Jim Piwowarczyk

Newly released polling data on former President Donald Trump’s increased margins with Black and Hispanic voters mark a seismic shift in the electorate with just two weeks until Election Day. A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll released Monday found that nationally, Harris leads Trump by 1 point, well within the margin of error at 46% to 45%. However, Trump significantly leads Harris with Hispanic voters and has made unprecedented gains among Black voters The poll, which surveyed 1,000 likely voters between Oct. 14-18, shows that Trump leads Harris with Hispanics, 49% to 38%. Harris also has 72% support among Black voters, which is much higher than Trump’s 17% support but much lower than other recent Democrats. Previous Democrats like former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden received between 90-95% of Black voters’ support. Black voters hold particular sway in the urban ares of key swing states like Pittsburgh, Phila...

  Newly released federal inflation data shows that prices rose faster than expected last month, putting more pressure on Americans’ budgets. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday released its Consumer Price Index, a key marker of inflation, which showed that CPI rose 0.2% in September. While inflation rose more than expected last month, the year-over-year inflation of 2.4% in this latest data is much lower than the major spike in inflation in recent years. The data comes after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced an interest rate cut last month, a sign that the Fed believes inflation is under control enough to lower rates, and thereby boost the economy. “Disinflation continues, but anyone who thought the Fed was going to lower rates by another .50 basis points in November is dead wrong,” Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group in Richmond, said in a statement. “When interest rates aren’t high enough to lower growth, they aren’t high enough to stifle in...

  An Afghan citizen released into the U.S. less than 10 days after the Biden-Harris deadly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan was arrested for plotting an Election Day terrorist attack on American soil. The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday announced charges were brought against 27-year-old Afghan national Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, residing in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for conspiring to conduct an Election Day terrorist attack on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO). His co-conspirator, a juvenile and Tawhedi’s wife’s brother, was also charged. The brother, an Afghan national with legal permanent resident status, was residing in Moore, Oklahoma. The charges are “providing, attempting to provide, and conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization; Knowingly receiving, conspiring to receive, and attempting to receive firearms and ammunition to be used...

  Newly released polling data shows President Joe Biden's approval rating has hit a new low on the eve of 2024, when the president will seek a second term in the White House. Monmouth University on Monday released the poll, which show's Biden's approval rating has dropped to 34% approval, the lowest rating Monmouth has collected since Biden became president. The same poll shows Biden has 61% disapproval rating, the highest since Biden took office. In particular, voters have a problem with the president's handling of five key issues. "Specifically, just over 2 in 3 disapprove of the president's performance on immigration (69%) and inflation (68%), while more than half feel the same about the way he has handled climate change (54%), jobs and unemployment (53%), and transportation and energy infrastructure (52%)," Monmouth University said. Other polling shows that inflation in particular, along with jobs and the economy, are the top concerns fo...

  A report released Monday by the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee says the influx of migrants across the country's southern border could cost taxpayers $451 billion. The fourth report released by the committee says that the tab includes housing, education, property damage done by migrants, law enforcement, and health care costs. A report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services showed that "emergency services for undocumented aliens" added up to $7 billion in fiscal 2021 and $5.4 billion in fiscal 2022, with migrants receiving at least $8 billion in improper Medicaid payouts (10% of the nation's total of $80 billion). Migrants are also putting a strain on the nation's criminal justice infrastructure, with the cost adding up to $8.95 billion in fiscal 2022. "It is unconscionable for Secretary Mayorkas and President Biden to force the American people to pick up the tab for the crisis their border policies created," Commit...

  Newly released federal inflation data shows consumer prices rose significantly in September, further undoing a trend of slowing inflation that had begun earlier this year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday released its Consumer Price Index, a key marker of inflation that tracks the cost of a range of consumer goods and services. That index rose 0.4% in September alone, a notable increase that is higher than months earlier this year. "The index for shelter was the largest contributor to the monthly all items increase, accounting for over half of the increase," BLS said. "An increase in the gasoline index was also a major contributor to the all items monthly rise. While the major energy component indexes were mixed in September, the energy index rose 1.5 percent over the month." Food prices rose as well. "The food index increased 0.2 percent in September, as it did in the previous two months," BLS said. "The index for food a...