02 U.S. Politics

Did Liberal Justices Delay Dissents To Stop Trump’s Voting EO?– thefederalist.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Did the Supreme Court’s liberal justices slow-walk their dissents in litigation over President Trump’s mail-in voting order to run out the clock on its implementation for the 2026 midterms? That seems to be what Justice Samuel Alito subtly suggested in the court’s most recent ruling on the subject.

On Monday night, the high court rejected the Trump administration’s request to pause a lower court blockade on a new U.S. Postal Service rule. As described by Fox News, the new rule required election officials to “submit ballot-envelope designs for approval and upload voter information and unique tracking barcodes to a new USPS portal.”

The decision — which effectively bars the policy from taking effect for the fall elections — was presumably 7-2, with Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas saying they would have granted the government’s request for relief. Aside from Justice Brett Kavanaugh — who said the USPS rule seems lawful but denied the government’s request because it’s too close to the midterms for election officials to implement it — the majority offered little explanation for its decision.

Alito, on the other hand, penned a lengthy dissent (joined by Thomas) outlining several issues with the court’s holding. It was in this opinion that the Bush 43 appointee seemingly telegraphed some potentially nefarious shenanigans by the court’s Democrat appointees in the case.

The apparent hint came in the dissent’s concluding pages, in which Alito refuted the alleged concerns that the Democrat-led states challenging the Postal Service rule had regarding “the practical effects of implementing the rule close to the midterm elections.” While taking “that problem very seriously,” the justice highlighted two key points demonstrating why it isn’t enough to warrant rejecting the government’s request to implement the rule for the 2026 contests.

They say ‘never forget’ as Muslims gain power in America — and laugh at the 9/11 memorial– www.theblaze.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Young Americans may be posting “Never Forget” in light of the 25th anniversary of the most devastating terror attack to hit American soil, but that doesn’t mean they’re not really forgetting.

“Sometimes I feel like people who did not live through it don’t fully appreciate what we’re up against. Like something changes in you when you live through something like that. And I think the younger generation, they just don’t get it,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales tells Xaviaer DuRousseau.

“Unless you went through it, you’re just like, ‘Yeah, whatever. What? Let’s go along to get along. What could possibly go wrong with, you know, bringing in Islam here?’ They just don’t get it ‘cause they didn’t live through it,” she continues.

DuRousseau points out that there was even a “TikTok trend” a couple of years ago where users were siding with Osama bin Laden.

“The fact that they are glorifying this mindset that we are allowing so many people with the jihadi ideology to gain power and influence in our country and they’re very outspoken about it: That’s terrifying to me,” he says.

“And not just in our country, but in New York freaking City. We have the Muslim commie mayor Zohran Mamdani, who they were protesting. They didn’t want him to show up to their 9/11 memorial, but he did,” Gonzales says.

“And he went and shook hands with Rudy Giuliani, who of course was the mayor of New York City during 9/11,” she adds, pointing out that there was “an interesting moment” when Mamdani was caught on camera laughing with AOC.

Democrats create an AI panic and then falsely promise solutions– www.americanthinker.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Democrats have been so good at handling everything they focus on, so I know they can come up with sensible ways to implement AI.

It is surprising that the Biden-Harris administration and other Democrats didn’t solve this program while they were in office because Biden put Kamala in charge of the issue in 2023. Back then, Kamala led a meeting with tech leaders in 2023 to address the issue because the vigorous and sharp Biden needed to lighten his busy schedule:

Kamala is now lecturing Trump about what he must do to control China and handle AI. Kamala’s brilliance and expertise on the issue can be summed up in her statement introducing the issue:

“I think the first part of this issue that should be articulated is AI is kind of a fancy thing,” Harris said. “First of all, it’s two letters. It means artificial intelligence, but ultimately what it is is it’s about machine learning.”

 

US extends visa ban on Palestinian officials before UN General Assembly | Israel-Palestine conflict News– www.aljazeera.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The United States Department of State has announced it will extend visa sanctions on officials of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), preventing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from travelling to New York ahead of his address to the United Nations General Assembly next week for the second year in a row.

“As a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace, the United States will extend sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials,” the State Department said in a statement.

The State Department accused the PA of violating US law by pursuing international recognition of Palestinian statehood outside direct negotiations, taking its dispute with Israel to international courts and providing payments to people the US and Israel label as convicted attackers and their families.

Social Media Bans for Kids: Do They Work? | American Enterprise Institute– www.aei.org
News Source
EXCERPT:

Governments are increasingly turning to social media bans to keep minors safe online. But what does early evidence from these legislative changes tell us about how effective they actually are? What would it look like to focus on age-appropriate online spaces and safer design instead? And with AI now being introduced to the conversation, should chatbots face similar regulations?

Josh Tabish joins us for an episode of Explain to Shane to help answer these questions. Josh is currently the senior director for Canada at the Chamber of Progress. He previously served as the director of policy and advocacy at the Canadian Internet Registration Authority and as a Ford Foundation / Media Democracy Fund Technology Exchange Fellow for Fight for the Future. Throughout his career, he has covered domestic and international technology policy issues.

Below is a lightly edited and abridged transcript of our discussion. You can listen to this and other episodes of Explain to Shane on AEI.org and subscribe via your preferred listening platform. If you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review, and tell your friends and colleagues to tune in.

Iran War Updates: U.N. panel cites possible U.S. war crimes as Trump again says Iran wants a deal– www.cbsnews.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Human rights experts commissioned by the U.N. say they have found “reasonable grounds” to believe the United States committed war crimes in two strikes in Iran, including on a school in the southern city of Minab.

The international fact-finding mission on Iran says the findings center on a pair of airstrikes which killed at least 178 civilians, including women and children.

“Following the United States and Israeli attacks on 28 February, the mission found reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed the war crime of launching indiscriminate attacks resulting in the loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects,” the fact-finding team said in a statement.

The team also said that killings by Iranian state security forces occurred on a “staggering scale” in Iran.

At the start of the war in February, at least one U.S. missile hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh in Minab, according to an investigation by The Associated Press. Iranian state media have said 168 people were killed in the strike, most of them children.

China’s top diplomat urges Iran, US to show restraint, revive talks– www.channelnewsasia.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

BEIJING: China encourages Iran and the US to remain rational, exercise restraint, return to the interim peace deal they signed in June and “engage in substantive consultations”, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart in Beijing on Wednesday (Sep 16).

“We urge all parties to take effective measures to reopen the Strait of Hormuz at an early date” to safeguard the stability of international energy transport and supply chains, Wang said, according to China’s foreign ministry, adding that China “does not want to see regional tensions to spill over further into Yemen and the Red Sea”.

Tehran and Washington should “rebuild the negotiation mechanism based on the consensus reached so far”, Wang told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is on a one-day visit to Beijing.

“Iran, while fully prepared to powerfully defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity and safeguard its security … against aggressors, welcomes diplomatic solutions that ensure the rights of the Iranian nation,” Araghchi said, according to Iranian state media.

The talks between the two diplomats came a week ahead of an expected meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Washington.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said Trump and Xi would continue discussions on Iran and China’s financial links to Tehran, which Washington has been seeking to shut out of western financial systems.

Gas prices are about to take a big jump, analysts say, with the worst still to come– www.washingtonpost.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The effects of the U.S.-led war on Iran are about to intensify in the form of huge jumps the prices of gasoline and diesel, analysts predict. And despite the Trump administration’s assurances, a new and potentially even more economically damaging phase of the war may be about to begin.

 

Trump To Repay Americans For Biden’s Obamacare Overcharges– thefederalist.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The Trump administration recently announced a proposal to issue payments to individuals that makes a good deal of policy sense. No, I don’t mean the proposal for $5,000 rebate checks, which has myriad policy and political flaws.

But refunding excess user fees for people enrolled in Obamacare Exchange plans would help offset rising premium costs. And lowering user fees in the future would also mitigate against future premium increases. Depending on the details, this policy may also provide targeted relief to those affected by last year’s expiration of enhanced exchange subsidies.

Outside Groups Say Trump Administration Has Disrupted $177 Billion in Federal Grants › American Greatness– amgreatness.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The Trump administration has canceled, frozen or delayed as much as $177 billion in federal grants since President Donald Trump began his second term, according to an analysis released Wednesday by two outside groups tracking the administration’s spending decisions.

The Lost Funds database, created by the States United Democracy Center and Grant Witness, says funding disruptions have reached all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Health, nutrition, environmental programs and disaster relief account for some of the largest categories identified by the groups.

California, Texas, New York, Illinois and North Carolina had the largest amounts of funding affected, according to the tracker. Individual grants cited by researchers include maternal health funding in Michigan, education research in Mississippi and assistance for minority farmers in Iowa.

The groups said the $177 billion figure amounts to nearly 10 percent of federal discretionary spending, although the database includes grants that were delayed or frozen in addition to those that were terminated.

The findings come as Trump has pursued an aggressive effort to reshape federal spending and redirect government priorities. Some funding decisions have faced legal challenges, and courts have blocked certain grant cancellations. Other lawsuits remain pending.

Rogue TX Police Dept. Arrests Woman for Criticizing Town’s Water, So State Disbands Entire Dept.– www.westernjournal.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The score: Free Speech, 1; Trinidad, Texas, Police Department, 0.

Months after a citizen was put in jail for a social media post about the community’s water, Trinidad police were notified that the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement had revoked all required licenses, effectively shutting down the department, according to KETK-TV.

The state agency investigated the police department in August and found it did not meet minimum standard licenses for the Trinidad Police Department, meaning the agency has effectively been disbanded this week.

The department of five full-time officers and some part-timers “was unable to provide evidence that the agency provides public benefit to the community,” the state wrote in its scathing review, according to KDFW-TV.

It said 18 required policies were not in place.

“It was not a shock. I’m not gonna say that it was,” Trinidad Mayor Dennis Haws said.

“There’s been a lot of neglect through the years,” Haws added.

Did the state do the right thing in disbanding this police department?

EXCLUSIVE: DHS Cracks Down On Immigration Attorneys Who File ‘Meritless’ Asylum Claims– dailycaller.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is cracking down on immigration attorneys who file what the agency calls “meritless” and fraudulent asylum claims, according to a letter obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller.

A letter from DHS General Counsel James Percival to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) argues that the immigration court system is facing a massive backlog, with nearly 3.5 million cases and 2.3 million asylum claims pending as of July 2026.

DHS attributes much of the backlog to what it calls “meritless asylum claims,” arguing that such claims can delay deportation and allow migrants to remain in the U.S. while their cases are pending.

The letter says claims involving generalized gang violence, domestic violence, economic hardship, and other country conditions often fail to meet the legal standard for asylum.

Federal Judge Refers Philadelphia’s Soros DA Larry Krasner to DOJ Over Possible Criminal Conduct › American Greatness– amgreatness.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

A federal judge has referred Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and one of his top deputies to federal prosecutors for investigation, citing evidence of possible perjury, obstruction of justice, false statements and conspiracy stemming from the handling of a convicted murderer’s appeal.

U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond on Tuesday also disqualified Krasner and Assistant District Attorney Matthew Stiegler, chief of the office’s Conviction Integrity Unit, from further involvement in the case of Dennis Johnson. Johnson was convicted of second-degree murder in 2009 in connection with the 2007 killing of Kenyatta Smith.

Diamond’s 40-page memorandum followed hearings examining how Krasner’s office handled Johnson’s effort to overturn his conviction. The judge said testimony indicated Krasner and Stiegler may have pressured prosecutors to present a false account to the court while attempting to protect the district attorney’s office and Stiegler.

“I have thus reluctantly concluded that Philadelphia’s highest law enforcement official and one of his top assistants may have violated the law,” Diamond wrote.

According to court documents, prosecutors within Krasner’s office recommended referring the Johnson matter to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office because of potential conflicts involving Stiegler. Krasner rejected that approach, saying he needed to remain involved to “protect the office.” Diamond also said Krasner warned employees of “consequences” if they alerted the court to the conflict.

No criminal charges have been filed against Krasner or Stiegler. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has not said whether it will pursue an investigation.

Senate Confirms Pro-Life State Judge for Federal Judgeship– www.lifenews.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Ohio appeals court Judge Matthew R. Byrne, who has a career of pro-life work, to a lifetime seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

The vote was 52-45.

President Donald Trump nominated Byrne on the recommendation of Ohio’s two Republican senators and Vice President JD Vance. Byrne, a Republican, was elected to Ohio’s Twelfth District Court of Appeals in 2020 after a decade as an employment litigator.

Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, told the Senate Judiciary Committee in June that Byrne had decided more than 800 appeals and written majority, concurring and dissenting opinions in nearly 250 cases.

“Judge Byrne has earned a distinguished reputation as a hardworking, thoughtful, and fair judge,” Husted said. “He has remained dedicated to upholding the reputation of the court and the rule of law.”

Byrne has been affiliated with Ohio Right to Life, Cincinnati Right to Life, Warren County Right to Life, the Center for Christian Virtue and the Federalist Society. He also served on the board of a pro-life pregnancy center.

DOJ Goes After Berkeley For Discrimination Vs. White Applicants– thefederalist.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

On Sept. 9, federal investigators concluded that the University of California, Berkeley School of Law broke the law. Not some obscure regulation buried in an agency handbook. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the same statute Berkeley’s own professors teach first-year students. The joint finding from the Justice Department and the Department of Education says Berkeley Law discriminated against Asian and white applicants in the entering classes of 2024 and 2025, after the Supreme Court restricted race-conscious admissions.

In 2022, Berkeley Dean Erwin Chemerinsky told the New Yorker that colleges would have to “find ways to achieve diversity that can’t be documented as violating the Constitution.” That’s a law school dean telling colleagues to dodge a ruling without leaving fingerprints.

A quick refresher on constitutional law: In 2023 in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the Supreme Court ruled that Harvard’s and the University of North Carolina’s race-conscious admissions programs violated the Equal Protection Clause, and by extension Title VI, which bars any federally funded institution from discriminating on the ground of race, color, or national origin. The court left room for schools to weigh how race shaped an applicant’s personal story, but not to use race itself, or a stand-in for it, as a plus factor. Berkeley’s own numbers show which side of that line it landed on.

BREAKING: Board votes to close Kennedy Center after federal judge bars Trump’s name from facade | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The Kennedy Center is verging on bankruptcy.

The board of the Kennedy Center voted on Tuesday to close the storied performing arts space due to their “dire financial position.” The vote came as a federal judge said that President Donald Trump’s name could not be added to the building. Trump pressed for the move in order to aid him in fundraising for the structure.

A recent ceiling collapse emphasized the concerns Trump noted about the building when he initially said, upon coming into office, that the Kennedy Center should be closed so renovations could be done. The plan was to add Trump’s name to the building, calling it the Trump Kennedy Center, and to close for two years to make upgrades to the buidling facade and structure.

The board has voted repeatedly to close the building only to have their decisions held up in the courts. This Tuesday vote marks the third time the board has said that the building must close. Former board member Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio brought the issue before a federal court, saying that the board needed more due diligence before shutting down.

The legal fights against the board of the Kennedy Center and against Trump and his proposed rennovations is part of the incessant battle of Democrats against any Trump initiative. They were angry that a Joel Shapiro statue was removed from the grounds of the Kennedy Center and returned to his foundation. They have been in and out of court to try to stop the construction of ballroom at the White House that is already underway.

The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that a lower court ruling suspending President Trump’s XO attempting make Mass mailer voting more accountable will stand, at least until AFTER the 2026 election. The ruling effectively enables Democrats to slow-walk close races in their favor using reserve “ballots” “registered” to the dead and non-citizens still on their uncleansed voter rolls.

SCOTUS Blocks Trump’s Mail-In Voting Order Ahead Of Midterms– thefederalist.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to pause a lower court blockade on Monday night against President Trump’s mail-in voting executive order ahead of the 2026 midterms. The vote was presumably 7-2, with Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissenting.

In its unsigned opinion, the high court rejected the Trump administration’s emergency application to stay a Sept. 4 decision by Massachusetts-based District Judge Indira Talwani. The Obama appointee and past Democrat donor issued a preliminary injunction blocking part of the U.S. Postal Service’s new policy that complies with the president’s mail-in voting order. The USPS rule “would require election officials to submit ballot-envelope designs for approval and upload voter information and unique tracking barcodes to a new USPS portal,” as described by Fox News.

The preliminary injunction replaced a temporary restraining order Talwani had issued against the new rule days prior. The Trump administration — which initially appealed the TRO to SCOTUS — withdrew its initial application over the TRO and filed a new one asking the high court to pause Talwani’s injunction.

The Supreme Court previously overturned a separate injunction by Talwani against Trump’s mail-in voting order last month. In a 6-3 ruling, the high court ruled that it was too soon for courts to consider the challenge brought by Democrat-led states and D.C. because the administration had yet to issue rules at that time, as required by the president’s edict.

Ahead of the Israeli national elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being accused of knowing about October 7 in advance. The accusation comes from former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff Dan Halutz. He accused the Prime Minister of ignoring and concealing warning signs that led to the “successful” assault by Hamas terrorists.

Netanyahu accused Halutz of lying. Halutz doubled down, claiming he was involved with numerous conversations that validate this claim, and that from those conversations he was convinced Netanyahu knew more than he said he did.

Netanyahu ‘concealed’ warnings of Oct. 7 Hamas attack – former IDF chief — RT World News– www.rt.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Dan Halutz has laid ultimate responsibility for the deadly security failure on the Israeli prime minister

Former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff Dan Halutz has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of concealing warnings ahead of the October 7 attack and laid ultimate responsibility for the deadly security failure on him.

Halutz was responding to a Haaretz report alleging that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed had warned Netanyahu about a major operation being planned by Hamas ten days before the incursion. Netanyahu reportedly downplayed the threat and did not alert Israel’s security chiefs.

Netanyahu’s office called the report an “absolute lie,” while the UAE neither confirmed nor denied the allegation.

In an interview aired by Israeli radio station 103FM on Sunday, Halutz said he believed the reported conversation had indeed occurred and claimed there were multiple indications that Netanyahu knew more than he disclosed.

“What could be simpler for the Emirati prince than to say there was no conversation if there was no conversation?… There are so many supporting reasons to understand that the man knew far more than he told those responsible for solving the problems afterward. Because he was incapable of solving the problems. He knew and concealed it,” Halutz said.

“I don’t know how to get inside the mind of this psychopath. What goes through his head? Only he knows,” he added when asked why Netanyahu had allegedly failed to act.

A Roman Catholic couple lost their child to the state when they refused to transition her to a boy. Algonquin Regional High School in Southborough socially transitioned her to a “boy” without her parents’ consent. When the parents rightly contested this illegal activity, Massachusetts state authorities chose to kidnap the child instead of prosecuting school officials.

Child grooming and violating parents’ rights is protected criminal action by the state of Massachusetts. The girl is now 17 and being unconstitutionally confined in a boys’ dormitory. The state is giving her birth control pills and psychiatric drugs while it prepares to mutilate her body.

Catholic Parents Wouldn’t Call Their Daughter a Boy, So Now Massachusetts Has Kidnapped Her for Hormone Therapy– www.westernjournal.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Joseph and Arlene Kutzko would not tell their daughter she was a boy.

Massachusetts took her anyway.

The Roman Catholic couple said that staff at Algonquin Regional High School in Southborough began socially transitioning Sophie without telling them, Fox News Radio’s Lighthouse Faith reported.

In December 2024, when she was 15, the Department of Children and Families removed her from the house. The stated reason was that her parents would not recognize her as male.

Physical abuse claims against Joseph were later called unfounded. That did not return the girl.

A permanent restraining order followed. DCF cut contact after the Kutzkos still refused a male name and pronouns.

Sophie is now 17. Her parents said the state housed her in a boys’ dormitory, kept her from Sunday Mass, and put her on birth control and psychiatric drugs.

Foundation For Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) released a poll that revealed 30% of surveyed college students approve of violence to stop free speech rarely, which is down from last year’s high of 34%. However, of that group, half (or 15% total) said yes to violence to stop fee speech “sometimes,” not just rarely; 3% chose “always.”

30% of college students say violence can be used to stop speakers– www.lifesitenews.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Some college students say violence could be an “acceptable” way to stop campus speakers.

The survey, from free-speech group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), shows an overall decline in support for political violence among college students. The group surveyed 63,000 students at 262 schools as part of its annual review of free speech on college campuses.

Last year, 34 percent of college students said, “using violence to stop someone from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.”

This year, 30 percent of students affirmed the statement; however, half of those respondents said it could be justified in more than merely “rare” situations.

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika struck down Delaware’s ghost-gun ban, which effectively bans the constitutional rights of Americans to make their own guns.

The judge ruled, “… An untraceable firearm is an Arm under the Second Amendment.  It is, after all, a firearm, and even under the narrowest reading of ‘Arms,’ ‘all firearms constitute [] ‘arms,’ whether serialized or not. Moreover, the evidence here shows that untraceable firearms are customarily used for offensive or defensive purposes such as self-defense…”

Trump-Appointed Judge Slaps Down Delaware’s ‘Ghost Gun’ Ban as Unconstitutional– www.westernjournal.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

A federal judge ruled Delaware’s ban on so-called “ghost guns” was unconstitutional Thursday, the latest victory for Second Amendment advocates in court.

Several states passed laws that targeted partially completed firearms or receivers after anti-Second Amendment organizations labeled them “ghost guns,” while the Biden administration sought to classify them as firearms. In a ruling issued Thursday, United States District Judge Maryellen Noreika of the District of Delaware, a Trump appointee, said Delaware’s ban violated the Second Amendment.

The Oregon Department of Human Services had to change its standards for adoption after a Christian widow sued them. Jessica Bates sued the state after she was denied the right to adopt a child in their system for refusing to affirm the rainbow ideology. The state settled with Bates, removing the conditions of adoption that demand LGBTQ affirmation. They also had to pay Bates’ court costs.

Christian Mom Defeats Oregon Bid to Stop Her From Adopting– www.lifenews.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

A Christian mom in Oregon has won her battle against a liberal state to adopt children.

Oregon child-welfare officials have agreed to let a Christian widow seek a license to adopt children from foster care without violating her religious beliefs, ending a three-year fight over a state rule that barred her because she would not promote gender ideology on the kids.

Jessica Bates, a widowed mother of five, sued the Oregon Department of Human Services in April 2023 after the agency rejected her application. Officials deemed her ineligible to adopt any child — even infants or children who share her religious beliefs — because she said she would not use inaccurate pronouns, take children to pride parades, or take a hypothetical 9-year-old to receive puberty blockers or hormone shots.

Under an agreed court order announced Monday, Bates may reapply for her license and need not promote gender ideology to a vulnerable child. Oregon also agreed that Bates, as the prevailing party, is entitled to attorneys’ fees and costs, to be decided later.

U.S. watchdog tallies Iran war’s hit to weapons stockpiles, military bases and more– www.washingtontimes.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

A U.S. government watchdog released its first report on the impact of the Iran war on Monday, acknowledging the military’s advanced weapons shortfalls and offering the first public look at the damage to American aircraft, bases and diplomatic outposts in the Middle East.

Massachusetts: School Secretly Transitioned Girl, State Seized Her From Parents – RedState– redstate.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

It’s an insane state of affairs indeed when a state can step in and yank a teenage girl out of her home, can block the girl’s parents and older brother from seeing or speaking with her, all because the family’s faith precludes them from acknowledging her school-prompted “transgender” status and because they refused to call her a boy.

Now the daughter is a ward of the state of Massachusetts, and the parents are fighting to get her back.

That conversation:

Bill Hemmer (host): A devout Catholic family in Massachusetts are locked a huge legal fight to stop the state from transitioning their teen daughter to a boy without their consent. Lauren Green’s got more on this story, here in New York. What have you found out, Lauren, good morning.

Lauren Green: Hey Bill, you know, Joseph and Arlene Kutzko haven’t spoken to their daughter since the end of 2024, after the Department of Children and Families (DCF) removed her from their home. The family claims it was because of their Catholic faith, that would not allow them to affirm their daughter as a boy. An emotional Joseph Kutzko reading the birthday card his daughter Sophie gave him in October of 2024.

Joseph Kutzko: Without you, I would have nothing. So it’s wholeheartedly, fully, sincerely, I love you with no end.

NATO fighter jet shoots down drone over Lithuania– www.cbc.ca
News Source
EXCERPT:

An Italian NATO fighter jet shot down a drone over Lithuania ‌shortly after midnight on Tuesday morning, the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Centre said.

The drone, which was likely to have entered from Belarus, was shot ​down near Pratkunai village in southern ​Lithuania, near Kaunas, the second-largest city, the centre’s spokesperson said. Its origin had yet to be ​determined, he said.

Military drones ​straying into the ⁠airspace of Russia’s neighbours have stoked concerns that Russia’s war in Ukraine is spilling over NATO’s borders.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that strikes close to the alliance’s territory would drive the trans-Atlantic organization to increase its support for Kyiv. Rutte also pledged to bolster the 32-nation alliance’s own defences along its long eastern border with Russia.

The Supreme Court Just Ruled Against Election Security– townhall.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

The Supreme Court has rejected the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict mail-in ballots for the upcoming midterm elections in the 7-2 decision.

BREAKING: Gavin Newsom says he will not run for president in 2028 if Kamala Harris runs | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

California Governor Gavin Newsom has revealed that he will not run for president in 2028 if fellow Californian former Vice President Kamala Harris decides to run. He had been widely rumored to be interested in the position.

Speaking with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Newsom, who is one of a few Democrats being floated to run for the presidency, said of Harris, “I don’t know if she runs, but we’ll see.” He later added, “I wouldn’t run if she ran.”

Tapper asked, “If she runs, you will not?”

“Of course not,” Newsom replied. “Why would I? I wouldn’t do that to her … I wouldn’t waste everyone’s time. Who needs that?”

“First of all, electorally, it’s a gift from God for everybody else. They can enjoy the hell out of it. Mutually assured destruction. It serves no greater good,” Newsom said.

Tapper shot back, “She had a shot and you’ve never run and she’s run twice.” Harris ran in 2020 seeking the Democrat Party’s nomination for president. During her brief stint in the primaries, she gained some 3% of the vote. She ran again in 2024 but only when her boss, President Joe Biden, was forced out of the race due to apparent age-related mental decline and endorsed her in his stead.

“Yeah, I mean that’d be the approach to the campaign certainly,” Newsom said. “That’d be the case you’d make. A pretty good one actually. That’s objectively true.”