At Least 19 Dead, 50 Injured After ‘Possible Terrorist Attack’ at Ariana Grande Concert in England

At least 19 people were killed and 50 injured Monday night in an explosion at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, that police are treating as a possible terrorist attack. The explosion happened near an entrance to the 21,000-seat arena just minutes after Grande’s concert ended and the singer left the stage, witnesses said. Manchester…

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Alabama Baptist Leaders Raise Concerns About LGBT Group At Samford University

The missions board of the Alabama Baptist Convention has formed a committee to work with Samford University in the wake of the faculty voting to give official recognition to an LGBT student group. Samford is a Southern Baptist school in suburban Birmingham. Final approval of the LGBT group is up to the school’s board of trustees. The board is not expected to formally consider the matter until fall. Called Samford Together, the group provides a forum for students who want to discuss sexual orientation and gender identity “in an open-minded and accepting environment,” according to the school’s website. Some supporters of the group say it is more about discussion than advocacy. But leaders of the Alabama Baptist Convention and its missions board say they are worried about the group promoting ideas that go against Scripture. At a May 12 missions board meeting, convention president John Thweatt presented an open letter to Alabama Baptists saying the convention wants to maintain a good relationship with Samford but also expects the school to hold to biblical teachings. “We care deeply about Samford University and its future. We care about its leadership, trustees, faculty and students,” the letter said. “We also believe in the full…

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Justice for Jocques Coalition Angry With Nashville City Officials Over Officer Shooting

The Justice for Jocques Coalition held a town hall meeting Saturday at which they slammed Nashville city officials for what they perceive as injustice in the case of a white police officer who fatally shot an armed black man. Officer Josh Lippert was found to be acting in self-defense in the Feb. 10 shooting of Jocques Scott Clemmons. Called “The People’s Town Hall,” Saturday’s event was held at First Baptist Church South Inglewood. City officials were invited to attend. District Attorney Glenn Funk and Mayor Megan Barry sent representatives who listened but referred concerns to Funk and Barry directly. The Metro Nashville Police Department did not send anyone. “When is the mayor going to be the mayor and handle the police chief?,” said Davie Tucker, pastor of Beech Creek Missionary Baptist Church, according to NewsChannel 5. “When is the DA going to be the DA and be the chief prosecutor in this jurisdiction and stop allowing the police to do it?” Clemmons was shot by Lippert at the Cayce Homes public housing development in East Nashville after the officer saw Clemmons run a stop sign, which led to a foot chase, physical confrontation and Clemmons pointing a gun toward the officer.…

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Tim Tebow Slams 3rd Home Run of the Season

Tim Tebow broke out of a 1 for 18 slump on Sunday, hitting his third home run and a double in a game the Class A Columbia Fireflies he plays for lost 6 to 3 to the West Virginia Power. Tebow improved his batting average to .230, significantly better than critics of the 29-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback expected from him in his first season of professional baseball. You can read the box score of the game here. While Tebow still has a long way to go to make it from Class A to the major leagues, the New York Mets, who signed him earlier this year, are said to be considering a move up to their Class A Advanced club in St. Lucie, Florida some time after the Class A South Atlantic League’s All-Star break. Attendance at Columbia Fireflies home games has been up 30 percent compared to last year with Tebow on the roster.

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Activist Lawyers Admit Nashville Has an Illegal Immigration Problem

Tennessee Star

  On April 7, 2017, Nashville activist pro-illegal immigration lawyers Elliot Ozment, J. Gerard Stranch, IV, Tricia Herzfeld and Anthony Orlandi, sued Metro Nashville, Davidson County and Sheriff Daron Hall, on behalf of Saudi national Abdullah Abriq, who overstayed his student visa, and “hundred and likely thousands of immigrants” subject to detainer requests issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and that “[u]pon information and belief, the Defendants have taken custody of, and detained, thousands of Administrative Detainees over the past five years.” ICE has the responsibility and authority to detain foreign nationals who overstay their visas and those who have entered the U.S. illegally even if they have not committed a criminal offense. So far in fiscal year 2017, thirty-seven percent of immigration offenders adjudicated in immigration court involving either simple immigration violations and/or a criminal offense, have been allowed to remain in Tennessee. Of cases where the judge permits the offender to remain, over 1,000 of the cases involve immigration violations while sixteen are classified as “criminal/national security/terror.” Abriq’s lawsuit alleges that without a valid agreement with ICE, Nashville’s Sheriff Daron Hall has no authority to comply with ICE detainer requests and as a result, violated the plaintiffs’ Fourth…

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Nashville Predators Can Clinch First NHL Stanley Cup Finals Appearance With Win Over Ducks Tonight

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It has turned into a battle of attrition in the Western Conference Finals. One more loss and the Anaheim Ducks will have until September to rest. One more win and the Nashville Predators clinch their first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. Saturday night’s 3-1 defeat to the equally shorthanded Nashville Predators put…

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President Trump Urges Muslim Leaders to Cut Off Islamic Terrorism at the Root in Their Own Countries

Tennessee Star

President Trump called on Muslim leaders Sunday to begin stamping out radial Islamic terrorism within their own countries, giving a blunt assessment to the poisonous ideology within their religion and offering a path forward to peace. In a historic speech to leaders from 50 Muslim countries, Mr. Trump described the struggle against Islamic extremists as a…

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Dozens of Students Walk Out on Vice President Pence at Notre Dame Graduation

Tennessee Star

More than 100 graduating students at the University of Notre Dame walked out Sunday as Vice President Mike Pence began his address at their commencement ceremony. Pence was chosen to give the commencement address at the nation’s most prominent Catholic university – even though the school ordinarily invites newly inaugurated presidents to give the address in…

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Commentary: Donald Trump Hits All Right Notes in Address to Arab Leaders

The president of the United States did America proud in addressing Islamic leaders from 50 countries Sunday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was truly a historic occasion. Not in my lifetime do I remember an American president simultaneously addressing so many leaders from predominantly Muslim nations in an extraordinary meeting that was internationally televised. The good…

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McCain, Rubio Blast Trump for Not Confronting Saudi Arabia on Human Rights

Tennesse Sar

Two leading Republican senators on Sunday said President Trump is making a mistake by failing to more forcefully confront Saudi Arabia over the country’s treatment of women and other human rights issues in the Middle Eastern nation. Mr. Trump’s highly anticipated address in Saudi Arabia on Sunday will focus heavily on the fight against terrorism but…

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More Than 100 Conservative Leaders Urge Mark Green to Resume Campaign for Governor of Tennessee

Tennessee Star

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee–More than one hundred conservative leaders from across Tennessee are urging State Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville) to resume his campaign for the Tennessee Republican Gubernatorial nomination in 2018. Green was considered the conservative front runner for the nomination, though he had not officially announced, when President Trump nominated the former Army doctor to serve as Secretary of the Army. Green withdrew from consideration after LGBT and Islamic activists criticized some of his past statements and the White House did not actively jump to his defense. The letter released by the 2018 Coalition of more than one hundred conservative leaders across the state urges Green to resume his campaign for Governor and says he “can count on the enthusiastic support of all of us – and thousands of conservatives across Tennessee – should he resume his campaign.” You can see the complete letter on the 2018 Coalition website and read it, as well as the names of all the signators, here below: 2018 Coalition Fellow Tennesseans: As conservative leaders representing thousands of Tennesseans across the state, we are deeply disappointed that Senator Mark Green will not serve our nation as the next Secretary of the Army. A West Point…

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Constitution Series: Judicial Review

    This is the eighth of twenty-five weekly articles in The Tennessee Star’s Constitution Series. Students in grades 8 through 12 can sign up here to participate in The Tennessee Star’s Constitution Bee, which will be held on September 23. The Separation of Powers and Federalism are two foundational concepts of the Constitution,  based on the idea that checks and balances between competing interests will prevent any one individual or group from obtaining and exercising abusive powers within our republic. In the national government, the checks and balances of the Separation of Powers were designed within the Constitution, which gave specific powers to the three equal branches of government— executive, legislative, and judicial–but also placed limits on the powers of each branch. The legislative branch, which passes laws, approves Presidential nominations for Cabinet positions and the Supreme Court and other federal courts, appropriates money, and can impeach the president and federal judges. The executive branch can veto legislation, nominate judges, and administers the day-to-day operations of the government. The judicial branch has asserted, without much resistance, the power to declare laws passed by Congress and Presidential actions unconstitutional–a principle commonly known as “judicial review.” Unlike the powers granted the…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Monday, May 22

Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing May 22, Monday Acts 4:31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

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