Day: August 15, 2022

DOJ Admits ‘Mistakenly’ Taking Trump’s Passports, Offers to Return Them

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In an acknowledgment the FBI over-collected evidence during the Mar-a-Lago raid, the Justice Department informed Donald Trump’s team Monday that agents seized the former president’s passports and are obligated to return them, Just the News has learned,

DOJ was making plans Monday evening to return the passports and have also alerted defense lawyers the FBI may have obtained materials covered by various privileges that will be returned in the next two weeks, two sources told Just the News.

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Judge: Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency Can’t Collect on Appealed Unemployment Overpayments

The Center Square

A Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled that the state Unemployment Insurance Agency can’t collect on claimants appealing a determination they were overpaid.

Court of Claims Judge Brock Swartzle ruled that his prior preliminary injunction stops UIA collection on all individuals who “timely” appeal UIA claims until they are resolved.

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Commentary: It’s Time to Take Down the Cult of Climate Change for Good

Admin

When you look at climate alarmists, there are really only two options: they either don’t know what they’re talking about, or they’re lying.

The “Little Boy Who Cried ‘Wolf’”-like cries of “existential threats” brought on by climate change would be hilarious, if it wasn’t for the disastrous impact from misguided actions to “fix” the problem. However, the fable about a youngster fabricating an emergency time and again isn’t that far off from today’s climate-change evangelists; they both need to recognize their stories are quickly losing credibility.

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Teachers’ Union Suggests Summer Reading About Kneeling for the National Anthem

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The country’s largest teachers’ union suggested a book about kneeling for the national anthem as part of its August 2022 summer reading list, according to its website.

The National Education Association (NEA) listed the book “Why We Fly” by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal, which features marijuana use and tells of two girls on the cheerleading squad who take a knee for the national anthem after being inspired by a football star protesting in the media, according to the website. Discussion questions and related resources on athlete activism are also provided by the NEA to pair with the reading.

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Unclaimed Property Becomes Revenue for Some States

The Center Square

Some states are making money from unclaimed property that people may not know the states have. 

South Dakota is one of the few states that send profits from abandoned property to their general budget. About 3% of the state’s general fund revenues come from unclaimed property, according to state budget officials. Some states, including Wyoming and Wisconsin, hold on to the property indefinitely. 

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Al Franken Endorses Liz Cheney, Quips It Will ‘Carry a Lot of Weight’ with Wyoming GOP

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Former Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken endorsed Wyoming Republican Liz Cheney for reelection ahead of the primary this week.

“I’ve decided to endorse @RepLizCheney for the Republican nomination for the House seat In Wyoming it’s my first time endorsing in a GOP primary. But I think Al Franken’s support will carry a lot of weight with WY Republicans,” the former senator wrote Saturday in a tweet that garnered more than 100,000 likes, 12,000 retweets and 14,000 comments.

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Commentary: China Is Infiltrating Kids’ Video Games with Propaganda and Spyware

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While many are rightfully concerned about the growing influence of video-based social media platform TikTok and the Chinese government’s ability to harvest incredible amounts of user data from it, China’s largest social media and video game studio, Tencent, has quietly been acquiring a commanding stake in the most popular video game companies around the world, and no one has seemed to notice.

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Ashley Judd Found Mother Alive After She Shot Herself, Court Papers Say

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Ashley Judd found her mother, Naomi Judd, alive after she shot herself, according to a court filing from the family as part of an effort to stop documents from being released about Naomi’s death.

Judd’s husband, Larry Strickland, and her daughters Ashley and Wynonna Judd filed a petition on Friday in Williamson County Chancery Court in Tennessee. The family argued that records from Judd’s death investigation would cause “significant trauma and irreparable harm” if they are released, according to The Tennessean.

The family asked for all video and audio evidence as well as personal medical information and police reports to be kept private.

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Commentary: A Decentralized Education System Keeps Hubris in Check

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by Kerry McDonald   While the past two years have been characterized in many ways by top-down policy approaches and greater centralization of power, there have also been positive signs of decentralization and bottom-up solutions. This has been particularly true in education, as parents seek new learning options for their…

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Four Alleged Cartel Members Charged with Sending Money to China for Fentanyl Production

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Fentanyl

Four alleged cartel members were charged in connection with an international money laundering operation that involved sending funds to China to produce fentanyl.

The four New Jersey men, William Panzera, 49, Thomas Padovano, 48, Bartholomew Padovano, 71, and Sean Tighe, 46, were indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of New Jersey Wednesday, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

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West Point Cadets COVID Vax Religious Exemptions Denied En Masse, Given One Day to Respond

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West Point Military Academy cadets were denied their Religious Accommodation Request appeals to the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate en masse on Wednesday but were not informed until Friday afternoon, when they were given 24 hours to respond, according to attorney R. Davis Younts.

A Developmental Counseling Form that was given to a cadet notes that the religious objector’s RAR appeal was denied on Wednesday and the date that cadet received counseling regarding the vaccine mandate was Friday. The form says that the objector has until 4 p.m. on Saturday to make a plan to receive the vaccine.

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MSNBC Contributor, Ex-Spy Chief Hint Trump Deserves Execution over Classified Records Dispute

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Amid published reports that former President Trump is improperly holding classified papers, including nuclear documents, at his Florida compound, MSNBC contributor Michael Beschloss and former CIA Director Michael Hayden are intimating via social media that Trump should be executed.

The Washington Post has reported that the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound on Monday in order to retrieve “nuclear documents” they believed were improperly stored there.

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Commentary: Non-College-Educated Taxpayers May Soon Be Responsible for Billions in College Debt

RealClearWire

Most Americans have been conditioned to accept some level of incompetence and inefficiency from government – but not to the extent that federal employees paid by our tax dollars simply admit that they are fundamentally incapable of doing their jobs. Yet shockingly, this is what we are now witnessing with the Department of Education’s failed and convoluted attempt to process claims for student loan cancellation. 

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Biden Admin Investigates College’s Doctoral Program Only for Black Students

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The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) plans to investigate the University of Utah for a doctoral program available only to black students, according to an OCR letter.

University of Michigan-Flint professor Mark Perry filed a complaint against the University of Utah regarding its African American Doctoral Scholars Initiative alleging the program, which only allows black students, violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national orientation, according to the July 26 OCR letter. The OCR confirmed they will investigate the university in a letter to Perry.

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Michigan’s Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Accepted over $1 Million from Billionaires, Celebrity Donors While Attacking Her GOP Opponent’s ‘Special Interests’ Ties

Michigan Star Staff

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s campaign has raked in donations from billionaires and Hollywood celebrities despite fundraising off her Trump-endorsed opponent’s ties to “special interests,” according to state records reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Michigan Democrat’s campaign has received over $1 million from billionaires and almost $48,000 from Hollywood celebrities since 2021, state campaign finance disclosures show. At the same time, the governor’s reelection campaign has criticized Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon for her ties to “special interests” and former Education Secretary and billionaire Betsy DeVos.

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