Virginia Military Institute Alumni File Lawsuit Against Institute’s Official Alumni Association

A frustrated group of Virginia Military Institute alumni, some of whom have previously spoken out against the institution’s growing embrace of DEI, have taken on a new battle.

The disgruntled alumni have filed a civil rights lawsuit against VMI Alumni Agencies, arguing the relationship between the official alma mater organization and the institute itself is inappropriate, that school leaders have too much control over it.

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Fetterman Reportedly Warns Harris Campaign Against Picking Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro as VP over ‘Excessive’ Ambitions

Senator John Fetterman

U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) on Saturday reportedly warned the presidential campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris that Governor Josh Shapiro holds “excessive” political ambitions.

Fetterman contacted the Harris campaign to provide information about Shapiro as the vice president interviewed the short list of contestants to become complete the Democratic presidential ticket ahead, which reportedly includes the first-term governor, according to German-owned Politico, which reported, “the senator believes that Shapiro is excessively focused on his own personal ambitions.”

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Arizona Mayor Among ‘Republicans for Harris’ was Censured by Party, Previously Called Trump an ‘Idiot’ on Hot Mic

Mayor John Giles, Kamala Harris

Mesa Mayor John Giles, who is now the co-chair of the Republicans for Harris group, was once censured by his local Republican Party over another endorsement of a Democrat, and previously called former President Donald Trump an “idiot” on a hot microphone.

In a Sunday statement, the Harris campaign described Republicans for Harris as “a grassroots organizing program” created to reach members of the Republican Party who do not support Trump.

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Former Pro-Life Champion Legislator Nancy Barto Reveals Details of Arizona’s Radical 9-Month Abortion Proposition on the Ballot

Nancy Barto

Former Arizona legislator Nancy Barto, who was defeated for reelection in 2022 due to progressives targeting her over championing pro-life legislation, spoke to a church in Casa Grande Thursday evening about Proposition 139. Barto told the group of 158 at Cowboy Church of Pinal County about the negative ramifications of Prop. 139, the Right to Abortion Initiative, which is almost certain to be on the ballot this fall. 

The proposition legalizes abortion up to nine months, including partial-birth abortions, removes requirements that doctors be involved, eliminates parental consent, and removes penalties for those who assist with obtaining abortions. Arizona’s current abortion law prohibits abortions after 15 weeks.

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Virginia Police Clear Anti-Israel Encampment Outside Antony Blinken’s House After Six Months

Anti-Israel protesters outside of Anthony Blinken's home

Virginia State Police cleared the anti-Israel encampment constructed near the home of Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday after it subsisted for over six months.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) worked with the Virginia State Police to clear the encampment previously constructed on the shoulder of Chain Bridge Road near Blinken’s home on Saturday, with VDOT stating to WTOP the encampment was “unsafe for motorists, bikers and pedestrians and blocks access to emergency vehicles and personnel.”

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Miyares Supports Local School Policy Segregating Sports by Biological Sex

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares filed an amicus brief Thursday on behalf of the Hanover County School Board, which barred a middle school male student identifying as a transgender girl from playing on the girls’ tennis team.

“Neither the federal Constitution nor any federal statute require Virginia school boards to allow biological males to play on a girls sports team,” Miyares said in a statement. “Rather, civil rights law is meant to protect female equity in athletics. I urge the court to ensure that women’s rights and opportunities remain protected in Virginia.”

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Progressive Group May Be Illegally Releasing the Results of How Many Republicans v. Democrats Have Already Early Voted in Arizona

A progressive organization called Uplift Campaigns is posting daily updated information on how many Republicans versus Democrats have turned in early ballots all around Arizona. However, A.R.S. 16-551(C) makes it a felony to release any results from early voting before Election Day.

That statute provides in part, “Partial or complete tallies of the early election board shall not be released or divulged before all precincts have reported or one hour after the closing of the polls on election day, whichever occurs first. Any person who unlawfully releases information regarding vote tallies or who possesses a tally sheet or summary without authorization from the recorder or officer in charge of elections is guilty of a class 6 felony.”

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Dave McCormick Promises ‘Strong’ Support for Law and Order After Endorsement from Police Union that Once Backed Sen. Bob Casey

Dave McCormick speaking at Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police event

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick on Sunday pledged “strong” support for law enforcement after he received an endorsement from the Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police (PA FOP), which once endorsed his opponent, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA).

McCormick confirmed his support for law and order during his Sunday appearance on “This Week in Pennsylvania,” arguing law enforcement is fundamental to a prosperous commonwealth.

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Senate Candidates Don’t Believe Other has Ohio’s Interests at Heart

Sherrod Brown and Bernie Moreno

The Ohio U.S. Senate race is heating up, with both candidates saying their opponent doesn’t have the state’s interests at heart.

Incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown says he is fighting for Ohio workers and businesses. Trump-endorsed Republican challenger Bernie Moreno, a former car salesman born in Colombia, says he’s fighting for the American dream. 

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Pima County Election Records Show Chain-of-Custody Problems for over 18,000 Absentee Ballots in 2022 Election: Study

A new report obtained by The Arizona Sun Times found that more than 18,000 absentee ballots counted in the 2022 election in Pima County alone had severely lacking or no chain-of-custody paperwork, meaning there is an inadequate record of the whereabouts or origins of the Tucson-area ballots.

Coincidentally in the same election cycle, Katie Hobbs edged out Kari Lake for the Governor’s office by just 17,117 votes.

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Trump Rally Attendee Confirms Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Candidate Dave McCormick ‘Definitely in the Line of Fire’ During Assassination Attempt

Brady Knox at the Donald Trump rally on July 13, 2024

An attendee who witnessed the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at his Saturday campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania told The Pennsylvania Daily Star that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick was “definitely in the line of fire” as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire before being killed by Secret Service.

Brady Knox told The Star he was seated in the second row, “about as close as you could possibly get” to the former president at just 15 feet away, when Trump’s supporters in the front rows began to take cover after the former president reached for his ear and ducked below the podium.

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Democrats Could Face Legal Hurdles in Georgia over Potential Effort to Replace President Joe Biden

President Joe Biden

Democrats could face legal challenges in Georgia should they attempt replace President Joe Biden on the November ballot, according to an analysis of state election laws published ahead of his poor debate performance against President Donald Trump on June 27.

The analysis, published to the social media platform X by The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project days prior to the debate, notes Georgia, Nevada and Wisconsin “have specific procedures for withdrawal of a presidential nominee,” with each state differing on when a withdrawal must be filed and who can replace the nominee.

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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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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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Atlanta Journal Constitution in Battleground Georgia Second Major Newspaper to Call on Biden to Retire

Joe Biden

Georgia’s largest newspaper on Saturday night published a front page editorial pleading with President Joe Biden to step aside and embrace “the shade of retirement.”

The Atlanta Constitution-Journal declared Biden’s debate performance in Atlanta on Thursday night was “excruciating” and failed to lay out a “competent and coherent vision for the future of America.”

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Ad Campaign Says Ohio State Hospital Expansion will Mean Higher Costs

Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

A coalition of health insurers and employer groups is using a targeted ad campaign to call attention to private-public hospital expansions it says leads to higher premiums and out-of-pocket expenses.

The campaign comes as the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center continues to move forward with a $1.9 billion, 1.9-million-square-foot inpatient hospital expected to open in 2026.

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Youngkin: America’s Foundations Crumbling Under Biden, Progressives

Governor Glenn Youngkin

The Founders built America on a rock, but today, because of the Left, the rock is crumbling, and the country must assert moral clarity on several fronts to fix it, said Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who fired up the crowd at the Road to Majority Conference Saturday.

“They built it on rock. They unleashed a wave of freedom across the world with the prosperity of seeing a shining sea, the greatest nation ever built,” Youngkin said. “Yet today, we can feel the great American house shaking. Across our college campuses, echoes of extermination speech, while chaos roars across our borders.”

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Biden DOJ Report Alleges Phoenix Police Violate Rights Based on Race; Insiders Warn Consent Decree Could Be Imminent

Phoenix Police Department

The Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a 126-page report on Thursday claiming that it found probable cause after a three year investigation that the Phoenix Police Department (PPD) violated the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments when dealing with the public. The investigation began in August 2021, alleging five problem areas. The DOJ accused PPD of using excessive force, discriminating against nonwhites, treating homeless people unlawfully, violating the First Amendment, and discriminating against the mentally ill.

A PPD officer who preferred to remain anonymous told The Arizona Sun Times that there were all kinds of problems with the report. He said the consultants hired by the DOJ to visit PPD were fresh out of law school and knew nothing about law enforcement. He said they pulled a few files and didn’t interview relevant people. There was a lot they didn’t do, he said. Additionally, the cases cited in the report are old, and key details were omitted from the report, including that those cases were resolved.

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Arizona Bipartisan Budget Deal Reached; Freedom Caucus Takes Principled Stand

Arizona Capitol

Late Saturday night, lawmakers signed a controversial budget deal, which is now on its way to Governor Katie Hobbs where she is anticipated to sign it. Hobbs, House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Glendale), and Senate President Warren Peterson (R-LD12) negotiated this bipartisan agreement, excluding both Democratic leadership and Freedom Caucus members from the negotiation table.

Republican leadership praised the Arizona Fiscal Year 2025 state budget for its conservative fiscal discipline, addressing a $1.4 billion shortfall without raising taxes, and prioritizing public safety and school choice.

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Arizona A.G. Mayes Warns Against ‘Parallel Investigations’ in Hobbs Group Home Debacle

Arizona A.G. Kris Mayes, Gov. Katie Hobbs

Attorney General Kris Mayes is asking Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell to take a step back from possibly investigating an alleged “pay for play” scheme involving Gov. Katie Hobbs and Sunshine Residential Homes.

Mayes’ criminal division has an investigation open, but the Auditor General’s Office and Mitchell are also coordinating a possible investigation after the auditor general reached out to Mitchell’s office. 

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Florida University Civic Center Aims to Become ‘Premier Think Tank’ on Economic Freedom

Carlos Diaz-Rosillo

Florida International University’s civics center has made an international impact in its first four years of existence by bringing together politicians and private sector leaders to promote individual and economic freedom.

The Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom at the Miami university came about through efforts by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state legislature to bolster Western democratic thought in higher education. In 2023, DeSantis signed additional legislation to boost civic education centers in the state’s public universities.

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One Pro-Palestine Protester Arrested at New Anti-Israel Encampment at University of Pittsburgh

University of Pittsburgh protesters

One pro-Palestine protestor was arrested on Sunday night after a new anti-Israel encampment was constructed at the University of Pittsburgh earlier that day.

The Office of Safety and Emergency Management at Pitt has confirmed on Sunday evening that the Cathedral of Learning remained “closed until further notice” on Monday due to “a protest in the vicinity” of the building.

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Virginia RNC Committeeman Candidate Tim Anderson Claimed GOP Would Not ‘Tolerate’ Donald Trump in 2024

Tim Anderson

Virginia RNC Committeeman Candidate Tim Anderson claimed in a November 2022 interview that Republicans would not “tolerate” former President Donald Trump as the Republican Party’s nominee in 2024.

Anderson, who formerly represented District 83 in the House of Delegates, predicted to News 3 on November 15, 2022 that Trump’s candidacy would “splinter” the Republican Party and provoke an inter-party “civil war” that would ultimately result in another candidate becoming the nominee in 2024.

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Arizona A.G. Kris Mayes Releases Full 2020 Election Indictment After Serving Rudy Giuliani at His 80th Birthday Party

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, Rudy Giuliani

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes on Monday released a full, unredacted version of the criminal indictment of Republican activists and politicians who assisted former President Donald Trump with his efforts to contest the 2020 election results in the state.

In a brief statement posted to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office website, Mayes’ staff confirmed, “The following individuals are named as defendants in the indictment: Rudolph Giuliani, Mark Meadows, John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Christina Bobb, Jenna Ellis, Michael Roman, Kelli Ward, Tyler Bowyer, Nancy Cottle, Jacob Hoffman, Anthony Kern, James Lamon, Robert Montgomery, Samuel Moorhead, Lorraine Pellegrino, Gregory Safsten, and Michael Ward.”

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Ohio School System Faces $90M Deficit From COVID-19 Spending

Continued hiring and millions in building projects pushed an Ohio public school system to a financial cliff, including a projected $90 million deficit by 2028, state Auditor Keith Faber said.

A new state performance audit says the Mt. Healthy City School District in suburban Cincinnati hired dozens of new teachers and staff and advanced $18 million in building projects without formal plans or funding to sustain operations.

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‘Diverse Erie’ DEI Committee Excluded Pennsylvanians from $300,000 Grant Dispersal Based on Race

Diverse Erie

Diverse Erie, formerly known as the Erie County Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission, on Friday distributed $300,000 in federal grant money.

The organization restricted the money to individuals that are part of the “BIPOC community,” which includes black, indigenous and all people of color, indicating only whites were precluded from applying for the funds.

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Trump Commands Five Point Lead over Biden in Arizona as Voters Driven by Inflation and Economy, Poll Shows

Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump now holds a five-point lead over President Joe Biden in a head-to-head race in Arizona, a poll released Sunday revealed.

The CBS News/YouGov poll found 52 percent of Arizonans would vote for Trump if the election were held today, compared to 47 percent who said they would vote for the Democratic incumbent.

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Cobb County Schools Hit with Civil Rights Complaint Alleging ‘Wave of Censorship’ After Removing Explicit Books from School Libraries

A Cobb County School District (CCSD) spokesperson told The Georgia Star News on Friday that a complaint from the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) to the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) repeats  “made-up narratives espoused and circulated by a small community group which includes candidates for local office.”

NWLC’s complaint accused the school district of violating students’ civil rights by removing inappropriate books from school libraries. The complaint was filed on Monday against CCSD for creating a “hostile environment” for students by allegedly “censoring” books written by or about LBGTQIA people and people of color (POC).

The spokesperson said, “Local political candidates, including those running for Board, repeating a made-up narrative doesn’t make it true and community groups who want to promote access to sexually explicit content for minors, doesn’t make it right.”

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Goldwater Institute Sues Pima County over New Gun Ordinance Allegedly Illegal Under Arizona Law

The Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit against Pima County in late April over a new ordinance that levies fines against gun owners who fail to report stolen weapons within 48 hours after learning they are missing, it confirmed Monday.

Pima County’s ordinance requires gun owners to report guns lost or stolen within Pima County to local authorities under penalty of a $1,000 fine should gun owners take longer than 48 hours.

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Pennsylvania Democrats Lose Voters to Republicans, See Lower Gains Despite Automatic Voter Registration

Voting Line

Voter registration reveals Republicans continue to gain ground in Pennsylvania, with Democrats losing a number of registered voters to the opposing party, a Monday report citing Pennsylvania Department of State data.

The Republican Party of Pennsylvania (PAGOP) between the end of March and May 13, gained 10,152 new registered voters, according to Politics PA.

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Georgia Again Sees Decreased Tax Collections

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp

Georgia tax officials collected more than $3.9 billion in April, a decrease of 5.4 percent or $225.7 million from last year.

So far this fiscal year, net tax revenue of more than $27.4 billion is down about 1.2 percent or $341.3 million from last year. While fiscal 2024 collections have decreased from fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022 numbers, they remain higher than they were at the same time in fiscal 2019, fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2021, according to unaudited numbers released at the time.

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Virginia Lawmakers Urge Department of Defense to Send ‘American-Made’ Drones to Ukraine

Reps. Rob Wittman and Jen Kiggans (composite image)

A group of lawmakers, including two Virginia congressmen, are calling on the U.S. Department of Defense to send more “American-made” drones to be deployed on the Ukrainian battlefield.

In a letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Virginia Republican Reps. Rob Wittman and Jen Kiggans along with nine other lawmakers say “most drones being used in Ukraine’s fight” against Russia are being made by a “single Chinese company.”

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Abortion Not Among Top Five Issues for Arizona Voters, New Survey Reveals

Early Voting

A survey released Monday found abortion is not among the top five issues for Arizona voters, who instead are primarily concerned with the southern border and illegal immigration.

The Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA) revealed its 2024 Arizona Voters’ Agenda found the majority of the state’s voters named immigration and border security as their most important issue.

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Emory University Moves Commencement to Duluth, Georgia amid Anti-Israel Protests

Emory College

Emory University declared on Monday it will not hold its 2024 commencement ceremony on the university’s campus, instead relocating all events to the Gas South District in Duluth, Georgia amid the anti-Israel protests at the school.

University President Gregory Fenves confirmed the move in a Monday announcement to the university’s website, confirming Emory would hold its commencement despite protests, but nonetheless acknowledging “concerns about safety and security” prompted a total relocation of all commencement events.

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