Judge Says Arizona Sen. Wendy Rogers ‘Was Genuinely Harassed, Annoyed, Felt Violated’ but Drops Restraining Order

Following a hearing on Wednesday, a judge lifted a restraining order State Senator Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff) obtained against a “woke” journalist for showing up at her home repeatedly and talking to her neighbors after she had been instructed by the Arizona Senate to stay away from Rogers.

Flagstaff Justice of the Peace Howard Grodman, who was previously suspended for numerous ethical violations and who has ties to the Coconino County Democratic Party, said that even though the actions of Arizona Capitol Times reporter Camryn Sanchez were considered harassment by Rogers, they wouldn’t be considered harassment by a “reasonable person.”

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New Bill Would Ban U.S. Department of Defense from Funding Adult Cabaret, Drag Shows

A Republican lawmaker wants to prohibit the U.S. Department of Defense from using taxpayer funds for drag queen shows and other adult cabaret performances.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., introduced legislation to stop the department from using taxpayer funds or taxpayer-funded facilities to host such performances. The bill comes after the U.S. Navy said it had one of its sailors, a drag performer and social media influencer, serve as a Digital Ambassador for military recruitment. 

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Improvised Explosive Device Found on Suspect Trying to Enter Arizona, State Legislature Emphasizes Need for Strong Border Security

According to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), an incident recently occurred at the Douglas Port of Entry where a suspect attempting to enter Arizona was found trying to smuggle in an improvised explosive device (IED).

A statement CBP emailed to The Arizona Sun Times revealed that the incident occurred on May 6th. Officials from the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrived to confiscate the device after it was found in the suspect’s vehicle. There were no other items of interest found.

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Top Biden Nominee Ordered Staff Not to Cooperate with ICE, Memo Shows

President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Department of Labor previously ordered staff at her former post to not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a memo that Republican lawmakers obtained.

Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, whom Biden has tapped to lead the department permanently, previously headed the California Labor Commission. During her tenure in that posting, Su authored a memo directing staff not to voluntarily cooperate with federal immigration agents and to ask that they leave the premises, Fox News reported.

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Biden Admin to Shell Out Billions Putting Solar Panels on Low-Income Housing

The Biden administration will announce nearly $5 billion in grants and loans to support landowners’ ability to retrofit low-income housing with green technology like solar panels, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The funding will be broken into $837.5 million in grants and $4 billion in loans to implement the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, a provision of President Joe Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), according to the Post. While the IRA already offers tax breaks for making the switch from fossil-fuel-powered appliances to green tech — for example, offering $2,000 to install an electric heat pump — the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program seeks to address the lack of time and resources that low-income Americans may have to take advantage of them.

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New Bank Fees to Cover Bailouts Could Be Passed on to Customers, Experts Say

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced a proposal on Thursday to charge new fees to replenish funds spent bailing out Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank depositors in March that will cost Americans, according to experts who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Under the proposal announced at the FDIC Board of Directors Meeting, the regulator would charge special assessment fees to an estimated 113 banks, mostly those with over $50 billion in assets and none under $5 billion in assets. The banks will pass the costs on to their customers, according to economists who spoke to the DCNF.

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‘Faith and Wellness’ Report Finds 99 Percent of Evangelicals Believe Prayer and Active Faith Contribute to Positive Mental Health

Nearly 100 percent of evangelical Protestants believe that prayer, reading the Bible, and living out a strong Christian faith impact mental health in a positive way, says a report released Thursday by Infinity Concepts and Grey Matter Research.

Noting that rarely is any group of people, including evangelical Protestants, in nearly entire agreement, Infinity Concepts, a self-described “integrated marketing-communications agency inspiring people of faith to action,” and Grey Matter Research, a consulting firm that specializes in serving Christian organization, say results of the current study is unique.

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New Report Finds That Arizona’s Highest Performing Schools May Start Missing Out on Funding

Teacher Students

Research group Common Sense Institute Arizona (CSIAZ) released a new report Monday that found Arizona’s highest-performing schools may start receiving less state funding moving forward as the new state budget is set to repeal a program that funded schools based on results.

“We hope the report sparks a conversation about the benefits of funding outcomes in K-12. We believe the report lays out a case for focusing future investment on achievements. And, policymakers will need to consider the impact that the cut to results based funding will have on high performing schools, especially those low-income, high-performing schools, after the one-time money in this year’s budget expires next year,” said CSIAZ Executive Director Katie Ratlief in an email to The Arizona Sun Times.

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Report: U.S. Economic Development Departments Pay Big Money for Few Gains

While billion-dollar economic development incentives are heavily expanding across the country, the agencies in charge of handing out those incentives claim to create or retain 625,000 jobs in their most recent fiscal years, according to a new report.

The Center for Economic Accountability tallied up the jobs claimed as part of incentive packages in the 50 states and Washington, D.C. and found job total would be less than 5% of the 15 million to 17 million jobs naturally created in the United States economy each year.

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Commentary: The Long Road to Confronting China’s War on Religion Part Three

It’s morning in Istanbul, but Joseph is reliving his morning routine in the camp, before the 16-hour shift starts. After the prisoners had sung Communist songs for their breakfast, the Chinese guards played a video for them shot in cinema verité style. It began with Chinese plainclothes agents tackling Uyghurs, cramming them into unmarked cars, and pulling bags over their heads.

Then, the camera would pan away, revealing, not China, but a foreign street with signs in German, Arabic, or English. Joseph says the film was a tease: Run away. Please try it. We’re everywhere. Even Washington, D.C. 

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