-Mayor Megan Barry’s $9 billion transit plan six years ago, acknowledged the dramatic cost difference in O’Connell’s plan while also pointing out the half-cent increase in the city’s sales tax that will be used to fund the plan.

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Knoxville Police Department Releases Body Cam Footage of Officer Shooting Suspect Armed with Two Knives

Police Knife Video

The Knoxville Police Department (KPD) released the body cam footage of an officer who shot a man armed with two knives outside the Exxon gas station at 5306 N. Broadway last month.

On April 17, just before 5:30 p.m., Officer Seth Beeler arrived at the Exxon on a report that a man, who has since been identified as William Charles McBride Jr., was “acting erratically and potentially violently inside of the store,” according to KPD.

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Swing States Using Taxpayer Dollars to Turn Out Democratic Voters

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes

Election officials in two key swing states are using taxpayer money to register and turn out voters who will most likely vote for Democrats in the November election.

As reported by The Federalist, Democratic officials in the states of Arizona and Nevada have announced initiatives to turn out younger voters, who overwhelmingly lean Democratic, with roughly 6 months to go before the election in the fall. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D-Ariz.) announced that his office will partner with the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge to promote the “Arizona Campus Voting Challenge,” which Fontes falsely claims is a “nonpartisan initiative.”

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United Methodist Officially Lifts Ban on LGBTQ Members Joining Its Clergy

LGBTQ members at United Methodist Church congregation

The delegates are also expected to vote on whether to replace its “Social Principles” document with one that changes the definition of marriage from being between a man and a woman to a union between “two people of faith.” It would also remove a line in the document that considers the practice of homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching.”

United Methodist delegates voted to remove a ban on members of the LGBTQ community serving as clergy members on Wednesday, ending decades of controversy around the issue.

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Emails Show Facebook Chafed at Biden White House Pressure to Suppress COVID-19 Lab Leak Story

Facebook on a smartphone

The preliminary staff report is the result of a months-long investigation into the alleged coercion, where President Joe Biden’s White House reportedly pushed social media platforms such as Facebook, Amazon, and YouTube, to censor books, videos, and posts.

Emails released Wednesday show Facebook officials chafed at the Biden White House pressure campaign to censor reports that the COVID-19 pandemic came from a lab leak in China.

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Memphis Mayor, Shelby County D.A. Seek Tougher Penalties for Automatic Gun Conversion Devices in Tennessee

Steve Mulroy and Paul Young

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy was joined on Thursday by Memphis Mayor Paul Young and Interim Police Chief C.J. Davis to call on Tennessee lawmakers to increase the state’s penalties for criminals who make handguns fully automatic using converter devices known as “switches.”

Mulroy said the “so-called Glock switches” are “relatively cheap and easy to maintain and they basically turn handguns into effective machine guns.”

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Commentary: Unredactions Reveal Early White House Involvement in Trump Documents Case

Stern Su Trump

Top Biden administration officials worked with the National Archives to develop Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case against Donald Trump involving the former president’s alleged mishandling of classified material, according to recently unsealed court documents in the case pending in southern Florida.

More than 300 pages of newly unredacted exhibits, containing emails and other correspondence related to the early stages of the hunt for presidential papers, challenge public statements by Joe Biden about what he knew and when he knew it regarding the case against his political rival.

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Ohio Grants Nearly $90 Million to Focus on Women and Minority-Owned Tech Businesses

Woman Business

Ohio is handing out $86 million in federal taxpayer money to private investment funds to be passed on to early-stage tech companies that are women- or minority-owned or in underserved areas by venture capital.

The money comes from the federally-funded State Small Business Credit Initiative Venture Capital program, and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik says the money helps level the playing field.

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Mexico to Sue Arizona Rancher George Kelly Following Mistrial in Killing of Illegal Immigrant

George Alan Kelly

The Government of Mexico is planning a lawsuit against George Alan Kelly, the southern Arizona rancher who was accused of murdering an illegal immigrant from Mexico, after prosecutors decided against pursuing the case further following a mistrial.

Attorney Brenna Larkin, who represented Kelly at trial, confirmed Mexico’s plans to participate in civil litigation to NewsNation reporter Ali Bradley. Kelly was accused of murdering Gabriel Cuen-Butimea, and the rancher admitted to firing warning shots while a group of armed Mexican nationals trespassed on his ranch near Nogales, Arizona.

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Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Candidate Dave McCormick to ‘Revisit’ Federal Support, Tax Breaks for Colleges with Anti-Israel Encampments If Elected

Dave McCormick

Following his visit to the anti-Israel encampment constructed at the University of Pennsylvania, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick told The Pennsylvania Daily Star Thursday that he will urge senators to “revisit” federal support and tax breaks afforded to top schools if Pennsylvanians send him to Washington, D.C. in November.

McCormick noted that Pennsylvania taxpayers subsidize many schools that boast anti-Israel encampments, either through federal funding or the “huge benefit” of an “enormous endowments” that remain tax exempt.

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Georgia Gov Signs Bill into Law Requiring Sheriffs Cooperate with ICE After Laken Riley Murder

Laken Riley

Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a new immigration enforcement bill Wednesday, months after a Georgia college student was allegedly murdered at the hands of an illegal immigrant.

Kemp signed into law House Bill 1105, which requires sheriffs in the state to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The legislation mandates local jailers hold any foreign national in their custody who is suspected of being in the U.S. illegally and wanted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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Biden Administration Investigates Alleged Anti-Muslim Discrimination at Emory University Following Complaint by CAIR-Georgia

Emory University Campus and Students

A federal civil rights investigation into Emory University was confirmed on Thursday, with Biden administration officials asked to determine whether the university discriminated against Muslim students following the devastating October 7 surprise attack by Hamas fighters against civilians in Israel.

The Department of Education is now investigating Emory University to determine whether it violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in its treatment of Muslim students following the October 7 attack.

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U.S. Senate Candidate Kari Lake Offers Paid Summer Internship to Flag-Defending Fraternity Brothers amid UNC Protests

Kari Lake UNC

Arizona Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake extended a paid summer internship to the fraternity brothers who defended the U.S. flag during the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill protests, where pro-Palestinian demonstrators attempted to remove it.

In her X post, she extends a direct invitation: “If any of these GREAT Young Men want a PAID summer internship with my campaign, consider yourself HIRED. Reach out to me, or someone on my team, and we’ll ensure your resume is at the top of the stack, with my approval attached to it.”

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Atlanta Socialist Group Calls for Weekend Demonstrations in Snellville and Alpharetta to ‘Free Palestine’

Socialist Students from Georgia Protest in Support of Palestine

A Pro-Palestine rally and march are scheduled in Snellville on Saturday, and a car caravan is planned for Sunday in Alpharetta, Atlanta’s Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL Atlanta) announced on social media.

PSL Atlanta wrote in a Facebook post that Saturday’s “Stand with Gaza – Solidarity with the Nationwide Student Movement Rally and March” event for Georgia students will be held at 2:00 p.m. at Snellville Towne Greene.

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Lawsuit Alleges Pro-Palestinian Groups Behind Campus Protests Collaborate with Hamas

Sign at a Palestine campus protest

American and Israeli victims of the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against pro-Palestinian and Muslim advocacy groups over their alleged promotion and support for Hamas.

Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing roughly 1,200 people and kidnapping hundreds of others, which prompted sweeping pro-Palestinian protests across the country. A group of law firms representing the victims are suing American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) over allegations that the groups have worked to propagandize and advance Hamas’ goals — including through recruitment efforts on embattled college campuses — thereby making them accomplices in the terrorist group’s atrocities.

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Congressional Republicans’ Bill Seeks to Crack Down on DEI in Med Schools

Congressman Greg Murphy

Bills that seeks to block med schools from receiving federal funds if they maintain diversity equity and inclusion mandates are winding their way through Congress.

“Embracing anti-Discrimination, Unbiased Curricula, and Advancing Truth in Education,” or the EDUCATE Act, would limit the availability of funds for medical schools that “adopt certain policies and requirements relating to” DEI, it states.

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Records Show Archives Official Met With Biden White House Counsel Day of Indictment Against Trump

Richard Sauber

On June 8, 2023, Gary Stern, the General Counsel of the National Archives arrived at the White House for a meeting with Special Counsel to President Biden Richard Sauber. The meeting reportedly took place in the Navy Mess, a “nautical” themed dining room run by the seafaring military branch, according to White House records.

It is not known what Stern and Sauber discussed, but the very same day, the Justice Department filed its indictment against former President Donald Trump alleging he “unlawfully” retained classified documents.

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Commentary: Biden FCC Threatens Free Speech by Restoring Internet Regulations

Jessica Rosenworcel Net Neutrality

The Federal Communications Commission has revived regulations for “net neutrality.” According to FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, “the action we take here is good for consumers, public safety, national security and network investment.” The people have room for doubt and the “neutrality” concept requires some explanation.

The internet developed in fine style long before any such regulation appeared, but in 2015, the FCC reclassified Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from “information services,” to “common carrier services.” The government treated an innovative new technology like a public utility monopoly, in effect turning back the clock to the Communications Act of 1934.

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Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs Most Proud of Not Raising Taxes During His Tenure, Says ‘We Have to Make Sure Our People Are Being Taken Care Of’

Glenn Jacobs

Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs said the accomplishment he’s most proud of since assuming office in 2018 is his and his team’s work to avoid raising taxes for county residents.

Jacobs said that while it is becoming “more difficult” to construct a budget amid economic challenges resulting from decisions made at the federal level, his administration is “doing everything that we can to be creative and think outside the box” to avoid raising taxes.

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America First Legal’s Gene Hamilton: We’ve Launched a New Program That Helps Train the Next Generation of Conservative Lawyers

Gene Hamilton

Gene Hamilton, vice president and general counsel of America First Legal (AFL), explained why the Next Generation (NextGen) Fellowship Program through AFL is a critical tool for young conservative lawyers who seek to “advance the conservative movement in a way we haven’t seen before.”

The mission of AFL’s NextGen Fellowship Program, according to the organization’s website, is to “train and build a bench of lawyers equipped with the legal skills needed to save our nation and to effectively push forward an America First agenda in government, including in future conservative presidential administrations.”

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