President Trump’s New Chief of Staff John Kelly Removes Anthony Scaramucci as Communications Director

  Several news outlets are reporting President Trump’s new Chief of Staff, the no-nonsense former General John Kelly, has removed Anothony Scaramucci as White House Communications Director. It is unclear if Mr. Scaramucci will stay on in some other capacity within the Administration, or if he will be separated altogether. Via the NY Times: President Trump has decided to remove Anthony Scaramucci from his position as communications director, three people close to the decision said Monday, relieving him just days after Mr. Scaramucci unloaded a crude verbal tirade against other senior members of the president’s senior staff. DEVELOPING…

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Mae Beavers Edges Bill Lee in ‘Rural Tennessee Speaks’ Gubernatorial Straw Poll, Boyd and Harwell No Shows

  State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) narrowly won the Rural Tennessee Speaks Republican gubernatorial straw poll over Williamson County businessman Bill Lee on Saturday held Saturday evening in Dover, Tennessee. A large crowd of more than 200 turned out to hear from all four announced candidates who are running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. “It was 66 for Mae, and 62 for Bill Lee. Not everybody voted. 147 votes were cast. As far as the other three candidates, there were a total of 19 votes cast for them. Diane Black received 10 votes, Beth Harwell received 7, and Randy Boyd received 2,” State Rep. Jay Reedy (R-Erin), President of the Rural Tennessee Speaks PAC, told The Tennessee Star. Both Beavers and Lee showed up and spoke to the attentive audience, but the other two announced candidates were no shows. Speaker of the Tennessee House Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) apparently cancelled prior to the event, and Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd did not attend. “They were all invited,” Reedy said of the four announced candidates (Beavers, Boyd, Harwell, and Lee) and one unannounced candidate (Black). “It was probably four days ago, her campaign manager Holt Rich had called earlier in the week…

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State Rep. and Congressional Candidate Judd Matheny Donates School Supplies At Portland Back to School Bash

PORTLAND, Tennessee — State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) handed out school supplies at the 8th annual Back to School Bash sponsored by the Portland Chamber of Commerce on Saturday. Matheny is running in the Republican primary for the 6th District of the U.S. House, a seat currently held by expected gubernatorial candidate Diane Black, could be found handing out school supplies. The event, was held Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Richland Park. Sponsors of the event handed out backpacks filled with school supplies to students who met the only requirement of being enrolled in Portland schools and accompanied by a parent or guardian. Bags were available to everyone from pre-Kindergarten to grade 12, and the 700 available bags were handed out within 1 hour and 10 minutes, Portland Chamber of Commerce President/CEO, Sherri Ferguson, told The Tennessee Star. Dozens of volunteers helped to pack the backpacks and then hand them out at the event. Another 10 bags will be delivered to each of Portland’s nine schools, as will additional school supplies in time for the first day of school, Monday, August 7. Matheny has attended several of these events around the 6th Congressional District, handing out lunch…

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FBI Lawyer Allegedly Under Investigation for Leaking

FBI General Counsel James A. Baker allegedly is under an ongoing criminal investigation for supposedly leaking classified information pertaining to a U.S. surveillance program, according to a Circa report published Friday night. Several U.S. government officials with knowledge of the purported investigation told Circa reporter Sara Carter that Baker is under investigation concerning details divulged in…

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Constitution Series: The Seventh Amendment

The Jury by John Morgan

    This is the fourteenth 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 Seventh Amendment is one of those steady but unspectacular amendments that does not feature prominently in many Supreme Court cases, because it specifies two relatively straightforward rights: (1) trial by jury and (2) finding of facts made by a jury can not be appealed or “re-examined.” In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of common law. You may note a phrase in that amendment with which you may not be familiar: “the rules of common law.” What, exactly, are “the rules of common law,” and what, while we’re at it, do we mean by “common law”? The Oxford English Dictionary provides the simplest explanation of what is meant by common law: “The part of English law that is derived from custom and judicial precedent rather than…

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How an Obama Appointee ‘Pulled the Rug Out’ from Under Persecuted Christians

At the first World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians held in Washington, D.C., two months ago — organized by the Rev. Franklin Graham — Vice President Mike Pence told a delighted audience that President Trump was committed to “defending Christians.” The audience included Christians from all over the world who had suffered for their faith.…

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Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz Seemingly Planned To Pay Suspect Even While He Lived In Pakistan

Debbie Wasserman

Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz seemingly planned to pay cyber-probe suspect and IT aide Imran Awan even while he was living in Pakistan, if the FBI hadn’t stopped him from leaving the U.S. Monday. Public statements and congressional payroll records suggest she also appears to have known that his wife, a fellow IT staffer, left the…

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Commentary: Democrat IT Spy Tries To Run To Pakistan: We Connect More Dots For You

Imran Awan - House IT scandal

  by George Rasley, ConservativeHQ.com Editor   Yesterday, we connected some of the dots about Imran Awan, the House Democrat’s information technology staffer who was busted for unauthorized access to government computers and arrested at Dulles Airport for bank fraud, not espionage, as he tried to flee to his native Pakistan. Earlier in the week learned that FBI agents seized smashed computer hard drives from the home Awan shared with some of the other members of his gang; his bothers Abid and Jamal Awan, Hina R. Alvi (Imran Awan’s wife) and Natalia Sova, all employed by House Democrats as IT administrators. The brothers, and their wives, are suspected of serious violations, including accessing members’ computer networks without their knowledge and stealing equipment from Congress reported our friend Luke Rosiak of the Daily Caller News Foundation. Alvi worked for many of the same members as the three brothers, as well as the House Democratic Caucus. Among those whose computer systems may have been compromised is Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Florida Democrat who was previously the target of a disastrous email hack when she served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 campaign. Awan, who is rumored to…

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Education Scholar: 3 Most Frequently Assigned College Common Readings Are About Racism

The three most frequently assigned common readings for incoming freshmen at American colleges are all “about African Americans suffering from American racism,” according to a study discussed Thursday by an education scholar. David Randall, Director of Communications for the National Association for Scholars, gave a lecture entitled “Beach Books: How universities are using summer reading lists…

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Mae Beavers to Democratic Party Snowflakes: Bring It On

Tennessee Star

  The Democratic Party of Davidson County picked on the wrong Republican grandmother when it attacked State Senator Mae Beavers (R- Mt. Juliet) in a press release late Friday afternoon. On Saturday, the Republican gubernatorial candidate punched back, and her response stunned the left wing pajama boys and girls in Nashville. Davidson County’s Democrats alleged on Friday Beavers “could be breaking federal law and violating the First Amendment by blocking some Twitter users,” according to chattanoogan.com. “If blocking hateful trolls who tweet profanity and obscene images constitutes viewpoint discrimination, then I’d be more than happy to slug it out in federal court,” Beavers said in a statement released by her campaign on Saturday that bore the headline “Beavers Responds to Offended Snowflakes.” “Sharing opinions is a cherished constitutional right, but posting borderline pornography on someone else’s account is clearly not,” the conservative candidate for the Republican nomination for governor continued. Beavers’ campaign noted that “On June 24th, the Davidson County Democratic Party tweeted out a photograph featuring a drag queen attempting to impersonate Beavers during ‘Nashville Pride.’ ” Here is the actual June 24 tweet from the official Twitter account of the Democratic Party of Davidson County: What an honor…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Monday, July 31

Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing July 31, Monday Matthew 9:22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. James 1:6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

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Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Lee Finishes Tour of 95 Counties in 95 Days

Gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee finished his tour of all 95 of Tennessee’s counties in 95 days on Friday in Putnam County. “It has been a thrill to visit every county and listen to Tennesseans in every corner of our state,” the Williamson County businessman said in a statement released by his campaign. “Maria and I have many individual highlights on this specific tour, but mostly, it is getting to meet folks from so many different walks of life. Our state is very diverse, but we have so much that connects us. What I’ve consistently heard throughout this tour is that folks want a good job, a great education for their kids and a safe neighborhood to live in. Those are my goals and that is why I’m running for governor,” Lee added. Lee announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor in Nashville on April 24. He began his 95 county tour that day on a bus emblazoned with the Bill Lee for Governor logo with its grey and orange colors. Since then, Lee. his staff, and volunteers, have driven the bus for 356 hours over 16,403 miles of Tennessee’s roads and highways, his campaign says. The tour, his…

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Tennessee’s Gibson Guitar Featured at White House ‘Made in America Showcase’

  During the ‘Made in America Showcase’ Monday, Gibson Guitars was chosen by the White House to represent the great products in Tennessee. “We’re here today to celebrate American manufacturing and to showcase the amazing products from all 50 states, made in the USA, President Trump said, standing among a wide array of items, including a display of Gibson guitars. “Remember in the old days they used to have ‘Made in the USA,’ ‘Made in America?’  We’re going to start doing that again.  We’re going to put that brand on our product because it means it’s the best.” President Trump’s “Made in America Product Showcase” featured products made in each state, including Koloa Rum from Hawaii, baseball bats from Louisiana, NASA space suits from Delaware, and maple syrup from Vermont. Monday’s celebration the all-things-American-made is a continuation of President Trump’s ‘America First’ theme, a central tenant widely credited for his victory in 2016. “Made in America is more than a label or a product, and it’s just something so important to us.  It’s a stamp of excellence,” President Trump said. He continued: It’s a badge of honor and a tribute to the tremendous skill of the working men and women who…

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Letter to the Editor: Don’t Let America Become Like Soviet Russia

USA USSR

  Dear Tennessee Star, My name is Florin. I am married, father of six and  a strong conservative Christian. I am this way for my own and personal salvation and my love for God. Thirty years ago I’ve escaped from the former Soviet  regime where Christians were persecuted and killed. The United States of America was the only place for refuge that was known to accept Christians like me and it was also known all over the world as a Christian Country. The United States printed the Bibles in more than one hundred languages and sent out missionaries all over the world. Ever since I immigrated to America I am a fighter for religion rights which are taken away from us Christians every day by those evil groups that are turning this country upside down and destroying it from inside out. I totally disagree with what the Knoxville mayor did. Instead of fighting for the Christian Communities in Tennessee she crashed our Bible to the ground. I am encouraging the Christians in Knoxville, TN to come out and ask for her resignation upon failure to defend the City, State and Country’s Christian Religion faith against all other atheist individuals and…

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Commentary: Democrat IT Spy Tries To Run To Pakistan: We Connect Some Dots For You

DNC-Imran-Awan-Wasserman-Schultz

by George Rasley, ConservativeHQ.com Editor   Imran Awan, the House Democrat’s information technology staffer who was busted for unauthorized access to government computers has been apprehended at Dulles Airport trying to flee to his native Pakistan. Just yesterday we learned that FBI agents seized smashed computer hard drives from the home of Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s information technology (IT) administrator, according to an individual who was interviewed by Bureau investigators in the case and a high level congressional source told our friends at Zero Hedge. Pakistani-born Imran Awan, long-time right-hand IT aide to the former Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman, has since desperately tried to get the hard drives back, the individual told The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group. The congressional source, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the probe, confirmed that the FBI has joined what Politico previously described as a Capitol Police criminal probe into “serious, potentially illegal, violations on the House IT network” by Imran and four of his relatives, who had access to the emails and files of the more than two dozen House Democrats who employed them on a part-time basis. Capitol Police have also seized computer equipment…

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Reince’s Last Moments: Here’s How Priebus Left Trump’s Side

News of former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus’ departure spread among reporters moments after President Donald Trump returned from an event in New York Friday. In his final moments in the president’s proximity, Priebus huddled with administration officials in a black suburban, then slipped a growing scrum of reporters with a police escort, according…

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Judd Matheny Campaigns in Macon County

State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) continues to work hard to win the Republican nomination for the Sixth Congressional District. The primary is still more than a year away, and so far Matheny is the only announced candidate for the seat currently held by Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06), but you could not tell that by the whirlwind of campaign events the veteran state legislator has held throughout the sprawling district since his announcement in June. On Thursday, Matheny was in Lafayette, Tennessee where he spoke to the Macon County Republican Party. Matheny’s main topic for the evening was frustration with the conduct of establishment Republicans in Washington, particularly with regards to the Senate’s failure to repeal Obamacare. “People were furious. Senator Lamar Alexander’s vote [against repealing Obamacare] was a tipping point,” Matheny said of the attitude of those in attendance. One person in the audience asked “Why does the leadership in the [Republican] Party push and advocate for [liberal] issues, such as Obamacare expansion, Common Core, a gas tax increase in a record state budget surplus?” “And now, the ‘Patriarch’ of the Republican Party in Tennessee, Senator Lamar Alexander, has refused to repeal Obamcare against the wishes of every conservative in…

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Report: Debbie Wasserman Schultz Could Be Asked to Testify in IT Staffer Investigation

Wasserman

House lawmakers are seeking an independent investigation into IT staffers of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the congresswoman is expected to testify, reports the Washington Free Beacon. One staffer, Imran Awan, was arrested earlier this week trying to board a flight to Pakistan. He was charged with bank fraud including defrauding the Congressional Federal Credit Union.…

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Regional Transportation Administration CEO Steve Bland Concedes Transit Will Not Fix Traffic Problems

  GALLATIN, Tennessee — At an nMotion Plan Update for Sumner County meeting held July 27 at Volunteer State Community College, Regional Transit Authority (RTA) CEO Steve Bland said he “wouldn’t lie” that transit will not fix traffic problems, adding that “Denver still has traffic problems,” and, in fact, Atlanta and many other major cities with extensive transit systems are included on lists of cities with the worst traffic. Bland’s admission confirms the work of Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Professor Malcolm Getz, who, representing his own views and not that of the university, states that evidence demonstrates that “better transit does not reduce congestion,” rather “the volume of vehicular trips expands to congest whatever space is available for traffic regardless of the level of transit service.” Bland also said that “middle Tennessee’s system needs to be middle Tennessee’s system” and that there is no existing transit system doing it well enough for middle Tennessee to model after. Following the Tennessee legislature’s approval of the IMPROVE Act, which included a provision called “local option transit surcharge,” nMotion Plan Update meetings have been held in other Nashville/Davidson surrounding counties, including Williamson and Wilson. Steve Bland was named to the RTA Executive…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Sunday, July 30

Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing July 30, Sunday Proverbs 10:26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy one to those who send him. Proverbs 25:19 Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot Is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble. Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.    

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Gas Tax Approving State Representative Bill Sanderson Gets Support From Gubernatorial Candidate and House Speaker Beth Harwell

  Gubernatorial candidate and Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) was a featured speaker at an event in support of Rep. Bill Sanderson (R-Kenton) who voted for the gas tax increasing IMPROVE Act and said he will be facing a challenger in the 2018 Republican primary. Also speaking at the event, which Sanderson said was arranged by Farmers Insurance agent Tom Eison and lobbyist for Farmers Group Inc. PAC Harvey Fischer, was State Senator Ed Jackson (R-Jackson), who praised Sanderson’s work in the legislature.  Jackson and Harwell both also voted in favor of the IMPROVE Act. The State Gazette reported that approximately 75 people were in attendance at the event, to which all three speakers seemed to defend the vote in favor of the gas tax increase, focusing instead on the other aspects of the IMPROVE Act which Sanderson referred to as “the largest tax cut in the state of Tennessee’s history.” Harwell, said one of the most important things she does as Speaker is “determine who will chair my committees,” in introducing Sanderson, who chairs her State Government Committee.  One of the three challenges Harwell says she gave to Sanderson and “all of his colleagues,”…

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Buchanan: ‘Hard Thing’ for White House to Recover from Scaramucci Rant

Tennessee Star

While political observers are scratching their heads over what motivated newly minted White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci to call New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza and deliver a vulgar rant, one thing is clear: it doesn’t look good for the Trump administration. Appearing on “The Laura Ingraham Show” on Friday morning, Pat Buchanan, veteran commentator and…

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Commentary: Four Steps President Trump Can Take to Quicken Obamacare Implosion

With the wee-hours even a modest partial repeal of Obamacare in the Senate, the ball now moves to the executive branch. President Donald Trump’s administration has considerable power to improve the health care system within the confines of the Affordable Care Act — or make mischief and hasten its demise. The president tweeted in the early-morning…

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Tennessee Unemployment Rate Hits Record Low

Tennessee Star

  Tennessee’s unemployment rate for June of 3.6 percent was the lowest in the state’s recorded history. Gov. Bill Haslam and Burns Phillips, commissioner for the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, shared the news last week. The previous low was 3.7 percent in March 2000. The state has not had an unemployment rate below 4 percent since it was 3.9 percent in February 2001. “Today more than ever, businesses have a choice of where to grow or expand, and because of the policies this administration has put in place working with the General Assembly, we’re seeing the job growth that comes when businesses choose Tennessee,” Haslam said in a news release. Phillips credited Haslam for making high quality jobs a priority, noting that seven years ago more than 10 percent of Tennesseans were out of work. The national unemployment rate for June was 4.4 percent, a slight increase from 4.3 percent in May. The national rate has seen 10-year lows in recent months. The unemployment rate has been dropping steadily over the past few years after rising sharply during the recession.

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House Republicans Seek Special Counsel for Hillary Clinton, Loretta Lynch

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee reportedly want another special prosecutor to investigate the 2016 presidential election – this one focusing on possible wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton and other Democrats. According to NBC News, Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and his fellow Judiciary Republicans have sent a letter to the Justice Department saying that Special Counsel…

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nMotion 2016 Transit Plan Update Meeting Held in Sumner County

  GALLATIN, Tennessee — Steve Bland, CEO of the Regional Transportation Authority of Middle Tennessee, was the featured speaker who updated Sumner County elected officials and citizens on the nMotion Strategic Plan Thursday at Volunteer State Community College.  The nMotion 2016 Transit Plan was approved by the Metropolitan Transit Authority in September 2016, but has not yet been adopted, executed or funded by any of the individual middle Tennessee counties. With approximately 100 people in attendance, including several County Commissioners, Gallatin City Councilmen, City Mayors, County Executive Anthony Holt opened the meeting by thanking the speakers and hosts of the event as well as the state legislature and governor for passing the IMPROVE Act. He questioned whether it had hurt anyone at all, saying gas prices aren’t any different, but it is “giving us resources.” Holt also said that Sumner County and the middle Tennessee region is facing a lot of challenges, predominantly related to tremendous growth of an additional one million people by the year 2040 that “we can’t build our way out of” or “build a wall to prevent people from coming.” Holt said “we can’t all travel in a car,” and that an alternative is needed in…

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Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero Faces Backlash Over Decision To Move Bible Verse Plaque

Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero is facing criticism that she acted too hastily in deciding to move a plaque with a Bible verse at the Knoxville Police Department. Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett is among those saying that Rogero should have pushed back when the Freedom From Religion Foundation began to complain and threaten legal action earlier this year. Rogero announced her decision earlier this week, confirming it was the result of a complaint from the East Tennessee chapter of the national group, which is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, and pushes for the separation of church and state. The group said the placement of the plaque was unconstitutional “religious promotion.” The plaque, which was put up in the early 1970s, had been displayed above a staff entrance not typically frequented by the public. Rogero said she was not aware of any other complaints in recent years. Rogero said the plaque would be moved to a new “Hall of Inspiration” on the other side of the door featuring quotes from various traditions. The plaque quotes Romans 8:31 and says, “If God be for us, then who can be against us?” The plaque was moved Friday morning. Aleta Ledendecker of the Freedom From Religion Foundation…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Saturday, July 29

Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing July 29, Saturday Galatians 4:8-9 However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? Jude 10 Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct – as irrational animals do – will destroy them.

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Reince Priebus Out as President Trump’s Chief of Staff

  President Trump announced via Twitter Friday afternoon that Reince Priebus is no longer his Chief of Staff, effective immediately. I am pleased to inform you that I have just named General/Secretary John F Kelly as White House Chief of Staff. He is a Great American…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2017 …and a Great Leader. John has also done a spectacular job at Homeland Security. He has been a true star of my Administration — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2017 I would like to thank Reince Priebus for his service and dedication to his country. We accomplished a lot together and I am proud of him! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2017 Speculation is that a pattern of leaks combined with the second failure to pass Obamacare repeal was enough for the President to lose confidence in Priebus. Developing…

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Alexander And Corker Both Vote For Failed Obamacare “Skinny Repeal” Amendment

Tennessee Star

Tennessee’s Republican senators both voted early Friday for a health care bill amendment that would have repealed parts of Obamacare, though less dramatically than an amendment defeated earlier this week. The latest amendment, defeated by a 51-49 Senate vote, was dubbed “skinny repeal” and was sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). The stronger amendment defeated Wednesday was sponsored by his fellow Kentucky Republican senator, Rand Paul. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who voted against Sen. Paul’s amendment because it didn’t have an immediate replacement plan, but who voted to advance Sen. McConnell’s “skinny repeal” said: I voted to take the next step toward what I believed was our best opportunity to repeal and replace Obamacare. The Senate’s failure to do this leaves an urgent problem that I am committed to addressing: Tennessee’s state insurance commissioner says our individual insurance market is very near collapse. Unless Congress acts, many of the 350,000 Tennesseans who buy health insurance in that market—songwriters, farmers, the self-employed—face the real prospect of having zero options to buy insurance in 2018 and 2019. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) said in a statement: My strong preference was for Congress to advance legislation I supported earlier this week to repeal Obamacare…

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Newt to Mooch: Slow Your Roll, Learn the Job

Tennessee Star

  Newt Gingrich leveled a heavy rebuke of the erratic and unproductively bombastic outbursts by President Trump’s new White House Communications Director Anthony “Mooch” Scaramucci Thursday, in two separate appearances with conservative talker Laura Ingraham. The first was on The Laura Ingraham Show, where he admonished the freshly-minted Communications Director to ‘learn to do the job.’ Here is a transcript of the exchange: INGRAHAM: …What do you take away from this most recent 24 hour period with Scaramucci? GINGRICH: I think that Scaramucci had better be a lot more careful than he has been. He obviously likes the lime light he obviously likes being in the media. I would say right now he is being more pugnacious than effective. He ought to slow down a little bit and learn what he is doing. I think that he things he said about Reince, if he said them, where is his proof? I mean it’s totally unhelpful having someone going around starting family fights in public and if he is going to be that divisive I’m not sure if he is going to be that useful to the president. INGRAHAM: Apparently he called into CNN and it could be the sole purpose of questioning Preibus. He…

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Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson Proposes Sales Tax Hike To Help Fund Schools

  Williamson County is scrambling to fund its fast-growing school district, and County Mayor Rogers Anderson said this week that raising the sales tax is a way to help get the job done. Anderson made his pitch Wednesday in delivering his annual State of the County address during a Williamson, Inc. luncheon at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs hotel. Raising the sales tax is “an alternative to relying solely on the residential property tax,” Anderson said. The county’s recently approved 2017-2018 operating budget did not include a property tax increase. The student population in Williamson County has skyrocketed by 32 percent since the 2007-2008 school year. The 44 current school sites, several of which have portables, do not have the space to meet the projected growth in the next 10 years, Anderson said. Anderson said county officials have been considering various sources of revenue. Last year, the county commission approved an educational impact fee to also help pay for schools. One-half of the fee went into effect in March, with full implementation set for September. The fee is assessed only to new home construction and is projected to generate about $25 million annually for new school construction. However, it has met…

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Lindsey Graham Warns Donald Trump on Firing Jeff Sessions: ‘There Will be Holy Hell to Pay’

Tennessee Star

Republican senators are warning that any effort to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions will be met with stiff resistance – with Sen. Lindsey Graham saying Thursday that “there will be holy hell to pay” if the attorney general is pushed out. President Trump has lashed out at Mr. Sessions repeatedly in recent days, saying he’s disappointed…

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With Some Gains, Tennessee Schools Still Struggle To Meet Goals Of Tennessee Succeeds

Tennessee Star

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Education commissioner Candice McQueen on Thursday outlined progress K-12 public schools have made toward meeting the goals of Tennessee Succeeds. McQueen spoke at the annual joint meeting of the State Board of Education and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission held in downtown Nashville. The Tennessee Succeeds plan was released by the Tennessee Department of Education in 2015 and includes goals, priorities and strategies on improving student performance. While the state has made some progress in reaching its four main goals, Tennessee still lags behind in critical areas, especially in literacy. Only 43 percent of Tennessee third graders are proficient in reading. Here is a summary of the goals and current status: Goal 1 – Tennessee will rank in the top half of all states on NAEP by 2019. Tennessee currently ranks in the top half of states for only three of six NAEP tests. NAEP stands for National Assessment of Educational Progress and is known as the Nation’s Report Card. It measures what students know and can do in various subject areas, including math, reading and science, among other subjects. Begun in 1969, NAEP assessments are given periodically. Tennessee has participated since 1992. Tennessee has been the fastest-improving…

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FBI Seized Smashed Hard Drives From Wasserman Schultz IT Aide’s Home

Computer dump

FBI agents seized smashed computer hard drives from the home of Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s information technology administrator, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation. Pakistani-born Imran Awan, longtime right-hand IT aide to the former Democratic National Committee chairwoman, has since desperately tried to get the hard drives back, an individual whom…

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Nashville Chamber of Commerce and NAE Support for Low-Skill Immigrant Labor Undermines Mayor Barry’s Office of Resilience And Its Goal of ‘Economic Inclusion’

Tennessee Star

  Mayor Megan Barry’s Office of Resilience has singled out “economic inclusion and equity” as the key to building “urban resilience,” but support from the Nashville Chamber of Commerce and the New American Economy for legal and illegal immigration complicates achieving the mayor’s goals. According to Metro Nashville Social Services’ 2016 Community Needs Evaluation report, “the poverty rate in Davidson County remains higher than Tennessee and the U.S.” Low wages, educational attainment, unaffordable housing and wage gaps are among the reasons cited for the pervasive and continuing high rate of poverty. Low wage work is equated with earning the federal minimum hourly wage of $7.25 used by Tennessee. According to the 2016 Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1.8% of  Tennessee’s 67,000 low wage workers are paid the minimum wage, while 2.1% earn below the minimum wage.   Nashville Workers Dignity organized in 2010 to represent “wage theft” from low wage immigrant hotel cleaners and have expanded their campaign to include construction workers. Low wage hotel workers are bootstrapping their demands for “economic justice” defined as “a minimum wage of $15 an hour, paid sick days and maternity time, and more than anything else, respect for hotel and cleaning workers,” to the explosive growth…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Friday, July 28

Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing July 28, Thursday Jeremiah 17:14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise. Romans 10:10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

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Dave Ramsey Breaks Ground On New Corporate Headquarters In Franklin

Tennessee Star

  Dave Ramsey broke ground Thursday on new Williamson County corporate headquarters for Ramsey Solutions, his growing financial advice company. Thursday’s private ceremony was set to feature remarks from Ramsey and Gov. Bill Haslam, according to a news release. Representatives from the city of Franklin, the Williamson County Chamber of Commerce, Gresham Smith and Partners, and Solomon Builders were scheduled to attend, along with Ramsey family members and more than 600 Ramsey Solutions employees. The new headquarters will be on 47 acres in the Berry Farms development in Franklin. The more than 223,000-square-foot building will include a coffee shop, bookstore and studio for “The Dave Ramsey Show,” in addition to office space for more than 1,000 people. The company estimates the new headquarters will open in August 2019. Ramsey Solutions closed on the property in 2015. The company is currently located in multiple locations in Cool Springs, occupying a total of more than 150,000 square feet. Ramsey Solutions, formerly known as the Lampo Group, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Ramsey is known for common sense financial advice delivered through books, radio shows, live events, classes, coaching and digital products. Over the years, the Tennessee native, who was born…

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Is Your Guru Killing You?

Tennessee Star

  …For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:6 (KJV) I suppose it’s ironic that I – a Certified Personal Trainer and owner of a fitness and health company – someone who makes his living by providing instruction, am writing an article warning of the dangers of giving or receiving too much information. And yet, it’s an article that needs to be written. We are beings who ultimately function best through our own internal guidance system. Yet we sometimes need the assistance of other people, to help guide us back to our natural path, and to help move us through life’s complicated maze. The problem occurs when their guidance fails to move us back to our path, but instead guides us onto their path. This is a huge problem in our world, and is spread across nearly every field of human endeavor. It is common in the world of religion and spiritual pursuit. It is also huge in the world of medicine, health and fitness. Authorities and gurus abound, each with their own take on reality, and what it takes to “succeed.” When someone asks me to help them transform their health and fitness, they typically either…

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TNReady High School Test Scores Show Improvement ‘Across All Subject Areas’

On Thursday, the Tennessee Department of Education released the results of the latest round of student testing, which showed that “Tennessee high school students improved across all subject areas – English, math, science, and U.S. history – on the 2016-17 TNReady end-of-course exams.” “This growth is encouraging, and it shows our students are capable of reaching the high bar we’ve set with our expectations in Tennessee,” Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said: It’s also promising to see not only overall improvement, but some bright spots in the performance of historically underserved student groups. The results from TNReady shine a light on what’s working and help us to identify where we need to better support students and teachers – so every student in Tennessee reaches his or her fullest potential. “Assessment will never be popular. However, we share the optimism today of Commissioner McQueen that ‘our students are capable of reaching the high bar we’ve set with our expectations in Tennessee.’ It demonstrates the tremendous efforts our schools and our educators have been making. We have aligned to higher standards and can see that it is now paying off. It has been a tremendous ambitious academic journey for our state,” JC Bowman,…

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