An inmate who was in charge of coordinating a shipment of methamphetamine from Atlanta into Western North Carolina and the leader of a Savannah-area drug trafficking conspiracy were both sentenced to federal prison this week
Read the full story
The liberal D.C. law firm behind a legal challenge to the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s ruling striking down the use of absentee ballot drop boxes in the Badger State was founded by Hillary Clinton’s political fixer, the man who helped bankroll the infamous — and bogus — Trump-Russia dossier.
Marc Elias and his Elias Law Group filed a lawsuit last week in the liberal Dane County Circuit Court demanding the return of the widespread use of unsecured drop boxes, just as the Wisconsin’s high court is about to be led by liberals for the first time in a long time.
Read the full story
A Republican Ohio lawmaker introduced a bill into the Ohio House of Representatives that aims to permit public schools statewide to employ chaplains to provide support services and programs for students.
House Bill (HB) 240 sponsored by State Representative Reggie Stoltzfus (R-Paris Twp.) would allow chaplains to serve as paid employees or volunteers in public schools without having to obtain a license from the state board of education.
Read the full story
About $13.5 million in taxpayer grants from the Going PRO Talent Fund will help train 8,500 workers across nearly 300 Michigan businesses to earn industry-recognized credentials and strong wages.
“The Going PRO Talent Fund is an investment in our state’s greatest asset – our people – helping them develop the skills they need to advance their careers and ‘make it’ in Michigan,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. “These grants help us put thousands of Michiganders on paths to good-paying jobs and empower hundreds of Michigan businesses across the state develop the talent they need to compete in the global economy.”
Read the full story
Alpha News journalist Sheila Qualls recently hosted a townhall panel discussion on the failures of Minnesota’s public education system.
Qualls is the host of the podcast “Trapped!: Chaos in the Classroom,” in which she investigates the public school system in Minnesota through interviews with students, parents, teachers, administrators, and school board members.
The townhall panel she hosted consisted of retired teachers, a school board member, a current private school educator, and a parents group director.
Read the full story
The Georgia Republican Party announced on Wednesday that it has launched a website defending the contingent electors for former President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election as they have been targeted by the Fulton County district attorney’s investigation.
Read the full story
Amid rising concerns about the liberal political agenda driving environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment decisions at the expense of retirement income, U.S. Representative Zach Nunn (R-IA-03) has introduced the “Protecting Retirees’ Savings Act.”
The bill, according to proponents, will help eliminate conflicts of interest for financial managers that cost investors by lowering investment returns.
Read the full story
The Elections Task Force (ETF) created via executive order by Governor Katie Hobbs has recommended 20 changes to Arizona elections, including moves to prevent ballot drop boxes from being observed by citizen groups and restore the voting rights of felons.
Hobbs’ ETF agreed to advance 20 of 22 total proposals it generated to consider during a Thursday meeting that was closed to the public, including members of the media. It was the second full meeting of the group, which Hobbs chairs, since she created it via executive order in January.
Read the full story
Ohio Republican lawmakers are calling out Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb for encouraging voters to vote against Ohio State Issue 1 so that it’s easier for Democrats to place gun control measures into the state constitution.
Issue 1, if approved by voters, would mandate a 60 percent approval percentage for any future constitutional amendments, call for signatures from all 88 counties, and do away with the opportunity to “cure” petitions by collecting additional signatures if necessary.
Read the full story
Virginia’s price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline has risen nearly 30 cents in a month, half of that in just the last week.
The American Automobile Association’s daily tracking put the state average at $3.59 on Monday, up from $3.42 a week ago and $3.30 a month ago.
Read the full story
The University of Michigan announced a new initiative to “enhance inclusion and equity across the biomedical and health sciences community,” which includes hiring 30 new professors.
With a $15.8 million investment from the National Institutes of Health and a $63.7 million investment from the University of Michigan, the Michigan Program for Advancing Cultural Transformation will “bolster U-M’s diverse academic environment by hiring tenure-track faculty with a demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion.”
Read the full story
Wisconsin U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R) led the Senate Republican conference in a letter to Senate Democrat committee chairmen urging them to hold hearings and investigate human trafficking, a press statement from Johnson’s office stated Monday.
The letter, sent to Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations; Richard Durbin (D-IL), who chairs the Committee on the Judiciary; Gary Peters (D-MI), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and Robert Menendez (D-NJ), chair of the Committee on Foreign Relations, urges increased oversight and investigations into human trafficking.
Read the full story
A new report released last week calls the popular narrative that Minnesota’s criminal justice system is biased against black offenders a “myth.”
“The narrative of unwarranted racial disparities in Minnesota’s criminal justice system is well entrenched but this new offender data from the BCA exposes this narrative as a myth,” said report author David Zimmer, a policy fellow at the Center of the American Experiment and retired 33-year veteran of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.
Read the full story
A report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General says Florida failed to comply with state requirements for its foster care system regarding prescription drugs.
According to the report, Florida failed to comply with requirements for documenting psychotropic and opioid medications prescribed to children living in the Florida Safe Families Network (FSFN), which is also a federal requirement in order to receive funding.
Read the full story
The growth of solar generation in Pennsylvania over the last decade owes largely to farmers willing to share their land, a fact that leaves others worried about neighboring property values and future sustainability.
As such, Sen. Doug Mastriano – former gubernatorial candidate and right-wing firebrand who represents a district that spans Franklin and Adams counties – recently introduced a bill limiting the use of farmland for solar development in Pennsylvania. The legislation would prohibit development on prime farming land considered class one or class two by the USDA.
Read the full story
Taking a page from a Florida plan to bring tax relief to families, two Badger State Republican legislators are pushing a bill that would create a sales tax exemption on baby-related products.
State Representative David Steffen (R-Howard) and State Senator Jesse James (R-Altoona) recently introduced the “Tiny Tot Tax Cut” to help fight inflation where it can hurt families the most.
Read the full story
A 68-year-old woman who was fired from her job at Lowe’s for attempting to stop an active robbery has been reinstated, according to a statement by a Lowe’s spokesperson.
Last month, according to RDP, three subjects went inside the Lowe’s store in Rincon, loaded multiple items into shopping carts, and exited the store without paying for the merchandise.
Read the full story
Two Arizona Republican Senators are calling on Attorney General Kris Mayes and Governor Katie Hobbs to protect the citizens of Arizona by immediately rescinding the release of a “seriously mentally-ill patient” who was housed at the Arizona State Hospital after being found incompetent to stand trial in the murder of his own mother and seven-year-old niece.
Last week, Arizona State Hospital released Rodney Aviles after they held him at their facility for over twenty years. However, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell wrote to Mayes back in February of this year to express her grave worries about community safety and her conviction that Aviles continues to pose a threat to his family and the larger community.
Read the full story
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s office is warning Georgians affected by the recent severe weather of scammers trying to exploit the disaster.
Read the full story
An amended complaint was filed Friday by parents of transgender kids against the state of Florida over legislation it passed two months ago that bans sex change surgeries, trans hormones and puberty blockers for minors.
The amended complaint, filed by the Southern Legal Counsel and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation on behalf of the parents, alleges that Florida Senate Bill 254 prevents parents of transgender minors from making “necessary” medical decisions about their children’s health and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, according to the complaint. The complaint follows several past instances of groups suing the state over the legislation and seeks to enhance a preliminary injunction that was issued on the bill in June.
Read the full story
Vote Yes Ohio, the official campaign to protect the state constitution has launched a new digital advertisement supporting Ohio State Issue 1 and highlighting the need to protect the state constitution from special interest groups.
The ad, titled “We The People,” is the first 30-second advertisement released by Vote Yes Ohio aimed at informing voters of the need to raise the threshold of the state constitution by voting yes on Issue 1 during the August 8th special election.
Read the full story
Minneapolis Democrat Mayor Jacob Frey has ordered the city police department to stop enforcing most laws against using hallucinogenic plants.
Frey in announcing the order Friday pointed to the potential benefits of taking hallucinogenic plants to treat mental illnesses such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Read the full story
After Democrats threatened to censor him during last week’s House committee hearing on censorship, Democrat presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to hold a “Roundtable on Censorship” next month.
“We’re not waiting for the election to elevate free speech in the public mind,” the campaign for the Kennedy family scion said in a mass email message sent Monday.
Read the full story
Michigan voters are trying to recall eight freshman lawmakers over bill votes this year ranging from supporting hate crime bills to red flag laws.
Six House Democrats and two Republicans face recall threats according to petitions filed with the Michigan Secretary of State.
Read the full story
One of Wisconsin’s larger health care systems has ended sex reassignment surgeries for adults and children following a directive from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Liberal lawmakers blasted the decision, first reported by Channel 3000 in Madison, as “misguided and dangerous,” while a conservative lawmakers who have championed bills prohibiting the “mutilation” of children called SSM’s change in protocol a “brave” decision.
Read the full story
Former New Hampshire GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte launched a bid for governor Monday, just days after Republican Gov. Chris Sununu announced his retirement.
Sununu, who recently ruled out a presidential bid, was first elected in 2016, and said last Wednesday that he would not seek a fifth term as governor. Ayotte, who served for one term as senator, told Fox News that her top priority as governor would be bolstering safety by imposing stricter penalties for fentanyl dealers to reduce the number of overdose deaths.
Read the full story
State Senator Justine Wadsack (R-Tucson) blamed Arizona Democrats, namely Governor Katie Hobbs, for the continuing Arizona homeless crisis, even as Phoenix’s “The Zone” continues to persist months after court ordered the city to clear the camp.
In a statement to The Arizona Sun Times, Wadsack warned Democrats are “unwilling to work across the aisle” to address the homeless crisis. “I have personally witnessed the human tragedies that occur in ‘The Zone,’ every day when I’m leaving the Capitol. We have the same issues in Southern Arizona.” Wadsack added, “I’ve personally spoken to those affected by homelessness and creating real solutions that start immediately will be a top priority for me in 2024.”
Read the full story
Special Counsel Jack Smith has contacted Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp regarding the investigation of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Read the full story
A Republican Ohio lawmaker introduced a bill into the Ohio Senate to prohibit the use of ranked-choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting, in the state.
Senate Bill (SB) 137, sponsored by State Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green), would prohibit ranked choice voting in all elections in Ohio except for those conducted in municipalities or chartered counties.
Read the full story
Pennsylvania’s treasury holds about $4.5 billion in unclaimed property for residents, businesses and local governments.
Recent efforts, however, have seen more of that get returned as the treasurer announced $274 million was returned in the last fiscal year – a single-year record.
Read the full story
Many schools in the Washington, D.C., region participate in a program called “No Place for Hate” designed to promote inclusion among students.
At least 143, and possibly closer to 200, are in Virginia and Maryland.
Read the full story
A judge has blocked Arizona’s new law prohibiting transgenders from participating in girls’ sports from going into effect. U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer Zipps, who was appointed to the bench by President Barack Obama, issued the injunction on July 20 after a lawsuit was filed by two anonymous transgender athletes. Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said he will appeal the ruling.
Arizona Women of Action issued a response afterwards to the ruling. “Title IX was enacted to protect girls,” the group said in a statement. “To give them equal rights to fair competition, safety, and future opportunities. Arizona’s Save Women’s Sports Act was enacted to solidify the intent of Title IX — to protect biological girls. Sadly, the judge ruled NOT to protect girls OR Arizona / US law.”
Read the full story
A Japanese probiotic beverage company recently announced it will establish operations in the Peach State by building a production facility at a Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) Certified site in Cartersville.
Read the full story
Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking the state’s investment manager to consider legal action against Bud Light parent company AB InBev over recent controversial marketing tactics.
CNN obtained a letter Thursday that states DeSantis suggests that AB InBev “breached legal duties owed to its shareholders” when it decided to associate with “radical social ideologies.”
Read the full story
Cincinnati voters are to decide in November whether the city can sell a city-owned rail line for over $1.6 billion to Norfolk Southern, the same company that caused the toxic disaster in East Palestine earlier this year.
The Cincinnati Southern Railway Board of Trustees unanimously voted to place the proposed sale of the rail line on the November 7th ballot.
Read the full story
Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) confirmed he is “concerned” about the No Labels Party (NLP) of Arizona after the group announced an event with Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) when asked whether the nascent party could cost President Joe Biden the 2024 election.
Kelly made the remarks during an appearance on “State of the Nation” with Jake Tapper, who reminded viewers that Biden won Arizona by “less than half of a percentage point” and asked the former astronaut if he thinks “Manchin and No Labels could potentially cost Joe Biden his reelection?”
Read the full story
Detroit taxpayers forked over $56 million in police settlement payouts between 2020 and four months of 2023.
Those payouts are a record amount in recent history, but public officials won’t explain why.
Read the full story
A proposed amendment to the Wisconsin constitution that would clarify that state and local officials “may not order the closure of or forbid gatherings in places of worship,” in response to a state of emergency declared at any level of government during a public health emergency, will go before a state Senate committee Tuesday.
State Republican lawmakers introduced the Senate Joint Resolution 54 in June in response to the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown order that restricted worship gatherings, even though the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down that order.
Read the full story
Georgia’s Supreme Court has denied a request to hear an appeal challenging the bond agreement state officials used to lure a controversial electric vehicle manufacturing project to the state.
At issue is a deal the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Joint Development Authority of Jasper, Morgan, Newton and Walton struck to give $1.5 billion in incentives to electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian Automotive. The company is building a $5 billion plant in Morgan and Newton counties.
Read the full story
The Middle District of Florida United States Attorney’s Office has announced the results of an investigation into fraud related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March 2020, the Middle District U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with federal, state, and local law enforcement, combined resources to form the Middle District of Florida COVID-19 Fraud Task Force to investigate and prosecute cases of fraud that happened during the pandemic.
Read the full story
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called for impeaching U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and compared him to a house slave during a recent media interview.
Ellison recently returned to his hometown of Detroit to promote his new book, “Break the Wheel: Ending the Cycle of Police Violence.” While there, he sat down for an extended interview with the Michigan Chronicle and discussed recent Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action and student loan debt.
Read the full story
U.S. Senator and Republican presidential hopeful Tim Scott rolled out a new campaign ad Monday in Iowa and New Hampshire in front of two significant campaign events in the first nominating states.
In the ad, titled “Commander in Chief,” the South Carolina senator denounces China for spying on children, stealing U.S. jobs, and buying up American farmland.
Read the full story
Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced a run for Senate on Monday to unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in 2024, according to a campaign launch video.
LaRose enters a growing GOP primary field where he will face businessman Bernie Moreno and state Sen. Matt Dolan, who both unsuccessfully ran for Senate during the 2022 midterms. The secretary of state touched on issues he feels plague the country, like parental rights in education, the border crisis and inflation, when announcing his run for Senate, according to a Twitter video.
Read the full story
Arizona State University is facing a crisis as state lawmakers launch an investigation and at least one donor pulls his money over allegations the school is not supporting free speech.
Ann Atkinson, executive director of the T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development at ASU’s Barrett Honors College, lost her job last month in what she called a politically motivated move for organizing an event earlier this year titled “Health, Wealth and Happiness,” with conservative commentators Dennis Prager and Charlie Kirk.
Read the full story
As natural gas production expands in other states, Pennsylvania’s has flatlined and seen productivity declines. Industry leaders blame permitting issues and other roadblocks, while environmentalists say the economic outlook for gas has weakened and nature benefits.
“Productivity declines and limits on natural gas takeaway capacity resulted in a 0.4 (billion cubic feet per day) decrease in Pennsylvania’s total natural gas production in 2022,” the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. “Until last year, output had increased every year since 2013 on the back of drilling efficiency gains.”
Read the full story
The Arizona Democratic Party (AZDP) filed a complaint against the No Labels Party (NLP) last week, seeking to force Arizona’s newest third party to disclose its list of donors or lose its status within the state amid potential Democratic concerns that NLP’s presence on the ballot could help former President Donald Trump win Arizona in 2024.
AZDP’s complaint specifically demands Secretary of State Adrian Fontes suspend NLP until the party discloses its donors. NLP told The Arizona Sun Times that the development amounts to “voter suppression.”
Read the full story
A judge sentenced a 26-year-old Florida resident to 18 years in federal prison for aiding a foreign terrorist organization, according to a Department of Justice press release.
Muhammed Momtaz Al-Azhari of Tampa, Florida, was under FBI investigation beginning in December of 2018 for allegedly providing support to ISIS which is recognized as a foreign terrorist organization under federal law, court documents revealed. Agents arrested Al-Azhari after he engaged with a confidential human source (CHS) who he obtained a gun and silencer from in 2020.
Read the full story
With the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act in June, it looked like the Mountain Valley Pipeline would finally be completed in Virginia, but environmental groups are fighting back in a legal battle that could end up at the Supreme Court.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is a natural gas pipeline routed to run 303 miles from Wetzel County in northern West Virginia to Pittsylvania County in southern Virginia. Mountain Valley, LLC, began construction in 2018 and, by November 2021, had completed 270 miles of the pipeline. At that time, the company planned to finish the project by the summer of 2022.
Read the full story
Two Republican Ohio lawmakers have introduced a bill into the Ohio House of Representatives to reinforce election integrity and stop meddling in party primaries.
House Bill (HB) 210, sponsored by State Representatives Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester) and Gary Click (R-Vickery), aims to require electors who want to change political parties to register as a member of that political party by December 31st.
Read the full story
There’s a pitch at the Wisconsin Capitol to add watermarks to the state’s absentee ballots.
State Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha, said absentee ballots in Wisconsin need to be more secure.
Read the full story