Rate of Shoplifting Spikes Across U.S.

Shop Lifting

The rate of shoplifting saw a noticeable increase in the first half of 2024, even as the rates of other crimes fell to levels not seen since before the Chinese Coronavirus pandemic.

According to the Daily Caller, a study by the Council of Criminal Justice (CCJ) determined that shoplifting rose by 24% in 23 different cities across the country, compared to the first half of 2023. That rate is also about 10% higher than the first half of 2019. Meanwhile, the rates of homicide and robbery fell to lower than the levels seen in 2019.

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GOP-Led House Breaks Promise to Voters, Fails to Pass Appropriations Bills Before August Recess

Congress at Night

The GOP-led House canceled votes ahead of the August recess without getting the 12 appropriations bills passed, breaking a promise to voters.

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Despite Mounting Proof That Offshore Wind Hurts Whales, Mainstream Media, Feds, and Activists Deny Harm

Multiple researchers are finding evidence that an uptick in whale deaths over the last several years on the East Coast is most likely caused by offshore wind development projects. While the evidence mounts, environmental groups and federal agencies continue to deny any connection exists.

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Poll: Voters, Parents Opposed to AI in Schools over Cheating Concerns

Person on Computer

The majority of likely voters say artificial intelligence shouldn’t be in schools because it makes it too easy to cheat, new poll results show.

The Center Square Voter’s Voice Poll conducted by Noble Predictive Insights found that over two-thirds of likely voters say they think AI should stay out of schools.

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FACT CHECK: Biden’s Claim that Illegal Border Crossings Lower than Trump’s Is False

Joe Biden in front of southern border wall (composite image)

During President Joe Biden’s address to the American public Wednesday night, he said his administration secured the border.

Without discussing border policies in his 10-minute address, he touted his efforts in two sentences, saying, “We are also securing our border. Border crossings are lower today than when the previous administration left office.”

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Janet Yellen Calls for $78 Trillion to Tackle Climate Change

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said during a speech in Belem, Brazil, on Saturday that the price tag for a global transition to a low-carbon economy amounts to $78 trillion in financing through 2050.

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Commentary: The Democrats’ ActBlue Ghost Donor Scandal Gets Bigger Every Day

James O'Keefe interviewing ActBlue ghost donor

About 18 months ago Senator Marco Rubio sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission’s Chairwoman and Vice Chairman, Dara Lindenbaum and Sean J. Cooksey demanding answers on claims ActBlue, the billion-dollar Democrat fundraising platform, engaged in schemes to garner illegal campaign donations via “ghost donors.”

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National Study Finds Giving Americans $1,000 per Month Results in Less Productivity

People Getting Money

Giving Americans $1,000 per month in taxpayer-funded guaranteed income makes them worse off, says a new three-year, 3000-participant study. The National Bureau of Economic Research’s massive study found recipients and their partners work and earn less, with the negative effect on wages and earnings getting worse over time.

While proponents of universal basic income theorized such programs would improve non-economic metrics for recipients, the study surprisingly showed leisure time only increased as recipients spent less time on sleeping, child care, community engagement, caring for others, and self improvement. Transfers also reduced recipients’ non-transfer incomes significantly, with the study finding “for every one dollar received, total household income excluding the transfers fell by at least 21 cents, and total individual income fell by at least 12 cents.”

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Trump Highlights Harris’ Fundraising During 2020 BLM Riots at Minnesota Rally

Donald Trump at Minnesota rally

Donald Trump took aim at Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday night during a rally in Minnesota, saying he chose as president to try to stop Black Lives Matter rioters in 2020 while Harris used her social media to raise money for a fund that bailed them out.

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California Punished Female Inmates for Reporting Male Assault with Revoked Parole, Solitary: Suit

Woman Inmate

With leading Democrats lining up behind Vice President Kamala Harris for the party’s presidential nomination and their telegenic party attack dog California Gov. Gavin Newsom seen as a potential second banana, Republicans are likely to warn voters what they can expect if the woke Californians reach the White House.

That includes taxpayer funding for prison inmates who identify as the opposite sex to get so-called gender-affirmation surgery, for which Harris took credit as California attorney general, and a law signed by Newsom (SB 132) that grants inmates placement based on their self-declared gender identity, setting off a wave of transfer requests to women’s prisons.

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Commentary: Don’t Be Surprised If It’s Buttigieg

It started on Thursday. Ever so softly the chorus seemed to build:

The odds on Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg being the Democratic Party‘s 2024 vice presidential candidate have improved with one leading bookmaker over the past 24 hours, following media reports that the campaign team of Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, is considering him for the role.

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Report: Eighth-Grade Students Need Whole School Year to Reach Pre-Pandemic Performance

Teacher and Students

An education organization that administers a nationwide assessment has found that students are still not performing as well as they were immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic and that students’ achievement gap worsened in the 2023-24 school year as compared to before COVID.

NWEA, which issues the Measures of Academic Progress, said in a report this week that some middle school students are still an entire school year behind where they were before the pandemic in almost every grade as schools are slated to run out of federal relief this fall.

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Kamala Harris Would Not Seek Fracking Ban If Elected to White House in November: Campaign

Fracking

A spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign said on Friday that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee would not seek a federal ban on fracking if she’s elected to the White House in November.

Harris previously claimed that she would support a ban on the technique during her initial run for the Oval Office in 2020, but the Biden administration has not sought such a ban.

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Percentage of Americans Who Believe U.S. Is Ready for a Female President Drops

Kamala Harris

The amount of Americans that believe the U.S. is ready for a female president has dipped according to a poll published Friday, with just over half claiming they believe the country is ready this year.

The poll, conducted by YouGov for The Times, found that just 54% of respondents believe the country is ready to elect a female president in 2024, compared to 63% in a 2015 YouGov poll. The question comes as Vice President Kamala Harris emerges as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president now that President Joe Biden has withdrawn his bid for reelection.

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Justice Department Says TikTok Has Collected User Data on Issues Such as Gun Control and Abortion

The Justice Department on Friday evening accused the social media app TikTok of gathering information on users’ opinions on social issues such as abortion and gun control.

Attorneys for the DOJ said in documents filed at an appeals court in Washington that TikTok and its parent company ByteDance used an internal web-suite system called Lark to get TikTok employees to communicate with ByteDance engineers in China.

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Commentary: With Chevron Dead, It’s Time to Challenge the Feres Doctrine

Supreme Court

Last month the Supreme Court ended the 40-year precedent known as the Chevron Doctrine. When the Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council ruling was handed down in 1984 there was nil understanding that it would enable the burgeoning 20th Century administrative state to dig its foundation down to societal bedrock. This legal precedent tied the hands of lower courts over the next 40 years, forcing them to defer to administrative agencies on how to interpret the law in areas that congress did not offer crystal clarity.

Chevron opened the door for succeeding precedents like the 2005 ruling in the National Cable & Telecommunications Ass’n v. Brand X Internet Services case, which enabled governmental agencies to “override judicial constructions of ambiguous federal laws by promulgating their own conflicting, yet authoritative, interpretations.” In 2020, Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote the Brand X opinion, lamented the ruling, rightly noting that it further ensconced judicial doctrine to the point of “administrative absolutism.” In essence, Chevron, and subsequent precedent under its umbrella, allowed presidential administrations to legislate around congress through cabinet agency directors.

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Commentary: Electrification Without the Infrastructure

Electrical Grids

As state and federal policies mandate the electrification of virtually all end uses to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels. For example, 18 states have adopted California’s Advanced Clear Car II rules requiring increasing percentages of new vehicle sales to be EVs, reaching 100% for the 2035 model year. In 2019, New York City enacted Local Law 97, which requires all residential buildings larger than 25,000 square feet to convert to electricity by 2035. Other states, such as New Jersey seek to convert all residential heating to electricity.

Together, mandates for electric vehicles (EVs) and electrification of space and water heat will likely double electricity consumption and peak demand. Coupled with policies that mandate supplying the nation’s electricity with zero-emissions resources, notably intermittent wind and solar power, not only will electricity prices continue to increase but the ability to meet consumers’ increased demand will become more problematic.

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College Board is Making It Easier for High School Students to Pass Prestigious Exams: Report

The College Board recently made changes to the Advanced Placement (AP) tests that have resulted in more student test-takers receiving higher scores, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The AP tests’ scoring changes involve replacing a panel of experts with a large-scale data analysis to determine skills students learned throughout the courses, the WSJ reported. Educators and test-prep companies are skeptical of the changes, alleging it is another form of grade inflation and a way to increase College Board’s business.

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Trump Won’t Agree to Scheduled Debate Until Harris Becomes Nominee, Campaign Says

Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign said the former president won’t agree to a scheduled debate with Vice President Kamala Harris until she becomes the Democratic nominee at the convention.

President Biden won the 2024 Democratic primary before he dropped out of the race on Sunday and endorsed Harris.

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Environmentalists Grateful for Appellate Win over Chemical Industry Giant

Chemours

Health advisories issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about the risks of chemicals produced at a North Carolina plant on the Cape Fear River are lawful and not reviewable by a court.

In a ruling by three judges Tuesday at the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, Justice Arianna Freeman wrote, “The health advisory provides guidance, but it imposes no obligations, prohibitions, or restrictions. The health advisory also does not give rise to any ‘direct and appreciable legal consequences.’”

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NRA Files Lawsuit Against Biden ATF over New Gun Dealer Rule

Gun Owner

The National Rifle Association (NRA) has filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), as well as Attorney General Merrick Garland, over a new federal rule pertaining to firearms dealers.

As the Daily Caller reports, the ATF first imposed a new rule in April redefining what it means to be “engaged in the business” of selling firearms, so that the law would now include anyone who simply sells a smaller number of guns. The NRA filed its lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, seeking an injunction to block enforcement of the regulation.

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U.S. Oil, Gas Hit Record Production Despite Opposition from OPEC, Activists, and Biden Administration

Oil Rig

The United States is producing more oil now than any nation in the world has ever produced. In 2008, the U.S. produced only 5 million barrels of oil a day. Last year, the country produced 13 million barrels daily.

The United States’ record-breaking production is often used to knock back the argument President Joe Biden’s energy policy aims to minimize domestic fuel fuel production – to cut carbon emission and make way for more renewable energy.

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Woke 2.0: ESG Critics Say the Same Movement Marches on, Only with a New Name

BlackRock began renaming environmental, social and governance (ESG) earlier this year. It’s now calling it “transition investing.”

The company recently updated its climate and decarbonization stewardship guidelines. The document makes no mention of ESG, but it shows in many ways, the world’s largest investment manager with $10 trillion in assets under management is still pursuing many of the same goals.

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Whistleblower Report: Local LEOs Refuse to Share Information with FBI Due to ‘Disturbing Loss of Trust’

FBI logo outside of building

Police departments throughout the United States have stopped sharing information with the FBI due a “disturbing loss of trust” in the Bureau, an alarming new whistleblower report has found.

An alliance of retired and active duty FBI special agents and analysts examined the attitudes of the Bureau’s “local law enforcement partners,” drawing on the testimony of more than 30 “independent, highly credible law enforcement sources and sub-sources” across the country.

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Kamala Harris’ Direct Connection to Bidenflation: a Tie-Breaking Senate Vote for Stimulus Package

Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate for the first COVID-19 stimulus package in 2021 which led to inflation, in what critics call a sign of what’s to come in a possible Harris administration.

Harris, who is the President of the Senate, has cast the most tie-breaking votes in the Senate of any vice president, a total of 33 thus far. Her second tie-breaker was for the stimulus package at the beginning of the Biden administration, which has significantly impacted the economy, as inflation has skyrocketed.

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Reckoning at Hampton VA Hospital After ‘Widespread Failures and Deficiencies’

The executive director, chief of staff and chief of surgery at the Hampton VA Medical Center are all leaving after investigations revealed substandard care and potentially willful negligence.

Their exodus stems from congressional investigations and a Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General report. The OIG began its latest probe into the hospital (there have been others) after learning of six instances of substandard care by the hospital’s assistant chief of surgery and spotting implications of a lack of internal reporting, oversight and accountability.

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Commentary: President Biden – A Single Point of Failure for America

Joe Biden

On Sunday, President Joe Biden made the appropriate decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race amid pressure and a soft coup attempt from Democrats. While dropping out, Biden, our sitting commander-in-chief, hid in Delaware for almost a week without being seen by the American people, prompting “proof of life” demands. Unfortunately, this past week is not the first time this has happened before – Joe Biden has been missing in action for the last four years as our country has been falling apart around him.

As a retired Navy SEAL and former Marine, I’ve had the honor and duty of serving this country in some of the most challenging and dangerous situations imaginable. Our missions demanded precision, adaptability, and unwavering leadership. Any failure, any gap in our planning or execution, could cost lives. That’s why it is deeply troubling to see the current state of leadership under President Biden, who has become a “single point of failure” as our commander-in-chief. His weakness continues to put America in grave danger as our enemies seek to capitalize from America’s missing leader.

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1990s Country Legends to Headline the Ryman

Sammy Kershaw, Collin Raye, and Aaron Tippin, collectively known as Roots & Boots, are playing their first show together at the Ryman on July 31st.

The trio, the brainchild of Kershaw, started playing together more than 10 years ago when Joe Diffie initially held the spot now occupied by Raye. The show is a collaborative event to celebrate 90s country music, with all three on-stage together using one band, and trading hit songs and stories.

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Nebraska Supreme Court Upholds Bans on Abortion at 12 Weeks, ‘Gender-Altering Procedures’ Under 19

My Body My Choice

The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday upheld a state law (LB 574) that includes restrictions on abortion and so-called gender-affirming health care for minors. 

The court ruled the law does not violate a state constitutional amendment that requires bills to apply to a single subject, according to the Associated Press. 

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Commentary: Racism and Sexism Are the Campaign Theme of the Harris-Whoever Ticket

Kamala Harris Speaking

Is Kamala Harris the quintessential DEI hire? It’s a legitimate question, given that Joe Biden made it clear during his 2020 election-year campaign that he would only consider a black woman for his VP slot. As president, he also claimed that the choice of Supreme Court Justice replacement for Stephen Breyer would be limited to a black woman. Not even the most qualified black woman, just someone possessing dark skin and lady parts.

Biden could have simply told the country that he was going to choose the most qualified person for either position. Instead, he said that his choice was going to be based primarily on skin color and gender.

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Another Left-Wing News Outlet Tries to Re-Write History to Help Kamala Harris

Another left-wing news outlet is scrambling to re-write history to prevent Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president, from attacks by her opponent, former President Donald Trump.

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$30 Million Lawsuit Headed For Trial After Rachel Maddow and Her Co-Stars Made ‘Verifiably False’ Statements About a Doctor They Called the ‘Uterus Collector’

The Washington Free Beacon NBCUniversal is headed for trial after a judge ruled in favor of a Georgia doctor who MSNBC’s biggest stars accused of performing “mass hysterectomies” on women at a Trump-era immigration facility in Georgia. The judge ruled that Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace, and Chris Hayes made “verifiably false” statements…

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62 Percent of Voters are Concerned Cheating will Affect the 2024 Election: Poll

People Voting

A new poll found that 62% of voters are concerned cheating will affect the outcome of the 2024 election.

According to a poll by Rasmussen Reports and the Heartland Institute released Wednesday, 62% of likely national voters have concerns about cheating in the election. A total of 37% of likely voters nationwide were “very” concerned, with 25% “somewhat” concerned, with likely voters in battleground states splitting similarly.

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