GOP states sue ESG 'cartel': BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street accused of manipulating energy market



A coalition of 11 Republican-led states filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against BlackRock, Vanguard Group, and State Street Corporation, accusing the three asset managers of violating antitrust laws.

According to the complaint, the companies' promotion of environmental, social, and governance standards resulted in less coal production and higher energy prices.

Companies 'formed a cartel to rig the coal market.'

The lawsuit stated that the financial institutions "artificially constrained the supply of coal, significantly diminished competition in the markets for coal, increased energy prices for American consumers, and produced cartel-level profits" for themselves by leveraging their power.

Reuters reported that the three financial institutions have more than $26 trillion in assets under their management.

The companies have pressured coal companies to reduce their carbon emission by more than 50% by 2030, the complaint noted.

"Competitive markets — not the dictates of far-flung asset managers — should determine the price Americans pay for electricity," it read.

The coalition of states — including Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia, and Wyoming — was led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R).

Paxton accused the asset managers of "illegally conspiring to manipulate energy markets."

"These firms also deceived thousands of investors who elected to invest in non-ESG funds to maximize their profits. Yet these funds pursued ESG strategies notwithstanding the defendants' representations to the contrary," he claimed.

The lawsuit accused BlackRock of "actively deceiving investors about the nature of its funds" by using all of its holdings, even those in non-ESG funds, to advance its climate goals.

Paxton told Turning Point USA founder and CEO Charlie Kirk that the reduced coal production forces the U.S. to purchase more energy overseas.

"It's affecting consumers in all kinds of ways," he said.

Paxton wrote in a post on X, "Texas will not tolerate the illegal weaponization of the financial industry in service of a destructive, politicized 'environmental' agenda. BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street formed a cartel to rig the coal market, artificially reduce the energy supply, and raise prices. Their conspiracy has harmed American energy production and hurt consumers. This is a stunning violation of State and federal law."

BlackRock said in a statement to Bloomberg that the lawsuit "undermines Texas' pro-business reputation."

"The suggestion that BlackRock invested money in companies with the goal of harming those companies is baseless and defies common sense," the company said.

Vanguard Group and State Street Corporation did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters or Bloomberg.

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Man won't be charged after fatally shooting teen who shot up HS party. But homeowner who allegedly allowed party is arrested.



A man won't be charged after fatally shooting a teen who opened fire at an Indiana high school party earlier this month — but the homeowner who allegedly allowed the party to happen has been arrested on felony charges.

Fort Wayne police on Monday arrested Joanna Eastes, 42, on charges of neglect of a dependent and furnishing property for the purpose of enabling minors to consume alcohol, both of which are felonies, WANE-TV reported. The station said Eastes also was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor, and was being held at the Allen County Jail.

Police told WPTA one partygoer returned fire with his own handgun — fatally shooting Ivy — and won't face criminal charges 'as his actions were justified under established Indiana self-defense law.'

WANE, citing Allen County property records, reported that Eastes is the owner of a home in the 4900 block of Manistee Drive where a group of mostly high schoolers met for an Oct. 19 party.

The Halloween party was advertised on social media, investigators told WPTA-TV, adding that partygoers were told to bring their own alcohol and marijuana — and were patted down for weapons before entering the home.

Police told WPTA the “party quickly got out of hand,” and the parent of a household member hosting the party “retreated to her bedroom and locked the door” without calling police about the situation.

When 17-year-old Willie Ivy III and his friends arrived at the party, police told WPTA they went to the back door to avoid being patted down and forced their way inside when a couple of attendees tried to stop them.

Ivy then pulled out a handgun and began firing shots as he walked through the back door, kitchen, and living room, police told WPTA.

Nine party attendees — ranging in age from 14 to 20 years old — were struck by bullets from Ivy's gun, WPTA added. Their wounds reportedly weren't life-threatening, WANE said.

Police told WPTA one partygoer returned fire with his own handgun — fatally shooting Ivy — and won't face criminal charges “as his actions were justified under established Indiana self-defense law.” WPTA-TV said in its video report that the man who fatally shot Ivy was one of the victims wounded by Ivy's shots.

Ivy — a student at North Side High School — was found in the yard of a home and was pronounced dead at the scene, WANE reported.

The following video news report about the fatal shooing aired prior to Eastes' arrest:

- YouTube youtu.be

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Another town in America's heartland stretched thin over influx of immigrants: 'We need some federal help'



Locals in the small town of Logansport, Indiana, are sounding the alarm about the community's overwhelmed resources due to a massive influx of foreign nationals who have arrived in the area over the past three years under the Biden-Harris administration.

The community's concerns mirror recent reports out of Springfield, Ohio, and Charleroi, Pennsylvania, two small cities that have experienced a significant increase in immigrant arrivals.

'We are a small rural community in Indiana who is facing challenges of a large increase in population.'

Residents in Logansport, a rural town with a population of 18,000, are pleading with the federal government to provide more resources to address their strained hospitals and school system.

While it is unclear how many immigrants have moved to the area over the past few years, one local business owner speculated that the number was "maybe more than 2,000," according to WXIN.

Mayor Chris Martin told the news outlet that others have stated that 5,000 Haitian nationals have moved to the area, but he noted that there is no way to be sure of the exact number.

Martin explained that he knows the influx is significant because there has been a 20-30% increase in demand for local services. He cited "traffic, school, and the hospital" as examples.

"The federal government has got to step in and help communities our size," Martin said. "We are a small rural community in Indiana who is facing challenges of a large increase in population."

Logansport Memorial Hospital told WXIN that the town is on pace for record-shattering birth rates. The hospital stated that it has been utilizing interpreter services to provide assistance to the foreign nationals.

The school system had 150 new students enrolled over the past three years. There are currently 207 Haitian students, compared to just 14 in 2021. New students from 11 other countries have also enrolled in the school system within the past few years.

Cass County Health Department Administrator Serenity Alter stated in September that many of the new students are unaccompanied minors.

"They fly from Haiti to Nicaragua, to Mexico, and then to the state they are flying to in the US," she stated. "Some have not seen their parents in seven years. It's an eye-opener."

"I don't think our school system can sustain what they are doing right now," Alter declared.

District Superintendent Michele Starkey disagreed, stating, "We can handle it."

"We are a public school, so we take in everyone who comes through the door and we meet them where they are no matter what," Starkey told WXIN.

The school district has even coordinated with students' schedules, allowing them to attend a few hours of classes each day so that they can work full shifts in the evenings.

"While it might be startling to some people, we have students that work second and third-shift jobs to help support their families," Starkey stated.

As far as why the foreign nationals have decided to make Logansport their home, some speculate it has something to do with the Tyson meatpacking plant.

The company did not respond to a request for comment from WXIN.

Dave Price, a Logansport resident, told Fox News this week, "We need some help here. We need some federal help."

"We had immigrants come in throughout the years to Logansport from the Mexico area, so we have a lot of Hispanics in the area which have acclimated very well, and they've grown their businesses, and they've earned the respect of Americans, and we've respected them in return," Price stated. "But what we're seeing now is a little different. It's coming from a Third World country coming into Logansport, and these individuals don't necessarily know the local laws or rules and how to behave here."

The mayor stated that he is considering declaring a state of emergency.

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Democrat-Friendly Licensing Boards Target Republican Attorneys General In Election Year

'Every minute I’m spending defending the AG from this is one minute I’m not spending suing the Biden administration or defending laws passed by the legislature.'

Parents' damning texts about their children lead officials to grisly fire pit discovery: Court docs



A mother and father from Indiana have been charged with murdering two of their children.

Steven Valle, 31, and Samantha Sebella, 25 — both of Wheatfield — were arrested last week and charged with murder, neglect of a dependent causing death, abuse of a corpse, and failure to report a dead body.

'YOU KILLED OUR BABIES, I HAVE THEIR DNA IN MY BODY FOREVER.'

On Sept. 20, deputies with the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the pair after a tipster informed authorities about a horrifying confession. The informant allegedly told police that Valle told friends he killed two of his children.

Detectives located Valle at a hotel in Newton County. He denied the allegations. However, police obtained a search warrant and seized the couple's cell phones, which allegedly contained damning evidence. Turns out there were text messages between the pair on the phones that appeared to indicate Valle murdered the two children, according to court documents.

“You killed my kids cause you are a fa****, you never loved me,” one message read, WXIN-TV reported.

“YOU KILLED OUR BABIES, I HAVE THEIR DNA IN MY BODY FOREVER,” another message between Sebella and Valle reportedly read.

According to WXIN, the police report "insinuated that Valle had smothered his first-born child and drowned his second-born."

A judge determined there was enough evidence to arrest Valle and Sebella on Friday, Law & Crime said. The couple was taken to the Jasper County Detention Center, where they remain without bond.

Both suspects allegedly denied ever having more than one child, telling investigators their child was born in their home without documentation. The Indiana Department of Child Services removed this child from the couple's custody.

Indeed, the Jasper County Health Department informed investigators there wasn’t any record of Sebella ever having given birth.

The pair reportedly also told investigators Sebella never had a miscarriage or a stillbirth.

But during a second police interview, Sebella allegedly admitted that she had given birth to a boy in 2018.

Valle claimed to police that he found Sebella passed out with an infant lying between her legs, according to court documents

Valle reportedly claimed the baby was not awake or breathing, so he cleaned up the infant, placed him in a blanket, and put him in a box. Valle claimed to have buried the child in the backyard three days after the birth because he “knew the child wouldn’t be coming back to life.”

According to court documents, Valle claimed to investigators Sebella got pregnant a second time, but the baby was prematurely born in a bathtub while he was at work. Valle allegedly buried the second baby in the backyard near the first deceased infant.

Police say Valle informed them that he dug up the corpses of his children three to five years after their deaths and burned them in a fire pit. He saved some of the ashes to make a necklace as a memento, according to court docs.

On Sept. 30, the sheriff’s office, Indiana State Police, Jasper County Coroner’s Office along with two cadaver dogs went to the Wheatfield property where Valle and Sebella had previously lived. The couple reportedly was evicted from the property earlier this year.

“With the cooperation of the landowner and the current residents, the search began, and the cadaver dogs alerted to three separate locations on the property. A preliminary search at these locations uncovered partial bone fragments,” deputies wrote, according to Law & Crime.

The outlet added that authorities took the bone fragments to a specialist in Indianapolis for testing to determine whether they were from an infant or animal, and the sheriff's office said the fragments were human.

Deputies said the couple did not inform authorities about the births, deaths, burials, or burnings of their children.

You can view a video report here about the case.

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Previously deported illegal alien stabs teen girl at a baseball game in the random attack: Police



An illegal immigrant was arrested on Sunday afternoon after he was accused of randomly attacking a 14-year-old girl at a baseball game in Lowell, Indiana.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department apprehended 26-year-old Dimas Gabriel Yanez over the weekend after an extensive manhunt, WMAQ-TV reported.

'Just started swinging it on her.'

Early Sunday morning, a teenage girl attending her brother’s baseball game was allegedly stabbed by Gabriel Yanez. The suspect also reportedly attempted to stab the teenager’s mother when she tried to intervene in the assault.

Matthew Ramian, the coach of the baseball team that was playing when the stabbing occurred, told WLS-TV, “He just jumped on her and pushed her over, smashed her umbrella over. And then proceeded to pull out, what I called a bowie knife or like a big 16-, 18-inch knife, and just started swinging it on her.”

According to Ramian, several fathers attending the game chased after the suspect, who fled on foot following the stabbing. However, they lost track of him.

The sheriff’s department stated that the suspect ran into a wooded area behind a residential community. Multiple agencies aided in the manhunt, which included K-9 and aviation units. Law enforcement officials ultimately located the suspect in a cornfield and placed him under arrest. Authorities believe that, right before his arrest, he attempted to cut his hair to change his appearance.

The girl sustained injuries to her hand and was treated at a hospital before being released the following day. No other injuries were reported as a result of the random violent attack.

Gabriel Yanez, a Honduran national, was previously deported from the United States in 2018, according to police. He later re-entered the country illegally.

Law enforcement officials believe he may have been involved in other criminal activity across the U.S. since he unlawfully returned.

Local authorities notified the U.S. Department of Homeland Security about the arrest.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita (R), who has been tough on illegal immigration matters, has filed lawsuits against nearby “sanctuary” jurisdictions for providing a “safe harbor to illegal aliens, against state law.” One of those jurisdictions, East Chicago, repealed its “Welcoming City Ordinance” in response to the AG’s legal action. Rokita called it “a big win for hardworking Hoosiers and legal immigrants who came to our great nation the right way.”

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Sneaky Court Ruling Could Lock States Into Health Welfare For Able-Bodied Adults

Medicaid could soon turn into a fiscal version of the Eagles’ 'Hotel California' — states can check out any time, but they can never leave.

Babysitter allegedly drugged 12-year-old in her care, raped her, and then prostituted the child to several males



An Indiana woman is accused of drugging and raping a 12-year-old in her care and then forcing the child into prostitution, according to police.

Naomi Floren, 21, was arrested and charged with numerous crimes related to the accusations outlined in court documents. Law & Crime indicated that the victim is a female.

Officers found sexually explicit photographs of the victim on Floren's cellphone.

Bloomington police said Floren was babysitting the victim and four other siblings from July 3 until July 9 at an apartment on South Walnut Street Pike in Bloomington.

The abuse began when a 17-year-old male was invited to the apartment, and Floren told the male that the 12-year-old was 15 years old, the victim said. The male made sexual advances on the victim before he and Floren had sex in front of the child, according to police.

The victim allegedly was given a pill and a THC vape before she was pimped out to a 54-year-old man known as the “Rat Guy" at his apartment.

The next day, the victim was taken to another apartment and given an unknown orange pill, more marijuana, and alcohol before having sex with two males.

When Bloomington police searched the suspect's residence, officers found sexually explicit photographs of the victim on Floren's cellphone as well as numerous prescription pills. Police said Floren initially denied any sexual abuse but later admitted to kissing and cuddling the victim before they took a shower together.

Floren was booked into the Monroe County Jail on July 18.

She was preliminarily charged with three counts of child molestation, a level 1 felony; two counts of vicarious sexual gratification with a victim under the age of 14, a level 4 felony; and sexual battery with a deadly weapon, a level 4 felony.

Floren also was charged with two level 6 felony counts of neglect of a dependent, one level 3 felony count of promotion of child sexual trafficking, and a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Police said the children she babysat knew Floren by her middle name, Bella.

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10-year-old pleads with neighbor to adopt him minutes before 340-pound foster mom allegedly sits on him until he has no pulse



A 10-year-old foster child in Indiana died days after the morbidly obese woman he temporarily was living with allegedly sat on him until he no longer had a pulse. Officials said the boy pleaded with a neighbor to adopt him just 30 minutes before first responders arrived at the scene.

The heartbreaking tale begins more than five years ago when Dakota Levi Stevens and his sister were placed in the foster-care system because their parents were addicted to drugs. It seems that Dakota bounced around several foster-care placements during his young life. He also suffered from mental health and anxiety issues, according to a foster father who cared for Dakota from 2019 to 2021.

When Wilson saw that his eyelids were pale, she instructed one of her three children — all of whom were adopted out of foster care — to call 911.

In 2022, Dakota landed in the home of Jennifer Lee Wilson but later left. When Dakota began acting up at a foster home earlier this year, he was placed back into Wilson's home for short-term respite care.

On April 25, Dakota, then 10 years old, fled the home that Wilson shared with her husband and three children in Valparaiso in northwestern Indiana. Dakota reportedly ran to a neighbor's house and begged the woman there to adopt him because his foster parents were abusing him.

When Wilson discovered that the boy was missing, she drove around looking for him. She spotted him speaking with the neighbor. Initially, Dakota refused to get into Wilson's car and asked the neighbor to call police, the neighbor claimed, adding that if the boy had injuries, she did not see them.

Wilson eventually coaxed Dakota into the car and suggested that the neighbor mind her own business. As soon as she and Dakota pulled into the driveway at home, though, Dakota's behavior continued, and he insisted he would run away again.

What allegedly happened next cost Dakota his life.

Wilson later told police that she did not recall whether the two fell to the ground together or whether she tackled him, but at some point, Wilson reportedly pinned the boy down in full view of the front-door Ring camera.

At first, she reportedly held him down by laying across his neck and head area. She then allegedly held him down by the arm. Finally, Wilson — who stands less than 5 feet tall and tips the scales at 340 pounds — sat on the boy near his buttocks and remained there for six minutes and 48 seconds, Ring footage allegedly showed.

During this time, Wilson called Dakota's caseworker with Children's Protective Services, and at one point, she allegedly stated, "I was laying on him, and he was acting bad."

Eventually, Dakota's screams ceased, and after nearly seven minutes of sitting on the boy, Wilson discovered that Dakota apparently was no longer breathing.

"Are you faking?" she asked, according to court documents.

When Wilson saw that his eyelids were pale, she instructed one of her three children — all of whom were adopted out of foster care — to call 911. She also attempted CPR.

After not finding a pulse, first responders rushed Dakota to South Bend Memorial Hospital, where he died two days later. An autopsy revealed that he had suffered mechanical asphyxia, and the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.

On Friday, the Porter County Prosecutor’s office announced that Wilson, 48, had been charged with reckless homicide, a level 5 felony that carries a sentence of up to six years behind bars and a fine of up to $10,000.

Wilson was soon arrested and assessed a bond of $20,000. Jail records indicate that she is not currently in custody.

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Activist Judge Blocks Law Protecting Minors From Filth Online

Judge Richard Young, who has a history of judicial activism, parroted the arguments of the pro-pornography lobbyists in his ruling.