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Los Angeles fire budget cut, hundreds of hydrants stolen for scrap before fires
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Los Angeles fire budget cut, hundreds of hydrants stolen for scrap before fires

By Kenneth Schrupp  | The Center Sqaure via The Daily Signal Hundreds of fire hydrants were stolen from the ground for scrap metal in advance of the blazes raging across Los Angeles, highlighting the local government’s challenges in maintaining basic order and infrastructure.  “These fire hydrant thefts are yet another sign of how crime is out of control in Los Angeles County,” said Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman to The Center Square before his November election. “Thieves know they’ll face little or no consequences if they are caught, so they’re willing to risk the public’s safety for a small profit.” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who has been away on a taxpayer-funded trip to Africa as a member of a Biden administration delegation, rec...
Kaminsky: Obama’s ‘censorship’ office goes bankrupt and is closing up shop
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Kaminsky: Obama’s ‘censorship’ office goes bankrupt and is closing up shop

By Gabe Kaminsky | Commentary, The Daily Signal The Global Engagement Center, an office housed within the State Department and aiming to thwart disinformation and misinformation, has been forced by Congress to close up shop. It’s no mystery why; the taxpayer-backed GEC violated its mandate to work only overseas and devolved into a partisan enabler of speech suppression in the United States. Here’s how. Founded in 2016 and technically the product of an Obama-era executive order on counterterrorism, the GEC lapsed in December and lost congressional funding. READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT THE DAILY SIGNAL Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of t...
Lucas: Carter’s legacy on election integrity would prompt Democrats to label him ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ today
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Lucas: Carter’s legacy on election integrity would prompt Democrats to label him ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ today

By Fred Lucas  | Commentary, Daily Signal History remembers Jimmy Carter’s post-presidency more kindly than his presidency for a host of reasons. One could certainly be that as president, Carter didn’t champion election integrity laws–but reforms such as voter ID are nevertheless a lasting part of his legacy.   It was 1977 when a young senator of Carter’s own party–Joe Biden–explained his opposition to a Carter proposal to allow Election Day voter registration. The first-term Delaware Democrat proclaimed, a “reservation I have and one that is apparently shared by some of the top officials within the Department of Justice is that the president’s proposal could lead to a serious increase in vote fraud.” But in 2005, Carter, the 39th president who ...
Commentary: In reflection, these are 2024’s winners and losers
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Commentary: In reflection, these are 2024’s winners and losers

By Daily Signal Staff, Commentary Winners: AI In 2024, you couldn’t escape artificial intelligence even if you tried. Companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and others released new AI models and expanded their capabilities. Their consumer-friendly tools like Claude and ChatGPT continued to become more powerful. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DAILY SIGNAL Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.
In advance of Trump inauguration, Biden Admin working to make 1,200 DEI hires
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In advance of Trump inauguration, Biden Admin working to make 1,200 DEI hires

By Sarah Holliday  | Daily Signal Within 10 days of President-elect Donald Trump’s landslide victory, 33 DEI-related jobs were posted by the federal government. Now, with barely a month until Trump takes office, The Daily Wire reported that the feds are “currently in the process of hiring as many as 1,200 employees to work on … [diversity, equity, and inclusion]—employees who would be embedded into the permanent federal workforce headed into the Trump administration.” The outlet noted that the posted “jobs have annual salaries of up to $310,000 and could add up to total salary payouts of $160 million a year.” One example was the job listed by the Department of Health and Human Services on Nov. 15. The position was a deputy assistant secretary for Minority Health, and ...
Sheffield: From illegal immigration to ‘no tax on tips,’ Youngkin models states working with Trump
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Sheffield: From illegal immigration to ‘no tax on tips,’ Youngkin models states working with Trump

By Carrie Sheffield  | Commentary, Daily Signal Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin is demonstrating how states should work together with President-elect Donald Trump to enact a smart, conservative agenda. This is key leadership by Youngkin as some blue state governors vow to impede Trump’s agenda at every turn. For example, Youngkin recently announced his budget proposal to crack down on the Old Dominion’s sanctuary cities. Youngkin’s “No Sanctuary Cities” budget proposal would require local law enforcement, sheriffs, and jail directors to fully comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers and provide notification to U.S. Customs 48 hours prior to the release of an illegal immigrant who commits a crime. Youngkin also wants funding withheld f...
UnitedHealthcare covers double mastectomies for 17-year-olds with gender dysphoria
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UnitedHealthcare covers double mastectomies for 17-year-olds with gender dysphoria

By Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell  | The Daily Signal America’s largest health insurance company covers double mastectomies for some 17-year-old girls who identify as transgender. UnitedHealthcare’s “Gender Dysphoria Treatment” guide, which took effect Dec. 1, says: “For mastectomy or breast reduction, individuals must be at least 18 years of age; however, individuals within one calendar year of turning 18 can be considered on a case-by-case basis.” UnitedHealthcare didn’t immediately respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment on the circumstances in which the health insurance company would cover double mastectomies for minors or how often it makes exceptions. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DAILY SIGNAL
Butcher: Major textbook publisher caught spreading LGBTQ and DEI ideology in schools
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Butcher: Major textbook publisher caught spreading LGBTQ and DEI ideology in schools

By Jonathan Butcher  | Daily Signal “Pretty disgusting” and “grotesque.” That’s how a Florida parent described an online session for students on “gender” provided by two K-12 virtual public schools in November—a session that virtual school officials held without first informing parents. This schools’ attempt to sidestep families is just the latest in a long list of examples demonstrating that some educators and academic publishers will simply go around parents to push lewd content on K-12 students. Yet this particular incident has implications for local, state, and even federal policymakers. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DAILY SIGNAL
DEA to consider loosening federal marijuana restrictions
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DEA to consider loosening federal marijuana restrictions

By Brett Rowland | The Daily Signal The Drug Enforcement Administration plans to hold a formal hearing next week on its plan to reschedule marijuana at the federal level. The proposal is to move marijuana from a Schedule I drug, along with heroin and LSD, to Schedule III, where it would join ketamine and anabolic steroids. In May, the Department of Justice announced that it had submitted a rule that would ease restrictions on cannabis, but the change falls short of the full legalization or decriminalization sought by some advocates. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DAILY SIGNAL
Laken Riley’s alleged killer arrived in Georgia on ‘humanitarian flight,’ roommate testifies
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Laken Riley’s alleged killer arrived in Georgia on ‘humanitarian flight,’ roommate testifies

By Nicole Silverio | Daily Signal Jose Ibarra, the alleged murderer of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley, traveled from New York City to Georgia after requesting a humanitarian flight, his roommate testified Monday. Ibarra is currently standing trial after being charged for the murder of Riley, who died in February from blunt force trauma to the head outside of the University of Georgia’s campus. Ibarra’s roommate, Rosbeli Elisber Flores-Bello, testified that she and the suspected murderer arrived at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City and requested a humanitarian flight to Athens, Georgia, in September 2023. “In Manhattan, we requested a humanitarian flight to come here to Atlanta,” Flores-Bello said when asked how they arrived in Georgia. ...