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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Media Giant Sued for Allegedly Discriminating Against White Employees

The largest newspaper publisher in the U.S., Gannett, was hit with a class action lawsuit Friday that alleges its diversity efforts discriminated against non-minority employees.

Current, former and prospective Gannett employees filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging the company’s “Reverse Race Discrimination Policy” discriminated against “non-minorities” on the basis of race. The policy, announced in 2020, sought to ensure its newsrooms’ demographics reflected the communities they covered by 2025.

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Germany on Track to Miss Climate Goals Despite $500 Billion Plus Green Spending Spree

Germany is on track to fall short of its ambitious long-term climate change goals despite its plans to have spent more than $500 billion to reach them, according to Reuters.

The German government is primed to miss its targets of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2030 and reaching net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, according to Reuters. The German government will have spent by 2025 the equivalent of at least $580 billion toward achieving the goals that it is now forecasted to miss, according to Bloomberg.

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Court Rules Alabama Can Enforce Ban on Transgender Medical Treatments for Minors

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit unanimously reversed a district court’s temporary halt to enforcement of an Alabama law that prohibits minors from obtaining puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and transgender surgeries for treating gender dysphoria.

In Eknes-Tucker v. Marshall, the appeals court on Monday rejected the plaintiffs’ arguments, described in the opinion as “a group of transgender minors, their parents, and other concerned individuals” who challenged the constitutionality of Alabama’s Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act.

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Commentary: American Self-Government Is Falling Apart

The American system does not require unanimity. In fact, its design presumes deep disagreement on matters of morality and policy.

This is why questions like religion are left to individual conscience, and why most policy is left to states or even smaller units, where the law’s touch will not be felt as harshly, because it reflects the more similar values of a smaller group. Finally, regardless of who has the reins of the federal government, the Constitution renders a great deal of substantive activity off limits, as exemplified by the Bill of Rights.

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Author of New Book on Marxism in Schools Says U.S. in ‘National Danger’

Popular author and commentator Dr. James Lindsay joined Liz Collin on her podcast this week to discuss the deterioration of America’s education system over the last 30 years.

Lindsay’s new book, “The Marxification of Education,” examines the left’s “theft” of the education system. He has been touring the country and world speaking to audiences about this topic and will be in Minnesota Oct. 11 for an event hosted by the Child Protection League.

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Border Encounters of Migrants with Suspected Terror Ties Jumped 15 Percent Last Month

The number of migrants with suspected terror ties encountered at U.S. “land border ports of entry” increased 15% in one month, according to the latest U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

A total amount of individuals who appear on the terrorist watchlist caught at ports of entry jumped from 382 to 442 after CBP publicly released its July 2023 operational data. So far into fiscal year 2023, 70 have been caught at the southwest border and 372 have been caught at the northern border. 

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Music Spotlight: NEEDTOBREATHE

When I saw the rock band NEEDTOBREATHE had new music coming, a bell went off. Weren’t they a band that my kids used to listen to? Indeed, they are.

NEEDTOBREATHE is an American rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Seth Bolt (backing vocals, bass), Josh Lovelace (backing vocals, keys), Randall Harris (drums, percussion), and Tyler Burkum (guitar). I interviewed Lovelace to get more information on their band and their upcoming 9th album, CAVES.

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Commentary: Compulsory Schooling Laws Have Got to Go

When Massachusetts passed the nation’s first compulsory school attendance law in 1852, parents were mandated to send their children to school under a legal threat of force. Today, that threat remains stronger than ever.

Prior to that law, and those that followed in all other US states over the subsequent decades, cities and towns were compelled to provide schooling for those who wanted it, but parents were under no obligation to use those schools. Many didn’t, choosing instead to send their children to private schools, church or charity schools, “dame schools” in their neighbor’s kitchen, apprenticeships for older children and teens, or to homeschool.

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Arkansas Launches Investigation into New AP Course for ‘Critical Race Theory’ Content

The Arkansas Department of Education is investigating an Advanced Placement (AP) pilot course dedicated to African American studies for possible Critical Race Theory (CRT) content, according to The Associated Press.

Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva asked five school districts Monday to send in their course materials for the AP African American course, drafted by the College Board, an academic organization that administers and writes high school courses for college credit, so the state may evaluate whether the course complies with its CRT ban, according to the AP. Prior to the investigation, the five school districts announced that they would continue to teach the course despite the state saying that the course was not approved and would not count towards college credit.

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Another Major Credit Agency Downgrades Several U.S. Banks

A major U.S. credit agency cut the ratings of multiple banks following a string of credit rating cuts due to factors like higher interest rates, according to an announcement from S&P Global.

S&P Global, one of the three major U.S. credit agencies, revised its ratings down for five regional U.S. banks after reviewing their risks related to funding, liquidity and asset quality, according to a S&P Global announcement. Moody’s, another top credit agency cut its ratings for ten U.S. banks earlier this month, according to Reuters.

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Biden Admin to Green Light Another Massive Offshore Wind Farm amid Industry Troubles, Mounting Whale Deaths

The Biden administration is expected to officially approve a massive new offshore wind farm development off of the Rhode Island coast on Tuesday, despite reported economic troubles for other developers and mounting suspicion that East Coast offshore wind developments may be responsible for a surge in whale deaths, The Washington Post reported.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is set to approve the project, which will feature 65 turbines and be 15 nautical miles off the coast of Point Judith, Rhode Island, to become the fourth commercial wind development approved by the Biden administration off of the East Coast, according to the Post. Although government agencies have not identified any causal link between offshore wind construction and harm to whales, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has declared “unusual mortality events” for humpback whales and North Atlantic right whales since 2016 and 2017, respectively, a timeline which generally coincides with the beginning of offshore wind development off of the East Coast, according to NOAA’s website.

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