Day: May 9, 2023

Jury Holds Trump Liable for Battery, Defamation in E. Jean Carroll Case

Just the News

A jury held former President Donald Trump liable for battery and defamation after hearing arguments in a civil trial brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, who said Trump raped her in a department store during the 1990s. Trump’s conduct was specifically determined to have been sexual abuse. The jury awarded roughly $2 million in damages to Carroll for the battery count, according to CNN. Carroll will also receive $3 million for the defamation count.

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Ohio Marijuana Legalization Advocates Begin Collecting Signatures to Place Issue on November Ballot

Hannah Poling

An activist-led petition for marijuana legalization in Ohio could be on the November ballot now that state lawmakers have declined to evaluate the change.

The 34-page bill proposed by The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol aimed to impose a 10 percent tax on the sale of all cannabis products and legalize the possession, purchase, and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older.

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Ohio to Award Nearly $500,000 to Boost Law Enforcement Recruitment

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and his Department of Safety Director Andy Wilson have announced that the state of Ohio is awarding nearly $500,000 in funding to law enforcement agencies throughout the state to help aid in the recruitment of new officers.

31 law enforcement agencies in 21 counties will receive the grant funding totaling $445,449 as part of the second round of funding offered as part of the new Ohio Law Enforcement Recruitment Grant Program. The program was created by Gov. DeWine in 2020 to enable police departments throughout Ohio to focus on recruiting efforts.

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Republicans Take a Page from Democrats, Offer Novel Idea on Medicaid

Just the News

Democrats are trying to paint Republicans as enemies of Medicaid, but Florida GOP Rep. Daniel Webster is gaining support for a bill that would provide a tax deduction to healthcare providers in exchange for pro bono health services for people who rely on Medicaid or CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Webster’s Helping Everyone Access Long Term Healthcare Act, or HEALTH Act, would amend the IRS code to allow medical professionals to take a tax deduction for the value of service performed, which he says will reduce the amount of paperwork associated with the low-income healthcare systems.

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South Carolina Mom Asks School Board ‘Why Are Adult Teachers Allowed to Sponsor a Group Regarding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity with Minors?’

Susan Berry, PhD

A South Carolina parent challenged the school board of Richland School District Two in Columbia where Blythewood High School (BHS) hosted the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) “No Place for Hate” program that invites children to “explore identity,” and “apply this understanding to recognize the relationship between identity, bias and power.”

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As Juvenile Crime Skyrockets to Record Levels, States Seek to Crack Down

Admin

As juvenile crime has skyrocketed across the nation following the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, state lawmakers are looking to pass laws to curb rising youth violence and lawlessness.

Juvenile homicides nationwide increased by 44% from 2019 to 2020 and increased by 83% from 2013 to 2020, according to data from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, as school closures and police reforms have contributed to rising youth crime. Lawmakers in Kentucky, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and New Jersey have introduced bills to implement measures such as penalty enhancements for juvenile gang members, as well as mandatory holding periods for juveniles charged with violent crimes, to address the rising violence.

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Ohio Republican State Central Committee Unanimously Votes Raise the Threshold to Amend the State Constitution, Special August Election

Hannah Poling

The Ohio Republican State Central Committee has unanimously voted to support a resolution and implore lawmakers to pass the Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment which aims to alter the process of how initiative petitions can propose constitutional amendments and to allow for a special August election to vote on the amendment.

The Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment, Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 2 would mandate a 60 percent approval percentage for any future constitutional amendments, call for signatures from all 88 counties, and do away with the opportunity to “cure” petitions by collecting additional signatures if necessary.

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Victor Davis Hanson Commentary: The Impending Thermidor Reaction in Jacobin America

Admin

The decade-long French Revolution that broke out in 1789 soon devolved into far more than removing the monarchy, as it became antithetical to the earlier American precedent. American notions of liberty and freedom were seen as far too narrow, given the state, if only all-powerful and all-wise, could mandate “equality” and force “fraternity” among its subjects.

Each cycle of French revolutionary fervor soon became more radicalized and cannibalistic — until it reached its logical ends of violent absurdity.

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School District Pays Thousands for Controversial Emotional Survey Program with Ties to Merrick Garland

Admin

A Massachusetts school district has spent more than $30,000 to conduct “social-emotional learning” (SEL) surveys on students and staff led by an educational organization founded by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s son-in-law, according to a public records request by Parents Defending Education (PDE), a parental rights in education group.

From 2018 to 2023, Old Rochester Regional School District spent $30,620.25 to partner with Panorama Education through January 2024 to conduct SEL surveys and trainings, a learning concept that has been accused of laying the foundation for Critical Race Theory (CRT), according to a public records obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Panorama Education has previously come under fire by parents for its connections to Garland, who directed the FBI in 2021 to “use its authority” on parents who protested at school board meetings.

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DHS ‘Bystander’ Training Singles out Pro-Lifers, Government Critics as ‘Radicalization’ Suspects

Just the News

Nine days after President Biden’s inauguration, a Department of Homeland Security office proposed creating several “Choose Your Own Adventure” videos to show Americans how to identify and mitigate “radicalization and potential violence.”

Among the Americans that worry the sprawling bureaucracy created in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks: middle-aged pro-life women, white men who question the government, and divorced mothers who suspect “government connections to child abuse and trafficking.”

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U.S. Crude Oil Production Approaches Pre-Pandemic Levels

The Center Square

For the first two months of 2023, production of crude oil in the U.S. neared pre-COVID levels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The production of crude oil in the U.S. in January and February was the most since March 2020 when the pandemic hit.

The U.S. produced 12.54 million barrels of crude oil per day in January and 12.48 million barrels per day in February. That represented the highest levels since 12.80 million barrels per day in March 2020.

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