‘Unusually High’ Inflation: Consumer Costs Rose Again in February

aceless person with cash and calculator app on smartphone

Consumer prices jumped again in February, in part driven by a significant rise in gasoline prices, according to newly released federal inflation data.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Consumer Price Index Tuesday, a leading marker of inflation, which showed prices rose 0.4 percent in February and 3.2 percent over the past year.

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GOP Lawmakers Eye Tax on ‘Woke’ Private Universities’ Massive Endowments

Sen. JD Vance

High-profile Republicans are pushing a new strategy to tax universities’ endowments, arguing the institutions don’t deserve their tax-exempt statuses because they use their vast amounts of money to push “woke” biases.

While initial efforts in Congress appear to have stalled for now, watchdogs warn higher education leaders that this strategy has only just begun.

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Sen. Tom Cotton Endorses Kari Lake, ‘The Fighter Arizona Needs’

Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) endorsed Kari Lake to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate on Monday, stating the former newswoman and gubernatorial candidate “will stand up to the Biden agenda and put Arizonans first” if elected.

Lake wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that she was grateful for Cotton’s endorsement, calling him “a conservative warrior in the Senate.” Lake wrote that she looks “forward to working with Senator Cotton to secure the border” in a future Republican Senate majority.

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Scandal-Plagued Civil Rights Group Launches Attack on Parental Rights Groups

The Alabama-based civil rights organization that made its name suing the Ku Klux Klan has put parental rights groups in its sights and for the first time has started tracking the “antigovernment movement” ideology in its annual “Year in Hate & Extremism” reports.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) added “reactionary anti-student inclusion groups” to a list of 702 “antigovernment extremism” groups it tracked in 2022, separate from 523 “hate” groups. The organization focused almost exclusively on just one in its annual report published this week: Florida-based Moms for Liberty, far and away the leader in chapters nationwide.

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White House Defends TikTok Outreach Amid Bipartisan Security Concerns

On August 9, 2021, Benito Skinner, the Millennial Generation comedian known online as “Benny Drama,” posted a video on TikTok of his day-in-the-life experience as a White House intern, photocopying, making unrequested nail appointments for then-Press Secretary Jen Psaki, and generally making a mess.

All of it was for laughs, but there was a reason the Biden administration invited him into the West Wing. They wanted Millennials and members of Gen Z to hear a public health message from the TikTok influencer: “We need to get shots in the arms of every single American.”

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Conservative Tech Groups Slam Ex-Intelligence Officials for Defending Monopolies, Urge Passage of Antitrust Bills

Two conservative tech advocacy groups sent a letter to House lawmakers criticizing former national security officials for attempting to prevent the passage of antitrust bills targeting Big Tech.

The letter, sent by the Internet Accountability Project (IAP) and the American Principles Project (APP) to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy along with lawmakers responsible for overseeing antitrust legislation, urged Congress to pass six bills targeting major tech companies advanced beyond the House Judiciary Committee in June. The letter also criticized twelve former intelligence officials who sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy arguing against the passage of antitrust bills in mid-September.

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Senate Passes Amendment to Ban Federal Dollars from Funding Critical Race Theory in Schools

The Senate has approved an amendment to the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill that will ban the use of federal funds from being used to teach Critical Race Theory in schools.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced the “Stop CRT Act” in an effort to prevent tax dollars from being used to teach the controversial set of ideas in public school classrooms.

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