Three children are dead after a gunman opened fire Monday at the Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, Tenn., according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center spokesperson.
Read More
As “Zuckerbucks” — the injection of private money into public election administration — make a comeback, states and municipalities are clashing over whether the funds should be accepted or banned.
While many states and counties across the country have either restricted or banned the use of private money to fund public elections offices, a nonprofit with progressive Democrat ties that served as the key link in the 2020 Zuckerbucks funding chain is still finding loopholes in some counties as states seek to tighten up their laws.
Read More
The Joe Biden administration has no plans to remove the Cuban regime from the list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism,” the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, said Thursday during a hearing before the Foreign Affairs Committee—House of Representatives (HFAC).
“We do not plan to remove them from the list,” said the Secretary of State in response to a direct question about it made by Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar.
Read More
The federally-chartered regulator responsible for managing fisheries in the oceans of New England acknowledged that offshore wind farms could pose a threat to the local marine wildlife, according to a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Thomas Nies, executive director of the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), noted the “concerning implications” of a study by researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, which found that the high voltage direct current (HVDC) power cables used by some offshore wind farms emitted magnetic fields that could hinder the ability of haddock larvae to navigate, according to a January 18 letter obtained by the DCNF. The negative impact on both the haddocks’ speed and ability to navigate could result in increased “predation” of affected fish.
Read More
The Minnesota House passed legislation, dubbed a “Trans Refuge bill” by proponents, that would prevent laws in other states from interfering with the medical gender transition of children in Minnesota, but critics argue the bill could cause parents to lose custody if they do not support their child’s life-altering sex change.
Minnesota’s first transgender lawmaker, Rep. Leigh Finke of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, introduced the bill, HF 146, which passed the House in a 68-62 vote Friday.
Read More
On his blog A Pilgrim in Narnia, Brenton Dickieson tells us that C.S. Lewis in his Studies in Words defined “verbicide” as the “murder of words.” Dickieson adds that “Lewis has some similar concerns as George Orwell in his ‘Politics and the English Language.’ Words can be politicized or bent into the service of those who are peddling products or ideas.”
The 21st century has given us a multitude of these vampires, who—having sucked the original meanings out of certain nouns and verbs—then use the carcasses to sell certain ideologies or to confuse the rest of us. Here is a partial list of these zombie words.
Read More
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened federal investigations into four universities this week in response to complaints filed by medical watchdog Do No Harm (DNH), according to the organization.
The OCR will investigate Wake Forest University (WFU), the University of Virginia (UVA), the University of Rochester (UR) and Thomas Jefferson University (TJU) for alleged civil rights violations, Do No Harm reported. Senior Fellow Mark Perry filed a joint complaint against WFU and UVA, alleging the institutions used school resources to partner with an organization whose activities violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, while Program Manager Laura Morgan violated complaints against UR and TJU for allegedly participating in programs that violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Read More
Municipal pension plan investment returns were a “wild rollercoaster ride” in 2021 and 2022 with boom or bust results over that two-year period.
Many cities reported record-setting returns in 2021 as high as 33.7% only to find negative returns in 2022. The swing meant billions of dollars to many municipalities’ pension funds.
Read More
For Ask an Economist this week I have a question from Hal who asks, “What is the difference between a ‘non-profit’ and a ‘not for profit’?”
In order to address this question, I think it’s important to discuss what separates a for-profit business from these two forms of organization.
Read More
After nine weeks of testimony from multiple government witnesses, including FBI agents, the Justice Department finally concluded its case-in-chief in the Proud Boys’ seditious conspiracy trial on Monday.
Five Proud Boys, including the group’s leader, Enrique Tarrio, are accused of conspiring to “oppose the lawful transfer of presidential power by force” on January 6, 2021. It is Attorney General Merrick Garland’s most consequential case related to January 6; convictions will help build a similar case against Donald Trump largely based on his infamous “stand back and stand by” remark to the Proud Boys during an October 2020 presidential debate.
Read More