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WASHINGTON D.C. - During a portion of an interview with CNN that took place on Thursday that was aired on Thursday’s broadcast of “The Lead,” 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris responded to a question on her policy changes by saying that her “values have not changed.” She also stated that the Inflation Reduction Act is an implementation of the values of the Green New Deal.

CNN host and Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash asked, “Generally speaking, how should voters look at some of the changes that you’ve made — that you’ve explained some of here — in your policy, is it because you have more experience now and you’ve learned more about the information, is it because you were running for president in a Democratic primary? And should they feel comfortable and confident that what you’re saying now is going to be your policy moving forward?” Click here to read more.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI is failing to report all suspected child sexual abuse cases to appropriate law enforcement agencies, according to a Justice Department watchdog report released Thursday. The review found no evidence that the FBI complied with mandatory reporting requirements in about 50 percent of the cases examined by the inspector general.

The inquiry found failures in how the FBI is responding to the allegations in some cases even after improvements prompted by its handling of the case against former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.

In a review of 327 cases involving allegations of sex crimes against children, the inspector general found no evidence that that suspected child abuse was reported to appropriate local law enforcement agencies in 47 percent of the cases. When were reports were made, they were made within the 24-hour period, as is required by Justice Department policy, in only 43 percent of the cases. Click here to read more.

 

DEARBORN, Mich. — Amid growing national scrutiny of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, Ford Motor Co. has announced its decision to scale back participation in several external DEI initiatives. The move, detailed in an August 28 memo from CEO Jim Farley, outlines a reevaluation of the company’s DEI practices in response to the evolving political and legal environment surrounding corporate diversity efforts.

According to Farley, Ford’s decision to withdraw from certain DEI rankings and indexes reflects the company’s attempt to sidestep the increasingly polarized debates that have come to dominate the discourse around DEI. Instead, Ford intends to realign its DEI efforts by concentrating on internal strategies that are more closely linked to business outcomes and employee engagement.  Click here to read more.

 

AURORA, Colo. — Police in Colorado called harrowing footage showing armed men, associated with a violent Venezuelan street gang, an "isolated" incident.

The incident was captured on surveillance video, attributed to Edward Romero, a former resident of an apartment building.

Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky said she has heard numerous complaints from residents of the men "going through the complex,heavily armed. They patrol the complex. They control who comes in, who goes out, they go from door to door. They have forced their way into many complexes. They have thrown people out," she said in an interview with The National Desk on Thursday.

Jurinsky blamed its neighboring city, Denver,for its sanctuary policies. Those policies provide services to to undocumented migrants - the vast majority not connected to crimes and are instead there to find work. Click here to read more.

 

OPELOUSAS, La. (KATC) - A Louisiana mother feels like she’s living in a dream as her baby is getting a new start thanks to receiving a heart transplant.

Last year, doctors told Christy Jolivette that her baby girl needed a new heart. and in February a miracle happened with a heart becoming available that was a perfect match.

Baby Joy is now 1. She celebrated her first birthday in June and is all smiles saying her first words.

“I am just holding on to her all the time,” Jolivette said. Click here to read more.

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LANSING, Mich - After signing into law a state budget that cut student mental health funding by $300 million, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer claimed to support a historic level of state spending on mental health resources for students.

“We’re continuing our historic investments in mental health resources in schools to help Michigan’s students thrive,” Whitmer tweeted Aug. 22.

The governor agreed to a 92% cut in state funds intended for student mental health in the 2025 fiscal year budget. On Aug. 13, Michigan Capitol Confidential reported that Whitmer reduced mental health funding by $300 million while doling out $1 billion in pork projects to handpicked organizations.

Whitmer shut down classrooms for almost a year during the pandemic. The governor mandated school closures in March 2020 and did not call for a return to the classroom until January 2021. Some schools continued sporadic closures based on COVID-19 numbers. Click here to read more.

 

MIDLAND, Mich. — The damage caused by pandemic school closures can be seen in the results of the 2024 Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, released today by the Michigan Department of Education.

Third and fourth graders' proficiency in English and math in 2023-24 was sharply lower than the level recorded in the 2018-19 school year. Students taking the M-STEP for the first time as third-graders began kindergarten in the 2020-21 school year. This year's proficiency rates were also lower compared to the rates in the same grades last year.

Michigan had some of the longest school closures in the country. In March 2021, only 23% of Michigan schools were fully in person. This was significantly lower than in the neighboring states of Ohio (47%), Wisconsin (54%) and Indiana (76%). Throughout 2021, students were continually denied additional resources that would have given them access to tutoring and other academic support. Gov. Whitmer vetoed three pieces of legislation that would have helped families cover the cost of tutoring, enrichment programs and literacy coaches. Click here to read more.

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CHICAGO, IL - Black and Hispanic students are around six times more likely to be proficient in reading at selective enrollment high schools compared to traditional public schools in Chicago. But the Chicago Teachers Union wants to eliminate these schools that are a lifeline to the city’s minority students.

Selective enrollment high schools are the most effective schools within Chicago Public Schools. Yet they are under attack by the Chicago Teachers Union.

CTU has dishonestly decried a “deep inequity” of selective enrollment schools, some argue minority students are “sorely underrepresented” at CPS’ 11 selective enrollment high schools.

But that’s not the case. A review of CPS’s selective enrollment process demonstrates it ensures a demographically representative enrollment.

What’s more, Black and Hispanic students are around six times more likely to be proficient in reading at selective enrollment high schools compared to traditional public schools in Chicago.

Chicago’s selective enrollment high schools are beacons of academic opportunity for Black and Hispanic students. Yet CTU is fighting against what is working – and against the best interests of the city’s minority students. Click here to read more.

 

BURLINGTON, Vermont - Vermont’s Department of Health on Wednesday urged teachers and coaches to adopt more "inclusive language" in school by avoiding terms like "son" and "daughter." "Use ‘child’ or ‘kid’ instead of ‘daughter’ or ‘son.’ This is gender-neutral and can describe a child who may not be someone’s legal son or daughter," the health department instructed in a Facebook post, noting that "equity in the classroom is an essential piece of a productive and healthy learning environment."

School staff, the post continued, should also say "family members" rather than "household members" as family members may not necessarily all live in the same home, and "family" rather than "extended family" as relatives other than parents could be "important parts of a core family unit."

"This post was intended to encourage using inclusive language when you don't know someone's family situation. This is especially important in settings like classrooms, afterschool programs, and sports teams," the department added in a comment underneath the post. Click here to read more.

 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A Kentucky mother is facing a terrifying situation after her daughter had an adverse reaction to her prescribed medication and ended up in the intensive care unit. Two other children also had adverse reactions to the medication, sparking a public health warning from county officials.

Tabitha Drew says she picked up her daughter’s prescribed medication, a Clonidine oral suspension, on Friday from Med Save, her pharmacy in Eminence, Kentucky. The next day, the pharmacy called Drew and asked how her daughter, Rayven, was responding to the medication, WAVE reports.

Drew said she hadn’t yet given her daughter the medication. The pharmacy then said they had a bad batch of the medicine and if Rayven had a reaction, to let them know. Click here to read more.

I left mainstream media to tell the stories that matter. For just $5 a month, you can help me keep independent journalism alive. Your support means truth and integrity over power. Join me in making a difference.

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CHICAGO, IL - Illinois is cutting the statewide grocery tax, but some local governments may reestablish it. One Chicago suburb is already moving in that direction. Its neighbor will let taxpayers keep their grocery money.

Illinois is ending its 1% grocery tax, but your town has the ability to bring it right back.

River Forest is expecting to institute a local grocery tax worth $1 million a year. Neighboring Oak Park has no plans to add taxation to replace the roughly $1 million it will lose.

When Illinois joins 37 other states by ditching its grocery tax, local municipalities such as River Forest can choose to keep it. Village leaders are moving in that direction.

River Forest village administrator Matt Walsh said local leaders will adjust the budget based on the axed grocery tax.

“Losing that revenue would potentially mean the reduction in services or the replacement of that revenue with other sources, which would have a negative impact on taxpayers,” Walsh said.

So, letting taxpayers keep $1 million a year would hurt taxpayers?

 

WASHINGTON D.C. - "I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it." Those words from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg came this week with an admission in a letter that his company, Facebook, did yield to pressure from the Biden-Harris administration to censor American citizens on a wide array of subjects.

For those of us who have criticized Facebook for years for its role in the massive censorship system, Zuckerberg's belated contrition was more insulting than inspiring. It had all of the genuine regret as a stalker found hiding under the bed of a victim.

Zuckerberg's sudden regret only came after his company fought for years to conceal the evidence of its work with the government to censor opposing views. Zuckerberg was finally compelled to release the documents by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and the House Judiciary Committee.  Click here to read more.

 

CONCORD, N.H. — A Republican New Hampshire state representative last week agreed to pay two drag queens $100K each to settle a defamation lawsuit over remarks he made in 2022.

State Rep. David Love, R-Derry, during a February 2022 hearing of the House Labor, Industrial, and Rehabilitative Services Committee introduced a bill calling for libraries to conduct background checks on employees and volunteers. While introducing the measure, the representative touched on a Drag Queen Story Time event at a local music hall which featured drag queen Michael McMahon.

In his testimony, state Rep. Love accused the drag queen of “rubbing butts” with children at the event. The representative also invoked a similar event in 2019 which featured drag queen Robert Champion, who he accused of being a convicted sex offender.

“There’s a hole in our law,” state Rep. Love said. “We’re talking about a lifetime of misery for a child.”

The representative went on to disclose his own experience of being molested at 6 years old before becoming an alcoholic and drug user at 11. He admitted it took him until 60 to become sober again. Click here to read more.

 

CHICAGO, IL - One of my original hopes in commenting about Covid was that, in publicly taking a strongly anti-establishment position, my audience might be able to relate a little better to what I was saying on other topics. It might, in other words, give me some credibility with the people who I was trying to reach when I wrote about misinformation in health and nutrition.

Despite having my life wrecked by that decision, I haven’t radically changed in my scientific orientation. I have become much more open-minded to the possibility that I might be wrong on any given topic, and I don’t simply dismiss as “crazy” positions that are radically foreign to mine. I’m genuinely sympathetic to the “absolute craziest ideas” these days, because some of what I formerly regarded as some of the “absolute craziest ideas”—such as the idea that lockdowns were counterproductive during the pandemic—I ended up actually believing as I became more informed. Click here to read more.

 

LANSING, Mich - Detroit’s Election Commission is facing a lawsuit for selecting a disproportionately high number of Democrat poll workers in the August primaries, a possible violation of Michigan election law. 

The commission appointed about 2,337 Democrat poll workers and about 310 Republican poll workers, an imbalance of more than 7 to 1.

“Detroit’s failure to hire Republican poll workers is the kind of bad-faith Democrat interference that drives down faith in elections,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-Chair Lara Trump said. “The RNC is bringing suit to remedy this completely unacceptable breach of public trust and our unprecedented election integrity campaign will continue to fight in Michigan and nationwide to protect the rights of every voter to have fair, accurate, secure and transparent elections.” Click here to read more.