Month: May 2022

Commentary: Cancel Yale Law School

Georgia Star News Staff

If U.S. News and World Report’s ratings can be taken seriously, Yale is home to America’s top law school. Tuition at Yale Law School is just shy of $70,000 a year plus expenses for room, board, books, and sundries, though many students qualify for scholarships and generous financial assistance. A juris doctor degree from Yale opens a great many doors, but it is a fact that fewer Yale Law graduates go into Big Law than their peers from Harvard and other Ivies. Many go into government instead. It’s said that somewhere between 25 percent and 35 percent of all federal clerkships go to Yale Law grads.

But what exactly does a three-year, $210,000 (plus) Yale Law School education purchase? In particular, what does a Yale Law education look like?

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Buyers Need 40 Percent More Income to Buy a Home in Top Metro Areas: Report

The Center Square

Demand for homes in certain areas of the country has caused supply to dwindle, prices to skyrocket and buyers needing nearly 50% more income than they would have last year to even enter top markets, according to a report by the real estate brokerage firm, Redfin.

“Housing is significantly less affordable than it was a year ago because the surge in housing costs has far outpaced the increase in wages, meaning many Americans are now priced out of homeownership,” Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr said.

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The Star News Network-Kaplan Poll: 60 Percent of Georgia’s GOP Likely Voters Blame Elected Officials for 2020 Voter Fraud

Neil W. McCabe

Sixty percent of respondents blame their state and local elected officials for not protecting the 2020 election from voter fraud in The Star News Network-Kaplan Strategies poll of 431 likely Georgia Republican voters executed May 7 through May 13.

“This poll shows that the handling of the 2020 election is still very present for a majority of Georgia Republicans,” said Doug Kaplan, the founder and president of Kaplan Strategies, the Florida-based firm that conducted the poll. The poll carries a 4.7 percent margin of error.

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Music Spotlight: Restless Road

Bethany Bowman

When I heard “Growing Old With You” by Restless Road on the radio, I was not familiar with the group, but their song really resonated with me. When I was given the chance to feature them in my column, I jumped at it.

Restless Road is comprised of Zach Beeken, Garrett Nichols, and Colton Pack who did not grow up together and are actually from three different states. Beeken is from Iowa, Nichols is from Alabama and Pack is from West Virginia. Almost nine years ago, Pack and Beeken were on a show called The X Factor. (The third member, Andrew Scholz, would eventually be replaced with Nichols.) They started the band on that TV show. They met Kane Brown on that show as well.

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CNN and MSNBC See Ratings Continue to Drop

Georgia Star News Staff

As of Friday, the cable news networks CNN and MSNBC saw significantly lower ratings than their competitors, including the dominant cable news channel, Fox.

According to the Daily Caller, CNN scored the lowest overall, with roughly 511,000 daytime viewers on average, and 545,000 primetime viewers. MSNBC saw about 753,000 daytime viewers and 1 million primetime viewers. Fox, by comparison, had over 1.72 million total viewers.

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Jerome Powell Confirmed for Second Term as Federal Reserve Chair

Georgia Star News Staff

The Senate voted 80-19 on Thursday to confirm Jerome Powell to a second term as Federal Reserve chair, even as inflation has hit record highs under his watch.

The 19 “Nay” votes came from 13 Republicans and 5 Democrats and included a range of Senators from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

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AG Garland Pointedly Refuses to Say If He Would Prosecute Protesters Outside Justices’ Homes

Georgia Star News Staff

Attorney General Merrick Garland is pointedly refusing to say if he’s open to prosecuting protesters who demonstrate outside of Supreme Court justices’ homes, which a growing number of office-holders are urging him to do.

Republican Governors Larry Hogan of Maryland and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and members of Congress want Garland to uphold federal law that prohibits actions to intimidate judges at their private residences.

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Small Businesses Struggle to Survive in Biden’s Economy: Poll

Georgia Star News Staff

Small business owners are increasingly pessimistic about U.S. economic conditions and overwhelmingly support an expansion of domestic fossil fuel infrastructure, the latest polling data showed.

Just 27% of small business owners agreed the economy was in “good” or “excellent” condition, according to a Job Creators Network Foundation poll released Friday and shared with The Daily Caller News Foundation. The figure represented the lowest rating of the current economic situation among small business owners since the group began the poll a year ago.

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Two Top Twitter Managers Fired Ahead of Musk Purchase

Georgia Star News Staff

Two top officials at Twitter were fired on Thursday, signaling ongoing internal chaos at the tech giant as Elon Musk prepares to take over the company.

According to ABC News, one of Twitter’s general managers, Kayvon Beykpour, was fired after working at Twitter for seven years. The same day, revenue and product lead Bruce Falck announced his firing in a tweet that has since been deleted. Beykpour described his situation in several tweets, claiming that CEO Parag Agrawal “asked me to leave after letting me know that he wants to take the team in a different direction.” Falck’s Twitter bio now simply reads “unemployed.”

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Trump’s Truth Social Nears Launch of Web App That Will Open Platform to Millions More Users

Georgia Star News Staff
person holding a smart phone up

Truth Social, the fast-growing social platform launched by former President Donald Trump, is nearing completion of a Web application that will open the product to millions more customers.

Over the weekend, Truth Social urged potential customers to sign up for the soon to be released Web app.

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CBP’s Air and Marine Operations Interdicted 62 Tons of Drugs in First Three Months of Year

The Center Square

Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations interdicted 62 tons (124,000 pounds) of illicit drugs in the first three months of this year, CBP reports, working with international, federal, state and local partners.

“Collaboration keeps us all safer,” CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said of their efforts. “CBP AMO works with U.S. and international partners to stem the flow of illicit narcotics. Through the end of March, AMO has contributed to the seizure of over 124,000 lbs of narcotics by partner agencies.”

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The Star News Network-Kaplan Poll: Kemp Leads Trump-Endorsed Perdue by 30 Points

Neil W. McCabe

Gov. Brian P. Kemp is leading former senator David A. Perdue Jr. with 57 percent of support compared to 27 percent for his challenger, endorsed by former President Donald J. Trump, according to The Star News Network-Kaplan Strategies poll of 431 likely Georgia Republican primary voters, conducted May 7 through May 13.

“Kemp’s strength this close to the May 24 primary is stunning, and it is nearly certain he will win the Republican nomination,” said Doug Kaplan, the founder and president of the Florida-based firm that executed the poll. The poll carries a 4.7 percent margin of error.

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Inflation Is a Great Reason to Get an Abortion, Democrat Lawmaker Says

Georgia Star News Staff

Democratic California Rep. Katie Porter said inflation and rising prices reinforced the importance of abortion on MSNBC’s “The Last Word” Wednesday.

Porter said inflation and abortion were closely tied together and that, as grocery and gas prices rose, people would realize the importance of controlling their family size through abortion.

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Commentary: Joe Biden vs. We the People

Georgia Star News Staff

The Biden Administration last June unveiled its “National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism.” Despite its anodyne-sounding name, the “national strategy” was anything but anodyne. The pamphlet represented the logical culmination of the Left’s cynical use of the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot as a means of ginning up large-scale, nationwide anti-Republican/anti-Trump voter sentiment.

The result, evinced again by Attorney General Merrick Garland’s disgraceful October 2021 memo directing the FBI to intrude on local school board meetings and crack down on anti-critical race theory parental revolts, has been a roiling cold war waged by the ruling class against us “deplorables” and our political “wrong-think.”

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John’s Hopkins: Professor Who Defended Pedophilia Will ‘Enhance’ Work of Child Sex Abuse Prevention Center

Peter D'Abrosca

After it hired a former Old Dominion University (ODU) professor who stepped down after making comments defending pedophilia, John’s Hopkins University (JHU) Saturday defended its newest academic.

“[Allyn] Walker is a leader in the field of perpetration prevention research, which is essential for developing a comprehensive public health approach to addressing child sexual abuse and effective prevention programs,” Maria Blackburn, the Communications Manager at the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, told The Virginia Star

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‘Shocking Discovery:’ Biden Knows Drug Cartels Control, Profit from Illegal Immigration, DHS Memo Shows

The Center Square
Crowd of immigrants

Border patrol agents are preparing for “a possible increase in migrant activity due to an increase in large group activity” as a result of Biden administration immigration policies, an internal Department of Homeland Security document released by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody says.

It specifically sites suspending the Migrant Protection Protocols, otherwise known as the Remain in Mexico Policy, and terminating the public health authority, Title 42, as contributing to an influx of people coming to the U.S. southern border from Central and South America through Mexico.

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Senate Confirms Biden’s ‘Radical’ FTC Pick Criticized for Anti-ICE Stance

Georgia Star News Staff

The Senate voted Wednesday to confirm President Joe Biden’s nominee Alvaro Bedoya to the empty fifth seat on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The 50-50 Senate vote was broken with a tie breaking vote by Vice President Kamala Harris, and gives Democrats a 3-2 advantage at the FTC. Bedoya, who is professor at Georgetown Law, was previously criticized by Senate Republicans for his past comments on social media and in other outlets opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after President Joe Biden announced his nomination.

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China Harvests Organs from Tens of Thousands of Living Prisoners Each Year, Activist Tells Congress

Georgia Star News Staff

The Chinese government harvests tens of thousands of organs from prisoners each year, many of whom are living, according to expert testimony delivered at a hearing Thursday.

An estimated 25,000 to 50,000 detainees from the approximately one million ethnic minorities imprisoned within China’s concentration camps are targeted for organ harvesting each year, Ethan Gutmann, a senior fellow at the Victims of Communist Memorial Foundation, said at a hearing held by New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris Smith and the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in Washington, D.C.

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Arizona GOP Gubernatorial Hopeful Kari Lake Vows to Defend Parents, Kids Against Leftwing Teachers

Julie Carr

Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, covered Arizona GOP gubernatorial hopeful Kari Lake’s May 12, 2022, in front of the statehouse in Phoenix, where Lake unveiled her education policy.

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Commentary: The Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act Is the Wrong Solution for American Mining

RealClearWire

Everything in this world is either grown or mined, and if we don’t grow it or mine it in America, we import it. Events from the past few years, namely the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have highlighted America’s hunger for metals, including copper, nickel, cobalt, platinum-group elements, and more. Therefore, Congress needs to boost domestic production. Instead, the majority is putting up more arbitrary hurdles, like the so-called Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act.

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Texas Court Reinstates Transgender ‘Child Abuse’ Policy

Georgia Star News Staff

Texas government officials can continue to investigate parents who transition their children to the opposite sex for possible child abuse, the state’s supreme court ruled Friday.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) determined that child sex change surgeries constituted child abuse in August 2021 upon prompting by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and the DFPS began investigations of families for potential child abuse over treatments their transgender children were receiving in February. An appeals court had previously blocked these inquiries throughout the state, but the Texas Supreme Court ruled the lower court had “abused its discretion.”

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Georgia Has Record Voter Volume During Early Voting

The Center Square

A record number of Georgians continue to cast ballots in the state’s 2022 primary election during the early voting period.

Through Wednesday, May 11, during the second week of early voting for Georgia’s 2022 primary election, nearly 270,000 Georgians cast early votes. The numbers are a 159% increase from the primary in 2020 and a 235% increase from 2018.

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Thousands of Medical Professionals Demand Accountability for COVID ‘Corrupt Alliance’ Causing ‘Crimes Against Humanity’

Susan Berry, PhD

More than 17,000 physicians and medical scientists have joined together in a “declaration” that demands an end to the COVID-19 medical emergency and accountability for those in the “corrupt alliance” of Big Tech, media, academics, and government who, they say, committed “crimes against humanity” by profiting from ineffective and dangerous COVID vaccines while banning early treatment drugs.

The statement, released Wednesday during a press conference of the Global COVID Summit, calls for a restoration of “scientific integrity, and a move to address the corrupt alliance’s “catastrophic decisions” which, the medical professionals assert, were orchestrated “at the expense of the innocent, who are forced to suffer health damage and death caused by intentionally withholding critical and time-sensitive treatments, or as a result of coerced genetic therapy injections, which are neither safe nor effective.”

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Tea Party Patriots Blast FBI for Monitoring Parents

Cooper Moran

Tea Party Patriots Action (TPPA) blasted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for allegedly using “threat tags” to monitor and investigate concerned parents that the FBI deemed unsafe.

According to a letter from GOP members of the House of Representatives, whistleblowers informed House Republicans that the government agency used the tags to launch investigations across the country.

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Commentary: Russiagate Played a Role in the Invasion of Ukraine

Georgia Star News Staff

That the fraudulent, media-hyped Russiagate fiasco was a colossal waste of civic energy is now beyond doubt to all but the most bitter partisans. But scant attention has been paid to the way it enabled the tragic Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

The premise of “Russian collusion” was that Vladimir Putin was assisting Donald Trump in defeating presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Even though there was no evidence of collusion, the Left still clings to the narrative that Putin wished Trump to win. 

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Commentary: Biden Promises More U.S. Wheat Production to Combat Loss of Ukrainian, Russian Wheat Exports, Despite U.S. Wheat Production Being Down 15 Percent Since 2019

Georgia Star News Staff

President Joe Biden is promising to boost U.S. production of wheat to offset the loss of Ukrainian and Russian exports from the Black Sea thanks to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that has shut down the ports there, stating at a farm in Illinois on May 11 that he would extend crop insurance for farmers who double crop in a bid to get more wheat to market this year.

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Roe v. Wade Has Completely Transformed the Midterms

Georgia Star News Staff

Both Republicans and Democrats have been forced to reconfigure their election strategies only six months before the midterms due to the unprecedented leak from the Supreme Court indicating Roe v. Wade will be overturned.

Many Democrats have made clear they intend to hammer opponents across the aisle on the implications of Roe being overturned and while Republicans have celebrated the decision, several have largely focused on the leak and others have been reluctant to press the abortion issue.

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Rand Paul Blocks Swift Passage of $40 Billion Ukraine Aid Package

Georgia Star News Staff

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Thursday threw a wrench in the Senate’s plans to swiftly pass the $40 billion Ukraine package this week, delaying the vote until at least next week, and possibly beyond.

According to the Hill, Paul wanted to include language in the bill to expand the Afghanistan inspector general’s role to include oversight of the Ukraine funds. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) offered him a deal that would have set up votes Thursday afternoon on the funding bill and on an amendment from Paul.

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Flags Unfurled: Presley O’Bannon – Tripoli Hero to Marine Corps Legend

Bethany Bowman

Growing up with the name O’Bannon I was vaguely aware that there was a famous person named Presley O’Bannon who was important in American History. When I got married 37 years ago to a Marine Corp veteran who has a degree in history, I was informed that not only was Presley O’Bannon an important figure in history, he was especially important to the Marines. The United States Marine Corps hymn opens with “From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli, we fight our country’s battles on the land and on the sea.” Presley O’Bannon was the man who led battles on the shores of Tripoli from whence the song lyrics came.

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Businesses Fail to Find Workers, and Experts Say Federal Policies Have Made It Worse

The Center Square

A new labor market survey found that a majority of employers, particularly restaurants, still cannot find enough workers.

The new report from Alignable said that 83% of restaurants can’t find enough workers. Overall, the report found that “63% of all small business employers can’t find the help they need, after a year of an ongoing labor shortage.”

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Pence to Rally with Kemp on Eve of Primary

Peter D'Abrosca

In an act of opposition against former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence will rally with Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on the eve of Georgia’s primary election day. 

Kemp confirmed the news on his Twitter account, saying he was “honored” to have Pence’s support. 

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GA-6 Candidate Jake Evans Strongly Believes In Need to Fight for Election Integrity

Aaron Gulbransen

Jake Evans, the Trump-endorsed candidate in the Republican primary for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, spoke with The Georgia Star News about election integrity.

“I firmly believe that without secure elections, we have no country. This is an issue that I have been fighting for since 2018,” said Evans.

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Senate Fails to Advance Democrat Bill That Would Have Forced Doctors to Perform Abortions Against Their Faith Beliefs

Susan Berry, PhD

A bill Democrats pushed to shut down state pro-life laws and force doctors throughout the country to perform abortions, even if doing so violates their faith beliefs, failed to advance in the Senate Wednesday.

Desperate to appeal to his party’s radical leftist supporters in the wake of the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion in a case that could overturn Roe v. Wade, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the vote was “urgent” to prevent states from restricting abortions within their borders.

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Naomi Judd Cause of Death Was a Self-Inflicted Firearm Wound, Family Reveals

Cooper Moran

Naomi Judd, the legendary country music singer, died of a self-inflicted firearm wound, the musician’s family revealed.

The matriarch of the Judd family battled with depression and mental illness, as her daughter Ashley noted in an interview with Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America” that it is “important to make the distinction between the loved one and the disease.”

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Judiciary Committee Letter Says Garland’s FBI Mobilized Against Parent Protestors

Peter D'Abrosca

In a lengthy letter addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland, the House Judiciary Committee accuses the nation’s top attorney of lying under oath, and claims that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was deployed to monitor parents who have been protesting school board meetings nationwide. 

“It appears that the Biden Administration did in fact mobilize FBI counterterrorism resources to investigate parents for expressing protected political speech at school board meetings. This directly contradicts AG Merrick Garland’s sworn testimony,” said Parents Defending Education, a nonprofit group that advocates for parents rights. 

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Commentary: States Can Make the Difference on an Unjust Teacher Pay Gap

RealClearWire

The seemingly-omnipresent call to raise teacher pay is sounding even louder this year, as rising inflation threatens to render moot any raises made in previous years. Yet even before that became apparent, state pay raises for teachers were heading toward a crescendo. There were numerous historic raises in March 2022 alone: Mississippi’s Gov. Tate Reeves signed a pay bump of roughly 10 percent, New Mexico’s Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a base salary increase average of 20 percent, and Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis announced $800 million in additional funds to raise teachers’ starting salaries. In April 2022, Alabama’s Gov. Kay Ivey approved raises that range from 4 to 21 percent depending on teachers’ experience levels.

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Biden Administration Cancels New Oil Leases as Gas Prices Hit Record Highs

The Center Square

President Joe Biden canceled three pending oil and gas drilling leases in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico this week as gas prices hit record highs.

Biden has taken heavy fire for blocking new leases and pipelines as energy costs have surged but has defended his record. This latest development intensified that criticism.

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Trump Slams Republicans Supporting Kemp in Re-Election Bid

Peter D'Abrosca

Former President Donald J. Trump is taking out his frustrations as current and former governors from across the country continue to support Gov. Brian Kemp (R), a political enemy of the former president, for reelection in Georgia. 

“Today, the worst ‘election integrity’ Governor in the country, Brian Kemp, loaded the great state of Georgia up with RINOs. That’s right, he had them all,” Trump said in Wednesday statement. “Chris Christie, Doug Ducey from Arizona, and Pete Ricketts from Nebraska. That tells you all you need to know about what you are getting in Georgia—just a continuation of bad elections and a real RINO if you vote for Brian Kemp.”

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GA-6 Republican Candidate Jake Evans Talks Meeting with Former President Trump and Receiving His Endorsement

Aaron Gulbransen

The Trump-endorsed candidate in the May 24 Republican primary for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District seat, Jake Evans, spoke with The Georgia Star News about the importance of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement and what it was like to meet with him.

“I believe firmly that the America First agenda delivered four of the best years that we’ve had in a very very long time, definitely since the Reagan era,” said Evans. “I believe in secure borders, protecting our law enforcement, less regulations, lower taxes – all of which President Trump did.”

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Commentary: Planned Parenthood Directs Women to Illegal Abortions

RealClearWire

Planned Parenthood is directing its patients to a service that guides women through the process of illegally importing abortion drugs into the United States. The information is communicated prominently on a landing page that links from the front page of the organization’s website. It’s all part of a broader plan by abortion activists to use the illegal trade of drugs like mifepristone and misoprostol to provide abortions in states where abortion will be banned if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

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Trump Calls Brian Kemp the Worst Governor in the Country on ‘Election Integrity’

Addison Basurto

45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated on Wednesday that Georgia Governor, Brian Kemp, is ‘the worst election integrity Governor in the country.’

Trump added that Kemp, “loaded the great state of Georgia up with RINOs.”

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Sen. Tim Scott Demolishes Secretary Janet Yellen’s Claim Unborn Babies Must Be Aborted to Benefit Economy

Susan Berry, PhD

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) shut down Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s claim that women must be able to abort their unborn children in order to contribute to the economy as workers.

During a Senate Banking Committee meeting Tuesday, Yellen said a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade would damage the economy.

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Georgia Attorney General Candidate John Gordon Challenges Chris Carr on Uptick in Violent Crimes

Addison Basurto

ATLANTA, Georgia – Georgia Attorney General (AG) candidate John Gordon invited incumbent AG Chris Carr on Monday to participate in five debates on election fraud and violent crime rates before the primary election on May 24.

In a press release, Gordon stated, “John Gordon issues an invitation to AG Carr to address unprosecuted voter fraud, and the soaring rates of rape and murder.”

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The Biden Admin Is Using a ‘Backdoor’ to Force Through Green New Deal Reforms

Georgia Star News Staff

Democrats are increasingly looking to force their climate agenda through the federal bureaucracy rather than go through Congress, experts said, due to lack of support for their environmental reforms.

The Biden administration has unveiled sweeping regulations affecting home appliances, building standards, fuel economy and government-backed projects including infrastructure during its first 15 months in power. Experts have slammed the myriad federal rules, saying they will lead to higher prices, hurt consumers amid soaring inflation and mainly serve as a backdoor for broad environmental restrictions.

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Commentary: Despite Rising Crime, Nation’s Capital Is at Forefront of Cities Pushing Leniency

RealClearWire

WASHINGTON, D.C. — “But she told me she was 16 years old.”

Under a new criminal code being considered by the District of Columbia city council, that statement would be what is called “an affirmative defense to liability” for an adult who has sex with a minor. Put more plainly, an adult accused of sexual activity with a minor could avoid culpability if found to have “reasonably” believed the child’s claim at the time to have reached the age of consent.

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Inflation Slowed in April, but Prices Continued Their Steady Increase

The Center Square

Inflation continued its steady rise in April, when the Consumer Price Index increased 8.3% over last year, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For the month, the CPI rose 0.3%. That’s down from the 1.2% spike in March, but higher than analysts expected. The 8.3% increase over last year remains near 40-year highs, the bureau reported.

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