Category: News

CEOs’ Pay Increases in 2023 Widen Income Gap with Workers

Michigan Star Staff
CEO Pay

The average salary for a company’s chief executive officer (CEO) soared by 13% in 2023, thus producing an even greater income gap between top executives and the workers they employ.

According to ABC News, a data analysis by Equilar for the Associated Press revealed that the median compensation package for a CEO rose in 2023 to $16.3 million, marking a 12.6% increase. At the same time, wages and benefits for the average worker rose by just 4.1%. At half of the companies included in the Equilar survey, it would take one worker at least 200 years to make the same amount of money that their CEO makes.

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

Michigan Star Staff

Americans took up part-time jobs in huge numbers in May as full-time jobs evaporate under President Joe Biden’s economy, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released Friday.

There were around 133.3 million people employed in the U.S. in May with full-time jobs, 625,000 less than the month before, while the number of people employed in part-time jobs surged by 286,000 to just over 28 million, according to the BLS. The total number of American workers collapsed by 408,000 as a result of the loss in part-time jobs to 161 million.

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Congressional Report Finds Half of All New Jobs are Going to Immigrants

Just the News
Staff Meeting

The House Budget Committee released a report Friday that found more than half of all new jobs are going to immigrants, including those in the country illegally.

The report comes after the Labor Department released its jobs report for May, which saw a small decrease in labor participation, which shrank from 62.7% in April to 62.5% in May, and the unemployment rate ticking up slightly from 3.9% in April to 4% in May. Immigrants have filled 840,000 new jobs since November, according to the Washington Times.

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Commentary: Despite Liberals’ Hysterical Denials, Aliens are Registering and Voting

Michigan Star Staff
People Voting

The truth is out there. Aliens are registering and voting in American elections.

For anyone who cares to see it, the truth is available in public records in election offices across the nation. But unfortunately, those who expose the truth about voting by aliens—illegal immigrants or not—are subjected to ridicule and an onslaught from the Left to preserve the broken status quo.

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Commentary: Christianity, Capitalism, and Colonialism Are Nothing to Be Ashamed Of

Michigan Star Staff
Catholic Chapel

We’ve all heard the rhetorical attacks on Western Civilization—often centered on Christianity, capitalism, or colonialism, and often on all three. Among radical leftists, the consensus is that these elements are evil, but given that each is currently or historically integral to civilization as we know it, it’s worth examining the data to determine whether they deserve to be so despised.

First, Christianity. A 2018 study found that religion was “the decisive background factor” determining how much human rights were respected in any given country. And not all religions had the same impact. The percentage of Christians in the population was closely associated with a nation upholding human rights, whereas the percentage of Muslims was the opposite—that is, Muslim countries were less likely to uphold such rights. Another study reached similar conclusions about the effects of Christianity vis-à-vis Islam on nations’ ranking in the Good Country Index. (The index measures countries’ “contributions to global prosperity in domains such as peace, climate and health.”)

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Colorado Discriminated Against Catholic Preschools by Starving Them of Funding, Court Rules

Michigan Star Staff
Catholic School

A federal court ruled Wednesday that Colorado discriminated against Catholic preschools by refusing to allow them to participate in the state’s school voucher program over their faith.

St. Mary’s Catholic Parish and St. Bernadette’s Catholic Parish filed a lawsuit against the state in August 2023 after Colorado denied its application to the state’s universal preschool (UPK) program because the schools consider religious beliefs when deciding whether or not a student can attend the school. Judge John Kane Jr., a Jimmy Carter appointee, of the District Court of Colorado determined that the state had erred in allowing “faith-based providers” to receive exemptions in similar cases but not the preschool, according to the 101-page opinion.

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Six States, Three Tribes to Receive $130 Million to Rehab for Abandoned Mine Land

The Center Square
Abandoned Land mine

Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia will each receive $28.7 million in funding through the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization plan in fiscal year 2024.

The funding comes through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which put $11.3 billion in funding for the program over 15 years. In total, six states and three tribes will receive a combined $130 million.

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Olympic Committee Warns Media Against Using ‘Biologically Male,’ ‘Female’ When Referring to Trans Athletes

Michigan Star Staff
Olympic athletes

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued media guidelines on Thursday that urged reporters not to use specific terms while covering transgender athletes.

The IOC, which governs the Olympic Games, published its Portrayal Guidelines ahead of the 2024 Paris event to “provide practical checklists and advice to help ensure gender-equal and fair representation of all athletes across all forms of media and communication,” the press release reads. The guide includes a section on “Problematic Language” that included the phrases “biologically male” and “biologically female.”

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Unemployment Ticks Up as Job Growth Beats Expectations

Michigan Star Staff
Office Meeting

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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Excess Deaths Remained Elevated Even After COVID-19 Vaccines, Study Finds

The Center Square
Vaccine

More people died in Western countries than expected for three consecutive years amid the COVID-19 pandemic, despite containment measures and vaccines, according to a new study.

The study, published in BMJ Public Health, found more research is needed to determine why more people died than expected, a metric called excess mortality.

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Hunter Biden’s Seemingly Paradoxical Legal Defense Strategy

Just the News
Hunter Biden courtroom

Defense lawyers are approaching Hunter Biden’s felony gun trial with a strategy to paint the first son as the victim of his drug addiction but at the same time convey that he did not believe he was an addict when he allegedly lied on a federal firearm purchase form.

The defense argument, described by one legal analyst as “remarkably clever,” is designed to sow reasonable doubt in the jurors’ minds that Biden had full knowledge he was lying when he marked that he was not using drugs on the purchase form when he bought a firearm in Delaware in 2016. At the same time, the defense attempted to paint Biden as a victim of his own addictions, possibly to elicit sympathy from the jury.

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Republicans Fight Federal Funding for College Voter Mobilization That Biden Gave Democrat States

Just the News
Voter Registration

Republicans are pushing back against federal funds being used to promote get-out-the-vote (GOTV) activities among college students as Democrat-led states are taking advantage of the new Federal Work-Study (FWS) program focused on voter registration efforts.

Secretaries of state from Democratic-run states pushed the Biden administration for federal funds to be used in college GOTV activities, and Republicans are now fighting back against the funding in Congress and across GOP-led states.

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Commentary: Corporate Media Desperately Wants People to Ignore This Alarming Factoid in Newest Jobs Report

Michigan Star Staff
Stressed Worker

Ignore the May jobs report‘s topline establishment survey number and the media’s celebratory reporting. It’s not to be trusted.

A new analysis by the Daily Caller News Foundation shows that payrolls were overstated by 1.3 million last year after accounting for the constant downward revisions. A new Bloomberg Economics report finds monthly job gains were overstated by 730,000 last year. Bloomberg says a surge of business closures is to blame.

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MSTAR Program Given Additional $10 Million for EV Semiconductor Research

The Center Square
EV Charging

by Carly Moran Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gave another $10 million toward the Michigan Semiconductor Talent and Technology for Automotive Research, a private-public partnership that wants to make the Great Lakes State a leader in electric car innovation. The MSTAR initiative was launched a year ago and has developed a portfolio…

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Analysis: Ibram Kendi’s ‘Antiracist’ Center Is Racist by His Own Standards

Michigan Star Staff
Ibram Kendi

Ibram Kendi’s Center for Antiracist Research is racist – according to the founder’s own definition.

The College Fix analyzed the remaining team at his Boston University center, which has shrunk since last year due to budgetary problems.

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Commentary: Bob Iger, DEI, and Wokism Broke Disney’s Trust with America

Michigan Star Staff
Bob Iger Disney

There is something of a subculture on YouTube of armchair analysts and commentators, WDW Pro, Valliant Renegade, and ClownfishTV, to name just three (beyond traditional financial websites like CNBC and Seeking Alpha), who track every cultural, corporate, programming, and financial move of The Walt Disney Company, previously one of America’s most iconic and trusted companies. Note: I used the past tense in describing The Walt Disney Company. It is no longer one of America’s most trusted brands, and it’s about to lose its iconic status.

How did this happen?

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New Jersey Congressional Primary Results Delayed After 1,900 Mail Ballots Unsealed Prematurely

Just the News

A New Jersey judge will decide whether to count about 1,900 mail ballots from Atlantic County in a congressional primary election after the ballots were unsealed prematurely.

On Friday, Superior Court Judge Michael J. Blee will hear arguments over whether the 1,909 mail ballots cast in both the Democratic and Republican primary elections on Tuesday will be counted after the ballot envelopes were unsealed too early, the Associated Press reported.

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Trump’s VP Search Heats Up as Campaign Reportedly Requests Documents from Burgum, Vance, and Rubio

Just the News
Senator Marco Rubio, Gov. Doug Burgum, and Senator JD Vance in front of an American Flag (composite image)

“Gov. Burgum from North Dakota has been incredible. Marco Rubio has been great. J.D. Vance has been great. We’ve had so many great people out there,” Trump says

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign is starting to formally request information from possible running mates including North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Sens. Marco Rubio and J.D. Vance.

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Experts Raise Concerns About Rapid Growth of Artificial Intelligence

The Center Square
Computer programmer

Experts on artificial intelligence raised concerns about the implications of AI’s rapid growth at a panel discussion in Washington, D.C. Tuesday.

The American Enterprise Institute hosted a series of panel discussions surrounding the deployment of AI. Panelists discussed safety protocols, workforce development and regulatory initiatives.

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Maryland County Walks Back Sanctuary Policy After Illegal Immigrant Child Sex Offender Released into Community

Michigan Star Staff
Raul Calderon-Interiano

Leaders in a deep blue jurisdiction are agreeing to better coordinate with federal immigration authorities after their county detention center released an illegal immigrant child sex offender from its custody, according to local reports.

In a joint statement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Baltimore County officials on Wednesday announced modifications to their policies on holding illegal immigrants charged with a crime when they are subject to immigration detainer requests, the Baltimore Sun reported. The statement follows uproar over the local release of Raul Calderon-Interiano, a Guatemalan national convicted of child sex abuse and living illegally in the U.S.

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Senate Democrats Sought to Connect Climate Change to High Insurance Rates, but Experts Pushed Back

Just the News
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

A Democratic Party-led Senate Budget Committee hearing Wednesday pressed on with the narrative that climate change is one of the leading causes of unaffordable homeowners insurance rates and canceled coverage.

Committee Chair Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., took the narrative a step further to suggest that the climate-driven financial problems in the insurance industry are driving economic problems for the entire nation.

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Commentary: The Myth That Biden Had Nothing to Do with the Prosecutions of Trump

Michigan Star Staff
Joe Biden and Donald Trump in front of New York Supreme Court building (composite image)

The five criminal and civil prosecutions of Donald Trump all prompt heated denials from Democrats that President Biden and Democrat operatives had a role in any of them.

But Joe Biden has long let it be known that he was frustrated with his own Department of Justice’s federal prosecutors for their tardiness in indicting Donald Trump.

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Hallie Biden Testifies About Hunter Biden Drug Use at the Time of Gun Purchase

Just the News
Hunter Biden in courtroom (composite image)

Hunter Biden ex-girlfriend Hallie Biden began testimony in the first son’s gun trial Thursday, describing how she discovered Hunter was using drugs and how she disposed of the weapon at the center of the case.

Hallie Biden, the widow of Hunter Biden’s brother, Beau, dated the younger Biden shortly after his older brother passed away in 2015 and during the key period in the case.

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Commentary: The New Fundamentalism and the Religion of Politics

Michigan Star Staff
Congress at Night

Those who would abolish religion and prohibit the free exercise thereof, are themselves religious. Those who would replace religion with the cult of reason, and sacrifice the soul before the altar of science, are unreasonable in the extreme: they are political extremists whose religion is politics.

This religion, with contempt for one nation under God, is in opposition to our civil religion. This religion, with contempt for the idea of God, that God exists, that God is true, that God is just, is without mercy. This religion, with contempt for the sons of Abraham, and of all who are children of God through faith, is a declaration of war against Jews and Christians

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James Carville Calls On Media to Ramp Up ‘Slanted Coverage’ to Defeat Trump

Michigan Star Staff
James Carville

Democratic strategist James Carville on Thursday advocated for media outlets to boost their biased coverage of former President Donald Trump to help ensure he does not win the upcoming presidential election.

The New York Times’ executive editor Joe Kahn in May told Semafor his publication’s duty is to cover what Americans care about rather than what benefits President Joe Biden and hurts Trump. Carville on the “Politics War Room” took issue with this approach, saying that because of the stakes of the election, media outlets should take a more active role in advocating against Trump and people aligned with him instead of seeking to be objective.

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Feds Send Millions of Taxpayer Dollars to the Taliban

The Center Square
Taliban riding on Humvee in Kabul

After two decades at war with the Taliban, the U.S. government is now sending millions of taxpayer dollars to the terrorist group.

The Taliban resumed power in Afghanistan immediately after the chaotic and deadly withdrawal of U.S. troops earlier in the Biden administration.

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Biden Threatens Veto of Veteran Funding over Abortion, LGBT Provisions

The Center Square
riginal Montford Point Marines stand for the National Anthem

U.S. House Republicans passed legislation Wednesday to fund the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction, but a battle over abortion, sexuality and other issues may sink the bill.

The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025 features $378.644 billion in spending. 

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Commentary: An Open Letter to State Attorneys General to Sue New York

Admin

State Attorneys General have a duty to sue the city and state of New York, which rewrote federal election and state business records law to interfere with the 2024 election, throw former President Donald Trump in jail and disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans’ right to vote for their choice for President, all in violation of the Supremacy Clause under Article VI.

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ACLU to Sue Biden Administration over New Border Rules

Michigan Star Staff
Customs Border Protection agent and migrant showing papers

The far-left American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced its intention to sue the White House after Joe Biden announced a new executive order that would ostensibly reduce access to the asylum system for illegal aliens.

According to Axios, the ACLU had made preparations for such a lawsuit even before Biden officially announced the executive order, which he signed on Tuesday. There had been leaks to the press in the days ahead of the order confirming many details of the plan.

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Increasing Copper Production for Green Energy Is Impossible, Study Says

Just the News
David Hammond mineral economist

Proponents of the transition to so-called green energy argue that the technology to eliminate the use of fossil fuels already exists and it’s just a matter of scaling it up to meet demand. That sounds simple enough.

Putting aside the impact to energy costs and other challenges of this proposed transition, analyses of what is technically and financially possible in developing the resources needed for this plan show that the energy transition in the timescales that proponents demand is not just difficult. It’s impossible.

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SPLC Adds Openly Gay Group to List of ‘Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate Groups’

Michigan Star Staff
Gays Against Groomers

The Left’s main smear organ has targeted an openly gay organization and groups of doctors who oppose “gender-affirming care” in efforts to silence opposition to the transgender agenda and drag queen story hours.

The Southern Poverty Law Center released its “Year in Hate and Extremism” report Tuesday, warning about encroaching “theocracy” and an “authoritarian takeover” as part of the “organizational infrastructure … upholding white supremacy in the United States.”

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Commentary: Parental Freedom is Flourishing

Michigan Star Staff
Parents homeschooling their child

It’s no secret that the government’s monopoly on education is in trouble. Across the country, public schools are emptying while parental choice is flourishing. Florida, perhaps the national leader in this movement, has four different private school choice programs: one education savings account (ESA), one voucher program, and two tax-credit scholarships.

One of the results of Florida’s success is that many of the state’s public schools are shutting down. Florida’s Broward County, the sixth largest school district in the country, housing some 320 K-12 schools, could see 42 of them shut down, including 32 elementary schools, eight middle schools, and two high schools.

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Poll: Trump Leads Biden in Michigan

Michigan Star Staff
Trump Biden White House

The latest battleground poll reveals that President Trump is still leading Joe Biden in the crucial swing state of Michigan, with exactly five months to go before the November election.

As Breitbart reports, the poll by Mitchell Research shows Trump at 49% to Biden’s 47% in a head-to-head matchup. When the poll includes the three major third-party candidates – independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., independent candidate Cornel West, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein – Trump leads Biden with 46% to 45%. In the five-way poll, 5% support Kennedy, while 1% each choose West and Stein.

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Music Spotlight: High Mountain Breezes

Bethany Bowman

Nashville has no shortage of super-talented singers, songwriters, and musicians. For every hit song you hear, somebody somewhere had to write and play the music, engineer and produce it, and somehow get it to radio or streaming services.

Without these studio musicians, we wouldn’t have the quality of music we have today. High Mountain Breezes (HMB) is a collection of Nashville’s finest studio musicians who create music for other artists. But sometimes, these musicians want to make music for themselves, not just to accompany a famous lead singer.

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Commentary: The Declaration of Independence Is Now Problematic for the Authoritarian Left

Michigan Star Staff
Flags Across America event at Arlington National Cemetery

In George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984,”the authoritarian government had power over every aspect of people’s lives, especially their thoughts. To reshape minds, even history could be changed:

“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered,” Orwell wrote. “And that process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped.”

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Alvin Bragg Wants Trump to Stay Under Gag Order Even After Conviction

Michigan Star Staff
Alvin Bragg and Donald Trump in a courtroom (composite image)

Democratic Manhattan District Alvin Bragg’s office defended on Wednesday keeping former President Donald Trump under his gag order, requesting that it stay in place at least through Trump’s sentencing hearing in late July and any post-trial motions.

Trump attorney’s asked Judge Juan Merchan on Tuesday to lift the order, writing in a letter that the “concerns articulated by the government and the Court do not justify restrictions on the First Amendment rights of President Trump” now that the trial has concluded. Prosecutors disagreed, responding that the order was intended to protect more than just the trial proceedings.

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Hunter Biden Told Congress He Didn’t Work on Visas for Burisma Boss, but Emails Suggest Otherwise

Just the News
Hunter Biden in front of US Capitol building (composite image)

Hunter Biden told Congress earlier this year during his impeachment deposition that he would never have assisted his Ukrainian business partners in resolving their travel visa issues. But evidence newly obtained by Congress directly conflicts with that testimony.

In one email, in fact, Hunter Biden asserts he is working with someone to get visa issues resolved for Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of the Burisma Holding energy firm that hired the future first son on its board.

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Commentary: The WHO Pandemic Treaty Is Deja Vu All over Again

RealClearWire
WHO Meeting

One would be hard-pressed to find many Americans today who look back at the pandemic with fondness or admiration for the way in which our government – including our public health officials – responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. The mistakes made were legion, the cost mind-blowing, and the misconduct even worse. Indeed, Anthony Fauci, the very face of the pandemic for most Americans, seems to have embodied a contempt for integrity in government. His record-keeping practices and aversion to congressional and public oversight were the epitome of bureaucratic arrogance.

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Internal Guidance Reveals How Biden’s Immigration Order is Ripe for Exploitation by Illegal Immigrants

Michigan Star Staff
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents with a line of asylum seekers

There are a litany of ways illegal immigrants can get around President Joe Biden’s new executive order and avoid removal, according to internal guidance obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Biden announced an executive order on Tuesday to limit illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border by temporarily suspending the entry of foreign nationals if the number of average border encounters exceeds 2,500 a day over a one-week time period. However, an internal memo by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shows there are many ways asylum seekers can exploit the order.

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Somali Defendants Detained After Bag of $120,000 in Cash Shows Up at Juror’s Home During COVID Fraud Trial

Michigan Star Staff

A federal judge dismissed a juror in a Somali fraud case in Minnesota Monday, after she said someone showed up at her home on Sunday and left a bag of $120,000 in cash with a potential of more to come if the juror agreed to acquit the defendants.

The seven defendants—Abdiaziz Shafii Farah, Mohamed Jama Ismail, Abdimajid Mohamed Nur, Said Shafii Farah, Abdiwahab Maalim Aftin, Mukhtar Mohamed Shariff and Hayat Mohamed Nur—are accused of stealing more than $40 million from a tax-payer funded child nutrition program.

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House Republicans File Criminal Referrals to Justice Department for Hunter, James Biden

Just the News

House Republicans have referred Hunter and James Biden to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution, accusing the pair of making false statements to Congress during the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

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Biden Signs Order to Limit Asylum Requests at the U.S. Border

ADN America
Asylum seekers

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, signingAn executive order this Tuesday  that will allow him to drastically limit asylum requests on the border with Mexico if the number of migrant arrests exceeds a specific threshold, the EFE news agency reported .

This order will allow US authorities to deport those who do not meet strict asylum standards when the number of 2,500 people detained at the border for an average of seven days is exceeded, senior US officials told the press.

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Hunter Biden Defense Lawyer Says He will Call Presidential Brother James Biden to Testify

Just the News

Jim Biden is a central figure in GOP concerns about him and nephew Hunter Biden using the family name to secure lucrative business deals

Hunter Biden defense attorney Abbe Lowell told the Delaware court Tuesday in his client’s federal gun trial that he plans to call presidential bother James Biden to testify in the case.

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Nevada Officials Asked to Clear Voter Rolls of ‘Voters’ with Registered Addresses at Businesses

Michigan Star Staff
Attorney J. Christian Adams

A watchdog group has asked election officials in Clark County, Nevada to clear the voter rolls of registered voters whose addresses are listed as commercial locations, including casinos, strip clubs, smoke shops, and airports.

As reported by Breitbart, lawyers with the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) sent a letter on Monday to Clark County Registrar Lorena Portillo demanding that all registrants with obviously false addresses be removed ahead of the 2024 election.

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