News From Around the Web
#10 With the Election on the Line, Big Tech Faces a Day of Reckoning in Texas Probe - Daniel Cochrane for Blaze Media, Next News Network on X
Despite clear bias, Google and Big Tech remain free to shape political discourse and potentially shift votes this November. But a Texas investigation might finally turn the tide. Texas lawmakers have launched what may prove to be the most extensive probe of Big Tech election manipulation to date. While still in its early stages, the investigation could uncover further damning evidence of Big Tech’s election interference as Americans prepare to head to the polls this November. In May, I testified alongside two Facebook and Google whistleblowers in Austin about how Big Tech platforms suppress and boost political content to shape public opinion and influence voter behavior, frequently discriminating against conservatives...
#9 Sarah Palin Wins New Trial in Her Defamation Case Against the New York Times Over ‘Major’ Jury Issues - Alex Woodward for Independent, Sarah Palin, Newsmax on X
A federal appeals court has granted Sarah Palin a new trial in her defamation case against The New York Times, following “major” issues involving the jury at her last trial, including push alerts to jurors that signaled the judge overseeing the case was ready to dismiss it. In February 2022, a jury unanimously determined that the newspaper and then-editorial director James Bennet were not liable for defamation over a 2017 editorial about the rise in violent political rhetoric... As you’ll recall, on July 30, 2024, ICAN funded a lawsuit, led by its lead attorney Aaron Siri, on behalf of a journalist who was blocked by CDC on the social media platform X (Twitter). The blocking occurred shortly after the X user exercised her First Amendment rights by posting criticisms of CDC. ICAN is pleased to announce that just days after the CDC was served with the lawsuit, it capitulated and unblocked this user. That is justice delivered, and quickly... The Biden-Harris administration appears to have intensified its efforts to block a potential return by President Donald Trump to the White House, according to a report from the Daily Caller on Tuesday. The current administration has resorted to using a “Schedule A” hiring rule to staff DOJ offices with individuals who may be shielded from potential termination by a new administration, including that of Trump if he wins the 2024 election. Several hundred employees have been hired under this rule, bypassing merit-based qualifications and allowing them to keep their jobs even at the end of the current administration’s term. Elizabeth Magill is now a visiting senior fellow at Harvard University for the fall 2024 semester following a tumultuous withdrawal from her role as president of the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in December. Magill resigned from UPenn shortly after facing heavy backlash when she refused to say whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate university policy during a December hearing by the House of Representatives Education and Workforce Committee. Her new role will be at Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession, according to her updated curriculum vitae. On Tuesday, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) scrapped a plan to reroute mail from Northern Nevada to a California-based processing center. Lawmakers and grassroots activists previously expressed concern the policy could jeopardize on-time arrival of mail-in ballots. According to the Associated Press, “USPS said in a statement it has identified ‘enhanced efficiencies’ that will allow processing of single-piece mail to continue at the existing Reno postal facility.” The policy — which was originally set to take effect next year — would have “meant that all mail sent from the Reno area would pass through Sacramento before reaching its final destination — even from one side of the city to the other.” Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was charged Wednesday with being complicit in the spread of crime on the popular messaging app, including child sex abuse, drug trafficking, and fraud, officials said. Durov, who was arrested on Saturday in Paris, was released on a $5.6 million bail and ordered to stay in France as officials continue to investigate the allegations against Telegram, Bloomberg reports. Among the charges was an allegation that he refused to help French authorities wiretap users of the site who were suspected of crimes, Paris prosecutors said. As part of his bail condition, Durov, a Russian-born dual-French citizen, may not leave France and must check in at a police station twice a week... The Supreme Court on Wednesday kept on hold the latest multibillion-dollar plan from the Biden administration that would have lowered payments for millions of borrowers, while lawsuits make their way through lower courts. The justices rejected an administration request to put most of it back into effect. It was blocked by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In an unsigned order, the court said it expects the appeals court to issue a fuller decision on the plan “with appropriate dispatch.” The Education Department is seeking to provide a faster path to loan cancellation and reduce monthly income-based repayments from 10% to 5% of a borrower’s discretionary income. The plan also wouldn’t require borrowers to make payments if they earn less than 225% of the federal poverty line—$32,800 a year for a single person...
#8 Homeland Security Hands Out More Money for Illegal Immigrants - Mia Cathell for Townhall, Homeland Security, Illinois DHS, Bill Mitchell on X
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Wednesday the allocation of over $380 million to go towards the care of illegal immigrants living in communities consumed by the Biden-Harris administration's border crisis. Through the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administers in coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the multi-million dollar DHS initiative provides financial support to jurisdictions on the border and in the interior that are caring for illegal aliens recently released from DHS custody and awaiting immigration court proceedings...
#7 Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Biden's Parole In Place for Undocumented Spouses - Wendi Strauch Mahoney for UncoverDC, Raul R. Labrador, National Review, and Attorney General Andrew Bailey on X
A federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked the Biden-Harris administration's extension of the Parole in Place (PIP) program on Monday. The Aug. 20 notice issued by the White House called Keeping Families Together allows undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens to apply for a green card and lawful permanent residence without having to go back to their country of origin. According to the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), approximately 1.1 million alien spouses would qualify for Parole in Place.
#6 ICAN-Backed Lawsuit Produces Quick Results: CDC Quickly Unblocks X-User After Sued, Restoring First Amendment Rights - The HighWire Legal Update, and Texas Lindsay on X
#5 Biden-Harris Busted Using Secret Rule to ‘Trump-Proof’ DOJ - Luis Cornelio for Headline USA, Owen Gregorian, DC Enquirer on X
#4 University President Who Resigned After Disastrous Congressional Hearing Joins Harvard Staff - Jaryn Crouson for The Daily Caller, Combat Anti-Semitism Movement, and Quintessential American on X
#3 Postal Service Axes Plan to Reroute Nevada Absentee Ballots, Other Mail to California for Processing - Shawn Fleetwood for The Federalist, Nevada Globe, and Project Veritas on X
#2 Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Hit with Criminal Charges in France After Refusing to Help Authorities Wiretap Users - Ronny Reyes for The New York Post, Tucker Carlson, Collin Rugg, Declaration of Memes on X
#1 Supreme Court Rebuffs Biden Administration Plea to Restore Multibillion-Dollar Student Debt Plan - Associated Press, Tim Scott, Attorney General Andrew Bailey, Not Kenny Rogers on X
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