News From Around the Web
#10 Louisiana AG Sues Biden Administration After Chinese Migrant With ‘Rare, Aggressive and Drug-Resistant’ Tuberculosis Entered US - Victor Nava for The New York Post, S.A. Dupres, and Futurist on X
Republican Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed an “emergency lawsuit” against several Harris-Biden administration officials last week after a Chinese migrant with a rare form of tuberculosis illegally entered the US. The lawsuit seeks to prevent federal immigration officials from releasing “potentially infected detainees” that came in contact with the Chinese national – who has a “rare, aggressive, and drug-resistant form of tuberculosis which carries high mortality rates” – while she was in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “ICE has announced its intent to release potentially infected detainees from its two contract facilities [in Louisiana] — without being medically cleared by the Louisiana Department of Health — if an order requires release,” the complaint states...
#9 If It Survives in Court, Texas’ Immigration Law Could Upend Immigration Enforcement Nationwide - Alejandro Serrano for The Texas Tribune, T.L. Langford, WFAA, Frontline
Texas challenged federal supremacy by creating a state crime for illegal entry into the U.S. The courts will decide whether this is constitutional and whether other states can follow Texas’ lead. As a mariachi band played their final number, several kids lined up near a public park along the Rio Grande to whack an orange piñata. It was made to look like the floating barrier that Texas officials put in the middle of the river nearby — a string of orange buoys separated by saw blades meant to deter migrants from crossing the border. The kids were part of a gathering on a recent sunny morning to protest the state of Texas seizing their park as part of its unprecedented, multibillion-dollar, and ever-growing border security operations...
#8 Avery County: How Buying a Real Christmas Tree Could Aid North Carolina Hurricane Recovery - Judith Retana for News Nation, NC Public Safety, and CBS 17 on X
In parts of western North Carolina, Christmas trees are big business, but that business has been threatened by Hurricane Helene. Tree growers in the western part of the state fear damage to roads and bridges could threaten sales this year. North Carolina Christmas tree growers harvest between 5 and 6 million trees every year, resulting in about $250 million in sales. Tree farms employ nearly 7,000 workers and play a critical role in employing people in small mountain communities, many of which were hit hardest by Helene...
#7 Woke Doc Refused to Publish $10 Million Trans Kids Study That Showed Puberty Blockers Didn’t Help Mental Health - Chris Nesi for The New York Post, Pamela Garfield-Jaeger, LCSW, The Darkhorse Podcast, and Riley Gaines on X
A prominent doctor and trans rights advocate admitted she deliberately withheld publication of a $10 million taxpayer-funded study on the effect of puberty blockers on American children — after finding no evidence that they improve patients’ mental health. Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy told the New York Times that she believes the study would be “weaponized” by critics of transgender care for kids, and that the research could one day be used in court to argue “we shouldn’t use blockers.” Critics — including one of Olson-Kennedy’s fellow researchers on the study — said the decision flies in the face of research standards and deprives the public of “really important” science in a field where Americans remain firmly divided...
#6 Colorado Investigates Alleged Attempt to Intercept Mail Ballots - Reuters, Marc Sallinger, Geiger Capital, and Chuck and Julie on X
Colorado authorities are investigating an incident in which at least 12 mail ballots appear to have been intercepted before reaching voters intended to receive them, according to a statement from the state's top elections official on Thursday. The intercepted ballots for the Nov. 5 election were filled out and mailed to the county clerk in Mesa County, in the western part of the state, according to the Colorado secretary of state's office. It did not say whether they were marked for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Democrat nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris, or some other candidate...#5 Ballots Damaged After USPS Mailbox Lit on Fire in Phoenix; Suspect Arrested - Brent Corrado and Kenneth Wong for Fox 10, PostCom, and NewsThump on X
The fire happened just before 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 24 outside a post office near 7th Avenue and Indian School Road. Phoenix Fire crews responded to the scene and extinguished the flames. Twenty electoral ballots, and other pieces of mail, were damaged in the fire. "The Postal Inspector took possession of the damaged ballots and mail," Phoenix Fire Capt. Rob McDade said. "The Phoenix Fire Investigations Task Force, which includes Phoenix Police detectives and Phoenix Fire investigators, are working with US Postal Inspectors."
#4 Battleground State’s High Court Rejects GOP Challenge to Provisional Ballot Rules - Breanne Deppisch for Fox News, Nevada Moon, and Black Sun on x
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the state must count provisional ballots for voters whose mail-in ballots were rejected or improperly filled out in a 4-3 decision that could provide thousands of voters in the state with a second chance to cast their vote. The ruling is the latest in a string of defeats for Republicans, who have filed nearly 100 election-related court challenges in recent weeks in what they say are legal challenges aimed at preventing voter fraud through absentee and mail-in ballots. Many of them have been filed in swing states considered pivotal for either candidate to win the presidency...
#3 DOJ Asked to Investigate Possible ‘Tampering’ of Montana Ballot Drop Box - Ramsey Touchberry for The Washington Examiner, OTBA Official, and Danielle Tribble on X
The campaign arm of Senate Republicans is requesting that the Department of Justice investigate the actions of a Democratic operative that a Montana election official says could amount to “tampering.” A man employed by Senate Democrats’ campaign arm was captured on surveillance video appearing to dislodge a ballot drop box secured to the Glacier County elections building, prompting fear from the election administrator of possible ballot tampering. The National Republican Senatorial Committee “respectfully demands” that the U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Jesse Laslovich investigate what it called a “disturbing incident” and to “prosecute any persons found to have broken federal law.”#2 Biden DOJ Perfects ‘Equity’ Blueprint For Destroying Police, Fire Departments - Robert McGreevy, and Janie Johnson - America is Exceptional, on X
A recent string of lawsuits by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against police and fire departments could serve as a blueprint for erasing physical and mental standards in the name of equity. The DOJ settled two lawsuits and filed a third against local departments in October, accusing them of discrimination after black applicants disproportionately failed to pass cognitive written tests and female applicants struggled to pass physical tests. The DOJ deemed the tests discriminatory due to the results, despite applicants of all races and both genders being subject to the same standards...
#1 Florida Amendment 3 Debate: Legalizing Marijuana - Nathalie Pozo for 25 WPBF, Ron DeSantis, Julia Friedland, Vote No on 3, Safe and Smart Florida, Reese, and Christina Pushaw on X
Florida's proposed recreational marijuana amendment has ignited a heated debate among supporters and opponents, with significant local implications. "It will also mean less people sitting in our jails," said Steve Vancore of Trulieve, Florida's largest medical marijuana company. "It will bring in more tax dollars to the state that can be used explicitly as the legislature would like," Vancore added. Dr. Luzmarina Garcia of Florida Atlantic University noted the financial benefits seen in other states. "What we see is that newer adopters in smaller states are not getting those levels of revenue but a large state like Florida will probably get that revenue long term," Garcia said...
And Now for Something Special 
More Pumpkin News!
Belgians Grow Heaviest Pumpkin in Europe–Weighing as Much as a Honda Civic - Andy Corbley Good News Network
In a Belgian town where the residents are nicknamed “pumpkin eaters,” celebrations are ringing out that a local claimed 1st prize in the European Pumpkin Championship. At 2,539 pounds (1,152 kg), Mario Vangeel grew the biggest pumpkin of the year. His pumpkin had to be transported from his hometown of Kasterlee to Ludwigsburg in Germany for the competition; not so easy when your gourd weighs as much as a 2007 Honda Civic.
