The States

President Joe Biden announced a new plan on Tuesday that will 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 married a U.S. citizen. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed Senate Bill 313 into law on Wednesday, which will create the state's first universal education savings account program for K-12 education. Next week, President Biden and Former President Trump will face off on the debate stage. A jarring new set of television and radio ads hints at early groundwork being laid in the 2026 gubernatorial race as Gov. Katie Hobbs’ administration deals with a “pay to play” scheme criminal investigation from Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes and Republican Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell with the Auditor General’s office. And a federal judge has struck down the Biden administration’s rule expanding the definition of Title IX to include gender identity in six states, the latest in a salvo of legal challenges against the changes intended to protect LGBTQ+ students in recent days.

Support this podcast:

 https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx

Full stories: 

Biden announces widespread amnesty plan for illegal immigrants

Landry signs education savings account bill into law

Ad campaign asks Hobbs to cooperate with 'pay to play' investigations

Biden's Title IX changes were halted in another six states

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A Delaware jury convicted President Joe Biden's son of gun charges on Tuesday, marking the first-ever criminal conviction of a president's son. There is now a criminal investigation underway by Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office into a group home company’s donations to Gov. Katie Hobbs and the state Democratic Party. Former President Donald Trump panned the Biden administration's border security plan during a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday. A bill altering Pennsylvania's public school funding formula passed the lower chamber Monday, spawning both fanfare and consternation among lawmakers. The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights said in a report that over two-thirds of all Title IX complaints came from one individual as it seeks to increase its staff for the next fiscal year. 

Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx

Full stories:

Jury finds Hunter Biden guilty in Delaware gun case

Investigation underway in Hobbs group home scandal

Trump takes aim at Biden's border actions in Las Vegas speech

Pennsylvania charter schools hit hard in proposed funding formula

Ed Dept's Office of Civil Rights doesn't count nearly 6,000 complaints in caseload

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced what he dubbed a border security plan – five months ahead of the November election and after at least 11 million foreign nationals illegally entered the country since his inauguration. While demand for electricity is set to significantly increase by 2040, planning is not in place to increase electricity production to meet those estimates, according to a new report from Clean Energy Grid related to PJM Interconnection. Former President Donald Trump has kicked off a western U.S. campaign tour, stopping in Phoenix on Thursday. Arizona lawmakers passed the “Secure the Border Act” on Tuesday, and it will now head to the ballot. As school board candidates run and win on more conservative-leaning platforms promising public school reforms, alternatives to traditional school board member associations have launched in states like Virginia and Pennsylvania in an attempt to redefine the role. 

Support this podcast:

 https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx

Full stories:

Biden announces 'border security' measures five months ahead of election

Report: PJM needs more electricity to meet 2040 estimates in 13 states

After conviction, Trump draws crowd in Phoenix heat

'Secure the Border Act' heads to Arizona voters in November

These state groups are redefining what it means to be a school board member

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Former President Donald Trump lost in the courtroom Thursday, but Trump and his rival, President Joe Biden, are looking ahead to the November election. An amended education savings account bill has passed the Louisiana House of Representatives. The Texas state legislature now has enough votes to pass school choice initiatives after Tuesday's Republican primary runoff election , Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday night. In the dead of night, Illinois House Democrats approved the largest spending plan in state history. National Democrats plan to nominate President Joe Biden through a virtual roll call to beat an Ohio deadline to place him on the November ballot, Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo said on social media early Tuesday afternoon. A psychologist told educators and equity workers during a federally funded event that “we want our children to be queer” and stressed the importance of gender-affirming care, which has been prohibited by dozens of states. And the Survey of Consumer Expectations gives insight into the economy. 

Full stories:

Trump, Biden head for election battle after guilty verdict

Gov. Abbott: School choice wins in Texas' GOP primary runoffs Tuesday

Amended education savings account bill passes Louisiana House

In dead of night, Illinois House approves largest spending plan in state history

Democrats say virtual roll call will put Biden on Ohio’s ballot

Taxpayer-funded equity event tied invention of 'gender binary to anti-Blackness'

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Lawmakers have threatened to revoke the appropriations for a federally-funded scholarship program that an audit found favors liberally leaning students over conservatives by a ratio of 10 to 1. The 'Zero Emission' electric fire engines being adopted in cities across the country have diesel engines to help pump water when the battery runs low, but this is rarely mentioned in news coverage or promotion materials. Donald Trump's defense team rested, wrapping up its side of the case after calling two witnesses, including one who contradicted testimony provided by former Trump attorney and fixer Michael Cohen, the prosecution's star witness. Trump had said he would testify at his trial if necessary, but decided not to take the stand in the history-making trial. Illinois legislators are working to change the term "offender" to "justice impacted individual" in state law, a move Republicans say disrespects victims of violent crime. Administrators at a Tennessee school used virtual credit recovery courses to help students deemed problematic graduate without doing the work. 

Full story:

Federal scholarship program under fire for alleged bias against conservatives

About those 'all electric' 'zero emissions' fire trucks. They have diesel engines

Trump decides not to testify in hush money case

Illinois legislators set to change 'offender' to 'justice-impacted individual'

'Get them out of the school': Tennessee educators used online courses to remove problem students

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Congress has spent more money on interest so far this year than it has spent on either national defense or Medicare. Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks will square off in November in a bid for the U.S. Senate, following decisive wins in their primary races. Jim Justice will be the Republican candidate for Senate in West Virginia while Patrick Morrisey won the Republican primary for governor as a shift approaches in the state’s political sphere. With less than half a year until the 2024 presidential election, former President Donald Trump holds a sizable lead over incumbent President Joe Biden in several swing states. California Governor Gavin Newsom announced California is a “national model” for homelessness while announcing the availability of new funding for mental health and substance abuse treatment. A Republican-led congressional committee asked school leaders whose districts have seen antisemitic incidents about what they’re doing to prevent further incidents in their schools since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. And the CPI shows inflation has slowed but continues to rise.

Full stories:

U.S. spending on interest tops national defense, Medicare

Justice wins West Virginia Senate primary

Alsobrooks and Hogan to face off in race for Senate

Trump holds lead over Biden heading toward November

Newsom touts California as 'national model' on homelessness 

Lawmakers grill K-12 school leaders on antisemitic incidents

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A judge on Monday fined former President Donald Trump for violating a gag order in his New York hush money case for a tenth time. A plan for school vouchers in Pennsylvania emerged from hibernation on Tuesday. Wisconsin Republican lawmakers want to know exactly what diversity, equity and inclusion is doing in state government and what it is costing. California Governor Gavin Newsom took to the top of Golden Gate Bridge to share the claim that California had hit an "unprecedented" tourism spending record. The facts? After inflation, tourism is down 14% from 2019. Taxpayer-funded equity-focused events directed school employees to push public school boards to focus on race and gender, encouraged staff to focus on “disrupting whiteness” and promoted ideologies that critics say lay “the groundwork for a communist worldview.” And EVs have economic benefits and downsides.

Full stories:

Judge suspends deadline in classified documents case

Judge fines Trump for 10th gag order violation, warns about jail

School voucher plan emerges from hibernation Wisconsin legislature launches DEI audit

FACT CHECK: Gavin Newsom claims record tourism, but actually it is down 14%

Taxpayer-funded equity center resources 'directly undermine' American ideals

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Several Republican attorneys general have sued over the Biden administration’s Title IX rule change, arguing it is illegal. More states are expected to follow. Tennessee school staff are now eligible to concealed carry firearms at school if they have met the criteria and gained proper approval. Officials at Columbia finally gave the green light for the New York Police Department to enter a recently seized building, resulting in dozens of arrests. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a series of bills mainly focused on the state's agriculture sector, including a measure that bans "foreign adversaries" from owning property near a military base. Other states have passed or proposed similar legislation. A federal judge is allowing a class action lawsuit against the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education over its use of the “Quiet Time” transcendental meditation program, which allegedly required student participation and incorporated Hindu rituals.

Full story:

Multiple states sue over Biden Title IX rule
Concealed carry now allowed for approved Tennessee school staff
NYPD storms protest-occupied Columbia building, several arrested

Kemp signs bill to ban 'foreign adversaries' from owning agricultural land
Judge allows class action lawsuit against Chicago schools over Hindu rituals

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

 A Jewish Yale student was reportedly stabbed in the eye with a Palestinian flag during a pro-Hamas protest on campus over the weekend, the latest incident highlighting the ongoing tensions on college campuses since the Hamas terror group attacked Israel Oct. 7 and ignited an ongoing war. California seized over one million fentanyl pills just last week, more than was seized in all of February, highlighting how much smuggling of drugs and illegal immigrants has shifted to California since Texas strengthened its border. U.S. Supreme Court Justices on Thursday grappled with multiple questions about what a president can and can't do as they heard oral arguments in a case that could have wide-reaching political ramifications not only for the 2024 election, but well beyond. The Chicago Bears on Wednesday unveiled details about a proposed new stadium complex on the lakefront in which the NFL team will seek taxpayer funding, something that is not sitting well with Illinois' governor and legislative leaders. The Biden administration’s Department of Education has finalized its long-anticipated Title IX rule that expands the definition of sex discrimination to include gender identity and pregnancy. And builders' sentiment remains strong but housing starts decrease.

Full stories:

University antisemitism reaches fever pitch with calls for violence against Jews
California border fentanyl seizures double as Texas strengthens border

Supreme Court questions how immunity would shape presidency in Trump case
Chicago Bears look for public financing in building a new stadium
Biden admin finalizes Title IX rule changes to redefine sex discrimination

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The federal government loses up to $521 billion a year to fraud, according to a first-of-its-kind estimate from a Congressional watchdog. The Arizona State Legislature did not repeal an abortion law created in 1864 banning nearly all abortions on Wednesday for the second week in a row. However, the Senate did begin the process on a new bill Wednesday. As tensions continue to rise in the Middle East, the U.S. House revisits the subject of funding for Israel. The SAFE-T Act is again making headlines in Illinois with the pretrial release of an individual accused of being under the influence and crashing his vehicle into a sheriff’s deputy's vehicle, killing her. The U.S. Department of Education has directed millions of federal funds toward equity assistance centers that provide teachers and administrators with resources positing views on controversial topics like comprehensive sex education and versions of critical race theory. 

Read more:

If fraud was an agency, it would be federal government's sixth largest
Fraud costs federal government up to $521 billion a year

Arizona legislature continues to navigate abortion next steps, Senate bill now in play

Biden's easing of Iran sanctions in focus after missile strike on Israel

Johnson risks his job over Israel, Ukraine votes

Lawmakers want changes to SAFE-T Act to avoid criminals ‘slipping through the cracks’

Federally-funded school trainers: Parental rights takes back seat on sex ed

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.