Author: Alex Trent

The Oklahoma County Detention Center in Oklahoma City has now twice refused inspections from the State Department of Health which has led to a political dispute between the county’s district attorney and the health department. Jail officials feel that unannounced visits put undue strain on staff and have demanded that the Health Department conduct their inspections on a scheduled date. Start of Dispute Source: Matthew Ansley/Unsplash On June 25, county officials refused entry to a health inspector who had come for a surprise inspection to check up on the health conditions at the county jail. The jail told the inspector…

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law on Monday that makes the state the first to institute a ban on any requirements for school officials to tell parents of students that their gender identification has changed. In effect, the law prevents the enforcement of any school rules that would disclose a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation without a child’s permission, even to their parents. Keeping Children Safe Source: Kimberly Farmer/Unsplash Proponents of the new law say that it is essential for protecting kids because it stops outside authorities from interfering in a child-parent relationship. “This law helps keep children…

A recent poll of Tennessee residents found that voters are looking upon Donald Trump’s recent felony conviction in a New York court favorably. The poll found that more voters are now more likely to support him following the conviction than not, pushing his lead in Tennessee even further over Joe Biden. Tennessee Poll Source: formulanone /Wikimedia Commons This latest poll released Monday shows that 34% of Tennesseans are now more likely to vote for Trump in the general election after his guilty verdict of 34 felony counts. The poll, conducted by the Beacon Center for Tennesse, found that only 22%…

Director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), Joe Tyler, recently gave a press conference declaring that wildfires in the state had already burned five times the amount of land compared to the average for the current season. Tyler is the state’s top wildfire official and expressed an increased need for caution from California residents as the wildfire season continues. News Conference Source: Bogomil Mihaylov/Unsplash At a July 11 news conference, Tyler asserted that state fire prevention forces have responded to more than 3,500 wildfires that have torched almost 220,000 acres this year. “We are not…

The Republican National Convention is set to start in Wisconsin this week and will last between Monday and Thursday. In response to an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump over the weekend, event organizers have asserted that security is at its “highest level” as even more people will likely be watching the event unfold than usual. Original Plan Source: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons On Sunday, the Secret Service and Milwaukee police had said that even in the wake of the assassination attempt on Trump, they did not have any intention to change already laid security plans. “As chief executive of…

On Thursday, The IRS announced the results of a successful effort that clawed back $1 billion of back taxes from wealthy individuals who had outstanding tax debts with the government. This effort has been credited to a 2022 law signed by the Biden administration that among other things helped increase funding to the IRS allowing the agency to improve staffing and technology. This law also closed some federal tax loopholes for large corporations. IRS Initiative Source: Hunters Race/Unsplash Starting last year, the IRS began honing in on wealthy individuals through a series of programs meant to target those who have…

Anger continues to mount from residents of Texas as some are still without power amid an intense heat wave in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. The hurricane had knocked out power to millions of homes and businesses as it damaged the energy infrastructure. Some Texans are furious with the utility company and the government’s response to the hurricane. Hurricane Beryl Source: NASA/Matthew Dominick/Wikimedia Commons On July 8, Hurricane Beryl slammed into the southeast coast of Texas. Experts classified it as a category one storm and reports suggest it has been responsible for intense damage to the city of Houston in…

A federal Judge in Texas this week sided with a group of distilling advocates in ruling that federal laws banning the practice of people making their own whiskey and bourbon at home are unconstitutional. The judge issued a permanent injunction against the enforcement of the ban against the Hobby Distiller’s Association but has allowed 14 days for the government to respond. Court Ruling Source: Katrin Bolovtsova/Pexels U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman granted relief to the Hobby Distiller’s Association who were plaintiffs in a case against the Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The Hobby Distiller’s Association is based in Texas…

In the country’s capitol on Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would require voters to provide proof of citizenship or they would not be allowed to participate in federal elections. The bill, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE), passed the chamber with a vote of 221-198 and will next head to the US Senate. Ban on Noncitizens Source: Office of Speaker Mike Johnson/Wikimedia Proponents of the SAVE Act hope to leverage it to stop what they see as a threat of non-citizen voting in federal elections and as a tool to increase requirements…

In South Korea, Samsung’s largest labor union has announced an indefinite strike following a three-day walkout that was unable to force tech giant Samsung Electronics to negotiate with the group’s demands. The workers are demonstrating to try to secure better pay, bonuses, and a more favorable leave policy. Strike Announcment Unsplash user Christian Wiediger On Wednesday, the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) which is 31,000 members strong, announced that it would join an indefinite strike on July 10 in what is being reported as the largest labor action in the company’s history. A statement by the NSEU didn’t specify how…