Proposal Suggests Fully Funding Veterans Affairs to Avoid Missing October Distributions

Veterans

With a looming deadline to fund benefits to about 7 million veterans in October, and Congress out until Sept. 9, Maine Sen. Susan Collins and six colleagues have filed legislation to get full funding.

A Republican and independent are among the six. Veterans Affairs is facing a deficit of about $15 billion the remainder of this year and next – a deficit larger than the annual budget of the Environmental Protection Agency, says one senator.

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Majority Says First Amendment ‘Goes Too Far,’ According to Poll

Peaceful Protest

Free speech suppression on college campuses and social media censorship often spur debates over how far the First Amendment should go to protect Americans’ rights to express their opinions – and who should be entrusted with those decisions. 

About 53% of Americans believe the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it protects, according to a new poll by the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE.

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Newsom Strengthens Chinese Relations as Scrutiny Grows Over Walz’ China Ties

Gavin Newsom and Xi Jinping

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared “California Panda Day” to highlight Sino-Californian cooperation as scrutiny grows over Minnesota governor and now Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz’s close relationship with China.

“Building on our strong foundation of partnership and deep cultural and economic ties, I traveled to China last year to advance priority issues including climate action and economic development,” said Newsom in his proclamation making August 8 “California Panda Day.”

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Commentary: Kamala’s Abuse of Staff Exemplifies Leftist Culture

Kamala Harris

Long before fate made Kamala Harris the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party for U.S. President, the Washington Post published an article critical of how she treats staff. The article, published in December of 2021, reported high staff turnover and claimed it “opens up questions about her management style.”

What were they thinking? Very recent top search results on the Washington Post’s coverage of Harris only pull up glowing tributes. In the past two weeks, here are just a few: “Kamala Harris is making politics fun again — for Democrats,” “Democrats make a change and find their hope,” “Kamala Harris and the coconut tree of hope,” “Kamala Harris’s life, career and firsts from AG to the vice presidency,” “Kamala Harris’s powerful laughter in the face of weirdness,” “Kamala Harris walks into the storm — and keeps her footing,” “How Kamala Harris’s early career prepared her for this moment.”

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Analysis: South Carolina Has Seventh Best Early Education System

Students

South Carolina ranked seventh in a report assessing 2024’s States with the Best and Worst Early Education Systems.

In developing its ranking, personal finance site WalletHub looked at 12 key metrics across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

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New England States Share $400 Million in Clean Energy Funds

Wind Mills

A coalition of New England states will share nearly $400 million in federal funding aimed at expanding clean energy sources and battery storage technology throughout the region.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it has selected the Power Up New England proposal to receive up to $389 million from the latest round of the federal agency’s competitive Grid Innovation Program. The proposal was submitted by energy officials in Rhode Island, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont.

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Harris, New VP Face Criticism for Handling of Crime

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in front of a BLM riot (composite image)

Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has reportedly chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her vice presidential running mate. Both candidates have faced criticism for their handling of police issues.

After replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket, Harris immediately took fire for resurfaced videos where she praised the “defund the police” movement.

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Oddsmakers Move Walz Behind Shapiro as Kamala Harris’ Pick

Kamala Harris, Josh Shapiro, and Tim Walz in front of The White House (composite image)

As the final hours tick down to an expected announcement, the pick for vice president on the Democrats’ ticket remains shrouded in secrecy and angled toward the governor of Pennsylvania.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ reveal is expected before Tuesday’s launch of a battleground states tour in Philadelphia. While the campaign has cautioned the starting point where she is expected to be alongside her running mate is not an indicator of the choice, a leading candidate since July 21 has been Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Monday morning Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appeared to be a finalist.

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Apple Files to Dismiss DOJ Antitrust Case Against Its Smartphone Business

Person holding an iPhone

Apple has filed a motion to dismiss a case from the United States Department of Justice claiming that it monopolizes the smartphone market using anticompetitive practices making it harder to switch to another phone. Antitrust experts say this case, if won by the DOJ, could set dangerous precedent by granting the government power to more easily define companies as monopolies and practices as monopolistic, and determine what companies must do or cannot do to avoid the label. 

The United States Department of Justice and 16 Attorneys General — including California and the District of Columbia — filed a lawsuit in March alleging Apple illegally monopolizes the smartphone market, such as green boxes with “social stigma” for non-Apple text messages and Apple smartwatch incompatibility with other operating systems. 

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