Judge Stymies Feds’ Plan to Keep $85 Million in Raid Without Filing Criminal Charges

The feds faced another setback in their quest to keep $85 million in assets seized in a raid without charging hundreds of safe deposit box renters with a crime.

U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner issued a preliminary injunction July 16 in a lawsuit by several customers of Los Angeles-based U.S. Private Vaults (USPV), who alleged the FBI denied them due process by providing civil forfeiture notices that lacked “any legal basis” for seizing the contents of each box.

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New York Rep. Claudia Tenney: Biden Was ‘Very Slow Out of the Box’ on Cuban Freedom Movement

The Biden administration is “very weak, and they’re very slow out of the box right now” in supporting the popular, pro-democracy movement protesting Cuba’s communist regime, Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) told the John Solomon Reports podcast.

The U.S. is missing a unique opportunity, Tenney fears, to pressure a weak and internationally isolated Cuban government. The Soviet Union is no longer “providing aid and comfort to the Castro regime,” she noted, and Raul Castro is “90 years old, with a very weak legacy and with basically a puppet that’s kind of running the government.”

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Democrats Planning to Recruit ‘Millions’ for New Civilian Climate Corps

A group of Democrats is pushing for the creation of a Civilian Climate Corps that could employ “millions” of young people at a minimum of $15 per hour as a way to tackle climate change.

“I was proud to stand alongside Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez this year as we reintroduced the Green New Deal and also brought forward our new Civilian Conservation Corps because that legislation is a pathway to new jobs in our country, union jobs for young people,” Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said during a news conference focused on including the Civilian Climate Corps in the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation bill the Democrats are drafting.

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Up to 98 Percent of Faculty Donations from Oregon’s Largest Public Universities Went to Democrats

Between 96% and 98% of all political donations made by faculty members at Oregon’s three largest public universities went to Democrats, according to a new study by the Oregon Association of Scholars.

The report’s author, Portland State political science professor Bruce Gilley, told The College Fix that between 60% and 80% of college faculty donations nationwide go to Democrats, so “Oregon is way above normal.”

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Michigan Legislature Revokes Whitmer’s Pandemic Powers

Sixteen months after the COVID-19 pandemic began in Michigan, the GOP-led Legislature has revoked Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s pandemic powers.

The House of Representatives sealed the end of her powers Wednesday with a vote of 60-48. The Senate approved the petition on July 15 on a 20-15 vote.

Democratic Rep. Sam Steckloff said petitions are meant to go on the ballot to voters instead of enacted through the Legislature and contended petition gatherers “lied” to those who signed the petition.

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COVID-Positive Texas Democrats Accorded Medical Privacy Denied to Republicans

Texas Dems

Texas Democratic leadership continues to shield the identities of multiple, truant state representatives who have tested positive for SARS-Cov-2, even as the virus continues to spread among individuals who have had contact with the self-exiled legislators.

It’s a sharp contrast to the treatment many Republicans and conservatives received over the past year, when the positive COVID tests of multiple GOP members were covered aggressively by the media.

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Pennsylvania Punishes County That Allowed Audit of Vote Counting Machines

The Pennsylvania Department of State decertified Fulton County’s voting machines on Wednesday after officials there participated in a third-party audit.

The voluntary probe came at the request of Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Gettysburg) who’s currently spearheading a larger effort to audit machines in Tioga, York and Philadelphia counties amid his ongoing campaign to ferret out fraudulent activity during the past two elections.

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Goldwater Institute Challenges Ruling That Raises Taxes for Arizona Shooting Ranges

The Goldwater Institute is challenging an Arizona Court of Appeals ruling that shooting ranges qualify as “places of amusement,” subjecting them to higher tax rates.

The court ruled in April that shooting ranges are “comparable” to “amusement parks.” The Goldwater Institute filed a friend of the court brief last week, arguing that shooting ranges are not circuses but places where people can go to learn a new skill and practice self-defense.

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Commentary: White House Collusion with Facebook Is Not About Public Health

Last Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki revealed that the Biden administration will partner with Facebook and other social media platforms to surveil COVID-related posts. They plan to flag and censor people whom the administration considers to be purveyors of COVID “disinformation” or “misinformation.”

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Commentary: America Needs to Take China’s Military Threats Seriously

Soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army

During his presidency, Barack Obama, in his infinite wisdom, liked to tell us that wars are passé and publicly chided Russia’s Vladimir Putin for acting like a relic of the 20th century. Privately, Obama seems to have been aware of the extremely dangerous situations he helped create in Iran, Syria, Russia, and China, and told Trump during their 2016 transition talks that war was likely with North Korea.

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Race Relations Hit New Low, Poll Finds

Race relations have hit a new low, with the majority of black and whites calling it “somewhat” or “very” bad,  according to a Wednesday Gallup poll.

The poll said 57% of blacks and whites felt race relations are “somewhat” or “very” bad, while 42% called them “very” or “somewhat” good. In comparison, 55% of respondents said relations were “somewhat” or “very” bad in 2020, and 44% said they were “very” or “somewhat” good.

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Farm Groups Ask Biden to Secure Border, Enforce U.S. Immigration Laws

The Texas Farm Bureau and 50 other state and national farming organizations have asked the Biden administration to “enforce legal immigration” after an influx of illegal immigration resulted in a crime wave impacting ranchers and farmers.

“The current situation should not be acceptable to you or to any American,” they write to the secretaries of the U.S. departments of Homeland Security, Agriculture and Interior. “People are being treated as a disposable source of income, and landowners are living in fear while Coyotes [human smugglers] reap a windfall from leaving people destitute. You must not allow this to continue. On behalf of farm and ranch families and our communities, we urge you to recognize the crisis and take swift action.”

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Congress Attempts to Crack Down on Chinese Acquisition of American Farmland

Congressional Democrats and Republicans are raising concerns over China buying prime agricultural real estate across the U.S. – in an apparent, continuing effort to exert influence on the American economy.

Members recently advanced legislation that warns that such purchases also increases China’s involvement in the American food system, posing a national security risk.

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Congressman Eric Swalwell Spends Thousands in Campaign Funds on Limousine, Hotel, Other Luxury Services

Congressman and former presidential candidate Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) has been discovered as having spent tens of thousands of dollars from campaign funds on luxury goods and services in the second quarter of the year, Breitbart reports.

According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) report, reviewed by Fox News, the Swalwell re-election campaign spent over $30,000 on luxuries such as limousines, high-class restaurants, hotels, and alcohol delivery services. The Democrat’s campaign funds paid for at least 26 different rides in limousines, amounting to well over $10,000.

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Report: Lobbyist and Brother of Senior Biden Aide Steve Ricchetti Quadruples His Fees from Last Year

Jeff Ricchetti

The lobbying firm of Jeff Ricchetti, brother to senior Biden counselor Steve Ricchetti, saw its revenue more than quadruple in the first half of this year, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Ricchetti, Inc. pulled in $1.67 million in revenue in the first half of 2021, more than quadrupling earnings from the same period last year, according to a report by the WSJ that cited lobbying disclosure records. Since President Joe Biden took office, Ricchetti, Inc. added clients such as Amazon, General Motors and Horizon Therapeutics, according to the WSJ.

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Arizona Attorney General Brnovich Files Amicus Brief in Supreme Court 2nd Amendment Case

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich joined 26 other states to submit an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a lawsuit seeking to expand 2nd Amendment rights.

The case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc v. Kevin P. Bruen, is challenging current laws and regulations of New York State’s concealed carry requirements.

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