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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>Off The Press</title> <atom:link href="https://www.offthepress.com/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/</link> <description>News Beyond the Echo Chamber</description> <lastBuildDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 14:25:46 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <image> <url>https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/cropped-OTP_icon_white_darkbg-150x150.png</url> <title>Off The Press</title> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/</link> <width>32</width> <height>32</height></image> <item> <title>Border patrol officer hit by sandwich testifies defendant called agents ‘fascist’</title> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/border-agent-hit-by-sandwich-testifies-defendant-called-them-fascist/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Faith Novak]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 14:24:41 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Partner]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MIDDLE COLUMN]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthepress.com/border-agent-hit-by-sandwich-testifies-defendant-called-them-fascist/</guid> <description><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/reuters-1745868113-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" />A Border Patrol officer who was hit by a sandwich thrown at him by a former Justice Department employee testified at the defendant’s trial, which starts its second day on Wednesday, saying that the man said “we were fascist.” Greg Lairmore, a Border Patrol division chief who has been with Customs and Border Protection for […]<div><a href="https://www.offthepress.com/border-agent-hit-by-sandwich-testifies-defendant-called-them-fascist/">...Click to read more</a><br></div>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/reuters-1745868113-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" /><div><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/reuters-1745868113-1024x576.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style=" margin-bottom: 10px;margin-top:10px;" srcset="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/reuters-1745868113-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/reuters-1745868113-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/reuters-1745868113-768x432.jpg 768w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/reuters-1745868113-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/reuters-1745868113-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div><p>A Border Patrol officer who was hit by a sandwich thrown at him by a former Justice Department employee testified at the defendant’s trial, which starts its second day on Wednesday, saying that the man said “we were fascist.”</p><p>Greg Lairmore, a Border Patrol division chief who has been with Customs and Border Protection for 23 years, testified on Tuesday at the trial of Sean Dunn, who threw a Subway-style sandwich at him in Washington, D.C., this summer during the federal takeover of the city, CNN reported.</p><p>Dunn has been charged with misdemeanor assault for the incident, over which he was fired from the DOJ.</p><p>A grand jury declined to indict Dunn on a felony assault count related to the incident. However, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office opted to charge him instead with a misdemeanor, according to Politico.</p><p>Dunn’s attorney, Julia Gatto, told the jury on Tuesday regarding her client, “He did it. He threw the sandwich.”</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>UPS plane crash at Louisville airport leaves at least nine dead</title> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/plane-crash-near-louisville-airport-leaves-several-injured/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Faith Novak]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2025 23:24:16 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[World News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[6]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MIDDLE COLUMN]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthepress.com/plane-crash-near-louisville-airport-leaves-several-injured/</guid> <description><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/43432432-150x150.png" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Smoke rises from a Delta plane due to an engine fire in Orlando, Florida, United States, April 21, 2025, in this video screengrab obtained from social media." decoding="async" loading="lazy" />A UPS freight plane crashed shortly after taking off from the Louisville airport, leaving a fiery trail of destruction through businesses and roads where a massive plume of thick black smoke now stretches for miles, videos from CNN affiliate WAVE show. • Reported fatalities and injuries: At least nine people have died and 11 were […]<div><a href="https://www.offthepress.com/plane-crash-near-louisville-airport-leaves-several-injured/">...Click to read more</a><br></div>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/43432432-150x150.png" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Smoke rises from a Delta plane due to an engine fire in Orlando, Florida, United States, April 21, 2025, in this video screengrab obtained from social media." decoding="async" loading="lazy" /><div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/43432432-1024x576.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Smoke rises from a Delta plane due to an engine fire in Orlando, Florida, United States, April 21, 2025, in this video screengrab obtained from social media." style=" margin-bottom: 10px;margin-top:10px;" srcset="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/43432432-1024x576.png 1024w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/43432432-300x169.png 300w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/43432432-768x432.png 768w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/43432432-1536x864.png 1536w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/43432432.png 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div><p>A UPS freight plane crashed shortly after taking off from the Louisville airport, leaving a fiery trail of destruction through businesses and roads where a massive plume of thick black smoke now stretches for miles, videos from CNN affiliate WAVE show.</p><p>• Reported fatalities and injuries: At least nine people have died and 11 were injured, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday, warning those numbers could climb as the investigation continues. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said the three crew members on board the plane are assumed dead and four of the people confirmed dead were not on the plane.</p><p>• Fire caused by crash nearly contained: Hundreds of firefighters have nearly contained the fire spreading over “a massive area,” so then can “create a formal grid” to search the surroundings for potential victims, said Fire Department Chief Brian O’Neill.</p><p>• Crash investigation: The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the probe into the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday. The safety board announced it is launching a “go-team” to investigate. The team is scheduled to arrive in Kentucky on Wednesday with a crew of at least 28 people, said Dan Mann, the airport’s executive director. “I expect they’ll be here for several days, putting all this together, and there’ll be multiple briefings,” Mann said.</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Private employers added 42,000 jobs in October, exceeding forecasts</title> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/private-employers-added-42000-october-jobs-exceeding-forecasts/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Faith Novak]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 14:05:26 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MIDDLE COLUMN]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthepress.com/private-employers-added-42000-october-jobs-exceeding-forecasts/</guid> <description><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/reuters-1748616378-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" />Companies in the private sector added 42,000 jobs in October, payroll processing firm ADP said Wednesday. The figure is above economists’ estimates of a gain of 28,000 jobs. The prior month’s payrolls number was revised to a loss of 29,000 from an initially reported loss of 32,000. “Private employers added jobs in October for the […]<div><a href="https://www.offthepress.com/private-employers-added-42000-october-jobs-exceeding-forecasts/">...Click to read more</a><br></div>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/reuters-1748616378-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /><div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/reuters-1748616378-1024x683.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style=" margin-bottom: 10px;margin-top:10px;" srcset="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/reuters-1748616378-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/reuters-1748616378-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/reuters-1748616378-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/reuters-1748616378-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/reuters-1748616378-2048x1366.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div><p>Companies in the private sector added 42,000 jobs in October, payroll processing firm ADP said Wednesday.</p><p>The figure is above economists’ estimates of a gain of 28,000 jobs. The prior month’s payrolls number was revised to a loss of 29,000 from an initially reported loss of 32,000.</p><p>“Private employers added jobs in October for the first time since July, but hiring was modest relative to what we reported earlier this year,” said Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist. “Meanwhile, pay growth has been largely flat for more than a year, indicating that shifts in supply and demand are balanced.”</p><p>Trade, transportation and utilities added 47,000 positions, leading job creation in October. Education and health services added 25,000 jobs, financial activities added 11,000, natural resources and mining contributed 7,000, and construction added 5,000.</p><p>On the negative side, information lost 17,000 positions in the month, professional and business services lost 15,000 jobs, and other services lost 14,000. Leisure and hospitality lost 5,000 jobs and manufacturing lost 3,000.</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Trump turns up 2026 volume, urges voter reform</title> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/trump-turns-up-2026-volume-urges-voter-reform/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Faith Novak]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 13:15:53 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[LEFT COLUMN]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthepress.com/trump-turns-up-2026-volume-urges-voter-reform/</guid> <description><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/reuters-1755265673-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" />After Democrats’ sweeping victories in blue states issued a warning to Republicans, their voters, and President Donald Trump on Tuesday night, Trump issued an official first salvo for the battleground of the 2026 midterms next November, a proverbial response to a call to “turn the volume up.” “…AND SO IT BEGINS!” Trump wrote, concluding in […]<div><a href="https://www.offthepress.com/trump-turns-up-2026-volume-urges-voter-reform/">...Click to read more</a><br></div>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/reuters-1755265673-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /><div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/reuters-1755265673-1024x683.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style=" margin-bottom: 10px;margin-top:10px;" srcset="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/reuters-1755265673-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/reuters-1755265673-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/reuters-1755265673-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/reuters-1755265673-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/reuters-1755265673-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div><p>After Democrats’ sweeping victories in blue states issued a warning to Republicans, their voters, and President Donald Trump on Tuesday night, Trump issued an official first salvo for the battleground of the 2026 midterms next November, a proverbial response to a call to “turn the volume up.”</p><p>“…AND SO IT BEGINS!” Trump wrote, concluding in a series of Truth Social posts laying out proverbial marching orders for Republicans.</p><p>That post followed a call for Republicans to end the Democrat-forced government shutdown and secure elections in other parts of America where Democrats do not have the control over elections to no voter ID and mail-in balloting. </p><p>“Pass Voter Reform, Voter ID, No Mail-In Ballots,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, laying out the possible consequences. </p><p>“Save our Supreme Court from ‘Packing,’ No Two State addition, etc.”</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Moody Bible Institute sues CPS Board over alleged religious discrimination</title> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/moody-bible-institute-sues-chicago-school-board-over-alleged-religious-discrimination/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Faith Novak]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 13:28:31 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Partner]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MIDDLE COLUMN]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthepress.com/moody-bible-institute-sues-chicago-school-board-over-alleged-religious-discrimination/</guid> <description><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/reuters-1745852190-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" />The Moody Bible Institute is suing the Chicago Board of Education for alleged religious discrimination because it won’t allow students from the private evangelical Christian Bible college to participate in the public school system’s student-teaching program – citing Moody hiring only prospective employees who follow like-minded religious beliefs. The federal lawsuit was filed Tuesday on […]<div><a href="https://www.offthepress.com/moody-bible-institute-sues-chicago-school-board-over-alleged-religious-discrimination/">...Click to read more</a><br></div>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/reuters-1745852190-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /><div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/reuters-1745852190-1024x576.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style=" margin-bottom: 10px;margin-top:10px;" srcset="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/reuters-1745852190-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/reuters-1745852190-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/reuters-1745852190-768x432.jpg 768w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/reuters-1745852190-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/reuters-1745852190-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div><p>The Moody Bible Institute is suing the Chicago Board of Education for alleged religious discrimination because it won’t allow students from the private evangelical Christian Bible college to participate in the public school system’s student-teaching program – citing Moody hiring only prospective employees who follow like-minded religious beliefs. </p><p>The federal lawsuit was filed Tuesday on Moody’s behalf by the group Alliance Defending Freedom.</p><p>Moody hires employees that live out the college’s biblical beliefs and values, including those on marriage and sexuality.</p><p>The college’s Elementary Education degree program was approved by the Illinois State Board of Education in January 2024.</p><p>However, Chicago Public Schools won’t allow Moody’s students to participate in the student-teaching program, citing its policy that educational institutions participating in the program cannot “discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, or other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of . . . religion, . . . gender identity/expression, [or] sexual orientation.”</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Tim Scott claims Squad sparked movement, Mamdani ignites it</title> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/tim-scott-claims-squad-sparked-movement-mamdani-ignites-it/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Faith Novak]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 13:01:17 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MIDDLE COLUMN]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthepress.com/tim-scott-claims-squad-sparked-movement-mamdani-ignites-it/</guid> <description><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/reuters-1762347528-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" />National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., is warning Republican donors that New York City Democrat Zohran Mamdani’s recent victory signals a far-left takeover of the Democratic Party and poses major implications for the 2026 Senate races. “From New England to the South to the heartland, the picture is clear: Mamdani’s ideology […]<div><a href="https://www.offthepress.com/tim-scott-claims-squad-sparked-movement-mamdani-ignites-it/">...Click to read more</a><br></div>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/reuters-1762347528-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /><div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="426" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/reuters-1762347528.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style=" margin-bottom: 10px;margin-top:10px;" srcset="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/reuters-1762347528.jpg 640w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/reuters-1762347528-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div><p>National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., is warning Republican donors that New York City Democrat Zohran Mamdani’s recent victory signals a far-left takeover of the Democratic Party and poses major implications for the 2026 Senate races.</p><p>“From New England to the South to the heartland, the picture is clear: Mamdani’s ideology is no longer fringe — it is the foundation of the Democrat Party,” Scott wrote in a statement.</p><p>“Mamdani’s rise is not the beginning of a movement. It is the confirmation that the far-left now controls the Democrat Party.</p><p>“If the Squad was the spark, Zohran Mamdani is the fire.”</p><p>The “Squad” refers to the House progressive women led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who rose together during President Donald Trump’s first administration.</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>NYC election fears fuel $100M Florida real estate surge</title> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/nyc-election-fears-fuel-100m-florida-real-estate-surge/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ray Hilbrich]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 12:35:03 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Elections]]></category> <category><![CDATA[LEFT COLUMN]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthepress.com/nyc-election-fears-fuel-100m-florida-real-estate-surge/</guid> <description><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/reuters-1760661956-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" />Election anxiety in New York City has turned into a real estate windfall in South Florida. Developer Isaac Toledano, CEO of Miami-based BH Group, told Fox News Digital that his company has closed more than $100 million in signed contracts from New York buyers in just the past few months – about twice last year’s […]<div><a href="https://www.offthepress.com/nyc-election-fears-fuel-100m-florida-real-estate-surge/">...Click to read more</a><br></div>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/reuters-1760661956-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /><div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="426" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/reuters-1760661956.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style=" margin-bottom: 10px;margin-top:10px;" srcset="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/reuters-1760661956.jpg 640w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/reuters-1760661956-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div><p>Election anxiety in New York City has turned into a real estate windfall in South Florida.</p><p>Developer Isaac Toledano, CEO of Miami-based BH Group, told Fox News Digital that his company has closed more than $100 million in signed contracts from New York buyers in just the past few months – about twice last year’s volume.</p><p>“I think the election accelerated how people make decisions,” Toledano said. “I think people are nervous [for] what’s coming, how it’s going to affect their lifestyle, the quality of life, taxes, potential of crime [or] no crime.”</p><p>“This unknown in what’s coming, and the fact that Mamdani said loud and clear what he’s going to do and what he believes is the right thing for New York, make[s] a lot of people very nervous,” he continued.</p><p>Toledano noted that the sales surge his real estate firm has seen is not surprising, but the figure is “higher than expected.” The CEO also reports that the New York buyers migrating south are “becoming very aggressive” with their decision-making.</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Washington State voters say yes to investing WA Cares tax dollars in stock market</title> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/washington-state-voters-say-yes-to-investing-wa-cares-tax-dollars-in-stock-market/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ray Hilbrich]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 12:29:25 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Partner]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MIDDLE COLUMN]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthepress.com/washington-state-voters-say-yes-to-investing-wa-cares-tax-dollars-in-stock-market/</guid> <description><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/reuters-1752496583-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" />Washington state voters are passing Senate Joint Resolution 8201, a proposed constitutional amendment to allow the state to invest funds for the WA Cares long-term care program in a wider range of assets, like the stock market, according to preliminary election results Tuesday night. According to the Washington Secretary of State’s Office, as of 9 […]<div><a href="https://www.offthepress.com/washington-state-voters-say-yes-to-investing-wa-cares-tax-dollars-in-stock-market/">...Click to read more</a><br></div>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/reuters-1752496583-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /><div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="709" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/reuters-1752496583-1024x709.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style=" margin-bottom: 10px;margin-top:10px;" srcset="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/reuters-1752496583-1024x709.jpg 1024w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/reuters-1752496583-300x208.jpg 300w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/reuters-1752496583-768x532.jpg 768w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/reuters-1752496583-1536x1063.jpg 1536w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/reuters-1752496583-2048x1418.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div><p>Washington state voters are passing Senate Joint Resolution 8201, a proposed constitutional amendment to allow the state to invest funds for the WA Cares long-term care program in a wider range of assets, like the stock market, according to preliminary election results Tuesday night.</p><p>According to the Washington Secretary of State’s Office, as of 9 p.m., voters are approving SJR 8201 by a 56.8% to 43.2% vote, with just over 1 million votes counted so far.</p><p>The state constitution currently restricts most public funds from being invested in private stocks or equities.</p><p>SJR 8201 supporters argue that allowing investments in stocks and other equities could significantly increase the fund’s value, which currently stands at approximately $2.5 billion, and add an estimated $67 billion over 50 years.</p><p>A larger fund would provide more financial security for the WA Cares program, proponents say, including keeping premiums low for taxpayers and growing benefits over time.</p><p>WA Cares is funded by a mandatory 0.58% payroll deduction from employees. It began making contributions in 2023 and will start paying benefits in 2026 to eligible residents who need help with activities of daily living. The full benefit is $36,500 in 2026 and is set to be adjusted for inflation annually.</p><p>“Measure 8201 takes the funds to fund those kind of things that we all are going to need – 70% of us are going to need – and allows it to be invested in a safe and risk-averse way, so that we can grow those funds and not allow it to be raided by the government or by lawmakers,” Heather Weiner with Approve 2081 told the audience at a debate with Sen. Bob Hasegawa, D-Seattle, a week ago at the University of Washington.</p><p>SJR 8201 opponents argue that investing public funds – taxpayer money – in the stock market is too risky and could result in reduced benefits or higher taxes if the market declines.</p><p>In the debate with Weiner, Hasegawa highlighted his concerns about the stock market’s volatility, preferring the safer, though lower-return, securities, such as municipal bonds, for the WA Cares Fund.</p><p>“If Wall Street does not meet expectations – inevitably, there’s going to be a crash; we all know that,” the senator said. “The economy is cyclical, and the state investment board … presumably will be managing these funds if this constitutional amendment is adopted. This is outside the state investment board’s control.”</p><p>He pointed to the Great Recession of 2008-08 and the Great Depression as examples of significant market downturns that took time to recover from.</p><p>“Do you know it took 25 years to recover from the Great Depression?” Hasegawa asked. “And if you include inflationary costs, it took really 30 years to recover from the Great Depression.”</p><p>A measure similar to SJR 8201 was rejected by voters in 2020.</p><p>Dec. 4 is the last day for the Washington Secretary of State’s Office to certify election results.</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Seattle Mayor Harell leads challenger Katie Wilson in close race</title> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/seattle-mayor-harell-leads-challenger-katie-wilson-in-close-race/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ray Hilbrich]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 12:24:27 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Partner]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MIDDLE COLUMN]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthepress.com/seattle-mayor-harell-leads-challenger-katie-wilson-in-close-race/</guid> <description><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Bruce_Harrell_Sworn-in_as_Seattles_54th_Mayor_37043484332-150x150.jpeg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" />Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell leads challenger Katie Wilson by 7% of votes on election night, coming back from being bested in the August primary. Initial results from the general election show Harrell leading with 53.3% of votes compared to 46.2% for Wilson. The race is too close to call after the initial round of counted […]<div><a href="https://www.offthepress.com/seattle-mayor-harell-leads-challenger-katie-wilson-in-close-race/">...Click to read more</a><br></div>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Bruce_Harrell_Sworn-in_as_Seattles_54th_Mayor_37043484332-150x150.jpeg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /><div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Bruce_Harrell_Sworn-in_as_Seattles_54th_Mayor_37043484332-1024x683.jpeg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style=" margin-bottom: 10px;margin-top:10px;" srcset="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Bruce_Harrell_Sworn-in_as_Seattles_54th_Mayor_37043484332-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Bruce_Harrell_Sworn-in_as_Seattles_54th_Mayor_37043484332-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Bruce_Harrell_Sworn-in_as_Seattles_54th_Mayor_37043484332-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Bruce_Harrell_Sworn-in_as_Seattles_54th_Mayor_37043484332-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Bruce_Harrell_Sworn-in_as_Seattles_54th_Mayor_37043484332-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div><p> Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell leads challenger Katie Wilson by 7% of votes on election night, coming back from being bested in the August primary.</p><p>Initial results from the general election show Harrell leading with 53.3% of votes compared to 46.2% for Wilson. The race is too close to call after the initial round of counted ballots.</p><p>“We’ll be on the edge of our seats the next few days… We’re in this! Promising numbers!” Wilson said in a social media post.</p><p>Harrell’s campaign focused on his political experience, as he first served as a Seattle elected official in 2007. During a previous interview with The Center Square, Harrell emphasized the importance of experience particularly in light of federal pressures from President Donald Trump targeting progressive cities like Seattle. He characterized Wilson as lacking the experience needed to be the mayor of a major U.S. city.</p><p>The incumbent was joined by former Vice President Kamala Harris on election day. He received endorsements from Gov. Bob Ferguson, Attorney General Nick Brown and former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, among others.</p><p>In Harrell’s first year as mayor, crime rates reached record highs in 2022, with 50,398 individual violent and property crimes recorded. However, crime rates are on track to fall below pre-COVID-19 pandemic lows this year, despite population growth. </p><p>Police staffing levels were at record lows in January 2024, but have since rebounded with the help of increased pay and the offering of $50,000 incentives for lateral hires. With nearly 150 new hires in 2025, Harrell anticipates SPD to be fully staffed by the middle of his second term, assuming his reelection bid is successful.</p><p>Harrell also launched the Community Assisted Response and Engagement, or CARE, Department, which is set to expand in size and ability to respond to 911 calls as part of a tentative agreement with the Seattle Police Officers Guild.</p><p>Wilson’s platform includes progressive tax revenues like a local capital gains tax, a vacancy tax on unoccupied commercial and residential properties, professional services excise tax, and digital advertisement tax. Wilson would also consider turning the dials on the city’s JumpStart Payroll Tax in order to raise new revenue.</p><p>The Center Square previously reported on Wilson not shying away from comparisons to Mamdani, and is fine being called a Democrat, a socialist, or both. However, she notes that she is not affiliated with the Seattle chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and is running for a nonpartisan position.</p><p>Wilson, who founded the Transit Riders Union, acknowledged that big-tech companies based in Seattle, like Amazon, are drivers of the local economy and also share similar goals in addressing homelessness and the related public safety issues. As for progressive taxes, she previously told The Center Square there is likely some friction between her and Amazon, but that wants to have conversations with the city’s larger companies. </p><p>The Center Square will continue coverage of the Seattle mayoral race as votes continue to be collected.</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Bond, budget measures win support in Arizona’s Maricopa County</title> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/bond-budget-measures-win-support-in-arizonas-maricopa-county/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ray Hilbrich]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 12:20:34 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Partner]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MIDDLE COLUMN]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthepress.com/bond-budget-measures-win-support-in-arizonas-maricopa-county/</guid> <description><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/AP22343114024067-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" />Bond and budget measures were on their way to being passed, according to early, unofficial results in Arizona’s most populous county. Maricopa County, which is home to Phoenix, published results on its website after polls closed at 8 p.m. Mountain Standard Time Tuesday. The results were based on 570,352 ballots cast, which is 21.5% of […]<div><a href="https://www.offthepress.com/bond-budget-measures-win-support-in-arizonas-maricopa-county/">...Click to read more</a><br></div>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/AP22343114024067-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /><div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/AP22343114024067.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style=" margin-bottom: 10px;margin-top:10px;" srcset="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/AP22343114024067.jpg 1024w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/AP22343114024067-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/AP22343114024067-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div><p>Bond and budget measures were on their way to being passed, according to early, unofficial results in Arizona’s most populous county.</p><p>Maricopa County, which is home to Phoenix, published results on its website after polls closed at 8 p.m. Mountain Standard Time Tuesday. The results were based on 570,352 ballots cast, which is 21.5% of eligible voters. That includes ballots received and cleared through signature verification as of mid-day Monday.</p><p>These are ballots that were sent via the mail, dropped in a ballot box or processed at the Ballot Replacement Center, the county said.</p><p>Early results show Dorean Taylor ahead of Julie Spilsbury in the only race with candidates in Maricopa County: a seat on the Mesa City Council. Taylor had 52.78% of the vote in early results; Spilsbury, 47.22%, according to the Maricopa County elections website.</p><p>According to early results, bond measures and budget increases or budget override continuations were on their way to passing in many fire/medical districts, high school districts, elementary school districts and cities. A “budget override continuation” is a way to generate more revenue.</p><p>The margin of approval for bond measures varied slightly over 50% in the Maricopa County Special Health Care District and West-MEC At-Large Proposition 403 to 78.26% for Superstition Fire and Medical District’s Proposition 494. (West-MEC trains students in career and technical education.)</p><p>Measures to increase budgets or for a budget override continuation also passed in many districts. Results varied from to 52.56% supporting a budget increase in Peoria Union School District to 75.27% favoring budget override continuation in Phoenix Elementary School District.</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>What voters demand from the socialist elected to lead the capital of capitalism</title> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/socialist-mamdani-to-govern-capitalisms-capital-here-is-what-voters-demand/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ray Hilbrich]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 11:16:58 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Partner]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Exclusive Reporting]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthepress.com/socialist-mamdani-to-govern-capitalisms-capital-here-is-what-voters-demand/</guid> <description><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/reuters-1762309241-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" />self-described “democratic socialist” will now govern New York City, capitalism’s hub in America and the free world, and Just the News has obtained internal plans from the Democratic Socialists of America detailing how the NYC-DSA branch that Zohran Mamdani belongs to intends to pressure him to inject arguably extreme anti-Israel policies into the management — […]<div><a href="https://www.offthepress.com/socialist-mamdani-to-govern-capitalisms-capital-here-is-what-voters-demand/">...Click to read more</a><br></div>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/reuters-1762309241-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /><div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="427" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/reuters-1762309241.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style=" margin-bottom: 10px;margin-top:10px;" srcset="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/reuters-1762309241.jpg 640w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/reuters-1762309241-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div><p>self-described “democratic socialist” will now govern New York City, capitalism’s hub in America and the free world, and Just the News has obtained internal plans from the Democratic Socialists of America detailing how the NYC-DSA branch that Zohran Mamdani belongs to intends to pressure him to inject arguably extreme anti-Israel policies into the management — and life — of the Big Apple.</p><p>Mamdani, who defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa on Tuesday, has been a longtime DSA member and leader, and he is listed as one of the group’s nine “New York State Socialists in Office.” The DSA helped Mamdani win the Democratic primary in June and the mayorality on Tuesday, but Mamdani sought to distance himself from the DSA’s socialist and revolutionary platform during the mayor’s race — something, according to Politico, the NYC branch of the socialist group gave him public cover to do.</p><p>The list of DSA demands on Mamdani<br />The “Socialists in Office” website says that it is a group of “DSA endorsed elected officials that works together in the New York State legislature to advance a socialist vision for working class people across our state” — and features Mamdani. A recently unearthed clip from 2023 shows Mamdani telling the DSA national conference — which he was the keynote speaker for — that “when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it has been laced by the IDF.”</p><p>Just the News obtained an internal planning document from the NYC-DSA’s Anti-War Working Group (AWWG) which shows the group has spent weeks plotting how to pressure the new Mamdani administration to carry out their socialist “demands” — including demands to push an anti-Israel agenda at New York City Hall.</p><p>The document from the group, obtained by Just the News, is titled “AWWG Palestine Policy Meeting Meeting Agenda & Notes” — and it contains the internal plans of the DSA working group. The document was obtained when a Just the News reporter used his real name to RSVP to an AWWG meeting that was listed as open to the public. </p><p>This reporter was sent a Zoom link to join, and a Google document containing the AWWG strategy document, reproduced below, was publicly shared in the Zoom chat. The link to the document has since been disabled.</p><p>Mamdani has been supported by so-called “fact-checkers” and legacy media in denying that he is a Communist — but his oft-repeated past comments strongly contradict his denials. Mamdani is a member of the DSA, but he denies that he is a Communist.</p><p>The Mamdani campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The DSA national organization, the NYC-DSA, and the NYC-DSA AWWG all did not immediately respond to requests for comment as well.</p><p>The Anti-Israel “demands” for “Zohran administration”<br />The NYC-DSA’s AWWG says that it is “dedicated to countering U.S. imperialism and resisting U.S. regime-change operations and interventions in foreign wars and conflicts.”</p><p>You can read that document here:</p><p>NYC-DSA AWWG Strategy Document</p><p>The “agenda” for the Sunday meeting included a plan to “review policy/demands document draft” and to “assign researcher/writer to each policy peace.”</p><p>The apparent anti-Israel demands for a Mamdani administration from the DSA working group included: </p><p>“Divest City pension funds from Israeli bonds and securities,” </p><p>“Withdraw City funds from banks that lend money to Israel or do business in Israel,” </p><p>“End City contracts with companies that do business with Israel,” </p><p>“Operate City-run grocery stores free from Israeli products,”</p><p>“Investigate real estate agents hosting illegal sales of stolen lands in the West Bank,” </p><p>“Evict weapons manufacturers and transporters from the NYC Metro Area,” </p><p>“Divest CUNY endowment and reinstate wrongly fired professors,” </p><p>“Dismantle Eric Adam’s NYC-Israel economic council,” </p><p>“End repression of demonstrators and the SRG [the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group],” </p><p>“Remove non-profit status from charities that raise funds for IDF,” “End NYPD training with IOF,” and </p><p>“Arrest Netanyahu and active IDF soldiers for war crimes.”</p><p>The IDF is the Israeli Defense Forces, while “IOF” is an acronym for a derogatory term for the IDF, disparagingly referring to them as the “Israeli Occupation Forces.” The internal DSA working group document also included notes on prior meetings over the past couple months.</p><p>Notes from the NYC-DSA AWWG from Oct. 19 said that the “Demand/Policy document first page will list all the demands” and that it “can serve as the basis/tool for the work we want to do within DSA and outside.” The notes from that meeting also claimed that “DSA’s stance on Palestine is not strong” and that “this campaign could be a way to consolidate member support for Palestine.”</p><p>Notes from the NYC-DSA AWWG from Sept. 23 detail a “policy discussion around [a] Zohran administration.” The working group laid out “our top priorities” including a repetition of many of the aforementioned anti-Israel ideas, including arguing that “NYC/US not part of ICC but can still honor ICC warrants and arrest foreign nationals” such as Netanyahu.</p><p>The working group noted the existence of an “Anti War Policy for Zohran Signal Chat” and the notes asked “how will we implement” their desired anti-Israel agenda in NYC. </p><p>Ideas included “track/stay active on appointments” and to “pressure him [Mamdani] to staff with people whose values are aligned.” The notes also called to “leverage Zohran campaign/canvassing infrastructure” and to argue that “electoralism in DSA is anti-imperialism because “canvassers care about Palestine, many there because of Palestine,” and so the group should “reach out to canvass leads, share these demands.”</p><p>DSA has become increasingly anti-Israel — and demands fealty from members<br />“Plan and push forward through conflict with political priorities,” the NYC-DSA AAWG notes said. “Make it clear to electeds that if they want our support, our priorities matter. Make the terms clear going in, public statement on 1st day. However focus on policies and actions, not statements in response to bad faith questions from press.”</p><p>The DSA’s national platform’s section on foreign policy focuses first on Palestine, saying, “Free Palestine. An immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, an end to military and economic aid, and weapons sales to Israel, respect of the authority of the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, and national sovereignty for the Palestinian people.”</p><p>The second item on the DSA national platform calls to “End the U.S. War Machine. Greatly reduce the U.S. military budget, close overseas bases, and bring troops home.”</p><p>The DSA’s national convention in August passed a resolution “For a Fighting Anti-Zionist DSA.”</p><p>“Palestinian liberation is the moral compass of the socialist movement, representing a critical junction of popular consciousness. This resolution builds on existing expectations that our elected officials stand up for Palestine and establishes expectations for our mass membership,” the DSA’s approved resolution said. “DSA shall make organizing in solidarity with the Palestinian cause a priority until Palestine is free, unequivocally affirming our commitment to ‘al-Thawabit’, the principles originally set by the Palestinian National Council in 1977 and repeatedly reaffirmed since, which are the Palestinian people’s right to resistance, the Palestinian right to self-determination, the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland from the river to the sea.”</p><p>DSA’s Rochester chapter said that the resolution passed by a vote of 675 to 524, to an eruption of “Free, Free Palestine” chants from the crowd.</p><p>The Network Contagion Research Institute, part of the Rutgers University Miller Center, assessed that “this resolution draws a clear internal red line and signals intensifying ideological rigidity, intolerance, and radicalism around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within the DSA” and that “these developments warrant close monitoring, both for their implications on NYC’s electoral landscape and their potential role in mainstreaming antisemitic or extremist ideological frameworks within U.S. political discourse.”</p><p>The national DSA group tweeted in September for its followers to join a protest “in Times Square as we take to the streets to demand Netanyahu’s arrest” and to “join us as we demand sanctions on Israel, enforcement of the ICC arrest warrant of Netanyahu, and call for a people’s arms embargo.”</p><p>DSA: “We will break the gears of the U.S. imperial war machine”<br />The national DSA criticized the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in October.</p><p>“Our role is to end U.S. complicity in Israel’s genocide and apartheid at every level—in our communities, our government, our workplaces—with every economic and political tool at our disposal,” the socialist group said. </p><p>It added: “We will break the gears of the US imperial war machine that enables Israel and halt the flow of arms and oil to ensure our comrades may resist their oppression, cast off the occupation and with dignity, freely self-determine their future. We proudly join together with our comrades in solidarity. Until justice is rendered for all Palestinians, the struggle for liberation continues. Solidarity Forever.”</p><p>Mamdani aligned with DSA on many anti-Israel positions<br />A review by Just the News has found the self-proclaimed socialist continued calling to defund the NYPD for years after the death of George Floyd in 2020 — and made his anti-Israel stance central to his opposition to the NYPD, in what many might call an out-of-touch and unproven conspiracy theory linking the NYPD to the IDF.</p><p>Mamdani has tweeted repeatedly about the need to “Defund the Police” — a position he tried to back away from when he ran for mayor this year. </p><p>While Mamdani excused his calls to defund the New York Police Department as mere comments localized to the time period just after Floyd’s summer 2020 death, his efforts to slash the NYPD continued unabated well into 2021 and beyond, as he connected his efforts to hobble the police department to his strong anti-Israel views.</p><p>The Democratic mayoral nominee also called to dissolve the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group as recently as December 2024, just as the NYC-DSA AWWG has demanded.</p><p>Mamdani tweeted at the time that “as Mayor, I will disband the SRG, which has cost taxpayers millions in lawsuit settlements + brutalized countless New Yorkers exercising their first amendment rights.”</p><p>“In asking the members of that unit to respond to protests, as opposed to what was the stated reason, is a decision that has led to the violation of a number of New Yorkers’ civil rights, and it’s a decision that has been the basis of my critique of the use of the group towards that end,” Mamdani said on CBS News this summer.</p><p>Arrest Netanyahu, divest city funds from Israeli investments<br />Mamdani also told former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan in December 2024 that “as mayor, New York City would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu.”</p><p>Mamdani also reportedly told CBS News in September that “we should not have a fund that invests in violations of international law” and that “the current comptroller’s approach, as he applied it with Israeli bonds, is the right approach.” In January 2023, outgoing City Comptroller Brad Lander ended New York City’s decades-long practice of investing in Israeli government bonds.</p><p>“The most important thing is to understand where we are directly implicated within the city pension fund,” Mamdani reportedly said. </p><p>“A pension fund that purchases Israeli bonds, in my view, is clearly an indication of a conflict with our values, and we know that our values are actually within the framework of international law,” Mamdani proclaimed.</p><p>DSA helps Mamdani win the primary — and the general<br />The NYC-DSA immediately endorsed Mamdani for mayor — as it had endorsed him for his state assembly runs — arguing that “New York City has continually been pushed to the right by establishment democrats like Governor Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams. NYC-DSA endorsed Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani is here to bring New Yorkers back to the left.”</p><p>“NYC-DSA has endorsed Zohran Mamdani for mayor. We hope you’ll make it to upcoming events to elect a socialist mayor!” the NYC-DSA endorsement page for Mamdani says. “We need YOU to get your neighbors out to vote for Zohran! Our movement has to win big on November 4th to have the strength to pass our affordability agenda. Sign up for our final stretch shifts now and we’ll send you where we need the most help.”</p><p>The NYC-DSA endorsement page for Mamdani also includes Mamdani’s “Socialism Explained in One Minute” video from 2020.</p><p>The national DSA organization celebrated Mamdani’s win in June. “In New York City, socialism has won,” the national socialist group said, attacking “the capitalist class” and arguing that “the election results are a rejection of the Democratic Party political establishment and point to a widespread desire for an alternative to the status quo, and the need for the working-class political party DSA is building.”</p><p>The NYC-DSA tweeted in late October that “we believe in our power as workers to control the means of production and outnumber the capitalist class.” The group also tweeted late last month that it “is proud to have endorsed Zohran from day one, and to have helped build a campaign that engaged tens of thousands of volunteers and knocked over one million doors.” The group was promoting its planned victory watch parties, and added that “Zohran’s vision of an affordable New York City has ignited a movement — and it’s almost time to celebrate.”</p><p>Jeremy Corbyn, a former UK Labour Party member of Parliament who was expelled from leadership over multiple anti-Semitism accusations, tweeted over the weekend that “I’m hosting a phone bank” with the NYC-DSA to “Get Out The Vote” for Mamdani, adding, “Let’s get Zohran over the finish line for a New York that’s affordable for all!”</p><p>The NYC-DSA shared Corbyn’s tweet and said, “Join us.”</p><p>Mamdani seeks to create an appearance of distance between himself and DSA<br />Mamdani told reporters in August that “my platform is not the same as national DSA.” When asked if he wanted to eliminate misdemeanor criminal offenses as the DSA platform calls for, Mamdani said, “No. … You can’t find that on my platform, because it’s not there.”</p><p>Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec told The New York Times that “if Zohran has not publicly endorsed or spoken on a position during the campaign, it is not a part of his mayoral platform.”</p><p>Grace Mausser, the co-chairwoman of the NYC-DSA, told the Times that “New York City DSA and Zohran share a commitment to making our city more affordable for working people, but that doesn’t mean that Zohran adopts every single position that New York City DSA or DSA national has taken. Zohran’s been really clear that his platform and DSA’s platform are distinct.”</p><p>Mausser told Politico in October that “of course, there will be instances where we disagree. Zohran’s administration is not the same as NYC-DSA — we know that.”</p><p>“We really want to put our energy into what we can build together with the power of a mayoral administration and the power of not only DSA but of a broad left-labor coalition,” the NYC-DSA leader said. “I think we have the opportunity to really transform the city in ways that haven’t been seen before.”</p><p>Mausser added: “There is a real discussion within DSA, and I’m sure within Zohran’s campaign, about the ways in which our collaboration will look similar to when Zohran was in the Assembly and the ways it will look very different. … It’s about changing the constraints, and that is what DSA is dedicated to. We want to create the conditions and pressure so that Hochul changes her mind about the political feasibility of taxing the rich. And that changes, too, Zohran’s challenges and what compromises he might have to make.”</p><p>The outlet reported that “a resolution penned by the local DSA’s steering committee and approved by 80 percent of the membership clarified the organization’s posture toward a potential Mamdani mayoralty.”</p><p>“We must grow the size of our movement across every borough and every neighborhood such that we have the numbers and power to serve as an effective outside ally to a potential Zohran Mamdani administration, not primarily to elect a target for ourselves,” the NYC-DSA resolution reportedly stated.</p><p>The outlet reported that a “previous draft” of the resolution, which was subsequently revised, had said that “if we succeed in electing Zohran Mamdani, our priority will not be policing the mayor’s lapses and demanding accountability — orientations the left has adopted in moments of decline and marginality.”</p><p>Pekec, the Mamdani spokesperson, told the outlet that “DSA has been an essential partner for Zohran Mamdani in powering this campaign, and he looks forward to working with them to deliver a more affordable city and continue to engage more New Yorkers in the political process.”</p><p>Mamdani the socialist — and Communist — will take the reins in NYC</p><p>After the primary win by Mamdani in June, President Donald Trump weighed in by declaring Mamdani “a 100% Communist Lunatic.”</p><p>Mamdani told Meet the Press that month that “no, I am not” a Communist, saying that “I have already had to start to get used to the fact that the president will talk about how I look, how I sound, where I’m from, who I am, ultimately, because he wants to distract from what I’m fighting for.”</p><p>Mamdani on “seizing the means of production” and other Marxist tropes<br />An investigation by Just the News showed that in tweets, speeches, and affiliations, Mamdani, at his core, holds a strong affinity for traditional Stalinesque Communism: praising and campaigning with a Marxist state senator in New York; declaring that NYC needed a mayor just like a famously young Indian mayor who was a member of an explicitly Marxist and Communist Party; praising the 1917 Russian Revolution which led to the establishment of the Soviet Union at the cost of millions of lives; arguing to “seize the means of production” in a reference to a core Marxist principle; praising famous radical Communist figures; and much more.</p><p>Mamdani spoke of “the end goal of seizing the means of production” in 2021 while he was a New York state assemblyman.</p><p>Mamdani declared his affinity for seizing the means of production during a Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) winter conference in February 2021. The full context of the quote shows that Mamdani was attempting to stress how serious he was about that affinity.</p><p>“I wanted to make sure to say is that when we — when our position starts to change, when we start to accumulate power, when we start to elect individuals such as myself and my slate mates into local office, we are started to be treated in a different way than we used to be,” Mamdani said at the conference. “And the way in which power engages us now is very critical for all of us to remember what it is that we are fighting for, and to remember that our agenda is an agenda that must not be dictated by calculus, but by conviction.”</p><p>Mamdani continued: “[T]here are other issues which we firmly believe in, whether it is BDS [Boycott, Divest, and Sanction], right, or whether it is the end goal of seizing the means of production, where we do not have the same level of support at this very moment. And what I want to say is that it is critical in the way that we organize, the way that we set up our work and our priorities, that we do not leave any one issue for the other, that we do not meet a moment and only look at what people are ready for, but that we are doing both of these things in tandem.”</p><p>Mamdani has repeatedly praised his fellow “comrades” in the DSA, and seems to have been especially close with New York state Sen. Julia Salazar, who endorsed him and with whom he campaigned during his 2020 run for the New York state assembly, and whom he also praised and thanked for her endorsement when he was running for mayor in 2025.</p><p>Salazar is, like Mamdani, a self-described “Democratic Socialist” and she has repeatedly declared that she is an avowed Marxist. Mamdani made it clear in 2020 that he was well aware of Salazar’s Marxist views — and strongly suggested he agreed with them.</p><p>Mamdani also repeatedly tweeted his praise for the radical far-left Black Panther leader and noted Marxist and Black Panther, Fred Hampton. Hampton, the charismatic Black Panther leader was killed in his sleep at age 21 by Chicago law enforcement agents and the FBI. In January 1970, the Cook County Coroner held an inquest; the coroner’s jury concluded that Hampton death wa “justifiable homicide.”</p><p>Bragged of being a Communist before communism was cool<br />Mamdani also shared a humorous tweet about Communism which still hinted at his affinity for it. “Most people: DSA’s rebirth happened in 2016 bc [because] of Bernie’s first run and the beginning of the Trump era,” Mamdani tweeted in September 2022. “Real ones: It was in 2009 when Lil’ Wayne said ‘I’m down like the economy’ while wearing a shirt that says COMMUNIST in the Down music video.”</p><p>Mamdani hasn’t just used the “Comrade” moniker for his Marxist ally Julia Salazar, but it is rather a term of endearment he repeatedly uses with his fellow DSA members and allies.</p><p>The term “comrade” has a long — but not exclusive — association with Communist movements. Soviet Union dictator Joseph Stalin was referred to as “Comrade Stalin” and Chinese Communist Party dictator Mao Zedong called himself “Comrade Mao” — among many such examples. When Mamdani spoke at the YDSA winter conference in February 2021, he referred to the other elected socialist officials as his “comrades.”</p><p>An old habit: Promising free stuff in return for votes<br />By Mamdani’s own admission, his philosophy of running on a platform of providing free things in exchange for votes dates back to at least his time at the elite Bronx High School of Science.</p><p>“I made a rap song to run for vice president — ultimately an unsuccessful one. … I promised things that were simply […] I promised fresh juice for everyone every day using locally-sourced fruits. There was a supermarket like four minutes away,” Mamdani said on the AirGo podcast in May 2017. “I promised credits for going to after-school games instead of having to go to gym […] For just going to the games, I said that would serve as credits.”</p><p>Mamdani admitted, though, that his rival “whooped my ass in that election.” This time around, his socialist agenda — and his apparently successful efforts to minimize or convince New Yorkers to ignore his Communist leanings — have put him in charge of America’s largest city, and what is, at least for now, the capitalism capital of the world.</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Congress pays for pricey travel luxuries on taxpayer’s dime while visiting DC</title> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/congress-pays-for-pricey-travel-luxuries-on-taxpayers-dime-while-visiting-dc/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ray Hilbrich]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 12:17:25 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Partner]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Exclusive Reporting]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthepress.com/congress-pays-for-pricey-travel-luxuries-on-taxpayers-dime-while-visiting-dc/</guid> <description><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/reuters-1751304293-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" />When it comes to overall travel expenses, the office of U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, was in the top three of both airfare and lodging for all of Congress since 2019, including some pricey reimbursements to himself – not airline or charter companies – for flights. David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, said […]<div><a href="https://www.offthepress.com/congress-pays-for-pricey-travel-luxuries-on-taxpayers-dime-while-visiting-dc/">...Click to read more</a><br></div>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/reuters-1751304293-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /><div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="685" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/reuters-1751304293-1024x685.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style=" margin-bottom: 10px;margin-top:10px;" srcset="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/reuters-1751304293-1024x685.jpg 1024w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/reuters-1751304293-300x201.jpg 300w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/reuters-1751304293-768x514.jpg 768w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/reuters-1751304293-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/reuters-1751304293-2048x1369.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div><p>When it comes to overall travel expenses, the office of U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, was in the top three of both airfare and lodging for all of Congress since 2019, including some pricey reimbursements to himself – not airline or charter companies – for flights.</p><p>David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, said there have to be better controls on travel to avoid abuses.</p><p>“Just because Congress has to do something, it doesn’t mean there can’t be some sort of oversight,” he told The Center Square. “And I know this would probably take a lot of work – and maybe it can be done with AI at this point – … [but someone should be] reviewing flights and receipts to make sure that there’s not excessive spending.”</p><p>Johnson’s office did not set up an interview with The Center Square, but his spokeswoman Kristen Blakely pointed out that his at-large district covers a lot of ground.</p><p>“Congressman Johnson’s district is enormous – it takes more than eight hours to drive from one corner of South Dakota to the other,” she wrote in an email to The Center Square. “About once a year he charters a plane to conduct official business, after receiving the necessary approval from the House Administration Committee.”</p><p>Charter flights costing more than $7,500 must be preapproved by the United States Committee on House Administration, according to the member handbook, but the detailed spending receipts and approvals are not available to the public. Congress exempted itself from the Freedom of Information Act.</p><p>Blakely provided Johnson’s House administration committee approvals to The Center Square.</p><p>Johnson’s at-large district is the third largest after Alaska and Wyoming, but The Center Square could only find one flight that appeared to be private travel for the Alaska at-large representatives going back to 2019. Wyoming had none.</p><p>All House offices who submitted reimbursement for charter, or private jet, flights since 2019 totaled nearly $135,000, according to The Center Square analysis of 3 million lines of House spending data. That included a $20,711 charge to Security Aviation by the House Committee on Natural Resources.</p><p>Williams questioned whether the number was much higher.</p><p>“I think that number is way low,” he said. “I think there’s something going on here, because I don’t believe that they only spent $150,000 on charter flights.”</p><p>Members’ Representational Allowance data did not specifically have a category for private jets so The Center Square had to search the vendor field with popular terms like aviation, jet and charter and then find online references to confirm the services provided. </p><p>Top travel costs</p><p>In between 2022 and 2024, Gooden submitted large airfare reimbursements four times totaling more than $35,000 but listed himself – instead of the airline or charter company – as the vendor, House spending account data analyzed by The Center Square shows. </p><p>The reimbursements for a $9,719.37, $8,820.30, $8,357.96 and $8,178.21 each exceed the $7,500 limit that requires approval from the United States Committee on House Administration if the reimbursements were for private jets.</p><p>But Gooden’s chief of staff contended that each reimbursement was for a number of flights in the date range in the House data.</p><p>“Sloppy journalists would disregard the service dates and not realize there are multiple expenditures reimbursed during these long windows of time that you misleadingly do not acknowledge,” wrote Matt Esguerra, who initially wanted to talk off the record but The Center Square declined, needing attributable information for this story. “To suggest otherwise without understanding the House disbursement and reimbursement process is a violation of your organization’s code of ethics.”</p><p>Esguerra would not provide receipts and detailed spending documents, writing that The Center Square was “expecting us to do your research for you.”</p><p>House administration staff also would not provide any approvals or detailed reimbursement documents so it is unclear whether those flights were commercial or private, what the destination or business purpose was and why Gooden filed that he – instead of an airline or credit card – was the vendor providing the flights. Esguerra did not respond to another email asking him to account for the spending of tax dollars.</p><p>Gooden wasn’t the only lawmaker who cited himself as the flight vendor but he had $290,000 in flights booked that way while the next largest was U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nevada, with $158,000 since 2019 booked in her name, The Center Square’s analysis of House spending data shows. </p><p>Titus spokesman Dick Cooper wrote in an email to The Center Square that: “Similar to many of her colleagues of both parties, Congresswoman Titus uses her credit card to regularly travel between Washington, D.C. and Las Vegas so she can be with her constituents. In doing so, Congresswoman Titus complies with all House Administration rules when traveling in her official capacity.”</p><p>When asked if Titus keeps any points or cash back awarded when she pays for the taxpayer-funded flights on her personal card, he directed The Center Square to House rules that state, “Free travel, mileage, discounts, upgrades, coupons, etc., awarded at the sole discretion of a company as a promotional award may be used at the discretion of the Member or the Member’s employee. The [Committee on House Administration] encourages the official use of these travel promotional awards wherever practicable.”</p><p>He would not say if Titus used them for herself or work travel.</p><p>Daniel Schuman, executive Director at American Governance Institute, said Gooden using himself as the vendor raises questions after The Center Square told him about the House disbursement data.</p><p>“There is no way that makes any sense,” he said. “Folks on the administration or House ethics committees should have caught it.” </p><p>Staff for both committees refused to address the issue when asked by The Center Square.</p><p>What is clear is that Gooden is one of the top spenders on airfare and lodging in the U.S. House despite his hometown in the district he represents situated just 55 miles from one of the nation’s top airports, Dallas-Fort Worth. </p><p>Not counting delegates from far-flung places like Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and American Samoa, the top spenders on all airline travel in the contiguous United States since 2019 were Gooden at $336,000, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., at $279,000 and U.S. Rep. John R. Carter, R-Texas, at $261,000, an analysis by The Center Square showed.</p><p>The Committee on Natural Resources spent $323,000 in that time period, including the charter expense.</p><p>Waters staff did not return The Center Square’s requests for comment, and Carter’s spokeswoman Emily Taylor wrote in an email that: “Congressman Carter does not have a residence in DC, he sleeps on the couch in his office, so as soon as he’s done with votes, he grabs the first flight home to the people he represents.”</p><p>Gooden was also third for individual lawmakers when it came to lodging, racking up $351,000 for places to say in the past six years, according to the analysis of data posted on the House statement of disbursements website. Topping him were Reps. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., who spent $451,000, and Jack Bergman, R-Mich., with $357,000 worth of places to stay.</p><p>The only House organization that topped their spending was the annual new member orientation travel. Bergman and Gosar’s staff did not respond to requests for comment.</p><p>Williams said travel reimbursements are ripe for abuse if they’re not properly monitored.</p><p>“Travel is fun if you can get someone else to pay for a first-class flight or a business class or, you know, looking at the last minute, that’s really cool,” he said. “I think at the end of the day, that’s how they look at this.”</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Maine voters reject voter ID laws, approve ‘red flag’ law</title> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/maine-voters-reject-voter-id-laws-approve-red-flag-law/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ray Hilbrich]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 12:08:22 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Partner]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MIDDLE COLUMN]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthepress.com/maine-voters-reject-voter-id-laws-approve-red-flag-law/</guid> <description><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/reuters-1754135933-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" />Maine voters on Tuesday rejected a ballot question requiring voter ID for elections but approved a red flag law allowing police to seize weapons from people deemed a threat to themselves or others. With about 50% of the vote counted Tuesday night, Question 1 was defeated by 59.5% to 40% while Question 2 was approved […]<div><a href="https://www.offthepress.com/maine-voters-reject-voter-id-laws-approve-red-flag-law/">...Click to read more</a><br></div>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/reuters-1754135933-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /><div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/reuters-1754135933-1024x683.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style=" margin-bottom: 10px;margin-top:10px;" srcset="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/reuters-1754135933-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/reuters-1754135933-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/reuters-1754135933-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/reuters-1754135933-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/reuters-1754135933-2048x1366.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div><p>Maine voters on Tuesday rejected a ballot question requiring voter ID for elections but approved a red flag law allowing police to seize weapons from people deemed a threat to themselves or others.</p><p>With about 50% of the vote counted Tuesday night, Question 1 was defeated by 59.5% to 40% while Question 2 was approved by a vote of 58.7% to 41.3%, according to a preliminary tally by the Associated Press.</p><p>Question 1 had called for setting a requirement for Mainers to present a valid state ID or driver’s license to vote, limits the number of “drop” boxes for ballots and restricts the state’s absentee mail balloting process.</p><p>Under the proposal, Maine voters would need to show a driver’s license, passport, military ID, or a “free nondriver identification card” to cast their ballots. Voters who cast their ballots through the mail would be required to include a photocopy of their identification sent to local election clerks for processing, according to the plan.</p><p>Backers of the plan said requiring ID to cast ballots would strengthen election integrity, protect “legitimate” ballots, and ensure confidence in Maine’s democratic process.</p><p>But critics argued the ballot question, if approved, would disenfranchise the elderly and disabled by dismantling the state’s absentee voting process and taking away control of the voting process from local election clerks.</p><p>Top Democrats Gov. Janet Mills and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows — who is running for governor — both urged voters to reject the ballot question.</p><p>Question 2 was a citizen-led initiative that asked voters to approve a red flag law, which would authorize families and law enforcement to petition a judge to temporarily restrict a person’s access to firearms.</p><p>The measure will allow police, friends or relatives of a legal gun owner to seek an “extreme risk protection” order if they believe that person poses a risk to themselves or others.</p><p>Supporters of the plan, including the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, say that means laws aren’t sufficient to prevent people with mental illness from accessing firearms. Maine currently has a ‘yellow flag’ law that allows some weapons to be confiscated, but advocates said the law needs to be strengthened.</p><p>Debate over the ballot question was fueled by the 2023 Lewiston mass shooting where an Army reservist with a documented history of mental illness killed 18 people before turning the gun on himself.</p><p>The National Rifle Association was among those who opposed Question 2, saying in a recent statement that a red flag law would put Mainers “at risk of becoming felons for the simple act of transferring a firearm to a family member, friend, or neighbor.”</p><p>Polls conducted ahead of the election showed voters equally divided over the ballot questions, largely along party lines. Republicans overwhelmingly supported Question 1 but opposed the red flag proposal; while Democrats opposed the voter ID plan and supported Question 2, according to a University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll released a week before the election.</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Teacher unions sue Department of Education over new student loan forgiveness rule</title> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/teacher-unions-sue-department-of-education-over-new-student-loan-forgiveness-rule/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ray Hilbrich]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 12:03:39 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthepress.com/teacher-unions-sue-department-of-education-over-new-student-loan-forgiveness-rule/</guid> <description><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/reuters-1752144775-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" />coalition of teacher unions and nonprofits sued the U.S. Department of Education this week over its new rule limiting Public Service Loan Forgiveness for government and nonprofit workers. On Friday, the Department of Education issued a rule that threatened to remove eligibility for student loan forgiveness to anyone who works for someone with “a substantial […]<div><a href="https://www.offthepress.com/teacher-unions-sue-department-of-education-over-new-student-loan-forgiveness-rule/">...Click to read more</a><br></div>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/reuters-1752144775-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /><div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/reuters-1752144775-1024x683.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style=" margin-bottom: 10px;margin-top:10px;" srcset="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/reuters-1752144775-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/reuters-1752144775-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/reuters-1752144775-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/reuters-1752144775-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/reuters-1752144775-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div><p>coalition of teacher unions and nonprofits sued the U.S. Department of Education this week over its new rule limiting Public Service Loan Forgiveness for government and nonprofit workers.</p><p>On Friday, the Department of Education issued a rule that threatened to remove eligibility for student loan forgiveness to anyone who works for someone with “a substantial illegal purpose.”</p><p>The coalition filed the lawsuit seeking to get the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts to reverse the rule.</p><p>“The proposed rule would have a chilling effect on employers’ ability to recruit and retain qualified staff working in critical fields and with rural and other marginalized communities,” the lawsuit claimed.</p><p>Leaders of the organizations and the teachers’ union stated that the actions by the Trump administration are un-American.</p><p>“Trump wants to change that by imposing an ideological litmus test on millions of public servants and their employers that’s antithetical to American values and contrary to the statute at hand,” said American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. “It’s an illegal attack on those who placed their faith in PSLF’s bipartisan promise, only to see it cruelly ripped away. It will … drain talent from desperately needed jobs helping vulnerable communities, and saddle remaining workers with an insurmountable debt load.”</p><p>Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, said in a statement that the Department of Education’s new rule “imposes harsh and illegal restrictions, makes repayment less affordable, and silences the voices of educators and other beneficiaries of the programs.”</p><p>“We refuse to stand by while politicians trap dedicated educators in generations of debt,” Pringle added.</p><p>The Center Square reported that Democratic attorneys general from 22 jurisdictions also sued the Department of Education over the new rule. California, Massachusetts, Colorado and New York are the states leading the coalition.</p><p>On Monday, The Center Square reported a response from the Department of Education to this pushback on the new PSLF rule.</p><p>“It is unconscionable that the plaintiffs are standing up for criminal activity,” Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent told The Center Square in an email. “This is a commonsense reform that will stop taxpayer dollars from subsidizing organizations involved in terrorism, child trafficking, and transgender procedures that are doing irreversible harm to children. The final rule is crystal clear: the Department will enforce it neutrally, without consideration of the employer’s mission, ideology or the population they serve.”</p><p>The PSLF program was passed in 2007 with bipartisan support as part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. Under the law signed by President George W. Bush, workers are entitled to forgiveness for the remaining balance of their loans if they dedicate 10 years to government or nonprofit work and stay up to date with their payments.</p><p>The lawsuit includes the National Council of Nonprofits; the cities of Boston, Albuquerque and Chicago; the city and county of San Francisco; Santa Clara County; Amica Center for Immigrant Rights; Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights; Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia; Oasis Legal Services; American Federation of Teachers; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; National Education Association and National Association of Social Workers.</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>LNG exports soar as new gas liquefaction plants begin operation in Louisiana</title> <link>https://www.offthepress.com/lng-exports-soar-as-new-gas-liquefaction-plants-begin-operation-in-louisiana/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Ray Hilbrich]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2025 11:58:18 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Partner]]></category> <category><![CDATA[LEFT COLUMN]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.offthepress.com/lng-exports-soar-as-new-gas-liquefaction-plants-begin-operation-in-louisiana/</guid> <description><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/reuters-1750506256-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" />U.S. LNG exports reached a fourth consecutive monthly high in October at 10.1 million tons as new gas liquefaction plants on the Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coast commenced operations, LSEG data shows. Activity ramped up at Venture Global’s Plaquemines plant in Louisiana and Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi Stage 3 project in Texas, with production at […]<div><a href="https://www.offthepress.com/lng-exports-soar-as-new-gas-liquefaction-plants-begin-operation-in-louisiana/">...Click to read more</a><br></div>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="150" height="150" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/reuters-1750506256-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /><div><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="594" src="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/reuters-1750506256-1024x594.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style=" margin-bottom: 10px;margin-top:10px;" srcset="https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/reuters-1750506256-1024x594.jpg 1024w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/reuters-1750506256-300x174.jpg 300w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/reuters-1750506256-768x446.jpg 768w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/reuters-1750506256-1536x891.jpg 1536w, https://www.offthepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/reuters-1750506256-2048x1188.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div><p>U.S. LNG exports reached a fourth consecutive monthly high in October at 10.1 million tons as new gas liquefaction plants on the Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coast commenced operations, LSEG data shows.</p><p>Activity ramped up at Venture Global’s Plaquemines plant in Louisiana and Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi Stage 3 project in Texas, with production at each of the LNG export facilities up about 600,000 tons from September, LSEG data shows. Overall, U.S. LNG exports in October were up 1 million tons, or 11%, from a revised 9.1 million tons in September.</p><p>Shipping data provided by Bloomberg shows 84 LNG tankers departed Louisiana export terminals in the four weeks between Oct. 2 and Oct. 29, representing 67% of total U.S. loadings in the period. In the same four weeks, 38 LNG tankers departed Texas export facilities, while six shipments left terminals in Virginia and Georgia, the data shows.</p><p>Cheniere’s Sabine Pass facility in Cameron Parish, the world’s largest export terminal with capacity of 29.5 million tons per year, shipped a record 33 cargos in October. Venture Global and Cheniere together accounted for 72% of total U.S. exports in October, LSEG data shows.</p><p>While U.S. LNG shipments continued to increase in October, more of the Haynesville shale gas that feeds the export terminals changed hands during the month.</p><p>JERA, one of the world’s largest LNG buyers, agreed in October to pay $1.5 billion to GEP Haynesville and Williams for assets around the South Mansfield gas field in Louisiana, as reported by The Center Square. In March, Rockcliff Energy III, a subsidiary of Tokyo Gas, purchased a 70% interest in Chevron’s East Texas Haynesville shale assets.</p><p>“A land rush into the Haynesville by Asia companies with LNG commitments continues with JERA acquiring the South Mansfield joint venture from GEP Haynesville and Williams for $1.5 billion,” said Andrew Dittmar, principal analyst at Enverus Intelligence, in a research note.</p><p>“Asia-based buyers have become the dominant force for acquisitions in the play, willing to outbid domestic producers to secure natural gas feedstock linked to the Gulf Coast’s growing LNG hub. For these buyer groups, a premium for assets is justified to hedge against a longer-term increase in Henry Hub as Haynesville inventory is depleted and to ensure a cost-effective source of supply,” Dittmar wrote.</p><p>Strong sales to Europea and Asia drove record overseas purchases of U.S. LNG in October, according to LSEG data. Europe, the most popular destination for U.S. exports in September, received about 6.9 million metric tons, or about 69% of all LNG shipments from American ports. Asian nations received about 1.96 million metric tons in September, about 19% of total U.S. exports.</p><p>U.S. Department of Energy data for August shows the Netherlands, with imports totaling 70.8 billion cubic feet of LNG, was the most popular destination for U.S. exporters during the month.</p><p>Egypt, with imports of 57.0 billion cubic feet, was the second most popular destination for U.S. LNG in August, followed by Germany, Italy, Spain, France, and South Korea, according to DOE data for August, the last month for which information is available.</p><p>Japan imported 10.5 billion cubic feet of American LNG in August, making it the 15th most popular destination for U.S. exporters during the month.</p>]]></content:encoded> </item> </channel></rss> If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:
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