The Justice Department sued Maryland over the state’s sanctuary policies, alleging the state has interfered with immigration enforcement and allowed criminal illegal aliens to roam free.

“When sanctuary jurisdictions enact laws to shield illegal aliens from federal law enforcement, it is not merely federal law that is violated, but the voices of everyday American voters are silenced,” Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said in a statement Thursday.

Woodward added that “this department will never stand for such lawless action from blue state leaders.”

In May, Maryland enacted the Community Trust Act, which prevents local law enforcement from detaining or prolonging the detention of an individual for immigration enforcement purposes. The law also restricts the ability of local agencies to provide information to federal immigration authorities.

“These provisions intentionally obstruct the sharing of information and rendering of other assistance envisioned by Congress, thereby impairing federal detention of removable aliens, including dangerous criminals, as required by federal law,” the DOJ complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Maryland, states.

It says Maryland’s refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities has had negative consequences, with state and local officials refusing to facilitate the transfer of illegal aliens to federal custody even when presented with a routine detainer.

“By directing local employees to refuse to transfer such aliens to federal officials in a secure environment, the Community Trust Act has the natural and foreseeable result of releasing such aliens onto the streets, where they all too often reoffend and commit serious crimes,” the complaint adds.

A spokesperson for Gov. Wes Moore said that Maryland is not a sanctuary state, and the Community Trust Act does not completely prohibit law enforcement from coordinating with federal immigration enforcement.

“While we cannot comment on active litigation, Governor Moore has been clear: Maryland will work with the federal government when that coordination makes our people safer – but we will not let Donald Trump’s untrained, unqualified, and unaccountable ICE agents deputize our law enforcement officers to do immigration work,” spokesperson Rhyan Lake told the Daily Signal. 

“While Trump’s ICE has ripped mothers out of cars and detained five-year-olds, Maryland’s law allows our law enforcement to continue working with federal officers to get violent offenders off our streets, remain focused on the work that has helped drive historic reductions in violent crime, and protect fundamental civil rights,” Lake added. “Maryland will always protect constitutional rights and give law enforcement the tools they need to keep people safe.”

The Daily Signal contacted the office of state Attorney General Anthony Brown. The office did not respond by publication time.

The Justice Department has filed 20 other lawsuits against cities and states with sanctuary policies, including Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, and New York.

Sanctuary policies vary by jurisdiction, but generally state that state or local law enforcement cannot assist federal immigration officers, such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, in detaining or transferring illegal aliens.

The complaint against Maryland contends the state’s policy seeks to “thwart the constitutional obligation of the president of the United States to take care that the immigration laws enacted by Congress are enforced.”

This article was updated with a statement from the office of Gov. Wes Moore.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is celebrating a state ban on food stamps being used on candy and soda as part of the Make America Healthy Again effort, despite lawsuits against similar waivers. 

“Arkansas is getting soft drinks and candy OFF food stamps starting July 1 – because taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be wasted on unhealthy junk,” Sanders said on X. 

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. applauded Arkansas for becoming the latest state to move to keep Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—or SNAP—benefits from being used for sugary, unhealthy items.  

“I commend the governors and state legislators driving meaningful reform through SNAP waivers to ensure American families have access to real, nutritious food,” Kennedy said on X. 

Sanders’ waiver banning SNAP use for candy and soda was submitted to the Food and Nutrition Service and was signed by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins in June 2025. It went into effect July 1, 2026.  

Taxpayer dollars fund food stamps so that struggling families can eat nourishing food. Sanders argued, “The taxpayer is not going to subsidize candy and soft drinks and is instead going to point food stamp recipients toward healthier, more nutritious foods.” 

Sanders noted how chronic illness is rampant and drives up the cost of healthcare: “Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic illnesses are a struggle for millions of Americans and also drive significantly higher costs in our healthcare system.”  

She added that Arkansas isn’t an exception to this epidemic, noting that one-third of the state is diabetic or prediabetic and the state’s Medicaid program has spent $300 million every year to treat chronic conditions. 

Arkansas itself has contributed to the problem. Sanders observed how, on one floor of the Department of Human Services, food stamps are approved, while on another, the state is actively funding the products that create chronic disease.   

A Stanford University study found that if policies like Sanders’ were implemented, 140,000 childhood obesity cases and 240,000 Type 2 diabetes cases in adults would be prevented. 

Arkansas isn’t the only state pushing for these healthy changes. Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia have also worked to restrict certain unhealthy foods and drinks. However, in June 2026, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson struck down those efforts, ruling these waivers violate the Administrative Procedure Act. 

Regardless, says Sanders, “Arkansas is moving full speed ahead because we won’t wait around while our people get less and less healthy, and we spend more and more taxpayer dollars trying to fix the problem.” 

If you are unclear about Virginia’s marijuana laws, rest assured you are not alone these days. Even police officers seem confused (if not necessarily dazed).

“As of July 1, 2026, there are no Code of Virginia violations related to marijuana,” a state police lieutenant wrote in what the Virginia Scope (which obtained the communication) described as an “internal email.” That presumably means it was intended to provide guidance for the troopers who report to this lieutenant that they shouldn’t make any arrests based on pot laws.

His boss later weighed in with an attempt to clear things up. “VSP acknowledges that there have been rumors and questions pertaining to the agency’s posture on cannabis enforcement,” Superintendent Jeffrey Katz said in an Instagram post. “I would like to make it clear that the Virginia State Police will continue to enforce existing laws, in line with the Code of Virginia.”

But that seems a bit hazy as well; yes, troopers will “enforce existing laws,” but the question he doesn’t answer is: What is the law as it relates to cannabis?

It’s been legal for several years to possess an ounce or less of cannabis in Virginia. However, it has remained illegal to sell the drug, a law that has been openly flouted in many jurisdictions. Journalist Dwayne Yancey wrote for Cardinal News that in 2024, some localities in Southwest Virginia had more cannabis stores than ABC stores, and these were openly operating despite the risk of occasional raids.

During this year’s legislative session, Virginia’s governing Democrats passed a law to create a retail marijuana marketplace, which would have come into operation on Jan. 1. Gov. Abigail Spanberger didn’t care for some provisions in that bill. For example, she wanted to wait until July 2027 to launch the marketplace. So, she rewrote it and sent an edited version back to lawmakers, who then refused to accept her changes.

In May, Spanberger vetoed the bill, just as former Gov. Glenn Youngkin had done twice during his tenure.

It seemed the commonwealth would move forward with the status quo. But wait: In the waning days of June, everybody who matters in Richmond agreed to a grand bargain: Lawmakers would include language that provided for a cannabis market in the state’s two-year budget, which was due by July 1 but had been in limbo for months. Spanberger signed it, and presto: problem solved!

Except that some wonder whether the state accidentally erased its existing pot policies. “Democrats may have legalized marijuana via the budget, creating a one-year gap before new laws take effect,” Republican Del. Wren Williams wrote. “Virginia State Police have been ordered to stand down on marijuana enforcement, indicating a directive from the executive branch.”

Some legal experts agree. “Governor Spanberger and legislative Democrats were so determined to deliver a marijuana retail market that they didn’t take the time to make sure basic child-protection statutes stayed on the books in the meantime,” former Attorney General Jason Miyares wrote. He called for an immediate special session of the General Assembly to provide clarity.

“It has at a minimum invited the argument that the old laws were repealed as of July 1, 2026,” the commonwealth’s attorney for Williamsburg-James City told the Virginian-Pilot. “They created a word problem, and word problems go against prosecutors,” Nate Green added.

To be fair, the Virginia Division of Legislative Services says that the 2026 statutes remain in effect until next July 1, and some other legal eagles agree. “The General Assembly didn’t repeal anything that they didn’t mean to repeal,” Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi told 13NewsNow.

However, even he acknowledged “it is a complicated bill, one that I understand where some people might get turned around on.” That includes defense attorneys, who might turn the language around and use it against prosecutors, as Nate Green warned.

The confusion stems from the process. State lawmakers waited until the last minute to enact a budget, so they’ve been able to bypass the usual legislative system and simply slide in language that never received a vetting during this year’s session.

To paraphrase former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, state policymakers, including lawmakers and the governor, had to pass the budget (to prevent the state government from shutting down for the first time in modern history). Now we all (including state police officers, commonwealth’s attorneys, and drug dealers) are finding out what’s in it.

Smoke ’em if you’ve got ’em, because there may be more budget-related revelations to come.

Argentina's World Cup win over Egypt prompted criticism of referee Francois Letexier which was intensified by Wikipedia hoax edits made to Letexier’s article labeling him as Jewish, furthering antisemitic memes going viral. The hoax edits occurred even as the page was locked to prevent changes by new and unregistered editors. Social media posts from people fooled by the hoax went viral with the misinformation's removal prompting similarly viral claims of a “cover-up” at Letexier’s page. The hoax content remained on Letexier’s page for eight hours.

The post Wikipedia Spreads Misinformation that World Cup Referee Is Jewish Following Egypt-Argentina Match appeared first on Breitbart.

President Donald Trump confirmed Friday he has shaken up federal election commission membership after it dragged its feet on addressing non-citizen voting ahead of the approaching midterms.

The post Trump Shakes Up Election Commission Dragging Its Feet on Non-Citizen Voting, Citing SCOTUS’s Slaughter Decision appeared first on Breitbart.

Fall in love with America again and help others to do likewise this Semiquincentennial summer. Only then can we come back to ourselves and become once again the United States of America, a hopeful people, full of wit and wisdom.

The post Exclusive—Matthew Mehan: Rediscovering Our Nation’s Hopeful, Patriotic Spirit on Our 250th Birthday appeared first on Breitbart.