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The Biden effect? Border Patrol has lost a quarter of workforce since 2020 election
National, Washington Examiner

The Biden effect? Border Patrol has lost a quarter of workforce since 2020 election

ByAnna Giaritelli | Washington Examiner The U.S. Border Patrol has lost nearly a quarter of its workforce since Democratic candidate Joe Biden beat incumbent Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, and some agents say it is no coincidence. More than 4,000 federal agents have left the Border Patrol since October 2020. Twice as many agents have chosen to retire early compared to retirement rates during the Obama and Trump administrations. In recent years, Border Patrol agents have lamented that the Biden administration’s immigration policy has caused a crisis that has sunk morale, but the new data provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that far more agents are choosing to leave than normal. “The administration is so bad for ...
Nikki Haley says she will vote for Donald Trump following their disputes during Republican primary
gazette.com, National

Nikki Haley says she will vote for Donald Trump following their disputes during Republican primary

By MEG KINNARD | The Gazette Nikki Haley said Wednesday that she will be voting for Donald Trump in the general election, a notable show of support given their intense and often personal rivalry during the Republican primary calendar. But Haley also made it clear that she feels Trump has work to do to win over voters who supported her during the course of the primary campaign and continue to cast votes for her in ongoing primary contests. “I will be voting for Trump,” Haley, Trump’s former U.N. ambassador, said during an event at the Hudson Institute in Washington. “Having said that, I stand by what I said in my suspension speech,” Haley added. "Trump would be smart to reach out to the millions of people who voted for me and continue to support me and not as...
Mickey and Minnie in a union? You bet, at Disneyland in California
National, The Street

Mickey and Minnie in a union? You bet, at Disneyland in California

By Rebecca Mezistrano and Ross Kohan | The Street The Happiest Place on Earth is dealing with some not-so-happy employees. 1,700 Disneyland cast members who play characters in the California theme park have voted to unionize under the Actors’ Equity Association. Disneyland has more than 21,000 total cast members, from food service workers to hair and make-up artists, and they’re represented by more than a dozen different unions. Until now, those who dress up as famous Disney characters around the park have been excluded from unions. But now they’ll have their say, with the Actors’ Equity Association saying in a statement “These workers are on the front lines of the Guest experience; they’re the human beings who create lifelong memories when your kids hug a character, or when your ...
Boy wins 200, second in 400 at Oregon Girls State High School Championship
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
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
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
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
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
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
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...