Business Groups in Four States Want CHIPS Act Money Released

Conductor Chip

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce and nearly 20 business groups from four states want the Biden administration to start handing out money from the CHIPS Act immediately.

In a letter, the groups from Ohio, New York, Oregon and New Mexico want the money distributed now. Intel has said the money is critical to its plan for the ongoing development of its massive manufacturing facility in central Ohio that could lead to 3,000 direct jobs and thousands of other related jobs.

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New York City Residents on Edge as Tren De Aragua Gangsters Terrorize City

New York Coty Mayor Eric Adams with NYPD officers

Tren de Aragua (TdA)-associated gangsters as young as 11-years-old are wreaking havoc on Times Square out of a migrant shelter in New York City, and they’re getting away with it, sources told the New York Post.

Around 20 migrants in the TdA-associated gang called “Los Diablos de la 42” are robbing residents and tourists in New York City neighborhoods while avoiding jail time due to their young age, sources in the New York Police Department (NYPD) told the New York Post Monday. TdA has gained notoriety in the United States after multiple reports emerged this year of their activities in major U.S. cities such as Aurora, Colorado, and El Paso, Texas.

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Dem Rep Grace Meng Serves as ‘Honorary Chairwoman’ of Org Reportedly Linked to Chinese Intel Agency

Rep Grace Meng

New York Democratic Rep. Grace Meng has longstanding ties to an organization reportedly linked to a Chinese intelligence agency and alleged Communist Party operatives, the Daily Caller News Foundation found.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday indicted Linda Sun, who served in two New York governors’ offices as well as Meng’s chief of staff while she served in the state assembly, for allegedly acting as an unregistered foreign agent of China and money laundering.

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Ex-Employee Sues City University of New York for Allegedly Firing Her After She Converted to Christianity

Teona pagan

A former City University of New York (CUNY) staff member is suing the university for wrongfully terminating her employment after she converted to Christianity, according to a religious discrimination lawsuit filed last week.

Teona Pagan, who worked at CUNY’s Research Foundation as the Fellowships and Public Service Program Coordinator, alleges she was denied a religious accommodation for an aspect of her job that required her to recruit students for a fellowship focused on the promotion of LGBT “rights and causes,” according to the complaint filed Aug. 28. When Pagan converted to Christianity in April 2022 — months after beginning her job in November 2021 — she suddenly found her duties related to the fellowship in conflict with her sincerely held religious beliefs.

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At Least Nine States Have Pro-Abortion Ballot Measures for November, with Some Facing Lawsuits

At least nine states will have pro-abortion constitutional amendment proposals on ballots in November, during a presidential election with high voter turnout, with some states facing lawsuits from conservatives and pro-life groups.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and sent the question of abortion legalization back to the states, some states are facing ballot measures over whether to ensure that abortion is codified in state constitutions.

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Commentary: Cell Phone Bans in Schools Is a Growing Trend

Student with Cell Phone

Navigating the complexities of smartphone use in K-12 education is a collective effort that requires ongoing adaptation as technology evolves. We expect the Tennessee General Assembly to draft legislation on this issue in the next session. There is an increasing push to safeguard young individuals from spending too much time in front of screens.

States and public school districts are advocating cellphone bans in schools, driven by concerns about distractions and their adverse effects on student well-being. This growing trend should not just be about restrictions but about creating a more focused and conducive learning environment. Teacher buy-in is critical to this process.

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Alvin Bragg’s Office Leaves Door Open for Delaying Trump’s Sentencing

Alvin Bragg and Donald Trump in a courtroom (composite image)

Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is not taking a position on former President Donald Trump’s request to delay his sentencing date in New York, according to a filing sent Friday.

Trump’s attorneys asked Judge Juan Merchan last week to push his sentencing, currently set for Sept. 18, until after the November election. In a filing, Bragg’s office said it would “defer to the Court” on whether a delay is necessary to “allow for orderly appellate litigation,” writing they are “prepared to appear for sentencing on any future date the Court sets.”

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Blue State Judge Rules RFK Jr Cannot Appear on Ballot

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

A New York judge ruled Monday that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cannot appear on the state’s ballot in November after it was revealed he listed a false address on his nominating petition.

Judge Christina L. Ryba wrote in the court’s decision that Kennedy had listed a New York address on his petition despite residing at a California address with his family, according to court documents. Kennedy promised to appeal the decision in a press release issued after the decision, claiming that the New York address is his primary residence and the legal battle is a political attack.

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Warning Signs Flash for Biden as Trump Gains Ground in Empire State

Donald Trump and Joe Biden in front of New York skyline (composite image)

Amid the intense scrutiny over whether Democrat President Joe Biden is mentally and physically fit for a second term, he appears to be losing ground in the Democratic stronghold New York – which hasn’t voted in favor of a GOP presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Polls over the past four months show presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has cut Biden’s lead to just 8 points across New York, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-to-1.

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Trump Moves to Reverse Verdict in New York Case After Historic Supreme Court Ruling

Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers moved quickly Monday night to take advantage of the Supreme Court ruling that he enjoyed immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts, sending a letter notifying the judge in his New York hush money case that they intend to ask to set aside the verdict reached by a jury last month, according to multiple sources.

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Commentary: Missouri Set to Sue New York for Election Interference as Trump’s July 11 Sentencing Date Looms

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey

After almost a month following former President Donald Trump’s conviction by a New York City jury on May 30, Missouri Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced on June 20 that his state is suing New York for its “direct attack on our democratic process through unconstitutional lawfare against President Trump”.

That’s good — better late than never — as Bailey stands as the first Republican Attorney General to actually announce such a lawsuit, with not much time before Trump’s scheduled sentencing on July 11, which could imprison to presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

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Poll: Plurality of Americans Believe Trump Trial was Politically Motivated

A new poll shows that a sizable plurality of the American people believe that the New York trial of former President Donald Trump was a politically-motivated show trial.

As the Daily Caller reports, the ABC News/Ipsos poll shows that 47 percent of Americans believe the trial was indeed a political hit job, while 38 percent say that the trial was legitimate and fair. On the question of the “guilty” verdict, 50 percent of respondents believe the verdict was correct; by contrast, just 27 percent believe the verdict was wrong, while the remaining 23 percent said they “don’t know” what to believe with regards to the verdict.

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Reports: California Exodus Continues, Southeastern States as Primary Destinations

Austin, Texas

As the California exodus continues, a new migration trend is occurring, with southeastern and Appalachian states taking the top spots as inbound migration destinations, according to new reports.

According to a new Consumer Affairs 2024 Migration Trends report, “California’s mass exodus continues to ensue,” with the South and Southeast region of the country being the “hottest regions for people moving.”

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Commentary: Republicans Vow to Scorch the Earth After Trump Conviction

Donald Trump

by Philip Wegmann   Spurred by the volcanic temper of their base, Republicans are now preparing to scorch the earth in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s conviction, potentially setting off a chain reaction that could fundamentally alter the American political system entirely. No one knows exactly how far they will go in their response. What is clear is that conservatives have no patience for President Biden’s argument Friday morning that justice was served in Manhattan, that “the American principle that no one is above the law was reaffirmed.” They see the conviction instead as unprecedented “lawfare” meant to interfere with the coming election and, some say, an unprecedented response is now in order. “The good guys must be as tough as the villains or freedom is doomed,” senior Trump advisor Stephen Miller told RealClearPolitics without offering exact details. Rep. Mike Collins, meanwhile, was explicit. “Time for Red State AGs and DAs to get busy,” the Georgia Republican said Thursday, floating the idea that Republicans should begin using the courts to pursue their political enemies. “Hillary Clinton’s campaign-funded Steele dossier is a good start,” Collins continued, referencing how the former Secretary of State’s presidential campaign misreported their spending on the…

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Rule of Lawfare: Jury Instructions from NY Judge to Manhattan Jurors in Trump ‘Hush Money’ Case Contained Made-up and Selectively Chosen Language

NY Judge Juan Merchan

A New York jury found former President Donald Trump guilty on all 34 criminal counts related to falsifying business records last week, prompting outcry that New York Judge Juan Merchan, who was handpicked to handle the case and who donated to Joe Biden, committed misconduct during the trial, including how he handled the jury instructions. A CNN senior legal analyst reported that the case was full of so many legal stretches that employees of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office referred to it as the “zombie case.”

Daniel Street, an attorney in Louisiana who writes about lawfare, told The Tennessee Star the jury instructions were “terrible.”

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Supreme Court Unanimously Sides with NRA in First Amendment Case Against New York Official

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor

The Supreme Court unanimously held Thursday that the National Rifle Association (NRA) “plausibly alleged” that a New York official violated its First Amendment rights, finding that government officials cannot “use the power of the State to punish or suppress disfavored expression.”

The justices allowed the NRA to pursue its First Amendment claim against former superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) Maria Vullo, vacating a lower court ruling that found the NRA failed to show Vullo “crossed the line between attempts to convince and attempts to coerce.” They held that the gun rights group has a plausible case that Vullo “violated the First Amendment by coercing regulated entities to terminate their business relationships with the NRA in order to punish or suppress gun-promotion advocacy.”

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Conviction of Trump in ‘Hush Money’ Case by New York Jury Marks Ominous Turning Point for the Rule of Law in America

Donald Trump

A New York jury unanimously convicted Donald Trump on all 34 counts in the criminal case against him on Thursday for falsifying business records to disguise a $130,000 hush money payment from Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels.

New York Judge Juan Merchan set a sentencing date for July 11.

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Trump Speaks as Jury Deliberates: ‘Mother Teresa Could Not Beat These Charges’

Former President Trump addressed the media on Wednesday as the jury in his hush money trial deliberates. “Mother Teresa could not beat these charges. These charges are rigged. The whole thing is rigged. The whole country’s a mess between the borders and fake elections and you have a trial like this where the judge is so conflicted he can’t breathe,” Trump said outside of the courtroom in New York. “It’s a disgrace and I mean that. Mother Teresa could not beat those charges but we’ll see how we do.”

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While Trump Faces Felony Charges, New York-Based Clinton Campaign Only Faced Fines for Its Records Issue

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton’s New York-based presidential campaign was hit with an administrative fine by the Federal Election Commission following the 2016 election when the FEC found the campaign misrepresented campaign expenses by describing the opposition research that produced the discredited Steele Dossier as a “legal expense.” The Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee paid $113,000 to settle the charges, the Associated Press reported.

Yet, Donald Trump faces felony charges for allegedly falsifying business records to conceal campaign violations in the same state, echoing the alleged violations in the Clinton case and indicating a double standard in how the violations were handled by investigators.

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Commentary: Trump’s Trials Don’t Hurt Him in the Polls

Donald Trump at Rally

Donald Trump is out on bail in four jurisdictions facing dozens of felony charges and it does not seem to affect his ratings in the surveys. Many people wonder why.

First of all, let me assure you that Donald Trump is not made of Teflon. Rather, he is probably the most polarizing politician on earth right now. While he does have a very enthusiastic base, a majority of Americans in almost every poll have an unfavorable opinion about him. So it’s not that the various attacks, scandals, allegations, and bad press he has faced ever since he has entered politics have not affected his ratings. They have. Remember that even on the day when he won the presidential election back in 2016, he was the most negatively seen winning presidential candidate in history.

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Trump Fundraising Surges, Outraising Biden by $25 Million, Even as Trial Limits His Campaigning

Donald Trump

Amid an ongoing criminal trial that has largely limited his ability to campaign in-person, former President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee managed to out-fundraise President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee by a hefty margin in April.

Collectively, Trump and the RNC raised $76 million last month, including $50.5 million raised at a single event in Florida. By contrast, President Joe Biden and the DNC managed to raise a combined $51 million over the same period.

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New York Court Strikes Down Order Banning Transgender Athletes

Long Island Roller Rebels

A judge has struck down a New York county’s ban on transgender athletes from participating in female sports, saying the county executive exceeded his authority by issuing the directive.

The ruling by state Supreme Court Judge Francis Ricigliano overturns an executive order signed by Nassau County Chief Executive Bruce Blakeman in February that requires any sports team seeking to use a county facility to provide information on “the biological sex at birth of the team members/participants.”

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Trump Civil Fraud Judge’s Talks with Attorney Under Investigation by Ethics Commission: Report

The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct is investigating an alleged interaction between a New York real estate lawyer and the judge who issued a $454 million judgement against former President Donald Trump, according to NBC New York.

Real estate lawyer Adam Leitman Bailey said he had a conversation with Judge Arthur Engoron a few weeks before the judge’s decision was due, NBC New York reported. Democratic Attorney General Letitia James of New York sued Trump in September 2022, alleging he overstated the value of real estate holdings in order to obtain loans.

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Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia Join Lawsuit Against the NCAA’s NIL Recruitment Ban Led by Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti

The attorneys general of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia have joined Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares’ lawsuit challenging the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) name, image, and likeness (NIL) recruitment ban.

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More Than 100 Colleges Cave Closed or Merged Over Last Eight Years

University of Saint Katherine

The University of Saint Katherine, a small nonprofit in North San Diego County, recently announced it will close May 18, citing “financial pressure due to unprecedented inflation and rising state-mandated labor costs.”

It’s not alone. Nationwide, universities face financial hardships that appear to be getting worse. More than 100 colleges and universities have closed or merged, or announced plans to, over the last eight years, according to a tracker updated this month by Higher Ed Dive.

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Inflation, COVID-Era Spending Policies Result in Teacher Layoffs Nationwide

Teacher instructing students in classroom

School districts across the country are laying off teachers, citing high inflationary costs, budget deficits, and federal COVID-era funding running out after receiving windfalls in federal subsidies for three years.

The federal COVID-era subsidies were funded through ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) grants administered by state education agencies. Financed through the CARES Act and supplemental appropriations, the grant funding expires Sept. 30.

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Commentary: VDARE’s Fight Against Letitia James Is Our Fight, Too

New York AG

For all its gesticulations about “free speech,” the conservative mainstream often plays a supporting role in America’s censorship regime. It’s a two-step dance: The Right styles itself as the sworn defender of free speech and the mortal enemy of censorship while simultaneously downplaying or outright ignoring brazen censorship of speech that ventures a bit too far outside the Overton window. By claiming to defend all free speech in principle but only defending some in practice, the Right concedes, by omission, that certain ideas fall outside the bounds of free expression — and that it’s perfectly appropriate (or, at least, not particularly objectionable) to bring the full force of regime power to bear against any individual so unwise as to express them.

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Redistricting Won’t Hurt GOP Chances at Keeping the House, Experts Say

US Capitol building

Changes in congressional district boundary lines across several states do not appear to have damaged Republicans’ chances of maintaining a majority in the House of Representatives after 2024’s elections, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana and New York have experienced redistricting processes ahead of the 2024 election. While experts had previously forecast adverse changes from redistricting in these states that could have cost GOP incumbents their seats, the processes have resulted, on balance, in races where likely losses of some GOP seats could be offset by the gains in other states, experts told the DCNF.

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Julie Kelly Commentary: Ties Between Judge Merchan’s ‘Child’ and Adam Schiff Represent Major Conflict in Hush Money Trial

Loren Merchan

At the end of 2019, Representative Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, was leading the first impeachment effort against President Donald Trump.

After months of making accusations and conducting Congressional inquiries related to Trump’s July 2019 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky—a conversation Democrats described as a “quid pro quo” attempting to trade military aid for an investigation into the Biden family’s corrupt business deals—Schiff and six other Democrats delivered articles of impeachment to the Senate in January 2020.

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Florida Sheriff Touts Giving Squatters a ‘One-Way Ride’ to Jail

Sheriff Grady Judd

A Florida sheriff on Monday boasted during a Fox News appearance about giving squatters a “one-way ride” to the local jail as concerns about squatting have grown nationwide.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida signed legislation to criminalize squatting on Wednesday after a high-profile incident in New York in which a woman who discovered squatters in her late mother’s luxury apartment was allegedly killed by them. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told “Fox and Friends” co-host Lawrence Jones that his deputies were already addressing the issue.

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