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Boy wins 200, second in 400 at Oregon Girls State High School Championship
Approved, National, The Daily Signal

Boy wins 200, second in 400 at Oregon Girls State High School Championship

By Elizabeth Troutman  | The Daily Signal A male athlete took first place in a race for high school girls over the weekend at an Oregon state championship. Sophomore Aayden Gallagher, who identifies as female, beat seven girls in the 200-meter dash at the Oregon School Activities Association 6A State Championships, held at the University of Oregon in Eugene.  Gallagher also took second place in the 400-meter. He tallied 18 points for McDaniel High School in Portland, leading the girls team to win fourth place overall in the championship.  Gallagher has dominated his races all season. He qualified to compete at the state championship by beating females for first place in the 200-meter May 9. He also took first place in the event at meets May 1 and April 17.  READ TH...
Biden releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from Northeast reserve in bid to lower prices at pump
Approved, National, The Washington Times

Biden releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from Northeast reserve in bid to lower prices at pump

By Matthew Daly  | The Washington Times The Biden administration said Tuesday that it is releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from a Northeast reserve established after Superstorm Sandy in a bid to lower prices at the pump this summer. The sale, from storage sites in New Jersey and Maine, will be allocated in increments of 100,000 barrels at a time. The approach will create a competitive bidding process that ensures gasoline can flow into local retailers ahead of the July 4 holiday and sold at competitive prices, the Energy Department said. The move is intended to help “lower costs for American families and consumers,″ the department said in a statement. Gas prices average about $3.60 per gallon nationwide as of Tuesday, up 6 cents from a year ago, according to AAA. T...
Trump declines to testify as defense rests, jurors dismissed until after Memorial Day
Approved, National, The Washington Times

Trump declines to testify as defense rests, jurors dismissed until after Memorial Day

By Tom Howell Jr.  | The Washington Times Former President Donald Trump declined to testify Tuesday as the defense rested in his hush money trial, setting the table for closing arguments and deliberations after Memorial Day. Mr. Trump wasn’t expected to take the stand, but hadn’t ruled it out publicly. The former president is known for keeping people in suspense. State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan said closing arguments would take “at least a day” and jury instructions would take at least an hour. He told jurors that he didn’t want to break up the process, so he dismissed the jury until after the holiday weekend. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Sen. Menendez’s cluttered home loaded with $150K in gold bars, $480K in cash — some stashed in a boot
Approved, National, New York Post

Sen. Menendez’s cluttered home loaded with $150K in gold bars, $480K in cash — some stashed in a boot

By Priscilla DeGregory and Ben Kochman | The New York Post It’s a “boot-load” of cash. New photos shown at Sen. Bob Menendez’s federal bribery trial reveal over $600,000 in cash and gold bars stashed around his cluttered New Jersey home — including a stack of bills stuffed inside a Timberland boot. Jurors at the Menendez trial, which began last week in Manhattan federal court, were shown dozens of photos taken inside the Garden State Democrat’s Englewood Cliffs house during a June 2022 raid by the FBI. The pictures, presented in court Thursday, show gold bars small and large, some appearing to be older with nicks and scratches on the surface while others are wrapped in clear plastic packaging. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE NEW YORK POST
Sloan: The DEI facade is showing cracks
Approved, Commentary, National

Sloan: The DEI facade is showing cracks

By Kelly Sloan | Special Contributor, The Rocky Mountain Voice Last week, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's board of trustees did what only a short time ago would have been considered an unthinkable act of social regression: they voted, unanimously, to not only cut the $2.3 million funding of the institution’s DEI program, but to reroute that money into public safety – yes, meaning campus police.  It is but one example of the slow, but steady retreat from the madness of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) programs that have metastasized throughout our culture in the wake of the civil unrest stemming from the killing of George Floyd in 2020. The innocuous-sounding trifecta – who could argue against those values in a pluralistic society? – disguised a far m...
Federal judge rules against Biden’s expansion of gun background checks
Approved, National, The Washington Times

Federal judge rules against Biden’s expansion of gun background checks

By Stephen Dinan | The Washington Times President Biden‘s attempt to expand the universe of gun sales subject to background checks likely violates federal law, a federal judge ruled Sunday. Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk said Mr. Biden‘s team stretched the definition of those “engaged in the business” of firearms beyond its breaking point in an attempt to force more gun transactions to face the scrutiny of a background check. The judge said two-thirds of gun owners maintain their weapons for self-defense or protection and they could end up being snared by the regulation if they were to trade or sell a weapon. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Alice Stewart, veteran of GOP campaign trail and ’16 Ted Cruz comms director before CNN, has died
Approved, National, TownHall.com

Alice Stewart, veteran of GOP campaign trail and ’16 Ted Cruz comms director before CNN, has died

By Matt Vespa | TownHall.com CNN was rocked by the news of the tragic passing of Alice Stewart on Saturday. Stewart was one of the few conservative voices on the network. Though she had voted for the former president, she wasn't a die-hard Trump supporter, often described as a straight-shooter, civil, professional, and kind among her colleagues. Stewart was a veteran of political campaigns, serving as communications director for Michele Bachman, Rick Santorum, and Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaigns. Her most recent gig on the campaign trail was for Ted Cruz’s 2016 bid. Around that time, she was hired as a commentator for CNN and co-hosted a podcast with noted liberal Maria Cardona. Ms. Cardona expressed shock at the loss of her friend, adding that they were scheduled to record...
Rising price to eat out is ‘benefiting our business’, Walmart CEO says
Approved, National, The Street

Rising price to eat out is ‘benefiting our business’, Walmart CEO says

By Jena Warburton | The Street If it feels like every time you visit the grocery store you part with a little bit more of your emotional well-being each time, you're probably not alone.  Plenty of goods and staples – food included – are more expensive than they were one year ago, or even one month ago.  The Consumer Price Index shows that, in April, prices increased by 0.3% from March. The CPI ticked up 3.4% on a 12-month basis, about in line with expectations but certainly showing no signs that inflation is coming down anytime soon.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE STREET
After closing 48 locations, signs of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing exist for Red Lobster chain
Approved, National, The Street

After closing 48 locations, signs of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing exist for Red Lobster chain

By Daniel Kline | The Street The big food court in the sky, or maybe it's a downtown entertainment district, features a lot of restaurants that once had a big following. You may not remember them all, but some brands that were once huge, fell into irrelevancy and then went away. Howard Johnson's, for example, used to be a staple of a road trip. If you couldn't find a HoJo's perhaps you would stop at a Big Boy, another chain that was once prominent. In addition, sometimes there are restaurant chains that maybe were never that well-liked but were still a big deal. Fashion Cafe and the Official All-Star Cafe were meant to reproduce the magic of the Hard Rock Cafe or Planet Hollywood but they never caught on. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE STREET
Biden, Trump don’t even agree on crypto, with Trump saying he’s in support, Biden opposed
Approved, National, The Street

Biden, Trump don’t even agree on crypto, with Trump saying he’s in support, Biden opposed

By The Street Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has recently signaled an about face on the digital assets industry, promising to support crypto in the U.S. during a recent campaign event and offering a stark contrast to apparent hostility from the Biden administration. “If you’re in favor of crypto you’re gonna vote for Trump because they want to end it,” Trump said recently.  Long-time advocates and investors in the space have decried harsh legislation from the Biden administration and Gary Gensler’s U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For instance, the White House recently vowed to veto legislation that could allow regulated financial firms to custody digital assets. Now, crypto-focused voters have reason to believe that Trump would offer a friend...