Day: April 18, 2019

Feds Bust 60 For Alleged Participation in Illegal Prescribing and Distributing of Opioids, Other Narcotics, As Well As Alleged Health Care Fraud

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The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday announced a major multi-agency national bust against 60 people for their alleged participation in the illegal prescribing and distributing of opioids and other dangerous narcotics and for health care fraud schemes. The DOJ announcement is available here. The defendants are from 11 federal districts and include 31 doctors, seven pharmacists, eight nurse practitioners, and seven other licensed medical professionals, including Ohio. “The opioid epidemic is the deadliest drug crisis in American history, and Appalachia has suffered the consequences more than perhaps any other region,” Attorney General William P. Barr said. “But the Department of Justice is doing its part to help end this crisis. One of the Department’s most promising new initiatives is the Criminal Division’s Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force, which began its work in December. Just four months later, this team of federal agents and 14 prosecutors has charged 60 defendants for alleged crimes related to millions of prescription opioids. I am grateful to the Criminal Division, their U.S. Attorney partners, and to the members of the strike force for this outstanding work that holds the promise of saving many lives in Appalachian communities.” In the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force’s Southern District…

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Commentary: Obama’s Propaganda Machine

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by Karin McQuillan   The enormity of the Obama team’s political crimes—the framing and attempted take-down of a sitting President—required a propaganda machine the likes of which this country has never seen. So we are in America the Unreal. Democrats need extreme partisanship to pull this off, not an excellent party platform. That is why their program is so weird. Crazy, extremist views are strategies for divide and control. Journalists and politicians alike have manipulated rank-and-file Democrats to plunge them into a fake world in which each and every Trump voter is treated, not as political opponents to defeat in the next election, but as avatars of evil. The Democrats’ intolerance for dissent is a tell. The Democrats have rejected the two-party system. They are flooding the country with Marxist agitprop instead of normal political competition. America in 2019 seems unreal because the post-Obama Democrat party is like nothing we’ve ever seen. The inner sanctum of Obama’s team—John Brennan, James Clapper, Susan Rice, et. al.—tried to reverse an election they had already lost. This is unheard of in America. No wonder there has been non-stop propaganda efforts to hide their perfidy. They are not aiming to win voters over. They…

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Ocasio-Cortez Promotes Green New Deal With Video That Envisions a Democratic Socialist Utopia

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by Michael Bastasch   New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released a video depicting a where the Green New Deal turns the U.S. into a democratic socialist utopia, complete with a bullet train from New York City to D.C. The video depicts a future where the Democrats take the Senate and White House in 2020 and enact a Green New Deal that ends up creating a “society that was not only modern and wealthy, but dignified and humane too,” Ocasio-Cortez says in the video. Ocasio-Cortez says Americans need to close their eyes and “imagine” a Green New Deal society before it can happen. Meanwhile, energy experts and economists are skeptical the Green New Deal is possible or even desirable. “We need to be able to close our eyes and imagine it,” Ocasio-Cortez says in the seven-minute cartoon. “We can be whatever we have the courage to see.” Climate change is here + we’ve got a deadline: 12 years left to cut emissions in half. A #GreenNewDeal is our plan for a world and a future worth fighting for. How did we get here?What is at stake?And where are we going? Please watch & share widely ⬇️pic.twitter.com/IMCtS86VXG — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April…

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Woman With Alleged History of Disrupting Republican Events Elected Vice President of Tennessee Young Democrats

Chris Butler

The Tennessee State University student and left-wing activist arrested alongside Justin Jones not once but twice since last fall is the newly elected vice president of the Tennessee Young Democrats. Jeneisha Harris  announced this on her Twitter page this week. The Tennessee Young Democrats is the official state chapter for young Democrats in Tennessee, according to the group’s Facebook page. When announcing her new role with the group, Harris said her goals include “engaging young people, increasing black voter turnout, program implementation for marginalized groups and electing millennial democrats across TN.” As The Tennessee Star reported, authorities arrested Harris and Jones last October after they allegedly disrupted a Marsha Blackburn for U.S. Senate rally in Nashville. A judge dismissed that charge in January, said Patti Goodman, director of the General Sessions Court in Nashville. Authorities arrested Jones once again in February for allegedly throwing coffee at Tennessee Speaker of the House Glen Casada at the Tennessee capitol. That same day, authorities at the capitol arrested Harris on a charge of disorderly conduct, according to the February arrest affidavit. The affidavit accused her of fighting and threatening behavior by refusing an official order to leave the premises for public safety reasons.…

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Your Guide to the Mueller Report

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by Chuck Ross   After nearly two years of investigation, a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report is set to be released on Thursday morning. The report, which clocks in at nearly 400 pages, will contain Mueller’s findings about Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election. It will also detail the investigation into whether members of the Trump campaign conspired with Russians, and whether President Trump himself attempted to obstruct the FBI’s probe by firing James Comey as FBI director. Attorney General William Barr has already revealed that Mueller & Co. were unable to establish that Trump associates conspired with Russia. But the report will likely shed light on how the investigation unfolded, and what other information was uncovered about any Russian attempts to infiltrate the campaign. Here is a guide for the report’s release. Where will it be released? The Justice Department has said the report will be sent to Congress and made public. It will likely be posted online, and can also be found at DailyCaller.com. What will be in the report? A lot. The report is the product of a 22-month investigation that relied on 2,800 subpoenas, 500 witness interviews, 19 prosecutors, 50 FBI agents…

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Trump GOP Challenger Bill Weld Supports Abortion on Demand, Endorsed Obama

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by Peter Hasson   Former Republican Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who on Monday announced plans to challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 Republican primary, has a track record of siding against his party on key social issues. Weld supports allowing abortions up until birth, including partial-birth abortions, and in the past called for a ban on “assault weapons.” Weld in 2016 ran for vice president on the Libertarian Party ticket with former New Mexico Libertarian Gov. Gary Johnson. The pair won zero electoral votes and received just over three percent of the vote nationwide. In a June 2016 interview with Bloomberg Politics, Weld was asked if it would be accurate to compare his positions on social issues to those of former Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards. “Yeah, that’s right,” he answered, adding that he favored allowing abortion-on-demand, including partial-birth abortions, which have been illegal since 1995. Weld in 1992 described allowing abortions up until birth as “a price I would pay in order to have government stay out of the thicket.” His positions on abortion aren’t just outside the mainstream in the Republican Party, they’re outside the national mainstream as well. Just 13 percent of Americans think abortion should…

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Commentary: Check Your Tax Return Again, You Probably Paid Less This Year Under the Trump Tax Cuts

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by Robert Romano   Only 40 percent of respondents in a recent New York Times-SurveyMonkey online poll thought they had received tax cuts under the 2017 tax cut legislation that was signed into law by President Donald Trump. A separate NBC-Wall Street Journal poll found 28 percent believe they will pay more in taxes. There’s just one problem. Among those who pay taxes, in 2018, 80 percent of all taxpayers got a tax cut under the bill, 5 percent paid more and 15 percent paid about the same, according to an analysis of the law by the Tax Policy Center. So, check your tax return again. Most probably, you paid less in taxes than last year. Doubling the standard deduction and lowering the rates overall captured most taxpayers, and more than offset restrictions to the mortgage interest and state and local tax deductions. Even the New York Times’ Ben Casselman and Jim Tankersley said that the reason for the wide disparity was because opponents of the law had so effectively, falsely demonized it. Per Casselman and Tankersley, “the gap between perception and reality on the tax cuts appears to flow from a sustained — and misleading — effort by liberal…

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Rashida Tlaib Hosts Another Extreme Anti-Israel, Terror-Affiliated Activist on Capitol Hill

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by Molly Prince   Democratic Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib met with another extreme anti-Israel activist and terrorist-supporter in her Capitol Hill congressional office during American Muslims for Palestine Advocacy Day in mid-April. American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) hosted the annual advocacy and training event, which was open to all adults who “seek justice in Palestine.” Additional criteria for participation includes supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to punish Israel by economically depriving the country for its alleged mistreatment of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) describes the BDS movement as “the most prominent effort to undermine Israel’s existence” and has further criticized AMP for promoting anti-Semitism under the guise of educating Americans. AMP hailed the ADL’s anti-Israel description of its organization. Tlaib spoke to AMP on April 8 where she told the group that she feels “more Palestinian” when she is in Congress than she does elsewhere, according to The Investigative Project On Terrorism, who first reported on the meeting. AMP’s New Jersey chapter posted a photograph of Tlaib outside of her office with some of its members during the event, including Joe Catron, an avowed supporter of multiple…

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Attorney General Expands Indefinite Detention for Asylum-Seekers

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Illegal Alien Detention center

The U.S. Attorney General on Tuesday struck down a decision that had allowed some asylum-seekers to ask for bond in front of an immigration judge, in a ruling that expands indefinite detention for some migrants who must wait months or years for their cases to be heard. The first immigration court ruling from President Donald Trump’s newly appointed Attorney General William Barr is in keeping with the administration’s moves to clamp down on the asylum process as tens of thousands of mostly Central Americans cross into the United States asking for refuge. U.S. immigration courts are overseen by the Justice Department and the Attorney General can rule in cases to set legal precedent. Barr’s ruling is the latest instance of the Trump administration taking a hard line on immigration. This year the administration implemented a policy to return some asylum-seekers to Mexico while their cases work their way through backlogged courts, a policy that has been challenged with a lawsuit. Several top officials at the Department of Homeland Security were forced out this month over Trump’s frustrations with an influx of migrants seeking refuge at the U.S. southern border. Migrants crossing illegally Barr’s decision applies to migrants who crossed illegally…

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Presidential Hopeful Amy Klobuchar Says Nashville Rejected Transit Plan Because They Wanted Federal Government to Help Foot the Bill

Jason M. Reynolds

Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on Wednesday inserted herself into the failed $9 billion Nashville transit referendum of 2018. Klobuchar visited Fisk University on Wednesday and said the referendum failed because voters “weren’t sure they wanted to fund the initiative locally, without the federal government pitching in,” according to a story by the Associated Press. Klobuchar says her infrastructure plan would provide $1 trillion to fix roads and bridges, protect against flooding, rebuild schools, and other initiatives. She wants to leverage $650 billion in federal funding through public-private partnerships, bond programs and clean-energy tax incentives. Of that, $400 billion would come from increasing the corporate tax rate to 25 percent, after President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax law lowered it from 35 percent to 21 percent. Klobuchar tweeted, “It was great to spend my morning at Fisk University in Nashville talking about the urgent need to rebuild our infrastructure with students and community leaders. From roads to schools to rail — we need a real plan that invests in America.” It was great to spend my morning at Fisk University in Nashville talking about the urgent need to rebuild our infrastructure with students and community leaders. From roads to schools…

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Steve Cohen of Memphis Compares Donald Trump to the Notre Dame Cathedral Fire

Chris Butler

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, has reportedly made what some people might call yet another insensitive remark to score political points, and this time it involves this week’s tragedy in France. This, according to various news outlets. Specifically, Cohen said Republican U.S. President Donald Trump is doing to the Constitution what Monday’s devastating fire did to the Notre Dame Cathedral in France. Cohen said Trump is “torching the entire structure of government.” Cohen said this on MSNBC’s Hardball and continued to accuse Trump of obstructing justice.  “I filed articles last year. I haven’t brought them up this year, but we are getting so far along in seeing what this president has done and what he’s done to the Constitution, what he’s done to the people’s respect for our government,” Cohen reportedly said. “What he has done to the Constitution and the rule of law is as bad as [what] that fire did to Notre Dame. He’s torching the entire structure of government and the people’s respect for it and the Congress needs to act. The facts were supposed to be in the Mueller Report. We’ll get them. We’ll find the court and we’ll go to the court, and I…

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Christine Blasey Ford Makes TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the World

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by Mary Margaret Olohan   TIME Magazine named Christine Blasey Ford one of the 100 most influential people in the world. TIME revealed Wednesday that Ford, who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, is featured in TIME’s annual list. “Her story, spoken while holding back tears, shook Washington and the country. Her courage, in the face of those who wished to silence her, galvanized Americans. And her unfathomable sacrifice, out of a sense of civic duty, shined a spotlight on the way we treat survivors of sexual violence,” California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris wrote in a guest contribution for TIME. “Christine Blasey Ford’s ambition wasn’t to become a household name or make it onto this list,” Harris added. “She had a good life and a successful career — and risked everything to send a warning in a moment of grave consequence.” Harris was outspoken in Ford‘s support during the September 2018 Kavanaugh hearings investigating Ford’s accusations. “At her core, she is a teacher,” the 2020 presidential candidate wrote. “And through her courage, she forced the country to reckon with an issue that has too often been ignored and kept in the dark.” Many other notable figures are…

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US Wants to Build More Tents at Border to Detain Migrants

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The Trump administration wants to open two new tent facilities to temporarily detain up to 1,000 parents and children near the southern border, as advocates sharply criticize the conditions inside the tents already used to hold migrants. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a notice to potential contractors that it wants to house 500 people in each camp in El Paso, Texas, and in the South Texas city of Donna, which has a border crossing with Mexico. Each facility would consist of one large tent that could be divided into sections by gender and between families and children traveling alone, according to the notice. Detainees would sleep on mats. There would also be laundry facilities, showers, and an “additional fenced-in area” for “outside exercise/recreation.” The notice says the facilities could open in the next two weeks and operate through year-end, with a cost that could reach $37 million. But the agency has said its resources are strained by the sharp rise in the numbers of parents and children crossing the border and requesting asylum. It made 53,000 apprehensions in March of parents and children traveling together, most of whom say they are fleeing violence and poverty in Central America.…

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Answers to Four Big Questions About Sending Illegal Immigrants to Sanctuary Cities

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by Fred Lucas   The Trump administration is exploring the legality of transporting illegal immigrants who the government can’t detain to sanctuary cities, which by definition welcome illegal immigrants. Prominent Democrats say they oppose the idea, and even supporters say President Donald Trump could be trolling Democrats in a public relations move. If Trump moves forward with the notion, it almost certainly would be litigated. Here’s a look at key questions surrounding the proposal. The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more >> 1. Where Would Illegal Immigrants Be Transported? More than 170 cities and counties have some sort of sanctuary law prohibiting local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration authorities, and in some cases jurisdictions may even obstruct enforcement. This includes most large cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. That’s according to data from the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank favoring strict immigration policies, which has a map of sanctuary cities on its website. Local sanctuary jurisdictions span 26 states. California, home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat who is highly critical of Trump, is a sanctuary state.…

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Tennessee Star Poll: Will Tennessee Go to Pot?

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A new Tennessee Star poll reveals that support for legalizing medical marijuana in Tennessee has significant support among likely GOP Primary voters. The poll asked whether voters would be more or less likely to vote for a candidate who supports legalizing the distribution and sale of marijuana in Tennessee if strictly limited to prescribed medical use only. 42.9% indicated that they would be MORE likely to vote for a candidate supporting legalizing medical marijuana; 35.2% would be LESS likely; and 21.9% indicated that it would make no difference or that they didn’t know. The Triton Polling survey was conducted over four days (April 13-16) and polled 1003 likely Republican Party primary voters statewide. It has a margin of error of 3.1%. Bills in the House and Senate that would have legalized sale and distribution of medical marijuana were pulled by sponsors after it was clear they lacked the votes to emerge from key committees.  Law enforcement officials adamantly opposed the legislation and the sponsors were unable to overcome skepticism due to the advocacy of the legislation by proponents of recreational marijuana legalization. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill notes that the Triton Poll shows that support for legalization of medical…

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Tennessee House Says No to Holding Phone While Driving But Says Yes to Voice Use

Jason M. Reynolds

The Tennessee House on Wednesday passed bill HB0164 banning drivers from using handheld phones. The bill tracking information is available here. The Senate companion bill, SB0173, was deferred on Tuesday in the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee and now has a scheduled hearing date of April 23. The House passed the bill on a vote of 53-38, according to the Tennessee General Assembly’s website tracking information available here. Four representatives were counted as “present and not voting.” The House sponsor is State Rep. John B. Holsclaw Jr. (R-TN-04). The highly detailed bill “summary,” with amendments, is available on the tracking page. Among the provisions are that adults age 18 and up could use a device for GPS navigation as well as an earpiece, headphone or device on a wrist “to conduct a voice-based communication; and may use a one button on a wireless telecommunications device to initiate or terminate a voice communication.” The penalties would be: A violation of this amendment will be a Class C misdemeanor, subject only to imposition of a fine not to exceed $50.00. However, if the violation is the person’s third or subsequent offense or if the violation results in an accident, the fine…

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US Trade Deficit Hits 8-Month Low on Weak Chinese Imports

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The U.S. trade deficit fell to an eight-month low in February as imports from China plunged, providing a boost to President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda and economic growth in the first quarter. The surprise second straight monthly narrowing in the trade gap reported by the Commerce Department on Wednesday was also driven by soaring aircraft exports, which are likely to reverse after Boeing halted deliveries of its troubled 737 MAX aircraft. MAX planes have been grounded indefinitely following two deadly crashes. Economists warned the trade deficit would remain elevated regardless of whether the United States and China struck a trade deal that was to the White House’s liking because of Americans’ insatiable appetite for cheaper imports. Talks between Washington and China to resolve the bitter trade war have been dragging. The United States is also embroiled in conflicts with other trading partners, including the European Union, contributing to big swings in exports and imports data in recent months. “Even if trade negotiations are resolved in such a way as to reduce the bilateral trade deficit with China, one of the Trump administration’s stated goals, this would likely divert trade flows to other countries and have little impact on the…

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Fox News Will Host Klobuchar for Town Hall While DNC Refuses to Partner with Network for Debates

Anthony Gockowski

  2020 Democrats are reportedly “flocking” to Fox News to participate in the network’s town hall events, the next of which will feature Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the network announced Wednesday. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) Monday night town hall event on Fox News was the most-watched town hall of the 2020 campaign thus far, according to The Daily Beast. More than 2.5 million viewers tuned in for the event, compared to CNN’s recent town hall with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), which attracted 1.95 million viewers. On the night of the town hall, rival network MSNBC had 1.44 million viewers, while CNN had just 913,000. The event was described as a “ratings smash,” but that isn’t stopping the Democratic National Committee from refusing to partner with Fox News for any 2020 debates. In fact, during a Monday morning interview on Fox News, DNC Chairman Tom Perez said he wouldn’t reconsider the decision. “Here is why we won’t do that. Because I don’t have faith in your leadership at Fox News at the senior levels,” Perez told anchor Bill Hemmer. “I have great respect for Bret and for Chris and for you, but you’ve demonstrated, above your pay grade, they don’t trust…

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Ohio State University Salaries Exposed: More Than 5,000 Employees Made Six-Figures or Higher While More Than a Dozen Top $1 Million

Anthony Gockowski

A mind-boggling 5,168 employees of  Ohio State University made a six-figure salary or higher in 2018, while 18 of those employees earned more than $1 million last year. The university employs 47,686 individuals, of which roughly 11 percent – a little more than one in 10 – earned a six-figure salary or higher. The salaries of the state’s flagship university were released Wednesday by Dayton Daily News as part of its “Payroll Project.” The outlet notes that former football coach Urban Meyer was the highest paid employee in 2018 at a salary of more than $5.1 million. Vice President of Health Services Mark Larmore earned $1.5 million in 2018, making him the highest-paid non-athletics employee, while University President Michael Drake made more than $1.1 million. Closely behind Larmore was Vice President of Shared Services David McQuaid, who made $1.4 million last year. Some professors came close to earning more than $1 million in 2018, such as William Farrar and Raphael Pollock, both of whom teach in the Department of Surgery. They earned $905,478 and $927,706 respectively. Rene Stulz, a professor of finance, walked away with $655,877 in 2018. One “special assistant to the president” in the Department of Health Sciences…

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Last of Lordstown Auto Parts Manufacturing Ends Two Months Early: More Layoffs to Follow

Andrew Shirley

The last manufacturing orders left for the rapidly shuttering Lordstown Auto Plant finished up on April 5. The project – metal stamping replacement parts for the Chevy Cruze – was slated to last until June, ensuring work for those few employees still not laid off.  With the job wrapping up early, the workers are facing an uncertain future. As previously reported: Since its opening in 1966, Lordstown, Ohio has been the backbone of the local economy. Providing plentiful high-paying jobs, working at the plant ensured, at a minimum, a direct entree to the middle-class regardless of education level. Thousands of workers were employed by the plant at its peak. Over time those numbers dropped to below 2,000. In 2019 alone, 1,633 Lordstown auto workers and 72 members of the facilities support staff have been laid off. The majority of these layoffs occurred between March and April. There are currently less than 100 workers still active at the plant but with the completion of this project, it is likely that they will be laid off in the coming weeks as well. According to UAW Local 1112 president Dave Green, the work that is being done is mostly administrative. “We are going through and cleaning…I’m currently working in material handling.…

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Tennessee Star Poll: Haslam Faces Difficult Challenge If He Seeks GOP Nomination for U.S. Senate

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A new Tennessee Star poll reveals that former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam could face a serious challenge if he seeks the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Senator Lamar Alexander. As noted previously in the Tennessee Star, Haslam’s approval lags far below the support level for President Donald Trump, Senator Marsha Blackburn and Governor Bill Lee. And now it appears that even in a potentially crowded primary field Haslam would start off within reach of a significant challenge by conservative Congressman Mark Green. In a prospective matchup against Green, former Economic Development Commissioner and current Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty, and west Tennessee businessman Jeff Webb, Haslam secures 28.7% support, Green 12.7%, Hagerty .9%, and Webb 1.3% with a huge number of voters (56.3%) undecided. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill points out that such a huge undecided number among likely Republican primary voters with Haslam having served the past 8 years as Governor should be big red flag that Haslam shouldn’t ignore. “The other 3 potential opponents are not as well known, and voters would clearly like to learn more about them before they decide to support Haslam.” The Triton Polling survey was conducted over…

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