Music Industry Spotlight: Crowd Surf Founders Cassie Petrey and Jade Driver

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – One of the things that has most surprised me as an entertainment journalist is how many people it takes for a song or singer to become notable. Besides the artist and the songwriter (who may or may not be the same person) there are backup bands, producers, and…

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Commentary: ‘Economist’ Krugman’s Accounting of the National Debt is Jailworthy

The national debt has risen at a blistering pace over recent decades and is now higher than any era of the nation’s history—even when adjusted for inflation, population growth, and economic growth (GDP).

Denying this reality, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman recently wrote two columns for the New York Times in which he claimed that the debt is an “overhyped issue” and “isn’t all that unusual” from a historical perspective. His attempts to support these assertions employ the kind of fraudulent accounting that could land a corporate executive in jail.

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Congress Takes First Shot at Federal Censorship: A Moratorium on DOJ Payments to Social Media

Stunned by a growing body of evidence showing federal pressure to silence Americans’ voices online, House Republicans have unleashed their first legislation to slow government requests to Big Tech to censor content.

The ELON Act, introduced this month by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and backed by nine other cosponsors, would impose a one-year moratorium on taxpayer payments from the Justice Department to social media firms as well as require an audit on how much money changed hands since the start of 2015 between DOJ and Big Tech firms.

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Americans Still Agree Race Should Not Be Factored into College Admission: Poll

A majority of Americans still oppose using race as a factor in college admissions, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll reported by Reuters on Wednesday.

The poll, which surveyed 4,408 adults from Feb. 6-13, revealed that 62% of Americans agree that race should not be considered when reviewing a college applicant, Reuters reported. The results precede the Supreme Court’s anticipated decision on whether affirmative action, which considers race as an admission factor, can be used by colleges and universities to make admission decisions.

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Nonprofits Urge More Controlled Burning to Prevent Wildfires in 11 Western States

A new report by two nonprofit organizations is advocating 11 western states change local and state policies to increase controlled burning on private lands to stem wildfires.

“Modern wildfires are not only burning larger areas but are also more harmful for people, forests, and the environment,” according to the publication “Burn Back Better,” produced by the Property and Environment Research Center and Tall Timbers. The 38-page report, subtitled “How Western States Can Encourage Prescribed Fire on Private Lands,” recommends immediate policy changes to address the wildfire crisis in the western U.S.

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Commentary: The Case for Defunding a New FBI Headquarters

The Biden Administration is readying to choose a location for a gigantic new FBI headquarters as the central government continues to expand. 

Virginia and Maryland are competing for the project, with Democrats and Republicans of each state uniting against the other state, as they generally do with pork-barrel spending, to host the multibillion-dollar FBI complex. 

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In Possible 2024 West Virginia Senate Race, GOP Gov. Justice over Incumbent Democrat Manchin, Poll

West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice is the only potential nominee who could beat Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin in the 2024 Senate race, according to a GOP poll. 

Justice, a Democrat-turned-Republican, has not formally entered the race, but in a hypothetical matchup, the two-term governor beat Manchin 52% to 42%, according to the poll conducted by The Tarrance Group, a GOP strategic research and polling firm.

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Catholic Bishop Fatally Shot in California

A Los Angeles Archdiocese auxiliary bishop known as a “peacemaker” was shot to death Saturday afternoon, officials said.

Bishop David O’Connell, a 69-year-old native of Ireland, was shot and killed Saturday just before 1 p.m. local time inside his home in the neighborhood of Hacienda Heights, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said.

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Supreme Court Cancels Arguments for Health Measure Limiting Illegal Immigration

The Supreme Court has removed arguments from its calendar for a highly anticipated case on Title 42, a COVID-19 public health measure allowing Border Patrol to quickly expel some illegal aliens. The case was going to be heard March 1.   

The Supreme Court announced Thursday that the case had been removed from its argument calendar. The high court did not provide an explanation as to why the justices would no longer hear arguments for the case, but it seems likely related to the Biden administration’s plan to officially end the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11.

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Kentucky Supreme Court Upholds Two Pro-Life State Laws

The Kentucky Supreme Court this week refused to strike down two major pro-life laws in the state, leaving them in place but sending one back to lower courts for further consideration. 

Abortion providers argued that the state’s heartbeat bill and trigger ban violated the constitutional rights of those seeking abortion there. The court said in its ruling that abortion providers “do not have third-party standing to assert the constitutional rights of their patients.”

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Unearthed Emails Show Rachel Levine Discussing ‘Potential Revenue’ from Child Sex Change Procedures

Rachel Levine, who is now assistant secretary for health in the Biden administration, discussed the potential revenue that could be generated by a gender clinic social worker who could advocate for child sex change procedures in emails, reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation, with a pediatrician.

Dr. Rollyn Ornstein, a pediatrician at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, believed a social worker for the hospital’s gender clinic would generate enough revenue to make funding the position worthwhile, noting that even with age restrictions for sex change surgeries, child patients would eventually turn 18 and be eligible for further interventions, according to emails from 2018 between Rollyn and Levine obtained by parental rights activist Megan Brock and reviewed by the DCNF. Social workers at pediatric gender clinics can work as surgery advocates, gathering letters of recommendation on behalf of minors seeking sex change procedures that insurance companies are otherwise hesitant to cover, according to a 2021 report from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the National Association of Social Workers.

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IRS Enlists Soros-Funded Liberal Nonprofit to Study the Feasibility of ‘Direct File’ Tax Return Systems

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is partnering with a George Soros-funded nonprofit to study and establish a “direct file” tax return system, according to FedScoop.

The nonprofit, New America, alongside Loyola Law School Associate Professor of Law Ariel Jurow-Kleiman, will create a feasibility study authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which requires that the IRS work with independent third parties to establish free, online direct tax-filing, according to FedScoop. New America draws funding from a litany of left-learning philanthropic organizations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Melinda Gates’ Pivotal Ventures LLC and the Soros-backed Open Society Foundations, according to New America’s funding disclosure.

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Lawmakers Re-introduce Bill to Ban TikTok in the United States

TikTok’s days in the United States could be numbered under a bipartisan bill re-introduced by the heads of congress’ new Committee on China. 

Reps Mike Gallagher (R-WI-08) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08) on Friday submitted the legislation, which would ban the controversial video-sharing app from operating in the United States. 

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Michigan Secretary of State to Push for Gun Ban at Polling Places

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said she is working with state lawmakers to ban firearms at polling places and enact a Voting Rights Act.

“The time for only thoughts and prayers is over,” Benson said in a statement. “The time for taking action to ensure Michiganders are safe – in schools, in grocery stores, in places where we vote and everywhere in between – is now.”

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Commentary: Increasing Wokeness and Class Division Threaten to Tear the Left Apart

Tensions are rising between those who profess to want to redefine the “soul” of America and those who have traditionally provided them the votes to win elections.

A new report from the Manhattan Institute warns that increasing tensions inside the Democratic Party between woke White elites and working class voters threaten to tear the party apart. 

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Communist China Cracked Down on Christians in 2022, Report Says

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) censored, fined, politically indoctrinated and forcibly disappeared Chinese Christians in 2022, according to a new report from the nonprofit ChinaAid Tuesday.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) reportedly employed a range of new methods to persecute Chinese Christians in 2022 including fabricating charges of fraud as well as criminalizing the legal international travel of church leaders, the report states. China’s crackdown on Christianity reportedly intensified in the run-up to the CCP’s 20th Party Congress in October 2022, during which time General Secretary Xi Jinping secured a third term as the communist nation’s supreme leader, according to ChinaAid.

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Commentary: After School Satan Club Provokes Parent Outrage

A Virginia school board is considering revising its policies on after-school clubs following conflict over a new “After School Satan Club.”

The Chesapeake Public School Board previously allowed the Satan club to meet on school property, stipulating it pay over $600 for security for each meeting, something the district’s policy allows, local media reports.

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Commentary: Everyone Should Read Great Literature

When I first attended a Shakespeare play, I have to admit that for the first few scenes I was pretty lost. Shakespeare’s English is of a much older and more formal style than ours, so sometimes experiencing his work is almost like hearing another language. Confused and concerned that the play wasn’t going to make any sense, I began to fear that most dreaded of sensations in our modern age of instant entertainment: boredom.

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St. Mary’s College Says Biological Sex Messaging Does ‘Not Align’ with Its Mission

 Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, denied the foundation of a Turning Point USA chapter, according to an email from the dean of students, because Turning Point USA’s messaging on biological sex does “not align” with the Catholic college’s mission.

Claire Bettag, a sophomore student from Chicago, pushed back against Saint Mary’s denial of the club over the course of several months, according to emails reviewed by The Daily Signal. But the college’s dean of students, Gloria Jenkins, ultimately told Bettag that Turning Point USA’s messaging on transgender issues does not align with Saint Mary’s mission.

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Trump to Visit Ohio Town After Toxic Train Derailment

Former President Donald Trump will visit East Palestine, Ohio, on Wednesday after a train derailment caused a toxic chemical plume to pollute the town, a source familiar with the plan told Fox News. Trump will visit with members of the community who are dealing with the aftermath of a Norfolk Southern train derailment that occurred earlier this month, the source told Fox News. The derailment led to the evacuation of nearly 2,000 residents before a controlled release was performed to prevent an explosion, which subsequently released a hazardous mixture of chemicals into the air and water.

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Pentagon Will Pay for Travel to Other States for Abortions

The Department of Defense (DOD) will pay for troops to travel to states that allow abortions and obtain so-called “reproductive health care” at non-military facilities, according to a new policy released Thursday evening.

The landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision gave states the authority to determine localized abortion policies. The Hyde amendment bars DOD from administering abortions at military medical facilities, the new policy carves out provisions for expanded leave times and set-aside funding for servicemembers stationed in states that restrict abortions to cross state boundaries to obtain the procedure.

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Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson Reignites Effort to Protect America’s Sovereignty Against World Health Organization’s Pandemic Treaty

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) reintroduced legislation Wednesday that seeks to protect the sovereignty of the United States against the World Health Organization’s (WHO) attempt to push through a pandemic treaty onto its member states.

Johnson led other Republican senators as he reintroduced the No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act.

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Commentary: Biden Has Mastered the Art of Dodging Blame for Inflation

It is frustrating that so many otherwise competent, knowledgeable economists and commentators are failing to land a punch on President Joe Biden regarding inflation.

It’s not that people don’t know the economy is floundering. They do. Almost 66% of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling average, a sentiment driven by inflation and the difficulties it has caused for people trying to keep up with household expenses.

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CDC: 60 Percent Increase in High School Girls Contemplating Suicide

On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published a report revealing that the rate of high school-aged girls in the United States considering suicide or going through depression has increased dramatically over the last 10 years.

As reported by Fox News, the study shows that in 2021, 57 percent of all high school girls felt depressed or hopeless in 2021, compared to just 36 percent in 2011; this marks a staggering 58 percent increase over the 10-year period. Similarly, 30 percent of girls in 2021 contemplated suicide, a 60 percent increase from just 19 percent in 2011. And in another 60 percent increase, 24 percent of high school girls went so far as to make plans for their own suicide in 2021, up from 15 percent in 2011.

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FBI Whistleblower Resigns from Bureau, Warns Congress About Dangers of Case ‘Quota System’

An FBI whistleblower has divulged to Congress that the bureau has created a case quota system that can incentivize agents to pursue frivolous cases or delay action on real crimes to attain statistical goals.

Steve Friend, a special agent and former SWAT team member who blew the whistle on alleged civil liberties violations in the Jan. 6 investigation, told Just the News on Thursday that he resigned from the bureau this week and gave the House Judiciary Committee an extensive interview detailing his concerns about the politicization of criminal cases and the growing manipulation of investigations to attain statistical and budget goals.

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Commentary: Recognizing Hard Truths About America’s History with Slavery

Slavery is always and everywhere an unconscionable stain, an egregious error, a monstrous outrage, a mortal sin. Every human possesses a natural right to be his own master, so long as he does not deny that same right to others.

Most people take that truism for granted today but it wasn’t the governing rule of the past. Few people who have ever lived on this planet were truly free; most were either outright slaves or were serfs or subjects who lived in constant fear of tyrants. In world history, freedom is the exception, and mostly a recent one.

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Number of Troops Dying from Fentanyl More than Doubles

The number of American troops dying from fentanyl more than doubled between 2017 and 2021, according to Department of Defense (DOD) data released Wednesday.

The data show that fentanyl was to blame for 54 overdose deaths in 2021, which account for 88% of drug deaths that year, according to DOD’s response to a bipartisan congressional inquiry. The number is a staggering increase from the 22 overdose deaths caused by fentanyl in 2017.

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Despite Comprehensive Study Showing Masks Ineffective Against COVID and Flu, CDC Director Tells Congress, ‘Our Masking Guidance Doesn’t Really Change With Time’

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky testified during a recent House committee hearing that, despite the recent release of an international research review that found masks are ineffective against COVID-19 and the flu, her agency’s masking guidance “doesn’t really change with time.”

During a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) asked Walensky to explain how the CDC uses evidence to update or change its guidance.

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U.S. Projected to Tack on $19 Trillion in Debt over Next Decade as Spending Soars

The U.S. is likely to add $19 trillion more to the national debt in the next 10 years, which is $3 trillion higher than previously expected, new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predictions show.

By the end of 2023, the CBO projects the deficit to be $1.4 trillion, and it will continue to average about $2 trillion annually, raising the debt to about $52 trillion. The CBO report indicates that the rise in the deficit is a result of bipartisan legislation coupled with the Federal Reserve’s hike in interest rates.

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YouTube CEO Steps Down After Nine Years

Youtube CEO Susan Wojcicki will be stepping down after a nine year stint as head of the company, Wojcicki announced in a blog post Thursday.

Wojcicki initially joined Google, Youtube’s parent company, nearly 25 years ago and worked on several projects for the company — including co-creating Google’s Image Search function and advertising technology — before joining Youtube in 2014 as its CEO, according to the blog post. Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan will be taking over as the new CEO of YouTube, while Wojcicki will step into an advisory role at YouTube’s parent companies, Google and Alphabet.

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Democrats Celebrate 100 Federal Judicial Nominee Confirmations But Michael Delaney ‘Problematic’ for Biden and Schumer

The Democrat-controlled Senate is celebrating the confirmation of 100 of Joe Biden’s judicial nominees, approved by radical left-wing organizations, but Wednesday’s Judiciary Committee hearing saw Biden nominee Michael Delaney struggling against an onslaught of confrontation over his move in 2015 to publicly release the name of a minor female victim of sexual assault while he represented her school.

By nominating representatives of these radical positions, Biden is “paying back the left-wing dark money groups who spent over a billion dollars to help elect him and Senate Democrats,” Carrie Severino, president of JCN, formerly known as Judicial Crisis Network, told Fox News Digital.

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Study Recommends Michigan Update Telehealth Laws

A new report from the Reason Foundation recommends Michigan update its telehealth laws from temporary pandemic policies to permanent status.

When COVID started, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-86, which expanded telehealth options for Michiganders by authorizing and encouraging health care providers to use these services when appropriate and after getting consent from patients. The order took effect immediately and continued through June 10, 2020.

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Commentary: Destroying Meritocracy Is Deadly

A recent epidemic of airline near misses deserves both attention and reflection. 

In mid-December, a San Francisco-bound United Airlines Boeing 777-200 airliner, just a little over a minute after taking off from Maui, Hawaii, suddenly dived. It lost more than half its altitude and came within 800 feet of crashing into the Pacific Ocean before pulling up. 

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Idaho State House Passes Ban on Transgender Surgery for Minors

On Tuesday, the Idaho House of Representatives passed a bill that would implement a statewide ban on so-called “transgender” surgeries for minors, as well as medications that are meant to indulge delusions of gender dysphoria.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, the “Vulnerable Child Protective Act” was introduced by State Rep. Bruce Skaug (R-Idaho), and will now head to the Republican-controlled State Senate. The bill expands upon an already-existing state ban on “female genital mutilation,” and makes it a felony to give puberty blockers or other forms of hormone treatment to children; the bill also makes it a felony to perform genital mutilation surgery that “alters the appearance of or affirms the child’s perception of the child’s sex.”

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Music Spotlight: Hillary Reese

NASHVILLE. Tennessee – Hillary Reese comes from a big sports family in Mississippi full of coaches and teachers. But she and her brother both desired to do music instead. (Her brother, Parker Reese, has a degree in Music Education.)

“We were not coordinated and couldn’t throw a ball to save our lives,” Hillary Reese said.

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Commentary: After Affirmative Action

The betting odds are that the Supreme Court will soon rule against affirmative action. It is worth asking how we got here, and what we should do about it.

Why is affirmative action in jeopardy? The main reason, ironically, might be the increasing ethnic diversity of the United States. In 1960, the U.S. was roughly 88% white and 12% black. The census category “Hispanic” did not yet exist. Similarly, the U.S. did not have a separate “Asian” category for the less than one million Americans from various nations in Asia, though the 1960 census had separate boxes for some, but not all, Asian countries. Today the U.S. is 61% white and dropping. Among American children, the white/nonwhite population is rapidly approaching 50-50.

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Documents: U.S. and UK Had ‘Confidentiality Agreement’ to Hide Vaccine Adverse Events

Newly obtained documents from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reveal that before the FDA approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shots, the United States and United Kingdom health regulators struck a deal to keep information about vaccine injuries hidden from the public.

Judicial Watch obtained the 57 pages of heavily redacted records through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against HHS.

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Border Patrol: Record Number of Chinese Nationals Entering U.S. Illegally

The number of Chinese nationals illegally entering the U.S. has significantly increased under the Biden administration, beginning around the 2020 election, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. 

Nationwide, 18,395 Chinese nationals were apprehended in fiscal 2020; 23,471 in fiscal 2021; 27,756 in fiscal 2022; and 10,587 in the fiscal year to date. 

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California Christian Teacher Allegedly Fired for Refusal to Comply with District Gender Policies: ‘The District Cannot Accommodate Your Religious Beliefs’

A California Christian physical education teacher was allegedly fired for refusing to lie to parents about their children’s gender identities at school and reject having males in female locker rooms – both policies that violate her faith beliefs, Fox News Digital reported Wednesday.

Jessica Tapias apparently shared with Fox News Digital the notice she received from the office of Jurupa Unified School District Superintendent Trenton Hansen.

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Only 12 Percent of Democrats Think Biden Should Be the Party Leader: Poll

A poll released Tuesday shows that only 12% of Democrats want President Joe Biden to be the leader of their party.

Members of the Democratic Party were asked who they thought the leader of their party was, as well as who they would like the party leader to be, according to the AP/NORC poll. Only 12% of Democrats want Biden to be the face of the party, and even though he is the president, just 41% considered him the current leader of the Democratic Party.

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After Michigan State University Shooting, Michigan Lawmakers Push Safety, Gun Bills

After a shooter killed three Michigan State students and wounded five others, the Democrat-dominated Michigan Legislature is pushing gun restriction bills while Republicans want a broader package.

Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, said in a virtual news conference that Democrats “will be taking action soon” on gun legislation although they don’t have specifics yet. 

Brinks said the bills will focus on safe storage, universal background checks, and extreme risk protection orders. 

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Commentary: A Tactic House Republicans Can Use to De-Weaponize Government

The House “weaponization of government” hearings kicked off an excellent start for public awareness. But without a legislative agenda, the short-staffed subcommittee will show little enduring accomplishment. 

House reformers don’t believe they can force some of the necessary changes because the Senate and Joe Biden oppose them. So they haven’t prepared a strategic legislative agenda. 

Yet, there is reason for hope and change. 

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Catholic Leader Demands Probe into FBI Memo, ‘Pattern of Anti-Catholic Bigotry’ That Represents ‘The New Inquisition’

Brian Burch, the president of Catholic Vote, is demanding that Congress investigate the recent FBI memo urging agents to probe the alleged nexus between racially-motivated violent extremists and “radical-traditional Catholics,” citing the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Burch warned against a “pattern of anti-Catholic bigotry” at the Department of Justice that represents “the new Inquisition” against Roman Catholics. He told The Daily Signal in a phone interview Tuesday that he is in contact with multiple members of Congress, urging an investigation.

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Officials Say Biden Manipulating Border Stats, Blinding Agents to Fleeing Aliens

Current and former U.S. officials are warning that the Biden administration has begun manipulating border statistics, incentivizing illegal aliens to shift from illegally crossing the southern border to seeking parole and asylum at ports of entry while blinding border agents by restricting their use of surveillance balloons.

Former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told the “Just the News, No Noise” television show Tuesday that the net effect of the policy changes will be to create a false portrait to the American people that the border crisis has eased when in fact it has simply shifted tactics.

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Unchastened by Russiagate, The New York Times Doubles Down in Its Special Counsel Coverage

Special Counsel John Durham, leading a multi-year probe of how U.S. intelligence officials conducted the Russia investigation, has yet to issue his final report. But according to the New York Times, Durham has already come up empty.  

Durham’s team, the Times declared in a widely circulated Jan. 26 article, has gone “unsuccessfully down one path after another” and ultimately “failed to find wrongdoing in the origins of the Russia inquiry.”  The three bylined reporters, Charlie Savage, Adam Goldman, and Katie Benner, base their conclusion on a “monthslong review,” including interviews “with more than a dozen current and former officials.”  

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