Court Upholds Rule Barring Gender Identity on Kansas Drivers Licenses

Kansas City road

A judge ruled Monday that barring Kansas drivers from identifying as transgender on their licenses did not violate their constitutional rights.

Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a lawsuit against Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly in July 2023 after the governor’s office said that the state would continue to issue driver’s licenses reflecting a person’s gender identity despite the Kansas Legislature passing a bill requiring only biological sex on government IDs, according to the Kansas Reflector. Judge Teresa Watson upheld her previous ruling from last year barring the Kansas Department of Revenue from adding options other than a person’s biological sex to driver’s licenses and further stated that the law did not violate transgender individuals’ rights under the state constitution, according to court documents.

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Senator JD Vance Slams President Biden’s Order for the Military to Conduct an ‘Emergency Mission’ in Gaza

U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) slammed the White House’s announcement that President Joe Biden will order the U.S. military to conduct an “emergency mission” to establish a port on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters.

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Senator JD Vance Explains How Ukraine Aid Package is a ‘Future Impeachment Trap’ for Trump

Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) joined Monday’s edition of Steve Bannon’s War Room to discuss the supplemental funding package currently being debated in the Senate and how it could be used as a tool to impeach former President Donald Trump if he were to be elected in November.

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Unmasking DeWine: Ohio Journalist Jack Windsor Dissects Shocking Veto and Its Potential Ripple Effect on 2024 Senate Race

Ohio journalist and entrepreneur Jack Windsor joined host Michael Patrick Leahy on Monday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report to discuss the connections and divides behind the shocking decision by Governor Mike DeWine to veto measure that would prohibit genital mutilation of children and transgender males competing in girls’ sports.

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Former Ohio Gubernatorial Candidate Renacci Says Governor DeWine is ‘Not a Republican’ Following Veto of House Bill 68

Former Ohio gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Representative Jim Renacci has denounced Governor Mike DeWine’s decision to veto House Bill 68, saying such legislation is “the easiest bill for a Republican Governor to sign.”

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Audit: Michigan Unemployment Agency Paid $245 Million in Possibly Improper Payments

A fifth and final audit of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency found the agency “undercounted fraud penalties by at least 49.4%” because it didn’t fix programming issues with the Michigan Integrated Data Automated System.

The audit from the Office of Auditor General Doug Ringler marked two “material conditions” – the most severe rating finding that the agency didn’t protect agency funds.

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Poll Shows Trump Beating Biden in Michigan

Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in the key battleground state of Michigan by 7 points, according to a poll reported by The Detroit News on Wednesday.

In the state that Trump won in 2016 but lost to Biden in 2020, he beat the president 42% to 35%, with 20% saying they’d vote for someone else and 3% opting not to pick a candidate, according to a Marketing Resource Group (MRG) survey. When the Democratic candidate was changed to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, she beat Trump 46% to 40% — a 13-point swing from the matchup with Biden.

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Ramaswamy Campaign Disputes Grinnell Police Account of Crash Amid Protests at an Iowa Campaign Stop

The campaign for GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy is pushing back against police accounts about an incident Thursday afternoon involving protesters and a car that reportedly struck a Ramaswamy campaign vehicle.

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Second GOP Presidential Debate Was Sloppy, At Times Chaotic, Ultimately Forgettable, Critics Say

Wednesday evening’s chaotic GOP presidential primary debate at times felt more like an episode of “Jersey Shore” than a showcase of the best and brightest minds in conservative politics.

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GOP Presidential Candidates Prepare for Critical Second Debate Without Trump

If Wednesday’s second GOP presidential primary debate proves to be anything like the first, we’re in for a night of political punches and maybe a rhetorical gang fight or two as the candidates look to score points in another Trump-less bout.

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Kinder, Gentler Iowa Cattle Call of GOP Presidential Hopefuls Sees Ramaswamy, DeSantis, Haley Generate Most Buzz

The latest cattle call of GOP presidential contestants — sans former President Donald Trump — mainly maintained Iowa nice, a departure from last month’s first fiery primary debate and a similar Christian conservative event in July hosted by conservative talk show host lightning rod Tucker Carlson.

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Campaigning Against Kamala: With Biden’s Future a Question Mark, Republican Candidates Raise Red Flags About His No. 2

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis\’ campaign blasted out a warning email on Friday, reminding Iowa voters what so many across the country fear: Vice President Kamala Harris could one day be in charge.

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Ramaswamy Blasts DeSantis ‘Monster PAC’ Following Report of Fake News Dirty Politics

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is blasting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and “Monster PAC” following a report exposing the political action committee\’s campaign in “spreading dirt” and “misstatements” about the poll-rising Ramaswamy.

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Upcoming Supreme Court Elections in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan Could Tip Majorities on the Bench Just in Time for the 2024 Elections

Three swing states will hold elections to their supreme courts over the next 18 months, potentially altering court compositions amid key cultural and political flashpoints such as abortion, guns and redistricting.

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Don Jr. Says Christie’s Expected Attacks on Trump at Debate Will Do Him Little Good in Republican Presidential Race

As expected, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie took some big swings at GOP presidential front-runner and former president Donald Trump Wednesday night at the first debate of the 2024 primary season.

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Despite Trump’s Absence, Plenty of Fireworks at First Republican Presidential Debate of the 2024 Season

For those who thought a Trump-less GOP presidential primary debate was doomed to be a snooze fest, the two-hour political bar brawl disabused them of that notion.

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Ramaswamy Tops DeSantis in Latest Scott Rasmussen Poll, Trump Expands Frontrunner Position

Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has overtaken Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in another national Republican primary poll.

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Campaign Trail Roundup: GOP Presidential Candidates Make Pitches at Iowa State Fair, DeSantis Booed at Iowa Racetrack

What a wild weekend in Iowa.

The presidential candidates who turned out for the Iowa State Fair came close to outnumbering the selections of food on a stick at the Iowa State Fair.

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Iowa Lincoln Dinner Turns Up the Heat on Republican Presidential Race, as Trump, DeSantis, Ramaswamy Dominate

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa nice converged with Hawkeye heat Friday evening, as the Republican Party of Iowa hosted the largest cattle call to date of the GOP presidential combatants on one of the hottest days of the year.

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As Ramaswamy Rises in the Polls, Political Knives Come Out

Political outsider Vivek Ramaswamy is heading back to Iowa this week with a lot of momentum and a big target on his back in the Republican Party presidential nomination chase.

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After Facing Censorship in Congress, RFK Jr. Plans Roundtable Discussion on Censorship

After Democrats threatened to censor him during last week’s House committee hearing on censorship, Democrat presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to hold a “Roundtable on Censorship” next month.

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Iowa Judge Temporarily Blocks State’s Newly Signed Heartbeat Abortion Ban

Unborn babies up to 20 weeks’ gestation are once again able to be aborted in Iowa after a judge temporarily blocked the state’s new Heartbeat Protection Act which Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed into law on Friday.

As the measure was signed into law, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Planned Parenthood North Central States, and the Emma Goldman Clinic filed a legal challenge against its enforcement.

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DeSantis and Haley Well Received by Evangelical Christians at Iowa Faith and Leadership Summit

In closing the nationally watched Family Leadership Summit late Friday afternoon, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ratcheted up the political rhetoric and sounded more fired up than he’s been at some of his previous campaign trips to Iowa.

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Pence Battles Boos, Tucker Carlson’s Tough Questions at Iowa Family Leadership Summit

Former Vice President Mike Pence has long been a standard bearer for the evangelical Christian movement in American politics.

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Tucker Carlson Grills GOP Candidate Senator Tim Scott on War in Ukraine, Biden’s Cluster Bombs

U.S Senator Tim Scott said there shouldn’t be American military “boots on the ground” in Ukraine. But the South Carolina Republican campaigning for president remains supportive in the U.S., providing the weapons and resources Ukraine needs to push back Russia’s invasion.

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New Morning Consult Poll Shows Trump Dominating, Ramaswamy Rising

Former President Donald Trump continues to crush the competition, but political outsider Vivek Ramaswamy is swiftly rising in the crowded field of Republican presidential candidates, according to a new Morning Consult poll.

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Pence Says Trump and DeSantis Are Wrong on Ukraine and America’s Role as Arsenal of Democracy

Former Vice President Mike Pence says his “former running mate,” among others in the Republican Party presidential nomination chase, are missing the significance of the U.S. coming to the aid of Ukraine.

Pence said he recently paid a call on the war-torn European nation and its president to see firsthand “the results of the extraordinary, unprovoked invasion by Russia” as well as the “tenacity and toughness” of the Ukrainian military.

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Trump’s Lead Expanding, Ramaswamy Rising in Latest Morning Consult Poll

A new Morning Consult poll shows former President Donald Trump widening the gap against his closest competitors, while former Vice President Mike Pence and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy make some noise among the crowded field of Republican Party presidential hopefuls.

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Ramaswamy: Plea Deal Keeping Hunter Biden out of Prison Is a ‘Joke,’ the ‘Perfect Fig Leaf’

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is blasting a plea deal announced Tuesday that will keep President Joe Biden’s troubled son out of prison on two federal misdemeanor counts of failing to pay his taxes and a separate felony charge of possession of a firearm by a known drug user.

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GOP Presidential Candidate Ramaswamy Calls for ‘Emancipation of the American Mind from Psychological Slavery Based on Race’

Ohio businessman and Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is marking this Juneteenth with a call for the “emancipation of the American mind from psychological slavery based on race.”

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Don’t Be a ‘Disciple of the Donor Class:’ Ramaswamy Calls on Fellow Presidential Candidates to Commit to Pardoning Trump on Classified Records Charges

Political outsider and GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy is calling on all of his 2024 competitors — Republicans and Democrats — to commit to pardoning former President Donald Trump should he be convicted of the federal classified documents charges against him.

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Legal Experts: Politically Motivated, Yes, But Trump Could Be in Trouble with Latest Indictment

While many Americans feel former President Donald Trump is the target of a political witch hunt by the Biden administration and its allies, the latest allegations against the Republican Party’s top presidential candidate are troubling, according to a leading constitutional law expert.

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GOP Presidential Candidate Ramaswamy Files FOIA Request Seeking Biden Communications with Special Prosecutor in Trump Indictment

Ohio entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says his campaign has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to uncover communications between the White House, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Jack Smith, special prosecutor behind the latest indictment of former President Donald Trump.

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North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum Launches Bid for White House, Joining Crowded Field of GOP Contenders

At a Fargo events center packed with family, friends and neighbors, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum stressed his small-town roots, his success in building a multi-billion dollar software business on the Great Plains, governing a growing state, and his vision for an innovative America in announcing his bid for the White House.

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GOP Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Makes the Cut for the GOP Debates

Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy has risen in the polls to a top 5 candidate. Now the Ohio businessman and political outsider has secured a spot on the Republican National Committee debate stage.

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DeSantis Enters Presidential Race with ‘Skewed’ Narrative He’s Better Positioned to Beat Biden than Trump

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis officially launched his presidential campaign Wednesday, ending months of speculation and ratcheting up what promises to be an intense battle for the Republican Party nomination. 

DeSantis enters the race as a top tier candidate, but still lagging far behind frontrunner Donald Trump, according to just about every poll out there. 

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Radical Anti-Life Gender Justice Group Backing Ohio Ballot Initiative Revealed to Be Pushing End to ‘Unethical’ Parental Involvement Laws

Tweets by a key leftist organization pushing the Ohio abortion ballot initiative that could end parental involvement in minors’ medical decisions reveal that the goal of Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity’s (URGE) is to cut parents out of their children’s lives.

Protect Women Ohio (PWO), a self-described “coalition of concerned family and life leaders, parents, health and medical experts, and faith leaders in Ohio,” posted a thread to Twitter Tuesday showing URGE has been “working to abolish parental consent and notification laws for years.”

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Trump, DeSantis, Ramaswamy, and More: News and Notes from the Presidential Campaign Trail

A glitchy start to the Ron DeSantis campaign, Tim Scott fires back at “The View,” Vivek Ramaswamy takes on Target, and Nikki Haley gets a CNN Town Hall.

There’s no rest for the weary on the expanded presidential campaign trail.

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Senators Want to Know Why Former FBI Officials Refused to Cooperate With Durham Investigation

U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) want Special Counsel John Durham to explain why former high-level government officials refused to cooperate with his investigation exposing the FBI for its many failures in the bogus Trump-Russia collusion probe. 

Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, and Johnson, ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent Durham a letter Tuesday asking why former FBI Director James Comey, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and former FBI Assistant Director of the Counterintelligence Division Peter Strzok declined to fully cooperate.

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Great Lakes States’ Social Security Disability Backlog Increased Between Five and 130 Percent Since 2019, Report Finds

Nearly every U.S. state recognized increased backlogs for new Social Security disability benefit applications since 2019, And the Great Lakes states were no different. 

In fact, Wisconsin’s backlog more than doubled, ranking in fifth nationwide for increased backlogs.  From 2019 to 2023, Wisconsin’s backlog grew 130 percent, with an increase of 11,500 backlogged applications. It has the fifth highest backlog increase in the nation.

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Americans for Prosperity Warns Wisconsin Lawmakers Against Spending Too Much

There was one group at Wisconsin’s budget hearing pushing for less. Americans for Prosperity warned Wisconsin lawmakers about spending too much of the state’s record $7.1 billion surplus.

Americans For Prosperity Wisconsin this week waited through hours of requests for more money at the legislature’s public budget hearings to make the simple case to spend less.

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GOP Presidential Challenger Vivek Ramaswamy Calls ‘Politically Motivated’ Indictment of Trump ‘Dark Moment in American History’

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is strongly condemning a New York Grand Jury’s indictment of former President Donald Trump, calling it a “dark moment in American history.” Thursday’s indictment follows a years-long investigation of Trump in connection with a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels who claims to have had an affair with Trump years ago. The payment was made in advance of the 2016 presidential election. Trump has denied the affair.

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Commentary: Iowa U.S. Senator Joni Ernst Says Time Is Up for TikTok

Make no mistake about it, TikTok is an arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda machine living rent-free on the devices of 150 million Americans, and it’s putting our national security in jeopardy. This insidious app collects your data, surveils behavior, monitors user habits, and negatively influences our youth with an endless stream of addictive content.

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Methodology and Motive Questions Surround Poll Showing DeSantis Ahead of Trump in Iowa

Two polls showing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis “running more competitively” against former President Donald Trump in first-in-the-nation nominating states Iowa and New Hampshire are missing some key data, raising questions about the validity of the surveys.

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Pence Tells Iowans U.S. Must Continue to be ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ in Ukraine

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Taking a different position than his old boss on a key foreign policy issue, former Vice President Mike Pence told a gathering of Iowans Saturday that the U.S. must continue to help provision Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression. While he repeatedly trumpeted “Trump-Pence” successes, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate definitely differs with potential top presidential race rivals, former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, on U.S. involvement in the war-torn European country.

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Ohio U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan Demands Transparency: Why Was Dr. Fauci ‘So Consumed’ with Refuting COVID Wuhan Lab Leak Narrative?

Ohio U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH-04) said Sunday he is determined to obtain transparency on the origins of the COVID-19 virus, specifically why Dr. Anthony Fauci insisted on a dismissal of the narrative that the virus originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, China.

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Republican National Committee Criticizes President’s Biden Weekend Trip to Delaware amid East Palestine Train Derailment Disaster

President Joe Biden departed the White House Friday en route to Delaware for the 66th time since taking office this weekend, which drew criticism from the Republican National Committee (RNC). According to the RNC, Biden has spent approximately 40 percent of his presidency “on vacation,” with this weekend marking his 306th, 307th, and 308th total vacation days. Of that 40 percent, the RNC noted that Biden has spent 55 of 110 weekends in Delaware.

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