Commentary: As New Trial Looms, Justice Department Silent on Whitmer Kidnapping Plot

For the first time since the government failed to win a single conviction in the alleged criminal plot to “kidnap” Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020, a top Justice Department official was publicly confronted about the FBI’s primary role in concocting the hoax.

It was not a welcome line of inquiry, to say the least.

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In Just One Week, Border Patrol Arrested over 100 Felons Illegally Crossing the Border

Border agents in a single border sector arrested 104 convicted felons in one week, according to Yuma Sector Chief Patrol Agent Chris T. Clem.

The felons were apprehended between July 17 and 23, a period when agents encountered over 5,600 migrants from 46 different countries, according to a tweet Clem posted Tuesday. During the same period, agents encountered over 120 unaccompanied minors, prosecuted 57 migrants and intercepted nine human smuggling cases, according to Clem’s tweet.

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TikTok Intentionally Downplayed Ties to China, Documents Reveal

TikTok intentionally directed its staff to de-emphasize the app’s connection to Beijing, according to leaked internal documents acquired by Gizmodo.

TikTok’s public relations (PR) team was specifically instructed to  “downplay the China association,” when asked about connections to the Chinese Communist Party, according to Gizmodo. The “Tik Master Messaging” and “TikTok Key Messages” documents reveal the company’s PR tactics during a time when ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, came under attention from regulators, politicians and the media.

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Commentary: The 13th Amendment Doesn’t Provide Basis for National Abortion Protection

After Dobbs, where can pro-choice advocates look in the Constitution to support abortion? One professor believes she has found the answer in the Thirteenth Amendment, the provision banning slavery that was ratified in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. Lisa Crooms-Robinson, a professor at Howard University School of Law, reasons out of a wish for Congress to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021. The bill, among other provisions, would codify the abortion protections found in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, both of which the court just overturned.

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Commentary: The MAGA Book of Political Offense

by Theodore Roosevelt Malloch   Too many conservatives constantly stay on the defensive. They have no strategy, let alone tactical plans or a complete gamebook to go on offense and run up points. You don’t win by playing defense. You win by scoring points and controlling – dominating – the…

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DOJ Official Named in FBI Politicization Allegations Played Role in Lois Lerner IRS Scandal

A senior Justice Department official recently flagged by a U.S. senator in an FBI whistleblower probe into alleged politicization of prosecutions played a key role in the Lois Lerner IRS scandal a decade ago in which conservative Tea Party groups were improperly targeted for scrutiny, government emails and congressional evidence shows.

Richard Pilger, the current chief of the DOJ Elections Crime Branch of the department’s Public Integrity Section, engaged in discussions in 2010 and 2013 with Lerner and other IRS officials about ways to pursue criminal prosecutions of conservative nonprofits, the records show.

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Federal Funding Kept Pittsburgh Transit Running During Pandemic

Pittsburgh Regional Transit agency’s annual increase in federal money in 2020 was nearly 75%, following similar trends in transit agencies across the country.

This financial support by the federal government was an important part of maintaining service throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when ridership dropped significantly, according to the transit agency. 

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‘It’s An Absurd Argument’: Economists Take Apart One of Biden’s Favorite Talking Points

The Biden administration’s oft-touted talking point that employment has boomed under the administration is misleading and instead simply a natural recovery from pandemic losses, economists told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Facing consecutive quarters of negative gross domestic product (GDP) growth, sky-high inflation and plummeting consumer sentiment, the Biden administration has routinely cited a low unemployment rate and strong on-paper jobs creation as positive results of President Joe Biden’s economic stewardship. But the notion that these figures represent booming job creation is misleading since the economy has merely rebounded by adding back jobs that were lost during the pandemic and has still yet to reach pre-pandemic levels, economists told the DCNF.

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Air Force Diversity Festival to Include Drag Show

Joint Base Langley-Eustis will host a “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summer Festival” on Saturday, which will reportedly include a drag show.

Joshua Kelley, whose stage name is Harpy Daniels, will headline the drag show, according to the Daily Wire. The event’s planners have advertised it as being family friendly, listing bouncy houses and face painting among the activities for children.

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Democrats Propose Spending $80 Billion to Expand the IRS

Democrats in Congress have proposed a new spending bill that would allocate $80 billion for the sole purpose of expanding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), ostensibly to fight inflation by raising government revenues.

As reported by The Daily Caller, the bill is called the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.” The bill would see the size of the IRS increase as part of a broader effort to increase “taxpayer compliance.” Under the new bill, the IRS would spend an additional $80 billion over the course of the next 10 years, up significantly from its current budget of $13.7 billion, with a primary focus on hiring thousands of new agents, and expanding operations, facilities, and services.

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Commentary: Federal Trade Commission May Finally Bring Down the Hammer on Pharmacy Benefit Managers

Amidst rising prescription drug prices, consumers may finally be getting some much-needed relief if the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) follows through with a recent pledge to investigate Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) for anticompetitive practices. 

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