U.S. Officials Admit Losing ‘Operational Control’ of Border, Drug Cartels Poised to Seize it

With just two words, the top uniformed officer in the Customs and Border Protection agency sent shockwaves across official Washington two months ago when asked whether his agency has operational control of the southern U.S. border.

“No, sir,” Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz told Congress in a shocking admission that exposed just how badly border security has deteriorated under President Joe Biden.

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Housing Costs Keep Phoenix Inflation Near Nation’s Highest

April inflation rates show the Phoenix metropolitan area remains among the highest in the nation, with the increased cost of housing fueling the expensive cost of living.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released national inflation data for April on Wednesday, showing the Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% last month. The numbers are seasonally adjusted. The increase is an acceleration from March, which saw only 0.1% in higher CPI among metros.

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Republicans to Hold Hearing on DOJ Targeting Pro-Lifers

Republican lawmakers will hold a hearing next week focusing on the Department of Justice’s targeting of pro-life activists like Mark Houck through the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, The Daily Signal has learned.

On Tuesday morning, the House Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution and limited government will revisit the “Implications of the FACE Act,” examining the shockingly high numbers of attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers around the nation as well as President Joe Biden’s administration’s use of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.

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CCP-Controlled, State-Owned Firm Behind Chinese Cash Allegedly Funneled to Hunter Biden, Documents Show

The Hong Kong corporation that allegedly wired funds to Hunter Biden’s business in 2017 was controlled by a Shanghai firm run by members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), some of whom had previously served in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), according to business documents and congressional reports reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

On June 30, 2017, Shanghai Huaxin Group (Hong Kong) Ltd. wired $10 million to the Delaware-based company CEFC Infrastructure, which then wired $100,000 to Hunter Biden’s “professional corporation,” Owasco P.C., on August 4, 2017, a House Oversight Committee memo revealed Wednesday, alleging the transfers were part of a scheme to conceal the Chinese origin of the funds.

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In Advance of Possible Trial, Kari Lake’s Attorney Tells Judge During Hearing That Election Was ‘Rigged’ with ‘Clear Misconduct and Intent’

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson heard oral arguments Friday in Kari Lake’s election contest.

Thompson is considering a Motions to Dismiss filed by the defendants and a 263-page Motion for Relief from Judgment filed by Lake’s attorneys urging the court to bring back her second count regarding “illegal BOD printer/tabulator configurations,” which Thompson had previously dismissed.

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Commentary: Time Is the Best Mother’s Day Gift

What do you want for Mother’s Day? Perhaps you’ve asked your mother, spouse, or co-parent this question within the past couple of weeks. You might expect her to say flowers, shoes, a purse, or jewelry — tangible gifts you can order with a few clicks and have delivered to her doorstep in two business days. Yet, the gift that most mothers want is both free and expensive. It’s time, time to herself. The question is how can we give mothers more of their time?

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Republican Governors Ask Biden Administration to Rescind Title IX Guidance

Twenty-five of the nation’s 26 Republican governors have asked the Biden administration to shelve its intent to expand Title IX protections to transgender athletes.

The letter, led by the signature of Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, says the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed regulation should be withdrawn pending litigation that could be addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Commentary: Transgenderism and the Contemporary Church

“The church’s response to those who identify as transgender,” Andrew T. Walker writes, “must be, immediately and with integrity, ‘You are welcome here. You are loved here.’”

This position reflects the broad inclinations of contemporary evangelicals, who generally seek to intentionally love and welcome those in the transgender movement. Though scripturally grounded churches may disagree with much of transgender ideology, they still strive to love those within the movement.

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Migrant Child from Honduras Dies in HHS Custody

A migrant child died suddenly while in the care of the Department of Health and Human Service (HHS), the agency said in a statement Friday.

The Honduran government identified the child as 17-year-old Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza of Honduras, saying he died in a Florida shelter. Between October 2022 and March, Border Patrol agents stationed along the southern border recorded more than 67,000 encounters of unaccompanied migrant children, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

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Commentary: Confronting China’s War on Religion Part Four

On Thanksgiving Day, 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen, a Hong Kong priest, was convicted, along with five others, of failing to register a defunct charitable organization that tried to help pro-democracy demonstrators targeted by the regime.

Ostensibly, the charges stemmed from the group’s failure to submit paperwork to authorities. But Chinese people of faith and governments around the world understood the real message Beijing was sending when it arrested Fr. Zen, known as “the conscience of Hong Kong,” last May. The purpose of the prosecution, said U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price, was to show that China’s government “will pursue all means necessary to stifle dissent and undercut protective rights and freedoms.”

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Music Spotlight: Jay Allen

When rising artist Jay Allen debuted the song “No Prayer Like Mama’s,” I knew this was the artist I wanted to feature for Mother’s Day Weekend. To be honest, the lyrics just wreck me, and I suppose that is what a good country song does.

Allen grew up in a little Midwest town in Iowa where his dad owned a restaurant called Joe’s Country Grill. That’s where his dad met his mother when she was a waitress. Because they both worked at the restaurant, Allen spent much of his younger years there.

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