Red States Report More COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects, Study Finds

Vaccine Shot

People living in states with more Republican voters were more likely to report COVID-19 vaccine side effects than those in states that lean blue.

That’s according to a new study that looked at 620,456 COVID-19 vaccine adverse event reports from adults reported to the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. The study was published in JAMA.

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South Carolina Senate Fails to Advance Tort Reform Measure

South Carolina Capitol

The South Carolina Senate did not pass a measure aimed at stemming lawsuit abuse, likely killing the push for the legislative session.

Senate Bill 533, the South Carolina Justice Act, would have amended the South Carolina Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act and moved the state toward a model in which a defendant is financially liable based on their percentage of fault. Proponents say this would reduce excessive damage awards in civil cases.

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Trump Calls for Sanctions, Censure of Special Counsel Jack Smith

Jack Smith and Donald Trump (composite image)

Former President Donald Trump called for special counsel Jack Smith to be sanctioned or censured for “attacking” the judge in Trump’s classified documents case. 

Trump’s comments on Thursday come after Smith and his team of prosecutors made it clear they think Judge Aileen Cannon’s latest ruling was based on “an unstated and fundamentally flawed legal premise.” Prosecutors objected to Cannon’s order to produce proposed jury instructions under two different legal scenarios. Smith said both legal scenarios were flawed.

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Chinese Nationals Illegally Entering U.S. in Record Numbers Since 2021

The number of Chinese nationals illegally entering the U.S. – primarily single, military age men – has skyrocketed under the Biden administration.

Of the more than 140,000 Chinese who’ve illegally entered the country since fiscal 2021, one recently was apprehended at a Marine Corps base at the southwest border.

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‘Operation Rainmaker’ Arrests Result in Dozens Charged in Alleged Cartel-Affiliated Drug-Trafficking Ring

Seized Drugs

Agents arrested 23 people in relation to a cartel-linked drug operation in Texas that dealt in cocaine, fentanyl, heroin and meth. 

The arrests came after a five-year investigation that started in 2019. Prosecutors said the drug ring operated in the Houston and Galveston areas and was under the control of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

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South Carolina’s Evette Heads Up GOP Lieutenant Governors’ Committee

Pamela Evette

South Carolina Lt. Governor Pamela Evette is chairing the Republican Lieutenant Governors Association’s 2024 Executive Committee.

Utah Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson will serve as the vice chair, while Nevada Lt. Governor Stavros Anthony will serve as the group’s finance chair. Florida’s Jeanette Nuñez, Indiana’s Suzanne Crouch, Iowa’s Adam Gregg, Ohio’s Jon Husted and Oklahoma’s Matt Pinnell will also serve on the committee.

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Trump Supporters Plan to Back Him Even If Convicted: Poll

President Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump’s supporters plan to back him even if he’s convicted of a felony before the November election.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted in conjunction with Noble Predictive Insights, found that 84 percent of Trump voters would vote for him in November even if he was convicted of a felony before the election.

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Poll: Voters Don’t Think Schools Should Hide Gender, Name Changes from Parents

Teacher in Class

Nearly two-thirds of voters think parents should be informed if a student wants to change their name or pronoun at school.

According to The Center Square Voter’s Voice Poll conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, the majority of likely voters say they disagree with allowing schools to affirm a student’s gender change without notifying parents.

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McMaster Signs Bill to Help Improve South Carolina Student Reading

South Carolina Reading

Gov. Henry McMaster signed a measure to help ensure students read at their appropriate grade levels.

S. 418 builds on the Read to Succeed measure lawmakers passed a decade ago and requires the South Carolina Department of Education to implement a “scientifically based reading instruction” approach to reading education. The program includes professional development, administering universal screeners and summer reading camps.

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Washington Governor Signs ‘Natural Gas Ban Bill’ into Law

Jay Inslee

Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday afternoon signed into law a controversial bill meant to allow Puget Sound Energy to start planning how to move away from natural gas.

“This bill creates the roadmap and tools for our state’s largest utility to get out of the fossil fuel business and achieve net zero emissions by 2050,” Inslee said of Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1589 during the bill-signing event from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 46 in Kent.

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