Day: December 29, 2022

Former Arizona Border Patrol Agent Sentenced to Almost 13 Years for Firearm Distribution and Smuggling Narcotics

Neil Jones

The Arizona District of the Department of Justice revealed Tuesday that a former border patrol agent, Ramon Monreal-Rodriguez, 36, of Vail, Arizona, will be placed behind bars for 152 months for his role in two federal criminal cases.

“The men and women of the United States Border Patrol safeguard our frontier with compassion and dignity,” said United States Attorney Gary Restaino. “Most Border Patrol Agents are excellent public servants who diligently interdict contraband like guns and drugs. For those who aren’t and don’t, the Bureau of Prisons has plenty of room.”

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Arizona Recount Results Narrows Gap in Attorney General’s Race from 511 to 280, Abe Hamadeh Not Conceding Yet

Neil Jones

Results of the Arizona General Election recount were revealed in court Thursday morning, showing that results in the race for Attorney General between Democrat Kris Mayes and Republican Abe Hamadeh shrunk, but not enough to overturn the race. The final results are 1,254,809 for Mayes and 1,254,529 for Hamadeh, narrowing the gap from 511 votes to 280.

Following the reveal, Hamadeh tweeted that his legal team is in the process of assessing options.

“The results of the recount show that my opponent’s lead has been cut by nearly half from 511 to 280 votes. A shockingly high discrepancy. Again, a recount just puts the ballots in the machine again. My legal team will be assessing our options to make sure every vote is counted,” Hamadeh tweeted.

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Arizona State Rep. David Cook Shares Legislative Goals Following Bipartisan Trade Mission to Brazil

Neil Jones

Arizona State Rep. David Cook (R-Globe) recently led a bipartisan team of lawmakers on a trade mission to Brazil to advance Arizona’s position in the global economy and is now sharing legislative goals following the trip.

“I was honored to be joined by such a great group of public servants in a bipartisan trade delegation to Brazil to expand our state’s trade opportunities,” said Cook. “I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues and the great leaders we met to bolster Arizona’s economy.”

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Nearly 816,000 Apprehended, Gotaways Reported in Arizona in Fiscal 2022

The Center Square

At least 815,786 people were apprehended or evaded law enforcement after illegally entering Arizona in fiscal 2022, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by The Center Square from a Border Patrol agent.

This is out of a record 3.3 million illegal entries reported by Border Patrol for all nine southwest border sectors in the fiscal year.

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Pandemic Learning Loss Could Cost Students $70,000 Each in Their Lifetimes

Arizona Sun Times Staff

Students enrolled during the pandemic could earn up to $70,000 less in income throughout their lifetime compared to peers who graduated before schools were temporarily closed, according to a study by a Stanford University economist.

The study, conducted by Eric A. Hanushek, found that the hiccup in steady education could cause students to earn 5.6% less than they would have before the pandemic as these students are more likely to be less educated and more underprepared for adulthood. This results from time lost in the classroom during the pandemic as schools were forced to close and/or operate online.

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Pope Francis Asks for Prayers for ‘Very Sick’ Benedict as Vatican Says Health Has ‘Worsened’

Just the News

Pope Francis on Wednesday asked for prayers for his 95-year-old predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who the Vatican said is constantly receiving medical care.

At the end of his weekly general audience, Francis said in Italian: “I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the Church,” as translated by Reuters.

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10 Major Revelations Exposing Extent of Government Pressure on Big Tech to Censor Americans

Just the News

Two hundred and thirty-one years ago this month, America’s founders enshrined free speech as the first protection in the ratified Bill of Rights with a declaration that the government could not infringe expression. A series of blockbuster revelations at the end of 2022 show just how imperiled those protections have become in the era of Big Tech.

From Elon Musk’s “Twitter files” to an FBI agent’s candid testimony, Americans have gotten a glimpse into a once-hidden enterprise where federal agencies pressured social media platforms – directly and through proxies – to censor content under their terms of service. The goal, it appears, was to preserve the ruling elite’s favored narratives on everything from the pandemic to election integrity.

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Commentary: 2022 Is the Year ESG Fell to Earth

RealClearWire

The year 2022 brings an end to an era of illusions: a year that saw the end of the post–Cold War era and the return of geopolitics; the first energy crisis of the enforced energy transition to net zero; and the year that brought environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing down to earth with a thump—for the year to date, BlackRock’s ESG Screened S&P 500 ETF lost 22.2% of its value, and the S&P 500 Energy Sector Index rose 54.0%. The three are linked. By restricting investment in production of oil and gas by Western producers, ESG increases the market power of non-Western producers, thereby enabling Putin’s weaponization of energy supplies. Net zero—the holy grail of ESG—has turned out to be Russia’s most potent ally.

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Commentary: New Study Shows the Striking Correlation Between School Attendance and Youth Suicides

Arizona Sun Times Staff

A lot of us likely remember the glee we felt as children at the onset of summer vacation, followed by the anxious anticipation of back-to-school time. For some children and teenagers, the start of a new school year generates intolerable levels of anxiety and depression. For a desperate portion of these young people, suicide seems like the only exit.

A new study, published this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), finds a striking correlation between attendance in school and incidences of youth suicides. Analyzing several pre- and post-pandemic data sets, the researchers conclude “that youth suicides are closely tied with in-person school attendance.” According to the paper’s authors, youth suicides fall during the summer months and rise again when school begins. Notably, they found that in areas of the US where school begins in August, youth suicide rates also increase in August, while in areas that begin school in September, the youth suicide rate doesn’t increase until then. 

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ICE Admits It Has ‘No Records’ for Hundreds of Thousands of Illegal Immigrants Released with Electronic Monitors

Arizona Sun Times Staff

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) admitted it has “no records” of hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants released into the country with electronic tracking devices, the agency said in a Dec. 22 letter to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC).

ICE informed TRAC that it had “no records” of the 377,980 individuals monitored by the agency’s “Alternatives to Detention” (ATD) program used to electronically track illegal immigrants released into the country. TRAC had asked for data via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on those in ATD custody from the start of fiscal year 2019 to August 2022.

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