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NATIONAL
Senators Fail to Get Ban on ‘Anti-Weaponization’ Fund into Bill That Funds ICE, Border Patrol
A Senate vote to include language blocking the Department of Justice's "anti-weaponization fund" in a reconciliation bill funding immigration enforcement failed on Thursday, despite Republican defections to support it.
The $1.776 billion fund was part of a settlement to end Trump's lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns by contractor Charles Littlejohn, who pleaded guilty. It drew bipartisan pushback and faced legal scrutiny, leading acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to announce the agency would not move forward with it. But some lawmakers sought to include language codifying that decision in the upcoming bill.
NEWS FROM THE STATES
Anti-ICE Protesters Who Disrupted Minnesota Church Service Avoid State Charges
A Minnesota attorney said dozens of anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters will not face state charges for their disruption of a Minnesota church service earlier this year.
The 39 protesters are facing federal civil rights charges for disrupting the church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, in January. The charges came after a livestreamed video showed them interrupting services at Cities Church by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good," after the protesters learned that one of the church pastors was also an ICE official.
COMMENTARY
Commentary: California’s ‘Wealth’ Tax is Coming for Everyone
If you own property in California, you’re not safe. A new ballot measure will empower the state to confiscate a percentage of the assets of any resident, even though its initial provisions don’t communicate that intent. California’s “One-Time Wealth Tax for State-Funded Healthcare, Education, and Food Assistance Programs Initiative,” which has already qualified for the November ballot, is even worse than it appears.
It’s not as if appearances aren’t bad enough. The explicit intent of the initiative already chased at least six billionaires out of the state in 2025. Moved to Florida are Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, along with PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. Nevada is now home to billionaire Don Hankey, and Texas has welcomed former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Famed director Steven Spielberg has moved to New York, apparently concluding even that deep blue state is a safer bet than California. Just the departure of these six men has lowered the potential take from the wealth tax by an estimated $27 billion.
WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT
Nashville to Host 2030 Super Bowl in New Titans Stadium
National Football League (NFL) owners voted Tuesday at the Spring League Meeting to award Nashville as the 2030 host city for host Super Bowl LXIV, which will mark the first time Tennessee will host the NFL’s championship game
ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE
Music Spotlight: Paige King Johnson
I was instantly drawn to Paige King Johnson and her music when I first met her at CRS in 2023. I knew then that I wanted to feature her in my column, and, more than three years later, I finally get to do so.
Johnson was raised on a horse farm in North Carolina. She shared, “Music has always been in me, as it is for most artists, but I didn’t know it was a job option. I did think that music would be involved in my life somehow.”
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