A jury convicted a Milwaukee judge on one count of felony obstruction Thursday, the Associated Press reported, after she was accused of helping a man who was in the U.S. illegally evade federal immigration authorities during a law enforcement operation at her courthouse. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was acquitted on a count of […] The post Judge Hannah Dugan Convicted of Felony Obstruction of ICE appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Ben Shapiro warned Thursday night on the stage of Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest that the future of the conservative movement depends on a commitment to truth, arguing that grifters and frauds are putting both conservatism and the country at risk. “The future of the country relies on the future of the conservative movement,” Shapiro said. “It relies on what TPUSA defines as its core mission: freedom, free markets, and limited government.”  Shapiro argued that the right-wing hosts that have abandoned truth for conspiracies and dishonesty are undermining conservatism by offering “bile and despair.” “These people are frauds, and they are grifters,” Shapiro said. “And they are something worse: a danger to the only movement capable of stopping the Left from wrecking the country wholesale.” Shapiro outlined “five obligations” that prominent conservative voices owe their audience in a time of an “anarchic informational environment” where the legacy media is no longer the gatekeeper. The obligations, according to Shapiro, are truth, principle, responsibility, evidence, and solutions. “We owe you the truth,” Shapiro said. “That means we should not mislead you; it means we shouldn’t hide the ball; we shouldn’t be deliberately obscure about what we are telling you.” Shapiro referenced podcaster Candace Owens, accusing her of exploiting the assassination of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk to push baseless conspiracies and attack TPUSA staff, adding that those with a platform have a “moral obligation” to call her out. “If Candace Owens decides to spend every day since the murder of Charlie Kirk casting aspersions at TPUSA and the people who work here…to spew absolutely baseless trash implicating everyone from French intelligence to Mossad to members of TPUSA in Charlie’s murder or a coverup in that murder…then we, as people with a microphone, have a moral obligation to call that out, by name.” Shapiro said that TPUSA and Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, should have never “been put in the position to have to defend themselves against such specious and evil attacks, particularly in a time of mourning.” He added that some of the speakers who will take to the stage after him are “guilty of cowardice” for refusing to condemn the “vicious attacks.” “The fact that Candace has been vomiting all sorts of conspiratorial nonsense into the public square for years on end while others fly cover for her is just as cowardly,” Shapiro said.  Shapiro went on to argue that personal relationships or emotional loyalty cannot excuse silence when public figures engage in wrongdoing, stressing that principle must come before friendship or coalition politics.  WATCH AMERICA FEST LIVE ON THE DAILY WIRE He also emphasized that commentators bear responsibility for the people they elevate and the ideas they mainstream, and the way they conduct their interviews. He cited Tucker Carlson’s platforming of Nick Fuentes.  “If you host a Hitler apologist, Nazi-loving, anti-American piece of sh*t like Nick Fuentes – the Nick Fuentes who said that the Vice President of the United States is a ‘fat gay race traitor married to a jeet,’ the person who said that Charlie Kirk was a ‘retarded idiot’ and that he ‘took Turning Point USA and f*cked it…and that’s why it’s filled with Groypers’ – and you proceed to glaze him, you ought to own it,” Shapiro said.  He added that Charlie Kirk “despised Fuentes” because “he knew that Fuentes is an evil troll and that building him up is an act of moral imbecility.” Shapiro added that Carlson’s other guests include “pornographer and alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate” and “fake historian and Nazi apologist Daryl Cooper,” “Hosts are indeed responsible for the guests they choose and the questions they ask them,” Shapiro said. Shapiro went on to explain conservative hosts “obligation to truth” and evidence. Conservative voices must offer real solutions that improve people’s lives, he argued. “It is our job to make the lives of our audience better-informed, and just generally better,” Shapiro said. “We have a duty to propose solutions.” “We who speak to people on a regular basis have duties to you: the duty to speak the truth,” he said. “The duty to speak from principle, not personal feeling; the duty to take responsibility for our actions; the duty to provide you evidence — to do more than conspiracize or ‘just ask questions’; and the duty to posit real solutions.” “If we fail in those duties, you ought not listen to us.”

PHOENIX—At Turning Point USA’s 2025 America Fest Thursday, Erika Kirk pledged the organization’s support behind one possible 2028 presidential candidate. “We are going to get my husband’s friend JD Vance elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible!” said Kirk, whose husband, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated in September. Turning Point Action, the organization’s grassroots political advocacy arm, is “locked in and mission focused” for the midterms and 2028 election. Kirk further shared that they are focused on “building the red wall” in Arizona, Nevada, and New Hampshire. In a October interview, Vance said talk of a presidential run was “premature.” “So my attitude is, the American people elected me to be vice president. I’m gonna work as hard as I can to make the president successful over the next three years and three months,” he told the New York Post. In September, Vance and his wife, Usha, joined Erika Kirk to escort Charlie Kirk’s body on Air Force Two from Utah to Arizona. Kirk also spoke on the future of TPUSA. “A year ago, my husband stood on this stage,” Kirk began, “and said ‘Lord send me,’ and boy he did.” After her husband’s death, Erika Kirk was appointed as CEO of Turning Point USA in an unanimous decision by the organization’s board. She shared that they are taking a “Make Heaven Crowded Tour” across the nation. In honor of Charlie Kirk’s love of debate, the “Prove Me Wrong” tour will relaunch this spring. While dark corners of the internet celebrated Charlie Kirk’s murder, Erika Kirk also quickly became the center of conspiracy theories, threats and intense media scrutiny. She addressed that and more with a forgiving heart. “Joy Reid probably needs a really, really good hug. And honestly, I’m here for it if she needs it. I’ve got a good hug for you … and I’ll even touch the back of your head,'” Kirk said, making light of the internet scrutiny she received following an interaction with the vice president. Joy Reid, a former MSNBC host, reportedly made a snide remark about Vance swapping his wife Usha to marry Erika Kirk. “Wouldn’t it be the most perfect MAGA fairytale if he [Vance] finally sees the light that he needs a white queen, instead of this brown Hindu?” Reid told podcast host Jennifer Welch in November, according to Mediaite. Joy Reid pushes the deranged conspiracy theory that JD Vance is going to leave his wife for Erika Kirk:“Rubbin on his head? Babyyyy… you in leatha pants?… Wouldn’t it be the most perfect MAGA fairy-tail if he finally sees the light that he needs a White Queen instead of this… pic.twitter.com/BFj4vmcsYT— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) November 25, 2025 Kirk also shared some of the statistics from this year’s America Fest conference. She remarked that a third of attendees are students, 54% are female, all 50 states are represented, and 25 countries are represented. “Don’t worry, guys, Egypt is not on this list,” quipped Kirk, likely alluding to a theory from podcast host Candace Owens. The crowd erupted into laughter.. ERIKA KIRK:"Don't just attend AmFest. Let it mark you. Let it stretch you. Let it challenge assumptions, strengthen convictions, and maybe even make you a little uncomfortable because that's where growth happens, in those moments. Let it be another Turning Point in your life.… pic.twitter.com/Hx4xBQY3Sw— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) December 19, 2025 Kirk finished with words of encouragement, welcoming over 30,000 attendees to the conference. “You may not agree with everyone on this stage this weekend, and that’s OK. Welcome to America!” Charlie “believed disagreement was something not to be canceled. It was something to confront with clarity, courage, and grace,” she added. “The mission didn’t end with Charlie’s life,” Kirk also said. The post Erika Kirk Endorses ‘My Husband’s Friend’ JD Vance for President appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Thursday's Final Word

Apparently blatant editorializing in place of straight news now seems to be becoming increasingly the rule not the exception at the Associated Press. The latest example of AP breaking its own rules against opinionating in news stories is so blatantly absurd as to be laughable. The AP on Thursday actually took the November inflation rate of 2.7% which was below the expected 3.1% and somehow turned that good news into a negative. Check the headline on AP reporters Paul Wiseman's and Anne D'Innocenzio's editorial poorly disguised as an article, "US says price increases eased last month but data may be distorted and Americans aren’t feeling it." Yes. AP can not only determine that the data might be distorted but also somehow channel the feelings of millions of Americans to report it as an absolute fact. The very negative editorializing about lower than expected  inflation continues in the body of the editorial/article: At a time when Americans are frustrated and angry over the high cost of living, the government released a report Thursday showing that inflation had cooled unexpectedly in November. But economists quickly warned that that last month’s numbers were suspect because they’d been delayed and likely distorted by the 43-day federal shutdown. And most Americans have not felt any let up in the high prices they are paying for food, insurance, utilities and other basic necessities. The Labor Department reported Thursday that its consumer price index rose 2.7% in November from a year earlier. Yet, year-over-year inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Americans, dismayed by high prices, handed big victories to Democrats in local and state elections last month. Notice the sharp contrast in tone over what is essentially inflation dropping more rapidly than expected between AP and Harvard Professor of Economics Ken Rogoff on CNN who was very upbeat on the same information that AP portrays as somehow negative: — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) December 18, 2025 Now back to the AP's heart of negativity: "U.S. inflation remains stubbornly high, partly because of President Donald Trump’s decision to impose double-digit taxes on imports from almost every country on earth along with targeted tariffs on specific products like steel, aluminum and autos." Congratulations AP for portraying the lower than expected inflation rate of 2.7% as "stubornly high" because of tariffs. However, in the very next sentence, AP hilariously contradicts itself on the effect of the tariffs on the inflation rate: "The president’s tariffs have so far proved less inflationary than economists feared." Ooops! Much of the rest of the AP editorial pretending to be a legit story is a rat-ta-tat-tat of Orange Man Bad such as this TDS flurry: Trump delivered a politically charged speech Wednesday that aired live during prime time on network television, seeking to pin the blame for economic challenges on Democrats. The speech was a rehash of his recent messaging that has so far been unable to calm public anxiety about the rising cost of groceries, housing, utilities and other basic goods. It appears as if the AP crew have fully embraced the ideals of the Harvard University NiemanLab which encourages ditching any attempt at objectivity in journalism in favor of encouraging social justice for the greater good. Solidarity journalism. Alive and well at the Associated Press.

As 1970 was ushered in, few could have imagined where we were headed next. There weren’t many signs at the start of the decade. The post 1970: The Year in Rock Music appeared first on Best Classic Bands.