(WALL STREET JOURNAL) -- Washington Post Chief Executive Officer William Lewis wanted the focus this past week to be on his plans to turn around the publication’s business. Instead, he is trying to quell a newsroom uproar.

Lewis is seeking to mend fences with staffers after a turbulent few days that included the abrupt departure of the publication’s top editor, a contentious town-hall meeting, and press reports suggesting he tried to quash stories that cast him in a negative light.

“I know trust has been lost because of scars from the past and the back-and-forth from this week,” Lewis wrote in a memo to employees Friday evening. “Let’s leave those behind and start presuming the best of intent.”

Read the full story ›

(JNS) -- The Associated Press released a report on Friday undercutting its own reporting of Hamas’s claim that more than two-thirds of the Palestinian casualties in Gaza have been women and children.

According to the AP’s new analysis of Hamas’s figures, the terror group’s “detailed reports” of casualty statistics reveal a much lower number of likely civilian casualties than Hamas claims.

“Among those fully identified, the records show a steady decline in the overall proportion of women and children who have been killed: from 64% in late October, to 62% as of early January, to 57% by the end of March, to 54% by the end of April,” the report says. “Yet throughout the war, the ministry has claimed that roughly two-thirds of the dead were women and children.”

Read the full story ›

Mark Levin

WATCH:

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The five women who excluded Caitlin Clark from the 2024 Olympics (upper left) are Seimone Augustus, Dawn Staley (center), Jennifer Rizzotti (upper right), Delisha Milton-Jones (lower left), and Bethany Donaphin (lower right).

By Jim Hoft
The Gateway Pundit

On Saturday, it was announced that women’s basketball sensation Caitlin Clark would not be included on the US Women’s Basketball team in the 2024 Olympics.

The greatest collegiate player in history, who broke nearly every men’s and women’s basketball scoring and assist records while at the University of Iowa, was excluded from the Olympic team.

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Pot-smoking Brittney Griner, who has only played in one game and scored 11 points this year, made the team.

OUTRAGEOUS: Caitlin Clark Makes More 3s in WNBA in 24′ than Anyone on Olympic Team, Yet Brittney Griner with 11 Points Total YTD Makes Team

41-year-old Diana Taurasi made the team again. She has already participated in FIVE Olympic Games.

NO CURRENT PLAYER selected for this on the Olympic team has scored more 3-pointers this year in the WNBA than Caitlin Clark.

And only one woman on the Olympic team has more assists than Clark this WNBA Season.

Caitlin Clark is also in the top 8 in scoring.

Caitlin Clark is beating most of the selected players in most categories.

And NO ONE can consistently fill arenas like Caitlin Clark at home and away.

Earlier today JoeHoft.com identified the five women behind this insane and outrageous decision!

REVEALED: Here Are the Five Women Who Made the Insane Decision to Keep Caitlin Clark Off of the 2024 Olympic Team – Was This a Racist Decision or Just Jealousy?

Caitlin Clark was asked about the Olympic Committee's decision and she showed nothing but class - as she always does.

This is just heartbreaking.

Clueless Reporter Chloe Peterson: Caitlin, what was your reaction when you saw the USA team yesterday, the roster come out?

Caitlin Clark: I think I'm excited for the girls that are on the team. I know it's the most competitive team in the world, and I know it could have gone either way. Me being on the team, me not being on the team. I'm excited for them. I'm going to be rooting them on to win gold. I was a kid that grew up watching the Olympics. So it'll be fun to watch them.

Chloe Peterson: What was your level of disappointment not hearing your name on the roster.

Caitlin Clark: Honestly, no disappointment. I think it just gives you something to work for. That's a dream. Hopefully, one day I can be there. I think it's just a little more motivation. You remember that. And hopefully in four years, when four years comes back around, I can be there.

Hat Tip Catturd2

When it comes to not making the Olympic team, Caitlin Clark has nothing but praise for the 12 who made it: “it’s the toughest team to make.”

Clip: pic.twitter.com/LX59YA5Bzf

— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) June 9, 2024

Caitlin didn't deserve this. Americans don't deserve this.

This article originally appeared on The Gateway Pundit.com.

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By Will Kessler
Daily Caller News Foundation

Native-born American workers are taking a beating in the job market from gains by foreign-born workers, according to the data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday.

The number of foreign-born workers employed in the U.S. rose by 637,000 in the last year to nearly 30.9 million, while the number of employed native-born Americans has declined by 299,000, according to the BLS. As a consequence of foreign-born workers taking up job gains, the number of American-born workers with jobs is still below the number counted in July 2019.

Illegal immigration has surged under President Joe Biden following the administration’s relaxation of enforcement at the southern border, which has recently prompted the president to scramble to stem the flow by signing an executive order that he claims will limit the number of asylum seekers allowed in the country.

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The growth in foreign populations working in the U.S. under Biden, many of whom entered the country as the result of illegal immigration, has helped boost overall growth numbers and make the economy appear in better shape, despite native-born workers not seeing those benefits. The recent action by the Biden administration to stem the flow could depress topline job gains if it is successful.

The foreign-born population in the U.S. has surged 6.6 million since Biden took office in January 2021, with an estimated 58% being due to illegal immigration, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. The BLS does not specify the immigration status of workers it is documenting, but it does include illegal immigrants in its estimates for foreign-born workers.

All of the net job growth over the last year has gone to foreign-born workers, (a category which the Labor Dept. admits includes illegal aliens) while native-born Americans have lost a net 300k jobs: pic.twitter.com/00JM18A8Uf

— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) June 7, 2024

Despite the lack of growth in native-born employment levels, the total number of people employed rose by 2.4 million in May compared to February 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of Americans holding jobs declined by 408,000 from April to May, according to the BLS.

“While today’s jobs report posted another impressive number of jobs created, unfortunately, the Biden administration record is weaker than the numbers would imply,” Michael Faulkender, chief economist at the America First Policy Institute, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Over the last three years, wages have not kept up with inflation, there’s been significant growth in part-time work, and most of the new job creation has gone to foreign-born workers. The American people deserve an economy that puts them first rather than the government centralizing evermore authority.”

The total number of people employed is in contrast to the 272,000 nonfarm jobs that were added in May, of which people could hold multiple, far higher than economists’ expectations of 190,000. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.0% in the month, the highest rate since January 2022.

The above-trend job growth was made up largely of part-time positions, with the number of people working jobs for less than 35 hours a week climbing 286,000, while the number of people holding full-time jobs declined 625,000 month-over-month.

The White House did not respond to a request to comment from the DCNF.

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(FOX NEWS) -- Vice President Harris mourned the Palestinians who were killed in a successful Israeli hostage rescue operation this weekend during an address delivered Saturday.

The Israeli operation retrieved four hostages who were taken into Gaza by Hamas on Oct. 7. Harris, speaking before the Michigan Democratic Party, celebrated their retrieval but spent more time lamenting the deaths of Palestinians killed in the operation, many of whom Israel has described as terrorists.

"Before I begin, I just say a few words about the morning which I know weighs heavily on all of our hearts," she said.

Read the full story ›

A 7-foot hoodwinker sunfish washed up in Gearhart Beach, Oregon, on Monday, June 3, 2024. (Tiffany Boothe/Seaside Aquarium)

(FOX WEATHER) -- SEASIDE, Oregon – A massive ocean oddity that washed up on a northern Oregon beach this week turned out to be a recently discovered species of sunfish, according to the local aquarium.

According to the Seaside Aquarium, a 7.3-foot sunfish was found on Gearhart Beach, north of Seaside, Oregon, on June 3.

"Initially, this large, strange looking fish was creating quite a stir on social media and though it was stormy, folks were flocking to the beach to see this unusual fish," the aquarium said on Facebook.

Read the full story ›

Children at the Muslim American Society Islamic Center in Philadelphia at "Ummah Day" event April 17, 2019.

Muslims in America are "on the road" to running the government of the United States. At least, that was the clarion message of Osama Siblani, editor and publisher of the Arab American News, speaking at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan, last month.

Siblani's comments can be seen in a video posted to X by the Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI:

Osama Siblani, Arab Community Leader in Dearborn, Michigan: 40 Years Ago, the Mayor of Dearborn Warned of the City’s “Arab Problem,” Now We Rule the City, and We Are on Our Way to the White House; the Best Is Yet to Come pic.twitter.com/M68r5hL2vL

— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) May 16, 2024

"We have the best that we can offer to the United States of America," Siblani said. "Not only in Michigan, but across the country. And we offered our best. The best is yet to come. I can be very confident to tell you that we are on the road to the White House, to Congress, to the decision-making everywhere in the United States!"

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Siblani added, triumphantly: "Forty years ago, we had a mayor for this town who talked about 'the Arab problem.' Guess what? The Arabs are [now] ruling Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Hamtramck! So, brothers and sisters, we are on the road!" he concluded.

WND spoke to one person aspiring to the halls of Congress, but who is the diametric opposite of a Muslim radical, about the prospect of Islamic influence in the U.S. government expanding dramatically. Jerrod Sessler, candidate for the Republican seat in central Washington's 4th congressional district, is a Christian and decorated military veteran endorsed by President Donald Trump, Gen. Michael Flynn and the House Freedom Caucus.

Commenting generally on the world's religions, Sessler told WND, "There’s almost always an underlying tension between good and evil." And as Muslims continue to run for office in America, he said, "the tension here is between Christianity and Islam."

President Donald Trump and Jerrod Sessler

"A violent radicalism is evident within Islam – often referred to as Sharia law – but the population, at the leading of mass media, generally separates them from the average mosque attendee," Sessler explained. Yet, he contends, "Muslims cannot run from the radical faction within their faith, and there is no violent counterpart within Christianity."

Sessler acknowledges that there are non-violent Muslims living in America and around the world. Yet, he tells WND, "they do not have freedom to speak against the radical faction within Islam without drawing the ire of those very radicals."

Referring to his own Christian faith, Sessler shares unapologetically: "The God of the Bible offers grace through His Son Jesus' sacrifice." He adds, "We generally ignore the unhinged parts of Islam, but that only highlights the fact that it is wildly different than the grace afforded by God’s Son Jesus who offers redemption and full forgiveness through His sacrifice." Notes Sessler, starkly: "These two faith options could not be further apart."

Considering the God-given natural rights codified in the Constitution, Sessler suggests that "Americans should see statements about Islamic rule as a threat to freedom."

While he wishes to avoid expressing any negative sentiment towards any particular Muslim, Sessler concedes that their beliefs are essentially incompatible with the Judeo-Christian beliefs and values upon which America was founded. For him, "Islam is the underlying threat to our way of life in America." The idea that an Islamist would seek political office in the U.S. is a peculiar one, he argues, as "[he or she] can't actually fulfill the oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution."

Jerrod Sessler

For this, Sessler notes ironically, "I applaud them because many are doing the impossible." But on the other hand, he tells WND, "The people who elect them are either ignorant or motivated by something that may not be good for Americans."

"Think of how extreme it would be to give the majority of control in Congress to Islamic-leaning people. Would they preserve and protect the Constitution, or would they dismantle it and install something that aligns with the radical faction [and] with their belief system?"

Sessler is not surprised by the push for Islamists in the U.S. government. "They want to see their team win as much as Christians, but if we allow them that opportunity, then we will eventually lose the fundamentals of what it means to be a free American. Just imagine living in a situation where you cannot criticize your elected leaders for their poor or corrupt choices."

According to Sessler, "America is a Christian nation, so we should be able to handle some influx of migration from Islamic folks, but we also hope that they see Christians are actually working to show them a better way of living, believing and existing together."

The GOP congressional candidate ended with this warning: "Weak faith, distractions and social pressure to accept people, even those that threaten us, all contribute to the unsafe America that we find ourselves living in today."

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1st Lt. Amber English of Colorado Springs, Colorado, set an Olympic record in women's skeet shooting to win a gold medal at the Olympics in Tokyo on July 26, 2021. (U.S. Army photo)

By Owen Klinsky
Daily Caller News Foundation

More than three thousand Olympians are expected to bring portable air-conditioning units to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this summer, derailing France’s efforts to go green by not providing AC in the Athletes’ Village, the Washington Post reported.

The International Olympic Committee’s decision to substitute air-conditioning for a less reliable but more environmentally friendly geothermal cooling system is central to their strategy to cut the carbon footprint of the Paris Games by half, Reuters reported. However, many visiting nations, concerned lack of AC will result in reduced sleep and poor athletic performance, are opting to import portable AC units, according to the Washington Post.

‘Should We Do That Before or After We Get Rid of Fossil Fuels?’ @SenJohnKennedy Confronts Olympic Skier Over Tweets Calling To ‘Abolish the Police’. pic.twitter.com/0U9jqgpKDQ

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 20, 2024

“We will bring them. And we will take them back to Greece,” Alexandra Palli, president of the Greek Olympic committee for environmental sustainability, told the Washington Post when referencing Greece’s plans to provide portable air conditioning to their athletes. “They need support. Because what they do is very difficult anyway.”

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While the scale of portable-AC-adoption is unclear, a survey from the Washington Post found that all eight nations who replied out of the 20 surveyed planned to use AC in some capacity. Those nations include the majority of the G7, specifically the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Germany, and Italy.

The high cost of portable units could mean they are inaccessible to poorer countries.

“We don’t have deep pockets,” said Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) president Donald Rukare, before citing a prior international sports competition in which the UOC was unable to provide their athletes with portable units “because we didn’t have the money.”

Ultimately this disparity raises questions over Olympic fairness as air conditioning is seen as crucial to athletic performance, particularly in sports like fencing where an athlete’s equipment can rust or be damaged by humid conditions, The Washington Post reported.

The 2024 Summer Olympics begin July 26 and are expected to attract 15 million tourists to the French capital.

The IOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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By Will Kessler
Daily Caller News Foundation

The Biden administration has pushed for easier home financing for higher-risk borrowers amid surging housing costs, increasing the risk of a wave of defaults, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The government-sponsored corporations Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, regulated by the Federal Home Financing Administration (FHFA), have taken a number of steps to increase financing opportunities for higher-risk borrowers under the Biden administration, including subsidizing higher-risk borrowing by hiking rates on lower-risk borrowers. Many of these actions have led to Americans taking on an increasingly large amount of debt while lending facilitated by government entities has grown in size, creating a growing possibility that a wave of foreclosures and defaults could create a shock in the housing system, according to experts who spoke to the DCNF.

“The new Fannie and Freddie mortgage pricing directive raised rates on low-risk borrowers and reduced them on high-risk borrowers,” Jason Sorens, senior research fellow at the American Institute of Economic Research, told the DCNF. “This is not really a free market to begin with, but the risk here is creating something like the subprime crisis, where high-risk borrowers are encouraged to take on debt they can’t repay. Again, this has the potential to hit the bottom line for Fannie and Freddie.”

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The guidance from the FHFA to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to essentially subsidize higher-risk borrowers took effect in May 2023, according to the Congressional Research Service. For example, under the new guidance, those with credit scores between 640 and 659 who put down a down payment between 15% and 20% would have a fee rate charged of 2.250% instead of 2.750%, while borrowers with a credit score between 760 and 779 with the same down payment would have their added rate hiked to 0.625% instead of 0.250%.

Rising housing costs have also led the entities to raise how much housing debt Americans can take on through the government entities, with the FHFA announcing near the end of 2023 that it was raising the mortgage limit for single-family homes to nearly $1.15 million in some areas, compared to the standard limit of $766,550, allowing Americans to take out even larger government-facilitated loans.

To fund its rising expenses and facilitate more loans to lower-income and higher-risk borrowers, the FHFA has proposed a new rule that would allow the government entities to purchase second mortgages.

“But the reality is that you have to look at Fannie, Freddie and FHA as one big entity, its government mortgage: it’s all run by the government, and as a single entity, it’s tilting towards higher-risk loans and higher debt ratios.” Edward Pinto, senior fellow and co-director of the American Enterprise Institute’s Housing Center, told the DCNF. “So you may be able to handle that debt ratio for a period of time. It’s when economic stress increases that you find out; as Warren Buffett said, ‘It’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who’s been swimming naked.’ It’s not until the economic stress increases that you find out who’s over their skis in debt.”

Total debt reached an all-time high for Americans in the first quarter of 2024, with consumers holding a collective $17.69 trillion. Around $190 billion of the increase in the first quarter was in mortgage debt.

Following the 2008 financial crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau set standards for private lending so that mortgages could not exceed 43% of a borrower’s income. The FHA, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae often try to meet these standards but are not required to due to their relationship with the government, meaning the entities can give riskier loans.

The Biden administration also issued a rule in 2023 seeking to prevent “racial bias” in home valuations, arguing that societal prejudice was effectively leading minorities’ properties to be valued less than their white counterparts. As a result, the price of some homes owned by minorities might be being boosted, with the left-leaning Brookings Institute findingthat the vast majority of homes in majority-black neighborhoods are already appraised at or above their contract price.

Since 2008, the Federal Reserve has also been buying mortgage-backed securities from government housing finance institutions, totaling over $2.3 trillion as of June 5, providing extra liquidity sponsored by the government to the industry.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were bailed out and placed in a conservatorship under the federal government after the 2008 financial crisis, where they played a key role in funding the housing bubble by buying up risky loans. As the risky loans began to inevitably default, the institutions took huge losses on the valuation of their assets, triggering the collapse of the housing market.

Full-Time Jobs Vanish While Americans Race To Take Up Part-Time Work

great piece from @willkessler12 https://t.co/0D9nn9DfHM via @dailycaller

— Rob (@RobMcGravytrain) June 7, 2024

Pinto argues that while there is less tension in the housing system compared to 2008, an increase in the unemployment rate to around 6% from its current rate of 4% would leave enough Americans without a way to pay their debts that it could trigger a wave of defaults due to the increased number of risky loans. Stress in the system could be building in part due to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) increasing the time frame in 2023 that mortgage holders can modify their payments, kicking the issue down the road.

“You can only do that so many times before you run out of the ability to do that and you spread that cost over everybody that has a mortgage so that those with good credits are paying for the risk of the poor credits, and what the federal government is doing through FHA, Fannie and Freddie is basically trying to eliminate risk,” Pinto told the DCNF. “You can’t have the housing finance system without foreclosure. Get the federal government through these forbearance programs, which are, in effect, eliminating the ability to foreclose.”

The cost of homes has increased rapidly under Biden amid high inflation, reaching an all-time high in March and rising 6.5% in just the last year. The average 30-year mortgage rate is also currently around 7% as of June 6, rising from under 3% when Biden first took office.

“The most dangerous FHFA proposal is a rule that would enshrine a ‘tenants’ bill of rights’ capping rents as a share of household income, providing free legal representation to tenants, and more, on any property financed by a Fannie or Freddie-backed mortgage,” Sorens told the DCNF. “This rule has not been finalized yet. If it were to go into effect, it would impose nationwide rent control on a large percentage of the multifamily market, which research has overwhelmingly shown will shrink the supply of rental housing and drive up rents for most tenants.”

The Biden administration has so far not announced concrete plans to cap rents, despite reports from the media citing unnamed administration officials in March saying that a plan to prohibit hikes of more than 10% a year on certain government-subsidized units was set to be released. The FHFA was charged at the behest of the Biden administration in January 2023 to examine putting “protections and limits on egregious rent increases for future investments.”

“It will also have the perverse consequence of driving business away from Fannie and Freddie and driving down the value of existing properties with government-insured mortgages,” Sorens told the DCNF. “As a result, the government mortgage guarantors could lose a lot of money. One major New York mortgage lender (NYCB) has already suffered credit downgrades and an investor bailout as a result of the tightening of rent control there.”

The White House did not respond to a request to comment from the DCNF.

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By Rebeka Zeljko
Daily Caller News Foundation

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s decision to run as an independent could set him up as a spoiler candidate for the state’s Democratic nominee, making the race for the Garden State’s senate seat considerably closer than it would otherwise be.

Menendez has held the senate seat as a Democrat since 2006, but recently filed to run as an independent during his ongoing federal corruption trial. Menendez’s candidacy as an independent has complicated matters for Democratic nominee Andy Kim and tightened the race for a seat that has remained blue for over 50 years.

“Absolutely Menendez could act as a spoiler,” Mike Duhaime, former chief strategist for Chris Christie’s gubernatorial campaign, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “He was a trailblazer for Hispanic politicians for decades, and he has a loyal following in his base of Hudson County where Kim would rely on a massive margin. Menendez would cut into that.”

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In a two-way race, Kim leads Republican nominee Curtis Bashaw by nine points, polling at 48% with Bashaw’s at 39%, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson University poll from April. With Menendez included, Kim only leads by five points, polling at 44% compared to 39% for Bashaw. Menendez draws about 6% of the voters “who would otherwise go to Kim.”

Sen. Bob Menendez, I-N.J.

In a three-way race against a hypothetical Republican and Democratic nominee, Menendez polls at only 9% as an independent candidate, according to an Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill poll from March. Across New Jersey voters, 49% would support the Democratic nominee and 42% would support the Republican.

“With Joe Biden’s dismal approval ratings and Democrats in complete disarray, this is the best shot Republicans have to win a New Jersey U.S. Senate seat in a generation,” Jeanette Hoffman, a spokeswoman for Curtis Bashaw’s senate campaign, told the DCNF. “Polls show voters are tired of decades of corruption and machine politics served up by the New Jersey Democrats.”

Kim won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday by a landslide with 75% of the vote. Bashaw won the Republican nomination with 45% of the vote against a Trump-endorsed candidate, Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, who got 38%.

Menendez’s approval rating has heavily been impacted by the recent indictments. In April 2022, Menendez polled with 44% favorability and 39% unfavorability across New Jersey voters, according to a Monmouth University poll. Following the indictments in 2023, his approval rating dropped into the negative with a 45% disapproval rate and a 36% approval rate. Among voters, 75% say he is probably guilty, and 63% say he should resign.

The New Jersey Senate seat has been held by Democrats since 1972, but polling indicates it may be within striking distance for the GOP. Past Republican victories in New Jersey have been won by slim margins, sometimes because of a spoiler candidate.

In 2009, former Republican Gov. Chris Christie won the New Jersey gubernatorial race with less than 50% of the vote because of an independent spoiler candidate.

“Republicans have won six gubernatorial races here since 1981, Christie most recently in 2009 and 2013,” Duhaime told DCNF. “In four of those six, republicans won with less than 50%. Christie won in 2009 even though there was an independent Republican in the race. So when independents are serious, Republicans tend to play it a little better and can win with under 50%.”

“We’re keeping a close eye on New Jersey,” Mike Berg, communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told DCNF.

Rep. Andy Kim and Sen. Bob Menendez’s campaigns did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

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A huge fight has developed over access to the actual audio tapes made by special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Joe Biden for taking and keeping classified government documents and concluded he likely did it.

But then Hur said he wasn't recommending a criminal charge against Biden because of his "diminished" capacity.

The result gave Republicans new ammunition in their argument that Biden is incompetent to be president, while Democrats raged at the revelation, including White House staff members who tried to get Hur to change his report.

He didn't, explaining he needed to include the reasoning for not recommending a criminal case.

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While printed transcripts of Biden's interview with Hur have been released, the actual audio tapes have not, even though that's been requested. Biden is claiming executive privilege and Department of Justice officials say such a move could discourage others from participating in DOJ interviews.

But government watchdog Judicial Watch has unleashed a bombshell report, that the transcripts are not identical to the spoken word of the tape recordings.

The watchdog group cited the White House's own admission of the differences.

They may be considered insignificant by some, such as "missing 'filler words (such as 'um' or 'uh')' and words that 'may have been repeated when spoken (such as 'I, I' or 'and, and')'…"

The report noted that the DOJ also is claiming that "AI" could be "used to alter Biden's words" so the material should be kept secret.

A court filing by the DOJ claims the transcripts "accurately capture" the spoken words, but even so, they are not identical. The filing claimed the "differences" are not substantive.

Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch chief, pointedly added, "Wow. Judicial Watch’s FOIA lawsuit forced the Biden team to admit what everyone suspected – that the transcript is not accurate and was changed in a way to help Biden.

"There is nothing ordinary about this, and the transcript inaccuracy issues seem to help Biden’s political campaign needs. We today initiated a new FOIA request on this Biden’s Nixonian tape scandal."

The DOJ has been the subject of Freedom of Information Act cases over access to the audio recordings, which it has promised it will keep secret.

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[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.]

By James Varney
Real Clear Wire

Like-minded members of Congress have created hundreds of caucuses to help them work on specific issues – including the Arthritis Caucus, the Freedom Caucus, the U.S.-Japan Caucus, the Special Operations Forces, and the Bipartisan Candy Caucus.

But two of them – the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus – stand out for the unparalleled fundraising they do through independent but closely aligned nonprofit arms. Filled with current members of Congress and representatives from some of America’s largest corporations, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute operate outside of normal campaign finance laws to raise millions of dollars each year.

Websites and tax returns for the two nonprofits say they are designed to provide scholarships and opportunities to minority students and promising businesses. But records show they spend a much smaller percentage of their revenue on those programs than they do on salaries, fundraising, and hosting conferences.

“What you have is a very cozy relationship that complies with the law, yet it’s elected officials and corporations working together and there’s lots of money involved,” said Joe Postell, a professor of politics at Hillsdale College. “It claims to be philanthropic but it’s obvious it’s just another avenue for special interest money.”

And it’s a lot of money.

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation raked in more than $45 million between 2020 and 2022, the last full year for which figures are available, and that includes the down year in which the COVID pandemic shutdowns crippled the U.S. economy. During that stretch, Foundation revenues increased nearly 89%.

But only a fraction of that appears to be spent on the programs it trumpets. For example, in 2022, the foundation brought in $18.4 million, and of that total, it spent more than $16 million, or 86%, on staff salaries and benefits, management fees, fundraising, and conferences, records show. Its fundraising cost in 2022 – $5.4 million – was more than double the $2.5 million it reported spending on scholarships.

In April, the foundation received a $4 million donation that it says is earmarked for college scholarships.

Still, that amount is less than the foundation spends on salaries. In the COVID year of 2020, when fundraising reached $9.8 million, the foundation spent nearly $3 million on compensation and benefits for staff and just $525,000 on scholarships, according to tax returns. In 2022, it spent close to $5 million on salaries, records show.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute also raises large sums. Between 2020 and 2022,  it took in $30.5 million, tax records show, in many cases from the same Fortune 500 players that give to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

Of its $12.5 million raised in 2022, the institute spent $7 million, or 56% of its revenue, paying staffers, holding an annual conference, and for travel, records show. The $4.4 million the institute paid its staff that year was more than it spent on fellowships and interns combined.

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute aren’t the only nonprofits linked to congressional caucuses, but others, like the Republican Main Street Partnership which raised less than $2 million in 2022, are nowhere near as big financially.

Both groups say their nonprofits are completely separate entities from their namesake caucuses. However, eight House Democrats serve on the board of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation – which is chaired by Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama. Four House Democrats and one Democratic Senator, Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, serve on the board of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. The advisory council for the institute includes an additional 38 officeholders – including one Republican delegate to the House, Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon of Puerto Rico, and three Democratic senators, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and Alex Padilla of California.

RealClearInvestigations reached out to all the lawmakers serving on the boards of the foundation and the institute, but only one of them responded to the request for comment.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York, who is deputy chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and chair of the institute, said the organization has a proud history and that it provides real opportunities for young Hispanics.

"Latinos are 65 million strong in the United States. Our mission at CHCI is to ensure they are empowered and informed," he said. "Our work lays the foundation for academic and educational achievement for our youth through programs like the congressional fellowship that provides young people the opportunity to gain invaluable experience interning in Congress and setting the foundation for careers in public service and beyond."

Those elected leaders serve on boards filled with executives from some of the nation’s biggest companies. The foundation’s board of directors includes executives with Walgreens, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and Fidelity Investments. Its corporate advisory council has featured executives with Altria, Lyft, Amazon, Bank of America, and the Daschle Group. The foundation’s Vice Chair, Chaka Burgess, is president and C.E.O. of a D.C. lobbying firm, Nation Strategies.

The institute’s board includes figures from Altria, the American Federation of Teachers, TikTok, and Walmart. Its Vice Chair, Leo Muñoz, is the Executive Director of Federal Governmental Affairs for Comcast Corporation.

Many of these companies – most of which have a keen interest in laws and regulations coming out of Washington – also provide substantial funding to the nonprofits. Amazon and Truist Financial Corporation both gave between $1 million and $4 million to the foundation in 2022, according to the nonprofit’s annual report.

The report also says that Meta (Facebook), Johnson & Johnson, and State Farm Insurance each contributed between $300,000 and $500,000 to the foundation in 2022 and Airbnb, Bank of America, and Google, gave between $100,000 and $299,999. Altria, Dell, and Microsoft are among the dozens of companies listed as having given smaller sums.

It’s unclear how much many of those same companies and others donate to the institute because it does not publicize the amounts donors must give to belong to various “circles.” In 2020, however, the minimum donation to join the institute’s “1978 Circle,” the lowest rung, was $50,000.

RCI reached out to more than a dozen companies that contribute millions to the nonprofits. None of them responded to a request for comment.

Almost all elected officials receive money from and meet with representatives of interest groups. But, critics say, the foundation and institute break down the often-shaky wall separating legislators from outside interests by specifically bringing these parties together in a common endeavor.

“Both of these caucuses are heavily skewed toward liberal lawmakers who bemoan corporate greed and ‘dark money’ in politics, but a cursory look shows how closely tied they really are,” said Adam Andrzejewski, the CEO and founder of OpenTheBooks, a group that seeks sunlight on government spending.

“This mutual backscratching is no doubt standard Beltway fare, but it is routinely met with outrage from lawmakers in these caucuses,” he told RCI. “Despite their rhetoric, it’s obvious both caucuses have nonprofit partners that routinely tap wealthy corporations for their own private interests.”

The nonprofits offer other avenues of access to powerful officials. The foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference in September, for instance, draws business executives, entertainment icons, and elected officials to the capital.

For days, Washington D.C.’s convention center is a maze of exhibits, sponsored by not only emerging African American companies but also the biggest names in tech, finance, insurance, and more. Last year, both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris attended the main dinner, and the opening seminar featured Sean “P Diddy” Combs speaking about black entrepreneurship as well as hip-hop. The keynote speech was delivered by Kristen Clark, the head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

Beyond its marquee names, organizers of the annual conference boast of the opportunities it provides for face time with elected officials and top appointed figures in Washington’s sprawling and powerful bureaucracy who make legislative and regulatory decisions that impact markets and competition.

“There’s no other opportunity in the country for constituents to have this kind of front-facing, direct contact with elected officials,” CBCF president and CEO Nicole Austin-Hillery boasted to MSNBC last year.

But that’s far from the only event the foundation holds, suggesting there are other opportunities for black lawmakers to mingle with donor companies. Next month, a branch of the foundation will hold a conference in Atlanta and then a scholarship tournament at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort in Maryland.

Putting on such spectacles isn’t cheap. The foundation spent more than $1.1 million putting on the 2022 annual conference, according to tax records.

The millions flowing to these nonprofits come from the Fortune 500, Big Tech, Big Pharma, emerging Internet businesses, white shoe law firms, unions, and other nonprofits. The foundation and institute were separated from the caucuses in 1976 and 1978 respectively, to comply with campaign finance regulations.

Yet hardly anyone – from the lawmakers and the corporations that bankroll their nonprofits; from the nonprofit groups themselves to the political advocacy groups that complain the loudest about money’s corrupting influence in American politics - wants to talk about it.

RCI also reached out repeatedly to both the foundation and the institute, asking to speak with officials there about the organization’s history, work, and fundraising. They did not respond.

Political advocacy groups, largely on the left, that bang the loudest drums over money’s potentially corrupting influence, also proved unwilling to comment on this nonprofit arrangement by which congress members and corporations are entwined.

People for the American Way, the Campaign Legal Center, and the Brennan Center for Justice did not respond to questions from RCI. The foundation’s current chief executive, Nicole Austin-Hillery, came to the foundation from the Brennan Center.

Not all those groups have always been so reticent to address the issue. When The New York Times looked at the foundation’s extraordinary fundraising among corporations in 2010, the Campaign Legal Center’s then-policy director offered a blistering take.

“The claim that this is a truly philanthropic motive is bogus; it’s beyond credulity,” Meredith McGehee said. “Members of Congress should not be allowed to have these links. They provide another pocket, and a very deep pocket, for special-interest money that is intended to benefit and influence officeholders.”

McGehee is now with Issue One, another group concerned about the influence of money in federal lawmaking and regulation, and Issue One views the setup with a jaundiced eye.

“Special interests look for every available avenue to gain access and influence with members of Congress, including contributions to nonprofits affiliated with lawmakers like the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies,” Issue One research director Michael Beckel told RCI. “Giving to these types of nonprofits allows deep-pocketed special interests to curry favor with members of Congress. Such contributions are yet another arrow in the quiver of the influence operations of special interest groups, along with traditional campaign contributions, lobbying expenditures, and bankrolling political ads.”

In some cases, corporations with an interest in specific issues are bankrolling people placed in the nonprofits. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation gave the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation between $300,000 and $500,000 in 2022, tax records show. Scotts, the fertilizer giant, sponsors two foundation fellows who are focused on “marijuana legislation.”

Scotts also did not respond to a request for comment. But the company has made its interest in marijuana legalization clear. While Scotts is currently prohibited from selling cannabis to consumers, it did invest $150 million in RIV Capital, a “leading cannabis consumer packaged goods platform.”

Such close cooperation between the caucus and big business can smack of crony capitalism, according to Postell.

“Even if you don’t have a smoking gun, of course, but you can see the money going into the caucus’ nonprofits and then see favorable legislation coming out,” he said. “Anybody would be concerned about that.”

Companies are much more willing to donate big bucks to black and Hispanic caucuses than they might be to outfits like Republican Main Street, Postell said.

“This also provides a way for Fortune 500 companies to show off their diversity intentions,” he said. “They are trying to promote their own interest, but whereas they don’t gain a lot of PR points giving to some other groups, they do gain points by giving to the identity groups.”

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[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.]

By Adeline Von Drehle
Real Clear Wire

Donald Trump’s first TikTok video, in which the former president arrives at a UFC fight to the tune of Kid Rock’s “American Bad Ass,” has now been viewed 78.4 million times in two days. If Trump hadn’t already cemented himself as a political social media influencer, this viral splash is sure to seal the deal.

Trump’s joining the platform is surprising in that it is a 180-degree pivot from his in-office attempt to ban the app via an executive order that was ultimately blocked by the courts. The move is no less coherent, however, than Joe Biden’s decision to join the app despite inking his signature on a law that would ban TikTok unless it is sold by its Chinese owners. The app, reaching an audience of 148 million Americans and 1.56 billion people worldwide, has simply proven too alluring a platform to resist.

Politicians everywhere are tapping into the wealth of TikTok as an advertising and promotional space. The app is the fifth most popular social media platform, and the majority of its users (69.3%) are between the ages of 18 and 34, a demographic difficult to reach by traditional political messaging.

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Social media has played a role in presidential campaigning since at least 2003, when Howard Dean supporters congregated on the platform MeetUp. Since then, hundreds of  big-time politicians have harnessed the power of YouTube videos, Facebook Lives, Instagram posts and Twitter rants for advertising and fundraising purposes. At 8 years old, it seems well past time that TikTok be initiated into this time-honored American tradition.

Worldwide, politicians have been quicker to integrate TikTok into their media salvoes. The far-right Portuguese party Chega has thrust itself into the spotlight as successful users of the app. Chega founder Andre Ventura has nearly 300,000 followers – only 50,000 fewer followers than the Biden campaign account in a country with a population more than 30 times smaller than the United States.

Chega made waves for quadrupling its parliamentary representation to 50 lawmakers in Portugal’s March election, underscoring a pivot toward far-right populism in Europe. The party thrives on polarization: Ventura has come under fire for demonizing the Roma community, denying the existence of racism in Portugal, and making derogatory comments about Turkish people. A former sportscaster, Ventura is now engaging with his audience in fresh and entertaining ways, such as posting a TikTok of himself play-boxing the Social Democratic Party.

In France, too, 28-year-old Jordan Bardella – protégé and successor of Marine Le Pen as president of the far-right National Rally (RN) Party – has amassed more than 1.3 million followers in less than three years on TikTok by being the “cool” politician. Bardella’s feed is filled with videos of himself chugging wine, at a nightclub, and stopping to take selfies with his adoring fans.

As president of the RN, Bardella is France’s most prominent member of European Parliament. He was also the only politician to make a list of the 50 most popular figures in France. Polls suggest Bardella’s popularity on TikTok will translate to the ballot box in the European Parliament election this weekend; the RN is expected to be the top vote-getter in France.

The rawness of the TikTok-video format is perfect for politicians who ooze charisma and spew divisive rhetoric, like Ventura and Bardella and Trump. The app is “giving politicians faces,” said Sanne Kruikemeier, director of the Digital Data and Democracy Lab. “If you see a politician on social media, you see also a little bit more of the person behind the politician. A lot of politics is super abstract, so what these politicians try to do is share a little bit more of themselves.”

This may be why the infotainment platforms of Ventura and Bardella have been more successful than traditional advertisements as political campaign tools – because videos that give the audience a glimpse into the day-to-day life of a politician make them feel more like a friend and less like a figurehead. And the more organically social a parasocial relationship feels to the voter, the better it is for the politician.

“One of the reasons for why advertisements don’t really sway people that much is because it’s hard to get a personal connection with people over an advertisement. People scroll past very quickly,” said Mads Hove, a researcher at the Digital Democracy Centre. “But when you choose to follow someone, and you choose to see his or her videos, it’s because you trust that person. A message conveyed through someone you trust is much stronger than the advertisements that you see when you’re doomscrolling.”

Likes do not always translate directly into votes, of course. Columbia University Professor Ioana Literat notes that “examples of politicians who turned their TikTok success into electoral victories are few and far between.”

Still, there are myriad reasons why a politician would try to master an app that reaches one-fifth of the world’s population. Visibility and likeability can increase in step with one’s follower count, author of “Presidential Campaigning in the Internet Age” Jennifer Stromer-Galley told RCP.

“There’s that kind of brand recognition that comes with virality, and the hope is that that’ll translate into votes,” said Stromer-Galley. “But at the end of the day, if the public doesn’t know the candidate’s name, they’re not voting for them.”

Whether a name has reached the coveted “household” status or is spoken only in niche circles seems not to matter: Politicians far and wide have been pulled in by TikTok’s powerful magnetic field in an attempt to grow their audience. And now that TikTok has been inducted into the game of fame and power, its force will only grow.

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New York Attorney General Letitia James

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Live Action News.]

By Nancy Flanders
Live Action News

Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James on behalf of two nonprofit pro-life pregnancy centers and one nonprofit network of affiliated centers in response to her decision to target pro-life pregnancy resource centers for their promotion and use of “abortion pill reversal” (APR). The lawsuit asks for James to be prohibited from applying New York business law to target the pro-life groups.

The National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), Gianna’s House, and Options Care Center are suing James, arguing that she is violating the First Amendment through her lawsuit against 11 pro-life pregnancy centers. James is accusing the pro-life organizations of spreading “false and misleading” information regarding APR. In response, the pregnancy centers filed a lawsuit of their own.

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“New York is intentionally denying women the freedom to continue their pregnancies by censoring those who promote it. They are forcing women to follow through with an abortion — even if they don’t want to,” said Thomas Glessner, president and founder of NIFLA. “How does it even remotely make sense to trust women with their medical decisions if you are actively trying to hide scientifically-based information from them? It makes no sense, nor is it legal.”

APR has been shown to decrease the effects of the abortion pill regimen, which is made up of two drugs: mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone is taken first and blocks the naturally occurring pregnancy hormone progesterone, depriving the developing child of oxygen and nutrients. Then misoprostol causes contractions that expel the baby. If a woman takes mifepristone and regrets it, she can contact the APR Hotline to be connected with a doctor who will administer progesterone to her in an attempt to outcompete the progesterone-blocking effects of mifepristone to try to save the baby. Progesterone has been used for decades to help women with a history of miscarriage to carry a baby to term. It is a naturally occurring pregnancy hormone.

Dr. George Delgado, pioneer of the “abortion pill reversal” protocol, produced a study showing that it has an effectiveness rate of up to 68%. To date, over 5,000 children have reportedly been born to mothers who changed their minds after beginning the abortion pill process and were able to access APR.

“Many women regret their abortions, and some seek to stop the effects of chemical abortion drugs before taking the second drug in the abortion drug process. Taking supplemental progesterone at that time can often save their baby’s life,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Gabriella McIntyre, who is representing the pro-life organizations. “The New York attorney general, however, is doing everything she can to deny women the freedom to make that choice.”

According to the Daily Wire, the lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.

“Despite saying that she supports women’s choice, the Attorney General seeks to deprive women who change their mind and want to continue their pregnancies, or who are coerced or tricked into a chemical abortion, of truthful information about progesterone treatment, a safe option that has been used by obstetrician-gynecologists to help maintain pregnancies for decades,” the lawsuit states.

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Live Action News.]

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Joe Biden visits small businesses along Main Street in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. (Official White House photo by Cameron Smith)

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.]

By Alfredo Ortiz
Real Clear Wire

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[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.]

By Simone Ledeen
Real Clear Wire

When American diplomats in Havana started experiencing strange and debilitating symptoms in 2016, whispers of a covert attack began to circulate. Initially dismissed by some as mass hysteria, the pattern of symptoms suggested something far more sinister. As cases multiplied, it became clear that this was not an isolated incident. Eventually known as "Havana Syndrome," it has since become one of the most puzzling medical mysteries of our time, raising questions about covert adversary attacks with unseen mystery weapons.

In 2018, a U.S. government employee in Guangzhou, China reported similar symptoms, and was medically evacuated. Around the same time, a CIA officer in Moscow experienced severe vertigo and chronic headaches. By mid-2021, over 20 U.S. officials and their family members in Vienna reported Havana-like symptoms, making it one of the largest clusters outside of Cuba. There was even an incident in Washington, D.C., in 2019, when a White House official felt lightheaded on the south lawn. Subsequent medical exams pointed to Havana Syndrome.

There have been some unsatisfying investigations. A 2020 report by the National Academies of Sciences suggested that "directed, pulsed radiofrequency energy" was the most plausible explanation for these symptoms. The exact cause and source, however, remain elusive. This has led to widespread speculation and the unsettling possibility that a foreign power could be deploying a new type of weapon.

Some are speculating openly that Havana Syndrome is caused by Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs), given their potential to cause these symptoms. DEWs can include electromagnetic radiation, microwaves, and other forms of directed energy that can disrupt the human nervous system. Directed energy weapons are a highly sophisticated technology, not widely available but highly devastating and, thus an attractive tool for covert attacks.

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If a nation state like Russia or China is indeed behind Havana Syndrome, this would mark a significant expansion in psychological and technological warfare, with important implications. For example, countries would need to quickly develop sensors, new security protocols and countermeasures. Thorough and transparent investigations into potential hostile foreign activities are still needed. Ignoring reality does not negate it. Failure to address these incidents invites more of them, and suggests negligence or denial of technological threats.

Understanding Havana Syndrome could reshape the international security landscape, a potential reason for people wanting to keep their collective heads in the sand. If proven to be true, the use of directed energy weapons opens a new frontier in non-traditional warfare, including psychological and technological elements and likely would compel nations to develop new security protocols and countermeasures.

That said, and despite both robust evidence and consistent reporting, some skeptics still dismiss Havana Syndrome as a hoax or psychological phenomenon. This does not explain how affected diplomats, intelligence officers and military servicemembers were all found to have persistent, abnormal changes in their brains. These findings point to a physiological basis for the symptoms, directly challenging the argument that Havana Syndrome is purely psychological.

Until we recognize Havana Syndrome as real, some affected individuals are not able to receive necessary support and treatment. Ignoring their symptoms exacerbates victims’ suffering and undermines the credibility of institutions responsible for their care.

In an era where misinformation often overshadows truth, we must ensure that the Havana Syndrome is properly studied and understood in order to address this threat and support its victims.

Simone Ledeen is an accomplished national security professional with expertise spanning defense policy, intelligence, counterterrorism, counter threat finance, and emerging technologies. As Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy, Ms. Ledeen was responsible for US defense policy for Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. She strengthened key U.S. defense relationships through close collaboration with foreign counterparts and oversaw the development and implementation of critical policies and initiatives including in counterterrorism, information operations, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies. Ms. Ledeen advises several venture capital and early-stage defense technology firms. Previously, Ms. Ledeen held various leadership roles across the U.S. Government, executing complex operations overseas and spearheading initiatives to counter extremist threats. She received her MBA from Bocconi University and her B.A. from Brandeis University.

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(Photo by Joe Kovacs)

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.]

By Nathan Harden
Real Clear Wire

Parents Defending Education (PDE) is an advocacy organization founded in response to concerns about the increasing influence of activist agendas in K-12 schools, particularly highlighted during the pandemic. Recently, PDE joined a Title IX lawsuit challenging the Biden Administration’s new rules on including transgender athletes in women’s sports. RealClearEducation had a conversation with Nicole Neily, the founder of PDE, about her organization’s objectives in promoting parental engagement and accountability in education, and–more broadly–the organization's efforts to influence the education system.

Can you tell us about the origins of Parents Defending Education (PDE) and what motivated its founding?

At the beginning of the pandemic, I was running a free speech group, Speech First, that focused on colleges and universities – but I became increasingly concerned with what I saw happening in our K-12 schools. In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, districts across the country sent out missives about systemic racism and their commitment to antiracism, which mystified a lot of families. Unsurprisingly, many people were fearful about pushing back on this messaging. I think back to when I was growing up – schools didn’t send out notes about Rodney King’s beating, or the Iraq War, or elections in general!

During the fall of 2020, the Wall Street Journal ran an interview with the superintendent of Evanston Public Schools in Illinois, near where I grew up, in which he said he planned to allow black and brown children to return to in-person education before white children because of “anti-racism.” I remember screaming out loud when I read the article because this plan was not only immoral – it was unconstitutional. I decided to form a new organization made up of parents that would be dedicated to protecting K-12 schools through litigation and other means.

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In retrospect, I was fairly naïve because I assumed that most districts that engaged in such policymaking did so out of ignorance and didn’t realize they were violating the law. My initial plan included a program of sending dozens of letters to districts to notify them that they needed to course-correct. I assumed that they would, in fact, make good-faith efforts to change their policies. Three years later, however, it’s become abundantly clear that many education bureaucrats at all levels of government disagree with the underlying tenets of equality before the law and seek to not only change the law but to fundamentally transform American society. This is why our organization is needed now more than ever.

What are the key goals and objectives of Parents Defending Education in reclaiming schools from what your website refers to as “harmful activist agendas?”

The first objective is to educate people about what’s taking place in schools. I grew up watching GI Joe cartoons in the 80s, and the end of every episode had a “life lesson” that concluded “and knowing is half the battle.” It struck me during the pandemic that the vast majority of American parents don’t know what their families’ civil rights are in an education setting, nor do they understand how the education system works in general. In the spring of 2020, several of my Democrat friends from Chicago called me to ask how to get their schools to reopen – because they really believed that their elected officials cared about their input. But as we’ve seen in the years since, nothing could be farther from the truth. They cared about their money and their power, but certainly not our children’s welfare or academic achievement.

For decades, parents have been accustomed to dropping their children at the schoolhouse gates, assuming that their children would receive a solid education. But during COVID, families got a window into what their children were learning (or not learning) when Zoom school was in their living rooms. Families were not only unhappy; they were petrified that if they said the wrong thing, they would be the neighborhood QAnon crank for the rest of their lives. So they kept their mouths shut.

Parents Defending Education seeks to demystify the education space, translating policy and legal jargon into English, exposing problems, and investigating how some of these issues arose in the first place.

A second objective is engagement. Education used to be a partnership between schools and parents, working together in the best interest of a child. But today, many families aren’t fully aware of what their children are learning and are held at arms’ length. Parental involvement isn’t – or shouldn’t be – a partisan issue. Sadly, many people simply don’t know where to begin; our collective civic engagement muscles have atrophied from lack of use. At Parents Defending Education, we’ve created guides and portals for people to get involved. This includes basic questions to ask school officials, how to file a civil rights complaint, and comment portals for people to weigh in at the state and federal levels on policy reforms.

Every person has a different level of risk tolerance, so while some people might be willing to speak up at a school board meeting, others might be more reticent to do so. But even the hesitant parent might be willing to have a private conversation with an administrator or even to pass on a tip to us anonymously. Every person can do something. It’s been absolutely incredible over the past few years to watch thousands of people get off the sidelines and say, “If not me, then who – if not now, then when,” knowing full well that they’ll receive blowback from their communities for having the temerity to speak out. Courage is contagious, and we have witnessed so many brave mothers and fathers (and grandparents!) use their voices for the first time.

The final objective is accountability. For far too long, education officials have become accustomed to operating behind closed doors – wasting money on pet projects and then passing nine-figure bond initiatives to make up their shortfalls (while the rest of us must stick to a budget), teaching one-sided lessons, and lowering standards to mask that the quality of education in 2024 is less than it was 30 years ago. Through our tip line and an aggressive public records campaign, we’ve been able to expose what’s really going on and how districts and schools are operating with our tax dollars. If every teacher in America needs to think to him or herself, “Is this lesson plan going to end up on the national news tonight,” it forces them to decide whether their political activism is worth it. If every principal must think, “Do I know what’s going on in my building? Because I’m the one who’s going to be called for comment by the local press,” then they’re going to exercise greater oversight. And if every school board member must think “I’m going to lose my seat if we’re not delivering the educational experience that my constituents expect,” then budget and employment decisions will be made accordingly.

Could you describe some of the specific challenges or issues that PDE seeks to address within the education system?

Over the past three years, the issues have evolved, which is what makes this job interesting – no two days are ever the same! In 2021, nearly all the tips that we received were about race: the 1619 Project, BLM at School, and racially segregated “affinity groups” and “healing circles,” which excluded students and staff from programming based solely on skin color. In 2022 and 2023, most of the tips were about “gender identity”: compelled pronouns, lesson plans, bathrooms and locker rooms, overnight field trips, and athletics. Since 10/7, we’ve fielded hundreds of issues related to antisemitism in K-12 schools, which in my opinion is as pervasive as in higher education but has gone underreported. Outside entities influencing schools is another troubling area – be it foreign funding, progressive foundations, or race and gender consultants advising districts and providing “professional development” training for teachers.

Your organization recently joined a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule changes. Can you explain the basis of this lawsuit and its significance in protecting students' rights?

A bit of background: Passed in 1972, Title IX is a mere 37 words long, and was written to prevent discrimination on the basis of sex in education settings. (“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”) In plain English, this means that an individual must be treated differently than another based on sex. Two decades ago, this was viewed largely in the athletics context.

Immediately upon taking office, the Biden Administration signaled its intent to undo Betsy DeVos’ Title IX rules – issuing guidance and beginning the notice and comment process to codify their radical changes. In 2022 and 2023, PDE submitted formal comments in opposition to these rules, and also created comment portals that helped over 62,000 people submit their own comments (approximately 25% of the total comments filed!).

The final rule was released in April 2024 and was every bit as terrible and illegal as anticipated. The most significant aspect of the rewrite is that the Education Department has redefined the word “sex” to include “sexual orientation and gender identity,” changing the meaning of the statute entirely. In 1972, the word “sex” meant what it still means today – the binary concept – and the Department has no authority to redefine the plain text of the law.

The rule is a direct assault on parental rights, including parents’ right to access their child’s information under FERPA and state laws. In response to public comments which raised concerns that the rule might bar a recipient from treating a student according to their biological sex if requested by the parents to do so, notifying a student’s parents of the student’s gender transition or gender identity, or letting parents access their child’s educational records (including information about their child’s gender identity), the Education Department conceded that the rule can require such results, even when state law guarantees these parental rights. PDE maintains a running list of districts that maintain “parental exclusion policies” with regard to students’ gender identities at school; as of May 7, we’ve identified 1,062 districts impacting more than 10.8 million children.

At a minimum, the new rule will force these parents to have difficult discussions about sex and gender identity with their children before the children are ready.

How does the new Title IX regulation affect the core mission of Parents Defending Education, particularly regarding concerns about privacy and due process in schools?

Since the Biden Administration’s rule was released, PDE has fielded more questions and concerns from parents about how this will impact their children and this surge will only worsen as the rule coerces school districts into adopting illegal policies. Before the Biden Administration’s Title IX rulemaking, some schools already had bullying and harassment policies that punished students who “misgendered” their peers, bathrooms and locker rooms were opened up to students based on “gender identity,” and students were housed on overnight field trips accordingly. Thanks to Biden’s rule, these policies will spread to countless more schools.

In what ways does Parents Defending Education collaborate with other organizations or stakeholders to achieve its objectives?

Several of my colleagues and I have worked in and around public policy for many years, which means that we’ve been able to leverage many preexisting relationships with think tanks at the state and national level – as well as federal policymakers, state attorneys general, and reporters.

Our team also works with over 300 parent groups across the country, sharing information and resources and regularly meeting with parent advocates around the country.

How does PDE engage with local communities and parents to raise awareness and advocate for changes in education policies?

Every district is different – so we work with the individuals who send us tips to determine how best to engage. Success means something different to everyone. Some people just want a lesson plan canceled, while others desire different outcomes like leadership changes or policy rescissions. The people who reach out to us know their communities best – so we’ll discuss tactics like which policymakers might be worth approaching (and at what level of government), what to say, whether it might be more constructive to go to the media to exert public pressure, and whether the legal system might be a viable option. We encourage people to start with an open mind by asking questions and to not assume ill will – but also to document their interactions and to elevate their concerns as needed.

Could you share any successful initiatives or outcomes that Parents Defending Education has achieved since its inception?

In 2021, we filed the public records requests that exposed collusion between the National School Board Association and the Biden Administration. Members of Congress and Senators called on both Attorney General Merrick Garland and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to resign, and 26 state affiliates of the NSBA quit the national organization.

In the wake of the NSBA scandal, the Biden Administration created a “National Parents and Families Engagement Council” to give the impression that they actually wanted parental engagement. But in so doing, it violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act because it was neither transparent nor politically balanced. PDE sued the Education Department in partnership with our friends at America First Legal, and rather than addressing the Council’s deficiencies, the Administration chose to shutter the Council completely – showing that it was little more than a Potemkin village.

PDE successfully sued Wellesley Public Schools in Massachusetts over racially segregated affinity groups and First Amendment issues; the district agreed to revise its policies.

PDE successfully sued Linn-Mar Community Schools in Iowa over its parental exclusion and compelled speech policies; the state of Iowa passed a parental notification bill during our suit, but the Eighth Circuit ruled in our favor on speech grounds.

A California district’s plan to put a Planned Parenthood clinic into a local high school was tabled indefinitely after PDE exposed it.

To date, PDE has filed 37 civil rights complaints with the federal Office for Civil Rights; 9 investigations have been opened, 4 resolved when districts agreed to open the segregated programming to all students, and 2 referred to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Dozens of districts have retracted lesson plans after we’ve exposed them, including a Connecticut school walking back a “pizza and consent” lesson, the Los Angeles Unified School District removing posters that said “F*** the Police” and “F*** Amerikkka,” and a Virginia district removing “woke kindergarten” as a recommended resource.

Looking ahead, what are the key priorities or upcoming projects for Parents Defending Education in the coming year?

Thanks to our tip line and our relationships with parent organizations, we’re able to connect disparate stories to larger trends and identify problems on the horizon.

In the wake of last year’s Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard/UNC decision, we’re now watching education officials at all levels develop workarounds for racial preferences, which is absolutely an issue that will require attention in the future. School officials continue to treat students differently on the basis of race through the use of DEI hiring practices, segregated affinity groups and “healing circles,” because some education activists insist that students learn best from teachers with the same skin color.

Gender identity certainly isn’t going away any time soon – the new Title IX rules are going to be extensively litigated, and we believe they will eventually end up at the Supreme Court.

It’s important to remember that the antisemitism we’re seeing at universities didn’t magically occur when students first step onto college campuses; rather, that hatred is taught at far younger ages, through programs like ethnic studies and other curricula that frames human interaction through the lens of oppressor vs. oppressed.

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A farmer in Minnesota who took on the state government over an illegal agenda it embedded in one of its grant programs has won his fight.

And now that illegal sex and race discrimination is gone.

It is the Pacific Legal Foundation that praised farmer Lance Nistler for his dedication to fairness and equality.

"In the wake of a lawsuit brought by farmer Lance Nistler, Gov. Tim Walz signed legislation on May 24 that rolls back an illegal policy that gave priority to 'emerging farmers' based on immutable characteristics such as race and sex," the legal team explained.

"Thanks to the courage of a small farmer, equality before the law has been restored in Minnesota. Because Lance Nistler stood up for his right to equal treatment, the state will no longer disadvantage farmers based on their race and sex," said PLF attorney Andrew Quinio.

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"We are thrilled that Governor Walz and the state legislature responded to Lance’s lawsuit by amending the Down Payment Assistance Grant Program so that it does not unlawfully discriminate against Minnesota’s hardworking small farmers. We encourage other states to follow Minnesota’s about-face and stop violating the Constitution’s guarantee of equality before the law."

Nistler filed a lawsuit in January charging the state with unequal treatment based on race and sex because, while he was picked ninth in a lottery for payment grants, he was put at the back of the list because of the state's claim to prioritize "emerging farmers."

The state defined those as "racial minorities, women, or young, urban, and LGBTQIA+ individuals."

When the case was filed his application for one of the $15,000 grants just had been rejected.

He not only was picked ninth of 176 applicants, but he also met all of the eligibility requirements – except that he wasn't urban, a minority, a woman or LGBT.

Nistler sought the grant to buy 40 acres of farmland in Beltrami County, Minnesota, to grow soybeans, oats and wheat.

Minnesota's lawmakers had allowed $500,000 in 2023 to create the grant program, and required that recipients be Minnesota residents earning less than $250,000 a year in gross agricultural sales, provide the day-to-day labor on their farms for five years and not have previously owned farmland.

And officials insisted on the race and sex preferences, until he filed suit.

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(Photo by Joe Kovacs)

The Institute for Justice has expressed outrage after a judge tried to jail a man for what he said – an insult to a police officer.

"Judges are supposed to uphold and defend the Constitution, not violate and ignore it," charged IJ attorney Tori Clark. "Judge Bull's actions violated basic notions of free speech and due process—and they are far outside the realm of judicial functions."

The controversy erupted when Nicholas Bull, a municipal judge in Ozark, Alabama, tried to jail a citizen for "simply offending a police officer."

It happened when Reginald Burks, an aircraft mechanic, was stopped by an officer for going 28 mph in a zone marked with a 25 mph limit, while taking his kids to school.

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"The officer’s radar gun was broken, so he allegedly used his cruise control to estimate Burks' speed. After issuing a speeding ticket, the police officer stepped in front of Burks' car, blocking him from leaving. Burks asked the officer to move, but he refused. Finally, frustrated by the situation, Burks told the officer to 'Get your a** out of the way so I can take my kids to school,'" IJ reported.

When Burks later appeared before Bull to pay a $211 fine Bull "issued an unusual order."

In addition to fines and court costs, Bull demanded that Burks write an apology to the officer. He threatened Burks with jail time if he did not submit the apology within 30 days.

Bull shortly later rescinded his order, at the request of the city prosecutor, when the circumstances of the case started gaining attention, and Burks never apologized.

But the IJ pointed out Bull's threat "is an outrageous violation of the First Amendment, and his attempt to punish Burks for a crime with which he was not charged flies in the face of due-process protections."

In America's judicial system, however, there mostly is no way to hold rogue judges accountable for their "unconstitutional conduct" as they are protected by "judicial immunity," which is a shield for them while "performing their role as a judge."

There have been cases where that immunity, however, does not protect misbehaving judges. One case involved a West Virginia judge who personally carried out a warrantless search of a man's home, and another who "personally jailed two children" during their parents' divorce proceedings.

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Pro-Palestinian protesters at White House

(THE BLAZE) – Pro-Palestinian activists demanding an end to the war in Gaza staged a massive protest that surrounded the White House, and there were smoke bombs ignited. Progressives vehemently demanded that President Joe Biden be arrested for war crimes for the U.S. involvement in the Israel-Hamas War.

Thousands of demonstrators descended on Washington on Saturday to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. The crowd chanted: "Hey Joe Biden, you’re a sellout! Pack your bags and get the hell out! Biden you're a liar! We demand a ceasefire! How many kids have you killed today!"

Anti-Israel protesters surrounding the White House march chanting “Kill another soldier now. Hezbollah, hezbollah, kill another Zionist now”. pic.twitter.com/Npn2hnUrZj

— WorldNetDaily (@worldnetdaily) June 8, 2024

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WATCH:

Journalist Julio Rosas reported from the ground that the protesters "formed a mob and chased U.S. Park Police and Secret Service out of Lafayette Square after officers apparently tried to arrest someone." He noted that law enforcement was forced out of the park and retreated to "the boundaries of the protest."

Read the full story ›

Pro-Palestinian protesters

Jason Cohen
Daily Caller News Foundation

A state judge ordered on Friday thousands of striking academic employees at the University of California (UC) to pause their weeks-long effort protesting the Israel-Hamas war.

The strike commenced on May 20 at UC Santa Cruz and expanded to include six UC campuses, according to the university system’s website. Orange County Superior Court Judge Randall J. Sherman granted the restraining order request by UC lawyers who claimed the strike would inflict irreparable damage to students with finals approaching.

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“We are extremely grateful for a pause in this strike so our students can complete their academic studies,” associate vice president for Systemwide Labor Relations Melissa Matella said. “The strike would have caused irreversible setbacks to students’ academic achievements and may have stalled critical research projects in the final quarter.”

UC Santa Cruz Picket enters its 3rd day. #StandUpUC pic.twitter.com/O6hC7j9tKF

— UAW 4811 (@uaw_4811) May 22, 2024

The strike was carried out by the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), which represents over 40,000 employees throughout the UC system, according to its website. The union wants better treatment of its members who it says have been arrested and attacked while protesting “in solidarity with the people of Palestine.”

UC sued UAW and other union defendants on Tuesday, asking for the restraining order and alleging the union breached their contract.

“UAW’s rank and file members have … emphasized that their core objective for voting to strike is UAW’s political and social position,” the filing states. “For example, one member noted on X (Twitter) the international focus of the strike and made clear that the vote was about divestment and Palestine. Another pushed their department to vote for the strike stating ‘[T]he top demand that matters here is disinvestment. This is about Palestine first and our ability to work comfortably at UC second.’”

Universities have been facing pro-Palestinian protests for weeks, including students erecting encampments and taking over buildings in a bid to push schools to divest from Israel.

UAW did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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(FOX NEWS) – A teachers union that represents employees in the Portland Public Schools (PPS) released a guide on how to teach anti-Israel views in schools.

Oregon Educators for Palestine, in association with the Portland Association of Teachers (PAT}, released the handbook, titled "Know Your Rights! Teaching & Organizing for Palestine Within Portland Public Schools," allegedly in response to teachers being censored and facing "discrimination and harassment" at "the hands of PPS District leadership." The handbook alleges that teachers were censored for "teaching about Palestine, posting pro-Palestine sentiments in schools, and even those wearing Pro-Palestine messages."

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They list examples of district censorship including of "student work on the topics of Settler Colonialism and Zionism" and staff members "wearing clothing with the phrase 'From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free,' claiming the phrase constituted hate speech and threatening to write up staff for insubordination if worn again."

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(Pixabay)

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Live Action News.]

By Bridget Sielicki
Live Action News

Lawmakers from both the House and the Senate have sent a letter calling on the Biden administration to study the environmental impact of the abortion pill.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), U.S. Representative Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), and colleagues sent a letter to the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Michael Regan asking the EPA to look into the impact of the abortion pill drug mifepristone on the country’s water. The senders note that these considerations are vital, given the skyrocketing use of the abortion pill.

“Given the steadily increasing rate of at-home chemical abortions, it is vital that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ensure mifepristone, the drug’s active metabolites in blood and placenta tissue, and the fetal remains of unborn children — all of which are unbelievably being flushed into America’s wastewater system — do not pose a threat to the health and safety of humans and wildlife,” they wrote.

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The abortion pill regimen is a process in which a woman self-administers a chemical abortion using a two-step combination of the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol. The natural result of the process is that she delivers a dead baby – usually at home. In most cases, the baby’s remains are flushed down the toilet. To date, there have been no studies to determine what impact both the fetal tissue and the abortion drugs have on the environment once the child is flushed away. The authors of the letter are calling on the EPA to study these potential impacts.

“Environmental protection efforts are necessary to counter the potential harm that chemical abortion drugs are creating for our people, wildlife, and ecosystems. The American people deserve to know the negative effects caused by chemical abortion drugs,” the lawmakers wrote.

They also note that the environmental impact of the abortion pill “has never been sufficiently studied,” adding that when the drug was first approved in 2000, that approval was based on a 1996 environmental assessment that didn’t consider the impact of fetal remains on the environment.

“Any studies that have been conducted in the past should be repeated and updated to reflect the fact that the drug is far more prevalent today than it was three decades ago,” the lawmakers said. They have called on the EPA to respond as soon as possible.

In addition to Rubio and Breechen, signees include U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and U.S. Representatives Matt Rosendale (R-Md.), Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Barry Moore (R-Ala.), Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), and Jim Banks (R-Ind.).

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Live Action News.]

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[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.]

By Timothy M. Doyle & Robert G. Eccles
Real Clear Wire

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has several roles and one of them is to regulate certain aspects of the shareholder proposal process. This process occurs when shareholders of a company submit proposals to be included in a company’s proxy materials to be voted on at a company’s shareholder or annual meeting.

A recent dispute between ExxonMobil (Exxon) and Arjuna Capital, a small impact investor, has received national attention. What started out as a simple dispute has morphed into a legal battle after Exxon decided to continue a lawsuit even after the activist investors withdrew their controversial proposal from consideration. This is a risky move for the company in terms of its already challenged reputation. It’s also risky in terms of the implications of the court’s decision on shareholder rights. This extremely aggressive legal strategy was countered by an equally aggressive move by the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) and others. CalPERS claims that the lawsuit threatens all shareholders and was behind an effort to remove Exxon’s entire board.

Exxon’s annual meeting was held today. The preliminary voting results are in and range in support from 87% to 98% with an average of 95%. The 87% number is relatively low in a director vote and likely reflects negative investor sentiment. However, the 95% number shows broad support remains for Exxon’s board. In short, the vote simply illustrates the importance of the court’s ruling.

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The court’s ruling from this suit may well change the way shareholders proposals are handled at publicly traded companies throughout the U.S. The real issue here is who determines what type of shareholder proposals end up being voted on.

Historically, the SEC had an internal policy under Rule 14a-8 to handle this type of dispute. Unfortunately, and part of the problem, is that this policy has been reinterpreted with each successive administration and subsequent SEC Chair. This is but one example of tradition and precedent being disregarded because of increasing partisanship. We have written about how the Department of Labor’s ever changing amendments under ERISA are another example of this. Unfortunately, the current SEC is attempting to further the policy agenda of the current administration with a broad reading of its Congressional mandate. Add that to a divided Congress and it’s no wonder that a lawsuit was filed, and a retaliation occurred.

Under SEC Rule 14a-8 companies must include shareholder proposals unless they fall under one of thirteen exceptions. Historically, if a company reasonably believed that a submitted shareholder proposal could be excluded under one of the exceptions it must notify the SEC. Further, to avoid a potential enforcement action and lawsuit, a company typically also petitions the SEC for what is referred to as a “no action” letter or an agreement not to proceed with an enforcement action. Practically speaking, obtaining this letter is the difference between a proposal being included for a vote or not.

Traditionally, one of those exceptions, the “ordinary business exception,” allowed a company to withhold a proposal if it related to the company’s “operations” unless the proposal involved a “transcendent or significant policy” issue but could nonetheless not “micromanage” a company’s day-to-day operations. This ultimately became a case-by-case analysis and while it may not have been a perfect option and is currently the subject of potential Congressional reform and judicial review, at least there was a reasonable opportunity to make the case that an exception applied.

Unfortunately, and applicable to this case, the SEC decided to substantially restrict the ability of companies to make their case under the ordinary business exception. (There are other issues in the Exxon case, but we focused on this particular one given the impact). Back in 2021, in “Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14L (CF)” the SEC decided not to intervene in the shareholder proposal process if the proposal involved an issue that had a “broad societal impact” regardless if there was a “nexus between a policy issue and the company” or it “micromanaged” the day-to-day operations of the company. This eventually led to an historical number of shareholder proposals including the one filed with Exxon. We do not agree with the SEC’s decision to broaden the scope of Rule 14a-8.  A pivotal role of the SEC is to protect investors, not to facilitate those who want to use the shareholder proposal process to pursue policy objectives—even those we agree with like the need to address the challenge of climate change. Furthermore, proposals about broad social impact that are beyond the scope of a company’s business put real costs on the company that are ultimately borne by all of its shareholders.

In July 2023, Congress attempted to reform how the SEC handled these issues. Several 14a-8 reform bills were voted out of Committee. Unfortunately, they were all on party line votes, so no serious bipartisan debate or compromise occurred. These bills are unlikely to make it to the floor for debate in the current 118^th Congress. Given the SEC’s novel approach to the ordinary business exception analysis and reform bills seemingly stuck in Congress, it’s not surprising that a company who receives a disproportionate number of shareholder proposals, many of which are about broad social impact rather than shareholder value creation, would seek a judicial remedy.

While a legal decision would give some finality to the specific issue being litigated, there is real concern that an opinion may have unintended consequences by placing a chilling effect on the important relationship between shareholders and companies. Each plays an important role in ensuring that our robust capital markets remain the envy of the world. While outside the scope of this piece, some of these issues go to the fundamental role of a company in today’s society and the proper role of government oversight.

As for the specific issue at hand, is there a practical solution? The short answer is “Yes” and it’s a two-step one. Given the proclivities of Congress to act slowly, especially in a hyper-partisan political environment, the most prudent first step would be for the SEC to reevaluate how it interprets its role in the shareholder proposal process and clarify the rules used to exclude irrelevant shareholder proposals. This would give companies a reasonable opportunity to explain why they think a given proposal should be excluded, while protecting the rights of shareholders to engage with boards and management, as well as submit proposals when appropriate.

The second step is for Congress to act and at the very least clarify the SEC’s role and add some common-sense sustainable guardrails to ensure certainty in the shareholder proposal process. This would go a long way in preventing this issue from reoccurring every four years. The majority of shareholders and companies yearn for a return to normalcy where issues are resolved outside of lawsuits and vote against an entire boards of directors. These dynamics threaten both shareholder value creation and effectively addressing issues that have broad social impact.

Robert G. Eccles is at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. 

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Cadets toss their hats in the air as the Thunderbirds fly over Falcon Stadium at the U.S. Air Force Academy Commencement ceremony, Thursday, June 1, 2023, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Official White House Photo by Cameron Smith)

(BROWNSTONE) – During their final year at the Air Force Academy (AFA), cadets choose the specific jobs they will be assigned while on active duty. This crucial decision, made in the nascence of one’s career, has far-reaching implications with regard to career advancement. The Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) links available jobs with an alphanumeric designation, and not surprisingly, pilot training represents the most popular AFSC for graduating cadets at the AFA. But the second choice is astonishing for cadets who have received a four-year education worth $416,000 at an institution that is tasked to train career Air Force officers.

The minimum commitment for an AFA education is five years of active duty service, and the AFSCs that obligate cadets for the least amount of payback time represent the second most popular job selections in the aggregate. The act is known among cadets as “dive in five,” and it is borne of disillusionment and the realization that DEI-entrenched military leadership, quota-based promotions, and falling standards are not what they signed up for.

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DEI’s nonsensical, unsupported claims that phenotype and sexual identity are indispensable components of superior military performance and the intimidating effect of DEI political officers embedded within the cadet wing breed cynicism and psychological fatigue. Recent undercover investigative reporting that exposes blatant corruption within Air Force DEI programs and an admission of DEI’s lack of benefit affirms the negative view of DEI held by most cadets. If the real Air Force is at all similar to the academy experience, then why devote a career to an organization with priorities more in line with Cloward-Piven than the Constitution?

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(HEADLINE USA) – Instead of acknowledging, celebrating and honoring an estimated 160,000 soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy, the far-left Google decided to celebrate a female writer who became popular only because leftist elites pushed her works, which were about her lesbian relationships.

Google spent the 80th anniversary of D-Day “Celebrating Jeanne Córdova” by inserting a cartoon image of the lesbian author and activist on the main page of the leftist search engine that hides explicitly conservative websites from people’s results, the Gateway Pundit reported.

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Córdova died in 2016 at the age of 67 in Los Angeles, far from German machine-gun fire, according to the Wikipedia page Google pushed as its top result for the writer who became recognized only for her sexuality.

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(THE POST MILLENNIAL) – Three teenagers have been arrested after they allegedly vandalized a Pride flag-painted intersection in Spokane, Washington by leaving skid marks with the Lime scooters they were riding on.

Police received a 911 call about multiple people on scooters "causing damage to the newly painted Pride mural" on June 5 just after 9 pm, according to the Spokane Police Department. Four suspects were reportedly seen damaging the mural, while several witnesses said that one of the subjects yelled obscenities at them before leaving the area.

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Officers said the damage to the mural was "black scuff marks consistent with scooter wheels," and that these marks were left across the mural. The mural had recently been repainted after a May 16 incident in which multiple people dumbed a liquid on the mural and set it on fire, according to KREM.

Read the full story ›

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

Harold Hutchison
Daily Caller News Foundation

MSNBC host Joy Reid laughed when a guest unleashed a racially charged rant targeting Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas and other black Republicans and conservatives Thursday evening.

Elie Mystal, the justice correspondent for The Nation, claimed that Thomas, Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida and conservative commentator Candace Owens held their views and expressed them for money when Reid mentioned a report from Fix the Court, which claims that Thomas has received over $4 million in gifts during his tenure on the Supreme Court.

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“I think it’s important for people to ask what are these people paying for? What are they getting for their $4 million they have given to Clarence Thomas over the past 20 years? What they’re getting, just to link your last segment together, what they’re getting is what Byron Donalds wants,” Mystal told Reid. “What they’re getting is Jim Crow. What they’re getting is a guy like Clarence Thomas who like Byron Donalds’ entire judicial philosophy is that well, some negroes are magic. No matter what the white man does to us, we can just rise above as long as they don’t shoot us or kill us or rape us or drown us. If you tell people that, if you’re black, if you’re Donalds, if you’re Thomas and you tell white people that, they will give you money.”

WATCH:

Joy Reid Bursts Into Laughter As MSNBC Guest Goes On Racial Tirade Against Clarence Thomas, Black Republicans pic.twitter.com/w53DoKdDYo

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 7, 2024

“That’s what’s happened to Clarence Thomas for 20 years,” Mystal continued. “He’s told white folks exactly what they want to hear, ruled exactly as they would like him to rule. And done it as their black friend, and so the money is just pouring out, and you see it in these reports where, again, Clarence Thomas — in the figures that we saw today, you know, Sam Alito made like $200,000 [in] disclosed gifts over the past 20 years. Antonin Scalia, the hero of their movement, around $200,000. Clarence Thomas, $4 million.”

Donalds, seen as a potential vice presidential pick for former President Donald Trump, clashed with the MSNBC host earlier Thursday over a discussion about marriage rates for black families.

Reid shook her head as Mystal continued his rant.

“It’s wild,” the MSNBC host said.

“That’s why Tim Scott exists, that’s why Byron Donalds exists, that’s why Candace Owens exists, because the grift is good,” Mystal said. “There’s a lot of money in telling white folks what they need to hear.”

Scott and Donalds did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.]

By Adam Andrzejewski
Real Clear Wire

Topline: The IRS has never been the most popular government agency, but a new audit report says their customer service is so poor it could lead to tax returns being filed incorrectly or not at all.

Key facts: The IRS runs 363 in-person Taxpayer Assistance Centers to help people fill out their taxes or get legal advice.

But the process for changing or cancelling an appointment at one of the centers creates a “burden” for taxpayers because many IRS customer service agents don’t have access to the software that lets them view or change in-person appointments.

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There’s a baffling reason for that: the agency pays for 2,500 software licenses each year so agents can edit appointments, but auditors found 768 licenses not even being used.

Each license costs $56 annually, so that’s $43,000 spent last year on the unused licenses.

When customers call the IRS to edit or cancel an appointment, they are instructed to hang up and call a different “Appointment Telephone Line” number.

Agents were not allowed to transfer calls directly to the Appointment Telephone Line, though managers could not explain to auditors why this policy is in place. It was changed last December.

Even some agents working the Appointment Telephone Line don’t have access to the correct software. They’re forced to transfer calls to yet another IRS agent who can finally provide assistance. There were 144,005 transferred calls in fiscal year 2023, according to the audit report.

Last year 75,000 people did not show up to scheduled in-person appointments at Taxpayer Assistance Centers, which auditors said is likely because they got frustrated with customer service and gave up on canceling their appointment.

Critical quote: Auditors wrote that, “The lack of a streamlined appointment process can result in extended wait times … which can potentially delay taxpayer return filings and reduce the public’s trust in the IRS’s efficiency.”

Background: The IRS “Taxpayer Bill of Rights” says everyone is entitled to “prompt, courteous, and professional assistance” with their taxes.

But the IRS disconnected 6.1 million phone calls in fiscal year 2022 and 1.5 million calls in fiscal year 2023 because they didn’t have enough agents manning customer service lines, according to the audit report.

Meanwhile, the IRS paid six-figure salaries to 11,486 employees last year, according to OpenTheBooks.com. What are all those staffers doing if not assisting taxpayers?

Summary: The $43,000 the IRS spent on its unused software licenses is just a tiny fraction of the agency’s total budget, but it’s representative of much larger issues with tax simplicity and transparency.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com

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(FOX NEWS) – The discovery of the potential for thousands of tons of lithium to be extracted annually from wastewater generated by fracking in the Marcellus Shale leaves proponents of a green energy future at a crossroads, Republicans said Thursday.

A University of Pittsburgh study suggested processing byproducts from natural gas production in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale basin could potentially meet nearly half of U.S. lithium needs. The typical electric vehicle (EV) requires nearly 18 pounds of lithium to power its battery. That figure grows exponentially for Teslas, according to reports.

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Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., who represents much of the Marcellus territory, told Fox News he wants to see those on the left change their tune. "Now nearly 40% of our nation’s domestic need for lithium can be found right here as a byproduct of fracking," he said. "I fully expect every single Democrat to join Republicans in supporting domestic natural gas development."

Read the full story ›

Audrey Hale shot and killed six people, including three children, at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 27. (@nypost / Twitter)

Harold Hutchison
Daily Caller News Foundation

Writings of the transgender shooter who attacked a private school in Nashville reportedly included fantasies of an imaginary penis and descriptions of simulated bestiality sessions that would last hours, according to The Tennessee Star.

The Star obtained writings from Audrey Hale, the 28-year-old female shooter who identified as transgender, who killed three children and three adults at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, before being engaged and fatally wounded by law enforcement March 27, 2023. The writings were retrieved from Hale’s vehicle, The Tennessee Star reported.

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“My penis exists in my head,” Hale wrote in a three-page essay called “My Imaginary Penis,” according to The Star. “I swear to god I’m a male.”

Hale also described instances in her writings where she would have a male human doll simulate sexual activity with a stuffed animal, getting so involved in the fantasies that she would miss gym, The Star reported.

In other writings, Hale wrote that she was “born wrong” and “my body does not make me a female,” The Star reported.

Hale also wrote about the time “I leave my body behind and the boy in me will be free; in the butterfly transformation” and added, “If God won’t give me a boy body in heaven, then Jesus is a f*****.”

Portions of Hale’s writings were leaked to conservative media figure Steven Crowder in November, prompting an investigation by authorities that led to seven officers being assigned to administrative duties. The Metro Nashville Police Department opposed the release of the writings.

The FBI also opposed release of Hale’s writings in a May 2023 memo also obtained by The Tennessee Star.

“Public access to legacy tokens will also facilitate false narratives and inaccurate information. For personal gain, self-professed ‘experts’ will proffer their perspectives on the motivations behind the attack,” the memo read. “Many of these pontificators will be inexperienced or untrained, and therefore inaccurate in their assessment, further confusing or potentially inflaming the public. This also may lead to unintended consequences for the segment of the population more vulnerable or open to conspiracy theories, which will undoubtedly abound.”

President Joe Biden, Congressional Democrats, media figures and celebrities demanded a ban on so-called “assault weapons” in the wake of the shooting.

The Metro Nashville Police Department declined to comment when contacted by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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June has been designated by those promoting that LGBT alternative lifestyle choices as "Pride" month.

They have various events, celebrations, festivities and the like.

And according to a new lawsuit, they actually force people to participate in their agenda.

A report from Liberty Counsel explains it is Capt. Jeffery Little, a Christian and lifeguard, who has sued the Los Angeles County Fire Department for its illegal religious discrimination, retaliation and harassment.

Department officials were provoked by Little's decision to decline on religious grounds to raise a "Progress Pride Flag" at his beachside station last year during the designated "Pride" month.

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"Little, a 22-year county employee, alleges the Los Angeles County Fire Department denied his religious accommodation request, belittled his religious beliefs, punished him, and threatened him with 'suspension and/or discharge' from service for not complying with a county mandate to fly the flag during the month of June 2023," the legal team explained.

Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver said, "Religious beliefs matter. The Los Angeles County Fire Department makes a mockery of both the law and religion by blatantly infringing on Captain Jeffery Little’s sincerely held beliefs. There is no compelling government interest in this case to force someone to raise an ideologically divisive flag. People do not have to choose between their faith or their job."

The case is being handled for Little by the Thomas More Society, with help from Liberty Counsel.

The problem stems from a 2023 resolution from the county's supervisors that demanded county locations fly the "Pride" flag which contains a rainbow of colors.

According to his recently filed complaint, Little follows "traditional Christian beliefs regarding the moral illicitness of same-sex activity, the immutability of sex regardless of gender identity, and the view that all people are children of God regardless of their skin color."

He had requested a religious exemption so he would not have to personally raise the flag, because it represents an ideology in direct conflict with his faith.

The response was a refusal and orders to raise the flag. His division chief told him his beliefs "do not matter."

Then followed retaliation by other fire department officials who confronted him, removed him from some assignments, targeted him with pretextual complaints and talked about his religious objections to third parties.

That led to a death threat being sent to his home, the report said.

For the same mandate this year, his exemption request has been ignored.

The Thomas More Society alleges the fire county’s actions "were done with malice, fraud, oppression, and reckless disregard of Plaintiff Little’s rights." The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages and a permanent injunction against the Los Angeles County Fire Department to uphold Little’s protected rights.

Liberty Counsel is assisting the Thomas More Society to make religious accommodation resources available to several thousand Los Angeles County firefighters.

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(DAILY WIRE) – Far-left commentator Briahna Joy Gray, a former staffer for socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (VT), was fired by The Hill on Thursday, which comes after she generated significant backlash this week for rolling her eyes at a survivor of Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack.

Gray, now a former co-host of The Hill’s “Rising,” posted a screenshot of the email that she claims she got that informed her she would no longer be employed by the company.

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“It finally happened. The Hill has fired me. There should be no doubt that @RisingTheHill has a clear pattern of suppressing speech,” she claimed.

Read the full story ›

TerrorMoniter ASA posted this photo on Twitter, claiming it shows ISIS terrorists throwing a 15-year-old boy off a rooftop after they accused him of engaging in homosexual relations with a top ISIS officer (Photo: Twitter/TerrorMonitor)

Ever since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror against Israel, when soldiers from Gaza invaded Israel's territory and butchered some 1,200 people, often in horrific fashion like burning whole families together, there's been a growing movement for "Gays for Palestine."

Those groups have held protests, lobbied Congress and international leaders, staged events and more, all in their pro-Hamas, anti-Israel campaign.

And in support of Palestine. They chant "From the river to the sea," adopting the terrorists' demands that they eradicate Israel and control all of the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

But the work of that group, and that of "Queers for Palestine" is on shaky footing.

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It's because prominent Palestinian Islamics, both cultural and political figure heads, are joined in one opinion: Homosexuals "should be thrown head first from the rooftop of the tallest building."

According to the Middle East Media Research Institute, it is Jenin Islamic scholar Abd Al-Rahman Al-Zayoud who confirmed that in an Islamic society, "What is the local culture? The Islamic culture. If this call clashes with the local culture, the laws and covenants of the United Nations – which call for homosexuality – must be followed. So what do they want from us? What do they want from this society that follows the Islamic culture, which sees homosexuality and lesbianism as punishable by death? They want us to respect this and strip us of our religion."

Added Islamic scholar Youssef Makharzah on America's campaign of "perversion." "Your cows, your sheep, and even your donkeys, have never stopped to the level of perversion that America designs for you."

In fact, the Joe Biden administration has insisted on promoting the LGBT lifestyle choices, which offend Islamic traditions, around the globe, making such promotions mandatory where U.S. money is involved in projects.

And Makkharzah referenced monkeypox, charging, "This [variation] of smallpox afflicts monkeys, as well as their homosexual lookalikes. Since you behave like animals and beasts, Allah wanted to afflict you with the maladies of animals and beasts. After this disease appeared, they ran some tests and concluded that it is caused by homosexuality."

Samir Zaqout, an official for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said, "Most of the organizations of the homosexuals and most of the institutions that bring about economic destruction are to be found in that foundling of a country."

And Mohammed Saleem Ali, an imam at Al-Aqsa mosque, said, "Our Muslim Palestinian people will not accept a single homosexual openly declaring his abomination. Will you allow a single homosexual on the land of Jerusalem and Palestine? Will you allow that? No. Our people will not allow there to be institutions that promote this abomination, on the blessed, and pure land of Palestine."

Sheikh Yousef Abu Islam, a Palestinian Islamic scholar, threatened, "Allah punished male and female adulterers [only] with flogging or stoning, but when He decided to punish homosexuals, He said that they should be thrown head first from the rooftop of the tallest building, and then they should be stoned from the top."

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Earth rising

(FOX NEWS) – The victim in a fatal plane crash Friday in Washington state has been identified as Retired Maj. Gen. William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who took the iconic "Earthrise" photo, his son Greg Anders confirmed to The Associated Press.

Just before noon, rescue crews responded to reports of a plane crash in Washington state between Orcas and Jones Island, the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest confirmed. "The family is devastated," Greg Anders told the AP. "He was a great pilot, and we will miss him terribly."

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During a telecast on Christmas Eve 1968, the Apollo 8 crew read verses from the first chapter of Genesis and wished viewers, "Good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you – all of you on the good Earth."

Read the full story ›

Judge Juan Merchan

Juan Merchan, the judge in President Donald Trump's "business expense" trial in New York, where a leftist Manhattan jury convicted him of 34 counts, has alerted lawyers in the case of possible juror misconduct.

That misconduct, apparently a discussion by a juror with a relative who reported, a day before the conviction, that the jury was going to convict Trump, could result in a mandatory new trial.

BREAKING: Judge Merchan has notified all parties in the New York case of a Facebook post made a day before Trump's conviction by someone who may have known one of the jurors. New York law requires the verdict nullified and NEW TRIAL held

"My cousin is a juror and Trump is… pic.twitter.com/wai4dFKHpL

— George (@BehizyTweets) June 7, 2024

The statement posted online said, "My cousin is a juror and Trump is getting convicted."

A commenter pointed out that that could be from any random person, without any connection to the jury.

"But I doubt it if Merchan is alerting the parties."

The case has been filled with untoward influences. For one, Merchan repeatedly has ruled against the defense on just about every issue. He criticized the defense lawyers for objecting to much, then later stated that some prosecution testimony was questionable and the defense lawyers should have objected.

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Merchan has his own appearance of conflict, as his daughter is a Democrat operative who has been fundraising off of the decisions her own father made in the courtroom against Trump.

But he refused to turn the case over to someone else.

The prosecution was by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg who said misdemeanor business records claims for which the statute of limitations had expired actually were felonies because they were part of another crime – and Merchan gave the jury permission to disagree on what that was – violating the requirement that jury verdicts be unanimous.

Bragg, further, had campaigned for office under the slogan of "get Trump," giving the entire case a political motive.

It is considered by many, including some who don't necessarily support Trump, to be part of a multi-case "lawfare" by Democrats against Trump to try to put him in jail during the 2024 presidential campaign. In fact, the other cases have hit roadblocks also, including one where the FBI admitted it tampered with evidence the prosecutor hoped to use against Trump.

The Gateway Pundit reported, "The jury deliberated for a little over nine hours before deciding on a still-unknown predicate crime assumed to be federal campaign violations. Judge Merchan bizarrely gave instructions to the jurors that they could all agree that a crime was committed, beyond the falsifying charges, but didn’t necessarily have to agree unanimously on which crime was committed."

It warned the new development "could call into question the entire case. The day before the conviction was handed down, a Facebook user by the name 'Michael Anderson' commented that Trump was going to be convicted, sourcing that claim to his cousin, who he claimed was on the jury."

Merchan responded with, "Today, the Court became aware of a comment that was posted on the Unified Court System’s public Facebook page and which I now bring to your attention. In the comment, the user, 'Michael Anderson,' states: 'My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted. Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!'"

Another commenter pointed out that "Anderson" just implicated his cousin "in a crime," as "it is against the law for a juror to discuss the case before it is ended.'

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Dr. Anthony Fauci peddles COVID-19 shots in a Washington, D.C., neighborhood

Anthony Fauci, the ex-chief of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, a key promoter of the COVID-isn't-from-the-Wuhan lab ideology as well as the shots mandated for the China virus, already has provided a disruption in Congress by triggering Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The congresswoman from Georgia told Fauci he should be in jail:

And it appears Congress is not yet finished with Fauci.

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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on Friday dispatched a letter to him demanding that he appear before the committee and Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government "for a transcribed interview regarding his involvement in the Biden White House's censorship efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Jordan's announcement explained that in 2021, while chief medical adviser to Biden, "senior Biden White House officials … engaged in a monthslong censorship effort."

Already, he said, there's evidence from Facebook that "one of the world's largest social media platforms censored the lab leak theory because of 'pressure' from the Biden White House."

In fact, that COVID came out of that lab, which was doing gain-of-function experiments on bat viruses, making them more dangerous, is assumed now.

Jordan wrote to Fauci, explaining, "The Committee on the Judiciary and Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government are conducting oversight of how and to what extent the Executive Branch has coerced or colluded with companies and other intermediaries to censor Americans' speech. We believe that you are uniquely positioned to aid the Committee's oversight, as you served as Chief Medical Advisor to President Biden and Chief Medical Advisor for President Biden's COVID-19 Response Team. During your tenure, the Response Team participated in extensive efforts to unconstitutionally monitor and censor Americans’ speech on social media platforms. Accordingly, we request that you appear for a transcribed interview and produce documents relevant to our investigation."

The letter explained it was during that time frame that the Biden White House was pursuing that censorship campaign, when, "you and other bureaucrats reportedly 'sidelined' Dr. Robert Redfield, then-Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) because he 'had a different point of view' and believed the virus 'came from a Wuhan lab.'"

The letter noted that Fauci claimed, during his earlier testimony, he "kept an open mind" about the lab-leak explanation and did not play a role in the "push to downplay" the concept.

"This is false on its face. It is also contradicted by Facebook's decision to remove content about the lab leak theory because of 'pressure' from the Biden Administration, particularly the Response Team, of which you were a member," Jordan wrote.

"To better understand how and to what extent the Executive Branch has coerced or colluded with companies and other intermediaries to censor Americans’ speech, we respectfully request that you appear for a transcribed interview before the Committee."

Further, the letter charges that reporting from the Coronavirus Select Subcommittee alleges Fauci was part of "a conspiracy amongst the highest levels of [National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)]" to hide records about COVID.

That campaign allegedly involved deleting official records and more.

Because of that, the committee wants documentation of communications from 2019 to the present about "moderation, deletion, suppression, restriction, demonetization, or reduced circulation of content, or the accuracy or truth of content."

The letter instructs Fauci to reach out to the committee staff members to schedule the interview, and to provide the documents no later than 5 p.m. on June 21.

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Hunter and Melissa Biden

(JUST THE NEWS) – The prosecution rested its case Friday in Hunter Biden's Delaware gun trial. The defense immediately moved for an acquittal.

This followed cross examination of the final prosecution witnesses by Biden's defense attorney's Friday morning. The trial began five days ago with jury selection and featured testimony from Hunter Biden's ex-wife, two ex-girlfriends, and a firearm salesman.

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Hunter Biden was charged in Delaware by Justice Department special counsel David Weiss with three felony crimes in connection to 2018 firearm purchase while he was using drugs.

Read the full story ›

(HEADLINE USA) – As part of a marketing gimmick for “Pride” month, an LGBT-friendly bakery in West Virginia is doxxing dozens of social-media posters by selling cookies with comments that the company deems critical of the gay agenda, along with the photos of the posters, LGBTQ Nation reported.

Charleston’s Rock City Cake Company previously posted pro-LGBT messages to its social-media platforms in solidarity with the local gay community. In response, many others condemned the bakery for taking an openly woke stance that they found alienating and antithetical to their own values.

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“How sad that you support such nasty wickedness,” said one post. “I won’t be supporting you anymore.” Rather than take the hint that the political posturing was putting off potential customers, though, the bakery opted to double down with its “Sick Freak Cookie Box.”

Read the full story ›

(THE NATIONAL PULSE) – For the first time, non-citizen residents of Washington, D.C., went to the polls to help determine the city’s leadership. Over 500 noncitizens registered to vote, and almost none backed Republican candidates.

Just 5.35 percent of the new noncitizens registered in the nation’s capital as Republicans. Meanwhile, 59.27 percent of the noncitizen voters registered with the Democratic Party. However, the numbers for Democratic support are likely higher as another 32.31 percent of the voter demographic filed Independent registrations—which tend to break for Democrats in the city’s elections—and another 3.06 percent of noncitizen voters identified with the Statehood Green Party.

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The National Pulse has reported extensively on the rise of noncitizen voting. While it is technically legal for city governments to allow noncitizens voting rights in municipal elections, the voting policy raises concerns about these voters being illicitly permitted to participate in state and federal races.

Read the full story ›

Mark and Patricia McCloskey defending their St. Louis home June 28, 2020 (Video screenshot)

They've been pardoned by the governor and their records have been expunged by a judge, so St. Louis, Missouri lawyers Mark and Patricia McCloskey want their guns returned.

They say they'll sue the city if they don't get them.

They have been in the headlines on and off ever since that June 2020 march by Black Lives Matter activists into their private neighborhood when they feared the danger the marchers offered, armed themselves with guns, and stood in their front yard.

The case has had its ups and downs, and initially it was resolved when they submitted guilty pleas to misdemeanor charges. However, they later were pardoned by Gov. Mike Parson.

With the courts still refusing to order their weapons returned, they petitioned to have their records expunged and that now has happened.

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"It's a matter of the Second Amendment; it's a matter of the government not having a right to take private property without just cause and without compensation," Mark McCloskey told the Daily Mail.

It was Judge Joseph P. Whyte who ordered the records cleared, despite claims from city officials that the couple remained a threat.

"It seems the parties have attempted to make political arguments in this proceeding," Whyte pointedly noted. "This court, however, is required to look only at the relevant language in the statute."

The McCloskeys explained they felt threatened by the BLM marchers passing their home. In other cities, marches assembled by BLM in the wake of the Minneapolis death of George Floyd burned entire city blocks, leaving behind hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

They now say the city can return their guns that were seized earlier, or face a lawsuit.

They originally were indicted by a grand jury in 2020 on felony counts of unlawful use of a weapon, but those later were amended to misdemeanor harassment.

The case was brought by the scandal-plagued Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who shortly later was asked to resign over her mishandling of an armed robbery case, and ultimately walked away from the office in 2023.

The original plea deal involved Mark's guilty plea to misdemeanor assault and Patricia's to misdemeanor harassment.

The governor's pardon followed shortly later and now the expungement has been approved.

WND reported last year on a ruling from an appeals court that they could not have get the guns back.

That ruling claimed the pardon cleared the couple of guilty, but that's not the same as innocent.

The ruling said the pardon removes any conviction, but not guilt.

WND reported when the case result left a far-left member of Congress, who took part in some of the Black Lives Matter marches during the infamous 2020 summer of riots and destruction across America, unleashing a rant over a pardon for the McCloskeys.

At the time, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., included a not-so-veiled threat.

"His day will come," Bush said of the McCloskeys.

Rep. @CoriBush, who took part in trespassing on the McCloskeys’ property, threatens the family after they received a gubernatorial pardon: "Mark McCloskey is an absolute liar. He has spat on my name. And because of that, his day will come." pic.twitter.com/XEe5DNOxKM

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 4, 2021

Bush, who was in the march that went to the McCloskey property, charged that, "His day will come."

None of the marchers was charged by Gardner, but she accused the McCloskeys of holding weapons.

Then she was ordered off the case by an appeals court that ruled she had tried to advance herself politically using the case.

A lawyer for the McCloskeys explained the two were armed because they were concerned because the "demonstrators" broke down a gate to get onto the private street where they lived and "threatened" them.

The McCloskeys, however, already may have had the last laugh.

In photographs posted online earlier, McCloskey grinned from ear to ear while showing of his new AR-15. The caption says, "Checking out my new AR! #2A #MOSen"

Checking out my new AR! #2A #MOSen pic.twitter.com/Qa5UKupXSX

— Mark McCloskey (@mccloskeyusa) June 19, 2021

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Rob Schneider

Comedians deliver jokes about everyday topics because people recognize the situations, and sometimes laugh at the circumstances in which they've found themselves.

So social faux pas are topics, embarrassment is a topic, insults are a topic, and much, much more.

But not for the Hospital of Regina Foundation.

Its officials cut short a set by Saturday Night Live alum Rob Schneider recently because his jokes were, well, on forbidden topics.

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And hospital officials officially apologized for the humor.

It is the Regina Leader Post that revealed Schneider's jokes included those about vaccines, the COVID pandemic, the LGBT ideology, and more.

The comedian was the main entertainment for the recent Four Seasons Ball, which in fact raised more than $350,000 for hospitals in Regina.

The report explained, "In recent years, the former SNL performer and long-time Hollywood actor has become an outspoken critic of vaccines — specifically since the COVID-19 pandemic — and has performed material including jokes targeting LGBTQ2+ and trans people."

It reported those topics were included in Schneider's comedy set, and witnesses said he was booed.

So the hospital jumped into the politically correct mode: "While we recognize that in a free and democratic society individuals are entitled to their views and opinions and that comedy is intended to be edgy, the content, positions and opinions expressed during Mr. Schneider’s set do not align with the values of our foundation and team."

The foundation statement continued, "We do not condone, accept, endorse or share Mr. Schneider’s positions, as expressed during his comedy set and acknowledge that in this instance the performance did not meet the expectations of our audience and our team."

While making a name for himself on SNL in 1990-1994, Schneider later starred for Hollywood in projects including "Deuce Bigalow," "Male Gigolo," "The Hot Chick, " "The Animal" and others.

At Mediaite was the complaint that one attendee said "everyone in the room was groaning."

The report said people "reportedly stood up and begun (sic) walking out…"

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Sarah Katherine Sisk
Daily Caller News Foundation

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California proposed cutting from the state’s public safety budget to address a $27.6 billion fiscal deficit while also expanding climate-related programs.

Newsom proposed revisions to the 2024-25 fiscal budget in May which cut $80 million from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and $15 million from Department of Justice (DOJ). The proposal includes moving $1.7 billion from the General Fund to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), specifically for “equity programs” and other “climate priorities.”

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The changes would reduce prison capacity by 4,600 beds across 13 prisons, cut funding for law enforcement training and cut $4.4 million from county probation departments. They also include a $97 million cut for court trial operations.

Over the next five years, Newsom proposed moving $3.6 billion from the General Fund to the GGRF, “including transit programs, clean energy programs, zero-emission vehicle programs, and nature-based solutions programs.”

In San Francisco, 8,686 reported thefts, 1,962 reported burglaries and 2,298 reported motor vehicle thefts have occurred since the beginning of the year, according to the San Francisco Police Department.

Despite cutting the Department of Social Services state expenditure fund by more than 10%, the May Revision claims it “maintains current service levels for key health care, social services and other critical programs.”

Newsom is “not proposing new taxes,” according to one May Revision fact sheet. Instead he proposed to increase the Managed Care Organization Tax, which previously faced backlash from medical professionals as an obstacle to solvency.

The revisions increase funding for the State Department of Healthcare Services. “We also want to maintain our Healthcare expansion across the board. Regardless of ability to pay, uh regardless of pre-existing conditions, and uh your, your immigration status,” Newsom said when announcing the revisions.

Our revised state budget proposal cuts spending, makes government leaner, and preserves core services — all without proposing new taxes on hardworking Californians.

It’s a balanced, two-year solution that sets California on the right path. pic.twitter.com/xT9RLH03X5

— California Governor (@CAgovernor) May 10, 2024

Newsom proposed a $510 million cut from the Middle Class Scholarship Program (MCS), and reduced funding for homelessness prevention.

The California Legislature rejected many of Newsom’s proposals, pushing instead to restore full funding for MCS, which “primarily benefits lower income students,” according to the updated Joint Legislative Budget Plan.

The Legislature’s plan proposed a significant, though less severe version of Newsom’s budget cuts to the CDCR and DOJ, saying it intends “for the administration to avoid cuts, as much as possible, to vital rehabilitation and family connection programs, among others.”

The Legislature has until June 15 to approve the bill, according to the state constitution.

California has one of the highest outbound moving populations in the country, according to a United Van Lines Mover’s Study. California’s continual hemorrhaging of both businesses and people contributed to the budget deficit, Florida’s chief financial officer, Jimmy T. Patronis told Fox News.

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Rep. Thomas Massie

WATCH:

Rep. Thomas Massie doesn’t care what you think of him, which is pretty great.

(3:19) Where Does US Debt End?
(10:32) Why Massie Voted 15 Times Against Funding Israel
(14:53) AIPAC
(34:04) Mitch McConnell
(42:25) Area 51
(50:32) Massie's Relationship with Trump
(57:09) Kill… pic.twitter.com/VBOiWjq056

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 7, 2024

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Nick Pope
Daily Caller News Foundation

A power grid system serving nearly 30 million Americans could again approach failure this summer, a local utility executive told the San Antonio Express-News.

Rudy Garza, CEO of the San Antonio-owned utility company CPS Energy, anticipates that Texans will elevate power demand on the state’s grid system above and beyond last year’s record numbers, according to the Express-News. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state’s power system manager, had to issue several energy rationing alerts last summer as the state’s grid nearly faltered, and those conservation appeals are likely to be made again over the course of this summer.

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“I have learned in this business that it’s hard to make guarantees on anything,” Garza told the outlet. “If we lose a big nuclear unit, for instance, in the middle of a peak season, that could be enough to throw the grid off into some level of emergency. All we can do is prepare and keep our plants going.”

Biden admin declared an energy emergency in Texashttps://t.co/rW3JSWx3Mq

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 8, 2023

Garza predicts that Texans will exceed 100,000 megawatts of demand this summer, a level of power use which would be more than 15,000 megawatts greater than last summer’s record-setting demand, according to the Express-News. Major factors driving demand in Texas include a growing population, a hot economy, cryptocurrency mining operations and new power-hungry data centers.

“We’re building houses in every direction,” Garza told the Express-News. “We’ve seen an influx of some really large users coming into Texas, but they’re not driving the entirety of it. The state just continues to grow.

Texas produces the most energy from wind and solar of any state in the country, according to Texas Monthly. This leaves the ERCOT grid vulnerable to supply shortfalls in specific circumstances, especially the late afternoon and early evening hours of hot summer days with little or no wind blowing, according to the Express-News.

In those circumstances, power generation tails off right when Texans are driving up demand by cranking up their air conditioners and other appliances to stay cool in their homes, according to the Express-News. To make up for lost wind capacity in those situations, operators turn to older coal- and natural-gas fired generation facilities to avoid blackouts.

A similar situation played out in the summer of 2023, when a prolonged heat wave pushed the grid to the brink and prompted ERCOT — which oversees the flow of power to approximately 27 million customers — to briefly issue an emergency notice on Sept. 6, according to the Express-News. ERCOT put out a record of 11 conservation appeals last summer in total, and the North American Energy Reliability Corporation (NERC) — an organization that monitors grid conditions in the U.S. — flagged ERCOT in a recently-published outlook report for facing “elevated” blackout risks this summer if weather conditions are stronger than normal.

“ERCOT continues a reliability-first approach to grid operations and will continue to operate the grid conservatively, bringing generating resources online early to mitigate sudden changes in generation or demand,” an ERCOT spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The ERCOT region is forecasted to experience tremendous electric demand growth in the next 5-7 years, which is driving the need for ERCOT to adapt and plan differently for the future … ERCOT has implemented many reforms and grid improvements since 2021, including weatherization inspections of electric generation units and transmission facilities, and additional ancillary services.”

ERCOT is also deploying a number of measures to shore up grid reliability, including improvements to backup options and communications systems, the spokesperson added.

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Taliban fighters

A federal watchdog report reveals that after America had been at war with the Taliban for two decades, the Joe Biden administration now has delivered at least $11 million in U.S. taxpayer funds to the terrorists. Probably much more.

A Center Square report posted at Just the News explains much of the cash has been delivered through various aide groups that get federal tax dollars.

And, the report warns, "experts" suggest the actual total Biden has delivered to the Taliban could be much higher.

The Taliban, previously in control in Afghanistan, took control again within days of Biden's abrupt decision to yank American troops out, a scheme that cost American lives and left behind tens of billions of dollars in American war machinery for the Taliban to use or sell.

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Further, Biden left behind hundreds of Americans and thousands of Afghanis who had worked with the American presence there for years – all in danger of death at the hands of the Taliban.

The report cited the conclusion of SIGAR, a federal watchdog, which found, "The U.S. government has continued to be the largest international donor supporting the Afghan people since the former Afghan government collapsed and the Taliban returned to power in August 2021."

The report continued, "Since then, the U.S. government has provided more than $2.8 billion in humanitarian and development assistance to help the people of Afghanistan."

The report also found "the $10.9 million paid by 38 U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development, and U.S. Agency for Global Media implementing partners is likely only a fraction of the total amount of U.S. assistance funds provided to the Taliban in taxes, fees, duties, and utilities because UN agencies receiving U.S. funds did not collect data or provide relevant information about their subawardees' payments."

SIGAR, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, explained, "To carry out their programs, U.S. agencies rely heavily on nongovernmental organizations and public international organizations, such as the UN, to implement humanitarian and development assistance. Both the former Ghani administration and the current Taliban-controlled government benefited from U.S. aid by imposing taxes, fees, duties and utilities on implementing partners as a condition of operating in Afghanistan."

The report noted that an independent government watchdog, Judicial Watch, previously documented how the Taliban created fake nongovernmental organizations to "siphon away" tax dollars.

That group reported, "Since the terrorist group returned to power in August 2021, Uncle Sam has continued to fund Afghanistan's education sector through six programs that cost $185.2 million even though the Taliban has issued decrees drastically limiting access to education for girls and women as well as restricting women's ability to work and other basic freedoms."

"SIGAR has reported on the importance of U.S. funds being spent on U.S. priorities and not in ways that benefit the Taliban, which represses women and girls, denies the human rights of the Afghan people and remains unrecognized as a legitimate government by the U.S. government and the international community," the watchdog said.

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(ISRAEL 365 NEWS) – During a recent interview on Steve Bannon’s War Room, Israeli Knesset member Ohad Tal delivered a message to American Jewish voters. “When you’re going to vote in November, remember to ask yourself: Who does Hamas want you to vote for? Who would Hamas want you to support?”

As the 2024 U.S. presidential election approaches, Tal’s message is clear: the future of Israel and the Jewish people worldwide hangs in the balance, and the American Jewish vote will have profound consequences.

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Tal emphasized the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship but explained that its effectiveness depends on strong leadership in the White House against the countries’ shared enemies. To that end, he criticized the current administration’s policies, claiming they undermine Israel’s security and support America’s enemy, Iran.

Read the full story ›

James Dobson

James Dobson, founder of the James Dobson Family Institute and FamilyTalk radio, has been blunt over the years in calling out sin, including among America's leaders.

He's advised five presidents on family matters and was inducted in 2008 into the National Radio Hall of Fame. He authored more than 70 books including, "The New Dare to Discipline," "The New Strong-Willed Child," "When God Doesn’t Make Sense" and "Bringing Up Boys."

He's been called, by secular publications, the country's "most influential evangelical leader," and also helped found the high-profile Family Research Council in the 1980s.

Now he's being joined by two other leaders in his organization, Vice President of Public Policy Gary Bauer and Family Institute President Joe Waresak, in soliciting signatures on a letter calling out Joe Biden.

They right now are asking supporters to join in signing the document.

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"We write to you," they are telling Biden, "with grave concern about the radical agenda your administration is imposing on the American people. When you ran in 2020, a major theme of your campaign was to bring America together. Instead, your actions have indisputably divided the country. You and your most dedicated allies in Congress regularly demonize and dehumanize anyone who holds Judeo-Christian or conservative values, as well as anyone who dares to resist your agenda to deconstruct the morals, laws, and freedoms that have sustained our great Republic.

"Mr. President, the moral and constitutional framework that sustains our Republic is at risk of collapsing due to your ill-advised and un-American policies. We urge you and your administration to seriously consider your overwhelmingly low approval ratings and failing policies and take immediate corrective action. We, the people of the United States, expect nothing less from our leaders and will pray to this end."

And they submitted a list of Biden's actions and policies "that are irrevocably damaging our country."

He is, first of all, "threatening our democracy."

"You have weaponized federal law enforcement against your political opponents. The lawfare your allies have waged against former President Donald Trump is reminiscent of a Soviet show trial, not our constitutional Republic. We are quickly losing our moral credibility to promote freedom and democracy abroad," they charge.

Further, he's attacking the First Amendment and is "undermining" the Supreme Court," putting at risk the justices "physical safety."

He's also "undermining religious liberty."

Multiple "regulations, directives and mandates" are restricting the religious conscience rights of people and organizations, and his FBI "infiltrated and monitored Catholic churches, while your IRS harasses religious nonprofits," the letter charges.

Third, he is destroying parental rights, especially on the subject of education, and, as he's made abortion one of his major term goals, he's mobilized the whole of government to promote the deaths of the unborn in defiance of his own "expressed Catholic faith."

"This has even led to the sentencing of elderly grandmothers to multiple-year jail terms for peacefully demonstrating in line with their sincere religious beliefs," the letter explains.

He's turn racist, using rhetoric that amplifies racial divisions for political gain, and threatened the very existence of the U.S.A. by "allowing millions of people who we can't possibly 'vet' to enter our country—many from nations that are enemies of the United States."

He's threatened women with his transgender ideologies and tried to appease "campus anti-Semites and radical Islamists in Congress" through his meddling in Israel's internal policies.

He's weakened America with his forced agenda of abortion and same-sex marriage around the globe, compromised the nation's sovereignty by giving power to the World Health Organization, and his massive deficits have triggered an inflation that has exploded to 20% since he took office, threatening America's economy.

Further there are his attacks on law enforcement, and he's launched his administration on a campaign to harm the nation through a "non-scientific lie that a child can be trapped in the wrong body."

The letter is accompanied by list of references documenting the truth of the charges.

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President Donald J. Trump salutes Marine One from the Blue Room Balcony of the White House Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, following his return from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. (Official White House photo by Andrea Hanks)

By Jason Cohen
Daily Caller News Foundation

MSNBC analyst Donny Deutsch on Friday urged the military to release an ad campaign against former President Donald Trump ahead of the upcoming presidential election.

Trump is beating President Joe Biden in the five crucial swing states of Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to a May New York Times/Siena College survey. Deutsch suggested on “Morning Joe” that if former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley release an ad campaign, it could help turn voters against Trump.

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“Contrast is everything in this election,” Deutsch said. “And I think the military is the greatest example to show the contrast between two men. You see Donald Trump who, you know, got off, didn’t serve because of bunions and allegedly told John Kelly, his chief of staff … as they were in a cemetery looking at fallen heroes, ‘why would any person be a sucker and give their life for their country?’ And that’s all you need to know about Donald Trump.”

WATCH:

The Atlantic published a story in September 2020 citing anonymous sources claiming Trump canceled a 2018 visit to a cemetery in France where American troops are buried, saying that they were “suckers” and “losers,” but the credibility of the story has come under question. Former national security adviser John Bolton denied Trump made these remarks and said he did not visit because of weather and security reasons.

“I think the most compelling advertising campaign would be centered around the military,” he continued. “If we got Mattis, McMaster, Milley and Kelly, to go to screen and say, ‘look this country cannot stand Donald Trump. The defense of this country will not stand Donald Trump. We are great Americans. We believe in the country. We trust this country. We know this country. You can’t vote for Donald Trump.’ I think the military is the secret weapon in this election and I hope those ads come to fruition.”

This story originally was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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Dr. Phil McGraw

Legacy media has little desire for letting President Donald Trump deliver his ideas and plans to the American people.

Social media likewise, with the major platforms limiting his speech at some point.

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But here's an hour of his thoughts, delivered in an interview with Dr. Phil.

My one on one interview with President Donald Trump. In depth. No holds barred. A must watch. pic.twitter.com/a5SuCgVsdW

— Dr. Phil (@DrPhil) June 7, 2024

He talks about the lawfare, Gaza, Russia, and his own supporters.

And he addressed his opponents and critics: "We drive them totally crazy, because we're doing the right thing."

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By Will Kessler
Daily Caller News Foundation

The U.S. added 272,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in May as the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.0%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released Friday.

Economists anticipated that the country would add 190,000 jobs in May compared to the 175,000 jobs that were added in initial estimates for April and that the unemployment rate would remain unchanged at 3.9%, according to U.S. News and World Report. The job gains follow predictions that the economy is slowing down, with an early estimate for second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) being revised down to 1.8% from 4.2% over the last month by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

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GDP growth was recently revised down in the first quarter of 2023 from 1.6% to just 1.3%, as new data showed that American consumers spent less in the period and businesses invested less in inventory. A poll in May showed that 67% of small business owners were worried that economic conditions could force them to close their doors amid harsh economic conditions, hurting hiring and growth.

Another week, another bizarrely consistent set of UI data – every explanation I’ve seen (or thought of myself) fails to fully explain how this can possibly be happening given all the other data available; something is clearly wrong, but the question is “precisely what is it?” pic.twitter.com/xLlzTNn9Id

— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) June 6, 2024

Persistent inflation has also dragged on businesses’ ability to hire, measuring 3.4% year-over-year in April, far from the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%. Slow growth and high inflation have sparked fears that the economy is entering a period of stagflation, which severely hurt the finances of average Americans in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pushed back on stagflation speculation at the Fed’s May meeting, pointing to low unemployment and decelerating inflation.

Topline job growth could slow in the coming months if President Joe Biden reduces the number of illegal immigrants entering through the southern border, as he has recently pledged to do. Many of the jobs that have been created or recovered under Biden have gone to foreign-born populations.

The pace of job growth could influence the Fed’s decision on when to cut its federal funds rate, which currently sits in a range of 5.25% and 5.50%, a 23-year high. Cutting the rate would reduce the cost of credit across the economy, giving businesses more leeway in their spending.

This story originally was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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(HEADLINE USA) – Two Republican lawmakers have proposed extending benefits meant for U.S. veterans to Americans who served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Reps. Max Miller, R-Ohio, and Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., suggested the bill aims to protect Americans defending Israel from Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

The targeted services are the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), which currently benefit only American veterans who served in the U.S. armed forces.

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Over 20,000 Americans are serving in the IDF as the Jewish state battles Hamas following the terror group’s invasion in southern Israel on Oct. 7. “This legislation will ensure we do everything possible to support these heroes who are standing with Israel, fighting for freedom, and combating terror,” Reschenthaler stated.

Read the full story ›

Biden's $320 million Gaza pier has detached

Jake Smith
Daily Caller News Foundation

The Biden administration’s Gaza aid pier will cost $22 million to repair after it was damaged by bad weather last week, two Pentagon officials told The Washington Post on Thursday.

The causeway pier, meant to serve as a channel for aid delivery to Gaza via the Mediterranean Sea, was broken apart by tumultuous weather and sea conditions in late May. It will cost at least $22 million to repair the pier before it can become operational again, but the costs could balloon to as high as $28 million, the officials told the Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

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The pier is currently being rebuilt at the port of Ashdod in Israel, and officials hope to re-anchor it to the shores of Gaza by the end of the week so that the flow of aid via the Mediterranean maritime route could continue, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters on Wednesday. The repair costs will come out of the hundreds of millions of dollars the Biden administration is dedicating to the pier.

The Pentagon initially set budget expectations for the pier at approximately $320 million, but now believes the total cost will be closer to $230 million, Singh told reporters.

“This estimate does include some of the costs associated with the repairs and rebuilding of the pier,” Singh said. “And just as a reminder, these are estimates and initial assessments, and the cost could fluctuate depending on the length of the mission and future costs, an example of that being additional repairs.”

The pier — part of the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) system that includes a separate floating pier off the coast of Gaza — can only be operated in favorable sea conditions, with waves not exceeding more than a few feet and wind speeds not higher than 15 miles per hour. Reconstruction efforts similarly cannot be conducted during poor conditions, adding the risk of further delays.

The pier and JLOTS system was already facing several setbacks prior to breaking apart in May. A day before being rendered non-functional, a separate stint of bad weather unmoored four U.S. Army JLOTS support vessels and sent them drifting away; two ended up on the shores of Gaza, and the other two in Ashdod.

All ships have been recovered, but a video from the incident appeared to depict U.S. troops stranded on the beaches of Gaza while awaiting rescue, despite the Biden administration’s promise that there would be no boots on the ground in the region. The Pentagon has previously admitted that there is a risk that Hamas fighters in Gaza may try to engage U.S. forces working on the JLOTS system.

Days before that, three U.S. troops were injured in a non-combat incident during JLOTS operations. The exact cause of the injuries is not known, but one U.S. servicemember was injured so seriously that he was evacuated to an Israeli hospital for emergency care. Singh told reporters on Wednesday that the servicemember was flown to an Army medical center in Texas on Tuesday, but “remains in critical condition.”

Over 1,000 metric tons of aid were delivered to Gaza in the week that the pier was operational, Singh told reporters on Wednesday; the Pentagon is aiming to deliver 150 truckloads of aid to Gaza per day once the pier is operational again. A United Nations official previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation that 300 to 500 trucks of aid total are needed to address the humanitarian needs of the Palestinians.

Defense experts and former U.S. officials previously told the DCNF that the pier was a “horrible” idea and that there were far better ways to get aid to Gaza.

“It was never a sound plan to begin with… whether it’s accidents, or logistical hurdles, or risk to our troops and all these problems that have come to fruition. I don’t think that there should be any effort to try to continue this, or salvage it, or fix it,” Michael DiMino, senior fellow at Defense Priorities and former CIA official told the DCNF. “I think now is an opportunity to say this failed. Let’s wrap this up before we continue to tempt fate.”

The Department of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Rebeka Zeljko
Daily Caller News Foundation

Advancing American Freedom, a conservative group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence, is sounding the alarm about a Biden administration effort to collect Americans’ private financial information, according to a memo obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2012 authorized a program to make it easier for financial regulators to track transactions in U.S. markets by creating a “consolidated audit trail,” or CAT. This would require brokerages and exchanges to collect and report certain financial information to regulators and other financial organizations. Under the Biden administration, the SEC approved a new funding model for CAT in September 2023.

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The AAF memo warned that the CAT program was effectively an “Orwellian” government database of Americans’ personal information, and urged lawmakers to back a bill that would prevent the SEC from forcing financial institutions to hand over Americans’ information. The bill, known as H.R. 4551 or the Protecting Investors’ Personally Identifiable Information Act, was introduced by Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia.

“We have witnessed abuses by other government agencies, including the IRS releasing private financial information,” AAF Chairman Marc Short told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “This unconstitutional and reckless regulatory overreach must be stopped.”

The memo notes that in March 2020, former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton issued an order to limit the collection of personal information.

“I believe the CAT’s regulatory objectives can be achieved without collection of the most sensitive pieces of retail investor information,” Clayton said in a statement. “It is important to minimize the impact of any potential data breaches, while also evaluating the need for cybersecurity improvements to the CAT.”

The House Appropriations Committee’s financial services spending bill would also prohibit the SEC from collecting personal information pertaining to CAT.

The bill also cuts SEC funding by $589 million below their requested 2025 fiscal budget and $144.3 million below their current 2024 fiscal budget.

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In a decision seen has a huge warning to activist prosecutors, the state Supreme Court in Florida has affirmed Gov. Ron DeSantis' removal of a George Soros-backed prosecutor.

State Attorney Monique Worrel was removed from office in August 2023 after the governor accused her of "dereliction of duty."

He had charged at the time, "The practices and policies of her office have allowed murderers, other violent offenders, and dangerous drug traffickers to receive extremely reduced sentences and escape the full consequences of their criminal conduct. In some cases, these offenders have evaded incarceration altogether."

Worrel sued to regain her title and office, but the 6-1 ruling from the state Supreme Court shut her down.

"We cannot agree with Worrel that the allegations in the Executive Order are impermissibly vague, nor that they address conduct that falls within the lawful exercise of prosecutorial discretion," the opinion said.

A report from Fox News confirmed the court's ruling was clear: "We have said that a suspension order does not infringe on a state attorney’s lawful exercise of prosecutorial discretion where it alleges that such discretion is, in fact, not being exercised in individual cases but, rather, that generalized policies have resulted in categorical enforcement practices."

Soros, the far-left billionaire activist, funds a wide range of progressive, even extreme, agendas. One of those is to donate significantly to campaigns of far-left prosecutors, who then use the justice system to crack down on conservative activities and give a pass to sometimes very serious crimes.

DeSantis had charged that Worrel's practices "undermine Florida law and endanger the safety, security, and welfare of the communities that Ms. Worrell was elected to serve."

During her 2020 campaign, Worrel had gotten support from Our Vote Our Voice, a group that got $1 million from the Soros-funded Democracy Now, the report said.

DeSantis also had ejected another prosecutor, Hillsborough County state attorney Andrew Warren, a year earlier when he refused to enforce the state's abortion ban.

That also was affirmed, by a federal court.

A RedState report explained the court ruling reads like Worrel, "was judging cases not individually but by creating categories of not offenses but offenders, some of whom, as the saying goes, were more equal than others."

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Manhattan (Pixabay)

Jason Hopkins
Daily Caller News Foundation

Amid a wave of illegal immigration and high-profile crime incidents, a bipartisan group of New York City council members introduced legislation Thursday to roll back the city’s sanctuary policies.

The bill, introduced by New York City Council’s Common Sense Caucus, would repeal laws that limit New York City law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to the text of legislation. It would also roll back a law that bars city officials from partnering with ICE agents to enforce federal immigration law and prohibitions on the use of city resources to assist deportation officers.

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Members of the Common Sense Caucus —which is made up of both Republicans and Democrats — said in a press release that repeal of the city’s sanctuary laws would “enhance” law enforcement’s ability to ensure safety and security.

“We have enough criminals in this city; we don’t need to import more and protect them as well,” Council Member Robert Holden, a Democrat, said in a press statement. “Repealing the laws that have created a sanctuary city status is common sense.”

“Those who are wanted for heinous crimes back home or commit crimes in our country should be deported without hesitation,” he continued. “We aim to end this reckless social experiment once and for all.”

The bill takes specific aim at repealing laws enacted under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, an ardent critic of federal immigration enforcement. De Blasio in 2014 signed into law a bill that largely prohibits the New York Police Department from working with federal immigration authorities, and in 2018 he enacted legislation that reinforced on this policy.

However, as record numbers of illegal immigrants flock to the city and high-profile crimes committed by migrants make headlines, city leaders have begun to shift on the issue.

More than 200,000 migrants have overwhelmed New York City since 2022, according to local reports. The migrant influx prompted Mayor Eric Adams to declare 5% budget cuts in September for government programs and services in order to pay for their housing and other services, and in August he said the city was reaching a “breaking point” from the sheer volume of migrants.

The city’s sanctuary status entered the spotlight again when it was confirmed that Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, a 19-year-old man from Venezuela accused of shooting two New York City Police Department cops on Monday, entered the country illegally.

“Every one of our so-called sanctuary city laws should be repealed and it is time we make that case directly to the people,” Minority Whip Inna Vernikov, a Republican, said in a statement. “Happy to see this legislation introduced, it has my full support and advocacy and I encourage all New Yorkers who want citizenship to mean something again in this city and country to call their representative to support this repeal.”

Council Member Salman Yeger, another Democrat, was also unequivocal in his support for the bill: “Giving no-questions-asked sanctuary to criminals is not a pro-immigrant policy; it is a pro-criminal policy,” he said Thursday.

It’s not immediately clear how the bill will fare in a city council dominated by liberal Democrats. In response to a local media inquiry, Mayor Adams said he would review the legislation before taking an official position.

However, there does appear to be a shift within the mayor’s office. ICE officials confirmed last month that Adams’ office had been in talks with federal immigration authorities on how to better coordinate their efforts and work around the city’s sanctuary laws.

“I’ve been working with the mayor’s office, I have had dialogue with them,” Ken Genalo, the NYC regional field director for ICE, said of the talks. “I give them kudos — the prior administration under Mr. de Blasio … there was no dialogue at all.”

Adams’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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Steve Bannon

A federal judge has ordered longtime Trump adviser Steve Bannon to report to jail July 1 for a four-month sentence for refusing to testify to ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's partisan Jan. 6 investigating committee.

That now-defunct group, partisan because only Pelosi was allowed to pick its members, orchestrated witnesses and testimony to try to portray President Donald Trump as guilty of something for the rioting that happened amid a protest Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol of Congress' decision to adopt the Joe Biden election victory.

Bannon was ordered by Democrats to testify about Trump, and he declined, based on Trump's decision to invoke executive privilege over the information – a move that Democrats refused to accept.

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The court in his case claimed he could not show that Trump indeed invoked that privilege.

Bannon noted that the lawfare orchestrated by Democrats from Joe Biden down against Trump and his associates will not succeed.

"They're not going to shut up Trump. They're not going to shut up Navarro. They're not going to shut up Bannon. And they're certainly not going to shut up MAGA."

The order for Bannon came from U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who lifted his previous stay on Bannon's four-month sentence.

However, there still is time for Bannon to seek a review from the full appellate court, or the Supreme Court.

"My stay of Mr. Bannon’s obligation to self-surrender is revoked," the judge said. "I do not believe that the original basis for my stay of Mr. Bannon’s sentence exists anymore."

It's the result of a contempt citation from the then-Democrat controlled Congress.

Bannon hosts the popular War Room podcast that attracts tens of thousands of fans.

Earlier, another Trump adviser, Peter Navarro, began serving his four-month sentence for not responding the way the committee demanded.

Bannon’s lawyer, David Schoen, said outside the court that Bannon’s previous lawyer informed him that "when executive privilege has been invoked, you no longer have to comply with a subpoena."

A report at RVMNews said Democrats had demanded he provide documents and testify before the House committee, which was killed when Republicans took the majority in the House.

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There's been a stunning development in the horrific case in Wyoming alleging a mother tortured her teen son with beatings and by withholding food: The alleged victim's grandmother is accused of feeding the teen's young sibling laxatives to try to disrupt an FBI interview that was part of the investigation.

It is the Cowboy State Daily that documented the new allegation against Karen Jule Rider, 62, of Fremont County, who was taken into custody on the order of U.S. Magistrate Judge Teresa McKee.

She faces one count of witness tampering that carries a possible life sentence.

The details were in a federal case made public in U.S. District Court for Wyoming by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook.

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Court documents reveal Rider is the mother of Kandace Sitting Eagle, aka Kandace Van Fleet, who is scheduled for trial later this month on assault charges "for allegedly torturing her 13-year-old son in her home on the Wind River Indian Reservation," said the report.

When that case developed and Sitting Eagle was arrested Dec. 12, 2023, Sitting Eagle's other five children were placed in Rider's care.

The report noted, "In the hours or days after their mother’s arrest, three of the children, ages 4, 6 and 8, reportedly told investigators that their mother, Kandace Sitting Eagle, and her husband Truman Sitting Eagle had 'beat up' the teenage boy."

They told investigators at the time their brother was locked in his room and they described a lock on his bedroom door, according to court filings.

One confirmed food was withheld from the alleged victim, who was found by Bureau of Indian Affairs Officer Matt Lee injured and hungry, hiding in a crawl space under the family's home, the Cowboy State Daily said.

However, the affidavit confirms that months later, when the children were being interviewed in the U.S. attorney's office in preparation for the trial, they went silent.

"Each of the children were brought into the meeting individually, and when asked about something happening to their brother, the victim, each child effectively stated that they did not know or could not remember," an FBI affidavit from agent Adrianne Culver said.

The report explained, "One child got back into the lobby and met with his or her sibling. 'What did you tell them?' asked the sibling in the lobby, reportedly. 'Nothing,' answered the sibling who’d just been interviewed, the affidavit relates."

Then Sitting Eagle made a phone call, from jail, later to her mother, and, "Rider reportedly told Sitting Eagle that just before the FBI meeting, she gave the youngest child — who is now 5 — coffee, prune juice and chips because 'they make him go potty.'"

The report said, "Rider allegedly said she hoped the child would make a mess and be in the 'sh-----' at the U.S. attorney’s office…"

"Rider further stated that she told him if he said anything about his mom, they were not going to let her out of jail," the affidavit said. "She told the children not to talk to strangers, that the FBI were strangers, and it was not OK to talk to them."

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D-Day, June 6, 1944

(NEW YORK POST) – Veterans and world leaders gathered in Normandy on Thursday to mark the 80th anniversary of the June 6, 1944 D-Day landings, when more than 150,000 Allied soldiers arrived in France by sea and air to drive out the forces of Nazi Germany.

With war raging in Ukraine, on Europe’s borders, this year’s commemoration of this major turning point in World War Two will carry special resonance. The anniversary takes place in a year of many elections, including for the European Parliament this week and in the US in November. Leaders are set to draw parallels with World War Two and warn of the dangers of isolationism and the far-right.

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“Democracy is literally on the ballot this year,” U.S. President Joe Biden said before traveling to France, saying sacrifices from D-Day must not be given up.

Read the full story ›

The Thunderbirds, the Air Force's flight demonstration squadron, fly over the Gulf of Mexico during the 2024 Gulf Coast Salute Air Show in Panama City Beach, Florida, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stefan Alvarez)

Jake Smith
Daily Caller News Foundation

A recently filed lawsuit from a national security think tank is alleging that the U.S. Air Force is wrongfully withholding records related to its transgender care services.

The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in August 2023 seeking materials related to the Air Force’s Transgender Health Medical Evaluation Unit (THEMU), according to a copy of the suit obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The Air Force initially acknowledged the FOIA request but then failed to provide further updates to CASA, prompting the think tank to file a lawsuit in late May against the branch in a Washington, D.C., district court for the records.

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“CASA seeks communications between THEMU officials regarding the creation and implementation of the unit. We have been patient, but to date, CASA has received no responsive records and no additional communication from the Air Force regarding our request after the initial confirmation of submission,” James Fitzpatrick, director of CASA, told the DCNF in a statement on Thursday. “After over 280 days of waiting, we bring this suit to compel the production of these critical records to the American people.”

CASA is requesting communications records and meeting details from officials involved in the creation of THEMU, which provides taxpayer-backed services and treatment to servicemembers who identify as transgender or seek to “transition.” The request is also for any outside communications with corporate media outlets and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, a leading authority in the field of gender medicine.

This Pride Month, we thank LGBTQ+ Service members for their contributions to our national security. As Secretary of Defense, I remain dedicated to making sure that our LGBTQ personnel across the Joint Force can continue to serve with dignity and respect. We applaud your service –… pic.twitter.com/hs61oK6lzR

— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) June 3, 2024

The Air Force confirmed in August 2023 that it had received the FOIA request but said in an email days later that there would be a delay in delivering the records, citing a backlog of request cases, according to a copy of the email included in the lawsuit. The Air Force told CASA it would “strive to provide an update between 90 and 120 days,” rather than the standard 20-day timeline.

But nearly a year later, the Air Force has not fulfilled the FOIA request or provided any updates to CASA, according to the lawsuit. Having “exhausted” its other options, CASA is aiming to obtain the records through legal action.

“Indeed, to date CASA has received neither a further response nor any other communication from USAF (U.S. Air Force) regarding the request,” the lawsuit reads. “Given these facts, it appears that USAF has not met its statutory obligations to provide the requested records, nor intends to meet them absent litigation.”

“Through USAF’s failure to make a determination within the time period required by law, CASA has constructively exhausted its administrative remedies and seeks immediate judicial review,” the lawsuit reads.

Under the Biden administration’s leadership, the Department of Defense has embraced several LGBTQ initiatives across the various branches of the military, including allowing transgender individuals to serve and requiring service members to use the preferred pronouns of their colleagues. GOP lawmakers and critics have urged the DOD to focus more on military readiness rather than diversity and inclusion programs.

The Air Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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There's been no small content of lies among the statements Joe Biden has delivered: He claimed inflation was 9% when it took office; it was 1.4%. He claimed he knew absolutely nothing about son Hunter Biden's international business deals; evidence shows he met with principals. He claimed he's talked with international leaders – after they were dead.

Now his campaign has joined, apparently.

It called out as a "blatant lie" a news reporter's statement that actually was the truth.

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Social media statements document the sequence:

Fox host tries to claim Trump, not President Biden, capped insulin at $35/month

FACT CHECK: This is a blatant lie. Trump did not cap insulin costs, President Biden did for seniors through the Inflation Reduction Act. Trump’s Project 2025 wants to repeal it, which would raise… pic.twitter.com/iDrrBKEIhf

— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) June 3, 2024

Fox News host John Roberts hits back at the Biden campaign after they accuse him of a ‘blatant lie’ over his reporting that Trump capped insulin at $35 a month

After providing the receipts showing it was Trump, not Biden, who capped insulin costs, John adds: "We invited a… pic.twitter.com/PV0Ma1Nnir

— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) June 4, 2024

"Fox News reporter John Robert catches Biden campaign in a lie and brings all the receipts," charged the Gateway Pundit.

Not willing to let the Biden campaign get by with its latest falsehood, that a $35 cap on insulin for patients was due to Joe Biden, not President Donald Trump, Roberts responded:

"Yesterday, coming out of a segment in which the $35 insulin co-pay under the Inflation Reduction Act was mentioned, I remarked that I recalled back in May of 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that stated President Trump had a plan to lower insulin co-pays to $35. The Biden campaign’s rapid response issued a post on X saying the following: 'Fox host tries to claim Trump, not President Biden capped insulin at $35 a month. Fact-check: This is a blatant lie.' But there are receipts to dispute the Biden campaign’s claim about what I said."

He then outlined the evidence to support his reporting.

On social media, Roberts obviously had won fans:

"Well done John!"

"Good for you John!"

And there was one loaded with sarcasm: "The Biden campaign lied about something?"

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Illegal migrants overwhelm Texas National Guard, storm border wall

By Will Kessler
Daily Caller News Foundation

President Joe Biden’s latest immigration move expressed that he wants to stem illegal immigration, but his economic policies have relied on it to mask the true health of the economy, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Biden signed an executive order Tuesday that pauses new asylum requests at the southern border if the daily average over the span of a week exceeds 2,500, representing a stark departure from the president’s relaxed view on border enforcement amid a massive surge of arrivals. Foreign-born workers have boosted headline economic and job market growth numbers during the president’s tenure, masking the true state of the economy for native-born Americans and contributing to a disconnect between how Americans feel about the economy and what the data says, according to experts who spoke to the DCNF.

“It’s unclear to me that Biden’s actions will do anything to toughen restrictions at the border. Instead, this may be an attempt to make the wide-open border more permanent,” E.J. Antoni, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, told the DCNF. “That being said, a decline in illegal immigration would have a significant impact on headline economic numbers, but that’s very different from saying the average American would be worse off.”

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The number of Americans employed as of April was over 161 million, higher than the pre-COVID-19 peak of around 159 million in February 2020. Despite the total increase, the number of native-born workers has only risen by 788,000 from February 2020 to April 2024, while the employment level of foreign-born workers has increased 2.7 million in that same time frame.

“Today, I’m announcing actions to bar migrants who cross our southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum,” Biden said Tuesday when announcing the executive order. “This action will help us to gain control of our border, restore order to the process. This ban will remain in place until the number of people trying to enter illegally is reduced to a level that our system can effectively manage.”

The foreign-born population in the U.S. has surged by 6.6 million since Biden took office, with an estimated 58% being due to illegal immigration, according to research from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS). The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which collects most of the government’s data on employment, does not differentiate in its counts whether workers are in the country legally or not, but explicitly states that it does count illegal immigrants.

“The presence of illegal immigrants certainly makes the overall GDP bigger,” Steven Camarota, director of research at CIS, told the DCNF. “Got more people; hundreds of millions of more people — even though they’re relatively poor — they’re still making the economy larger. So if a headline number is GDP growth, the economy is at least $300 billion larger because of the presence of illegal immigrants based on their labor incomes.”

The economy has defied recession predictions over the last year, recording 4.9% and 3.4% gross domestic product growth in the third and fourth quarters of 2023, respectively. The average number of jobs added each month in the last year, ending in April, was 242,000.

“Unfortunately, BLS completely avoids the topic of a worker’s legal status in both the survey of households and the survey of businesses,” Antoni told the DCNF. “That means the category of foreign-born workers contains an unknown number of illegals. Limiting the flow of those illegals into the country would stem the bleeding, but the damage has already been done. Reversing the negative effects of millions of illegals being in the country will require deportations.”

Camarota believes that foreign-born workers receiving a large portion of the economic benefits, like jobs, under Biden could be part of the explanation why voters are currently unsatisfied with the economy, despite the Biden administration and corporate media’s insistence that it is doing well. A poll in May found that 49% of voters believed that Biden’s policies had hurt the economy, and 71% thought that current economic conditions in the U.S. were negative.

President Biden believes we must secure our border in line with our laws and values.

He is announcing new executive actions to bar migrants who cross our Southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum.

And, @POTUS continues to call on Congress to act on border security. pic.twitter.com/1YZD1CR8Yc

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 4, 2024

“The immigrants somewhat mask the situation because they make the labor force participation look better, but the real issue is the headline number of unemployment,” Camarota told the DCNF. “That headline number of the number of people working misses all of these working-age people not working.”

The labor force participation rate for all workers totaled 62.7% in April 2024, still below pre-COVID-19 levels, while the foreign-born participation rate totaled 66%.

“I think this probably makes the public sour on the economy in ways that those surveys show when they say, ‘Well, is the unemployment rate high?’ and it’s not; it’s very low, but people say it’s high,” Camarota told the DCNF. “And I think what they’re thinking is that all these people that they see are idle.”

Around 49% of Americans surveyed in a poll in May thought that the unemployment rate was at a 50-year high, despite the official rate remaining below 4%. Of those surveyed, 56% thought that the U.S. economy was in a recession.

Antoni also pointed to other contributing factors fueling Americans’ discontent with the economy, including a large share of jobs that have been created under Biden being part-time positions, with many Americans holding multiple jobs at once. Surging immigrant populations have also exacerbated an already several million housing unit shortage that has developed in the U.S., pushing up housing and rent costs across the country.

“From an economic perspective, legal immigration has been a tremendous asset to America,” Antoni told the DCNF. “It has historically attracted the best, brightest, and most industrious people from around the world. That has increased productivity, wages, wealth, income, and even life expectancy in America, all while reducing crime. Conversely, mass illegal immigration under Biden has produced exactly the opposite effects.”

The White House did not respond to a request to comment from the DCNF.

This story originally was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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By Rebeka Zeljko
Daily Caller News Foundation

The Illinois legislature recently passed a bill requiring nonprofits based in the state to report the demographic makeup of their board members —but the law may be unconstitutional.

Democratic state Sen. Adriane Johnson introduced Senate Bill 2930, which requires nonprofits that donate over $1,000,000 to charitable organizations to publicly disclose the “race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, and gender identity.” Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker also supports the bill, according to Politico.

“We are taking vital steps to support diversity and inclusion in the nonprofit sector,” Johnson told Politico. “We are creating these spaces where people can show up as their true, unassimilated and authentic selves.”

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Yet legal experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the bill is likely unconstitutional.

“This law is a prime example of the fundamental incoherence of leftist identity politics,” America First Legal Senior Vice President Reed D. Rubinstein told the DCNF. “Demanding that only non-profit corporations reporting grants of $1,000,000 or more to other charitable organizations post ‘demographic’ information on their directors and officers is almost certainly illegal and unconstitutional.”

GianCarlo Canaparo, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said the bill raised major constitutional concerns.

“First, the state has no legitimate interest in forcing people to disclose this information,” Canaparo told DCNF. “As the Supreme Court recognized in Students for Fair Admissions, the racial and ethnic categories that we so often use in America are arbitrary—they tell you nothing meaningful about the persons they lump together.”

“Second, the bill likely violates the free speech or associational rights of organizations who believe that this sort of information is irrelevant and that collecting it is divisive,” Canaparo said. “Third, it likely violates the free speech rights of employees who will be forced to disclose this information even if they object in principle to classifying themselves.”

Canaparo said the underlying motivation for the bill is to enforce liberal ideology.

“Lurking behind the scenes, is the real reason that Illinois wants to do this: It wants liberal activists and lawyers to pressure nonprofits to ‘diversify’ their boards, which will mean explicit race, ethnic, and gender discrimination,” Canaparo told DCNF.

Illinois state Democrats have branded the bill as a measure to highlight “diversity and inclusion of nonprofits,” according to a press release.

“Illinois is extremely diverse and – in requiring this transparency of nonprofits – we further embrace that diversity,” said Democratic state Sen. Adriane Johnson in the press release. “This sets a positive example for other organizations, and hopefully encourages broader progress in the future.”

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a similar, Senate Bill 54, into law in October 2023. Also known as the Fair Investment Practices by Investment Advisers law, the bill requires venture capital companies to disclose “specified demographic information for the founding teams,” including their race, sexuality and gender.

“This bill resonates deeply with my commitment to advance equity and provide for greater economic empowerment of historically underrepresented communities” Newsom wrote in a press release.

Johnson and Pritzker did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

This story originally was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]

By Mary Margaret Olohan
The Daily Signal

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL: A group of doctors, nurses, and pediatricians have signed on to a declaration calling on prominent United States medical organizations to stop performing experimental and harmful transgender procedures on children.

Members of the American College of Pediatricians, also known as ACPeds, and other medical professionals will announce their signing of the “Doctors Protecting Children Declaration” on Thursday during a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, The Daily Signal has learned.

“As physicians, nurses, other health professionals, psychotherapists, and behavioral health clinicians, scientists, researchers, and public health and policy professionals, we have serious concerns about the physical and mental health effects of the current protocols promoted for the care of children and adolescents in the United States who express discomfort with their biological sex,” the declaration states.

It is co-signed by medical and health organizations including the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, Genspect, the American College of Family Medicine, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, the Catholic Medical Association, and many individual doctors, pediatricians, and nurses.

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The document emphasizes that most children and adults whose “thoughts and feelings do not align with their biological sex will resolve those mental incongruencies after experiencing the normal developmental process of puberty.”

It also notes that the young children who are going through attempted “gender-transition” procedures cannot really give “responsible informed consent” due to the “extremely limited long-term follow-up studies of interventions, and the immature, often impulsive, nature of the adolescent brain.”

Notably, the declaration points out that the many ”gender clinics” in the U.S. are basing their transgender protocols on the “Standards of Care” developed by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, or WPATH, which was recently exposed for hiding the dangerous and experimental nature of these procedures. The declaration points out that the very foundation of WPATH’s guidelines is “demonstrably flawed, and pediatric patients can be harmed when subjected to those protocols.”

The declaration also highlights the very serious long-term risks of so-called gender-affirming care, including when doctors or medical professionals ”socially transition” children (by referring to kids with pronouns or names that don’t match their biological sex), put them on puberty blockers, prescribe them masculinizing or feminizing hormones such as testosterone or estrogen, or perform irreversible ”sex change” procedures.

Sterility is just one of these long-term risks.

Social affirmations make youth more likely to progress on to puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, the declaration states.

Puberty blockers “permanently disrupt physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development” and can worsen psychological illness, cause low bone density, impair memory, lead to brain swelling, and more.

Cross sex-hormones, such as testosterone for girls and estrogen for boys, are “associated with dangerous health risks across the lifespan including, but not limited to, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, heart attacks, blood clots, stroke, diabetes, and cancer,” the declaration continues.

And genital surgeries, perhaps most obviously, affect “future fertility and reproduction.”

“Evidence-based medical research now demonstrates there is little to no benefit from any or all suggested ‘gender affirming’ interventions for adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria,” the document says. “Social ‘affirmation,’ puberty blockers, masculinizing or feminizing hormones, and surgeries, individually or in combination, do not appear to improve long-term mental health of the adolescents, including suicide risk.”

The document also emphasizes that European countries like England, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland have all paused such protocols given the evidence demonstrating that social, hormonal, and surgical interventions are “not only unhelpful but are harmful.”

Yet professional medical organizations in the U.S. continue to promote these interventions and call legislation protecting children from so-called transgender procedures “dangerous.”

The signers call upon top medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, and others to “follow the science and their European professional colleagues and immediately stop the promotion of social affirmation, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries for children and adolescents who experience distress over their biological sex.”

“Instead,” the declaration says, “these organizations should recommend comprehensive evaluations and therapies aimed at identifying and addressing underlying psychological comorbidities and neurodiversity that often predispose to and accompany gender dysphoria. We also encourage the physicians who are members of these professional organizations to contact their leadership and urge them to adhere to the evidence-based research now available.”

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]

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Tucker Carlson

President Nayib Bukele saved El Salvador. He may have the blueprint for saving the world. pic.twitter.com/92etFh7sSI

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 6, 2024

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Fani Willis

(FOX NEWS) -- In a major setback to the Fulton County District Attorney, the Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday put a pause on any proceedings related to the 2020 election interference case against former President Trump and co-defendants until it hears the case to disqualify Fani Willis in October.

The appeals court has tentatively scheduled a hearing date of Oct. 4 for the appeal by Trump and his co-defendants to have embattled Willis disqualified from the case due to an "improper" affair with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

The appeals court action all but solidifies that Willis' sweeping racketeering case against the 45th president will not go to trial before the 2024 election in November.

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(NBC NEWS) -- Donald Trump’s search for a running mate is intensifying, as the former president awaits sentencing on felony charges and prepares for next month’s Republican National Convention.

Vice presidential contenders recently received vetting materials, five sources familiar with the process told NBC News.

Trump’s search, according to one source, is heavily concentrated on four top prospects: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Tim Scott of South Carolina and JD Vance of Ohio. Another source described a three-way competition involving Burgum, Rubio and Vance.

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(FOX BUSINESS) -- Losing your luggage on a flight is any passenger's worst nightmare, but what if it ends up at an airline worker's home?

That’s exactly what happened to Spirit Airlines passenger Paola Garcia, who used one of her Apple devices to track down her belongings after they were allegedly swiped by a worker inside Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida, according to Local 10.

Garcia told the news outlet that she had been waiting for her small pink hard-shell suitcase containing Apple devices like her personal MacBook and two Apple Watches, as well as her designer clothes and jewelry, to appear on the baggage belt at Terminal 4, but it never showed.

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[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]

By Elizabeth Troutman
The Daily Signal

When 75-year-old Paulette Harlow was sentenced to 24 months in prison on Friday for attempting to dissuade women from getting abortions, she felt thankful—despite her chronic health conditions.

“I went to the sentencing, and I felt very confident, and I felt very joyful, and I felt like it was a tremendous privilege to stand in the court on behalf of the unborn, who have no voice,” she told The Daily Signal. 

The jury found Harlow guilty in November under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act and of a civil rights conspiracy. The FACE Act prohibits “violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, obtain, or provide reproductive health services.”

Harlow’s lawyer has filed an appeal of the verdict.

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The FACE Act prohibits the use of force, obstruction, or property damage intended to interfere with “reproductive health care services.” Though it theoretically protects houses of worship and pregnancy resource centers, as well as abortion clinics, the Biden administration’s Justice Department has largely used FACE to prosecute pro-life activists like Harlow.

Harlow said she sat and prayed in October 2020 at the Washington Surgi-Clinic, which Dr. Cesare Santangelo ran at the time. Pro-life advocacy group Live Action once recorded Santangelo saying he “would not help” a baby in the rare event the baby was born alive during a late-term abortion procedure.

“We prayed, we sang music, and we called out to some of the women and told them not to be afraid, that we could help them, that they could still change their mind, and that we love them,” said Harlow, a resident of Kingston, Massachusetts, about 35 miles southeast of Boston.

The same federal judge who sentenced the other eight pro-lifers who protested at the clinic to a combined 23 years also sentenced Harlow, who will turn 76 on June 23. Harlow’s co-defendants received similar sentences, ranging from 10 months to five years.

At the end of the trial, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia reportedly said to Harlow that she should “make an effort to remain alive” as that is a “tenet of faith,” Live Action reported.

“Taunting an elderly woman about potentially dying alone in prison is disgraceful,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told The Daily Signal. “Clinton Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly disgraced the justice system with this remark and with this decision.” Kollar-Kotelly, now 81, was appointed to the federal district court by then-President Bill Clinton in 1997.

Harlow said she and her friends have been praying for the judge since the beginning of the trial.

The Department of Justice released a statement saying Harlow and the other eight pro-lifers “engaged in a conspiracy to create a blockade at the reproductive health care clinic to prevent the clinic from providing, and patients from receiving, reproductive health services.”

The pro-lifers “forcefully entered the clinic and set about blockading two clinic doors using their bodies, furniture, chains, and ropes,” the statement claims. An hour-and-a-half-long video of the “rescue mission” showed no signs of violence, however.

The DOJ did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.

Operation Rescue Boston, which Harlow is part of, is a pro-life organization that “relies on the Grace of God and employ[s] nonviolent, First Amendment-protected means of expression,” according to its website.

Harlow, who suffers from diabetes; Hashimoto’s disease, an inflammatory thyroid condition; and severe back pains, said that while she is not afraid to go to prison, she has serious concerns about her health. She doubts there is a prison facility that could accommodate her conditions.

The mother of six and grandmother of eight is currently under house arrest while she awaits the decision on the prison where she’ll spend the next two years.

“I’m not sure that they would be able to take care of all the things my husband takes care of full time,” she said. “I’m in pain all the time, and I can’t really take a lot of pain medication because of my liver, and so, I have to be very careful with what medications. And there’s a lot of times I’m not able to sleep, and I have to sleep during the day, and I don’t know how that would work with the noise of the prison.”

But Harlow is not scared about what will happen to her. She takes comfort in the charge of Pope John Paul II, who instructed: “Be not afraid.”

“I know that wherever I go, God’s going with me, and he’s going before me, and he’ll be with me, and he’ll protect me, and he’ll fill me with joy, like he did in the courtroom,” she said. “I just felt very joy-filled.”

When asked if she would like prayer for her upcoming sentence, Harlow instead requested that people pray for unborn babies and mothers in vulnerable situations.

“I’ll be OK,” she said. “I’m with God. I have a wonderful husband, wonderful friends and family, and supporters all over the place. Pray for those mothers that do not have that kind of support and go up to the abortion clinics.”

Though Harlow is a devout Catholic, she says stopping abortion is not a matter of religion.

“It’s what God tells us to do, but it’s just a matter of humanity,” she said. “Why would any country be killing off their own?”

Mary Margaret Olohan contributed to this report.

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]

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Hunter and Melissa Biden

(WASHINGTON EXAMINER) -- House Republicans referred Hunter and James Biden to the Department of Justice on Wednesday for criminal prosecution over allegations they lied to Congress during closed-door interviews about their business dealings.

Reps. James Comer (R-KY), Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Jason Smith (R-MO), the House chairmen leading an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, detailed in a letter what they described as “overwhelming evidence” of felony false statement and perjury violations.

The letter, addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland and special counsel David Weiss, included a 60-page brief about the lies the chairmen allege the president’s son and brother told during their meetings with Congress in February.

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(Photo by Joe Kovacs)

(LIFEWAY) -- Almost a decade after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage across the country, most pastors remain opposed, and the supporting percentage isn’t growing any larger.

One in 5 U.S. Protestant pastors (21%) say they see nothing wrong with two people of the same gender getting married, according to a Lifeway Research study. Three in 4 (75%) are opposed, including 69% who strongly disagree with same-sex marriage. Another 4% say they aren’t sure.

Previous Lifeway Research studies found growing support among pastors. In 2010, 15% of U.S. Protestant pastors had no moral issues with the practice. The percentage in favor grew to 24% in 2019. Today, support is statistically unchanged at 21%.

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