GOP Reps Move To Oust Judge Who Freed 14-Time Offender Before Brutal Train Murder

Ten North Carolina Republican Reps., led by Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC), called on Tuesday for the removal of Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes, who released 14-time offender Decarlos Johnson Jr. before he murdered Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska.

Moore shared a letter, signed by nine of his colleagues, in which he called on Chief Judge Roy Wiggins to begin “formal removal proceedings” against Stokes, saying that her decision to release Johnson — based solely on his written promise to return for his next court date — had been, at best, “reckless.”

“Despite his history of violent and unstable behavior, Magistrate Stokes released Brown without requiring bond or imposing any meaningful conditions to safeguard the public,” the letter read.“This reckless decision had devastating consequences,” the letter continued, referencing Zarutska’s murder. “Ms. Zarutska’s murder was not only a profound personal tragedy but also a direct result of a failure of judicial responsibility. Magistrate Stokes displayed a willful failure to perform the duties of her office and engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.” Click here to read more.

 

Parental Rights, School Choice ‘Hit a Tipping Point’

More than half the nation’s students now live in states with school choice, new data shows.

Over a dozen states made progress on school choice over the past year, including six that adopted universal school choice policies allowing all students to receive some form of funding to attend schools of their choice. Meanwhile, a full 25 states now incorporate a “parent bill of rights” affirming that parents, not the state, are the primary caregivers.

That’s according to Heritage Foundation Report Card, an annual report that ranks states based on how well they advance education freedom and school choice for families. Click here to read more.https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/09/09/parental-rights-school-choice-hit-a-tipping-point/

 

Home Auto Shop Owners File Constitutional Challenge After Township Threatens to Shut Business Following Dispute with Township Supervisor

Zoning laws were never meant to give government the power to erase a harmless, beloved 24-year-old business. Yet that’s exactly what North Whitehall Township is doing to Gene and Debbie Weierbach’s auto repair shop—weaponizing the zoning code to shut it down. But the repair shop has broad community support and has operated in that location for more than two decades. And yet North Whitehall is singling them out—all because they crossed the township’s most powerful politician.

The Weierbachs run a small, appointment-only auto shop from their home’s garage. Tucked away on their secluded 16-acre property, the shop is hidden from view, has never drawn a single complaint, and enjoys the full support of neighbors. For Gene and Debbie, the shop is more than just a livelihood—it makes it possible for Gene to remain at home to care for their autistic adult son. Click here to read more.

 

Affordability Crisis Sends Americans Packing From Big Cities

For much of the past century, in both the United States and elsewhere, the inexorable trend has been for people to move from rural areas and towns to ever larger cities, particularly those with vibrant downtown cores such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, and dozens of other iconic American cities. Most visions of the future still view urban cores as the uncontested centers of production, consumption, and culture, with rural areas, small cities, and suburbs relegated to the backwaters of modernity.

A RealClearInvestigations analysis has found that we may be on the cusp of a new era. Urban cores have started to shrink, losing first to the suburbs, then to ever further exurbs, and now to small towns and even rural areas. For the first time since the 19th century, America’s growth pattern favors smaller metros – Fargo, North Dakota, as opposed to Portland, Oregon – many of which once seemed out of favor.

This transformation can be hard to detect because demographers often discuss metropolitan regions, which put city centers at their cores. Click here to read more.

 

Whitmer admin’s bungled pandemic unemployment approvals force 350,000 Michiganders to repay $2.7 BILLION

Ineptitude at Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency means about 350,000 Michigan workers must now repay the state $2.7 billion in overpayments.

“We understand the impact of these collections will have on household budgets. That is why we are providing notice and information about applying for a financial hardship waiver,” UIA Director Jason Palmer said in a statement Monday. “At the same time, we are legally obligated under the Michigan Employment Security Act to seek repayment and we must fulfill our responsibility to ensure taxpayer money is returned to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, so workers can count on money being available if they need it in the future.”

A court-approved settlement in the class action lawsuit Saunders v. UIA will resume repayments paused five years ago on Sept. 12, 2025, with the first payments for those affected due on Sept. 29. Click here to read more.

 

 

Michigan Dem Sen. Jeremy Moss: We’re keeping boys in girls’ school bathrooms, showers

Michigan Senate President Pro Tempore Jeremy Moss is vowing to ensure girls’ school bathrooms remain available to biologically male students who identify as the opposite gender.

The Southfield Democrat took to X on Thursday in response to legislation approved by House Republicans the same day to protect girls’ privacy and dignity in Michigan schools.

House Bill 4024 would require schools to segregate use of multiple-occupancy restrooms, locker rooms, changing areas, and showers by biological sex, a move sponsor Rep. Joseph Fox, R-Fremont, said in a statement “should be a commonsense law.”

“No little child should feel unsafe or exposed in a placed designed for privacy and dignity,” Fox said. “Everyone wants to protect our children from harm, especially in the most vulnerable spaces at school. Those areas are bathrooms, locker rooms, and changing areas.”

Moss and his Democratic colleagues in the upper chamber disagree.

“This will not be moving in the Senate,” Moss posted to X. Click here to read more.

 

Rep. Randy Fine to file legislation holding judges accountable after brutal murder of Iryna Zarutska

WASHINGTON – U.S. Florida Republican Rep. Randy Fine plans to introduce legislation to hold judges accountable for releasing violent repeat offenders, following the brutal stabbing death of a Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte light rail train.

According to a FOX News Article, the victim, Iryna Zarutska, 23, was stabbed to death on August 22. Surveillance footage of the attack, released by the Charlotte Area Transit System, showed a man identified as Decarlos Brown, 34, stabbing the unsuspecting woman multiple times. Brown was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Fine said the 12+ judges who released Brown should “have their day in court too.” He said he plans to introduce legislation to address the issue.

“It’s easy to release criminals when you’re protected by an armed bailiff at all times. The rest of us aren’t so lucky,” Fine wrote on X.

He said the judges who released Brown “need to be held accountable.” Click here to read more.

 

Ukrainian refugee killed in random stabbing on North Carolina train

CHARLOTTE, NC - Police in Charlotte, North Carolina, are investigating a random murder that took place on the city’s light rail system last month.

Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who came to the United States following the Russian invasion of her country, was fatally stabbed on her way home from work close to 10 p.m. on Aug. 22.

Surveillance video released by Charlotte Area Transit shows the woman boarding a light rail Lynx car and sitting down in front of a man, identified as 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. After nearly five minutes, the video shows Brown pulling out a folding knife and attacking her.

Police say he stabbed Zarutska three times, including a fatal blow to the neck, before walking the length of the train and exiting. Transit police arrived within minutes, but she was pronounced dead.

Brown, who police say is homeless and has a criminal record, was arrested and charged with murder. Click here to read more.

 

Trump Promises Fresh Push To Defend Prayer In Public Schools

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would take action to protect students’ rights to pray at public schools.

Trump made the announcement during the second official hearing of the Religious Liberty Commission at the Museum of the Bible. The focus of the hearing was on religious liberty and public education, featuring testimony from students who claimed their religious beliefs were challenged at school.

“For most of our country’s history, the Bible was found in every classroom in the nation, yet in many schools, today’s students are instead indoctrinated with anti-religious propaganda and some are even punished for their religious beliefs,” Trump said.

Trump pointed to a young girl from Texas named Hannah Allen, who was reprimanded for meeting with a group of her classmates during lunch to pray for an injured friend.

“To support students like Hannah, I’m pleased to announce this morning that the Department of Education will soon issue new guidance protecting the right to prayer in our public schools,” Trump said. Click here to read more.

 

Couple in their 80s turn tables on con artists trying to steal Rolex: ‘I’ll give you an attitude’

NEW YORK (WABC) - A New York couple who are in their 80s fought back when they were targeted by con artists for their Rolex watch.

Larry Schwartz, 87, is stronger than many people half his age. For decades, he has lifted every day. He used to box and even jumped out of planes in the Air Force.

“An average person doesn’t do this,” he said.

Both Schwartz and his wife, Joanna Cuccia, are far from average. The two have been married for decades and are pushing 90 – and as a pair of con artists learned the hard way, they’re definitely the wrong people to pick on.

A stranger followed the couple into a senior center in the Gramercy Park neighborhood last week and, oddly, asked for directions to Walmart. Click here to read more.