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Author: Mary Chastain

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Mary Chastain

Mary is the resident libertarian. She covers stories in every vertical, but her favorite thing to do is take on the media. She saw its bias against the right when she was a socialist.

Mary loves the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Blackhawks, tennis, cats, Oxford comma, Diet Coke, and needlework.

Posted by Mary Chastain on September 01, 2016 17 Comments
Sorry, Hillary. But your email scandal will not go away, especially as more batches of emails and reports show strong connections between mega Clinton Foundation donors and the State Department. In fact, as more evidence piles up, 50 House Republicans have asked the Justice Department for a new probe into the Clinton Foundation over alleged "pay to play" from donors gain access to Hillary when she served as Secretary of State.

Posted by Mary Chastain on September 01, 2016 50 Comments
North Carolina wanted to reinstate its voter ID law in time for the elections, but a deadlocked Supreme Court denied them this opportunity. From The Wall Street Journal:
The high court, in a brief written order, declined to stay an appeals court ruling from July that struck down North Carolina’s Republican-backed voting rules. The appeals court found state lawmakers enacted the rules with the intent to discriminate against black voters.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 31, 2016 8 Comments
Tuesday, the EU told Ireland it must force Apple to pay back $14.5 billion in unpaid taxes, drawing anger from both sides since the ruling could harm future investments. In light of that, other situations involving the EU and US companies have come to the forefront again. The Dutch press printed a letter from a group representing Silicon Valley companies, asking The Netherlands to resist a change in their tax system to accommodate the EU's horrific tax system and a new UK tax that aims "in part at making technology groups that book sales offshore pay more in tax." A change could lead to these U.S. companies abandoning The Netherlands for other places.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 31, 2016 13 Comments
So remember how the State Department miraculously found a disc with 15,000 Hillary Clinton emails after the FBI finished their investigation? Yeah, now officials said at least 30 of those deleted emails are possibly about Benghazi. Wait. I thought Hillary only deleted personal emails about yoga classes? The department must hand over those emails and documents to Judicial Watch by September 13 for its investigation into Hillary's private email server.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 30, 2016 16 Comments
The FBI came under fire when Director James Comey decided not to recommend charges against Hillary Clinton over her private email server and when the department revealed no one actually taped its interview with her. The media responded with numerous Freedom of Information Acts requests for more details, which has led the department to release the notes agents took during the investigation and from Hillary's interview.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 30, 2016 23 Comments
The FBI has issued an alert across the nation that criminals and foreign governments might try to hack into election systems in November. The department became concerned "after hackers successfully infiltrated one state board of election and targeted another" in Illinois and Arizona.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 30, 2016 26 Comments
The EU alleges that Ireland gave Apple, an American company, sweet deals in order to bring jobs to the island. On Tuesday morning, the EU antitrust enforcer ordered Apple to pay 13 billion euros ($14.6 billion) in unpaid taxes in the biggest tax ruling in EU history.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 29, 2016 17 Comments
Huma Abedin, the top aide to Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, has announced she's leaving her husband Anthony Weiner after The New York Post revealed he's still sexting other women. https://twitter.com/BraddJaffy/status/770279919263907840

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 29, 2016 13 Comments
Mylan received massive backlash after it hiked the price of their EpiPen, a life saving allergy shot. At first the company said it would offer the medicine at a discount price, but now it has taken it a step further by offering a generic version. But is it enough? The name brand costs $600, but Mylan only cut the price of the generic to $300, which is still a lot for a two pack.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 29, 2016 2 Comments
On Tuesday, voters will decide if former DNC chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is worthy enough to advance to the election in November after a summer filled with controversy. She came under fire this summer when "leaked emails showed that staffers at her organization appeared to be plotting ways to undermine the presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)." She resigned as chairwoman on the eve of the DNC.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 26, 2016 17 Comments
Advocacy group Student Matters filed a federal lawsuit in Connecticut to make education a constitutional right due to the state's restriction on magnet, charter schools, and school choice programs. It alleges the state's limited school choice for parents force "thousands of low-income and minority students to attend low-performing schools." The group insists now is the time for the federal courts to recognize education as a fundamental right:
“The fundamental principles of equality in our country demand that every child have a chance to get an education, to learn and to have that platform to succeed,” said Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., an attorney for the plaintiffs.
The Washington Post reported:
An advocacy group best known for using the courts to challenge California’s teacher tenure laws has now taken its legal strategy to Connecticut, where it has sued state officials over “anti-opportunity” laws that restrict the growth of magnet and charter schools and that limit inner-city students’ ability to transfer to more affluent suburban school districts.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 26, 2016 22 Comments
A federal judge in Florida ordered the State Department turn over any emails between Hillary Clinton and the White House that were sent or received during the week of the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack by September 13, only three days after a federal judge in DC gave officials a September 23 deadline. Judicial Watch has been investigating Clinton's emails for months, discovering that she did not use a secure private email server and that Clinton Foundation donors asked her for special favors when she served as Secretary of State.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 25, 2016 12 Comments
The Department of Justice has released a transgender training video for police, giving them guidance on how to handle situations they may come across with transgender people. The DOJ said:
“Transgender Americans, like all Americans, deserve to be treated with courtesy and respect by law enforcement officers,” said Acting Director Paul Monteiro of CRS [DOJ Community Relations Service]. “The information provided in this video will help strengthen the relationship between police and the transgender community, allowing for more effective investigations and safer encounters for officers and citizens alike.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 25, 2016 16 Comments
Indiana Democrat Senate candidate Evan Bayh wants to win back the seat he gave up in 2011, but does he even live in the state? He told WISH-TV:
“Well,” he said, “1142 C Canterbury Court, Indianapolis, Indiana. It’s on my drivers license.”
But Independent Journal Review found that his address is actually on Canterbury Square. This has only added fuel to claims that he doesn't actually live in Indiana and rarely visits.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 25, 2016 42 Comments
Mylan came under fire after it recently hiked the price of their EpiPen, a life saving allergy shot. They have now decided to offer the medicine at a discount price for some patients. In a statement, the company said it will use a savings card "which will cover up to $300" for the medicine. Mylen claims that those who "were previously paying the full amount of the company's list price for EpiPen®, this effectively reduces their out-of-pocket cost exposure by 50%."

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 24, 2016 34 Comments
The Clinton Foundation has a dark cloud over them due to emails showing major donors asking then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for huge favors. They have tried to mend their ways by deciding to stop accepting foreign donations if Hillary wins the presidency, but they may have taken a big step back. Chelsea just decided to remain on the board even if her mom wins. Conflict of interest much? Besides Bill, who else has better access to Hillary than Chelsea?

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 24, 2016 16 Comments
The GOP has worried it may lose its Senate majority in November and Toomey may be one of the victims. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) has received an endorsement from former Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords as he faces a tough reelection in November. The endorsement from Giffords and her anti-gun violence group Americans for Responsible Solutions might be just what Toomey needs to defeat his Democratic challenger Katie McGinty, who has slightly pulled ahead in four polls.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 23, 2016 9 Comments
How is this for an armed citizen story?! A 91-year-old man in Michigan shot a man who tried to rob him on Monday in a parking lot at a local Rite Aid pharmacy. As the suspect walked closer, the man told him he holds a concealed pistol license (CPL), but the suspect didn't care. When the suspect aimed something at him, the elderly man whipped out his gun and shot him:
"The person who fired the shots had a CPL and was lawfully carrying a handgun," said [deputy Chief Eric] Keiser. "He said he defended himself when he was attacked."
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