Day: March 22, 2024

Dems Propose Millions for Organizations Pushing Trans Procedures for Kids in Congressional Budget

Arizona Sun Times Staff
Surgery

Democrats are looking to push through a budget that would grant millions in funding for organizations that provide sex-change procedures for children.

Congress released a proposed budget for the fiscal year 2025 in hopes of avoiding a government shutdown and Democrats are looking to send millions in taxpayer funding to organizations that help transition children. Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon requested $2,000,000 for the La Clinica del Valle Family Health Care Center in Oregon which provides hormone treatments to adolescents, according to its website.

Read More

Bob Menendez Says He Won’t Run for Reelection as Democrat in 2024

Arizona Sun Times Staff
Bob Menendez

Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey announced he would not run in the Democratic Senate primary Thursday, saying he was “hopeful” that he could eventually run as an independent candidate.

The Justice Department unsealed an indictment against Menendez and his wife, Nadine, on three counts according to a September release by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, then added additional charges in a March 5 superseding indictment. Menendez said he would not be running in June’s New Jersey Senate primary, but left the door open to running as an “independent Democrat.”

Read More

Biden Administration ‘Paroled’ More Illegal Aliens than Issued Visas to Legal Immigrants

Peter D'Abrosca

According to report from the Federation on American Immigration Reform (FAIR), President Joe Biden’s administration paroled more illegal aliens into the United States during the first nine months of Fiscal Year 2023 than it accepted legal immigrants through visa programs.

Read More

Clinton Airport Director Dies After Shootout with Federal Agents Investigating Gun Sales

MGiffin

The executive director of the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport died Thursday after a shootout with federal agents who were investigating the potentially illegal sale of firearms.

Read More

Grand Canyon University Student Says She was ‘Silenced’ About ‘Biased’ Econ Textbook

Arizona Sun Times Staff
Grand Canyon University campus, Essentials of Economics textbook

A Grand Canyon University student says she has not been allowed to offer her opinions in class while her econ textbook is full of them.

Elizabeth Olson sent excerpts of the book, “Essentials of Economics” by Gregory Mankiw, to The College Fix and a syllabus showing it is being used for assignments and discussions throughout the course at the private Christian Arizona university.

Read More

House Committee Examines Threats to U.S. Food Security from Chinese Ownership of Land, Facilities

Just the News
Combine in field

The House Agriculture Committee took a close look Wednesday at the influence of China on America’s food supply.

The committee also heard testimony concerning Chinese companies activities in the U.S., allegedly stealing intellectual property and purchasing supply chain assets that American farmers depend on to produce crops.

Read More

Arizona Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments from Arizona Republican Party Appealing Sanctions over Election Lawsuit, Grills Opposing Attorney

Rachel Alexander
Arizona Supreme Court

The Arizona Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week from the Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) and opposing litigant Secretary of State (AZSOS) over lower courts awarding sanctions against the AZGOP for filing a “groundless” lawsuit “in bad faith.” The AZGOP sued Arizona officials immediately after the 2020 election for conducting a post-election audit that the AZGOP contended did not comply with the law. The AZGOP said the law required the audit to be conducted at the precinct level, but the audit was conducted at the voting center level according to the state’s Election Procedures Manual (EPG), which the AZGOP claimed contradicted state law. 

The AZGOP said A.R.S. § 16-602 requires precinct-level audits. The relevant part of that statute, (B)(1), provides, “ At least two percent of the precincts in that county, or two precincts, whichever is greater, shall be selected at random from a pool consisting of every precinct in that county.” In contrast, the EPM states that in counties which utilize vote centers, vote centers will be used for the audits. 

Read More

Bill Aims to Crack Down on Sham Sober Living Facilities in Arizona

The Center Square
Counseling

A bill aiming to crackdown on unlicensed sober living facilities passed out of the Arizona State Senate unanimously, but could face hurdles as it moves forward.

State officials say an increasingly common scam occuring in Arizona involves facilities that brand themselves as sober living facilities but do not offer people any actual help. Many Native Americans in Arizona have been targeted by the homes, and those who go into these homes sometimes end up losing contact with loved ones while there, according to lawmakers.

Read More

Mayorkas, DHS Get Massive Funding Boost in House’s Newest Spending Bill

Arizona Sun Times Staff
Alejandro Mayorkas speaking with border officers

The House of Representatives’ second consolidated spending bill for fiscal year 2024 includes significant increases in funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and to the office of its secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas.

The 2024 fiscal year began on Oct. 1, 2023 — by which the appropriations process was supposed to be completed — but political disagreements in Congress led to the enactment of four continuing resolutions to avoid a government shutdown and preserve funding at the previous year’s levels. After Congress completely passed its first permanent spending bill for the year on March 8, the House on Thursday released its second permanent bill, a consolidation of six constituent bills, which includes an increase of $19 million to the Office of the Secretary over fiscal year 2023 levels, for a total of $404 million until Sept. 30, 2024. 

Read More

Immigration Judges Have Thrown Out 200,000 Deportation Cases Because Biden Admin Didn’t File Paperwork

Arizona Sun Times Staff

Immigration judges have dismissed roughly 200,000 deportation cases because the Biden administration didn’t file the relevant paperwork, according to a report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) released on Wednesday.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is obligated to provide a Notice to Appear (NTA) to immigration courts when the agency believes an illegal migrant should be removed, according to the TRAC report. Biden’s DHS failed to issue NTAs in several instances by the time of a scheduled hearing in immigration court, limiting judges’ ability to hear the case and forcing a dismissal.

Read More

Progressives, Conservatives Not Happy with EPA’s New Rule on Vehicle Emissions

The Center Square
President Biden driving and electric vehicle

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday it is finalizing more protective emissions standards that it called the “strongest ever” for light-duty and medium-duty vehicles that it claims will reduce air pollution and be phased in from 2027 through 2032.

In a news release, the EPA claimed the standards would result in a reduction of 7 billion tons of carbon emissions and have a net benefit of $100 billion in terms of public health benefits as well as reduced fuel costs and maintenance and repair costs for drivers.

Read More

Third Arizona Educator in Maricopa County Arrested for Sex Offenses Against Students

Tom Pappert
Alyssa Todd

An educator in Buckeye was arrested on Wednesday was arrested for having an illegal sexual relationship with a minor student, marking the third arrest of a former Maricopa County teacher for sexual offenses against students.

The Buckeye Police Department (BPD) confirmed the arrest Alyssa Todd, who was employed as a coach and teacher at the Odyssey Institute for Advanced and International Studies (OIAIS) High School when police claim she sexually abused a 15-year-old male student.

Read More

Commentary: Biden’s DOJ Thumbs Nose at SCOTUS on Key J6 Felony Charge

Julie Kelly
Matthew Graves

Donald Trump filed his brief Tuesday at the U.S. Supreme Court to defend his argument that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution. Noting the lack of historical precedent and dire ramifications for the future, Trump’s attorneys warned that “a denial of criminal immunity would incapacitate every future President with de facto blackmail and extortion while in office, and condemn him to years of post-office trauma at the hands of political opponents.”

Oral arguments on the groundbreaking question are set for April 25; a final opinion, which could be announced in late May or sometime in June before the current SCOTUS term ends, represents a do-or-die situation for Special Counsel Jack Smith’s four-count indictment against the former president for the events of January 6 and his alleged attempts to “overturn” the 2020 election. The case is now on hold awaiting a decision by SCOTUS.

Read More

Poll: 60 Percent of Independents Disapprove of Biden’s Job as President

The Center Square

A majority of Americans disapprove of the job President Joe Biden is doing, according to a new poll.

The Center Square Voter’s Voice poll released Wednesday asked voters, “When it comes to President Joe Biden, do you approve or disapprove of how he’s handling his job?”

Read More

Watchdog Accuses Biden Judicial Nominee of Trying to Cover Up Financial Conflicts, Demands he Withdraw

Arizona Sun Times Staff
Adeel Mangi, Philadelphia federal courthouse

A Biden judicial nominee under fire for ties to an anti-Israel group is now facing a call by the conservative watchdog American Accountability Foundation (AAF) to withdraw for failing to disclose the sources of his income.

AAF sent Adeel Mangi a letter Thursday demanding he ask President Joe Biden to withdraw his nomination for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, calling Mangi’s failure to include income sources on his Financial Disclosure Report “disqualifying.” Though the White House has doubled down on its support for Mangi, at least one Senate Democrat, Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, said Tuesday she would not support him.

Read More

Poll: Third Party Candidates Boost Trump’s Lead over Biden

The Center Square
Donald Trump, RFK, Cornel West

Former President Donald Trump is narrowly beating President Joe Biden in a head-to-head faceoff going into November, a new national poll shows.

The Center Square’s Voter’s Voice poll conducted with Noble Predictive Insights was released Wednesday, showing Trump beating Biden 46 percent-45 percent with likely voters. The rest are unsure.

Read More

Music Spotlight: Kelsey Hickman

Bethany Bowman
Kelsey Hickman

As a product of the 80s music scene, I discovered country music later in life. When country rocker Kelsey Hickman came across my desk, I knew she was right up my alley.

Hickman is from Central Illinois. No one in her family is particularly musical, but she can remember singing all her life. She started as a tot singing Disney songs, then joined school choirs and got her first exposure singing in musicals.

Read More

CBO Reports Grim Long-Term Outlook for Federal Government

The Center Square
Couple paying bills

The Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday released a bleak outlook for the federal government with new projections that show debt levels will reach their highest levels ever in five years.

“Debt held by the public, boosted by the large deficits, reaches its highest level ever in 2029 (measured as a percentage of GDP) and then continues to grow, reaching 166 percent of GDP in 2054 and remaining on track to increase thereafter,” according to the CBO report. “That mounting debt would slow economic growth, push up interest payments to foreign holders of U.S. debt, and pose significant risks to the fiscal and economic outlook; it could also cause lawmakers to feel more constrained in their policy choices.”

Read More

New York AG Letitia James Takes First Step Toward Seizing Trump’s Assets

Arizona Sun Times Staff
Letitia James Donald Trump

Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James recently took the first step towards seizing former President Donald Trump’s assets, public records show.

James filed judgements against Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization on March 6 with the clerk’s office in Westchester County, where Trump owns a golf resort and private estate called Seven Springs, according to Bloomberg News. Judge Arthur Engoron issued a judgement in February finding that Trump must pay $454 million in James’ lawsuit, which alleged he perpetuated financial fraud by overestimating the value of his assets to obtain loans.

Read More

Alan Dershowitz Commentary: Fani Willis Must Still Be Disqualified

Arizona Sun Times Staff
Fani Willis

Just as predicted, Judge Scott McAfee tried to cut the baby in half, but the baby died, because his split-the-difference opinion makes absolutely no sense legally or factually.

It is obvious that Judge McAfee started his decision-making process by deciding the result he wanted: disqualifying special prosecutor Nathan Wade, but retaining Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her entire office. In order to reach that bizarre result, he had to rely on the testimony of Willis, which he knew was totally untruthful.

Read More