Big win for school choice in Texas
Posted By: Dreadnought, 3/8/2024 9:50:44 AM
Texas voters delivered a stinging rebuke on Super Tuesday to incumbent Republicans who stonewalled Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R-TX) efforts to enact school choice in the Lone Star State. It is a message Republicans everywhere should hear. In the primary races for seats in the Texas House of Representatives, 10 Republican incumbents who helped block school choice legislation were either defeated outright or now face runoff elections. The results are a vindication for the governor, who took the unusual step of endorsing challengers to sitting lawmakers of his own party. Next year, Texas will probably become the most populous in the nation with universal school choice.
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The Supreme Court on Friday decided against hearing a case that could have had significant ramifications related to speech on college campuses. At the center of the matter is a contentious debate over West Texas A&M’s decision to ban drag shows on its campus. The case pits students’ rights to freedom of expression against the university president’s claims of protecting dignity and disallowing drag shows, which he believes make a mockery of women.
The conflict began when a group of students had hoped to put on a charity drag show. Walter Wendler, the university’s president, denied their request, claiming that these shows promote “derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny,”
Fulton County special prosecutor Nathan Wade resigned from the office Friday after a judge ruled either he or District Attorney Fani Willis must step aside from her office’s election subversion case against Donald Trump after revelations of their romantic relationship.
“I am proud of the work our team has accomplished in investigating, indicting, and litigating this case,” Wade wrote in a one-page letter. “Seeking justice for the people of Georgia and the United States, and being part of the effort to ensure that the rule of law and democracy are preserved, has been the honor of a lifetime.”
The Brooklyn straphanger who shot a berserk rider attacking him on a rush-hour train Thursday will not be charged, prosecutors said Friday.
“Yesterday’s shooting inside a crowded subway car was shocking and deeply upsetting,’’ Oren Yaniv, a spokesman for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, said in an e-mailed statement.
“The investigation into this tragic incident is ongoing but, at this stage, evidence of self-defense precludes us from filing any criminal charges against the shooter.” The shot man, Dajuan Robinson, 36, had brought the gun on the train and whipped it out during his attack on a stranger, who shot Robinson in the head as the pair wrestled over it.
Supreme Court rules that public officials
can block social media followers in some circumstances 1 reply
can block social media followers in some circumstances 1 reply
The Supreme Court ruled Friday that public officials may block people on social media in certain circumstances, tossing aside challenges against local government officials in Michigan and California who blocked followers who were critical of them on Facebook.
In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the court set a clearer standard for when public officials are state actors online and when they can have more control over their social media presence. A second opinion dealing with a related dispute was unsigned and there were no noted dissents.
In an era when public officials often communicate with voters through social media, the cases raised important First Amendment questions
A cockpit accident was the likely cause of a sudden drop that sent passengers on a LATAM Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner bouncing 'off the roof' during a flight to New Zealand, according to The Wall Street Journal.
U.S. industry officials briefed on preliminary evidence from an investigation of the incident told the paper that a cockpit mishap may have pushed a pilot into the controls of the plane.
According to the report, a LATAM Airlines flight attendant hit a switch on the pilot's seat while serving a meal, activating a motorized feature that pushed the pilot into the controls and sent the plane into a nose dive, the officials said.
Virginia Gov Youngkin vetoes Dem bill
forcing diversity disclosure requirements
on businesses 5 replies
forcing diversity disclosure requirements
on businesses 5 replies
FIRST ON FOX: Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Thursday vetoed legislation requiring companies to disclose their internal diversity when applying for tax breaks or state incentives.
The legislation — recently passed by the Virginia state legislature by slim party-line votes — would require the state's Major Employment and Investment (MEI) Commission to consider the diversity of an applicant business' board of directors when approving MEI incentive projects. Youngkin said such a requirement would harm investment in the state and simultaneously overlook the achievements of minority groups.
"The Commission’s role is to scrutinize financing for individual incentive packages, not assessing whether a business adheres to a requirement akin to a demographic-based quota,"
The energy company Shell has watered down a key green target as it prepares to defy climate experts by growing its liquified natural gas business and holding its oil production steady until 2030.
The company signalled that it may slow the pace of its emissions reductions for this decade by setting a new plan to reduce the carbon emissions intensity of the energy it sells by 15-20% by the end of the decade, compared with its previous target of 20%.
The weakened target, which was set out in its latest energy transition strategy, will enable Shell to slow the pace of its emissions reductions in a decade that climatologists have warned
Embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can stay on and prosecute the election interference case against former president Donald Trump and his co-defendants for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election — if special prosecutor Nathan Wade steps aside, a judge ruled Friday.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee issued the decision early Friday, following two days of testimony from Willis, Wade and others close to them. In the decision he wrote: “The prosecution of this case cannot proceed until the State selects one of two options.
Former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean said Thursday on CNN’s “NewsNight” that former President Donald Trump was the candidate of “the gazillionaire class.”
Anchor Abby Phillip said, “Also, this week Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said, he’s going to pick a vice presidential running mate. He needs it because it’s an important part of the ballot access process. 2016 it’s require a running mate. So when you see a shortlist that includes people like Aaron Rodgers, he shared Sandy Hook conspiracy theories, Jesse Ventura, he’s a former wrestler, turned Minnesota governor. When you see that shortlist, what goes through your mind?”
Dean said, “Look, I think Bobby Kennedy is a sad case
A Florida judge has rejected a motion from former US President Donald Trump to dismiss a classified documents case against him.
His attorneys argued the criminal charges under the Espionage Act were unclear.
But Judge Aileen Cannon said ruling in favour of Mr Trump would have been an "extraordinary step".
She will rule later on another Trump motion arguing that ex-presidents are shielded from record-keeping rules. Mr Trump, who has already pleaded not guilty to 40 criminal charges in the matter, attended Thursday's hearing. In a separate case on Thursday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg asked for a 30-day delay in the former president's trial in New York on charges of business fraud
Female Swimmers Sue NCAA over Male Competition,
Demand Return of Trophies, Monetary Damages 12 replies
Demand Return of Trophies, Monetary Damages 12 replies
A group of female athletes on Thursday sued the National Collegiate Athletics Association for permitting male intrusion into their sex-specific sports and private spaces.
Spearheaded by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, the lawsuit accuses the NCAA and Georgia Tech — the site of the 2022 NCAA Swimming Championships, where male University Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas won the 500 meter freestyle — of knowingly violating Title IX. That federal statute prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational institutions that receive federal funding, serving as the basis for sex-segregated school athletics.
The lawsuit, first reported by the Free Press, demands that males be disqualified from participating in women’s sports.
Manhattan prosecutors said they will not oppose a 30-day adjournment of former President Trump’s upcoming hush money trial after receiving thousands of new documents in recent days.
The U.S. attorney’s office has turned over 73,000 pages of records since March 4, almost half of which were produced Wednesday, court filings show. Prosecutors indicated more records are expected to be turned over by next week.
“Based on our initial review of yesterday’s production, those records appear to contain materials related to the subject matter of this case, including materials that the People requested from the USAO more than a year ago and that the USAO previously declined to provide,” prosecutors wrote.
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Embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can stay on and prosecute the election interference case against former president Donald Trump and his co-defendants for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election — if special prosecutor Nathan Wade steps aside, a judge ruled Friday.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee issued the decision early Friday, following two days of testimony from Willis, Wade and others close to them. In the decision he wrote: “The prosecution of this case cannot proceed until the State selects one of two options.
New York City shelters are overwhelmed with migrants.
Many of them have arrived in Texas or Florida and then taken buses to New York, where shelter and benefits are guaranteed. However, the city is scrambling as the number continues to climb and the migrants look to build a new life in America, which includes housing and work.
But for companies like Tyson Foods Inc., struggling to fill unpopular jobs with a U.S. unemployment rate of 3.9%, this new population presents an alluring opportunity.
The food processing company wants to hire 52,000 asylum seekers for factory jobs, offering a starting wage of $16.50 per hour along with benefits.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) denounced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an “obstacle to peace” in a Thursday floor speech and called on Israelis to hold a new election to replace the Netanyahu government amid the ongoing war with Hamas.
“Netanyahu has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel,” Schumer said in a 40-minute speech on the Senate floor, suggesting Israel should elect a new leader who can deal with the threat of Hamas.
Schumer’s call for an Israeli election comes as President Joe Biden and other Democrats are becoming increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu over the rising civilian
Joe Biden won the normality test in 2020.
There wasn’t anything remarkable about him.
He just seemed like a steady hand who had been around for a while, who didn’t look or sound like a radical and who knew how Washington worked. He wasn’t the leader of a movement, wasn’t charismatic and wasn’t particularly witty or well-spoken. He was, in fact, completely uninteresting and utterly conventional. He was just the most normal guy in the room. He benefited from a favorable contrast with the magnetic, endlessly interesting, constantly outrageous, norm-busting President Donald Trump
Meghan Markle has launched a luxury lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard with a glitzy Instagram video. [Snip] Her new project is said to have been in the works for more than a year--and feature 'all the things that are close to her heart'. [Snip] The announcement comes on the same night as Prince Harry and Prince William are set to make a rare joint appearance at the Diana Legacy Award event at the Science Museum in London--but neither will be in the room at the same time, even virtually.
Senator Bernie Sanders believes it is long past time the United States moves away from a 40-hour workweek and establishes a 32-hour standard workweek without reducing workers' pay.
The Vermont senator introduced legislation that would do just that. But his proposal is already being met with stiff opposition across the aisle.
The Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act would reduce the standard workweek in the United States from 40 at 32-hours over four years while maintaining worker pay. It would also require overtime pay and a half for workdays longer than 8 hours and overtime doubling pay for workdays longer than 12 hours.
George Floyd Gets His Own Musical Tribute
— to Be Sung by a High School Choir
at Carnegie Hall 24 replies
— to Be Sung by a High School Choir
at Carnegie Hall 24 replies
A Connecticut school choir is singing a political song about weather, and it doesn't concern climate change. Rather, the subject is social justice's most iconic figure. According to Campus Reform, New Fairfield High has been rehearsing for an important New York performance. To be belted: "Weather: Stand the Storm." The tempestuous title regards the torrential downpour of chaos that occurred in 2020, ignited by the late George Floyd's pivotal plight on May 25th in Minneapolis. The song -- which is part of a larger work -- began as a poem penned by Claudia Rankine, co-founder of the Racial Imaginary Institute.
It's been a particularly rough week for former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and her obsession about January 6. Her narrative is collapsing, especially as she tried to bury evidence regarding former and potentially future President Donald Trump's security plans for that day. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), who chairs the Committee on House Administration's Subcommittee on Oversight, also shared a report his committee did about "the politicization of the January 6th Select Committee." [Tweets]
Multiple key findings focused on the supposed "star witness" Cassidy Hutchinson, who has changed her testimony. Her testimony was also contradicted by U.S. Secret Service agents.
Canadian law endorsed by Trudeau government
could imprison people for life for speech crimes 22 replies
could imprison people for life for speech crimes 22 replies
A Canadian law that aims to make social media platforms safer is getting flak for what some decry as government overreach. Introduced late last month, the Online Harms Act, or Bill C-63, would allow judges to imprison adults for life if they advocate for genocide. Introduced late last month, the Online Harms Act, or Bill C-63, would allow judges to imprison adults for life if they advocate for genocide.The law would also allow a provincial judge to impose house arrest and a fine if there were reasonable grounds to believe a defendant "will commit" an offense
Angry shoppers are boycotting Tyson Foods products as the $53-million meat firm shutters plants in Iowa and elsewhere while hiring thousands of asylum seekers at job fairs in New York.
Campaigners are urging consumers to stop buying Tyson products amid its wave of closures of poultry- and meat-processing plants across Iowa, Virginia, Arkansas, Indiana, and Missouri.
They point to Tyson's efforts to hire thousands of asylum seekers in New York, offering $16.50-an-hour wages and free immigration lawyers, accusing the firm of ditching US-born workers for cheaper migrant labor.
McAfee Splits the Fani Baby?
21 replies
Profiles in Courage, it ain't. (snip) So, if I have this right, Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee decided to pull a James Comey, Robert Mueller, and Robert Hur:
Write a ruling saying Fani Willis and Nathan Wade are guilty as hell, have no ethics, and aren't good role models....BUT Fani can stay (snip) The problem with splitting the baby is that the baby dies. That seems to be what happened here in McAfee's attempt to be Solomonic. If he wanted Fani Willis to remain in charge of the case, he needed to exonerate her from all of these issues.
During an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, White House National Economic Council Deputy Director Daniel Hornung stated that “our progress on inflation does continue,” but “we’ve expected some seasonality in January and February. We didn’t expect the progress to continue on a straight line.”
Hornung said, [relevant remarks begin around 3:30] “I won’t comment on monetary policy and the Federal Reserve. I think what I can say, if you take a step back, our progress on inflation does continue, down from a peak of 9% to the 3% range. Always, I think, we’ve expected some seasonality in January and February. We didn’t expect the progress to continue on a straight line.