April 30, 2021 7:04 AM By Zachary Sherwood and Brandon Lee
Republican lawmakers across the country are proposing an aggressive culling of voter rolls by checking names against other government databases that may be flawed, meaning eligible voters could be swept out and blocked from voting.
Nationally, at least 50 bills have been proposed that would trim voter rolls more vigorously than in previous legislative sessions, and several have already been signed into law, spurred by record turnout in the 2020 election and allegations, led by former President Donald Trump, that the outcome was somehow rigged.
GOP-led state legislatures in Utah, Iowa, Texas and elsewhere want local officials to check voter names against other official sources, including death records, criminal records, lists from state motor vehicle departments and federal immigration records, and remove questionable names.
April 13, 2021 7:02 AM By Zachary Sherwood and Brandon Lee
Republican lawmakers spent much of the last four years rebranding as a working-class party, following then-President Donald Trumpâs lead on things like immigration and tariffs and setting aside their push to cut spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
But Trumpâs campaign pledge to âsaveâ safety-net programs has left conservatives with an identity crisis. With their party now in the minority, key GOP leaders want to bring back the push for entitlement changes that was a top priority under former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), while a younger generation of lawmakers is keen to follow through on Trumpâs lead and all but ignore budget deficits.
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In a modern day retelling of the prince and the pauper, former DJ turned money-spinning deal-maker Jorge Mendes has forged a bond with ex-Joeys skipper Ryan Teague.
With a portfolio of $1.4 billion in active contracts, and a client list including Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho, Bernardo Silva and David De Gea, Mendes, 54, pocketed $32 million alone during the northern summer’s Premier League transfer window and boasts a personal net worth in excess of $120 million.
Teague, 19, is one of the lowest profile names of the 137 managed by Mendes’ Gestifute agency, yet the former Sydney FC junior has the Portuguese powerbroker ready to lend an ear at any time.
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Other than clashes against Sydney FC and Macarthur FC late last year, featuring home-based players only, Graham Arnold’s team has been in mothballs since clinching qualification for the deferred Olympic Games last January.
But it’s understood Football Australia is poised to accept an invitation to play the friendlies in Jeddah during the March FIFA window in what would also act as a talent identification camp ahead of July’s Japan journey.
The Socceroos are scheduled to face Nepal in Kathmandu during the same window on March 30.
If that game goes ahead as planned, amid ongoing COVID-19 confusion, it’s likely Young Socceroos coach Gary van Egmond would take the reins in Jeddah.
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The Portugal-based siblings have been assiduously courted by the Blanquirroja (White and Red) in recent months, with coach Daniel Morales Briceno
looking to blood them in next month’s South America U-20 Championship before it fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ex-Joeys FIFA U-17 World Cup winger Tristan, 18, is in the final year of his four-year contract with Sporting Lisbon whilst fellow winger Aydan, 17 - who attended a single Joeys camp as a 14-year-old - is on the books of lower-tier C.F. Os Belenenses.
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They’re eligible for Peru through their mother Brigette, and the Peruvian approach made national news in her ancestral home with over 500,000 hits on social media and back page sports stories.