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The ugly news broke during the last week of November: A Florida woman alleged that the chair of the state Republican Party had raped her at her home. The assault had occurred after he and his wife had planned, according to police, to meet her for a three-way sexual rendezvous, as they had previously.

These were stunning claims given the power couple involved: The GOP chair, Christian Ziegler, who has denied the assault and said the encounter was consensual, is a prominent state political consultant. His Republican-activist wife, Bridget Ziegler, is a founder of Moms for Liberty, the conservative political organization whose members have made school-board meetings partisan battlegrounds across America for the past two years.

The allegations have sparked a fusillade of condemnations, complaints of hypocrisy, and Moms for Libertines jokes. But the situation has also provided a window into the machinations of the movement that helped make the Zieglers so significant in Republican politicsthanks especially to the rapid rise of Moms for Liberty as a national organization.

Bridget Ziegler started Moms for Liberty with Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice in January 2021, but she was soon wooed away. Within months, she was hired to help run school-board-campaign trainings at the Leadership Institute, an obscure but influential nonprofit.

Read: The care and feeding of Supreme Court justices

The institute was founded in 1979 by Morton Blackwell, a longtime GOP activistso longtime that in 1964, he was the youngest elected delegate for Barry Goldwater in his run for the Republican nomination. Blackwells participation in the emerging New Right made him a crucial figure in the Reagan Revolution, Richard Meagher, a political-science professor at Randolph-Macon College, told me. Now 84, Blackwell still serves as president of the Leadership Institute, and is the Virginia GOPs national committeeman.

The mission of Blackwells institute is to recruit and train conservative activists for positions of influence in politics and the media. Its website lists dozens of classes about get-out-the-vote strategies, digital campaigning, and fundraising tips, but its true value, Meagher told me, lies in its connections. The Leadership Institute trains people and then plugs them into various networks, whether its think tanks or in Congress, in nonprofit groups or advocacy groups, he said.

The institute claims to have tutored more than a quarter of a million conservative operatives over the past five decades, including Karl Rove, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and former Vice President Mike Pence. Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson has also credited Blackwell for his career in Congress. And few people in Florida were as plugged-in as the Zieglers. But many institute alums are relatively unheralded political players, experts told me. These activists might be the technologists behind campaigns and nonprofits, the staffers for senators, or the drafters of policy.

When the coronavirus pandemic prompted school administrators to keep kids at home, the institute developed new programs for training suburban women to wage school-board campaigns to keep schools open and masks offa development that led to the recruitment of Bridget Ziegler, the tall, blond face of this new public arena of conservative activism. (Ziegler did not respond to requests for comment for this story.)

Read: Conservative donors have their own cancel culture

The Leadership Institute exists alongside dozens of similar but better-known groups, such as the Heritage Foundation, a think tank; Turning Point USA, a youth organization; and the Family Research Council, a social-conservative group. Many of these organizations and their leaders are members of a conservative umbrella organization called the Council for National Policy, of which Blackwell was a founding member. The CNP is a secretive, invitation-only group that gathers conservative activists to coordinate political strategy, Anne Nelson, the author of Shadow Network, told me. Think the Conservative Political Action Conference, but less performative.

The CNPs purpose is to bring fellow travelers together to coordinate strategy and messaging, Meagher said. Hillary Clinton popularized the phrase vast right-wing conspiracy, but its not a conspiracyits all out in the open, Meagher said. They are very well connected, and theres lots of crossover between different institutions. The Democratic Party, of course, has similar resources for training progressive candidates and furthering policy goals. But, Meagher said, the Democratic-aligned constellation is not nearly as ideologically coherent or disciplined as the groups that make up the CNP: There is no analogy to that on the left.

This interlocking structure of funding, training, and schmoozing is key to understanding the quick success of Moms for Liberty in American politics.

According to Ziegler and her colleagues, the organization was initially launched to address concerns that parents had about school closures and mask policies during the pandemic. But Moms for Liberty was quickly absorbed into the conservative movements broader network. Within days of its creation, Moms for Liberty was featured on Rush Limbaughs radio show. By June 2021, the group was hosting the political commentator Megyn Kelly for a fireside chat at Cape Canaveral, Florida. This early success and financial capability suggest that the group had a lot of resources available that just are not available to other grassroots groups, Maurice T. Cunningham, the chair of the political-science department at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, told me.

Now, after only two years in existence, the group has become a mandatory campaign stop for Republican political candidates. At Moms for Libertys summit this year in Philadelphiaonly its second-ever national gatheringevery major presidential-primary candidate stopped by to speak to the crowd, including Donald Trump.

It mightve been for five minutes that the moms were selling T-shirts and having bake sales, Joshua Cowen, an education-policy professor at Michigan State University, told me. But it was very quickly, within months, that they scaled up to the right-wing avatar they are today. Recently, the groups focus has shifted toward advocating against the teaching of gender, sexuality, and race in school curricula, and banning from school libraries certain books that mention those themes. This new front in the groups campaigning has placed the allegations of sexual impropriety against the Zieglers in sharp relief. (Never, ever apologize, Christian Ziegler said during a presentation on dealing with the media at this years Moms for Liberty summit. Apologizing makes you look weak.)

Read: Anti-abortion conservatives first target if Trump returns

The Leadership Institute has been an integral sponsor of both of Moms for Libertys annual summitsdonating at least $50,000 in 2022 and serving again as a lead sponsor of the event in 2023and it has provided training sessions to members. In short, Cunningham told me, if theres no Leadership Institute, theres no Moms for Liberty. Every year, the group awards a liberty sword for parents-rights advocacy; this year in Philadelphia, Blackwell got the sword.

That recognition now appears unreciprocated. In the past three weeks, Bridget Ziegler seems to have been scrubbed, Soviet-style, from the Leadership Institute; her name has disappeared from the online staff directory. (As of Friday morning, the Leadership Institute had not responded to a request for comment.) Ziegler has also been asked to resign from the Sarasota School Board.

Theres no question that her reputation in conservative politics has taken a hit. Even Moms for Libertys influence may have peaked for now, given some recent failures in school-board elections. But what isnt waning, Cowen said, is the influence of the groups behind them.

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Care whistleblower ‘who saw elderly resident being punched’ could face removal from Britain

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Care whistleblower 'who saw elderly resident being punched' could face removal from Britain

A care worker who reported the alleged abuse of an elderly care home resident, which triggered a criminal investigation, is facing destitution and potential removal from Britain after speaking up.

“Meera”, whose name we have changed to protect her identity, said she witnessed an elderly male resident being punched several times in the back by a carer at the home where she worked.

Sky News is unable to name the care home for legal reasons because of the ongoing police investigation.

“I was [a] whistleblower there,” said Meera, who came to the UK from India last year to work at the home.

“Instead of addressing things, they fired me… I told them everything and they made me feel like I am criminal. I am not criminal, I am saving lives,” she added.

Meera
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‘Meera’ spoke up about abuse she said she witnessed in the care home where she worked

Like thousands of foreign care workers, Meera’s employer sponsored her visa. Unless she can find another sponsor, she now faces the prospect of removal from the country.

“I am in trouble right now and no one is trying to help me,” she said.

More on Migrant Crisis

Meera said she reported the alleged abuse to her bosses, but was called to a meeting with a manager and told to “change your statement, otherwise we will dismiss you”.

She refused. The following month, she was sacked.

The care home claimed she failed to perform to the required standard in the job.

She went to the police to report the alleged abuse and since then, a number of people from the care home have been arrested. They remain under investigation.

‘Migrants recruited because many are too afraid to speak out’

The home has capacity for over 60 residents. It is unclear if the care home residents or their relatives know about the police investigation or claim of physical abuse.

Since the arrests, the regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), carried out an investigation at the home triggered by the concerns – but the home retained its ‘good’ rating.

Meera has had no reassurance from the authorities that she will be allowed to remain in Britain.

In order to stay, she’ll need to find another care home to sponsor her which she believes will be impossible without references from her previous employer.

She warned families: “I just want to know people in care homes like these… your person, your father, your parents, is not safe.”

She claimed some care homes have preferred to recruit migrants because many are too afraid to speak out.

“You hire local staff, they know the legal rights,” she said. “They can complain, they can work anywhere… they can raise [their] voice,” she said.

Becky Johnson
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Sky’s Becky Johnson spoke to ‘Meera’

Sky News has reported widespread exploitation of care visas and migrant care workers.

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More than 100 migrants face being in UK illegally
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New English language and UK citizenship requirements for migrants

Currently migrants make up around a third of the adult social care workforce, with the majority here on visas that are sponsored by their employers.

As part of measures announced in April in the government’s immigration white paper, the care visa route will be closed, meaning care homes will no longer be able to recruit abroad.

‘Whole system is based on power imbalance’

But the chief executive of the Work Rights Centre, a charity that helps migrants with employment issues, is warning that little will change for the tens of thousands of foreign care workers already here.

“The whole system is based on power imbalance and the government announcement doesn’t change that,” Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol told Sky News.

She linked the conditions for workers to poor care for residents.

Dr Dora
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Work Rights Centre CEO Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol

“I think the power that employers have over migrant workers’ visas really makes a terrible contribution to the quality of care,” she said.

Imran agrees. He came to the UK from Bangladesh, sponsored by a care company unrelated to the one Meera worked for. He says he frequently had to work 14-hour shifts with no break because there weren’t enough staff. He too believes vulnerable people are being put at risk by the working conditions of their carers.

Migrant workers ‘threatened’ over visas

“For four clients, there is [a] minimum requirement for two or three staff. I was doing [it] alone,” he said, in broken English.

“When I try to speak, they just directly threaten me about my visa,” he said.

“I knew two or three of my colleagues, they are facing the same issue like me. But they’re still afraid to speak up because of the visa.”

Meera

A government spokesperson called what happened to Imran and Meera “shocking”.

“No one should go to work in fear of their employer, and all employees have a right to speak up if they witness poor practice and care.”

James Bullion, from the CQC, told Sky News it acts on intelligence passed to it to ensure people stay safe in care settings.

Additional research by Leah Adin

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Donald Trump may be denied privilege of addressing parliament on UK state visit

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Donald Trump may be denied privilege of addressing parliament on UK state visit

Donald Trump may be denied the honour of addressing parliament on his state visit to the UK later this year, with no formal request yet submitted for him to be given that privilege.

It comes after President Macron’s successful state visit this week, in which he was invited to speak in front of both Houses of Parliament.

Sky News has been told the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, hasn’t so far received a request to invite the US president to speak in parliament when he is expected to visit in September.

It was confirmed to MPs who have raised concerns about the US president being allowed to address both houses.

Kate Osborne, Labour MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East, wrote to the speaker in April asking him to stop Mr Trump from addressing parliament, and tabled an early-day motion outlining her concerns.

“I was happy to see Macron here but feel very differently about Trump,” she said.

“Trump has made some very uncomfortable and worrying comments around the UK government, democracy, the Middle East, particularly around equalities and, of course, Ukraine.

“So, I think there are many reasons why, when we’re looking at a state visit, we should be looking at why they’re being afforded that privilege. Because, of course, it is a privilege for somebody to come and address both of the houses.”

But the timing of the visit may mean that any diplomatic sensitivities, or perceptions of a snub, could be avoided.

Macron addressing Parliament
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France’s President Emmanuel Macron addressed parliament during his state visit this month

Lord Ricketts, a former UK ambassador to France, pointed out that parliament isn’t sitting for much of September, and that could help resolve the issue.

In 2017, he wrote a public letter questioning the decision to give Donald Trump his first state visit, saying it put Queen Elizabeth II in a “very difficult position”.

Parliament rises from 16 September until 13 October due to party conferences.

The dates for the state visit haven’t yet been confirmed by Buckingham Palace or the government.

However, they have not denied that it will take place in September, after Mr Trump appeared to confirm they were planning to hold the state visit that month. The palace confirmed this week that the formal planning for his arrival had begun.

With the King likely to still be in Scotland in early September for events such as the Braemar Gathering, and the anniversary of his accession and the death of Queen Elizabeth on the 8th September, it may be expected that the visit would take place sometime from mid to the end of September, also taking into consideration the dates of the Labour Party conference starting on the 28th September and possibly the Lib Dem’s conference from the 20th-23rd.

Donald Trump. Pic: Reuters
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Mr Trump has said he believes the trip to the UK will take place in September. Pic: Reuters

When asked about parliamentary recess potentially solving the issue, Ms Osborne said: “It may be a way of dealing with it in a very diplomatic way… I don’t know how much control we have over Trump’s diary.

“But if we can manoeuvre it in a way that means that the House isn’t sitting, then that seems like a good solution, maybe not perfect, because I’d actually like him to know that he’s not welcome.”

A message from the speaker’s office, seen by Sky News, says: “Formal addresses to both Houses of Parliament are not automatically included in the itinerary of such a state visit.

“Whether a foreign head of state addresses parliament, during a state visit or otherwise, is part of the planning decisions.”

The King and Mr Trump raising a toast in 2019. Pic: Reuters
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Mr Trump made his first state visit to the UK in June 2019 during his first presidency. File pic: Reuters

It’s understood that if the government agrees to a joint address to parliament, the Lord Chamberlain’s office writes to the two speakers, on behalf of the King, to ask them to host this.

It will be Mr Trump’s second state visit.

During his first, in 2019, he didn’t address parliament, despite the fact that his predecessor, Barack Obama, was asked to do so.

It was unclear if this was due to the fact John Bercow, the speaker at the time, made it clear he wasn’t welcome to do so.

However, it didn’t appear to dampen Mr Trump’s excitement about his time with the Royal Family.

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Speaking earlier this year, he described his state visit as “a fest” adding “it’s an honour… I’m a friend of Charles, I have great respect for King Charles and the family, William; we have really just a great respect for the family. And I think they’re setting a date for September.”

It is expected that, like Mr Macron, the pageantry for his trip this time will revolve around Windsor, with refurbishment taking place at Buckingham Palace.

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Liverpool retires number 20 shirt at all levels in honour of Diogo Jota

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Liverpool retires number 20 shirt at all levels in honour of Diogo Jota

Liverpool have retired the number 20 shirt in honour of Diogo Jota – the first time it has made such a gesture.

The club said it was a “unique tribute to a uniquely wonderful person” and the decision was made in consultation with his wife and family.

The number 20 will be retired at all levels, including the men’s and women’s first teams and academy squads.

A statement said: “It was the number he wore with pride and distinction, leading us to countless victories in the process – and Diogo Jota will forever be Liverpool Football Club’s number 20.”

The club called it a “recognition of not only the immeasurable contribution our lad from Portugal made to the Reds’ on-pitch successes over the last five years, but also the profound personal impact he had on his teammates, colleagues and supporters and the everlasting connections he built with them”.

Jota's wife joined Liverpool players to view tributes at Anfield on Friday. Pic: Liverpool FC
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Jota’s wife joined Liverpool players to view tributes at Anfield on Friday. Pic: Liverpool FC

Pic: Liverpool FC
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Pic: Liverpool FC

Newly-married Jota died alongside his brother when his Lamborghini crashed in northern Spain on 3 July.

Police said this week that all the evidence so far suggests Jota was the one driving the vehicle.

Liverpool teammates joined members of Jota’s family, including his wife Rute, at a huge memorial site outside Anfield on Friday.

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A fan looks at messages written onto a memorial wall created near Anfield Stadium. Pic: Reuters
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A fan looks at messages on a memorial wall near Anfield. Pic: Reuters


Liverpool's captain Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool's player Andrew Robertson arrive on the day of the funeral ceremony of Liverpool's Portug
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Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson were among players at the funeral. Pic: Reuters

The star’s funeral took place last weekend, with Liverpool colleagues and members of the Portuguese national team in attendance.

Reds captain Virgil van Dijk carried a shirt bearing the number 20 made from flowers.

Liverpool players returned to the club’s training ground for the start of pre-season on Tuesday.

Their first game since Jota’s death will be on Sunday when they play a friendly away against Preston North End.

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