Johnny Edwards

If you enjoyed @thecentersquare #congressionalperks series on U.S. Senate spending, check out our investigation of U.S. House spending from last year. tinyurl.com/mr23nn82 tinyurl.com/37duu79m tinyurl.com/4fkyxmcx tinyurl.com/36bztz4x tinyurl.com/4vbeu794

ICYMI: #congressionalperks series @thecentersquare exposed U.S. Senate office account spending for private jets, reimbursements to themselves and questionable staff positions. tinyurl.com/3m8w9c3r tinyurl.com/2x5scay7 tinyurl.com/3hanuumc tinyurl.com/5erj259m

If the BIG BANG started everything, what existed before it?

Final part in our #congressionalperks series on U.S. Senate account spending, shows a lot of money goes to staff jobs that some critics say are not justified, including more than a $500k for Chaplin, his chief of staff and comm director. thecentersquare.com/national/artic…

The U.S. Senate employs a chaplain to open each day with a prayer. Along with his $224K salary, taxpayers pay for the chaplain to have a communications director, 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗜𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔𝗡 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 𝗢𝗥 𝗗𝗢 𝗔 𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 By @thecentersquare's @MarkStricherz thecentersquare.com/national/artic…

Amy Poehler as Christopher Walken's relative is an all-timer impression

So we don't know why Washington Democrat @PattyMurray spent over $4k on a round trip from her home to Washington, D.C., or why it cost Hawaii Democrat @SenBrianSchatz $10k to make a Christmastime round trip from Washington to Honolulu and back. I checked flights and Uber rates, and those $$$ amounts seem ultra-high. But without backup records, we don't know what those sums actually included. And neither senator would explain it to us. Schatz: "If it’s ten thousand dollars, it’s ten thousand dollars." thecentersquare.com/national/artic…

U.S. senators and top aides are turning in receipts for reimbursements, and there's a huge problem: Congress exempted itself from FOIA. So there's no way for the public to check backup records. No way of knowing if anyone flew first class, paid to fly family members, rented fancy limousines, spent nights at luxury hotels, dined at gourmet restaurants, or used personal credit cards that come with cash-back rewards or other incentives. "There's so much temptation to inflate the numbers and to give yourself a little extra more when you're writing that check" - @Protectaxpayers We asked 7 top-spending senate offices to hand over small samples of backup records. All said no or ignored us. Part 3 of @thecentersquare investigative team's 4-part series on Senate spending (No paywall) thecentersquare.com/national/artic…

How are taxpayer dollars being used on Capitol Hill? Our investigation looks at Senate travel, private jets, and spending practices. Watch the full report.

Part 3 of #congressionalperks @thecentersquare uncovers lawmakers reimbursing themselves thousands of dollars instead of using Senate credit card. @tpapres says that opens up the system for fraud and should be banned immediately, @JohnnyEdwardsX reports. thecentersquare.com/national/artic…

Multiple bills that would reduce Georgia's income taxes are hung up at the Capitol as the session winds down thecentersquare.com/georgia/articl…

The regime’s execution machine has sped up and is rapidly executing innocent prisoners. With every additional day the terrorist regime stays in power, more people are executed and tortured. In recent days, many people have been executed. Five Iranian protesters sentenced to death in the Basij base fire case in Tehran have reportedly been transferred from Qezel Hesar prison to an unknown location for execution. Families say the confessions were forced, and the accused neither set the fire nor took part in the destruction. #Iran #DigitalBlackoutIran

Video for our #congressionalperks investigation exposing U.S. Senate spending spiking by more than 40 percent. Series run through Wednesday with @jstrong712 @JohnnyEdwardsX and @MarkStricherz reporting. youtu.be/_aQ19907cgE

The U.S. Justice Department has sued Minnesota, arguing the state’s policies on school sports violate Title IX protections against sex-based discrimination. The case adds to a growing national legal battle over how federal law applies to student athletics. Read the article: thecentersquare.com/minnesota/arti…

"When you're spending somebody else's money, you aren't looking for the best deal" The U.S. Senate's spending on 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗝𝗘𝗧𝗦 includes NY's 2 senators crisscrossing the state for public appearances and press conferences, including for initiatives to protect the environment. A former AZ senator spent @$50k for one flight from Washington, D.C., to the Grand Canyon to attend an event with then-President Biden, who signed a proclamation to protect sacred tribal land (No paywall) thecentersquare.com/national/artic…

Our U.S. senators don’t just keep get paid during a shutdown, they get massive perks, too. Private jet rides. Bloated staff. Personal checks to themselves that the public has no way of scrutinizing … @thecentersquare’s investigative team dug deep in this one. No paywall on the story below or the next installments to come

⁦@AP⁩ uses phrases like “potential misuse” and “potential fraud” and “allegations of fraud” to describe the abuses uncovered in Minneapolis. Allegations? Gemini tells me 92 people have been charged and 67 convicted in Minneapolis alone.

Are AI technologies driving up energy costs and raising ethical concerns? Some leaders are warning about the societal impacts of artificial intelligence, while new polling shows a growing number of voters linking AI data centers to rising electricity prices. Watch more on The Center Square Daily. buff.ly/YJLv2jh

You don’t hear about this in the international media. Why? Because people who’ve never lived a single day under war, never spent one hour under a theocratic regime, are sitting comfortably, debating the Middle East like it’s a Netflix series. but this is the reality that people are going through…. Thanks @kwelkernbc for giving me the opportunity to talk about #DigitalBlackout and innocent people who are waiting to be executed by hanging in Iran.

These two photographs are separated by only 66 years.