Month: November 2023

The election campaign for a Massachusetts mayoral candidate is facing allegations of bribing residents to vote.

Election officials for the city of Springfield say they witnessed voters being brought to the city hall for early voting and that at least some expected cash after they voted for Democrat candidate Justin Hurst, according to local news outlet The Republican.

House GOP Crafting Major FISA Reform to Block Snooping on Americans’ Phone Records Without Warrants

House Judiciary Committee Republicans are pressing ahead with sweeping reforms to the government’s FISA surveillance powers that among other things would would prohibit the FBI from searching through Americans’ phone records without a court-approved warrant.

Trump Leads Biden in 5 Battleground States, New York Times Poll Finds

Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in five of the six major swing states, according to new polls released Sunday, as voters largely express disapproval of the current president.

Trump: Iowa Governor Began ‘Retirement Tour Early’ amid Reports She’s Endorsing DeSantis

Former President Donald Trump slammed Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds on Sunday amid reports that she is going to endorse Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

Supreme Court Will Review Federal Bump Stock Ban

November 5, 2023November 4, 2023 Georgia Star News Staff

The Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear a case challenging the federal ban on bump stocks.

The Fifth Circuit struck down the ATF’s rule earlier this year in Garland v. Cargill. The Supreme Court granted the government’s appeal of the ruling in a brief order.

Biden Mandates A.I. Advance ‘Equity and Civil Rights’

November 5, 2023 The Center Square

President Joe Biden has signed an executive order requiring that Artificial Intelligence technology advance “equity and civil rights.”

Biden signed the order this week, putting more regulatory guidance in place for A.I., a rapidly developing technology that some experts warn could be used for harm for everyday Americans.

Federal Appeals Court Temporarily Pauses Trump Gag Order

A federal appeals court temporarily paused the gag order against former President Donald Trump in his 2020 election case on Friday.

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia temporarily paused the order issued Oct. 17 by District Judge Tanya Chutkan to allow time to consider Trump’s request for a longer freeze on its enforcement pending appeal. The court ordered Trump’s appeal to be expedited, requesting briefing from Trump’s legal team by Nov. 8 and scheduling oral arguments for Nov. 20.

Commentary: If Public Education Were a Business, It Would Be Bankrupt

There has been, for some time now, optimism about a post-Covid recovery for American public school students, but sadly, there is no good news to be had.

Looking through a long lens, government-run education has been an enterprise rife with failure. The National Commission on Excellence in Education released a report in 1983 titled “A Nation at Risk,” which used dire language, asserting that “the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people.”

Georgia Lawmakers Consider Legislating AI

November 5, 2023November 4, 2023 The Center Square

Georgia lawmakers are weighing whether the state should act to legislate or regulate artificial intelligence, following similar actions in other states and at the federal level.

“Artificial Intelligence is a pretty hot buzzword these days, and being a technology person by background, sometimes we put these big words out there, and people don’t really understand what they mean,” state Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, said during a joint meeting of the Senate Committees on Public Safety and Science and Technology.

Commentary: Biden Plans to Vastly Expand ‘Refugee’ Applicants to Circumvent Border Crisis

While there is a dearth of data showing the border crisis is costing Biden heavily in polls, Biden’s plan to dramatically expand immigration and resettle record-breaking numbers of individuals from Latin America through the refugee program is wildly out of step with public opinion.

Not only have the massive spikes in illegal border crossings strained border patrol resources and posed threats to national security, but the Biden Administration’s response is to vastly expand the number of individuals entering the U.S. under the refugee program.

Commentary: A Reckoning Is Coming for the Failing Energy Transition

It didn’t make a ton of news in the United States media, but a new study published by the International Energy Agency in mid-October emphasizes the enormous potential roadblock to a successful energy transition posed by a projected need to refurbish and double capacity on global electricity grids.

The study, titled, “Electricity Grids and Secure Energy Transitions,” advises governments that investments in expanding and refurbishing power grids must “nearly double by 2030 to over USD 600 billion per year after over a decade of stagnation at the global level, with emphasis on digitalising and modernising distribution grids.” That level of new investment in just this single piece of the overarching plans for a complete re-tooling of the global energy system is not currently a part of existing policies around the world. Given that most developed countries are already saddled with overwhelming public debt and the lack of means in developing countries, the prospect for a doubling of current grid investments seems dubious at best.

Group Sues Biden Administration for Information on Alaska Oil Drilling

November 5, 2023 The Center Square

The Americans for Prosperity Foundation filed a court action Tuesday against the Biden administration, claiming they have failed to respond properly to a request for information on oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The Trump administration approved the oil and drilling leases in January 2021, shortly before the former president left office. The Biden administration canceled them last month, citing concerns about climate change.

Infant Death Rate Increases for First Time in Two Decades

November 5, 2023 The Center Square

The rate of infants dying in the U.S. increased for the first time in two decades, raising concerns about infant and maternal health across the country.

The infant mortality rate for the United States rose 3% from 2021 to 2022, the first year-to-year increase in the rate since 2001 to 2002, according to figures the National Center for Health Statistics released Wednesday. The provisional report does not explain why infant deaths increased and said more research was needed.

‘Genocide Joe’: Tens of Thousands Descend on DC to Protest Against Israel Blocks Away from White House

November 4, 2023 Admin

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Washington, D.C., for a protest against Israel’s war to eliminate Hamas on Saturday, just blocks from the White House.

Poll: 24 Percent of Americans Say They Know Someone Who Died from the COVID Jab

Nearly a quarter of Americans say that they know someone who died from COVID-19 injection side effects, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll released on Thursday.

More men (51 percent) than women (44 percent) said someone they know personally died from side effects of the COVID shots.

30,000 Pro-Hamas Demonstrators Rally in Washington D.C. in Support of Terrorism

November 4, 2023 Admin

The Washington Post Thousands of people supporting Palestinian rights converged Saturday on Washington from around the country, demanding a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and an end to American aid to Israel amid a deepening war. Protestors filled and flowed beyond Freedom Plaza, a block from the White House, with the…

Judge Expands Gag Order to Include Trump’s Attorneys in His New York Case

The New York judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial expanded his gag order Friday to include Trump’s attorneys.

Judge Arthur Engoron issued an order Friday barring Trump’s attorneys from making “any public comments about court staff” referring to “confidential communications” between him and his staff. Engoron said the attorneys on Trump’s legal team — Christopher Kise, Clifford Robert and Alina Habba — have made “on the record, repeated, inappropriate remarks” about his law clerk “falsely accusing her of bias against them and of improperly influencing the ongoing bench trial.”

Job Gains Fall Short of Expectations as Unemployment Ticks Up

November 4, 2023November 3, 2023 Georgia Star News Staff

The U.S. added 150,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in October as the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released Friday.

Economists had anticipated that the country would add 180,000 jobs in October compared to the 336,000 jobs that were added in September and that the unemployment rate would remain at 3.8%, according to Reuters. On Wednesday, at the conclusion of its Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the Federal Reserve announced that it would be keeping its federal funds rate steady in the range of 5.25% and 5.50%, a 22-year high, after a series of 11 rate hikes that started in March 2022 in an effort to tame inflation.

The Biden Admin Has Overcounted New Jobs Almost Every Single Month This Year

The Biden administration has revised down previously reported jobs data for nearly every month this year, resulting in a huge disparity from the originally advertised numbers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The number of jobs added in August was revised down from 227,000 to 165,000, and September was revised down from 336,000 to 297,000, resulting in 101,000 fewer jobs than were previously reported, according to the BLS. The U.S. economy added 150,000 jobs in October, subject to revisions in future reports, lower than the 170,000 jobs that economists expected.

‘Very Precarious’: Automakers May Have Missed the Mark with Union Deal, Experts Say

The United Auto Workers (UAW) concluded contract negotiations with the Big Three automakers over the last week, creating a deal that raises labor costs when the automakers are already struggling against competitors, according to experts who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — reached three separate tentative deals starting on Wednesday that ended a six-week-long partial strike at the companies from the UAW after workers’ contracts expired on Sept. 14. Due to the increased labor costs from higher wages and benefits, the Big Three are put at a disadvantage compared to non-unionized workforces both domestically and abroad at a time when the companies try to shift to the production of electric vehicles (EV), according to experts who spoke to the DCNF.

‘He Sees All White People as Racist’: Military Assessment Criticizes Air Force Colonel’s Leadership

Col. Ben Jonsson, an Air Force officer who accused his fellow “white colonels” of being “blind to institutional racism,” is the subject of blistering criticism from subordinates at MacDill Air Force Base, where he served as commander from 2020 to 2022.

Jonsson is among the more than 300 military officers awaiting Senate approval for a promotion. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., has blocked Democrats—and now some Republicans—from rubber-stamping these promotions in a dispute over the Pentagon’s taxpayer-funded abortion policy.

Judge Orders New Democrat Mayoral Primary in Connecticut After Seeing ‘Shocking’ Ballot-Stuffing Videos

A Superior Court judge in Connecticut has ordered a new Democrat mayoral primary in Bridgeport after surveillance videos showed a Democrat official apparently stuffing absentee ballots into an outdoor ballot box ahead of the original primary.

Incumbent Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim won the election by 251 votes out of 8,173 cast, and absentee ballots reportedly played a deciding role in his margin of victory.

Commentary: Jobs Report Shows Cracks in Labor Market That Could Bring Down the Entire Economy

Cracks in the labor market and the broader economy continue to emerge. The October jobs report released Friday morning reveals that only 150,000 jobs were created last month, below expectations and well below the recent average. August and September job creation was revised down by more than 100,000, taking the sheen off the September jobs report.

The unemployment rate rose to 3.9%. While this figure is still low, there are now nearly one million more unemployed Americans than in April of this year.

Trump Co-Defendant Claims He Can Prove 2020 Election Fraud in Georgia at Trial Using Secretary of State Data

November 4, 2023November 3, 2023 Tom Pappert

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled Friday the Georgia Secretary of State’s office must submit a new motion to quash a request from Harrison Floyd, who subpoenaed the government agency for information related to the 2020 election. Floyd’s attorney claims Georgia’s state agencies have information that will prove the 2020 elections in Fulton County and Georgia were fraudulent, which in turn will confirm his client’s innocence at trial.

Floyd is the former director of Black Voices for Trump, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis included him in her racketeering case against former President Donald Trump. She claims he tried to coerce a false confession from a Georgia election worker who former Trump campaign lawyer Rudy Giuliani accused of counting fraudulent ballots.

Commentary: Daylight Saving Time’s Mixed Results

November 4, 2023November 3, 2023 Georgia Star News Staff

This weekend, public service announcements will remind us daylight saving time is over. This means you have to set your clocks forward an hour at 2 a.m. on November 5.

This semiannual ritual shifts our rhythms and temporarily makes us groggy at times when we normally feel alert. Moreover, many Americans are confused about why we spring forward in March and fall back in November, and whether it is worth the trouble.

RFK Jr. at 22 Percent in Three-Way Race with Biden, Trump: Poll

November 4, 2023 Just the News

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has emerged as a formidable, and potentially race-defining, contender in the 2024 presidential contest.

In a hypothetical three-way contest between himself, former President Donald Trump, and President Joe Biden, Kennedy earned 22% support in the latest Quinnipiac survey. Biden and Trump earned 39% and 36%, respectively. Kennedy led with independent voters with 36%, while Trump placed second with 31%, and 30% backed Biden.

New Poll Shows Kentucky Governor’s Race in Dead Heat Before Election

The gubernatorial race between Kentucky’s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron appears to be in a dead heat just days before Tuesday’s election, according to a Friday poll.

Beshear and Cameron are tied at 47% among likely Kentucky voters ahead of the Nov. 7 election, with 4% remaining undecided and 2% naming someone else, according to an Emerson College survey. Among the 4% of voters who remain undecided on the race, 62% are leaning toward voting for Cameron while 39% are leaning toward Beshear.

Commentary: Chaos in the Classified Documents Case

November 4, 2023 Julie Kelly

At one point during a contentious hearing in her Florida courtroom on Wednesday afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon confronted the Department of Justice about its concurrent federal indictments against Donald Trump.

Cannon pressed Jay Bratt, the chief prosecutor on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s classified documents case, to name another instance when the government brought charges against the same defendant on two different matters within a few months of each other. (Smith indicted the former president last June in the southern district of Florida for unlawfully keeping national defense information at Mar-a-Lago and obstruction of justice. Seven weeks later, Smith charged Trump in the District of Columbia with four counts related to the events of January 6.)

Schumer Vows to Kill House-Passed Standalone Bill Providing $14 Billion to Israel

November 3, 2023 Just the News

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed to kill the House-passed bill providing $14.3 billion in aid to Israel in response to the Hamas terrorist attack.

“The Senate will not take up the House GOP’s deeply flawed proposal,” Schumer said on the Senate floor just ahead of the final House vote on Thursday. “Instead we will work together on our own bipartisan emergency aid package that includes aid to Israel, Ukraine, competition with the Chinese government, and humanitarian aid for Gaza.”

Trump Announces Plans to End Funding for Homeless Hotels and Focus on Veterans

November 3, 2023 The Center Square

Former President Donald Trump said he would end the funding for homeless immigrants in hotels if elected president.

“Under crooked Joe Biden, the U.S. government has spent nearly $1 billion to house illegal aliens and foreign migrants in expensive, luxury hotels courtesy of you, the American taxpayer, and they want to spend billions and billions more,” Trump said in a video message posted on his social media platform. “In many states, we are running out of hotel space because the rooms are all booked up with illegal aliens living in a very large way on the American taxpayers’ dime.”

DOJ Opens Investigation into New York City Mayor Adams over Foreign Donations

November 3, 2023 Admin

DNYUZ Federal prosecutors and the F.B.I. are conducting a broad public corruption investigation into whether Mayor Eric Adams’s 2021 election campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign donations, according to a search warrant obtained by The New York Times. The investigation burst into public view on Thursday…

Judge Cannon Delays Trump Documents Trial

November 3, 2023 Admin

Julie Kelly / X (Twitter) As expected, Judge Cannon will delay the trial schedule in Jack Smith’s classified documents case against Trump. … The blame lies SOLELY at the feet of DOJ. Jack Smith brought 2 unprecedented federal cases against a former president within two months of each other. He…

China’s Low Standards, Tariffs, Forced Labor Threaten U.S. Food Security, Agribusiness Experts Say

November 3, 2023November 2, 2023 Just the News

American grocery shelves are rapidly filling up with cheap canned food imported from China, displacing American producers’ goods and raising concerns about food safety and food security, U.S. trade associations and experts are saying.

According to the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), a trade association supporting manufacturers of cans for both food and non-food items and their suppliers, American producers are at a disadvantage because they have to pay U.S. steel tariffs, which do not extend to finished Chinese-produced canned foods.

Private Employers Hire 113,000 New Workers in October; Pay Growth Slows

November 3, 2023 The Center Square

U.S. private employers grew their payrolls by 113,000 workers in October versus September’s 89,000 new hires, a month-over increase of 21%, according to the October ADP National Employment Report, a collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab.

“No single industry dominated hiring this month, and big post-pandemic pay increases seem to be behind us,” said Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist, said in a statement. “In all, October’s numbers paint a well-rounded jobs picture. And while the labor market has slowed, it’s still enough to support strong consumer spending.”

Trump Proposes Free Online College, Says Ones Now Turning Students into ‘Communists and Terrorists’

November 3, 2023 Just the News

Former President Trump is making a reelection pledge that if he elected he would create a federally funded online university that awards free degrees, in response to those now in the U.S. that are “turning our students into communists and terrorists.”

Trump makes the pledge in a campaign video obtained by Politico.

Commentary: The Left Ramps Up the Supreme Court Intimidation Campaign

November 3, 2023 Georgia Star News Staff

The Left’s campaign of vilification and intimidation to try to control the Supreme Court is a saga with a number of shameful chapters dating back to the smearing of Robert Bork in 1987. Their game plan is simple: defeat originalist nominees to the Court by whatever illegitimate attacks can be conjured up. Failing that, bully and delegitimize the Supreme Court justices who are not deciding cases with the policy-driven activism that is the hallmark of the modern Left. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) has made this his mission.

Fulton County Sheriff Admits Inmate Welfare Fund Spent on Gift Cards, Giveaways amid ‘Slush Fund’ Accusation

November 3, 2023November 2, 2023 Tom Pappert

Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat admitted in a Wednesday meeting of the Fulton County Commission that his office incorrectly spent money from Fulton County Jail’s Inmate Welfare Fund on items that have nothing to do with detainees, including on turkey giveaways, gift cards, party materials, and new vehicles.

Labat confirmed the report by WSB-TV that revealed his office spent more than $1 million earmarked for Fulton County Jail inmates on seemingly frivolous items, including bounce houses, disc jockeys, jugglers, florists, gift cards, and a $500 Thanksgiving giveaway. Labat said he fired two employees and launched an internal audit over the expenditures.

Republican Governors Say CMS Staffing Rule Would Close Nursing Homes

November 3, 2023 The Center Square

A proposed long-term care staffing rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would not improve care but would force nursing homes to close, 14 Republican governors said in a letter to CMS.

The rule changes would require long-term care facilities to conduct a facility assessment that includes a staffing plan within 60 days of the rule’s implementation. The second phase of the rule mandates a registered nurse must be onsite 24 hours a day.

Commentary: Women in Swing States Could Cause Problems for Biden in 2024

November 3, 2023 Georgia Star News Staff

President Biden continues to trail across the country singing the virtues of “Bidenomics”, but voters aren’t buying it – especially female voters in highly contested battleground states that will play an outsized role in 2024.

Biden won women by a wide fifteen-percentage-point margin in 2020, but new polling shows he is suffering double-digit losses with women across key battleground states, and the economy, rising crime, inaction on the border, and foreign policy all play a role.

Texas Sets Stage for Constitutional Struggle with Biden Admin over Border Protection

November 3, 2023 Georgia Star News Staff

A Texas bill that makes it a state crime to cross the border at any location besides a port of entry could set up Texas’ next legal fight with the Biden administration.

The Texas House voted on a border security package Thursday, approving 84-60 a bill that enables local police to arrest or send back illegal migrants who cross the border. If passed by the Senate and signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, it could set up another big fight with the Biden administration over the border.

Judge Signals She May Delay Trump Classified Documents Trial

The federal judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case signaled that she would consider postponing the coming May trial, according to Politico.

Trump’s lawyers requested in early October that the trial be delayed until “at least mid-November 2024,” after the 2024 election, citing scheduling conflicts with other trials along with delays in record production by Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon did not issue a ruling during a Wednesday hearing but was skeptical that the original schedule could still be met, according to Politico.

Mayors of Five Major Cities Demand Meeting with Biden over Mass Migration Crisis

The mayors of five of the biggest cities in the United States are demanding a meeting with Joe Biden to discuss the mass migration crisis, as theirs and other major cities continue to be overrun with hordes of third-world illegal aliens.

Politico reports that the mayors of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Denver have been pressing for a meeting in order to address the lack of support from the federal government, which has led to a strain on city resources. The five mayors, who are all Democrats, sent a letter to the Biden Administration which was obtained by the Associated Press on Wednesday.

Childcare Costs Rising Even Faster than Sky-High Inflation, Report Reveals

November 2, 2023November 1, 2023 Georgia Star News Staff

The cost Americans are paying to provide childcare for their kids has risen dramatically since 2019, outpacing inflation overall, which has also risen substantially, according to the Bank of America (BofA) Institute.

The average childcare payment has risen by 32% since 2019 to $700 a month as of September, affecting middle- and upper-income households the most, according to data compiled by the BofA Institute. In that same time period, general inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, rose 20% following a highly inflationary period since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, according to Axios.

Appeals Court Rules State Abortion Ballot Language Using ‘Right to Life,’ ‘Unborn Child’ Is ‘Argumentative’

The Missouri Western District Court of Appeals upheld a decision on Tuesday that declared Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft used “argumentative” and “partisan” language in a ballot description of a proposed abortion amendment, court documents showed.

A Missouri judge determined in September that Ashcroft’s use of phrases such as “right to life,” “unborn child” and “dangerous, unregulated, and unrestricted abortions” were “problematic,” and rewrote the secretary’s summary to include approved language. The Court of Appeals agreed that Ashcroft tried to “mislead” voters with “insufficient and unfair” language, but said the rewritten ballot summaries must specifically mention abortion to accurately describe the proposed amendment, according to court documents.

Nigel Farage on Episode 35 of ‘Tucker on X:’ America is ‘Not Immune’ to ‘Massive Problem’ that Comes with Accepting Anti-Western Refugees

November 2, 2023 Kaitlin Housler

In episode 35 of his newest production, “Tucker on X,” host Tucker Carlson interviewed the head of the UK Independence Party, Nigel Farage, on the effects “anti-Western” refugees bring to Western countries amid the current conflict in the Middle East.

Trump Files Lawsuit to Keep His Name on Michigan 2024 Ballot

Former President Donald Trump sued Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on Monday to prevent her from keeping him off the state’s 2024 election ballot.

The lawsuit, filed in the Michigan Court of Claims, asks the court to issue an injunction barring Benson from removing him from the ballot and to find that she lacks the authority to decide whether or not he is qualified. Michigan is one of many states where a lawsuit has been filed to remove Trump from the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars officials who took an oath to the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.

Attorney for Jenna Ellis Warns Rudy Giuliani ‘Should Be’ Worried About Her Testimony

November 2, 2023November 1, 2023 Tom Pappert

The attorney who secured a plea deal with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for Jenna Ellis said former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani “should be” worried about his client’s testimony at trial during an interview published Wednesday.

Ellis, who was a member of Trump’s legal team during the 2020 election contest, accepted her plea deal because it seemed as though “timing was of the essence” following the deals secured by attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Julie Kelly Commentary: Trump Wants Cameras in the Courtroom but the DOJ Does Not, and They Are Ready to Fight About It

November 2, 2023 Julie Kelly

For nearly three years, the American people have received media-filtered coverage of court proceedings for January 6 defendants in the nation’s capital.

Pandemic-era rules enabled the public to access hearings by telephone during the early stages of the Department of Justice’s prosecution of Capitol protesters. But as the first jury trials commenced in the spring of 2022, phone-in lines for most D.C. courtrooms were shut down. Now anyone, including reporters, interested in covering the district court in Washington—where jury trials, plea agreements, and sentencing decisions for January 6 defendants take place—must attend in person. Electronic devices are not permitted in the courtroom; media rooms are often full for high-profile cases.

Commentary: Tribalism and Democracy