Yearly Archives: 2024

(The Center Square) – The Madison school district wants voters to approve a pair of referendums worth more than $600 million on the Nov. 5 ballot despite the school district’s dropping enrollment.

The ask comes as the Madison Metropolitan School District had a $39 million deficit in this year’s budget after the pandemic funds and previous referendum it was using to pay teachers have run out. Last school year, the federal COVID-19 funds were used to pay 111 educators while reserves were used to pay an 8% increase in wages for teachers and school staff, according to Wisconsin Policy Forum.

The referendum asks for a cumulative $100 million in operational funding over four years. The second referendum asks for $507 million over 23 years to build new schools. The district has 26 school buildings that are more than 60 years old, it says.

The referendum will be paid for with increased property taxes for residents.

If passed, the referendum would increase the property tax bill of a resident with a home assessed at $350,000 an additional $241.50 in the first year, $733.99 in the second year, $895.10 in the third year and $1,053.24 in the fourth year.

State levy limits cap the amount a school district can increase taxes without a referendum.

The ask comes on the backdrop of declining enrollment from 27,028 students in 2013-14 to 25,139 in 2022-23. And then a slight uptick of 56 students in 2023-24.

School enrollment projections show that number expected to drop to less than 23,000 students by the 2027-28 school year.

Declining kindergarten enrollment, birth rates and population estimates in the city show that the enrollment is expected to continue to decline after 2028.

The school district received $350 million from a 2020 referendum.

“Over the past 25 years, Madison voters have approved seven referenda to increase the district’s operating budget and rejected only one, making it a tool that district leaders are likely to use to help close the gap while protecting students and staff,” Wisconsin Policy Forum said. “Yet the rippling consequences of another operating referendum would also affect property taxpayers and could put downward pressure on state aid in future years.”

Will Flanders, an education expert at the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, told The Center Square in June that the $507 million request for new school buildings is the second largest referendum in the history of the state.

(The Center Square) – A trio of Wisconsin Republican lawmakers are again pitching a tax-free retirement plan that would exempt $75,000 of retirement income for single filers and $125,000 for married joint filers.

The 2025 legislation was pitched and passed earlier this year that was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers.

This time, the legislation will be in addition to any retirement income that is already tax-exempt in Wisconsin, such as Social Security. Thirteen other states, including Illinois and Iowa, have tax-free retirement laws.

“We can’t afford to keep losing seniors to other states,” said Rep. Joel Kitchens, R-Sturgeon Bay. “When they leave, we don’t just lose revenue. Families miss out on sharing important life events. Wisconsin is sitting on a $3 billion surplus, we can afford this tax cut more than we can afford not doing it.”

The legislation will be sponsored again by Kitchens, Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, and Sen. Rachel Cabral-Guevara, R-Fox Crossing.

“Our retired parents and grandparents deserve to keep the money they’ve put away throughout their career,” Cabral-Guevara said in a statement. “Punishing them for staying near their family in Wisconsin once they retire isn’t the way to treat our seniors. As I’ve repeatedly said in the past, I trust Wisconsinites to spend their money more wisely than the government.”

On Saturday, former President Donald Trump will return to the same rally stage in Pennsylvania where he stood when a would-be assassin opened fire in July, nearly taking his life.

Trump confirmed the visit to Butler on X, alongside the now-iconic image of him raising his fist into the air, blood smeared across his face as the American flag drapes in the background.

The moment, recognized as a historic turning point in an unpredictable campaign cycle on all sides, was only the first attempt on Trump’s life. A second man, 58-year-old Ryan Routh, sits in jail after opening fire at the former president as he golfed in West Palm Beach, Fla. on Sept. 15.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was the Butler gunman and killed by security. Corey Comperatore, in the audience behind Trump, was killed by Crooks' shots.

Security measures for Saturday, however, are already ratcheting up, according to multiple media reports. In an interview with NBC News, a woman who sells merchandise at the rally said the security perimeter surrounding the venue is already “locked down.”

That perimeter has been the source of much scrutiny from a congressional task force investigating the July 13 shooting that killed the 50-year-old Comperatore and severely wounded 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaven.

During a Sept. 26 hearing in Washington, lawmakers balked at the U.S. Secret Service’s decision to leave the AGR building, located roughly 400 feet from the rally stage, outside of its purview – even after local law enforcement warned them of the danger.

Drew Blasko, a patrolman with the Butler Township Police Department who served as assistant team leader of one of two local sniper units on duty that day, said he asked for more guards to protect the area.

Despite an assurance to the contrary, the request was unfulfilled – a point that was illustrated when Chairman Mike Kelly, R-Pa., showed a state trooper’s dashboard camera footage that caught the shooter, Crooks, scaling the roof of the building. In just three minutes he opened fire.

The request for more outdoor guards wasn’t the only resource discussed that never showed up on the day of the rally. Adams Township Police Sgt. Edward Lenz, who commanded the Butler County Emergency Services Unit that day, and Pennsylvania State Police Lt. John Herold said sniper fencing was intended to cover a chain-link fence separating the AGR complex from the farm show grounds. Additional barriers, including a large projector screen, were not set up either.

During congressional questioning, the lawmen agreed that eight to 10 more officers stationed outside the building would have likely prevented Crooks from getting into position. Foot traffic around the complex could have been restricted – upward of 200 people who had not gone through security screening were reportedly watching the rally from the parking lot – and approximately 5 acres of the building’s land could have been sectioned off from the public. A sniper on the nearby water tower, cameras on the building’s roof and blocked-off parking would have been other options, the officers added.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters Wednesday that FEMA does not have enough funding to last the rest of the year even as it has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on migrants under the Biden administration and more hurricanes could be on the way.

DHS oversees FEMA, putting Mayorkas in charge of the emergency relief agency which has recently been focused on helping migrants settle in the U.S.

“We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have,” Mayorkas told reporters. “We are expecting another hurricane hitting. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season.”

The startling admission by Mayorkas comes as FEMA grapples with the widespread damage of Hurricane Helene, A Category 4 hurricane that ripped through the southeast costing billions of dollars, causing widespread infrastructure damage, food shortages, and more than 100 deaths. Many are still unaccounted for as well.

President Joe Biden said earlier this week he may call on Congress to pass more funding for FEMA.

In April of this year, FEMA announced $640 million in new funding, $300 million for “direct funding” to help immigrants settle in the U.S. while the other $340 million went to cities via grants for the same purpose.

“Last year, more than $780 million was awarded through SSP and the Emergency Food and Shelter Program – Humanitarian Awards, which went to organizations and cities across the country,” FEMA said in its release.

While funding is allocated by Congress and money can be flexibly funneled through FEMA from other internal sources, Mayorkas’ comments still show that FEMA’s resources have been focused on migrants while it was left unprepared for this deadly hurricane season.

Illegal immigration has soared under the Biden-Harris administration with millions of migrants entering the U.S. and overwhelming the federal government’s ability to process them, let alone catch the millions of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border.

At least 12 million illegal immigrants have entered the U.S. under the Biden-Harris administration, though many experts estimate the figure is actually much higher.

Hurricane season is expected to go through the end of November.

(The Center Square) – While recent polls covering the U.S. Senate race in Wisconsin show Democrat incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin with a 7-point lead over Republican challenger Eric Hovde, a project survey released this week by Cook Political Report suggests the race is one of the most competitive in the nation.

Compared to its survey in August when Baldwin led by +7, Cook Political Report's most recent numbers show she has a 2-point lead of 49%, compared to Hovde’s 47% support.

By contrast, results from a recent Marquette Law School poll indicated Baldwin holds a substantial lead over her opponent, with 53% of both registered and likely voters choosing her versus 46% choosing Hovde in a head-to-head matchup.

Baldwin’s lead slightly narrowed to 5 points when respondents were allowed to choose undecided; 10% of registered voters reported they are undecided, while 48% went for Baldwin and 43% for Hovde.

The poll, conducted Sept. 18-26, interviewed 882 registered voters and 798 likely voters in Wisconsin with both surveys having +/-4.4 margin of error. The partisan makeup included 34% Republicans, 32% Democrats, and 34% Independents.

Baldwin also continues to lead her opponent in favorability ratings, with an equal number of registered voter respondents having a favorable versus unfavorable view of her, 47% to 47%. Favorable and unfavorable ratings of Hovde have each risen as voters have become more familiar with his candidacy, with 36% of October respondents holding a favorable view of him versus 45% holding an unfavorable view, a net -9 favorability rating compared to Baldwin’s net zero. But 18% of poll respondents still reported not knowing enough about Hovde to have an opinion.

Both the MLS and Cook Political Report surveys found that the two candidates have largely consolidated their bases and Independent voters are leaning towards Baldwin.

More than 2,100 have been rescued in North Carolina, the federal government said Thursday as the death toll from Hurricane Helene reached 204, fifth deadliest in the last three quarters of a century.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said 38 search and rescue teams are in operation, cellular connectivity is at 62%, and distribution of commodities, feeding and hydration is happening throughout western North Carolina. The Appalachian Mountain region from Virginia to South Carolina and Georgia absorbed 24 inches of rain in many places, and more than 30 in some locations.

Buncombe County, home of the region’s largest city of Asheville at just under 100,000, has reported 61 deaths. Thursday marked the seventh day of search and rescue and eighth day since Helene crashed into the Big Bend of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 140 mph.

Damage estimates for the Southeast range from $95 billion to $160 billion, pending the metrics of inclusion up to and including economic loss. For example, property damage estimates are in the range of $15 billion to $26 billion; and published reports say a U.S. Department of Agriculture official estimated $7 billion in insurance payouts for crop losses alone. AccuWeather estimates total damage and economic loss between $145 billion and $160 billion.

“The federal relief and assistance that we have been providing has included FEMA providing $750 for folks who need immediate needs being met, such as food, baby formula and the like,” said Vice President Kamala Harris on a visit to Augusta, Ga., on Wednesday. “You can apply now for anyone who is watching this, who has been affected. There are FEMA personnel who are going door to door to interact personally with folks, especially those who do not have electricity.

“FEMA is also providing tens of thousands more dollars for folks to help them be able to deal with home repair, to be able to cover a deductible when and if they have insurance, and also hotel costs."

Midafternoon Thursday, the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia and Florida still had more than 933,000 without power. That figure included 356,561 in North Carolina. It had been more than 1 million.

A release from U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., says 142 water systems are on a boil advisory, 69 plants have no power and 47 systems are out of water. About 217,000 are without power in the western part of the state, the release says; 93% of substations have been restored online; and 16 CVS pharmacies are closed in his district.

According to DriveNC.org, Helene has caused 540 road closures as of 3 p.m. Thursday. The number has increased steadily over the previous 36 hours. It includes three interstates, 36 federal highways, 51 state roads, and 450 secondary roads. More than 100 roads have been reopened.

The infrastructure collapse has led to some areas only accessible by air, others by foot. Social media has shown a helicopter pilot finding someone who flashed a sun-kissed mirror in a grassy valley, enabling medicine to be delivered; and mules taking supplies to include insulin up the muddied paths once home to vehicles.

Edwards said in the release, “Please do not try to visit or travel through the areas hardest hit by the storm such as Henderson and Buncombe counties. However, I’m here to remind you that Cherokee, Graham and Swain counties are open, and they are desperately in need of visitors to support their economy. These counties have been going above and beyond for their neighbors to get supplies into the hardest hit counties, but could use some support, too.

“Small business owners in far western counties rely on tourism to get by each year.”

Edwards said with the blanket “do not drive” to western North Carolina, the businesses in that southwestern-most pocket of the state have had cancellations pile up.

Eight hurricanes since 1950 have killed 100 or more people. Helene is only eclipsed – so far – by Katrina (2005, deaths 1,392), Audrey (1957, deaths 416), Camille (1969, deaths 256) and Sandy (2012, deaths 219). Thursday’s reports pushed it past Diane (1955, deaths 184).

Asheville's flood woes are compared to 1916, when in fact mules hauling supplies were more the norm. In July that year, a hurricane made landfall from the Gulf of Mexico and trekked toward northern Alabama and Tennessee to dump rainfall in western North Carolina, and a second hurricane about a week later made landfall at Charleston, S.C., and headed for the mountains.

The sequence came to be known as the Great Flood of 1916.

Twenty-three years after Islamic terrorists used airplanes to conduct the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, the federal agency created to protect Americans from national security threats “cannot ensure they are keeping high-risk noncitizens without identification from entering the country.”

The potentially high-risk noncitizens are being flown on domestic flights without identification, creating a public safety risk, according to the latest Office of Inspector General report assessing several federal agencies within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The OIG has repeatedly published reports identifying potential national security risks created by Biden-Harris policies identified within DHS and its subagencies.

In the latest redacted report that has “sensitive security information,” the OIG expressed concerns about Americans’ public safety to the administrators of the Transportation Security Administration, US Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The report states the agencies didn’t assess risks to public safety by releasing non-citizens into the United States without identification and putting them on domestic flights.

The OIG requested data on the number of noncitizens without identification who were released into the United States from fiscal years 2021 through 2023. “Because immigration officers are not required to document whether a noncitizen presented identification in the databases,” the data the OIG obtained “may be incomplete.”

“Therefore, neither CBP nor ICE could determine how many of the millions of noncitizens seeking entry in the United States each year entered without identification and whose self-reported biographic information was accepted,” the report states. CBP and ICE officers interviewed by the OIG “acknowledged the risks of allowing noncitizens without identification into the country, yet neither CBP nor ICE conducted a comprehensive risk assessment for these noncitizens to assess the level of risk these individuals present and developed corresponding mitigation measures,” the report states.

One of the primary responsibilities of CBP and ICE is to verify noncitizens’ identities prior to seeking entry; TSA is responsible for screening everyone who boards domestic flights. The OIG audited them to determine to what extent CBP and ICE policies and procedures confirmed individual’s identities “for the documents TSA accepts for domestic travel and whether TSA ensures noncitizens traveling on domestic flights provide proof of identification consistent with all other domestic travelers.”

As Border Patrol officials have explained, the majority of illegal border crossers are not vetted and released with DHS papers. The OIG confirms this, stating CBP and ICE officers accept “self-reported biographical information, which they use to issue various immigration forms. Once in the United States, noncitizens can travel on domestic flights.”

The OIG also notes that noncitizens do not have TSA-acceptable identification but “are allowed to board domestic flights.” TSA requires them “to undergo vetting and additional screening,” which involves running their information through systems to validate information on DHS–issued immigration forms and conducting additional screening procedures like pat downs.

“TSA’s vetting and screening procedures do not eliminate the risk that noncitizens who may pose a threat to fellow passengers could board domestic flights,” the OIG report says.

It gets worse, the OIG says.

“Under current processes, CBP and ICE cannot ensure they are keeping high-risk noncitizens without identification from entering the country. Additionally, TSA cannot ensure its vetting and screening procedures prevent high-risk noncitizens who may pose a threat to the flying public from boarding domestic flights.”

The 37-page redacted report details the procedures that must be followed according to federal law and notes in bold: “CBP and ICE have policies and procedures for screening noncitizens, but neither component knows how many noncitizens without identification documents are released into the country.”

Security issues also exist with the CBP One app, which has been used to fast track over 813,000 inadmissible illegal foreign nationals into the country, The Center Square reported.

These issues are redacted. “Because of CBP’s and ICE’s process for inspecting and releasing noncitizens, TSA’s methods to screen for individuals who pose a threat would not necessarily prevent these individuals from boarding flights,” the OIG warns.

It also points out that it has released previous reports where its office “documented similar weaknesses in CBP’s screening processes that allowed high-risk individuals into the country,” including those on the terrorist watchlist.

It concludes, “If CBP and ICE continue to allow noncitizens – whose identities immigration officers cannot confirm – to enter the country, they may inadvertently increase national security risks.”

The agencies did not concur with the OIG’s findings. In response, the OIG, as prescribed by a DHS directive, gave them 90 days to respond and provide corrective action that would be taken as well as a target completion date for each recommendation.

Nearly 50,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association will return to work after the port workers' union reached a tentative contract agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance.

"The International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, Ltd. have reached a tentative agreement on wages and have agreed to extend the Master Contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues," the two groups posted in a joint statement to Facebook. "Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume."

On picket lines since Tuesday, the strike against the East and Gulf Coast ports threatened to significantly disrupt supply chains, drive up consumer costs and lead to product shortages at grocery and other stores.

Negotiations had been underway since June. The disagreement was between the International Longshore Association and Warehouse Union, which represents dockworkers across the country, and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents terminal operators and ocean carriers.

Wages of East and Gulf coast workers are a base wage of $39 an hour –approximately $76,000 annually – after six years, The Center Square previously reported. The union was asking for a 77% pay increase over six years. It also was asking for more restrictions and bans on the automation of cranes, gates, and container movements used to load or unload cargo.

Details of the tentative agreement were not released Thursday evening.

A North Carolina state senator all too familiar with hurricanes made one call. Western North Carolina will get thousands more out of it.

In a social media post Tuesday afternoon, state Sen. Danny Britt, R-Robeson, said he put in a call to former President Donald Trump so communications crushed by the remnants of Hurricane Helene could be restored quicker. Trump called Elon Musk, and “as many Starlink devices as we need to help save North Carolinians” are committed, Britt wrote.

According to its website, Starlink “is the world’s first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more.” Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX is the parent of the subsidiary that launched in 2019.

Communications companies, like Verizon and AT&T, are dealing with cell towers that tumbled and fiber cables that are damaged. Federal aid – regularly wrapped in bureacratic government red tape regulations – has been approved for North Carolina, and is plodding through.

For a multibillionaire like Musk, efficiency is premium.

Britt’s district in southeastern North Carolina, on the Interstate 95 corridor, was devastated by Hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018. Some areas are still recovering.

Helene was a Category 4 storm when it slammed into the Big Bend of Florida on Thursday evening, zipping northward through Georgia and easing westerly to drench the Appalachian Mountains and Tennessee.

On Monday afternoon, 425 roads were out – nine of them interstate sections – and 24 hours later the number had dipped and then risen to 430 at 5 p.m. Only three were interstates, including two lanes of I-40 about 4 miles from the North Carolina-Tennessee state line that slid into the Pigeon River.

Fifty-seven people died in the Buncombe County area around Asheville. Across six states in the Southeast, the death toll had climbed past 150.

New research shows that school enrollment has declined in over 5,000 public schools in the U.S., suggesting families are rejecting traditional schools because of the pandemic.

The Fordham Institute's new study, conducted by researcher Sofoklis Goulas from the Brookings Institution, released Wednesday, found that families were over twice as likely to leave low-performing public schools.

“These declines do not seem to be explained by declining birth rates or any changes in the enrollment of charter schools or private schools,” Goulas said. “There is something else going on.”

The enrollment declines aren’t random, which leads Goulas to suspect that students aren’t just missing but instead are seeking alternatives.

“This new research allows us to see whether these declines are random across schools or whether it could be something related to the efficacy,” Goulas said. “And we find that the big low-performing schools experience larger enrollment declines, which makes us think that, indeed, families are looking for something else.”

Goulas added that families could be looking at homeschooling, but the definitive research isn’t out yet. Whatever the cause for the enrollment declines, Goulas said the COVID-19 pandemic was the catalyst.

Goulas said that during the pandemic and related school closures by leaders, families were experimenting with alternative arrangements, like homeschooling, which may have worked well for some. Families may also have been disappointed with how schools reacted during the pandemic, Goulas said.

Another aspect of the pandemic closures is learning loss, which Goulas said may drive families to alternatives as they hope to catch their kids up.

Goulas said that as important as the topic is, many do not want to discuss ebbing enrollment because of what it might mean for a community.

“A lot people do not want to discuss declining school enrollment because of operation pressures schools experience that may eventually lead to school closures,” Goulas said. “Even though school closures are a rare phenomenon – we don’t see a lot of school closures in the historical data – they are associated with declining enrollment.”

Goulas’ advice for district superintendents was to look at where there has already been a market response.

“Since enrollment decline is not a phenomenon that manifests randomly across schools, the low-performing schools might be those that experience the greater declines,” Goulas said. “They might be the ones that are closer to closure.”

But, Goulas said, every case is different and the needs of every community will need to be taken under consideration.

“It is difficult to get the consistent definition of low-performance – schools that are not doing a great job serving their community – because even a bad school serves some students,” Goulas said.

In the introduction to the report, the Fordham Institute’s Amber Northern and Michael Petrilli pointed out that schools nationwide have empty schools which they ask taxpayers to fund.

“In Chicago, where 35% of seats are now unfilled, nearly three in five school buildings are underutilized,” they write in the introduction to the report.

“In Milwaukee, at least 40 schools are ‘significantly underenrolled’ (though that hasn’t stopped the district from requesting a 30%increase in property taxes),” they write. “In Broward [County, Florida], 67 schools are now operating at less than 70% capacity. The same can be said for 48 schools in Fort Worth.”

Goulas said that he hopes his research will help school leaders figure out how to prepare their school districts for success early enough for them to adequately prepare for the necessary changes.

“These are very hard questions, they vary across districts, but we feel that outlining them can help district superintendents, can help them make plans that help all students,” Goulas said.

Support for Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump has grown among Hispanic and Black likely voters in Texas, according to a new poll.

Trump also is continuing to lead his Democratic challenger, Vice President Kamala Harris, according to the poll published by the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation.

Trump holds a six-point lead over Harris, 50% to 44%.

“Harris and Trump are effectively tied among Hispanic likely voters (49% vs. 43%),” the report states. Trump’s “strength among Texas Hispanic likely voters continues to show a striking resilience,” TxHPF CEO Jason Villalba said.

The split represents a 10-point drop among Texas Hispanic likely voters who favored President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Trump has also gained support from likely Black voters in Texas. In 2024, he has support from 17% of Texas Black voters surveyed, up from 6% in 2020, according to the data.

Overall, among all likely Texas voters polled, 51% hold a favorable opinion of Trump compared to 44% who do of Harris.

According to the group’s April poll, Trump held a 12-point lead over Biden, 46% to 34%.

The top four issues that stand out as the most important to Texas likely voters are the economy, the future of democracy, immigration and border security, and reproductive rights, according to the report.

By religious affiliation, 75% of Hispanics identifying as born-again Christians say they are voting for Trump, followed by 32% of Hispanic Roman Catholics and 18% of non-religious Hispanics. The majority of Hispanics identifying as nonreligious, 69%, say they are voting for Harris, followed by 61% of self-identifying Hispanic Roman Catholics and 24% of born-again Christians.

In the U.S. Senate race, incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz holds a three-point lead over his Democratic challenger U.S. Rep. Colin Allred.

Nearly one-third polled, 30%, said they don't know enough about Allred to have an opinion about him. Among those who do, 41% hold a favorable opinion compared to 29% who don't. Cruz, who’s running for his third term, holds higher favorability (47%) and unfavorability (50%) ratings than Allred.

Allred leads Cruz among Black and Hispanic voters by 61% and 11%, respectively.

The majority of Texas Hispanics identifying as born-again Christians, 65%, say they are voting for Cruz; 31% of Hispanic Roman Catholics and 13% of non-religious Hispanics also say they are voting for Cruz. The majority of non-religious Hispanics, 72%, 61% of Hispanic Roman Catholics, and 29% of Hispanic born again Christians say they are voting for Allred.

Survey demographics do not appear to be equally representative of likely Texas voters by race, gender, religion or political affiliation, according to the data. White likely voters account for 57% surveyed, Hispanics 24%, Blacks 13%, and other for 6%. The majority polled were women and between the ages of 45 and 64, according to the data. Republicans account for 49% of those surveyed, Democrats, 38%, and independents, 12%.

The survey does not appear to include members of faith communities outside of two Christian categories and nonreligious.

The poll was conducted among 1,200 likely Texas voters between Sept. 13-18 and has a margin of error of roughly 3%.

According to a recent University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll, Texas voters support Trump and Cruz over their Democratic challengers.

“Texas voters express more trust in Trump on the issues that have regularly topped the ‘most important problems facing the state’ items over the last two years of polling, including the current poll,” the UT/TPP poll states, including the economy, immigration and border security and crime, crime and public safety, foreign policy and infrastructure.

Allred has endorsed Harris.

Allred, whose campaign is depicting him as a moderate, voted nearly 100% of the time with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, according to his voting record. He voted against oil and natural gas bills and against border security bills, critics argue would have benefitted Texas when two other Texas Democratic congressmen voted for them.

A bipartisan Senate report released Wednesday blasts the U.S. Secret Service for several significant failures that led to the near-fatal assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania, over the summer.

The report indicates that security knew the shooter was on the roof minutes before Trump was shot.

Meanwhile, a bill that would increase the Secret Service protection for former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, now awaits President Joe Biden’s signature.

The new Senate report lays out a litany of failures from the Secret Service, including failure to delegate responsibilities to agents and officers, failure to keep the key buildings cleared, failure to work will with local law enforcement, who were helping with security, and more.

The report includes a list of failures, including that the Secret Service did not properly respond after the would-be assassin was identified as a suspicious person over an hour before Trump took the stage.

A stunning paragraph from the report lays out the gravity of some of the mistakes:

“Approximately two minutes before shots were fired, the USSS Security Room, located on the rally grounds, was told that there was an individual on the roof of the AGR building,” the report said. “Shortly before shots were fired, a USSS counter sniper observed local officers running towards the AGR building with guns drawn.”

Critics have blasted the agency from its poor planning of the event, its slow and clumsy response and its unwillingness to share details publicly after the incident. The former head of the Secret Service resigned after a disastrous Congressional hearing on the issue where lawmakers from both sides took her to task.

The report also said an inexperienced agent had trouble getting the drone working and spent hours calling a tech support hotline for help. The agents apparently also had problems with their radios, something that is common, according to the repot.

“From planning missteps, to the siloed and flawed communication to the lack of effective coordination between law enforcement, to the breakdowns in technology, the Secret Service’s failures that allowed an assassination attempt on former President Trump at his July 13 rally were shocking, unacceptable, and preventable – and they led to tragic consequences,” said Chairman Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich.

Lawmakers called for accountability and ongoing oversight.

“Our initial findings clearly show a series of multiple failures of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and an inexcusable dereliction of duty,” Ranking Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said in a statement. “Not only did USSS fail to ensure the AGR roof was adequately covered, they were also aware of a suspicious individual with a rangefinder for at least 27 minutes and did not delay proceedings or remove former President Trump from the stage, even after being informed that the suspicious individual was on the roof of the AGR building.”

Paul said that federal law enforcement agencies had “obstructed” the Congressional inquiry into this issue.

“What happened on July 13 was an accumulation of errors that produced a perfect storm of stunning failure,” added Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “It was a tragedy and completely preventable from the outset.”

The bill that would increase Trump’s protection comes after the former president survived his second assassination attempt this year and would give presidential-level Secret Service protection to all nominated presidential and vice presidential candidates. The U.S. Senate voted unanimously to pass the bill on Tuesday evening. It has already passed in the House.

As The Center Square previously reported, President Joe Biden recently told reporters that the Secret Service “needs more help."

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty is out with a new report that says rolling back the limitations on collective bargaining included adopted more than a decade ago in Act 10 would cost local governments in Wisconsin nearly $500 million.

“At the time of Act 10’s passage, the legislation saved Wisconsin from pending financial ruin. As the federal government pulled back funding provided in the Great Recession, the state faced a budget deficit of more than $3.6 billion – the equivalent of nearly $5 billion today. Act 10 fixed the fiscal hole, and state and local budgets adjusted to the ‘new normal.’ There is little doubt that going back on the law would be ruinous for all levels of government,” the report states.

WILL’s Will Flanders said the nearly half-billion-dollar price tag for local governments includes:

● $113 million in new health insurance costs

● $360 million in new retirement benefit costs

● $12.7 million in new salary costs

“When faced with a budget shortfall, governments have two main options: raise additional revenue or cut services. It is not clear how this gap would be closed, but it is likely that a significant increase in the tax burden for Wisconsinites would be necessary,” the report adds.

The report looks at the cost projections for health insurance and retirement costs. It also notes that Act 10 never really slowed the pace of pay rises, acknowledging “Pay in 2012 – the last year prior to full Act

10 implementation – was $65,101 compared to $65,468 today. However, it seems the pay growth rate was arrested by the legislation. From 2000 to 2012, annual pay increases averaged about $241. From 2012 to 2022, pay increases averaged $46.”

The WILL report also quotes Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, who said ending Act 10 would be just as impactful as its implementation.

“It’s almost unfathomable how consequential it would be if Act 10 were repealed. I mean, we’ve made so much progress in the 10, 15 years since that was adopted,” Schoemann said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s here in Washington County, one of the most conservative places in Wisconsin or a place like the city of Milwaukee, the city of Madison, there have been huge reforms that have occurred at the local level since then. So to think about taking a step backwards in that way would be extraordinarily detrimental to our organization. And I think municipalities across the state of Wisconsin.”

WILL released a previous report on Act 10’s impact on public schools costs, That report said Act 10 has saved taxpayers more than $1.5 billion over the past decade-plus.

Act 10 is headed for a hearing before the Wisconsin Supreme Court after a Dane County judge questioned why and how lawmakers exempted certain public employees, like policemen and firefighters, from the law.