LAWMAKERS INVESTIGATE SOROS ‘SHORTCUT’ TO BUYING RADIO STATIONS JUST BEFORE ELECTION

Monday, September 30, 2024
Casey Harper | The Center Square

The U.S. House Oversight Committee is investigating why the Federal Communications Commission fast-tracked a deal that allowed a billionaire Democratic donor to buy a wide swath of American radio stations just weeks before the presidential election.

The major radio company Audacy Inc. fell into financial straits, but through a complex business deal Democratic mega donor and billionaire George Soros has gained control of the stations. Deals of this size require FCC approval, but in this case the FCC expedited the approval process.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr raised concerns about the deal at a Congressional hearing, telling lawmakers that “… the FCC is not following its normal process for reviewing a transaction.”

“We have established over a number of years one way in which you can get approval from the FCC when you have an excess of 25 percent foreign ownership, which this transaction does,” Carr said. ““It seems to me that the FCC is poised to create, for the first time, an entirely new shortcut.”

House Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky. and Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., sent a letter to FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel Friday raising concerns about the deal.

“Despite the unprecedented nature of this action, the FCC majority has apparently decided to approve licenses on an accelerated timeframe for a company in which George Soros has a major ownership stake, and with stations in 40 media markets reaching ‘more than 165 million Americans,’” the letter said. “By all appearances, the FCC majority isn’t just expediting, but is bypassing an established process to do a favor for George Soros and facilitate his influence over hundreds of radio stations before the November election.”

Critics of the deal say it gives too much power to a heavily political, and liberal, billionaire just before the election.

“I have no idea why Soros would do this unless it was to manipulate the thinking of Americans and the information they listen to,” author and former member of the George W. Bush administration Mike Gonzalez told The Center Square.

“Conservative talk radio is huge, and there is no left wing talk radio because it's just not interesting,” said Gonzalez, who is now at the Heritage Foundation. “Conservative talk radio is one of the few communications that conservatives have not a monopoly on but have a strong handle on, and he has bought stations that have Mark Levin and Sean Hannity and Dana Loesch and Glenn Beck.”

Critics also point out that Soros’ business partners in the deal include significant funding from sources overseas.

“The Audacy, Inc. deal, which will lead to Audacy, Inc. being partially ‘directly or indirectly controlled’ by foreign individuals or entities holding ‘more than one-fourth of the capital stock’ will require FCC approval to determine whether ‘the public interest will be served by the refusal or revocation of such license,’” the letter said. “In carrying out this statutory mandate under the Communications Act, FCC has years-long established processes and procedures for adjudicating broadcast licenses in such situations, most recently updated in 2016.”

Other wealthy media owners have faced scrutiny for potential abuse of their ownership power, such as billionaire Jeff Bezos when he purchased the Washington Post. However, Soros’ influence over so many radio stations may have even more influence over the country than one of the major papers, which Americans usually see as having a certain political leaning.

Soros is one of the most strategic and prolific funders of liberal organizations in the U.S.

“I don’t know why else he would plunk a pile of money this size unless it was to try to have influence over the thinking of Americans,” Gonzalez continued, adding that “this guy is committed to left-wing causes.”

ISRAEL STRIKES HEZBOLLAH HEADQUARTERS IN BEIRUT

Saturday September 28, 2024
Andrew Thornebrooke | Epoch Times

Israeli forces launched an attack on the central headquarters of Hezbollah in Beirut on Friday, leveling several buildings in a series of missile strikes. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sep. 27 that it conducted the strikes against Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital. It remains unclear if Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan asrallah was killed in the strike. “Moments ago, the Israel Defense Forces carried out a precise strike on the central headquarters of the Hezbollah terror organization that served as the epicenter of Hezbollah’s terror,” IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a televised address.

“After almost a year of Hezbollah firing rockets, missiles, and suicide drones at Israeli civilians, after almost a year of Israel warning the world and telling them that Hezbollah must be stopped, Israel is ... taking the necessary action to protect our people so that Israeli families can live in their homes, safely and securely.”

News of the strike came less than an hour after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech to the U.N. General Assembly in New York City vowing to continue fighting Hezbollah until the organization was no longer a threat to Israel. “Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely,” Netanyahu said. “And that’s exactly what we’re doing ... we’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met.”

Hezbollah began attacking Israel almost immediately after the Hamas-led terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year. Fighting between Israel and the Lebanese terrorist group has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes on both sides of the border in the time since. Israel has moved in the past week to escalate its efforts to eliminate Hezbollah’s most senior leadership and, on Sep. 24, carried out its deadliest strike in Lebanon since a month-long war with Hezbollah in 2006.

Lebanese authorities said the strikes killed more than 490 people, including at least 90 women and children, and injured 1,600 more. The Epoch Times could not independently verify those figures.

Netanyahu has called on Lebanese civilians to evacuate areas near the border or those that could be targeted due to Hezbollah’s presence. Hezbollah, like Hamas in Gaza, locates its facilities within civilian infrastructure, which makes targeting them difficult without also killing noncombatants. The strikes also closely followed funerals in Lebanon attended by thousands, which marked the passing of three Hezbollah members, including the group’s drone unit chief.

It is unclear at this time whether residents of those buildings received the type of prior warning Israel often gives to residents in Gaza.

Netanyahu’s comments at the United Nations have dampened hopes for a U.S.-backed call for a 21-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah. Hezbollah has not responded to the proposal. Netanyahu has vowed to dismantle Hamas’s military and political regime in Gaza, but in Lebanon, has thus far restrained

Israeli military objectives to pushing Hezbollah away from the border and putting an end to the daily rocket attacks against Israeli civilians.

The IDF said it carried out dozens of other strikes in southern Lebanon on Sept. 27, including in the cities of Sidon and Nabatieh. It said it was targeting Hezbollah rocket launchers and infrastructure. Israel says its accelerated strikes this week have inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah’s weapons capabilities and killed a number of its top commanders.

Hussein Fadlallah, head of Hezbollah in Beirut, said in a speech that the group has an endless supply of fighters and will continue fighting until Israel halts its offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

“Speaking to reporters late on Friday afternoon, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that a wider conflict in Lebanon would have “profound consequences” in the Middle East for years to come.

Israel’s objective in Lebanon, he said, should remain focused on securing the border for all who live there and not on a wider conflict against Hezbollah. He said the United States remained committed to deterring the conflict in Lebanon from widening to a larger war that would likely only result in further civilian casualties in Lebanon.“It’s clearly in the interest of the Lebanese people to have peace, to have security, to have stability, and not live under threat. And [it is] certainly in their interest to avoid a wider war where, inevitably, the biggest victims of such a war ... are the Lebanese people,” he said. “Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorism,” he said.

TRUMP MEETS WITH ZELENSKYY, SAYS HE ‘LEARNED A LOT’ BUT HIS VIEWPOINT IS UNCHANGED

Saturday, September 28, 2024
Jackson Richman | Epoch Times

Former President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sept. 27 as the GOP presidential nominee reiterated his call for a peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia. The Eastern European nation has been fighting off Russia’s invasion since February 2022. Trump said after the meeting that he “learned a lot” but has not changed his viewpoints about the war. “We both want to see this end, and we both want to see a fair deal made. . . And I think that'll happen at the right time. [Zelenskyy] wants it to end [as] quickly as possible. ”

[A]head of the meeting, Trump said it was “an honor” to be with Zelenskyy. “He’s been through a tremendous amount, probably like nobody else in history if you really get right down to it,” he told reporters.

Following the meeting, Zelenskyy said the war should not have happened in the first place. “I think that the problem [is] that Putin killed so many people, and, of course, we need to do everything to pressure him to stop this war, and he’s on our territory,” he told the press. Zelenskyy said the United States can take the lead when it comes to negotiating a settlement.

The GOP presidential nominee’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), has called for a demilitarized zone in Ukraine. “I think what this looks like is Trump sits down, he says to the Russians, the Ukrainians, the Europeans: ‘You guys need to figure out, what does a peaceful settlement look like?’ And what it probably looks like is the current line of demarcation between Russia and Ukraine, that becomes like a demilitarized zone,” Vance said on the Sept. 13 episode of “The Shawn Ryan Show.” This area would be “heavily fortified so the Russians don’t invade again,” he said, adding that a peace deal would include blocking Ukraine from joining NATO.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sent a Sept. 25 letter to Zelenskyy to remove Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, over Zelenskyy touring an ammunition factory in Pennsylvania, a key state in the election, on Sept. 22. The factory has supplied ammunition to Ukraine. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a top surrogate for Vice President Kamala Harris, guided Zelenskyy on the tour. Johnson noted no Republicans were present as allegedly no Republicans were invited. “The tour was clearly a partisan campaign event designed to help Democrats and is clearly election interference,” Johnson wrote.

“This shortsighted and intentionally political move has caused Republicans to lose trust in Ambassador Markarova’s ability to fairly and effectively serve as a diplomat in this country. She should be removed from her post immediately.” Johnson said that support for Ukraine is bipartisan but that Zelenskyy is testing the limits of GOP support. “All foreign nations should avoid opining on or interfering in American domestic politics,” Johnson wrote.

“Support for ending Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to be bipartisan, but our relationship is unnecessarily tested and needlessly tarnished when the candidates at the top of the Republican presidential ticket are targeted in the media by officials in your government.” Johnson explained

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden, who met with Zelenskyy on Sept. 26, announced steps this week to help Ukraine. Biden announced on Sept. 27 that he had instructed the Defense Department to offset all congressionally allocated funding for Ukraine by the end of his term in January.

‘STUNNING FAILURE:’ SENATE REPORT BLASTS SECRET SERVICE

Friday, September 27, 2024
Casey Harper | The Center Square

A bipartisan Senate report released Wednesday blasts the U.S. Secret Service for several significant failures that led to the near-fatal assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania, over the summer.

The bipartisan report indicates that security knew the shooter was on the roof minutes before Trump was shot.

Meanwhile, a bill that would increase the Secret Service protection for former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, now awaits President Joe Biden’s signature.

The new Senate report lays out a litany of failures from the Secret Service, including failure to delegate responsibilities to agents and officers, failure to keep the key buildings cleared, failure to work will with local law enforcement, who were helping with security, and more.

The report includes a list of failures, including that the Secret Service did not properly respond after the would-be assassin was identified as a suspicious person over an hour before Trump took the stage.

A stunning paragraph from the report lays out the gravity of some of the mistakes:

“Approximately two minutes before shots were fired, the USSS Security Room, located on the rally grounds, was told that there was an individual on the roof of the AGR building,” the report said. “Shortly before shots were fired, a USSS counter sniper observed local officers running towards the AGR building with guns drawn.”

Critics have blasted the agency from its poor planning of the event, its slow and clumsy response and its unwillingness to share details publicly after the incident. The former head of the Secret Service resigned after a disastrous Congressional hearing on the issue where lawmakers from both sides took her to task.

The report also said an inexperienced agent had trouble getting the drone working and spent hours calling a tech support hotline for help. The agents apparently also had problems with their radios, something that is common, according to the repot.

“From planning missteps, to the siloed and flawed communication to the lack of effective coordination between law enforcement, to the breakdowns in technology, the Secret Service’s failures that allowed an assassination attempt on former President Trump at his July 13 rally were shocking, unacceptable, and preventable – and they led to tragic consequences,” said Chairman Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich.

Lawmakers called for accountability and ongoing oversight.

“Our initial findings clearly show a series of multiple failures of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and an inexcusable dereliction of duty,” Ranking Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said in a statement. “Not only did USSS fail to ensure the AGR roof was adequately covered, they were also aware of a suspicious individual with a rangefinder for at least 27 minutes and did not delay proceedings or remove former President Trump from the stage, even after being informed that the suspicious individual was on the roof of the AGR building.”

Paul said that federal law enforcement agencies had “obstructed” the Congressional inquiry into this issue.

“What happened on July 13 was an accumulation of errors that produced a perfect storm of stunning failure,” added Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “It was a tragedy and completely preventable from the outset.”

The bill that would increase Trump’s protection comes after the former president survived his second assassination attempt this year and would give presidential-level Secret Service protection to all nominated presidential and vice presidential candidates. The U.S. Senate voted unanimously to pass the bill on Tuesday evening. It has already passed in the House.

As The Center Square previously reported, President Joe Biden recently told reporters that the Secret Service “needs more help."

SECRET SERVICE WARNED ABOUT ROOF AT TRUMP RALLY SHOOTING

Friday, September 27, 2024
Christen Smith | The Center Square

A Butler Township police officer said he’d warned the U.S. Secret Service about security concerns arising from the unguarded building where a would-be assassin shot and nearly killed former President Donald Trump during a July 13 rally in Pennsylvania.

Drew Blasko, a patrolman with the department who served as assistant team leader of one of two local sniper units on duty that day, told the congressional task force investigating the incident that no clear line of sight existed for the AGR building roof or its surrounding complex, which was located beyond the security perimeter set by the Secret Service.

“And I asked the Secret Service members that we do not have the additional manpower to post anybody there and I requested additional people to be posted there so there would be no access to those grounds,” he said.

The agency told Blasko they’d “take care of it.” That didn’t happen – a point that was illustrated when Chairman Mike Kelly, R-Pa., showed a state trooper’s dashboard camera footage that caught the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, scaling the roof of the AGR building. In just three minutes he opened fire.

In the video, a local police officer is seen peering onto the roof to confirm that the shooter was armed. When Crooks aimed the rifle at the officer, he dropped to the ground and radioed for help. Gunshots rang out roughly 30 seconds later.

Adams Township Police Sgt. Edward Lenz, who commanded the Butler County Emergency Services Unit during the rally, said that once he’d heard Crooks was “clearly a threat,” he tried to alert the quick-reaction force on site – though it was too little too late.

“Prior to me finishing that radio transmission you can hear shots being fired through my open microphone,” he said.

The testimony backs up a 133-page bipartisan Senate interim report released Wednesday. Legislation has been introduced to increase security detail for Trump and running mate Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance.

Task Force on Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump questions local, state and retired federal law enforcement on Sept. 26, 2024.

Task Force on Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump | X

The request for more outdoor guards wasn’t the only resource discussed that never showed up on the day of the rally. Lenz and Pennsylvania State Police Lt. John Herold said sniper fencing was intended to cover a chain-link fence separating the AGR complex from the farm show grounds. Additional barriers, including a large projector screen, were not set up either.

During questioning, the lawmen agreed that eight to 10 more officers stationed outside the building would have likely prevented Crooks from getting into position. Foot traffic around the complex could have been restricted – upward of 200 people who had not gone through security screening were reportedly watching the rally from the parking lot – and approximately 5 acres of the building’s land could have been sectioned off from the public. A sniper on the nearby water tower, cameras on the building’s roof and blocked-off parking would have been other options, the officers added.

U.S. Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, scoffed at the notion that hundreds of people were 50 yards closer to the president than the shooter was “and we didn’t even know who they were.” Behind him, an enlarged map of the site showed the position of the AGR building roughly 130 yards from the rally stage.

Lawmakers on the task force repeatedly expressed how close the building was and how unthinkable it was that the Secret Service excluded it from their security perimeter.

“A 10-year-old looking at that satellite image could have seen that the greatest threat posed to the president that day outside of the security perimeter was the AGR building and that roof,” Fallon said. “And a 20-year-old with a week’s notice figured it out and outsmarted and outmaneuvered the entire U.S. Secret Service, and that is a shame and a stain on their agency.”

Patrick Sullivan, a retired Secret Service agent who guarded former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, said members assigned to campaigns are stretched too thin. It was a point the agency’s former director, Kim Cheatle, noted during congressional testimony in the days after the assassination attempt.

“Agents are exhausted now, the campaign really really takes a lot out of them, and I think the Secret Service does not have enough personnel and resources to give people enough breaks that they need,” Sullivan said.

He didn’t excuse the agency’s planning and communication failures – far from it.

“The information that has come to light so far regarding the security failures in Butler is shocking and infuriating,” he said. “However, I am very, very proud of the agents who put themselves in harm’s way to save former President Trump and the skill of the counter sniper who neutralized the gunman with one shot.”

LAWMAKERS WANT ANSWERS AFTER MAJOR JOBS NUMBERS REVISIONS

Friday, September 27, 2024
Casey Harper | The Center Square

Lawmakers are launching an inquiry into the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics after it significantly overestimated the number of jobs created last year, creating a far rosier picture of the U.S. economy than was actually the case.

The federal government announced earlier this year that its previous jobs data had far overestimated how many jobs the U.S. economy created last year. In fact, the federal data was revised down by a third, or roughly 800,000 jobs, the largest revision since 2009.

Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Chairman Bob Good, R-La., sent a letter to Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su demanding answers.

The jobs data is crucial for the economy, driving decision-making for the stock market and the U.S. Federal Reserve, who bases interest rate decisions of the data.

"The Harris-Biden Administration has been caught fraudulently manipulating Job Statistics to hide the true extent of the Economic Ruin they have inflicted upon America," Trump said in a statement after BLS revised the numbers, as The Center Square previously reported. "New Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the Administration PADDED THE NUMBERS with an extra 818,000 Jobs that DO NOT EXIST, AND NEVER DID.

"The real Numbers are much worse than that and, if Comrade Kamala gets another four years, millions more Jobs will VANISH overnight, and Inflation will completely destroy our Country."

Slight revisions are normal for federal data, but how the data could be so far off has raised concerns.

"It's troubling to see the Dept. of Labor issue an unusually large correction to last year's jobs report," Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., wrote on X on Aug. 21, formerly known as Twitter, after the significant revision. "As unemployment rises, American workers need pro-growth action, not the stale policies of the Biden-Harris admin."

Foxx also raised concerns that BLS allegedly gave advance notice to Wall Street firms about data that significantly drives market movement.

"BLS scheduled the release of the Job Numbers for 10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on August 21," the letter said. "However, BLS did not release them at this time. BLS instead released them 30 minutes later. While the public waited for the release, BLS provided the Job Numbers in advance of the public release to some Wall Street firms.

"As a result, rumors circulated on Wall Street, with some analysts able to report the correct Job Numbers confidently and others spreading incorrect information. Trading volumes spiked around BLS's delay. At best, BLS's botched release of the Job Numbers caused significant uncertainty and confusion and undermined confidence in the data. At worst, BLS's actions may have provided an unfair advantage to several firms."

DOJ PREPARES ASSASSINATION CHARGE AS ROUTH’S CHILLING LETTER URGES OTHERS TO ‘FINISH THE JOB’

Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Richard A Reagan | RedTea News

A handwritten note by Ryan Wesley Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his Florida golf course, has sent shockwaves across the nation.

The letter, addressed “To the World,” outlined Routh’s intent to kill Trump and was discovered months before his arrest on September 15.

Federal prosecutors revealed the disturbing details in a court filing.

DOJ PREPARING ATTEMPTED-ASSASSINATION CHARGE

Federal prosecutors are preparing to bring more serious charges against Routh, including attempted assassination, which could carry a life sentence if convicted.

In a court hearing on September 23, the Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney Mark Dispoto confirmed that the government plans to present the case to a grand jury.

Routh is already facing federal weapons charges for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and for having a gun with an obliterated serial number.

The chilling letter, written months before the September 15 assassination attempt, contained an alarming message.

“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you,” Routh wrote, urging others to “finish the job” and even offering a reward of $150,000 to anyone who could complete the task.

THE CHILLING LETTER AND ITS CONTENTS

The note was found in a box dropped off at an unnamed individual’s home. It wasn’t opened until after Routh’s arrest.

In addition to the letter, the box contained ammunition, a metal pipe, tools, and multiple cell phones.

Routh’s letter expressed harsh criticism of Trump’s leadership, especially regarding foreign policy. He condemned Trump’s approach to Iran, blaming the former president for destabilizing the Middle East.

“Everyone across the globe from the youngest to the oldest know that Trump is unfit to be anything, much less a US president,” Routh wrote in the letter, questioning Trump’s moral character.

THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Routh’s assassination attempt occurred at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

On September 15, a Secret Service agent noticed the muzzle of a SKS semiautomatic rifle sticking out from the shrubbery along the 6th hole of the golf course.

Before Routh could fire, the agent opened fire, forcing the would-be assassin to flee the scene. Routh abandoned his rifle, backpacks, and a GoPro camera before escaping in an SUV. He was captured 40 minutes later on Interstate 95 in Martin County.

Court filings revealed that Routh had been stalking Trump’s movements for weeks, tracking the former president’s appearances at various venues in August, September, and October.

An FBI investigation of Routh’s belongings confirmed that he had been in proximity to Trump’s golf course several times in the lead-up to the attempted assassination.

PROSECUTORS ARGUE FOR DETENTION

Prosecutors successfully argued to keep Routh behind bars while awaiting trial, citing him as a flight risk.

The FBI’s analysis of his cellphones revealed a search for routes from West Palm Beach to Mexico, and his travel history indicated multiple trips between North Carolina and Florida in the months leading up to the attack.

Routh’s public defenders had requested that he be released on bail to live with his sister in North Carolina, where he would be monitored. However, the judge ruled that the “weight of the evidence against the defendant is strong” and denied bail.

A HISTORY OF TROUBLING BEHAVIOR

Routh’s actions have drawn attention not only for the failed assassination attempt but also for his prior history.

He was convicted of a felony in 2002 and had been arrested multiple times before. Despite this, a 1991 report from the Greensboro News and Record highlighted Routh’s past as a “citizen of the year” for his efforts to apprehend a suspected rapist.

Federal officials also referenced Routh’s 2023 book, Ukraine’s Unwinnable War, in which he expressed regret over Trump’s presidency and went so far as to suggest that both he and Trump should be killed over the former president’s foreign policy failures.

TRUMP CRITICIZES DOJ AND FBI RESPONSE

In a statement issued after the Sept. 23 court hearing, Trump lashed out at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI, accusing them of “mishandling and downplaying” the attempted assassination.

He called the initial charges against Routh a “slap on the wrist” and suggested that Florida authorities, who are considering attempted murder charges, would handle the case more effectively.

As the investigation continues, Routh’s next court date is scheduled for Sept. 30, when he is expected to enter a formal plea on the weapons charges.

Prosecutors are also preparing to go before a grand jury to formally charge Routh with attempted assassination.

FBI REPORTS CALIFORNIA VIOLENT CRIME UP 3.6% AS NEWSOM TOUTS NATIONAL CRIME DROP

Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Kenneth Schrupp | The Center Square

While California Gov. Gavin Newsom touted a FBI-reported national decline in violent crime for 2023, the same report shows violent crime in California is up 3.6%, and the value of cars stolen in California was over $2 billion last year. Aside from rising motor vehicle theft, reported property theft overall declined 2.6%.

“NEW: Violent crime DROPPED across America last year,” said Newsom on X. “Can't wait to see the Fox News coverage of this.

The 3.6% annual increase in violent crime was largely driven by increases in robberies and assaults outpacing declines in homicides and rapes, while motor vehicle theft increased 6.7%. While 183,629 cars were stolen in California in 2022, 195,875 were stolen in 2023, pushing the value of stolen vehicles past $2 billion, up from $1.7 billion in 2022. Only around $1 billion of stolen vehicles, or about half, was ever recovered.

A large portion of the increase in violent crime has been driven by the doubling of violent crime in Alameda County, which includes Oakland. In February, Newsom offered to deploy California National Guard and Department of Justice attorneys to expand criminal prosecution, and later publicly shared Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price’s months of delays in accepting the offered aid.

NOVEMBER ELECTION OFFICIALLY UNDERWAY IN OHIO

Wednesday, September 25, 2024
J.D. Davidson | The Center Square

The general election is officially underway in Ohio as military and overseas ballots have been mailed.

Early, in-person or absentee ballot voting begins Oct. 8. The deadline to register or update voter registration is Oct. 7.

Ballots are being sent to members of the United States uniformed services, and merchant marines, and their families and U.S. citizens living outside the United States.

“All of us who serve in America’s military are devoted to defending our freedoms and way of life so I know our service members are eager to make their voice heard this election,” Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said. “As we formally kick off the 2024 voting season, every Ohioan should have confidence that my office and Ohio’s bipartisan county boards of elections are fully prepared. Ohio continues to strike the right balance between election integrity and voter convenience, and that starts by making sure our patriots overseas have every opportunity to exercise their fundamental right to vote in a secure and convenient manner.”

LaRose’s office has a full-time military and veteran coordinator who works to boost military and veteran participation in elections. The Second Call to Duty initiative offers resources to help organize poll worker recruitment with local veterans’ organizations.

Aside from local, congressional and state legislative races on the November ballot, voters will choose between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump for President.

Finally, voters will also decide on Issue I, a statewide constitutional amendment that would change how the state establishes congressional and statehouse districts, removing the process from the Ohio Redistricting Commission – a political group made up of five Republicans and two Democrats – and putting it into the hands of a nonpolitical citizen committee made up of 15 people, consisting of Republicans, Democrats and independents.

IT'S NOT JUST SPRINGFIELD, HAITIANS BEING FLOWN TO SMALL TOWNS NATIONWIDE

Wednesday September 24, 2024
Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor

Haitians are not just arriving in Springfield, Ohio, but also in small rural towns nationwide as a result of several Biden-Harris administration policies.

Since fiscal 2021, more than 485,000 Haitian illegal border crossers, a record, have been reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The overwhelming majority were reported this fiscal year, nearly 216,000, compared to 48,727 in fiscal 2021.

Since fiscal 2021 through August 2024, nearly 262,000 individuals have been apprehended at the southwest border, followed by nearly 221,000 nationwide, and nearly 2,300 at the northern border, according to the data.

Additionally, since July, 205,000 Haitians have been released through the CHNV (Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans) parole program, according to CBP data. Of the more than 765,000 illegal foreign nationals released into the country through the CBP One app, the top nationality is Haitian.Through these programs, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also extended Temporary Permanent Status to them and granted work authorization.

All of these programs are illegal, state attorneys general including Ohio’s A.G. Yost, who've sued to stop them, argue. U.S. House Republicans also cited them as among the many illegal actions Mayorkas caused them to impeach him. Mayorkas has since only expanded the programs and extended TPS.

When responding to the Haitian influx, local officials claim Haitians are there to work and are contributing to society despite claims by residents to the contrary.

The city of Springfield claims a "surge in our population over the last several years, primarily due to an influx of legal immigrants," suggesting that Springfield "is an appealing place for many reasons including lower cost of living and available work."

Springfield Mayor Bob Rue has said "my hands are tied in many ways" about the influx of Haitians, pointing to a designation they were given by the Biden-Harris administration. The TPS program "came from the White House and is a Homeland Security policy," Rue said at a recent city commission meeting.

Springfield residents have argued the overwhelming majority of Haitians are enrolling in welfare and not working; have caused increased crime and there aren't enough police to deal with it; and residents are being killed by Haitian drivers. Rue has expressed concerns about the dangerous driving conditions, saying, "I have almost been hit myself."

In the last three years, Springfield's 50,000 population has swelled by roughly 20,000 Haitian immigrants. City officials claim these 20,000 are there "legally" through TPS through Feb. 3, 2026.

In Sylacauga, Alabama, residents have been demanding answers about busloads of Haitians being dropped into their community. At a Sept. 5 city council meeting, City Council President Tiffany Nix shut down a meeting and made the issue about race. "We have no reason to treat people differently because of how they look," she said. "There's no reason for us to discuss this any further." She also said, "I'm going to welcome anybody to Sylacauga that wants to come to Sylacauga," 1819 News reported.

Sylacauga resident David Phillips said, "there is no way the State Department can vet these people," adding that they were coming from a failed state and potentially dangerous.

Residents continue to speak out. At a Sept. 17 meeting, Nix said Haitians were there on 18-month visas. A meeting has also been scheduled with state and federal lawmakers.

In Coffee County, one resident claimed, "30,000 illegal aliens are scheduled to arrive in the first week of October, 1,000 of them in Baldwin County," and that human trafficking was involved, 1819 News reported. Enterprise City Councilman Greg Padgett posted a statement on Facebook saying, "Enterprise is not a sanctuary city. No elected officials have received bribes to allow Haitians into our city. No one informed the elected officials of our city about this program, how many are here, and for what purpose - so there has been nothing covered up." He also said they are "doing our best to obtain factual answers."

In Charleroi, Pennsylivania, the immigrant population has grown "by over 2,000% in just the last two years," primarily due to a Haitian influx, 11 News reported. Despite this creating a strain for the local school district, Charleroi Council Borough Manager Joe Manning told KDKA News, Haitians aren't "a drain on our resources, they don't cause problems."Charleroi Council President Kristin Hopkins-Calek said their community is "steeped in a rich history of immigration," and Haitians were making a positive contribution, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported.

Under current law, the majority of Haitians being released into the U.S. are inadmissible but have been ordered to be released by the Biden-Harris administration and given "notice to appear" documents for an immigration court hearing years into the future. The NTA states they are inadmissible, CBP officials have explained to The Center Square. Several U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security reports acknowledge their NTA inadmissible status and state their release, not removal, violates federal law established by Congress. If federal law were followed, House Republicans argue the large majority would be prohibited entry.

Many inadmissible Haitians became citizens of Mexico, Chile and other countries, living and working there for years prior to claiming asylum in the U.S., The Center Square has previously reported. Border Patrol and local Texas officials first realized this when what became 30,000 Haitians descended on Del Rio, Texas, in September 2021. Many left their passports and identifying documents – which show their citizenship was not Haitian – in Mexico, claiming they had none. The majority were released into communities nationwide, The Center Square reported.

SPRINGFIELD RESIDENTS VENT FRUSTRATION AT CITY LEADERS OVER HAITIAN IMMIGRANT SURGE DURING RAMASWAMY TOWN HALL

Friday, September 20, 2024
Jeff Louderback

Talk about Haitian migrants reportedly killing and eating cats and dogs catapulted Springfield, Ohio, onto the national stage, but the subject was rarely mentioned during Vivek Ramaswamy’s town hall there on September 19. Most attendees focused on concerns about the consistently-growing Haitian population and frustration over safety issues and strains on Springfield’s resources. Several speakers chastised city leaders for a lack of interest in residents’ views.

“We are at the stage right now where we’ve been put down and called racist, not only in print but also to our face at city commission meetings. Now we’re at a level of desperation,” Springfield resident Diana Daniels told Ramaswamy. “If our city commission had listened to us, we probably wouldn’t need to be here.“

A tech entrepreneur who grew up in Ohio, Ramaswamy eventually left the Republican race for President. He has endorsed former President Donald Trump, and has actively campaigned for Trump. He said he wanted to host an event where Springfield residents could be heard.

Around 250 people filled the room at the event center where Ramaswamy spoke. Another 100 attendees watched the address in an overflow area. Police surrounded the building and the block around the event center.

Ramaswamy said he had offered a $100,000 contribution to a health care nonprofit organization in Springfield but was rejected. Ramaswamy said he would donate the money to another local organization.

A blue-collar city, Springfield’s population was about 60,000 until the past few years, when an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian immigrants arrived in the city. Buses drop off more migrants every day, and residents believe the Haitian population has far eclipsed 20,000. The Department of Homeland Security earlier this year announced the extension of temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitians until Feb. 3, 2026, protecting them from deportation back to Haiti. TPS includes immigrants who have entered the U.S. illegally and those who have overstayed their visas.

Resident Diana Daniels told The Epoch Times about the plethora of concerns residents have about the presence of the Haitian immigrants, including a rise in traffic accidents, auto insurance rates, and crime.

“I’m not here to talk about the issues the media has really loved to obsess over,” Ramaswamy said. “We’re talking about human beings who have been affected in this community. . .I just think that the truth in this country is we don’t have to agree on everything. We really don’t. We never have in America. But the beauty of this country is we should be able to talk about it in the open, and that’s what we’re going to do tonight.”

Springfield resident Lisa Hayes held a sign asking “What About Our Families?” “It breaks my heart that we’re not taking care of our families. We’re taking care of everybody else but our families, who are in need,” Hayes said. “It took my granddaughter four months to get medical care for her through Job and Family Services. She’s pregnant and she works two full-time jobs.”

Chrissy Phelps said she has lived in Springfield for 66 years. She scolded city leaders for not organizing an event that allowed citizens to express their concerns and views. “How will you know about a city if you’re not bringing the people together, right, and talking to them?” she told Ramaswamy.

Ramaswamy noted that he had invited city leaders to attend this event. None of the city council members were present. “I think there’s a culture of fear. I think the reason they’re not here tonight is not because they don’t care about this, it’s because they’re scared.” Ramaswamy added that he believes transparency is needed from public officials.

“What I hope to do today is to show that actually talking to the people of Springfield isn’t that scary. These are just good, patriotic Americans who love their country and love their city, who are struggling because the people who they elected to run their federal government all the way down, have let them down, and you don’t have to be scared of actually being face to face with your fellow citizens.”

At a September 18 rally in New York, Trump said that he will be in Springfield in the next two weeks.“You may never see me again, but that’s OK. I gotta do what I gotta do,” Trump said, alluding to the recent assassination attempts targeting him. Regarding a potential visit to Springfield by Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said that it would be fine with him if they decide not to make that stop.

Ramaswamy said that immigrants who have committed a crime in the United States and are currently incarcerated should not be allowed to remain in the country. Some residents told him they wonder when the arrival of Haitian immigrants will end. “The next thing you got to do is like you’ve got a clogged drain, right?” he said. “What do you do? The first thing you do is you turn off the faucet. You don’t try to clean the drain while you leave the faucet on. Use your military to secure the border. Use the National Guard if necessary, aquatic barriers in the Rio Grande, and yes, complete the construction of the wall, which is not a racist or xenophobic action.”

The immigration debate among residents, local officials, and immigrants reached a breaking point last summer when 11-year-old Aiden Clark was killed in a traffic accident that involved a Haitian immigrant. The boy was aboard a school bus that collided with a minivan driven by 36-year-old Hermanio Joseph that crossed over the dividing line. Joseph was sentenced to nine to 13 1/2 years in prison for first-degree felony involuntary manslaughter and fourth-degree felony vehicular homicide.

A day after her 71st birthday last December, Springfield grandmother Kathy Heaton was killed when a car driven by a Haitian immigrant struck her while she was gathering her garbage cans. Prosecutors decided that the 38-year-old driver wouldn’t be charged.

Springfield resident Terry Adkins told The Epoch Times after the town hall that traffic safety has locals on edge. “Now we have to be concerned every time we drive because the roads aren’t safe. Most of the Haitian migrants only have a learner’s permit and don’t have insurance,” Adkins said. “Most of them don’t know English and they don’t know how to read road signs. They don’t know the traffic laws. We take a risk every time we get into our cars now.”

The Epoch Times reached out to the City of Springfield and the Springfield Police Department for comments following the town hall, but a response was not received.

An emergency proclamation on September 19 allows the city to address public safety concerns after bomb threats targeted city buildings, schools, and health care facilities over the last week. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said this week that the bomb threats originated from overseas.

Lindsay Aime, who serves as the treasurer for the Haitian Community Help and Support Center in Springfield, told The Epoch Times that he acknowledges that there are cultural differences between Haitian immigrants and Springfield residents. He encourages residents to be patient as the Haitian population adapts to American customs. “Learning the language and the culture takes time. I don’t think Americans understand how difficult it is. We don’t have an established Haitian community here like in bigger cities. We need more time to integrate ourselves here. Just give us time,” Aime said. “We’re here to stay. We can’t go back to Haiti.”

EX-BORDER PATROL CHIEF TESTIFIES BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION HID SURGE IN TERROR-LINKED BORDER CROSSERS

Friday, September 20, 2024
Richard A Reagan | RedTea News

A retired San Diego Border Patrol Chief, Aaron Heitke, has accused the Biden-Harris administration of deliberately suppressing information about a significant spike in border crossers with ties to terrorism.

During a testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, Heitke revealed that the administration instructed him not to disclose the alarming rise in the number of “Significant Interest Aliens” (SIAs) apprehended in the San Diego sector.

“We had an exponential increase in Significant Interest Aliens with significant ties to terrorism,” Heitke testified. Before the Biden-Harris administration, the San Diego sector typically saw 10 to 15 SIAs per year. However, following the administration’s changes to border policies, the sector saw over 100 SIAs in 2022, a trend that continued into 2023 and beyond.

Heitke also highlighted a critical point: these numbers represent only those who were caught. The real figures could be much higher due to the large number of “gotaways” — individuals who crossed the border illegally without being apprehended.

According to Heitke, the Biden-Harris administration actively prevented the public from learning about these developments. “I was told I could not release any information on this increase in SIAs or mention any of the arrests,” he said.

The testimony comes at a time when the number of individuals on the U.S. federal terrorist watch list apprehended at the border has reached its highest levels under the Biden-Harris administration.

From fiscal year 2021 through August, 1,856 individuals with ties to terrorism have been apprehended, as reported by The Center Square.

Heitke criticized the administration’s “open border policies,” which he said had exacerbated the situation.

“The only true consequence we have to slow down and discourage people from coming to the United States illegally is sending them back to their country of origin,” Heitke said.

However, under the current administration, he testified that this policy was largely abandoned, leading to fewer countries accepting repatriation and a sharp reduction in detention space.

For the first time in his 25-year career, Heitke said, the ability to return people to their home countries had significantly lapsed, with Border Patrol agents either forced to detain illegal entrants or release them into the United States.

The former chief’s claims come amid a broader debate about border security. Republicans have consistently pointed to the rollback of Trump-era policies as a major factor behind the surge in illegal crossings.

Heitke testified that the situation had become so overwhelming that Border Patrol agents were often diverted from their regular duties to process large groups of illegal immigrants, leaving large swaths of the border unmonitored.

Heitke’s testimony also touched on the strain this has placed on national security, as transnational criminal organizations exploited the lack of Border Patrol agents in the field to smuggle drugs, including the deadly opioid fentanyl.

In response to a question by U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), about what information the Border Patrol had on the millions of “gotaways” who entered the country, Heitke responded bluntly: “None.”

Meanwhile, Democrats defended the administration’s handling of border security.

Bennie Thompson (D-MS), ranking member of the committee, argued that recent moves by the Biden administration had succeeded in reducing border encounters.

Thompson stated that border encounters had dropped by 55% since a June 2023 proclamation by President Biden, and the number of encounters was at its lowest since September 2020.

Despite these claims, Heitke’s testimony has fueled Republican criticisms of the Biden-Harris administration’s border policies, which they argue have made the country less secure.

With immigration expected to be a major issue in the 2024 elections, the debate over the handling of the U.S.-Mexico border is far from over.

28% OF DEMOCRATS SAY U.S. BETTER OFF IF TRUMP WERE ASSASSINATED

Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Dan McCaleb | The Center Square

More than a quarter of Democrats in a new poll said America would be better off if former President Donald Trump had been killed in Sunday's assassination attempt.

That's according to the poll of 1,000 registered voters taken after authorities on Sunday spotted a man armed with an assault-style rifle and scope hiding in bushes near Trump's West Palm Beach golf club while the former president played.

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was able to hide for several hours just outside the course. Authorities say Routh pointed the barrel of his rifle through a chain-link fence toward the golf course, was spotted by a Secret Service agent, who fired at Routh. The suspect was soon arrested after fleeing the scene.

The poll from Scott Rasmussen's Napolitan News Institute asked 1,000 registered voters this week: "While it is always difficult to wish ill of another human being, would America be better off if Donald Trump had been killed last weekend?"

Overall, 17% of Americans responded "yes," 69% said "no," and the remaining 14% said they were not sure. Among Democrats surveyed, 28% responded "yes."

“It is hard to imagine a greater threat to democracy than expressing a desire to have your political opponent murdered,” Rasmussen said in a statement.

Democrats have been saying Trump represents the greatest threat to democracy in the U.S. if he is reelected.

Sunday's attempted assassination was the second against Trump in about two months. In July, Trump was grazed in the ear when a gunman on a nearby roof opened fired at a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pa., killing one spectator and wounding two others, in addition to striking Trump.

Despite the two attempts on Trump's life, the poll also found that a majority (51%) of Democrats don't think his security detail should be increased.

"Among all voters, 62% think Trump’s security should be increased and 32% disagree," a news release accompanying the poll said.

The poll has a margin of error +/- 3.1 percentage points.

Dan McCaleb is the executive editor of The Center Square. He welcomes your comments. Contact Dan at dmccaleb@thecentersquare.com.

SUSPECTED TRUMP ASSASSIN LEFT LONG TRAIL IN COURT RECORDS, ONLINE

Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Brett Rowland | The Center Square

Ryan Wesley Routh, the 58-year-old man accused of trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a round of golf on Sunday, was camped out on the golf course with a rifle and a bag of food for nearly 12 hours before being spotted.

Routh, who is registered to vote in both Hawaii and North Carolina, faces federal charges of possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Routh worked as a builder in a suburb of Honolulu.

On top of the federal gun charges, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday the state has the jurisdiction to prosecute Routh for attempted murder. If convicted on that charge, Routh could face life in prison.

Long before Trump decided to play golf at his club in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday, Routh was camped by the fence along Summit Boulevard, a busy roadway by Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach.

A U.S. Secret Service agent, who was a hole or two ahead of Trump walking the perimeter, spotted a rifle sticking out from the tree line. The agent fired in the direction of the rifle before a witness told authorities Routh sped away in a Nissan sport utility vehicle.

Routh's cell phone records indicated he had been camped out from 1:59 a.m. to 1:31 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15, according to a criminal complaint filed in the federal case. Investigators found an SKS-style rifle with a scope and an unreadable serial number, a backpack, a bag of food and a GoPro camera.

Authorities quickly caught Routh on I-95. It wasn't his first time being arrested.

Greensboro Police had arrested Routh for possession of a weapon of mass destruction on Dec. 16, 2002, according to records from the Guilford District Court in North Carolina. Routh, then 36, had a fully automatic machine gun during a three-hour standoff with police after a vehicle stop, according to a report from the Greensboro News & Record. That felony conviction made it illegal for Routh to own a firearm.

In 2010, he served a suspended sentence for possession of stolen goods, according to records from the North Carolina Department Of Adult Correction.

Online, Routh portrayed himself as an international freedom fighter who voted for Trump in 2016 before writing a self-published book in 2023 urging Iran to assassinate Trump.

He told news media he spent months in Ukraine working to bring foreign fighters in from Afghanistan. It's not clear if he ever got anyone to sign up for that plan.

Routh was active for a time on Twitter, the social media company now known as X. In 2020, he posted that he voted for Trump in 2016, but was disappointed.

"@realDonaldTrump While you were my choice in 2106, I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving;" he wrote, "are you retarded; I will be glad when you gone."

In his 2023 book, "Ukraine's Unwinnable War," Routh wrote that Iran was free "to assassinate Trump." The book said Trump's decision to leave the Iran nuclear deal was a "tremendous blunder." Routh referred to Trump as a "buffoon" and a "fool" for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

In a brief interview with CNN, Oran Routh, the suspect's son, called his father "loving and caring" and an "honest, hardworking man," the outlet reported.

"Ryan is my father, and I don’t have any comment beyond a character profile of him as a loving and caring father, and honest, hardworking man. I don’t know what’s happened in Florida, and I hope things have just been blown out of proportion, because from the little I’ve heard, it doesn’t sound like the man I know to do anything crazy, much less violent. He’s a good father, and a great man, and I hope you can portray him in an honest light," Oran Routh said on Sunday.

One of Routh's neighbors in the Honolulu suburb of Kaaawa said he was "a very good neighbor" while another called him a "creep," KITV4 Island News reported.

DID PORTAGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S POST VIOLATE STATE ELECTION LAW? SECRETARY OF STATE WEIGHS IN

Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Diane Smith, Ravenna Record-Courier

Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski didn't violate state election laws with a controversial Facebook post encouraging people to write down addresses of Kamala Harris supporters, the Ohio Secretary of State's Office determined Tuesday.

Zuchowski has drawn national attention for a Facebook post encouraging people take note of yards with signs supporting the Democratic presidential candidate so they can keep a list of places to send illegal immigrants.

The post prompted some residents to file complaints alleging voter intimidation with local, state and national agencies, including the Ohio Secretary of State.

"Our office has reviewed the comments and determined they don't violate election laws," said Dan Lusheck, deputy communications director for the Ohio Secretary of State's office. "The sheriff can speak and answer for himself about the substance of his remarks. We're focused on running an election that begins with military and overseas ballots going out this Friday."

Zuchowski has not responded to requests for comments but defended his statements in a Facebook post on Tuesday, saying he had a First Amendment right to share his views.

ACLU: PORTAGE SHERIFF MADE 'UNCONSTITUTIONAL THREAT' AGAINST CITIZENS

Meanwhile, the ACLU of Ohio is alleging Zuchowski made an "unconstitutional threat" against residents with his post.

“Sheriff Zuchowski has made an impermissible, unconstitutional threat against Portage County residents who wish to engage in protected First Amendment activity," Freda Levenson, legal director of the organization, said in a press release Tuesday. "Many have reasonably understood his posts to be a threat of governmental action to punish them for their expressed political beliefs, and have been coerced to take down or refrain from putting up a yard sign."

The organization said it sent a letter to the sheriff about its concerns.

"The ACLU of Ohio insists that Sheriff Zuchowski right these wrongs and follow the law – as is his duty as an elected official and his role as sheriff," Levenson said.

PORTAGE BOARD OF ELECTIONS DIRECTS CONCERNED VOTERS TO STATE AGENCIES

The Portage County Board of Elections has received roughly two dozen inquiries about the sheriff's post over the past few days, Deputy Director Theresa Nielsen said.

On Monday, board of elections officials didn't know what to do with people who were complaining about the Facebook post.

By Tuesday morning, the board had answers.

The board posted a message on its website and Facebook page, directing voters to the Ohio Secretary of State's Election Integrity Department, the Ohio Attorney General or the Oho Election Protection Hotline. Locally, the post stated, those who believe they are victims of voter intimidation also can reach out to local law enforcement or the Portage County Prosecutor's Office.

"The Portage County Board of Elections is committed to providing free, fair, and transparent elections. Voter intimidation should never be a part of the election process and voters are protected by Ohio law from such intimidation," the post stated.

The Secretary of State's Election Integrity Department can be reached via email at eiu@ohiosos.gov or 614-697-3132. The Ohio Attorney General can be reached at 855-224-6446, and the Ohio's Election Protection Hotline can be reached at 866-687-8683.

OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE SAYS IT CAN'T REMOVE SHERIFF FROM OFFICE

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Dave Yost said Yost does not have the authority to remove Zuchowski from office.

“The Attorney General’s office does not have the direct authority to make a change in an elected officer," said Bethany McCorkle, Yost's communications director. "If they are charged with a felony, then our office can seek suspension through the Ohio Supreme Court."

McCorkle said under Ohio law, only "the elector or the governor" can seek removal of a sheriff or prosecutor, and then only for reasons specifically set out in state law.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FIELDS COMPLAINTS

Some residents told reporters that the incident prompted them to file complaints with the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division.

"The Civil Rights Division enforces federal laws that protect you from discrimination based on your race, color, national origin, disability status, sex, religion, familial status, or loss of other constitutional rights," the department's website states.

Those who believe their civil rights, or those of someone else, have been violated can use this form.

PORTAGE DEMOCRATS: 'WE'VE GIVEN THEM ALL THE OPTIONS'

Denise Smith, chairwoman of the Portage County Democratic Party, said people who express concerns are being given several options when they come into the party's offices.

People are told they can contact the Portage County Prosecutor's Office or their local police department if they live in a city. Beyond Portage County, she said, they can file complaints with the Secretary of State, the Ohio Attorney General, the Department of Justice, the ACLU's Voter Protection hotline and the FBI, which has a division to address voter intimidation.

Smith said the party also works with people who are afraid to vote in person, urging them to obtain absentee ballots, and turn them in at the Board of Elections office if they don't want to use the drop box.

"We give them all the options," she said.

BORDER PATROL FACES SUBPOENA THREAT FOR ALLEGEDLY HIDING HARRIS’ ROLE AS BORDER CZAR

Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Casey Harper | The Center Square

U.S. House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., threatened Tuesday to subpoena the head of border patrol, saying he has not received answers when asked about Vice President Kamala Harris' role as border czar.

Comer sent a letter to Troy Miller, the acting commissioner for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, requesting documents and communications regarding Harris' role in working with CBP to address the border crisis.

"The deadline to produce has passed, and CBP has failed to provide the Committee with any responsive documents, communications, or even a timeline for when CBP intends to comply with the request," the letter said.

CBP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"If CBP continues to withhold documents and communications on this matter, the Committee will consider alternative measures to obtain this information, including through the compulsory process," Comer said in the letter.

Harris has tried to distance herself from her role in handling the border issue for President Joe Biden, in part because the border has been in crisis throughout the administration with millions of illegal immigrants pouring into the U.S. in just under four years.

Several high-profile crimes committed by illegal immigrants have helped push the issue to the forefront as the number of migrants coming into the U.S. under the Biden administration alone has surpassed the total population of most U.S. states.

Now, lawmakers want answers about what exactly Harris did, or didn't do, to handle the border crisis.

"It is important the Committee and the American people understand Vice President Harris's role as the border czar in the ongoing border crisis," the letter said. "The mass illegal entry and release of illegal aliens into the United States under the Biden-Harris Administration has contributed to murders, sexual assaults, and serious bodily injuries committed against numerous Americans at the hands of illegal aliens. These crimes should have never happened."

CYBER CRIMINALS INCREASINGLY TARGET STATE AND COUNTY GOVERNMENTS

Friday, September, 13, 2024

Jim Talamonti | The Center Square

Government agencies are facing a growing number of cyberattacks.

The Center for Internet Security reported dramatic increases in both malware and ransomware attacks against government in the first eight months of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022.

James Carafano, senior counselor to the president at the Heritage Foundation, emphasized the importance of preparing for cyber threats.

“The effort you put up front to mitigate some of the threats that you might face is infinitely cheaper in the long run than dealing with the crisis after the crisis occurs,” Carafano said.

Bernard Malkov, IT operations manager for the Lake County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Office, said updated equipment and training are both important.

“From security awareness training, constant education, making sure our users are being vigilant when clicking on links, stuff like that. It’s a combination of things,” Malkov said.

The Center for Internet Security found that cyberattacks against state and local governments increased dramatically last year. The nonprofit group reported that malware attacks jumped 148% in the first eight months of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022. The number of ransomware attacks increased 51%.

Governments across Illinois have experienced the effects of cyberattacks.

The Illinois Secretary of State’s office reported a data security incident last May.

Henry County suffered a ransomware attack in March.

Tazewell County’s communications systems were disabled after a cyber incident last November.

The state of Illinois reported a ransomware attack in June 2023.

Malkov said government agencies collaborate with each other for prevention.

“They send out lists of bad actors, IP addresses to block, so there is a lot of coordination going on at the federal level, at the state level. We all do communicate through a lot of different mechanisms to help combat these bad actors,” Malkov said.

James Carafano of the Heritage Foundation is a 25-year Army veteran and co-author of the book, “Homeland Security.” Carafano said many law enforcement agencies use drones, which also may be at risk.

“Many of them are using drones that are made in China, which means that they are completely vulnerable to the Chinese hacking, getting into their systems, stealing data, getting data from them,” Carafano said.

Carafano said that the Chinese government pays hackers to target U.S. government officials and other entities.

Last March, the U.S. Department of Justice charged seven hackers associated with the Chinese government with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the prolific global hacking operation was backed by China’s regime.

OHIO HOUSE BILL 6 UPDATES: BILLING RATES MAY DOUBLE WHILE WHILE CASES CONTINUE

Friday September 13, 2024
Kathiann M. Kowalski | Energy News Network

FirstEnergy’s utility customers took heavy hits from severe thunderstorms and tornadoes last month. Nearly half a million of its Ohio utility customers lost power, with extended outages causing many to lose food and incur other expenses in addition to property damage due to the extreme weather.

All of the company’s utility customers can also expect hits from higher energy bills next year after FirstEnergy’s pending rate case ends. On July 31, the company asked Ohio regulators to let it double the increased charges sought — from roughly $94 million per year to $190.3 million annually.

Yet state regulators still have not resolved multiple FirstEnergy cases involving millions of dollars and issues related to House Bill 6, the 2019 nuclear and coal bailout law at the heart of Ohio’s ongoing corruption scandal. And none of those cases will be decided before voters cast their ballots this fall.

Other recent developments include:

The State of Ohio settled potential criminal charges against FirstEnergy for $20 million, without stating how the figure was arrived at or making any provision for restitution to Ohio ratepayers.

Federal prosecutors urged the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder’s criminal conviction and 20-year sentence.

Ohio regulators approved more than $100 million in challenged expenses for two 1950s-era coal plants for which subsidies are mandated by HB 6.

In the dark

Grid reliability is back in the spotlight after tornadoes and severe thunderstorms knocked out power to approximately 495,000 of FirstEnergy’s Ohio utility customers on August 6.

FirstEnergy Ohio President Torrence Hinton and other company executives provided a briefing on the company’s response to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio after its September 4 meeting. “We haven’t had this amount of customers out for about 30 years,” Hinton said.

Restoring power took roughly a week, with outages lasting more than three days for more than 100,000 of those customers, data from the company show.

The outages likely won’t count against the utilities’ reliability requirements for this year because of the extreme nature of the storms.

Some Ohio lawmakers like House Rep. Dick Stein, R-Norwalk, have already expressed concern about reliability, although they have framed it as a consequence of retiring coal-fired power plants and have called for more electricity from fossil fuels or nuclear energy.

However, the vast majority of electric grid reliability problems stem from bad weather and distribution issues. Those problems are likely to worsen as infrastructure ages and fossil fuel-driven climate change makes extreme weather more common.

“Without immediate and meaningful action, climate change will continue to cause extreme weather and drive up costs for all Ohioans,” 14 Democratic Ohio House representatives wrote in an August 14 letter, calling for regulators to address the effectiveness and reliability of the state’s current energy strategies, which are heavily depending on fossil fuels and nuclear power.

Doubling increased charges

FirstEnergy asked the PUCO this summer to let it double its proposed increase for rates and riders for its three Ohio utilities to $190.3 million per year, compared with the $94 million sought just two months earlier.

The requested increase is “primarily due to lower current revenues, higher operating expenses and higher rate base balances” than estimated, said Santino Fanelli, FirstEnergy’s director for Ohio rates and regulatory affairs, in testimony filed with the PUCO on July 31.

Fanelli also said the requested increase reflects the use of actual cost and revenue data instead of estimates for the first five months of the rate case’s test year. A pending bill would give utilities more leeway in using estimates, and some advocates worry companies might pad them on the high side.

In late June the PUCO selected Blue Ridge Consulting Services to help it review financial data, management policies and other information. The commission’s staff will then likely prepare a report with recommendations. Ratepayers will also have a chance to comment at local public hearings, which have not yet been scheduled but will likely include a virtual session.

Slap on the wrist?

FirstEnergy agreed to pay $20 million to settle its state criminal liability related to HB 6, but it’s unclear how lawyers for the utility, the Ohio Attorney General’s office and the Summit County prosecutor’s office arrived at the number.

The amount is just under one-third of the bribes the company admitted to paying when it settled federal criminal charges against it in July 2021. The law’s nuclear bailouts would have been $1.3 billion if they hadn’t been stayed and then repealed.

The agreement with the state acknowledges the company’s cooperation but does not require any compensation to ratepayers, said Ashley Brown, a former PUCO commissioner.

Spokesperson Steve Irwin at the Ohio Attorney General’s office framed the settlement as “an important step in bringing the disgraced corporate leaders who used their positions of power to betray FirstEnergy’s ratepayers and employees and the people of Ohio to account for their crimes.” Irwin noted that the company is required to provide evidence, access to witnesses and testimony in the pending cases against former FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Michael Dowling and in a civil proceeding relating to HB 6. “FirstEnergy today is not the company it was five years ago,” he added, noting steps taken to reform the company’s internal ethics program.

FirstEnergy President and CEO Brian Tierney echoed the theme in a press release, saying the company is “a stronger organization today.”

Others are more critical.

“It is really disappointing to see the Ohio Attorney General’s office let FirstEnergy off the hook for its crimes with what amounted to more of a wink-wink than a slap on the wrist,” said Dave Anderson, policy and communications manager for the Energy and Policy Institute. He contrasted the August settlement with the potential remedies spelled out in the Ohio Attorney General’s initial civil complaint in a 2020 case, where potential punishments included corporate dissolution of FirstEnergy and penalties of triple the damages caused by allegedly wrongful actions.

Regulatory cases continue

Ohio voters can’t expect a resolution to any of FirstEnergy’s four HB 6-related regulatory cases before casting their votes this fall. Nineteen candidates on the ballot for Ohio’s General Assembly are among those who voted for HB 6 in 2019.

An audit in one case isn’t due before the end of September, and no date for an evidentiary hearing has been set. Two other cases about how FirstEnergy spent money from two bill riders won’t get an evidentiary hearing until next February.

A fourth regulatory case about corporate separation is set to start its hearing on October 9, when early voting will be underway. That date may move, however, because several depositions won’t take place until November and December. Depositions are sessions where witnesses answer lawyers’ questions under oath before a hearing or trial.

Questions in some of those depositions will likely follow up on information from recently produced documents. Possible topics also include why FirstEnergy fired various individuals besides former executives Jones and Dowling in the wake of Householder and others’ arrests in 2020.

Rubber stamping?

Ohio regulators have approved more than $100 million in challenged 2020 expenses for two 1950s-era coal plants. HB 6 lets the plants’ Ohio utility owners pass costs on to ratepayers through 2030. By then the total subsidies could be around $1 billion, according to RunnerStone, a consultant for the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association.

“Consumers once again got stuck with the bill,” said Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Maureen Willis when the August 21 ruling came out.

The PUCO found that while the auditor, London Economics International, made several recommendations and conclusions critical of the coal plants’ practices and spending, the firm hadn’t come straight out and said any amount should be disallowed.

Paul Arbaje, an energy analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the ruling “sets a disturbing precedent. Coal-fired electricity is not only terribly destructive to our climate and public health, but it’s also completely uneconomical and has been for a long time.”

Higher capacity prices in the PJM Interconnection grid region will take effect next June and could offset some of next year’s coal subsidies under HB 6. However, critics say the old plants will still be a bad deal for Ohioans. And higher capacity prices will affect wholesale electricity prices across the regional grid footprint, likely raising energy expenses overall.

Federal court filings

Briefing has been completed in lobbyist Matt Borges’ appeal from his federal criminal conviction alongside former Ohio House speaker Larry Householder last year. The court has not yet scheduled oral argument.

Federal prosecutors filed their brief in the Householder case on August 26, arguing that the trial court got both Householder’s conviction and his 20-year sentence right. Three groups also filed a friend-of-the-court brief on August 30, countering Householder’s argument that bribes were campaign donations and a form of speech protected under the Constitution.

“The First Amendment provides no protection for the corrupt and knowing exchange of campaign contributions for official acts,” wrote lawyers for the Campaign Legal Center, the Environmental Law & Policy Center and the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.

A July court filing in FirstEnergy’s deferred prosecution agreement case acknowledged the company has performed its obligations under that 2021 settlement, which resulted in a $230 million penalty. FirstEnergy must continue to cooperate in any other criminal cases the federal government brings relating to facts stated in that HB 6 case. However, the federal government has yet to bring criminal charges against any current or former FirstEnergy executives who allegedly made the bribes.

A separate case at the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals involves FirstEnergy’s challenge to Judge Algenon Marbley’s May 6 ruling that the company must produce its internal investigation to lawyers in shareholder litigation. The appeals court docket includes friend-of-the-court briefs filed by several law firms and a malpractice insurance carrier, expressing concern about whether the ruling could erode attorney-client privilege.

FACT CHECK: IN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE, HARRIS DEFLECTS ON BORDER RECORD

Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor

During the presidential debate on Tuesday night, Vice President Kamala Harris deflected when answering questions on the ongoing border crisis.

When asked “why did the administration wait until six months before the election to act” on the border crisis, and if she would have done anything differently from President Joe Biden, Harris didn’t answer the question. She deflected by repeating the claim she’s previously made that she prosecuted transnational criminal organizations when she was the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017.

“I'm the only person on this stage who has prosecuted transnational criminal organizations for the trafficking of guns drugs and human beings,” she said.

She also repeated a claim that she would sign a U.S. Senate border bill that went nowhere in the Democratic controlled Senate.

“Some of the most conservative members of the United States Senate came up with the border security bill which I supported,” she said. “That bill would have put 1,500 more border agents on the border to help those folks who are working there right now overtime trying to do their job.”

While a U.S. senator, Harris opposed increasing funding to hire thousands of new Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and advocated for eliminating ICE detention facilities, which house the most violent criminals, The Center Square reported. She has also more than once called for abolishing ICE altogether.

The Senate border bill would have expanded current failed policies, critics claim, codify mass migration and nullify state sovereignty.

Harris also repeated a claim that former President Donald Trump “got on the phone, called up some folks in Congress, and said, ‘kill the bill.’ And you know why? Because he'd prefer to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem.”

The bill failed because many Senate Democrats didn’t support it and their campaigns began distancing themselves from Biden-Harris border policies, which the majority of Americans oppose, according to numerous polls.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, also said it was dead on arrival. He called on the Senate to pass what he, and others say, is the strongest border security bill, HR 2, which the Senate refused to consider.

When asked about being appointed “to address the root causes of migration,” she did not cite one example of a root cause or what she did to address it, fix it or remedy it.

Nor did she address the record more than 12.5 million foreign nationals who illegally entered the country under her watch, including two million who evaded capture. They total more than the individual populations of 45 states. If illegal border crossers were a state, they’d be the sixth most populous state ahead of Illinois, The Center Square reported.

Nor did she address the record number of known or suspected terrorists who’ve been apprehended attempting to enter the U.S., more than 1,700 since fiscal 2021, the greatest number in U.S. history.

When asked about her flip-flopping on issues like building a border wall, she repeated the claim that “her values haven’t changed.” This is after The Center Square and other news outlets fact checked her opposition to border wall construction and funding for years.

At no point during the debate did she outline her plan for border security, deportation of violent criminals, or express condolences to Americans whose families have been murdered and raped by criminal foreign nationals who were released into the country under her watch. Biden-Harris parole programs have been directly linked to violent criminals who illegally entered and remained in the country who then went on to commit violent crimes against Americans, The Center Square has reported.

Earlier this year when endorsing Trump for president, the brother of Maryland resident Rachel Morin, who was raped and murdered by a Venezuelan illegally in the country, said, “My sister's death was preventable. The monster arrested for killing Rachel entered the US unlawfully after killing a woman in El Salvador. Joe Biden and his designated ‘border czar’ Kamala Harris opened our borders to him and others like him, empowering them to victimize the innocent. Yet to this day, we have not heard from Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. They never apologized.

“When Rachel was killed, President Trump called my family to offer his condolences. He wanted to meet with us. He cared. That is leadership. And we need real leadership back in the White House.”

Houston angel mom mother Alexis Nungaray, who also endorsed Trump, said she never heard from Harris even after she came to a Houston fundraiser after her daughter was strangled to death by two Venezuelan men illegally in the country. They were released into the country because of Biden-Harris policies, she said, which had to change.

“We're losing very innocent people to heinous crimes that shouldn't be happening in the first place."

GEAUGA COMMISSIONERS FORMALLY WITHDRAW FROM JOINT PORTAGE - GEAUGA JUVENILE REHABILITATION CENTER DISTRICT ON SEPTEMBER 5, 2024; MONEYS DUE TO GEAUGA COUNTY LIKELY SUBJECT TO LITIGATION

Monday, September 9, 2024

After talking with Portage County Commissioners and hopeful of receiving compensation for Geauga County’s investment in the Portage County Juvenile Detention for at least 90 days with no success or satisfaction, Geauga County Commissioners, backed by Geauga Prosecutor James Flaiz, took formal action at the September 5 Commissioner meeting in Agenda Items 15 and 16. Prosecutor Flaiz was in attendance, but both items passed unanimously without discussion or the need for Flaiz to explain any legal details or rationalization.

Agenda Item #15:

“The Commissioners’ Office is requesting the Board [of County Commissioners] withdraw from the Joint Board of County Commissioners of Portage and Geauga Counties and the Joint Portage-Geauga Juvenile Detention Rehabilitation Center District,effective today September 5, 2024, and there will be no more extensions of this date, and to continue discussions with Portage County to identify and receive the necessary compensation for any and all of Geauga County’s interests therein.”

Agenda Item #16:

“The Commissioners’ Office is requesting the board approve and authorize the President of the Board to execute the Services Agreement between Lake County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division and Geauga County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division to provide secured detention space and temporary holding of Geauga County Juvenile Detainees while they await adjudication, disposition or placement elsewhere at the rate of two hundred twenty-five dollars($225.00) per day for each regular detainee amd three hundred dollars ($300.00) per day for a Geauga Intensive Community Rehabilitation (ICR) detainee for an initial term of three years, effective September 5, 2024,, then automatically renews for successive one-year terms, with a not to exceed annual amount of $250,000.00.”

Readers will recall that the Portage County Juvenile Detention Center has been charging $400.00 per day for any Geauga County juvenile detainee. This rate has made the Portage County Juvenile Detention Center a very expensive, especially when the Lake County Juvenile Detention Rehabilitation Center’s maximum rate of $300.00 per day for a long-term Geauga juvenile detainee is less expensive by $100.00.

Although Gerry Morgan indicated that Geauga County is waiting for an approved refund from Portage County, he acknowledged his understanding that Portage County has retained outside legal assistance regarding Portage County’s willingness to fight Geauga County in court to avoid paying off a financial award based on breach of contract.

This is a developing story. From September 5, 2024, the Portage County Juvenile Detention Center will not be housing any Geauga juvenile detainees, but in terms of getting its money back, Geauga County will likely need to file litigation against Portage County for another lengthy court case. Any appeal of the final Common Pleas Court Judgment will be heard by the Eleventh District.  Court of Appeals in Warren

So stay tuned. . .

SOCIAL SECURITY RESERVE DEPLETION WILL CUT BENEFITS BY 21 PERCENT BEGINNING 2033

Friday, September 6, 2024
By Naveen Athrappully | The Epoch Times

Social Security recipients stand to lose more than a fifth of their annual benefits beginning in 2033 because of significant reserve depletion in the federal program, according to a recent report released by a nonpartisan policy analysis organization.

“The Social Security program is currently paying out more in benefits than it collects in payroll tax and other revenue, and it is drawing down its reserves to cover the remaining cost of benefits,” a Sept. 5 report by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) stated. “The program’s Trustees project that the Old-Age & Survivors (OASI) trust fund—which funds retirement benefits—will deplete its reserves in the fourth quarter of 2033.”

Once the reserves are depleted, a 21 percent cut, as required by law, will be implemented for the 70 million beneficiaries of Social Security, CRFB stated.

A typical dual-income couple is estimated to see an annual benefit reduction of $16,500, while for a single-income couple, benefits will be reduced by $12,400.

Benefit cuts would vary depending on the age, lifetime incomes, and work history of the retirees, the group noted. For instance, a low- and dual-income couple retiring in 2033 is expected to see a $10,000 reduction in benefits, while a high-income couple’s benefits are expected to be cut by $21,800. Even though the former’s benefit cut is smaller in dollar terms, it represents a “larger share of their income,” CRFB said.

The 21 percent reduction is predicted to widen to 31 percent by 2098 due to the rising gap between program revenues and benefit payments.

In May, the Social Security Administration (SSA) said it expects the Social Security trust funds to deplete by 2035, a year later than previously projected, following which only 83 percent of the benefits would be payable.

“Congress can and should take action to extend the financial health of the trust fund into the foreseeable future, just as it did in the past on a bipartisan basis,” Martin O’Malley, commissioner of Social Security, said at the time.

Social Security is primarily funded via payroll taxes, with employers and employees each paying 6.2 percent of wages into the program. In 2024, the maximum taxable income for Social Security is $168,600, up from $160,200 last year. Self-employed individuals pay 12.4 percent.

RESOLVING FUNDING ISSUE

Social Security is a key issue in the upcoming elections. Last month, Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris said in an X post that if she were to become president, she would “protect and expand” Social Security.

In February last year, a group of Democrat lawmakers and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced the Social Security Expansion Act to resolve the funding challenges.

The act recommends “requiring the wealthiest American households to pay their fair share of taxes” to extend the solvency of social security by 75 years, according to a fact sheet.

The bill suggests making all income above $250,000 subject to the Social Security payroll tax. It proposes a 12.4 percent tax on the investment and business income of wealthy individuals.

A Heritage Foundation report criticized the Social Security Expansion Act, pointing out that its “enormous tax increases would exacerbate Social Security’s strain on workers and families, making all but the oldest generations worse off.”

During his presidential campaign, former President Donald Trump had asked Republicans not to make any proposal to cut Social Security or Medicare. The Republican Party has adopted this stance as its policy and also dismissed lifting the retirement age.

During a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump said he would cut taxes on Social Security for seniors if reelected.

Roughly 40 percent of Americans who receive Social Security benefits pay taxes on these receipts. Retired individuals making more than $25,000 per year and couples earning more than $32,000 are subject to taxes.

The CRFB has raised concerns over cutting tax on Social Security, saying that such a move would slash federal revenues by roughly $1.8 trillion between fiscal year 2026 and 2035.

“This includes $1.05 trillion less in revenue collection for Social Security and $750 billion less revenue for Medicare,” it said in a post. The revenue reduction “would grow over the long run,” it said.

HUNTER BIDEN PLEADS GUILTY TO TAX CHARGES, AVOIDS PUBLIC TRIAL

Thursday, September 5, 2024
Kenneth Schrupp | The Center Square

Hunter Biden, the sole surviving son of President Joe Biden, pleaded guilty Thursday in Los Angeles to avoid a trial on nine federal tax charges that include three felonies and six misdemeanors.

The charges involve failing to file and pay $1.4 million in taxes, filing falsely, and claiming false and fraudulent business deductions.

The House Oversight Committee found the Biden family and associates received more than $20 million from overseas, including entities in China and Russia. The indictment alleges Hunter Biden spent this money on drugs and prostitutes while not paying taxes.

"Between 2016 and October 15, 2020, the Defendant spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes," the indictment said.

Hunter Biden pleaded guilty under an Alford plea, in which one maintains one’s innocence while admitting the prosecution has enough evidence to find one guilty. This is different from a nolo contendere plea, which unlike the Alford plea does not require special court approval, and is often entered in which the defendant neither admits or disputes the charges. While a nolo contendere plea is often viewed as a tacit admission of guilt, the Alford plea is viewed as a relatively lesser admission of guilt. Hunter Biden now avoids a public trial that would involve witnesses detailing his life during the period in which he allegedly committed tax fraud.

Hunter Biden was investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for securities fraud under the Trump administration, and was found guilty of felony gun charges for lying about his drug use on a gun purchase form and possessed a firearm while using illicit drugs. Hunter Biden is set to be sentenced for his gun charges, for which he can face up to 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines, on November 13, a week after the 2024 presidential election.

MANUFACTURING PRODUCTION HITS 4-YEAR LOW: AUGUST PURCHASING MANAGERS INDEX (PMI)

September 3, 2024
Philip Neuffer | Supply Chan Dive

Increasing inventories and cratering demand are creating “one of the most worrying signals witnessed since the global financial crisis,” according to S&P.

The manufacturing sector remained stuck in a holding pattern in August as production levels sunk to levels not seen since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Institute for Supply Management’s August PMI remained relatively flat during the month, inching up slightly to 47.2% from July’s mark of 46.8%.

A reading below 50.0% on a PMI index signals economic contraction.

Dragging down the overall index were continued declines in new orders and production. Production was particularly weak in August, with the production index’s 44.8% reading falling to its lowest level since May 2020, according to the ISM. The August figure was also down 1.1 points from July’s production index of 45.9%. Meanwhile, the August new orders index (44.6%) was down 2.8 percentage points from July as “a supply demand timing mismatch” led to a continued climb in inventories.

“Up until three months ago, the fact that we didn’t have demand wasn’t a super problem because we’ve been working on backlog, but now that the backlog is diminished, after 24 months of declining backlog and tracking indexes, we pretty much run out of the order book,” Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, said on a media call Tuesday.

As production decreased, so did staffing levels, with the employment index (46%) remaining in contraction territory once again in August.

“The ratio of hiring versus staff reductions returned to negative territory as companies continue to right size their workforce using layoffs as the primary tool,” said Fiore, although he did note that inputs “overperformed” in August.

While elevated interest rates have held capital investments at bay over the last two years, Fiore continues to believe the September cuts expected from the Federal Reserve will not have a major short-term impact. Instead, Fiore said he doesn’t anticipate any major changes until after the U.S. presidential election.

“Now we’re getting caught up here in the election cycle, where you’re a couple of months away from a huge decision point, not only in terms of who controls Congress, who controls the White House, and so now we’re kind of bunched up,” Fiore said. “It’s like a slinky. Unfortunately, we’re not at the extended slinky cycle, we’re at the compressed slinky cycle.”

Meanwhile, the S&P Global PMI August report, which had been slightly cheerier than its ISM counterpart this year, showed production decreased for the first time in seven months in August. The S&P PMI dropped to a reading of 47.9% during the month, a notable decline from July’s mark of 49.6%, with S&P describing it as “the most marked [decrease] in 2024.”

The production slowdown was a direct result of softening sales and demand, according to S&P, with new orders reducing at a rate not seen since June 2023.

“Slower than expected sales are causing warehouses to fill unsold stock, and a dearth of new orders has prompted factories to cut production for the first time since January,” Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a statement.

S&P noted that some companies “showed a reluctance to commit to new projects” because of the fall in demand. In addition, staffing levels fell for the first time this year and purchasing activity decreased at the “sharpest” rate of 2024.

The decrease in demand allowed manufacturers to deplete their backlogs of work for the 23rd straight month, increasing inventory of finished products, according to S&P, further souring the short-term outlook.

“The combination of falling orders and rising inventory sends the gloomiest forward-indication of production trends seen for one and a half years, and one of the most worrying signals witnessed since the global financial crisis,” Williamson said.

COMMISSIONERS SQUEAK IN “NEWLY DISCOVERED” BUDGET INFO; BUDGET COMMISSION SUSPENDS JFS LEVY AND ADMONISHES BOCC ABOUT OPEN MEETINGS VIOLATION[S]

Monday, September 2, 2024

Showdown during the last possible moment occurred at 3:30 pm on Friday, August 30. While many Geauga residents were attending The Great Geauga County Fair, all three Geauga Commissioners were attending a schooling session at the back office of the Geauga Auditor, Charles Walder, along with Geauga Budget/Finance Director, Adrian Gorton, County Administrator Gerard Morgan, and Assistant County Administrator Linda Burhenne.

This showdown followed the Geauga Budget Commission’s unanimous rejection of Gorton’s first 2025 Geauga County Budget on Monday, August 19 (see article). At that meeting, Morgan and Burhenne made no comments, leaving Gorton to express his obvious disagreement with Budget Commission members, Auditor Charles Walder, Prosecutor James Flaiz, and Treasurer Christopher Hitchcock. Gorton had submitted his written estimated beginning 2025 balance as $4,551,265.00. This dollar figure had raised so much skepticism and disbelief that all three members of the Budget Commission, had voted to reject Gorton’s budget at the last moment before the final state deadline.

At this eleventh hour meeting, Jim Flaiz was quick to express his preference of where he would rather be at 3:30 pm the second day of Geauga Fair: “ There’s a fair going on today,” he noted wistfully and his voice trailed off into silence. Everyone who could hear him knew where he would rather be this clear, sunny, perfect fair day.

The Budget Commission identified four questions about the final 2025 County Budget to be answered:

1) Does this final budget submission fall into the range of “Legally compliant”? Walder orally determined that the budget met current “legal” requirements, and therefore the answer was “Yes.”

2) Does the budget submission contain or depend on misleading information? Walder again determined that the answer was “Yes” because some of the information placed back into the budget may have misled taxpayers and members of the public.

3) Was the submission properly submitted to the public and/or open to discussion at a public meeting?

This question raised the biggest criticism from Chuck Walder, who cited at least one open meeting involving presentation of the 2025 County Budget where several tenets of the Open Meetings Act could have been violated. The biggest concern expressed by the Budget Commission was that opportunity for members to gain understanding of subtle nuances within the 2025 County Budget as presented during public session were either violated or subtly denied. Prosecutor Flaiz extended his concern as he wondered whether the manner of Gorton’s presentation of the budget during public session could be viewed as a violation of Ohio’s Open Meetings Policy,

In addition, Walder noted that he has heard from taxpayers that they want to experience the issue of the county budget so that they know where their tax dollars are going and “that their money is being spent wisely” by Geauga county officials. All three Budget Commission members opined that those who pay the expenses in our current form of county government are deeply committed to asking questions, providing relevant input, and reinforcing their conclusions with their votes on Election Day.

Flaiz documented his comments with ORC 5705.24. Further, the estimated beginning balance should be $9,876,924.10. He also noted that inside millage increased $2million last year so that Geauga County, after suspending collection of a Job and Family Services (JFS) levy in November 2023, would again need to suspend collection of $1 million for JFS in November 2024 because there is already enough money in the General Fund to cover any JFS needs that come up.

Christopher Hitchcock reminded Gorton that the unearned dollar windfall for Geauga County needs to be addressed in order to return extra, unneeded funds back to the taxpayers. Hitchcock cited previous Geauga County budgets, for instance the 2023 Fiscal budget, when the of where the estimated ending balance of $344,000 was grossly underestimated, compared to the actual ending balance of $11 million.

With the tough decisions behind him, Gorton remarked that there may yet be a way to use New World software to bring positive results to the new county budget. With a few minutes of the hour-long meeting remaining, Flaiz directed the Commissioners to provide assistance to Geauga townships and municipalities by distributing excess local government funds to them. In response to a direct question from Spidalieri, the City of Chardon could receive approximately $60,000. Bainbridge Township could receive $147,000. Chester Township could receive $117,000.

With just a few minutes remaining, Assistant County Administrator spoke up to the silence of Commissioners Lennon and Dvorak to object proclaim her belief that she is allowed to speak to Commissioners one at a time. Prosecutor Flaiz referenced her speaking one-on-one with commissioners as serial meetings. Serial meetings that result in a unanimous decision by commissioners without any discussion, debate, or clarification as a result of taxpayer input during the public session are illegal. Burhenne first insisted that no wrongs had been committed. Flaiz became so frustrated that he exclaimed, “Stop it! Stop it right now!”

Gorton advised his concern about approximately $5 million spent in excess of original estimates for Geauga Courthouse renovation and the possible unexpected burden that may result in 2025. This lead-in statement was the cue for Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri to vent his frustration with Chardon’s lack of financial contribution and the $5 million extra-indebtedness for the courthouse project. Spid described the burden as an “untenable overload.” Spidalieri further insisted in typical fashion that he “never supported the extra expense” of the courthouse renovation and “that Commissioners have thrown good money after bad.”

That rationalization prompted Walder to question Adrian Gorton’s removal of the Auditor’s ADP fund from the county budget. Walder noted that the Commissioners and/Adrian Gorton have no authority to defund any ADP fund, but the fund was removed anyway. As a result, according to Prosecutor Flaiz, the Commissioners have abandoned their statutory responsibilities.

This is a breaking story.

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE ALLOWS UNDOCUMENTED TO GET FREE $150K HOME DOWN PAYMENTS

Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Kenneth Schrupp | The Center Square

The California legislature passed a bill allowing undocumented immigrants to make use of the state’s $150,000, 0 down, 0 interest home “loans.” The bill now goes to the governor’s desk, where he must either veto or approve the bill by the end of September.

California has one of the worst home shortages in the nation, with an estimated 4.5 million home shortage, and a nearly $1 million median home price.

"Many generational Californians can’t afford to buy a house in their home state thanks to Democrats’ unsustainable economic policies,” said State Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones, R-San Diego, in a statement urging California Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto the bill. "This policy is not only unfair but also sends a dangerous message: ‘Come to California, whether legally or illegally, and claim your $150,000 home loan.’"

California’s Dream for All Shared Appreciation Loans program allows applicants to secure “loans” of up to $150,000 or 20% of the home’s purchase price — or, about what a typical down payment is — with zero down payment on this state “loan,” and no payments. In exchange, the state receives the original loan amount plus 20% of the appreciated gain when the home is refinanced, sold, or transferred.

Last year, the state allocated $255 million for the program for 1,700 lucky “winners” of an application lottery. This year, the state did not fund the program at all as it narrowly balanced a $47 billion budget deficit.

It’s not clear what happens if a family decides to hold on to a home as there are no provisions on how long a property can be held for, which means certain kinds of trusts could potentially allow the loan to not be paid back.

The bill now goes to Newsom’s desk for approval where it faces an uncertain future. The governor has often used the state’s poor finances to justify vetoing bills popular with California Democrats but unpopular nationwide.

RED TAPE, NEW POWER PLANT DELAYS PUT OHIO GRID 'IN PERIL'

Thursday, August 20, 2024
Anthony Hennen | The Center Square

PJM Interconnection is a regional transmission organization (RTO) that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

That means the state’s role in generating power to keep the lights on in neighboring states is crucial. But a report warns that recent government policy choices have weakened the grid, making it more vulnerable to disruptions.

A potential power shortage could hit by 2030 if more problems mount.

“It’s an issue in Washington and it’s an issue in various state capitals,” said Ken Zapinski, director of research and public policy at Pittsburgh Works Together, which published the report warning that the PJM grid is “in peril.”

PJM works as a middleman of sorts; it plans for the future and coordinates the marketplace where utilities and consumers buy electricity across 13 states and Washington, DC. States like Pennsylvania, Illinois and West Virginia generate more electricity than they use, which states like Ohio and Virginia buy up, keeping the lights on for 65 million people.

However, the growing demand for power, roadblocks to building more generation and transmission lines, and a lack of authority or responsibility for certain problems are causing frustrations.

“Regardless of where one stands on the energy mix issue, transmission will require lots of things being built,” Zapinski said. “And it’s really difficult and time consuming and expensive to build big things in this country.”

The result has been that, as coal power plants shut down, the power generation isn’t getting replaced quickly enough. Roadblocks from local zoning issues, state and federal regulations, and financial hangups after regulatory approval delay new sources of power.

“To keep the grid working, no matter what the future direction, requires building a lot of big things,” Zapinski said. “If Pennsylvania, somehow, is not producing the same amount of power for whatever reason, at the end of the day, there's no clear model as to how that works.”

A June report from PJM warned that energy demands will increase significantly by 2040, and another “623 to 798 terawatt hours of annual electricity by 2040 to meet the resource gap” will be needed.

Supply scarcity is “nearly certain” unless fossil fuel retirements slow or more energy generation gets built faster.

But federal rules, like an EPA greenhouse gas regulation that would require coal plants to upgrade their equipment or shut down by 2032, are causing early retirements, Zapinski argued, at a time when PJM only approved 11 gigawatts of new projects in 2023.

State and federal rules, along with the priorities of power generators, utilities and businesses, means that some actions work against others.

“The real challenge is nobody’s in charge,” Zapinski said. “There’s a lot of different public and private sector players that are in charge of different aspects, and for things to work correctly everything has to be in alignment. If any of them fall out of alignment, things can fall to pieces very quickly.”

In February, a joint Pennsylvania-Ohio House and Senate Committee hearing took testimony on how bureaucracy shuts down power generators before new replacements are at hand and strains reliability. But one overriding fix isn’t easy to pass — no one group has the ultimate authority.

As intermittent power sources like wind and solar grow, and the footprint of coal and natural gas shrink, the risk of blackouts like what’s happened in Texas and California grows.

“That math isn’t good,” Zapinski said.

AUBURN TOWNSHIP AUGUST 19, 2024, PUBLIC HEARING IN RE ZC2024-01

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

The previous township meeting (August 5, 2024) generated information about the establishment of a public hearing to be held Monday, August 19, 2024, regarding Zoning Amendment 2024-01, developed with the assistance of Geauga County Zoning Professional, David Dietrich, to the Auburn Township Zoning Commission as a result of questions and concerns of local residents interested in utilizing Auburn parcels they own as family burial sites to hold the interred remains of individuals who are descendants of a common ancestor in accordance with a ruling by a current or past Ohio Attorney General ruling recognizing such internment as a permitted zoning use. Mr. Dietrich noted that the Geauga County Planning Commission recently presented input regarding acceptable usage for family burial grounds on private property to be defined under an affidavit of fact. Ohio Revised Code ()RC) utilizes the language of ORC 4767.02C-4767.04. ORC 1721, ORC 3705, and ORC 517 to identify the need to protect the final resting places of family members as a proactive practice which cannot be denied or forbidden by local government regulations.

The hearing began at 7:15 pm on August 19 in the presence of multiple residents, as well as Mr. Dietrich, all three trustees, Fiscal Officer Dan Matsko, and Fiscal Assistant Lorraine Servich. Some confusion had been created regarding the beginning time for the public hearing as 6: 45 pm, instead of 7:15 pm. Additionally, former Zoning Secretary Dee Ballew, noted that the notice of the public hearing in print media did not appear according to plan. The small number of Auburn Township residents in attendance for the public hearing exemplified a heightened level of misunderstanding regarding the time of the proposed public hearing. The hearing closed at 7:30 pm to make way for the regular public meeting to be called to order.

GEAUGA BUDGET COMMISSION REJECTS 2025 GEAUGA COUNTY BUDGET

Thursday, August 22, 2024

Finance Director Adrian Gorton, and Geauga County Administrator Gerry Morgan and Assistant Administrator Linda Burhenne represented Geauga County, ie County Commissioners before the Geauga Budget Commission as the last of six entities seeking financial approval. That hearing before the Budget Commission –composed of Geauga County Auditor Charles Walder, Geauga County Treasurer Christopher Hitchcock, and Geauga County Prosecutor James Flaiz-- seemed to put Gorton in deeper water, while Morgan and Ms. Burhenne said nothing at all.

By 2:50 pm Gorton found his 2025 Budget unanimously rejected by Walder, Flaiz, and Hitchcock on the grounds that the County Budget’s 2025 estimated beginning balance of $4.5 million

ELON MUSK SAYS BIDEN-HARRIS-WALZ CENSORSHIP PUTS AMERICA'S SURVIVAL AT RISK

Monday, August 12, 2024
Elyse Apel | The Center Square

Saying he remains more moderate and left than not, billionaire Elon Musk hosted and affirmed his endorsement of former President Donald Trump in a conversation on his social media platform.

Musk said, "We are at a fork in the road in the destiny of civilization. We need to take the right path and I think you are the right path."

And in another moment, describing the election race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, he said of the Republican, "You are the path to prosperity. And Kamala is the opposite."

Undeterred by an opening glitch, Trump and Musk chatted in a public interview on Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. More than 1 million people joined the stream to listen to the two-hour conversation after the host said they would have to scale back the event to a smaller number of listeners because of a “massive” cyberattack.

“Congratulations on breaking every record in the book tonight,” Trump told Musk, when, within 30 minutes of the intended start of the stream, nearly 30 million people had already viewed the post.

“We view that as an honor,” Trump said.

Throughout the conversation, Musk and Trump touched on a wide range of subjects, from illegal immigration to the assassination attempt on Trump. There were no deviations from past policy foundations in his campaign.

Musk, co-founder of PayPal and an early investor of Tesla before becoming its CEO, has estimated net worth of more than $220 billion – richest man on the planet. Trump is estimated net worth of $4.7 billion.

Musk gave context to his position, saying he waited in line six hours to shake President Barack Obama's hand, he has significant investments in industries typically associated with Democrats, and he has a love for his country.

Musk applauded Trump for his “inspiring” reaction to the assassination attempt on his life, saying that played a part in his excitement over endorsing Trump.

“Instead of shying away from things, instead of ducking down, you were pumping your fist in there and saying, fight, fight, fight,” Musk said. “The President of the United States represents America. And I think that is America. That is strength under fire.”

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the Secret Service since the attempt, leading to the resignation of former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on July 23.

Yet, when asked by Musk his thoughts on the job done by security at the event, Trump said a lack of communication seemed to be the biggest problem, while continuing to stand by the “tremendous courage” of his Secret Service team.

They then went on to touch on illegal immigration, where Trump was quick to blast President Joe Biden and Harris.

“You have millions of people coming in a month, and then he gets up and she tries to pretend like she's going to do something," Trump said. "She had three and a half years and, by the way, they have another five months that they can do something, but they won't do anything. It's all talk.”

He added, “She was in charge of the border and the border is the worst ever.”

Musk agreed with Trump’s concerns.

“It’s simply not working," Musk said. "Whether it’s a question of intention or incompetence, either way, we don’t have a secure border.”

Trump said the world would be in a better place if he had been president these last four years, reminding voters to ask themselves if they are better today than four years ago.

“The Israeli attack would have never happened, Russia would never have attacked Ukraine, we'd have no inflation, and we wouldn't have had the Afghanistan mess,” Trump said.

Musk also advocated the importance of a strong leader in the United States.

“In the context of global security, if the American president is someone who evil dictators are scared of, that makes a huge difference to the security of the world,” Musk said.

Trump said he was that person.

“I know Putin. I know President Xi. I know Kim Jong Un of North Korea. I know every one of them,” he said. “They are at the top of their game. They're tough, they're smart, they're vicious, and they're going to protect their country . . . and when they see Kamala or when they see Biden, Sleepy Joe, they can't even believe it. They can't believe this happened.”

Trump promised that, if given a second term by voters in November, he wants to decrease income taxes on middle-class families.

He also called out what he sees as Harris’ hypocrisy in recently announcing similar policies. The most significant is no taxes on tips.

“Our country is becoming a very dangerous place and she is a radical left San Francisco liberal,” Trump said. ‘Now she’s looking like she wants to be more Trump than Trump.”

Prior to the interview, a member of the European Union sent a letter to Musk, stating that it led to a greater “risk of amplification of potentially harmful content” which might lead to the EU taking “interim measures” against X.

Musk said that he believes issues like this are why it is important to elect Trump.

“I think, really, it is essential that you win for the good of the country,” he said. “There’s a lot of attempts to . . . force censorship, even on Americans from other countries.”

Trump ended the interview by saying that Nov. 5 is going to be the "most important day in the history of our country."

"We are going to do some great things," Trump said. "We are going to really turn around things fast. We have no choice, otherwise we are not going to have a country."

BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN UNDER FIRE FOR PRESSURING FACEBOOK TO CENSOR AMERICANS

Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Casey Harper | The Center Square

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off a firestorm of controversy this week when he sent a letter to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee admitting his mistake in caving to pressure from the Biden administration to censor Americans’ posts that contradicted the administration’s viewpoints on COVID-19.

"In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn't agree," the letter said.

Zuckerberg also said that Facebook made posts about Hunter Biden’s laptop harder to see during the 2020 election at the request of the FBI, the latest evidence of coordinated social media censorship driven by the federal government.

"Ultimately, it was our decision whether or not to take content down, and we own our decisions, including COVID-19-related changes we made to our enforcement in the wake of this pressure," Zuckerberg continued. "I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it. I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn't make today. Like I said to our teams at the time, I feel strongly that we should not compromise our content standards due to pressure from any Administration in either direction – and we're ready to push back if something like this happens again."

The FBI also warned multiple social media companies in 2020 that forthcoming news of a Hunter Biden laptop would likely come out but that it was merely Russian disinformation.

When that news did come out, reported by the New York Post, the media refused to pick it up and social media companies censored it. In fact, the New York Post had its Twitter account locked. The laptop was later confirmed as entirely real.

The House Judiciary Committee said in July of last year that Laura Dehmlow, the Section Chief of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, testified to the committee that FBI personnel in fact knew the laptop was not Russian disinformation when they advised tech companies.

U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty laid this out in his court ruling in July of last year when he said the White House and FBI must stop pressuring social media companies to censor conservative speech, saying it violated the First Amendment, as The Center Square previously reported.

"Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits in establishing that the government has used its power to silence the opposition,” the ruling said. “Opposition to COVID-19 vaccines, opposition to COVID-19 mask and lockdowns, opposition to the lab leak theory of COVID-19, opposition to the validity of the 2020 election, opposition to President Biden's policies, statements that the Hunter Biden laptop was true, and opposition to policies of the government officials in power. All were suppressed. It is quite telling that each example or category of suppressed speech was conservative in nature."

Speaking of inappropriate social media censorship on COVID-19 or Hunter Biden's laptop was once considered conspiracy by many media outlets and pundits.

"Looks like Mark Zuckerberg has joined the ranks of the crazed conspiracy theorists who claim that the Biden administration pressured Facebook to censor dissent during Covid," Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who recently dropped out of the presidential race to endorse former President Donald Trump, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Trump reacted strongly online Tuesday after the news broke, repeatedly calling it evidence the 2020 election was “rigged.”

“IN OTHER WORDS, THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WAS RIGGED,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial.

JUDGE HALTS BIDEN-HARRIS PLAN TO GIVE SPOUSES OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP

Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Casey Harper | The Center Square

A federal judge on Monday temporarily paused a Biden administration program that would grant a path to citizenship for the spouses of American citizens.

District Court Judge J. Campbell Barker paused the new Biden administration effort until a final ruling is made. The program in questions allows illegal immigrants who have married an American citizen to avoid deportation and start the path to citizenship.

The halt comes after a coalition of 16 states filed a lawsuit to challenge the program.

Proponents of the policy say it helps repair the immigration system and helps the migrants in limbo in the U.S.

Critics say it incentivizes illegal immigrants even more than they already are and that the policy violates the U.S. Constitution and breaks federal law.

“Under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the federal government is actively working to turn the United States into a nation without borders and a country without laws. I will not let this happen,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who helped drive the effort, said in a statement. “Biden’s new parole workaround unilaterally grants the opportunity for citizenship to unvetted aliens whose first act on American soil was to break our laws. This violates the Constitution and actively worsens the illegal immigration disaster that is hurting Texas and our country.”

DHS PATTERN OF RELEASING SUSPECTED TERRORISTS THREATENING U.S. MILITARY BASES, CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

May 17, 2024
Irene Loewenson | Marine Corps Times

Under the Biden administration the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has a pattern of releasing suspected terrorists at the southwest border resulting in national security risks that include threats to U.S. military installations and critical infrastructure, a congressional committee affirms.

Federal lawmakers reveal that since Biden took office the U.S. Border Patrol has encountered at least 351 illegal aliens on the Terrorist Screening Data Set coming into the country between ports of entry. Among them are two Jordanian nationals who recently attempted to breach a military base not far from the nation’s capital. The men drove a truck to the main gate of Marine Corps Base Quantico earlier this month and ignored guards’ orders to stop when they could not provide credentials required to gain access to the facility. The Virginia base is about 35 miles south of Washington D.C.

Now the House Homeland Security Committee, established nearly two decades ago to ensure that the American people are protected from terrorist attacks, is investigating the matter and demanding action from administration officials charged with safeguarding the nation, including the secretaries of Homeland Security (Alejandro Mayorkas) and Defense (Lloyd Austin) as well as FBI Director Christopher Wray. In a letter to the Biden officials, high-ranking committee members including chairman Mark Green of Tennessee, ask for documents and other pertinent information to aid in their investigation into threats posed by foreign nationals to U.S. military bases and other critical infrastructure. That includes communications such as text messages and electronic mail between DHS, DOD and the FBI related to the May 3 incident at Marine Corps Base Quantico, documents to identify the names and countries of origin of the truck’s occupants and their current alien file. The committee also wants files with all derogatory information in the Terrorist Screening Data Set associated with any individual who attempted to breach the military compound and all files containing notes from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and prosecutors referring to the individuals involved.

The attempted breach at the Marine Corps base reflects a possibly more dire reality for the state of U.S. national security, the committee members write, adding recent congressional testimony delivered by the FBI director. “As Director Wray stated in a recent Senate hearing, ‘a wide array of very dangerous threats . . . emanate from the border, requiring ‘much greater vigilance’ to protect the country.” The legislators point out that DHS’s relaxed vetting standards, which complement Biden’s avowed desire to surge the border with inadmissible migrants, have created an environment ripe for exploitation by individuals aiming to undermine the United States at its most critical points. “If individuals on the terrorist watchlist are so emboldened to attempt to breach a Marine Corps base, the Department of Homeland Security and the entire executive branch must act swiftly to identify, apprehend, and detain such hostile actors on American soil,” the letter states.

The recent incident in Virginia appears to be part of a broader security issue involving U.S. military bases and foreign intruders. Less than a year ago a mainstream newspaper published an alarming exposéinvolving Chinese nationals, sometimes posing as tourists, accessing military bases and other sensitive U.S. sites as many as 100 times. In the story U.S. officials, from agencies such as the FBI and DOD, describe the incidents as espionage threats designed to test security practices at U.S. military installations and other federal sites. Examples include Chinese nationals—required to report back to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)—crossing into a U.S. missile range in New Mexico to scuba divers swimming in murky waters near a U.S. government rocket-launch facility in Florida. The same Homeland Security Committee also initiated an investigation into the Chinese breaches after learning about them in the media. In a September 2023 letter to Mayorkas, Wray and Austin, the committee points out that the “persistent and multi-faceted threats posed by the CCP to U.S. homeland security have only intensified under the Biden-Harris administration.”

16 STATE COALITION, INCLUDING OHIO, SUES BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO BLOCK AMNESTY PLAN

Saturday, August 24, 2024
Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor

A 16-state coalition led by Texas has sued the Biden administration to stop a widespread amnesty plan from going into effect.

They did so two months after President Joe Biden announced the plan designed to fast track a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals who’ve been living in the country illegally for more than 10 years and who are married to a U.S. citizen.

Part of his plan was implemented by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week through its “Implementation of Keeping Families Together” program. It enables federal agents to “process for certain noncitizen spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens who are present in the United States without admission or parole,” meaning they are in the country illegally, “to request parole in place” (PIP) status.

Granting a PIP status “will achieve the significant public benefit of promoting the unity and stability of families, increasing the economic prosperity of American communities, strengthening diplomatic relationships with partner countries in the region, reducing strain on limited U.S. government resources, and furthering national security, public safety, and border security objectives,” DHS says.

By doing so, the Biden-Harris administration did “an end-around the law” by ignoring the Constitution, violating the Administrative Procedure Act, and contravening existing federal law, the coalition argues.

They sued in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas Tyler Division and asked the court to grant injunctive relief to prevent DHS from implementing it.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and their respective heads, are named as defendants.

“Federal statute prohibits illegal aliens from obtaining most immigration benefits, such as permanent resident status, without first leaving the country and being admitted to re-enter and reside in the country lawfully,” the coalition said. Instead of following current federal law, the program “effectively provides a new pathway to a green card and eventual citizenship,” the coalition added, because it allows “more than 1.3 million aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States to circumvent the processes established by Congress to apply for permanent residency – an opportunity that is not legally available to those present in the country unlawfully.”

Similar to the more than a dozen parole programs DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas created to expand illegal entry into the country, critics argue, the PIP is also only supposed to be used “for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit,” not en masse, according to federal law the brief cites.

“Under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the federal government is actively working to turn the United States into a nation without borders and a country without laws. I will not let this happen,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. “Biden’s new parole workaround unilaterally grants the opportunity for citizenship to unvetted aliens whose first act on American soil was to break our laws. This violates the Constitution and actively worsens the illegal immigration disaster that is hurting Texas and our country.”

Joining Texas are the attorneys general of Idaho, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming.

Each of the states says they will be “irreparably harmed by the PIP program,” citing estimated costs to taxpayers who fund a range of subsidized services that illegal foreign nationals receive. They include Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), uncompensated healthcare costs, law enforcement costs due to crime, public education, “unemployment, environmental harm and social disorder due to illegal immigration.”

“As the number of paroled and illegal aliens” in these states increase, the brief argues, “the number of paroled and illegal aliens receiving” subsidized services will also increase.

The complaint also lists an estimated number of foreign nationals illegally living in each of the plaintiff states who are married to a U.S. citizen and may qualify for the PIP program. Texas has the most of an estimated 204,000; Florida has the second greatest number of 93,000, followed by Georgia’s 34,000, according to Migration Policy Institute data cited.

The next greatest number is 14,000 in Ohio, 12,000 in Tennessee, 9,000 each in Kansas and Missouri, 7,000 each in Alabama and Louisiana, 6,000 each in Arkansas and Iowa, and 4,000 in Idaho. An unknown number are cited for the states of North and South Dakota and Wyoming.

DHS said the process began on Aug. 19 and the “family unity is a bedrock objective of the U.S. immigration system.”

GEAUGA PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE USES EXECUTIVE SESSION TO NEGOTIATE SECOND EXTENSION OF WITHDRAWAL FROM PORTAGE JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER UNTIL SEPTEMBER 5

Thursday, August 22,2024

After announcing another delay in holding the Portage County Commissioners responsible for honoring their written and verbal commitments to Geauga County’s withdrawal from continuing (See Geauga GEAUGA COUNTY SEEKS OFFICIAL EXIT FROM JOINT PORTAGE-GEAUGA JUVENILE DETENTiON AND REHABILITATION CENTER), Laura LaChapelle from the Geauga Prosecutor’s Office and County Administrator Gerry Morgan exited Commissioners’ Chambers to join Prosecutor Jim Flaiz by phone “for the purpose of discussing Imminent Litigation.” Prosecutor Flaiz was calling from Auditor Walder’s Conference Room as a member of the Budget Commission’s final review of 2025 Fiscal Budgets.

When Morgan and LaChapelle returned from nearly 30 minutes of discussion, they announced that an extension has been granted from August 15 until September 5, 2024, to facilitate Geauga County’s withdrawal from the arrangement.

With Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri not present for the session, Commissioners Dvorak and Lennon seemed comfortable that the executive session was just a means to an end and simply part of the process.

The meeting adjourned at 10:48 am.

‘SHOCKING’ JOBS NUMBER REVISION BRINGS QUESTIONS ABOUT BIDEN-HARRIS ECONOMY

Thursday, August 22, 2024
Casey Harper | The Center Square

New federal economic data shows that previous data significantly overestimated the health of the U.S. economy.

The Department of Labor released revised jobs data that showed they overestimated the number of jobs created in the U.S. economy by 818,000, a whopping revision that set off alarm bells Wednesday.

Economic data is often revised, but the size of this change is large enough to raise eyebrows.

“Even this number is shocking, job growth is still positive,” Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris Financial Group in Richmond, Va., said in a statement. “If you are in the rate cut in September camp, these data all but seal the deal on what Fed needed to cut rates.”

The new job creation numbers are nearly a third lower than the previous figure. The numbers come amid scrutiny of the economic record of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential pick, whose administration oversaw a massive spike in inflation while in office.

To address inflation, the U.S. Federal Reserve hikes interest rates, and those rates have increased significantly in recent years. However, the Fed relies in part on federal jobs data to make those decisions.

“THE DATA DEPENDENT FED IS FLYING BLIND — UNRELIABLE DATA,” Johns Hopkins Professor of Applied Economics Steve Hanke wrote on X.

The revision drew widespread outrage. The Washington Post called Wednesday's correction a “big fix” to the jobs data, and The Wall Street Journal reported that the job market "was weaker than previously reported."

“It’s troubling to see the Dept. of Labor issue an unusually large correction to last year’s jobs report,” Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “As unemployment rises, American workers need pro-growth action, not the stale policies of the Biden-Harris admin.”

Former President Donald Trump blasted the Biden administration, calling it a “massive scandal.”

“The Harris-Biden Administration has been caught fraudulently manipulating Job Statistics to hide the true extent of the Economic Ruin they have inflicted upon America,” Trump said in a statement. “New Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the Administration PADDED THE NUMBERS with an extra 818,000 Jobs that DO NOT EXIST, AND NEVER DID. The real Numbers are much worse than that and, if Comrade Kamala gets another four years, millions more Jobs will VANISH overnight, and Inflation will completely destroy our Country.“

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. SCHEDULED TO ADDRESS THE ‘PRESENT HISTORIC MOMENT AND HIS PATH FORWARD’ FRIDAY

Thursday, August 22, 2024
Jack Windsor | The Ohio Press Network

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will deliver an address to America Friday from Phoenix, his press secretary Stefanie Spear announced on social media Wednesday.

The announcement comes one day after Kennedy’s running mate Nicole Shanahan hinted the campaign was exploring withdrawing from the race and favoring an endorsement of Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump.

Trump is holding a rally Friday in Glendale, Arizona which is approximately 10 miles away from Phoenix.

The Ohio Press Network emailed Kennedy’s campaign to ask if he plans to drop out of the race and endorse Trump, but no response was given by the time this report was published.

Trump was asked by Fox News whether the 45th president had talked with Kennedy after news broke that he is mulling a withdrawal and endorsement. Trump said he hadn’t spoken with Kennedy and despite a “little different philosophy” he respects Kennedy who he called a “very smart guy.”

When asked if Kennedy would join him on stage Friday, Trump said “I would always be honored to. I mean, if he endorsed me, would I be honored by that? Absolutely.”

U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) is Trump’s running mate. He was asked about Kennedy Wednesday morning on Fox and Friends. Vance said, “I think it would be good for the campaign. I've never talked to RFK about this, but my pitch to him and to a lot of his voters would be the Democratic Party of my grandparents that supported his uncle. John F. Kennedy for president has been completely abandoned by the modern leadership of the Democratic Party."

RealClearPolitics 2024 General Election Poll Average in a five-way race including Trump, Harris, Kennedy, Cornel West and Jill Stein reports Harris at 46.4, Trump at 44.8 and Kennedy at 6.4 followed by Stein at 0.9 and West at 0.4.

GEAUGA COUNTY ELECTED REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP DEMAND IMMEDIATE RESIGNATION OF PARTY CHAIR, NANCY McARTHUR

Thursday, August 15, 2024

In a show of outstanding unity and cohesiveness in a critically important national-election year, ten well-known Republican elected incumbents have signed a letter demanding that long-time chair, Nancy McArthur immediately resign. The letter presents a list of McArthur’s actions and motivations which have discouraged new membership and party unity and calls for party action to resolve the problem and move forward on a positive note for the Geauga County Republican Party.

GEAUGA COUNTY SEEKS OFFICIAL EXIT FROM JOINT PORTAGE-GEAUGA JUVENILE DETENTION AND REHABILITATION CENTER DISTRICT WITH RETURN OF WITHHELD FEES

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

After encountering blockades to leaving a 15+year legal relationship with Portage County over the housing of delinquent Geauga County juveniles, Geauga County Commissioners on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, listened to new information presented by Geauga County Administrator Gerry Morgan, who had been entrusted to reach out to the Portage County Administrator after the promised reimbursement for for Geauga Commissioners’ expressed desire to leave a business relationship with the Portage County Juvenile Detention Center after ceasing to pay a rental fee to Portage County Juvenile Detention Center back in early May 2024 did not net Geauga County the expected $225,000 refund by the expected date of July 31. Further, and the Portage County Administrator has appeared to avoid discussion of the value of Geauga County’s total financial investment in the brick- and-mortar construction of the Portage County Juvenile Detention Center, when the project became a reality about 1998.

Geauga County was permitting the Geauga County Prosecutor to set the negotiator guidelines with the Portage County Prosecutor to facilitate the return of two payments from the Portage County Commissioners: a payment for $225,000 and a payment reflecting today’s accumulated value of Geauga County’s original brick-mortar-investment at an approximate 23% return of capital of as much as a $1 million dollar litigation settlement.

Prosecutor Flaiz commented on the progress of current negotiations during a post-commissioner meeting in the Administration Building. He noted that it behooved Geauga Commissioners to exit a rental situation with the Portage County Juvenile Detention Center as soon as practical because every day for which Geauga County is paying for juvenile overnight space is prohibitively expensive when Geauga Juvenile Court is seeking a contract with a more efficient Juvenile Court facility outside of Portage County.

At 9:50 am Agenda Item #16 (out of 17 total items for Tuesday, August 13) was read as follows:

“The Commissioners’ Office is requesting the Board extend the effective date on which the Geauga County Board of Commissioners will withdraw from the Joint Board of County Commissioners of Portage and Geauga Counties and the Joint Portage-Geauga Juvenile Detention and Rehabilitation Center District from August 15, 2024, to August 21. 2024.”

It is our understanding that the Commissioners, per public information provided in late

May 2024 seek to become a Joint Board of County Commissioners of Lake-Geauga County

to form the Joint Lake-Geauga Juvenile Detention and Rehabilitation Center District when the two payments are properly rebated/refunded to Geauga County and its taxpayers.

AFTERMATH OF 4 TORNADOES DURING AFTERNOON OF AUGUST 7, 2024, EXACERBATE POWER OUTAGE FOR 400,000-500,000 NE OHIO RESIDENCES

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

The afternoon of August 14, 2024, resulted in 70+mph winds that accompanied at least 4 tornado sightings, downed trees, and extensive power outages throughout northeast Ohio. Originally estimated at 500,000 households in which power losses negatively impacted families for several days, some 4,000-5000 outages remained late Monday, August 12, 2024. The loss of electrical power for extended periods of time created a loss of frozen foods in grocery retail stores through the morning of Tuesday, August 14, 2024, motivating retail groceries to provide negatively impacted households with free ice until situations were returned to more normalcy.

HOURLY SALARY UPGRADE FOR COUNTY BUILDING DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR

Tuesday, August 6, 2024

Geauga County Commissioners, County Administrator Gerry Morgan, and Assistant County Administrator Linda Burhenne announced an Executive Session at 10:15 am during the Public Commissioners Session of August 14, 2024, “for the purpose of discussing the employment and compensation of a public employee in the [county] Building Department.” Dan Spada, who succeeded Mike Mihalic, the previous head of the County Building Department, moved into executive session with the above-mentioned individuals.

When Executive Session was over, Commissioners and County Administrative Officers returned to announce Dan Spada’s newly-negotiated salary of $47.23 per hour, effective August 14, 2024.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BORROWED $5 BILLION A DAY IN FISCAL YEAR 2024

Sunday, August 11, 2024
Tom Gantert, Managing Editor | The Center Square

So far in the fiscal year 2024, the federal government has had to borrow about $5 billion every day.

The Congressional Budget Office said Thursday the federal budget deficit was $1.5 trillion for the first 10 months of fiscal year 2024, which covers October through July.

The CBO stated that the $1.5 trillion deficit for the first 10 months of FY 2024 was $103 billion less than the deficit recorded during the same period last fiscal year.

The federal budgeting agency projects the deficit for 2024 will be $2.0 trillion. The deficit for fiscal year 2023 was $1.7 trillion. But the CBO says the differences in the deficits those years could be attributable to budgeting “timing shifts”.

“We’re nearly at the end of fiscal year 2024, and while most of America is focused on the momentum in the race for the White House, beneath the surface our nation’s fiscal health has continued to worsen,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, in a media release. “We’ve just surpassed $35 trillion in gross debt, and today’s CBO projections estimate we’ve borrowed another $242 billion in July, or $5 billion each day this fiscal year. Our fiscal trajectory cannot be left on autopilot – the stakes are far too high and the consequences far too steep to leave our national debt climbing in perpetuity.”

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation, which was founded by Peter Peterson, the former secretary of commerce for President Richard Nixon, tracks the national debt at $35.08 trillion, or $104,193 for every person in America, as of Aug. 8.

"Historically, our largest deficits were caused by increased spending around national emergencies like major wars or the Great Depression," the foundation stated on its website. "Today, our deficits are caused mainly by predictable structural factors: our aging baby-boom generation, rising healthcare costs, and a tax system that does not bring in enough money to pay for what the government has promised its citizens."

The think tank Truth in Accounting states the real national debt is closer to $156.8 trillion if unfunded Social Security and Medicare promises were included.

NEWSOM STRENGTHENS CHINESE RELATIONS AS SCRUTINY GROWS OVER WALZ’ CHINA TIES

Thursday, August 8, 2024
Kenneth Schrupp | The Center Square

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.” “We hope that the newly arrived panda ‘envoys of friendship’ will lead to further exchanges and cooperation between California and China.”

According to the California Chamber of Commerce, California exports to China were $18.15 billion in 2022, with Chinese imports to California reaching $147.6 billion that year.

While visiting China in 2023, Newsom signed a declaration and five memorandums of understanding with China on climate change.

“Specifically, our partnership and work together will accelerate the clean energy transition, including offshore wind, advanced energy storage technologies, and zero-emission vehicles; mitigate carbon emissions and sustain economic growth, including the role of carbon markets and climate finance; advance action that reduces non-CO2 emissions, including methane; and build resilience to our changing climate while protecting biodiversity,” wrote Newsom in his declaration.

China produces 80% of the world’s solar panels, 80% of the world’s batteries, 60% of the world’s windmills, and more than half of the world’s electric vehicles, including 80% of the world’s zero-emission heavy-duty trucks, and the largest share of the world’s electric busses; in 2018, 421,000 out of the world’s 425,000 electric buses were in China.

The governor’s declaration also noted that China is expanding its carbon market, suggesting that most aspects of California’s green energy revolution — from the state’s $53 billion climate package to carbon credit mandates and even more local governments’ EV bus and solar panel operations — could drive American taxpayer and business funds to China.

Newsom’s announcement comes over increasing security regarding Walz, who is from a small Nebraska town, and his ties with China. Walz speaks Mandarin and says he has both lived in the country and visited 30 times. Walz first visited China at the time of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, telling Congress later — according to NBC — that “It was my belief at that time that the diplomacy was going to happen on many levels, certainly people to people, and the opportunity to be in a Chinese high school at that critical time seemed to me to be really important.”

As a teacher, Walz told the Nebraska Star-Herald he secured funding from the Chinese government to bring American students to China. He also told the Star-Herald that “If [the Chinese] had the proper leadership, there are no limits on what they could accomplish.”

Walz and his wife founded a company to take American high school students to China, and were married on the five-year anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, a decision his wife says was intentional, and honeymooned in China while bringing American students on a tour.

As a member of Congress, Walz traveled to Tibet and met with the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet exiled by China, and served on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which focused on Chinese human rights abuses, suggesting Walz’ public and close appreciation for China and its people may not extend to its government.

However, as governor of Minnesota, Walz is celebrated by Democrats for his emphasis on green energy, which in the current market means buying equipment from China — a point Republicans were quick to attack.

“Tim Walz is a guy who wants to shift more and more American manufacturing jobs to China,” retorted Ohio Senator and Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance. “If you care about the environment, and I certainly do, why are you going to ship American manufacturing jobs to the dirtiest economy in the world? Why wouldn't you keep them right here?”

MILLIONS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS WRONGLY WENT TO UNION PENSION PLANS FOR DECEASED AMERICANS

Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Casey Harper | The Center Square

Lawmakers say tens of millions of taxpayer dollars were wrongly set aside for union pension plans, and now lawmakers want those funds back.

U.S. Rep. and Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Chair Bob Good, R-Va., sent a letter to the Biden administration Wednesday following up to see what action the administration has taken to recover funds wrongly allotted to multi-employer pension plans.

Lawmakers passed the American Rescue Plan in 2021, which created the Special Financial Assistance Program to save the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which was in dire financial straits.

Foxx and Good have been conducting ongoing oversight of the PBGC, which has been under scrutiny ever since the Inspector General reported that millions of dollars were wrongly paid out to pensions for thousands of deceased Americans.

From the IG:
"We found 3,479 deceased participants in Central States’ (Plan) SFA application because the Corporation did not ensure deceased participants were removed from the Plan’s application. While the Corporation’s review process required Central States to provide a list of all Plan participants and proof of a search for deceased participants (death audit), the Corporation did not cross-check the information against the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Full Death Master File (DMF) ─ the source recommended by the U.S. Government Accountability Office for reducing improper payments to deceased people. (The Full DMF is more accurate than any database private pension plans have access to and is used by the Corporation in its other insurance programs to ensure proper payments of pension benefits to plan participants). On December 5, 2022, PBGC approved the application and authorized payment of $35.8 billion to Central States. Based on our identification of deceased participants, Central States calculated the value attributed to deceased participants in the SFA application at approximately $127 million."

The letter went to Attorney General Merrick Garland and demanded documents to prove the administration is actually following up on this issue.

“On April 8, 2024, DOJ announced it had entered into a civil settlement agreement to receive repayment of these funds from Central States,” the letter said. “One other plan, the Graphic Communications National Pension Fund (NPF), also agreed to repay $8 million of improper SFA it received on behalf of deceased participants. However, PBGC has not reported repayment from more than 60 other plans that received similar improper payments.”

The PGBC was created by the the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and insures private pension plans for more than 30 million Americans.

PGBC and the DOJ did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

After the initial IG report uncovered the payment problems, the PGBC blamed the errors on bad Census data and has pledged to increase cross-checking with Social Security's death database.

HOUSE JUDICIARY REPORT: BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN RELEASING KNOWN, SUSPECTED TERRORISTS INTO US

Tuesday, August 6, 2024
Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor

Biden-Harris administration policies are resulting in Border Patrol agents releasing known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) into the U.S., a new congressional report states.

“The open-borders policies of President Joe Biden and border czar Vice President Kamala Harris have allowed millions of illegal aliens to enter the United States, including terrorist organizations and other bad actors looking to harm Americans,” creating a national security threat, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement said in a new interim report released Monday.

It points to 99 KSTs released into the U.S. during a two-year period evaluated. It also cites original reporting by The Center Square on terrorism data and warnings given by national security experts about imminent terrorist threats stemming from the border crisis.

The report only appears to focus on KSTs apprehended between ports of entry at the southwest border, excluding the threat posed by the overwhelming majority apprehended at the northern border. Congressional reports continue to appear to only cite one KST data set, instead of four U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reports: at and between ports of entry at both borders.

The majority of KSTs are historically apprehended at the northern border, The Center Square first reported. In fiscal 2023, 736 KSTs were apprehended, the greatest number recorded in U.S. history. The majority, 487, were apprehended at the northern border compared to 249 at the southwest border

The trend continues in fiscal 2024, with 234 KSTs apprehended at the northern border and 125 at the southwest border, according to CBP data last updated July 15.

The total number of KSTs apprehended under the Biden administration is over 1,700, with the greatest number coming through the northern border, The Center Square first reported.

The greatest number of illegal border crossers have entered the U.S. while Biden’s been in office of over 12 million, including two million who evaded capture, known as gotaways, The Center Square first reported. Law enforcement officials estimate the gotaway number is underreported by between 10% and 20% and say they have no idea how many, who or where they are.

“Of the more than 250 illegal aliens on the terrorist watchlist who were encountered by Border Patrol at the southwest border between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released nearly 100 of them, with at least 34 others in DHS custody but not yet removed from the United States,” the report states, without clarifying the data solely refers to apprehensions at the southwest border between ports of entry.

The report notes that between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, Border Patrol agents apprehended “aliens on the terrorist watchlist from 36 different countries, including places with an active terrorist presence such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritania, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Yemen,” solely referring to one data set.

“So far during fiscal year 2024, Border Patrol has encountered tens of thousands of illegal aliens nationwide from countries that could present national security risks, including 2,134 Afghan nationals, 33,347 Chinese nationals, 541 Iranian nationals, 520 Syrian nationals, and 3,104 Uzbek nationals,” the report states.

It refers to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement officials arresting eight Tajik nationals with potential ISIS ties in June after Border Patrol agents released them into the country. If federal law were followed, they would have been processed for removal instead of being released into the country, former Border Patrol, ICE and CBP officials have told The Center Square.

The Biden-Harris administration released into the U.S. “at least three illegal aliens with potential ISIS ties after the aliens used the Administration’s CBP One app to arrive at a port of entry and be processed into the country,” the report notes, although a different report shows several hundred with ISIS ties were released into the U.S., The Center Square reported.

At a House Judiciary hearing last year, as well as other congressional hearings and in news interviews, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has repeatedly claimed “illegal aliens are adequately screened and ‘individuals who pose a threat to national security or public safety are detained,’” the report states. Several DHS Office of Inspector General reports have refuted his claim, providing evidence to the contrary, including foreign nationals not being vetted at airports.

The report also highlights problems in federal immigration courts, pointing to judges who “granted asylum, bond, and other immigration relief to potential terrorists.” The court problem has been compounded by hundreds of thousands of deportation cases being dismissed because DHS failed to file proper paperwork, The Center Square reported.

DHS SUSPENDS PAROLE PROGRAM FLIGHTS MONTHS BEFORE ELECTION

Friday, August 2, 2024
Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor

Three months before the November election in which Vice President Kamala Harris is the Democratic nominee for president, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says it is suspending a parole program she, as the president's "border czar," has overseen with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

DHS announced on Friday that it was suspending flights it had been using for years to bring Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) into the country, who otherwise do not qualify for legal entry under current law.

"Out of an abundance of caution, DHS has temporarily paused the issuance of advanced travel authorizations for new beneficiaries while it undertakes a review of supporter applications. DHS will restart application processing as quickly as possible, with appropriate safeguards," DHS spokeswoman Erin Heeter said in a statement.

Mayorkas created the "CHNV parole program" to fly in hundreds of thousands of CHNV parolees at the taxpayer's expense. It's one of more than a dozen issues identified by the U.S. House on Homeland Security as evidence to impeach Mayorkas, The Center Square first reported.

A coalition of 21 attorneys general, led by Texas, also sued to stop it, arguing it's an "illegal visa system." Federal judges and members of Congress also argue that it's illegal.

An internal review from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services identified tens of thousands of potentially fraudulent CHNV applications. Foreign nationals released into the country used fake Social Security Numbers, fake phone numbers and listed the same physical address on nearly 20,000 applications, according to several news reports.

Mayorkas and other Biden administration officials have claimed those released into the country were "thoroughly vetted." Multiple DHS Inspector General reports have found this not to be the case, including one that found no vetting was conducted at a major international airport prior to releasing them into the U.S., The Center Square reported.

Mayorkas, President Joe Biden and others have argued that illegal border crossings are down by not counting those being released through the parole program, The Center Square first reported. Instead of being counted as illegal border crossers between ports of entry, nearly half a million were flown into the country through the program contrary to federal law, The Center Square reported. They include 104,130 Cubans, 194,027 Haitians, 86,101 Nicaraguans, and 110,541 Venezuelans, according to recent U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

BUT THESE NUMBERS ARE ACTUALLY HIGHER.

"As of mid-October 2023, there were 1.6 million inadmissible aliens awaiting travel authorizations through the CHNV program," the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security found as part of an investigation into the program. It also discovered that DHS was using 50 airports worldwide to fly them in, The Center Square reported.

None have a legal basis to enter the U.S. before being paroled through the CHNV program, DHS documents the committee obtained state.

"All individuals paroled into the United States are, by definition, inadmissible, including those paroled under the CHNV Processes," one of the DHS documents states.

Additionally, CHNV parolees are being arrested nationwide for committing brutal, violent crimes against Americans, The Center Square reported.

Suspending the CHNV flights, U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said, "vindicates every warning we have ever issued about the unlawful CHNV mass-parole program. It also exposes the lie by administration officials, like now-impeached DHS Secretary Mayorkas, about the quality and extent of the vetting process—not just for the inadmissible aliens seeking entry, but those attempting to sponsor them. We issued a subpoena last year to compel documents regarding this program, and while DHS partially complied, the department remains delinquent in producing certain documents and communications relating to the program.

"This is exactly what happens when you create an unlawful mass-parole program in order to spare your administration the political embarrassment and bad optics of overrun borders," he said, adding that the CHNV program should be immediately terminated.

With Texas leading the charge to stop the CHNV program, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said, "Biden/Harris want you to think he secured the border. They just bypassed it by flying illegal immigrants OVER the border. They say they are curbing illegal immigration when in reality they are an accomplice to it."

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also said, "After shipping hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals across America, the Biden-Harris Administration now admits that the program is rife with fraud. The CHNV program has been a DISASTER for this country in addition to being blatantly ILLEGAL. That's why I sued Biden last year to stop the program and look forward to arguing the case before the 5th Circuit. We must close the border, end the loopholes, and finally put America first."

Mayorkas changed or created many new parole policies after some countries refused to accept their citizens being deported back from the U.S., The Center Square reported. Instead of detaining and removing them, he directed federal agents to release them into the U.S.

TALIBAN GETS $239 MIL IN U.S. AFGHANISTAN AID AFTER STATE DEPT. FAILS TO VET AWARDEES

Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Judicial Watch | The Iowa Standard

Less than a year after Judicial Watch reported that the Taliban has established fake nonprofits to steal millions of dollars in U.S. aid to Afghanistan, a new investigation reveals that the terrorist group has also received hundreds of millions in development assistance from Uncle Sam because the State Department fails to properly vet award recipients. At least $239 million have likely filled the coffers of the extremists running the Islamic republic since the 2021 U.S. military withdraw, according to a report published this month by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). The money was disbursed by State Department divisions known as Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) and International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) to implement development projects intended to help achieve American foreign policy and national security goals in Afghanistan.

Investigators found that the State Department failed to comply with its own counterterrorism partner vetting requirements in Afghanistan before awarding at least 29 grants to various local entities. The agency has a system to identify whether prospective awardees have a record of ethical business practices and is supposed to conduct a risk assessment to determine if programming funds may benefit terrorists or terrorist-affiliates before distributing American taxpayer dollars. In the more than two dozen cases examined, the agency did not bother and failed to keep proper records. “Because DRL and INL could not demonstrate their compliance with State’s partner vetting requirements, there is an increased risk that terrorist and terrorist affiliated individuals and entities may have illegally benefited from State spending in Afghanistan,” the SIGAR report says. “As State continues to spend U.S. taxpayer funds on programs intended to benefit the Afghan people, it is critical that State knows who is actually benefitting from this assistance in order to prevent the aid from being diverted to the Taliban or other sanctioned parties, and to enable policymakers and other oversight authorities to better scrutinize the risks posed by State’s spending.”

The watchdog found issues with 29 awards distributed by DRL and INL. For instance, DRL failed to properly screen the recipients of seven awards totaling about $12 million, investigators found. INL did not provide any supporting documentation for 19 of its 22 awards totaling about $295 million so there is no way to determine if they complied with the vetting requirements. The State Department acknowledged that not all its bureaus have complied with document retention requirements, which makes it conveniently impossible to fully assess the magnitude of its transgressions. The explanation offered for INL not retaining records is “employee turnover and the dissolution of the Afghanistan-Pakistan office,” according to the report. SIGAR points out that, given the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, it is critical that U.S. government activities adhere to the laws, regulations, and policies intended to prevent certain transactions with terrorists.

Besides establishing fraudulent non-governmental organizations (NGO) to loot big chunks of the $3 billion in humanitarian aid that the U.S. has given Afghanistan since the Biden administration’s abrupt military withdraw, the Taliban has raked in millions more by charging taxes, permit fees and import duties. That money has flowed through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a famously corrupt State Department arm that got $63.1 billion for foreign assistance and diplomatic engagement this year, and the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the government’s international broadcasting services that aims to inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. The United Nations has also received $1.6 billion in U.S. funding for Afghanistan and a large percentage of that money most likely went to the Taliban as well, according to a federal audit, because the U.S. government does not require the leftist world body to report on taxes, fees or duties incurred on American funds for activities in Afghanistan.

RANSOMWARE GROUP CLAIMS COLUMBUS ATTACK, SELLING 6 TERABYTES OF PASSWORDS AND MORE

August 2, 2024
Mark Feuerborn, Daniel Griffin | COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)

As a dozen Columbus police officers said Thursday that their bank accounts were hacked, a group claiming responsibility for a city ransomware attack is holding an auction for a massive amount of data it reportedly stole.

The hacking gang known as Rhysida has advertised making off with 6.5 terabytes — or 6,500 gigabytes — worth of sensitive data from City of Columbus servers. Multiple cybersecurity watchdogs including Dark Web Intelligence and Ransom Look reported Rhysida’s offering on an onion site, commonly used on the dark web and only accessible with the specialized internet browser Tor.

Details on the treasure trove of compromised data come after Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther confirmed the shutdown of multiple online city services was due to a July 18 ransomware attack. While he credited the city’s IT department with cutting off access before the hackers encrypted any of the city’s data, the mayor said they were investigating just how much of it was accessed. He did not name Rhysida or any suspected hacking group on Monday, but said the attack was from “an established and sophisticated threat actor operating overseas.”

“For non-IT people, folks at home, the best way to describe this would be robbers were in our house,” Ginther said. “They tried to lock us out from our own house, but we stopped them. They took some valuables, data, and we’re in the process of determining the extent, and their value, data, before we notify their owners.”

A screenshot of the onion site posted Wednesday by Dark Web Intelligence and multiple other sources showed Rhysida was holding an auction for the data, which would run for six more days. Rhysida claimed the buyer would get:

• Internal logins and passwords for city employees

• City databases

• A full dump of servers with emergency services applications for the city

• Access to city video cameras

• Full instructions and support, as well as certificates for the databases

“We sell only to one hand, no reselling,” Rhysida reportedly wrote on the listing. “You will be the only owner!”

Rhysida was seeking 30 bitcoin as the base price for Columbus’ data, which translated to $1.9 million as of Thursday. In past hacks when Rhysida did not receive a bidder, they instead released the data publicly. Polygon reported on a previous example in December, where the hackers leaked 1.67 terabytes of Insomniac Games’ employee and project data.

Even before the auction, some city employees were already falling victim to compromised data. Brian Steel, president for the local branch of the Fraternal Order of Police, confirmed to NBC4 that at least 12 Columbus police officers had their bank accounts hacked. However, there’s no evidence to connect this as a direct symptom of Rhysida’s attack.

Still, officers have seen real damage, including someone opening lines of credit in their names or money being taken out of their accounts, according to Steel.

“The city set up a basically a hotline and email,” Steel said. “They’re asking us to tell our members to go ahead and email any of these issues to them.”

When asked about Rhysida’s involvement in the ransomware attack, the stolen 6.5 terabytes of data and the auction, Ginther’s spokeswoman said his office was “not at liberty to discuss the ongoing situation or investigation.” However, they went a step further Thursday evening by announcing that the city would provide Experian credit monitoring for all city, Franklin County Municipal Court clerk, and judge employees out of precaution. The mayor previously said it was clear the perpetrators wanted to make “as much money as possible,” and the city was hardening its cybersecurity to avoid falling victim to another attack.

Daniel Maldet, the owner of Northwest Columbus tech firm CMIT Solutions, told NBC4 that there could be some truth to Rhysida’s claim of hostage data even if the city stopped the attempted encryption. He said they were using a common tactic among ransomware groups called “double extortion.”

They would have exfiltrated sensitive data before initiating the encryption process,” Maldet said. “Although Mayor Ginther has stated that they were able to halt the encryption, Rhysida may have already exfiltrated a significant amount of data by that time … Rhysida is known to exaggerate the volume of data they claim to have stolen, so their claim of 6.5 terabytes might be inflated or include data from other sources or systems.”

Another cybersecurity expert, Denise Bergstrom, told NBC4 that Columbus should have intrusion detection software that would keep a log of data that moved. But going through all of that would still be a “laborious process.”

A ransomware attack typically encrypts a computer’s hard drive, or vital servers in a business environment, and the infection can spread to other computers from the original host. The data on the infected drives becomes locked and inaccessible to the user. Unless they pay a ransom to the hacker, they can either lose their data permanently, or have it leaked publicly. In a successful attack, hackers restore a victim’s data in exchange for large payments in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Ransomware has made for a profitable business venture for hackers, sometimes even earning the sponsorship of governments like North Korea.

Rhysida first emerged in May 2023, according to cybersecurity company SentinelOne. On its onion site, the group created a victim support chat portal where it negotiates with victims trying to retrieve encrypted data. SentinelOne noted the hackers typically deploy their ransomware through phishing campaigns, which is consistent with the “internet website download” of a .zip file that Ginther described as how the city initially fell victim. He didn’t specify whether a city employee initiated the download and subsequent breach, or which department it originated in.

In its statement on Thursday, the city said the incident is being investigated by cybersecurity experts, the FBI, and Homeland Security, and the investigation is still in the early stages.

GEAUGA COMMISSIONER EXIT FROM PORTAGE COUNTY DETENTION CENTER HEATS UP

Wednesday, July 31. 2024

The July 30, 2024, Geauga Commissioners Meeting lasted 20 minutes, easily one of the shortest on record as Commissioners Dvorak and Lennon took care of county business and Geauga’s County Administrator clarified details around Portage County Commissioners to return funds dished out by Geauga Commissioners to assure that Portage County be a holding-location for Geauga juveniles who don’t fit in in with the dictates of Geauga County Juvenile Court. On July 24 Geauga Commissioners bemoaned the apparent red-tape, delays, and failure to follow through with return of hundreds-of-thousands of prepaid Geauga taxpayer funds. At that meeting Commissioner Spidalieri noted his intention to delay any legal repercussions stemming from Portage County’s delays until Wednesday, July 31.

At the July 30 meeting, however, Spidalieri was not present again, resulting in an explanation from Administrator Gerard Morgan about a further deterioration of the amicable relationship with Portage County as Geauga County Juvenile Court Judge Grendell seeks to forge a working contract with Lake County Juvenile Detention Center once Portage County follows through on previous written contract obligations. Per Morgan’ explanation, Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz has advised no more oral contact from the Geauga Commissioners and has extended the July 31 deadline for return of Geauga’s prepayments to the Portage Juvenile Court until August 15, 2024.

We will be observing and reporting on the details of this breaking story.

FACEBOOK, GOOGLE 'WRONGLY CENSORED' PHOTO OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Casey Harper | The Center Square

Former President Donald Trump blasted Facebook and Google Tuesday after Facebook admitted it had censored photos of Trump’s assassination attempt, images widely seen as a major moment and rallying point for the Trump campaign.

Users on X, formerly known as Twitter, began posting online this week that Google searches for Trump’s assassination, including the photo, were not being autocompleted like other searches. They also posted screenshots saying that searches for Trump turned up news for Trump’s opponent, Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Users on these sites can have different experiences depending on the algorithm, but enough users experienced it to raise concerns, including billionaire Elon Musk, who reposted users writing about these concerns.

Musk quoted one user, Arynne Wexler, who wrote, “Why is it that when you google Donald Trump, you get news about Kamala Harris. But when you google Kamala Harris, you don't get news about Donald Trump?”

Google told CBS MoneyWatch that the search problems were technical “anomalies” that could affect any search and were not intentional.

Facebook admitted the mistake Monday.

“This was an error,” Facebook Communications Director Dani Levi wrote on X in response to a post about Facebook censoring the iconic photo of Trump holding his fist in the air after the shooting. “This fact check was initially applied to a doctored photo showing the secret service agents smiling, and in some cases our systems incorrectly applied that fact check to the real photo. This has been fixed and we apologize for the mistake.”

COLUMBUS FIGHTS ONLINE ATTACK; STATE TO SPEND $7M ON ISSUE

Tuesday, July 30, 2024
J.D. Davidson | The Center Square

As Columbus continues to deal with a digital security incident, the state of Ohio announced it will spend $7 million in taxpayer money to help cities fight interent attacks.

The global outage earlier this month, which impacted airlines, banks, emergency response, hospitals, and other businesses, also affected the city.

As late as the end of last week, city officials could still not access external email, and they said the attack started when an employee clicked on a malicious email.

In a statement, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said the Information Technology Department took "swift action to significantly limit potential exposure, which included severing internet connectivity. The city has engaged law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to eradicate the threat, comply with applicable laws and limit further risk.”

Gov. Mike DeWine announced a new statewide grant program expected to help municipalities with security software and services.

"We are taking another crucial step to ensuring our local government partners are protected against cyber threats from around the world,” DeWine said. "These threats are constantly changing, and we must help Ohio stay ahead.”

Local governments can use the money for endpoint protection, multi-factor authentication, secure mail, vulnerability management, migration to a dot gov internet domain and internet security services from the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center and the Center for Internet Security.

The money comes from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and FEMA.

"This grant funding is another tool in our collective defense toolbox," Cybersecurity Strategic Advisor Kirk Herath said. "Our local government partners' cybersecurity is key to protecting Ohio. This grant funding will aid our partners in anticipating attacks and evolving quickly to protect critical government systems and citizen data."

HARRIS HAUNTED BY ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’

Tuesday, July 30, 2024
Casey Harper | The Center Square

Vice President Kamala Harris’ kickstart to her presidential campaign last week immediately faced a flurry of her most controversial stances and statements, not the least of which was her support of the “defund the police” movement in 2020.

“Defund the police” took off as a moment in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd and the ensuing Black Lives Matter riots in cities around the country.

In June of 2020, Harris praised the movement, repeatedly saying we need to “reimagine” how we get safety in our cities and rework budgets instead of spending so much on police.

“Defund the police, the issue behind it is that we need to reimagine how we are creating safety,” Harris told the radio show "Ebro in the Morning" in a clip now resurfaced by CNN. “When you have cities with one third of their entire city budget focused on policing, we know that is not the smart way or the best way or the right way to achieve safety.

“This whole movement is about rightly saying, we need to take a look at these budgets and figure out if it reflects the right priorities,” she continued. “For too long the status quo thinking has been, you get more safety by putting more cops on the street. Well, that’s wrong.”

When Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti diverted $150 million from the police budget, Harris praised the decision.

“I applaud Eric Garcetti for what he’s done,” Harris said on “Good Morning America” at the time.

Many American cities saw a spike in violent crime in the months following the BLM riots.

In 2022, Garcetti pushed for adding about $150 million to the city’s police budget, an apparently about-face turn on the policy.

Again in June of 2020, Harris echoed her support for the “defund the police” movement during an appearance on ABC’s “The View.”

Harris proposed diverting funding from police to social services.

“We have confused the idea that to achieve safety you put more cops on the street instead of understanding to achieve safe and healthy communities you put more resources into the public education system of those communities, into affordable housing, into home ownership, into access for capital for small businesses, access for healthcare regardless of how much money people have,” Harris said. “That’s how you achieve safe and healthy communities.”

President Joe Biden came out and distanced himself from the “defund the police” movement during its peak. Later in 2020, when the issue was less popular and Harris was grappling with being Biden’s pick for vice president, Harris’ press team reportedly claimed Harris did not support defunding police.

Former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have hit Harris for her stance on the issue. Trump pushed out a clip of Harris’ comments praising defunding police to his followers over the weekend.

“She’s a radical left lunatic, defund the police, all of the different things,” Trump said of Harris during remarks in Nashville over the weekend.

Defunding police never had majority support, and after 2020, what support it did have dropped significantly, according to polling from Pew Research.

“Support for reducing spending on police has fallen significantly: 15% of adults now say spending should be decreased, down from 25% in 2020,” Pew said in an October of 2021 release. “And only 6% now advocate decreasing spending a lot, down from 12% who said this last year. At the same time, 37% of adults now say spending on police should stay about the same, down from 42% in 2020.”

“NO WARM FUZZY FEELING” FROM PORTAGE COUNTY ABOUT RETURNING GEAUGA’S OVERPAYMENT TO PORTAGE-PORTAGE DETENTION CENTER

Friday, July 26, 2024

Remember that promise that Geauga’s payment of some $225,000 to be able to house rowdy Geauga juveniles in the Geauga-Portage Juvenile Detention Center, along with a portion of the valuation of that building, would be returned to Geauga Commissioners under amicable circumstances at the end of April, 2024?

The check has not arrived at the Ravenwood office nearly 90 days after the promise to the Geauga Commissioners was made. Why are Portage County Commissioners holding out?

Spidalieri, Dvorak, and Lennon would like the answer to that question, just like Geauga taxpayers. Spidalieri said they need to have the ball rolling no later than July 31, when there will reportedly be another Portage County meeting. So far, the Portage County Administrator, who has not discussed the value of the Portage County Courthouse so that the Geauga Commissioners can receive a check for both the already agreed-upon $225,000 and a check reflecting the more ambiguous assessed value of the building, is putting Geauga County in unforgivable limbo.

Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri confided that he has not gotten any “warm, fuzzy feelings” from the likes of the Portage County Administrator’s silence on the subject of reimbursement to Geauga County. Therefore, “we have to figure out whether we‘re going to court” to get the money back. “We should be able to get the reimbursement back. I don’t want to sit on this” so “do we reach out to the Geauga Prosecutor [Jim Flaiz} to continue the contact with the Portage County Prosecutor?”

When pressed to be more specific regarding the appropriate process of receiving the delayed reimbursement from Portage County, Spidalieri conceded that Portage County could receive the deadline of July 31, 2024, to resolve the delay without negative consequence -- that is, litigation.

Commissioner Jim Dvorak noted that there are “a lot of moving parts” that need to be resolved…
This is another breaking story.

OHIO UNEMPLOYMENT RATE CONTINUES TO RISE

Saturday, July 27, 2024
J.D. Davidson | The Center Square

Ohio’s unemployment rate continues to rise, and revised figures show jobs are leaving the state.

Statistics from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services showed the state’s unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in June from 4.2% in May, while the labor force participation rate increased to 62.1% from 61.9% the same month.

The national unemployment rate is 4.1%.

The same figures show the state lost 12,300 private-sector jobs in June, and an initial May report showed a gain of 22,900 jobs was revised to 14,900 new jobs.

“Taken together, Ohio added only 2,600 new private-sector jobs in May and June – a worrying decline in Ohio’s job market,” said Rea S. Hederman Jr., executive director of the Economic Research Center and vice president of policy at The Buckeye Institute. “Halfway through 2024, Ohio’s job market has cooled since the start of the year, adding only 11,000 private-sector jobs with unemployment climbing from 3.7% to 4.4%. While policymakers should be concerned about the rising unemployment rate and should adopt pro-growth policies to strengthen the job market, it is important to note that 4.4% is – historically speaking – a low unemployment rate for Ohio.”

Other analysts haven’t moved to call the increase in unemployment a trend yet.

“Last month’s job loss is minor in comparison to a strong year of growth,” said Molly Bryden, a researcher with Policy Matters Ohio. “It would take a few more months of job loss to establish a new trend. Ohioans continue to return to the labor force, indicating an improving economic outlook.”

In May, service providers lost the most jobs with 14,600 fewer in the month. Private health care and social assistance employment rose slightly.

The manufacturing industry lost 1,300, while the public sector showed the most gains, with 10,000 jobs.

TRUMP'S FORMER PHYSICIAN SAYS FBI DIRECTOR 'WRONG' TO SUGGEST TRUMP WASN'T HIT BY BULLET

Saturday, July 27, 2024
Tom Gantert | The Center Square

Ronny Jackson, the former physician to the president for Donald Trump and a U.S. representative from Texas, wrote a letter to Congress admonishing FBI Director Christopher Wray for suggesting Trump wasn’t hit by a bullet.

“During the Congressional Hearing two days ago, FBI Director Christopher Wray suggested that it could be a bullet, shrapnel, or glass. There is absolutely no evidence that it was anything other than a bullet. Congress should correct the record as confirmed by both the hospital and myself. Director Wray is wrong and inappropriate to suggest anything else,” Jackson wrote in his letter.

In testimony before Congress on July 24, Wray said, “there is some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear.”

Jackson said he reviewed Trump’s medical records from Butler Memorial Hospital and it said Trump was treated for a “Gunshot Wound to the Right Ear.”

Jackson said he served as a combat physician on the battlefield in Iraq and has treated many gunshot victims.

“I completely concur with the initial assessment and treatment provided by the doctors and nurses at Butler Memorial Hospital on the day of the shooting,” Jackson wrote.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, released a letter Thursday telling Wray he should correct his testimony.

"I believe it is very important for you to correct your testimony before Congress on Wednesday when you indicated it is uncertain whether President Donald J. Trump was hit by a bullet, glass or shrapnel," Graham wrote. "It is clear to everyone that President Trump survived an assassination attempt by millimeters, as the attempted assassin's bullet ripped the upper part of his ear. This was made clear in briefings my office received and should not be a point of contention. ... As head of the FBI, you should not be creating confusion about such matters, as it further undercuts the agency's credibility with millions of Americans. Please correct this statement immediately."

The Associated Press reported Friday evening that the FBI acknowledged Trump was shot by a bullet.

“What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle,” the FBI said in a statement.

Trump attacked Wray on Thursday on his social media platform.

“FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress yesterday that he wasn’t sure if I was hit by shrapnel, glass, or a bullet (the FBI never even checked!), but he was sure that Crooked Joe Biden was physically and cognitively ‘uneventful’ - Wrong! That’s why he knows nothing about the terrorists and other criminals pouring into our Country at record levels. His only focus is destroying J6 Patriots, Raiding Mar-a-Lago, and saving Radical Left Lunatics, like the ones now in D.C. burning American flags and spray painting over our great National Monuments - with zero retribution,” Trump posted. “No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel. The hospital called it a ‘bullet wound to the ear,’ and that is what it was. No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!”

FACT CHECK: BIDEN’S CLAIM THAT ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSINGS LOWER THAN TRUMP'S IS FALSE

Saturday, July 27, 2024
Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor

During President Joe Biden’s address to the American public Wednesday night, he said his administration secured the border.

Without discussing border policies in his 10-minute address, he touted his efforts in two sentences, saying, “We are also securing our border. Border crossings are lower today than when the previous administration left office.”

Several news outlets made similar claims.

“July is on track to see the fifth consecutive monthly drop in migrant apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border and the lowest level in illegal immigration there since the fall of 2020,” CBS News reported. “Migrant crossings plunge 55%” Newsweek reported; they dropped “over 40% since Biden announced asylum restrictions,” CNN reported.

“Biden finally got border numbers down,” The New York Times reported. PolitiFact labeled Biden’s claim that “migrants coming to our … border unlawfully … dropped dramatically,” as “mostly true” in its so-called “Truth-O-Meter.”

Accounting for all the data, including new ways the Biden administration is allowing foreign nationals to enter the country, the claims are verifiably false.

As The Center Square has reported every month since early 2021, after Biden took office, the number of illegal border crossers has increased, not gone down.

Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and several corporate media outlets cite incomplete apprehension data, excluding at least 2 million gotaways, those who evaded capture and are in the country illegally. It is unknown how many gotaways are violent criminals or potential terrorists.

The data they cite also excludes millions of foreign nationals who were unlawfully released into the country instead of detaining and removing them, former border officials have explained, including through parole programs that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas created, which Republicans attorneys general and other elected officials maintain are illegal.

“Biden and Harris cannot hide the truth about our open border. To this day, they are still encountering on a daily basis, almost four times what the Trump administration did after Trump implemented his policies,” former director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan, who served under six presidents, told The Center Square.

Harris, who Biden tapped as his "border czar" in 2021, and the president “are simply playing a shell game by bringing thousands of illegal aliens into the country through the CBP One program and the CHNV program,” Homan said. “They claim they are ‘lawful pathways’ so they don’t have to count them as illegal between the ports of entry,” which are referred to as apprehensions.

Those entering through the parole programs, at the ports of entry and between ports of entry “are the same exact population,” Homan said, regardless if the administration labels them otherwise. The processes Harris and Mayorkas created are “an illegal abuse of the federal parole statute and they know it,” Homan said.

Homan also repeated a previous warning, saying, “The most important data point is this: how many illegal aliens has this administration released into the U.S. despite the legal requirement to detain them? At least 8 million.

“That is a horrendous data point that is far beyond many administrations combined. Historic.”

By apprehension data alone, Biden’s claims are verifiably false.

In June, for example, apprehensions totaled nearly 206,000, compared to nearly 212,000 in June 2023, nearly 248,000 in June 2022 and nearly 209,000 in June 2021, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

Monthly encounters at ports of entry of foreign nationals with no lawful basis to enter increased from nearly 20,000 in January 2021 to more than 117,000 in June 2024.

Last month, the greatest number of illegal foreign nationals were apprehended at the northern border for the month of June in U.S. history, more than 17,700.

Since January 2021, nearly every month and every year, new records are made with the greatest number of apprehensions at the southwest and northern borders, the most apprehensions of known or suspected terrorists, criminal noncitizens and gang members, and largest seizures of weapons and drugs reported in U.S. history.

Under Trump, there were nearly 527,000 apprehensions in fiscal 2017, 683,000 in fiscal 2018 and over 1.1 million in fiscal 2019, according to CBP data. Under Biden, there were over 1.95 million in fiscal 2021, over 2.7 million in fiscal 2022 and over 3.2 million in fiscal 2023, according to the data.

This fiscal year’s numbers so far total more than 2.5 million apprehensions, dwarfing any year under Trump.

The apprehension totals also exclude 680,500 foreign nationals brought into the U.S. using a CBP app, which Homan and attorneys general who sued to block the app’s use say is illegal.

The totals also exclude 104,130 Cubans, 194,027 Haitians, 86,101 Nicaraguans, and 110,541 Venezuelans released into the U.S. through (CHNV) parole programs contrary to federal law prohibiting their entry. The CHNV process is directly linked to violent crimes committed against Americans by the parolees, The Center Square reported.

GEAUGA COUNTY'S IT TEAM SPENT AN ALL-NIGHTER RESTORING CLOUD SECURITY TO GEAUGA COUNTY

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

During the early hours after midnight on Friday, July 19, 2024, a global crisis affecting Microsoft users of a Cloud-based update system could have found themselves paralyzed and subject to more perilous world disasters. In Geauga County, Sheriff Hildebrandt notified Frank Antonucci shortly after midnight of two server failures and a communication failure that caused 911 systems to become inoperative. Consequently, Auditor Charles Walder notified his tech team of the failure of Cloud-based retention geared to Microsoft, and the whole team, recognizing the potential of a worldwide communication glitch, started to manually restart 120 Geauga servers in Safe Mode to help Geauga County restore its safety and security.

Noting that the decision to move Geauga County to Cloud-based data-retention “was the best decision ADP had made,” Walder praised Cloudstrike for its ability to provide users worldwide with “instantaneous data results.” Consequently, the IT team was able to get 120 servers in stable shape by 6 am Friday morning, July 19. Nevertheless, Mr. Walder and the IT team did not feel on top of the problem until about 2 pm on Friday, July 19. Walder made his team available to answer any questions from Commissioners and attendees at the July 22 Commissioner meeting.

Mr. Walder attributed the failure of Cloudstrike to use a so-called test cell as the reason the company’s CEO might endure unprecedented negative criticism. When Commissioner Tim Lennon noted the inflationary price increase from $114,000 in 2023 to $125,000 in 2024. Auditor Walder noted additional negative financial outcomes to the Cloudstrike glitch: the loss of $340,000 in Geauga County budget dollars, exclusive of additional human labor costs to restore Geauga County’s IT.

As a result, Mr. Walder cited County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz’s willingness to contact Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost in regard to initiating class action litigation seeking remuneration from Cloudstrike. He compared any such outcome to the funds distributed to Geauga County as a result of the opiate class-action litigation of several years ago. Mr. Walder suggested that the final outcome of such litigation might result in final discredit for Cloudstrike’s CEO.

CHANGE ORDERS WITH INFINITY CONSTRUCTION INCREASE THE COST OF THE GEAUGA COURTHOUSE EXPANSION PROJECT BY $750,000 TO GEAUGA TAXPAYERS

July 24, 2024

Geauga County Commissioners approved an $746,488.06 in partial payment to Infinity Construction for Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Courthouse Expansion Project.

The Commissioners approved the following additional items not approved in the original contract with Infinity Construction:

1) $9,562.00 for “addition of miscellaneous adjustments to wall sizes, deck heights, filling of unknown building openings and pumps and circuits”

2) $210,346.00 for “additional [unspecified] networking equipment and installation”

3) $72,853.00 for “34 dual and 37 single additional data drops” for an average price of $1026 for each additional data drop.” County Administrator Gerard Morgan defined “data drop” as an electrical outlet. Obviously, a single data drop is a single outlet, and a double data drop is an electrical outlet with double the capacity of a single outlet.

Altogether, the impromptu alterations to Phase 1 and Phase 2 provide Infinity Construction with the promise of an addition three/quarters of a million bucks on the backs of Geauga taxpayers already stretched with increased real estate payments, as well as inflation with all expenditures. . .

Commissioners at the same meeting approved paying Partial Payment for the same Geauga Courthouse Project. This was Payment # 10 for “expenses in the amount of $453,727.06 Expansion Project..” Combined with the $292,761.00 for three Change Orders cited at the beginning of this report, Commissioners approved Courthouse Expansion Project expenses of $746,488.06.

Commissioner Lennon expressed concern about the final prices of the Geauga Courthouse Expansion Project being out of hand and exceeding the original budget, presumably a cap of $15 million. Lennon asked County Administrator Morgan to have an updated report on the initial contract price provided by Infinity Construction and the total costs expended thus far. Morgan agreed to have an update on those total costs for the Commissioner meeting of July 31, 2024.

This is a breaking story, subject to updates as they become available.

BIDEN OUT: PRESIDENT EXITS RACE, ENDORSES VP HARRIS AS HIS SUCCESSOR

Sunday, July 21, 2024
Tom Gantert and Dan McCaleb | The Center Square

President Joe Biden ended his bid for reelection Sunday, opening the door for Vice President Kamala Harris or another top Democrat to replace him atop the ticket.

In a statement posted to X, Biden said he is stepping aside "in the "best interest of my party and the country."

"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President," Biden said. "And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term."

He also endorsed Harris to succeed him.

"My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President," he said in a second statement. "And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats – it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this."

The historic withdrawal comes just weeks before the Democratic National Convention is set to take place Aug. 19 in Chicago, where Biden's pledged delegates will face tough decisions on who to replace him with, regardless of Biden's endorsement.

Concerns over Biden's age, declining cognitive abilities and physical health led more and more elected Democrats in Congress to call for his exit, seemingly on a daily basis. Earlier Sunday, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, I-West Virginia, joined the calls for the president to exit the race.

Biden’s support among Democrats began to free fall after his performance in the June 27 debate with former President Donald Trump, when Biden stumbled over his own words and often lost his train of thought.

At a NATO news conference a couple of weeks later, Biden referred to Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump" when asked if he thought Harris was ready to be president if he were to step aside, one of many gaffes during the summit.

During the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week, where Trump officially accepted the GOP nomination for president just days after a failed assassination attempt on his life at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Biden was hunkered down at his Delaware home, recovering from his third bout with COVID-19.

Biden has not fared well in 12 major polls tracking the 2024 general election in recent weeks, leading down-ballot Democratic candidates for Congress to raise concerns that his declining support could help Republicans to retake the White House and the U.S. Senate and solidify their majority in the U.S. House.

Trump led by an overall average of 3 points in the 12 polls. Biden only led in one poll, where he had a 2-point edge in the NPR/PBS/Marist poll. Trump and Biden were tied in the ABC News/Washington Post poll. Trump led in the 10 other polls as of Thursday.

In The Center Square Voters' Voice Poll of nearly 2,300 likely voters, conducted after the June 27 debate but before the attempted assassination on Trump, Biden's deficit grew to three full percentage points nationally. The poll has a margin of error of 2.1%.

Until Sunday, Biden defiantly opposed calls to step aside.

While his June debate performance seemed to seal Biden's fate, his deteriorating cognitive abilities made news months earlier.

In February, the Report of the Special Counsel investigating Biden’s taking classified documents to his home revealed the president had issues with his memory.

“We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” the report stated.

The report also stated, “Mr. Biden's memory also appeared to have significant limitations – both at the time he spoke to [Biden ghost writer Mark] Zwonitzer in 2017, as evidenced by their recorded conversations, and today, as evidenced by his recorded interview with our office. Mr. Biden's recorded conversations with Zwonitzer from 2017 are often painfully slow, with Mr. Biden struggling to remember events and straining at times to read and relay his own notebook entries. In his interview with our office, Mr. Biden's memory was worse. He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended (‘if it was 2013 – when did I stop being Vice President?’), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began (‘in 2009, am I still Vice President?’). He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died.”

SENATE REPUBLICANS CALL ON DURBIN TO INVESTIGATE TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Thursday, July 18, 2024
Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor

All Republicans on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee have called on its chair, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., to hold a hearing on the circumstances surrounding the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump.

Led by Ranking Member Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, they asked Durbin to hold a hearing to call U.S. Department of Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and Federal Bureau of Investigations Director Christopher Wray as witnesses.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction and oversight authority over all three agencies; the Secret Service falls under the leadership of Mayorkas.

“In light of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump and the murder and injury of other attendees at a peaceful political event, we urgently request that you hold a hearing into the circumstances that led to this tragedy,” they wrote, calling on him to request Mayorkas, Cheatle and Wray to testify," the letter, dated Monday. said.

“There is much unknown about this attempted assassination, but its occurrence raises alarming questions and concerns,” they said, raising questions about how a “would-be assassin was able to access a nearby rooftop with a rifle and a line of sight to President Trump.”

Because of the committee’s oversight of the federal agencies responsible for security of the president and former presidents, they said the committee “must fulfill its responsibility to investigate this thoroughly and publicly to understand how this happened and how it can be prevented in the future. The sanctity of our elections, the safety of our candidates, and the peaceful transition of power in our Republic demand nothing less.”

Graham was joined by Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.

On the same day as they sent the letter, Durbin said, “This morning, I was briefed by FBI Deputy Director Abbate on the investigation into the assassination attempt on former President Trump. I've requested a closed-door, in-person briefing next week with USSS, DHS, FBI for all Judiciary Committee members when the Senate is back.”

On Wednesday. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., said the briefing some senators did have with Secret Service “was unbelievably uninformative. Only 4 questions were allowed. The rest of us are supposed to submit questions. I already have. Awaiting a response. Not holding my breath.”

He also published a letter of his questions, including requesting information from Mayorkas about a security plan in place for the July 13 rally, all records between Secret Service, the FBI, state and local law enforcement regarding the rally, among other questions.

The U.S. House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed Cheatle to testify, stating it will hold a hearing on Wednesday.

Numerous Republican leaders, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, have called for her resignation. Johnson said he’s creating a bipartisan task force to investigate the assassination attempt.

The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security has also demanded answers of Mayorkas, who has defended Secret Service’s failures. These include failing to secure the perimeter of the event, not having security on all surrounding building rooftops or a nearby water tower, not deploying helicopters, drones or other technologies, reportedly assigning new recruits as detail, including women who do not appear physically qualified for the job, former Secret Service agents have argued, describing the security failures as “apocalyptic” and calling for Cheatle’s immediate resignation.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General is also investigating Secret Service security breaches.

U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, who chairs the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism, is also conducting an investigation. He said he directed his staff “to review U.S. Secret Service actions before, during, and after the event. I am talking to law enforcement officials, Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, and others to collect all relevant information and take action.”

Cheatle will testify before the House committee “either willingly or under subpoena,” he said.

“Our nation was millimeters away from a presidential assassination,” he said. “As Americans, we must unite together and move forward from this tragedy.”

“SO, WE’RE DONE TALKING ABOUT THE DEBATE, IT’S TIME TO PUT TRUMP IN A BULLSEYE,” BIDEN SAID

July 08, 2024 02:19 PM 6 days ago
By Elena Schneider, Sarah Ferris | EXCLUSIVE POLITICO

Biden delivered a forceful message in a private call with his National Finance Committee, which includes hundreds of top Democratic donors and bundlers.

A defiant President Joe Biden insisted to his donors on Monday that he is “done talking about the debate” and implored the party to ignore any further distractions and direct its attention back to Donald Trump.

“We need to move forward. Look, we have roughly 40 days til the convention, 120 days til the election. We can’t waste any more time being distracted,” Biden said in a private call with donors Monday, according to a recording obtained by POLITICO.

“I have one job, and that’s to beat Donald Trump. I’m absolutely certain I’m the best person to be able to do that. So, we’re done talking about the debate, it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye,” Biden said.

The forceful message from Biden — which was delivered to hundreds of top Democratic donors and bundlers in the president's National Finance Committee — is the latest evidence that the president and his allies are working furiously to stem defections in the party. Earlier in the day, Biden sent a fiery missive to congressional Democrats, declaring his intentions to remain in the race even as roughly a half-dozen members have publicly called for him to bow out.

Several donors who participated in the call described Biden as forceful and strong. He took four questions during the meeting, including one about Biden’s plans for the next debate. The president responded that his strategy was to “attack, attack, attack,” according to a person listening to the call.

Biden repeated multiple times that he would not be leaving the race: “I’m telling you, I’m not going anywhere folks. I’m in this to the end, and I’m going to beat Trump. I promise you.”

He touted the “grassroots support” he saw during his 10-day cross-country tour following the debate, from Georgia to Wisconsin to Pennsylvania, and thanked his donors for sticking by his side.

“I appreciate you hanging in there with me. I realize you’re getting a lot of heat," he said.

Instead of airing public concerns about his campaign, Biden argued the party should be directing its ire at Trump, who he said has “gotten away with doing nothing for the last 10 days except driving around in his golf cart, bragging about scores he doesn’t score.” He said Democrats needed to focus on what Trump would do to abortion rights, Medicare, Social Security, and prescription drug prices.

But there’s still lingering concern and frustration within the high-dollar donor community about Biden’s ability to beat Trump in November.

“I’m hearing from a lot of people who think he should get out, and I’m not getting a whole lot of ‘he should stay in,’” said one donor on the call, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “I’ve also had people tell me, ‘I’m not giving anymore.’”

NEARLY HALF OF SMALL BUSINESSES SAY THEY WON’T SURVIVE SECOND BIDEN TERM

Nearly half of 80,000 small businesses surveyed say they won’t survive the current economic climate, ongoing inflation or another four years of Biden administration policies, according to the survey conducted by RedBalloon and Public Square.

Their May Freedom Economy Index found that small businesses “remain in survival mode,” with 40% delaying paying bills to manage cash flow and 70 percent putting staffing plans on hold, neither hiring nor reducing staff, “the highest reading … over the past year,” the report states.

Among those surveyed, 64% said the U.S. is headed toward stagflation, when inflation continues to climb and the economic rate slows.

Nearly half of businesses surveyed said they “definitely” (22.4%) or “probably” (26.2%) won’t survive continued inflation or “survive another 4-year term of a Biden presidency.”

An overwhelming majority, 90%, said a top priority for a second Trump administration would be to “control the border,” after more than 12 million foreign nationals have illegally entered the U.S. and violent crime has escalated since President Joe Biden’s took office, The Center Square has exclusively reported.

The survey queried 80,000 small businesses with fewer than 500 employees nationwide, including those in the retail, hospitality, service and restaurant industries.

"It’s been a difficult 3 years for America’s small businesses,” PublicSquare’s CEO Michael Seifert said. “While many inside the Beltway may feel like things are good, that isn’t translating to Main Street America – the frontlines of our small business economy.”

"Just like families all across the nation, many small business owners are now in bill paying triage,” RedBalloon’s CEO Andrew Crapuchettes said. “All of the government reports and happy-talk from Washington, D.C. doesn’t change that Americans continue wrestling with inflation, and a majority of small business owners now predict we’ll slip into stagflation."

The survey includes “verbatim” written answers from small business owners about the financial struggles they face.

When asked, “What (if any) changes would you consider making to your business plans in preparation for a second Biden term?,” small business owners said they couldn’t make it.

One said, “Actively look at selling out to a larger competitor.” Another said, “Close my businesses.” Still another, “Cross my fingers? I don't even want to consider that.”

Others said, “Decrease staff - cut costs;” “Elimination of lower performing business units, decrease staffing by 50%.”

Still others: “I would just shut the doors. We have already reduced cost as much as we possibly can to survive as it is. We would have no choice.”

“There are none to make. Have had to borrow money & with the drop in business, there's nothing more I can do. My daughter & I work 14 hours a day.”

“I will most likely have to close.”

“I would lay off all workers and transition to a self-employed business.”

“No changes can be made without just closing the doors. We have already cut costs to the bare minimum.”

“There is nothing I can afford to do in addition to what I’m already doing. If things don’t change, I’ll be finished.”

“We want to sell now and not take that chance.”

“Freeze on all new equipment, no new hires, decrease of hours for all employees.”

“I would close approximately half of my locations.”

“I, grievously, will probably have to close my business.”

“Laying off associates to stay afloat or just close the doors.”

“Buckle down and hope he doesn’t run us into the ground.”

“Sadly but probably close my business.”

Nearly half of those surveyed, 49%, have been in business for more than 10 years; nearly 28% have been in business for three to 10 years.

FOLLOW-UP ON PORTAGE COUNTY PROGRESS IN RETURNING GEAUGA TAXPAYER OVERPAYMENTS AS GEAUGA COUNTY EXITS PORTAGE COUNTY JUVENILE COURT ARRANGEMENT

Friday, July 12, 2024
UPDATE FROM June 9, 2024

During a June 4, Geauga County Commissioners meeting, the Commissioners discussed complications in their quest to exit an ongoing legal arrangement with Portage County Juvenile Detention Center. The original request to exit the arrangement with the Portage County Juvenile Detention Center followed Juvenile Court Judge Tim Grendell’s personal appearance before the Commissioners on May 21 to present Agenda Item 11 “to change juvenile detention centers from the Portage-Geauga Juvenile Detention Center to the Lake County Detention Facility.”

Since the Portage-Geauga Juvenile Detention Center comes under the auspices of the Portage County Commissioners, Geauga Commissioners made arrangements to meet with Portage County officials, legally terminate the written agreement, receive a refund for the Geauga taxpayer funds which have been paid annually to Portage County, and to claim Geauga County’s portion of the valuation of the Portage-Geauga Juvenile Detention Center. By researching the Portage County Auditor website, Commissioner Spidalieri noted in early June that the Geauga Commissioners had rationalized that Geauga County taxpayers’ share of the investment into the Detention Center building probably approximated $400,000.

Before the end of June, 2024, Geauga Commissioners received the notification that the Portage County Prosecutor/Administrator would “be looking into the issue” of resolving monetary funds due to Geauga County. On two separate occasions Mr. Spidalieri inquired about whether the county had received at least one check from Portage County to the tune of $200,000. At that point the issue of Geauga County’s actual portion of funds due to Geauga taxpayers for the valuation of the Portage Detention Center seemed very unclear.

Shortly before adjournment of the July 9 Geauga Commissioner meeting, this editor asked the Commissioners for an update regarding resolution of the Portage County Detention Center squabble. Per Judge Grendell’s May 21 presentation, Geauga Commissioners, Geauga County Administrator Gerry Morgan, and Assistant County Administrator Linda Burhenne understood that they needed to be absolved of any relationship with Portage County Juvenile Detention Center before they entered into a relationship with Lake County Juvenile Detention Center. At his May 21 appearance, Grendell had expressed the superiority of Lake County Juvenile Detention Center to house any applicable Geauga County juveniles.

This is a breaking story. We will continue to keep you informed of the details and the moneys that are returned to Geauga County to make Geauga County fiscal stewardship less prohibitive for Geauga citizens on fixed income.

GEAUGA COMMISSIONERS ASK PROSECUTOR TO CONFIRM PURCHASE OF FUTURE SENIOR CENTER OR “SCRAP THE DEAL AND MOVE ON.”

Thursday, July 11, 2024

Commissioner Lennon used the last five minutes of the Tuesday, July 9, public session to ask for explanation/clarification from the Geauga Prosecutor’s office regarding final acceptability/approval of the purchase of the one-time Dollar General Store for use by the Department of Aging as a senior center.

Commissioner Lennon appeared visibly frustrated with the Prosecutor Office’s hesitation to respond to the Commissioners’ request of several weeks ago for a written answer—one way or the other. Lennon noted the failure of a request for a representative from that office in Executive Session but related that the purchase of property is not one of the valid reasons for an assistant prosecutor to participate in an executive session.

Lennon was quick to respond that final written confirmation—if nothing more grandiose than a copy of an e-mail—was all the notification that the Board of County Commissioners was looking for. Summer vacation schedules in the Prosecutor’s Office apparently have been the fly in the ointment, and Assistant Prosecutor Laura La Chapelle could be expected to provide suitable explanation of details at the July 18, 2024, public commissioner meeting.

Mr. Lennon seemed visibly relieved and comfortable with the explanation, Otherwise, if an explanation were not to be forthcoming soon, Mr. Lennon advised that the BOCC “scrap the deal and move on,” rather than put up with the current “hangup” by “sitting on our hands.”

Public session adjourned about four minutes later.

MICHIGAN, FORD COMING TO TERMS WITH ELECTRIC VEHICLE INDUSTRY SETBACK

Thursday, July 11, 2024
Carly Moran | The Center Square

Flush with state government incentives, Ford is looking to backtrack on its electric vehicle plans by at least $750 million.

The Detroit-based automobile maker is working with the Michigan Economic Development Corp. to cancel two projects, in response to lack of customer demand in the electric vehicle market. The state and Ford agreed on Tuesday to cut significant funding on a battery factory outside Marshall.

“We are nimbly adjusting our manufacturing operations to match evolving customer demand and the Michigan Strategic Fund board is revising its incentive offers accordingly,” said Tony Reinhart, a government affairs director at Ford.

The new agreement is to slash the $825 million in tax credits to just $225 million, alongside cutting $69 million in a public grant. Despite this, the Marshall plant is already partially completed, and on track to begin battery production in 2026. Wages have also increased from $20 to $25 per hour.

Prior to Tuesday, Ford had already cut back on production plans for Marshall’s BlueOval Battery factory. In late November, they reduced the project investment by a whopping $1 billion, cut 800 jobs and reduced production capacity by 40%. This week, the state has responded by substantially reducing benefits.

With the new plan, Ford could still receive a $141 million grant if it produces 1,700 jobs and invests $2.5 billion in production.

The news comes just a day after the state partnered with Consumers Energy to install 1,500 public electric vehicle fast-chargers by 2030. Consumers’ partnership is just one part of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s goal to install 100,000 public chargers by 2030.

That's a big jump from 335 installed last year.

With manufacturing speeds slowed and consumer demand far below expected levels, it’s unknown what the future of the electric vehicle industry in Michigan will look like.

INTUIT CLASS ACTION CLAIMS CO. FAILED TO PREVENT TURBOTAX, CREDIT KARMA DATA BREACH

Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Anne Bucher | Top Class Actions

Intuit class action lawsuit overview:

Who: Plaintiff Joseph Garite filed a class action lawsuit against Intuit Inc.
Why: Intuit allegedly failed to adequately safeguard sensitive data which was compromised in a TurboTax and Credit Karma data breach disclosed in March 2024.
Where: The TurboTax data breach class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

Intuit Inc. failed to adequately protect its computer systems, leaving sensitive data vulnerable to a TurboTax and Credit Karma data breach earlier this year, according to a new class action lawsuit.

Plaintiff Joseph Garite alleges Intuit, the maker of popular software services including TurboTax, Credit Karma, Quickbooks and Mailchimp, failed to maintain reasonable security safeguards and failed to adequately train employees about cybersecurity.

Garite, a former TurboTax customer, claims these failures left Intuit’s systems vulnerable to cybercriminals, who allegedly infiltrated the networks and gained access to customers’ sensitive personal identifiable information (PII).

Victims of the Credit Karma and TurboTax data breach were allegedly not informed of the cyberattack until March 2024. Garite says the data breach notice failed to inform victims about pertinent information including when the breach first occurred, how many people were impacted and how cybercriminals were able to access Intuit’s systems.

Intuit “had no effective means to prevent, detect, stop or mitigate breaches of its systems—thereby allowing cybercriminals unrestricted access to its current and former customers’ PII,” Garite alleges.

The Intuit class action alleges the TurboTax data breach took place from Dec. 23, 2023 through Feb. 21, 2024 but the hack was not discovered until Feb. 27. The breach may have compromised the following types of PII:

• Names

• Addresses

• Birthdates

• Social Security numbers

• Driver’s license numbers

• Other information contained in victims’ tax returns

PLAINTIFF SAYS HE EXPERIENCED FRAUD DUE TO TURBOTAX DATA BREACH

Garite says he trusted Intuit with his PII and its commitment to protecting his sensitive data. Due to the TurboTax and Credit Karma data breach, his PII may be published imminently (if it has not already been published) on the Dark Web, the Intuit class action lawsuit alleges.

In fact, Garite claims he has already suffered from identity theft and fraud. He says he received a letter in May 2024, purportedly from the IRS, that contained highly sensitive information, including his Social Security number and the exact amount he owed on taxes in 2023. The IRS has reportedly confirmed the letter is fraudulent.

Garite filed the Intuit class action lawsuit on behalf of all U.S. residents whose PII was compromised in the data breach.

The Intuit class action lawsuit asserts claims for negligence, negligence per se, breach of implied contract, invasion of privacy, unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duty, declaratory judgment, and violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law and Consumer Privacy Act.

Last year, Intuit agreed to pay $141 million to settle allegations it improperly charged some consumers for TurboTax when they were eligible to file for free through the IRS’s Free File Program.

Garite is represented by Andrew G. Gunem of Strauss Borrelli PLLC.

The Intuit class action lawsuit is Joseph Garite v. Intuit Inc., Case No. 5:24-cv-03960, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division.

JEAN-PIERRE CLASHES WITH REPORTERS OVER BIDEN PARKINSON'S REPORTS

Tuesday, July 9, 2024
Dan McCaleb | The Center Square

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre clashed with reporters during Monday's press briefing while dodging questions about published reports that a renowned Parkinson's disease expert visited the White House several times this year.

Citing White House visitor logs, the New York Post reported that the visits by neurologist Dr. Kevin Cannard of Walter Reed Medical Center included several with President Joe Biden's personal doctor, Dr. Kevin O’Connor.

The revelation came less than two weeks after Biden's poor debate showing against former President Donald Trump renewed concerns about his declining cognitive abilities and his ability to remain in office and serve another four-year term.

Biden is seeking reelection against presumptive GOP nominee Trump.

During the sometimes hostile back-and-forth, Jean-Pierre refused to acknowledge the visits or even confirm Cannard's name.

Visibly frustrated with Jean-Pierre's earlier non-answers, CBS reporter Ed O'Keefe shouted: "It's a very basic, direct question. That's what you should be able to answer by this point."

"No, no, no, no, no," Jean-Pierre responded. "Ed, please. A little respect here. Please."

Jean-Pierre continuously cited security and privacy concerns for not answering the questions.

Biden, 81, has shown visible signs of decline throughout his presidency, which were punctuated by Special Counsel Robert Hur's final report on his investigation into Biden's mishandling of classified documents after he left the White House following his term as vice president under Barack Obama.

Hur declined to charge Biden, but his report highlighted Biden's trouble remembering things, including the year his son died.

"In his interview with our office, Mr. Biden's memory was worse," according to the report, as The Center Square previously reported. "He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended ('if it was 2013 - when did I stop being Vice President?'), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began ('in 2009, am I still Vice President?')"

The report continued:

"He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died. And his memory appeared hazy when describing the Afghanistan debate that was once so important to him."

Since the debate, when Biden repeatedly stuttered and faltered, and at times became incoherent and trailed off, many Democrats have stepped forward calling for him to step aside from seeking reelection.

Dan McCaleb is the executive editor of The Center Square

MINIMUM WAGE HIKE WON'T MAKE THE BALLOT THIS YEAR IN OHIO

Monday, July 8, 2024
Sarah Donaldson, Karen Kasler | statenews.org

When Ohio voters cast their ballots in November, they won't get to weigh in on whether to raise the minimum wage.

A national spokesperson with One Fair Wage said late Wednesday afternoon the organization missed the mark on signatures—writing it was short on the 44-county requirement to make the ballot in November 2024. The spokesperson said it was “very close” to its goal but would hold off on submitting anything.

Paid gatherers and volunteers with Raise the Wage Ohio had been getting signatures to put a proposed constitutional amendment before voters. The amendment would have boosted the minimum wage in the state for most workers to $12.75 per hour by 2025 and $15 per hour by 2026.

For service workers currently making less than $10.25 per hour, under the amendment, businesses would be on the hook to raise their rates on a sliding scale—hitting $15 hourly for all workers by 2029. Under state law, they can offer service workers a base minimum wage of $5.25 hourly if customer gratuity bridges the difference between that rate and the regular $10.45 hourly rate.

Raise the Wage Ohio falls under the national umbrella of One Fair Wage, a national organization seeking to get rid of subminimum wages. The state’s current $5.25 subminimum wage for service workers is three dollars higher than the federal one, which sits at $2.13 hourly.

It was down to the wire for an effort marred by dysfunction.

Signatures need to be submitted to Secretary of State Frank LaRose by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday. But Monday, when anti-gerrymandering organization Citizens Not Politicians was celebrating submitting nearly double the number of signatures needed in the Ohio Statehouse atrium, volunteers with Raise the Wage Ohio lingered on the peripheral for a last-minute push.

A spokesperson with LaRose's office said earlier Wednesday they had been told numerous different times for when Raise the Wage Ohio would come. With roads closed off around downtown Columbus for the annual Red, White, and BOOM! celebration, delivery never materialized.

“My team has made every accommodation to facilitate a smooth and secure filing of this petition,” LaRose wrote in an email statement Wednesday evening. “We worked with the city’s Emergency Operations Command, the Columbus Police Department, the Ohio Highway Patrol and the chief of staff and deputy chief of staff at the Columbus mayor’s office. Access issues were never a problem. Rural Ohioans are not to blame.”

Ohio Chamber of Commerce President Steve Stivers said in an email statement Wednesday evening he believed the failure to file in time was a win.

“Raising the minimum wage will only result in higher prices for Ohio families, and today’s events prove that the general public is realizing that,” Stivers said.

Weeks earlier, the Ohio Restaurant and Hospitality Alliance (ORHA) put out a survey arguing the bulk of the state’s bartenders and servers prefer the current wage system. According to the ORHA-commissioned survey, 93% of service worker participants said they believed they’d earn less money if their base salary was raised. Right now, more than four-fifths of participants said their pay exceeds $20 per hour with gratuity.