China’s regime is trafficking illegal drugs, protected wildlife, and humans. It is laundering cash and participating in ransomware attacks. It steals intellectual property. The ruling group, as a matter of state policy, murders people for their organs.
The Chinese state is not only a dangerous international actor, it is also a common criminal. Perhaps we should say it is an uncommon or state criminal, the most powerful and insidious kind.
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Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed National Opportunity Project founder, Patrick Hughes to the newsmaker line to discuss the misallocation of millions of COVID dollars to private schools throughout the country.
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Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) has laid out the next step required for Tennessee to possibly reject federal education dollars in the future. On Monday, he filed legislation (add an attachment here) that would create an 11-member task force, helmed by Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, to study the process required for the state to forego federal funding.
The proposed committee would begin meeting monthly in August and would be expected to deliver a strategic plan to Governor Lee and the General Assembly by December 1. The legislation further requires that Commissioner Schwinn, in her role as chair, notify the US Department of Education by August 31 and advise them on Tennessee’s intent to explore the possibility of Tennessee rejecting federal funding.
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Former President Trump on Saturday won the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll as the preferred 2024 GOP presidential nominee, and former Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake won as the vice presidential choice of CPAC attendees.
Over 2,000 votes were cast.
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President Joe Biden issued a sweeping executive order last week that will embed woke critical race and gender ideologies into every agency of the federal government, an agenda Legal Insurrection’s Professor William Jacobson asserts amounts to “outright discrimination on the basis of race.”
Jacobson announced the launch of the Equal Protection Project Thursday night on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight.
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This week I have a question from Ryan who asks about economic development in America. Ryan says,
I was having a discussion with an acquaintance the other day over the causes of the post WW2 economy, more specifically why the middle class grew so large compared to the past and today. My claim was that the war devastated other countries’ industries, forcing other countries to buy from the US. This combined with the return of many men from the military to the workforce was the primary cause.
He claims that while those produced a large GDP, it did not explain why the middle class grew. Instead he advocates that the primary cause was the FDR policies of wealth redistribution, high tax rates, and strong labor unions. As such, he advocates for a return to those policies today.
What would be your perspective on this and where might one go to further research it?
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China called for a ceasefire in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict this week and for the start of peace negotiations as the war’s one-year anniversary approaches Friday.
Beijing unveiled its proposals as part of a 12-point plan to end the conflict that would also see the end of Western sanctions on Russia and a number of allowances for humanitarian relief, according to the New York Post.
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Former President Jimmy Carter will begin receiving hospice care this week, the Carter Center announced on Saturday.
The Democratic politician, who at 98 is the oldest president in United States history, made the decision to forego all additional medical care, his charity said in a statement.
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A new federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) rule on pistols with stabllizing braces faces a Second Amendment lawsuit filed on behalf of disabled veterans.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed the complaint Tuesday in the U.S. Northern District of Texas Amarillo Division.
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Veteran Catholic pro-life activist Mark Houck described to Steve Bannon Tuesday the scene at his family’s home on September 23, 2022, when over 20 FBI agents and Pennsylvania state troopers banged on his door at 6:45 a.m.
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The House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Wednesday demanded the University of Pennsylvania release information about anonymous donations from China to the Penn Biden Center, where classified documents were found, over concerns the Chinese Communist Party may have influenced Biden administration policies through the contributions.
“The Committee has learned UPenn received millions of dollars from anonymous Chinese sources, with a marked uptick in donations when then-former Vice President Biden was announced as leading the Penn Biden Center initiative,” the GOP-led committee said. “Following the formation of the Penn Biden Center, donations originating from China tripled and continued while Joe Biden explored a potential run for President.”
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The Department of Justice reportedly opted against having FBI agents oversee a search by President Joe Biden’s lawyers for classified documents at his private homes.
Biden’s legal team discussed directly with the DOJ the idea of having FBI agents present during such searches, according to the Wall Street Journal, though both parties ultimately agreed to leave the matter to the president’s own attorneys.
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Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel reportedly declined to participate in a live, public debate with her opponents, according to POLITICO.
McDaniel, seeking a fourth term as chair, cited her “existing commitment to a forum” that the RNC will hold regarding being absent from the live debate, the outlet reported Friday.
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Concerns about funding ties linking China, Joe Biden and the heavily Chinese-funded University of Pennsylvania were brought to the attention of state law enforcement almost two years ago, with no official action taken by the state’s then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro or any members of his staff.
The letter, sent by a group called “Take Back Our Republic” and addressed to Shapiro and other high-ranking members of his team, was sent in July of 2021. That was nearly a year and a half before the Biden classified document story broke, resulting in Attorney General Merrick Garland appointing a special counsel on Thursday to investigate the matter.
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The chairman of the main House investigative committee announced Thursday he is expanding his probe of the Biden family to examine the University of Pennsylvania’s reliance on Chinese donations during the time it employed President Joe Biden and hosted his think tank where classified documents were recently found improperly stored.
House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James announced the decision after Just the News reported Wednesday night that the Ivy League university affectionately known as Penn collected $67.6 million in donations from Chinese sources between 2013 and 2019, two-thirds of it while it employed Joe Biden as a guest professor and hosted his Penn Biden Center.
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Shortly after the White House announced that a second set of classified documents from the Obama administration was discovered in the Delaware home of the president – and immediately before Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of a second special prosecutor into misplaced classified presidential papers – Joe Biden tried to reassure the country by telling reporters that the sensitive documents were behind locked doors.
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Journalist Matt Taibbi on Thursday released part 14 of the “Twitter Files,” showing how congressional Democrats tried to discredit a report by then-California Rep. Devin Nunes regarding the federal government’s Trump-Russia investigation.
Emails show how the lawmakers crafted and pushed a narrative claiming Russian bots were responsible for bolstering claims in the report by Nunes, who at the time was chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
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Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday appointed a special counsel to investigate the classified documents from Joe Biden’s time as vice president.
He said he initially appointed U.S. Attorney John Lausch, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, to conduct the initial investigation, but because Lausch is retiring, a different special counsel needed to be appointed.
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Aides to President Joe Biden have reportedly discovered a second batch of classified documents stored at a separate location, according to NBC News, which cited a “person familiar with the matter.”
Reports emerged earlier this week that a lawyer clearing out Biden’s office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington had discovered a set of classified documents which reportedly included intelligence on Ukraine, Iran and the UK. The documents were discovered in November and handed over to the government. The National Archives has asked the Department of Justice to investigate the matter.
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Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was discharged from the Buffalo Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute in New York on Wednesday after undergoing “a comprehensive medical evaluation,” according to the team.
The NFL player went into cardiac arrest the night of Jan. 2 in an away game against the Cincinnati Bengals after making a tackle.
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President Joe Biden indicated that he had been unaware of the classified documents found at his former office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C.
After repeatedly maligning former President Donald Trump for his alleged mishandling of classified documents, Biden appeared to have ink on his face when reports emerged that the National Archives had asked the Department of Justice to investigate his own handling of classified materials found at his private office.
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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is recommending more aggressive treatment of childhood obesity, including the use of pharmaceutical and surgical interventions for those as young as 12 or 13.
In its new guidance released Monday in the organization’s journal Pediatrics, AAP dismisses the sole approach of monitoring still-growing children to see if independent changes families and children can make on their own leads to success. Such a wait-and-see method is largely useless, the authors of the guidance say, given that “14.4 million children and adolescents” are now affected by obesity and its long-term health consequences.
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Former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton this week confirmed that he will be mounting a 2024 presidential bid, one meant in part to prevent former President Donald Trump himself from once again claiming the White House.
Bolton told Good Morning Britain that he was planning on entering the race as a legitimate candidate and not merely a spoiler for Trump. “I wouldn’t run as a vanity candidate,” he told the show. “If I didn’t think I could run seriously, then I wouldn’t get in the race.”
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House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy captured the House speakership in dramatic fashion early Saturday, winning enough votes on a historic 15th ballot that saw 20 renegade Republicans changing their votes under enormous pressure after winning significant concessions about how Congress will operate going forward.
The final vote was 216-212-6.
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The House of Representatives convened on Friday for the fourth day of voting for speaker and House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy has picked up 15 votes from GOP holdouts but he’s still short of the simple majority needed to win.
The House passed a motion to adjourn until 10pm. McCarthy told reporters he’s confident he will have the votes to win Friday evening.
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After more than a month of warnings from Wisconsin’s congressional Republicans and the cybersecurity community), Gov. Tony Evers says he will ban TikTok on state devices.
Wisconsin joins federal agencies, Congress and at least 16 states in prohibiting the popular video-sharing app that has drawn widespread concerns that its being used as a spying tool for the Chinese Communist Party.
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Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is breathing on his own after having a breathing tube removed by doctors, his team said on Friday.
The Bills said in a statement posted to their website that “per the physicians at [University of Cincinnati Medical Center], Damar’s breathing tube was removed overnight. He continues to progress remarkably in his recovery.”
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The House of Representatives has adjourned for the evening after California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy failed to win the speaker’s gavel for the 11th time.
The speaker election started Tuesday but McCarthy has fallen short of reaching the simple majority threshold needed to win in the 222-212 GOP-led House.
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Doctors treating Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin said Thursday his neurological condition and function appears “intact” and that he’s made “remarkable improvement” after having gone into cardiac arrest three days earlier on the football field after making a tackle.
The doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where Hamlin was taken Monday night after being injured in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, gave an update early Thursday through the Bills, then in a news conference.
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The House of Representatives has adjourned without a new speaker after two days of voting.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy lost in the 6th round of voting for House speaker on Wednesday.
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Florida Republican Rep. Greg Steube confirmed on Wednesday that the party’s competing wings have entered negotiations to reach a compromise on choosing the next Speaker of the House.
California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the party’s lead contender for the post, has failed six times thus far to secure the support of a majority of lawmakers. The House voted three times on Wednesday and no candidate received the necessary 218 votes.
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California Republican Kevin McCarthy failed Tuesday to get enough support in the first three votes as his bid for Speaker of the House struggles to cross the finish line.
The U.S. House adjourned with no debate after the third vote and is scheduled to reconvene at noon Wednesday. Until a new speaker is elected, the House cannot conduct other business.
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Rep. Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday failed in the first round of balloting to secure enough votes to become the chamber’s next speaker.
McCarthy unofficially got 203 votes, about 16 short.
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Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who shaped Catholic doctrine for decades before surprising the church by resigning as pontiff, died Saturday at age 95, the Vatican announced.
“With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican,” Vatican press secretary Matteo Bruni told media.
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Title 42 remains in place — at least for now.
The U.S. Supreme Court this week temporarily blocked the lifting of the Trump-era rule that provided at least some check on the Biden administration’s failure to secure the U.S. southern border. Put in place in 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, the rule curtails general asylum for illegal immigrants, quickly expelling them to stop the spread of COVID-19.
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that a COVID-19 era immigration order remain in place.
Title 42 is an order allowing border authorities to swiftly deport migrants if they hail from a country known to host a communicable disease such as COVID-19. Border officials have deported an estimated 2.5 million migrants under the order since its implementation. Many detractors of the Biden administration’s approach fear that its end could prompt an even greater surge.
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The Maricopa County Superior Court reaffirmed Democrat Gov.-Elect Katie Hobbs’s gubernatorial election win in a Saturday ruling in Republican Kari Lake’s election lawsuit.
The ruling said that “the court DOES NOT find clear and convincing evidence” that “misconduct” altered the election results.
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The following admission should embarrass me. Fortunately, I have reached the age where personal quirks more often bring amusement than shame.
Here’s my confession: I’ve begun watching Hallmark movies. Recently, I even spent two evenings with a Candace Cameron Bure film from the Great American Family. Yep, here I am, a guy in his early 70s, all alone and happily watching sappy movies.
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A fervid follower of retiring Dr. Anthony Fauci said the global medical freedom movement should be called “anti-science aggression” because it has become a “major killing force … linked to far extremism on the far right” and has led to the deaths of 200,000 Americans “who needlessly lost their lives because they refused a COVID vaccine.”
In a political rant against those who have exposed the collusion between the federal government, and the giants of technology and the pharmaceutical industry in promoting the mRNA COVID shots, Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology at Baylor College of Medicine, posted a video message to Twitter that was retweeted by the World Health Organization (WHO).
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Several years in the making, Music Spotlight artist Becca Bowen has released her debut album, Like You’ve Never Been Loved, and it is not to be missed.
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The latest “Twitter Files” release, on Friday evening, details the social media platform’s relationship with the FBI and outlined communications between the federal agency seeking takedowns of select posts.
The most recent release is from independent journalist Matt Taibbi, one of several individuals to whom new Twitter CEO Elon Musk has granted access to the company’s internal communications in a bid to highlight the prior management’s efforts to stifle posts that didn’t agree with their world view.
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Former President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the rollout of a digital trading card line featuring fantastical artwork depicting his “life and career,” a collection the Republican president predicted would sell out “very quickly.”
Trump had earlier in the week teased the announcement, which he rolled out on Thursday morning via his social networking site Truth Social.
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The third release of internal Twitter documents on Friday evening detailed the momentous decision to remove former President Donald Trump from the platform after the Jan. 6 riot, making clear that executives understood it was an unprecedented moment in the history of speech.
Alternative journalist Matt Taibbi on Friday released the third set of internal documents as part of an Elon Musk-sanctioned effort to expose the platform’s prior censorship practices.
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Doctors and scientists who participated in Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson’s (R) COVID-19 roundtable Wednesday shared their personal experiences of the federal government’s alleged corruption and mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic that they say have likely caused many more examples of serious vaccine injury for which Americans have no recourse.
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WNBA star Brittney Griner has been released from Russian prison in a prisoner exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, according to multiple media reports Thursday morning.
President Joe Biden said Griner is safe and on her way home during an address Thursday with Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, and Vice President Kamala Harris. He thanked the United Arab Emirates for helping facilitate Brittney Griner’s return home.
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President Joe Biden visited Arizona on Tuesday but did not visit the U.S.-Mexico border. He visited the state to tour a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. facility in the process of being constructed in Phoenix, Arizona.
When a reporter asked Biden why he would come to Arizona and not visit the border, the president said visiting the border is not a priority.
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Twitter owner Elon Musk, through alternative journalist Matt Taibbi, released a series of internal documents on Friday suggesting that the Biden campaign and Democratic National Committee were able to manipulate speech on the platform through tools that Twitter made available.
That manipulation included the censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop story first reported by the New York Post. The emails appear to cite requests from “the Biden team” and “DNC” and include confirmations that Twitter “handled” their requests to delete posts.
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A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that a Trump-appointed judge erred in appointing a special master to independently review the documents the FBI seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate in August.
An 11th Circuit Court of Appeals panel unanimously determined that U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon was incorrect both to appoint a special master to independently assess Trump’s executive privilege claims and to bar the Department of Justice from conducting its own review, Politico reported.
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A U.S. House Democrat blasted President Joe Biden for his planned ritzy dinner with France’s leader Emmanuel Macron.
Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, called out Biden on Twitter, suggesting the president is a hypocrite for crushing the lobster industry with strict regulations while purchasing 200 lobsters from Maine for the state dinner with Macron.
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The Senate on Tuesday evening passed the Respect for Marriage Act to require that states recognize lawful marriages from other states while providing protections for religious liberty.
The bill passed with crossover support from Republicans, allowing it to clear the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold. It will now move to the House of Representatives, which previously passed a similar package. The final count was 61-36.
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