Trump Hails Senate Passage of Tax Reform

President Trump hailed the Senate’s passage of tax cuts early Saturday, saying Americans “are going to be very, very happy.” “They’re going to get tremendous tax cuts. That’s what we need,” he told reporters at the White House. The Senate voted 51-49 early Saturday to approve the tax-cut plan of more than $1.4 trillion for businesses…

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Mick Mulvaney Looks for More Trump Appointees to Help Him ‘Refocus’ Consumer Bureau

Interim Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Mick Mulvaney said Thursday that he wants to bring more Trump political appointees on board at the agency as he pores over its books and considers halting dozens of pending cases targeting businesses. “We’re trying to get help over here,” Mr. Mulvaney told The Washington Times in an interview.

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Smartphone Market Seeing Steady Growth, as Bigger Screens Dominate

Smartphones

The global smartphone market is expected to see steady if unspectacular growth in the next few years, as consumers turn increasingly to large-screen handsets known as “phablets,” a market tracker said Wednesday. A report by the research firm IDC said phablets — with displays larger than 5.5 inches (14 centimeters) — will account for some 40 percent of the 1.5 billion smartphones sold in 2017, and that the phablet share will rise to more than half by 2019. …

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Save Our Fairgrounds Files Lawsuit to Stop Nashville Major Megan Barry’s Soccer Stadium Proposal

Save Our Fairgrounds filed a lawsuit this week over Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s proposal for a soccer stadium, mixed-used development and other amenities at the Nashville Fairgrounds, reports WKRN News 2. Attorney Jim Roberts, vice chairman of Save Our Fairgrounds, filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Davidson County Chancery Court. The lawsuit names Metro Nashville government as the defendant. In early November, Metro Council approved funding for the plan, designed to attract a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise. Nashville is among four finalists for two new MLS franchises along with Cincinnati, Detroit and Sacramento. MLS is expected to make a final decision later this month. The lawsuit alleges Barry’s proposal violates the city charter by interfering with the fairgrounds’ existing uses, including the annual state fair, flea market and auto racetrack. As a result of past efforts to redevelop the fairgrounds, Save Our Fairgrounds collected signatures to put a referendum on the ballot in 2011 to protect existing uses. The referendum passed by 73 percent. Barry has said existing uses would be protected and enhanced, but opponents are skeptical because of the enormity of the plans and the need for parking. The lawsuit says the area where the stadium would go is currently…

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Former WSMV News Channel 4 Newscasters File Age-Discrimination Lawsuit

Three former veteran newscasters at WSMV-TV News Channel 4 have filed an age-discrimination lawsuit in federal district court in Nashville. The former popular news personalities are Dennis Ferrier, Jennifer Johnson and Nancy Van Camp. The Meredith Corporation, the station owner, denies the allegations. “This case sheds light on some ugly truths about what is happening at Channel 4,” said attorney Brian Winfrey of Morgan & Morgan in a news release issued by the law firm Tuesday. “My clients are accomplished professionals. They don’t deserve this treatment after decades of dedicating their careers to Channel 4.” According to the lawsuit, station management in 2015 began a pattern of hostile behavior toward older broadcasters. Comments were made about getting rid of the “old timers” and hiring “faces that appeal to a younger demographic.” The suit alleges that a news director would say of Ferrier, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” A number of employees over 40 were removed and replaced by younger employees between 2015 and 2016, the suit says. In addition to ridicule, the workplace hostility included unfair job scrutiny and adverse job assignments, the suit alleges. Ferrier, Johnson and Van Camp were all forced off the air. Ferrier is…

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Watchdogs Turn Up More Evidence Obama’s EPA Broke Federal Law

Tennessee Star

Former President Barack Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency used a social media platform to secretly promote the agency’s policies in violation of federal law, according to a conservative watchdog group in Washington, D.C. Judicial Watch obtained 900 pages of documents Monday showing the EPA used social media to lobby support for the Waters of the United States rule. The agency used Thunderclap, a platform that shares messages across Facebook and Twitter, to recruit outside groups to generate support for various environmental policies. …

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Nashville Scene Makes Big Staff Reductions

The left-leaning alternative newsweekly Nashville Scene announced significant staff cuts Thursday. Top editor Steve Cavendish and arts editor Laura Hutson were among 25 percent of editorial staff losing positions. Alternative weeklies across the country are struggling, reported the Nashville Business Journal. The Nashville Scene is owned by SouthComm, a Nashville-based media company that owns a variety of alternative newspapers and other news sources across the U.S. Locally, SouthComm also owns the Nashville Post and Nfocus, which have also been affected by the cuts. “SouthComm is in the midst of a changing of a guard, at all levels of the organization,” said CFO Bob Mahoney. “This announcement is neither the first nor will it be the last.”

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Commentary: President Trump Is Right in Challenging Atty Gen Jeff Sessions to Confront the Deep State On Shady ‘Wiretapping’

Trumo FBI with Docs

by CHQ Staff   President Trump has once again taken to Twitter to light a fire under the Department of Justice. In a post early Wednesday the President tweeted: The House of Representatives seeks contempt citations(?) against the JusticeDepartment and the FBI for withholding key documents and an FBI witness which could shed light on surveillance of associates of Donald Trump. Big stuff. Deep State. Give this information NOW! @FoxNews The House of Representatives seeks contempt citations(?) against the JusticeDepartment and the FBI for withholding key documents and an FBI witness which could shed light on surveillance of associates of Donald Trump. Big stuff. Deep State. Give this information NOW! @FoxNews — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2017 In an internal House memo obtained by Fox News, and reported by senior Washington Reporter James Rosen, a senior counsel for the House Intelligence Committee urged Republican Chairman Devin Nunes three weeks ago to pursue contempt of Congress citations against the Justice Department and FBI. Rosen reports Congressional investigators accuse those agencies of withholding key documents and an FBI witness that could shed light on whether U.S. officials under then-President Barack Obama relied on the infamous anti-Trump “dossier” to justify surveillance against…

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Lois Lerner Cites Years-Old Threats to Keep Her Dirty IRS Activities Secret

The threats that former IRS senior executive Lois G. Lerner says are serious enough to keep her court depositions forever secret date back to 2014, and she hasn’t shown any new threats, according to new court documents filed late Thursday. Ms. Lerner and her key deputy, Holly Paz, have demanded a judge forever seal their depositions and parts of any documents that mention those depositions, saying they fear for their safety. …

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BuzzFeed to Cut Jobs, Refocus Advertising

BuzzFeed said Wednesday it was cutting an estimated 100 jobs as the news and entertainment website reorganizes its advertising efforts in the face of disappointing revenues. The cuts will be mainly in the business and advertising divisions in the US operations, with a number of editorial and business employees cut in Britain, a spokesman said, confirming an earlier report in the Wall Street Journal. …

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Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett Stands Up to Freedom From Religion Foundation

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett is not backing down in the face of a challenge from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The East Tennessee chapter of the Madison, Wisconsin-based group wants Burchett to order a county health department employee to move a personal display that references God, reports the Knoxville News Sentinel. Shawnee Casteel, the chapter’s director, said in a Nov. 8 email to the county that she saw the display while changing her legal name back to her maiden name. Casteel said the display would be OK if it were not visible to the public via a bulletin board behind the window where the employee sits. In a response Nov. 20, Burchett said he would not ask the employee to move the display. “Faith is such an important part of our lives and of all the things going on in this world … this is the place where they attack us … I think it’s very telling,” Burchett told the Knoxville News Sentinel. Written on a piece of paper, the display reads, “Just think, you’re here not by chance, but by God’s choosing. His hand formed you and made you the person you are. He compares you to no one…

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