Greenbelt, Maryland — Nicholas Roske, who pleaded guilty to attempting to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, was sentenced on Friday to over eight years in prison. Judge Deborah Boardman, a Biden appointee, said it is important to send a message to people who are considering harming judges over disagreements with their decisions, especially now when threats […]

The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration on Friday to move forward with ending protected status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan nationals. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen, an Obama appointee, found in September that the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelan nationals violates the law. “Although the […]

'contractors are being terminated'

A federal judge ruled against the Trump administration to keep taxpayer dollars flowing to University of California campuses even though she served as a part-time professor at one of the schools. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin in the Northern District of California is listed as being on the adjunct faculty for the University of California San Francisco. Lin most recently ruled in favor of a class action lawsuit brought by a group of researchers from across the University of California system to restore more than $500 million in federal grant money. The lawsuit is Thakur v. Trump, named for the lead litigant, Neeta Thakur, a faculty member at the University of California San Francisco, where she is a professor in residence at the Department of Medicine. Lin is an appointee of President Joe Biden, who nominated the former state judge and federal prosecutor in 2022 for the federal judgeship.  The judge is still listed on the University of California San Francisco website as faculty, where she is listed as teaching a course called Criminal Procedure. “Rita Lin taught as an adjunct at UC Law SF in Fall 2021 and Spring 2025. She is not currently teaching a class at UC Law SF,” John Kepley, chief communications officer for the university, told The Daily Signal in an email. He added that the university was not a party to litigation.  The lawsuit filed in June was instead brought by faculty members from across the University of California system who challenged the Trump administration’s termination of grants across multiple federal agencies. The administration’s defunding was tied to antisemitism on campuses and other civil rights issues.  Plaintiffs in the case claimed the cuts were made without notice or legal authority and sought an injunction to restore funding and block future cuts.  Legal experts note that what qualifies as a conflict of interest, or even the appearance of a conflict, can have a murky definition as far as judges are concerned.  Kepley did not immediately respond to followup inquiries on how much Lin was paid for the adjunct work.  On Sept. 22, Lin issued an order for the administration to reinstate more than $500 million to the University of California system.  The federal agencies named as defendants in the lawsuit include the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Health and Human Services.  The University of California Los Angeles reportedly has the most on the line in the case.  Broadly speaking, a conflict of interest—or perceived conflict of interest—can be determined by the judge herself, said J. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation. “There is clearly a connection the judge has to this case. The only question is whether that connection could affect the judge’s impartiality,” Adams told The Daily Signal.  “The bottom line is that a lot of what is or is not over the line is in the mind of the judge,” Adams said.  Adams noted that “adjunct faculty positions aren’t lucrative.” Adams is not involved in the case, but he noted that as a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, a federal commission, he wrote a letter to UCLA leadership earlier this year about First Amendment violations resulting from antisemitism on the campus.  Judicial conflicts have a technical and legal side, which is a narrow definition, as well as a more discretionary side, said Tom Jipping, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation.  The federal law regarding disqualification from a case, 28 U.S. Code Section 455, focuses on specific financial or personal interest or bias in the outcome of a case. The law says it could apply if a judge’s “impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” Judges also follow internal conduct rules that are more aspirational in seeking to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, Jipping said.  “Simply because they might not be required by law to recuse themselves from a case doesn’t mean they shouldn’t,” Jipping said. “The perception issue has gotten muddied. But every judge should be committed to protecting the integrity of the judiciary.” Such matters have been raised in the past. For example, in 2023, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals held U.S. District Judge Michael Watson, who was an adjunct professor of law at Ohio State University, would not need to recuse himself from a case involving the university.  The University of California system has 10 campuses and a single board of regents and a president to govern the system. Each of the 10 schools has a chancellor.   The Daily Signal contacted Lin at her University of California faculty email address and left phone and email messages with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking comment. Lin did not respond. Judges typically do not comment publicly, particularly about cases.  The Daily Signal also reached out to Thakur, the lead plaintiff in the case. Thakur did not respond.  The post Biden Judge Linked to University Where Her Ruling Preserves Taxpayer-Funded Grants appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today’s video from Daily Signal Senior Contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more of his videos. Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for The Daily Signal. After that quite amazing and moving memorial for Charlie Kirk, there’s been a lot written about him, his legacy, his achievements We all were quite enthralled by his efforts as probably the most successful political organizer of any party under the age of 40 with Turning Point USA. It’s now up to, I think, requests for 75,000 new chapters. He was a columnist. He was a successful podcaster. He did it all. But one thing, I think, that hasn’t been remarked about—what was the essence of his appeal to young voters? Why was he able to reverse the turnout in 2020 of young voters? Getting more of them out and getting somewhere from 6% to 20% more of the youth vote in particular states. And he may have got as many votes for President Donald Trump of those in the more narrow category, 18 to 29, than voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris. Even the 18 to 39 was almost 50/50 in Michigan. So, in some ways, he might have won the election for Donald Trump. So, what was the secret to his success? I think what he did was quite brilliant. He understood that young people are, by nature, rebellious. You’re full of energy. They’re full of hormones. They’re full of ideas. They haven’t lived a long time. And they question authority. That’s innate to all of us at that age. But what he was trying to tell them was: Use that natural inquisitiveness, skepticism, maybe even rebelliousness, at the establishment. But you’re mistaken. The establishment is not conservative. The establishment, as defined by the network news, PBS, NPR; as defined by higher education, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford; as defined by the corporate boardroom at Budweiser or Target, or Disney; as defined by the popular culture, if you look—I could just direct you to the halftime show at the typical Super Bowl extravaganza. We could go on, but you get the message. So what Charlie Kirk was telling young people is, you are living in a society in which the baby boomers of the 1960s and ’70s, are now the establishment. And they are ossified. They are calcified. They have no new ideas. They still are trapped in amber of a sort of revolutionary idea of the ’60s and ’70s—DEI, critical race theory, critical legal theory, radical green environmentalism, open borders. The result of all this is that you, the youth of America, are told not to do what history says will make you happy: to get married, to have more than two children, or at least two children, to buy a home, to be active in your community, to be patriotic, to be traditionalist. These are things that are not establishment, Kirk was telling young people on campus. These are counterrevolutionaries. You are revolutionaries. So, what he asked young people to do is to, say, rebel. But remember what you’re rebelling against. It’s not some conservative, 1950s stereotype of an uptight America. America is not uptight. It has no rules. It’s completely without order. It’s in utter chaos. Whether we look at transgenderism or DEI, or an open border, or our legal system, it is a mess. And you’ve suffered. So, you are going to be revolutionaries. But the trick is you’re not going to try to destroy the old order. You’re gonna try to restore it. The old order is what was normality and common sense. What you grew up under is an aberration. So, as good counterrevolutionaries, tie your youthful zeal to formal efforts to overthrow this dominant paradigm that has made your life, in some ways, miserable. So, we look back at his career, Charlie Kirk came up with the idea that he was going to go throughout higher education, indeed, youthful America in general, and encourage that natural skepticism. And not to say, “Please don’t question authority. Please be stayed. Please be true.” He was trying to say, “Be a counterrevolutionary because the establishment is not you or me. It’s radical. And it needs to be changed.” We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Charlie Kirk Did the Unimaginable. He Turned the Youth Against the Liberal Establishment. appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Virginia Democrat attorney general candidate Jay Jones is under fire after his reckless driving past and the questionable steps he took to avoid jail time were brought to light this week by a local Virginia newspaper. His opponent, Republican Incumbent Jason Miyares, is “alarmed” and questions Jones’ qualifications for the office. On Wednesday, The Richmond Times-Dispatch uncovered Jones’ history of reckless driving. On Jan. 21, 2022, Jones was pulled over by a state trooper in New Kent, Virginia for driving 116 miles per hour–46 miles per hour over the speed limit–on Interstate 64 at 12:55 a.m.  The speeding resulted in a reckless driving conviction which, as a Class 1 Misdemeanor in Virginia, could have led to up to a year in jail and up to $2,500.  Jones told Fox News Digital that it was a “mistake” to go nearly double the speed limit. “I accepted responsibility for my actions, paid the fine, and fulfilled my responsibility to the court, which was accepted by the New Kent County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and the judge,” stated Jones.  To avoid jail time, Jones’ paid a $1,500 fine, and his lawyers provided documentation detailing 1,000 hours of community service in 2023, according to the Times-Dispatch. Jones spent 500 hours serving his own Political Action Committee, Meet Out Moment, and 500 hours spent at the NAACP Virginia State Conference according to the court records obtained by The Richmond Times-Dispatch.  In a statement issued to The Daily Signal, Attorney General Jason Miyares said Jones’s actions were “troubling.” “Our laws are not suggestions. This new information raises serious, troubling questions about Jay Jones’ judgment, his ability to uphold the law, and, ultimately, his qualifications for Attorney General.” The offices of Virginia governor, lieutenant governor, and state attorney general will be up for grabs in the off-year elections on Nov. 4. Early voting has already begun. The post How Virginia Democrat Running for State’s Top Legal Office Avoided Jail When Charged  appeared first on The Daily Signal.

And just like that, the federal government shutdown is set to go through the weekend and perhaps beyond, as partisan gridlock continues in the Senate.  On Friday, Senate Democrats rejected Republicans’ seven-week stopgap funding extension for the fourth time, with no new members walking away from leadership’s demands for policy concessions. Forty-two Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and one Republican, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted against the continuing resolution. Only two Democrats, Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, along with Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, supported the measure. Two senators, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., did not vote. Republicans will need eight Democrat votes to vote to end debate and reopen the government, assuming Paul continues to oppose the continuing resolution. The two parties have, for now, firmly entrenched themselves in two camps: Democrats refusing to back the short-term continuing resolution without major concessions, and Republicans refusing to undo the accomplishments of the 119th Congress. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters Friday that he had lost some of his confidence in the situation being resolved. “When I talked to y’all yesterday, or the day before, I’d walked the floor, I was feeling a little bit toasty, thinking that we might come out of this, because people are talking. But I’m less optimistic now,” he said.  “We’re getting along fine. Nobody’s stabbing each other, but their demands are laughable. They’re just totally unreasonable,” Kennedy continued. “You know, I get the strategy of asking for a pony and being willing to settle for a puppy, OK? But they’re asking for every horse in the United States and every pony in the United States: $1.5 trillion [in demands]? Give me a break.” Dems’ Big Health Care Demands Democrats, as outlined in their alternative bill that also has repeatedly failed in the Senate, have a big wish list.  At the top of it is undoing the cost-saving Medicaid reforms included in the Republican budget reconciliation bill and also extending expiring COVID-era health care premium tax credits. But that would be difficult for many Republicans to stomach. “COVID is over, so it’s time to resume lower levels of spending,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., told reporters Friday. “We probably should be looking at Obamacare on a more holistic basis, because it’s not a success, and it’s going to have to require expensive Band-Aids to hold it together. So you know, it’s probably time to take a more serious look at it.” On Friday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters that there’s no way for Republican leadership to guarantee any outcome on the tax-credit issue. “We can’t make commitments or promises on COVID, because that’s not something that we can guarantee, that there are the votes there to do [it],” he said. Still, some Republicans have expressed interest in providing some form of extension on the Biden-era tax credits, but not as a negotiating piece to keep the government open. “That’s something that I’m willing to talk about,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told The Daily Signal. “I mean, I think we got to do something to make sure the premiums don’t essentially double, which they will in my state for private insurance. We just can’t allow that to happen. That’s a lot of Missourians who will not be able to afford health care.” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images) But he was clear on how futile he views a shutdown. “If people want to talk about how to make health care cheaper, I’m all for it, but I would urge my Democrat colleagues like, ‘Let’s stop the hostage-taking,‘” he said. “Denying people health care now, veterans, seniors … How does that help by shutting down the government now and hurting all these people right now?” Rescissions Another item on the Democrat wish list is to hamstring rescissions.  Rescissions are a type of legislation originating in the White House, in which the administration submits unspent, previously appropriated funds to be canceled by Congress, pending its approval. A simple majority is required in both chambers to pass such a bill, and the White House has experimented recently with pocket rescissions—a way to essentially rescind funds without Congress’ approval. In late August, the White House effectively declared that $4.9 billion in foreign-aid spending was eliminated, a move that the Supreme Court allowed in a 6-3 decision. Democrats have argued that this nullifies the purpose of bipartisan spending deals and erodes trust. Hawley disagrees. “What, do they think this is trust-building?” Hawley told The Daily Signal, as he spoke on the shutdown. “Does it build trust with the American people to shut down the entire government for the nation, because you don’t like the way that Donald Trump, whatever, tweeted about you? I mean, it’s absurd. The rescissions package, by the way, it’s governed by law. I mean, it’s a long-standing, statutorily governed process.” Lummis similarly told The Daily Signal she saw no reason for Republicans to relinquish rescissions in exchange for Democrat cooperation. “As a devout fiscal conservative, I know that we have overspent on things, especially during the Biden presidency, especially that related to the topic of environmental justice,” she said. “I don’t even know what that means, but many, many millions were thrown at the topic of environmental justice. That’s an area where I think rescissions are justified, and there are probably others. The rescissions that were focused on [diversity, equity, and inclusion] as it’s related to foreign aid—It’s another area where I think it was appropriate for rescissions to occur. So, we can’t go on, $37 trillion in debt, and fail to address it.” Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images) Lummis added: It’s surprising to me that it’s not viewed as a constitutional crisis to overspend at that level, and yet other issues are deemed a constitutional crisis, so I think rescissions must continue, and so I don’t agree with the Democrats on this. However, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told The Daily Signal on Wednesday that he would view rescissions with more caution from here on out, as he thinks they have harmed negotiations. “I think the pocket rescission is a horrible idea,” he said. “If you think about the limited amount of money in the scheme of things versus the ill will that created, I think it was a bad idea.” Responding to Democrats demanding that Republicans cease voting on rescissions package during the duration of the stopgap funding bill, Tillis said, “That’s reasonable … I, for one, made it very clear I won’t vote for any rescission [of funding] that I can see was very clearly articulated as a basis for a compromise in the past that blows this place up if we start doing that.” For now, it appears the Republican strategy remain the same—to keep giving Democrats more chances to reopen the government. The post Senate in Stalemate as Republicans Call Dems’ Shutdown Demands a Nonstarter appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Kash Patel Gives Hate Group SPLC Their Walking Papers

Hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs on Friday faced a judge in a Manhattan federal courtroom and learned his fate after a pair of convictions over the summer for sordid sex crimes.At the hearing, which lasted the entire day, U.S. District Court Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced Combs to 50 months in prison, NBC News reported, a total of four years and two months behind bars.'The government equates Sean Combs with a pimp. I want to be clear: Mr. Combs is not a pimp.'ABC News reported that Combs gets credit for time served; he's been behind bars since his arrest in September 2024."You abused the power and control with women you professed to love," the judge said, according to the news network. "You abused them physically, emotionally, and psychologically."Just prior to the sentencing, an apologetic Combs spoke in court and blamed himself and drugs for his "disgusting, shameful and sick" behavior, NBC News reported."I was sick, sick from the drugs. I was out of control, I needed help, and I didn't get the help, and I cannot make no excuse ..." he said, according to NBC News. Combs also addressed the judge, NBC News said: "I can't change the past but can change the future. I ask your honor for mercy. I beg your honor for mercy, to be a father again, a son again and be a leader in my community again and get the help I desperately need."Combs was acquitted in July of sex trafficking and racketeering charges in connection with accusations that he operated a criminal enterprise that coerced women into sordid, sexual marathons now infamously known as "freak-offs" with "dozens" of prostitutes.But the jury of eight men and four women convicted him on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution — flying people around the country for sexual encounters, including his girlfriends and male sex workers, which the AP said is a violation of the federal Mann Act.Also during Friday's hearing, Judge Subramanian said Combs failed to express remorse for the charge of transporting people for prostitution, which the judge said is inconsistent with reality and accepting responsibility, NBC News reported.What's more, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik blasted Combs for scheduling upcoming speaking engagements, NBC News said, adding that a Miami nonprofit in a letter filed with the court Thursday said Combs has speaking engagements set for Oct. 14, 17, 23, 25, and 29."That is the height of hubris; that is the opposite of the rule of law," Slavik said during Friday's hearing, NBC News noted.RELATED: Sean 'Diddy' Combs accused of raping 13-year-old girl with another celebrity as female star watched, new lawsuit claims Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for REVOLTBut defense lawyer Xavier Donaldson pushed back Friday against the prosecution's characterization of the Miami dates, saying they are "teaching engagements" if the court lets Combs walk free, NBC News noted.Donaldson added that "the government equates Sean Combs with a pimp. I want to be clear: Mr. Combs is not a pimp," Donaldson said during the hearing, NBC News said, adding that "a pimp is in the business of subjugating women; therefore he should not and cannot be considered a pimp."Combs' defense had asked for a 14-month sentence — which NBC News said is basically time already served — but prosecutors asked the judge to sentence him to a 135-month prison term, or 11 years and three months. The news network said the probation department recommended a sentence of seven years and three months behind bars.The judge had denied bail, NBC News said, and Combs has remained behind bars. He was arrested in connection with the original charges — to which he pleaded not guilty — in September 2024.Combs on Thursday night in a letter to Subramanian said "how sincerely sorry I am for all of the hurt and pain that I have caused," NBC News added.“I lost my way," he added in the letter that asked for mercy, the news network said. "I got lost in my journey. Lost in the drugs and the excess. My downfall was rooted in my selfishness."In addition, Combs' defense team prepared a nearly 12-minute video to be played in court that depicts him in a positive light. The following report includes a snippet of the video.RELATED: Loaded guns, lube, and sex toys: Homeland Security agent reveals what was found in Diddy's room Combs' defense attorneys in their pre-sentencing filing added letters from 70 family members, music collaborators, and other supporters — including fellow inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, who said Combs has been a role model who helped them improve their lives, NBC News said.However, Combs' former girlfriend — R&B singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura — also wrote a letter to the judge. In it she called the 55-year-old Combs an abuser who has "no interest in changing or becoming better," NBC reported. Ventura also asserted in the letter that Combs "will always be the same cruel, power-hungry, manipulative man that he is."RELATED: Sean 'Diddy' Combs sexually assaulted 10-year-old boy after drugging him during 'audition,' shocking new lawsuit claims Sean "Diddy" Combs with then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura at the Clive Davis and Recording Academy Pre-GRAMMY Gala in New York City, Jan. 27, 2018. Photo by Steve Granitz/Getty ImagesVentura in May testified that Combs beat her — "he would bash me on my head" — as she also detailed the "freak-offs."Also during May's hearings, Ventura stated she suffered from medical issues after a "freak-off" orgy, including sores on her mouth, stomach problems, and "very painful" urinary tract infections. Ventura also alleged that Combs raped her in 2018 after their 11-year relationship ended.As Blaze News reported in 2024, a disturbing video surfaced allegedly showing an "extremely intoxicated" Combs brutally assaulting Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.Combs in court Friday personally apologized to Ventura and her family, NBC News reported.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Tracking Backtrack: Apple Removes ICEBlock App After Deadly Dallas ICE Shooting and DOJ Pressure