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Prisoners in the US are part of a hidden workforce linked to hundreds of popular food brands
Approved, gazette.com, National

Prisoners in the US are part of a hidden workforce linked to hundreds of popular food brands

By ROBIN McDOWELL and MARGIE MASON - Associated Press ANGOLA, La. (AP) — A hidden path to America’s dinner tables begins here, at an unlikely source – a former Southern slave plantation that is now the country’s largest maximum-security prison. Unmarked trucks packed with prison-raised cattle roll out of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, where men are sentenced to hard labor and forced to work, for pennies an hour or sometimes nothing at all. After rumbling down a country road to an auction house, the cows are bought by a local rancher and then followed by The Associated Press another 600 miles to a Texas slaughterhouse that feeds into the supply chains of giants like McDonald’s, Walmart and Cargill. Intricate, invisible webs, just like this one, link some of the world’s largest f...
House Republicans to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas on two articles
Approved, gazette.com, National

House Republicans to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas on two articles

By Anna Giaritelli, Washington Examiner House Republicans plan to impeach President Joe Biden's Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on two articles in a historic committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday, the Washington Examiner has learned. The House Homeland Security Committee will take up articles of impeachment for Willful and Systemic Refusal to Comply with the Law and Breach of the Public Trust against Mayorkas, according to the committee. "These articles lay out a clear, compelling, and irrefutable case for Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ impeachment," said House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) in a statement. "He has willfully and systemically refused to comply with immigration laws enacted by Congress. He has...
‘Reaction of a father’: Trump mindful of family involvement in 2024 campaign
Approved, gazette.com, National

‘Reaction of a father’: Trump mindful of family involvement in 2024 campaign

Jenny Goldsberry, Washington Examiner Former President Donald Trump is mindful of involving his family in his latest bid for the White House. Trump expressed his hesitation to feature his family in his campaign, acknowledging that his wife, Melania Trump, would become more involved as the campaign moved forward. "At the same time, I don’t want my family to be too active because they did such a great job last time and they were really gone after by people that were very unfair," Trump told Fox News's Brian Kilmeade. READ FULL ARTICLE ON GAZETTE.COM
Most Americans feel they pay too much in taxes, poll finds
Approved, ASSOCIATED PRESS, KRDO.COM, National

Most Americans feel they pay too much in taxes, poll finds

By CORA LEWIS and LINLEY SANDERS, ASSOCIATED PRESS  A majority of taxpayers feel they pay too much in taxes, with many saying that they receive a poor value in return, according to a new poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.  Two-thirds of U.S. taxpayers say they spend “too much” on federal income taxes, as tax season begins. About 7 in 10 say the same about local property taxes, while roughly 6 in 10 feel that way about state sales tax. Generally speaking, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to view taxes as unfair, to say they are paying too much in taxes, and to see taxes as a poor value. READ FULL ARTICLE ON KRDO.COM
Retired FBI execs to Congress: Invasion at border ‘perilous’ for America
Approved, denvergazette.com, National

Retired FBI execs to Congress: Invasion at border ‘perilous’ for America

By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor, Washington Examiner Ten retired FBI directors and experts in counter intelligence sent a letter to congressional leaders warning that President Joe Biden’s border policies have facilitated a “soft invasion” into the U.S. of military-age men coming from terror-linked regions, China and Russia. They argue a terrorist attack is likely imminent but preventable. “The threat we call out today is new and unfamiliar. In its modern history the U.S. has never suffered an invasion of the homeland, and, yet, one is unfolding now. Military age men from across the globe, many from countries or regions not friendly to the United States, are landing in waves on our soil by the thousands – not by splashing ashore from a ship or parachuting from ...
How Colorado became the focal point of 14th Amendment efforts to disqualify Trump from the ballot
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, National, State

How Colorado became the focal point of 14th Amendment efforts to disqualify Trump from the ballot

By Jenny Deam | SOURCE: COLORADO POLITICS The extraordinary Colorado election case now headed for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide if former President Donald Trump is disqualified from the ballot had its humble beginnings three years ago in the Maryland basement office of a self-proclaimed legal nerd. It was around New Year’s Day 2021. Constitutional scholar and University of Maryland law school professor Mark Graber was putting the finishing touches on a chapter delving into the then mostly forgotten Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Just the kind of thing Graber, a historian at heart, loved. The rarely used section had been crafted more than 150 years ago to disqualify former Confederate leaders from holding office because they had engaged in an insurrection. It read...
What’s next in the Texas border wire legal battle?
Approved, gazette.com, National

What’s next in the Texas border wire legal battle?

By Kaelan Deese, Washington Examiner | SOURCE: THE GAZETTE Advocates for Texas's efforts to place razor wire fences along the southern border say an appeals court should soon pave the way for such efforts after the Supreme Court ruled federal border agents could cut through them earlier this week. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday delivered a striking blow to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who has sought to use his border security program "Operation Lone Star" to block migrants from illegally entering the country. Through a 5-4 vote with no comments, the justices overturned a lower court injunction that permitted Texas to maintain miles of such fences around the southern border, siding with the Biden administration's bid to allow federal ...
It’s Almost Morning in America
Approved, Commentary, National, Real Clear Politics

It’s Almost Morning in America

By Lynn Friess | SOURCE: REAL CLEAR POLITICS It might not seem like it right now, but it’s almost morning in America again. Americans of all sides are waking up. Democrats, Independents, and Republicans are uniting around shared concerns. Big city mothers aiming to rescue their children from failing schools and suburban moms losing their kids to woke educators are both waking up to the broken education system, where administrators get bigger and bigger salaries while kids suffer. Meanwhile, both “granola” foodies and conservative farmers are becoming aware of the broken food system, where small farmers struggle, and it’s impossible to ban chemicals we know harm our kids. Despite citizens trying to effect change, their efforts are in vain against the flood of lobbying dolla...
Polis, governors to Congress, White House: Make immigration deal
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, National, State

Polis, governors to Congress, White House: Make immigration deal

By Nicole C. Brambila | SOURCE: DENVER GAZETTE A cadre of Democratic governors — including Gov. Jared Polis — called on Congress and the Biden administration to reach a border security deal that includes funding to support states, such as Colorado, that are struggling to respond to the humanitarian crisis caused by an influx of immigrants crossing the border illegally. “We need Congress to take action to secure our border and pass comprehensive immigration reform,” Polis said in a news release. “States can’t do this alone. It’s time to put politics aside and deliver the real solutions and support that states like Colorado, and many others, need.” The group of nine governors urged Congress to quickly negotiate a legislative package that addresses border security and modernizes the ...