Author: Minnesota Sun Staff

Election integrity advocates say those charged with voter fraud across the U.S. are indeed being prosecuted but they warn lenient sentences are resulting in little – if any – deterrence to future crimes.

“The good news is [prosecutors] seem to be more aggressive about going against these kinds of cases,” Ned Jones, deputy director of the Election Integrity Network, told Just the News on Monday. “But the sentencing is ridiculous – it’s not harsh enough.”

Target Loses $9 Billion in Market Value in a Week Following Boycott over LGBT Merchandise

Target’s market value plunged $9 billion in one week after anger erupted over the store’s new “PRIDE” collection, which features clothing for children and babies as well as a chest-binding swim top and a “tuck-friendly” women’s bathing suit.

Social media users and conservative activists began calling for boycotts of Target following the release of their PRIDE line last week. The company was valued at $160.96 per share on May 17, at a market value of $74.3 billion; as of Thursday morning each share was valued at $139.84, the lowest in over a year, at a market value of $64.54 billion, according to MarketWatch data.

Parents Sue Minnesota Government for Barring Colleges with ‘Faith Statements’ from State Funding Program

May 26, 2023May 25, 2023 Minnesota Sun Staff

A group of parents in Minnesota filed a lawsuit against Democratic Gov. Tim Walz Wednesday over a new law amending the Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program to prohibit granting funds to schools that require a “faith statement.”

Walz signed a $72 billion budget Wednesday that included an amendment to the PSEO program, barring students who wish to attend a school requiring a “faith statement” from using funds from the program, according to the budget. Several parents filed a lawsuit later that day with Becket Law against the governor, state Commissioner Of Education Willie Jett and the state Department of Education (DOE) over the new rule, arguing that it unfairly discriminates against their children who wish to attend Christian colleges.

Commentary: The Left Has Pushed the Envelope

The Left is waging a full-fledged cultural revolution against traditional America. And the Maoist results are often as absurd as they are terrifying.

Special-counsel John Durham just issued his final report on wrongdoing within the FBI, CIA, and the Department of Justice.

Commentary: Send Them Back

Only a country that has lost the will to survive would tolerate the invasion underway all across America. There is no longer a southern border to speak of. From Arizona to Maine, towns are under siege by a relentless, surging mass of humanity. The lowly citizen has been trampled underfoot to make lebensraum for the hallowed “asylum seeker,” whose conquering steps are greeted with suppliant knee.

GOP Lawmakers Demand FBI Briefing on January 6 Pipe Bomb Investigation Following Whistleblower Disclosures Regarding Suspect

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are demanding an FBI briefing on the status of their January 6 Pipe Bomb Investigation following disclosures that the feds have enough information to identify a suspect.

In a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) said the slow progression of the Bureau’s investigation into the pipe bombs “raises significant concerns about the FBI’s prioritization of that case in relation to other January 6 investigations.”

NATO Countries Talk Big About Beefing Up Defense Spending, But Most Haven’t Backed Up Pledges

Most NATO countries have failed to meet pledges to inflate defense spending made in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine despite voicing concerns about the intense security environment in Europe, according to The Wall Street Journal.

NATO countries on the eastern flank, most notably Poland, are girding for war as the conflict in Ukraine shows no sign of abating in the near term, prompting renewed commitments to beefing up their own and Ukraine’s militaries in line with the U.S., according to the WSJ. Others believe that Russia’s poor performance in Ukraine, illustrated in recent days by an incursion of pro-Ukrainian partisans into a Russian border territory with little initial resistance, means there is less urgency to increase spending on weapons and military equipment than previously imagined, according to the outlet.

Tax Documents Show Black Lives Matter Lost Millions in 2022

The official Black Lives Matter organization lost millions of dollars in 2022, according to recently unearthed tax returns.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, the Black Lives Matter Global Foundation Network saw a deficit of $8.5 million in 2022, and also lost $10 million from its investment accounts. In addition, the group recorded a loss of $961,000 on a securities sale of $172,000, amounting to a roughly 85 percent loss as a result of the transaction.

Minnesota Lawmakers End Session with $2.6 Billion Bonding and ‘Cash Only’ Capital Investment Package

May 25, 2023May 24, 2023 Minnesota Sun Staff

It’s not a bonding year at the legislature, but that didn’t stop lawmakers — every Democrat and a number of Republicans — at the Minnesota Capitol from giving the green light to about $2.6 billion worth of bonding and “cash-only” capital investment projects across the state before time ran out on the 2023 session.

Commentary: The Corruption of Climate Science

“We need to criticize the people who got us here,” says Alex Epstein, founder of the Center for Industrial Progress and author of Fossil Future. “We can’t keep treating these designated experts as real experts. They are not real experts, they are destroyers. They are anti-energy, non-experts. And that needs to be made clear.”

Commentary: Mask Mandates Unmasked

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci said, “There’s no reason for you to be walking around with a mask.” But the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) soon changed his stance. Although not 100 percent effective, Fauci said, wearing masks is “a symbol for people to see that that’s the kind of thing you should be doing.”

House Follows Senate in Voting for Resolution to Halt Tougher EPA Vehicle Emission Standards

The GOP-led House on Tuesday voted in favor of a resolution to strike down the Environmental Protection Agency’s emissions restrictions for heavy-duty trucks.

The joint-chamber resolution, which passed the House by a 221-203 vote, was introduced by Republican lawmakers in February via the Congressional Review Act (CRA) – a law that allows Congress to reverse rules made by a federal agency.

BlackRock’s Board Fends Off Climate Proposals from Left-Wing Shareholders at Annual Meeting

Investing giant BlackRock’s board of directors recommended voting against two climate report proposals at its annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, and investors followed the firm’s advice.

Each proposal demanded reports from BlackRock; left-wing activist organization CODEPINK requested a report from BlackRock concerning the climate-related risks of its aerospace fund. Paul Rissman, co-founder of Rights CoLab and a fellow for the George Soros-founded Open Society Foundations, requested a report on engineering decarbonization and its impact on pension fund returns; BlackRock’s board of directors recommended voting against both because the firm argued they do not provide the best results for shareholders.

Leaked Policy Exposes Fox News Stances on Woke Ideology

Fox News employees are allowed to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity, rather than their biological sex, and permitted to dress in alignment with their preferred gender. They must also be addressed by their preferred name and pronouns in the workplace.

These are just a few of the policies outlined in the company handbook, dated January 2021, a copy of which was shared with The Daily Signal. Fox also offers to help employees come up with a “Workplace Transition Plan” to ease their gender transition at work.

Commentary: Everyone Is Protecting Ray Epps

Over the past month, speculation has swirled around why Fox News honchos ousted the nation’s most popular cable news host just hours before he was set to begin his nightly monologue. Tucker Carlson reportedly was stunned by the news, which was announced in a terse statement released by the network on April 24: “FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.”

Biden Admin Pulls the Plug on $200 Million Grant to China-Backed EV Battery Maker

The Biden administration has decided against offering a $200 million grant to a lithium battery-maker that has been heavily criticized for its close ties to China.

The Department of Energy (DOE) had selected electric battery maker Microvast as one of its intended recipients to receive grant funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. However, the DOE confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation that it was no longer in negotiations with Microvast concerning the grant, which would have been used to develop an electric vehicle battery production facility for General Motors, according to Reuters.

Christian Teacher Banned from the Classroom for ‘Misgendering’ Student

A Christian math teacher was banned from the classroom in the United Kingdom for “unprofessional conduct” after misgendering a transgender student, according to a Tuesday press release from Christian Legal Centre (CLC).

CLC is representing Joshua Sutcliffe, a former teacher at The Cherwell School in Oxford, after he came under investigation by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) over allegations that he misgendered a biologically female student, referred to as Pupil A, who identifies as a male, according to The Telegraph. The TRA ruled this week that Sutcliffe had engaged in “unprofessional conduct” and accused him of “bringing the profession into disrepute,” according to the press release.

North Dakota Man Who Ran over Teen That He Thought Was a ‘Rightwing Extremist’ Faces Only 10 Years in Prison After Murder Charge Dropped

May 21, 2023May 20, 2023 Minnesota Sun Staff

The North Dakota man who admitted to mowing down a teenager with his SUV last September because he thought the boy was a “rightwing extremist” is facing a maximum of only ten years in prison after the prosecutor dropped the charge from murder to manslaughter.

Shannon Brandt, 42, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge, avoiding a trial which was set to start on May 30, KVRR reported.

FBI Repeatedly Abused Surveillance Tool to Spy on Americans in Wake of January 6, Newly Unsealed Court Doc Reveals

May 21, 2023 Minnesota Sun Staff

The FBI abused a digital surveillance tool nearly 300,000 times between 2020 and early 2021, running 23,132 inquiries alone after Jan. 6., according to a newly unsealed court document.

The Section 702 database, which the FBI is authorized to use to gather foreign intelligence information or if they believe there is evidence of a crime, was used on Jan. 6 suspects, along with congressional campaign donors and protestors arrested in riots after George Floyd was killed in 2020, a newly unsealed court document reveals. An April 2022 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) opinion described these abuses, noting that the employee who ran the queries after Jan. 6 did so “to find evidence of possible foreign influence, although the analyst conducting the queries had no indications of foreign influence related to the query term used.”

Commentary: Trump Is Soaring in the Polls

May 21, 2023 Minnesota Sun Staff

Former President Donald Trump is surging in the polls ahead of the 2024 election.

Justice Gorsuch Says Pandemic Created ‘Greatest Intrusions on Civil Liberties’ in America’s Peacetime History

May 20, 2023May 19, 2023 Minnesota Sun Staff

Justice Neil Gorsuch called government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic the “greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country” on Thursday.

Gorsuch made his comments in reaction to the Supreme Court’s Thursday dismissal of a case dealing with red states’ attempt to keep in place a Trump administration policy, Title 42, which allowed the U.S. to expel over 2.5 million migrants from the border due to a public health emergency. In an eight-page long statement attached to the decision, Gorsuch slammed an array of emergency power abuses employed by local leaders during the pandemic, from lockdowns to church closures.

Durham: FBI Dropped Four Different Probes into Clinton Family Ahead of 2016

May 20, 2023May 19, 2023 Minnesota Sun Staff

One of the claims made by Special Counsel John Durham in his official report is that the FBI dropped at least four criminal investigations into Bill and Hillary Clinton just before the 2016 election.

According to the New York Post, the FBI had previously been investigating attempts by multiple foreign nations and other foreign entities to influence the Clinton family through donations to their non-profit, the Clinton Foundation, as well as donations to Hillary’s failed 2016 presidential campaign.

Commentary: Look Ahead, Not Backwards, to Hold the Justice Department Accountable

May 20, 2023 Minnesota Sun Staff

Release of Special Counsel John Durham’s report on law enforcement and intelligence misconduct related to the 2016 presidential election has been met with outrage, recriminations, and a justified amount of vindication for those, including President Donald Trump, who helped expose the brazen operation from the start.

Disney Scraps New $1 Billion Florida Project amid DeSantis Feud

May 20, 2023 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Walt Disney Company has canceled plans to build a $1 billion installation in Florida amid an ongoing legal and political fight with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The project, known as the Lake Nona Town Center, included plans to build office space for the company near Orlando, Florida, and would have created upwards of 2,000 jobs with an average salary of $120,000 a year, according to the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity. Its cancellation was announced in an email to employees by Disney’s chairman of Parks and Resorts, Josh D’Amaro, on Thursday.

Migrant Child Dies in Federal Custody, Marking Third Such Death in Two Months

A migrant child died in federal custody, marking the third such death in roughly two months, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

An eight-year-old girl died in Border Patrol custody in Harlingen, Texas, after experiencing a medical emergency, CBP said in a statement late Wednesday. This is the third migrant child to die in the past two months, after a migrant child died in federal custody days before, and another died in mid-March.

Montana Becomes the First State to Completely Ban TikTok

Republican Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill Wednesday that bans TikTok from the state, becoming the first one to completely outlaw the social media app.

The Montana Legislature introduced Senate Bill 419 in late February to respond to the increasing national concerns over TikTok’s ties with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the fear the app could be used to steal sensitive information, according to the measure. SB419, sponsored by Montana Republican state Sen. Shelley Vance, passed the Legislature in April.

Minnesota HOA Fines Retired Cop for Flying Pro-Police Flag

May 19, 2023May 18, 2023 Minnesota Sun Staff

A retired St. Paul police officer has been fined by his homeowners association for flying a thin blue line flag in support of police outside his home, he told Alpha News.

“I will give you one hour to take that down,” Archie Smith, a police officer of over 30 years, alleges was the message delivered to him via a phone call from the Orleans Terrace Homeowners Association.

Commentary: Joe Biden, the Habitual Racialist Demagogue

The most recent liberal ABC News/Washington Post poll showed Joe Biden’s approval rating at 36 percent—the lowest in history for a president at this point in his first term.

Biden’s low popularity is no mystery.

Commentary: Segregation Is Coming to a Medical School near You

The prestigious New England Journal of Medicine in April published an article openly championing segregation as a way for medical students to learn more effectively. Unsurprisingly, the article is steeped in incredible amounts of racism.

Seven academics from the University of California at Berkeley and UC San Francisco begin with the premise that traditional medical education is “systemically racist.” They propose to split up medical students into what they call “racial affinity group caucuses,” where would-be doctors can discuss what they have been learning in their antiracism classes with other people who share their skin color. The euphemism may be “racial affinity group caucusing,” but the authors, in fact, are really advocating segregation.

American Greatness Poll: Trump Leads DeSantis by 21 Percent in New Hampshire

Among likely GOP primary voters in New Hampshire, former President Donald Trump holds a 21-point lead over Governor Ron DeSantis, 39%-18%. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu is virtually tied with DeSantis for second place, garnering 17% of the vote.

Although Sununu is competing with DeSantis for the “not Trump” vote, among those who describe themselves as “very likely” voters, DeSantis leads Sununu by 6 percent, 19%-13%. Trump leads both men among these voters with 45%.

Supreme Court Shields Tech Companies from Liability for Terrorist Content

The Supreme Court unanimously sided with tech companies Thursday in two cases that charged them with “aiding and abetting” terrorism, declining to address a heated question on the extent of immunity granted to social media platforms for content hosted on their website.

Justice Clarence Thomas authored the majority opinion in Twitter v. Taamneh, a lawsuit brought by the family of a Jordanian citizen, Nawras Alassaf, who was killed in the January 2017 ISIS attack at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey. Thomas wrote that “plaintiffs’ allegations are insufficient to establish that these defendants aided and abetted ISIS in carrying out the relevant attack.”

South Carolina House Passes Six-Week Abortion Ban

The South Carolina House of Representatives has passed a bill to restrict abortion after approximately six weeks of pregnancy, per a vote held in the House late on Wednesday.

The House passed Senate Bill 474, known as the “Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act,” with amendments, by a vote of 82 to 32, with all Republicans and two Democrats voting in favor. The bill would prohibit abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually after six weeks of pregnancy.

Universities Seek Ways to Skirt the Supreme Court’s Likely Ban on Race-Based Admissions

May 18, 2023May 17, 2023 Minnesota Sun Staff

Universities are searching for ways to maintain racial quotas ahead of a likely Supreme Court decision blocking affirmative action.

With the Supreme Court soon to issue a ruling in a pair of cases questioning the constitutionality of affirmative action, which multiple justices appeared ready to rule against during oral arguments, universities are developing plans to maintain the current racial composition of their student bodies without explicitly using racial preferences in the admissions process. Schools have floated ideas such as making testing optional, giving greater weight to students’ socio-economic backgrounds and recruiting based on geographic area.

Charges: Minneapolis School Employee Brought Guns to Elementary School

May 18, 2023May 17, 2023 Minnesota Sun Staff

A Minneapolis Public Schools employee has been charged after a student found a bag containing two loaded guns inside Loring Elementary School on the city’s north side.

Charges say Derrick Lee Lind, 20, brought a backpack into the school on April 23, 2023, that contained a stolen gun and another gun with a “switch” that modifies a gun to fire automatically.

DeSantis Signs Bill Outlawing ‘Mutilation’ of Minors Through Transgender Surgeries

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Wednesday banning the “mutilation” of minors via sex-reassignment surgeries, according to remarks made at a press conference.

Senate Bill 245 passed the Sunshine State legislature earlier this month with significant majorities in both the House and the Senate. DeSantis announced during a press conference Wednesday that he had signed into law a number of pieces of legislation, including a ban on transgender surgeries, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in education and limits on sex, gender identity and sexual orientation lessons for kindergarten through eighth-grade students.

Wyoming Sorority Sisters ‘Live in Fear’ of Trans Member

The University of Wyoming is being sued by a group of sorority sisters over the university’s acceptance of a biological man who identifies as a woman into their sorority.

The New York Post reports that the lawsuit was filed by seven members of Kappa Kappa Gamma against both the university and the male student himself, 21-year-old Artemis Langford, after he repeatedly became physically aroused in the women’s presence. Langford, a 6-foot-2 and 260-pound man, first joined the sorority in September of 2022, and had been living outside the sorority house for the past year, but was expected to move into the house later this year. The suit refers to him by the male alias of “Terry Smith.”

Jeffrey Epstein Transferred $270,000 for Popular Left-Wing Academic in 2018

Deceased financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein moved $270,000 between accounts for Noam Chomsky, the prominent left-wing activist and academic confirmed to The Wall Street Journal.

Chomsky met with Epstein several times after he registered as a sex offender in 2010, and Chomsky received the transfer in March 2018, according to the WSJ. It was “restricted to rearrangement of my own funds, and did not involve one penny from Epstein,” Chomsky told the WSJ.

Commentary: The Hate Industry