Category: The West

AIG Travel Guard Insurance Refuses to Reimburse Families Forced to Cancel Trips to Israel, Claims the Conflict Isn’t an ‘Act of Terror’

Rachel Alexander
Hathaway Family

At least two families were denied reimbursement by their travel insurance company when their trips to Israel were canceled due to the attacks by Hamas. AIG Travel Guard Insurance representatives told the would-be travelers that its policy didn’t cover war, or acts of war, only “acts of terror.” Arizona’s Family On Your Side (AFOYS) interviewed the families and aired coverage of a video showing that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken referred to the violence as a terrorist attack, specifically distinguishing it from war. However, AIG will not backtrack on what it told the families, even after AFOYS contacted the company.

Sheri Hathaway, who was denied reimbursement along with her husband and children, told The Arizona Sun Times that she would never use AIG again. They spent nearly $12,000, excluding airfare. “Hamas is a terrorist organization,” she said. “This happened as a terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas and clearly states in their policy that they do cover terrorist incidents, which this clearly was.”

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Arizona State Representative Kolodin, Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller File Bar Complaint Against Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre

Tom Pappert

Arizona State Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) and Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller filed an election-related bar complaint on Monday against Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre, alleging that he violated attorney client privilege when informing opposing attorneys of the county’s intention to hand-count some of its 2022 election ballots.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Kolodin said McIntyre committed “apparent violations” of attorney client privilege, calling it “his most sacred duty.” Kolodin added, “It is time for equal justice under the law.”

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Oil and Gas Workers’ Association Endorses Arizona’s Kari Lake Following Endorsements of Donald Trump, Abe Hamadeh

Tom Pappert
Kari Lake Arizona

Kari Lake secured the endorsement of the Oil and Gas Workers Association (OGWA) for her U.S. Senate bid on Tuesday, with the group highlighting her commitment to “American energy dominance” in a statement.

Lake revealed the endorsement in a post on X, formerly Twitter, writing that she was “honored” to receive the endorsement from the nonprofit trade association operated by oil and gas workers.

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Native American Nation Will Not Allow National Guard Troops Along Their Part of Border

The Center Square
Arizona National Guard

Even though Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs ordered National Guard troops to the southern border on Friday, not everyone in the region is on board.

The Tohono Oʼodham Nation, which is a Native American nation that touches parts of the southern border in the Tucson Sector, wrote in a letter that they do not want troops along their portion of the border.

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Tucker Carlson, Tulsi Gabbard, and Jonathan Isaac Conclude Last Major Day of TPUSA’s Third Annual AmericaFest

Rachel Alexander

Turning Point USA’s third annual AmericaFest ended its third full day on Monday, featuring speeches by Tucker Carlson, Democrat-turned-independent and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and NBA star Jonathan Isaac. Candace Owens was scheduled to speak, but due to giving birth to her third child, she submitted a short speech on video instead.

In her speech, Gabbard criticized “neocon” Nikki Haley, who has positioned herself in the Republican presidential primary race as a moderate. Gabbard lambasted the “Democratic elite” repeatedly.

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Before Arizona Gov. Hobbs Deployed National Guard, She Neutered Border Security Measures

Just the News

Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs on Friday deployed the National Guard to the southern border amid the unprecedented surge in illegal immigrant arrivals under the Biden administration.

She further pleaded with Washington to send further aid, admonishing the Biden administration for not responding to her request for $512 million to reimburse the state for border security expenses it had already incurred.

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Kari Lake, Steve Bannon, Vivek Ramaswamy, Rep. Matt Gaetz, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Headline Second Day of TPUSA’s Third Annual AmericaFest

Rachel Alexander

The second day of Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest featured several more prominent conservative speakers Sunday evening. Kari Lake, Steve Bannon, Vivek Ramaswamy, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01), and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-AL-14) riled the crowd up denouncing the Republican establishment and the far left. 

Greene began her talk by observing that “Joe Biden has been in office longer than I’ve been alive.” She said she is “constantly surrounded by people that serve the rest of the world and America last and it makes me so d*** angry every single day that I wrote a book about it.” She said, “They seem to forget that there’s 50 states of the United States of America; they think Ukraine is the 51st state.” 

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Charlie Kirk, Roseanne Barr, and Glenn Beck Headline Opening Night of TPUSA’s AmericaFest to Full Crowd of 13,000

Rachel Alexander
AmericaFest 2023

Turning Point USA’s third annual convention, AmericaFest, opened Friday night at the Phoenix Convention Center featuring headline speeches by founder Charlie Kirk, actress Roseanne Barr, and political commentator Glenn Beck. Kirk told the audience it was their largest conference yet, as well as the largest conservative grassroots multi-day conference ever in U.S. history, with 13,000 in attendance, completely filling the auditorium.

Kirk told attendees that the country is in the midst of a “top-down revolution” led by elites, a cultural revolution that is similar to Mao Tse Tung’s cultural revolution. Those at the conference are the “bottom-up resistance,” the grassroots response. 

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Jewish Arizona Democrat Doxxed with Flyers over Pro-Israel Views, State Party Silent

Tom Pappert
Alma Hernandez

Arizona State Representative Alma Hernandez (D-Tucson) reported being victim to a doxxing campaign on Thursday, posting evidence of masked individuals distributing anti-Israel flyers containing her personal address in her neighborhood.

The flyers cite Hernandez’s public opposition to a ceasefire between Palestine and Israel, and claimed she is “working to silence pro-Palestinian colleagues on a local and national level” before claiming Hernandez abuses “power in support of genocide.”

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State Rep. Alex Kolodin Sentenced to 18 Months Probation by Arizona Bar for Filing 2020 Election Lawsuits

Rachel Alexander
Alex Kolodin

The State Bar of Arizona has been aggressively pursuing disciplinary charges against attorneys who challenged alleged election irregularities and illegalities in 2020 and 2022. Proceedings against State Representative Alex Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) recently concluded with Kolodin accepting an agreement that would allow him to keep his law license, instead serving probation for 18 months.

The Arizona Bar charged Kolodin (pictured above) with several rules often used to disbar conservative attorneys. As part of the agreement, Kolodin admitted his actions violated Rule 42, ERs 3.1 and 8.4(d) of the Arizona Bar’s Rules of Professional Conduct. ER 3.1 prohibits attorneys from bringing “frivolous” lawsuits, and 8.4(d) prohibits attorneys from “engag[ing] in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.”

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Will Return to Arizona with Phoenix Rally for Independent Campaign

Tom Pappert
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will return to Arizona for a political rally in Phoenix as his supporters gather signatures to gain ballot access in 2024.

Kennedy Jr. will hold his “Voter Rally” at the Legends Event Center in Phoenix on December 20 from 4:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m., and the registration page on his campaign website includes a link to a video about the Kennedy campaign’s efforts to secure ballot access in all 50 states as an independent candidate.

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State Bar of Arizona Finds Probable Cause Against Kari Lake’s Three Election Attorneys, Gives Them Opportunity to Admit Guilt

Rachel Alexander

The State Bar of Arizona announced that it found probable cause to pursue disciplinary charges against three attorneys representing Kari Lake in her election-related cases. The attorneys are Bryan Blehm, Kurt Olsen, and Andrew Parker. The charges relate to election lawsuits the three filed for Lake. The Arizona Bar has increasingly come under criticism for targeting conservative attorneys.

Blehm, who is accused by the Arizona Bar of criticizing the Arizona Supreme Court for setting up a disinformation task force, told The Arizona Sun Times, “If the ethical rules can be interpreted such that lawyers must remain silent in the face of unconstitutional conduct by the very courts they serve then I question the validity of those ethical rules and/or the veracity of those interpreting them. We are duty bound as attorneys to defend the Constitution of the United States of America and that is the proper function of the courts. When the courts themselves violate the Constitution somebody must say something because there is nowhere left for the people to turn. When our courts fail us, we are no longer a constitutional republic.”

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Gallego Still Silent over Harvard President’s Antisemitism Controversy, Plagiarism Allegations Despite Pressure from Kari Lake, NRSC

Tom Pappert

Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03), who is running to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate, continues to hold his silence regarding Harvard University president Claudine Gay. The congressman’s campaign has not responded to multiple Arizona Sun Times press inquiries after Gay refused to clearly state in Congress that calling for the death of Jews violates the university’s code of conduct, and now faces at least three plagiarism accusations.

The Sun Times reported on Monday that Gallego’s campaign did not respond to a press inquiry seeking a comment about Gay’s controversial testimony. On Tuesday, the Gallego campaign did not respond to a second press inquiry from The Sun Times that asked about about Gay’s antisemitism scandal and the subsequent plagiarism allegations levied against her.

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Arizona Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on Dispute over the State’s Two Restrictive Abortion Laws

Rachel Alexander

The Arizona Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Tuesday in a case involving challenges to Arizona’s 1864 law that mostly banned abortion. The Arizona Legislature passed a law in 2022 banning abortions after 15 weeks, anticipating the U.S. Supreme Court reversing Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson. The reversal also revived the older law, which was initially passed when Arizona was still a territory. In October 2022, the Arizona Court of Appeals found that the two laws were in conflict, and placed an injunction on the older law from going into effect as to physicians, effectively allowing abortions to take place up to 15 weeks under the new law.

Since Attorney General Kris Mayes declined to pursue the case after the appeals court ruling, Dr. Eric Hazelrigg, an obstetrician and medical director of Choices Pregnancy Center in Arizona, filed a petition in March asking the state’s high court to review the ruling and the injunction, which it agreed to do. Former Attorney General Mark Brnovich had initially asked a court to reinstate the original pro-life law, which was blocked in 1973 due to Roe, but the trial court’s revival of the law was quickly reversed by the appeals court. 

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Former DHS Advisor Warns Local Politicians ‘Petrified’ to Call Out Biden Border Crisis, Gov. Hobbs Doing Too Little, Too Late

Tom Pappert

Former Department of Homeland Security advisor Charles Marino said on Tuesday that Governor Katie Hobbs (D) should have done more to address the migrant crisis prior to the federal government’s closure of the Lukeville Point of Entry.

Marino, a security expert who advised the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from 2009 until 2011, made the remarks to John Fredericks on the “Outside the Beltway” program on Real America’s Voice. Fredericks, who is the publisher of The Virginia Star and The Georgia Star News, asked Marino about Arizona’s response to the 17,000 illegal immigrants officials apprehended in Tucson over just one week.

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Arizona Secretary of State Allows Progressive Groups to Register Voters in Bulk Online, Then Scrubs the Groups’ Names from Its Website

Rachel Alexander

Progressive organizations are aggressively registering new voters online using special online access implemented under Democratic election officials. In Arizona, the program was launched during COVID-19 in 2020 and is open to groups that intend to register more than 1,000 voters. There was very little news coverage of the program launch other than a press release, and the names of the progressive organizations are no longer listed on the Arizona Secretary of State’s website.

Last year, the list of the progressive groups granted access under then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs was prominently displayed on the site including Chicanos por La Causa, Mi Familia Vota, Equality Arizona, Inspire 2 Vote, One Arizona, Rock the Vote, and The Civics Center. Additionally, three other organizations that nominally sound nonpartisan but lean to the left were the Arizona Student’s Association, the Phoenix Indian Center, and the Arizona Center for Disability Law.

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Think Tank Founder Drew Johnson Running for U.S. House in Nevada, Promises to Leverage Tennessee Experience to Pass ‘Pro Freedom’ Bills

Tom Pappert

Drew Johnson, who founded and served as the first president of the Beacon Center of Tennessee, formerly the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, told The Tennessee Star he intends to take his years of policy experience to Congress if he wins election to the U.S. House to represent Nevada’s 3rd Congressional district.

Johnson explained to The Star that he started Beacon Center when in his early twenties, and lived and operated from his personal vehicle for the think tank’s first few months of operation. He told The Star he saved American taxpayers around $60 billion and brought about 100 charter schools to Tennessee over his time in public policy.

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Sen. Tom Cotton Endorses Kari Lake, ‘The Fighter Arizona Needs’

Tom Pappert

Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) endorsed Kari Lake to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate on Monday, stating the former newswoman and gubernatorial candidate “will stand up to the Biden agenda and put Arizonans first” if elected.

Lake wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that she was grateful for Cotton’s endorsement, calling him “a conservative warrior in the Senate.” Lake wrote that she looks “forward to working with Senator Cotton to secure the border” in a future Republican Senate majority.

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Maricopa County GOP Passes Unanimous Resolution Calling for Impeachment of Arizona AG Kris Mayes Over Prosecution Lawfare, Hostility to Election Integrity

Rachel Alexander

The Maricopa County Republican Committee (MCRC) unanimously passed a resolution on December 5 calling on the Arizona House of Representatives to impeach Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes. The resolution cited Mayes’ record opposing election integrity, notably her prosecution of two Cochise County Supervisors over delaying the certification of the 2022 election for three days.

The MCRC executive board and all legislative district chairs voted for the resolution, which began, “WHEREAS, We, the Executive Guidance Committee of the Maricopa County Republican Committee, condemn Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ illegitimate political prosecution of the brave elected officials of Cochise County, Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby, for acting in accordance with their oath of office.” It accused Mayes of “abusing her prosecutorial powers as the Arizona Attorney General,” by engaging in “an act of political prosecution common in dictatorships or communist countries.”

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Texas, Florida Troopers Apprehend More Human Smugglers in Border Communities

The Center Square

Texas and Florida state troopers, as well as sheriff’s deputies, continue to apprehend human smugglers in the small border community of Brackettville, in Kinney County, Texas.

A Texas DPS trooper, assisted by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, recently conducted a traffic stop in Brackettville, which led to a human smuggling bust.

The stop occurred at night in a residential neighborhood when a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper and FHP trooper pulled over the driver of a Chevrolet Camaro.

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Trump Endorses Hamadeh in Heated Arizona Congressional Race

Admin

by Cameron Arcand   Former President Donald Trump endorsed former Republican Arizona Attorney General nominee Abe Hamadeh in the competitive primary race to replace Rep. Debbie Lesko. The endorsement is notable because former Senate nominee Blake Masters is also in the race, and he was also endorsed like Hamadeh was in their losing 2022 bids. In a post on Trump’s social media platform “Truth Social” explaining his decision to give his “Complete and Total Endorsement” to Hamadeh. “Abe Hamadeh is a veteran, a former prosecutor and fearless fighter for our elections,” Trump posted. “He will be a true WARRIOR in Congress, and always put America First!” “He knows that if the flame of freedom is extinguished, it may never come back again,” the former president added. The congressional candidate welcomed the endorsement. “Thank you Mr. President, I can’t wait to fight alongside you to restore the America we love,” Hamadeh posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. 🚨🚨BREAKING🚨🚨 Thank you Mr. President, I can’t wait to fight alongside you to restore the America we love. “President Donald Trump endorses Abe Hamadeh for Congress” pic.twitter.com/U9e0lVG53b — Abe Hamadeh (@AbrahamHamadeh) December 8, 2023 Hamadeh and Masters ran as a ticket with former gubernatorial…

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Gallego Silent After Harvard President Refuses to Condemn Antisemitism and Genocide, Despite Bragging About Attending in 2020

Tom Pappert

U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) is holding his silence following an Arizona Sun Times press inquiry on Sunday about the refusal of Harvard University President Claudine Gay to state whether calling for the genocide of Jewish people is considered a violation of the university’s code of conduct.

Gay refused to state whether calls to commit violence and genocide against the Jewish people violated the university’s code of conduct during a five-minute exchange with Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21). Gay repeatedly told Stefanik she finds such remarks and calls to action “personally abhorrent,” but said such language would receive First Amendment protections at Harvard.

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Arizona State House GOP Demands Biden Reopen Lukeville Port of Entry, Condemns ‘Complete Inaction, Neglect’ at Southern Border

Tom Pappert
illegal migrants

Every Republican member of the Arizona State House of Representatives signed a letter on Friday, urging President Joe Biden to reopen the Lukeville Port of Entry at the southern border. The Lukeville border crossing was closed on December 1 amid the unprecedented immigration crisis.

The lawmakers condemned the Lukeville closure as “just another failure in a long” and “disastrous record of mishandling the border crisis,” in a press release announcing their letter, and revealed that all 31 Republican members of the Arizona House signed the document before it was sent to the White House.

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Arizona GOP Legislative District Passes Resolution Urging State Legislature to Oversee the Presidential Election So It Can Add Election Integrity Measures

Rachel Alexander

Legislative District (LD) 3 Republicans passed a resolution unanimously on November 30 urging the Arizona Legislature to change the procedures governing the presidential election to allow the body to administer the 2024 general election directly instead of state government. The Republicans said they believe this would allow the legislature to implement additional election integrity measures such as one-day voting and hand-counted ballots. The Maricopa County Republican Committee (MCRC) previously called for the Arizona Republican Party to administer the presidential preference election on August 26.

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Arizona Sends Federal Government $512 Million Bill for Picking Up Border Slack

The Center Square

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is pushing the federal government to reassign National Guard troops and reimburse the state government for border-related expenses.

In a letter to President Joe Biden, Hobbs is requesting that the 243 National Guard troops already on federal orders in the Tucson Sector be redirected to helping with the Lukeville Port of Entry’s reopening.

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Trump Endorses ‘WARRIOR’ Abe Hamadeh for Congress

Just the News

Former President Donald Trump on Friday issued his endorsement to Republican congressional candidate Abe Hamadeh, handing the former Arizona Attorney General candidate a likely boost in a contested GOP primary that also includes former Arizona GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters.

“Abe Hamadeh is a veteran, a former prosecutor and fearless fighter for our elections. He will be a true WARRIOR in Congress, and always put America First! As everyone knows, Abe fought for our Country overseas, and knows that the American people are demanding the kind of bold leadership that ushered in peace and prosperity just three years ago,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

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TSMC Agrees to Use Arizona Workers to Build Phoenix Semiconductor Plant After Previously Claiming State Lacks Skilled Labor

Tom Pappert

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) reached an agreement with the Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council (AZBTC) on Wednesday, resolving a labor dispute that began when TSMC brought Taiwanese workers to complete the facility after claiming Arizona lacked the necessary skilled workforce.

An agreement struck between the parties after months of negotiations will see the number of Taiwanese professionals involved in building the TSMC semiconductor facility in Phoenix severely limited, with the union acceding that “circumstances may require” Taiwanese officials with “specialized experience,” according to a Bloomberg report citing a joint statement.

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Arizona Gov. Hobbs in Touch with DHS but Hasn’t Talked with Mayorkas in Months

The Center Square

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs recently communicated with leadership at the United States Department of Homeland Security, but conversations with Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have been more scant.

The federal government, as well as Arizona officials, have been under scrutiny after U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the closure of the Lukeville, Arizona, port of entry, which is making access to and from Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, extremely difficult. 

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Dutch Semiconductor Company ASM to Invest over $300 Million into Arizona

The Center Square

The semiconductor industry continues to make waves in Arizona.

ASM International, a Dutch semiconductor equipment company with offices in Phoenix, announced that they are investing over $320 million into a new campus in Scottsdale. They have had a presence in Phoenix since the 1970s, but they said this expansion will help with their overall growth. The transition to the Scottsdale facility is expected to be completed in 2026. The company didn’t have any estimates on new jobs in the facility.

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Retired Lawyer Files Ethics Complaints Against Maricopa County Judges Who Were on the Election Ballot Yet Ruled Against Election Challenges

Rachel Alexander

Retired attorney A.S. Martin, who has closely followed the election illegalities in Arizona, filed bar complaints against 12 Maricopa County Superior Court judges who ruled on election lawsuits in 2020 or 2022 despite being on the ballot themselves for retention elections. Martin said she believes this is a conflict of interest and self-dealing since the judges had an interest in upholding the election due to wanting to retain their seats. Usually, judges easily win retention elections, but this past year was different, since progressives targeted some of them, causing three judges to lose their elections.

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Three Metro Nashville Police Officers Remain on Administrative Assignment over Leak of Covenant Killer Manifesto: Report

Tom Pappert

Three Metro Nashville Police (MNPD) officers remain on administrative assignment as the agency investigates the leak of three photographs showing manifesto pages written by Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the Covenant School killer, which were published by conservative comedian and commentator Steven Crowder in November, according to a Tuesday report.

The police department confirmed three officers remain on administrative assignment to Fox 17, which reported that an additional four officers returned to their normal duties in mid-November. MNPD confirmed seven officers were placed on administrative assignment on November 7.

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Democratic Georgia State Senator Calls for Fulton County Sheriff to Resign for Jail ‘Crisis’

Tom Pappert

Georgia State Senator Joshua McLaurin (D-Sandy Springs) called for embattled Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat (D) to resign on Monday in response to the “crisis” at the Fulton County Jail.

McLaurin cited Labat’s recent controversies, which include allegations he used the jail’s Inmate Welfare Fund as a “slush fund” and questions about why medical bracelets purchased from a company tied to Georgia legislators were not being used at the facility, before calling for his resignation.

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Team Trump Declares Victory as Arizona Court Dismisses 14th Amendment Ballot Case

Just the News

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign on Tuesday celebrated a court victory in Arizona as a federal court in the state rejected an attempt to keep him off the ballot under the 14th Amendment.

“Today, federal court in Arizona dismissed another bad faith, 14th Amendment challenge to President Trump’s ballot status. President Trump remains undefeated in beating back these scurrilous lawsuits brought forth by a thirsty, Biden-allied troll in a desperate publicity campaign,” said campaign spokesman Steven Cheung. 

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Democrat Election Attorney Marc Elias Takes to Social Media to Launch Ad Hominem Attack Against Arizona Sun Times Reporter Rachel Alexander

Tom Pappert

Democrat election attorney Marc Elias launched an ad hominem attack against Arizona Sun Times reporter Rachel Alexander on X (formerly Twitter) Monday. Alexander has a well deserved reputation as one of the country’s leading reporters on election integrity and lawfare against conservative attorneys. Alexander’s reporting, and some of her subsequent comments on X, have drawn the ire of Elias, who has built a career out of partisan litigation against any election laws and regulations that do not benefit the Democrat Party or Democrat candidates.

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Trump’s Former Attorney John Eastman Files Closing Statement in Disbarment Trial, Cites ‘Orwellian’ Nature of California Bar’s Charges

Rachel Alexander

The disbarment trial of Donald Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar, John Eastman, ended November 3, with closing written arguments submitted last Friday. California Bar Disciplinary Judge Yvette Roland announced at the end of the trial that she found Eastman culpable, and will issue a written decision soon indicating whether she will fully disbar him or give a lesser punishment. Eastman is expected to appeal any negative decision.

The State Bar of California charged Eastman with violating his oath as an attorney to uphold the Constitution, by providing the Trump administration with options to handle the 2020 election illegalities that included a couple of scenarios where Vice President Mike Pence would delay or reject acceptance of the electoral slates from disputed states. 

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Arizona House Republicans Urge Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego Against ‘Relinquishing Local Control’ of Police With Federal Consent Decree

Tom Pappert
Mayor Kate Gallego

Arizona State Representative David Marshall (R-Snowflake) led a group of 20 Republican lawmakers in a letter urging Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego not to enter into a consent decree with the Department of Justice (DOJ), warning it would “turn control” of the Phoenix Police Department (PPD) “over to the federal government.”

Reports indicate Gallego is considering whether to sign a potential consent decree, even as Phoenix City Council signals its potential opposition, and the move is opposed by Phoenix law enforcement groups.

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Honest Elections Project Meets With State Legislators at ALEC’s Annual Convention in Scottsdale, Proposes Agenda Including Stopping Ranked Choice Voting

Rachel Alexander

The American Legislative Exchange Council held their national annual conference in Scottsdale last week, which included a pre-session for legislators with the Honest Elections Project (HEP). HEP is focusing on three issues relating to elections currently, and is proposing draft model legislation that legislators can introduce on a few issues. One is Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), which is gearing up to be a huge fight on the 2024 ballot in Arizona.

Three progressive groups are pushing RCV in Arizona. However, the Arizona Legislature has also referred a proposition to the ballot in 2024 that would stop RCV. HEP has extensively looked into how RCV works, and determined that it ends up putting far left Democrats into office, not moderates as some would expect. HEP’s fact sheet went over several races where it was used and showed how it facilitates this, undermining the Constitution’s principle of one person, one vote.

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Greatest Number of State Legislatures Pass School Choice Bills in 2023

The Center Square
Students and Teacher

Multiple legislatures across the country attempted to pass or passed some form of school choice legislation this year.

“Policymakers in 40 states debated 111 educational choice bills – 79 percent of which related to ESAs,” Robert Enlow, president and CEO of EdChoice, said when announcing the findings of a newly published EdChoice report, the “ABC’s of School Choice.”

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Nguyen Outlines Possible Legislation Tackling Free Speech Issues at Arizona Universities

The Center Square

Arizona State Rep. Quang Nguyen, R-Prescott Valley, told an audience in Scottsdale on Wednesday about what actions Republican lawmakers may take in the next session targeting public universities on free speech issues.

“We actually drafted quite a few things, including changes to ABOR – Arizona Board of Regents – to sort of make things a little tighter,” he said on a panel at the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council’s annual summit. 

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Commentary: Polling from the Frontlines of the Border Crisis

Admin
Illegal Immigrant Arrests

Arizona voters have had more than enough of Biden’s border radicalism, as revealed by our brand-new battleground state polling. 

Immigration abuses alarm Arizona residents who occupy the front lines of the Biden border disaster. In Arizona, law enforcement, local officials, and regular citizens must cope, every day, with the tangible reality of the safety and logistical nightmare created by Biden’s border recklessness. These hard-working citizens also deal most acutely with the lasting fallout of uncontrolled migration, especially regarding unaffordable housing and stagnant real wages. 

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TPUSA Journalists Charged with Assault in Maricopa County After Arizona State University Professor Seemed to Lunge Toward Them on Video

Tom Pappert
ASU-TPUSA Incident

Two Turning Point USA (TPUSA) journalists were indicted on Thursday in Maricopa County after an October encounter on the Arizona State University (ASU) campus with a professor who appeared to lunge at the journalists on video.

The Maricopa County indictment, filed at the University Lakes Justice Court, claims TPUSA reporter Kalen D’Almeida and cameraman Braden Ellis harassed, assaulted, and engaged in disorderly conduct during their October 11 confrontation with ASU faculty member David Boyles.

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‘Far-Left’ Maricopa County Judge ‘Predictably’ Refuses to Allow Kari Lake to Inspect Ballot Affidavit Envelopes

Rachel Alexander
Judge John Hannah

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah issued a ruling Wednesday denying Kari Lake’s special action that requested to inspect the ballot affidavit envelopes, or the electronic images of those envelopes, from Maricopa County’s 2022 general election. The recorder’s office denied Lake’s initial public records request for the affidavits because they contained voters’ signatures, so she sued the county. During the September trial, Hannah refused to allow most of Lake’s witnesses to testify or her exhibits into evidence.

Shelby Busch, the co-founder of We the People AZ Alliance, which has been investigating illegal election activities for the Lake campaign, told The Arizona Sun Times, “Judge Hannah’s decision was predictably bad. Denying Kari the ability to put forward witnesses, testimony or even a rebuttal to the County is further evidence that he is a far-left Judge trying to legislate from the bench. This is the people’s election and denying them the right to inspect public records is further confirmation that protecting the corrupt institution is their primary goal. Journalists everywhere should be outraged, this is a huge miscarriage to public transparency and accountability, but how many of them will step up?”

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State Senate Election Committee Chair Wendy Rogers Demands Election Logs from 2022 Election in Pinal County

Rachel Alexander

Concerned about allegations of wrongdoing and voter disenfranchisement in Pinal County’s 2022 election, State Senator Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff), chair of the Senate Election Committee, sent the county a public records request demanding printout logs from the election. She asked for the EL52S, EL30A, and EL45A reports/logs. 

“Given the importance of free, fair, and transparent elections and the public’s skepticism regarding the conduct of recent elections, I am seeking production of these documents on an expedited basis.” She gave the county a deadline of 10 days to produce the documents, warning, “Any deletion of said public documents can give rise to a negative inference in a court of law.”

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Arizona Freedom Caucus to Lead Charge Against ‘Extremist’ AG Kris Mayes After Indictment of Cochise County Supervisors

Tom Pappert
Kris Mayes

Arizona State Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) released a statement on Thursday revealing the Arizona Freedom Caucus plans to vigorously oppose Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes’ prosecutions of Cochise County election officials, and told The Arizona Sun Times he expects near-unanimous support in the state legislature.

Mayes’ office on Wednesday announced the indictments of Cochise County Supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd, who are both Republican, after they briefly delayed certifying the county’s 2022 midterm election while they investigated possible illegal activity. Mayes, who narrowly won election in 2022 by just 280 votes, claimed in a statement that Crosby and Judd were attempting to “to undermine” Arizona’s “democracy” with the short delay.

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Democratic Arizona AG Kris Mayes Gets Grand Jury to Indict Two Cochise County Supervisors With Felonies Over Delaying Certification of Election

Rachel Alexander
Arizona A.G. Kris Mayes

Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes, who narrowly won her election by only 280 votes, the closest statewide race in Arizona’s history, has convinced a grand jury to indict two Cochise County Supervisors for briefly delaying certification of the 2022 election in order to investigate the laws that were broken. Cochise County Supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd, both Republicans, also unsuccessfully attempted to conduct a hand count of the election. Mayes sued them over the delay last November. 

“The repeated attempts to undermine our democracy are unacceptable,” Mayes said in a press release. She said the indictment alleged that “on or between October 11, 2022, and December 1, 2022, Judd and Crosby conspired to delay the canvass of votes cast in Cochise County in the November 2022 General Election.” She said this also interfered with the Secretary of State’s statewide canvassing. 

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Arizona Ends Contract with Private Prison, Saying It Will Save $15 Million

The Center Square

The state of Arizona ended its contract with a company that operated a correctional facility in Marana.

Gov. Katie Hobbs praised the move of the Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation and Reentry, arguing that it will save roughly $15 million — $5 million in fiscal year 2024 and $10 million in fiscal year 2025, according to the news release.

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